Chapter 46
The Blind Book Club
It is amazing how little time it takes to get settled into a new routine. Especially when you are starting not just a new job, but a new career path. I had spent weeks holed up in my own little wing of the Mage’s Guild. It was mine, it felt like mine, it even began to have scents that I associated with me. It was odd in a way, I have had rooms before, little bolt holes in walls where no one would find me, and I could rest free of the elements. Yet, this was the first time I felt like I truly had a home, a place that was mine. Having Zero there, just made it that much better, as he was my accomplice in all things. Together we were a team, I would study and read, while he would practice painting and other crafts. Apparently, his use of dragon claws to hold a paintbrush was a new artform. His claws even giving his ability to carve grooves to add deeper color striations into the canvas that much better, that much crisper and clearer.
Of course, I was the one who had a hard time understanding the intricacies of his art work, at least at first. Which I think made him depressed. He knew I was blind, that my way of seeing the world was entirely different than the way others would, which was why he began delving into mana infused paints. Apparently that was when his artistic skills began to flourish, as he was both the only producer of said paints, but that was also the only way I was able to see painted canvases. How does artwork normally look to me? Well if I had to describe it, I would have to say that it is like trying to take as many words as possible, lower the font size so they blur together, then reduce the line distance, then blur the light until there is little one can distinguish about the words other than black lines flowing under other black lines. That is my normal experience with art.
The only difference between normal art and an art piece that is part of a Thieves’ Guild acquisition request is that the items involved in an acquisition request glow to my senses. I know this is likely the game cheating for me and my Angel’s Sight in some way, shape, or form, but it is a 25 point merit, meaning it should provide some benefits. Finding quest items and solving problems with the supernatural insight is just one of the perks it offers, despite its many drawbacks. That said Zero’s new artwork glows to my senses in a way that I can actually see the brush strokes. Granted they still look like doodles my kids would do when they were teenagers, far from grand showcase masterpieces that would go to a gallery or plaza, but they were something.
Seeing the paint, I too dabbled at the craft, using Zero’s infused paints, I would also try to paint, if for nothing other than learning a new skill. Which I did, and then some.
New Skill Gained: Painting has reached level 1. Skill Painting is a Dexterity, Personality, Sociability, Attractiveness, and Perception based skill.
New Skill Gained: Artist has reached level 1. Skill Artist is a Dexterity, Personality, Sociability, Attractiveness, and Perception based skill.
Yes, as it turns out the game finds artists sexy as well. That or the game is trying to encourage the perception that all artist are naturally more beautiful and personable, I don’t quite see it, get it a sight joke, but anything for free social stat increases. I can see that there is a social nature to having art, as the paintings created by Zero now sit in our entrance hall to greet guests while they wait to be seen.
There is of course the ever-growing toxic poisoning nature of the mines. Zero and I have both made inquiries about what is happening over there, but so far our inquiries have turned up nothing. Meanwhile I am healing more and more guards, while the initial group of guards, those who were apparently stuck in the mines for a time have all gone blind. No, it is not due to my healing, but apparently it is a side effect from being forced to take too many poor quality potions constantly. The buildup from poor quality potions, along with constant exposure to toxic environments made it so the dark elves all went blind.
“Thank you, Doc.” Reymel says to me, having come in again for his weekly checkup. I keep trying to find ways to reverse the blindness, but I think this is a system generated quest line that I have not quite unlocked. I can’t quite explain it, but it seems like every time I push myself and my understanding the disease that these people are afflicted with alters ever so slightly. What is worse, is that the former guards and miners only have nice things to say about me and my efforts. None of them feel that I am the reason they are blind, which is sort of nice. But in a world of magic, where the sky should be the limit, I feel that I should be able to solve this.
“Are you sure there is nothing else I can do?” I ask Reymel, feeling absolutely guilty on the fact that he and the others are still blind.
“Well, there is something…” He begins, but I can tell by the way his posture stiffens slightly that he is somewhat embarrassed to speak what is on his mind.
“Go on, just say it.” I say.
“Well, now that I have this condition.” He says, gesturing to his eyes, just causing my guilt and anxiety over not being able to heal him come that much more to the surface. “I have found it is really hard to read.”
For a moment I think about sharing my skill with him, but then I realize that my skill would be worthless to anyone who was blind that didn’t also possess at least the fifth and final stage of Angel’s Sight. That said, I can fully understand his want to read, it is one of my true passions as well.
“I bet that is a terrible existence.” I agree.
Scoff.
Reymel lets out a long sigh. “I probably shouldn’t say this, but me and a few of the others, we had a book club.”
“A book club?” I ask, my mind tingling with the sensation that I might be able to create another study group.
“Yeah, we would gather around two or three times a week and just talk about the current book we were reading.” Reymel says.
Say what you will about gender stereotypes, but a male who admits that he has a passion for reading should have at least five more points to their Attractiveness, before elven racial bonuses get applied.
“Well, I could read to you, but I will warn you I have some standards of what I am willing to read out loud.” I admit. I don’t want to get labeled as a smut queen, also this way I can avoid reading those murder hobo exploit stories. “Then I cast Fireball, leveled up, and learned to cast Greater Fireball earning me even more experience from killing Indigenous Persons and Monsters.” I know it sounds like I am exaggerating, but only by a small margin.
“Well, maybe I should find someone else to ask then…” Reymel says, a faint look of sadness crossing his face.
“What?”
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“It’s nothing.”
“No, come on, I’m curious now. What book did you want to read?” I ask, suddenly wondering if there is some elite skill tome that they might have.
“It is an educational primer for rune research.” Reymel begins.
“Oh, that doesn’t sound so bad. Maybe a bit boring and stuffy, but I could manage that.” I say, then the more I think about it, this is exactly the quest line I want. One that opens up more hidden skill quest lines, all while pretending to be a good person by reading to people who are visually impaired. I do find it ironic that I, a noted blind person would be the leader of such a group, the blind leading the blind book club and all that, but I honestly don’t mind. “In fact, if it is about trying to learn skills then sign me up.”
“Well, it is not just about rune research.” Reymel begins.
Badump.
My heart beats at that suggestion, could he? No. No one ever admits to that, not in public. Well we aren’t in public, we are in a secluded, silenced room in the Mage’s Guild. Here we are still covered under the clauses of client patient confidentiality, meaning what we say here will stay here, unless we want to talk about this.
Biting my lip, I decide to go out on a possible limb, but I want to do so as discretely as possible. “Are you perhaps referring to a story that poses practical applications of employing runic defenses to fend off evil counts?”
At that, Reymel’s face drops for a second. “Yes, I take it you might know of the series about a person with a similar name to my own?” He asks.
At that I start smiling, as it is clear we are talking about the same series. “I don’t know, unless we are talking about Rahuuull,” I say curling his name at the end with a lilt, “then I don’t know who you could be referring to.”
“Rahul and the Maiden? You know about Rahul and the Maiden?” He all but shouts excitedly, while reaching out to grab my hands.
“Shh, keep it down.” I say, not wanting to draw too much attention to us. Mentally I scan out, and while people apparently heard the sound, they don’t seem to have picked up on what was said.
“This is fantastic, ever since Tarnavia left, I have not had a partner…”
“Whoa, going to stop you right there. This goes a bit beyond my comfort level.” I say jerking my hand free from his grip and holding a finger up to stop him, not that it does much good as I remember a second later he is still blind.
“Right, I… well, I just got a little excited.”
“Well, I am happy to read books one through seven.” I say, as those are the ones I know by heart at this point.
“Just to seven? But what about the Marquis? The seduction of the Duchess, then the intrigue caused by his meeting the princess?” Reymel says, but I don’t know what he is talking about.
“What are you talking about?”
“Why stop at book seven? That is where the series finally gets good.”
Badump, badump.
At this, I reach out and I grab his hands. “You are telling me that you know what happens after book seven?”
“Know what happens? I just got book eleven in the series, but alas, I cannot read it due to my condition…”
***
“Cass, Cass! Cassiopeia, wake up!” Zero is there patting his claws against my head.
“Wha? What?” I ask, suddenly stirring.
“You just passed out.” Zero said, finally talking out loud and not directly to my mind.
I shake my head and slowly the world around me comes into focus. Looking around I am in my patient room, but Reymel isn’t here. “Was it all just a dream?” I ask, as I slowly get up and take a few steps, before sitting back down in the chair.
“I don’t know what you are talking about. You had a conversation with Reymel, and then you went and passed out.” Zero says.
Hearing that, I realize there might have been something to that dream. “Where is Reymel now?” I ask mentally looking around the area trying to find him.
“He went to get help, but I felt you collapse through our bond, so I got here right away.” Zero says.
“Oh,” is all I manage to eloquently state to that. “How long have I been out?”
“Under a minute.”
Scuffle.
Click clack.
There are the sounds of numerous feet stomping, along with the unmistakable sound of a walking cane tapping the ground in front of someone. Focusing on the form with the walking stick, I instantly recognize him as Reymel.
“There she is…” The receptionist states.
I am sitting down on one of the examination tables.
“Are you okay?” The receptionist asks going over to me.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I say, as I try to take in my condition.
“She just fainted, during our visit.” Reymel says, clear worry in his voice.
“Are you okay? Do you remember what you two were talking about?” The receptionist asks, but the Guild Master is right there behind her as well, listening into everything I am saying.
“Yeah, we had a conversation about things I could possibly do to help. At which point there was the suggestion of creating a book club to help out all the miners and guards who are now going blind.” I state, making sure to leave out the true reason for my collapse, hopefully, that there might be four more novels to the best series ever.
“Yes, Ms. Spiritlight offered to take on the creation of a book club, when she passed out.” Reymel said.
“Ms. Spiritlight, I feel that you might be pushing yourself too hard.” The Guild Master says. “The fact that you are passing out during working hours, is a testament to how hard you are already pushing yourself, I cannot in good conscience let you take on more responsibility, not with your health at stake.” The Guild Master begins.
“But its books that we are talking about…” I say weakly, as if that is somehow enough to justify taking on even more responsibility. As it stands, I am already pushing fourteen-hour days, every day. I could swear there were child labor laws, but those are only for people that don’t have a class.
Apparently, I can pout well, as the Guild Master takes in my expression and finally lets out a defeated sigh.
Deep sigh.
“Perhaps you are correct. We have been pushing you rather hard since you got here. Perhaps it is time to allow you to relax a little with some leisurely activities. Also, I think a book club is a fine idea. At first we had been trying to keep you safe from certain nefarious elements that have apparently decided to move in brazenly right next to our fine establishment. Almost as if they are mocking our very institution, it was for that reason that we had increased your hours. But I can see now that this was likely the wrong way to combat this problem.” The Guild Master states.
I of course know exactly what he is talking about. He is referring to Lucky’s Card Hall, which led by business man and Thieves Guild front gnome, Lenny ‘Lucky’ Bigsly, that somehow got all the required votes to move into the two vacant lots immediately to our left. It was a rather tight vote too, but somehow, they got the required votes needed to not only move in, but have a prime location right on main street. Shortly after that motion passed, I received a new item, by happenstance.
Soulbound Item: VIP Membership Card to Lucky’s Card Hall.
Yep, apparently there was a random raffle, where Lenny a gnome businessman that I happened to have a conversation with, gathered everyone’s name from our town, put them all into a tumbler and drew seven names at random that would be granted permanent VIP membership status.
While, it was never proven who the seven people that passed the reform to allow the card hall into town, I can guess who the other six voters were, as I was of course the seventh vote. This raffle clearly a well disguised way to show their commitment to buying off my vote with the stipulations I had requested.
“I guess, so long as you do not have to leave this establishment, then I can allow this club to happen.” The Guild Master states.
At that, I feel a slight twinge of apprehension fill my mind, “am I a prisoner?” I ask.
“What? No, this was for your protection is all.” The Guild Master says, a bit too defensively.
“So what, I am just supposed to be caged in here until what? You feel I am capable of fending for myself?”
“No, not that.”
“Then when would you feel safe allowing me to roam about. I am Healer, I should be going out to the community. Not everyone can come to the guild hall, shouldn’t we make it a point to go out and scan the community as a whole to help make it better?” I ask.
“That’s not it, the last Healer we had, the very one you learned from and replaced, he died in these very streets.”
“While frequenting the card hall?”
“What, no, of course not. The hall wasn’t there at that time, and you know that.”
“Neither were the guards that are set up to protect the hall from renegades or people who might wish to cause undue trouble?”
“Right.”
“Guards that as part of the card halls charter will be a secondary police force, should any incident like the one that happened when Dr. Kiran died occur again?”
“Well, yeah.”
“So we now have more security, we have different safety measures in place with your being stationed here as well, right?” I ask. The Guild Masters for all four guilds have all temporarily increased to level 450+, with the Mage’s Guild being the highest leveled at level 479. I know this is all for a temporary surge, but I’m trying to see if there is a way we can keep this Guild Master here. Other than making me work ridiculously long hours, he has brought a level of safety and stability to this town that I greatly appreciate.
“Yes.” The Guild Master says a bit defeatedly. Then finally after a second. “I just worry about you, is all.”
“And I thank you for that. It is that care and concern that made me want to put my hopes into this town, to stay on despite the hardships we have endured. I also want to give back to the community, while not feeling like a prisoner.” I say.
At that the Guild Master lets out a long sigh, and with a slightly deflated posture. “I understand. I can also see now how my trying to make you feel safer has put you under undue stress that likely caused your fainting. As of right now, I am cutting back your hours to half shifts, until otherwise noted.”
Quest Update: Crossroad’s Mage’s Guildhall Healer: Your hard work and dedication have paid off, proving your loyalty to the town and its citizens. As such your hours have been cut in half from 14 hours a day to 7 hours a day.
At that, I let out a long sigh, and relaxed myself, then I realize the important question.
“So, we are going to start a book club?” I ask, turning my Reymel.
“I guess we are going to start a book club.” Reymel answered.
Then to accentuate his statement, I am met with a new system message confirming his comments.
Hidden Quest Found: Crossroad’s Book Club: You have founded the first book club of the town of Crossroads. Rewards: Experience, access to rare book series.
“Wooo!” I scream excitedly, as I all but jump off of my examination table.