Chapter 48

The Daily Grinds

I don’t know what I did, how I got so blessed, whether it was just a matter of hard work, the system trying to keep me here in this spirit tower, or something, but I soon found myself with not one, but two daily repeatable tasks. The first we already remember was to read for the crossroads book club.

Daily Quest (Repeatable): Crossroad’s Book Club: You have founded the first book club of the town of Crossroads. Meet up with at least three other members of the club and read for an hour to receive full benefits of this quest. Conditions: People (0/3) Time: Minutes (0/60). Rewards: Experience (60), access to rare book series.

I made it a point to try to spend three hours a day working on that repeatable quest each day, especially as reading for three hours and basically being paid to do so is just amazing. Yes, I have been so used to the Broke flaw that I now associate experience with getting paid. Kind of sad really, but that is going to change here in a little under ten months, when I turn fourteen and that stupid seven year curse will finally be lifted. Of course the system might give me an option, offer me another seven point merit to purchase, but I will refuse. I am tired of being poor. Well anyways, back to being paid, well Cass’s currency, cold hard experience, I got myself a second line of daily quests.

***

“You know, you did me a huge favor today. I don’t know how you knew, nor how long you knew, but I want to reward your type of actionable intelligence. With that, if you find anything that I can act on, I will reward you.” Lenny states, after we have a moment to talk in his office about catching the two enforcers that were stealing from his supply sheds.

Then just like that, I am met with a new daily repeatable quest line.

Daily Quest (Repeatable): Thieves Guild Information Specialist: You have found yourself filling in as Lenny ‘Lucky’ Bigsly’s personal information gatherer. Each time you find out a piece of information worth sharing, make sure you tell Lenny. Conditions: Actionable Information Provided (1/1). Rewards: Experience (100), access to rare consumables needed for your Bloodline Quest.

“As token of my thanks, I wanted to give you this.” Lenny says, pulling out a wooden box.

Judging by the quest description, I have a fairly good idea of what could possibly be within the box, but I ask just to be certain. “What is this?”

“That is a nullifying agent for your curse. Normally this is very powerful, something you would give to a dictator of a noble, with a terrible bloodline. Just take it, slip a little of it into the noble’s food and boom, their bloodline is suddenly reduced. These are minor effects but take enough of these and you will nullify the bloodline completely.”

Hearing that, I can’t help but have my pointy ears perk up at the details. “How many would I need?”

“For a standard active bloodline, probably twenty to fifty. For a powerful bloodline, about seventy-five. To nullify a powerful bloodline like yours, I…I don’t know. I’m guessing a hundred, but that is just a guess mind you. You would also need to take them relatively quickly. So, I would suggest you hang onto this vial until you have all 100 or are close to getting them all.”

Hearing that, there was a lot to unpack in that statement, but I began as quickly as I could. “So, to be clear you don’t think one everyday for a hundred days would be fast enough?”

Scoff.

“No, you would need to do it in at least half that time.”

“So two a day minimum?” I ask.

“Yeah, sounds about right.”

“I take it, you have all one hundred then?” I ask.

At that, Lenny changes position, “now if you are intending to steal from me, I will have you know…”

I cut him off with a hand gesture. “Nothing like that. I just want to know that if I start this with you, that you will be able to provide the necessary components on your end. Nothing more.”

Lenny pauses and looks at me for a moment, but then nods. “Fair enough. Yes, I can and will get enough of these for you when you need them.”

At that I nod. I want to press to see if he has all 100 here and now, but that might raise more questions than he is willing to answer. Especially since he just basically accused me of possibly trying to steal his supplies, as if I would do something so stupid as to betray the Thieves Guild, though now that he mentioned it, I did have my questions.

Taking the item I inspect it.

Item: Strange Elixir of Bloodline Cleansing

Market Price: 1s – 10 gold.

Seeing the item’s description, I feel something form in the pit of my stomach, as I realize that is a lot of range. Also, there are a few things I should point out. First is that the Market Price is the set of the game that says the lowest and highest value that you can set for any item. For consumables this is a must, as someone can literally go into a town, buy up all the healing potions and could sell them for hundreds of gold coins otherwise. With this, there is a maximum, so even if someone goes into a town buys up all the potions, they can still only get ten gold coins for them. Simultaneously, someone wishing to get rid of stolen goods quickly, still has to set a price of one silver piece for these as well. You can’t just give away stolen goods, and generally this is where most people get caught, by having so many items that they cannot get rid of, they are eventually found and linked back to a previous crime. If you have stolen items in your inventory, then they appear as red texts, and if a guard scans you while in possession of said stolen goods, it turns your hands and face red. Some weird anti-thieving magic that dates back to the beginning of civilization, no one knows how it works, even those who go on to become guards just say it is a class specific Trait that they have to unlock and earn.

Now why is the Market Price important to me? Simple, since I now have this consumable, and it has a Market Price that can go up to the cost of 10 gold, then the system equates this item to be worth 10 gold for terms of determining my overall wealth. Why is this a problem? Because when you are Broke you cannot have nice things, at most you can have a nice thing. That is my problem, also I am close. I still have eight gold on hand, and a few changes of clothes, a set of daggers, and other items. I try to keep a buffer of being able to gain ten gold worth of stuff just for times like this, but I know that right now everything I have will put me over that magic threshold where stuff goes sideways at my having too much. With that, I eye the box, the fact that this quest is allegedly repeatable and then decide to go for broke, at least in terms of my new quest line. I know, that if I left this room with that item, bad things would begin to happen, until either my clothes were ruined, the elixir was destroyed, or something.

Pulling the box forward, I take in a deep breath, then picking up the vial, I let out my breath.

“Magnificent isn’t it?” Lenny states.

I nod, then before I can stop myself I uncork it and let the contents flow into my mouth.

Item Consumed: Strange Elixir of Bloodline Cleansing. You have been cleansed of status effects related to your bloodline for the next 23 hours, 59 minutes…

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

I feel a slight tingling sensation over my body, it is like the time I took an energy drink and felt like my skin was burning away. Then after a second, I am met with another system message.

Quest Updated: Curse of the Shade Touched Bloodline: You had within you the blood of the Gods of Darkness. Due to your inability or reluctance to take the gift that has been bestowed upon you, your blessing is now a curse. For failing to take the power of the Dark Gods’ power, you will be cursed until you can remove the markings of your tainted bloodline from your body. You have entrusted your secret with Lenny ‘Lucky’ Bigsly and in exchange for working for him, have been promised to not alter your awakened bloodline so it is no longer a curse. Now he has offered you a solution in the form of a Strange Elixir of Bloodline Cleansing. Requirements: consume 100 vials (1/100) of the Strange Elixir of Bloodline Cleansing within 50 days (1/50). Reward: Experience, New Skills, removal of socially detriment flaws. (Optional: Consume more vials at a faster rate to fully awaken beneficial bloodline).

And there it was, my carrot. From completing my daily repeatable quest for the Thieves Guild I would not only gain 200 experience points a day, but also be able to be free of worrying about being spotted as a shade cursed, which in a growing town of predominantly dark elves, myself included, this is a big deal. At least that is what I take the description of the potion to mean, though I do ask to be certain.

“Does this mean, I am cured of my bloodline curse?” I ask.

“At least temporarily. If you would like, I could offer you a trial.” Lenny asks.

Badump.

At that, my heart races. This is potentially a game changer, right now I have had every inch of my face covered, but if that wasn’t needed, if I could go about freely, that would be a godsend. Granted it would make me completely beholden to Lenny, to make sure I kept supplying him with information, but that was a minor thing.

“What do you have in mind?” I ask.

Snap.

Lenny snaps his fingers in an odd way that produces a slightly louder decibel. At the sound, the door to the study opens and the orc butler enters the room and asks, “you called?”

“I did, bring in one of the dark elven prisoners.” Lenny states.

“Any one in particular?”

“No, also be prepared to end them.” Lenny says.

“Very good sir.”

At that I gulp, audibly. I don’t want to have the death of anyone on my hands, and it seems like this is what I am going to have happen here, if this goes sideways.

“You don’t mean it, do you?” I ask.

“Don’t have to what?” Lenny asks.

“Kill him? You don’t have to, not for this.” I say, gesturing to my still covered face.

“I do, you see in addition to being a valued member of the Thieves Guild, you are now my number two, meaning that I need to take care of you at all costs.”

“We don’t need to kill him though.” I protest.

At that Lenny just shakes his head. “Think about what you are saying. Here you are a pillar of the community, a community comprised mostly of dark elves. If word got out of your condition, then you would do what exactly?”

I don’t say it, but the answer is obvious I would run.

“Judging by that look on your face, I can assume you think you would run. While that might work for the short term, that would mean you would forever be burned by both the Thieves Guild and the Mages Guild, you have signed legally binding contracts with both organizations now. To leave before the time was up would be political suicide. It would be better to be fired for gross incompetence, than to just leave.” He states, and as he speaks, I realize he is telling the truth.

It would be better at constantly failing at my tasks and positions for so long that I was fired, rather than personally leaving and breaking my oath with the guilds. While I could with time build my trust back up to eventually take on roles to help both guilds in the future with the former, by being an oath breaker, I would never be allowed to come back. Realizing he is right, I let out a pained filled breath, as I realize if this goes wrong then this elf’s life, or lack thereof, will be on my hands. Realizing that, I almost don’t want to go through with this.

“We don’t have to do this.”

“Yes, we do, this man is a thief, someone who stole from me. I will need to make an example of these two, trust me a quick death here and now will likely be merciful compared to what I will do to them.”

Coughing.

The orc butler coughs in a way that says he has been here for a while.

I knew they were there, and I also knew that Lenny was giving that speech not just for me, but for the prisoner.

“Please boss, it was just the one time, I swear.” The man states.

I shake my head; it wasn’t his first time. Focusing my mind, I try to mentally rewind all of the interactions and activities. People watching is one of the few things I have done since I got here, and a few of these events seem to be scripted, happening multiple times a day, as if they want me to catch them and report them. Given this new quest line for Lenny, I all but think that this must be the case, as I realize this man had done this before. I had seen him stealing the same supplies to help his wife, or at least a female bedridden elf that he was obviously close to. Someone that he was willing to steal from his boss multiple times a day for.

“My assistant here seems to think differently.” Lenny says, apparently catching my little head shake.

“What? She’s lying. If you search my house, you won’t find anything.”

“The bedridden girl in your house. She is the reason you are stealing supplies.” I say to the elf convict, that suddenly looks flustered. I then turn to Lenny, “he is right, you won’t find the supplies there, he has been feeding them directly to that woman.”

At that Lenny just stares at me for a moment, then turns back to the elf. “Well, what do you have to say?”

The man looks like he is about to protest, but then tries to get up and make a dash for it.

Wham.

Before anyone can react, the orc butler gives a hard chop to the base of the neck, disabling the man almost immediately. Then moving forward, the orc reaches down, grabs the scrawny elf with his hands still bound behind his back, and pulls him back up, no longer letting him sit by himself.

“Fine. I admit it, my wife, she is sick. Has been for a long time.” The elf states as tears run down his eyes.

“Why didn’t you bring her to the Mage Guild for healing?” I ask.

“Hah! As if they would ever let us in. We were blacklisted, well Margara was, and because of that, I…” He trailed off.

“What did she do?”

“She read a book if you could believe that. A stupid romance novel if you can believe that, what it was doing in the restricted section of the Mage’s Guild Library I will never know, but it was there and she read it despite knowing the consequences.”

So that’s what happens if you are found reading those books. I always wondered, if it was just being banned from the Mage’s Guild that was, well no that would be terrible. Had it not been for my odd eyesight and ability to read quickly, I likely would have been kicked out long ago myself. I nearly laugh at the idea, a blind person getting kicked out and permanently banned from the Mages Guild for reading. Anyways, back to the moment.

“I will heal her.” I state.

“What?” The elven security guard asked.

“I will heal her, this Margara of yours.” I state.

“But she is banned from receiving benefits of the Mage’s Guild.”

“I won’t heal her in the Mage’s Guild. I will heal her at your house.” I state, I can do at least this much.

Phew.

At that, the man visibly relaxes, but then realizes there might be a catch. “Why would you do this?”

“I need you to answer something truthfully. Your answer could and likely will determine your fate.” I say.

“What? I heard you talking about possibly killing me quickly, what is it?” He asks, as panic begins to fill his voice again.

Taking in a deep breath, I try to calm myself, before reaching up to my mask and EGGs. Then with a quick movement I remove both at once and turn my face directly towards his and ask. “Tell me what you see, when you look at me.”

There is a moment of shock around the room as everyone just stares at me.

Finally the guard shakes his head for a moment, “you mean the fact that you are a girl? Someone who looks like they just came into their power? Is that it? I am not someone who will judge you. I see the robes of the mage’s guild. We all know of the new healer. We had noticed you were short, but now it all makes sense…” He trails off.

Short? They think I am short? I pause, as I realize they are likely right, but still, being called out for not having hit your growth spurt, that kind of hurts. Humans stop growing at around age 17, and I believe elves stop growing at around 21 years of age, meaning that I have just under eight years remaining for growth myself. Still, I am tall, for my age. Sorry, it is a complex, in my past life I was always short as well, I didn’t think I would harbor such insecurities in this life, but I guess you never outgrow your past, ouch, bad choice of words.

“Very good Mr. Moxley, you may go.” Lenny said, gesturing to the security guard who was bound and being held in place by the orc butler. At least I think he was talking to the security guard, for all I know Moxley could be the name of the butler.

“That’s it? I can go?” He asks.

“Oh no, far from it, I will still need to make an example of you two. In the meanwhile my associate here will go to your house and heal your wife. Then after enough time has passed, I will let her heal you.” Lenny says.

“Why, why are you telling me all of this?” He asks.

“I want you to know why you should try to survive, to hang on just a little while longer. First you have your wife to look into, then you have your own recovery next to her. Then when people go to you, and ask you to do something stupid, like steal from me, you might be the word of caution. Let them know to come to me, and we will work on a solution together, rather than trying to solve things on your own.” Lenny said.

As he spoke, I genuinely felt a sense of Machiavellian compassion coming from him. The way he spoke, it truly seemed that he was sad at what he would need to do next.

“Thank you, boss.” He said, as he was being hoisted up by the orc.

“Oh, don’t thank me yet. In fact, in four hours from now, if you can still say that, I will let you go early. But you will not be thanking me for what you are about to endure.” Lenny said.

At that the orc hoisted the elf off the ground and moved him out the closed doors.

Slam.

The double doors slammed shut, sealing us inside the room together.

“I take it you are pleased with the effects of this elixir?”

I nod.

“Very much so, thank you.” I say, and I meant it, as this was the first time I could go around in public as me and not fear being attacked. I didn’t know how amazing that feeling was, until just now.

“Then I take it, our business here is done?” Lenny asks.

At that, I cock my head to the side and hold up one finger in protest. “What? I do believe you are missing the point where I gave you the actionable information, that let you know why your trusted guard was stealing supplies from you.” I say, making sure to use his own words against him.

Heh.

“So you did.” Lenny says, giving a slight smile and nod of respect. At that, I receive a system message.

Daily Quest (Repeatable): Thieves Guild Information Specialist: You have found yourself filling in as Lenny ‘Lucky’ Bigsly’s personal information gatherer. Each time you find out a piece of information worth sharing, make sure you tell Lenny. Conditions: Actionable Information Provided (1/1). Rewards: Experience (100), access to rare consumables needed for your Bloodline Quest.

With that, I realize he was just testing me. “Would you like your next elixir?”

“I would like you to keep that one, until I arrive back here tomorrow.” I say, wanting to make sure I keep a steady supply of these on hand at all times.

“Very well, then barring nothing further is needed, I will see you tomorrow.” He states.

“Well, you could go. Or I could tell you about the other forms of corruption that are going on in this town. But if you are too busy, then I will just tell you at a later time. Hopefully it will still be actionable by then.” I say as I turn away and begin walking to the door.

“Wait, what is it exactly that you know?”

At that I smile and turn back, “well you might want to sit down for this.” And like that, my gift of grabbing pieces of gossip from people watching was finally going to pay off.