Two days later the group I was traveling with learned two of the passes had been breached. The messenger didn’t say which, just continued on. There was a lot of fear and people began pushing their wagons. Older couples walking with heavy packs began to fall behind. Fortunately I was carrying most everything in storage so was able to keep a fast walk. The royal knights passed us a day later, 4000 heavy cavalry, 50 mounted war wizards fresh from the academy. I admired the young wizards as they rode past, full of confidence.

I bypassed the next city my group came upon. Most everyone stopped as the city had 30’ walls and seemed secure. I figured two more big march days for me before I camped and rested. My body was beat and my mind was beyond fatigued. A quarter mile off the road I set up camp inside some boulders that made a V shape. I made a beef stew in the pot I had with jerky, onions, potatoes, salt and some flour to thicken it. I put out the fire before it got dark. Then I cut branches with one of the hand axes to create a barrier over the entrance. I put ten 6’ stakes into the earth and then leaned leafy branches against them. I wish I had gathered some rope when I pillaged the supply wagon but oh well. It was a cold night but two bed rolls kept me warm. Whenever I woke I cast my sense movement spell to make sure I was safe…the weirdest was detecting critters underground, moles and such. Nothing happened overnight and in the morning I pulled the stew from storage, heated it and finished it. Next time I would braise fresh meat with butter because the stew lacked flavor but it was filling. Making my way back to the road I decided to wear an orc belt with the hand axe and dagger. If this world was normal desperate people were going to be manifesting and I shouldn't look too vulnerable.

For lunch I was making some cheesy eggs on the side of the road when six mounted men approached from the south. They stopped and asked to share my fire. I nodded even though I was worried. They got out their own cooking supplies and started cooking on my fire. The men opened conversation after a bit. They were five guards and baron Ophen’s son, Honor. They were headed to the capital to get aide for their barony. They had news from the invasion. Two passes were in control of the orcs and they were fortifying them instead of pressing the invasion into the kingdom. Wow I thought that was smart. The fear was they would conduct raids into the surrounding baronies. Honor also knew some 50 war mages had been killed in the attack on the passes. He didn’t know about Lionshire specifically when I asked. I told them I was the mages scribe during conversation. When they finished eating they packed and rode on. Well the good news was I had time. So I could go stop in capital myself and unload some items. I was familiar with the capital as I had been there multiple times with Lionshire.

I went through the pouches and found some triangle coins and finger long triangular bars of silver and gold. They were probably orc currency so I should try to get them exchanged in the capital. Well I had plenty of food and just two more days of hard walking. I heard some wolf howls one night and ended up not sleeping well. It also made me reconsider camping so far from the road.

The rest of the walk was uneventful. The capital city gates were well guarded and I had a little trouble getting in. I moved to the merchant district which I was familiar with. I went to an armor shop and tried to sell the large leather armor from the orc magi I had killed. The owner referred me to an enchanted leather goods store.

I walked the short distance and the owner of the new shop spent twenty minutes inspecting it before offering me 500 crowns for all three. A crown was a full sized gold coin. I made about two gold coins a year and that went to my horse’s upkeep. So 500 crowns was a fortune. But bartering was expected and I countered with 550. I sold it ten minutes later for 528 crowns. I sold the two other sets that wouldn’t fit me for 160 and 190 crowns. Apparently the rune enchantments were very strong. I probably should have found out what the runes were but I just wanted to unload them to the delight of the proprietor.

I spent a gold crown getting the fourth leather outfit cleaned and refitted. I could pick it up tomorrow. It just needed some minor adjustments. The armor was made from night lion hide from the orc plains. The enchantment gave increased movement and reaction speed and had a durability enchantment as well. I pulled the four sets of boots out next. All were made from night lion hide. Two were a little big and I decided to keep the nicer of the remaining two. The three remaining pairs went on the counter and sold for a total of 89 crowns. I thanked the merchant and he took the time to escort me to my next shop, an reputable enchanters shop according to him.

The saleswoman called the enchanter from the back room when I pulled out the 13 rings, two nose rings, four necklaces and a bracelet. The enchanter asked for 10 crowns to identify everything which I paid. He asked a lot of questions and I was regulated to just saying they were spoils from slain orcs.

The two nose rings were obfuscation rings. They could be worn in the ears as well and helped you blend into the shadows. Both were small silver circlets with a black stone. I slipped both back into storage as they would be useful if I had to move at night. Three of the rings were non-magical and I put them into a sell pile. The remaining 10 were 2 strength buff, 5 speed buff, 1 night vision, 1 instant shield and one communication. The last one was linked to another ring for long distance communication. That could be scary if they could trace it…sell pile. I decided to keep the stronger of the strength rings and the strongest speed ring. The enchanter showed me how to magic bond the rings to activate them. If they left contact with my body I would have to bind them again. I asked how many rings could someone wear? The enchanter said usually rings could not get too close to each as they interfered with each other but the speed ring I had was completely harmonized and wouldn't interfere with another ring. Harmonizing a ring was extremely difficult according to the enchanter. So that hand could take another ring. The night vision ring was different from my thermal vision so I decided to keep it. The instant shield ring was a one shot item and required magic to activate, casting a tier 5 shield spell…which I did not have enough magic to activate. So night vision or another speed or strength ring. I decided the Night Vision ring was my best choice and bound that ring. I sold the remainder of the rings. Getting 980 crowns for the rings was a surprise but apparently they were good quality. This was scary because it meant the orcs had good enchanters.

Enchanted rings generally needed to be replenished after a few years with an influx of magic. My speed ring was an exception according to the enchanter. Harmonized rings drew magic from the environment and didn't require recharging. The necklaces were next on the table and the enchanter raised an eyebrow at me. I smiled goofily. All the necklaces were magical. The first was a ruby pendent and was a magic storage pool device. It could hold 9 times my own magic pool. This was great but even though you could fill it you had to return it to your magic pool before utilizing it. Not an instant process so not useful in close range combat.

But the enchanter said there was another use. You could overflow you magic pool by stuffing it with magic from the pendant and stretch your pool so it could be trained to expand and hold more magic. Lionshire had said there were other methods to increase my pool, this must be one of them. The enchanter said it was not a pleasant experience doing so. It also takes a lot of time but you could more than double your natural pool over time. Ok that was useful. I was excited for the remainder of the necklaces.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The second one was a heavy gold chain with inscribed links. The spell effect on it was eagle vision. It improved vision and gave a varying magnifying effect up to 10 times. Crap that was good too. The next one was silver chain with a platinum pendant. It was a spell enhancer. It improved all spells by about 15%. Holy crap. How much was it worth? Minimum of 2,000 crowns I was told. My jaw dropped open. The last pendent was a sustenance enchantment. It reduced the need for food by 80% and looked to be made of bronze.

The last item jewelry item was the bracelet and I was kind of upset I didn’t search more orc bodies. The bracelet was a dreamscape enchantment and had different fangs, claws and metal studs on a thick leather wrap. The bracelets basically created vivid dreams that allowed you to practice in your sleep and each sleep session was a fixed length. There was usually a bound ancestral spirit in the dreamscape as well that acted as a tutor. I paid 15 crowns for a more in depth lore spell. The bracelet caused you to sleep 4 hours but experience 12 hours and the entity was the spirit of a nature shaman for the orcs. The spirit could teach some nature and beast spells, survival skills, the orc language, history of his tribe and techniques to improve casting. I wasn’t sure if I should sell anything.

I got out the mini crossbows postponing a decision. They were not magical but the poison blocked a person’s access to their magic pool. Damn, Lionshire was lucky. The enchanter would buy weapons as well so I brought out my collection. Three long swords, four short swords, 15 daggers and 3 hand axes. Looking at my armory the enchanter started to look a little suspicious. Eventually he said 25 crowns to identify the lot. While he was identifying the weapons I decided I would wear the ruby pendant. I moved the +15% spell enhancement pendant to my storage. For someone who never thought he would be ever able to afford even a single magic item I was getting decked out. The bronze necklace that reduced the food requirements I was about to add to sell but then wondered if it could reduce my fat store requirement when I cast my vitality spell. The enchanter paused to answer my question as I explained the vitality spell. He needed some coins to cast a more in depth lore on the bronze necklace. After a short while he said yes. It would reduce the flesh cost by 80%! I was jumping internally for joy. I moved it to storage.

The best offensive hand axe was fire enchanted. It expelled intense heat on striking, cooking an opponent. It had six charges and regenerated a charge every 6 hours. Cooked muscle tissue made it ineffective so this was the best hand axe weapon. It was also the strongest enchantment among the axes and I placed it into my belt loop. I put the other two axes up for sale.

The daggers were slowly identified. A small throwing dagger had a penetrate enchantment on it which would make a good boot dagger. The other magic daggers had various enchantments, sharpness, slow acting paralyzing poison, blur, durability, speed enhancement and a heart dagger. The heart dagger stole vitality from the victim…a more apt name would be vampiric dagger. The poison had two charges and didn’t seem like a great weapon for me. The blur made the wielder harder to see…no the best was the vampiric dagger. I kept the throwing dagger and vampiric dagger…everything else was put for sale.

The short swords were next. The first was a shadow blade which made the wielder blend into shadows. The next was a lightning blade doing electrical damage and paralyzing the target, but just one charge and 24 hours to recharge. The 3rd short blade had a hardness enchantment and gave a small bonus to climbing skill. The last short blade was a blood drinker…it just absorbed blood doing extra damage if it pierced flesh. I wasn’t skilled with short or long blades so I waited to hear about the long blades.

The most attractive looking long sword had two enchantments, increased durability and an acceleration rune that increased attack speed but you needed a lot of strength to control it. The second blade had two enchantments as well, purify self and increased durability. The purify self was a vanity enchantment that removed dirt and odor from the wielder…maybe good for hunters. It had two charges that took 12 hours for each recharge. The third was a mage slayer blade. It could reflect a spell back at its caster. It only had one charge and took 72 hours to recharge but it was the most valuable of all the blades.

I wished the elite assassins of the orcs had at least a few spear wielders as this haul was phenomenal. The mage slayer blade went into my storage pocket. I decided to sell everything but the Purity Long Blade. The rest of the weapons got me 4700 crowns and I didn’t haggle because I was overwhelmed. The enchanter said with the orc invasion the price of magical weapons would be increasing soon so he gave me a good price according to him. He also suggested I hire some guards. News would travel that I had valuable items and coin on me. We had done these deals in the privacy of his back room but as he resold the items news would get out.

I hadn’t even gone through the 4 small backpacks and 9 belt pouches I looted. I quickly dug out all the coins and small metal bars and exchanged them for 630 crowns. This man seemed reliable and I wanted to free up as much space as I could. After I had removed the leather armor I had been able to move my backpack and remaining items there. Thinking...I bonded the purity long sword, used it and then put it in my storage space as well. I bought a pair of black leather gloves from the enchanter. They had a comfort enchantment on them to cool the body in hot weather. He gave them to me for free as barter...so I guessed I hadn't gotten as good of a deal as he had said. The gloves would match my leather jerkin.

I thanked the enchanter. Leaving the store I looked much the same as when I had walked in with the exception of the gloves. A different axe and dagger on my hip but generally the same. I moved from the merchants quarter to the upper city. There was a fancy inn there called the King's Rest. It was owned by the king according to rumor but I doubted it. The place was busy with people and conversation and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get a room. A pretty serving girl sent me to a side room that was an office.

It was a much bigger room than the door had indicated. One wall was occupied with a shelf full of books. The opposite wall had a large fireplace with coals burning in it. A large desk occupied the room and an old man with massive arms sat behind it. He asked me my business and I squeaked out I wanted a room. He looked me over and said he had two rooms available. A suite on the third floor for 8 crowns a night and paddock for half a crown. The paddock I asked. It was a bunkhouse behind the stables. Nobles used it for their servants. I made an illusion of reaching into my pouch and shifted 12 crowns to my hand. I placed them on the desk.

He looked at me in confusion. I explained I would like dinner sent to my room and breakfast in the morning. He smiled, yelled for a maid to escort me to my room and handed me the key. The attractive serving maid came back and led me up the stairs. She was looking back constantly trying to sort me out. If I hadn't been so exhausted I would have propositioned her...but then she might be the owners daughter so better not to risk it.

At the doorway she motioned for me to open the door. I walked inside and was shocked. It was a fine room. It was a sitting room. She showed me the three attached bedrooms and the bathroom that had running hot water and a massive tub. Oh my! I eyed the tub as she showed me and was even more excited that there was hot and cold water! She seemed pleased to note the magics supporting it. She said dinner would be up shortly. I sat on the bed in the biggest bedroom and laid back and quickly fell asleep.