Chapter 22: Pranks and Stanks

Name Thomas Class — Marks 0 Guild — SD 984

A week after the talk in the gazebo, Thomas found himself up to his old ways once again. In the early morning he had snuck out of the room he shared with Chase and Marlon and quietly entered the Headquarters in the center of town. He had an excuse worked out in his head as to why he was there if anyone spotted him, but fortunately the lobby was empty and no one was behind the desk.

Perfect, let’s see if it’s still there, Thomas thought to himself.

The space behind the desk was criminally tidy, and the desk was organized such that Thomas worried if he moved one pen Avery would know someone had infiltrated his space. Thomas carefully scanned the drawers and the top of the desk. Finally his eyes alighted on a small box tucked away in the corner beneath the desk.

Kneeling down, Thomas crawled behind the desk and gently opened the box. Inside was an assortment of confiscated odds and ends. A couple knives, a small jar of some murky substance which looked like something Marlon could have made, a piece of paper with a lot of words Thomas didn’t understand, and a spool of black thread which seemed to shimmer in the light as Thomas gently removed it from the box.

“Bingo,” Thomas whispered to himself.

Suddenly a door opened and the loud voice of Mrs Everday, the island supervisor rang throughout the lobby.

“How many are taking the test today, Avery?” Said Mrs Everday.

“We have 10 players, Supervisor,” her assistant responded.

“Fewer than I thought, have we had some postponements?”

“Let me check,” said Avery. “Actually, yes, it seems that the boy and the girl who are always training before anyone else have put in for the postponement.”

“Is that so? Odd, I wonder why.”

“Perhaps…”

But their voices disappeared down the corridor to the good fortune of Thomas. As soon as he heard the Supervisor his heart had been in this throat trying its best to choke him. Not wanting to waste another second behind the desk he placed the spool of thread in his pocket and exited the Headquarters.

There were no NPCs nor players to be seen at this hour. The street outside was empty save for a few birds. Thomas grinned and bounded off back to the dormitories where a certain player was sure to be heading to the baths at that very moment. Say one thing for Seb, he was fastidiously clean despite being a dumpy looking bully.

Each floor of the dormitories had its own bathroom complete with bath area. One of the Advisors had told Thomas when he arrived that the showers were a treat while on the island and most of the mainland did not have such sophisticated plumbing. Either way, Thomas tried to spend little time there.

As Thomas arrived back to the dormitories he padded his way silently up to the second floor where he knew that Seb lived. As he made it to the second floor he thought he could hear the sound of running water at the far end of the hall.

This is where it gets tricky, thought Thomas. Anyone who opened their door right now would know that he didn’t belong there and would assume correctly that he was up to no good. Instead of sneaking to the bathrooms, Thomas decided to stand up straight and attempt to look as though he belonged on the second floor. In the back of his mind he toyed with the story that he had simply been transferred to this floor after some accident befell his previous roommate.

Fortunately, he did not need to test his story on anyone as no players left their room before Thomas reached the bathroom. The sound of trickling water coming from the bathroom was music to his ears. Seb was already in place. Thomas thanked his lucky stars that the information about Seb’s habitual early morning showers had been accurate. To be honest, they had come from Seb himself when Thomas had been walking by he and Greg one day after morning training.

Idiot, thought Thomas as he softly opened the bathroom door and slipped inside. You don’t assault a guy and then casually talk about what time you bathe in front of him.

The bathroom was identical to the one on the fourth floor. It held a row of sinks, a row of toilets, and then at the far end, the shower stalls each complete with a curtain to shield its occupant from prying eyes. All the showers were empty in this bathroom save for the one at the end. Seb was merrily whistling a tune has he showered and his off key song filled the bathroom and made it easy for Thomas to hide the sound of his footfalls.

Thomas found his first order of business on a bench which separated the showers from the toilets. Seb had carelessly left his clothes, both the dirty garments and the clean island uniform, sitting upon the bench in front of his shower. As soon has he saw them, Thomas removed the spool of black thread from his pocket as he studied his target. The thread had been confiscated from him on his second day in town after he had discovered it was fairly unbreakable and used it to trip about a dozen people crossing the street to the town square. The supervisor herself had caught him that time and made Thomas apologize to each of his victims and then spend the evening researching in the library about the thread he had found. It had apparently been dropped by some visiting high level NPC. It was called a Spool of Unbreakable Thread (an S.U.T as Thomas had decided to write on the paper the Supervisor had given him) yet could be conveniently severed with a drop of saliva.

Returning the spool back to his pocket, Thomas knew what he needed to do first. He slowly walked over to Seb’s clothes, careful not to alert the still showering older boy, picked them all up, and tossed them out the open window. Thomas cheerily watched them fall the two floors into some bushes. He then tossed Seb’s towel out as well for good measure.

The slowing water suddenly stopped.

Opps, Thomas thought it himself. It was time to leave, and leave he did. He had always been blessed with a light step, and made it all the way to the bathroom door before Seb was alerted.

“What the-hey! Where’s my—.” Seb began, but Thomas was gone, ready to begin part two of his plan.

But Thomas was long gone before he could hear anymore from Seb. Halfway down the hallway he stopped and turned around. From his pocket he removed a vial of some murky green substance he had stolen from Marlon the day before. Thomas didn’t know what it was, but he remembered well the awful smell it had made when his roommate brewed it. It had taken some careful planning on Thomas’ part to remove it from Marlons locked chest.

“Here we go,” muttered Thomas. He cocked his arm back and threw the vial as hard as he could at the bathroom door. No sooner had the vial smashed than Thomas was running away. Already he could hear cries of alarm from the many second floor rooms as the smell of rotting fish and burnt hair filled the corridor. As his foot touched the first step he could hear several doors opening up and curious voices talking.

Snickering as he exited the dormitory building, he was sure that his plan had worked. It wouldn’t have been very effective if he had tossed Seb’s clothes and simply allowed one or two players to find a naked and wet dumpy looking boy in the bathroom. With the brew, suddenly the entire floor was awake and ready to humiliate Seb.

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Thomas headed for the library. The walk took a while as it was on the opposite side of town as the dormitories and he wanted to look very casual as he did so in case prying eyes peeped out their windows and show him.

“Where have you been?” Said Chase as Thomas finally slipped into the library and into the seat across from him. They were the only two in the library, which was a large room with rows of shelves filled with books. Thomas hadn’t spent too much time in here since he spawned but ever since Chase had told them his old identity, Chase had been spending hours a day doing research on who knows what.

“Sorry I’m late, Chase,” began Thomas. He scratched his head. The only part of his plan he hadn’t considered was telling him what he had done. “To tell you the truth, I was getting Seb back for beating me up a couple weeks ago.”

“Oh,” said Chase, he seemed to try to suppress a smile. “And how did that go?”

Thomas grinned.

“Swimmingly,” he said. “Hey, if anyone asks where I was this morning can you tell them I was with you?”

Chase laughed. “You need an alibi? I suppose that’s what I am here for.”

“Thanks, Chase.” Thomas felt relief. In the past his pranks were something which he would have kept mostly to himself. It was a new idea to let someone in on them after the fact.

“So, did you leave any bruises? Did anyone see you?” Asked Chase as he absentmindedly flipped through his journal.

“No, it wasn’t that kind of vengeance,” Thomas shrugged. “I decided to destroy his reputation instead.”

“Fascinating,” said Chase. He shook his head and smiled. “I was more of a jump someone in the street when their back was turned sort of kid.”

“What are you writing about?” Said Thomas, motioning to Chase’s journal.

“Well, that’s exactly what I wanted to talk to you about.” Chase leaned back in his chair. “We will all be taking the exam within the week. And shortly after each of us will be going to Ghelion and choosing our first jobs. I have been thinking about which jobs would suit whom best in the guild.”

“I know what I want to be,” said Thomas. He imagined wielding a sword and fighting enemies alongside everyone else. “I want to be a Fighter!”

Chase sighed.

“Everyone does,” he said. “But we already have two Fighters—Brent and Claire.”

“Fine,” said Thomas, slightly disappointed. “Then how about a Mage? I heard they can shoot fireballs from their hands.”

“Mage I can cast fireballs, eventually,” said Chase. “But that job requires quite a bit of intense study to get through. And even some of the most intelligent people never complete that contract and spend years making up for lost time.”

“You don’t think I am smart enough to do it?” Said Thomas.

“It’s not your intelligence I question, Tommy. Both the Mage jobs are more like going to school than really doing a job, at least at first. I think your proclivities can best serve the guild elsewhere.”

“Ok, and where would that be?”

Chase opened a book that was laying beside him on the table and handed it to Thomas. There was a picture of a man sneaking into a window.

“Read this,” said Chase. “It is the Esem Survival Guide. It was started by a player named Nosterly Quarter over five hundred years ago. The Nosterly Society has been updating it over the centuries, but his early writing on the beginning classes are still invaluable.”

Thomas did as he was told.

“ ‘The Thief is the most cunning and agile of beginning classes which a player may select. Unmatched in the ways of stealth, the Thief is able to sack valuables and relieve property from NPC and player alike. This class is unique in that it is the only job from the initial 8 which operates primarily in a criminal manner in order to advance levels. Early advancement can be made in a solo manner by burgling houses in towns, but the real experience can be earned rather quickly if the player decides to form a group of thieves. Typical length of time players spend mastering this job is 2.5 - 3 years.’”

“What do you think?” Asked Chase when Thomas had finished reading.

“3 years?” Said Thomas, aghast. “I would almost be a teenager before I am done!”

“On the contrary,” said Chase, beginning to smile. “With me alongside you, you can complete the Thief class in less than a year.”

“Really?”

“Of course!” Said Chase. “I spent a year and half when I was 1o being a thief. Back then, I didn’t know too much about it but with the Old Guard we all managed to figure out what the best ways to level up was. There was a lot of trial and error. But with the knowledge I have I guarantee you total mastery in, maybe, 8 months.”

“Sounds alright,” said Thomas. Now he was imaging sneaking into peoples homes. “Do I get any weapons?”

“But of course!” Said Chase. “Most Thieves carry with them knives, but I had a short sword. You can even use a bow if you want.”

“Okay, that’s not too bad, then.”

Just then the door to the library opened and in walked Alexander.

“I would have been here soon, but I got held up,” said Alexander as he took a seat at the head of the table. “I was preparing for my exam this morning in my room when something happened on the second floor.”

Thomas glanced at Chase, who didn’t say anything.

“What happened?” Said Thomas innocently.

Alex shrugged.

“No one really knows, but there was a horrible smell coming from the bathroom. When we went to check we found that boy you had a fight with. He said someone tossed his clothes out the window. He was nearly in tears,” added Alex.

Mission accomplished, thought Thomas. Maybe when I am sailing away from this island I can yell at him from the ship that I was the one who framed him.

Chase rolled his eyes but then he smiled.

“Well thanks for coming, Alex,” he said. “I want to talk about which Job would be best for you.”

“I already know,” said Alex simply. “Fighter.”

Chase’s brow furrowed.

“Yes, I remember you saying that a while back.” Chase took the survival guide in front of Thomas, turned a few pages, and handed it to Alex. “Would you consider this?”

Alex barely glanced at the page.

“Mage I? I don’t think so.”

“Why not? You have the mind for it. Within a year you could be casting powerful spells and be a huge benefit to the guild.”

Alex sighed and looked out the window. It was slightly open to allow a breeze.

“Yeah, maybe I could do it, but I don’t want to, Chase. Everyone always assumes that I am smart by the way I talk and how I think. Sure, I am smart, and maybe I could be a good mage. But I looked at the survival guide already and its basically like going to school.” Alex shrugged. “I’d rather just use a sword or an axe and fight.”

“A mind like yours would be wasted as a fighter, Alex. I am sorry to say it but its true.”

Now Alex frowned.

“You don’t think I would be a good fighter?”

“Of course you would. But we already have Claire and Brent choosing that job.”

“So we can have three fighters.”

“Well, if that’s what you really want,” said Chase. He looked unsatisfied but didn’t press the issue. “Allow me to add that one day you may regret this decision. You could wake up 20 years from now and realize you are the brightest fighter in Esem and you could have had a fantastic career doing magic.”

“I mean, I could always switch to magic later, right?”

“Sure,” said Chase. “But changing horses midstream is a difficult one. These early jobs place the player on a path. Each related contract aids the next one. If you stay with the physical jobs for a couple contracts you will be missing vital buffs down the road which your fellow mages would have had for years.”

“What’s a buff, again?” Chimed in Thomas. He kind of remembered, but this conversation was going no where with Alex and he was beginning to feel uncomfortable listening to them.

“Each level brings with it buffs and abilities,” explained Chase. “Each of the beginning classes has 8 levels, each of which will make you more capable at your job.”

“What’s the first one for Thief?”

Chase took the survival guide back from Alex and turned the pages back to Thief.

“It’s written below the description: Level one is a 5% increase in agility, level 2 is a 5% increase in dexterity. Both are necessary for successful thief work. Later levels bring with them abilities and those will be your real bread an butter going forward, especially when you end up signing a new contract after mastery of the thief class.”

“If he masters it,” said Alex. “He’s only 8. It’s sure to take him longer than the rest of us.”

“Not necessarily,” said Chase before Thomas could protest. “Since I’ve done it before the time line is going to be sped up. For all of you,” he added.

“We’re you ever a Mage?” Asked Alex. “Back when you were Spade?”

Chase looked around the library before responding.

“Careful with the name, Alex. I know we are alone but you never know.”

Alex shrugged.

“Okay. But have you?”

Chase shook his head.

“Nope, but I trained alongside the best in the world for decades. That doesn’t mean nothing, Alex.”

“I am still going to sign up for Fighter, after the exam.”

“Very well,” said Chase begrudgingly. “If I can’t change your mind. By the way,” he scrunched his face with disgust. “Do you smell something?”

Alex smelled his shirt.

“Maybe I got some of whatever was on the second floor on my clothes. Was really disgusting.”

“Perhaps,” said Chase. “Well, alright. What day is your exam?”

“Two days.”

“Good, so is mine and Thomas’,” he nodded. “That means we will be getting off this spit of land very soon. The past weeks have just flown by, huh?”

“I guess,” said Alex. “Did you need anything else?”

“Not really,” said Chase. “How about you give the survival guide a scan for the Fighter?”

Thomas listened to the two of them chat about the levels of fighter and soon his mind was drifting away. He was thinking about becoming a thief and what all it entailed to sign a contract. Chase had been rather tight lipped about the actual event and only said he didn’t want to “ruin the surprise.”

Outside the open window, hiding in the bushes, a dumpy boy who smelled of dead fish and burnt hair silently padded away.