Spellbook
The group made their way back to the Delver’s Guild in silence. Janus’ discomfort grew as he noticed people staring at them along the way. It was a moment before he remembered that his team was covered in dried blood, and their gear had seen better days. Except for Tara — her armor was unmarred. When he questioned her, she explained it was a benefit of her class.
Janus was jealous. His earnings from completing jobs would be garnished for a while to pay for the repair job on his robe. Now, he was going to have to get it repaired again on top of that.
“What do we need to do to get our writ turned in?” asked Janus.
“It’s a simple process. The foreman already signed the writ. We just have to hand it in to the clerks,” Rowan explained, “When you join the guild, they open an account for you. You can make deposits and withdrawals with your delver I.D.”
“And don’t let any of the merchants convince you to make payments on gear or repairs. You’ll be paying almost twice as much for everything,” said Tara.
“I won’t be making that mistake again,” Janus replied with a grimace.
Janus followed the others to the central desk in the guild. Rowan handed in the writ. One clerk explained that it may take a few days to verify, but their funds will be available when the writ clears.
“Alright, well. We can pull a new job in a few days, aye?” Rowan yawned. “I think we could all use a bit of time to relax after that one.”
Janus wasn’t about to disagree with him. He bid his goodbyes to the others and started up the stairs. Hashilli might have been home, too. If so, Janus could spend the rest of the evening practicing cantrips.
He considered his money problems while climbing the stairs.
I still have that [Deepstone Crystal] in my room. I wonder if I can find someone to buy it? My robe needs to be repaired again, and I need a new [Focus].
It wasn’t long before he reached the apartment. With a huff, he deposited his pack on the sofa and took a seat. He sunk into the cushions, appreciating the moment of security and relaxation.
He glanced around, noting that Hashilli didn’t really like to decorate. Everything in the room had a function and nothing was purely aesthetic. Janus wasn’t sure if he liked it or not.
His home back in Bear Station was nearly the opposite. His dad had covered the walls in posters and placed knickknacks on every surface. The thought brought a distant anxiety to the forefront, and he wondered how his dad was doing.
With a huff, he stood up, preparing to head for the shower. A moment later, the door cracked open and Hashilli stepped inside. The man waved towards Janus before speaking.
“Back already? I thought you’d be gone for a few more days.”
“Things got a bit complicated.” Janus shrugged. “We had to cut our trip off early.”
"I can see that.” Hashilli gestured at Janus. “Your gear is wrecked. Did you hear about the quest?"
“Oh… right, you would have seen the notification. That was, uh,” Janus hesitated for a moment, “That was us.”
Hashilli’s eyes widened in surprise. “You guys triggered the quest? I’m surprised you got out alive. Two delver parties died attempting to complete the last one.”
“Well, we tried to complete it. If it weren’t for another party from Eagle Station, we probably wouldn’t have made it out. Stars, if we had just left as soon as we triggered the quest, everything would have been fine.” Janus sighed. “I’m ready for some low stakes jobs. What about you? Anything new?”
“Pella and Devon are taking some time to adjust to me. I’m not upset with anyone, especially not you. But they had no idea you were still alive. They told me a bit about your time with Dario.”
“Oh? Working with Tara and Rowan has been going well. It just sort of happened, though…. I mean, I wasn’t sure if Devon was alive. It doesn’t matter. Everything worked out. I’m just glad the others are safe.”
“I am glad to hear things are working out with Tara and Rowan.” Hashilli grimaced. “I never got along with Rowan. As for my new team, I am sure that I have already proven myself to them. From what I hear, you weren’t very focused on the [Enhancer] class, anyway.”
Janus wasn’t sure if he should take that as an insult. Instead, he just shrugged.
“Yeah, I need to do some research on class evolution. I haven’t even really learned more than a single proper [Enhancer] skill. Well, I guess [Spell Augmentation] sort of falls under [Enhancer] magic.”
With a thought, Janus viewed his status.
Status Name Janus Alamy Class Enhancer Level 35 Guild Delver's Guild Life 678 / 678 Mana 1022 / 1002 Stamina 764 / 759 Stat Total Base Class Skill Item Strength 62 35 0 27 0 Endurance 57 35 0 22 0 Dexterity 37 35 0 2 0 Intelligence 164 35 70 59 0 Wisdom 138 35 35 68 0 Skill Level Bonus Bravery 5 5 Wis / Lvl Writing 8 1 Wis / 5 Lvl Sprinting 10 1 End / 5 Lvl *Spell Weaving 11 20 Int/Wis + 1 Int, 1 Wis / Lvl *Pow. Enhancement 7 20 Int/Str + 1 Int, 1 Str / Lvl *Spell Augmentation 1 20 End + 1 Int / Lvl Mana Burn 20 1 Wis / 5 Lvl Staff Fighter 2 1 Dex / Lvl Lesser Healing 7 1 Wis / Lvl Empty --- ---
“I’m curious to see what option the System presents you with, if any,” said Hashilli.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
“Yeah. I want something more direct. This most recent job…,” Janus trailed off, thinking about the doglike monsters that had attacked his team. “I could have been more useful. I feel like I’m stuck on the sidelines.”
Hashilli’s eyes lit up. “Then let us experiment! You still haven’t fully mastered the [Flametip] cantrip. Let’s start with that.”
Janus spent a few minutes arguing that he should really shower first. Finally, the other [Enhancer] relented. The rooms in the Delver’s Guild each had heated tubs. Hashilli had shown him what runes to activate to start the water flow the night he had moved in.
Finally, feeling refreshed after bathing, Janus returned to the living room. He spent the evening mastering every cantrip that Hashilli knew. Unfortunately, it wasn’t much. Having only ten skill slots meant each cantrip was potentially taking the place of something more useful. Hashilli recognized this, but he was loath to part with any of his magic.
Thankfully Hashilli’s stubborn attempt to hold onto magic based skills benefited Janus.
The two agreed that it was getting late, but they should continue in the morning. It would be Janus’ first attempt in using [Spell Augmentation]. He wanted to see what it was like to use the skill on something simple—like a cantrip—before moving on to more complex spells.
-
His attempts to use [Spell Augmentation] were not going well. So far, he had made no progress, and Hashilli had already left to run errands. He could easily recreate the [Flametip] cantrip, but if he attempted to change the basic structure of the spell, it would simply fall apart.
Sighing, Janus added another line of notes to his journal. He was keeping track of every attempt and whether it produced any results. Thus far, nothing interesting had happened.
Maybe the spell is too basic?
He flipped through the pages of the notebook, reviewing what he had learned over the last few months. It would be too risky to attempt [Spell Augmentation] on something more complex. The arrow point array, for example, could malfunction and could end up hurting him, or anyone else nearby.
After another hour of failed attempts, Janus decided that he needed some exercise and fresh air. He had already made up his mind to get the [Deepstone Crystal] appraised. And, to be certain that he was given a fair price estimation, Janus wanted to visit every shop he could.
His first stop would be the shops in the Delver’s Guild commons.
The only shops that could help out at all were the ones that provided enchanting services. Most of the others weren’t interested in the stone at all, or lacked the expertise to appraise it.
Stones like the [Deepstone Crystal] were important in creating enchanted items, so he had the most luck with shops that sold enchanted goods. He shook his head after leaving another shop. The proprietor had offered him the lowest amount of money so far.
He was beginning to form a strong distaste for merchants. They were selling equipment that could make the difference between a delver living or dying. He couldn’t believe the gall that some of them had when attempting to rip him off.
After his experience finding someone to repair his robe, he was less trusting that merchants had his best interests at heart. He cringed inwardly each time he thought about the payment plan the merchant had talked him into taking.
His best offer came from a shop with an ostentatious glowing sign out front reading, “Bruno’s Enchanting.”
“Alright, kid. Let me give it to you straight. I haven’t seen this kind of stone before, but my equipment tells me it’s at least grade four.” The latest shopkeeper explained. “If you leave it with me overnight, maybe I can give you a more accurate appraisal. For now, though, I can offer you a golden bear.”
Janus paused to think. A golden bear was worth ten silver eagles. Not an insignificant amount of money.
“Sorry if I’m being difficult, but how do I know I can trust you if I leave the crystal here overnight?” asked Janus.
The shopkeeper grinned. He was a burly man with thick facial hair. Each end of his mustache was carefully curled. “How about this? I’ll give you five silver eagles now. Come back tomorrow, and if you want the stone back, just return the money. If I appraise it higher than five silver eagles, you can sell it to me for the difference.”
“I guess that sounds fair. I haven’t been so lucky with some of the other shops here….” Janus frowned.
“Ah! I hate to hear it. But I take my business seriously! Delvers rely on my enchantments to survive down in those tunnels. I swear it on my name and my business that I am not trying to swindle you.”
Five silver eagles was nearly the highest offer any of the other merchants had made. Still, though….
Janus spent a few more minutes discussing the stone with Bruno. Finally, the merchant has assured him there would be no underhanded tactics by signing a small contract.
With a sigh, Janus stepped out of Bruno’s Enchanting. He could hear the burly merchant call out a farewell, but he was lost in thought.
Rowan had never told him when the team would be meeting up again for a new job. They knew Hashilli’s number, though, and should be able to get a hold of him. His thoughts turned back towards [Spell Augmentation].
Maybe I should try it on something more substantial, like the arrow point spell.
Continuing to brainstorm, Janus turned towards the stairs, heading down into the tunnel complex below the guild, and more importantly, the sparring platforms.
First, Janus decided, he would examine his arrow point array thoroughly. The specifics still made little sense to him. Basically, every spell he replicated, he did so by simply mimicking the flow of mana from the original spell. Which was still a far cry from true understanding.
After an hour of scrutinizing his arrow point array spell, Janus could really feel the lack of a [Focus]. His mana was regenerating at nearly half the rate he had gotten used to.
I should have asked if Bruno had a [Focus] I could use instead of the five eagles…
He dispersed his current arrow point array and began constructing a new one. The mana slowly coalesced into the circular array. First, a small blue circle appeared in the air, it was within this circle that the mana projectiles would form. Second, a small ring of runes slowly appeared around the circle. Third, he directed mana through the array. He watched as the energy travelled from rune to rune, being subtly transformed by each one.
Runes weren’t entirely a mystery to him. Enchanters worked with similar symbols when making enchanted items. Runes were sort of like instructions. Different combinations of them could create different effects.
The runes around the arrow point array, however, were completely foreign to Janus. He’d never seen them before. But that didn’t mean they weren’t documented somewhere.
Bruno seemed less slimy than the other enchanters I spoke with. Maybe I can ask him about the runes.