Morning dawns on Logis.
At the inn, Lucy is the first to wake up, and when she sees that Vryce’s bunk appears to be untouched, she panics.
“He didn’t come back!” Lucy shakes Leone. “Wake up!”
“What’s wrong?” The golden haired elf blinks a few times and rubs his eyes.
“Vryce!” Lucy points at his bunk. “I know he was upset when he left, but I still thought he would be back before morning.”
“He probably got drunk, and is sleeping it off somewhere,” Leone grumbles. “Maybe he got arrested. I wonder if they have a drunk tank here.”
“We need to find out!” Lucy turns and starts shaking Palmer.
Palmer wakes up in a lot better mood than Leone. He hops out of bed and smiles when none of the aches and pains he usually experiences in the morning are present.
“Hmm.” Palmer checks Vryce’s bunk. “He took almost everything with him when he left.”
“We’ll ask around downstairs and see if anyone has seen him,” Lucy says. “I’m sure people will remember a guy with a really big sword on his back.”
Lucy urges Leone to get up, and the golden haired elf eventually complies. Palmer is already dressed and ready to go by the time Leone stumbles over to gather his things.
The trio makes their way downstairs to ask some questions but they don’t get any useful information. The innkeeper certainly remembers their companion. He just hasn’t seen him since he left the previous night.
“What should we do?” Lucy looks back and forth between Leone and Palmer.
“I’ll figure out if there’s a drunk tank, or what they would have done with him if he got picked up by the guards.” Palmer nods and walks towards the door.
“I’m sure he’s fine,” Leone says to the worried brunette. “He does know how to take care of himself.”
“Yeah, he’s also eager to level up.” Lucy brings her thumb to her lips and nibbles on the nail. “I really hope he didn’t do something stupid.”
Palmer returns and Lucy doesn’t even give him time to get back through the door before walking over.
“Anything?” She asks.
“If he was picked up by the guards, then they would have thrown him in the dungeon,” Palmer says. “But, the guard said they normally don’t take drunks to the dungeon unless it is a last resort.”
“Did he say anything about a crazy person swinging around a giant sword?” Leone asks.
“I didn’t ask about that.” Palmer shakes his head. “Should we check the dungeon, just to be safe?”
“Absolutely!” Lucy replies immediately. “Leone, why don’t you stay here in case he comes back.”
“I’m not going to argue with that.” Leone stretches. “I might squeeze in a nap.”
“You literally just got up,” Lucy says, narrowing her eyes at him. “Please don’t go back to sleep. We need to know if Vryce shows up.”
“Fine,” Leone grumbles. “Since you asked nicely…”
Palmer and Lucy depart to investigate the dungeon and Leone returns to the room.
The golden haired elf does his best to stay awake. He eats some salted meat, a piece of stale bread, and washes it down with some water. He wishes it was the elven wine from the tavern, and plans to return for a tankard of it as soon as they figure out where Vryce is.
***
In another part of Logis, in the sewers, the only thing stirring is human waste and the rodents that scurry around.
Eventually, Rabu stirs and sits up in his makeshift bunk. He tries to get up quietly, since Vryce is still sleeping, but the noise is enough to rouse the half-elf from his drunken slumber.
“Oh fuck,” Vryce says with a groan as he sits up. “I haven’t had a hangover like this since I was in the Marines.”
“Here.” Rabu grabs some rations. “Eat some of this salted meat and drink some water. Your waterskin is on the floor beside your bunk.”
“Thanks,” Vryce mumbles, taking the salted meat and feeling around for his waterskin.
Rabu and Vryce got caught up the previous night after they got to the sewers. Vryce was definitely drunk, but he remembers everything they discussed. He eats the meat and looks around at all of the rats.
“Aren’t you worried they have diseases and shit?” Vryce asks groggily.
“Nah, not really,” Rabu remarks. “My plan is to find somewhere to stay other than the sewer and clean them up some. Until then, I’ll just have to take my chances.”
“Which one is Splinter?” Vryce jokes. “He’ll have to train your ninja turtles.”
“I don’t think any of these rats are going to start doing karate,” Rabu says with a laugh. “But, I’ve taught them a few tricks.”
Rabu breaks off some salted meat and demonstrates, making a few of the rats turn circles, stand there back legs, and beg for the food. He speaks to them in Rattus, giving out commands before he finally rewards them with a treat.
“They’re like really ugly puppies.” Vryce chuckles.
“Yeah, but imagine this…” Rabu sits in his bunk and crosses his stubby legs. “They’re small, and they can go places I can’t go, so they’ll be able to steal stuff for me. If I find some bigger ones, I might even be able to train them to kill.”
“Hmm.” Vryce ponders it. “Too bad we don’t know anything about dentistry. We could implant some razor sharp metal teeth.”
“Exactly!” Rabu says excitedly.
“Think you’ll get XP if they kill something?” Vryce perks a brow.
“Maybe.” Rabu nods. “If I command them to do it, I don’t see why not.”
“Well, no offense, but I’m not going to wait until you train an army of rats to try and get XP.” Vryce rubs his head and grimaces.
“Oh, neither am I.” Rabu grins. “After it gets dark, we’ll go hunting. I’ve been hesitant to do it on my own after the guards chased me the other night, but if you’re with me, it’ll be a lot easier.”
“I missed you, man.” Vryce chuckles. “But we do need to be careful. People are talking about the murders. If more bodies start piling up…”
“Yeah,” Rabu nods in agreement. “I’ve been scouting around. There’s a family that lives close by, and the house is away from the road, so nobody will hear if they make any noise. Husband, wife, and a little boy. They seem like a good target, but I need to find some reagents first.”
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“I’ve got some from the merchant camp, but if there’s something specific you need, I’m sure I can just go buy it.” Vryce shrugs. “Nobody is looking for me.”
“True,” Rabu says. “I need more ginger root. I’m not worried about the rat tails, since I don’t really care about summoning a mouse. I could use some nightshade though, if you can find that.”
“Ginger root and nightshade.” Vryce nods. “I’ll find it. Need anything else?”
“Some food would be nice,” Rabu says. “I’ve been feeding all of my meat to the rats, and it’s not going to last much longer.”
“Alright, got it.” Vryce nods again.
Vryce lets Rabu look through the reagents he salvaged from the bandit camp, but none of them appear to be useful to the gnome.
Finding Rabu has taken some of the sting out of learning that Malakai is dead. Based on what Palmer told him, their friend did have a good life, and didn’t seem upset in Bryconia’s version of the afterlife. Still, Vryce would prefer if they had arrived together.
Vryce nurses his hangover with salted meat and water, then decides to make his way into town. The fresh air is nice, and while he did start to get used to the smell in the sewers, he’s not that happy about the accommodations.
The half-elf isn’t completely sure where he should find reagents, but decides to start with the local apothecary.
“Good morning,” Vryce musters as much cheer as he can as he enters the shop. “I’m looking for a few reagents, if you have them.”
“Welcome!” The shopkeeper says, matching Vryce’s cheer. “We should have everything you need. Reagents, potions, and we’ve even got some water from the Spring of the Moon. It’s half price in honor of the Day of Feasting that begins tomorrow.”
“I need ginger root and nightshade,” Vryce says, leaning against the counter.
“Ginger root I can do, but nightshade?” The shopkeeper looks perplexed. “That’s primarily used to make poisons.”
“So, you don’t sell that?” Vryce asks, tilting his head.
“I might have some,” the shopkeeper says, lowering his voice. “But it’s not going to be cheap.”
“How much?” Vryce asks.
“I’ll give you a vial of leaves for fifteen gold pieces,” the shopkeeper replies in a hushed tone. “If anyone asks, you didn’t get it here.”
“Is it illegal?” Vryce leans closer.
“No, but reputable shops don’t normally sell it. I just happen to have some left from a special order. The merchant never showed up to get it.” The shopkeeper shrugs.
“Hmm, alright.” Vryce nods. “I’ll take the nightshade and the ginger root.”
“Any potions?” The shopkeeper motions to the wall behind him.
“Nah,” Vryce says. “The reagents will do.”
The merchant goes into the back to get the nightshade and Vryce checks out the front door of the store. It’s protected by a sturdy looking lock, and Vryce can sense some sort of magic radiating from it.
“Alright, I got your reagents.” The shopkeeper says, as he returns from the back. “Seventeen gold pieces in all.”
“Here you go…” Vryce digs into his coin purse and makes sure he only chooses coins with King Brynn’s stamp, then hands them over.
“Thank you, I appreciate it.” The merchant smiles as he collects his coins.
Vryce departs the store and buys a bag of salted meat from another vendor. As he’s walking back towards the sewer entrance, he spots Palmer and Lucy ahead. He immediately cuts into an alleyway to make sure they don’t see him.
“I just don’t understand where Vryce is,” Lucy says in a worried tone as she passes.
“I’m sure he’ll turn up soon.” Palmer lets out a sigh.
Or never, Vryce thinks. But certainly not until I level up.
Vryce makes his way through town once Palmer and Lucy are out of sight. Rabu told the half-elf about the path he had to take when he first got into the sewers, and Vryce is thankful that he found a much larger opening that doesn’t require them to crawl through the filth.
He looks around to make sure there is nobody that could see him before disappearing into the darkness. Once inside, he’s able to find the path back to the camp fairly easily.
“Nightshade and ginger root,” Vryce says proudly, dropping the vials on Rabu’s bunk.
“Perfect.” Rabu grins. “Unsteady Gait is much better than I realized when Jenkins told me about it. I can’t wait to try the poison spell.”
“Hopefully it helps us both level up.” Vryce drops down onto his bunk. “My spell is fucking useless with Palmer around. He doesn’t have to sacrifice anything to heal people.”
“I wonder if you could use my spells,” Rabu ponders, then opens the vial with ginger root. “Here, try it. Say Vin Di and crush the ginger root. You can aim it at me, I don’t think it’ll do much if I’m sitting down.”
“Alright.” Vryce nods and holds the ginger root, crushing it as he says the spell. “Vin Di!”
“Nope, that didn’t work.” Rabu sighs. “Normally the ginger root gets turned into a powder when the spell activates.”
“Magic seems weird here,” Vryce says. “When you look at a book of spells, it doesn’t seem like you can see anything except the ones you know. Everything else is gibberish.”
“I’ve only seen mine.” Rabu leans over and picks it up. “Do you see your spell when you open it?”
“Here,” Vryce nudges his book to Rabu as he takes the one from the gnome.
“Yeah, I see my spells.” Rabu nods as he studies Vryce’s book. “Yours looks a lot different from mine, but the title is the same.”
“I wonder if it’s like that for everyone. We’re obviously not the only magic users in Bryconia.” Vryce ponders the thought for a moment. “I don’t think regular people level up like us, so they must have a way to learn new magic.”
“A mystery for another day, my friend.” Rabu leans back in his bunk. “For now, we should rest some, that way we can terrorize Logis tonight.”
“Hell yeah.” Vryce grins.
The two of them make small talk as they wait for the sun to go down. They talk about home, reminisce about a few things, and when it starts to get dark, they begin to plan out their evening.
“You’ll look in the windows and make sure they’re in bed.” Rabu says, sketching the house in the dirt. “Once we’re sure, I’ll send the rats in to make them panic.”
“Then we can get into the house.” Vryce nods in understanding.
“Let’s do it.” Rabu smiles.
Rabu tells the rats to follow him, then slips out of the sewers ahead of Vryce. The gnome leads the way to the house that he spotted, and they carefully make their way to the back. Vryce peeks in the window and waves off Rabu.
“Not yet,” Vryce whispers. “They’re still up.”
There isn’t much at the back of the house other than a horse. The house itself is rather run down, so it doesn’t look like they will have much to take. That doesn’t seem to be important to Vryce and Rabu. They’re just eager to kill, and hoping that this will be the one that levels them up.
“I can’t see,” Rabu leans up. “Are the lights out?”
“Just now.” Vryce nods. “Let’s wait a few minutes to let them get settled in.”
The duo waits in silence, and after a few minutes, Rabu starts speaking to his rats. He sends them to the house, and it doesn’t take long for them to find a way in. Then, it’s just a waiting game. Vryce and Rabu hear a scream first, followed by noise inside the house. A few seconds later, the back door opens, and they see the man kicking at the rats as they scurry away.
“Now!” Vryce says, removing the sword from his back.
The two charge towards the house, and Rabu crushes a ginger root as he waves his hand.
“Vin Di!” Rabu says, and a wind causes the man to stumble.
“I got him!” Vryce smiles, swinging his sword so hard that he cleaves straight through the man’s arm and into a torso.
“I got the kid!” Rabu rushes into the house, pulling his dagger out as he does.
There’s another scream. It’s the wife. Vryce runs into the house, sword in front of him, and runs her through. He looks over his shoulder and sees Rabu finish off the boy.
Vryce yanks his sword free, and surveys the scene. Then he feels electricity coursing through his body. It is one of the most amazing things he’s ever felt. He sinks to his knees as he levels up, and his character sheet finally appears.
Vryce – Level 0 +1
Character Class: Fighter/Necromancer
Race: Half-Elf, but appears human.
Hit Points: 55 +5
Mana Points: 20 +5
Power – 65
Speed – 55
Intelligence – 75
Affinity – 70
-Two-Handed Swords – Level 1
-Intimidation – Level 1
***
Equipment:
Book of Necromancy
Two-handed sword
Dagger
6 Vials (Various Reagents)
63 Gold Coins
“Holy shit,” Vryce says, his head spinning.
Before he can say anything else, more words appear in front of him.
You've unlocked a new spell.
“It’s nice isn’t it?” Rabu chuckles. “I can’t wait to level up again.”
Vryce immediately reaches into his satchel and pulls out his Book of Necromancy. He eagerly flips it open to look at his new spell.
Create Reagent Crystal: El Crux
-Sacrifice one reagent to create a reagent crystal that can be used for any spell.
-Mana Cost: 10 Mana Points
“What did you get?” Rabu asks, wiping the blood from his knife.
“A spell to create reagent crystals.” Vryce sighs. “It could be useful, but I was hoping for something better.”
“Let’s pillage this house and we’ll look for another.” Rabu grins. “I’d like to level up tonight too.”
“Another one tonight?” Vryce asks. “Have you scouted any other houses?”
“We’ll scout them together,” Rabu says, tossing things around the house as he looks for loot.
Vryce wipes his sword down, then puts it on his back.
For the first time since coming to Bryconia, he actually feels happy.
Mainly because he finally leveled up.