“Alright, that’s another one finished.”
“Already?” the Scribe that had been made his assistant gasped, the young man staring at Brian in a mixture of awe and fear, “Are you sure?”
“I mean, yes?” Brian shrugged, “There were a few passages that were little harder to translate because they were idioms or sayings, so the context may be lost, but that’s the whole book.”
“You’ve only been here two days and already you’ve translated seven tomes we’ve been working on for years!” the boy shook his head, “How?”
“Abilities and Titles, I guess,” Brian laughed, his assistant just shaking his head again, “Anyway, isn’t it about time my gear was done being improved? The Head Enchanter said two days, right?”
“I believe so, yes,” the young man nodded, “Are you going to be leaving then?”
“Yes,” Brian nodded, “I want to head to Astera as soon as possible, so I’ll be leaving as soon as I can.”
“Well, it has been an honour working with you, sir,” the Scribe bowed to Brian, making him scratch his cheek awkwardly, “I have learned a great deal from you.”
“You’re welcome?” Brian chuckled, getting up and stretching, “Well, I’m going to take a short break. Maybe go see if my gear is done. If not, I’ll be back and translate another book.”
“Of course, sir,” the assistant nodded, picking up the stacks of notes and the large books, one being the original text, and the other Brian’s translation.
Brian just nodded as he headed out of the private study he’d been allocated, making his way through the twisting corridors of the Mage’s Guild until he eventually came to the Enchanting area. Finding the door to the Head Enchanter’s office, he knocked softly, hopefully not disturbing anything.
“Enter,” the stern voice said as Brian opened the door, looking at the man sitting behind the desk as he poured over a familiar looking book, glancing up for a moment, before he seemed to realise who was at the door, “Ah! Sir Scribe, I apologize for my rudeness. I was just so engrossed in this book on Enchanting that you recently translated.”
“That’s fine,” Brian chuckled, walking into the office, “It is quite interesting. I just came to check if my gear was finished yet. No rush if it’s not.”
“It is,” the man nodded, pointing to a small chest in the corner, Brian’s staff leaning against the wall beside it, “The items are all in there. I was able to greatly improve the enchantments on the robes and rings, they were all made of very high-quality materials. I was even able to add a self-repair enchantment to the robe and boots. Simply infuse them with mana, and it should fix any tears and rips easily.”
“I…I don’t know what to say,” Brian blinked as he opened the chest, inspecting the items inside, able to feel the stronger magical energy coming off them, “Thank you!”
“This book is more than thanks enough!” the Head Enchanter laughed, “So many secrets that were lost to time just waiting in these pages to be rediscovered! It is a marvel!”
“Oh, well, you’re welcome,” Brian nodded as he stored his robes, rings, and boots in his new bracer, standing back up, “If you don’t mind, I’m going to go to my room and change.”
“Of course,” the Head Enchanter nodded, already back to reading the book, “Oh, and the Arch Mage wished to see you after you had come to collect your equipment. I would hurry, she does not like to be kept waiting.”
“Right,” Brian nodded as he hurried from the room, “Thanks again for the gear upgrade.”
------
“I am glad you could join me,” Lavernia said as she and Brian sat in her office, Brian looking around at the lavishly decorated room.
One wall was entirely taken up by a massive bookshelf, the shelves packed with books and tomes of all sizes and colours. The carpet under his plush chair was soft and bouncy, and the large window at the back of the room showed a view of the city’s skyline. Lavernia herself was sitting behind a large hardwood desk, smiling at Brian as he sipped at the cup of tea she’d given him.
“Of course,” Brian nodded back, already back in his usual robes, the Scribe robes he’d been wearing up until this point safely stored in his bracer, “I hurried over as soon as I’d changed. Didn’t want to keep you waiting.”
“I appreciate that,” Lavernia hummed, before getting up from her seat and moving around the desk, waving her hand as a magic circle appeared on the floor beside Brian, “I understand that you wish to leave for Astera as soon as possible, so I took the liberty of gathering your pay in advance. You translated seven books for us, so, at our agreed rate, that is seven thousand gold.”
“Seven thousand?” Brian gasped, “That’s too much! How am I even supposed to use that much money?”
“I do not know,” the Arch Mage laughed, “Perhaps you are not going to, but it is what we agreed upon when you first brought the Draconic Spellbook to us.”
“We did?” Brian asked, suddenly remembering how much the woman had offered for the book in the first place, looking at the four chests in amazement, “Still, it feels like too much.”
“It is not, trust me,” Lavernia hummed, pointing to the four chests in turn, each slightly smaller than the last, “The largest chest contains one thousand gold in copper, the second the same in silver, and the third one thousand in gold coins. The last contains the rest of your pay in gold plates, which are worth one hundred gold coins each.”
“Wow,” Brian hummed as he opened the first chest, staring at the shiny copper coins in amazement, “That’s really a lot.”
“You may keep the chests for storage as well,” Lavernia said, “They are enchanted to be able to be stored in a storage item without causing problems, though the chests themselves can only be used to store coins.”
“I see, that makes sense,” Brian nodded as he put the four chests in his bracer, “Thank you so much for all this! I don’t know what to say!”
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
“That is not all,” Lavernia continued, “I have also organized a private carriage to take you to Astera. It leaves whenever you so wish. Though the earliest will be tomorrow morning.”
“Wait, really?” Brian gasped again, “No, seriously, this is too much!”
“I have also taken the liberty of registering you as a high-ranking Senior Scribe with the Mage’s Guild,” the Arch Mage continued unabashed, “This will give you access to a great many valuable resources for research and scroll making at a greatly discounted price, though only from our Guild. I hope that is enough?”
“Too much,” Brian repeated, shaking his head, “Thank you, Lavernia, this is…it’s a lot.”
“You have done more than you know for our Guild, Sir Brian,” the woman smiled at him, “Now, why not sit and finish your tea with me? I have a few things I would like to discuss with you.”
------
Brian stared at his Class Ability Screen as he lay on the soft bed in the private room inside the Mage’s Guild, unable to fall asleep.
The conversation with Lavernia earlier that day had been simple and cordial, mostly just her asking about his past and where he came from. She hadn’t seemed surprised at all when he’d told her about being accidentally summoned with the Heroes, nor when he confirmed that his Class was indeed a Dark Mage. She had simply stated that Dark Mages were exceptionally rare in human lands, so he should be careful about other trying to capture him, reminding him of what Alessia had told him when he’d first appeared in the world of Marl.
Now he was looking over his Ability Screen in the first time in days to see just what had changed after he’d read the Umbral Draconic Spellbook. And he wasn’t disappointed.
He had a new Ability leading off his Ancient Magic Ability, called Umbral Magic, though it cost ten points a level to unlock. Shrugging, Brian dumped one hundred points into the Ability, looking at the three Spell Abilities that appeared above it. The first was called Shadow Move, the second Umbral Bolt, and the third Draconic Shifting, and each cost a whopping fifteen points to unlock and level. Looking at his available points, Brian sighed as he realised that he only had forty Skill Points left, which meant he could get a maximum of two levels in any one of the Abilities.
Shaking his head, he closed the screen, staring up at the dark ceiling for a while, before rolling over and finally going to sleep.
------
“Where is it?” the figure snarled as they held the old man by the collar of his shirt, “Tell me. Now.”
“I sold it!” the shopkeeper blubbered, his wrinkled face stained with tears as his arms hung limply beside him, twisted at disturbing angles, “To a Mage! Black robes, creepy looking staff with a hand holding a purple stone! I don’t have it!”
“Then you are worthless to me,” the figure growled, raising their hand.
“W-wait!” the old man shouted, “Last I heard, he’d handed it over to the local Mage’s Guild! It’s probably already in their vault! If you leave me alive, I can see about getting it out for you!”
“You? Help me?” the figure snorted, dropping the man to the floor, where he let out a cry of pain, “The Mage’s Guild, you say?”
“Yes,” the man sniffed, somehow managing to sit up as he muttered to himself, “If I’d known that book would cause so much trouble, I would have sold it for ten times the price.”
The figure grunted at the words, before the man let out a wet cough, looking down at the hand piercing through his chest.
“B-but…” he gasped, “We had a deal?”
“I do not deal with your kind, mortal,” the figure snarled, yanking their hand out as they shook the blood off their ebony claws, already summoning the shadows around them.
The door to the warded cell clicked open, making them turn to look at the man entering, his eyes going wide as they stared at each other, the figure’s form already mostly hidden in the darkness.
“Hello again, sir, I have some more questions for yo-What?” Inspector-Constable Martin said as he stared at the corpse and the shadowy figure, only their eyes visible through the gathering gloom, “Golden eyes? Shit! Halt, you are under arrest!”
The shadows finished coalescing around the figure, suddenly dissipating and leaving nothing behind but the empty cell and the corpse, Martin swearing again as he rushed over to check on the shopkeeper.
------
The dawn light peaked over the walls of Loftford as Brian walked out of the Mage’s Guild building, looking back at the majestic structure he’d spent the last several days inside of. Shaking his head, he glanced around, quickly spotting the horse drawn carriage a short distance away, as well as the several soldiers standing around it, one jogging up to him and saluting.
“Sir Brian?” he asked, Brian nodding, “It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Captain Elliot, and I shall be the head of your personal guard for this portion of your journey.”
“Personal guard?” Brian blinked, “I…I didn’t know I’d be getting one?”
“Well, you are an important member of the Mage’s Guild, and a Senior Scribe at that,” the man chuckled friendlily, “So it makes sense that they’d want to keep you safe. We’ll be with you until you reach the next city, which is Aftburg, about a week’s journey for us.”
“A week?” Brian muttered, “I thought that it would take longer?”
“It usually would,” Elliot explained, pointing to the horses that were hitched to the carriage and nearby, “But the Mage’s Guild saw fit to give us enchanted horseshoes and bridles. The horseshoes are enchanted to increase speed, and the bridles stamina, so we can ride faster and longer than normal, cutting the journey time down significantly.”
“Good to know,” Brian nodded as he looked at the items, spotting the runes carved into the metal and leather, “So, shall we go?”
“In a hurry, are you?” Elliot laughed, “I hear you want to make it all the way to Astera? Excited to go see the Heroes or something?”
“Something like that,” Brian nodded as he remembered the group of kids again, shaking his head as thoughts of them dying on the battlefield filled his mind again, “Let’s just get going.”
“Brian!”
The shout startled Brian as he looked up, spotting three familiar figures running towards him, Jenny leading the group as Brandy and Emile followed behind.
“You guys,” he said, suddenly realising he had sort of forgotten about them over the last few days, “Sorry, I should have sent a letter or some-.”
“So, you’re really leaving?” Jenny asked as she drew near, frowning slightly as Brian spotted the tears forming in her eyes, “And you weren’t even going to say goodbye to us? Jerk.”
“Right, sorry,” Brian chuckled as the other two arrived, panting slightly as they smiled at Brian, who noticed they were all wearing newer looking leather armour, Emile’s even having a few metal plates attached to it, “You guys are looking good.”
“Thanks!” Brandy said, “We were able to get some better gear thanks to the goblin Quest pay out.”
“Great to hear,” Brian nodded, before a thought occurred to him, “Hold on, as an apology, I want to give you something.”
“Apology?” Brandy and Emile asked, blinking as Brian reached into his old leather satchel and pulled the three rings out, quickly slipping a coin into each.
“Here, I have a better storage item now, so I’m giving these to you three,” he said as he presented the rings, the three young Adventurer’s eyes going wide.
“No way!” Emile said, “There’s no way we can take these! They’re worth a small fortune!”
“Thanks!” Jenny said as she immediately grabbed one of the rings, slipping it onto her finger happily, “This is awesome! We won’t have to carry our stuff around in packs anymore and is that a-?”
“Shhh,” Brian laughed as he pressed the other two rings into Emile and Brandy’s hands, “Just take them. You guys were my first proper adventuring party, so I want you to have these as thanks. Now, remember what I said about your relationship?”
The three teens blushed as they nodded.
“Good,” Brian smiled, “Take it slow, and make sure you’re all comfortable with what happens. And talk to each other about everything, okay?”
“Okay,” the three said as they turned away, Brandy and Emile still staring at the rings as Jenny visibly vibrated in excitement.
“You know those kids?” Elliot asked, Brian nodding, “Lucky buggers, what I would have given to have even a small storage ring at their age. Oh well, shall we get going?”
“Sure,” Brian smiled as he climbed into the carriage, Elliot and the other guards getting onto their horses before they trotted down the road.
High above them, staring down, a shadowy figure scowled.
“Black robes, staff with a hand holding a purple gem,” they said, “That’s probably him. Though the old mortal said that he’d given it to the Mage’s Guild.”
The figure shifted slightly, their body shrinking as they settled deeper into the shadows, waiting.