“Fifty gold, no more, no less,” the shopkeeper hummed as he stared at Brian, the pair standing on either side of the counter, a small ring box sitting between them with a simple looking ring inside.
“I don’t have that much,” Brian sighed, “Are you sure you won’t accept materials for trade? Or a service of some kind?”
“Nope, only cold hard coin,” the man grunted, “Now, if you’re not here to buy, then you can leave.”
“Right,” Brian muttered as he turned away, glancing at some of the items on the shelves as he passed by, pausing as he spotted something interesting, “Hold on, how much for this book?”
“Which one?” the shopkeeper huffed, watching as Brian picked up the small dusty tome, “Two gold, no more, no less.”
“Okay,” Brian nodded, pulling the two shiny coins from one of his rings, “Deal.”
“What?” the man blinked, looking at the coins as Brian handed them over, “But that book is written in an ancient language. No one can read it.”
“I can,” Brian smiled as he turned away, the shopkeeper staring at his back in surprise for a moment, before calling out to him.
“Hold it, can you really read that book?”
“Yes,” Brian nodded as he looked back, “Though it only seems to be a diary of some kind. I’m still interested in it.”
“What other languages can you read?” the man asked as he inspected the Mage again, taking in the well-made and probably expensive robes he was wearing.
“All modern languages,” Brian replied, thinking for a moment before continuing, “And some Ancient ones.”
“Really now?” the shopkeeper muttered, “How about Dragon Script? It isn’t modern, not particularly ancient, but I do have a book written in it that I wouldn’t mind translated.”
“I don’t know,” Brian shrugged, “I’ve never seen Dragon Script before, but my Abilities should help with that.”
“Right then,” the shopkeeper nodded, “Wait here.”
Brian just nodded back as the man vanished into the back of the shop, coming back a few minutes later with a large book in his hands. He dropped it onto the counter, Brian inspecting it in interest. The cover was made of some sort of purple reptile leather, with a gem that looked like an eye set in the centre. Brian stared at the stone for a moment, before starting as it seemed to blink at him.
“What is this?” he muttered.
“No idea,” the shopkeeper replied, “The man who sold it to me said it came from a Dragon’s hoard. Could be a diary, a textbook, or, ideally, a spell book. Open it and tell me if you can read the words inside.”
Brian nodded, reaching out to touch the cover for a moment, before pausing, a strange, yet familiar, tingle running up his hand. It took him a moment, but he suddenly realised what it was. Curse Magic.
“This book is cursed,” Brian said, “I’m not sure by what, but the magic is extremely powerful. More powerful than I can handle as I am.”
“Cursed?” the shopkeeper suddenly started to sweat, “Are you sure?”
“Yes, I specialize in Curse Magic, and it definitely feels like that.”
“I knew it was enchanted somehow,” the shopkeeper muttered, “But a Curse? I can’t keep this thing in my shop!”
“Then how about you give it to me?” Brian asked, the shopkeeper suddenly pausing and glaring at him, “I’ll pay you five gold for it.”
“Five gold?” the man snorted, “Even if it is Cursed, its cover is made of real Dragon hide! And that gem is likely just as valuable! Ten gold, no more, no less!”
“Deal,” Brian smiled as he handed over the coins, storing the book in one of his rings, realising that there was barely any space left in any of them, “And you’re sure you won’t part with that storage ring for less?”
“Fifty gold, no more, no less,” the man replied.
“Fine, thank you for your help,” Brian sighed as he turned away, the shopkeeper watching as the man left.
“Strange man,” the shopkeeper hummed as the door closed behind Brian, “What could he want with a Cursed book anyway?”
------
Name: Brian Andrews
Level: 5
Class: Dark Mage
Job: Scribe
Skill Points: 100
Titles: [Holder of Forbidden Knowledge]
Brian looked over his Status Screen as he sat in the large inn he had chosen to stay at for the night. Between the Shinka and helping sort out Gustus’ finances, he’d gained enough Experience Points to hit level five, meaning he now had one hundred Skill Points. Nodding his head, he opened his Class Ability Screen and looked at his Curse Tree. There was one particular Ability he was after, a fourth Tier one called Curse Break. It required that he had levels in two other Abilities, but that was easy to handle, as Brian already had one of them at level ten, so dropping thirty points into the other wasn’t that big of a deal.
The Ability fully unlocked, Brian put forty points into it, bringing it up to level ten, alongside all his other unlocked Abilities, opening it to read the description.
Curse Break (10):
You are able to dispel or remove the effects of any Curse on a person or object.
“Perfect,” Brian smiled as he checked the book in his storage ring, pausing just before he took it out.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
He looked around the common room of the inn, realising that maybe it wasn’t the best idea to try and remove the curse in a public place, as he didn’t know what would actually happen when he did. Sighing, Brian simply waited for the food he had ordered to arrive, checking his funds unconsciously as he did. He still had a decent amount of gold, as well as quite a lot of silver and copper coins, more than enough to live comfortably for the next six months if his calculations were correct. But was that what he wanted?
Brian nodded to the serving girl as she placed the plate of food and mug of ale in front of him, smiling at her as she smiled back, before hurrying off to take the order of another table. He quickly ate his food, draining the mug of ale and heading up to the room he’d booked for the night, settling down on the bed after stripping off and washing. Whatever he planned to do in the future, it could wait. Right now, he just needed to sleep, and could make up his mind in the morning.
------
“A good way for a Mage to make money?” the barkeep and owner of the inn asked as Brian nodded to him, “Well, depending on your Job, you could do any number of things, but the easiest would probably be joining the Adventurer’s Guild and doing jobs for them.”
“So, that’s a thing here?” Brian muttered as he thanked the man, “Maybe I should give it a try.”
Brian ate his breakfast, a delicious meal of bacon, eggs, and a loaf of dark bread he was pretty sure was made of rye and hurried off. It didn’t take him long to find the Adventurer’s Guild building, only having to ask a few people before being pointed in its direction. The building was two stories tall and quite large, taking up a considerable amount of space. Many people were walking in and out of it, most dressed in a variety of different armours and robes. Brian spotted a few leather clad men and woman he was pretty sure were Rogues or Rangers, as well as a couple of people wearing full plate mail, and plenty wearing robes. Nodding he headed in, passing through the wide foyer to the back of the room where a large counter with multiple clerks were stationed.
“How can I Help you today?” the man Brian approached asked, “Submitting a Quest?”
“No, I’d actually like to ask about joining,” Brian smiled, the man just nodding as he pulled out a form, handing it to him.
“Can you read and write? It’s fine if you can’t, I can help you with that,” the clerk said helpfully.
“I can read and write, thanks,” Brian smiled as he accepted the offered pen, quickly scanning the document, “So I just fill this in, and I’m registered?”
“We will need to check your level,” the clerk said as he took out a small crystal ball, “Just a precaution to ensure you don’t take any Quests that are too dangerous for you.”
“Alright,” Brian nodded, filling in the form and handing it back, “So I just touch this, right?”
“Correct,” the clerk nodded as he read over the sheet of paper, “You come from Blackleaf?”
“Yeah,” Brian nodded, swallowing slightly as he answered, “That’s my hometown, I guess?”
“Right, well, please place your hand on the Revealing Orb for me, thank you,” the clerk nodded, Brian letting out a relieved sigh when he didn’t ask any further questions, placing his hand on the ball. The clerk looked at it in surprise for a moment, before just nodding, “Level five? Well, that’s a little low for someone your age, but it’s hardly the first time we’ve had people with that level in here.”
“Is it a problem?” Brian asked, “Can I not join because I’m too weak?”
“Nope,” the clerk chuckled, “You’re actually exactly the level you need to be to join. Just give me a moment to file this all and I’ll get you your Guild Card.”
“Oh, thanks,” Brian replied, watching as the man hurried off, glancing around the foyer again, noticing a few people staring at him as he did so.
It took the clerk about five minutes to come back, presenting Brian with a wooden card, his basic details carefully embossed on the front.
“Here you go, do try not to lose it, as there is a fine for getting a new one,” the clerk explained, “Now, would you like to take a job now? We have some nice simple gathering Quests for new members.”
“Sure,” Brian nodded, blinking as he felt the presence approaching behind him.
“Hi, want to join us?” the young voice asked, Brian turning to look at the party of three, one boy and two girls, each wearing simple leather armour and carrying basic weapons, “We want to take on a goblin hunting Quest, but we need four party members to do it.”
“Are you sure?” Brian asked, hiding a flinch as he realised that these kids couldn’t be older than fifteen or sixteen, “I’m a bit old to be running around with you, aren’t I? Wouldn’t you prefer someone more your age?”
“It’s okay,” one of the girls laughed, “We won’t run you ragged, Mr Mage, we just need some magical support for this Quest. It’s a one-off job, and we promise to split the reward equally.”
“Oh, well then…” Brian trailed off, looking back at the clerk as the other man just shrugged, a slight smile on his lips, “Sure? Why not?”
“Great!” the boy said happily, “I’m Emile, and this is Jenny and Brandy.”
“Brian,” Brian nodded as he took the offered hand, shaking it firmly, “I’m a Mage, obviously. I specialize in status effects.”
“Ooh, a debuffer?” the second girl, Brandy apparently, asked, Brian nodding, “That should make the fights easier! I’m the party’s Medic, so come to me if you get hurt!”
“I’m the party Scout,” Jenny nodded, “And Emile is our frontliner. Nice to meet you, Brian.”
“Nice to meet you all too,” Brian nodded, turning back to the clerk, “So, can we get that goblin slaying Quest?”
“Sure, but be careful,” the man replied, “Just because they’re small and easy to kill doesn’t mean goblins aren’t smart and vicious. Watch yourselves out there.”
“I’ll make sure to look after them,” Brian chuckled as the clerk handed them the Quest form, the other three grinning excitedly at each other.
------
“So, why’re you only level five?”
“Huh?” Brian asked as the party of four left the gates, walking towards the supposed location of the small goblin camp.
“Jenny, that’s rude,” Brandy sighed, “Sorry, she’s always been inquisitive."
“Oh, no worries, it’s fine,” Brian chuckled, “I just haven’t really fought or worked all that much before.”
“Oh? So, you’re some kind of noble then?” Jenny asked, looking at Brian expectantly, “I mean, you’re older than us, and we’re already all level five, so it’s a bit weird.”
“Jenny!” the other two groaned as the Scout giggled, Brian just chuckling along with her.
“Something like that,” he replied, “Not exactly a Noble, but I just haven’t needed to use my Abilities much before.”
“I see,” the girl nodded, “So, what can you do?”
“I have Abilities that grant me Status Magic,” Brian shrugged, “I can poison, paralyze and put people to sleep.”
“Cool!” the Scout said, “With you, this should be easy, then! You can just put the whole camp to sleep, and we can handle the rest!”
“Jenny,” Emile sighed, “We don’t even know if he can do that! Maybe his Ability only works on one person at a time!”
“Oh,” the Scout hummed, “Sorry.”
“No, it’s fine,” Brian laughed, “I should actually be able to put the entire camp to sleep, but are you sure you want me to? Wouldn’t that make the fight too easy, so you wouldn’t gain many Experience Points?”
“Good point,” Brandy nodded, “So maybe you can just hang out at the back with me and help these two idiots when they inevitably get in trouble?”
“Sure,” Brian nodded, “Sounds like a plan.”
The party continued to walk, chatting amicably as they made their way towards the goblin camp. It turned out that Emile, Brandy and Jenny were childhood friends from a village about a month’s journey by wagon away, and they had come to Loftford in hopes of making it as big time Adventurers. They’d only been in the city for about two weeks but were starting to get bored of always having to do the starter gathering Quests for enough money to stay at their inn. This Quest was to be their first big payday, hopefully allowing them to live comfortably for a bit, and get new equipment.
“Your gear is pretty nice, though,” Jenny said as they finally started to get close to where the camp was supposed to be, “How’d you get it?”
“Oh, I helped out a shopkeeper with some scroll work, and he paid me back by giving me this robe and staff, among other things,” Brian replied, pulling out his magic compass again and making sure they were heading in the right direction, “Okay, the camp should be just over that hill, about ten minutes more walking. Do we want to make a plan before we go?”
“Sounds like a good idea,” Emile nodded, grabbing a stick form the ground and starting to draw in the dirt, “So, I’ll be at the front, keeping the goblins’ attention, while Jenny picks them off from the rear. You two are to stay behind me and protect yourselves, with Brandy healing us and Brian causing confusion in their ranks with his Status magic. Sound good?”
“Simple, but it should be effective,” Brian nodded, “There are only meant to be about ten goblins, right?”
“Right, that's what the Quest said,” the other three nodded, Jenny pumping her fist in the air as she shouted, “Alright! Let’s do this!”