Corey walked deeper into the woods, and just as he broke into a glade full of the flowers, he received two new semi-transparent prompts. He opened the first.
[Quest Update: Lifeblooms Wanted. You have failed to be the first to return 100 Lifebloom flowers to Agatha and have lost her initial supporting vote on the council. You can still receive advanced training in Alchemy and Tailoring after returning 100 lifebloom, in addition to an undisclosed amount of coin.]
He closed this prompt, opening the second.
[Quest Update: Mayor Indeed. You have failed to garner initial support from the council majority. However, you may still act as a political opponent for Xena, the current town Mayor-to-be. You will need to work hard to sabotage your opponent, or prove yourself the more worthy candidate before she is sworn in as mayor tonight at 6:00 PM Game Time. Please note, swaying the town council to support you once they have already made their initial vote of support becomes much more difficult. Current Support: 2/7.]
“Son of a biscuit eater…” Corey said. “Well, I guess that complicates things.”
Thinking about it, Corey opened back up his quest log and re-read both updates. It looked like it would still be possible to beat Xena and take over the town, but it would most likely be a huge hassle.
He had expected that his initial failure would mean losing out on the mayor quest entirely, and to have to move onto one of his backup plans. It turned out, however, that there was the option to continue to fight to become mayor. “But,” Corey added, talking to himself, “if I spend time on that and fail, I would fall farther and farther behind all the other players specializing in other things with nothing to show for it.”
Should I take up blacksmithing? Corey asked himself, Or, maybe I could become an Alchemist. Corey thought about it, and even though both would be super useful, neither of them had prizes nearly as large as that of running and leveling a town.
Corey walked over to a stump in the clearing and sat down, enjoying the fresh scent of the glade and the cool breeze that caressed his face. It was only then, that he realized that his stamina bar, which was just below his health bar in the top left of his vision, started to refill. It had been about half empty. Looks like I need to sit and rest to refill it, he thought.
But what should I do now? Honestly, I don’t care what I do as long as I can keep playing this game and still help my sister. Thinking it over one more time, he thought of how each of the people he had helped had unlocked profession quest lines. All of them except Innkeeper Anna, Corey realized. What was the quest she had mentioned?
There were supposed to be class quests that unlocked specialized classes like thief, assassin, warrior, mage, ranger, monk, and a ton of others. The number of classes in this game were insane, but you had to unlock them with achievements and unlocking teachers, much the same way he had started to do with the professions like blacksmithing.
Corey quickly accessed the Wiki, looking for other high paying prizes. As he looked over the list, he saw that professions like blacksmith, leatherworker, and alchemist were only mid range prizes, so he would likely make some money if he could be quick enough, but not nearly as much as what he would get for leveling up a town. There was also the fact that competition to be the first to level up professions would be fierce and he was already behind.
He was interested to see that by leveling up all 26 professions to level 10 (10 being the max without specialization) had a large prize of $25,000 under the Jack-of-all-trades prize category, but it seemed like it would be a ton of work and he’d have to find and unlock them all.
Still, Corey thought, I wonder what Innkeeper Anna’s quest chain unlocks? I hope it’s not just cooking or something. Though, that’s not likely since Pat’s quest did that.
Corey still wasn’t sure. The advertising and hype had implied that real world skills would translate into the game to a degree, and he knew that his cooking skills in the real world left much to be desired.
Whatever the case, he thought, it does seem promising. Besides, I can try to unlock all the professions and go for jack-of-all trades if it turns out to be a bust.
Corey stood and rubbed his butt, surprised that it felt a bit numb from sitting on the stump for so long. He noted that a very small portion of his stamina bar had been greyed out.
Then, he started picking flowers.
Plucking the flowers carelessly caused them to crumble, snap, or loose petals, and it took Corey a minute to realize that he was doing it all wrong. He looked down at his handful of flowers and scowled.
[Damaged Lifebloom (10), these flowers have been damaged and will only yield a small percentage of the magical energy needed in processing for alchemical needs. The stalks have also been broken and will be less useful as fibers.]
“Whoops,” Corey said.
He tried again, this time using his small knife to cut the base of one of the flowers while holding it gently by the stem.
[Skill Learned: Basic Herbalism. This is a sub-skill of the Alchemy Profession. You will now be able to intuitively know the best ways to harvest basic herbs or materials. You will also be able to spot useful herbs or materials from the mundane surroundings.]
The entire glade seemed to brighten slightly before his eyes. The lifebloom that was all around him had a faint blue glow outlining them, and as he pushed aside the grass and looked closely at one of them, he also noticed a faint yellow line on the stem, a little below the point that he had cut the previous flower.
“Well then,” Corey said, “Looks like I need to cut a bit lower to the ground.” Inspecting the flower he had previously cut, the result was promising.
[Lifebloom (1); This flower has absorbed magical energy of the area and can be refined by an alchemist to be used as an ingredient in Healing Potions.]
Just to be sure he couldn’t damage the flower now that it had been picked, he dropped it on the ground, stepped on it, then picked it up and walked over to the stump, and slapped the flower against it a couple times. There was no change in the description, or the flower. It seemed that the game only cared how it was harvested, and then it would be in that state until processing later on.
“Nice!” Corey said, causing a bird to fly from a tree at the edge of the glade. “Now I can get to work.” He tried cutting the next one on the yellow line, then inspected it.
[High Quality Lifebloom (1); This Lifebloom was harvested with care, and has kept the maximum amount of Magical Energy. An experienced Alchemist with a high level of Potion-Craft will be able to create high-potions with ingredients of this quality.]
Thirty minutes later, he had a pile of 100 flowers that were of high quality, and a smaller pile of 19 of normal quality sitting on the stump, and the original ten damaged ones he’d just thrown on the ground. There was no way he was turning those in.
Just to round things out, he cut one more just above where the line was to get an even 20 of the normal quality flowers. He had been gaining basic herbalism experience at a rate of one level per five flowers or so, but it had been slowly taking longer to gain another level. It seemed that higher levels would get incrementally harder to increase. So far, he’d gained Basic Herbalism level 20/75.
“There,” he said, gathering up the flowers. “Now to go and turn these in.” Corey hoped that Xena hadn’t been as thoughtful, and that the high quality lifebloom would give him an opening to challenge her for Agatha’s support. But, either way, being able to train as an alchemist would be awesome. Making potions would be super handy too, since in most games, potions were typically very expensive if you did not make them yourself.
As he strolled through the woods with his arms around the bundle of flowers, he heard a howl in the distance. He didn’t want to be attacked by wolves or something, so he picked up the pace, quickly heading back to the town. As he got closer to town, he’d thankfully only seen a few deer dashing from view as he clomped through the woods.
Hmm, Corey thought. Maybe I should try walking more quietly.
He started watching where he stepped, and tried to avoid any twigs or dead leaves. He also adjusted his footfalls to try to make them as silent as possible.
As he walked, his left shoe clunked loudly as he stepped on a stone imbedded in the path. Oh yeah, Corey realized, wooden soles… duh. He avoided stepping on any stones after that, and refocused on walking silently.
[Ability Learned: Basic Stealth 1/75; You have learned to be more silent. As you actively attempt to conceal yourself from being heard and seen, you will passively activate this skill. However, other players, non-player characters, monsters, or wildlife will still be able to see you if you break cover. There are also combat applications. More information can be found in your Abilities Tab in your Character Menu.]
“Sweet!” Corey said, again causing wildlife to scatter and birds to fly from the trees. “This is the first ability I’ve learned.” Opening his character menu he found the abilities tab next to the skills tab. As he’d thought, the only ability listed was stealth.
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Upon reading the in depth description, it pretty much matched the prompt, but went into more detail on combat. At the novice rank it would give a 1.5 stealth damage multiplier, but would not guarantee a critical strike. Maybe that meant that higher ranks would guarantee a critical strike? Either way it was awesome.
Corey wanted to level it up, so he decided to try using stealth whenever he could. He walked as quickly and carefully as possible the rest of the way back to town, but wasn’t immediately spotted by either of the town guards at the main gate. One was looking carefully into the forest, but the other guard seemed to be asleep, sitting on a stool and leaning against the gate.
As Corey crept closer his stealth level increased to two.
Maybe I need enemies or other NPC’s around while I’m in stealth to level it up…
Just as he had that thought, his stealth icon of a closed eye in the corner of his vision snapped open and disappeared, so he knew his stealth had been broken. Apparently being spotted had negated all the effects of being silent, since the other sleeping guard had shot to his feet to look around for threats with his gaze settling on Corey.
Corey started walking more normally toward the gate. When he focused in on the wooden walls, he was given a small description.
[Pine Palisade; These wooden walls will repel invaders far better than no walls at all.]
Corey laughed at the strange description. Ask a stupid question…
“Halt!” The attentive guard said as Corey approached. “Why were you skulking about out there?”
Hmm, Corey thought, it looks like using stealth in town is a bad idea. “Well,” Corey replied, “I’m Corey and I’m here to turn in these flowers to Agatha. She asked me to get them. I just left a while ago, you saw me go. And as far as the skulking, I guess I was just trying not to startle the wildlife or attract wolves or something,” he added with a shrug.
“Fair enough,” the guard replied as he stepped aside to wave him through. Then he added, “But you should avoid doing that in town, or people will think you are up to no good.”
“Good advice,” Corey responded, “I’ll do just that. What are your names by the way?”
“I’m the Captain of the Guard, Gary,” the attentive guard said. Then, with a wave toward his companion who was still blinking sleep from his eyes, he added, “And this is Sylvester.”
Sylvester gave him a nod, but didn’t say anything.
“Cool,” Corey said. “Well, I’m off, these flowers aren’t that heavy, but they seem to get more so by the minute. Thanks for the advice!”
With a wave the guards returned to their guarding, and Corey was again moving into the town to find Agatha. Corey glanced over his shoulder to see that Sylvester had returned to his stool and looked like he might already be back asleep. I wonder why the captain lets him sleep? Corey thought. Oh well, I’ve got some flowers to deliver.
Agatha seemed all too happy to take the 100 high quality flowers, which made Corey grin. That is, until she spoke.
“To think,” Agatha said, “two new adventurers picking up the herbalism talent so quickly. Xena also delivered 100 perfect specimens. You should be proud, I didn’t expect that you would be as attentive as she was. I’ll be happy to train you in alchemy, specifically, the sub-skill of potion craft. That is my specialty, after all.”
Corey struggled to avoid letting out a sigh. It wasn’t fair, if his Dad hadn’t pulled him out of the game, he might have been able to beat this Xena girl to the punch.
Oh well, he thought, life isn’t fair. It looks like I’m definitely going to have to change my plans now. Maybe I can still be an alchemist? This would probably be a popular profession, so he decided that it wouldn’t work either. “If only I could find some other secret profession,” he mumbled to himself, “then I could be the first to level it.”
“What’s that?” Agatha asked. “You don’t think that potion-craft is for you?”
“Oh,” Corey responded, not realizing he had said his last thought out loud. He made himself a promise that he would do better and replied, “Well, I think it would be very useful, but I want to find something more unique to pursue first.”
“I see,” Agatha replied as she tapped her chin in thought. “Well, if you really do want a more secretive profession…” She let out a chuckle, “Have you met Anna?”
“The Innkeeper? Yeah, she’s nice… and a bit strange.” He said the last before he could stop himself. Crap, Corey thought, I hope that she isn’t offended. Was she friends with Anna?
“Oh yes, you could say that!” Agatha said with a boisterous laugh that surprised Corey. Then, she added in a softer tone,”She is up to something. I don’t know what it is, but I trust her character. When I ask her what’s new, she always gives a quick answer and changes the subject. She is hiding something, though I doubt it is nefarious. Like I said, I’m a good judge of character. But,” she added with a wink, “I think she might share her secrets with someone that has earned her trust. Perhaps a helpful adventurer.”
“So,” Corey asked, “you think her secret could open up a new profession for me?”
“Perhaps,” she said with a shrug. “It’s up to you. But before you go, would you like me to teach you to make some potions first? I’d like to reward you with one high quality potion for your efforts, and if you pay attention, you may be surprised how fast you can learn it.”
Corey watched closely as she walked over to a mortar and pestle and started plucking flowers carefully from the stalks and placing the flowers into it. She set the stalks in a neat pile on the counter to the side. She ground the flowers, then scraped the mush into a bowl to the other side.
Corey looked over to the boiling cauldron and asked, “Do you use the cauldron for the potions?”
“Of course, but it’s best to put in the entire batch at the same time.”
When Corey inspected the cauldron he was surprised with a prompt.
[Boiling Cauldron. Current Ingredients: Water.]
Corey was happy with that, since he wasn’t sure he wanted to drink a potion that had lizard eyeballs or something inside it.
“You see,” Agatha explained, interrupting his thoughts, “This cauldron is enchanted to maintain a perfect temperature, as well as speeding up the distilling process. It is a very expensive piece of equipment, but necessary for consistent results that don’t take all day.”
“So, you could make this without a cauldron?” Corey asked.
“Of course, it is the plants that have the healing properties. Rendering them into a potion could be done with a simple pot of water, but you couldn’t do a large batch like this, and would have inconsistent results unless you were very careful in your heat and timing. Render them too long, or too hot, and the healing benefit diminishes.”
“Interesting,” Corey said, honestly intrigued. “What else can you tell me?”
“Well, I suppose I should tell you the other applications. You see this mash?” she asked, showing him the bowl full of blossoms she had smashed into oblivion. “This would work well as a salve if placed on a burn or open wound. It isn’t absolutely necessary to render it into a potion to use it for healing, it just gives the fastest and most potent healing results. Salves are good in a pinch, or you could even eat the blossoms, but a potion is far superior and heals much more quickly.”
“Cool,” Corey replied. “So, what do we do next?”
Agatha laughed as she finished grinding up the last of the lifebloom. “Well, my boy, you don’t do anything. Just watch.” She then dumped in all the ground up flowers and stirred the cauldron with a large wooden spoon.
The cauldron was hanging from a raised metalwork stand that looked very similar to the big cook-pot that hung over the fire in the inn, but was a different shape and had a pour spout on one side. Next to the pour spout sat a low pedestal with a large wooden bowl on top of it. Corey figured it must be for catching the potion when she poured it out.
The cauldron was letting off a steady stream of white smoke that went through a hole in the center of the roof that was covered by a second raised roof, probably to keep the rain out. After about a minute of stirring, the smoke cleared and she set the spoon down and used a couple of towels to grab hold of the cauldron and tip it into the waiting bowl. The whole setup was pretty ingenious, and made it easy to get the potion out of the cauldron without having to lift it.
“Why the elaborate setup?” Corey asked. “Couldn’t you just use a ladle to get the potion out? This had to be a pain to set up.”
Agatha gave him a flat look and replied, “Weren’t you listening earlier? These things are time sensitive, if I hadn’t stirred the entire time it was letting off that smoke, it would have scalded the bottom portion and ruined its potency. Once it stops smoking, which is the water vapor removing the impurities, you need to get it off the heat quickly. Otherwise, it will burn and still lose potency. I told you earlier that timing was very important.”
“Oh, yeah,” Corey said sheepishly. “I should have been able to guess that. It all makes sense when you explain it. Thanks for all the information.” He figured it couldn’t hurt to be polite.
“Oh, you’re such a sweet boy. Yes, I suppose that I could have been more clear earlier, I just forget how many questions you young folk have.”
She then took the bowl over to the counter behind her and poured the still steaming potion into a large shallow metal pan. “This will allow it to cool quickly,” she said. “Then, I will transfer it to the vials and it will be done.”
Corey had learned better than to ask, but assumed that cooling quickly was important to keep it at maximum potency. Agatha had been right, alchemy hadn’t been that difficult to learn.
“So,” Corey said, breaking the silence. “You said you would offer money for flowers, but you never said how much. And, is it an ongoing offer?”
“Yes, I suppose it is a standing order. If you bring me 100 flowers I will reward you according to the quality. High quality will pay one silver per 100, and regular will pay fifty coppers per 100. It’s not worth my time to do smaller batches, so I don’t tend to buy them. I will, however pay you for the twenty that you have gathered since I hadn’t explained my policy yet. I will, also throw in one potion as a bonus this first time since I like you.”
“Okay,” Corey said, then couldn’t resist asking. “But, what do you pay for damaged lifebloom?”
“Well, I once had an apprentice that tried bringing me 100 damaged lifeblooms. I sent him away and told him to eat them to try to mend his damaged brain.” She let out a laugh, then added in a somber tone. “It’s too bad he went into the guard and died after that. Todd was a good lad.”
Corey knew he had to ask, “I’ve heard about this Todd, he was going to get a pair of truesteel greaves and other armor, but didn’t wait to get outfitted properly.”
“Yes,” Agatha said. “He had a full set on order from all the town shops. It’s too bad, but he didn’t leave any family behind besides his uncle though. It’s a cruel world, but now there is a full set of truesteel armor awaiting any adventurer clever enough to see the opportunity. Enchanted truesteel none the less,” she added with a wink.
Corey supposed that it could just be a convenient excuse for high-quality armor being available in this town, but he felt like there had to be more to it. He decided to prod. “So, is there anything else you can tell me about Todd? It seems like someone must want to see him avenged, his uncle maybe?.”
“Oh, you could say that. Speak with Guard Captain Gary, his uncle. Some of the goblins escaped, and he has put out a reward for anyone willing to help. I’m not sure what the reward is, mind you, but it’s bound to be worth your while.”
Agatha carefully poured the now cool pan of potion into a large pitcher. Corey was impressed with her care, as he expected her to struggle with the large square pan, but she didn’t spill a drop as she tipped one corner down ever so slowly to allow a constant stream of fluid into the pitcher until it was all safely inside.
She then walked over to open a cupboard and get out ten vials, which she placed into a stand on the counter. Corey watched as she poured from the pitcher and filled all ten vials, which left the pitcher empty and all the vials perfectly filled. She corked them and handed one to Corey, along with some coins from her pouch on her belt.
[Quest Complete: Lifebloom Wanted; You have been rewarded with one High-Quality Healing Potion, one silver and ten copper coins. You have also unlocked the opportunity to continue to learn additional potions and train your Alchemy sub-skill of Potion-Craft from Agatha.]
Closing the prompt with a thought, the second one appeared.
[Skill Gained: Potion-Craft. This is a sub-skill of the Alchemy profession. As you increase in your knowledge of Potion-Craft and Herbalism, you will increase your Alchemy level. Current Alchemy level: 1/75.]