Alcydes let out a yawn as he walked down the wooden stairs, the grime of sleep still clinging to his eyes. While the hunting last night had gone well for the most part, it was still a bit of a hike to get back to the guild. However, once they had turned the materials in, he had been surprised at what Troy had done after the dwarves had left the party for the night…
Alcydes’ head tilted to the side as he watched Troy look around the street, peering down alleyways and street corners. While the man was normally happy, he seemed… on edge. “What are you doing?” he asked when Troy reached for the side door of the nearby hut.
Troy gave him a sharp look, and quietly shushed him before he placed a hand on the door handle. Alcydes couldn’t hear what Troy was saying, but he then pressed the air, and the door suddenly swung open. Alcydes frowned at how Troy was willing to break in, but when he saw the familiar glow of the cabin’s indoor lighting, his eyes widened in shock. How had he done that?
Alcydes walked in behind Troy and ducked his head in and out of the doorway. “How did you… do this?” the elfkin eventually asked when he stepped into the living room. After weeks of coming out by the kitchen, it just felt off to see the direct sunset when he came through.
Troy gave an embarrassed look at the question, and rubbed his neck. “Well, you know how we had to drive from that hut all the way to and from Shallowcoast?” he commented, and when Alcydes gave a short nod, he added, “Yeah, it turns out the gate trick only needed some doors, so I realigned it with the doorway.”
Alcydes let out a noise at that, and thought it over as he set his sword down. It was odd, but given how [Unseen Steps] needed certain steps to move freely, it wasn’t too unsurprising.
The memory faded to the back of Alcydes’s mind as he glanced over at the new doorway, and placed a hand on it before he shook his head and walked away. There would be plenty of time to go hunting in there later, but for now, he needed some breakfast down his stomach!
As Alcydes entered the kitchen though, he was surprised to find Troy wasn’t even in there. While he knew the man liked to sleep in occasionally, he had thought he had heard Troy rummaging around earlier. The kid glanced around a bit more, then simply grabbed a few oranges and began to peel them open.
Alcydes slowly worked on making a pile of discarded peels as he ate his makeshift breakfast, the morning sun slowly creeping up the window and out of his sight. When the basement door swung open though, he paused as Troy stumbled up onto the main floor, carrying a big box of items in both dust-stained arms.
Troy stumbled back to close the door behind him, and the man glanced around before he spotted Alcydes sitting at the table. “Hey, Al. Thought I heard you wandering about earlier,” he commented, and set the box down on the ground. As Alcydes leaned over the table to see the contents, Troy stretched around and sat down at the table.
Dust fell to the tabletop as Troy grabbed one of the oranges from Alcydes’s pile, earning him a light glare. However, Troy ignored the question as he began to tell Alcydes, “Anyways, since we got back from the guild, I decided to take a look through some old boxes, as I found the old bracer back in there. The desk hadn’t survived when I first found the bracer, but there was plenty of nick-nacks in there we might be able to redeem.”
Alcydes leaned back to get a better look at the box, only to raise an eyebrow at the materials held inside. “Why in the Great Eight kingdoms do you think they’ll buy this?” he asked, and hopped away from the table before he began to rummage through it. A bunch of dried-out pens, a few pieces of crap-gems, rusty vambraces that had crumpled under something. As he pulled out a sizable dagger, the sheath still attached, Alcydes met Troy’s hopeful gaze, and jerked the metal free to reveal a web of rust coating the blade.
“All these old scraps will get you krams at best,” he commented to Troy’s disappointment, and dropped the sheath in the bin. As he looked at the weapon again, Alcydes paused, before he tapped the embedded gem. “However, I think we can sell the spent charge-gems for more.”
Seeing Troy’s confusion, Alcydes added, “You know, the gems they use to hold skills and spells in items?”
“Oh, so that’s what they’re called,” Troy chimed in, rubbing his chin in contemplation.
Alcydes let out a low snort, but looked through the rest of supplies with indifference. Without a proper charge, all the gems were better off in bulk. However, he suspected the rest could be sold for a tidy sum.
As Troy began to make scrambled eggs for the two of them, a sudden knock made Alcydes reach towards his waist. However, Troy perked up and glanced towards the living room. “Oh, I think that’s a package I ordered,” he said, then looked over at Alcydes and said, “Al, could you go get it for me? Gotta keep an eye on the eggs here.”
Alcydes curtly nodded, and walked over to the door. When he opened the door, Alcydes looked up at the brown-clad person outside. “What do you want?” he bluntly asked, keeping his body mostly hidden behind the door.
The woman scowled at his question, but simply held up a clipboard in front of her. “Yeah, I’ve got deliveries for a Troy Ericsen?” she asked, tapping a point on her board. At that, Alcydes pointed back to the kitchen, and she glanced in that direction before she added, “Look, kid, I need the buyer’s signature to make it happen. So, is he in or not?”
Alcydes paused at that, then held up a finger. “Wait here,” he told her, then called out, “Troy, they need you to sign the packages!”
He heard vague grumbling come from the kitchen, before Troy finally joined the others in the room. “Sorry about that. I had to take the eggs off the burner to keep them from burning,” he apologized, then looked at the merchant and said, “So, I need to give a signature? Do you have it ready?”
The postwoman curtly nodded, then passed Troy the clipboard. As soon as the man signed it, she immediately took it back and pushed a stack of boxes over. “In that case, this is all yours,” she said, immediately turned around and walked away, clipboard in hand.
Alcydes glared after the delivery woman, but finally looked away when she got in her car. “So, what did you order?” he asked as he turned around, Troy already tearing into the boxes with vigor.
“Nothing too expensive, just a few basic gifts that should help with adventuring,” Troy replied, then ripped a box open. He held up the plastic case for Alcydes to see the contents, before explaining, “With how often you run about, I figured these cheap walkie-talkies can help us keep in contact, for hunting prey and different viewpoints. These high-grade flashlights should help light up dark crevices, so we don’t miss any hiding monsters. Pretty sure there was a set of binoculars in one of these boxes, too…”
Alcydes stared at the man in shock, while Troy looked through the boxes. Lamplights and spyglasses were easy to find in proper cities, as most tend to sell them to mid-ranked Adventurers. But something that could actually let folks keep in contact with their party, without needing a backpack-sized item… Last Alcydes had heard, the closest comparison was the five-star Skill, [Party Call]. And Troy considered the same items to be cheap?
“You’ve got weird thoughts on costs,” he eventually commented. As Troy sputtered, Alcydes closed the door and walked back over to the kitchen. He was sure that the new items were interesting, but for now, the bigger need was food. A proper breakfast was needed, if they were going hunting again!
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“-Aaand with the inset charge-gems, that’s 52 jhodes, 47 krams,” the oruk attendant finished listing, and dropped a bag of coins on the counter.
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Troy scowled at the answer, but nodded in thanks as he put it in his guild tag. “I suppose some’s better than none,” he commented, then leaned over the counter and asked, “Anyways, I’m looking to start on the next quest. What do you have for me?”
The oruk gave a short noise at that, but pulled up a list for Troy to look over. While Alcydes began to play with his knife, Troy silently looked through the options until one stood out to him. “Collecting skills from… Murky Mudfish?” he audibly listed off, and tapped it in confusion. The details seemed pretty simple, just bring back at least five Skill Crystals harvested from the coastal fish. However…
“Just curious, but why do they need all the skill crystals from the fish?” he asked aloud.
The attendant rolled his eyes, but pulled up the list for himself. “Well, Murky Mudfish are well-known for having several skills that help our builders,” he commented, then tapped on the requirements, “Their [Weakstone] skill lets builders easily place beams and walls in stone, while the [Gutter Dump] lets them expel water from cracks and underground pits. Honestly, either of them would be great to bring back.”
Troy let out a small sigh, then rubbed his chin as he thought it over. “I do have that skill for getting skills,” he muttered to himself, then nodded to himself. “I’ll take that quest, along with the quest for hunting silt slugs,” he stated, tapping both quests to accept them.
As the oruk began to work on editing the forms though, a niggling thought began to dig into the back of Troy’s mind. Wasn’t there something he had to use, too?
The ding of the guild’s crystal finally let his thoughts connect, and Troy tapped the countertop in realization. “Oh! Actually, there was one more thing,” Troy commented, and pulled out the voucher as he asked, “I’ve been sitting on these vouchers for a while now. Where do I go to use them?”
“Just over there,” the oruk answered, pointing over at a corner. Troy nodded in thanks, and waved Alcydes over as he walked to the next booth.
As Troy got to the counter though, he perked up when he saw a familiar elven face on the other side. “Hey, Yvalyn!” he greeted her, the red-haired girl looking up at the greeting, “They have you running the armory today?”
The elven girl gave a faint sigh, then set her clipboard down. “Well, the guild needs all hands on deck, unfortunately,” she replied, but grew more animated as she looked at the voucher he had in hand. “So, what are you visiting the armory for? Finally decided to use your vouchers?”
Troy flushed at the comment, and rubbed his neck in embarrassment. “Was it that obvious?” he asked, glancing sheepishly at a faintly amused Alcydes.
“Well, it’s not like you were quiet, talking to Morets over there,” Yvalyn chimed, earning a snort from Alcydes. As Troy looked a bit dispirited at that, she coughed into her hand and took the vouchers from him. “Anyways, I’ll get the list of 1-star skills momentarily, but is there anything you’d like to have for your armor?”
Troy hummed in thought, then rubbed his chin as he thought it over. “Honestly, I’ve got the shield providing cover for my arms, but a helmet or shin guards would be great,” he mused aloud, then tapped his hands together when a thought struck him, “Actually, if you have any that’d leave more visibility for the eyes, that’d be great.”
Yvalyn nodded along to the description, and glanced over at a closed door. “Well, I’m sure we have a good number of helmets that should work,” she commented, then pulled out a list from under the counter, “Feel free to look these over in the meantime, and I’ll be back with a few options in a bit!” Troy nodded along to her words, and silently picked up the list.
The next few minutes passed in relative silence as he flipped through the list, a small frown forming on Troy’s face as he read it over. It was only the faint clang of metal that drew him out of his thoughts, and he looked up from the list to find Yvalyn had returned, a loaded crate in hand.
“Well, here’s the ones that should fit you,” the elven woman chimed, and began to set different helmets out on the counter. “Given you want high visibility, I mainly grabbed oruk and dwarven-style helmets, as they’re specialized for wider visibility in dimly-lit areas,” she listed off as she set one in front of the man, “Personally, I prefer the Damselwasp style, as it gives extra protection to the eyes from lower attacks, but I think the Turtlehawk style may work better.”
At the comment, Troy picked the offered helm up and looked it over. While the helmet was mainly an unpolished gray, the metal was layered over the padded insides, like plated armor. With the segmented shell-like pattern keeping the top together, the sides were layered in a set pattern to protect the sides. However, the front was a single solid panel that curved to protect the face, with carved wings spread wide in the face cover as stylized eyeslits that were completed by a grill pattern down the middle. It didn’t have an open hole for his face, like the other models, but it worked well enough for visibility.
Troy looked over the front and back, before he finally slipped it over his head. The metal clattered faintly as it slipped on, and Troy tugged it down before he looked around experimentally. “It at least gives me plenty of vision,” he commented, glancing around before he turned to look at Alcydes, “What do you think of it, Al?”
The elfkin tilted his head in thought, before he finally gave a thumbs-up. “Looks good,” he commented, then tilted his head the other way as he added, “You may want bigger gaps for looking up and down, though.”
Troy looked up at the ceiling to test that, only to find his upper vision obscured by the metal covering. “Yeah, I think you have a good point there,” he agreed, and took the helmet off before he looked at the other options. As he picked up a model with a larger range of sight, he glanced back at the list for a second before a thought struck him. “By the way, why are the Skills on a list, but not the helmets?” he asked Yvalyn out of curiosity.
At the question, Yvalyn’s expression went flat, then pointed at Troy’s guild tag. “Why would we, when the Crystals are one-time use?” she bluntly retorted, making Troy balk at the reminder, “If we had them out in public, scummy adventurers would ‘sample’ all the valuable ones, then run off without paying.”
Troy weakly chuckled at the reminder, then looked around with the new helmet to test it out. “Hard to argue with something like that,” he agreed, before he set the helmet away from the rest. “Anyways, that helmet should work a lot better for me,” he decided, then picked the list up again to read it over. As he looked over the bottom third though, a particular item stuck out to him:
SKILL NAME: Ingrain Tab
Rank: ✩ | Type: Active | Cost: 5 MP/second
Effect: While active, the user uses their mana to lock
an organic object in place against a solid surface.
The durability is unaffected, but the object
cannot be moved until the effect wears off.
“Can’t be moved, huh?” he mused, the idea bouncing around in his mind. As he began to think it over though, Troy began to lowly chuckle, his voice growing louder as the ideas grew in his mind.
His laughter eventually stopped when a smack struck the back of his head. Troy yelped at the impact, and glared back at Alcydes, before he turned back to Yvalyn. “Yeah, I’ll be getting the helmet here, and the Ingrain Tab skill,” he decided, and put the list down before he stepped back.
Yvalyn nodded along to the request, only to frown when she processed the request. “Ingrain Tab?” she pondered aloud, tapping her cheek in thought, “I thought that was mainly used for carpentry jobs over adventuring.”
“Let’s just say I intend on making use of the requirements being a bit more vague than intended,” he commented, and put the helmet in his Guild Tag as he added, “However, I’d be happy to show what I mean… if it actually works.” Alcydes snickered at Troy’s sudden cynicism, but Troy waited patiently while Yvalyn went into the storage room for the Skill Crystal.
When the red-haired elf came back out with a Skill crystal in hand, she set it on the counter in easy reach. Troy eagerly snatched it up, and looked it over before he slowly fed mana into the crystal. With a flash of light, the crystal dimmed, and the message soon appeared in front of Troy:
Skill Transferred - Ingrain Tab!
Troy grinned in satisfaction at the message before he reached into his guild tag and pulled out the polished shield from his storage. While it had been polished and covered with a special lacquer to keep it from water damage, it should still be organic enough to work…
With a few grunts, Troy slid his arm into the leather straps installed into it, and slammed the shield’s edge down on the ground with force. “[Ingrain Tab]!” he declared, and fed his mana into the shield. Rather than flowing aimlessly through the half-shell though, he felt his mana be guided down to the ground and spread out.
With the skill being activated, Troy grinned when he saw the shell become visibly lustrous, and pulled back to try bending it. When it failed to move at all, he turned to grin at Alcydes and asked him, “So, think that’ll work better to keep attacks from breaking through?”
Alcydes tilted his head, but didn’t argue as he stepped away. “As long as it keeps those slugs from knocking you around, it’s at least an improvement,” he shot back. As Troy sputtered and other adventurers laughed at the comment, the elfkin stood up before he walked out to the door. Troy eventually shook his head, but soon put his shield away and ran after Alcydes.