I cut off the rat tails and gathered as many caltrops as I could find. Holding a knife in my left hand and my axe in the right I slowly crept out of the cave.

Walk, listen. Walk, listen. It took a while, but I made it back to the door.

Opening it in triumph I stared at the grim-looking face of Instructor Falaise. “Hey, I did it!”

“You should have died.” Her arms were crossed.

“Why are you upset? I won.” I asked, quizzically.

“The slime was there so that you’d learn to retreat. It shouldn’t have been defeated at your level.” The instructor actually stomped her foot in anger.

The sea elf took a deep breath, visibly getting herself under control. “But congratulations are in order. You’re the first to earn a second priority point in magic.”

“Uh, I don’t think I’m going to put it into magic.” I shook my head.

“What? Where will you put it?” Falaise cocked her head to the side, ears slanting forward.

“Fortune.” I said.

“Oh, really?” Instructor Nills, who had been leaning against the far wall, said with eyebrows climbing his head.

“Yeah. The expendables we talked about really worked. They are the only reason I’m standing here right now. That and my shield was destroyed by that stupid slime.” My jaw clenched.

“Which you should have run from.” Falaise said firmly. “Look Mike, it isn’t advised for a trainee to divert priority points. Once you get to three in one of the categories, you’ll be awarded a kit. That’s a huge power up.”

“Yeah, but raising my agility and intelligence I’ll get more health and mana points, anyway. With the increased money I’ll be able to reequip and with higher fortune, I’ll get access to more spells.” I held my hands palms out.

“He has a point, Falaise.” Nills told her.

“You just want someone to advise.” The sea elf snapped back.

“I’m really not looking to play favorites. It just seems like this will give me the best chance to get my third priority point. The advantages of putting one into fortune are better than putting another one into magic.” I ran my hand through my wiry hair.

“Have you placed the point yet?” Falaise asked.

I paused for a moment, going to my memory place. There were four dials. The second one said FORTUNE. He turned it one click. “Just did.” I smiled.

“Ugh! Nills, he’s all yours.” Instructor Falaise stalked off, muttering to herself.

“Okay, come with me. Let’s review that priority.” Instructor Nills said, pushing himself off the wall. We went down the hallway to the stairs.

As we marched along, I passed Jackson going the other way. We fist bumped. “Good luck, brother!” I told him.

“Aw man, you know ah won’t need it.” He drawled in that good natured way of his. I was still grinning when we went up the stairs and reached Nills’ office.

Mike settled down in the chair while Nills got out his tablet. “If you’re going to designate your attribute points, please do so now.” The instructor told him.

I went to my memory place and put one point into Agility and another in Acumen. With four being the break even point, and I think average for a human, I’m starting to look decent. At least a village somewhere isn’t looking to hire me as their idiot.

Attributes

Agility 2

Brawn 5

Health = (7) x (1) = 7 hit points +6 for Dwarven Toughness = 13 Health

Acumen 6

Perception 3

Spirit = (9) x 2 = 18 mana points

I also get four more skill points because of my raised Acumen. I’ll put one each into Listen and Spot. Then I think I’ll put one each in my Craft (Alchemy) and Profession (Runecaster). Okey, dokey. Skills are also starting to round into shape.

Primary

Bluff +2

Concentration: +2 (+1/Profession)

Craft (Alchemy) +6 (+3 racial bonus, +2 Acumen)

Heal +1 (-1/Perception)

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Lore (Arcana) +3 (+2 Acumen)

Listen +1 (-1/Perception)

Profession (Rune Caster) +4 (+3 racial bonus)

Spot +1 (-1/Perception)

Secondary

Hide -1 (-2 Agility)

Move Silently -1 (-2 Agility)

Runescribe +4 (+1/Profession, +2 Acumen)

Search +3 (+2 Acumen)

Spellcraft +4 (+1/Profession, +2 Acumen)

Summoning +1

“Okay, let’s talk spells.” Instructor Nills told me as the hologram started playing over the tablet.

“Do you want me to just go to my memory place and get them?” I asked.

“No. You won’t be able to do that much going forward. Each time you gain a new spell level, you’ll be able to copy up to one per point of Acumen modifier into your spellbook. That means since you are still on zeroth level spells, the first one you write down would be the only one you get.” He said.

“Oh wow, good tip.” I nodded.

Nills flipped through a scroll. “You have the basic Conjuration, Divination and Shifting, right?” He asked absently.

“I do, yes, sir.” I confirmed.

“Hmm, there isn’t a lot here that’s particularly suitable to you.” The instructor commented. “I mean, Magnified Radiance doubles the illuminated area from any light source. You’re a dwarf and use darkvision, so that’s useless.”

Magnified Radiance? Was that the best I could get? I suddenly had the sinking feeling I’d made a horrible mistake in choosing fortune.

“Okay, there’s two that may be of interest. Tough Hide is the obvious one. It increases the armor value of your skin. It’s a natural armor bonus too, so it stacks with worn armor. The other is Hydrate. That summons a gallon of water per level of the caster. That’s one gallon for you. I’m just thinking once you can cast first level spells that could be useful to combine with Snowball. A gallon of water is a lot of snow.” He looked up at me from his reading.

“Tough Hide sounds really good.” I chewed on my beard as I thought.

“Since that’s an armor bonus, you should probably purchase your new equipment before taking that spell. If you can increase your armor a good bit, it might not be necessary.” The instructor said.

“Good tip, yeah.” I told him as I sunk back into my memory place. The equipment was totally different. It had everything the previous armory had, but so much more. There was a beautiful bearded axe beside a two bladed monster. A good solid quarterstaff lay against the wall beside CROSSBOWS! I went over the crossbows, all giddy. This was a weapon I could use with my limited proficiencies and I even got a bonus due to my race.

There was a big heavy beast with a two handled pulley built into the handle right beside what looked to be a medium size with a curious metal and wood device. Picking it up the knowledge bloomed in my head. That was a goat’s foot, used to span the crossbow. It had an arch of carved wood and a handle. The handle fit into the arch and the bottom of it had hooks that grabbed the string. You then pull the handle back and it goes over the arch, spanning the bow. So clever. I’m absolutely getting one of these. Much better than throwing rocks to get monster’s attention.

A counter I hadn’t noticed went down from 100 to 65. I guess the crossbow cost 35 gold. Wow, that’s more than I had total as a zero to fortune.

“A crossbow just appeared out here. I’m presuming that means you purchased it?” Instructor Nills asked. I hadn’t realized I could hear the real world when in the memory place. That’s good information.

“Yes sir.” I responded.

“Go look at your armor options. Should be Studded Leather and a Chain Shirt, right?” Nills called out.

I went over to the armor racks. Everything that had been available at 0 priority to fortune was still there but two racks held a Chain Shirt and one had Studded leather armor, which was soft leather with little metal disks sewn all over it. “Yup.” I called back.

“Look at the studded leather and say Accoutrement out loud.” Nills told me. I did and the torso covering armor suddenly boasted a leather skirt made of strips of hard-boiled leather fronted with more of the little metal disks sewn onto it. Greaves with knee coverings would go over the wearer’s shin and a full helmet went from eyebrows to the back of the head, leaving ears and eyes free.

“Okay, that’s pretty cool.” I said out loud.

“Now say Mage Armor out loud as well.” The instructor said. I did, and the torso armor changed. The torso piece cut in from the shoulders a bit. The part that had closely covered the shoulder joint was replaced with a pauldron hanging over.

“Hmm, that looks like it offers less protection.” I chewed on my beard, studying the armor.

“Oh, it does. It also has no chance of spell failure. Notice the way it allows more flexibility at the major joints.” Nills said.

“Hmm, I guess that’s a big deal for a mage.” I said slowly.

“Yeah. Before too long, you’ll be casting spells all over the place rather than using spells as a setup for your axe. The leather armor only has a 5% chance of spell failure, so one out of twenty castings you shouldn’t have problems. This would remove that.” I could hear Nills shrug. “Of course, there is still the chance of failure from your shield, but you solve that by putting it down.”

Right, I said to myself. The increased protection is worth the money. The gold piece counter in my vision went from 65 down to 29. Ouch, expensive.

“Hey, what’s this really thick cloak hanging in the armor section?” I asked.

“Gorgon wool. It’s fabulous protection, but you can’t afford it.” He said. My fingers brushed the material. It was coarse and thick, rocky even. I bet it did offer good protection, though.

There were shields hanging on the wall. These had wooden facings. It looked like they are a sandwich with a layer of wood as the bread and hide as the center. I mentally purchased another round shield since I didn’t know how to use the heavier ones. The gold counter spun down to 28. That’s what I’m talking about. Good protection at a value price.

I turned to the gear area. The first thing sitting on a table was a backpack. It wasn’t fancy but had a top covered by a leather flap and two leather straps to go around my shoulders. Much larger capacity than my sack. I blinked to purchase it without a second thought. 26 gold remaining.

Now beside the pack was a metal rectangle with a couple of what looked like ribs going across the middle. I recognized this from my army days. It was a pack frame. They make the weight carry so much better. I mentally clicked to purchase it, but nothing happened.

“Instructor Nills, it won’t let me buy the pack frame!” I yelled.

“You don’t have the money. That’s fine craftsmanship.” He answered. Glumly I went to the next item.

Empty barrel, wine glasses, a bucket. Why would an adventurer carry a bucket? Candle, big piece of canvas. I could think of a few uses for that, but not at the moment. Empty metal flask, ink, a ladder. Who is carrying around a ladder? Normal lantern, not helpful to a dwarf. Locks, a mirror. Lamp oil. Paper, signet ring and wax. Sewing needle! I’ll buy a couple of them and thread. 25 gold remaining.

Then I came upon something interesting. There was an alchemy kit that looked like My First Science Kit I’d gotten as a kid. I didn’t need this, but it was interesting. Then a pile of leaves. I picked it up. Oh, a ghillie suit! These were used by snipers to hide better. Some shoes with soft bottoms. Ah, for moving silently. These were ten gold each, but it looked like they enhanced your skills.

Then I saw a leather box filled with bandages, unguents, scissors, and all sorts of healing equipment. I clicked purchase without a second thought. 15 gold remaining.

I walked back over to the bearded axe. I picked it up and swung it. Yeah. Clicking buy, I was instantly back in Nills’ office.