Quest: Secrets of the Tower
Objective: Discover the secrets within Gronwood Tower.
Reward: Spell Book, 100 gold pieces.
Accept? Yes No.
“Finally one I could turn down, eh?” Nate said, “I’m going in there anyway. Might as well get some gold while I’m at it. Accept.”
The entryway door into the tower was a deep blue that was close to black, with small white specs that made the doorway look like the night sky. Nate gently pushed the door open and stepped into the tower. The ground floor was a sitting room with a series of bookshelves wrapping around the exterior walls. A set of stairs to his right led both up and down with a small landing between flights. Three armchairs sat facing an empty fireplace.
A soft robe that was slightly moth eaten was tossed across the back of one of the armchairs. It was a little big for him, but he dusted it off and put it on, grateful to finally have some kind of clothing.
The bookshelves were empty outside of a few empty vials, which he put in his inventory.
“Okay, upstairs first, then basement,” Nate said to psyche himself up. Halfway up the stairs, he heard a scraping sound coming from the second floor. He swapped his healing spell with Camouflage. This time, his hand glowed white. As he cast the spell it made the sound of faintly rushing wind. He watched as his hand took on a translucence that made it blend into the background.
“Now you see me, now you don’t,” he whispered as he ignored his magic headache and crouched to continue up quietly.
His reticle changed to a line, and his Fatigue began to slowly drain. He stood and his fatigue began to refill as his reticle returned to the circle.
Nate excitedly switched between sneaking and not, but the scraping sound refocused his attention. A railing edged around the opening, and Nate snuck up to peak around it. The upper floor was a bedroom, complete with a full furniture suite. The wood of the bedposts was scratched up and heavily damaged. And there was a red dot on the compass of his HUD.
He heard a chittering noise, but the creature was outside of his view. After moving quietly back a bit down the stairs, he reviewed his inventory. “Can’t be too hard to make a weapon from what I have, right?” In his inventory, like he did with the parachute, he could select groups of items to craft together.
Adaptive Learning has added a new recipe. Steelbeak Ax. Ingredients: 1 beak, 1 bone, 3 strips of cloth. Using higher quality materials will increase weapon damage and durability.
He crafted the ax and pulled it from his inventory. The haft of the ax was one of the straight bones of the steelbeak, the ax’s head secured to it via the strips of cloth. It was shoddy, but given his need, it would have to do. It blended into the surroundings even as he inspected it.
Nate snuck back up to the bannister to get a better look. The creature terrorizing the bedroom looked like a large black rat with the big front claws of a mole and rows of sharp teeth beneath its twitchy black nose. The creature looked a bit panicked as it scoured the soft wood of the furniture. Nate whistled and it swerved his direction, nose twitching as it tried to find the source. It walked over to the stairwell and noticed his scent. A piercing scream reverberated through the room and Nate stepped back in fear. He missed a step, loudly rolling down the steps. The creature charged and leapt down at him.
He raised up his ax as the creature descended on him, and with a thought he triggered his Lucky power. His arms shifted noticeably, and the creature landed squarely on the translucent blade, seeming to split in two midair, spattering his robes with blood. His ax thankfully didn’t break, which he noticed as his camouflage spell wore off because of his attack. The burst of luck wasn’t long enough to drain him to the point of exhaustion or give him the headache from magic drain, but he felt the drop nonetheless.
“Gotta be careful with that one. Also, gross.”
Illusion has increased from Novice 0 to Novice 1. Total Magic increased by 1. Progression to Level 1 at 12%.
Sneak has increased from Novice 0 to Novice 1. Total Fatigue increased by 1. Progression to Level 1 at 16%.
Light Melee has increased from Novice 0 to Novice 1. Total Fatigue increased by 1. Progression to Level 1 at 20%.
You have slain rat-mole. Journal updated.
Looting the creature added 5 lbs of meat, 10 teeth, and 2 leather strips, and the blood across his robes dissolved as the creature did.
“So,” he said as he walked up to the bedroom, “rat-mole isn't the secret. Figures.”
The bedroom, other than the damage by the rat-mole, was in a shockingly good state. Even the curtains on the inside of the closed windows were intact. A small cabinet with closed doors was set against the bannister.
“Take a chance, roll the dice,” Nate muttered as he knelt before the cabinet. Just to try it out, he triggered his Lucky power as he opened the door. He felt the drain, but this time it was greater than with the rat-mole, leaving him feeling tired and with a headache.
It paid off. He found two spell books hidden in the compartment. One for the Mend spell he'd passed in the beginning, and one for a new spell.
Summon Short Bow.
Rank: Novice Conjuration.
Cost: 70 MP.
Effect: Summons a short bow to your hand and a quiver on your back. Bow and quiver last for 2 minutes or until you dismiss them. Quiver contains 20 arrows. Bow's damage depends on your Archery skill level.
His tiredness lingered even after his Fatigue bar had refilled. Nate checked his main page to find that his Exhaustion had spiked.
“Using the Lucky Power too frequently, maybe?” Nate thought aloud. Something he'll be testing later.
He dusted off the top blanket of the bed and put both of the books on it, climbing into the bed himself and sitting cross legged before them. As he leaned forward to pick up the first, the damaged front legs of the bed gave way and the bed tipped forward, now leaning at an odd angle.
“My bad!” He patted the bed in apology, “Should be able to fix you up soon, buddy.” Maybe he'd lost his mind after all.
The spell books looked largely the same, dark brown leather wrapped around thick parchment pages. Etched onto the spine and front cover were the spell's name followed by the school in parentheses. He opened the Mend book first.
The pages began to glow, with various runes slipping out from between the pages. As the runes made fascinating shapes in front of him, the book dissolved into rainbow smoke that smelled like flipping through an old acid washed book while standing in an ancient library. The runes drifted into his head.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“I love the smell of old books,” he said as he opened the second one a little closer to his nose.
You have learned Mend. Mend has been added to your character sheet. You have learned Summon Short Bow. Summon Short Bow has been added to your character sheet.
“Can't cast you yet, but I'm excited nonetheless.”
Nate's hand glowed a soft blue as he touched it to the bed. A sound of a faint or distant impact wrench accompanied the spellcasting. It only took half of his MP to fix the bed, and it almost felt like he had been reversing time in a localized area, like he'd rewound the bed's damage.
“Okay, that's awesome.”
Alteration has increased from Novice 0 to Novice 1. Total Magic is increased by 1. Progression to Level 1 at 24%.
Nate took out his pillow and his tattered cloud blanket, which he also mended after his magic regenerated. He got out of bed and pushed the cabinet to at least hinder anyone trying to get to him from the stairs.
“Don't know what's down there, so I probably shouldn't go to the basement this tired.” The moment his head hit the pillow, Nate fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
The night was long when Nate awoke feeling refreshed but a bit hungry. Checking his character sheet, he found that sleeping reduced his Exhaustion but slightly increased his hunger and thirst. “Glad to know that works the same. No time for breakfast yet.”
Nate stashed his pillow and blanket, dusted off his tattered robe, which he only just now realized he could mend. The fixed robe offered a bit more protection against the night chill, and the blanket from the bed over that made him nice and toasty as he pushed the cabinet back.
Ignoring the ground floor, Nate continued down the stairs, camouflaging himself and sneaking until he could see into the room. Like the floor above, the basement was a singular room. Across the room from the stair landing sat several tables with a smattering of odd looking, heavily damaged equipment. In the center of the floor were the remains of a magic circle that was cracked throughout. Shards of a dark green glass scattered across the ruined magic circle. To his immediate right was a bookshelf full of books and a chest that was as long as he was tall and came up to his belly button.
Nate looked down at his bare feet, then at the glass. “Yeah, let's take care of that first.” He picked up one of the shards on the outskirts of the circle and used his Mend spell. Shards flew up from the ground to reconnect to the one he'd picked up. At first he thought it may have been a bottle of some kind, but the shape became a fist sized gemstone instead.
Unenchanted Essence Stone. Type: Ingredient. Weight: 1 lb. Value: 100 gold pieces. An essence stone with no active enchantment. For use in Enchantment recipes and teaching skills to familiars.
He nodded appreciatively and tucked the stone into his inventory. He skirted around the magic circle, just in case there was residual magic, and looked at the bookshelf. There were books about magic theory, which interested him, but he put them in his inventory for later perusal. He found another spell book, this one for the Lore Dump spell, which he immediately opened and added to his spell list.
“Hell yes!” Nate made his voice sound like an old man, “Wisdom is only possessed by the learned.”
There were other books with interesting titles, so he stashed them all for later. Without television here as far as he could tell, the books would prove an entertainment necessity.
The tables were next. He mended the equipment but their use was still alien to him. From his limited knowledge of chemistry from his world, he figured the equipment was some form of distillery, but for what he didn't know.
Alteration has increased from Novice 1 to Novice 2. Total Magic is increased by 1. Progression to Level 1 at 28%.
“Getting closer! Now, what's in the box?!” Nate approached the chest and looked it over. The front latch was locked with a comically large lock with a large keyhole.
Nate's hand glowed orange as he cast the Multitool spell, enjoying the light sound of bricks being stacked as a translucent object appeared in his hand. It looked like a Swiss army knife with extra tools that had been made of clear plastic in a 3D printer.
He thought about needing to pick the lock, and the tool reshaped itself into a lockpick set.
“This is a big lock. How hard can it be?” Ten minutes passed before he knew it and the picks dissolved in his hands. “Fair enough.”
He recast the spell and set to work again. He understood how locks worked in the same way children understood how ovens got hot. He could feel the tumblers inside, but it took him several more castings before he got the hang of keeping them in place to rotate the lock.
Lockpicking has increased from Novice 0 to Novice 2. Total Fatigue is increased by 2. Progression to Level 1 at 36%.
“Thank you, Oblivion's stupid tumbler minigame!” He hummed the Legend of Zelda big chest opening tune as he opened the chest, white fog pouring over the opening.
The fog was thick and an unpleasant slightly skunky smell reached his nostrils. He wrinkled his nose and waved a hand to disperse the fog.
A thick fingered hand covered in dark red fur gripped the edge of the box from the inside. Nate fell back to the staircase, quickly recasting Camouflage and crouching just out of view.
Nate nearly fell over when a small Sasquatch rose out from the chest with a satchel slung across its right shoulder. He somehow knew the creature was young, likely because he still stood at Nate's eye level.
“Wh- where am I?” It said. Nate heard the guttural language of the being before him, and realized his sigil stone must have an on board translation power.
“Gronwood,” Nate said.
“Who said that?”
“I'm Nate,” he didn't step out from his hiding spot, “what's your name?”
“My name is- I'm not actually sure.” Confusion turned to frustration.
“I may be able to help with that.”
“Please do, if you can.”
“Okay. I'm coming out now. Don't try to kill me.” Nate stepped out from the stairwell and dismissed his camouflage effect. The sasquatch jumped a bit despite having been warned.
“Why would I kill you? How can you help me?”
“I'm something of a wizard, and I've come upon a new spell recently.” He took up the Lore Dump spell in his right hand, a soft green glow.
“Will this hurt?”
“No?” Nate said with zero conviction.
“Not a great tone, Nate.”
“Just hold still.”
They both heard the sound of shuffling cards as he cast Lore Dump and touched his new acquaintance. A window popped up in his view and he read it aloud.
Fuzbalingralod Growdenander
Level 25 Sasquatch (Apprentice Rank)
Sigil Stones: 2 (Alchemy and Garden)
Nate struggled a bit to get the name out. “I will never remember that, buddy. Do you mind if I just call you Fuzzball?” His journal was blinking again, but he ignored it.
“Fuzzball. I like it.”
“You're some kind of gardening alchemist!” Nate said, describing Fuzzball's sigil stones.
Fuzzball grew contemplative, “I can feel it within myself. Why can't I remember?”
“Would you mind if we look through your satchel? It may shed extra light on who you are.”
Fuzzball hadn't noticed he even had it on, but he pulled it over his head and they set it on top of the now closed chest. Within the satchel was a smaller pouch of jerky, a length of rope, several interesting looking vegetables, and a book. The book was smaller than spellbooks and had a colorful cover on the front of which read ‘Alchemical Recipes.’
“I think, Fuzzy, that you must have been the alchemist here, or their assistant.”
“Why did they freeze me?”
“Maybe the book will tell us. But there will be time for delving into that book soon enough. We need to do a bit of work before night falls, and I'm starting to get hungry.”
Fuzzball's stomach growled. “I've been hungry since I woke up.” He grabbed two pieces of jerky from the pouch and handed Nate one.
“You don't know what kind of meat this is, right?”
“No clue,” Fuzzball said as he chewed, “tastes good.”
Nate took a small bite. It tasted a little like deer, with somewhat of the tang of wild game. “So it does. I need to check something before we go back up.”
He triggered his notifications.
Illusion has increased from Novice 1 to Novice 2. Total Magic has increased by 1. Progression to Level 1 at 40%.
Sneak has increased from Novice 1 to Novice 2. Total Fatigue has increased by 1. Progression to Level 1 at 44%.
Divination has increased from Novice 0 to Novice 1. Total Magic has increased by 1. Progression to Level 1 at 48%.
Athletics has increased from Novice 0 to Novice 1. Total Health has increased by 1. Progression to Level 1 at 52%.
Perception has increased from Novice 0 to Novice 1. Total Health has increased by 1. Progression to Level 1 at 56%.
You have made a friend. Interface Sigil Stone updated. Chat functions now available. Character sheet has gained new ‘Friends’ tab. Fuzzball has been added to your Friends List.
Quest: Secrets of the Tower complete. Elemental Bolt spell book and 100 gold pieces have been added to your inventory.