The door was pushed open slowly, sending the small bell on its metal holder jingling, the entrant looking up in surprise.
Jake stared at the bell for a moment, before shaking his head, stepping into the store fully and looking around. The front half shop was lined with shelves, each packed with various common items like rope and tools, as well as other sundries and dried foodstuffs. In the middle, splitting the front of the store from the back, sat a wide counter, a set of wooden beams forming a barrier across the top like a cage. Jake approached, spotting a small bell hanging from one of the beams, reaching out ad ringing it.
“Be right with you,” a voice called, Jake peering into the darkness of the back of the store, noticing a number of shelves just as tightly packed as those in the front, though the contents seemed to be more valuable, including a few weapons and pieces of armour, “One moment.”
Jake watched as a man in brightly coloured clothes bustled out from behind a set of shelves, dusting himself off as he approached the counter, finally looking up at Jake.
“Ah!” he gasped as he finally saw the man, “Hello! Terribly sorry for the wait, it’s a little hard running a shop on your own.”
“Quite alright,” Jake nodded, slightly confused by the man’s initial reaction, “I, uhm…I have some hides and things to sell.”
“Excellent!” the man grinned, hurrying over, “But first, introductions! I am Jeremiah Carter, owner, and proprietor of Jerry’s Wares, but you may call me Jerry! A please to make you acquaintance Ser…?”
“Jake. Jake Grey,” Jake replied, the shopkeeper nodding.
“Ser Grey,” he said, “You said you had some items for sale?”
“Yes,” Jake nodded as he pulled out the six Corrupted Shadow Wolf Hides and piles of Hungry Pot Flower Leaves and Vines he had collected, deciding to keep the rest of his items for now, “This is what I want to sell.”
“Ah! From the Dark Woods?” Jerry hummed as he pulled the hides and plant stuff through the wooden bars, looking at them, “Hmm, these hides are in pretty bad shape, holes all over, and they appear to be affected by some malady. Unfortunately, I will not be able to pay much for them. As for the leaves and vines…those are always useful for poultices and such, I can pay a decent amount for the lot.”
“How much?” Jake asked, the man tapping his chin in thought.
“Shall we say forty gold pieces for all of it?” Jerry asked, Jake just nodding as he didn’t really know how much that was worth, “A deal then? Excellent! Now, is there anything you would like to buy?”
“Rope,” Jake nodded, “And some tools.”
“Right,” Jerry nodded, “Anything else?”
“I don’t know,” Jake admitted, “What do you have?”
Jerry smiled at the question, pulling a large book out from behind the counter and sliding it through the bars.
“Here is the catalogue for my store, I hope you find what you are looking for.”
------
“Finally!”
The shout startled the rest of the party as they turned to look at Shadow in surprise, the Rogue grinning as he waved his hands in front of him, obviously in a menu.
“What?” Andy asked the smiling man, Shadow lifting his nose as he explained himself.
“My [Small Blades] and [Hide] Skills both just hit level ten!” he said, “So I get to Ascend them!”
“That’s great!” Andy nodded, opening his own Character Screen, and checking his Skills, “My [One-handed Weapons] and [Shield] Skills are still only level nine, but I feel like they’re both close to levelling as well. What Skills did you Ascend yours to?”
“[Daggers] and [Sneak],” Shadow hummed happily, “Now I’ll be even more deadly!”
“It’s only because you’ve been kill stealing,” Sophie huffed, making the Rogue scowl at her, “What? It’s not like I’m wrong. You’ve been finishing off every enemy we’ve fought before any of the rest of us have a chance.”
“Yeah, well that’s just what Rogues do,” the man huffed back, “We finish off the enemy with one attack. Not my fault your magic can’t keep up.”
“Hey!” the Mage growled, stomping towards Shadow before Andy held out a hand between them, stopping her.
“Enough, you two,” he sighed, “We still have a few more goblins to beat before we’re done with this Quest, so let’s just get it over with. You can argue all you like afterwards.”
Andy watched as the two of them just nodded, still glaring at each other as he lowered his hand.
“You’re as talented as ever at getting people to listen to you,” Holi chuckled as she sidled up beside him, “You’ll make a good father in the future, I’m sure.”
“I don’t know about that,” Andy laughed, “Never thought myself much of a family man, to be honest.”
“Well, we’ll just have to see,” Holi hummed as they continued into the cave, “Now then, shall we get this Quest finished? I levelled [Healing Magic] and want to get back to town to learn a new Spell.”
------
Jake checked his inventory as he left the shop, having bought quite a few items.
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The first thing he’d picked up was an Apprentice Alchemy Kit, the description of which stated that it had a chance to increase the yield of the potions he brewed with it. Not by much, but he felt it would help. Of course, he’d also bought more rope, his original coil having been reduced to less than half its original length thanks to his use of it in crafting his original equipment. He’d also bought several bundles of Steel Arrows, deciding that he would save his Fang Arrows for special targets.
Apart from that, he’d mostly bought a variety of dried food and a few spices, figuring that he could use them to improve the meals he made with his [Cooking] Skill. He’d also bought some tools and materials for building, as well as something called a Blueprint. It was for a structure called a Simple Wooden Shed, but Jake was excited to return to his camp and begin building it. Of course, that would have to wait a while, as he still had some business in the town.
“You done?” Bertram asked as he leaned against the wall outside the shop, startling Jake slightly as he hadn’t noticed the man waiting for him, “Jerry didn’t try to scam you out of any coin, did he?”
“I don’t really know,” Jake shrugged, “I’m not too familiar with the value of things around here, so I just took his first offer.”
“Definitely scammed you, then,” Bertram laughed, “Never mind that though, let’s go get you settled.”
“Settled?” Jake asked, Bertram leading the way back to the manor house.
“Yep, big boss said you could stay in the top rooms, lucky bastard,” Bertram hummed, “Those are usually reserved for visiting dignitaries, not that we get many out here. He must like you or something.”
“Or something,” Jake nodded, still not feeling entirely comfortable in the town, “Anything else? I wouldn’t mind going back into the Dark Woods to check on some things.”
“Nope,” Bertram replied, “Just that the big boss wants you to stay a little longer. He probably has some more questions for you.”
“I see,” Jake nodded as they entered the manor house, walking through the tavern that had taken residence in the foyer, Jake noticing that the half-giant from before was still there, watching him closely, “And you’re sure I can’t go back to the forest?”
“Pretty damn sure,” the Assassin nodded, stopping on the stairs as he turned to look at Jake, “Bit of advice, you don’t go against what Machie says in this town. Not unless you want trouble. So, I suggest just going along with what he wants for now, even if you are a Traveller.”
“Right,” Jake nodded, swallowing nervously as the other man turned away from him, leading him up the stairs to the top floor once again.
The room Jake was given was just as ornately decorated and furnished as the office had been, bookshelves lining one wall and a large fourposter bed against the other. A fireplace roared against the back wall, filling the room with light and heat as he heard the door click shut behind him. Jake turned back to the door as a second click followed the first, noticing the heavy iron lock on it had been locked. Shaking his head, Jake moved over to the bed, stripping off his armour as he went.
He looked down at the ragged and worn starter gear he’d appeared in, the shirt dirty and threadbare, the pants not much better. Pulling them off, he spotted a tub of steaming water just beside the bed, a cloth hanging from its edge. He walked over, quickly grabbing the cloth and starting to clean himself of several days’ worth of sweat and grime. Once done, he felt quite a bit better, putting on the fresh clothes he’d bought from Jerry’s earlier, before putting his armour back on. He didn’t know why, but he just felt safer knowing he was fully armoured and armed, something about his current situation rubbing him the wrong way.
Jake waited for about an hour, eventually growing bored and starting to peruse the bookshelves. He quickly found that most of the books were fake, only one of the shelves having actual books, most of which appeared to be about various fiction and legends. He did find a book on the basics of magic, however, and quickly sat at the small desk in the corner to read it.
The first chapter mostly covered the six basic Magic types, explaining the four elemental magics and Healing and Dark Magic. From what Jake could understand, a person would always start with three basic Spells when they first learned a Magic Skill, usually an attack, a defence or buff spell, and what was called a Utility Spell. Checking his own Spell List, he had to agree. He was about halfway done with the second chapter, learning about the basics of Spell manipulation when the lock on the door clicked again, the wooden barrier swinging open as Pereion Machie crouched through it. The towering man looked over at Jake as he got up from the desk, nodding at the open book.
“I see you’ve been enjoying some of my collection,” he chuckled, the sound like rumbling stone, “I’m glad. Now then, onto the matter at hand, your Title.”
“What?” Jake blinked, staring at the giant of a man in confusion, “What about it?”
“To put it simply, I need it,” Machie hummed, stepping towards Jake, his long stride carrying him almost halfway across the room, “And I am willing to pay for it.”
“Pay?” Jake asked, a look of confusion crossing his face, “I’m sorry, but it’s not for sale.”
“I thought you might say that,” the man grinned, his pearly white tombstone teeth glinting in the firelight, “But at least consider my offer before you reject it outright.”
Pereion Machie has offered you 2000 gold for your Title: Owner of the Dark Woods.
Do you accept?
Y/N?
“What?” Jake blinked again, staring at the screen in confusion, “You can just…sell Titles?”
“Only specific ones,” Machie hummed, “Such as claims to land and property. Now, why not accept the offer? It’s quite generous, all things considered.”
“I…no,” Jake shook his head as he rejected the prompt, “Like I said, my Title is not for sale.”
“Was it not enough?” Machie asked calmly, though Jake could see the annoyed twitch in his eye, “My, it would seem that the stories of you Travellers’ greed are not as embellished as I thought. How about this?”
Pereion Machie has offered you 5000 gold for your Title: Owner of the Dark Woods.
Do you accept?
Y/N?
“No,” Jake immediately rejected the offer, “It’s not for sale.”
“Don’t make a foolish choice, boy,” Machie growled, his smile dropping into a frown as he took another step towards Jake, ending up right in front of him, looming over the shorter man, “This is for your own good.”
“My own good?” Jake snorted, “How? I know what this Title means, and I don’t think you’ll do what is best for the Dark Woods should I hand it over to you.”
“Best for the Dark Woods?” Machie laughed, “Why would I care about that? I need only worry about my own people!”
“You don’t seem to be doing a very good job of that,” Jake shot back, the tall man looking at him incredulously as Jake growled at him, “The townsfolk are wearing rags and scraps while you live up here in luxury. I wouldn't call that worrying about anyone but yourself.”
“Who said that they were my people?” Machie growled back, reaching down, and grabbing Jake by the front of his cloak, suddenly lifting him into the air, “Those pissants can wallow in their own filth for as much as I care. None of them have sworn loyalty to me, so they are nothing in my eyes.”
“What?” Jake blinked, “Loyalty?”
“Yes,” Machie laughed, dropping Jake just as suddenly as he had picked him up, scowling slightly when the Champion managed to catch himself, “Loyalty. Something you Travellers seem wholly unfamiliar with, considering you’re prepared to do the bidding of anyone as long as they pay enough for your services.”
“What?” Jake asked again, shaking his head as a spark of annoyance flared in his chest, “I have never done anything just for money! I did it because I cared!”
“You? Care?” Machie snorted, “You’re a Traveller, boy. You only care for yourself, probably more so than me! Now, do yourself a favour and accept my offer. Otherwise, you are going to come to greatly regret it.”
“No,” Jake snarled back, “My Title is not for sale!”
“Pathetic,” Machie snorted again, “I suppose I have no other choice in the matter. I, Pereion Machie, do Challenge you, Jake Grey, to a fight to the death for the right to hold the Title of Owner of the Dark Woods.
Jake blinked as the screen appeared in front of him before he could speak, making him stare in shock.