Walking through the city, Sam couldn’t help but feel the nervous energy permeating the entire area. People were walking faster, almost hunching in on themselves, looking around nervously or even fearfully, and the mana in the air was infested with a very thin layer of cloying miasma that was like sweat on a humid summer day. It was sticky and clung to the body no matter what one did.
Thankfully, Sam always had his Mana Shield up, so when the very familiar miasma tried to stick to his skin, it just slid off uselessly.
Sam scowled and began to hasten his steps towards the old man’s house to finish the quest. If the origin of the miasma was related to the people who planned the Monster Break for the city of Ironwood and managed to infest Lady Silvercrest with that parasite, then the destruction of one of their bases would more than likely change their timetables.
And because Sam only had the basics of the idea about what they were planning, he didn’t like that.
Navigating the shadowed streets of the bad part of the town, he soon arrived back before the old ranger’s house. When he looked around, he thought he saw the flash of somebody with a very small body watching the house, but when he went to take another look, the alley was empty.
Shaking his head, he stepped up to the door and knocked.
Compared to the first time he visited the old man, this time he didn’t have to wait even a few seconds. The door was almost wrenched open and old man Marak was standing there with tousled hair and mustache, holding an enchanted watering can.
“Who… Oh, it’s you!” the old man yelled, then grumbled as he recognized Sam. “Did you fail?”
“No, Sir. Item retrieved, monster pacified and…” he didn’t manage to finish his report as the older man grabbed him by the hem of his cloak and pulled him into the house, the door closing behind him automatically.
“Even the walls have ears, you moron…” grumbled the ranger, then placed the watering can next to the door rather aggressively and motioned to Sam to follow him.
They returned to the same room where Sam received his quest, took seats in the same chairs, and Sam watched through his senses as the old man performed the same procedure to ascertain if somebody was listening on them (though, it was more forceful than last time).
Sam spent a moment getting comfortable, while Lucky just left his shadow with a little hop and skip and settled before the roaring fireplace and closed his eyes.
He chuckled at his companion, then turned towards his quest giver.
“Is it safe?”
“As much as it can be in these times…” came the grumble from the old man. “There is just something in the air…”
“Miasma.”
“What?”
“Miasma is in the air.”
The old man closed his eyes, took a deep breath and Sam watched through his other senses as the mana in the air entered the man’s lung and as he exhaled, left it.
“Miasma.”
“Yes.”
“By the gods…” The older man shook his head, and then returned his attention to Sam. “Start at the beginning!”
“All right, Sir!” replied Sam while settling back in the chair and began to tell Marak about his journey. “I found the first symbol where you told me and then…”
----------------------------------------
“…and that’s about what I know.” Sam finished his explanation, followed by watching the older man as the room fell silent. The only sound that could be heard was the roaring of the fire and Lucky’s gentle breathing.
For a long minute, the old man just sat there with his eyes closed, contemplating everything that Sam told him. The forest, the giant cricket monster, the ruin, the miasma and the fights.
“I see,” spoke the old man up finally, then he opened his eyes and looked at Sam. And as Sam looked back, he couldn’t help but shudder at the look in the old man’s eyes. It radiated anger, sadness, guilt and was tinged with slight greenish light that reminded Sam of a forest after a fresh rain.
“Thank you, young man. You did me, the woods and the city, a great favor,” continued the old man. “But now I must ask you to leave. I have certain matters to attend to…”
“You’re going to visit that cricket?”
“Indeed,” the older man answered with a nod. “It is rather dishonorable that we had forgotten one of the protectors of the forest, even if they were asleep. So, I must rectify this.”
Sam nodded in understanding and noting the unspoken dismissal, stood up. Lucky, noticing his movement, also woke up, stretched, and then without a sound, jumped back into his shadow.
“Then I will take my leave. After all, I have to deliver the Chalice to the Silvercrest family.”
The older man nodded, and for a moment, the multitude of feelings in his eyes was replaced with humor.
“Good luck!” He snickered a little, then while Sam was making sure he had everything with him, he stepped up to one of the shelves and retrieved a rather thick tome. The old man stepped up to Sam, who was watching him interestedly, while inwardly salivating at the thought of what kind of reward he would get. “I noticed during your story that you had some glaring holes in your repertoire, so here, young man. Take it with my thanks!”
Sam took the big book and as he held it in his hand he noticed that it was surprisingly light despite its look.
“Thank you, sir.”
Then, without waiting for the old man to say anything else, he turned around and left the house leaving an old man with a renewed purpose behind.
The moment he left the last step leading to the old ranger’s home, a notification screen popped up on his screen.
[The quest ‘To peek or not to peek?’ has been completed!]
[You received the ‘Grimoire of Sharp Winds’ as a reward!]
Sam inhaled as he read the screen, then had to fight not to break out in joyous laughter. He didn’t receive a spellbook or skill book. He received a Grimoire!
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While spell books, scrolls or skill books only contained one spell or skill, a Grimoire, depending on their rarity and origin, could contain anything from one to several dozen spells or skills. Greater Grimoires sometimes even contained entire branches of magic. His original reward would have been probably one or two skills or spells, depending on how he did on the quest, but because he managed to finish it the way he did, it was upgraded.
Sam couldn’t wait to open the Grimoire and learn the spells in them. Carefully putting away the tome, he pulled his hood up and began walking slowly towards the Cloudy Inn. He needed a proper rest.
But as he walked by an unassuming alley, he heard a noise.
“Psst!”
Sam closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and turned towards the alley with a forced smile.
“Yes?”
He wasn’t disappointed, as covered by the shadows was a very familiar street urchin, looking up at him with a mischievous look on their face.
“Congratulations!”
Sam said nothing, just stared at the being masquerading as a boy (or girl, it was really hard to determine).
The urchin stared at him for a moment, then scowled and spat at the ground.
“Ugh, so not fair if you know about it.”
Sam raised an eyebrow, inwardly enjoying the frustration he was causing.
“Do you want anything?”
The Fey sighed and nodded. They reached inside their ratty clothing and retrieved a scroll that seemed to be sparkling as the minimal light in the alley hit it. They held it out for a second, then threw it towards Sam. Unfortunately, he caught it on reflex.
Sam froze, a thousand ideas running through his head as he held the still-sparkling scroll in his hand. He looked at the scroll, then back at the urchin who was smirking at him, and Sam knew it was a payback for his earlier actions.
‘They are a Fey after all…’
“What is this?” he asked, lowering his hand, holding the scroll as far as possible with all the delicacy of a man holding something horrible.
“Reward for a task well done,” came the quick answer.
“And what will it cost me?” he asked, already dreading the answer. On one hand, he wanted nothing to do with the shenanigans of the Fey, on the other hand, his gamer senses were screaming at him to obtain the probably rare item.
“Nothing,” spoke the urchin, scowling as if the word caused him physical pain. “You did us a favor. This is a repayment.”
Sam wisely decided not to ask what he did because he suspected it would only cause him more headaches. Instead, he silently put the scroll away into his inventory.
As he was about to figure out how to disengage from the conversation, he had a wicked idea.
“Say, are you guys free?”
The moment the question left his mouth, the brat moping in the shadows perked up and began eying him with interest.
“It will cost you, mister!”
He retrieved a handful of silver and threw it towards the Fey, who caught all of it with deft movements and vanished them into their clothing.
“I’m listening.”
Sam looked around and after not seeing anybody, leaned closer to the young child.
“I need you to spread a rumor…”
The Fey stepped closer, and Sam could almost see them vibrating in excitement.
“Yeees?”
“Make sure that everyone who needs to know knows, that the Greyskull Guild is planning to raid the warehouse of the Auction House.”
“Are they?”
“Of course not.”
Laughter was his only reply.
Sam watched as the Fey contemplated his words, and then they nodded.
“It will be done.”
“Good.”
Following an unspoken signal, both of them took a step back, the young street urchin covered in shadows and Sam bathing in the sickly light of the city.
Suddenly, Sam heard a crow’s caw and instinctively looked up, searching for the source, and after finding nothing, he looked back down and saw the alley was empty.
Shaking his head, he returned to his journey towards the inn, trying to forget that the previous meeting ever happened.
----------------------------------------
Back at the inn, he was fussed over by the overly energetic and very loud Andrea, currently dressed in a princess dress that somehow made her look regal yet kinky. Sam didn’t really understand, but the fussing felt nice.
After eating a decent meal, he begged off a drinking competition with Andrea, which was taken up by a slightly tipsy adventurer with wandering eyes nearby, and retreated to his room.
Chucking off the armor, and changing into more comfortable clothing, he spent a little time organizing his inventory, placing the Grimoire and still obnoxiously sparkling scroll on the table. Then he spent a relaxing half an hour feeding and playing with Lucky.
Running his hand through Lucky’s incredibly soft fur while sitting on the bed, his back to the wall, he took the Grimoire into his hand and channeled a little magic into it.
Immediately, it began to shine, and the wind picked up in the room, swirling around him for a few seconds until the book shattered into motes of magic which joined the wind swirling and after a few seconds of theatrics surged into his chest.
He just stared at the notification screen, wanting to know how many spells he would gain. Sam hoped that Lucky’s Lucky Aura would kick in…
The game didn’t make him wait too long as the wind died down and the light show was finished and the notification screen appeared.
[Congratulations, you read the Grimoire of Sharp Winds. Several new spells have been inscribed into your own Grimoire!]
[You have learned the spell, Wind Bullet!]
[You have learned the spell, Wind Bullet Barrage!]
[You have learned the spell, Healing Wind!]
[You have learned the spell, Wind Jump!]
[You have learned the spell, Wind Edge!]
[Wind Bullet: Level 0/10 (0%) (Active) A simple spell that allows you to launch a bullet made of concentrated wind!]
[Wind Bullet Barrage: Level 0/10 (0%) (Active) A spell that allows you to release a barrage of wind bullets at your target. The damage of the released Wind Bullets depends on the Wind Bullet spell and your mastery over it.]
[Healing Wind: Level 0/10 (0%) (Active) A spell that allows you to release a small gust of refreshing wind that restores a very small amount of stamina and health for the target.]
[Wind Jump: Level 0/10 (0%) (Active) A simple spell that allows you to launch yourself upwards (or forward) with a small application of wind.]
[Wind Edge: Level 0/10 (0%) (Active) A spell that allows you to enhance the edge of any bladed weapon you wield with the wind. The blade's cutting power will increase as well its reach.]
Sam stared for a long moment, but before he could celebrate, another screen showed up in front of him.
[Due to your mastery of mana, and the fact that you mastered one Wind type spell, after learning more than seven Wind spells, you have gained the skill, Wind Affinity!]
[Wind Affinity: Level 0/100 (0%) (Passive) You have a good affinity for the wind. Beings born of the wind will be more favorable to you. The cost of the Wind-type spells and skills is reduced and their power is increased by 0,5% for each skill level.]
That wasn’t as surprising, but it was still good news. Sam smiled, then went over his new skills, trying to figure out where he would or could use them. When he started building his skill set, he wasn’t really aiming for wind-type skills, but he couldn’t complain.
It wasn’t the ‘strongest’ element, but, for example, it was the easiest to get a flying spell in this element. If Sam wanted truly strong spells, without specializing in the element, he would need to delve into the sub-elements.
Like the Shadows.
Shaking his head, he dismissed the screen and reluctantly reached for the scroll that managed to drench the table in glitter.
‘Fricking Fey…’
Knowing that not opening it would more than likely anger the Fey, he unfurled the scroll with a harsh motion.
[Congratulations, the Fey deemed you worthy of their reward due to your action. We are very sorry!]
[You gained the skill, Shadow Mirage!]
[Shadow Mirage: Level 0/50 (Active) By making use of the Shadows, you are able to create a mirage of yourself near your real body. This mirage will not move, set in the pose as you were at its creation. Leveling up the skill this can be changed, as the mirage learns from its creator. Numbers of Mirages that can be currently created: 1.]
“Well, this is singularly incredibly awesome, and mostly useless without leveling up…” he murmured, a little in awe.
He knew this skill. In the future that never will be, one of the most famous assassins used this skill to perform countless assassinations on many prominent players, then leaving the scene while people were fighting his mirages.
Dismissing the screen, he threw a disgusted look at the glitter that didn’t vanish when he learned the spell in the scroll and decided it was tomorrow’s Sam’s problem.
Snuggling up to Lucky, he closed his eyes and logged out.