After looting three of the Goblins closest to himself, Lee only received some copper coins. He returned to join the others as he checked his status.
Name: Lee Barnes
Titles: None
Level:4 XP: 440/800
HP:135/135 MP:175/175
Stats:
Strength: 7
Dexterity: 8
Constitution: 10
Wisdom: 11
Intelligence: 13
Luck: 10
Unused Points: 6
Skills: Identify, Mana Sense, Stealth, Mana Manipulation,
Spells: Conjure Water, Earthen Strike.
Abilities: Language Comprehension, Healer’s Touch, Hidden Cache.
Shocked at his massive gain in experience, he asked. “What level was the Hobgoblin? I couldn’t identify it.
“It was level nine. Goblins sometimes become Hobgoblins after they level up.” Ruven replied.
“All I looted was some of these coins.” Lee showed the coins to Ruven and Neia.
“Goblins don’t have much loot to begin with, you mostly gain coins. You can find something like this though.” Said Neia, tossing a small tribal-looking necklace over to him. The necklace had a bird skull as its centerpiece, surrounded on both sides by teeth from some animal he presumed. Lee identified it.
Feathered Fang Amulet (Uncommon): An amulet worn by a leader of a small Goblin camp. Provides a small boost to luck.
+1 luck when worn.
“Is something like this expensive? Also I hit level 4, halfway to level 5.” Lee said while giving the amulet back.
Neia took the amulet and put it in her Bag of Holding while saying. “It’s not cheap, but it’s not considered expensive like this Bag of Holding. A low level crafter would probably buy it for a small amount gold coins. Let's get moving, this place smells terrible. I also don’t want any more delays.”
Lee, Ruven, and Neia all began to head back into the forest to continue their journey to Neldam.
Along the way, Lee asked questions to get some more information about this world. “So, these coins. “ showing the copper coins. “What are their denominations? How many different coins are there?”
Ruven was the one to reply. “There are copper, silver, gold, and platinum coins. one-hundred copper makes one silver, one-hundred silver makes one gold, and one-thousand gold makes a platinum.”
Lee, now understanding the currency, asked about the purchasing power. “How much could each of those coins buy? What are wages like?”
Neia was the one to answer. “For a single copper you can buy a loaf of bread, for a silver coin you could get a set of normal clothing, and for one gold you could buy an expensive dinner at a nice restaurant, or an extravagant set of clothing. Normally, those in positions of power only have gold coins to spare for things like that. I don’t know for sure about platinum as I've never had one.”
Continuing with this line of questioning he finally asked a question he probably should have asked long ago. “Where are we? Like, where are we in relation to the rest of the world? Also, what is this world even called?”
Neia slows down a bit and looks towards Lee. She quickly sent a glance toward Ruven, before quickly turning back to Lee. “Let’s start large. The world is called Pallesia. You are on the continent of Mortia. You are on the border of the Kingdom of Thexis and the wilds. Currently, you are in the Shadowgrove Forest.”
She held up a hand to stop Lee from asking more questions as she continued to explain things herself. “There are three known continents. Mortia, Delna, and Erobar.” Looking back to make sure he was listening, she continued her lecture. “On Mortia, there is the Kingdom of Thexis and the Kingdom of Bardum. They take roughly forty percent of the landmass; the other sixty percent is wilderness.”
She gave a small look around the forest to orientate herself while saying. “To my knowledge the world is composed of mostly Humans. Roughly seventy five percent of people are Human, though that number is falling. Do you have any questions about what I've said so far?”
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He was listening raptly at attention trying to absorb all the information. “No, you may continue.”
Before she did, she asked him a question of her own. “Lee, you said you knew a little about Elves, and you seem to know a little about Goblins, do you know of the races of the world?”
Taken a little by surprise, he just assumed the basics of Elves and Dwarves. “I don’t think so, they might be familiar to me by name but obviously things are different.”
Nodding, Neia continued her lecture. “There are of course, Elves, there are the Dark Elves like Ruven and I, but there are different types of elves as well. You seemed to know of the Wood Elves.” She gave him a dip of the head in acknowledgment. “There are also the High Elves, but there are very few of them left.”
Lee conjured some water to drink while listening to Neia. “There are Humans, Dwarves, Beastkin, and Faekin as well. Though I am afraid I don't know too much about them.”
They had been traveling for most of the day at this point, so Neia decided to call for camp with night approaching.
After setting up camp, Ruven went off into the forest again to hunt for something to eat. Alone with Neia, he decided to ask some personal questions. “I hope you don’t mind me asking, but are you and Ruven related in some way?”
Neia snorted and barked out a laugh. “Hah! I suppose we do look rather similar to you, but no, we are not related. What made you ask?”
Lee pointed out the obvious. “Well, you have the same colored hair, eyes, skin color, and you’re both very tall.”
Neia, now chuckling, answered back. “Most of us have this hair, some of us have gray, or white as well. Occasionally you can find someone who dyes their hair. Just coincidence about the eyes, but I'll have you know I am fairly short for a Dark Elf.”
Lee took this in stride and then asked one final question. “I hope this isn’t rude, but how long do elves live and how old are you?”
Neia looked a little apprehensive about this one but ended up replying in the end. “We can live much longer than any other race. That’s what I will tell you.”
Ruven arrived with dinner, another Jackalope. “Don’t mind me, keep talking.” He joked as he made his way over. He handed the corpse to Neia to loot. I guess if it’s not a pressing matter, you might as well let the person with the highest luck loot it.
Ruven, while setting up some skewers said. “We should arrive at midday tomorrow. You can finally get some clothes." Once done, they all sat around the fire and ate another bland, chewy, gamey bits of Jackalope.
After setting up his furs for sleeping, Lee began to think about being in civilization again and seeing the people go about their places of business. The thought of finally getting out of the forest brought a smile to his face. Things were starting to feel more real. He was starting to feel like he had a real second chance at life, one he could do some real good with. He would have to get level five sometime; maybe he could ask to join Neia and Ruven on their next outing? He doubted there was much, if any, monster or animal killing in the city. Excited to have a little bit of safety ahead of him, he laid down to sleep.
========
Ruven watched Lee’s chest, and seeing the slow up and down breaths, he knew he had fallen asleep. He walked over to join Neia, sat next to her, and stared into the fire. “He’s done well out here and he has never lied to us.”
Ruven looked from the fire to Neia. She was staring into the fire as well, he could see the reflections of the flame in her glowing green eyes.
She looked away from the fire to face him, revealing her thoughtful look. “I think he is special. He has appeared here in our forest, we just so happen to be nearby and find him before any monsters did, he has an ability which lets him speak to us, and he is kind to us.”
She turned away, thoughtfully gazing into the fire once more. “I know he does not know the past as we do, but it gives me hope. When he inevitably leaves us he will find out the past. He will be asked about his Glacial element and he will tell them about me. That’s all that needs to happen for him to learn. The impressions we as a people make on him now will be our chance.” She repositioned herself to face Ruven fully. She looked at him and sincerely asked. “Do you think I am wrong? Is this wishful thinking about a singular person?”
Ruven thought about her words. “His goal is noble, he wants to be a healer, it’s not hard to know why.
He stole a look over toward Lee and saw his dirty gaunt form. “I don’t have any doubts about his character any longer. We are the ones who saved him, taught him about the world, and led him on his path towards his goal. There is no doubt in my mind that tells me he won't speak highly of us.”
He adopted a wry smile as he asked Neia. “How shocked do you think everybody will be? A Human in Neldam. Walking the streets.”
He watched as Neia began to chuckle, but soon her hopeful laughing face turned to one of worry. “What do you think he will think once he finds out who we were?”
Ruven waved her question away like it was a useless question. “He’s not dumb, he is just lost and completely out of his depth. He will know that people can change. He himself has changed in these last few days. All will be fine.”
========
Waking up in the morning, Lee was excited to get out of the forest finally. Neia, who was watching for threats from the forest, noticed him rising. Ruven was still sleeping peacefully by the fire, so he got up and worked his way over to sit near her, using his furs as a cushion. “So what is the plan for once we reach Neldam?”
Neia sensed his excitement and let out a smile. “If we skip breakfast we can be there a tad before noon. We can eat once we arrive---After we get you some clothes of course.”
She chuckled before continuing. “There might be some difficulties at the entrance with bringing you in, but it should be little trouble.”
Lee was about to chat a little more, but she waved him off. “Let's wake Ruven and be on our way.” While Neia woke Ruven, Lee identified one of the many purple trees, figuring that he should have done so earlier.
Amethyst Willow (Common) - These trees are plentiful and beautiful. Found exclusively in areas seeping with mana.
Ruven, now awake, was okay with skipping breakfast and arriving earlier for lunch. Neia killed the fire and began leading once more. About an hour later, Neia stopped and turned, smiling, motioning Lee over. Curious, he joined her and saw her pointing upwards at an angle into the distance. Through the low purple canopy, he spotted a Garbola tree, one of the largest he’d seen. It was similar to all the rest but even larger in stature, having red leaves and twisting branches; you could make out the grooves on the bark from here. “Neldam’s at the base of that Garbola. We refer to it as The Sentinel. We should arrive in a few more hours."
As they continued on their journey, Neia and Ruven began to relax more and more. Towards the end, they casually walked, not bothering to search for any danger. Having never gotten close to a Garbola before, he was shocked to find that there was roughly a mile-wide gap between the base of a Garbola and the many Amethyst Willows.
Off in the distance, at the base of the tree, he saw the entrance to Neldam. It was not what he expected at all. Between two of the enormous root offshoots that burrowed into the ground rested a large giant hole leading into the tree itself. Even from this great distance, he could see a few people outside. His excitement was now fully on display with his smile. He followed Neia and Ruven into the large mile-wide clearing leading to the hole in the tree.
While walking towards the entrance, Ruven and Neia both chuckled at Lee's apparent awe. Ruven quipped, “You know, if you're surprised by this what are you gonna think about the actual thing?”
Neia shook her head, wearing a wry smile. “Let the boy be surprised, I remember your first time out, don’t make me bring it up.”
Ruven instantly settled down.
Lee laughed loudly as they inched closer to the entrance to Neldam. Finally, he was beginning to feel like his second chance was finally here.