Alistair spent the next couple of hours repairing the step ladder and crafting rope as needed. He was starting to get the hang of it and was lost in a sort of worker's trance when he realized he was out of rungs to repair and had reached the top.
Oh, I’m done. Alistair said.
[Finally, let's see what this place has to offer then. yes?] Myst said, sounding slightly annoyed. Alistair didn’t know if it was how long it was taking or if Myst was annoyed by the silence Alistair had gone through after Myst made the snide comment.
Alistair stood on the platform that was supporting the main structure and was surprised that the tree house looked to be shaped from the tree rather than having been built onto it with lumber or the like. He wondered how such a thing was possible, but only for a minute before thinking Magic…
[What about magic?] Myst asked.
I was just thinking about how anyone could build a structure like this. it seems like it grew out of the tree, or with it. Alistair answered.
[Yeah, they call this type of magic “Shaping.” most people can do it, however, find it difficult with materials they are less attuned with and due to the expenditure of the shaping process with regards to mana.
What you talkin bout’ Willis? Alistair thought back, laughing a bit inside.
[Willis? Have you already forgotten my name? I swear to Mother… You are the one that came up with it.] Myst said, flashing a brief image of someone slamming their head into their open hands.
Never mind, Alistair said. What was that about material shaping?
[Shaping is an ability that allows you to manipulate materials, kind of like crafting, but this is more basic. Instead of creating an item per se, you would just move the material using your imagination and mana.] Myst explained. [Did your Earth have clay?]
Yes, we had clay. Alistair answered.
[Great, it's like molding things as if they were malleable like clay. Some people are more talented than others, they can get a clearer image in their head, while others can't. On the other hand, those who can imagine with a clear picture, might not have the patience and mana to shape it to what they are imagining.] Myst said.
Okay, so instead of crafting this tree house, someone shaped the tree to somehow grow a certain way, or molded the existing tree into this shape? Alistair asked.
[Precisely.] Myst answered.
How does shaping compare to crafting when it comes to mana usage? Alistair asked.
[Well, it’s a bit complicated. The more detail you are going for and the amount of area you are trying to shape constantly fluctuates. It is a channeled ability and not instant, so you can stop and allow mana to recover while working on bigger projects.] Myst explained. [Shaped pieces sell for quite a lot of money since they take longer to make, and usually have a more artistic flair to them. That is also not to mention that shaping allows people to make bigger things they otherwise would never be able to craft, since crafting is instant, and people do not have large enough mana pools to craft the pieces. Anymore that is.] Myst finished.
So anyone can shape? Alistair asked.
[To an extent, yes. Like I said it's an ability, so one would have to acquire it before actually shaping and the mana expenditure tied with the mental clarity one has to possess to shape anything is key as well.]
I’d like to learn this shaping, do you think you can teach me? Alistair asked.
[Sure, but let's take a look around this place first. I feel you are starting to get rather hungry.] Myst said as Alistair reached for the door.
Knock Knock.
[Why did you hit the door?] Myst asked.
I wanted to make sure no one was in there and I wasn’t just about to break into someone’s house. Alistair replied.
[Why would someone be here, the place is obviously abandoned, I mean you just spent time repairing the only way to get in…] Myst said.
It’s also the polite thing to do, at least on Earth. Alistair snapped back, realizing Myst was obviously right.
"I'm coming in!” Alistair shouted, feeling silly for doing so.
He opened the door and was surprised as he looked around. He saw that the inside of the front door was a spacious living room, with what looked to be rather fine-looking furniture. There was an intricate couch made of shaped wood and very comfortable-looking red and black cushions. The wood around the furniture looked very intricate, swirling in an almost weaving pattern. The closest thing Alistair could compare it to were Celtic knots. While they looked intricate, they also looked practical that formed with the wood to evenly distribute loads in a practical manner.
“Wow…” Was all that Alistair could say.
[Wow is right.] Myst said. [Whoever made these were very talented. So much so that if these were made in a capitol city, these would sell for thousands of Gold.] Myst said. These have to be very old, and made by someone that had an exceptional mana pool, or at the very least took a very long time to make.] Myst said, sounding truly astonished before continuing, [If I were to bet, it would be the former, because of how many pieces there are around this room.] Myst said.
Hearing that, Alistair took his eyes off the intricate pattern of the couch and began looking around more closely, and his jaw dropped. On the floor was a large white lavishly looking fur rug, it had intricate designs on the stitching that bordered it. He looked to the right and on the wall he saw paintings, with more intricate wood frames. The wood patterns themselves were art in and of themselves, but the painting he now saw encapsulated him.
To try and describe the painting he was looking at with just words would do a great injustice to the treasure he was now lost in. He was taking it all in, he felt as if he were being led into the painting ever so lightly. Every second passing by being more and more submerged in the details and… feelings? He felt alone, but not lonely. It was the type of alone that one sought after being overwhelmed by company. Relaxed, alone, and inspired. The scene in the painting reminded him of the lake he just visited earlier that day. In fact, apart from some minor details, he would have bet that the painting was of that exact lake. His eyes were beginning to tingle, he was feeling the breeze, smelling the water, and he could even hear birds tweeting in the distance. Suddenly he heard a splash as if a large fish jumped from the lake and he was back in front of the painting.
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“What was that?” Alistair finally let out after getting his bearings back.
[That is a landscape painting, from a very talented artist I would guess.] Myst replied, sounding somewhat dazed as well. [Before I was inside of you, I have seen many paintings, and they were good, and often overheard discussions about those paintings having similar experiences from the viewers, but I have never experienced that wave of feelings looking at them.] Myst started to explain. [I do not know if that is because I can feel things now because of you, or if this painting just resonates with you and me because we have been there before, but that was for a lack of a better word I can come up with, truly incredible.]
“Yeah. Is that shaping as well?” Alistair asked. “I feel like it's something more than just shaping.”
[That painting was created with a rare ability called “Imprint.”] Myst answered. Very few paintings have imprints on them in the world, but almost all of the most famous ones do. This painting could be worth a lot if sold to the right collector.]
“Looks like we stumbled onto a treasure cove then huh?” Alistair asked. “Though I don’t have any desire to want to sell these, in fact, the very thought makes me feel jealous and mad,” Alistair said, getting slightly worked up. He tried working the feelings out to pinpoint why and he just felt Mad at thinking about wanting to sell them, and jealous of the person buying them.
[Well, before we get into all of that, let's see if this place is claimed or not first.] Myst said.
What does that mean, claimed? Alistair asked, returning to communicating inside of his head.
[Sigh… Claimed? Did Earth not have claims? statuses that show ownership of property or not?] Myst said, once again sounding annoyed at having to explain the very basics of how this world works.
How about from now on we just assume that Earth was a place that had no statuses, now overlay that told you anything, that what you saw was what it was, and you had to either learn about the things you saw or be ignorant of the facts. Alistair fired back, getting annoyed that he had to keep asking questions about what he assumed to be common knowledge in this world.
[Okay, Claims are a status of a property. It tells you who in particular owns a piece of property. Like houses, land, art, and even items. All of that information comes to you when you use Identify. I guess it is my fault because I filter most of the information out when you see the readout I display for you. Myst said, quickly realizing what he just said.
Ah ha... So you are the one making those snarky ass comments every time I kill something or am making something?
[Well, yes… But I know you secretly find it amusing and so will continue to do so because I find it more amusing.] Myst answered, adding [especially because I can feel the faintest idea of what it makes you feel in that moment because you loosen your control on your connection.]
Alistair thought about it first getting annoyed, and then easing up because he realized that Myst has been so lonely over the years and is making the most out of this new situation. All right, Alistair said, just remember, there is a time and place for that, and would appreciate some restraint when in dire situations. I can’t get distracted reading those in times when I need to be on my A-game. Alistair finished.
[You got it. Continuing on about Claims. I filter all of that information out because it only pertains to the ownership of an item. And that is only really used when transactions are taking place.] Myst said, [like between a seller and a buyer.]
Okay, how does one change the claim of an item then? Alistair asked.
[The system does it automatically.] Myst answered almost immediately. [For example, if you were to try and sell one of the items you made, of which you have the claim rights. As soon as the buyer transfers the money to you, the claim status of that item will change to the buyer. This is how legitimate business is done.] Myst explained. [However, illegitimate business is still conducted these days. Buyers, typically shady ones, will buy property from a seller that does not have a claim to it, usually at a heavily reduced price, and then resell that item to those in desperate need of that item. Usually, this is mostly consumable things or things that can be used and discarded. If you are stopped and searched by authorities or guards, and they find items on you that you do not have a claim on, they will assume they are stolen, and confiscate them to be available to be claimed by the owner. The owner of the item then has the right to levy a complaint against the person found to be in possession of the item or not.] Myst finished.
Okay, so basically the same way Earth handles stolen property, though with this, the owner of items can be found out automatically by using "Identify.’"Alistair replied.
[Sure.] Myst said, [Now identify the couch or painting, or hell even the tree house itself.] Myst said.
Okay, Alistair said and thought, ‘Identify’ while looking at the floor of the tree house.
Treehouse (Enchanted) (Epic)
Claim Status (Owner): Unclaimed
Age: 873 years
[Well, there you have it, either the owner either unclaimed the property before he died, or he died of natural causes or a monster killed him. I guess he could have been killed by a person, who then died from natural causes or monsters instead, or some version of that passed down over the last 873 years.] Myst said.
Why is that? Alistair asked.
[Well claims can only be cleared or stated as “Unclaimed” when the owner either relinquishes their claim on a property themselves or when they die of natural causes or from a monster. See, In this world, a transaction occurs when someone kills a person who holds a claim on property.] Myst started, [And when that person dies by another either justly or not, their property is then immediately transferred to the one who killed the owner.] Myst said and before Alistair could ask a question, rushed on to say [However, if that killer is arrested and tried, and subsequently found guilty of murder or wrongdoing, upon the judge's sentencing, the ownership is then transferred back into the next of kin of the previous owner. This has been the way things are done since the “New Era.”] Myst finished.
Couldn’t the killer quickly transfer ownership of the property before they are arrested just in case they do get arrested? Alistair asked the obvious loophole coming to mind.
[They could, and they do, which is always a risk. They have their own profession, unfortunately. Usually done by the most desperate but they are what society calls “Suicide Burglars.”] Myst answered, [They are usually people in an unfortunate or impossible position and must sacrifice themselves to help the ones they either care about or are forced to by other criminals usually by holding family members ransom until the deed is done. Though, the last type they are typically found innocent by reason of forced coercion and are awarded freedom, in exchange they swear to aid the law in apprehending those responsible as well as for their testimony supporting the prosecution.] Myst finished.
Okay, this is a bit more complicated, and I feel we are jumping from kindergarten and high school. Alistair chuckled.
[What is kinder… you know what, never mind. I believe I get your point. Long story short, Stealing and murder is bad, but if you must, you better do so because you are protecting another life, and even then it better be justified.] Myst replied. [Now since this is unclaimed, I suggest we claim it for ourselves, that way we can own all of this, and sell it if we want to later on.] Myst said.
Alistair’s anger flared briefly at the mention of selling it again, but quickly went away before he asked, How do I claim it?
[…] That was all Alistair got back.
Claim, Alistair said while looking at the tree house.
Would you like to Claim Tree House (Enchanted) (Epic): Y/N
This is where you say “Yes.”
“Yes!” Alistair said, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.
Congratulations You are now the owner of Tree House (Enchanted) (Epic)!
Tree House (Enchanted) (Epic) has been set as your Home due to you not previously owning or residing in a qualifying piece of property.
Warning! Changing your Home can only occur once a year. This is due to the current Property Tax Policy.
Current Taxes Owed: 946 Gold and 25 Silver
“Property tax policy, what the fuck is that?” Alistair asked.
[Shit… Okay that's my bad.]