Zander stood over the dwarf at his feet, panting for breath after the fight he and his fellow orcs had just had with these dwarf merchants. He looked over his brothers and sisters in battle and smiled, none had fallen in the skirmish. This band of misfits that he put together was working out nicely, three raids and none of them had an injury that would keep them from entering the next fight. He looked back down at the dwarf, his smile turning to rage as hatred flooded over him like a tidal wave. He gripped his axe and raised it above his head, letting out a howl so loud that a flock of birds flew from their perches among the trees. He used every muscle in his body to bring the axe down on the dwarf’s face with all his immense strength. The dwarf’s head exploded from the strike, spraying blood, bone and brain matter all around Zander’s feet.
----
Timothy turned his head to look at Nava, “Thanks. To tell you the truth, I had no idea how I was going to make it through the night outside,” he said with a chuckle.
A smile touched the corner of her mouth, “I know. I have a knack for sniffing out lies.”
She was cut off by a burst of cold air rushing over her and Timothy when the front door swung open, revealing a large boarback. He was wearing a large breastplate over top of brown leathers covering the core of his body, stopping at the elbows and knees. He stepped through the doorway and looked down at the three dwarves, Nava and Timothy.
The two craned their necks to look up at him, “I hope he is a friend of yours,” Timothy said to Nava as he looked back at her.
She spared him a quick glance, “He is,” she said and looked back at the hairy boarback, “Hi Brian.”
“Wait a second! His name is Brian?” Timothy said incredulously.
Nava’s head snapped back at Timothy, “Why is that hard to believe? What were you expecting?”
“Killgore, Baraka, anything but Brian really.”
Brian snorted indignantly, steam pluming out of his nostrils and shook his head, “Nava, what have you gotten yourself into here? I am assuming that it was the McManus brothers, and not this guy, that caused all the trouble here,” he said in a voice so deep that Timothy felt, more than heard.
“Yes. They didn’t approve of me banning them from the tavern,” she extended a hand towards him, “Help me up.”
Brian bent down and grabbed her hand, it looked small compared to the size of his, which was saying something, she wasn’t a small woman. Timothy pictured his hand in Brian’s and thought that it would be ridiculous, like a mother holding a child’s hand. Brian started to pull Nava up to her feet, but when she put the slightest amount of weight on her left knee she crumpled to the floor.
“Uugh!” she grunted after collapsing to the ground, grabbing her knee, “I think that little bastard broke my leg,” she said through gritted teeth.
“I may be able to help with that. Brian, could you get her to one of the chairs?” Timothy asked, pointing to an empty table in the corner. In fact, it was the table that he had vacated while eating his dinner not too long ago.
Brian nodded to Timothy and helped Nava up again, this time supporting her left side. The two hobbled their way over to the empty table. Timothy looked around and saw that all eyes were on Brian and Nava, Good, he thought. He wanted to change out one of the gems in his glove but he speculated that it would be a bad idea to allow people to see him do it. Rift, with all his experience, appeared amazed by the gloves and what they allowed him to do. If something that seemed this simple was really this rare, he wanted to keep it to himself for now.
He rolled over and a blinding pain shot out of his shoulder from where the hammer struck him, Something must be broken, he thought. He gathered his will and refrained from making a sound as he rolled over and sat up. He pulled his gem pouch out, placed it in his lap and tried to turn his left hand over, Whew, he thought to himself, At least I can still move my arm. It hurts like hell, but still.
He opened the bag with his right hand and pulled out the green life gem and quickly gave his mental command to release the fire gem in the glove. The prongs released the gem into his palm and he quickly placed it into the bag. With this done, he did not have to fear any feedback, allowing him to be more cautious as he placed the green gem into the socket.
He placed his right hand on his left shoulder and opened himself up to the magic, life energy flowed into him from the green gem. It was warm and inviting like walking down a forest path on a cool spring morning, but there was something else there too. The feeling of something dangerous lurking in the underbrush waiting for an opportunity to strike. He focused on the calm, inviting portion of the magic and shaped it into a healing spell, green light emanated from his palm.
“Minor Heal,” he said as he cast the spell.
It was almost like putting Icy Hot on a sore muscle, there was an intense cold followed by a gentle warming sensation. Then there was a crack as the bone popped back into place. His instinct was to scream when he heard the sound but was able to keep it to a low grunt when the bone snapped back into place. It took him a moment to realize that it didn’t even hurt, it felt like all the times in the past when he cracked his knuckles. He laughed softly to himself as he realized how much of a wimp he must be to want to scream out because of the mere thought of pain.
He tried to move and stretch out the shoulder area and winced, the injury was not completely healed, although it felt better. He thought back to his time when he was in Kloe’s body and remembered how to enter a quick meditation. He closed his eyes and focused in on himself, feeling the magical energies flowing within him.
Good, he thought, I still have over half of my mana.
He cast the healing spell again, this time pouring his resolve into it, overcharging the magic with extra mana. He placed his hand on his shoulder again.
“Minor Heal,” Green light flooded out of his palm and into his shoulder, repeating the icy hot sensation. This time without the pop.
He moved his shoulder and stretched his chest once again, now without any pain, My god! Magic is awesome! He thought and stood up, Is this what this new world is going to be like? Magic and wonder around every turn, I am in.
He turned himself toward his old table and started to walk toward Nava and Brian when Candice stepped into his path.
“Are you okay?” She asked.
Timothy rubbed his chin, “Ya. I am good now. Nothing a little healing couldn’t fix.”
“I saw that! Why didn’t you say you were a healer?”
He glanced down at his left hand then back at her, “I can heal, but I wouldn’t really say that I am a healer. It is not my strongest path, and I can only heal little bits of injuries at a time.”
“That doesn’t matter, you CAN,” she emphasized the word, “heal. We have not had a healer here in ages. All of this could have been avoided if you had said something. Did the college send you?”
“I apologize for that. I didn’t know it was such a big deal, healing is relatively easy to get where I come from. Well, as long as you have the money, or insurance,” Timothy paused in thought, “Well, that costs money too, so ya, as long as you have the money.” He repeated, “and no, I did not come from the college.”
“What’s insurance?” She questioned.
“Eh, it would take a while to explain, and it is not really important right now. Please, I am not trying to be dismissive, but Nava needs my help to fix her leg. I can explain what insurance is at another time, would you please excuse me?” Timothy asked politely.
She almost exploded, “You’re going to help her after the way that she treated you? I mean, I was surprised you helped her at all in the fight. She had it coming to her.”
“I appreciate your concern, but I don’t look at it that way. She was doing her job, trying to protect you and everyone in this establishment. Why would I be upset with her?”
“Because she was being a bitch about it,” Candice said, but the aggression was dropping out of her voice.
“Ya,” he scratched the stubble on his chin, “Maybe a bit, but I can let that slide. I am sure she deals with ignorant drunks, like those dwarves, on a regular basis.”
“She is always like that,” Candice said, looking down at the floor, “but you’re right, she does get her fair share of the riffraff.”
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“Then she probably needs to keep up the tough girl persona to dissuade as many confrontations as possible.”
Candice thought about it for a second, “You are probably right.”
Timothy gave her a smile, “Now, if you will excuse me.”
“Of course,” she said and stepped out of his way.
He continued on his way toward the table with Nava and Brian when the bard started playing a soft tune that grabbed the attention of most of the patrons. It seemed to leave him unaffected, but he was unable to tell if he resisted the music or the magic was avoiding him. He had let his magical sight fade some time ago during the fight and he had left his staff on the floor. A slight panic filled him as he realized this and glanced back to where it should be. It was missing!
Damnit! He thought before he saw Candice handing it off to Roric behind the bar. Roric nodded his way as he briefly held the staff up and then placed it behind the counter.
“Thanks,” he said to both Candice and Roric.
When he reached the table, Nava was sitting in the chair that he had been sitting in a few minutes ago while he was eating his dinner. She had lifted the left pant leg up over her knee revealing a leg that looked like it was chiseled out of granite by some ancient Greek sculptor. The kneecap was a different story, it was askew and distended to twice the size it should be. Her green skin was a sickly purple and reddish blue all around the wound and a bit of the bone had broken through the skin. Blood trickled out of the laceration and down her leg, dripping onto the floor.
“You are one tough woman,” Timothy said, “I would be crying like a baby with an injury like that. Can I take a look?”
“Are you a medicine man?” Nava asked through clenched teeth.
“No, but I do have some healing magic.”
“You’re a healer!” She practically shouted with surprise.
Timothy sighed, “I can heal, but I am not really a healer. It is not one of my strongest paths,” he repeated what he told Candice.
She looked at Timothy skeptically and then to the wound, her body language suggested that she decided to take the help, “Go ahead.”
This looked bad and Timothy decided that he was going to overcharge the spell right off the bat. He opened himself up to the magic flowing from the gem and forced his resolve into the mana. His palm glowed as brightly as it did when he healed himself for the second time.
“Minor Heal.”
Nava’s kneecap moved back into place, but it did not fully reattach, and the wound was still bleeding. Worse now that the bone was no longer filling some of the laceration. Timothy prepared the overcharged spell again.
“Minor Heal!” he said a little louder. Not that it was necessary for the overcharged spell, but his frustration at himself for not putting more into healing back in the prep room was bothering him.
The wound closed and the kneecap looked like it had attached itself where it belongs. Nava jolted a bit after the last spell, but Brian acted quickly and kept her restrained.
Timothy could feel a mental tiredness waiting on the horizon for him with his mana getting low. He closed his eyes, three quarters of his mana was gone, no wonder he felt like he was nearing the end of a race. He pushed through with another overcharged spell.
“Minor Heal,” Timothy was nearly exhausted after the last cast. The swelling subsided and the green skin color returned to her knee, and she straightened up as the bruises on her side were almost completely healed.
“How do you feel now?” Timothy asked.
Nava moved her leg and twisted her torso testing the injured areas, “Still a bit sore but nothing that won’t heal over the next few hours,” she looked at him, “You look tired, almost out of mana?”
“Almost, yes,” Timothy replied.
“Nava, if you are okay now, I will go and arrest those three,” Brian said, turning to Timothy, “Thank you for the assist with them.”
“No problem. I am sorry it had to come to that.”
“These three have been causing trouble for the past few weeks. It was bound to happen,” Brian added. He reached his hand out, offering it to Timothy. The two shook hands, and it was as ridiculous as Timothy had imagined, Brian’s hand engulfing his. Brian must be seven feet tall, probably more, and made Timothy feel like a kid as he stood in front of him.
After Brian left the table Nava stood up and gently punched Timothy in the shoulder, “You aren’t bad in a fight. Not great, but not bad either.”
Timothy was not a short man, standing just over six feet tall, but Nava was a whole head taller, I knew that these two races were tall, but seeing it for myself is humbling, he thought.
“Meh…I am crap, but I am glad I could help.”
The two turned when they heard Roric say from behind the bar, “Those three owe me for a table,” in a flat tone without looking up from the mug he was cleaning.
“I will add it to their fines and charges,” Brian replied as he placed the shackles on the last brother.
Roric looked up, “Two bronze,” and went back to cleaning the mug.
“Got it.”
Timothy turned back to Nava, “Please tell me you were serious when you said that I could stay here tonight. I don’t think I would fair well in the cold out there.”
“Do you think I say things to hear myself talk?” She said with impatience, “Yes, you can stay. Go talk to Roric, it is five Iron a night,” she pointed to the bar and her demeanor said that she was done with the conversation. Timothy got the hint.
He put his hands up in surrender and made his way to the bar, pulling out the five iron coins from his coin purse, “I would like to rent a room for the night,” he said to Roric, placing the iron coins on the bar.
Roric pushed the coins back to Timothy with his left hand, his right hand producing a key with a tag that had the number 17 embossed on it. Timothy was confused for a moment before he thought he understood what Roric was hinting at.
“Are you saying I can get the room free of charge tonight?”
Roric looked up from the bar and gave Timothy a sidelong look, he raised his index finger on his right hand and placed it on one of the iron coins. He pulled the single coin back and slid it off the bar, into his palm, and placed it into his pocket.
Timothy got the hint and took the key and the four remaining coins, “Got it, thanks.”
Roric nodded, reached under the bar again and produced his staff, offering it to Timothy. He took it and the rest of his belongings and headed toward the stairs.
He opened the door to his room. It was simply furnished with a bed large enough for one person, a small table next to it and a dresser on the far wall. The was a single window on the opposite side of the room from the door with a small desk under it. Timothy made his way to the desk, set his backpack on the floor next to it, leaned his staff against the wall and sat at the desk.
He rummaged through the backpack and retrieved his stone tablet, placing it on the desk. He swiped a finger across the screen revealing the four apps, Character Sheet, Contacts, Calendar and Log. The boarder around each got thicker and then thinned out in rapid succession, giving it an effect that made it look like they were flashing. He clicked on the Character Sheet icon first. Looking through all the tabs there was nothing that had changed since reaching level one, other than the experience point fields.
He experience read:
Experience:
Current: 2
Next Level: 10
But there was no more information about his experience than that, he closed the app and opened the Contacts app. There were four contacts listed on this page, Nava, Candice, Roric and Brian. It gave their gender, Race, Height, Con, Town and the Date of First Contact. The Con field was the strangest one to Timothy until he read down the column. It seemed to show the contacts general attitude toward him, Nava and Roric were labeled as “Neutral” while Candice and Brian were labeled as “Acquaintance”. The Date of First Contact was labeled as, “1 Bianca – Year 1,” for all four.
Strange how it gives me all this information, even their height, but not their last names, Timothy thought as he stared at the screen.
He shrugged dismissively and closed the Contacts app, then moved to the Calander. This looked relatively self-explanatory. The calendar has twelve months with fifteen days in each month. Each month was named after one of the gods, Timothy paused and thought about that, there were sixteen gods but only twelve months.
That must aggravate the four left out. I will need to ask around about why they do not have their own months, but not tonight.
He closed that app and moved to the Log app. It started recording his actions the moment he entered the world from the prep room.
Action 1
Day 1
Month: Bianca
Year: 1
Arrived in the town of Yourso. Did you ask where you were? No, because you’re an idiot!
Action 2
Day 1
Month: Bianca
Year: 1
You were creeping on the server, Candice, at the Legend's Tavern before you realized what you were doing and stopped. Nice recovery, but you are still a creep!
Action 3
Day 1
Month: Bianca
Year: 1
You met the bouncer in a manner that most people try to avoid and got yourself kicked out of the tavern before finishing your meal. Most normal people enter establishments through the front door specifically to avoid this issue, but not you!
Action 4
Day 1
Month: Bianca
Year: 1
You managed to get Candice and Nava into an argument about you! First you creep on one and then you try and start a fight, you are really batting a thousand here.
Action 5
Day 1
Month: Bianca
Year: 1
The McManus brothers entered the joint, ready to start a fight. Did you prepare yourself? Nooooooo, and you got yourself punched in the nuts. There is a possible silver lining though, if everything goes right, you will no longer be able to have kids.
Action 6
Day 1
Month: Bianca
Year: 1
You finally decide to join the fight, how noble of you. At least you covered Nava's back, but you still left her with two while you only fought one, and got your ass kicked. At least you won. One tip for you, next time someone throws a hammer at you…dodge! For Christ’s sake it is one of your three resources, use it.
Action 7
Day 1
Month: Bianca
Year: 1
You gained 1 experience for defeating Gunther McManus. Good, you need it.
Action 8
Day 1
Month: Bianca
Year: 1
You actually did something smart and changed gems without people watching you and then healed yourself. I was not expecting that.
Action 9
Day 1
Month: Bianca
Year: 1
You talked Candice down from her tirade, yet another surprise. Maybe there is a future for you yet.
Action 10
Day 1
Month: Bianca
Year: 1
You healed Nava of almost all her injuries and yet you still managed to piss her off. You know how I said, "Maybe there is a future for you yet," in the last post. I take it back.
Action 11
Day 1
Month: Bianca
Year: 1
You gain 1 experience for healing Nava. You are probably thinking, "Why didn't I get an experience point for healing myself," Well…Keeping yourself alive is the smallest responsibility you have. It is the baseline instinct of every creature ever created. You don't get experience for doing what you are supposed to do.
Action 12
Day 1
Month: Bianca
Year: 1
Your stupidity continues to amaze me. You were going to get the damn room for free, but you couldn't take the obvious hints that Roric does not like to talk. Hell man! He didn't utter a word during or after the fight. He pushed the money back to you with a room key, again without saying a word. Could you keep your mouth shut? No! And it cost you an iron coin. How thick are you?
Action 13
Day 1
Month: Bianca
Year: 1
You retire to your room for the night. Probably the first smart thing you did all day, you can’t screw things up too much if no one else is there for you to interact with. Then you finally pulled your tablet out, your guide to this world, for the first time. I would say that this was another smart move, but since you waited so long, I think I am just going to call you a moron. I hope you sleep well dumbass.
Timothy sat back in his chair, “Holy shit! My log file is an asshole.”