Thomas continues to answer the list of questions with head-shakes. No, No, No, No, No.
"Do you have any stealth magic or stealth abilities?"
Nod...
"Ok, don't worry, I just need to record that. And don't use any stealth spell or skill while within the town, except in self-defense; it can be considered evidence of criminal intent. Ok, I'll open the gate!" The sentry takes a careful look around at the forest before disappearing down the ladder. There is a thump, the gate creaks open, and as soon as Thomas is through, the sentry closes it and casually places a huge wooden bar back into its mounts across the gate.
That's got to be 200 kilos.
"Welcome to Novgered! If you want to try and sell some of that stuff, the shops are just down the street." The sentry shakes his hand, carefully, then climbs rapidly back up his ladder.
"Oh, and don't worry, it won't be nearly as tedious if you come in again! Unless it's been so long I've forgotten you, of course."
First priority is to figure out what the currency is here, and how much food and a bed will cost. To do that, it would be really helpful to be able to talk. [Linguist III] might let him talk, or at least read - it does mention that reading counts now. The innkeeper might be able to help with all of that; he was the one summoned when the sentry wanted a translator. The inn, helpfully identified by a shingle showing a bed and a loaf of bread, is packed with townsfolk eating stew and fresh bread. Both smell great. Linguist, then money, then food. He gets some curious looks, naturally. The innkeeper is standing at the bar idly, even though the place seems quite busy.
"Hello, Tamas!" He laughs at Thomas's amused expression. "Yeah, I didn't think I'd got it right. [Linguist] doesn't really work on names. I'm Jurgen. Looking for food?"
Thomas points to his mouth and ear.
"To talk? More languages for [Linguist III]? Sure, but won't it be many levels before you get Intellect 20 to - sorry, forget I asked, that was rude. Technically people usually charge for skill training, but a few sentences hardly counts." [Norse]:"The sailors from up north speak this language."
Norse?? As in Earth Vikings? He tries, and apparently fails, to control his expression.
[Southern]:"Had bad experiences with them? Yeah, they aren't all pirates, they come and trade too. Of course, some of what they trade is stolen, but what can you do?" [Higazi]:"And the desert tribes speak this language." [Southern]:"And that's all I've got, I stopped hunting languages much after I got [Linguist II]. Didn't really need III, once I learned the basics the hard way."
> NOTIFICATIONS:
> * You have listened to or read 10 5 languages. Unclassed Skill advanced.
> * Linguist III: Understand all extant spoken languages, and speak any language you have heard since gaining Linguist II.
[Southern]:"Awesome! Thank you! I was getting tired of being mute!" Speaking a language he doesn't know feels strange. It's like something is hijacking the connection between his brain and his tongue.
"Congratulations! But you just hit [Linguist II] outside, and then I only gave you two more languages? I know it's rude to pry, but if it's not a secret...?"
"I'm not sure how much I should say. I'll think about it. Sorry. Oh, and my name is pronounced "Thomas". I was wondering why George is a known name here but Thomas isn't?"
"Are both common where you're from? Interesting. George isn't exactly common, it's an old name, some ancient hero. George himself will probably talk your ear off about it, if you like; he gets talkative after an 8-hour shift of staring at the forest."
A modern Earth name is old here, and another is forgotten. Norse, a dead Earth language, is actively spoken here, by people who sound suspiciously like Vikings. Unless the System is just translating "Viking-people language" to "Norse" for him personally?
"I'll go sell this stuff and be right back. Any tips for haggling? I don't know what the tradition is here."
"For any big city on the continent, I could give you tips, for a price. I've been to most of them, in my caravan years. But here, just show them what you want to sell and they'll tell you a fair price. It's too small a town for tricks. Oh, you probably know this, but assuming you have a non-crafting class, don't wear any yellow. Yellow means non-combatant in this country, folks will get really riled up about that. Martials advertising they want to spar sometimes wear red, but that's not a law or anything." Jurgen and half the others in the inn are indeed wearing bright yellow shirts, belts, etc.
"Thanks, I didn't know about the red. And thanks for all your help!" Technically true, the best kind of true.
One carefully-budgeted shopping/bartering trip later, he has 2 silver coins and 6 copper coins, both with square holes in the center like Asian coins, a sheath for his remaining dagger, and one of his looted shirts being mended while he cuts up his ruined Earth T-shirt for bandages. The tailor (or [Tailor]?) finishes with remarkable speed. He swaps shirts and heads to get his long-awaited lunch. 1 silver will get him lunch, a bed, and breakfast, apparently.
"And it's a slow time of year, so you'll get the room to yourself!"
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Note to self: get rich enough to rent a whole room before the busy times. "No dinner?" Jurgen tilts his head.
"An evening meal? I've got beer anytime, but I don't make any food that does anything useful overnight, so there's not much point. Unless you really need to be healed up after 4 hours of sleep instead of 8?"
"Ah. Well I do have one stack of [Exposure] left, but it'll have worn off by evening. Anyway, what's a good way for a fighting man to make money around here?"
"Multiple stacks of [Exposure]? That must have been rough, walking all night."
Let's not correct him on that.
"Sometimes there are caravans needing guards, but none are in town today, and they'll want you to have a few more levels. There's a bounty board on the guardhouse, somebody will be willing to read it to you, I'm sure. Oh, and the guards will sometimes pay a little for sparring XP. You do need to be tough enough that they can be sure they won't kill you by accident, though."
"I'll keep it in mind if I've got full HP at the end of the day. Which is not today. I may as well start learning to read Southern the hard way while I recover. Also, this is the best food I've ever tasted!"
"Thank you! The [Priestess of Sele] teaches the children to read, write, and figure; I'm sure with your Intellect you'll pick it up fast."
> NOTIFICATIONS:
> * Effect: Smith's Stew: 8 hours, +20% SP Regen, +20% Fire Resistance
> * Effect: Daily Bread: 24 hours, +20% SP Regen
As it turns out, the priestess teaches the children in the mornings, and is happy to give him slate, chalk, and some exercises while she carefully copies a book by hand in the afternoon. He assumes she's happy, anyway; she seems to exude the same kind serenity at all times, other than a slight widening of her eyes when she first saw him, for some reason.
What? I don't look like a hobo anymore ... mostly.
She wears a long, bright yellow dress - the only person he's seen to wear entirely non-combatant yellow. The children just call her "Priestess" and he does the same; she doesn't correct him. He is dying to know if deities are provably real here, and how the religions work; but he doesn't want to reveal his ignorance of this world, or offend her. By nightfall he has memorized the alphabet and the standard phonetics; if he sounds out the words in his head, [Linguist III] helpfully translates, so he can indirectly read Southern, if rather slowly. Except for the irregular loanwords, anyway.
She tells him that if he can pass the reading comprehension test given to all 16-year-olds, he will be permitted to reference "the Book", with a canned spiel to the effect that the Book of the Soul is freely available to all adults, everywhere the [Priestesses of Sele] can reach. Revealing ignorance about the Book that literally everyone has read also seems dangerous, so he just thanks her. As darkness falls, he heads to the inn, gets his room - there is a simple latch on the inside, not a lock - and collapses into a real, warm bed. Even if it does seem to be stuffed with straw.
> [!]
> Effect: Exposure: Expired
> Effect: Smith's Stew: Expired
> Effect: Smith's Stew: 8 hours, +20% SP Regen, +20% Fire Resistance
> Effect: Daily Bread: 24 hours, +20% SP Regen
In the morning, with HP comfortably full again and breakfast in his stomach, he heads straight back to the priestess's church / one-room schoolhouse, taking the test in the back while the children take their classes. The test takes him a while, especially with the distractions, but there's no time limit. Finally, it is time to read this mysterious Book! Is it law, scripture, both?
> The Book of the Soul
>
> This book is intended to contain relevant knowledge publicly available about the System of the Soul, that no child may be left in ignorance of their birthright, no matter the place of their birth. It does not purport to contain all that is known by the authors, let alone others, as much hard-won knowledge of the System is reserved for apprenticeships, traded for coin, or restricted to agents of Churches or the Crown.
Perfect. And at least they are meta-honest about their secrets. He skims the bit about the fundamental attributes. Nothing he hasn't mostly figured out already, but precise numbers are nice; sprinting is 1 SP / second and running is SP / 10 seconds for half your Speed; Speed is 5 + Agility/4 meters/second. Perception is just your Intellect, and Sneak just your Agility, unless you have some skill boosting it, so [Stealth I] will indirectly scale with Agility as well as Rogue level.
> Classes are grouped into three categories: Martial, Magic, and Crafter. Anyone without a Martial or Magic class is considered a noncombatant by Church and Crown, and all other civilized countries. Methods of indicating noncombatant status vary between countries. Basic Classes are gained by accomplishing various related acts; some unlock requirements are listed herein. Advanced classes are gained by raising a Basic Class to its maximum level (20), and sometimes meeting extra conditions. Only a few Advanced Classes are mentioned herein as examples. Many Basic Classes allow choosing between more than one Advanced Class if the appropriate conditions have been met.
>
> Basic Martial classes grant a total of 2 Attributes per level, with [Hunter] being notable (and popular) for 1 of them being to Any. Basic Crafting classes grant +1 per level to various Attributes, including to Any. Basic Magic classes grant +1 to Intellect.
>
> All classes also grant +1 Any Attribute every 3rd level, independently of the above. Classes grant abilities at 1st, 5th, 10th, 15th, and 20th, each generally more powerful than the previous.
A few interesting footnotes under Magic:
> ...
> [Chaos Mage] *
> ...
> [Necromancer] *
> ...
> [Priestess of Sele] **
> ...
> * Banned or restricted in some countries
> ** While a Magic class, Priestesses are always considered non-combatants, even if they have combatant classes also! It is also the only known class restricted to women, and the only known Basic class to require an Oath.
No mention of [Generalist], or any other Basic Class giving +3 attributes per level. What could Generalist give at 5th?
Though he has been tuning out the noise of the schoolhouse, he notices when it suddenly falls silent. A squirrel has run into the schoolhouse and climbs up to the priestess' shoulder. She listens for a moment. Thomas can't make out what is being said, but it sounds like speech, not animal noises.
"Children, class is over for the day. Thomas, you were looking for work. How fast can you run ... about 120 kilometers?"