When Sylvester woke up with a new mind in his head, it was a disorienting experience. He had two sets of memories, one of being a man in a world from the future who spent his life memorizing 'dungeons' and playing 'role-playing games' and one of being the fourth son of a small baron.
For a few moments, he was convinced that he was losing his mind, that one of these sets of memories was false. Unfortunately, his reality as Sylvester Bayes was irrefutable. Still, as he went through his memories of being a 'dungeon master', he realized that they held valuable information.
It had been a few months, but everyone in town knew the stories about the ruins nearby town that had been discovered, explored, and looted by a group of mercenaries. His other set of memories knew that dungeon, the placement of every trap, the hiding place of every treasure, and every creature that faced the people exploring it.
Nothing about the situation made sense, after all the fact that he had memories of this one ruin meant nothing. But, if all the other 'dungeons' that were burned into his mind were real, and they existed as he remembered them…
He smiled at the thought of all the treasure and magic items he could get with next to no risk. But he would need to prepare. Based on what he could piece together from both sets of memories, he likely had a significant bonus to his Strength, along with a minor one in his Constitution and Charisma. He had always been hardier than his brothers and being the baby of the family had its perks. Still, if he somehow had two minds or souls mashed together in his head, what would that do to his mental faculties?
Considering that he had been able to remember every dungeon in perfect detail so far, from the paper they were printed on to the notes that 'he' had made for running them, it was likely that he had the benefits of at least a soul / mind and a half.
Based on that, he probably had equal talents for being a Fighter or a Priest. Given the choice, being a Priest with access to divine miracles was preferable. The catch was that Priests generally needed to get their powers from a god, and Sylvester didn't want to have one of them taking too close of a look at him, in case they decided that he needed to be smote.
Luckily, he remembered there was one specialization of Priest which didn't require help from a god to use their powers: A Mystic. Mystics used the power of internal energies to fuel their powers instead. He had some memories of how they accomplished this, through meditation and taking in natural energies, but not much more than that.
With nothing better to do, Sylvester made his way out to his family's small garden and took a seat against a tree to try meditating. He knew you were supposed to close your eyes and try to relax as well as maintain a large amount of focus.
He closed his eyes and began to focus. He could hear the wind making its way through the garden, rustling leaves. He could feel the coarse cloth of his shirt as well as the texture of the tree's bark behind him. He could…
He took a deep breath and worked to shut it all out. It was hard, harder than he really thought. Marshalling his thoughts, keeping out the intrusions of the outside world, keeping his focus on meditation, it all took effort and wasn’t how he normally focused.
After a time, it ended up hard to tell how much, he stopped his meditation and stood up. He stretched, popping his joints, and took a look around. Despite how long it felt like he had been meditating, it seemed that barely any time had passed at all. He made his way back inside and began to focus on something else for a while to recharge his mental batteries.
Taking some papers from his father's study, Sylvester made his way back to his room and began taking notes about the surrounding areas. There had been one ruin near town, so there was a chance that there was another one. It may not be likely, but it was definitely worth checking out.
Just when he felt he was making progress though; he was called down to dinner with his family. Everyone was present. His father, his mother, his older brothers Alexander, Bartholomew, and William, his sister Esmerelda, and Alexander's wife Martha. Eight people made for a full dinner with lots of conversation.
Sylvester mostly focused on eating his food and didn't take part in much of the conversation. His father and Alexander were both focused on the affairs of the barony, with Bartholomew voicing the occasional opinion as well. His mother, Esmerelda, and Martha discussed local gossip about the other well to do ladies in town, with William piping up occasionally with gossip that he had heard.
"Well, have you two heard about the Edgars' third daughter? Apparently, she has a thing for Sylvester here." William gossiped loudly, giving Sylvester a look out of the corner of his eye. "Don't you think they would make an adorable couple?"
The third daughter of the Edgars, Christina Edgar, had a reputation in the noble circles for being bratty and causing lots of trouble. William was trying to get a rise out of Sylvester, something that would have been successful before this. Instead, he got silence from Sylvester as Esmerelda gasped.
"That little brat? How could you say such a thing! Everyone knows that their second daughter would be a much better match!" She admonished him, trying to hide a sneer on her face.
The Edgars' second daughter, Claudia Edgar, was significantly older than her younger sister, being a full six years older than her and nearly ten years older than Sylvester. While she wasn't the brat her younger sister was, she had apparently driven off potential suitors with her paranoid jealousy of other women, something that had apparently only gotten worse as she grew older.
Sylvester's continued silence caught them both off guard, as well as Sylvester's mother and Martha who knew their whole routine by heart now. Sylvester being the youngest of the family tended to get his way, but he certainly wasn't popular with his older siblings, especially William and Esmerelda who had been youngest until he was born. William in particular didn't like him because as the third son he would be lucky to get an inheritance at all, and if he didn't prove he deserved it more than Sylvester, he could be passed up. Sylvester's naturally strong physique did nothing to calm his fears of that either, so he made a habit of taunting and tormenting Sylvester whenever possible.
Sylvester's other brothers were old enough that they thought themselves above such petty squabbles, especially Alexander who was already starting to manage the barony, but they never stepped in either. Still, even Bartholomew had noticed Sylvester's strange behavior and was starting to look over.
"Sylvester dear?" his mother asked, "Are you feeling ok? You have been awfully quiet."
"Yeah," Sylvester put on a fake smile. "I just… I have just been thinking about some stuff. Trying to figure something out."
"I see..."
"What would a runt like you be thinking about?" William snapped at him.
"William! That is enough!" While she turned a blind eye to some of the brotherly squabbling, their mother still did not tolerate name calling.
"I've finished eating already, so I think I will be heading up to my room." Sylvester ignored William again, and quickly made his way out of the room. Everyone stared at his back as he left, and his mother soon began questioning William and Esmerelda about what they had done to him recently.
Back in the quiet of his room, Sylvester got back to work trying to piece together if there was another dungeon near town. Even after the ruins were cleared a few months ago, the town's goblin problems never truly went away. Even if there wasn't a full 'dungeon', there still needed to be a nest for the little buggers and that could have some loot in it.
Still, there were a lot of dungeons that included goblins being in them as a problem for whatever down they were located near, so it could be a sign there was another full dungeon somewhere nearby. Unfortunately, there are a lot of places around town that could house another dungeon. Thankfully, there wasn't something like a cursed forest or hill nearby, so many of the more dangerous dungeons likely wouldn't be nearby, but it didn't make it easy to determine where one would be.
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In the end, Sylvester had to go to sleep when his candle burned out, leaving him in the dark without any finalized progress. It was disheartening, but it had only been one day. Even if he found a dungeon, diving into it without becoming a Priest first would be suicidal.
The next morning, Sylvester woke up early and made his way back out to the garden to meditate under the tree again. The morning dew was still present and as he meditated, he could hear the world waking up and feel the sun beginning to rise. Surprisingly, he found it much easier to get into the complete state of focus he was going for, though it was still difficult to keep it. He only stopped an hour later when he went back inside to get ready for the day.
He spent more time trying to find a new dungeon, but still struggled to have much success. Around lunch time, Sylvester went back out to the garden to meditate some more. In the end, he settled into a strange new routine that caught the attention of his whole family. He would either be in his room, writing and working on something, or out in the garden taking a nap. At meals he was quiet and didn't rise to any provocations, leaving everyone questioning what was going on.
These few days of constant work were not without their benefits. Sylvester found that he was quickly becoming quite proficient in meditation and could even swear he was feeling traces of energy around himself when doing so. One morning, he suddenly had a breakthrough and was able to suddenly feel the energy around him filling him and flowing through himself. Without fully understanding what he was doing, Sylvester moved his internal energy and released it around himself. Opening his eyes, Sylvester found that while meditating and channeling his internal energy, many butterflies had landed on him and were gently sunning themselves.
A few seconds later, he couldn't maintain the flow of energy anymore and the miracle wore away. Some of the butterflies stuck around for a small bit, but as soon as he began standing up, they all flew away. Sylvester stretched and tried to calm down, but he still couldn't get the smile off his face. He had done it!
The rest of the day, everyone could tell that something was different about Sylvester again. Instead of being focused on his work, he was out and about with a large smile on his face. This strange behavior, in addition to Sylvester completely ignoring him, thoroughly annoyed William.
At dinner, it finally boiled over.
"Argh! What has gotten to you!" He slammed his hands into the table while glaring at Sylvester. Everyone stopped their conversations to look at what was happening. Before anyone else could speak, Sylvester spoke up.
"I had a breakthrough with one of the things I have been working on." Sylvester answered without breaking his smile.
"What, so locking yourself in your room has suddenly made you the happiest guy in the world?!"
"No, I succeeded on my project in the garden." Sylvester clarified, still dancing around exactly what William wanted to know.
"Oh, so taking naps in the garden is considered being successful now? Lazing about and doing nothing is all it takes to secure the rest of your life?" He shouted, starting to get hysterical.
"I wasn't doing nothing." Was all Sylvester had to say, still with a smile on his face.
"Don't mock me!" William slammed his hands on the table again, accidentally hitting his plate. Food and silverware, including a very sharp knife, were launched into the air toward Sylvester who didn't move out of the way.
Everyone, even William, widened their eyes in shock and horror at seeing the knife flying through the air, but that was nothing in comparison to the shock they felt when they saw the knife bounce off of Sylvester's arm with a metallic sounding clink. Everyone simply stared for a few seconds at Sylvester, who seemed fine other than the food now coating him.
"Like I said, it wasn't nothing. I am now a full Priest capable of small Miracles." He said, breaking the silence. Suddenly, everyone finally reacted. William started trying to explain how it was an accident, their mother and Martha both immediately rushed to Sylvester to check on him, and their father immediately started dragging William out of the room with a stormy expression on his face.
As Sylvester assured everyone that he was fine, he made his way back to his room to change into some clean clothes. Alexander went with him.
"So, you are a Priest now? Which God granted you their power?" He asked the obvious question while Sylvester changed.
"I am a Priest, but I don't get my power from any of the gods. It comes from mastering the energies found in nature. It would be more accurate to call me a Mystic instead." Sylvester explained.
"I see, so you weren't napping in the garden, you were trying to feel these 'natural energies'? What about your other project then? What have you been working on in here? I notice that you have been using a lot of paper for it."
"You know those ruins that got cleared a few months ago? I think there are more of them nearby. It is also likely where the Goblins have made their nest, which is why we haven't been able to get rid of them. I have been trying to find it so that I can clear it."
"You want to clear ruins? I shouldn't need to remind you of the death rates that mercenary company faced to clear the ruins they found."
"You don't. I am aware of the dangers, but it is what I have been working on lately. No faster way to get rich, other than inheriting everything and we both know that isn't likely for me."
"That is true. In fact, I believe I may have the exact information you have been looking for. On the north road, there was a landslide a couple hours away. We have received reports that it has exposed part of a ruin, specifically a tunnel leading into one."
Sylvester paused, his mind quickly racing through the possibilities. Quickly, he had a very good idea of what dungeon had just been unearthed, and couldn't stop another smile from breaking his face because this was a dungeon meant for new players, which meant it would be significantly safer than most others, if he was correct. Alexander misinterpreted the smile, however.
"I wouldn't thank me yet. We both know how father is going to react to hearing what you are trying to do. He would never let you dive headfirst into one of those things, especially alone."
"Well, I wasn't planning on being alone."
"You are going to need more than just Kurt's help."
"I was also planning to bring Karrank along too."
"That flee-bitten mongrel? He'd probably stab you in the back for anything you find in there."
"He is better than anyone else I could afford to hire."
Alexander was silent, conceding the point to Sylvester. They bid each other good night instead of continuing, though Sylvester had some trouble falling asleep that night. Everything was coming together; he just needed to get some supplies and talk to Kurt and Karrank.
The next morning, Sylvester left the house for the first time in a week to find his best friend, Kurt Trimble. While his family didn't have a full noble title, they were still among the well-to-do families and the two had been friends since they were toddlers.
Sylvester didn't even have to ask for Kurt when he arrived at his house, as everyone there already knew that was who he would be coming to visit. Kurt was behind the house practicing his combat skills with some retired veterans his family had hired. Kurt honestly didn't have many outstanding qualities, other than a robust physique. He was in excellent shape and his long brown hair was currently tied back to stay out of the way while he sparred.
Sylvester waited on the side while Kurt fought. It was an interesting experience because even though both sides were pulling some of their punches, it was obvious that either one of them could have been seriously injured if they weren't giving it their all. Eventually, Kurt fell under the more experienced blows of his instructor and the spar came to an end.
A huge smile spread across his face when he turned and saw Sylvester there waiting.
"Hey Syl! It's good to see you. What have you been up to for the past week? You just disappeared on me!" He made his way over and gave Sylvester a big hug.
"Ha ha. It's good to see you too. I was busy working on a couple projects. One, is finished but I was hoping to get your help on the other." He explained with a chuckle.
"Oh? What did you have in mind? Is this to impress some girl you haven't told me about?" Kurt asked with a conspiratorial wink.
"No. I actually found another ruin near town and was wanting to dive in and get some treasure."
"Are you serious?" Kurt's smile faded. "I know you need to do something for your future, but… Didn't you hear about how many mercs died in the other ruin? Like, I will support you, but while I can handle myself in a fight, we both know you can't."
"I know, I know. I have a plan for how to get through it without significant danger to ourselves. Also, my other project was related to my capabilities in a fight."
"Oh?"
"Yep. I am a full priest now."
"You? A priest? Don't you, I don't know, need to be a devout follower of a god for that? You aren't exactly the most pious person." Kurt joked.
"Well, there are ways to be a priest other than just following the gods. But I can do miracles and everything. I am a fully-capable priest."
"Really? Let me see one of these miracles then." Kurt asked, skepticism written across his face.
"Sure. Today, I am capable of creating water from nothing." Sylvester announced with a grin.
"Is that so?" Kurt played along, a smile creeping onto his face.
"It is! Observe!" Sylvester began to focus and manipulate his internal energy, sending it out into the world in the pattern he had observed this morning. There were several seconds of nothing appearing to happen, when suddenly several gallons of water appeared over Kurt's head, instantly soaking him.
Kurt stood there shocked for a moment, before realizing what had just happened.
"You can really perform miracles…" he muttered. "But why did you have to do it on my head!"
He suddenly rushed toward Sylvester who quickly dodged to the side and began to run away from his sopping friend. The chase went on for a few moments before Kurt managed to catch Sylvester and pin him to the ground.
"Gotcha!" He shouted while putting Sylvester into an arm bar.
"You did, you did!" Sylvester laughed despite the situation.
Kurt ended up releasing him without any more "punishment" and they took a seat under the shade to talk more about Sylvester's plan.
"So, if you can perform miracles and I can fight then we have a good partnership set up. But, I hope you have more to this idea than just the two of us heading out and leaping to our deaths."
"Of course I do. I have what I believe is the layout for these ruins already. And, I was also planning on having Karrank come as well."
"Ok, knowing where everything is ahead of time is a huge bonus, and I assume you want Karrank to help check for traps and stuff?"
"Exactly. Of course, I still need some time to prepare, learn new miracles, and get some equipment together."
"Ok, but what if the layout you have isn't for these ruins? How long will that take to check?"
"It should be for them and it will be obvious as soon as we find the entrance. According to the layout I have, it will be a hallway with four rooms, two on either side, ending in a large barred door. Pretty distinctive."
"Yeah, that does sound like that. What are we going to do about traps and creatures?"
"Well, we will do our best to avoid the traps and unfortunately we will probably end up fighting with the creatures. Still, I think we will be able to manipulate positioning so that we only face one at a time."
"Alright, it seems like you have a plan. When were you planning on doing all this?"
"Like I said, I still need to prepare supplies and I also need to talk to Karrank."
"Cool, let me know when everything is about ready."
Soon, Sylvester had to leave. He quickly made his way into the darker part of town, until he came across a tavern with a sign showing an axe drinking from a mug. This was The Drunken Axe. Sylvester walked in and made his way over to the bar and took a seat. Next to him was a gnoll in patched clothing drinking some ale.
"Hey Sylvester," he spoke between gulps of his drink. "What are you up to?"
"I may have a job that I was hoping you would help with."
"What kind of job are we talking about here?"
"Its next to town and Kurt would be with us too."
"And how dangerous would this be?"
"You remember those mercs who cleared the ruins near town? Expect a duplicate of that if I'm not there."
"That is certainly dangerous."
"Like I said, if I'm there we should be mostly safe. And we each can get a nicer share."
"That is certainly tempting. But I am occupied for the next week or so."
"Not a problem. I am going to be collecting all of the supplies necessary for a little while, I just wanted to make sure we had someone else to help."
"That so? Well, let me know when you are ready to go."
"See you later Karrank."
"Later."