Hey everyone, thanks for all the feedback and comments!
This chapter really is too long, but I've already finished it now so I'll just post it as it is.
Next time I'll most likely split it up into two separate chapters instead.
Again, thank you to everyone who's read it and rated it.
All feedback is welcomed. ~borgen92
[p=center]The Winged Knight[/p]
[p=center]Volume 1 - Chapter 3 - Leaving the Nest[/p]
Aurelius was once again enveloped in a bright light, then found himself standing in the square. He was thinking on what to do now when he heard a voice call out to him from behind. He turned around and saw the Sergeant he always seemed to meet come walking towards him.
"So we meet again lad." The Sergeant said after he'd approached me.
"Yes, and as you can see I've finished Kat's training now. So it's time for me to leave and find some damsel in distress to save." I said with a dreamy expression that made the Sergeant laugh.
"Well, that sounds like some sort of a plan. Anyway I realized that I never introduced myself. I'm Sergeant Radcliffe and I'd like to apologize for calling you a liar the last time we met. It's just that it was so unbelievable." he told me in an apologetic voice.
Well if he's apologizing for it, there's nothing I can do but to accept it. I'm not so petty that I won't accept an honest apology.
"I accept your apology Sergeant Radcliffe. We all make mistakes, but I've always believed that one way to measure a man's true worth is to see what he does after he's done something wrong."
"Does he keep clinging to his false belief in a desperate effort to convince himself he was never wrong? Or do he just pretend it never happened? Or, does he find himself in the wrong, and upon realizing that seeks out a way to right that wrong? If that's the case you've certainly proved yourself to be an honest man." I told him in a serious voice.
Sergeant Radcliffe looked a little taken aback by my serious words, but managed to recover quickly.
"I agree. I've always believed a good and honest man should face whatever wrongdoings he has made, and do his best trying to right them." He replied with an equally serious expression.
A man of my own heart, I think he's beginning to grow on me.
"That's nice to hear Sarge, but let's leave that awful seriousness behind us now. Is there anything else you want to speak to my magnificent self about? You don't happen to have something a knight can help with?" I asked him with a smile.
The Sergeant also looked a little relieved at having left that subject behind and answered me: "Well, actually... there is something. But I'm not sure I should ask it of you. You've completed Katherina's training so I know you're strong. But I'm not sure I should ask this of you..." he let his voice trail off.
"If there's anything I can do, I will. I'm always glad to help the guardsmen of this great city, so you can count on me for whatever it is." I told him firmly.
"Alright then, actually we've been having a real problem with wolves around here. There's a forest just outside the north gate, and inside it a huge wolf-pack lives. They've been terrorizing the farmers outside the city, killing their animals and even attacking some travels on the road next to the forest."
"We should be clearing them out, but we've been having some trouble with increased criminal activity here. So we can't leave right now, we have to keep an eye on the situation inside the city. If you could enter the forest and kill the pack-leader and some wolves, that would probably scatter them enough that I could ask some other adventurers to help finish them off."
*TING
The Wolf Menace
[p=left]Sergeant Radcliffe has asked you to help the farmers outside the city by getting rid of the wolf pack that roams the northern forest.
Difficulty: E
Quest requirement: Kill the pack leader and at least 15 wolves.
Reward: 1 gold and some old armor from the city-guards storage.[/p]
1 gold and some armor? That's great! It doesn't matter if it's old, right now I still have the starting clothes after all. But killing 15 wolves and the pack leader? That's got to be hard... well in the worst case maybe I can find some players to help me out. I thought positively.
"I will stop the wolf menace."
You have accepted the quest.
"Good, and thank you lad. Just head out of the northern gate and you'll see the forest immediately. I'll be eagerly awaiting your good news." he told me with a small smile and waved goodbye as he left.
I waved him goodbye then made my way towards the northern gate. After passing through the gate I could see the large looming forest not that far away from the wall. In front of it I could see scores of beginners. They were killing rabbits, and a few in a group were hunting foxes. I equipped my Swan Sword and shield and made my way towards a rabbit.
I should try a rabbit out to see how strong it is. I got in my stance, and charged the rabbit. It looked surprised and tried to run away, but I was too fast. My sword made a graceful arc through the air as it descended upon the rabbit. The instant my sword connected with the rabbit it shattered into pieces of light and what looked like some rabbit meat was the only thing left behind.
That was... easy. Too easy. I immediately got suspicious of the swiftness which the rabbit had died. I looked around and prepared myself from some kind of rabbit ambush. Which never came.
I'm such an idiot! I thought smacking myself on the forehead. Of course it was easy, my stats are incredibly strong!
Deciding to ignore the stares that my head-smack had won me, I made my way towards a fox that was standing at the edge of the forest.
Immediately when I arrived I started jogging towards it, the fox sensing my approach turned around to face me. It bared it's fangs and leaped towards me, I smoothly dodged to the right side, making the fox's lunge narrowly miss me. Then I quickly turned towards it's back and let loose a graceful slash that cut through it's back like butter. The fox instantly shattered in small pieces of light.
So easy! My training with Kat really paid off, huh. I picked up a fox pelt and when I straightened up I saw some players were heading towards me.
They probably want to question me, but I'm really not in the mood. I thought turning towards the thick forest and ran straight into it. Some screams for me to stop were heard behind me, but I ignored them and moved deeper inside the forest.
Suddenly I came out of a thick part of the forest, and found myself in an empty clearing next to a small stream. And right in front of me was a wolf. Staring straight at me. No doubt wondering what the noise was coming towards it, and now it knew.
It immediately lunged towards me, I wasn't prepared and took a slash from it's claws on the side of my stomach that went through my clothes like they weren't even there. It prompted the message:
You have lost 60 Health
60 damage, eh? That means I have 1230 health left... But it would be bad if I was overwhelmed by a group of wolves. They could probably kill me by overwhelming me with attacks from all directions. I thought a little concerned.
I turned around and the wolf was just about to jump on me, but this time I was prepared. I slammed my shield into it's face so hard it was stunned for a few moments, I used a swift thrust aimed straight at it's chest. It went through and the wolf shattered into light.
I picked up the wolf pelt it dropped, and ate some barley bread while I refilled the water canteen in the stream. I knew my health would regenerate by itself, slowly but steadily. And since I didn't have any health potions, I decided that I'd be more careful from now on.
After drinking and eating some, I continued into the forest. After a few minutes of walking I heard a noise to my right, I quickly raised my shield and prepared for combat. I was just in time as a few seconds after that a wolf jumped out of the bush. I managed to push it away, and just when I was about to slash it with my sword I sensed something behind me. I quickly turned and slashed behind me, and just as I thought another wolf was there. But my slash had been badly timed, so it missed.
There's two of them. One in front and one behind. The best tactic is probably to trust my style.
I readied my flowing water style, and waited for a chance to attack. The wolfs started circling me, I maintained my ready stance and waited. One of the wolfs tried to run forward and bite me but I dodged it easily enough, then the other one rushed me from behind. Just when it was about to jump onto my back and bite me in the neck, I dodged enough to the right that the wolf missed my entire body and let loose a slash that took the wolfs head clean off. After that I charged the remaining wolf before it could recover, the first slash grazed it since it managed to dodge slightly to the left, but that still almost killed it. And after it became wounded it was so slow it was easy to finish off.
I continued moving through the forest for the rest of the day, killing wolves in groups as large as four. I leveled up for a third time after finishing a group.
I guess I should use the points now. I thought and decided to put 10 points in strength and 5 points in vitality.
I saw my endurance had gone up by 5 from taking hits from wolves. I wonder if it increase faster based on what type of weapon you're hit by? Since with Kat it was all wooden swords and spears, but here it's wolf claws. I put the thought aside and continued deeper into the forest.
It was almost dark when I came upon the entrance to a small cave on the side of a hill. A wolf den! I thought excited, but then I saw that there were five wolves laying at the entrance, and more were probably inside.
This is probably where the pack leader is. This is going to be tough. Should I rush them and try to blitz-attack? Or should I throw something then hide behind some trees hoping to lure them here? Hmm... but I don't know if more will come here. I should probably try to be as fast as possible. Speculating from the number of wolves I've already killed, this pack must be huge.
I steeled myself and started charging the wolves. The hearing of wolves is obviously superior to humans, so almost after I took my first step they looked up and bared their teeth.
I can't let them try to surround me! Push them back towards the entrance so they can't use their numbers!
I charged and when I saw the one furthest on the right trying to slink away from the group and around me, I charged for it. I put my shield towards the other wolves and slashed the one trying to circle me. It let out a whine when my sword dug into it's side, and just when I was about to finish it off one of the other four jumped at me from the left. I managed to block it with my shield, and finished off the limping wolf.
Immediately when it died I grabbed the loot fast as lightning and turned around. Now all four were starting to circle me in different directions. I knew I couldn't let them do that so I charged one. The others were obviously waiting for this and all rushed me from different directions. This time I couldn't dodge or block all of the attacks.
You have lost 50 Health
You have lost 60 Health
Two attacks got through while I managed to dodge one and block the other.
This is even harder than I thought. I need to hurry before whatever's inside that cave comes out.
I recovered and charged the one furthest to the left this time. I knew the others were charging up behind me, but I ignored them and dodged the wolf in front of me that tried to bite me. Directly after the dodge I let loose a beautiful cut that took it's head off.
This time I had no choice but to ignore the loot and turned around as fast as I could. The moment I turned around one wolf came flying at me. I shield-bashed it to the left side, and took another step to the right so the next wolf just barely passed the previous place I was. The last wolf came flying straight at me now, but I was prepared. I did a lightning thrust straight through it's open mouth, using it's own momentum against it. It scattered in light instantly.
But I had no time to think about that. There were still two wolves behind me, with an unknown number coming from the cave any moment now. I decided to take another risk and charged one of the wolves that was trying to flank me to the left. I blocked it's own attack against me, and when I knew the last wolf was coming up behind me I dodged by spinning around and used the momentum from the dodge to cut the wolf I just blocked. It didn't die, but was gravely wounded.
The wolf I dodged landed next to the wounded one, This is my chance! I charged the two that were now clumped together and let loose a series of slashes that quickly killed them. I had just the time to let loose a relieved sigh from the intense fight, when I felt pain in my back.
You have lost 250 Health
I spun around and brought up my shield just in time to block the monstrous white wolf's fangs. I could hear the shield creak dangerously from the attack. Shit, the attack must have damaged it's durability significantly for it to make that noise.
The wolf backed up and started to observe me. It was a true beast, more than twice the size of the previous wolves it was more like a small horse's size than a wolf. It was completely white, except for around the mouth where the fur was stained a dark red that looked like dried blood. And the front right paw was stained a much brighter red, with my blood still dripping from the claws.
I have no idea what level it is, but this will not be easy. If I want my shield to survive, I probably shouldn't block anymore of it's attacks. That means only dodging, but that might be wishful thinking. I thought grimly.
I decided to try out it's speed, so I rushed it and let loose a slash. The white wolf dodged and rushed me for a counter-attack. Now it was my turn to dodge, it tried to bite my thigh but I managed to evade it. Both of us backed off and started to circle each other.
Now it was the wolf's time to charge, he seemingly charged my left side so I prepared with my shield. But just when it looked like it was about to jump, instead it slowed down so my shield-bash completely missed. With my shield still trying to return from the failed shield-bash it had an open view of my chest, and jumped. I felt both of it's front paw's claws dig into my chest. Even though it was a game, and the pain sensation has been lowered a lot. It still hurt.
You have lost 230 Health
You have lost 250 Health
With it's claws still buried in my chest, it brought down it's fangs to close on my neck and finish the job. I almost collapsed under it's weight, but thanks to Kat's relentless training I managed to bear it. And before it could tear out my throat I used my sword's pommel and hit it hard on the nose. It cried out in pain and jumped away, allowing me to get back my shield to defend my body.
I rushed it and when it tried to lash out with a claw to stop me, I blocked it with my shield that violently protested with a sound and slashed the wolf on it's side. It whimpered and tried to back away, but I pushed my attack and used a thrust straight at it's throat. It barely managed to dodge the killing-blow, but the thrust still pierced it's shoulder and it collapsed on the ground.
I was panting hard, and was about to walk over to it and finish the job when it let loose a piercing howl that rattled my bones. My face instantly went paper white.
Oh god, it called the rest of the nearby wolves. Counting by how many I've already killed there must be at least 30-40 left.
I could already hear some twigs getting snapped, and bushes rustling from all around me. I rushed up to the white wolf who almost managed to injure me with a final, defiant bite. I dodged and used all of my strength and cut it's head off. After that I looted it quickly, and ran towards the entrance of the cave. Just when I got there wolves started pouring out of the forest.
They exited the forest and when they saw that the white wolf and it's guards were nowhere to be seen, they seemed to realize they were dead.
This is bad. Very bad. There must be at least 30 of them so far! While I was thinking that more and more wolves started appearing from the forest. I quickly equipped my spear, and started backing into the small opening of the cave.
At least it'll be a last stand to remember. With my flanks and back secured, and a spear and shield I can probably kill quite a number of them. That is, until either my shield or spear breaks, or I take too many small wounds. I thought with grim determination.
When the wolves saw that I was starting to back into the cave, they charged. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion, to me it looked like a sea of wolves charging towards me. I backed enough into the cave, put up my shield and pointed my spear straight towards them.
The first wolf that arrived never had a chance, I took a step forward and thrust out my spear straight through it's mouth, killing it instantly using my strength and it's momentum. Even if it had been fast enough to dodge, there simple weren't any room. The wolves were packed so tight they could barely move. And now when they came upon the entrance, it was so tight they could barely fit two next to each other. So I stood my ground and started lashing out with my spear when I could, and blocked and dodged the rest.
*TING
Fighting Spirit has been increased by 1.
I decided to ignore all the popups and concentrate on the fighting instead.
[p=center]***[/p]
This fight is endless. How long have I been fighting now? I can see that it's completely dark now, and I'm completely exhausted.
After what felt like hours, I'd received dozens of wounds, and killed scores of wolves. But they never gave up. They kept coming, again and again and again. My shield was barely holding together, I have no idea what it's durability is at, but it's almost broken.
After even more fighting, my shield had splintered. Now I used only my spear to attack and parry with, resulting in even more wounds. Suddenly, a message popped up:
*TING
Skill: Swan Song has been created and activated!
What's this? And I can feel myself becoming stronger and faster, my stamina seems to be regenerating faster as well! I refuse to die like this, and with whatever this is, I can use the strength to do a final charge!
My fighting spirit raised by the newfound strength, I let loose a set of vicious thrusts with the spear making the wolves back off some. And when they did, I quickly threw the spear at one of them killing it instantly and drew my sword.
I charged like a madman. Since the flowing water style was passive, it was always helping me dodge and see vital points to be hit. I slashed and thrust at speeds I never knew I could achieve, wolves were dying everywhere around me. I was a whirlwind of death, shattering bodies into tiny fragments of light wherever I went. Until finally I found myself standing alone, physically and mentally exhausted.
I was panting heavily and collapsed on the ground. I lay there just staring at the stars for half an hour, waiting to be finished off from my pitiful state.
But no killing-blow ever came. And when I finally managed to sit up and look around, I could see no wolves. But I could see loot everywhere. Wolf meat and pelts all around me, I managed slowly to get up and pick everything up. There were so much loot I didn't even look, I just picked everything up like a drone. After I did that I took out my canteen and barley bread and ate.
I was hungry like never before, not even at Kat's had I ever been this hungry or exhausted. So I walked to the entrance of the cave, laid out dozens of wolf pelts I'd gotten and fell asleep in the makeshift bed.
[p=center]***[/p]
When I woke up I was confused. Where am I? And then I remembered.
That's right, I collapsed here after I killed the wolves. I still can't believe I survived. I checked my health and it was at full, it seems I'd recovered my health over the night. I ate some barley bread and drank the last of my water.
Right! I also created that weird skill and then it activated. Better check what it was. I thought before saying "Skill info: Swan Song."
Swan Song: Beginner Level 3 (45%)
[p=left]You gather all your strength and determination for the last attacks before death.
When below 10% health, Damage and Stamina Regeneration is increased by 30% and Speed is increased by 15%.[/p]
That's awesome, I love the name. And 30% more damage and stamina regeneration and 15% more speed at level 3? That's pretty great, though it's only when I'm below 10% health. I thought pleased with the skill.
After I checked the skill, I looked around and found nothing. So I decided that the only thing left before returning to the Sergeant was to check the cave. I walked into it, but it was dark and the passage was tight. I could barely see, but I continued onward.
After a while of walking, the passage started becoming wider and I could see some light ahead. When I exited the passage I found myself in a big cavern with sunlight streaming in from holes in the ceiling. I decided to explore it before I returned.
You never know what might be down here, I better be careful.
I started to look around and it didn't take long before I found something.
It looked like the wolves had dumped most of what they ate in one of the corners of the cavern. And laying there next to bones from all sorts of animals, was some items. It looked like some human had been killed by the wolves, and laying next to a human skull was a huge two-handed sword.
A warrior with his trusted sword. I have to bury him with the sword. I thought, determined to do right by this forgotten warrior. I dug a hole where he was, and deposited the skull inside the hole. After that, I made the hole longer and thinner so I could put the sword down with the skull. After that, I filled the hole again allowing the old warrior to rest with his sword.
I continued exploring, and found nothing more except for some bones here and there from dead animals.
I suppose it's time to leave. I thought and started walking towards the exit of the cave. After exiting the cave I realized I had no idea how to get back to the city.
I'm an idiot! All I remember was that I think I first saw the cave from over there, I looked to a big tree next to a medium sized rock I had some vague memory of.
I walked towards it, and then tried to walk in a straight line not to get lost.
If I walk in a straight line I will ultimately arrive somewhere. The forest can't be endless... hopefully.
[p=center]***[/p]
After walking for hours and fighting some wolves here and there, I came upon a hill, and when I climbed it I saw the walls of the city in the distance.
Thank god for that. I thought thankfully.
After half an hour I exited the forest and saw the beginners fighting bunnies all around me. A girl was standing not that far away from me, looking like she was planning on attacking a fox. But when she heard the sound of me coming out of the forest she turned around.
At first she simply stared at me, then her face went paper-white and she started to scream. The sound made all the beginners in the area turn around and stare at her, then following her gaze at me.
What's wrong with her? I thought grumpily, first all that walking through the forest and now this. I started walking towards her and when she saw it, she tried to turn away and run. But she was so panicked she fell to the ground clumsily. I quickly ran towards her lying on her back. And when I stood over her, bent over and looked her in the eyes and said:
"Hey, what's wrong? Are you okay?"
At first it looked like she was about to scream again, but when she heard my voice her eyes went completely wide and just stared at me. I was getting more worried when she didn't respond, so I grabbed her hand and pulled her up.
"Are you okay?" I asked again, concern in my voice evident. I was really starting to get worried if she was having some sort of an episode.
Then I felt something coming towards me from behind, so I quickly grabbed the girl and put myself between her and the object. I felt a sharp pain in my back, so I turned around and saw that a large group of players had gathered and stood some distance away from us, I saw that one of the archers was holding his bow like he'd just released an arrow.
The bastard just shot an arrow at me. I thought numbly. I'd heard of player-killers but to attack me here, in broad daylight in front of so many witnesses. For that matter, what are they doing just standing next to him staring? I thought puzzled.
"What was that for?" I asked him calmly. Now all of them looked completely shocked.
What the hell is going on here? Some sort of spell? Mass hysteria? I was beginning to get really worried.
Finally it seemed the girl behind me had recovered and she timidly spoke up: "Um... excuse me... but are you a player?" she seemed hesitant.
I turned towards her and answered in a loud, exasperated voice: "Of course I am! What did you think I was, a monster?" I asked now baffled.
The girl recoiled a little from the volume of my response. But now she looked like she'd somewhat recovered and asked me: "Um, do you know how you look?" she asked me curiously.
And while the two of us were talking the crowd moved forward and was now standing just a few meters behind me as I spoke with the girl.
"Of course I do, what a stupid question. I've got light brown hair, amber eyes and beginner clothes." I said as a-matter-of-factly. And now the whole crowd started laughing.
What's their problem? I thought more confused than anything. The girl looked at me with compassionate eyes and pointed at my chest.
I looked down and was utterly shocked at what I saw. My fight with the wolves must have been brutal. The clothes were in tatters, barely hanging onto my body. And I could see more of my naked chest than the clothes. My trousers were the same. I looked like something from a castaway movie. And on top of all that, my chest, my clothes and pretty much everything of me you could see were dyed completely red.
The blood from the wolves. I realized numbly.
I turned towards the crowd that had finally stopped laughing and asked: "Does anyone have a water spell, or enough water to wash it all away?" Now they were shocked again. A boy in mage's robes timidly raised his hand and said: "I c-can."
"Then do it, blast me with water to wash it all away." I told him seriously.
The guy started to ready the spell, but the others looked like they didn't want to miss out on the fun as well. So they all took out their canteens and other flasks and then they all went up to me and splashed the water on me.
I stood still with my eyes closed for around 10 seconds before a big water-stream, like something that would come from a garden hose started to wash me. Still with my eyes closed I used my hands to scrub everywhere. To other people it probably looked like I was standing there taking a shower in my underwear with all of them watching me.
After a few minutes it finally stopped, and I opened my eyes. In front of me was the group of around 30 people staring. Some looked away, while a lot of the girls blushed. So did a few of the guys, including the boy with the spell that helped me.
I looked down and saw that with all the filth washed away, you could finally see my body.
Who's laughing now, huh? I thought smugly watching 60% of the crowd blushing while the rest either looked away uncomfortably or were staring.
I know my body is worthy of a statue, and now so do you. I thought satisfied.
I looked towards the blushing boy that had helped me and gave him a gracious bow and a smile and said: "Thank you for your help. May I have your name, kind wizard?"
It should have looked ridiculous. A half naked young man giving a gracious bow, but somehow it didn't.
*TING
Charisma has increased by 1
Hoh, I can gain charisma even while talking to players. I thought interested.
When the shy boy got the question he blushed crimson, and after some time managed to answer.
"I-im Eiden." he barely got out.
"Nice to meet you Eiden, I'm Aurelius." I said with another gracious bow.
Without my noticing, the girl that was behind me had moved in front of me to the rest of the audience. And she suddenly spoke up.
"Um, excuse me... but why did you look like that? And why did you come out of the forest?" she asked, apparently burning with curiosity. The rest of the audience seemed interested as well.
"Well my lady, give me some water to drink and I'll tell you. My own water ran out a couple of hours ago so I'm absolutely parched." I said while sitting down in the grass. I gestured for her to come closer and she nodded and took out her canteen.
I looked towards the crowd and said: "Well don't just stand there! Come sit down and have a barley bread picnic with me and this young lady." I said with a charming smile.
*TING
Charisma has increased by 1
Some looked unsure, but when they saw the rest of the crowd coming closer they followed. Everyone sat down in a sort of half-circle in front of me.
I took the canteen gratefully from the girl, and drank deeply from it while she blushed.
An indirect kiss, huh. Is that really such a big deal in a game? I thought amused.
"And now I suppose you all want to hear what I was doing that made me look like this?" they all nodded and I smiled in response.
"Well, I got a quest yesterday to kill the pack-leader of the wolves that live in this forest, and to kill at least 15 wolves." Now they all looked shocked again, but it was valid.
Normally when one first leaves the city, they get a sort of standard quest to kill rabbits for their meat or something similar. Then they get the reward, buy some beginner armor and continues with a quest for fox pelts as an example. After that they might receive a quest involving wolves. But that was usually to get maybe 5 wolf pelts, and those quests they did in a group.
What this means however, is that usually the only players wearing beginner outfits are those that haven't completed the quest involving rabbits. After that, they might buy some nicer, but still cheap clothes. And after they've finished with the foxes they usually have enough money to buy some kind of armor.
Even if warriors might not afford an iron breastplate after so few quests, they usually bought a hardened leather armor or something like it. So they wouldn't be completely defenseless.
That's why half the crowd was wearing beginner clothes, the other half was wearing mixed armors or wizard robes. So to find a player wearing beginner clothes and fighting wolves was almost unheard of.
"So I went into the forest yesterday, and after fighting wolves for a couple of hours I managed to find the wolf-den. I attacked it and managed to kill a couple of wolves before the pack-leader came out. I then slew it as well, but just before dying it let out a howl summoning all the other wolves close to it's aid." They were all listening intently, but more than one looked very skeptical.
"When I heard it, I quickly finished it off and ran for the cave. Just when I arrived a huge number of wolves came out of the forest. I equipped my spear and shield and fought them in the passage leading down inside the cave where they couldn't attack more then two at the same time." I told them seriously.
"I honestly don't know how long I fought, but by some luck and skill I managed to kill them all." Now almost all of them looked at me like I was a liar.
"When I finished I was so exhausted I barely managed to loot them all before collapsing on the ground to sleep. I woke up the next day, explored the cavern and started walking towards the city again. But I didn't remember the way, and the forest is pretty thick. So I was out of water, and had to walk for a couple of hours before I finally came out here." I finished in an exhausted voice.
All of them stared at me. Some of them looked shocked that I could do those things, but most of the crowd looked like they wanted to call me a liar. My temper started to flare. It feels like people always think I'm a liar...
"Now, before any of you call me a liar. Because I can see some of you want to. Take a look at this." I said, and emptied my inventory of all the wolf pelts. Including a giant white one. There had to be over 80 wolf pelts, and the white one that was more than twice as big as a normal wolf.
Everyone stared at the huge pile of pelts. Serves them right. I thought with a hidden smirk.
Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.
"And so my appearance probably came from all of the blood and attacks from the wolves, combined with walking through a tight forest." I told them with a smile. A lot of them had recovered now, so I started putting all the pelts in my inventory again.
I got up, and some of them followed while the others stayed on the ground.
"Well, thank you for the water my lady." I said with a gracious bow. She smiled shyly and I smiled back at her.
"Have a nice day, my lords and ladies." I said giving another gracious bow towards the crowd and then started walking towards the city.
After walking for just a few seconds I heard someone running behind me, I turned to look over my shoulder and saw Eiden running towards me. I wonder what he wants?
"What is it?" I asked Eiden when he was beside me panting from the run.
Mages must have really bad stamina. I thought with compassion.
"I-im going to the city anyways, and I've already finished with the rabbits and foxes long ago. So can I please walk with you?" he asked me in a meek voice.
Looks like he's a very shy kid, but then why does he want to go with me? I puzzled.
"Sure, two are always better than one right?" I said with a smile.
He blushed a little, and nodded.
I started walking towards the city again and Eiden followed at my side.
Now that I took a good look at him, he was short. Probably 1,67m(5'4) had short black hair and blue eyes. And his face was cute. That was the only way to describe it, it was pretty feminine and the best word for it was 'cute'. His age though... that was a mystery. He could be anywhere between 14-25, he had a kind of ageless appearance.
When he noticed me looking at him, he blushed again.
This guy... I feel bad for him, he must be extremely shy blushing at everything like that.
We finally arrived at the northern gate of the city, and my appearance immediately caused quite a scene.
The gate was open, with one guard on either side of the entrance. And there was a short line of people waiting to enter, as each time the guard had to ask them their purpose in the city and so on, and in the case of someone having a wagon they inspected it looking for forbidden goods or the like.
When we placed ourselves in line, people started staring at us. Eiden as expected immediately blushed from all the attention.
That's got to be creating some interesting misunderstandings, an attractive half-naked guy standing next to a cute boy/guy. I thought almost laughing, the only reason I contained myself was that it would only make Eiden more uncomfortable.
One of the guards clearly couldn't wait for our turn, so he started walking briskly from his post towards us. Eiden shifted nervously on his feet while I simply stood there unconcerned.
"Why are you dressed like that? Have you no shame boy?" The guard asked angrily when he arrived.
"My clothes were badly torn fighting wolves, and why should I be ashamed by this magnificent body?" I said with a charming smile.
The guard flushed angrily when he heard some people around us laughing, but before he could say something I continued: "Also, the man who gave me the mission to hunt wolves was Sergeant Radcliffe." That stopped the guard cold. His face went from angry red, to paper-white faster than I could have believed.
Is Sarge some sort big-shot? With that reaction this guy seems scared of him at least.
"Alright, you two come with me. I'll get you something to wear." He said grumpily and started walking back towards the gate.
We followed him inside, drawing some more stares before we reached our destination which was a small guard-house just to the right after entering the gate. He told us to wait in a sort of off-duty room for the guards, with several of them looking at me interestingly.
The guard returned with some whole beginner clothes, and threw them at me. After I caught them I started immediately undressing, much to the alarm of the rest of the room. Eiden, surprisingly in such a shy guy spoke up first and loudest.
"Y-you can't change here! Go somewhere private to change your clothes!" he shouted at me, his face beet-red.
"Why? We're all guys here, aren't we?" I asked with an innocent smile, while enjoying their chagrin immensely.
"Just do it, please." He pleaded so sincerely I felt sorry for the guy. So I walked to the room the other guard had gone to get the clothes and changed.
When I went back to the previous room everyone much more comfortable, especially Eiden.
I turned towards the guard that had brought me the clothes.
"Thank you, it's nice to see that the guards of this magnificent city are always ready to help it's citizens." I said with a gracious bow and smile towards the whole guard room.
*TING
Charisma has increased by 1
They all smiled and nodded back at me, seemingly grateful for being appreciated.
I walked out of the building with Eiden in tow. After we had walked for a short period of time, I asked him:
"So Eiden, where are you going? Or are you coming with me for now?"
He blushed again, but this time it seemed like it was because he'd been caught.
I have no idea what he wants or why he's following me, but I don't think it's for a bad reason.
He looked up hesitantly and asked: "Can I stay with you for a while?" he looked so innocent I felt like I wanted to dedicate my life to protecting him.
"Sure, no problem." I said and we continued towards the square, I was hoping Sarge was there. Otherwise I'd have to ask some guards.
After we arrived at the square, I recognized Sarge and walked towards him. He saw me and greeted me friendly: "Ah, back already Aurelius?"
"Yes, I finished the quest. Though it was hard, I nearly died when the pack-leader summoned what felt like all the wolves in the southern hemisphere. It resulted in near death, and a broken shield." I told him with a wry smile.
"But you survived and got stronger, didn't you? 'What doesn't kill you simply makes you stronger' right?" He said with a smile while quoting me quoting someone.
You have completed the quest: The Wolf Menace
You have leveled up
You have leveled up
"And here's your gold piece, and since you killed so many more wolves than the quest specified I'm going to let you take two items from our old storage." he told me seriously.
"Thank you." I told him with a grateful smile. This is great! Probably some sort of hidden bonus objective.
"Now, follow me to the old storage." He said walking briskly away, me and Eiden followed him through the streets to a small guard house with a big warehouse next to it. Sergeant Radcliffe explained as we arrived: "This is the old headquarters, when the city was much smaller than what it is today. We use that warehouse to store all sorts confiscated goods and old things we don't know what to do with."
Isn't that great? Confiscated goods? Who knows what I might find in there, and I can choose two things! I thought excitedly.
He told us to wait outside the warehouse, then he went into the old headquarters and returned with another guard.
"This is Eric, he'll come with you to make sure you don't take anything you aren't allowed to take while I return to my post." He told us with a serious face, then waved us off as he left.
"Come with me please." Eric said, I nodded and we followed him to the warehouse.
He unlocked a door, and when we entered we saw that just inside the door two more guards stood. He nodded at them and they nodded back then he motioned us to follow him.
We walked through seemingly endless shelves of stuff. It really was stuff, all manner of things. It seemed like the city-guard were hoarders. Anything and everything could be seen, for example we passed a shelf that had two cases of wine and next to them was a shovel. It looked completely random, but somehow I doubted it.
Suddenly Eric stopped, he took a left and we were in front of another locked door. He unlocked it and allowed us to enter without him. He told me to choose two items I wanted and then when I left the room he would inspect me to make sure I hadn't taken anything more than allowed.
Me and Eiden entered the room and what we found stunned us. There was absolutely no organization, armor lay everywhere and so did weapons. In piles sometimes, and sometimes in proper stands. It was chaos.
"Eiden, can you help me look for something for a knight? I already have a good sword, so what I want the most is some good piece of armor or a shield." I asked him seriously.
Eiden looked up at me and gave me a shy smile and a nod. After that we started digging through armor and weapons for what felt like eternity but was certainly no more than maybe an hour or two.
"A-aurelius!" Eiden exclaimed with an excited voice. I looked up and saw him looking at me from across the room with a boyish grin on his face while holding a pair of dusty boots. I walked fast towards him and asked:
"What is it? Have you found something good?" Eiden just gave me a shy smile and handed over the boots in his hands.
I looked at them and got the information.
[p=center]Anan's Boots[/p]
Durability: 30/30
Defense: 5
The knight called Anan had these boots crafted for him, they're made of a combination of hard leather with embedded iron plates.
Restrictions: Strength 75, Vitality 50.
Wow, these are pretty good. I thought happily
"Thank you, I'm definitely taking them." I said with a smile at him which he returned with another of his shy smiles.
Since this isn't the official armory, the weapons here really aren't very good. But there's some hidden armors here, buried beneath all the scrap. After half an hour I managed to find something interesting.
[p=center]Heavy Chainmail[/p]
Durability: 45/45
Defense: 10
Chainmail made to wear under normal armor, but it's too heavy for most knights to use, requires high strength but gives good protection.
Restrictions: Strength 95, Vitality 60.
This looks very good, it's heavy as hell but me being used to that iron armor makes this a lot easier.
I equipped the chainmail over my shirt and the boots and then turned to Eiden.
"Thanks for all your help, I'm done now so we can finally leave." I said with a smile, Eiden looked very relieved to be able to leave this dusty place.
We exited the room and found Eric the guard standing just outside the door, I showed him what I'd chosen and he searched us to make sure we hadn't stolen anything.
After that he led us out and we tasted freedom.
"Ah, fresh air." I said taking a deep breath. It's kind of funny that I think it's fresh air in a game.
Eiden's robe was all dusty and he was trying to get it off. It looked pretty cute, and I had to hold back my laughter.
I finally decided to invest my stat points, I'd seen earlier that I'd become level 15 with the completion of the quest.
I still can't really believe it, level 15! Still, I really did kill a lot of wolves. I decided to invest 5 of my 30 points in Agility, 10 in Vitality, 5 in Charisma and 10 in Strength.
[quart=Character name,Alignment]Aurelius,Neutral[/quart][quart=Level,Profession]15,Swan Knight[/quart]
Status Window
Title
Wolfsbane
Fame
50
[quart=Health,Mana]1480,100[/quart]
[quart=Strength,Agility]100+25,60+5[/quart]
[quart=Vitality,Charisma]65+25,48+30[/quart]
[quart=Endurance,Fighting Spirit]115+15,100[/quart]
[quart=Wisdom,Intellect]10,10[/quart]
[quart=Luck,Leadership]5,0[/quart]
Attack
23
Defense
15
Magic Resistance
None
[p=left]+30 Charisma
+25 Strength
+25 Vitality
+15 Endurance
+5 Agility
+ The Swan Knight class focuses on Charisma instead of Honor, this makes it much easier to raise the Charisma stat but makes it impossible for the Honor stat to be generated.
+ The Swan Knight regenerates a little stamina every time he makes a graceful move/dodge/attack.
+ Being a Knight class, all your weapon mastery skills level up faster.
+ Riding is easier and faster to master as a Knight.
+ Enables you to equip certain items specialized for the class.[/p]
My fighting spirit and endurance went up after my desperate last stand, not that surprising but still very nice. I thought satisfied.
And what's that title? Wolfsbane? I thought curiously.
"Title info: Wolfsbane" I tried saying.
Title: Wolfsbane
[p=left]After killing more than a hundred wolves in less than a day, you have become the Bane of Wolves.
Title effects when equipped:
+15% Damage against wolves.
+10 Strength
+5 Agility[/p]
That's seriously cool! And I should probably check my skills as well. I thought before saying "Skill info: All"
The Flowing Water Style: Intermediate Level 2 (67%)
[p=left]A combat style heavily focused on an ever-changing pattern of attack and defense. Making it very hard for the enemy to know what will happen next.
After reaching intermediate stage can now also be used while on horseback.[/p]
Sword Mastery: Intermediate Level 2 (7%)
[p=left]Increases Attack Power with a sword by 110%.(+110% ATK).
Increases Attack Speed with a sword by 33%. (+33% ATK SPD)[/p]
Spear Mastery: Intermediate Level 1 (47%)
[p=left]Increases Attack Power with a spear by 100%.(+100% ATK).
Increases Armor Penetration with a spear by 30%. (+30% ARM PEN)[/p]
Swan Song: Beginner Level 3 (45%)
[p=left]You gather all your strength and determination for the last attacks before death.
When below 10% health, Damage and Stamina Regeneration is increased by 30% and Speed is increased by 15%.[/p]
Horse Mastery: Beginner Level 7 (2%)
[p=left]Makes it easier to ride and tame horses. The higher the skill the less tired you become from riding.[/p]
The skills look very nice. And I guess I forgot to check horse mastery before this. Beginner level 7 huh? Still, it'll probably be a long time before I can put the skill to good use. I thought dejectedly.
It seemed like Eiden had finally managed to get all the dust off himself.
"Are you ready?" I asked him and he nodded. I was a little surprised he didn't blush. Maybe he's gotten used to me.
"I want to go to the square and sell some stuff, then after that I thought I'd go around looking for a new shield and maybe some armor if I can afford anything decent. Also, I got to remember to repair my equipment, so you want to come along?" I asked with a kind smile.
Eiden simply nodded again, and we started walking towards the square.
When we arrived, it was still as packed as ever. Merchants everywhere selling from stalls, and cooks as well.
I walked up to a merchant with medium length blond hair, blue eyes and a kind face, he was around 1,75m(5'7) tall and I asked him with a gracious smile: "Excuse me, are you interested in buying 100 wolf pelts? And if so, how much will you pay?"
The merchant looked shocked, and stared at me. I saw some other merchants from stalls nearby turn and stare at me as well. When he finally recovered he reacted very unusually.
"Please don't lie, just go somewhere else if you want to joke around." He told me with a dejected smile, like he was depressed for believing me for even one second.
I really need to get some armor so people will start to believe what I'm saying. I thought a little depressed. Instead of answering him, I simply opened my inventory and threw out 106 wolf pelts including the white one on the table in front of him.
Now people from all around us were staring, I would too if I saw someone dump that many pelts.
"So?" I asked with an amused smile. "How much are you willing to pay?"
If the merchant was shocked the first time, it was small time compared to now. He finally managed to recover after around 10 seconds of staring at the mountain of pelts.
"30 silver for each pelt, and four gold for the white one. Call it 40 gold rounded out." He told me with sparkling eyes.
I was shocked at the amount of money. 40 gold?! That combined with the 1 gold I got from the quest, I should be able to buy some pretty decent armor. I didn't even think of saving for a horse, armor came first. Also I'd kind of gotten stuck on the idea of taming my own horse.
After thinking for a few seconds I turned to the other merchants and asked: "Anyone have a better offer?"
None did, it was fair price with a small margin of profit for the merchant. But what none of them knew, was that the merchant actually had tailoring at a pretty high level, so he could use the pelts to make armor and cloaks.
The merchant tried to make the offer better, even though his offer really was fair. "I'll give you 40 gold and make the white pelt into a cloak for you." he said, excited of being able to raise his tailoring with this many pelts.
"Instead of making the great white pelt into a cloak for me, can you make me one made out of silk, or something like it?"
He looked a little surprised I didn't want the cloak made out of the wolf skin, since that would most likely give good defense bonuses.
"I do have enough spider-silk to make one cloak, it's more expensive than the white wolf pelt, but the wolf pelt is enough to make a cloak, boots, gloves and maybe even chest armor with since it's so big."
"That would be great! And, could you dye the cloak into a deep purple color, and use embroidery to make a fierce white swan on it's back?" I asked him excitedly. (http://static3.paizo.com/image/product/ ... SP09BE.jpg)
He looked very thoughtful after hearing that.
"I can do it, but it will take time. It should be ready at 11.00 real world time tomorrow, if you want I can write you a contract..."
"No need." I interrupted before he could finish, he looked a little startled but I merely gave him a smile.
"I'll trust you, no need to waste paper on a contract. Meet you here tomorrow then?"
He smiled at me and nodded. "I'm Tervi by the way." the merchant introduced himself. I felt more than a little chagrin at forgetting to introduce myself.
"Oh, I'm sorry. That was terribly rude of me." I gave him a gracious bow. "I'm Aurelius, nice to meet you Tervi." I said with a charming smile.
He smiled at me and gave me the bag of money with the 40 gold.
After that we said our goodbyes and waved each other off as me and Eiden left for a smithy I'd seen earlier.
[p=center]***[/p]
We walked into the smithy and was immediately hit by the warmth. Even though the hearth wasn't in this room, you could still feel the heat from here. I looked around and saw weapons hanging on the walls, I quickly ignored them and looked around for some armor.
After browsing for a while I heard the door from the inner room open, and out stepped the first female dwarf I ever saw.
She was very short and looked pretty young, but it was hard to tell with a dwarf. She had close-cropped dark brown hair, her eyes were also a deep dark brown, and her face was pretty cute but looked like it had a permanent scowl attached to it, which only made it perversely cuter. She was also incredibly muscular. I thought Dr. Matt had been built more for width than height, but the female dwarf truly was. She was almost as wide as she was tall, and all of it was rippling muscles.
The sheer surprise of seeing a female dwarf had stunned me for a few seconds, and she asked me tartly: "What? Never seen a real woman before?"
I quickly recovered and answered with: "I thought I had, but I realize now I was sadly mistaken." using my most charming smile.
*TING
Charisma has increased by 1
She smiled at my response and walked over to the counter before asking: "So, what are you interested in?" In a remarkably nicer tone.
I walked over to the counter, so I stood on the other side of it.
"Well, how good and how much plate armor can I buy for 40 gold? I need gauntlets, chest-plate, leg-armor, helmet and if I have any money left, a shield." I asked her with a smile.
She looked thoughtful after hearing me out. "Hmm... I could probably get you everything in decent quality for that amount of money. It won't be the best pieces, but not the worst either. They'll probably be pretty mediocre." she looked a bit upset at the prospect of having to sell me mediocre armor.
"That's fine with me," I said relieved that I could get everything. "since right now I don't have any armor for those pieces, so I'll take whatever you'll give me. But, can you throw in a free repair for my sword and spear?" I asked with a gracious smile.
She nodded with a small smile, and I handed over the money, my spear and my treasured sword. When she saw the sword, she stared at it shocked, then looked up at me with an intense stare. I was a bit taken aback but managed to ask her:
"What is it?"
"This is the Swan Sword my father made for Katherina, and if you're using it that means she finally gave out the class didn't she?" she asked me still looking at me intensely.
"Yes she did, I completed the training two days ago. And when I did she gave me the class." I said with a happy smile.
"This sword, has an armor to go with it." she told me simply.
This shocked me greatly. An armor to go with the sword? How good will it be? And how will it look? I thought excitedly.
"We've been saving it for when she finally gave out the class. You have to pay for it, but with 40 gold I'll let you have the legs and gauntlets, and since I'm so nice today I'll throw in a decent shield." she told me with a smile.
"Deal!" I almost screamed at her. She looked surprised, but then started laughing and I joined her with Eiden looking back and forth between us.
"And I'll tell you what, I'll sell you the chest, head and boots for 60 gold. And, since we've been waiting for someone to come and pick up that armor for so long, I'll throw in a lifetime of free repairs." she told me with a smile.
I was so happy at this moment I couldn't contain myself, I rushed around the counter and gave her a big hug. "Thank you, thank you so much!" I told her while hugging her crushingly. She hugged me back for a couple of seconds, then tapped my shoulder indicating that she wanted to be let go.
I let her go and backed off, she was looking at me with a slight blush. "I'm sorry I was just so happy I had to find an outlet." I told her apologizing for my outburst.
"It's fine, it's fine... I... just weren't prepared. That's all." she told me with a shy smile.
"And I'm sorry, I've been terribly rude. Please allow me to introduce myself, my name is Aurelius." I told her with a big smile.
"I'm Annyra, nice to meet you, and let me go back and get you the armor and shield, then I can repair the weapons while you look at the armor and shield." she told me with a smile and went to the inner room again.
She came out a couple of minutes later carrying the leg armor and gauntlets together with a pretty big round shield. She put them down on the counter, took the weapons and went back into the smithy while I inspected the armor.
I took the leggings and inspected them:
[p=center]The Swan's Leggings[/p]
Durability: 75/75
Defense: 20
Beautiful high quality steel leggings, made for a specific class and part of a set. They have engraved swans on the front side of the thighs.
Class: Swan Knight.
Restrictions: Strength 105, Vitality 70.
Equip: Raises Strength by 20, Raises Charisma by 15.
I stood there staring at them for a while. Amazing! It's stats are great, but it's also incredibly beautiful. I thought sliding my hand over the beautiful armor.
Let's check the gauntlets as well! I thought excitedly picking them up.
[p=center]The Swan's Gauntlets[/p]
Durability: 55/55
Defense: 10
Beautiful high quality steel gauntlets, made for a specific class and part of a set. They have engraved swans on the upper side of the armor covering the forearms.
Class: Swan Knight.
Restrictions: Strength 105, Vitality 70.
Equip: Raises Strength by 10, Raises Charisma by 5.
They're also incredible, this is simply too much. My brain is overloading on all of this. I thought dazedly.
I decided to check the mediocre shield so I could calm down some.
[p=center]Common Round Shield[/p]
Durability: 45/45
Defense: 15
A common round shield of decent quality and workmanship, but nothing special.
Restrictions: Strength 75, Vitality 55.
Finally a dose of reality, nothing outrageous here. It's decent, and that's perfectly fine. I thought with a smile.
I equipped everything but the shield, which I put in my inventory. I was beginning to look pretty good. With the boots, leggings, gauntlets and chain-mail I'm starting look knightly.
I have to make some money now, I want that entire set. Badly. I thought longingly.
While I was checking out the shield, Annyra had returned with my weapons. She put them on the counter and asked me with a small smile: "So, are you satisfied with the armor?"
"It's great. It's stats are amazing and it looks so beautiful, I'm still kind of in shock about how good it really is." I told her with a smile. She returned it and handed over my spear and sword.
"They're as good as new now, though what you did with the spear to make it that worn is beyond me." she said with a questioning expression.
"Well," I said a little embarrassed. "I kind of, well I fought the most desperate battle I've ever fought and my shield splintered, so I had to use the spear to both parry and attack. And after a couple of hours of that my spear really wasn't in top condition." I finished with an awkward smile.
She started laughing and answered me after she'd calmed down some: "That spear looked like it'd seen a hundred battles in a row or something. And the spear has gained a permanent red look to it, the blood of your foes has completely soaked it."
"Well, maybe it's color will scare some of my enemies." I said with a small smile.
"And thank you for everything Annyra. I'll be back when I've got more money to get the rest of the armor." I told her seriously.
She waved the thanks away and answered with a small smile: "I'll be looking forward to it, so don't keep my waiting too long."
"I promise I'll be back as soon as I've got the 60 gold." I swore solemnly.
She nodded and waved us off as we left. "Till we meet again!" I said before exiting the door.
After we left the smithy I was just starting to think about what to do now when Eiden spoke up.
"Aurelius, the reason I followed you was because I wanted to see what kind of person you are. I also had a strong suspicion on who you are." he told me seriously.
I was a little shocked over his serious and forceful attitude. That was surprising. And who I am?
Eiden continued: "Please, Aurelius. I need your help with a quest, can you help me?" He looked incredibly serious, but I thought I could see something suspiciously watery-like in his eyes.
Looks like he can't be this forceful for long. He doesn't seem to be able to handle it. I thought compassionately.
"Sure, I'll help you." I told him a serious expression. When I answered him he seemed to deflate, as if he was on the edge and couldn't handle the pressure. It made me smile.
But what does he mean he had a suspicion of who I am? Well, whatever. I'll ask him tomorrow, I have to log out now anyway.
"Eiden, what are friends for? You might have attached yourself to me because you wanted help. But you've already helped me, so the least I can do is return the favor." I told him with a kind smile. When he saw it he responded with a relieved smile.
"But I really have to log out now Eiden, so let's add each other to the friends list. And I promise I'll help you tomorrow in real world time, if that's okay with you?" He nodded with a small smile. We added each other to the friends list and then I logged out.
[url=http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=456&t=4006
Previous Chapter width=50%][/url]Next Chapter