Isabelle looked out at the half-asleep downtown district of Cloud Reach. The sun was slowly inching its way toward the horizon. Soon enough, Cloud Reach would start waking up, and there would be kobolds everywhere. Kobolds staring at her, and kobolds staring at all the wanted posters with Isabelle’s face on them.
[Recognized: 0/100]
Isabelle did not enjoy the system’s recognition monitoring counter, it made her feel on edge.
[Clarification: To hide the recognition status screen, think ‘Hide Recognition.’]
Isabelle appreciated that there was an option to hide it, but she wasn’t interested in that kind of ignorance. If she was going to make it through Cloud Reach without getting thrown back in prison, paying attention to that status screen was probably her best bet.
Isabelle had another thought. She crouched.
[Current visibility: 0/250]
Nice. Maybe Isabelle could sneak her way through this situation. It was a bit of a long shot since it was light outside, but the dearth of people around and the densely packed downtown shops made Isabelle feel like it was worth a shot.
Isabelle sneaked over toward an alleyway. It was empty. Great. She crawled down the alley and then onto an empty sidestreet flanked by tattered dumpsters, empty wagons and stinky stables. Isabelle continued down this side street parallel to Caslodge Highway, watching intently from her peripherals to see whether anyone was coming or looking her way.
[Current visibility: 0/250]
Through the side street, Isabelle reached the part of Caslodge Highway where it turned from cobblestone to dirt. The side street ended there, unfortunately, but with a couple of careful weaves through alleyways Isabelle found another parallel side street and sneaked down that pathway in a similar fashion.
[Current visiblity: 0/250]
Time must’ve been moving quickly. Either that, or the sun was setting faster than Isabelle had expected. Some of the lights in the apartments Isabelle was sneaking past were popping on. A couple window curtains slid to the side. Isabelle was feeling tense. At least she was undetected, and her sneak was decently high.
[Current visibility: 0/250]
Isabelle could hear the rushing of the river. She remembered the orc that ran that bar who’d hired his buddies to try and kill her had said she needed to go across that bridge and then she’d be in the South Ward. But, would Isabelle be seen by anyone when she crossed the bridge? She sneaked over through an alleyway and peeked her head out to glance around the bridge. Yes, there were people walking around now. A good half of them were kobold. She even caught a few glance at her wanted posted studiously. Great. What a mess.
If only Isabelle had crafted that helmet out of spider hide when she had the chance. Then again, didn’t she still have some spider hide in he inventory? Was it enough to craft a helmet? What’s more, would the helmet cover her face entirely? After all, that was the whole point. Isabelle thought ‘Open Giant Spider Hide (craftable) Crafting Menu.’
Crafting
Item
Craftable
Giant Spider Hide (craftable) x2
n/a
Damn. So that was useless! Why had Isabelle even kept this crap in her inventory?
[Current visibility: 20/250]
“Is someone out here?” asked a kobold.
Shit. Someone saw her. Isabelle looked around, seeing a kobold coming out into the side street with a bag of garbage. She slunk toward the shadows, hoping to be forgotten.
[Current visibility: 0/250]
“Huh. That was weird,” said the kobold. “Must’ve been my imagination.”
Isabelle rolled her eyes. Kobolds could be so silly.
Once the kobold went back inside, Isabelle crawled out of the alley and back onto the side street. Then, she slowly headed down to the next alleyway, and headed down it. At the end of this alleyway, however, there looked to be a Cloud Reach guard leaning on a wall.
[Current visibility: 0/250]
Isabelle crept closer.
[Current visibility: 0/250]
He looked half awake, and was chewing on a frosted scone. He was wearing a Cloud Reach guard helmet. Of course, he was a kobold. But Isabelle had an idea, anyway. She crept closer.
[Current visibility: 0/250]
Perfect. She could smell the guard’s scone now. It was strawberry. He was muttering to himself about how much he hated doing the day shift.
[Current visibility: 0/250]
Isabelle had a thought. Isabelle focused on the guard and thought ‘Check Level.’
[‘Cloud Reach Guard’ is level 43]
It was all that Isabelle could do to not gasp in shock. Level 43? There was no way in hell she was going to try to stealth kill this guy, as much as she wanted to.
[Current visibility: 0/250]
Still, there had to be something Isabelle could do. The sun was setting. As the guard took one last leisurely bite, the scone dropped from his hands and onto the ground.
[Current visibility: 0/250]
Isabelle froze, waiting for the guard to lean down and grab the scone. But that moment never came.
[Current visibility: 0/250]
Isabelle crept closer. She could hear the guard snoring.
[Current visibility: 0/250]
Isabelle thought it was high time she ought to try something new. Of course, he was a kobold. But Isabelle had an idea, anyway. She crept closer. She hadn’t had a good opportunity to level up her sleight of hand yet, had she?
[Current visibility: 0/250]
Isabelle wondered how exactly she could use sleight of hand to pickpocket someone.
[Clarification: Focus on your subject. If your current visibility is zero, you will see the option to pickpocket.]
Isabelle focused on the guard.
[Pickpocket ‘Cloud Reach Guard’?]
Isabelle thought yes.
Inventory: Cloud Reach Guard
Steel Greatsword
+5 damage, +3 str, +5 carry weight
Cloud Reach Guard Shield
+3 str, +3 const, +10 carry weight
Cloud Reach Guard Helmet (kobold)
+2 hp, +1 str, +4.5 carry weight
Cloud Reach Guard Armor (kobold)
+3 hp, +4 str, +8 carry weight
Cloud Reach Guard Keys
n/a
Isabelle liked the idea of pickpocketing the keys from this guard, but she also had no idea what she’d do with them. However, Isabelle was impressed that she got access to all of the guard’s clothing from the pickpocketing dialog. Of course, there was probably a low chance she could take them all without this guard noticing, but it was tempting. Isabelle wondered what all affected her slight of hand, other than her level of course.
[Clarification: Your sleight of hand, other than by its level, is affected by your dx and const scores added together plus two random numbers between 1 and 42. The current mental state of the NPC you are attempting to pickpocket also affects 20% of this outcome.]
Hmmm. Isabelle wondered if she could equip anything else that added to her dx or const. She knew that her giant spider gauntlets already added one point to her dx, but there had to be something else that could give her a bit of a boost. Isabelle opened her inventory.
Inventory: Isabelle
Carrying capacity: 66/70
Item
Traits
Orcish Longbow
+5 damage, +1 dx, +1.5 carry weight
Abbreviated list based on prior use. Focus to see more items…
Huh. The orcish longbow added one dx. That would have to be enough.
[Orcish Longbow equipped]
[+5 damage]
[+1 dx]
Inventory: Cloud Reach Guard
Steel Greatsword
+5 damage, +3 str, +5 carry weight
Cloud Reach Guard Shield
+3 str, +3 const, +10 carry weight
Cloud Reach Guard Helmet (kobold)
+2 hp, +1 str, +4.5 carry weight
Cloud Reach Guard Armor (kobold)
+3 hp, +4 str, +8 carry weight
Cloud Reach Guard Keys
n/a
Isabelle looked back to the guard’s inventory.
And she focused on the Cloud Reach Guard Shield, the Cloud Reach Guard Helmet (kobold), and the Cloud Reach Guard Armor (kobold).
[Cloud Reach Guard Shield added to inventory]
[Cloud Reach Guard Helmet (kobold) added to inventory]
[Cloud Reach Guard Armor (kobold) added to inventory]
[Sleight of Hand increased to level 1]
[Sleight of Hand increased to level 2]
[Sleight of Hand increased to level 3]
[Sneak increased to level 5]
[Achievement unlocked: Pickpocket someone]
[Achievement unlocked: Pickpocket someone's clothing while they're wearing it]
[Achievement unlocked: Level up an ability three levels at once]
[Notice: you’re ready to level up]
[Notice: You’re over encumbered. Please check your inventory.]
Holy shit. First of all, Isabelle was absolutely floored that she’d been able to pickpocket all that stuff. Second of all, Isabelle was doing everything she could not to burst out laughing, because as soon as her vision filled with these status updates from her system, the guard she had pickpocketed suddenly became naked save for a stained loincloth that did not leave much up to the imagination. Or at least, it wouldn’t have, had the guard not been a kobold. Third, Isabelle was in awe at how quickly her sleight of hand had leveled up. Then again, considering what she’d pulled off, it wasn’t that surprising.
[Notice: you’re ready to level up]
[Notice: You’re over encumbered. Please check your inventory.]
Shit. Isabelle was dying to get away from this guard who was still, somehow, snoring peacefully in slumber. But if she even tried to move, it was like the air was quicksand. She had to fix her over encumbered state. Isabelle opened her inventory.
Inventory: Isabelle
Carrying capacity: 88.5/70
Item
Traits
Necromancer Robes
+10 mana, +3 confuse, +3 enchant, +1 destroy, +4 carry weight
Cloud Reach Guard Shield
+3 str, +3 const, +10 carry weight
Cloud Reach Guard Helmet (kobold)
+2 hp, +1 str, +4.5 carry weight
Cloud Reach Guard Armor (kobold)
+3 hp, +4 str, +8 carry weight
Steel Gloves
+1 str, +3 damage, +1 carry weight
Steel Greatsword
+5 damage, +3 str, +5 carry weight
Longbow
+3 damage, +1 carry weight
Steel Mace
+7 damage, +4 carry weight
Spell Tome of Minor Destroying Magic
+5 carry weight
Giant Spider Hide (craftable) x2
+3 carry weight
Abbreviated list based on prior use. Focus to see more items…
Hmmm. Shit. Eighteen and a half over her carrying capacity. At least the system had pulled up a good list of things Isabelle could drop to improve her carry weight, though she wasn’t letting go of those Cloud Reach Guard items no matter what. Same with her necromancer robes, actually. Or her Spell Tome of Minor Destroying Magic! What was the system thinking? Those things were useful, Isabelle couldn’t get rid of them! However, that Giant Spider Hide definitely had to go. Isabelle actually felt a little apprehensive about throwing out her unused steel weapons, though, because she’d been hoping she could use them to help her craft the Cloud Reach Guard armor from a kobold fit to a human fit. It had been a bit of a crazy hunch, but also Isabelle’s best bet, because otherwise she couldn’t equip it. Still, the more Isabelle looked at her inventory, the more hopeless she felt.
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[Notice: you’re ready to level up]
Shit, what was she doing? Isabelle decided to go ahead and level up right then and there, crouched behind the guard sleeping on the side of the alleyway in their underwear. Isabelle shrugged.
[Notice: You’ve reached level 10!]
[Notice: You have attribute and skill points to spend]
[Would you like to spend your points now?]
[Y/N]
Isabelle thought yes.
Attribute Points to Spend: 8
Hp:
36
H-Regen:
3/50sec
Mana:
18
M-Regen:
2/min
Stm:
20
S-Regen:
0.5/sec
Wow. Eight points. That felt nice. Isabelle put four into her mana, two into her stm, and two to hp.
Skill Points to Spend: 8
Str:
15
Int:
13
Dx:
12
Wis:
13
Const:
12
Char:
13
So, if Isabelle was going to bump up her carrying capacity again she’d have to add some of these points to her const. Isabelle decided three to const would be plenty. She also put two to her dx, which had leveled up a little bit on its own due to how much she’d been using it. Nice. Of her three remaining points, Isabelle put one to int, one to wis, and one to char.
[Congratulations, you’ve finished leveling up!]
Character Status
Name:
Isabelle
Gender:
Female
Level:
10
Class:
Undefined
Race:
Human
Alignment:
Neutral-Neutral
Attributes
Hp:
38
H-Regen:
3/50sec
Mana:
22
M-Regen:
2/min
Stm:
22
S-Regen:
0.5/sec
Skill Points
Str:
15
Int:
14
Dx:
14
Wis:
14
Const:
15
Char:
14
Magic Ability Levels
Enchant:
0
Summon:
0
Heal:
0
Destroy:
3
Transmute:
0
Confuse:
0
Normal Ability Levels
Crafting:
4
Sneak:
5
Archery:
4
Lockpick:
0
Armed Combat:
5
Melee Combat:
3
Speechcraft:
3
Sleight Of Hand:
3
Isabelle was going places with this character sheet. She just needed a good opportunity to level up her lockpick at this point, and then all her normal abilities would be above zero. Isabelle didn’t focus too much on her magic ability levels, though. She didn’t feel like it was really her fault that most of those were zero when she’d barely been exposed to magic in the first place. Besides, what magic she had been exposed to, she was great at.
[Notice: You’re over encumbered. Please check your inventory.]
Damn it. Isabelle had hoped the extra const would’ve been enough to get her out of having to sort through her inventory.
[Current Visiblity: 56/300]
Hey, Isabelle’s current invisibility had improved again with her sneak! That was nice. Wait, what? Was someone seeing her?
“Shit, where are all my clothes?!” said the guard. He looked around, aimless and confused.
Fuck. Isabelle was doomed! She could barely move. He was sure to find her soon. Then again… Isabelle had an idea. It had to have been a day since she last used her special ability, hadn’t it? There was only one way to find out. Isabelle thought ‘Activate special ability.’
[Special Ability: Become Invisible activated]
[Become Invisible duration remaining: 5:00]
[Current Visibility: 0/300]
[Notice: You’re over encumbered. Please check your inventory.]
It was just in time, too. The near-naked kobold turned around and looked right in her direction, but he could only see through her.
“Am I dreaming or something?” the guard asked himself. He tried pinching his scaly skin.
As funny as she found the situation, there was no time to point and laugh. Isabelle only had five minutes to get her shit together. She opened her inventory.
Inventory: Isabelle
Carrying capacity: 88.5/79
Item
Traits
Necromancer Robes
+10 mana, +3 confuse, +3 enchant, +1 destroy, +4 carry weight
Cloud Reach Guard Shield
+3 str, +3 const, +10 carry weight
Cloud Reach Guard Helmet (kobold)
+2 hp, +1 str, +4.5 carry weight
Cloud Reach Guard Armor (kobold)
+3 hp, +4 str, +8 carry weight
Steel Gloves
+1 str, +3 damage, +1 carry weight
Steel Greatsword
+5 damage, +3 str, +5 carry weight
Longbow
+3 damage, +1 carry weight
Steel Mace
+7 damage, +4 carry weight
Spell Tome of Minor Destroying Magic
+5 carry weight
Giant Spider Hide (craftable) x2
+3 carry weight
Abbreviated list based on prior use. Focus to see more items…
Seventy nine carrying capacity wasn’t too bad. Really all that meant is that Isabelle had to get rid of nine and a half carry weight and she was good to go. She was already in a much, much better situation that she’d been moments earlier. Isabelle considered that, at this point, she could just drop the Cloud Reach Guard Shield and be over encumbered no more. Then again, if she did that, would her disguise work? And what about if Isabelle wasn’t able to make the kobold guard armor fit her human body? If that happened, the shield was her only chance at fooling them, and surely it would at least be effective enough for her to cross that bridge without looking too suspicious.
Isabelle watched the near-naked kobold guard wander around, looking for his clothes. He kept looking back in her direction. It put Isabelle on edge.
[Become Invisible duration remaining: 4:32]
Had half a minute passed that quickly? Shit. Isabelle was going to have to hurry up and try to craft herself up some human-sized guard armor before it was too late. She just hoped it would work, or all this effort would’ve been for nothing.