As Isabelle knocked on the door, a small message from the system appeared.
[Tavern Door - unlocked]
Oh. It was unlocked. Probably a little odd that she’d knocked on the door instead of just going on in, but it was too late, and Isabelle stuck with her decision.
The door cracked open.
“What’s you want?” grumbled a burly kobold bouncer.
“To come inside, please,” said Isabelle.
The bouncer looked down at Isabelle’s chest for a second. She instinctively crossed her arms in response.
“Eh, sure. Not sure why you knocked on the door for that, though.”
The bouncer swung the door open and watched as Isabelle and Tahsi walked inside. However, he stood in the entrance once Sir Jingles the cat stood up on his hind legs and walked forward.
“Oh, no. Not you,” the bouncer growled.
“Wait!” Isabelle rushed back to greet the bouncer, not crossing her arms this time. “He’s with us.”
[Speechcraft attempt: Persuade]
“I know this mangey cat, and he’s not with anybody. He owes the tavern fifty six gold!”
[Speechcraft failed]
[Speechcraft increased to level 1]
Isabelle found that curious. Her speechcraft leveled up, even when she failed?
[Clarification: Using, or attempting to use an ability, increases your ability-specific xp. Once your ability-specific xp reaches 100, you level up in that skill, and your ability-specific xp resets to 0. Successfully using a skill grants more ability-specific xp than failing to use a skill, but both contribute to your ability-specific xp. The level of difficulty of what you are attempting or succeeding to do with said skill also weighs on the amount of ability-specific xp you gain for that action.]
Isabelle wondered if there was a way she could check her ability-specific xp.
[Clarification: To see your ability-specific xp, as well as your overall xp points, think ‘see xp status.’]
Isabelle thought ‘see xp status.’
XP Status
Overall XP:
28/100
Level:
2
Magic Ability XP
Enchant:
0/100 xp
level 0
Summon:
0/100 xp
level 0
Heal:
0/100 xp
level 0
Destroy:
0/100 xp
level 0
Transmute:
0/100 xp
level 0
Confuse:
35/100 xp
level 0
Normal Ability Levels
Crafting:
0/100 xp
level 0
Sneak:
78/100 xp
level 1
Archery:
0/100 xp
level 0
Lockpick:
0/100 xp
level 0
Armed Combat:
43/100 xp
level 1
Melee Combat:
13/100 xp
level 1
Speechcraft:
2/100 xp
level 1
Slight Of Hand:
0/100 xp
level 0
Isabelle found the xp status chart fascinating, though also a little bit frustrating. She’d have to find opportunities to increase her xp in some of those skills going forward.
She focused away from the status screen and instead looked to bouncer.
“Well, lady?” the bouncer said. “Are you going to give up on this awful cat, or what?”
“No,” Isabelle said. She then pulled up her inventory and focused on her gold.
[Bag of 56 gold equipped]
A bag of gold pieces appeared in Isabelle’s hand.
“Here’s fifty six gold. Can the cat come in with us, now?” asked Isabelle.
“Wow,” the bouncer said. He took the bag of gold, rifling through it. “Shit. I guess so. That is, as long as you can cover whatever bill he racks up?”
“We should be able to,” she said. Isabelle then looked to Sir Jingles. “Shouldn't we?”
“Oh, yes, yes, surely,” Sir Jingles said with a smile, walking forward and patting the bouncer on the arm.
“Get yer paw off me, cat,” the bouncer growled.
“Where’s Tahsi?” Isabelle asked, looking around.
“Oh, that kobold friend of yours who happens to hate me?” said Sir Jingles.
“…Yes,” said Isabelle.
“He’s at the bar downing ale,” snickered the cat, “Something I too plan to do.”
Isabelle walked up to Tahsi, who was hunched over a large, half drunken pint. Two empty pints sat beside him.
“Tahsi!” Isabelle said. “I had no idea you were such a booze fiend.”
“I’m not,” Tahsi replied, slightly slurring his words. “But seeing as my home and workplace just got burned down by the Ozian Sect, I figured I’d indulge myself.”
“Burned down? The Ozian Sect? Do I need to be concerned?” asked Sir Jingles.
[Speechcraft Attempt: Deceive]
“No, it’s fine,” said Isabelle.
[Speechcraft Succeeded]
“Fair enough,” the cat said. “Bartender! Can I get a vodka cranberry? Hold the cranberry.”
Tahsi turned to Isabelle and whispered, “You’ll pay off his tab and invite him back inside, but you don’t want him to know we’re being hunted?”
“I felt bad for him, Tahsi,” Isabelle whispered back, “But that doesn’t mean I trust him.”
“I guess that’s reasonable,” Tahsi said with a shrug. He then shuddered for a second as he focused his character sheet away. “Whew. Still getting used to the system. You know, Isabelle, I never thought I’d become a member of a player’s party.”
[Notice: Party member ‘Tahsi’ overheard by NPC ‘Sir Jingles’]
Isabelle snorted at the realization that the system referred to Sir Jingles as an NPC. She remembered the many derogatory internet memes based around the concept of NPCs back in her original world, in her original life, and it brought a smile to Isabelle’s face.
“A player’s party, eh?” Sir Jingles looked Isabelle and Tahsi up and down with a smile. “I thought something seemed… different about you two. So. Are you going to off yourselves, or wait til the Red Serpent does it for you?”
Isabelle shuddered. “Um. What are you talking about, Sir Jingles?”
Sir Jingles looked to Tahsi and chuckled. “So. She doesn’t know?”
“She doesn’t know,” Tahsi said.
“Why didn’t you tell her?” Sir Jingles asked.
“I didn’t have a chance! We got attacked!” Tahsi said, slamming a fist on the bar. A couple of patrons stopped talking to stare at him.
Isabelle, growing increasingly nervous at the eyes bearing down on the three of them, cleared her throat.
[Speechcraft Attempt: Decieve]
“Sorry, everyone,” Isabelle said, “He’s just had a little too much to drink. The crab mongering market isn’t doing too hot.”
[Speechcraft Succeeded]
Everyone looked away from them and began grumbling amongst one another again.
Isabelle sighed in relief. Then, she had a frightening thought. She wondered if there was a way to check the remaining duration of Tahsi’s ‘Crabby Costume’ spell.
[Clarification: To check the duration of a spell cast on someone else, think ‘show spell duration.’ After you think this once, the system will continuously update you on the time for each duration-based spell you cast. You can turn off this feature by thinking ‘hide spell duration’.]
Isabelle thought ‘show spell duration.’
[Spell Duration Remaining ‘Crabby Costume’: 00:03:45]
“Shit!” Isabelle turned to Tahsi, “Tahsi, do you realize how much longer you have before your spell wears off?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah,” said Tahsi. “It’s been showing up over my vision in green letters since you cast it on me.”
“Well then why are we sitting here drinking? We need to get you a room before it wears off!” Isabelle said, frustrated.
Sir Jingles’ ears swiveled, and his whiskers twitched. “I’m not sure exactly what you two are jabbering on about, but I’m getting a bit of a bad vibe from my kitty senses. I think some dangerous people are coming towards this tavern.”
“Your kitty senses?” Isabelle couldn’t help but laugh. “That sounds so silly!”
“Kitty senses are very serious business, lady,” said Sir Jingles.
[Spell Duration Remaining ‘Crabby Costume’: 00:02:53]
“Hey—” Isabelle waved over the bartender, “Can we buy some rooms?”
“No,” said the kobold, “But you can buy a room. We’ve only got one left.”
“Okay,” Isabelle said, more than a little disappointed. “How much will it cost?”
“One gold piece,” the kobold said. Then, they looked over to see Sir Jingles. “Actually, two gold pieces, if you’re letting that cat share the room.”
“Alright then,” Isabelle said with a sigh. Then, she checked her inventory.
Inventory: Isabelle
Carrying capacity: 22/36
Item
Traits
Steel Morningstar
+3 damage, +5 carry weight
Potion of Lesser Health x2
+5 hp, +0.5 carry weight
Steel Domination Chain
+11 damage, +10 carry weight
Staff of the Crustacean
+5 mana, +2 carry weight
Emerald Amulet of Lesser Stamina
+2 stm, +0.5/sec s-regen
Peasant Robes (human)
+1 carry weight
Stale Bread Loaf x10
+10 hp (cumulative), +0.5 carry weight
Crab Ambergris
+5 carry weight
Crab Flesh
+2 hp, +1 carry weight
Gate Key
n/a
“Wait a second,” Isabelle sad to the kobold. “Apparently I don’t have any gold left?”
[Spell Duration Remaining ‘Crabby Costume’: 00:01:22]
“Oh, heh,” Sir Jingles handed her two gold pieces. “Sorry about that, force of habit.”
[-2 stm]
“You pickpocketed me?” Isabelle scowled at the cat.
“Hey, I didn’t mean anything by it. Anyway, my kitty senses are going haywire over here. Let’s hurry off to the room, already,” Sir Jingles said with a smile.
Isabelle rolled her eyes and handed the bartending kobold the two gold pieces.
[‘Doug the Bartending Kobold’ added ‘Room Key’ to your inventory]
“Thanks, Doug,” Isabelle said to the bartending kobold.
[Spell Duration Remaining ‘Crabby Costume’: 00:00:44]
“How’d you know my name?” asked Doug the Bartending kobold.
Isabelle shrugged.
Character Status
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Name:
Isabelle
Gender:
Female
Level:
2
Class:
Undefined
Race:
Human
Alignment:
Neutral-Neutral
Attributes
Hp:
22
H-Regen:
3/min
Mana:
10
M-Regen:
2/min
Stm:
11
S-Regen:
0.5/sec
Skill Points
Str:
6
Int:
6
Dx:
5
Wis:
1
Const:
6
Char:
4
Magic Ability Levels
Enchant:
0
Summon:
0
Heal:
0
Destroy:
0
Transmute:
0
Confuse:
0
Normal Ability Levels
Crafting:
0
Sneak:
1
Archery:
0
Lockpick:
0
Armed Combat:
1
Melee Combat:
1
Speechcraft:
0
Slight Of Hand:
0
Isabelle huffed as she blinked her character sheet away, only to do a bit of a double take. Had she lost her stm buff from the Emerald Amulet of Lesser Stamina? Isabelle felt for the amulet around her neck. Nothing.
“Hey, Sir Jingles, did you—” Before Isabelle could finished, Sir Jingles handed her the Emerald Amulet of Lesser Stamina with a smile. She put it back on.
[Emerald Amulet of Lesser Stamina equipped]
[+2 stm]
[Spell Duration Remaining ‘Crabby Costume’: 00:00:26]
“Okay, let’s go to that room already,” said Isabelle, nearly pulling Tahsi away from his ale.
They headed towards a wooden staircase, following a poorly scrawled sign that read ‘TO ROOMS.’
“Not a minute too soon, eh?” said Sir Jingles, pointing to the tavern door.
Isabelle’s heart lurched as she saw kobolds in purple armor opening the door and walking past the bouncer. Ozian Sect Warriors.
“Shit! Come on, come on!” she whispered, hurrying up the steps with Tahsi and Sir Jingles.
[Spell ‘Crabby Costume’ expired]
In a poof, Tahsi was no longer wearing a crab hat.
As they reached the second floor, Isabelle saw three wooden doors. She approached the first one.
[Tavern Room Door - Locked]
Isabelle realized she wasn’t entirely certain how to use the keys in her inventory. She tried to focus on the room key to equip it.
[Item Room Key unable to be equipped]
[Clarification: To use a key, approach the door and focus on it, thinking ‘unlock.’ If you have a key to that door, it will unlock.]
Interesting. Isabelle focused on the door and thought ‘unlock.’
[Tavern Room Door - Locked]
She walked to the next door. ‘Unlock.’
[Tavern Room Door - Locked]
And, on to the third. ‘Unlock.’
[Tavern Room Door - unlocked]
The door swung open, revealing a small room with a single cot and a faint oil lamp. With a sigh, the three headed into the room. Isabelle shut the door. She wondered if she could lock it, in case the warriors from the Ozian Sect came poking their heads around.
[Clarification: To lock a door that you have the key to, focus on the door and think ‘lock.’]
Isabelle focused on the door. ‘Lock.’
[Tavern Room Door - Locked]
She sighed in relief.
“Hey, um, so, I’ve got some news,” said Sir Jingles.
“What kind of news?” asked Tahsi, patting his head, which was not now adorned with a crab monger hat.
“These small green letters are appearing over my vision,” Sir Jingles said. “I’m getting worried that I might’ve joined your party. Do you mind checking that, lady?”
“My name’s Isabelle.”
“Well, do you mind checking, Isabelle?” hissed Sir Jingles with irritation.
“Fine,” Isabelle said. She thought ‘Party Status.’
[Party Status Loading]
[…]
[…]
[Party Status]
[Members: 3]
[See members?]
[Y/N]
Isabelle thought ‘yes.’
[Party members: Isabelle, Tahsi, Sir Jingles]
“Well, that’s a yes. You’re in our party, Sir Jingles,” said Isabelle.
“Shit,” Sir Jingles said. “I should’ve gotten another drink when I had the chance."
“Since you’re in our party, Sir Jingles,” Isabelle said, “Do you mind if I look at your character sheet?”
“Oh, sure, whatever,” he said. “Put me in your party. Pay off my debts. Don’t buy me another drink. Check my character sheet. Whatever you want, lady. Just go on then, tell me what to do, I haven’t a damn idea how to use a system.”
“Please call me Isabelle,” said Isabelle.
“Well. How about I call you Izzy?” Sir Jingles countered.
[‘Sir Jingles’ failed an int+char check against ‘Isabelle’]
Isabelle immediately remembered Erin and her irritating ways, her always visible navel… the best thing about that old, past life roommate was her crop tops, Isabelle had to admit.
“Please, call me Isabelle, Sir Jingles.”
“Fair enough,” Sir Jingles shrugged. “Well hey, there my character sheet is!”
Isabelle focused until she too could see Sir Jingles’ character sheet.
Character Status
Name:
Sir Jingles
Gender:
Male
Level:
3
Class:
Undefined
Race:
Cat
Alignment:
Chaotic-Neutral
Attributes
Hp:
35
H-Regen:
0.1/sec
Mana:
5
M-Regen:
2/min
Stm:
25
S-Regen:
0.5/sec
Skill Points
Str:
4
Int:
4
Dx:
17
Wis:
11
Const:
15
Char:
2
Magic Ability Levels
Enchant:
0
Summon:
0
Heal:
0
Destroy:
0
Transmute:
0
Confuse:
0
Normal Ability Levels
Crafting:
0
Sneak:
8
Archery:
3
Lockpick:
5
Armed Combat:
4
Melee Combat:
4
Speechcraft:
2
Slight Of Hand:
8
“Wow,” Isabelle said. “You’re not necessarily the most balanced person, Sir Jingles. Though I guess you’re fairly good at balancing, at least physically.”
“You know, you’re the first person who’s ever told me that,” Sir Jingles said sarcastically. Then, he puffed up, his gray fur making him look almost like a pom pom. “Oh gods. I can hear those warriors thumping up the stairs!”
Isabelle listened, and she too could hear their awful footsteps. She felt hey eyelid twitch. Was it already time for another fight?