Chapter 29. Family Heirlooms

“You’re a healer,” Aimon whispered.

I looked at the prompt that popped up.

You casted Rejuvenate 1.

20 Health will be restored over 8 seconds.

You earned 0 Job Points.

It didn’t surprise me that the game didn’t award me Job Points; I wasn’t in combat. Being able to earn JP in this way would break the mechanics of the game, allowing people to get infinitely more powerful without any risk.

“Not just a healer,” Ilrune said. “A Mystic. That was a Rejuvenate spell.”

“Mm-hmm,” Aimon replied. His face was set.

Everyone looked at him.

“Yes,” Aimon said, standing up. “You can help.”

“Excuse us,” Ilrune said, trying to get Aimon to follow him to talk. “We need a minute.”

“No, Ilrune,” he looked at his partner. “If Warren can help me talk to my family, then I’m going to Lakemore.”

A prompt appeared.

You were offered a quest.

‎ Quest: Family Heirlooms Part 1

‎ Objective: Fifteen years ago, Aimon’s family died, tragically, after the Great Mistake. Help him find closure with his family.

‎ Rewards: Unknown

‎ Do you Accep t: Yes /No

I accepted the quest. Based on the reactions of my party members, they had received it as well.

“If you’re going, then I’m going,” Ilrune said.

Aimon put his hand on Ilrune’s neck. “Thank you, my love.”

“I’m in as well,” Dread said. “If you can truly get access to the stacks. There must be crafting recipes in there that have been lost to the world. Plus,” she said, looking at Ilrune, “you need someone to keep you from getting into too much trouble.”

I logged off early, hoping to trade time with Sofia. The group would depart Feygrove at 8 a.m., and I needed to be logged in at that time so as not to delay the group.

Sofia was on her laptop when I entered the kitchen. “Warren, did you see this article about the AI getting caught?” she asked.

“Yeah, I saw it.”

“Did it… make you think of Mom and Dad?” she asked, not looking at me.

I shrugged. I didn’t want to talk about it.

She looked at her watch, then at me. “Why did you log off early?” she asked.

I told her about the day, from the sharing of the Legendary Quest to the heist to the leatherworking to the new plan.

“Crazy,” she said. “So you’re going to plant it in Lakemore? Shoot, I have a lot to do. I need to get to Lakemore and try to buy up some property. We’re gonna need more money.” She downed her cup of coffee, then moved to the pods. “I’ll log out early. I was thinking… maybe you should use more time than me. Once I get settled in Lakeshore, I won’t need more than a few hours a day. With you producing leatherworking goods and on this journey, you’re going to need extra time for a while.”

I was a bit stunned by that. “Really?”

“For now,” she said. “This is how we support each other.”

Sofia woke me up at 7 a.m.

I made coffee and breakfast. “So what happened?” I asked, a huge bite of eggs in my mouth.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“Those vambraces sold for 200 Silver,” she said. “I don’t think a lot of people can get stats on gear right now.”

Two-hundred Silver was $200. For a pair of Low-quality Vambraces. My mouth dropped open. Less than 700 Silver to go before I made this week’s rent.

“So… let’s keep that train rolling,” she said. “Anyway, I took your advice and booked passage to Lakemore. I logged out early because there was nothing for me to do on the boat. I wish I had a crafting profession. I should be there when I log back in.”

I moved to the pod.

“Good luck,” she said.

“Thanks. See you later. I… might be off late.”

“That’s fine,” she said. “Do what you need to do.”

You logged into Integration Online.

I materialized in Ilrune’s home, my body solidifying into existence. Janica appeared next to me.

Dread stared at me from the table with a look of shock. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that,” she said, shaking her head. “Visitors popping in and out of the world. But I’ve seen some crazy stuff in my lifetime, so I’ll accept it.”

I smiled. “Where is everyone?”

“They didn’t know when you’d show up, so they went to train,” Janica said.

Dread stood up and threw a pack over her shoulder. “The boat leaves in two hours, which leaves us just enough time to make a few pieces for the group and get the work supplies packed up.”

“We’re bringing tools with us?” I asked.

“Yep. Could be in Lakemore for a while. I don’t go anywhere without my tools.”

A short time later, Dread had me preparing leather again. Grunt work. Over the next hour, I scraped and cured twenty-four more hides. The Medium Hides took longer to treat than Light Hides, but I imagined that the benefits were significant.

You receive d Low-quality Medium Hide x 1.

‎You received Medium-quality Medium Hide x 15.

You received High-quality Medium Hide x 8.

‎Your Expertise in Leatherworking increased from 44 to 68.

I handed the hides to Dread, who was packing tools neatly into a chest.

“Okay, not bad,” she said. “You’re getting better. You discover anything new?”

“No.”

“Bad luck. Okay what level are you up to?”

“Sixty-eight.”

“Come here,” she said. She approached a bench and pulled a thick tome down from a shelf. She opened it up to a section called “Novice Patterns,” then slid the book over to me. She went back to packing.

I flipped through the book, my eyes hungry for the information. I scoured the first page, which read “Leather Pauldrons”, trying to memorize the information.

“You’re doing it wrong,” she called. “Pull out your own pattern book. Then, just like you transferred the pattern to the leather, pull the image from the page and put it in your book.”

My eyes went wide. I pulled open the Leatherworking menu and flipped to the first blank page. Then, as instructed, I pinched at the physical book in front of me and lifted it up. A holographic image formed in my hand, like I was holding a transparent film. I set it onto the blank page in my menu.

Congratulations, you discovered the pattern for Leather Pauldrons.

And simple as that, I had a blueprint for shoulder armor. “Woo!” I shouted.

Dread grunted her acknowledgement.

Over the next several minutes, I took every pattern I could like a starving artist allowed to refill empty buckets of paint for free.

Congratulations, you discovered the pattern for Leather Boots.

‎Congratulations, you discovered the pattern for Leather Vest.

‎Congratulations, you discovered the pattern for Leather Gloves.

‎Congratulations, you discovered the pattern for Leather Belt.

‎Congratulations, you discovered the pattern for Leather Leggings.

‎Congratulations, you discovered the pattern for Leather Cap.

I flipped to the next page, but instead of finding a pattern, I found a jumble of symbols. Scribble-scrabble. Nonsense. I turned to another section and another. Nothing. I’d reached my limit. I looked up to the collection of pattern-books on her shelf. There were five other books, just like this one. All probably filled with secrets that I wouldn’t be able to learn.

“When will I be able to learn more?” I asked.

“One-hundred Expertise is the next threshold,” she said. “Then it’ll get harder to level up your Expertise. Bring those books over to me, will you?”

I brought them over, two at a time.

“How high is your level?” I asked.

“Warren,” Janica scolded, astounded by my question.

“What?” I asked.

“That’s personal,” Dread said. “And not something we ask.”