“Identify. Identify. Oh gods…Identify” Darin mumbled, scanning through the box. His character’s face was unable to properly express his horror. He cringed at the though of wearing any of this.
Pretty princess circlet of might.
Slot: Head (Neck)
Durability: 5/5
Restrictions: Female only
Effects: STR +2, INT -1.
"Now you can be a princess too, in pretend."
Pink flamingo ring of poison resistance.
Slot: Finger (none)
Durability: 10/10
Effects: +10% poison resistance, +20% alcohol resistance.
"Out drink your friends, and look stylish doing it."
Sun flower belt of radiance.
Slot: Belt (None)
Durability: 20/20
Effects: Grants the user a soft golden glow, light yellow 5 feet.
"Glow softly with light of the sun."
“Is there anything that I wouldn’t be ashamed to-” Darin began.
“Pretty!” Blood Claw exclaimed cutting him off. Both of them turned to look at her, but she had eyes only for the sun flowers. Darin sighed.
“The bracelet?” Greed inquired. When she nodded with excitement he reached into the chest and pull the belt out. “Would you like to have this?”
“Yes. It’s so pretty”
“Then it’s yours.” Greed declared as he unbuckled it with care, then wrapped it around her wrist. When the clasp closed, a soft yet warm light surrounded the den mother. The joyous sound she made, had Darin cringing and covering his ears.
“Wasn’t that a belt?” Darin asked, once she’d calmed down. The two dragons continued to share a moment, until they realized he’d asked a question. Greed turned towards him, giving him a look that was confusing at best.
“It was a belt by default.” Blood claw explained, turning her wrist to study her new treasure. “But your body size will affect what you can wear. It will also change where you can wear it. If I tired to wear this lovely bracelet as a belt, that would just end poorly”
“Ah, I see.” Said Darin. It dawned on him, that he shouldn’t have interrupted their moment. It was rude, and more importantly…he still needed Greed’s help. “It goes wonderfully with your golden scales”
“Oh indeed, it looks quite stunning on you.” Greed added, he meant it too. She gave him a soft look, before looking back to her new trinket.
“Finish his quest, before you forget dear.” She reminded him, without looking up. Off to the side Darin gave the black dragon a small thumbs up.
“The chest is open, if you didn’t notice.” Darin said, in his best false-formal tone. The quest had required him to notify Greed after all.
“Right.” Greed muttered, as he dealt with the quest screen. A moment later he reached in to the open container and pulled out an odd amulet. After glancing at it a moment, he tapped it to his quest screen then turned to Darin.
Quest: A shattered Shell of Hope, part III.
You can now find your way back to Greed’s Lair.
Relationship with Greed has improved, you are now considered to be “Better than most of those damn brats”
To help you, Greed is willing to lend you a {Quest Item} Amulet for a few days. This will help when you go hunting for your shell. Greed will want it back when you are done. If you lose it, destroy it or try to sell it…Greed will bite you in half.
...
Completion condition: Return the amulet, in working condition, within 1 week.
Rewards: Increased relationship with Greed, possible side work in the future, and a gift from Greed.
Failure conditions: Piss off Greed, lose/break/damage/sell the amulet, take more than 1 week.
Penalties: Decreased relationship with Greed, worse prices in the future, Greed will bite you in half.
“Accept.” Darin managed to mumble. The quest window went away, but the shiver down his spine did not. The black dragon wasn’t a bad individual, but he was quite serious about keeping his shop afloat.
“And here you go.” Greed stated, handing Darin the amulet. “Do. Not. Break. It.” He added, with unnecessary emphasis. The hatchling could only nod at the threat.
“Id- Identify” Darin murmured, focused on the amulet.
{Quest Item} Iron amulet of light.
Slot: Neck (bandoleer)
Durability: 25/25
Effects: Activate for white light, 30 feet. Costs 15 Mana/Minute.
Special: Can not be dropped, stolen or looted from your body.
"Never stub your toe in the dark again."
“Sorry but-”
“But what?” Greed asked, giving him a careful look.
“What exactly is a bandoleer?” He asked. Blood Claw looked up from her bracelet and laughed. All at once the tension seemed to fade from the room.
“Dear little hatchling, a bandoleer is much like a sash.” For effect she traced a line on her body from her shoulder to her opposite hip. She waited, watching him until he tried it on. After a few, somewhat painful, attempts Darin managed to get it on. It seemed he had to get it over his wing, before his arm or his head.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
“Well?” Greed asked. His tone was far more civil now. “Aren’t you going to try it now?”
“Oh right…” Darin thought for a few moments, while they waited. Maybe it’s voice activated? “Amulet activate? Amulet On?”
“You really should have read the tutorial more carefully.” Blood Claw scolded him. “But to save us an hour so we can actually go to sleep, I’ll give you the quick version. First, you can open your equipment screen and toggle it. Second, you can macro an on/off gesture or word. Third, if you have a sense of magic, you can push the energy into it. Or fourth-” She had to stop, to gain control of her sudden laughter.
“And fourth, you can just push the power button on the side. Hint. Hint.” Greed finished for her. She shot him an amused look while they waited on Darin. He studied the amulet across his chest and reached for the button.
“You know if this keeps up, I’m going to be the only dragon in the land with no pride left.” He complained as he pressed the button. For a brief moment the inner circle on the amulet started to glow but nothing happened. Concerned for his goods, Greed leaned in close to examine it. A moment later, the amulet flared to life at full power.
Attack: You deal no damage to Greed, status inflicted Blind.
“Damn it!” Greed growled out. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. He was blinking a lot, trying to clear his sight. A moment later, Blood Claw leaned in and exhaled a golden mist on him. A few seconds later his eyes began to clear up. Once his sight was restored, Greed glared at Darin.
“I didn’t mean to. I mean…at least we know it lights up.” He pleaded.
“You little -”
“Sweetie, he did exactly what you told him to do. It’s not his fault you wanted to put your eyes to a light source.” She interjected. The merchant looked at her, looked back to Darin, looked at her again and sighed. “Well?” She asked. He sighed again, and then shrugged.
“Fine, fine. At least I know I got my coins worth. You can turn it off now, hatchling.” He commanded. Darin tapped the power button again. The amulet continued to shine as if nothing happened. He grew more nervous, when nothing changed for several more seconds.
“Uh. Equipment?” Darin requested. Feeling nervous at being watched. A window opened up, he saw an figure of himself. A figure wearing far too few pieces of pseudo gear. He checked his bandoleer spot and and examined the amulet. It had several more seconds of light, before it ran out of power. Checking the rest of his options, he found he couldn’t wear a hell of a lot. Bracelets, amulet, bandoleer and backpack, was that really it? “Inventory!” He demanded. Another screen popped up and made him cringe. “I have two carrying claws, a mouth and two stomachs? That’s it? I don’t even have a fucking inventory?” In his horror he hadn’t even noticed the light had gone out. Nor the concerned looks from the NPCs.
“You need a backpack to have an inventory.” Blood Claw told him, before he got carried away. “It’s not starting gear for Dragons, as it’s hard to explain hatching out fully equipped”
“Calm down and relax. You already know where to find the merchant in town.” Greed hinted. That was enough to take the edge off of Darin’s growing anger. Darin swiped the windows closed and looked at the amulet.
“Oh good, it finally turned off” he muttered. “Character Sheet”
CHARACTER SHEETNAME:Hatchling*RACE:DragonGENDER:MaleSUB SPECIES:UnknownLEVEL:1PROGRESS:05.00%FREE POINTS:0HEALTH:13 / 13REGEN:HP +0.07, MP +0.30MAGIC:25 / 25STRENGTH:2~FORTITUDE:3~AGILITY:40DEFENSE:10KARMA:10RENOWN:10LOAD:1.0 / 13.75 Stones.SIZE FACTOR:0.25
Darin closed the window with a sigh. “I can carry all of 13 stones weight. Even with a backpack, I don’t see this character achieving a lot.” This time his words seemed to strike a nerve.
“It’ll get better in a few quests. I can promise you that. You worry about growing and getting your quests done. And we’ll make sure the game stays fun, if not somewhat fair.” Greed stated. There was something reassuring in his voice. At the same time, he noticed that Blood Claw is typing like mad into a console window. Darin looked between them for a moment and nodded.
“I’ll trust you two. After all, you know this world a lot better than I do.”
“Thank you Darin, it means a lot. It’s gotten a bit late, why don’t you get some rest. That way you’ll be fresh enough, when you search out your shell in the morning.” Greed suggested. A moment later he began typing in a quest box. As expected, it appeared a few seconds later.
Quest: Bed time.
You can now find your way to the Rumbling Rooms.
You will have better luck finding your shell in the morning. Fresh eyes and a fresh mind will make short work of such a task. Find your way to the Rumbling Rooms, find a safe ledge and get some sleep.
...
Completion condition: Get a few hours sleep on a ledge.
Rewards: Improved disposition, you will gain the Hatchery location and be able to find it from anywhere in the world.
Failure conditions: Fail to complete the quest within 1 week.
Penalties: Greed will have doubts about you, you will fall asleep somewhere else, you will be a cranky little hatchling no one wants to be around.
“Really Greed? Really” Darin asked. The black dragon gave him a wink. “Fine, I accept.” He grumbled. Now where are the Rumbling Rooms? As soon as he thought about it, he knew he needed to exit the shop and take a right. Finding the room had just become a game of following the bread crumbs. With a nod to the AIs, he exited the shop and turned right. About 200 feet down the passage, he would need to take another right. “Interesting…”
- - - - - -
Author’s note: No idea on word count, BB code counts in the tracker. They can be useful plot devices, but I don’t like to use them too heavily. I guess it’s a balancing act, I will just have to figure out.
Thank you all for the interactions and feed back. I got my first review today, as well as my first positive reputation. Time to do a happy dance off screen.