"Yes actually, I could use a couple of sets for home but lighter and more comfortable. Also a dozen pairs of socks and underwear."
When I say that he walks over to the opposite side of the shop than before and comes back with two sets of shirts and pants. He sets them on the counter before making another trip back to grab the socks and underwear, which are basically boxers. He even brings a set of dark green fuzzy slippers. "Will these do sir?"
I use Identify on everything and they have no armor value but they all say they are made for comfort. "Yes that will do nicely. Thank you." I pay him what he asks for it all. Then I take out a bag from storage down below the counter where Faulst can't see and use it to gather all the cloths.
About to leave, I start to turn when I see Azzaria is not moving. Looking at her she says "Can you wait outside a little while for me to get a few things?"
That peaks my curiosity but I don't say anything, only nod and walk out the front. While I'm waiting out there I stick my hand in the bag and send everything inside to storage before I tie it to my belt. It must have been a half hour or so before Azzaria finally stepped out with a bag in her hand. Her face looks a little red and she was acting shy for some reason. "Is everything OK? I asked her.
She takes in a deep breath and then looks at me before smiling wide. The smile reaches her eyes and is stunning. Not fake, so that eases my worry. "I'm fine Vol. Where to now?"
"I was thinking that it's time we check to see if Jerick is done with our order" I say before putting feet to road and heading that way. When we enter the bell above the door rings, but there is no one behind the desk. We walk up to it and wait a minute before Jerick comes out of the back.
"Oh, it's you two. I was just finishing your order before I heard the bell. Just give me a couple of minutes" he says before heading right back in the door. It only takes about 5 minutes before he is back with all the gear in his arms. He sets it in front of us on the counter. "There you are, order in full. Is there anything else I can help you with today?"
"No Jerick. I think we are all set for the moment. Thank you for your wonderful work." I had put my new boots on and they fit perfectly. "We will be sure to come to you again if there is something you can help us with." I wait for Azzaria to put on her new armor and thank Jerick, then say goodbye and we leave the shop. Outside the shop I turn to Azzaria. "We still have some time in the morning before I need to visit Dolan at the forge again. Is there someone who makes maps or has history books of this world?"
"There is a scribe and his shop doubles as a cartography shop since there isn't much need for one. I think he has some books on language and history."
" Great! Lead the way" I tell her.
We head to a shop with a sign above the door depicting a scroll with a quill over top of it. When we enter the shop all I can see are shelves full of books and racks of scrolls against the wall. We wind our way through the shelves to the counter in the back. Behind the counter is a well dressed wolfkin with small spectacles perched on his nose. He is wearing an outfit that is much like a professor from earth, with a jacket that looks like tweed even. For a brief moment I wonder where he got spectacles from before ignoring it. With all the surprises like magic washing machines and showers, a magic optometrist is low on the list of things that will surprise me now. He looks up from the scroll he is reading on the counter and greets us. "Hello and welcome to my shop. I am Lorton. What can I do for the new member of our community?"
"Man, word really does travel fast around here. How about maps?"
He looks at me a little suspiciously before saying "I do have plenty of maps but they can be expensive. What is your price range?"
"I don't really have one actually. I would like the most up to date maps on the world as possible. Especially ones for this area" I tell him.
His eyes light up a little at my words but you couldn't tell from the cultured tone that he uses when he responds. "I think I have something for you then." He leaves through the door behind the counter and returns a few minutes later with a scroll in his hand. "This map is very special and enchanted. It was found in a dungeon before I moved here and I was lucky enough to be able to purchase it from the adventurer who found it." He unrolls the scroll but there is nothing there.
"I don't see anything on it. How is that going to help me?"
"There is nothing there yet. Upon use of this item you will get a new option for your status allowing you to view the map. These items are only found in high level dungeons and are priced accordingly. It has nothing now but it fills in as you visit places. You can also study other maps and it will add them to yours. Like I said though, it is expensive at 750 gold."
"That is a lot but it sounds like it's worth it." In my head I am jumping for joy. This item is amazing! Like a limited version of a GPS but without having to charge it. "How about this, I need a few books on history and the gods. That and you let me look at all of your maps to add to my new one and I'll give you this" I tell him showing him a platinum coin."
Now I have his attention and he nods with some dignity before pushing the map to me and saying "To use this just lay your hand flat on the open scroll." I do and get a message across my vision.
Do you wish to add the map feature? Yes/No.
When I focus on yes the scroll flashes and then turns to dust on the counter. Lorton reaches behind the counter and pulls out a brush and dust pan. He cleans off the desk and holds up a finger in a hold on gesture before walking off into the aisles. I turn to Azzaria while we wait and ask "Is there anything you want while we are here?" She tilts her head and has a contemplative expressions before she shrugs and walks off to explore. When Lorton comes back he places a few books on the table that I put in the bag at my waist. He then starts to spread maps out on the table.
Waving me forward he says "Just focus on the maps and you should see the progress of it being copied to your own."
Following his instructions I lean over the counter and start with a map that shows what he tells me is the known world. I focus on it and a little bar appears under my health and mana bars that is empty and slowly fills with gray. It is a little hard to tell how big the world is at first but eventually in my study I see a green smudge with the words "Knottwood Forest" written across it. From this I can get a little bit of scale as that is the forest I am in. Compared to the whole map it's tiny. I would estimate that the whole world is at least as big as earth is, but that is not all. At the edges of the map it says Dark Lands. It's obvious that it's not ocean but uncharted area in the world. Who knows how large this world actually is.
It took a few minutes to finish adding this map to mine, but when it is done the next one is apparently a map of the kingdom we are in, sort of. It shows a snowy north that has a peninsula reaching out to that of another continent, but not touching. In the far east and south parts of the map is what looks like a tall mountain range. The land in between all that is split in two. The east part is plains and grasslands where the majority of the population is. This is the area under the control of the human kingdom of Plora. To the west is all forest and it goes up to and includes the coast, except for an area that leads to a peninsula. It shows numerous rivers flowing through the plains and forest, but I can tell that these are only the larger ones. Most of the rivers in the plains come from the forest, which I make a note of for later. I spend over an hour just studying maps. During that time Azzaria also bought something but I didn't see what. When I am done I say goodbye to the scholar and step outside where Azzaria has been playing with Timbre and Thia while I was busy.
"Time to head back to Dolan's forge dear" I tell her.
A look of satisfaction crosses her face briefly at the use of a pet name, but she doesn't say anything about it and follows me. A few minutes later we arrive at the back of the blacksmith shop where Dolan is hammering on a rod about six feet tall that flares and flattens out at the top. Watching as he works I am surprised to see that the flared section is a set of wings spread out and lift
ed so that the tips touch, forming a point. They resemble Thia's wings in the shape of the feathers and the circular space between the base of the wings is empty. I can tell with a glance that it will fit the blessed diamond I had provided. A few more strikes and Dolan stops. Looking to me he says "You can do your thing now."
Stepping up to the anvil the staff is on, I take out 6 fist sized chunks of mana crystal as well as the small chunks left over from the daggers. Placing them next to the staff I focus on the enchanting process to turn the raw staff into a magical focus. As soon as I start I can feel the mana rush out of me at an amazing rate. It's faster than I have ever spent mana and I can feel a headache spike into existence. I stay there struggling to maintain my concentration with the headache only getting worse. After half of my mana is gone and the headache has gone past migraine to someone digging into my skull with a shovel, I start to get worried that I'll either pass out from the pain or run out of mana before it's done. Seconds tick by slower and slower as, finally, the mana flow starts to slow down. The excruciating pain in my head has started to spread to the rest of my body as fatigue begins to set in. I swear, if I had a clock to look at it the second hand would have moved backwards once for every two seconds that passed. Eventually the flow of mana peters out and stops completely, and I check my mana. I did it. There is only 4 mana left in my pool but it finished. That is even with the increase I get from the dagger sheathed on my hip.
I was unable to focus my eyes on the process as it happened through all the pain and the need to maintain focus, but now I look up to see it. And nearly fall on my face from dizziness. Luckily Azzaria is quick enough to catch my arm and pull it across her shoulder for support. I give her a weak smile and look at the results of my efforts. There on the Anvil is only a small chunk of one of the Mana crystals I placed there. It is obvious where the rest went, as the staff next to the lonely chunk glitters with the lines of enchantment. The lines can be seen swirling up the shaft to the top piece where they form a pattern that weaves in and out of itself, making it impossible to see where one line ends and another begins. Looking over at Dolan I tell him in a tired voice "That hurt. I think I will go lay down for a few minutes. But first, do you have what you were working on this morning?"
That puts a big smile on his face and he walks off to a bundle of cloth on one of the work benches. He comes back and when he goes to hand it to me I wave him to Azzaria instead. "Azzaria, you need a focus now if you are going to learn life magic. I know your bow can work as one, but you should have a backup anyway." Dolan flips up the cloth covering her new dagger to reveal another poniard almost exactly like the one I wear, but with a brilliant green emerald in the pommel instead of the clear diamond in mine. Taking a look at it I find that it isn't as good as mine but it is still 25% to Life magic, and 10% to all other magic. I guess focusing on Life magic worked to specialize it. It also has 10 INT and 20 WIS on it, which should help her with her relatively low mana pool. "I can enchant it for you further, but later. I'm pretty much out of mana and exhausted now. Lets go back to your house so that I can lay down to recover." As we start walking away she leans in close to my ear and whispers "Our house" to me. I squeeze her tight and let her help me to the house where I lay on the couch in the living room while Azzaria fixes something in the kitchen.
Chapter 16
I must have drifted off to sleep laying there because when I open my eyes again Azzaria is looking down on me. "Lunch is ready if you are hungry." I give her a smile that I hope conveys appreciation and get up to follow her to the table. I am feeling much better already but there is still a slight headache and stiffness in my muscles. We eat a lunch of sandwiches with fried meat and egg in them. When we are done she asks "Are we going to head over to Bolden's shop now?"
"Yeah. I think that he had a few magic bags that would be good for you. It's also time that I see what spell books he has that I can use now." We get up from the table and walk out with Timbre and Thia following behind. As we walk to Bolden's shop Thia asks me if we need to tell him about her abilities. "No Thia. We will only tell him what you want to" I tell her in my mind. She seems satisfied with that answer and we soon arrive at the enchanter's shop. Once inside we head to the high counter in the back where Bolden is waiting for us.
"Vol! It's good to see you. Come, come" he says waving us over to the counter. Stepping up to it with Azzaria on my right I lift my left arm up and Thia flaps a couple times, launching herself up from Timbres back to perch on my arm.
"Thia grew up while we were away. She has asked me not to reveal any of her abilities though." After saying that I mentally ask her to spread her wings for him to see. She does, and Bolden studies her carefully. I even turn her so that he can scrutinized her back. When he is done I have another question for him.
"Bolden, are all familiars' talent trees the same?"
Finished with his scrutiny of my familiar he answers "No. Each familiar's, and in fact all talent trees, are different between each person or familiar that has it. There are often the same talents but reaching them may be different. No two Talent trees are the same. The more common trees often come close to each other but even they are different in a few small ways."
"That is good to know. Thank you Bolden."
"You're welcome, and thank you for coming to show me the progress of your familiar. I do think she will continue to grow larger though. Is there anything else I can help you with now that you are here?" Bolden says.
"There is. I would like to look through your spell books again, but I would also like to know if you have anything on enchanting?"
"Are you an enchanter now?" At my nod he hops off whatever he is standing on and comes around the counter. "Why don't you go look at the spell books and I will grab a couple of books that can be of use to you. You can't gain other enchantments than what you start with unless you learn it from an already enchanted item using disenchant, but there are a few books on the subject that can help you." With that he heads in the opposite direction of the spell books. His comment makes me wonder if my talent Spells to Enchants is something unique to my professional talent tree. Left alone, me and Azzaria head over toward the shelf with skill and spell books. On the way we stop at a shelf with a few magic bags on it. Though expensive at 50 gold for one made to carry coins and higher the larger the bag is Azzaria still gets the largest coin purse she can and the bag with the largest carry capacity she can find. It is also not very big on the outside, making it convenient to carry. It looks like you could put both hands in it but not farther than the wrists. On the inside it can hold more than 100 times what it appears to. The big selling point is that it has a mouth that stretches to accommodate larger items. I grab one as a cover for my ability and we continue on to our destination.
When we get to the wall with the spells and skills Azzaria heads off to the left to browse the skills. Looking at the titles on the wall for all the spell books I see many that have copies. Most of the books he has are multiple copies of lower level spells. Some are ones that I can use and others are in the Divine realm of magic. Thinking about it though, I did see a number of talent trees that involved unlocking types of magic in that realm when I was choosing my subclass. Also, Azzaria can now use life magic so she would get use out of those anyway. There are a few spells here that I get a little excited to see too, like Meteor Shower. Unfortunately my earth and fire magic levels are nowhere near being able to learn that. Making up my mind I head over to Azzaria to see that she is holding two skill books and pulling a third down. "Are you done looking through the skills?"
She looks over to me and says "Yes. There are only so many skills here that really go with my class. It's kind of funny. I used to come in here and look at all the skills one can learn if they had the money. Now that I have it I realize that most of them wouldn't be much use to me." I start leading her to the counter when she stops me. "I almost forgot. I need to look at the life spells now since I got it unlocked."
I forcefully turn her back toward
the counter and tell her "I am dealing with that. Let's talk to Bolden." We continue to the counter to see Bolden just returning with three books. They aren't very thick and are titled Enchantment Theory, Application of Enchantment, and Disenchantment: How to Master Enchanting. "Looks good Bolden. I have a question for you though. What would it cost for one of every spell book you have minus the ones I already bought, and 2 of the life spells?"
"Well that is a lot of money. There are over a dozen spells I think. The higher level ones are far more expensive too. Probably 4300 gold or so. If you can buy all of those I will sell them for an even 4000 gold."
"Sold." At my quick response he falls off whatever it is he is standing on again. Instead of getting back up though he comes around the counter. I take out 4 platinum and place them in his hand. He stares at them for a full minute before he rushes off to get all the books.
Azzaria looks at me a little confused. "Why are you getting them all now?"
"Because I don't know where we will be in the future and we have the money. I don't plan on staying at level 11 and when I increase in skill I plan on learning everything I can. Back on Earth, I was part of a group who's motto was Be Prepared. I plan to follow that here more than ever. I have grown to love this world, but there is no doubt that it is a dangerous one. Plus, it's not like I am going to lose them."
When I finish, she flicks me a platinum coin. "For the spells books and you can cover the rest of this stuff too." Then she places her 3 skill books and her bags on the counter as well.
"Sounds good to me. When I was looking at the spells there were a couple you can learn now, Lesser Heal and Roots. The Roots spell should allow you to practice and bring your Life magic level up. There is also Blessing of Life, Cure, Heal, and Consecrate. You will need to raise your level in Life magic for those though." A few minutes later Bolden is back with a large stack of books. Setting them in several piles on the counter he then gets behind it. "We would like the skill books and the bags as well please. How much is it for everything else?"
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