by R. A. Mejia
A chill runs through me as I open the door and walk into the classroom. There’s a large chalkboard to my left attached to the stone wall. Along the far wall is a small table and chair for me to sit. Turning to my right, there are twenty empty desks, waiting for students to fill them. I take the morning’s handouts out of my [Inventory] and put them on the table. Walking back to the chalkboard, I take the small rough piece of white chalk from the holder at the bottom of the board and begin to write out the basic symbols of spellwriting.
My hands have written these symbols thousands of times over the last fifteen years. Light, dark, water, fire, earth, air, force, life, death, and self. I learned much more in my studies over the years, but those ten symbols still remain at the core of most of the spells I write. I pause to think. Has it really only been fifteen years since I learned these symbols myself?
I remember learning them from Miracle Max. After hearing about my brother’s death, I ran away from home. I knew that spells were the real ticket to power and money after I saw one of the wealthy humans in the city casting spells. He blasted a thief that tried to pick his pocket and not only did the city guards not chastise him for murder but thanked him for his restraint. Unfortunately, I couldn’t afford any of the spellbooks or grimoires that other spell casters use, so I was determined to learn spellwriting. A type of magic that depends only on the user's diligent learning. Yet the only person I could locate that was a master of the art was a former court wizard. It took me months to find him in his isolated forest estate, and even longer to pass his foolish tests. Yet, I was determined to learn and become powerful. So, I endured the inane lectures on the proper use of magic. How is it a power that is meant to be utilized for the good of the people, not just the elite? When I brought up the possibility of teaching spellwriting to the poor or the thinking ‘monsters’ like myself, the master was outraged. He cast me out then and there.
Even now, the hypocrisy of the lectures angers me. If my master actually believed that magic belonged to the people, then he wouldn’t have isolated himself in the middle of nowhere. He’d have been teaching magic to the masses of poor and disenfranchised.
The chalk breaking in my hand snaps me out of my thoughts. I take a deep breath to calm myself. It was a long time ago. Besides, by the time I was thrown out, I’d learned enough to start on my own journey in life. The only thing I regret leaving there in that forest is Lilliandra, my fellow student in spellwriting. She was one of the only people that showed me any kindness, and I loved her for it. The silvery haired half-elf beauty haunted my dreams for years after we parted.
I take a letter out of my [Inventory], smell the paper, and smile. The scent of her perfume lingers on the single page of beautiful hand written script.
Dear Jaxson,
I hope this letter finds you well. I know that it has been years since we have spoken but I have heard that you now hold the post of associate professor at Trinitarian College in Monstrum. I want to first offer you my most sincere congratulations. When we studied together, I knew that your ambition and determination would lead you to high places. It makes me happy to know you can finally teach magic to the people, as you thought should be done.
In line with the spirit of helping others, I hope you would be willing to assist a student of mine. He has fallen victim to the actions of the Imperare Empire and had people that he cares for taken by them. At great risk to his personal well being, he has been able to obtain information that may lead to their whereabouts. Unfortunately, this information has been encrypted in some sort of code. I could not help my student, Armon, with this task. Then, I remembered how good you were with that type of thing. If you would be willing to help out my student, I would consider it a personal favor and be ever thankful for your assistance.
With deepest regards,
Lilliandra, Daughter of the Three Moons People
Reading the line about how good she remembers me being with codes makes me laugh. If only she knew. Whatever natural talent I had with codes when she knew me has blossomed into full mastery of the skill. After being kicked out of my master’s home, I tried to make my way as an adventurer. Unfortunately, not every group wanted a goblin on their team. I struggled for years to earn a living and make enough to advance my magical training. That all changed the day I met him. Mr. Raslinton found me and not only listened to my problems but pointed me in the direction of several lucrative adventuring opportunities. With his help, not only did I make enough money to live, but enough to buy spellbooks to improve my magical repertoire. All Mr. R asked in return was for me to do him a favor here and there. Pass along a message. Watch a suspicious person. Report on the disposition of a particular official. Nothing out of the ordinary at first. Then the requests gradually got more complicated. Steal a small item. Provide aid to a person I did not know. Hide something in my home until someone picked it up. Before I knew it, I was a full-blown spy for Mr. Raslinton. He showed me how to use ciphers to code all the messages I sent him. He also showed me how to decode other’s messages. It turned out I had a natural gift for the subject and was soon a master of various methods of decoding. The Veteralli method, Minimum Distance decoding, Maximilian cipher twisting, and so much more. I absorbed them all like a sponge. Soon, I’d even developed my own methods of code breaking and helped Mr. R learn many valuable secrets. His final and greatest reward for my work was this job. I don’t know how he did it, but he arranged for me to get a position at Trinitarian College. Sure, I have to send him regular reports on some of the staff and students here, but the extra paperwork is a small price to pay for fulfilling a long held dream.
As the student begin to walk through the door and take their seats, I put away the letter from Lilliandra. Of course, I’ve already written her back that I’d be happy to help her student out. After all, what else could I do for my friend?
Chapter 3.1
I walk for hours with a smelly burlap sack on my head. It doesn’t block my entire vision but enough of it that I’m not exactly sure where I’m going. All I can make out is the blurred shapes of the other people around me. At some point, we enter a cave and I get totally disoriented as we travel through a series of dark underground tunnels. The torches that our captors carry give just enough illumination to penetrate the sack over my head and appear as a blob of light for me to follow. As we travel I grunt in pain as I stub my toe or I trip over the uneven rocky ground. The earthy smell of fungus, dirt, and animal musk mingle and permeate the air.
The lack of visual stimulation seems to enhance my hearing. I can clearly hear the sounds of shuffling feet, dripping water, and even the breathing of the people around me. Eventually, I start to hear faint voices. At first, they’re unintelligible, and for a moment I’m worried I might be going crazy. Then I concentrate and hear the recognizable sound of children yelling and playing.
You’ve learned the skill [Listening].
Listening
Despite what the ladies may say, you can listen. You have improved hearing and can pick out sounds more easily. With greater concentration and focus you may eventually be able to perform great feats of listening. To increase this skill, you must intentionally focus on the sounds around you.
Bonus: You can hear things 10% better than normal. When you focus on just listening, you can determine the direction of a sound and hear sounds from 10% farther away.
I can’t help but chuckle. Even in this situation, getting a new skill is exciting. Someone shushes me but I’m still smiling under the sack.
I continue to concentrate on listening to the sounds around me for another half hour as we walk through the maze of tunnels. I’m able to raise my [Listening] skill to novice level two before we come to a stop and the burlap sack is taken off my head. I’d already figured out we were heading towards some group of people from all the sounds I’d been hearing but I wasn’t prepared for the sight before me.
A massive open cavern stretches out before me, with in its depths is a village. Glowing crystals are eve
rywhere, providing illumination for the ingenious town. Instead of building homes out of wood or brick, the buildings are carved into the mountain itself. All along the walls of the cavern, up to three stories high, are the fronts of homes and shops. Wooden doors and shutters fit into large rectangular holes that act as window and door frames. Stairs and handholds carved into the walls provide access to the higher levels and intricate pulley systems are used to move materials from one level to another. The mostly human population is augmented by a few shorter goblin figures that go about their daily routines.
My astonishment at the city is cut short as the butt of a crossbow is slammed into my back and I stumble forward. I turn and see the same young dirty haired man smiling at me. I get the hint and keep walking, following Kitsune’s bound figure in front of me. I wonder briefly where Mary is but I catch a glimpse of Spicyfingers and see a burlap sack tied to his waist moving like someone small is trapped inside.
Did he just throw Mary in a sack? What a jerk. I guess it’s better than putting her in a bottle.
As we pass through the center of the village, people stare at me and Kitsune. Children hide behind their mothers and men scowl at us. I get brief glimpses inside the homes carved into the mountain and see craftsmen and workers in most of the first floor homes. There’s a small corral for animals and a large open building with stacks of large mushroom like plants growing along the walls. Up on the second and third floors are what appear to be mostly residential homes since I see human and goblin children peeking out of doors and windows. As we’re escorted to a building along the first floor, I see the long line of people behind me move the goods from our wagon into a nearby storage area.
Kitsune and I are led into the large building carved into the mountain and through a set of metal doors. The room doesn’t have any windows but is instead lit by a glowing crystal set in the ceiling. There a cot, a table, two chairs, and a chamber pot in the corner of the room. Kitsune sits on the bed and I sit on one of the chairs.
Spicyfingers follows behind us, throws the sack on the table, and closes the door behind himself. I untie the sack and let a woozy looking Mary out. She stumbles for a second, then leans over the side of the table and throws up. I find watching Mary oddly fascinating. I’ve never seen anyone spew rainbow colored vomit. Kitsune, however, gets up from the bed and holds the fairy’s hair back and gently rubs her back with her index finger.
The goblin smiles at us and says, “Sorry for your friend’s condition. Guess she didn’t enjoy the trip to our lovely village as much as the rest of you. Now, let's get your inventories emptied so we can get you a bit of food and send you on your way.”
Mary finishes hurling and sits on the table top. She grimaces, wipes her mouth, and asks, “If we give you the stuff from our inventory, you’ll just let us go?”
Rythys Spicyfingers nods, “Of course. We’re thieves, not murderers.”
I nod towards the door and the village outside, “You seem to be a lot more than thieves. You have an entire hidden village out there.”
Spicyfingers shrugs and waves dismissively, “Yes, which is why we need to steal. There aren’t exactly a lot of natural resources around here. So consider it a donation to a struggling village if it makes you feel better. Please, for your own sakes, just empty your inventories.”
Kitsune takes a step away from Spicyfingers and asks, “If we don’t?”
Spicyfingers shakes his head and a dagger appears in his hand, “Then we’ll have to convince you to comply.” The dagger disappears as quickly as it appeared and he continues, “But that really shouldn’t be necessary. We haven’t harmed you have we? We’re just a group of struggling refugees. We don’t want to hurt you or anyone else. We’re just trying to survive.”
“Struggling refugees?” Kitsune asks.
“Yes, most of the families here were displaced when the Orc King’s armies ‘unified’ the lands. They forced out all the humans that were living within the borders of the country they created. Our village was a mix of humans and goblins and we were all forced off the land we’d lived on. We fled into the mountains rather than try to make it through the Imperare Empire. We weren’t prepared for the journey. We would have died if we hadn’t found these ruins and the subterranean well of water. We’ve been living here since.”
Mary, standing on the table, crosses her arms across her chest and asks, “Why not just rest up then move on to Xican?”
“We could make the journey into Xican but who’s going to take an entire village worth of people? We’ve made a place for ourselves here. We farm enough to provide food for everyone and we steal from the passing caravans sometimes to supplement our other needs.” He laughs and waves his hand towards us, “I can assure you that your horses and wagon will be put to good use.”
Kitsune’s posture relaxes slightly and she asks, “And if we ‘donate’ the rest of the stuff from our inventory, you promise to let us go?”
The goblin places his right hand over his chest, where his heart is, and nods.
Mary and Kitsune both empty out their inventories onto the table. They don’t have much. Just some copper pieces, some herbs, a bit of dried meat, and the extra message tablet we took from that Imperare soldier.
When I compare what they’ve put on the table to what I know I have in my inventory, I think that I must be quite the hoarder. I open my inventory and begin piling everything out onto the table. There are potions, herbs, the Imperare armor and weapons I’d taken, our few remaining coins, my engraving kit, the message tablet, a silver chain and manacles, empty water skins, the envelope from Sam, the hand crossbow, the wooden plates and cups I made, crude wooden spears, crude crossbow bolts, and some rat teeth. The only thing I hesitate to put on the table are all the books we took from Mr. Gerald. They’re our only link to where that bastard sold the Red Claw tribe kobolds.
“Please don’t think you can hold anything back. To make sure you’ve emptied out your inventory, we do ask that you show them to us,” Spicyfingers tells me.
I sigh and place the books on the table too, “These books aren’t worth anything to you. They’re documents we need to find some friends of ours.”
Spicyfingers picks up one of the books and flips through it, “Hmmm, coded? That seems a bit more valuable than you make it seem. What about the envelopes?”
I shrug and shake my head, “The envelopes are just from a family of farmers we met. They wanted us to drop them off for their son. The books are records from a slave trader. He didn’t want other people to know who he sold his slaves to. My friends were taken and sold by this man. Those are the only records we have to find them. Please, we’ve given you everything else we have. Let us keep these.”
The goblin considers me for a moment and shrugs, “OK. As a show of good will, if you show me that your inventories are empty, I’ll let you keep these books.”
I nod and authorize my inventory screen to be seen by everyone and show it to Spicyfingers. Kitsune and Mary follow suit. Satisfied that we haven’t held anything back he pushes the pile of books and the letters back to me. I quickly put them back in my inventory and reset my permissions.
He smiles at all the items on the table and makes it all disappear into his own inventory. Once the last item is gone the goblin’s eye bulge slightly and he tries to take a step forward. His feet move slowly and he makes a face at his slow speed. He taps the air and looks at what I can only assume to be his inventory screen because he puts all the armor pieces I’d taken as loot onto the table. His normal movement speed returns and he calls for someone to take away the heavy items he doesn’t have the strength to carry himself.
Having cleared up the issue of stealing us blind, he bows cordially and says, “Now that that’s out of the way, I’d like to officially welcome you to Tidnab Village. Hopefully, your stay won’t be long.”
He turns to leave but before he makes it to the door I yell out, “Wait! You said you’d let us go if we emptied our inventories.”
He
turns back to me and winks, “Of course. All in due time. I also said I’d be sure to feed you before you go. Can’t have you passing out from hunger in these mountains. I’ll make sure someone comes by to bring you some food and then we can make arrangements for your departure.”
I want a better assurance than that but before I can say more he opens the door and leaves the room. I hear a click and when I try the door handle I find that it’s locked. I press my ear against the door but can only hear unintelligible muffled voices from the other side. Good, that means they can’t hear us talk either. Still, better to be safe than sorry.
I move across the room to Kitsune and Mary. I motion for them to huddle close and I whisper, “So, now that we’re stuck here what do you think we should do?”
“Oh, now you ask us?” Mary asks acidly, “Why couldn’t you have consulted with us before you decided to surrender and agreed for us to empty out our inventories?”