“So it doesn’t count as me?” I asked.
“This is my hypothesis. If you have two healers, and one uses Healing Touch on a third person, the other healer can still heal that person. Just the first person can’t.”
“So this might work?”
“Ha! It might, or might not. I’d like to see you try it.”
“I think you just want me to spend my money,” I smirked at him.
“That too. This ability book has been looking for a good adventurer,” the healer said as he tapped the cover of the tome.
“How typical are these other ability books? Do most healers sell them?”
“Yes. You might not be able to find them all in one place, but I’d guess that you could find two or three more of each of these in the city if you went to every healer or ability trainer, but I’ll bet this is the only Shroud of Divine Light in Tylue. Might be the only one in the whole kingdom of Sanduport. Maybe only one of two or three in the continent of Rinniji.”
“You are doing a good job of selling it to me,” I said with a laugh, and the healer joined me.
“It will work well for you. What other ones do you want?”
“Well, all of them, but I’ll take Mark of Healing Drip, Healing Touch, and Remove Curse. That should make it 74,500 gold even, or 7,450 platinum. Maybe you can give me a discount since I am buying so many at once?” I asked the healer as I flashed him my smile. I didn’t know if my increased Charisma attribute would help me with this, but this healer had already helped me out a bunch, and I liked the guy.
“Sure Leo. You are actually paying for three years of my rent with this purchase. How about 7,000 platinum for the four books?”
“That sounds great. Thank you so much,” I said with a grateful nod.
“No problem. Maybe you’ll let Lady Aitcha know how much I helped you? Rumor is that you won the first challenge yesterday.”
“Oh, I didn’t know you were paying attention to that stuff,” I said with a laugh, and I realized I might have been able to talk him down even more if I had brought up the current political scuffle.
“Everyone is paying attention to it,” the man said with a smile. “Will you use these now?”
“Yeah. Do you mind if I sit on the couch over here?” I nodded to the sofa’s where Bolverk and I had sat the other day.
“Of course. I’ll make some tea for you all. Oh, I’m going to need the money as well.” He laughed again.
“Allurie will count it out for you. She is great at math,” I said as I handed the pretty elf woman the magical bag. She gave me a cheerful smile and then went to work on pulling the coins out of the pouch.
I grabbed the four books and took them over to the couch. Bolverk followed me, but the man was acting a bit strange. Normally he muttered under his breath or talked to me about ascending the stairs to his throne, but he hadn’t said a word since we left the palace.
“Something wrong?” I asked when I sat down on the leather sofa.
“Nothing that destroying our enemies and enslaving their women will not fix,” the short man grunted. “When the blood flows down the stairs of the heavens, the firesticks will bring their angry retorts. Gods care not for the outrage, they must keep the heaven gate open so we can reach the Throne of Ascension.”
“Ahh, and here I was, thinking you were starting to act strangely.” I laughed as I gestured to open my UI window. I flipped over to my status screen and read through everything again.
Leo Lennox
Body (Overall) - 33
Body (Magic) - 0
Body (Stats) - 33
Brawn - 17
Quickness - 16
Mind (Overall) - 31
Mind (Magic) - 0
Mind (Stats) - 31
Intelligence - 15
Willpower - 16
Light (Overall )- 69
Light (Magic) - 14
Light (Stats) - 27
Perception - 13
Charisma - 14
Shadow (Overall) - 32 (33)
Shadow (Magic) - 0
Shadow (Stats) - 32
Comeliness - 16
Luck - 16 (17)
With 14 unspent attribute points.
Ugh. I needed one more point to bring my Light (Magic) to 15. That would have given me 72 Light (Overall). Part of me wanted to wait until I got my next attribute reward, but I just spent 40,000 gold on a powerful skill that I wasn’t going to be able to use until my Light (Overall) was 70. I would probably need Shroud of Divine Light tomorrow. I couldn’t risk waiting.
I motioned with my hand over my Perception skill to change it to 14. It raised my Light (Overall) to 70, but now I had no more unspent attribute points. I considered again for a few moments but then gestured over the button to confirm the selection. Edges of my vision glowed, and the observable details of the room sharpened for a few seconds before returning to normal. I noticed Bolverk watching me with his intense blue eyes, but the man didn’t say anything.
Leo Lennox
Body (Overall) - 33
Body (Magic) - 0
Body (Stats) - 33
Brawn - 17
Quickness - 16
Mind (Overall) - 31
Mind (Magic) - 0
Mind (Stats) - 31
Intelligence - 15
Willpower- 16
Light (Overall) - 70
Light (Magic) - 14
Light (Stats) - 28
Perception - 14
Charisma - 14
Shadow (Overall) - 32 (33)
Shadow (Magic) - 0
Shadow (Stats) - 32
Comeliness - 16
Luck - 16 (17)
With 0 unspent attribute points.
I flipped through the four ability books after I gestured to close my status screen. Shroud of Divine Light looked like a pair of light green angel wings with golden sparks running down the feathers. Mark of Healing Drip looked like an orange pitcher pouring out sparkling blue and red liquid. Healing Touch looked like a red hand touching an orange pool of water. Remove Curse looked like a dark purple string being pulled from a green outline of a man’s chest. My UI flashed after I flipped through each book, and I opened my status screen again so I could double check that the new abilities were there.
“That is all the money. Thank you for counting it for me, Allurie,” Taran said from his spot behind the counter.
“Do you want these books back?” I asked as I stood from the couch.
“Sure. I can reuse them. Thank you for your platinum.” The young man gestured to the stacks of glittering coins spread out before him.
“I can help you put them in your safe!” Allurie offered.
“That is okay, you did plenty already. You are great customers. Come back and see me anytime.”
“Will do, take care.” I nodded at the man, and then I motioned for my two friends to follow me out of the shop and into the early morning streets of Tylue.
I guessed we had been in Taran’s shop for only twenty minutes, and I realized that the UI clock still wasn’t displayed on my view. I hadn’t mentioned the issue to Jennifer in a while, and I reminded myself to do it again when I logged out.
Thoughts of Jennifer made my mind wander back to the events of last night, and my conversations this morning. I hadn’t been able to talk to Zarra at all, but the words Chip spoke to me were still running circles in my mind. The beautiful purple-eyed woman knew way more than she was telling me. Why would she risk her life to save the AI servers?
Why was the server behind a vault wall? Corporate espionage could have been the answer, but these companies all backed up their shit by the minute. If another corporation wanted to hack Arnacript’s intranet, all they had to do was walk in the door and find a computer on the network. Heck, I was sure that any of the employees could be bought. It seemed beyond weird that a group of armed men would drive a tank through the front door of the gated property, get into a crazy gunfight, and then make a suicide run to the server room.
&nb
sp; The streets of Tylue were about half full with walking citizens. I noticed the name tags over their heads only appeared when I looked directly at someone, or when they stepped within ten feet of me. It was a good update that I hadn’t even thought to mention to Jennifer or Zarra during my sessions in Arnicoal. When I walked around in that city, the writing over everyone’s head had been a bit distracting. This was much better, and I felt as if I could see more of my surroundings without having to peer through an alphabet soup.
There was a flash of movement to the side of me, and I turned away so that the person tailing me wouldn’t think I noticed them. I kept my head forward while we walked and then motioned for Allurie to look at a dress shop window with me.
“Do you like any of these?” I asked her as I stared into the window. The reflection angle of the glass wasn’t perfect, but I saw a woman in tight brown leather off to the side of the busy street behind us. The woman wore a veil over the lower part of her face, but I recognized her outfit and stance as the assassin that who tried to kill the captain on The First Sunrise. The tag above her head said Tylue Assassin.
“Oh, these are really nice. I like the yellow one,” the pretty elf said as she pointed at the lemon colored dress in the window. It was a simple summer dress with no sleeves and a billowy lower skirt.
“Do you want to try it on?” I asked as I studied the woman in the reflection.
“Oh Leo, it is too fancy for me,” Allurie said as she gestured down to her teal servant’s outfit of loose pants, long sleeved shirt, and dark apron. Chrysa had let my friend borrow some lovely dresses, but I realized I had forgotten to make sure that she had some good clothes.
“Okay. I want you to use some of the money in the bag. Buy yourself three dresses, a couple pairs of adventuring pants and shirts, and shoes to go with each outfit. Try to get some good boots.”
“Will you help me pick them out? I’m not very good at--”
“Leo Lennox,” Bolverk growled, and I turned to face the gnome. He nodded his head down the street, and I saw a trio of men in chain armor walking toward us. They looked like they could have been adventurers, but I noticed them steal glances in our direction as they walked. It could have been because the gnome was carrying an axe that was almost three-quarters of his size, but the tattooed gnome had the blades of the weapon covered with a leather sheath.
“You are going to have to pick the outfits out yourself, Allurie,” I said to my friend.
“Awwww,” she whined.
“Think of this as a job. You can surprise me with what you pick when we get back to the palace.” My eyes drifted back to the mirror, and I saw the leather wearing woman glance down the street at the approaching men. For half a second, I thought she would move to join them, but she instead stepped back into the doorway of the store where she was positioned.
“Oh, that sounds like fun. How much money can I--”
“Sure, like a few platinum. Whatever, go inside and shop. If we aren’t out here when you finish, meet us back at the palace. Understand? I want to be surprised by the outfits you pick out,” I said to her with a smile that I hoped didn’t seem too nervous.
“Yay! I’ll pick out some that you will like. Thank you, Leo!” She gave me a quick hug, kissed me on the cheek, and then walked into the store.
Then I saw the three men stand behind Bolverk and me in the reflection of the mirror. The tags above their heads all read Tylue Mercenary, and I guessed their titles were a not-so-subtle hint of why they were following us.
“You two look lost,” the biggest of the men said. Their chain armor looked to be of a high quality with accents of black leather under their shirts. A ring of black dyed fur lined each of their cuffs and the open necks, and the armor looked as if it might have been suitable for colder weather.
The man who spoke had a longsword on his left hip, short sword on his right, and a bandolier of throwing daggers across his chest. One of the other men had a pair of hand axes on his belt, and a pair of long daggers strapped to each of his thighs. The third man wore a saber on his belt and a crossbow slung over his shoulder.
“We are good. Thank you for asking,” I said as I risked a glance at the woman who had been watching me. She was leaning on the doorway of the store still, but her eyes were on me.
“I don’t think you two look good. This one doesn’t even have a shirt on,” the man said as he nodded to Bolverk.
“He doesn’t want to wear one. It’s warm enough out. You three seem to be dressed as if you are expecting a cold storm,” I replied.
“Maybe we are,” he said, and the three of them stared at me for a few moments.
“Have I done something to offend you?” I asked.
“That depends. Are you Leo Lennox?” The man spit on the ground at his feet and then sniffed the air.
“Nope,” I said with a shrug. I noticed a movement to my left, and I turned my eyes a bit. A woman wearing the same style of dark chainmail was standing across the street a few storefronts down. She wore her brown hair back in a tight ponytail, and her right hand was wrapped around the handle of a crossbow.
“So you are a swindler and a liar,” the man growled.
“Not sure who you are looking for.” I shrugged.
“I’m looking for the man who stole some money from Queen Yrisi. You’ve got two options: give us back the bag with the money, or we hurt you and take back the bag with the money. When we hurt people, they tend to become accidently dead soon after.”
“Your axes,” Bolverk said suddenly, and the three men turned to face the gnome.
“What?” the man with the axes at his belt asked as he touched his weapons.
“Give them to me, or I will cut your left leg off and laugh while you bleed out on the street. The power of the ancient gods of battle flow through my veins, and they have demanded that I take tribute from you.” Bolverk’s eyes opened wide when he spoke, and he pointed at the man’s weapons.
“Is he insane?” the axe man asked me.
“Probably,” I sighed. “Look, gentlemen, and lady,” I said as I nodded to the crossbow carrying woman standing fifty feet down the street. “I don’t have the money anymore. I spent it all. Tell Yrisi--”
“Queen Yrisi!” The man shouted. “I have orders to bring the lady her money or bring your head. Which will it be?” the man with the longsword asked.
“Aren’t there guards or something around? You actually want to fight here?” I looked around the street and didn’t see any of the city’s armored protectors. What was with this place and the lack of guards? Maybe they were all at the palace. That place seemed to have four guards for every servant.
“This is your last chance,” the man said as he slowly drew his longsword from his belt. A lot of people were confused by the exact name of the weapon. They often thought that a broadsword or a knight’s sword was really a “longsword,” but in truth, longswords were hand and a half swords that were sometimes called bastard swords. The term could also get a bit fuzzy and apply to the classic Scottish claymore two-handed swords or even the German flamberges. The blade this man pulled was more of a traditional bastard sword that was balanced enough to use with one hand, but was probably better off with two on the hilt.
He didn’t have a chance to properly grab it though. As soon as the chain wearing man had the blade out of its sheath, Bolverk leapt into the air and kicked the man square in the face. As soon as the leader stumbled back from the surprise attack, I jumped toward the crossbow carrying man.
My target was flipping his weapon over his shoulder, but my blade cleared its scabbard and cut through the air with an angry swish sound. The man threw himself away from me and avoided my broadsword cutting his upper body in half. The tip of my sword still slashed across his chest though, and it cut open his mail as if it was made of plastic chain.
“Shield,” I said as the woman with the crossbow let her bolt fly. I could guess where the quarrel would land from where she was aiming, and I flipped my arm up to defle
ct the projectile.
My entire arm went numb, and I spun around as if someone had just twisted me like a top. My right shoulder slammed into the cobblestones of the street, and I glanced down at my arm. The woman’s crossbow bolt had passed through the magical shield my bracelet made as if it wasn’t there, and it penetrated my forearm and bicep as if it was a toothpick passing through a bent hotdog.
Holy shit. She had magical bolts. Or a magical crossbow. Or a magical crossbow shooting magical bolts.
The man I’d almost cut in half finished swinging his crossbow around, and I used Guardian of Fortune on myself as his weapon twanged. The bolt slammed into the magical shield created by my bracelet and bounced off like a spinning coin. I should have been happy with the result, but the hit to my shield changed the numbness in my arm into sharp pain, and I gasped with surprise agony.
I rolled backward across the street away from the two fuckers with crossbows and then twisted around on my back as the attacker with the two axes came after me. I managed to get my sword up in time to block both of the weapons, but the beard of both axes hooked onto the edge of my sword, and the man tried to yank the weapon out of my hand. Fortunately, I was much stronger than him, and it felt as if a child was trying to tug on my arm.
The man leaned away from me with his effort to disarm me, and his right foot stepped back. This left his left leg in front, and I brought the ball of my foot against the side of that knee while I tugged down in the same direction with my blade. The man’s leg crumpled with my kick, and he stumbled to the side in an attempt to remain on his feet.
Bolverk was waiting for him.
“Haaaarrrrrrwaaang!” the gnome screamed as he brought his oversized axe around. The blade lopped the left leg of the attacker off at the hip, and the man screamed as he tumbled to the ground. His health bar dropped down to 40%, and I guessed the man would bleed out.
The woman with the crossbow shot again, and the bolt slammed into the side of my head. I would have instantly died if Guardian of Fortune didn’t protect me. I was a good fifty feet away from the woman, so she was either an incredible shot, or the magical weapon was helping her aim. Maybe both.
Lion's Quest: Trinity: A LitRPG Saga Page 28