Halcyon Rising: Breaking Ground

by Stone Thomas

  “Adventurers who come back with treasure,” I said.

  “Precisely,” the head priest said.

  “And if an adventurer brought back, say, a sack of jewels. There wouldn’t be ownership papers with them, would there?” I asked.

  She chuckled. “Likely not. The same as with a miner. But mined jewels tend to come through a respected distribution chain, and adventurers have quest contracts that establish their ownership over the loot they carry back.”

  “Thank you,” I said. “This conversation has been educational.”

  Behind the priest, a man shimmered into view. He sat cross-legged with his hands on his knees, but he floated above the altar. His skin was a slightly darker blue than the cyan light he emanated. A small pointed hat sat on his head. “Tell my niece I say hello,” he said.

  “Excuse me?” I asked. I suddenly remembered my manners and knelt before him, the temple’s god.

  “My name is Gowes. I am the god of wishful thinking, and Nola is my sister’s daughter. That makes her my niece. And please, stand. No head priest should kneel to a god other than one he has pledged fealty to.”

  “You are a surprising one,” the head priest said. “I should have known there was more than curiosity behind your questions. My name is Eranza. I’m happy to answer any others you have.”

  “I’ll be sure to deliver your message, Gowes,” I said.

  “Good,” he replied. “That Nola, she’ll make a great name for herself one day. I just feel it. Her city will be the brightest gem in the human lands, other than the Imperial City of course.”

  “We don’t have a city,” I said.

  “Neither did we,” he said. “I chose this very spot to settle down with nothing more than a hope and a smile. Where the gods live, cities rise. You’ll see.”

  I nodded. “We should be on our way. Thank you both for your time.”

  Cindra and I slipped out through the temple’s front doors. As we walked, a few parishioners stared at us, likely happy that we wouldn’t disrupt their prayers anymore. One stood from his pew and walked behind us. I passed him the door on our way out.

  “That was encouraging,” Cindra said. “I somehow feel more optimistic leaving that temple.”

  “Me too,” I said. “I wonder what we have to be optimistic about though. Maybe that’s just how everyone feels after meeting Gowes.”

  Something cold and sharp pressed into my neck as something warm pushed up against my back. “Quiet now,” the man with the knife said, digging the blade in just below my chin. “We need to talk.”

  +11

  “About what?” I asked.

  “You were asking a lot of questions in there,” he said. “Do you have stolen rocks for sale?”

  “I didn’t steal anything,” I said. My fingers tightened around my spear’s handle. I wondered what it would take to thrust this guy off of me, spin around, and stab him with my polearm. There weren’t any guards around to pry him off of me, but I was worried they’d come running if a fight broke out and then they’d find me with blood on my hands.

  Or dripping down my slit throat if this man was strong enough to kill me. I guessed Gowes’ wishful thinking had already worn off.

  “I have a sack of stones without ownership papers. What do you want?”

  The man lowered his knife. “That’s all I needed to hear. Come to the Grippersnout tonight and ask for Blade. He’ll help you offload them.” The man pulled a hood over his head and ran down a side street.

  “Looks like we’ll be in town for a full day then,” Cindra said.

  “No way,” I said. “I don’t want anything to do with that guy, or Blade, or whatever a Grippersnout is.”

  “But this is our chance to make a sale,” Cindra said, “and use my new skills. All I need is 30 seconds across a table from Blade and we can turn those rocks into gold coins. Otherwise, what good are they?”

  She had a point. “Fine,” I said. “We’ll give it a shot. But let’s make sure we know where the guards are stationed so we can get help if things go badly.”

  We started walking around, taking note of where the guards were posted. They tended toward the main streets where shops and offices were. “Excuse me,” I asked one of them. “Do you know where the Grippersnout is?”

  The guard grimaced. “I do.”

  “Would you mind telling me?” I asked.

  “Yes.”

  I waited. Then I realized, he wasn’t going to direct me. We moved on.

  “Maybe we should start shopping,” Cindra said, “since we’re here. Then we’ll know what we want and how much money we’ll need.”

  “Great idea,” I said. I pushed open the door to a weapon shop. Swords, maces, whips, and staffs stood in racks throughout the cluttered store. The shop owner sat on a stool, chewing something and staring at us. He spit out of the side of his mouth and into a spittoon without looking away.

  I pulled a spear from a stand. Its handle was metal, as was the spearhead on the end. It made my current wood-and-stone weapon look like something a caveman would use, which I supposed was fitting. I did live in a cave now, thanks to Nola.

  “Adds two Strength,” the shop owner said.

  I put the item down and moved on to the next one. It was heavier and the spearhead had two points to it, like an arrowhead with a central divot that split the end in two. “Adds three Strength,” the man said.

  Something further inside the shop caught my eye. It was another polearm, but this one had a long, fat blade on the end. One side was serrated while the other was smooth and razor sharp. Just touching it caused the man to get off his stool and walk toward me.

  “Razortooth,” he said, walking toward me. “Adventurer quality. Titan steel. Adds six Strength, two Hardiness, and one Resolve.”

  “I’ll take it,” I said before I even knew what I was saying. “Hold it for me and I’ll come back in the morning when I have the funds.”

  He pinched my shirt at the shoulder and pulled at a flap of cloth that had torn loose. “Six thousand gold. Come back in twenty years when you’ve saved that up.”

  “I’m serious,” I said. “Hold it for me.” I saw Cindra standing on the other side of the shop, stroking an arrow shaft with her green fingers. “I’ll also take your finest longbow, quiver, and arrows. Throw in a war hammer too, adventurer quality.”

  The man laughed and walked back over to his stool.

  “Come on, Cindra,” I said. “We’ll come back tomorrow and pick up our things.” I turned back at the door and shouted a question to the man. “Where’s the Grippersnout?”

  His face fell. “Down Deadman’s Alley,” he said. “It don’t open till dark.”

  “Thanks,” I said, and stepped back out into the street.

  The next shop we entered was an armor shop. One side of the store had suits of metal armor while the other had robes and leathers. Suiting up like a tin can didn’t seem like the right way for a head priest to dress himself. The priests I had seen so far wore flowing robes, but that didn’t fit my personality.

  I was drawn toward a midnight blue leather vest. It would give my arms enough space to maneuver my long weapon, but still protect my torso. A brown pair of leather pants and black boots completed the look I was going for: lithe and dangerous.

  “How much?” I asked.

  “Those don’t match,” the shop owner said. “Most people pick a color and stick with it.”

  “I’m not trying to dress like a bluebird,” I said, “or a tree trunk.”

  “Fine,” the man said. “All together, these would be 4,500 gold. It’s worth it for the attribute bonuses, and I won’t be haggled with.” He folded his arms in front of him.

  “And that?” I asked. Cindra was holding a slim purple dress that she found among the robes in the store’s rear. She held it against her body. She was wider at the hips and chest than that dress was, so either her body would reshape itself against the dress’s tight spots or she’d have to stretch out the dress to accomm
odate her large breasts. Either way, she really seemed to like it.

  “That,” the man said, “is a Radiance Gown. One of a kind. It improves every attribute by two, and costs 2,800 gold.”

  “Hold it for me,” I said. “And that too.” I pointed toward an animal-hide set for Vix. The top had shoulder straps and it cutoff above the navel. “As long as it’s not fox skin.”

  It was little more than a leather bra, to be honest, but it would provide her the range of motion she’d need to swing that heavy hammer as she worked. The bottom half was a skirt that came mid-thigh. She wasn’t expecting a new outfit, so if she didn’t like it she didn’t have to wear it. If she did like it, it looked like it offered better protection than the skimpy cloth outfit she wore now.

  I had to admit, I also liked the idea of seeing her in something as revealing as she wore now, but tighter.

  “Cindra?” I called. She put the purple dress back and strutted toward me with her usual swaying hips. She looked a little sad, but that was okay. She didn’t know I had put her dress on hold. She thought she came on this trip to barter, but that she’d walk away empty-handed. I’d surprise her.

  It had finally started to get dark, so we wandered down a side alley that looked like it might lead us toward someplace seedy enough to call itself “Deadman’s Alley.”

  When we rounded a corner, a woman with a dirty face and clothing more tattered than my own held her hand out. “Spare a copper?” Her voice was weak, like she might die any moment.

  “I don’t even have that much,” I said. She smiled like she didn’t believe me.

  “Sweetheart,” Cindra said, “you shouldn’t be on the street, you should be in a hospital.”

  She was right. The skin down the woman’s arm had magenta veins showing through her skin. She had some kind of poison working its way through her.

  “Can’t afford a healer,” she said, “and I’m not strong enough to heal myself.”

  “Wait,” I said, “you’re a healer?” She nodded.

  “And the temple wouldn’t improve your skills so you could heal yourself?” I asked.

  “It takes 20 coppers to make a silver,” she said, “40 silvers to make a gold, and more gold than I’ll ever have to make a priest help me. Not when it takes four coppers a day just to buy a loaf of bread.

  “The poison works slowly, but I’m a little weaker each day. Healing myself is a losing battle. I’m lucky I opened one of my Lighthealer skills as a girl, before I lost everything. It’s the only way I’ve been able to stave off dying so far.”

  “I can’t give you any money, but I could level you up,” I said. “I know it’s not allowed, but I don’t really care.”

  “What kind of cruel joke is this?” she asked.

  “Not a joke,” I said. “With your permission, I’ll do everything I can.”

  She opened her mouth, likely to protest, but then sighed. I could tell she didn’t believe me, but she didn’t have any fight in her. Instead, she said, “I’d like that.”

  I used my skillmeister ability to open a menu with her skills and attributes. She was at all 1s and 2s, with a single skill open: Beam of Health, which only healed 2 HP at a time because its strength depended how high her Focus was. I improved that skill, then opened a new one that would let her purge the poison running through her veins, since no other healer or priest was willing to do that for her.

  By the time I was through spending her XP, she was a new woman.

  Δ

  Skillmeister View of:

  Lana Fayven

  Base Attribute / XP to Next / Intended Change / Total XP Cost

  -

  2 Constitution / 50 XP to Next / 2 –> 3 / Total XP Cost: 50

  -

  2 Vivacity / 50 XP to Next / none / Total XP Cost: 0

  -

  1 Strength / 25 XP to Next / none / Total XP Cost: 0

  -

  1 Hardiness / 25 XP to Next / none / Total XP Cost: 0

  -

  2 Focus / 50 XP to Next / 2 –> 3 / Total XP Cost: 50

  -

  2 Resolve / 50 XP to Next / 2 –> 3 / Total XP Cost: 50

  -

  TOTAL BASE ATTRIBUTE XP COST: 150

  Stats Affected by Change

  -

  [Constitution] Health Points (HP): 34/200 –> 134/300

  -

  [Vivacity] Action Points (AP): 40/40

  -

  [Strength] Phys. Damage Inflict Range: 10-12

  -

  [Hardiness] Phys. Damage Block Range: 5-8

  -

  [Focus] Mag. Damage Inflict Range: 20-24 –> 30-37

  -

  [Resolve] Mag. Damage Block Range: 11-15 –> 16-23

  -

  Skills For Weapon Class: None

  -

  [Null]

  Intended Change: None

  Cost Subtotal: 0

  TOTAL SKILL XP COST: 0

  Skills for Special Class: Lighthealer

  -

  Beam of Health 1. Heal target’s health points equal to 1.2 times your own Focus. [8 AP to cast] [Requires: Focus 2, Resolve 2].

  -

  Improve to Beam of Health 2 to increase Focus multiplier to 1.4. [11 AP to cast] [Requires: Focus 3, Resolve 3] [750 XP to improve].

  …

  Intended Change: 1 –> 2

  Cost Subtotal: 750

  -

  Locked. Flash of Relief 1. Remove the following status ailments from target: minor poison. [15 AP to cast] [Requires: Constitution 3, Resolve 3] [375 XP to unlock].

  -

  Improve to Flash of Relief 2 to add partial paralysis to ailments removed. [20 AP to cast] [Requires: Constitution 5, Resolve 5] [750 XP to improve].

  …

  Intended Change: 0 –> 1

  Cost Subtotal: 375

  TOTAL LIGHTHEALER SKILL XP COST: 1125

  Summary

  -

  Available XP: 1,332

  Cost of Intended Changes: 1,275

  Precision Training Discount (1%): 13

  Total Adjusted Cost: 1,262

  Total Projected Remaining: 70

  Confirm?: Yes / No

  ∇

  “It’s done,” I said. “Your first Lighthealer skill, Beam of Health, requires more action energy as it gets stronger, and I improved it one level. I also unlocked Flash of Relief, which will rid you of minor poison. That one required a few attributes raised to the third level, which thankfully you had the experience points for. You must have been casting small heal spells for quite some time.”

  “Months,” she said. “I always tried to help people that were hurting, I just never realized it would be me for so long.” She closed her eyes for a second as her skin flickered with white light. Then she let out a long, satisfying sigh. Her magenta veins disappeared against her alabaster skin. She started to cry.

  “Thank you,” she said. “I wish I could repay you.”

  I smiled. “Just point me toward the Grippersnout,” I said.

  She squinted her eyes shut. “That place is a den of thieves. You don’t belong there.”

  “Be that as it may,” I said. “Cindra and I have some business to attend to.”

  “It’s down this road,” Lana said, “then left, then two blocks down. Be careful.”

  “Thank you, Lana,” I said. “Be well.”

  “I will, thanks to you.”

  Cindra and I waited a block from the Grippersnout for night to fall. One by one, we saw shady characters skulk toward the front door and disappear inside. Any one of them could have been Blade.

  “That was nice, what you did back there,” Cindra said. “Aren’t you worried about the laws against that sort of thing?”

  “Laws should protect people, not punish them for being poor,” I said. “There should be laws against the kinds of laws they have here.”

  “It’s not just here,” she said. “The head priest told us that’s the way it works all over the human lands.”

  A wideset man wit
h a body like a barrel of ale walked into the Grippersnout. Something told me that was our man.

  “Let’s go,” I said. We walked up to the front door of the place, which had no window and no knocker, just a small hole at eye level.

  “Password?” came a voice from the other side.

  Cindra and I looked at each other. That rogue with a knife didn’t say anything about a password.

  “I’m here to see Blade,” I said.

  The door creaked open. A very short man with floppy ears stood on a wooden ledge that was built into the door. He was an elf, by the look of him. An odd choice for a doorman, unless he had some hidden skill that made him a lot more powerful than he looked.

  “Blade is in the back,” he said. “Big guy. But if you want to buy drinks, you’ll have to come back here and give me the password.”

  “Sure thing,” I said. The room was full of men and women with scarred faces and hard stares. They had weapons showing, and I suspected they had additional weapons hidden in boots and tucked into belts. The bartender served glasses of beer and not much else.

  I started to get nervous as we approached the enormous man at the back of the bar. Just sell the jewels and leave, I thought. I walked up to him and asked, “Are you Blade?”

  He laughed, as did the other ugly rogues at the table with him. “Yes. You’re a scrawn of a man. Leave the woman and go.”

  His words, like his body, were blunt and indelicate. He was a bludgeon more than a blade. “We’re here to make a sale,” I said.

  “I’ll give you two silver for her,” he said. “Ask for more and I’ll slit your neck.”

  “I’m not for sale,” Cindra said. “These are.” She opened the small sack and took the jewels out. She played with them in her palm, tumbling them gently with her fingers.

  “In that case,” Blade said, “sit.”

  +12

  Two men in black cloaks put their hoods on and left the table so we could take their places. Cindra held her palm out for a moment, then curled her fingers around the jewels. She stared into Blade’s beady eyes. “How did you get the name Blade?” she asked. She was stalling, waiting for her negotiatrix skill to kick in. Good girl.

  “It isn’t my sharp tongue,” he said. “Jewels.”