Gryff Boxset

by Sloss, Marcus

  Cyrene coughed to get our attention. “I have adventured for many, many years. There are a few essentials I will never travel without again. Freshwater. Everyone needs a freshwater orb in their storage or bags. I hope you can all agree with that,” She said and the group inclined their heads to varying degrees. That one made a lot of sense. “Next is a cabin. Fuck sleeping in mud under a tent. Honestly, we should get two but I understand if you do not. They are expensive and painful to trash. There are three days of hard riding if we go to the zone I want to farm in. Sure we can go to a different planet with less travel. On Thur, well, we have to spread out to get to a good one fifty zone. Now that is six days of hard riding there and back. A familiar can ride day and night. No rest, food, or water needed with only a small mana consumption. You all just bought large storage chests that are much easier to clean blood out of than a wagon…”

  “Wait we have to clean a familiar?” Zoey asked and Barq placed a hand on her arm and nodded. “Well shit. I am glad we brought someone with experience. Thank you sister wife for your insight.”

  “Yes thank you,” Nicole and Mysti echoed.

  “So which one do you recommend?” I asked browsing over the wagons in the hope to pick out the right one.

  “The Queen’s Bitch,” Cyrene said with certainty. “The ogres won’t fit but fuck em. They have their own ride.”

  “The who’s what?” Zoey snarkily asked.

  A chuckling Francine walked past me and stayed on the orite line but shifted right to an eighty orite wagon. I gulped we only had a hundred and twelve orite when you broke down our one berium.

  “Worth every penny and will upgrade into a thing of legend. If you are traveling the ground there is nothing finer. It has two bedrooms, a table area, and the most comfort a harem king could wish for,” Francine sure was a great saleswoman. She handed me the wagon and I inspected it. “I would be remiss to say this is ten times more expensive than the mythic version. Only the divine wagon called the Empress’ Bitch is worth more and I have never seen it with my own eyes. This legendary was a rare find off an ocean goliath a sea crew killed. Sold it to me as they wanted the coin over a lavish wagon ride. This one when fully upgraded can seat a whole company worth of beings inside it. A hundred men your size in a wagon you have to despawn to turn. But hey, how often do you take tight corners and that is down the line. The next size down will hold around thirty when upgraded and four comfortably when in motion. One bedroom and an open room to start.”

  “If only they were not destroyed on removal,” I said and there were lots of nods at this statement. The wagon was hauled by six dinosaurs that looked to be like raptors. “Wait are dinosaurs a thing in the master verse?”

  “If you mean the dintors, then yes. And more than a few are sentient. The raptoria in the image are the non-sentient version. Six here on the legendary and four on the mythic. These are actually cheap because the nobility tends to use actual wagons. Your ride despawning is different if it is stuffed with warriors than for example a dainty princess in a dress. Of course, you save more time…”

  I held up a hand and turned to Nicole. “You decide,” I said and left the area. I wanted to look at actual battle mounts and I knew what she would choose. At least I thought I did. I exited the alcove for familiars and still had no idea what I would replace my storage chest with one day. That decision could always wait.

  I heard the patter of feet rapidly approaching and I caught Mysti jumping at me in excitement. She kissed me passionately and I grabbed her juicy booty as she wrapped her legs around me.

  “Thank you for letting us decide. The Queens Bitch is in my belly!” Mysti said as she twisted her head happily with excitement. My eyes went wide with shock. “Ah, you thought Nicole would go with a cheaper version and we would cramp it up. No sir. Recruitment was the justification. A legendary wagon adds to our sales pitch and will be more rewarding long term. Nicole said she would take rare orbs for now. We are going to focus on Nicole next and I will try to go cheap too.”

  “Huh, not what I expected but I like the decision. We still have plenty of silver left. Come let us look at mounts, I remember loving the dinosaur museum that orphans got free entrance into,” I said while I pulled her along. I quickly found myself turned around and not sure where to go. “By the gods, this place is a maze.”

  “As much as I like it just being the two of us we should go help Nicole pick out healing orbs,” Mysti said and halted my aimless progress. “Plus we are not in a rush. We can view mounts after.”

  “Healing orbs it is. Our lives may very well depend on them,” I tossed Mysti over my shoulder and she didn’t fight it. If she kicked and squirmed she could knock something down. I walked to our group and Nicole yanked Mysti’s pants to reveal her bare bottom. When she saw no bum beetle she smacked the booty. I giggled as I said, “Atta girl. Is she blushing? I bet she is.”

  “Keep the naughty stuff to your private rooms Red,” Francine said and Nicole corrected Mysti’s pants. I set the red face blond hair vixen down. She huffed out a lock of hair with a white streak out of her hazel eyes that spoke of desire. Francine coughed to get our attention. “Here are the healer orbs. Healer orbs are the best to buy. I rarely sell any and always have them in stock. You normally can get a full tier higher than damage spells for the same price.”

  “I have a healer set for just in case scenarios. You will all get a white or special heal others and heal self. They are a single silver per. Stick them in your chest in a colored bag. If we get in trouble. Swap something out and help keep yourself or someone else alive. So add four of each please.”

  “I would like to go with you and adventure,” A soft voice said from behind Cyrene. I saw Shala step from behind Cyrene. “Assuming you are my employer at that time. I can buy my own orbs that are recommended and this.”

  A small boxy familiar was in her hand that showed the extra-large storage chest.

  “Ha, somehow I think you have more in the bank than this one does,” Francine said testing the lady gnome. Shala’s freckles were more noticeable when she scrunched her face in mild resentment. “I know you are good for it. Sorry for fishing for what you could afford. The sales-dryad in me is hard to turn off.”

  “Well, no offense taken. I can pay for myself.” Shala said assertively with hands on her hips and the tension eased.

  “If you want to go, I am fine with that. You should figure out what role you want to take,” I said and Shala held up a hand. “Umm yes?”

  “I can go a focused backline mage. If he is ice I can go fire,” Shala said while looking to Cyrene.

  “You certainly are not going to go as a melee damage or tank at four feet tall, no offense. So yeah backline damage mage works. Fire is basic and useful but it will be counter to your future mate… sorry. I see the way you longingly look at each other. I know gnomes don't rush into love like us dryads. My point remains. Go lightning instead and you will increase his damage when he does an ice storm and…” She paused thinking about it. “You have guides for sale right. They both look like bookworms. How about you two study up on a lightning and ice guide in tandem and then pick out your orbs in the morning?”

  “Of course, but no need to wait. We have lots of shopping to do and they are not needed to help us. We can split the party. Let the gnomes get their own personal attendant to show them the best combos or at least the best-selling ones. Lots of employees here. Zari! Get someone to cover. Come over here.” Francine hollered out and a few moments later Zari led Shala and Barq off to a different orb section. A sale today was better than a potential sale tomorrow. Or so I had heard. “She will handle them just fine.”

  “Nicole, you want these four as your core. Let’s step back just a tad. I see these combos often. Check out this orb, this is your area heal, since we are short on money you will get a rare or blue version. Later you will want to go higher obviously. Be grateful the others are getting green or whites. These are still potent spells and at s
ixty-three a lot more than you should probably have anyway. Okay, this area heal is exactly that, you cast it and a ten foot circle around you gets minor heals. This will wash over those in the ring in waves of healing. Nothing major but leveled up this can help with minor injuries or damage over time affects like poison. This next one is a ray heal. Red takes extra damage from across a dungeon hall. Shoot this spell at him and he starts to heal. Again, nothing fantastic but it is good and will do the trick with enough mana consumption. This third one is a lay on hands. This means you touch exposed skin and then use mana to your orb. This is the most effective and best way to heal, period. This fourth orb is vampiric in nature and an offensive spell. It is important that you do not confuse this with a mana drain. That is a different spell. If you are hurt you can heal yourself with everything within reach. A squirrel or bird or lizard or Red. You cannot use this on a summoned creature besides to apply damage to it. Enemy creature yup, a-okay there. Anyway, if you over heal, your healing powers will consume your extra healing first. Helping with mana consumption but not providing mana itself. Alright, and last is this baby. This is a misting cloud. The mist coats everything in sight in a slimy substance. Does absolutely nothing besides provides a huge area of effect spell for you to apply a notice on the mob so you get experience from them. Well, that statement was misleading. It will help a lightning spell do more damage and the spell will pull a bunch of mobs if you are not careful. I recommend casting it often when we ride out to the goblin dungeon and getting the spell floored higher as well as controlled when you cast it.”

  “A thousand silver will cover these five. The next versions up cost more and you want to go higher than epic anyway if you do upgrade,” Francine said to Nicole. “You can ingest them now if you want; the bank marker is behind my counter.”

  Nicole turned her head at this. “Do other adventurers always drop all their orbs upon death?”

  “Most but not all, there is very little natural attrition to orbs. Most go into the Creator Anvils,” Cyrene said and then saw us grow more confused. “Ah, forgot you are rookies. One hundred orbs of one kind for a chance at something rare of the same color. A thousand common orbs to make one white orb. That one white orb will be random and highly likely to be useless. There is a chance it will become a familiar or a rare white orb like a boss mount. So there is always that chance which keeps all beings of all species hoarding useless orbs to grind them up into the Creator Anvil. That process is simple - you go to a temple and inside will be a big circle pit. You step up and dump your orbs in. There is a swirling of magic and poof, an orb appears on a pedestal off to the side. Well, that or a cube. You would be surprised how many times I go in with a hundred green orbs and put in six and poof out comes a new orb. People toss extras into the anvil all the time in the hopes the anvil is near a creation point. Since there is no tally it is anyone’s guess when the next drop will be.”

  “Oh neat we have a bunch of extra grey and white orbs,” Mysti said and went to show them when she realized our bags were checked at the front. Cyrene stopped her from talking.

  “Save them for putting in the wagon to level it. Do that for a long time. They weigh very little but consume space which equates to good leveling,” Cyrene said and Mysti beamed a smile.

  The elvath was excited to level her new toy. I watched Nicole ingest her five orbs and her face became serious. You could see her itching to get training. Zoey was feeling a bit left out and Mysti kissed her cheek. They held hands as Cyrene led us into a new section.

  “Assassin stuff. Alright Zoey, I have good and bad news. Everything for assassins is tricks and gimmicks. Effective, but exactly that. You cannot go invisible, but you can stand still and camouflage into invisibility. You cannot pass through walls or have people walk through you. I hope that clears that up because some think assassins can become ghosts. You cannot. A neat trick you can do is burst smoke around you and have it so you can see through the obscuring haze. Very few will have the counter. If you can surprise your target a close-range physical touch stun lasts far longer than a ranged snare and rightfully so. Sounds great so far but trust me it is not. If they wanted you to have the wagon worth more than a house I would have told them no. Assassins die, and a lot. I highly recommend a strong self-heal orb. Hence why they are right here in the assassin isle. I would actually grab a mythic and an epic. If at the end of it all you can afford the mythic get it. What is the price difference?”

  The healing orbs were not marked in this section and Francine went back to the healing section. “A thousand silver for the epic. Funny how cheap healing stuff is. Fifty thousand silver for the mythic. I would get the mythic. Legendary is beyond what is left.”

  Zoey gave an “Ah…” to get our attention. “So not trying to swap careers midfield but I can shoot a bow like a pro. If these two are going in to melee and we have a tank and two off-tanks. I don't mind being ranged. I can always buy a proper green set for cheap with decent resale value. What eighty percent?”

  “Seventy five,” Francine replied with a smile. I think she loved returns at that rate.

  “See. I would rather experience fighting as a team first and see where I fit in,” Zoey said and I saw Cyrene get a bit flustered so I stepped in.

  “Full set of green including healing orb. Buy it. You will get a green set of what Mysti does also,” I ordered and that resolved that issue. “Explain the set and then we will go to archery stuff.”

  Mysti clapped at that and Zoey rolled her red eyes.

  “Pay attention this is important,” Cyrene said while pinching Zoey’s ass. Zoey popped into the air a little and giggled. It was good to see them happy and playfully interacting. “Self-heal is vital to an assassin because you tend to stab or cut things from close. Or stun then with a touch. All that near range has dangers. Established and said ad nauseum. Here is your green self-healing orb. See this orb that looks like a storm cloud, when you channel this a small area around you will puff smoke. Think of it as a squid in water. An inky haze that obscures the enemy's vision but not yours. This is a green orb, the spell is small and the haze fades after half a minute at most. An enemy air mage can gust this away and counter the spell. Moving on to the stun lock.

  “This is a touch your foe while channeling the spell. Four seconds max. A high-level foe will ignore it. Hence why you want a mythic or better. Assassin is expensive to utilize effectively. Anyway, let’s talk about invisibility. You hear goblins coming down a tunnel and you freeze. Trigger this spell and let them walk by. For all that is holy do not go invisible like Roger the forgotten. He went invisible off to the side of a marching column but he did so in front of a side tunnel and a baby goblin bumped into him. Goblins pounced on poor Roger and he died. The last spell is power. Actually, this will work with a bow to an extent but mainly for sword thrusting. Let us assume you pull off all your moves correctly.

  “You stash yourself against a wall. An enemy shaman walks by. You stun him and then stab for his heart but find his robes are inlaid with spelled armor and your thrust is insufficient to get through. During your second stab you trigger power and your foe dies. As in all things magical, there are lessons and ways to perfect your build. I am merely giving a blanket guide of what I see most. For all I know, there is a new smoke spell from a volcano planet that does better smoke for less mana and lasts longer. Or you hate invisibility and would prefer a suction spell to climb up walls and fall from the ceiling onto your foes. I don't know you or your style and the assassin role that well. That is my point. I am a melee damage off-tank. I know me. Which based on what Red has for orbs we’re sinking his coin into gear. How much for this green set?”

  “Two thousand silver,” Francine said while collecting the five orbs and walking them to the counter.

  “Gear is simple. We are all wearing robes besides Red. He is going to be wearing expensive flexible leathers. It will make his ass more divine than it already is,” Cyrene said while patting my butt.

  �
�Awe, I was hoping for bikini armor,” I said.

  “Nah we need the mana regeneration bonus,” Cyrene said while sliding a finger down my face. “When we get more money we will dive into a thorough gear explanation. Same with mounts. The goblin and troll dungeon is level one fifty with an end boss of three hundred. It should be a fantastic first dive and pay off a lot of these expenditures, but I am thinking bigger. I will compile a list for us to review later and then we can decide. That wagon will take a while to pay off even if we select a tougher dungeon, but it is a mythic familiar; it is meant to be insanely expensive and a coin sink.”

  “I know I am excited to get to fighting again,” Nicole said sincerely. “Here comes Francine. Archery stuff then robes. Hopefully, there are bikini robes right Gr… Red.”

  Nicole bit her lip at her mistake. I broke the awkward silence.

  “I will explain later. Your discretion is appreciated and she did not reveal anything to you. Is there a truth spell?”

  “Yeah, a hundred platinum if not more. The spell is so rare it goes to auction houses to trade hands. By all means use an auction house if you have to. For the rest of your items. Spoiler alert, I am a great vendor. Do not open a shop. Use me until you overflow my store and I can discount stuff. I look forward to being a business partner. Ah, if you do end up creating a lot of business for me we can talk middle discount of cost vs profit. Not until then Red.” Francine said and gave me a no funny business tisk.

  “Archer stuff is fairly basic. A unique or green level snare works up to a few hundred feet away. If he is using ice, you want to use ice also. The combination will help the lightning and double the effect instead of contouring vines around the ice. You can cast an arrow that will last a full minute. They start at blue and are stupidly expensive and requires a special bow. Notice how the two are paired here on the shelf. Pick out the one that fits you the best. Both of you. Not a bad idea for you as well Red.”