by Jamey Sultan
Bartram greeted them when they walked through the door with his ever-present smile. “James! Ferko! Welcome, welcome. Can I interest you in some dinner?”
Ferko nodded. “That would be great, Bartram. Two rooms for the night, too. And two stables for my mounts.” He handed Bartram some coins and smiled at James. “Consider dinner and the room part of your payment for completing the job.”
Bartam chuckled. “James never needs to pay to stay here. Not after all the work he put in for me.”
“Thanks Bartram. Good to hear. Let me know when I can taste some of it! I’m saving the stuff you gave me until it ages more.”
“Let me see if I have a bit in the back.””””” He grinned and turned to go to the back room of the bar. “Find yourselves a table while I’m looking.”
James thanked him and they waded through the crowded bar until they found a small table shoved into the corner, near a table of drunken guardsmen swapping stories.
If James had to guess, the first guard was in the middle of a raucous retelling of the last dungeon he’d been in. “So anyway, we walk through the door to the boss room and there’s a baby dragon—”
“It wasn’t a dragon,” another guard interrupted. “It was a big lizard.”
“It was a dragon,” the first guard insisted.
“Was not.”
“So anyway, the dragon turned to me and inhales. I think I’m toast, but—”
“Lizard. Not a dragon. I don’t even think it was a dungeon monster. Yer story is a load of dung, and you know it. You’ve never seen a dragon, let alone fought one.”
The first guard’s tone turned dangerous. “I don’t need to stand here and take these insults.” The loud scraping of a chair silenced the chattering inn as the guard stood up and angrily slammed his fist down on the table. He made as if to push the other guard, but tripped over his chair and went crashing to the ground.
Bartram was there in an instant. “If you can’t hold your liquor, then get out,” he said angrily, grabbing the offender by his collar and tossing him out the door before coming back to glare at the other four guards at the table. “Anyone else wants to be kicked out?”
The rest of the guards took a keen interest in the contents of their drinks, which Bartram seemed to take as acceptance. He winked at James and disappeared, returning a moment later with a bottle of amber liquid and two glasses. “I couldn’t find any fully fermented Bleufruit Cider, but here’s something I’ve been working on.”
James took a large sip of ale and coughed as the drink passed his throat. It tasted like cinnamon with a hint of pepper, but it went down smoothly after the initial shock.
You have drunk Crimson Mountain Special Ale
01:40:00 duration
+ 5 Strength (-1 every 20 minutes)
- 10 Intelligence (+1 every 10 minutes)
The front doors opened, and a strange silence fell over the inn. A cloaked figure stepped into the bar, carrying with him a cool breeze that sent the dying firelight into a frenzy. That was odd; James hadn’t remembered it being cold out. The day had been rather warm.
The cloaked figure stepped forward, his footsteps cutting sharply through the silence. He walked towards the hearth where the bard was hurriedly packing his equipment. Every eye in the room was on the stranger as he took the stage, tossing his hood back dramatically.
The stranger was almost handsome, if not for a scar that ran from his earlobe to the corner of his mouth, setting his face in a permanent grimace. He had golden hair and deep blue eyes that glowed softly as they raked over the crowd. They fell on James and stopped for a second before finishing their circuit.
Name: ???
Race: ???
Level: ???
Class: ???
When he was sure that he had everyone’s attention, the stranger spoke with a rich, velvety voice. The kind of voice you wanted to hear read you a story. As he spoke, the firelight responded, brightening until the figure was a shadow framed by firelight. The air in the inn stirred as if from a gentle breeze.
The tale of a man who lost his sight
Stained with blood from an endless fight
Caught by the Fae
He lost his way
And now he rules in the night
Prince of thieves and lord of lies
Better watch out for his endless eyes
Magic of old
No hero too bold
To stop him before he can rise
The death of a brother
Replaced by another
All he can do is despise
The stranger’s words reverberated through the air after he finished speaking, nobody daring to say a word. Silently, he pulled his hood back up and walked out the way he’d come. Beside James, Ferko gasped. It was as if the entire bar had been under a spell.
You have received a Divine Message.
You have been given a brand: Divine Quest (Minor).
+ 3 Strength
+ 3 Endurance
+ 3 Willpower
+ 3 Constitution
+ 3 Intelligence
+ 3 Dexterity
+ 1 Charisma
+ 1 Luck
+ 1 Resilience
Given to all who hear the warning. Good luck.
James clawed at his chest as the intense pain of the magical branding sent waves of heat through his body. He could almost smell the burned flesh, although he may have been imagining it. Again, as quickly as the pain started, it was gone. He looked around and saw that everyone in the inn wore the same pained expression.
James peeked under his leather shirt and saw the symbol of a sun branded directly over his heart. He took a moment to process what had happened, and his jaw dropped. He’d just received a level’s worth of stat points in each category. Everyone in the inn had, too.
But why did everyone look so freaked out? What the hell had just happened?
The blinking notification symbol in the corner of his vision alerted him he still had a few notifications to check, so he focused on them.
You have unlocked a hidden stat: Resilience.
Resilience describes your ability to resist all forms of damage and altering effects.
World Quest – Calamity
Calamity: An event with the potential to destroy hundreds of thousands of lives approaches. Help prevent it.
Suggested level: Any
Reward: Based on contribution
James had never been good at interpreting cryptic messages from the gods when he played games or read books. He usually understood the prophecy or riddle towards the end of the book, right around when the author explained it directly. But from the looks on the faces of the people in the room, this was bad news...
James made his way to Bartram. “What just happened?”
Bartram stared, pale faced, at the empty hearth. “That was…” he said, then trailed away in shock. “I never thought... not in my lifetime…”
James stared at Bartram. The man was terrified.
Bartram nervously scrubbed his hands on his apron. “That… That was the Makrien.”
“The Makrien?”
“Nobody knows who he is, or where he comes from,” Bartram explained. “Legends claim he wanders from hearth to hearth, warning people before a major disaster. Why he does it is a mystery. Maybe to warn people to evacuate, maybe because somebody around could stop it. I don’t know. All I know is that the last time he appeared was almost four-hundred years ago, before the War of the Crimson Peaks.”
James opened his mouth to ask another question, but the innkeeper just shook his head. “I need to pack,” he said, quickly walking away without another word. James turned to look for Ferko, but the farmer was gone. So was the rest of the inn. James was alone.
I need to talk to Nana. Now.
Chapter 14
James was panting when he arrived at Nana’s house, having sprinted the whole way. Ignoring the darkened windows and silent house, James pounded on the door so loudly that he was
worried he might wake the smith who lived a half-mile away.
After a full minute of pounding, Nana still hadn’t answered. James peered through a window.
Nothing.
Suddenly, a hand grabbed his shoulder, almost causing him to jump out of his skin. Nana’s eyes were baggy, and her hair was disheveled, her usually calm demeanor replaced with a worried energy.
“We need to get inside, now,” she said, dragging James through the door and into the main room of her shack. She sat him down at the table and stood in front of him, tapping her hand nervously against her thigh. “What exactly did it say?”
“What’s going on?” James asked, concerned by the change in her behavior. “Are you talking about the Makr-”
“Don’t speak its name in my house. The last thing I need is the kind of luck that comes from mentioning such creatures. Now please, what did it say?”
James decided not to press his luck. Nana hadn’t steered him wrong yet—he trusted her to tell him more later when she was ready to tell him. So, he repeated the prophecy, word for word. She scribbled it down in a small notebook.
James tried his questions again. “What is… it? Why is everyone so worked up? The way Bartram explained it, a disaster is coming, but is it coming immediately?”
Nana signed, holding her face in her hands. “You don’t understand. Of course, you wouldn’t understand. You’re a stranger.” She raised her head and looked directly into James’ eyes, bright yellow energy swirling around her irises. “You need to understand what it means to us. It is an omen. That creature has appeared approximately one year before the start of every major disaster in recorded history. Every time it appears, it follows the same pattern, traveling the world and spreading news.”
“But why? And why does he spread the news in such a vague way? Couldn’t it just say what the disaster is? Also, if the disaster is a year away, why did everyone bolt?”
When James paused for breath, Nana tried to answer his questions. “Nobody knows why or how it knows or why it spreads the news the way it does. Some people believe that it is to stop the disaster, but he has never averted one before.”
Before she could continue answering his questions, James pulled down his shirt and revealed his new Brand. “And what is this? Why did everyone get these?”
“Again. Nobody knows.” Nana snapped, annoyed now. “I don’t have time for these questions. His sudden appearance isn’t a coincidence.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that, somehow, you are involved in this.”
James couldn’t comprehend why he’d be involved in something on a scale this massive. “Me? But I’m a level six nobody.” He looked at her worried face. “Besides, I wouldn’t do anything that could harm so many people.”
“I know that,” she reassured him. “Not intentionally, at least. But we need to figure out what your connection to this is. It will take some time.” She took a deep breath and calmed down slightly. “We have time. For now, I need to research this, and you need to get stronger.”
You have been given a quest: Gaining power I
Gaining Power I: Reach level 25 and upgrade your class
Suggested level: Under 25
Reward: Unknown
Penalty for failure or refusal: Unknown
Nana Rasner walked to the sink and filled a bowl with water, then set the bowl in front of James. She removed a small vial of liquid from her robes and held it up to the light, producing a rainbow of unique shades and hues. “What is that?” He asked in wonder.
“This,” Nana said, “is Mana Primer.”
“It’s beautiful,” James remarked as Nana took a tiny dropper out from another pocket and very carefully added a single drop to the bowl of water. “What’s it for?”
“It’s for you.” She stirred the bowl with the dropper and pushed it in front of James.
“Do I drink it?” he asked.
“If you want to overload and burn out all your Mana channels, then sure.”
James pushed his chair back a few inches. “What do I do with it?”
“Place a finger inside the bowl and remove it.” James followed her instructions. “Next, place your wet finger on this paper.” James did, and the droplet of water soaked into the paper, but it wasn’t rainbow anymore.
It was jet black.
“Whoa! What just happened?”
“Mana Primer is created by injecting a tiny amount of every type of Mana into Mana Water. The water absorbs the Mana but, since each type is represented equally, no one type of Mana can overwhelm any other type, which leads to the beautiful mix you saw. Then I diluted a slight amount of the Mana Primer into water. When you dipped your finger into the water, your primary Mana type tipped the scales enough that, when you placed a droplet onto the Mana Expression Sheet, it took the form of your Mana type.” She took a breath. “Does that make sense?”
“I guess? What’s a Mana type?”
Nana sighed again. “To explain what a Mana type is, first I have to explain what a Spell is. A Spell is simply a manipulation of Mana to accomplish a task. There are two ways to learn Spells, with a Spell book or through class Abilities. You with me?“
James nodded, and she continued. “Your Mana type changes how a Spell accomplishes that task. For example, if you were to read a Fireball Spell book, but you had a water affinity, then you would learn the fireball spell, but when you tried to cast it, it would come out as a ball of water and probably wouldn’t be nearly as powerful as a water Spell could have been.”
“Wait, so the spell would still be called Fireball? But it would shoot water?”
“In most cases. Unless someone has exceptionally dense mana, in which case the spell could actually change to reflect the new magic type. But that’s very rare.”
“So, what is my Mana type?”
“Your Mana type is Shadow,” she said, smiling. “It’s a Tier II mana, which is very powerful.”
James was reaching levels of confusion he hadn’t experienced since high school. “What are Mana tiers?”
“Mana types are divided into are five overarching categories of magic—Tier I, Tier II, Tier III, Divine, and Vile. The first three are simple, with Tier I as the weakest and Tier III as the strongest. The last two, Divine and Vile, are different. Both are much stronger than the Tiered magic and are only inherent to the Fae, the Fallen, and to a lesser extent, dragons.”
Nana’s lecture on magic tiers made sense to James so far, but he still had more questions. “So, my Mana is darkness, a Tier II Mana type? Can I see a list of the rest of the Mana types?”
“Sure,” Nana said, pulling a small chunk of chalk from inside her robes. She drew a constellation chart, with clusters of magic types surrounding each race. “Here’s a very basic overview of the distinct Mana types.”
James looked at the chart. He focused on the cluster of magic around the Human section. He noticed something odd. It looked like every race except for Humans only had two or three connections. Humans had eight. “Why is there so much variety to Human magical talent?”
“Interesting question.” Nana glanced at the chart. “But there’s one other discrepancy you missed. Look and see if you can figure it out.”
James couldn’t see any other pattern in the Mana Tiers.
“It has something to do with… no, maybe…” Then, it was as if a switch clicked in his brain. “It’s opposites!” He exclaimed.
“Right!” Nana replied. She tapped the Human node with her chalk. “If you look at the Human node, you can see that Humans can be born with Life, Death, Darkness, Light, Fire, Water, Earth, or Air affinities. Four pairs of opposites. Other races can only learn synergistic magic types.” She tapped the Elven node with her chalk. “Take the Elves, for example. They have a powerful connection to Life, Nature, and Water affinities, but that’s it.”
“So, there would never be an Elf born with another type of affinity?” James asked.
Nana shrugged. “It’s rare, b
ut it happens. Those children are usually left alone, unless they’re unlucky enough to have a completely opposite affinity, like death, in which case...” She shook her head. “I wouldn’t worry about it.”
James nodded, too distracted by thoughts of magic to understand the meaning behind her words. “What exactly can I do with a Darkness affinity? Can I cast spells?”
Nana chuckled at his eagerness. “I have a Dark magic spell book that you can have. I’ll go get it.” She retreated to a back room and returned a short while later holding a book bound with black-scaled leather. The book absorbed light, forming a black nimbus around it, and when she handed it to him, he felt a chill, as if the air enveloping the book was slightly cooler than the rest of the house.
There was a symbol pressed into the cover, a series of symmetrical curvy lines that spiraled into the center. It was like looking into a void. “What’s this mean?” He asked, pointing at the symbol.
“Oh, that’s just the symbol for Darkness. Don’t worry about that.”
James nodded and examined the prompt that had appeared when he took the book from Nana.
Shadow Step:
Rank: Rare
Durability: 100/100
This book will teach you the spell Shadow Step, a basic teleportation spell for Shadow casters.
Would you like to learn the Spell: Shadow Step?