by Edward Brody
I wanted the scroll as I needed a defensive spell, but I was nowhere near close to reaching level 20 in Divine Magic. “How much?” I asked.
“5,000,” the old man said. “Special while Sephora is away. This would sell for at least 15,000 gold in her shop.”
“Damn, really?” I asked.
“Yes,” the man said while vigorously nodding.
I shrugged. “I dunno… It’ll be a while before I can use it.”
He raised his finger. “I have one other that you might be interested in.” He reached into his bag, fumbled around, and slowly drew out another scroll.
You’ve received: Dragon’s Breath. Your lungs fill with fire, and you release a powerful wave of intense fire upon your next exhale. Requires 35 Intelligence. Fire Magic Level 21. Durability: 10/10. Quality: Average. Rarity: Legendary. Weight: 0.1 kg
“Oh wow. This sounds awesome,” I said. “You shoot fire from your mouth?”
The man nodded. “Yes, in a wide cone in front of you. This is a very powerful spell, especially useful against multiple enemies. The effect becomes larger and hotter the stronger your Fire Magic level becomes. Might I remind you that it’s of Legendary rarity. It’ll be difficult for you to find a copy.”
“How much?”
The man shrugged. “For you, only 5,000 gold. I am certain that Sephora would sell this for 20,000, but I do want to help our resident mages. A steep, steep, discount for you.”
I raised my eyebrows. It seemed like a very good deal, and although I wouldn’t be able to use the spell right away, I was only a few levels away from reaching level 21. I needed a defensive spell eventually, but this one seemed like something I couldn’t pass up. It seemed logical to go ahead and take the deal so that I could use it when my Fire Magic met the minimum requirements.
“Or not,” the man murmured. He snatched the scrolls from my hands, turned and slid them into his bag. “People these days… You try to help them, but they can’t recognize good deals.”
“Hey no,” I said, holding up my palms. “I’ll buy the Dragon’s Breath spell from you.”
He turned around and smiled. “Oh, will you?”
“Yeah, you just didn’t give me time to think. 5,000 sounds like a fair price.”
The man nodded and smiled. “A better deal than you’ll ever find.”
I grinned. “Well, I’m glad I found you then. Let me get the gold.”
I reached into my bag, counted out 5,000 gold and handed it to the old man.
“Thank you very much,” he said as he pocketed the gold and held the scroll out to me.
You’ve received: Arduous Swap. You inefficiently tax your remaining mana in order to swap places with a lesser being. Requires 20 Intelligence. Requires 15 Wisdom. Arcane Magic Level 15. Durability: 4/10. Quality: Average. Rarity: Rare. Weight: 0.1 kg
I looked down at the spell when I noticed the unusual notification appear. “Arduous Swap?” I muttered. I looked up at the old man and wrinkled my nose. “Hey, you gave me the wrong spell. This isn’t Dragon’s Breath.”
“Oh, I did?” the old man asked. He straightened his back and made a motion that he was about to lean over to read the scroll, but instead of verifying my claims, he suddenly lifted his cane, and a bright ball of magic exploded from the bottom end right in front of me, throwing me back and to the ground.
I blinked from the sudden bright flash, and as my vision began to normalize, I saw the scroll in my hand was on fire. I shook it and rubbed it across the ground to put out the small flame as the old man fled around the corner with an agility that didn’t seem possible for someone in his state.
“Hey!” I yelled as I jumped to my feet and started running after the man, but when I rounded the corner of the house, he was nowhere in sight. I ran a little further and checked down a couple of dark alleys but didn’t see the man. I backtracked to see if I had missed him somehow, and as I was walking back, I saw Sephora strolling up to her door.
She noticed me running towards her at an unusual speed right away. “Is everything okay?” she yelled.
I slowed to a stop near her. “Yeah, but I just got tricked by your business partner.”
Sephora creased her brow. “Business partner? I don’t have a business partner.”
“The old man!” I shouted. “The guy who’s selling scrolls for you while you’re away. He basically just scammed me?” I wrinkled my nose. “Wait, why are you back now?”
“Scam?” Sephora shook her head in confusion, but she quickly perked up. “I just stepped out to have lunch. I haven’t employed anyone to help me sell scrolls.”
“What the hell?!” I yelled and scratched the side of my head in frustration.
“Ohhhh,” Sephora finally said with a widened mouth as if she had come to realize something. “Old man with a cane, right?”
“Yes,” I said with a nod. “You know him?”
“Yes, unfortunately,” Sephora said. “He’s a thief and a scoundrel who uses his age to gain people’s trust. He hasn’t shown his face around here for a while, but I guess with the lower guard presence, he’s back to his old tricks.”
“Well, fuck me,” I cursed.
Sephora unlocked her door and pushed the door open. “I recall that I owe you a 1,000 gold discount. Would you like to use it now?”
I groaned and shook my head. “No, I just wasted 5,000 gold. I mean, not wasted, but he sold me something I didn’t want.” I looked down to the scroll and saw it had been partially burned from the attack the old man had launched on me, and upon inspection it was showing as on its last durability point.
“What did he sell you?” Sephora asked. She looked around her. “Why don’t you come inside and show me?”
I followed Sephora inside her shop, and sat the scroll on her counter. “Arduous Swap,” I said. “Something for swapping places with people… I don’t know… The description is weird.”
“Arduous Swap…” Sephora giggled.
“You know this spell?” I asked.
“Yes,” she said. “It’s a fairly rare spell, but it’s not on many mage’s wish list. Each time you cast the spell, it will drain 90% of your mana, and it only works on targets that are sufficiently lower level than you. The range is a bit short as well—maybe only 20 meters or so.”
I leaned forward and widened my eyes. “90%? You’re kidding. 90% of my mana to cast this spell one time?”
“Yes,” Sephora said.
“That’s ridiculous. And only a 20-meter range?” I shook my head. “Who would buy this?”
Sephora shrugged. “Like I said… not a popular spell.”
I groaned. “Well, can you buy it back from me?”
Sephora lifted the spell and ran her finger across the burned edges of the scroll. She frowned and said, “I’d sell one in good condition for 1,000 to 2,000 gold, but since this one only has 1 durability left, I’m afraid it’ll be hard to sell. If I leave it in the shop, it could become unreadable, and I’ll essentially lose out on my gold. I could give you 300 gold?”
“300 gold?” I placed my hand on my forehead and groaned. “I just paid 5,000 for this.”
“I’m sorry that happened to you,” Sephora said. “If it were me, I’d just learn the spell. Who knows? Maybe one day you’ll find a use for it.”
I turned my head to the side. “90% mana usage?”
Sephora nodded. “If you’re at full mana when you cast it, you’ll still have room for a spell or two to cast afterward. Why don’t you read it, and I’ll let you try it out here?”
I sighed, grabbed the spell and started to read. I was still upset with paying so much for a relatively cheap spell, but it still seemed worth more than 300 gold, and I didn’t want to store the spell in my bag now that it was so damaged.
Congratulations! You have learned the spell: Arduous Swap!
“Well, I guess that’s that,” I groaned as the burned scroll disappeared.
“Okay,” Sephora said. “What level are you?”
“3
1,” I answered.
“Okay, it should work on me.” She pointed towards the far end of the shop. “Why don’t you stand over there and cast it on me?”
I navigated to the furthest point of the shop, turned around and focused on Sephora. “Just focus on swapping with you?”
“Pretty much,” she said. “Focus on teleporting to my location while I teleport to yours. If you’re finding it hard to separate thoughts and spell casts, you can clap your hands together or make a motion to help trigger the spell.”
I slowly put my hands together as I focused on Sephora and concentrated on casting an Arduous Swap. In an instant, I found myself on the other side of the room, facing the wall. I had swapped positions with her, but I wasn’t turned around in the process.
As I turned back towards the center of the shop, I saw that I had lost 90% of my mana, as she had warned.
“Nice,” Sephora said. “Not hard, right?”
“Not too bad,” I said, “But I can’t think of how I could use this spell. I obviously can’t lead into a fight with it as I’d lose all my mana, and the range is too short for creative teleporting.”
“I think it would be more useful for a rogue,” Sephora said. “If you have two targets together, you could swap with one of them and suddenly find yourself in a backstab position. From there, you’d rely on your fighting skills rather than mana.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” I said. “You could just keep doing it and meditating to clear areas with smaller groups of enemies.”
“You don’t need to meditate between casts, since it always uses 90% of whatever mana you have left, but it has a one-hour cooldown.”
“One hour?” I laughed. “Man, they really made this spell trash.”
Sephora chuckled as she walked back to behind the counter. “Like I said before, it’s not popular. But if it wasn’t as restrictive as it is, it might be overpowered.”
I groaned. “Well, fuck that guy. I feel like I wasted my money when I could’ve gotten something better.”
“I’m sorry that happened to you,” Sephora said. “But I can sell you another spell with your discount if you’re ready.”
“Nah, just forget about it,” I groaned. “Hang on to my discount for now. I need to be careful about how much gold I spend.”
“Well, it’ll be here when you’re ready.”
“Thanks,” I said. “And thanks for your help.”
“No problem, Gunnar.” Sephora said. “Good luck on your adventures. And be careful who you do business with. There are a lot of bad apples in Eden’s Gate, even here in Inner Highcastle.”
I nodded and headed out the door. It wasn’t the first time I had been deceived since entering Eden’s Gate, but it was the first time I had gotten swindled so blatantly by a vendor. I would have to be careful and cautious in the future, unless buying from a reputable shop.
I headed back to the area where I was supposed to meet Windell feeling a bit pissed. Instead of getting a new spell like Dragon’s Breath or buying something at the Mage’s Hall, I wasted a bunch of gold and got a spell that I’d likely never use. I’d have to be on the lookout for that old man that cheated me and give him a good pounding if I ever saw him again
“You’re late,” I said when Windell reappeared at least an hour and a half after we parted ways. I had been waiting behind the building for what seemed like forever.
“Sorry about that. Surely you can understand that certain types of—” He looked from side to side. “—illicit imports are dangerous to carry and difficult to find.”
“So, you got it then?” I asked.
He grinned widely and pulled out something that looked like a small, brown book from his robe. “You’re lucky that I found one.” He held it out to me, but when I reached for it, he pulled it back. “That’ll be 6,000 gold.”
“You said 5,000.”
“I ran into more resistance than expected and had to shell out a little extra from my own pocket. If I pay more, so do you, and I don’t work for free.” He drew the box closer to his chest. “Not that I’m working. I’m just here… sightseeing, of course.”
I groaned, but I had already wasted an hour and a half waiting, and I had no other lead for finding a disguise kit. It was either accept his price or acknowledge that everything that I had done in respect to reuniting the child with its father up until then had been a loss and the whole quest was a failure. If I returned to the village without a disguise kit, I’d have to honor my word to Jax and desert the child to some random Scourge in the Freelands.
“Alright,” I said as I drew out the gold and passed it to him. I felt anxious after giving him the gold, worried I would be swindled like the old man had done earlier, but I had done business with Windell a few times without issue. When he was satisfied that he had received the right amount, he handed me the item.
You’ve received: Advanced Disguise Kit. Durability: 20/20. Quality: Great. Rarity: Rare. Weight: 0.1 kg. A kit used to conceal your identity.
“Thanks,” I said as I began inspecting the book—which on touch, I could tell by its hollow feeling that it wasn’t actually a book but some sort of container. It had a smooth, flat, faux book cover with a random gold etching pattern sewn into it, and it was just small enough to hold with one hand. When I lifted the top cover, I found that the ‘pages’ inside were actually just wooden walls that had been sculpted and colored in a way that on the outside they appeared as paper.
The disguise kit itself was essentially disguised.
The inside of the box was lined with a silky covering and feathers, and sitting snugly inside was a simple, straw mask. The straw was loosely woven together, and the craftsmanship was unremarkable. Running behind it was a simple cloth strap. Two clasps were attached to the inner front cover of the fake book where the chain of a metal medallion was hooked. It wasn’t clear if the medallion was decorative or somehow an active part of the kit, as it was seated in a deep impression of the wood.
“This is supposed to disguise me?” I asked as I lifted the cheap-looking mask. “Nobody is going to be fooled by this.”
“Turn it over,” the man said.
I flipped it around to see the underside was covered with a powder that was giving off a sparkly, shimmering light.
“The enchantment is where the Mask of Possibilities gets its power,” Windell said.
I lifted the mask close to my face to try it on. “How does it work, exactly?”
“No!” the man yelled and jumped forward, grabbing me by the arm. He pulled my hand away so that the mask didn’t touch my face. “Don’t use it here, and don’t try it on. It’s a single-use item!”
“Okay, so then I just put it on when I’m ready to use it?” I asked. “That’s it?”
The man turned his attention to the box. He pulled out two tiny vials that had been secured in grooves behind the mask. He held out one of them that was half filled with a clear liquid. “This is Spirited Water from a special pond in Ryjulean Heights. They say that fairies bathe there, which gives it its power. For a normal disguise kit, all you need is the Mask of Possibilities and a bit of this.” He held out the second vial which seemed to contain a minuscule amount of reddish-brown liquid. “But an advanced disguise kit needs both the water and this reagent.”
“What is it?”
“Shapeshifter’s Blood.”
“Donated by a Shapeshifter?” I questioned.
Windell shook his head. “Killed, most likely. There are bounty hunters in Eden’s Gate who do nothing but travel the world, hunting for shapeshifters. Their blood is more valuable than gold… both useful and powerful.”
“And how do I use the reagents exactly?”
Windell pressed his finger on the cork of one of the vials, then lifted his finger and pretended to wipe something invisible across his forehead. “Just put the water on your face before you put on the mask if using a regular disguise kit. To disguise yourself as another race, you’ll need to drink the Shapeshifter’s Blood before
putting on the mask. After you place the mask on, think about what race or humanoid type you’d like to become. It’s really quite simple.”
I nodded. “I think I’ve got it.”
“Oh, and I almost forgot.” He pointed towards the medallion hooked onto the inner cover. “That’s the fourth component to an advanced disguise kit. You’ll need to put on the Stabilizing Medallion before drinking the Shapeshifter’s Blood. If you don’t, the blood might cause you to melt yourself from the inside out.”
“Well, thanks for mentioning it…” I said sarcastically as horror washed over me. Not only was the kit costing me a lot of gold, but it was dangerous as well. The last thing I wanted to do was ‘melt’ myself by forgetting a step.
“Spirited Water, Stabilizing Medallion, Shapeshifter’s Blood, Mask of Possibilities—in that order. Just remember that this only lasts a day, and the effects can be cancelled by dispel spells or potions, or if you fall below 50% health.” He dropped the vials back in the box. “And be careful what you ask for. A disguise kit can get you into more trouble than good If you don’t handle yourself the right way. Last thing you want is to be ousted in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” I repositioned everything in the box and started to put the kit away. “Thanks again.”
“Wait a minute,” Windell said. “You’re becoming a regular customer of mine. I don’t believe I ever got your name.”
“I’m G—” I paused and wondered if it were a good idea to give him that information. Windell had given me his name before, but he was selling kroka, disguise kits, and other nefarious goods. For all I knew, he could be part of the Sparrows. “Are names important?”
The man grinned. “I like the way you think.” His eyes shifted to my face, to my bag, and then back to me again. “It’s not every day I get asked for an advanced disguise kit though. I’m curious what it’s for.”