Chapter 17: Return

Chapter 17: Return

Two days later, Rain was sitting in his alcove in the bath, soaking his tired legs in the cool water and idly swiping through his menus. The return to the city had been uneventful, but Rain's mood was sour. It wasn't even the money that was the real issue for him; it was the unspoken message: you are not one of us.

Rationally, he knew that he had agreed to the terms before they had set out, but it still hurt. He had been getting along well with the group, but then there was the battle and his inability to fight had made him start to feel like baggage, just along for the ride. His purification aura had aided the group, but not in any way that mattered, not really. The Tel had been the nail in the coffin. Friends would have shared, business associates would stick to the contract.

As they had traveled back to the city, Rain had kept to himself, studying from his notebook and using his spells for practice. He wasn't feeling as at home with the group as he had before. He felt awkward around Mahria, and Jamus was slow to recover from his mana usage. The mage had just sat in the cart with his eyes closed for the entire first day, wincing at every bump.

When they had finally returned to the city, Rain hadn't even accompanied them to the guild to turn in the quest. He had stiffly said his goodbyes and had wandered the city, his feet eventually carrying him here. Jamus had looked like he wanted to say something but had stopped himself at a look from Lavarro.

He felt like he had finally made some real friends in this world, but then it just fell apart before his eyes. He didn’t blame them, and he knew that he was taking it harder than he should. Rationally, he thought it might be a good idea to seek them out at the guild and ask to join the group formally. He thought he had a chance at convincing Jamus and Carten, and maybe even Mahria. Lavarro was another matter. Rationality aside, the perceived betrayal had hit him hard, sending his mind down a dark path that had led him here, alone and feeling sorry for himself.

Ok, no more of that.

Catching his thoughts spiraling down the familiar well of depression, Rain splashed some of the cold river water onto his face and re-focused on his status. While he hadn’t found the sense of belonging that he craved, he had made some pretty good progress in other areas.

Attributes

Richmond Rain Stroudwater

Level 7

Experience: 3163/3320

Dynamo

Health

200

Stamina

200

Mana

200

Strength

10

Recovery

10

Endurance

10

Vigor

10

Focus

10

Clarity

90

Free Stat Points

0

Statistics

Total

Base

Modifier

Health

200

200

0

0%

H.Regen

100

/day

100

/day

0

0%

Stamina

200

200

0

0%

S.Regen

100

/day

100

/day

0

0%

Mana

200

200

0

0%

M.Regen

372

/hr

293

/hr

-8/hr

30%

Movement Speed

10

Perception

10

Resistances

Heat

Cold

Light

Dark

1

0%

1

0%

1

“I don't know that word,” Rain replied with one of the most useful phrases he had learned so far. The man held up a hand, motioning Rain to wait, then walked behind a counter, returning with a scrap of leather. He handed it to Rain, taking the sword back.

“Try your knife,” the man said.

Rain did so, finding that he could cut through the leather scrap, but he had to saw at it to get through the tough material. The man stopped him with a wave, then handed him the sword again. “Try the sword.”

Rain ran the leather along the blade, marveling as it sliced through it with no resistance. It was beyond sharp, like a razor despite the mundane appearance of the blade.

Oh cool, so it is enchanted to be sharper.

“How much?” Rain asked, wondering at the price for the blade.

The man seemed to consider, then replied “Two Gran-Tel.”

“Gran-Tel?” Rain asked. “What is gran?”

The man took the sword back from him coolly and replaced it on the wall. He seemed to be annoyed with Rain for some reason, so Rain apologized, using his favorite phrase again.

“Sorry, I don't know that word.”

The man sighed and explained with his hands that a 'Gran-Tel' was a larger crystal than a normal Tel, and that the exchange rate between Tel and Gran-Tel was 1000:1.

Rain's eyes popped at the value of the sword he had been holding. That thing is the price of a car!

“Too many Tel for me, sorry. What is fewest Tel magic item?”

The man sighed, then led Rain over to the counter and gestured at a box of grayish metal rings. “Statrings, 10 Tel, 2 for 15.”

It took Rain a few moments to parse out the run-together word the man had used. Stat Rings?

Rain looked closely at the rings. They were jumbled haphazardly in the wooden box, not displayed neatly. The rings seemed to be made of iron, and were uniform in shape, if a bit rough. Each ring was inscribed with a small, crudely drawn symbol. Rain recognized them as the symbols for the primary attributes that he’d learned from Jamus. The common script represented each of the attributes such as strength and focus with a single symbol. Health, mana, and stamina also had unique symbols, but he didn't see any rings marked with them.

Taking a ring with the symbol for strength, he looked at the attendant questioningly. “What does it do?”

“That one? Strength. Try it.”

Rain slipped the ring on, but he didn't feel any different. The ring was a bit loose on his ring finger, and he was about to transfer it to his middle finger when he noticed that his health bar was showing half full. Oooh, I get it. Attributes.

Pulling up his attributes screen, Rain saw that his strength was showing as 20. He removed the ring and watched as it dropped back to 10, his health bar instantly re-filling. Replacing the ring, he watched his strength and health jump back up again.

I don’t feel stronger. I also don’t feel like I am half dead, but my health is at 50% with this on. Weird.

He removed the ring and placed it back in the box, selecting one marked with the focus symbol. Trying it on, he watched as his focus increased by 10. He slipped on a few more, one for each of the fingers on his left hand. It didn't seem like there was any conflict, each ring boosting a stat by ten. Even wearing two of the same type didn't seem to cause an issue, the boost just adding to +20. Wearing two rings on a single finger didn't work, though; only the first boost seemed to take effect. Slipping off all of the rings and laying them out on the counter, Rain considered.

I have 23 Tel, and I could get two of these for 15. That seems like a pretty good deal to me. I can make that back in a day if I get a good quest. Compared to the sword, that is nothing. 20 free stat points! Humm, do I go for clarity? I get triple bang for my buck that way, but it is really just a drop in the bucket compared to how much mana regen I want. Maybe some strength so I have a bit more health? Or Vigor so I can recover fully after a full day of walking?

Rain stood, considering as the shop attendant tapped his foot impatiently. Eventually, he made his choice, fishing out a number of rings with the symbols for focus and strength stamped into them. He returned the rest to the box, then tried on the rings one at a time until he found one of each type that fit decently well. He picked up the remaining rings and tossed them back into the box, not being too careful with them. They were made of iron after all, and the box seemed to be this store's equivalent of the candy display at the checkout of a supermarket.

“These two,” Rain said, fishing out his vial and counting out 15 Tel onto the counter. The man picked up one of the Tel and squinted at it before nodding and sweeping the rest into a pouch.

“Thank you,” Rain said. The man snorted and walked off to help another customer, though Rain noticed he was still watching him from the corner of his eye.

Wow, that was a bit rude, though I suppose I'd be a bit annoyed too if someone came into my luxury car dealership and spent ten minutes picking out an air freshener. I forgive you, random shop guy. I'll be back later with more Tel.

Rain transferred the rings between his fingers, settling on his left middle finger and right ring finger as having the best fit. He looked at his vitals as he left the shop, smiling as he saw that health and mana were both showing as half full.

Doubled my mana and health pools! I can use my skills for twice as long now, and I'll still be full when I wake up in the morning. Oh, and refrigerate is probably a bit stronger too because of that (fcs) next to the effect. Let's see.

Rain walked out of the flow of traffic and pulled up his skills menu. He was a bit disappointed that the power of Refrigerate hadn't doubled. The menu listed it as 23-26 cold damage. He found that he could focus on the number to bring up the base value of 22-25. That confirmed what he had seen before about the damage scaling of the skill.

Oh well. It is something at least. I can use it for twice as long, that is the real takeaway here. Man, I want more of these rings. I need a quest.

Rain wandered over to the guild and walked in. He saw Gus over behind his counter and waved to him, getting a double take in response, then a hasty wave back. Hah, guess I should have told him where I was going, not that I really knew. Walking to the board, he looked it over. This late in the day, it was pretty picked over. He recognized a few postings that had been there since he had set out almost a week ago, including the one for the slime near the middle of the board. I guess nobody wants to fight a giant slime. Can't imagine why. Seeing that there was nothing available for his level, Rain decided to implement plan B.

He walked over to Gus, who was manning one of the counters though there wasn't a line at any of them at the moment.

“Hi Gus, I am back.”

“Rain. Thought you were dead.”

“Yeah, sorry, I should have goodbye.”

“Your language is better. Still bad, but better.”

“Thank you,” Rain said. “I am much practice.”

Gus cocked his head at this. “What?”

“I am practice much? Much practicing?”

“Your needs work.”

“Yes,” Rain agreed. “Me try make words good.”

Gus just shook his head at this, chuckling. “Do you need something?”

“Yes. I need Tel. There are no quests I can do, how get money?” Rain asked, using the general term for wealth, not caring if it came in the form of Tel or in copper.

“I am not giving you a .”

“No, no, not... I want...find Tel, not...get from you for nothing.”

“Kill monsters, get money. Adventurer .”

Rain smiled at the saying, feeling like it was a fitting motto for the type of people he had met in the guild so far.

“Ok, where.”

“In the forest, or in a , but that is dangerous.”

“Dangerous like slime?”

“Slimes are not dangerous. Slimes are . The forest is dangerous if you are alone. are very dangerous, always.”

“”

Gus shook his head and sighed. “. Monsters come from , they are , and they .”

“Sorry, I don't know that word.”

“Below the sewer. Very below. ,” Gus replied, repeating the word again, annoyed.

I'll go with lair until I learn better. That seems close enough. Monsters come from lairs, and there is one under the sewer. I guess that explains the slimes, and maybe the dark hounds too. The miners, they delved too greedily and too deep.

“Under sewer where?”

“Don't. You will die.”

Shit, he is probably right about that. Note to self, do not go too deep in the sewers.

“How make money without kill monsters? Without lair?”

“Quests. Or get a job.”

“Job?” Rain repeated the word, unsure if he was remembering the meaning correctly from his lessons from Jamus.

“I work...for guild? Like you?”

“No, the guild does not have any jobs .”

“No? I can help. Clean guild. Purify. I clean, you give me Tel?”

Gus seemed to consider this. He then called over the old man who was manning the other counter, the two of them having a quick conversation too fast for Rain to follow. The old man nodded, then looked at Rain.

“Show me,” the old man said.

Rain signaled him to wait, then walked to the center of the guild. Seeing that he had the old man's attention, he activated purify and extended it to maximum range. The white light spread out through the room causing a few startled yelps, but the clamor died down as those familiar with Rain's aura explained the effect to everyone else. Rain watched as the light rebounded against the walls of the room and spilled over into the hallways. He gave it a good ten seconds, then canceled the effect, figuring that it should be more than enough.

The old man and Gus walked over to him, the old man crouching to run a finger along the floorboards. Seeing it come up clean, he considered, then turned to Rain. “The guild has no jobs.”

Rain's face fell at this but the old man held up a hand to forestall him.

“But, if you clean the guild hall every day, you can use the bunk room for free.” There was a bit of an angry uproar in the room at this; the group had attracted a fair audience at this point.

Seems like that is a rare thing. Everyone with a bronze plate looks pretty miffed. Silver plate dude in the back doesn't seem to care though.

“Yes,” Rain said, sticking out his hand for the old man to shake. The man took his hand in a surprisingly strong grip and shook it firmly, then turned to go back to his desk.

“Hey, I am Rain, what is your name?” Rain said, before the man got too far away.

“Rankin,” the old man replied, nodding to him, then returning to work.

Gus clapped Rain on the shoulder as he walked past him back towards his counter. “Start with the training room. Someone bled all over the floor.”

Rain sat on his blanket near the fountain in the guild square. The sun was going down, but the square was still fairly busy with both adventurers and normal townsfolk. He had camped out here after having finished cleaning the guild, inspired by his deal with Rankin to see if he could make a bit more money from his aura.

Looking at his mana, Rain stood, causing the few figures waiting near the fountain to perk up and look at him expectantly. Grinning, Rain hopped up on the edge of the fountain and spread his arms, activating purify at maximum range and intensity. There were a few startled shouts from some of the townspeople as the glowing white light washed over them, but the calm reactions of the adventurers kept them from panicking. A good portion of the people in the square were already familiar with him, having seen him use the aura in the guild at one point or another. He gave it ten seconds, then hopped down, returning to his seat on his blanket.

Next to him, he had a sign labeled with the word ‘donations’ and a hat that he had borrowed from Gus. A few townsfolk came up and dropped some copper coins into the hat to join those already there. The first time he had tried this little stunt, he had gotten a much worse response. Now, though, word seemed to have spread and a few people had come to the square specifically to see what all the fuss was about.

Rain smiled as he thanked a man who had dropped a large copper coin into the hat.

He had hatched the idea while having dinner in the tavern after finishing cleaning the guild. A few large flagons of Khurt’s beer had gone a long way to get over his reservations about displaying his aura in public. Purify apparently didn’t work on alcohol, for all that it was technically poison. It did work on his bladder, though, allowing him to stay in the bar for longer than he probably should have.

To make sure that he wouldn’t get in trouble for using magic in the square, he had floated the idea past Gus before deciding to try it. Begging was prohibited in the city, but busking was allowed provided that it wasn’t dangerous to the people or the infrastructure. It wasn’t even all that uncommon; however, most buskers were musicians and other street performers, not mages. Gus had also told Rain that he was an idiot, but Rain hadn’t cared about that, drunk as he was. He needed money if he wanted more of those stat rings.

He had been a bit uncomfortable the first time he had tried it, given what Jamus had told him about the Watch. They didn’t patrol the guild square, however, and the spell was completely harmless, so Rain had decided that it would probably be fine. His gamble seemed to have paid off, most people being pretty appreciative of the effect of the aura once they figured it out.

The sun had well and truly set now, so Rain took down his sign and pulled in the hat to count the coins. His busking had earned him almost five Tel’s worth of assorted copper coinage. Rain was smiling as he returned to the guild, blanket under his arm, pleased at how lucrative the activity had turned out to be. Gus wasn’t there, so he left his hat on his desk and made his way to the bunk. He was beat from the long days of walking and the beer he had drunk hadn’t done his energy level any favors.

Kicking off his boots and tucking his pack under the bed, he called it a day and laid down to sleep.