Skill Gained: Throwing Tier 0, Rank 1
Throwing
Tier 0: You are able to throw an object in the general direction you are aiming. Aim is better with Perception and Dexterity.
“Neat.” I said outloud, and opened the wallet. I looked at the purple crystal inside and then at the banked experience section. The crystal would let me improve the capacity, even though I don’t really need to yet. It’s not like I’m earning anything there yet.
I took it and used one of my traits for the first time. I just, focused on absorbing it and it popped out of existence. My Banked Experience was then full. No flash, no fanfare, just… done. Huh, I’m a little disappointed.
I then focused on the Banked Experience portion of my menu.
I focused on
Though I did draw some attention from the noise I made. I waved them off and absorbed the rest of the contents of the wallet before standing to reattach it to my belt. Maybe pouch is a better description of this thing? It was empty in any case, and I was happy with that. I wasn’t sure how prevalent thieves were, but not being able to take the money I needed set my mind at ease.
I waited around as the day wore on, grabbing The History of Greathall from my room to continue reading from where I left off. It was actually pretty interesting, though it was a lot of the country of Greathall, which we were in, going to war with surrounding nations and ‘tactically retreating’ when the battles didn’t go the way they wanted. They then started trade wars. With everyone.
One of the things that ruined my mood was the fact that slavery was apparently not only legal, but a decent revenue source of the country as a whole, despite wide ranging protests against it from certain nobles. Nobles who were quickly ostracized, except those who had the power to make life hell for the king.
Rosecrest was among those, which made me feel better.
I took a moment to look for the author of the book and saw it was written by Diego Gratis. I, obviously, didn’t recognize the name, but I’d be on the lookout for more books by him. I’d need to look into some other books to see how others looked at the situation, but it was, at least, a good start.
I wasn’t finished by the time the adventurer arrived. It was an excitable woman accompanying a man in a robe with a pointy hat. I was curious about it, and realized I’d never used one of my spells.
I thought about casting Scan.
Pointy Hat of Spellcasting
Increases Mana Regeneration by 5 points.
Increase Magic Power by 10 points
Spells activate 10% faster
I let out a low whistle and the man turned to me. He cleared his throat, “It’s a little rude to cast Scan on someone without permission, Miss…” His eyes glowed blue briefly, “Oh, Lady Danielle. I suppose we’re here to escort you.” He gave a small bow that caused the maid who’d let him in to frown.
“Sorry, I’m not used to it yet, and I was curious about your hat. It’s… unique looking.” I said as diplomatically as I could. It was actually pretty silly with the shallow brim and pointy tip as tall as the man’s head was long.
He sighed and turned to look at his companion, “It’s always the hat. I hate this hat, so much.” I noticed he didn’t move to take it off.
“You’re the one who wouldn’t stop complaining until we gave it to you. Not our fault you’re willing to wear such a ridiculous thing just for the stats.” She said with a mocking smile. Turning to me, she gave a curtsy that didn’t really work with the leather pants and armor she was wearing. And the large amount of knives I could see. “I’m Dagger, this is Top Hat.”
“Francis.” He corrected. “Though I prefer Frank.”
“Oh come on. You never use the code names.” Dagger pouted.
“There isn’t a reason to here, Paige.” Frank said staring right at her, and she puffed up like an argument was about to happen.
I cleared my throat, “Um, can we get going? It’s getting late and I do want to get done before dark.”
“Right.” Dagger, or Paige, said with only a little embarrassment. “Sorry, not used to an escort like this. We’re only Tier 1s. I’m pretty recent too.”
Frank opened the door and motioned for us, “I’d be higher, but the only place I do well is the Grave Woods. And there’s always too many fire users there for me to do much.”
I headed outside, Paige right behind me. We proceeded onto the street and I let Frank lead the way. “Is there a problem with fire users?”
Frank shrugged, “No, but I mostly know ice magic. I’ve a few spells of other types, but they aren’t very strong.”
“His own fireballs aren’t very explosive.” Paige said as she walked beside me. Her hands were behind her head and she looked like she didn’t have a care in the world. “They do punch through things pretty hard, though.”
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“That’s because my usual spells like Ice Spike and Frost Winds are more focused on penetration. My whole kit is built around stopping things and then punching holes in them.” He huffed, looking back at the two of us. “Where are we going, by the way?”
“Need some inexpensive clothes for training and a few practice weapons. Probably stop by a few other shops, if you’ve got recommendations.” I said, trying to memorize the path we were taking in case I needed to get back by myself.
“No fancy clothes?” His face morphed into a contemplative frown, “I’ve a few places in mind. Not as high quality as most noble stores, but they do have a surplus of Flame Flax and blend it with the cotton to make some rather comfortable clothes. Cool too, despite the material used.”
Paige shrugged, “He’d know better than me. My ma makes all my stuff. She’s a tailor in the River District.”
I considered the options, “Let’s check out Frank’s suggestion first. If it’s too much, I’d like to visit your ma’s place, if that’s alright… Dagger.” I’d been thinking about her by her real name, but if she wanted to use the nickname I’d try to keep it in order.
She waved her hand in front of her face dismissively, “Paige is fine. You’re right about it being silly. It’s mostly so people don’t think I’m a mage or something.”
We kept talking as Frank led the way, interjecting every now and then. Apparently, they started working together after he’d saved her from a Grundlekin, and she helped him find the tunnel to their lair and helped kill the matriarch. From the sound of it, the things were a common problem. They came up to my hip and spat acid. They sounded rather nasty.
It didn’t take us long to reach the tailor shop Frank had in mind. It was called the Burning Needle, and there were some rather intricately designed outfits with flame motifs. Dresses that were primarily orange and red that looked like fire was consuming it from the bottom. A noble suit in red and blue with gold flames embroidered to look like the flames were licking the edges.
I considered the shop and shrugged, heading inside.
The tailor inside greeted us from the back. He was a tall, lithe man with pointed ears and bright red hair. He greeted Frank, “Frank! Welcome back! And Paige, nice to see you again. Whose your friend?”
Frank stepped to the side, motioning with his arm towards me, “May I present, Lady Danielle Rosecrest, of the Rosecrest family.”
The man smiled brightly, “Ah, what an honor to meet you. The dungeon your family maintains is the primary source of my success.” He let out a laugh, “Sorry, I should introduce myself. My name is Ember, a level 24 Enchanting Tailor.”
I blinked, “I’m sorry, I recently had a rather unfortunate accident that damaged my memory. Is that impressive?”
His smile turned brittle, but he recovered, “Ah, how awful. Well, yes. It’s an improvement on the Tailor class. I can put enchantments into cloth as I make outfits. I specialize in fire resistance enchantments, but like most successful tailors I also am capable of tear, slash, and puncture resistances.”
“Interesting.” I said, moving to examine some of the display pieces he had for view. I turned to look at Frank and then to Ember, “Do you mind if I use Scan on them?”
“Not at all! How else would you know the quality of my work?” He beamed, having recovered his composure fully.
Without further prompting, I cast the spell, focusing on a set composed of a simple set of pants and shirt.
Adventurer’s Outfit
A basic set of clothes for the average adventurer.
Minor Fire Resistance
Minor Tear Resistance
Scentless
I looked at dress next, even though I wouldn’t purchase one for myself.
Flameweave Dress
A dress made of Flame Flax, Cotton, and Grave Silk. Created to set the ballroom ablaze in the wearer’s glory.
Charisma +5
Dancing +5 Rank (Cannot increase Tier)
Heat Resistance
Tear Resistance
Puncture Resistance
“Hm…” I hummed as I looked at a few more. Most of them were fairly standard, though I noticed the prices tended towards the hundreds of crystals.
“Has anything caught your attention?” Ember said, having observed me. I noticed Frank and Paige had stepped off to a corner, discussing something about a set of gloves.
“What’s Grave Silk?” I asked, looking towards the dress I’d seen.
“Ah, quite the advanced spell you have.” He chuckled, “It’s one of the exports from the dungeon within the Grave Woods. It’s gathered from the fallen undead. Most of it is mundane silk, but there’s been a recent surge in supply that has brought more to market.”
“Does it have any special properties?” I felt the dress. It was rather smooth and felt nice.
“I can give it properties related to decay magic. Mostly Necrosis related enchantments, and a penchant towards Endurance and Constitution enhancements.” I caught a glint in his eye, and could practically see crystals in his eyes.
“Originally, I wanted to find some more common clothing. Something for training and day to day wear.” I stated, looking around the store. “I think this might not be the shop for that.”
Ember’s brow furrowed, “Well, I could make some more basic outfi…”
I interrupted him, “But, there is a ball coming up, according to my brother. I think I could use something to wear to it. Think you could make something for me for it?”
The smile that crossed Ember’s face could have lit up a dark alley. “I hadn’t heard! I would love to. Do you know whose?”
“I believe it was… something with a G, I think. Geraldine?” I said, uncertain.
His gaze suddenly grew sharp, “That… affront to fashion throwing another of his gaudy balls…” A fire grew behind his eyes. “I’d love to.”
I smiled, “Great. I need something with pants and a jacket, I think.”
He tilted his head, “Are you shopping for your brother or…”
“It’s for me. I’ve found I’m not fond of clothes that can let in a breeze.” Or be bypassed easily. I added mentally.
“Hm…” He started to circle me, examining me. “It shouldn’t be too difficult. Any requests with the design?”
I resisted the urge to squirm, “I believe my family would appreciate some roses, or maybe something with thorns? And darker, with bright accents.”
He smiled, “That fop will hate it. I love it!” Ember then stopped, “I will require a small fee, for my time, however. 15 Crystal to sketch the design, and we can talk price after.”
I tilted my head, “Any chance I could pay 10? I will be requesting you use mostly Grave Silk, since it seems to add more tear resistance.”
Ember looked, surprised, “You noticed that, did you?” He tapped his chin, “Fine, but, I will insist the inner shirt be made of Flare Flax as well. Deal?”
I nodded and put out my hand towards him. He seemed startled, but took my hand and shook it. “When should I come back?”
He looked thoughtful, “I should have something by tonight, but I’d be more comfortable sleeping on whatever sketch I make to see if I’m happy with. How does midday tomorrow sound?”
Thinking about it, I turned to look at Frank and Paige, “Hey, would you two be willing to help out tomorrow too?”
They looked at each other, “Sure. It’s your money.”
I looked back at Ember, “Tomorrow will be fine.”
Ember smiled sadly, “I suppose it was a serious enough accident that you need an escort then, wasn’t it.”
“For my safety, yes.” I said, only a touch of bitterness there. “Though things could be worse.”
Both Frank and Paige inhaled with a sharp hiss of breath. I turned to look at them and Paige put her face in her hands, “Why? Why would you say that?!”
I blinked, and looked at Ember. He laughed, “Adventurer superstition. You never say that, because they always will.”
Frank looked out the window, watching the people walking past outside with much more care than before. Paige was checking her knives.
“...I feel like they’ve experienced it before.” I whispered to Ember, who nodded gravely.