Interlude - A Perfectly Normal Day in Valoria

  James D’Aeggett and his family lived in a nice area of the middle city. Their neighborhood was on the middle level and built of stone and wood sourced from local forests and quarries. Their apartment was on the 3rd floor. They could have afforded a home on the 5th floor, with a small garden and more spacious rooms, but they went for the more economical space.

  They had opted for the Alchemically reinforced timber and glass windows, much to the envy on his neighbors.

  His wife Laura was a school teacher with the Summer Court and was entitled to a percentage of the crops the children produced in her class. Their kids were able join her there until they were past their first rank and found an apprenticeship. So they saved on those fees.

  Another perfectly normal day, James thought to himself.

  “Good Morning James.” The baker said as he opened his shop for the day.

  “Yes it is!” James said as he mechanically purchased two buns with Horned Rabbit meat and cheese.

  One was his second breakfast and the other his lunch for later. On another day, he might purchase an extra one to feed the Hag that sometimes found him.

  We will see if today is one of those days.

  He stowed both buns in the medium sized Storage Pouch he wore belted behind his waist. It was one of the things from his adventuring days he still used every day.

  James walked briskly past merchants and carpenters going about their early morning routines. Carts passed him and he easily moved out of their way. A pickpocket slinked past but did not consider targeting him.

  James preferred the busy neighborhood to the quiet residential areas higher up the city. It helped keep him in touch with each new day.

  “High constitution! High stamina!” A debt servant called out from the intersection of two alleyways. “Two silver a day for backbreaking work!.”

  Beside the man, two children performed for coins. One played a makeshift drum while the other sang and danced.

  The Spring guard will come to clear them out soon and haul them back to low town.

  James passed by and dropped several coppers at the child’s feet, he smiled at the kids but avoided their eyes.

  James crossed the street and took the alley around the other side of the tenant housing block. This street was more crowded, and populated with inns or small shops.

  A cool breeze blew down the street as a mage flew by overhead.

  He stopped for a moment at the Summer Court’s stand and paid a copper for a flier to read as he walked.

  Tax quotas are increasing, debt servant population has gone up again. Duelists destroyed a tavern in the low town yesterday. No fatalities. A surplius of Hoppergrass from a busy growing season.

  “Another perfectly normal day in Vayloria.” He said hopefully.

  -

  James stood behind his desk in the Adventurer’s guild.

  His unremarkable brown eyes peered through round silver framed spectacles enchanted to prevent eye fatigue. He reviewed the ledger for the month, and transferred over last month’s credit’s and debits to a new sheet for this month. When that was done, he went through the guild’s inventory and marked where they would be short, and on what, so he could post the low level fetch quests.

  A pair of Ressian adventurers stepped through the front door and he looked up to see if they were going to head his way. They went to the quest board and stood chatting while they perused.

  “I still say it’s too risky.” The woman carrying a large hammer said to her male companion. “We should look for something closer. And with less risk.”

  The man scowled and pulled a 5 star quest from the board. James put his ledger in the desk drawer and locked it. He also rolled the cover down over his desk to secure his guild stamp and other materials before heading over to the pair.

  “With this quest we would be halfway there! Then we can play it safe and take our time the rest of the month,” The man said.

  Analyze.

  They are new here. Clint and Marnie. He’s a Striker, shield and mace. And she is their Switch. She has a Stone Affinity, but his armor is scratched and dented, he must double as their Tank.

  “You will need a bigger team for that quest.” James said as he stopped at the pair.

  The woman startled at his sudden appearance, and the man turned to tell him off but held his tongue.

  They both took in the light skinned Cassiopeian man before them. Not the dark tanned skin of most from the southern kingdom citizens, it was tempered by some elvish and several generations of Ressian grandparents. But his sleight frame and high cheekbones would do him little good in a field or at a forge.

  “Hey buddy you can-“ The man, Clint said before his brain caught up with his mouth and he stammered an apology.

  “No harm done.” James said, and he meant it.

  “Clint. You are the pair’s tank yes? And do either of you have ranged DPS?” James asked.

  “He is, and no we don’t.” Margie said.

  “But you need the money for more than beer and beds.” James said and leaned past them to pull two quests off the board.

  “Take these two. This one is for escorting a gatherer for the Fall Court up north for rare timber. And this other one is up there in the northern woods, they are seeing more Horned Rabbits than they know what to do with and need help cutting down the population.”

  “Horned Rabbits?” The man said and his stomach grumbled.

  “Yes. The reward is just for their horns to prove you killed them, but if you gather their meat and pelts you can turn a tidy profit. Especially if you can bring them back to Valoria to see to a butcher here.” James said matter of factually.

  “That’s a great idea!” Margie said. “We could pay off the court in no time.”

  Relief settled over Clint’s shoulders as he took the two quests from James.

  “And might I recommend you purchase a storage bag if you do not already have one? And you might consider bringing along a Ranger. I happen to have someone in mind that I believe would be perfect for your group.” James said as he led them over to his desk.

  -

  James ate his lunch and checked the guild logs. He reviewed the slate that kept a real time list of all of the guild members in the 5 kingdoms. He filtered the slate for adventurers that recently ranked up and then removed all but the B Rank adventurers.

  He quickly scrolled through several hundreds of names, trusting his Rapid Calculation Trait and high Perception and Dexterity stats to spot any new names on the list.

  Nobody progressing in Valoria yet.

  He switched the filter to show the thousands of D rank Adventurers. Not quite newbies anymore, this group would have just officially passed their class tests to get their assigned roles. He made a mental note to watch for those names at B Rank.

  On a whim, he scrolled back out to review new entries and took a look at the thirteen thousand new adventurers registered across Lisaria. There were lots of new names without an assigned role yet. These were the ones that had barely gotten a guild card and not ranked up yet.

  Someday, one of you will become a Hero and defeat the Demon King.

  Reandre Thant burst into the guild and marched directly up to James’ desk. He put the slate away and put on his professional smile for the Alchemist.

  “Has my quest been completed yet?” She demanded.

  The Alchemist was one of his more difficult recurring customers. James’s Analyze skill could not give him much information about her due to her high level. But he knew from repeated past experiences that she could derail any perfectly normal day at a moment’s notice.

  Is it something about her alchemy? Or is she close to going mad?

  “Not yet,” James said without having to check the ledger. “It is a tough quest. Not many teams would be willing to go down into the lower levels on a fetch quest.”

  “Don’t make excesses,” Reandre said sharply. “It makes you sound old.”

  “My apologies,” James said.

  “And don’t apologize if wasn’t your fault!”

  James waited while the old woman scowled.

  “Do I need to read the details to know you got everything right?” She asked. “Figure it out.”

  “If you would like to read it, I can fetch it down from the quest board for you.”

  She thought some more while James waited patiently.

  “Double the reward.” She said with a huff.

  “Again?” James said.

  “Don’t ask stupid questions!” She said and shook her fist at him. “Yes. Double it.”

  “Quest 230019 - Fetch Flame Aspect Lichen from the lower sewers. Two bundles of fine quality. Recomneded C rank. Two Star Difficulty. Reward 348 silver.” James said from memory.

  He marked it in his ledger. He would need to pull the flier down and update it later.

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  “You think I don’t know my own quest?” She grumbled. “I’m old, not senile.”

  “Of course Master Alchemist,” James said. “Will there be anything else?”

  Reandre opened her mouth then closed it without speaking. Their past relationship hung heavy between them.

  She scowled at him for another couple seconds before she turned and left.

  Once she had passed through the door James let out a sigh he had been holding.

  I better go and update that flier. Not that anyone in our branch would accept it. I should source it out to the Spring Court branch. They see more C and D rank parties.

  “James?” The guild master called from the back office. “Come here for a moment, I have an errand for you.”

  -

  James stepped out of the guild hall with a small crate in his arms into a crowded street.

  Another’s Fool’s parade?

  There was a parade outside stretching up and down the street. Winter and Fall masks grinned and wept openly.

  Which council member slipped up today?

  A woman in a winter elf mask stumbled and spilled her drink near him and James deftly avoided it by sliding to the side.

  I’m not crossing the city in this nonsense.

  James turned the corner and went up the stairs to a gate.

  The gate was forged out of steel and enclosed with a white enamel. Its pearlescent shimmer flashed across the wall and stairs.

  A heavily armored guard stood at attention in matching white armor.

  Behind the gate, the boulevards of the Arcane Crown were clear and quiet.

  Few people could easily pass through the check point to the highest level, but with his guild badge James had access.

  “Good morrow.” He said to the guard making sure to cross his second and third fingers. The guard returned the traditional greeting.

  James touched the knob and paid his point of mana. He tried to step through the gate but the guard stopped him.

  “Have you not been through here in a week?” The guard scoffed. “The tithe is 2 points now.”

  “My apologies.” James said and paid two more mana for passage. He did not forget Acando’s third rule of tithing.

  The guard opened the gate, if he was disappointed James avoided another mistake he didn’t show it.

  James strolled briskly along the finely swept tree lined street so as to avoid the one mana point loitering fine.

  He nearly paused as he passed the famous pastrie shop. The delicious smells of sticky sweet and tangy sugar and fruit lifted his spirit.

  No, I shouldn’t go in on my own. I’ll bring the kids here on week’s end.

  The walk was shorter this way, on the lower levels the roads and alleys wound in on themselves, most people would get lost twice or more before finding their way.

  Up in the Arcane Crown, the intersecting avenues were arranged in a grid pattern. If you ignored the ever changing street names and simply followed the grid you could avoid any confusion.

  He passed fine shops, clothing boutiques, an Jewelery store, and even an enchanter’s shop with a self rocking chair in the window.

  He passed the Hall of Courts. A round tower built of ornate steel and crystal.

  He looked up to see the Summer Court’s hanger-on dangling bravely from the post over the double arched doors.

  A young man this time. I hope he regrips soon or his hands will slip.

  The Courts were currently in council so he made sure to tap the knob as he walked past.

  Better make it two just in case.

  Dropping two points of mana into the receptacle for the Summer Court.

  Twenty minutes later, James took the boulevard back down to the second level and crossed the Hero’s square.

  The hero’s square was one of the few places that quality stone was used on the second level.

  It spanned across the same area as the block above on the highest level and light passed through the crystalline supports onto the square. The main feature was the fountain. It stood at the center and had a detailed replica of the Hero’s party. All five of the legendary visages were stern and solemn.

  James spotted a many familiar faces in the crowd, and passed them by without requiring much of his attention.

  He cataloged their names and faces for later reference.

  The few new faces he saw were quickly analyzed and cataloged.

  Soldier, rancher, merchant, thief, candlemaker, archer, soldier, rancher.

  He had nearly reached the fountain when he saw a train of wagons rolling down Killianne Alley. They pushed their way through the throng of bodies into the square. The first wagon held an uncommon pair; a dwarf and an Orc.

  Expensive to move five wagons through these streets. Who are they? They must be heading to the Gallon Stallion.

  Analyze.

  Thrain Battlebeard - Dwarven Merchant.

  Krag Blacktooth - Orc Brawler.

  The second wagon came into view and James stopped in his tracks. He did not need his ability to recognize the sensational pastry wizard Marcus Ironwood.

  He has returned safely! What new delicacies will he bring?

  He turned to rush over and pay his respects to the man, but he froze before the memories of delicious deserts could take over his mind.

  “Johns!” He said as he laid eyes on the driver.

  James dashed quickly behind the hero’s fountain and checked the rooftops.

  What are they doing back here? No no no! This is going to throw everything off!

  James held his breath for a full five seconds. Then the initial shock wore off and a couple possible threads fell into place.

  No! Who knows, it might be better this time.

  James quickly gathered his wits. By the next John drove their next wagon into the square he had a plan.

  Analyze.

  Damien Thornbrush - Ressian Enchanter.

  Seraphina Frostwind - High Elf Ice Mage.

  A Screech tore through the square as a massive white and grey blur flashed down like lightning.

  It crashed into the third cart and toppled it over.

  Damien, Seraphina, and one of the Johns jumped free.

  That’s Brontide, the High Pyremancer’s Familiar!

  Bromtide screeched and hissed as a black Skurr circled around its head.

  Few outside of the Summer Court knew that the beast had once been a Skurr, and the small flock of the monsters in Valoria still paid their respects to it.

  Another John and several Mercenaries rushed to help the enchanter and mage scramble back from the over turned cart.

  From past experience, James knew that the Alchemical infusions of Dragons Bile had changed the familiar into an oversized powerful serpentine chimera.

  The much larger and faster monster snatched the Skurr out of the air and pinned it to the ground with one of its claws. Its claw was twice the size of the Skurr.

  Bromide hissed and squawked at the Skurr under its claw.

  The high Pyromancer’s familiar never leaves the Arcane Crown. Where are the guards?

  Brontide reared back as a beam of fire echoed around the square.

  James covered his ears and closed his eyes on instinct. His high stats made the loud aftershock that much more jarring.

  What was that? Was it a fire attack or a sound attack?

  The beam toppled a building and took off a large chunk of Bromtide’s neck.

  The Mercenaries jumped into formation and readied their spears and shields.

  James’ ears were still ringing and he could not tell what the enchanter was yelling.

  Bromtide’s flesh burst out from its wound and stitched itself back together in a second.

  Marcus leapt off the wagon with his rapier drawn but hesitated to charge the large familiar.

  “No stop!” James called out, his voice was hollow in his ears. Even with his quick reflexes, he could not make it in time to stop the fight.

  This is going to be a wasted day.

  James saw the incredulous look on Bromtide’s face before it snapped down and tore the Skurr in half.

  Analyze.

  Drew - Skurr Hero.

  Time stoped for James as he realized two things.

  Firstly, he finally saw a hero. All of those hours honing his Analyze skill and it finally happened. And second, Bromtide chewed and swallowed half of him.

  James ignored the rest of the battle as Bromtide squared off against 6 mercenaries.

  He barely noticed the well executed shield and spear work the Mercenaries displayed.

  By the time the rest of the party unloaded their spells over the mercenaries’ heads, James had lost any hope for today.

  He sat down and pulled out his vial.

  Is there anything else I can learn today? No probably not. They likely just arrived. Best to start over and find them before they enter the city.

  James calmly unstopped the vial of extremely deadly poison.

  Demon Bliss.

  It was illegal to own, sell, or create in the first place.

  Years ago he had begged Reandre to create it, he had spent countless days collecting the materials discretely. And then he tried a hundred thousand times to get her to finally make it just once.

  He shuddered at the memory of the sickly sweet taste he had come to hate.

  What madness have you brought to us this time Johns?

  He downed the vial and death’s sweet embrace found him quickly.

  - 116 -

  The party spotted the towering city a full day before they would start passing the first farms.

  “It’s got to be an illusion.” Drew said, squinting into the morning sun again.

  Drew was perched on the bench of the lead wagon beside John. The trip south had been uneventful after they returned to the wagons.

  The swarm of feral monsters was gone and the Johns claimed that even without the swarm clearing out the whole area, it would have been relatively safe.

  They had passed other foot traffic at least twice a day for the last couple days and the road they were on had widened out from one wagon’s width to enough for three wagons to pass each other.

  They once again passed through verdant grasslands. Everywhere he looked he could see a handful of farmsteads that dotted the horizon.

  “It is not a trick of light, but a trick of craftsmanship.” Damien said without looking up from his book.

  The enchanter had been dutifully scribbling in his books, updating his notes. He had not spoken much at mealtimes or while on the road.

  When Drew asked about it Damien waved him off.

  “You will see Drew,” Marcus said dreamily. “Valoria is a beautiful city.”

  Drew looked at the city and could only feel hopeful. He was exhausted and anxious after surviving the dark and deadly dungeon. He had stayed up late each night restless, and second guessed his actions anytime he had a moment to himself.

  His failed quest, the Hemut and Vaylari’s deaths, and the future of those Goblins all hung heavy on his shoulders.

  “Valoria’s streets are smooth and well cobbled, its pristine crystal buildings glisten in the starlight…” Marcus said wistfully.

  That’s the most modern city I’ve seen yet. It’s like the whole city is skyscrapers!

  “There’s more to the city than the Arcane Crown,” John said.

  “It’s not all fancy to do, carnivals and fun or hoighty toity crystal buildings.” Another John said as he trotted along on the back of a garnt. “You clearly haven’t been to the rest of our city.”

  Damien looked up from a book he was writing in.

  “All large cities have their social stratifications,” He said. “Although Valoria is quite remarkable in its verticality.”

  “There are ancient haunted catacombs under the city too!” Scarlet said as he marched along beside them.

  “They aren’t catacombs, just sewers and old prison wards.” A John replied.

  “A prison for who?” Drew asked.

  “Mad mages, or nearly mad ones,” Damien replied. “That’s where the first Mage council formed and they managed to build the foundations and towers of Valoria to show the kingdom they weren’t all mindless calamities.”

  “It was destroyed more than once by one of those berserk mages,” Scarlet said.

  “It has been rebuilt time and again.” John said as he resettled himself in the saddle. “Every time a little bit better.”

  “Well, if not better than different.” His brother laughed. “There are so many dead end roads that you can never find your way around.”

  “The winter court imploded a half year before I left,” Marcus said. “I wonder how much the city has changed?”

  “James would know, let’s look him up once we get to town,” John said.

  “Good riddance.” Damien said with a grimace.

  “I wonder how the council will get anything done without a full vote,” John said.

  “The king sent one of the Arch Priests to be a temporary council member. And he’s brought along quite the high class entourage,” Marcus said.

  “More doting patrons for your desserts?” John asked and waggled his eyebrows at the elf.

  “Oh certainly!” Marcus replied missing the innuendo.

  “All that court politics nonsense. Bah!” Damien said.

  “He’s done alright, and we sell lots of desserts on fools days, so he has my tithe.” Marcus said.

  The Johns laughed at the joke but Drew was only half listening.

  The road passed through a small grove of trees. The sound of a creek was just audible over the sounds of carts passing by.

  “I’m going to forage around again.” He said and flew off.

  -

  Marcus leaned over to Damien to speak quietly.

  “Have you had a chance to speak with him yet?”

  “Him who?” Damien said without looking up from his book.

  Marcus looked back at the wagon William was riding. It was piled high with scrap material, and cages and slave collars from the dwarves.

  “Drew. He seems…” Marcus struggled with the right word.

  “Flighty.” John said with a concerned smile.

  “Anxious, or I don’t know. Flighty yes.” Marcus said sadly.

  “He’s fine.” Damien said but he closed his book.

  “He’s been through an ordeal,” Marcus said.

  They watched Drew follow some old trails that crossed the road, he kept his head moving and watched his blind spots.

  Drew did a barrel roll and swooped down on some Mishrooms that chose the wrong time to cross the road. He tore into one while he held down another with his claw.

  “He’s a Skurr. That’s how they are.” Damien said confidently.

  “If you say so,” Marcus said.

  Damien looked at the elf. It was obvious that he had more to say.

  “Well he was an odd bird before,” Marcus said. “So it’s odd now that he is acting normally? The dungeon must have changed him is all.”

  “He will be fine.” John said from the back of his Garnt. “Look at William. The lad is doing great.”

  “Why shouldn’t he be ecstatic? He is nearing his goal to arrive in Valoria and continue his career as a blacksmith. His armor is a work of art, the guild should welcome him with fanfare,” He said.

  Marcus was silent and thoughtful, but Damien stared at the man and his armor for a while.

  How has Drew’s experience in the dungeon changed him? Damien thought. He successfully enchanted that armor. No mean feat for an intermediate enchanter.

  Drew returned to the wagon and flopped down on the bench.

  “Whew! Good to stretch my wings,” He said. “Found some good sized rocks, and a few of those mishrooms.”

  “No new quests?” Scarlet asked.

  It was hard to read his expression, on his avian face, but Damien saw Drew furrow his brows.

  “No nothing like that. Just grass out there,” Drew said.

  “I told you the rest of the trip would be uneventful.” John said cheerfully.

  There will be much to do with the courts once we arrive in Valoria. I hope John is right.

  How are we feeling about the interludes?