You have acquired the spell Water Aura!
Description: Envelops the caster in a thin globe of water which saturates a 5 by 5 yard area and increasing the strength of Water Mana spells and abilities. Increases Fire Resistance by 20%.
*Note: This spell will undergo automatic Evolution as a result of the Born of Fire Trait.
Davros willed the notification away to focus upon helping Anya and Valka each consume a health potion, which quickly restored them both to full health. Davros breathed a huge sigh of relief to see Anya back on her feet again no worse for wear. Her chainmail would need extensive repair and Davros looked away in embarrassment when he happened to see the patch of newly healed skin just above her cleavage where the Owlbear had struck.
Alchemy is another skill I would love to learn. Those potions are a marvel.
Davros also had some additional notifications he quickly skimmed through. Each made him feel he was making incredible progress.
You have enough XP to advance to Level 6! Please exit current *Dungeon [Herne’s Grove] to apply available experience points.
* Advancing levels within Dungeon zones is not permitted.
You have enough XP to advance to Level 7! Please exit current *Dungeon [Herne’s Grove] to apply available experience points.
* Advancing levels within Dungeon zones is not permitted.
More Health and more Mana. Hopefully the others advanced as well. I’m also at the required level for the Forsaken Garden. Madame Krait was right, I am leveling fast.
After a few minutes of rest all of them were eager to leave. It wasn’t lost on any of them that they only had one remaining Health Potion left over from the Goblin Dungeon. It was best to not try and press their luck clearing out any remaining Sprites or hidden snakes.
“I hope you got a good skill. I’m never running this Dungeon again,” Valka declared and nobody argued with him. By the Eye, Davros just wanted to be dry again. He told them about Water Aura and that because of his Trait it would evolve into something he could use when he equipped it. Anya nodded, clearly expecting my explanation, while Valka merely grunted. They each exited the portal and on the misty islet’s beach a moment later, the Sun just beginning to set. Davros furrowed his brow.
“How long were we in there? It feels as if it should already be night or even the next day already?” Anya shook her head.
“Time moves differently in every dungeon. It looks like it moved much slower in this one.”
“Several hours in there, only a few out here. C’mon, I’ve had enough and I don’t want to have to cross a river in the dark!” Valka declared, stomping down towards the rocks where they had left the rowboat. Davros had been hoping to check his satchel for whatever items had dropped. It didn’t feel terribly heavy, but it was noticeably bulging.
A few coins of my own! I’ll set some aside for those Beastkin children if I see them again.
Valka put his back into his rowing and despite moving against a swiftly flowing current, we were back ashore just outside Bruhle as the Sun took its final bow.
“This could turn out to be a rowdy evening,” Valka said as he tied up the boat to a pillar on the dock where the kind fisherman had bid us to return his boat. We walked single file down the wooden dock, but I could hear the music of accordions and pipes coming from the restaurants and pubs lining the Wharf. I could smell the herb crusted fish sizzling and the crackle of fire pits. It made my mouth water.
“Let’s hurry back to the Inn. We can’t go around covered in mud and soaked to the skin!” Anya said, but I could tell by her tone she wanted nothing more than to march straight to the nearest pub. After what she went through in the dungeon, Davros couldn’t blame her.
Davros saw a trio of musicians playing upon an outside balcony as sailors and citizens alike drank and toasted the beginning of the new season of Imbolc. Winter in the Withered Lands was harsh and unforgiving, but Imbolc’s fire was life and safety. It was worth celebrating.
“Aye, I’m for that!” Valka laughed. Amazingly, it was Davros who led the way unerring from the wharf all the way back to their Inn. It was just when he reached the Inn’s entrance that Davros whirled about with a panicked look upon his face.
“I don’t have any other clothes but what I’m wearing!” His three companions first looked at him and then each other. Then, they burst out laughing.
“Don’t worry, Davros. Listen carefully and I’ll teach you a magic trick,” Valka said with a chuckle. “When you get back to your room, unequip your robe directly from your Status window. Then, take off the rest of your clothes and put them outside your door. I’ll slip the ladies a silver or two to clean them for you. Then wipe the mud off yourself.”
“But I won’t have any clothes then.” Davros’ brow furrowed as Valka sighed and shook his head.
“From your Status window, equip the robe once more. They will be clean!”
“He speaks truth, Davros.” Anya said when she saw the Pyromancer’s skeptical look. “Magical clothing like yours will both self-repair and self-clean. Use your Status window to move the robe to your bed or floor and then reequip it. It’s an old trick.”
“That is incredible.” I said, eyes wide.
“Aye, it is. Of course, you won’t have anything on underneath the robe so don’t go running too fast or the people of Bruhle might get an eyeful if a sudden breeze blows by!”
Valka was still laughing as Davros, still shaking his head in disbelief at the wonders of magic, entered the busy Inn and headed directly for the stairs leading to his room. Several people quickly moved out of the group’s way. One glance at the mud covered adventurers and nobody wanted to so much as to speak to any of them. Even the Innkeeper, when he saw the trail of mud the four left behind, knew better than to say anything after a sharp look from Lieutenant Valka.
“If my Father had told me that running an Inn meant cleaning up after adventurers day after day, I would have joined the Temple like Mother wanted,” the Innkeeper grumbled under his breath.
The first thing Davros did when he entered his room was open his Status and unequip the Robe of Inner Fire. He left it lying on the floor for now, but it still looked muddy and wet.
Do I just leave it there? Anya knows more about these things than I. Now then, I doubt there is any magic that will remove all this dirt from my body. I’ll have to do that the old fashioned way.
He next removed the rest of his garments and set them outside his door as Valka had bid him. Then, taking the cloth and dipping in into the bowl of water that was always resting before the room’s only mirror, he wiped himself clean. In no time at all, the water in the bowl was opaque with dirt, but he was relatively clean.
Alright, let’s equip my spells and advance those two levels!
Name: Davros
Class: Pyromancer
Level: 7
Health:190
Mana:835
Will-8(9)
Focus-9
Speed-2
Force-4(6)
Presence-1(2)
Fortune-11
Active Spells (4 of 8)
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Combustion Bolt
Wrath Shield
Blood Boil
Inactive Spells
Hypnotic Flame
*Water Aura
Limit Break
Voidflame Breath
Traits
Born of Fire
Wrath Touched
Gear Bonuses
Robe of Inner Fire (+1 Will, +1 Presence, 5% Flame Spell Reduction)
Follower Bonuses
+2 Force (Valka Stavrak)
Wow, that’s a lot of Mana! I shouldn’t have any trouble casting as many Bolts as I need, one would think. Wrath Shield is a huge resource drain, but I can’t deny how powerful it is either. I would be dead without it. I just have to learn to time the activation better so as not to needlessly drain my mana. Since I can equip more Active spells, let me just move Water Aura and Hypnotic Flame over to Active like so…and then let’s see what the trait Wrath Touched actually means.
Wrath Touched
This Trait comes as a result of acquiring and making use of a permanently Corrupted form of a Spell or Skill. Results from repeated Corruption within a short time frame. First Tier results in a Single Spell or Skill being permanently changed and gaining access to the Wrath resource. {NOTE: Wrath and Mana are not the same, but both can be used to activate Wrath magic} Typically gives increased spell/skill results at a rate of higher Corruption gain. Utilizing Soothe can reduce or in some cases eliminate Corruption gain.
The short answer is that Wrath is its own resource like Mana or Stamina. I wonder why I can’t tell how much of it I have? Maybe I don’t want to know…Using Wrath Shield comes at a cost of faster Corruption gains, but Soothe magic can reduce those gains. I wonder if Igvild will let me borrow that ring again?
Despite this revelation about his situation, Davros couldn’t be entirely upset about it. Wrath Shield had its uses and he would certainly use it again. He simply had to find a balance between Wrath and Soothe. He would need to find more information about Corruption as soon as he could. Perhaps Anya would have some ideas?
Then he looked over Water Aura, which had automatically evolved to Steam Aura the moment he had equipped it. As he had been warned, the moment he equipped Water Aura the spell had been evolved due to his Born of Fire Trait.
Steam Aura
Description: Envelops the caster in a scorching haze of Steam, which saturates and obscures a 10 by 10 yard area. Any creature which enters the aura takes thermal burn damage and must make a Will save or suffer Blindness.
Wow! This certainly seems like more than an evolution. This is an upgrade!
When he activated Steam Aura, whether it was Goblins, Slynt or Owlbears, any nearby enemies would be burned and blinded if they came too close to him. Perfect! He just had to make sure his friends kept their distance. He wouldn’t want any of them being hurt by his Steam.
An hour later Davros descended the stairs. His robes were spotless. When he had nervously reequipped them, they were clean as had been promised. He made plans to acquire more enchanted clothing as soon as possible if only to play with the system more. However, he still had to spend some time wiping his shoes clean. He needed to invest in some sturdy boots as soon as possible like the others all had. The mess he had left in his room prompted him to leave a Silver piece on his nightstand for the maid.
I hope she accepts it with my apologies. Madame Fevre would never have accepted so much mud on the floor! Davros sat himself at the bar to wait for the others as he didn’t spot them in the dining room or elsewhere on the common room floor. I really need to stop thinking about what Madame Fevre would say. That part of my life is over now.
“Would you like a drink, Master Mage?” Davros looked up in surprise at the hefty man looking him over from the other side of the bar. Instinctively Davros touched his face and was relieved to find he had remembered to raise his scarf.
“Ah…well, I would like to drink something that won’t burn my throat the way Vodka does?”
“Hmm, an ale then? We keep the kegs chilled down below. Refreshing, full bodied and guaranteed to make the opening of Imbolc’s eye a bit more palatable.” The barkeep walked over to a strange looking lever after grabbing a pewter mug. Davros watched as he pulled the lever down slowly and a fountain of golden liquid poured from a spigot into the waiting mug. The barkeep returned and placed it in front of him.
“5 copper. Worth every coin, Master Mage.” Wordlessly, Davros placed a silver coin on the bar, which the barkeep scooped up. “I’ll keep ‘em coming, don’t you worry.” The barkeep said with a grin.
“If you don’t mind me asking, you said these make Imbolc’s Eye opening more palatable? What do you mean?” I didn’t yet lower my scarf, but I was interested in taking a sip of the “ale.” Would it be as good as coffee?” The barkeep grimaced.
“I really need to learn to be watchin’ what I say. Ah, well. Beggin’ yer pardon if ye are a devotee and all, but…Acolytes of Imbolc around this time of the year always seem to go sniffing around looking for trouble what ain’t there. Bruhle is a safe city that welcomes all. Always has been!” The barkeep crossed his arms in front of him and nodded his bald head. Then after he glanced about he leaned in closer and Davros leaned it too, curious in spite of himself. Conversation with others was still a novelty, but he was beginning to enjoy it.
“No Wrath Cults in Bruhle, we always tells ‘em! No monsters. No Wrath Mages. Marfa’s Mercy, no need to go around harassing every adventurer with those bracelets or whether they need Temple approval to take a squat!”
“Well,” Davros paused as he searched for the words to say. “I guess we should all be happy then that we are in a city as pleasant and as safe as Bruhle. No wonder so many refugees want to come here.”
“I suppose that’s true. Excuse me.” The barkeep hustled off to serve another patron and I was finally able to lower my scarf and take a sip of the ale.
This is pretty good too. Definitely not coffee, but I like it.
“Har, we’ll make a drinker of ye yet, lad!” Igvild hopped up into the seat next to me, short legs dangling.
“It’s nice to try new things. I’m glad we came here.” Igvild shrugged and raised a finger. A different barkeep immediately set a tall jug of Vodka before him. It seemed the Dwarf’s tastes in drink were already a well known fact in this Inn.
“Bruhle’s alright, I suppose, but if you think it’s the biggest or grandest city in the world then you ain’t seen nothing yet!” Igvild paused so he could take a long pull of his drink and gave a hearty belch. “The cities of the West are all newer and their architecture style follows more modern sensibilities.”
“Madame Fevre would have given you three lashes for belching like that,” I remarked with a laugh.
“Your Madame Fevre can get stuffed.”
“Igvild, I wanted to ask you…” The dwarf turned to regard me with one eyebrow raised. “Now that I have some coin, what should I spend it on?”
“Hmm, now that is a question, innit?” The dwarf rubbed his chin and adopted a thoughtful look. “How much ye got, lad?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t looked in my satchel yet, come to think of it.” I patted the satchel at my side. I had washed most of the mud off it as well, but hadn’t bothered emptying it yet to count out what I had received from Herne’s Grove. Igvild was shaking his head sadly.
“Lad lad lad. If an improved Focus does anything for ye, I hope it makes you realize that items what drop in Dungeons will always be far greater quality than anything you can find in any shop in Bruhle or anywhere else in the world.”
“Is that because everything in a Dungeon is made from Mana?” I asked. I took the satchel off my shoulder and placed it on the bar before us. I pulled the scarf back over my face then started to undo the knots holding the satchel closed.
“It’s because they are all made from Dungeon Core Mana”, Igvild corrected as he took another drink. “Dungeon Cores are sentient items, they say. When a group like ours enters a Dungeon for the first time, the Core scans each of us. Only Awakened and Forged typically ever dare enter a Dungeon. The Core determines what we are capable of based upon what our levels are and our classes. Then, it determines what we should receive as a reward if we can overcome its challenges.” Davros slowly nodded as he finished with the final knot.
“So, the Dungeon knows my Class? That means since I killed Garnak in Bleakthorn, the Dungeon Core created an item from its Mana specifically for me and it wasn’t by random chance?” Davros fingered one of his sleeves. “The Dungeon Core wanted me to have this robe?”
“Right-o! Every Dungeon is different, but Dungeon Cores follow a set of rules. One, there has to be a chance of success for the Delvers, no matter how small it may be. Two, the risk must always result in an equivalent reward. Three…,” Igvild leaned closer as I opened up my satchel and reached inside, “All loot that drops in a dungeon belongs to whomever carries it out, but it can still be sold to merchants or broken down into its component parts by experienced crafters. That’s one of the ways those with Crafting classes are able to level up, ye ken? By dissembling and figuring out how the Core made them to begin with. Some o’ the best equipment a Crafter can make has its origins from a Dungeon. Such a fascinatin’ thing to be able to do something like that…”
Igvild’s voice trailed off. Seeing that Igvild’s gaze was now far away, Davros assumed the memory his friend recalled was bittersweet. Shrugging the memory away, Igvild came back to himself and tipped back his jar until he had drained it dry.
“Another!” Igvild rasped, raising a finger at a barkeep. “Another ale for the lad too!”
“I haven’t finished the one I have yet!” I turned my head and lowered my scarf to take another careful sip. Drinking wasn’t something done quickly with a mouth like mine or I would spill it all over myself.
“It’s alright, lad!” Igvild said, a smile on his lips. “Old Imbolc is going to be staring straight at us any minute now. Let’s greet him with the most soused looking faces we can make, eh?”
I finished the first ale and immediately began upon the second at Igvild’s urging. I was starting to feel good and Igvild launched into a Dwarven tune I didn’t understand, but I hummed along. For whatever reason, with my jaw the way it is, I am really good at humming. I also shamed my memory of Madame Fevre by belching nearly as loudly as Igvild, much to his merriment.
We reached the point where I was on my third ale and Igvild’s singing was starting to annoy others at the bar when it happened. Growing up at the Orphanage, I had always been aware that the Moon would sometimes change colors at different times of the year, but when something becomes a natural part of your life overtime you learn to ignore it. There was no ignoring it this time.
The Eye of Marfa Closes!
The Eye of Imbolc Opens!
Davros, the Awakened [Pyromancer] at location 50.450100, 30.523399 is given the following Quests!
The Sealed Door
Travel to the City of Bludgard and enter the Sealed Vault of the former Graf von Kohlblud to claim the Everburning Gem.
Duration: 1 Year
Success: The Everburning Gem-[Epic]
Failure: The gem is forever lost to you.
Locate a Pyromancer Trainer
Travel either to the City of Kravlov or the Scarred Wastes to locate a Pyromancer Trainer and convince them to train you further.
Duration: 1 Year
Success: Rare Pyromancer Skills [3].
Failure: Ascended Classes unavailable.
The Lost Monastery
Travel to Mount Bloodcrag and the former monastery of Imbolc to purify with flame the Wrath creatures that have overrun it.
Bonus Quest: Locate any surviving Monks and discover how the monastery fell.
Duration: 1 Year
Success: Unique Item, Favor of Imbolc
Failure: Monastery is forever corrupted by Wrath.
“Igvild?”
“Hmm?
“What’s a Quest? Are they important?” For a moment Igvild could only stare at Davros until comprehension slowly made its way across the Dwarf’s face. Slowly, the Dwarf pushed away the new jar of Vodka the barkeep had just set down in front of him, then he reached over and took the nearly full mug of ale in front of Davros and set that aside as well. Then, he leaned forward until he was nearly nose to nose with the bewildered Pyromancer.
“How many did ye get?” Igvild whispered.
“Three.” Igvild rubbed his bare chin and glanced about.
“We need to tell Valka and Anya. Don’t tell anyone else. Quests from the Eye, especially from Imbolc…” Igvild shook his head and grimaced, “…you’ll have their Acolytes swarming all over you and a Manastop bracelet back on yer wrist before you can break wind in their face.”
“But why? Is it good or bad?” Davros whispered, pulling his scarf back over his face and glancing around to see if anyone was looking at them or listening in.
“Good, if the rewards are hefty. Bad, if they are certain death.” The Dwarf answered with a grunt. “I take it you have a year to complete them?” Davros nodded the affirmative and Igvild sighed. “We’ll have to figure this out then. A year is a long time except when the Eye gives you a task. You are scrambling every moment to finish something that will change your life forever.”
“Has this ever happened to you before? A Quest from the Eye?” I asked. Igvild frowned.
“Once, long ago. A Quest when Marfa’s Eye opened upon me. I’m not one for thinking about the past, lad. I’m not keen to recall even that moment.” Igvild snatched up his jar of Vodka once more and took a long pull.
Davros nodded and turned back to his satchel and pulled out the first item he grabbed hold of. His moment with Imbolc had passed and based upon how nobody else in the Inn had reacted when Imbolc’s Eye opened, he may have been the only one to receive any sort of notification or Quest in the entire Inn.
Igvild will help me and so will Valka and Anya. We’ll figure it out together. At least one of the Quests is for me to go to Bludgard. We have to go there anyway to help the Graf become…well…the Graf.
Davros pulled a tattered looking book with a blue cover out of the satchel. It had a strange, but familiar rune on the front cover that shimmered in the candlelight.
“Oh, a book! I hope the words in it aren’t too complicated.” Igvild looked over, saw the book and spat Vodka onto the bar, which caused the Barkeep to holler in dismay.
“Watch yerself, little man!” The barkeep hollered before snatching a rag and hurrying over. I stared at Igvild who had placed a big hand on top of the book and pushed it and my hand holding it beneath the bar to hide it from sight.
“Put that way before you git us both killed!”