《Lacraea: The Slow Journey To riches [HIATUS]》 Prologue Blaring horns, the screeching of rubber and lights shining with the intensity of the sun. that was the last thing he saw. Darren woke up dazed as he sat up, where am I? , he thought. He scanned the room he was in. An intricate carpet covered the hardwood floor, the faint fragrance of burning wood filled the room. A chandelier lit up the room in a warm orange light, in front of him was a hardwood desk with a glass top with different folders and documents stacked neatly on top and the desk was flanked by two massive bookshelves. He heard fast footsteps outside the door to his right. The door opened. A head with black hair and a thick streak of grey running through it, a figure with an impeccable black suit peeked in. "oh finally the right room, Hello Mr. Reed" the man said as he walked in. Darren''s eyes widened as he that the gentleman had a pair of angel wings both of a different color, one wing was white as freshly fallen snow and one was black as night. "Terribly sorry for the delay Mr.Reed, purgatory is a big place after all" he said "one does tend to lose their way once in a while" he chuckled Noticing Darren''s wide eyed expression the being coughed "Mr. Reed allow me to introduce myself and acquaint you with your situation" Darren realized he was gawking so he closed his mouth and gave an awkward half-smile. "My name is Tygrus, as you can see I am a Nephilim, offspring of an angel and a Fallen one, and you Mr.Reed are dead." he let the last word hang in the air for a moment. A chill ran down Darren''s spine, his mind started racing. "No, fuck that, this is just a dream right?" his tone betrayed his disbelief. What does he mean dead? Ehhh, that''s probably not true I was just talking to my business partners about the release of our newest game. He replayed the conversation in his head then remembered. The car horn, the screeching of rubber on the pavement, the lights. Darren clawed at his hair. Take a deep breath Darren, his shrewd business sense kicked in. He wasn''t always the top publisher. Once upon a time he was only the marketing agent of a small game development company, at the start of his career when he sensed that a publisher would start leaning towards a "NO" he would start to panic then he would always do the same thing. Take a deep breath, assess the situation, and make the most out of it.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Darren collected himself. "So, what happens now?" he said calmly. Tygrus looked Darren in the eye for a moment to see if he was indeed ready to listen to his proposition. A faint smile played on his lips. "Well Mr.Reed you have two choices" he started "option one is to go to heaven, but I must warn you Mr.Reed heaven is thousands of years overdue for an update. Many modern comforts you humans grew to love simply are not there, Internet, meat, money and of course,sex" he said the last word with a tinge of mock disappointment Darren knew he was being sales-talked but he played along "whats option number two?" he asked The Nephilim''s face lit up. "Well now that you ask, option number 2 is you get sent to another world not so different from the world your programmers and design teams have been crafting for years" he said with enthusiasm. "there you will fight the King of Horrors, if you succeed you get one wish, no rules and no holds barred. we will also provide 1 item of your choosing magical or otherwise" Tygrus reached into his drawer and pulled out a stack of folders "suggestions for the ite-" "Hold up! I haven''t made a decision yet" Darren interrupted. he weighed his options If i manage to defeat the Horror king or whatever, I can wish for anything like an absolute shit ton of money then that would be even better than Heaven, Darren thought excitedly "If I die do I go back here? or do I respawn like in games?" he asked a smile forming on his lips. I died in my world and I got sent here does this mean i''m gonna have unlimited chances? he thought with glee. "No, barring exorbitantly expensive and rare Lifestones, dying in the other world either brings you to the great beyond where no one really knows what awaits, or if your body is not consecrated, after 7 days your soul will be anchored to your body and be bound to the King of Horrors to serve him in eternal torture" Tygrus said nonchalantly The smile on Darren''s lips disappeared "wait this place or the heaven you described earlier isn''t the afterlife?" "Well it is kind of, you see this is the afterlife for lower beings like you. Higher beings like gods, angels, and to a lower extent, us nephilim, have influence over this realm. why do you think humans have always worshipped us?" he explained "you still didn''t explain the great beyond you were talking about" "Oops pardon me" he chuckled "the great beyond is where higher being like us go when they die, we do not know if that place is a never ending void or just a realm for even higher beings than us, no one has actually came back from there so we may probably never know" he said calmly. The little businessman in Darren''s head weighed his options. The reward compared to the risk was just too good though. I can always play safe until I become strong enough ,and then ,not to mention the MONEY... "Ah fuck it gimme those folders" Darren looked through the folders, a knife that could capture souls, a collar that couldforcealmost any creature to bow down and obey him, an enchanted sword with the power to break mountains. These were just some of the things in the folders But Darren was suspicious, what if the items'' descriptions were all just hyperbole. Tygrus is half demon after all, could he be trying to trick him? He resolved it was better to make his own just in case. "I want a book with information about everything, oh and it flips through pages by itself & floats" Darren didn''t see any reason why he should potentially be frantically flipping pages in front of an enemy Tygrus nodded "It will be done, Please step inside the circle Mr. Reed" the moment he said that a blue pentagram appeared in front of Darren. Darren carefully stepped inside the circle Darren felt a sudden strong gust of wind, he felt like he was sticking his head out the window of a car running 100 mph, the smell of fresh summer air blowing over an open plain filled his nose and he started rising of the ground "Hey Tygrus" he shouted over the noise The nephilim looked at him and raised an eyebrow "At least tell me the name of the place im going to!" he shouted with a slight smile on his lips he spoke "Lacraea" at that moment Darren disappeared. Chapter 1: A new reality drip, drip, drip.. Darren jolted up. Cold water ran down from his forehead to his neck. what the hell? where am I? Darren looked around , he was in a dark room and cool moisture filled the air. He stood up almost slipping on the moss covered floor, as he fell back he bumped into a stone sarcophagus behind him. On the stone slab that was its cover, was a book. Darren picked up the book, it was a heavy, leather bound book. He wanted to read the book , oh how Darren loved to read books, but the darkness inside the chamber prohibited him from doing so. He followed the stone staircase leading outside. Darren stepped out to a cold gloomy graveyard. small blue flowers grew beside some of the gravestones, and some stones had moss and lichen growing on them as if to signify the age of the area. Darren examined the book. It had an indiscernible language written in type-writer like letters set into its leather cover, there were plates in its corners of, what looked like bronze. He turned the book over to try to glean more information but all he saw has a seal of a raven a sword and a crown. Darren heard rustling behind him. Startled, he dropped the book. He slowly turned toward where the sound came from. what the hell was that? Darren searched around then he saw it. It was a toad. Or at least Darren thought it was he squinted his eyes to see it. The toad was perfectly camouflaged. three-fourths of its body was the same green and pattern of the ivy behind it and the remaining part was the color of the mud it sat on. The book flew in front of his face. Darren staggered back, his heart pounding. Goddamn it how many surprises does this place plan on throwing at me? then it hit him, like remembering a dream, wait that''s the book I ordered right? He stepped forward and examined the floating manuscript, it was opened, and displayed information of the toad he was looking at .
Species: Krakian hiding toad (Juvenile)
Lvl: 3 type: beast-amphibian
Health: 40/40 Mana: 20/20 Stamina:25/25
STR: 9 CON: 5 INT: 3 WIS 1 AGI: 9 END: 3 CHR: 0
Skills: ???
Resistances: -5% water
The Krakian hiding toad is common in the outer most regions of Lacraea, particulary in the province of Krakia. The damp and cold weather along with the almost constant rain make the region a perfect home for these masters of stealth. They subsist on a diet of mostly insects but will not shy away from fallen berries or the occasional corpse. They have active camouflage which allows them to be nigh undectable in almost any terrain.
"Oh shit,hell yeah" he exclaimed. Darren still had a lot of questions though. How much was it''s meat worth? what was it used for? Is it poisonous? what parts can be eaten or sold? these questions were running through his mind. As if on cue a note fell out. Darren picked it up, and opened it "Hello Mr. Reed Please enjoy your stay in Lacraea. As per your request, a book with information has been taken with you through the portal. Though you did not specify whether you wanted in depth information or basic information I took the liberty of choosing the the latter, though information obtained by yourself or by questioning the oh-so-ever-friendly locals will be automatically updated to your book,If the guards of the border cities give you trouble show them the seal behind the book to show you are a Royal courier, this doesnt work in the bigger cities though as they will actually check their records if they have sent anyone of your description. lastly I''ve added a little surprise at the last part of the book.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. We here at the Purgatorium look forward to seeing the exploits of Darren Torres Reed. Good day Mr. Reed and may survive another one P.S. As you are unaware of ,we Nephilim can read minds of lower beings. You could''ve just asked for a mountain to which test the sword upon Mr.Reed and you would''ve found that it would been split many times over. I have told my comrades of the whole affair. We are all excited and cheering you on! -Tygrus As if the universe itself wanted to add insult to injury heavy raindrops started falling from the grey sky. The veins on Darren''s temple and neck throbbed. His jaw clenched. He crumpled the paper and threw it on the toad, which promptly attacked him. The toad jumped and hit him on the chest. Darren''s breath got knocked out of his lungs. He fell towards the wet mud. He landed on his ass. Struggling to catch his breath.Darren reached for his pockets. then he realized-- He had nothing. No pockets,no coins, not even a starting weapon was on his person. He had nothing, nothing to defend himself from the rage of the football sized toad. The toad croaked and jumped once more.Darren rolled to his side and dodged the attack why the hell don''t I have any starting gear? He got on his feet,I mean this this only has 20 hit points right? Darren put up his fists. The toad readied another attack with its pre-emptive croak, and jumped again towards Darren''s groin.Operating on a basic male instinct he covered his balls allowing the toad to hit him in the chin. " what the fuck" he reeled back with his head throbbing. Darren readied himself again taking small steps left and right to avoid the previous situation, as soon as he heard the croak and saw the toad jump he kicked it. The toad landed on its fist but seemed dazed from the impact. "Alright come here you little puta piece of shit" Darren rushed toward the toad readying his fists. He descended upon the partially stunned toad and punched it again and again and again and again, until green blood and toad slime stained his cloth sack tunic and pants. Panting he leaned against a tomb. fuck you Tygrus "unlike the worlds your dev team have been making for years" he mocked in a snooty british accent.Our games didn''t have a killer toad out for blood at the start of the game. He scanned his surroundings and spotted a small town. it had cobblestone walls and four batlements on its "corners" manned byfour guards in chainmail armed with crossbows, two guards in chainmail stood by the gate holding long spears. Finally a town! warm inns, good food and probably even better beer. He quickly trod on towards the town. mud flying and sticking to his already filthyclothsack trousers. The guard at his right glared at him. he put his right hand on the sword that hung to his belt. "Halt!,What is thybusiness in town? people have not the time to waste on vagabonds" "uhmmmmmm" Darren looked around and about as he desperately searched for an excuse. "you have 10 counts!" Darren was sweating again, the all too familiar itchiness of panic began creeping in. "9" He took a deep breath and exhaled then he remembered.Darren looked intensely at the guard and willed his book to come "8, 7 ,6" He could hear the rustling of pages he held up his hands behind his back "5, 4" goddamn it! why didn''t I add a teleporting feature!? "3, 2" A shape landed on Darren''s hands he quickly showed the back of the book in front of the guard "Im a royal courier!" he almost shouted The guard looked at the book the vagabond was holding up, it had the kings official seal. there was naught enough time to send it to the capital to be verified though and he wasn''t about to be the guard that got sacked because he delayed a royal official. He gave a last glance at the courier "look at the state of ye man, what happened? looks like you got a proper beatin'' you did" Darren let out his breath, he tried his best to hide his relief "Bandits are a lot less likely to attack if they see a wandering vagrant instead of a Courier of the Crown." he said with a wry smile The guard turned to the gate behind him "raise the portcullis, with haste! this man is on official courier duty" he shouted and faced Darren once more "Welcome to Pondcross ser uhhhh.." "Darren" and with that, tired and dirty he strode into town. Chapter 2:A bit of grass snake Darren stepped into town. The first thing he noticed was the mud roads. In most of the RPG games he had played and published, even the most far-flung regions the roads were cobblestone. At that moment a southerly wind blew across town, then it him. Shit. The smell of horse and cow shit filled his nose, there was even a more pungent smell which Darren suspected was human shit.The rain mixing the potpourri of feces with the mud. Damn those MMORPG games never capture this element huh? Darren felt bile rise in is throat. He forced it back down though, disgusted as he was he didn¡¯t want people to see him just retching on the sidewalk. The people here were used to the smell, spilling his guts by the front gate would probably cause suspicion. Darren wondered what to do from here. In most games the player was a chosen one or an unlikely farm boy that found an ancient artifact of great power to defeat the Dark Lord or whatever. Not in this world though. Darren looked around at the wooden fences and thatched roof huts on the roadside. He decided to walk around to see if anything could alleviate the literally shitty situation he was in. He followed the road in to the center of town where there was a market place. Stalls formed a semi-circle around a well that was lined with people carrying various buckets, jugs, and vases Darren took the time to look at each stall. The cacophony of voices hawking their goods reminded him of the times when he was young where he would go with his mother to the city wet-market . ¡°Meat here! freshly slaughtered pork and fresh chicken¡± ¡°come get salt herring ¡®ere 5 coppers a piece!¡± The smell of baked bread wafted through the market place. He heard metal clanging in the distance. Behind the meat stall could see an open air kitchen with three huge pots & counters crowded with people. A guild! Darren remembered that in most MMO¡¯s he played people went to guilds to get quests and to find other people to finish those quests with them. Excited, he half jogged to a group of people looking at a board near the well. "excus-" "Fuck off twig" grunted The big burly man Darren first approachedOkay then, t"hat ever-so-friendly locals" was sarcasm wasn''t it, god I''m starting to hate that bastard more and more. He approached another man with a mop of brown hair, this time not so burly, thinking those kinds of people put all their points in strength and nothing else. ¡°Excuse me sir, where is the nearest guild?¡± ¡°Well, that be Bluepond ¡± He pointed his finger west of the well. ¡°follow that path road, then turn left.¡± ¡°Thank you very much sir¡­.¡± Darren probed ¡°Cael¡± he said gruffly ¡°Darren¡± flashing a smile before walking towards the direction the man told him Darren knew it was a guild immediately. It wasn¡¯t really different from the architecture of the other buildings in town, but the materials looked much more refined. It was a long-house with a thatched roof. Smooth hardwood pillars,three on each side, supported the building along with a polished stone brick base. Merry music was emanating from inside the building. Darren could hear the laughter and the camaraderie of the men and women inside. Darren opened the door. a huge fire-pit lay in the center of the room. The smell of roasting pig on a spit and ale filled the room, reminding him of all the fiestas he¡¯d attended with his mother back home. god, I miss her Tables with merry men and women flanked the fire-pit. Darren gawked at the various equipment they had. A bald man with a greatsword strapped to his back was chatting merrily with a woman in robes holding a staff. Another man was playing a guitar-like instrument and had an array of daggers on his belt and right leg. I can look at them later, all this food is making me hungry. As if to emphasize his thoughts his stomach growled. He walked to, what he assumed to be, a waitress serving a table burly man with a warhammer by his side and a pale skinned man in full plate armor and a shield as big as a door strapped to his back. ¡°excuse me¡± Darren smiled ¡°what can I get you sir?¡± she said politely ¡°where do I register for the guild?¡± ¡°Oh follow the fire-pit towards the back¡± she pointed to an area emanating blue light. Darren walked in the direction she was pointing. A huge board plastered with pieces of paper first caught his eye, then the beautiful brown-haired lady held it. He discovered the source of the blue light was the five wisps on energy hanging in the ceiling above the counter. The lady smiled at him, her expression slightly faltering when she saw the filthy inquirer. ¡°Welcome sir¡­..¡± ¡°Darren¡±Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. ¡°Sir Darren welcome to the Krakia province guild Bluepond. Our guild has a five silver entrance fee and a one silver monthly fee. Various people post their quests on the Questboard when they require the aid of adventurers, the guild subtracts a fifteen percent commission for the rewards of these quests¡± she said with a smile. What the actual fuck?! guilds need money to join? Shit Darren thought. Why didn¡¯t he ask for at least a bit of starting cash? Hell, he could¡¯ve even asked for a goose that laid golden eggs. Idiot, such an idiot! Darren forced an awkward smile ¡± uhmmmmm would you excuse me for a second?¡± he murmured. He rushed out of the guild hall. The laughter & merriment a while ago seemed like mocking cackles to his ears now. The sun was setting. Darren guessed he had about an hour left until night time. His stomach growled once more and he realized I don¡¯t even have a place to sleep. He wandered around town. The sound of ravens and a faint sound of ,what sounded like, a huge bat could be heard to his north. god, I¡¯m probably gonna die of embarrassment but, fuck it, im not sleeping outside on the first night in a world populated with bloodthirsty toads. He walked to a thatched roof house whose burning candles could be seen through the window. He knocked three times then another awkward half knock. An old man answered the door, wisps of gray hair circled his head, he was holding a candle and was wearing a thick brown robe. ¡°what be your business at this late hour young lad?¡± the man said kindly. Darren knelt down in front of him and begged. ¡°Please sir, I''m lost so lost in this land. I can help you with your household doings. Please, im begging you let me stay in your house at least for the night. I could give you this book as an exchange for anything I might break or destroy in your house and I can pay you by the end of this month. I just need help getting on my feet. Please¡± Darren held up the book with a distraught look in his eyes. ¡°Well lad, I¡¯m a wizened old man living alone and you¡¯ll see that I have no possessions worth stealing. I do not need that bookbecause I know not how to read. What I know is a soul in need when I be seeing one. Would 3 coppers a week be fine?¡± he said with a wry smile. ¡°Thank you sir, thank you so much¡± Darren said with gratitude Lacraea was a hard place with even harder people, but he was overjoyed to find that no matter what universe, there were still some kind people. ¡°Well come on in, the ghoulbats be hungry tonight¡± he smiled Darren stepped in as soon as he was invited, he didn¡¯t want to find out what ghoulbats were. The old man led him inside. A small cooking place was in the main room, the main room connected to another room by a wooden wall and a door made of wooden planks. Spices hung from the ceiling. What Darren had mistaken for a candle when he was outside was the cookfire under a pot of stew held up by three iron rods. ¡°wait here¡± the man said. Darren did as he was told and examined the main room again, there was a bed near the cookfire and a small wooden table with two chairs, a shelf with wooden plates and utensils was placed above it. The door opened. ¡°Here wear these, it was my sons clothes, I think they would fit you¡± he said, handing him a clean tunic and leather pants. Darren resolved not to ask the man who showed him kindness why he had used the word was ¡°Thank you sir, I can''t thank you enough¡± he bowed. ¡°ehhh,call me Osric don¡¯t call me ¡®sir¡¯ I ain¡¯t no knight¡± the man chuckled and waved his hand. ¡°The goddess of luck be with you lad, I¡¯ve made a bit more stew than usual and it almost done.¡± he smiled as he mixed the stew with a wooden ladle ¡°thank you so much Osric, if there is anything I could help with just ask¡± Darren said, voice filled with gratitude. ¡°Ehhh, this world be a hard place lad, just helping someone survive another day, gods know many have done the same for me¡± he said, handing Darren a wooden bowl of hot stew. ¡°oh, dont forget this¡± Osric broke a piece of dark brown bread in half and handed it to Darren. Darren gladly took the piece and observed how Osric ate. Osric broke his half of bread into small cubes he placed them in the stew and mixed them in with his spoon. Darren did the same, then he took a spoonful of the soup soaked bread into his mouth. an explosion of flavor, it was the best thing Darren ever tasted since coming to this land, or maybe he was just starving, either way it was delicious. Rosemary, thyme, a small hint of a spice that tasted almost similar to pepper and a light tangy taste. Bits of meat gave a slight gamy taste but that gave way to the taste of chicken and the light taste of a meat he did not know. ¡°woah, whats in this stew Osric?¡± Darren questioned, a bit louder than he had meant. ¡°Giant toad meat with a bit of grass snake¡± he said with a smile A miniscule of disgust formed in the back of Darren¡¯s mind, but that was immediately squashed by a tidal wave of memories of eating frog adobo in his mother¡¯s hometown ¡°what¡¯s that tangy taste?¡± ¡°Well that be the lemon-beetle. Lemons are expensive and hard to come by, but two decades of being a cook in a war camp helps one to learn cheap substitutes¡± he winked as he took another spoonful. Darren was dumbfounded. He thought all people who were not nobles in the medieval era were poor and ate dirt or something. These thoughts were quickly banished however as he finished his stew and both of them finished what was left in the pot. ¡°there be a water basin out back if need a bath, I be retiring for the nigh¨C oh you have not told me your name yet lad¡± the old man smiled ¡°Darren¡± he said with joy for the first time since coming to this world. Darren went outside and took a long bath scrubbing himself with a rough stone. When he was done, he changed his clothes and went back inside. Osric had put a bedroll near the embers opposite to him. Darren thanked every known and unknown god for Osric¡¯s help. ¡°Tommorow we grind¡± He whispered to himself and fell into a deep sleep Chapter 3: Whats free healthcare? Darren woke up with tears running down his temples. The dream of his mom merrily shouting " Darrriinn, when are you going to marry? your mama needs to see twenty apos before she dies ha?" in her thick Filipino accent reminded him of a cold, hard truth. He was dead. Darren was too busy being caught up with the troubles of this hard world, that he had forgotten the strong-willed woman, who despite being a single mother, worked hard to keep him alive and healthy in their world. The tears continued to fall. He was dead. Who would go to church with her every Sunday? who would call every night to ask her about her day? who would she aim her sage advice and tirades about needing grandchildren at? No one. Darren pondered the general unfairness of the world, no fuck it, the universe. He had worked hard to put himself through college , then business school. Even harder to establish his fledgling game company and grow it to the powerhouse it was today. Who was the sick fuck who ran the universe, that decided to just kill him? not only that but to hurt his mom too? Darren didn''t know, nor did he think it was beneficial to continue wallowing in sadness. He put those thoughts inside a metal box in his head, locked it, then sealed it away in the deepest recesses of his mind. He donned the mask of a cold businessman like many times before. He heard footsteps in the other room. He steeled himself, not wanting to put himself in a god-awful awkward situation if Osric saw him crying.Good Lord "Hey that new guy is a crybaby" even in a small town with no wifi that would spread like wildfire, Darren cringed. "Time to get to work" wondering where would he find work in the first place. ????? Osric woke up before sun-up, like he always did. He made his way to his son''s old room everything was exactly how he left it, save for the pile of gear by the door and Osric''s hunting knife hanging in the above it. He slipped into his hunting gear. He hoped there would be a boar today, but he''d been hoping that everyday for the five years since he moved here, a boar only appeared once. Lady Lucea''s luck probably just wasn''t with him, or he used all of it during the Shattering. Osric didn''t believe much in gods and goddesses though as far as he was concerned, until he saw one in the flesh, those were mere stories told by women swaddling their babes. He heard something. Osric heard faint sobbing through the thin wooden wall. He decided to not go out the door just yet, Give a man his time to grieve . Whatever the lad was crying about , he knew those were the sobs of grief, he knew those very well, The Shattering was not kind he thought, a grim expression forming on his face. He loudened his normally light footfalls, it was his way of saying Lacraea was hard lad, crying is not going to make it less so. He walked slowly towards the door. ????? "morning Osric" Darren said, he noticed that Osric was in full hunting gear. He wore a green hood over a green tunic and pants, a large knife hung from his belt and he was carrying a small bow to use the bundle of arrows on the quiver on his back. "Aye, g''morning lad, how goes it?" he asked with a smile. "Well , I was wondering where do you find jobs here? the guild entrance is too steep for me considering I don''t have a single copper on me" "That be the public board by the well lad, the job there don''t pay much mind you, but at least it''s something and you don''t have to pay those blighted fees" "Thanks man, I don''t wanna be a leech, don''t worry i''ll bring my own food as soon as I have money," Darren promised. "Always a pleasure to help someone in need lad, by the way I only heard ''Osric'' when me mum roamed the village in search of me so she could hand out of my beating. Calleme Oz." They both toward the door. Darren wondered how the hell could Oz hunt in his age. Well he did say he was a war cook, it''s probably something to do with that. His thoughts floated towards his mother again in her occasional bouts of arthritis, Darren winced but quickly plastered his smile back on. "Thanks again Oz, I''ll be on my way now" he waved as they parted ways, with Oz going towards the south gate facing a thick forest. Darren headed toward the town square, the sky was a gloomy gray a perfect match to his mood. He made his a group people crowded at the board. He used his slim frame to his advantage and snaked his way through crowd. With a good bit of effort, some grunting from the burly members of the crowd and more than a few excuse me''s he got to the front. He scanned the pieces of paper for anything interesting, and lucrative.
Position: Guard Requirements: Level 12 or higher, bring appraiser''s form or adventurer''s card as proof Pay: 5 silver per fortnight, bonuses shall be explained at the barracks Where: Pondcross Barracks
Darren studied the parchment. He looked over it after a couple of seconds though, it had a good pay considering the highest payment he''d heard of was the five silver guild entrance fee, but the high level requirement barred him from pursuing it immediately. Darren didn''t know what the hell his level was but he was sure it wasn''t twelve, he had only been here for less than two days after all. He looked at another parchment that caught his eye.
Master chef Ramsey Lamb is now accepting a new batch of novices Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.Requirements: no level requirements, but an adventurers card is an option to learn skill quicker. Price: 50 coppers a day Where: The kitchen, Rowman Keep
Darren looked at it with glee, A cooking job! the filipino mom and all those nights of him waiting for "Neighborhood Housewives" to end so he could watch "Chef Masters" was gonna pay off. Something was strange though, the bottom didn''t say "Pay" it said "Price". Darren''s heart sank. He needed to pay with his own money to work for someone? shit. Wait. How was he reading and speaking this language? wasn''t the language from his universe most likely different from this universe? Darren shrugged. It was probably something that slimy nephilim gave him when he got sent here he thought absentmindedly, finally answering a question that had been lingering in the back of his head for a while. He scanned the board again for something that didn''t have the words "Price", "Adventurer''s card" or "Appraiser''s form". Darren figured all of those cost money, which he had non whatsoever. He saw two papers that were free work.
Miners needed ~ Cragworks Mining Co. Requirements: None Pay: 1 silver per fortnight Where: Elth Hill, 5 miles north of Rowman Pier.
Construction Laborers needed Requirements: None Pay: 1 silver per forthnight Where: Pondcross west end, building in progress.
These are all labor jobs! Darren groaned both internally and externally. he hated not having money, having to ask for things from other people, not having the power to buy anything he wanted and having people seemingly look down on him for being poor. Having only his mom to provide for the family meant Darren''s childhood was basically devoid of the phones. His mom did her best, god bless her soul, at juggling the three jobs she had, but they only ever had enough money for their needs and not much else. Darren remembered all those snooty rich kids with all their new toys. He always strove to make more money than anyone else just to cover this petty childhood insecurity. Now he was back to square one, no, he wasn''t even on square one he was on square negative five. He didn''t even have enough money to buy his needs.Darren realized the world was unfair no matter what universe it was. Darren chose the lesser evil and went with mining maybe it would be like the games where he would find a gem and be rich or something. Though deep inside him he knew this wouldn''t be the case. He made his way out of the town gates towards it''s namesake. The "Pond" was a lake, and it was huge, the multiple tributaries feeding it led to the forest. There was a pier with a multiple barges guarded by two armored men with longswords and a robed figure sat by the water silently keeping watch. Darren also multiple figures hopping around the lake Frogs Why are there so many damn frogs here? there were frogs of different sizes, ranging from the size of a normal frog to the huge ones seven feet the the shoulder. Most were a light green color. He focused on a large frog the size of a pitbull and his book floated up.
Species: Giant Frog (Juvenile) lvl: 10 Type: Beast- Amphibian
Mana: 100 Health: 350 Stamina: 150
STR: 23 CON: 44 INT:12 WIS: 8 END: 19 CHR: 1
Skills: ???
Resistances: -30% water, 10% blunt damage
Giant frogs are normal frogs that grow to many times their size due to ambient magic present when they are spawned. usually caused by leftover energies of magic users nearby. They eat animals smaller than them, but give up when said prey is too much work. they are protective of their young and try their best to consume flesh from magic users to help their young grow to enormous sizes as well.
Additional discovered information will be added automatically.
Darren hurriedly walked far away from the frogs lest he become their meal, even the guards were glancing at frogs that came too near. He saw the hill mentioned in the board and walked towards it Damn if i''m scared of a few frogs how am I gonna Defeat the King Of Horrors and get my wish and be rich? he thought. Fuck it, there are other ways to get rich plus I don''t really need to defeat him someone probably picked a ultramega sword or some shit. He wondered what it took to become a Lord in this world, reminiscing the intrigue and politics of his favorite TV show. His musings stopped when he finally reached the mine. It was exactly how he imagined it. A tunnel braced with wooden support beams a number of people , who Darren was pretty sure were of dwarven descent, were near the mouth of the mine counting pieces of rock other men brought on carts drawn by what seemed to be fat, grey grubs. He walked over to a counter near a shack that was manned by a dwarf. The man had a red beard with a streak of grey running through it, he was wearing a leather cap and had muscles that Darren thought were probably the same size as his thigh. A hammer was slung on his belt. "I''m here to work, this was the place right? Cragworks?" Darren said, resolving to stop using excuse me, most people didn''t seem to use it here anyway. Maybe it was reserved for nobles ,he thought to himself. "Aye, yer a slim one aren''t ya, ya sure yew wont break like a prisha twig? Ah does na matter, as long as you make the qouta, we have gohrobs to help ya haul the ore anyway, what be yar name skinny?" "Darren" The dwarf wrote something down in his book in rough looking letters and held it up for Darren to sign.
Worker # 14 waiver I ______________________ hereby go into work for Cragstone Mining Co. of my own accord, I do not hold this mine acountable for any loss of belongings nor any damages incurred to my belongings or my self. I sign this contract with my blood in the presence of all gods known or unknown
"here" the dwarf handed him a small blade the size of his pinky. Darren gingerly accepted the blade go- I mean gods damn it why do I have to use my blood? Darren thought. A mine with that let him sign a disclaimer preventing them from damages is telling him to damage himself? At that moment Darren''s stomach growled reminding him that he needed that money to survive. He made a small cut on his thumb with the blade that was actually razor sharp, and then stuck his thumb in the book. "Well that be it, me name is Haff and I welcome ye to the Cragstone Mining Company we mine for iron here and have a daily quota of 30 units. That be units not pieces meanin tha the number of units of iron metal we can extract from a single piece of ore. We ''ill not be payin you slackers for the dirt that comes with the iron" he said with a shrug "Yer pick and yer helmet be in the shack, and ye can ask for yer ghorob crystal from their herder near the pens. And don''t be thinking of stealin anything fancy from the company or the mine, ole'' Sore eyes there would know" he pointed at the man dozing off near the entrance with a leather strap covering his left eye "and you will be dealt with accordingly" Three words floated in Darren''s mind after his registration and Haff''s orientation. No Free Healthcare. Chapter 3.1: Other people Chamberlaine Trindas walked into the war room of King Lancett XVII, there was a large bronze-oak table in the center with large map overlaid on top of it. His most trusted generals and sorcerers sat in a circle around the table. "These so called Heroes are no more than blighted idiots! the whoresons think that they have unlimited power in their relics. They charge in recklessly, then they get overwhelmed by the numbers and the strength of the King of Horrors'' generals. The generals then take the relics as their own making them stronger!" cried general Lassar. The man was a seasoned general, having won skirmishes in the Shattering, where winning any battle was an almost impossible feat. "Maybe if we get offer them money or land to have them swear fealty to us?" said general Rhydos, earning a sharp glance from Lassar "If the price is right maybe it may be is feasible, but our offer should be relatively low due to the fact that new ''Heroes'' are appearing in various gravesites at a rate of 1 per month. if we offer all of them an exorbitant salaray im afraid our coffers shall soon run dry as taxing our people more is simply not an option" Erleon the royal Lord of finance & treasury said calmly. "how long can The Circle hold the King of Horror''s chrysalis " King Lancett asked his head sorcerer Carlineus. " The years of holding the chrysalis has taken a toll upon their bodies your grace, messengers of the table of United Races have estimated it to about 10 years if The Circle are willing to sacrifice their bodies" He said a grim expression froming on in face. "We have that time to find and train a suitable Hero, Gods damn how I wish there was a prophecy for this" the king gave a wry smile to his membersStolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. "our emissary to the United Races has said that the discussions have been mostly about establishing a trade between races in the likeness of the land before The Shattering, but the meetings devolve into cursing and racist rants before long due to the natural enmity of some races to each other. It seems to be that defeating the King Of Horrors is the last on their minds, every emissary there is putting their race''s well being in mind you see" Trindas announced to the table. "If only there was a Hero who did not choose a bloody weapon relic and used the head on top of his neck in the stead of the head in his pants" The king chuckled but his laughs betrayed his stress. ????? Elanil Falamin hated her people''s tradition, hated that her father was a noble and needed to enforce traditon and culture upon her that the family name might not be ruined. She had always dreamed of being a guardian, an armored warrior who protected the squadron but there was one problem. She was a woman. ever since she was a child she would play "elves & monsters" with the boys in her town, deep in the southern area of the Eladrian Wood, with her father storming out of the Elder''s gathering, dragging her to their large hut all the while telling her "It was unwomanly to be fighting with sticks and much more being hit by them" Elvish women were often relegated to being rangers, clerics or sorceresses. The more battle heavy classes given to the men as to not damage their honor if a lady be hurt in battle. She had enough of this tradition that forced her into the back corners of battle, far from all the glory. She wanted to feel the thrill of battle, to go face to face with monster protect her team and stand over it''s lifeless body with victory! for her, that was the true essence of battle! She decided that she would run away, yes that would be fun.Her Father would be livid but still... She knew her way through their forest home, one of the few lessons she stored in her mind from the years of Ranger training. She was going to be an adventurer join a guild, and specialize in guarding her team. She was going to carve her own path, traditions be damned! ????? Chapter 4: 5 coppers Darren walked towards the mine. He glanced at "Sore eye" and couldn''t contain himself, is his other eye in a perpetual state of soreness? Does he rub shit in them to achieve this? He walked over to Sore Eye who was standing near the entrance reading a book and ignoring the clamor and noise of the dwarves counting units of iron and the other people complaining about how they were being shorted. Darren cleared his throat " good day Mr. Sore eye" Sore eye took his gaze away from the book he was reading and looked at the slim, brown figure before him. He let a long sigh.Not this shit again, one of these days I am gonna give that pox ridden Haff a piece of my mind. He looked towards the inquiring man with an impossible mix of boredom and annoyance. " No, my eyes are not sore.Yes, I get enough sleep. My real name is Lesther and if you annoy me again, I will turn you inside out. Understood?" "uhmmm, yes? Have a good day" Darren mumbled as he walked quickly inside the minemaybe he doesn''t have a sore eye, but his ass sure ishe thought to himself with a hidden smile. After pausing a bit to get his bearings inside the bustling counting are, he walked towards the huge gru-gohrobsDarren corrected himself. They had craggy gray skin that resembled cracked rock and had harnesses arttached to their centre, head the size of a small melon with blue eyes on the side. On their foreheads sat small green gems. He looked around till he saw their shepherd, or was he their gohrobherd? Darren didn''t know and he didn''t want to get shit on for asking mundane useless questions again. His eyes finally found a muscled man with long messy brown hair,draped in furs of random animals, like he just went to a thrift shop with twenty dollars in his pocket.Useless thoughts Darren, useless thoughtshe mentally self-reprimanded himself. He waited till the man was done pouring a huge bucket of what looked like wet gravel into a feeding through.Damn that must weigh a good ten million pounds, better not fuck with himhe resolved. Darren cleared his throat "uhmmm. .. goodmorning Haff said I can get a crystal thing here?" The man looked at Darren indignantly. "They are not crystal ''crystal things'' runt. They are bond stones." The man''s expression softened "please take good care of the gohrob you bond with, I don''t want to control them like this, but I have to earn a living and the company pays me a good bit for taking care of these guys" He handed Darren a leather arm band with a green crystal set into it. "Close your eyes and feel the creature''s consciousness in our mind, then command it. Only simple commands these guys are not scholars." Darren put on the arm band and followed the man''s instructions. He closed his mind and searched. he felt a small presence, the presence was scared, it did not want to be controlled ,he felt a weird claustrophobia-like feeling inside his head. It just wanted to eat, sleep and grow up.Hehe I want that too buddy, but we can''t always have what we want can we?The presence relaxed for a bit Darren took that chance and focused himself,threw away all his uneccesary thoughts and steeled himself. He gave the gohrob one command through their shaky mental link.Follow Darren opened his eyes, he was sweating hard and the man was staring at him. "Oh, you were a bit faster than usual. maybe you have the same goals" he joked "oh dont forget to attach a mine cart to his harness" Darren gave an awkward laughShit better not let anyone know I was basically a NEET in the previous world. He walked toward a minecart the gohrob following him with the pace of a crawling babydamn getting to the are is going to take forever I guess. He attached the chains of the minecart by latching them on to the metal loops in the gohrobs harness. "Well I''ll be going now...." he said looking at the man in furs "Faolen" thriftshop guy grunted with a smile "thanks again" Darren said akwardly as he walked slowly deeper into the mine As Darren passed the other workers he asked what iron ore looked like. Most of them either told him to fuck off or just straight up ignored him. Darren figured he would be grumpy all the time too if he worked this shit job for more than a couple of days, which he would.shit. Darren stopped in his tracks before him was the scariest looking human, if you could even call it that, he ever saw. He was a huge muscle bound figure, he had tan skin and a big head that looked normal until he saw the huge tusks protruding from his lower jaw, that and he was carrying a bigger pickaxe than Darren almost made him piss himself.Would that be racist If I did?Darren walked slowly towards, what he guessed to be, the orc hybrid. "uhhhmm, e-excuse me? what does iron ore look like?" The half-orc looked at him in a puzzled expression, then gave him a toothy smile. He walked to the back of his gohrob cart and took out a rock the size of half of Darren''s body and held it as casually as one would hold a basketball. "Iron look like this, black rock, have small orange things" he said gruffly and then farted Darren was disgusted but he tried his best to hide it in front of the giant orc guy,besides the scariest looking guys was the one who helped himNever judge a book by its coverhe thought. on the thought of books he decided to hide the tome he was carrying, it looked suspicious for him to be carrying a book inside a mine and he was having a hard time carrying in his armpit while carrying a heavy pickaxe and a torch.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Darren rationalized that the deeper he went in the more ore he would find but, like in the games he played at home, the more risk there was of a random enemy popping up. He decided to mine near the next miner he found, He walked for another, what he assumed to be, 30 minutes then he saw a miner. "Morning" Darren called "Grmmm" he grunted an continued swinging his pickaxe Darren walked a bit deeper than where the miner was picking then he parked his gohrob cart, hid his book behind some rocks and brought his torch up to the wall. After searching a few meters he finally saw the "orange bits" then started swinging his pick again, and again, and again till his shoulders burned then a melon sized peice of rock fell out he was thinking of melons a lot lately, damn he would love a good melon right now. Darren looked at the piece of ore. He wasn''t a blacksmith nor a good enough miner to estimate how many units the piece was so he just sat there for a while, the area was illuminated by his torch and his gohrob looked at him with its tiny blue eyes. "you''re bored too aren''t ya? oh I didn''t give you a name hmmm lets see" Darren thought for a while "how about Gimli?" he finally said chuckling at the thought that they were in a mine a soft clicking and gurgling sound was the gohrobs response. Darren didn''t know if that was an agreement or not so he just assumed it was, life was easier that way. "oh I forgot to scan you" he held up his hand and the book came flying form behind the rock. Darren brought his torch closer to read.
Species: Gohrob
LVL: 5 Type: Insect
Health: 60/60 Mana:5/5 Stamina: 200/200
STR:120 CON:9 INT:1 WIS:1 AGI:1 END:25 CHR:0
skills: ~
Resistances: -80% physical damage -50% earth
Gohrobs are the offspring of burrowing Petras beetles, they are valued for their strength and endurance, though they lack the stats necessary to battle, they are highly sought for dragging minecarts in the various mines of Lacraea
"Damn Gimli you''ve been lifting huh" Darren said with surprise. He was met be a few squelches and a blank stare from the gohrob. As he smiled contentedly to himself Darren paused and facepalmedidiot such an idiot. looking around to see if anybody was watching, he didn''t want anyone to know that he was carrying around the medieval equivalent of Wikipedia. He focused on the ore, and his hunch was confirmed when the text shifted.
Ore Extractable Units: Granite:8 Iron: 1
one unit?His arms were starting to get sore for one measly unit? Darren groaned. He kept on swinging though, maybe he was going to have the same muscles as the other men, the thought brought a smile to his sweaty face. After what seemed like an eternity, Darren had finally met his qouta, he loaded all of the ore into the cart "c''mere Gimli" he called, as he began the slow journey to the entrance. He heard some scurrying and chirping behind him. " C''mon Gimli!" he called again speeding up his pace but Gimly just maintained the same slow pace,not a care in the world.Well he''s basically a moving boulder so he should be fine When he finally reached the entrace he walked towards where the dwarves were counting and stood before a bald dwarf with a balck beard. "Uhhh... Im done" "Well, lets take a gander" The dwarf barked some orders to a couple of men behind in the corner and they quickly offloaded all the ore off the cart and set in a line. "Aye" the dwarf "uhmm, can I get my wage for today?" to emphasize his point his stomach gave a loud growl. the dwarf chuckled and handed Darren 5 coppers Darren walked out of the mine, when he got to the entrance Sore Ey-Lestherhe corrected himself lifted his eye strap and revealed a glowing eye with the same color as the ocean under a summer sky "clear" he shoutedOhhh soo thats why hes called Sore EyeDarren hid a smile forming on his lips. The sun was setting, this world''s version of fireflies floated lazily. upon closer inspection Darren noticed they looked like fat leeches with a two pair of wings and their whole body was glowing. Darren passed the frogs, some were in the lake and some were hopping around trying to gobble up the "fireleeches". A tiny idea planted itself in Darren''s mind he couldn''t do it now the he needed some time and money. Darren managed to reach the gates unmolested. He made his way to the well then turned towards the soup kitchen he saw when he first got here. An old lady was tending to the three huge black pots. while five homely women served the waiting costumers. Darren took a seat and wated to be attended to. He noticed that people here mostly like him, threadbare clothes and dirty faces, boding well that this place was cheap.Just how I like it. When he was back home Darren always preferred foodtrucks and roadside carts over the Michellin starred restaurants his business partners insisted on wehn eating with him, that was a secret pleasure of his though so he couldn''t blame them. his thought were interupted by a woman wearing a headcloth and bronw apron. "S''cuse me, what will ya be havin?" "Whats your cheapest dish?" "That''d be Soup #5, for 2 coppers" Darren was reminded of a dish of the same name he used to eat in his mom''s hometown which was made from bull testicles. "I''ll have that, whats in it?" "That I cant tell ya" she winked "Would you like to have some bread with that? It''ll only cost ya an extra copper" "sure" she walked over to the back of the kitchen, when she returned she was holding a wooden bowl of hot soup. She took a dark colored loaf of bread from other the counter and broke it in half, she gave one half and the soup to Darren. Darren saw herbs and random bits of meat and bone floating in the soup. He broke the hard bread into cubes and started eating. The soup had a nice herby flavor that went well with the broth Darren couldn''t identify, all those flavors were covering a slight rotten aftertaste though. Darren suspected this was all the leftovers from the other soups days before. He didn''t mind though, he was so hungry he couldve been eating horse shit and he still wouldve finished the bowl with lightning speed.Contented he stood up and thanked the "chefs", he started walking towards Oz''s house. "Goodevening Oz" The only reply was the crackle of embers under an empty pot. Oz lay snoring in his bedroll. Darren set his book beside his bedroll "I should really make some straps for this" he mumbled before laying his aching body down. Darren felt the remaining two coppers in his pouch.A whole days work for five coppers gods he wished there was a worker''s union. Darren fell into a deep sleep. Chapter 5: Her Plan Elanil stalked the outskirts of Illana Elyen. This is the night, the night she finally left th village, the night she would leave everything she''d ever knownand the night she would stick up a huge pinky finger to her father and his traditions. Elanil had a simple plan, Elanil didn''t like elaborate plans they took too long and often went wrong, no this was a good plan. She climbed the huge Everwood tree that supported Tinlef''s house, he had left the village to go to the council of United Races, she placed the elk fat and oils she got from the hunters at the perimeter of Tinlef''s house, laid some tinder and took out her flint and steel and set it alight. The flames caught on to the oils and fat and quickly grew to a blaze. She would have to be fast or the village mages would arrive and notice that it was just a distraction. She ran to the edge of the river which served as a border for the village and swam over it to the other side. She took her pack that she hid in a thorny thicket. It had everything she needed till she got to the nearest village, a months worth of seed bread, a longsword from the armory and a few silver coins she got from her childhood friend Fenian, she asked where he got them he had said he got them from a couple of men hunting elk too near the village without permits from the Coucil of Elders. As she was thinking about him a voice called from across the river. "Ela! Dont do this!, As a guard I command you to stop!" "Fen please, you know of my dreams. Please if you bear any love for me, for the friendship we have, please let me go" she called Fenian''s face grew conflicted. he looked at his childhood friend his Kinnon, sister of different blood with a grim expression. " Are you sure you want to this?" "Yes, it has been my dream to be a guardian, ever since I could walk. If I cannot be one here, I will carve my own path somewhere else." she called steel in her voice "Very well, cut your hair and arm, then spill blood on the hair, they would think you got overwhelmed and killed" Elanil did as she was told. She used her longsword to cut most of her flowing locks, mad a cut in her arm then dripped it over her hair. She attached the bloodied hair to a rock and threw it at Fenian, Then she washed the wound in the magic rich river of the Rheynorhin and the wound closed.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. "the mages are close, Run Ela!" he called "protect your friends don''t let the fate that will befall me, befall them" he said under his breath. Elanil ran, she ran into the forest and never looked back. ????? Aquile was a respected village Elder, the head of the noble Falamin house, was the first to establish a strict mage force in their village after traveling to the homeland and learning the secrets of life magic. He strode proudly to the top of the Lignaternum, the largest tree in the village, where the Council of Elders converged to meet. He could hear the curses and arguments from the outside. As he pushed aside the leaf curtains, the room fell silent. The eleven Elders looked at him, some with pity and some with a smug expression on their face. "Sir I found this last night while on patrol" a guard stepped forward, Aquile recognized him as Fenian, his daughter''s friend who teached her those blighted sheilding techniques so unfit for a lady of her birth. The guard handed him a thick locke of gold hair matted with blood. His heart fell from his chest. He grabbed the hair and quickly usedAncestry Detecton it. The spell confirmed his thought, his little princess was gone. He dropped to his knees and wailed, tears falling on the wood floor. Some of the others elders looked away in pity at the grieving father who lost a daughter, 50 years of age, barely an adult. Some looked on, hiding the smug smiles forming on their faces,at the most powerful Elder on the council who lost his only heir, who lost his only chance to continue the Falamin name. Aquile rose and pointed a finger at the guard. "It was all your fault!" he screamed spitle flying out his mouth. A thick black-green aura formed on his hand, filling the room with the smell of detritus and rotting wood. "I Aquile of House Falamin sentence you to death for the failure of your duty" He looked at each of the Elder''s eyes, a hint of grief induced madness in his eyes. " If he had done his job she would still be alive ! this is unforgivable" he said " Who objects to this? I will send you with him, along with this whole blighted village. Me and my mages will render this village to nothing more than a pile of rotting leaves". Every elder held their tongues and their breaths. Fenian adopted a stoic look on his face. If he died so her dreams may be fulfilled so be it. He never had the courage to pursue his dreams why would he stop someone else? much less hisKinnon. He locked his jaw and waited for the inevitable. "Naturas Kalamitae" He screamed. The black-green energy flew toward him at the speed of an arrow and impacted his chest. The guard turned into a wooden statue then it began to rot, magic forcing a process that would take weeks to happen in the span of a few seconds. The decomposition was completed and all that was of the guard was black soil The Elders looked at Aquile, they looked at a broken man. Chapter 6: Roast Pig and Sharp sticks Pain The sunbeams hit Darren''s eyes forcing him to open them. He gingerly sat up. The pot at his side was empty, under was nothing but ash. He noticed that people here weren''t really fond of breakfast. Maybe they were just hunting or working in the morning and had no time for breakfast. No different from most people back home He thought. Oz went out of the door the next room in his usual green hunting outfit. "Gd'' mornin lad" Oz said cheerily. Darren got slightly annoyed by his tone, how could anyone be so cheery in a world full of pain? He would never know. "Morning Oz" He groaned "You gotta teach me how to hunt sometime" he Darren said with a wry smile. "aye, well the dwarves worship Ymjir and go to worship two days from now, if yer free ye can come with me on a hunting trip maybe you will have the luck that is not with me these days" he smiled "oh by the wayOz do you have a knife on you?" "Well all If yer thinking about a big knife I have nil, I got me a whittling knife, here" Oz threw a smallfive inch knife, it landed between Darrens legs. "This is perfect, thanks Oz" Ignoring the pain to give him a genuine smile Oz smiled and walked out the door closing it behind him, leaving Darren alone to think about whether he should go to work or just lay there and wait for death. He decided to work. He put the small knife in his bedroll, picked up his bag and walked towards the mine. passing the frogs lazing about, he reached them mine and nooded at Sore Eye before walking over to the ghorob pen to borrow his crystal. "Good morning Faolen" "Good day runt, are you here for your crystal?" "No im here to see if you''re doing alright" Faolen glared at him with heavy eyelids "Im here to get the crystal hehehehe" Darren corrected awkwardly, he took note that people didn''t really respond to sarcasm here, what a shame he thought. "Here" Faolen gave Darren the leather arm-band with a green crystal. Darren wore it and extended his thoughts toward the pen Gimli!I A clicking and squelching sound followedas the gohrob slithered slowly out of the pen. Lets go boy Darren thought as they went into the mine ?????Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Oz stalked through the forest like a panther, his green clothes blending in with the thick underbrush of the Eladrian Wood. He''d been tracking the footprints of a irontusk for hours, then he saw it. A boar with a body thick with muscle hidden under fat, iron spikes running down its back and its namesake eight inch iron tusks with wicked sharp points in its lower jaw, having a drink in a pool of water. Oz knew that, that beast was good meat and the tusks and spines can fetch a couple of coppers at least. He knocked an arrow into his bow, pulled and released. It missed. The irontusk turned toward the source of the disturbance and charged, but Oz was prepared he knew that being gored by this beast would mean his death. He ran to the top of a nearby tree and shot an arrow, this time it connected with the irontusk''s haunch. This only served to reveal his location and enrage the beast. The irontusk charged at the tree Oz was in and repeatedly rammed it, its sharp tusk making deep scores in the wood and shaking the tree, forcing Oz to hold on the the trunk. He knew that with the strong charges along with the sharp tusks the small tree would fall anytime now. He made a decision. Oz jumped down at the iron tusk, pointing his dagger downwards aiming for the brain. The beast moved at the last second and the dagger struck near its spine. Oz pulled out the dagger with a roll. The enraged animal looked at him with bloodshot eyes then charged again. Oz dodged to the left and quickly shot an arrow at the irontusk . This time the arrow hit it in the gut. Oz ran to the beast and quickly sliced its ankle. The beast roared and charged at him with killing intent but its severed hind leg slowed it down. Oz easily dodged it and cut the ankle of one of its front legs. The irontusk stumbled on the ground squealing, unable to get up. Oz walked towards it and slit its throat with his dagger "Thank you for the meal" he whispered, not to the gods for he knew they were not there, but to the irontusk for the fight it put up and the meat it gave. He put the iron tusk on his back and carried it towards town. "Eatins gonna be good tonight" He mumbled with a smile on his face. ????? Darren went inside Oz''s house at well after dark, carrying five sticks about six inches in diameter. Then he smelled it. The scent ofLechon, roasting pig, filled his nose and his mouth immeadeately began to water. "Whats for dinner Oz?" he called "This be yer lucky day lad, caught me self an irontusk!" he said Darren looked at half a carcass near Oz. He wondered where the other half was. Or if the old man really fought something with iron tusks. "Sold half of the meat to the butcher and other bits and bobs" he said patting his pouch "sit down boy, lets eat" Oz handed him a peice of black bread and Darren dug right in, putting the hot meat in his bread. The meat was good really good, laden with spices only a person with Oz''s army cook experience could find. The fat melted in his mouth and combined with the bread, filling his mouth with the divine flavor of pork fat, spices and meatIf the gods of this world came together and made something this would be it. He thought while greedily devouring the meat and bread. After the meat on the fire was stripped to the bone, Oz cut the raw meatat his side into strips and hung them over the smoke and embers.Were gonna have bacon tommorow! Darren thought with excitement, his mouth watering again. Darren leaned on a wall and startedwhittlingthe ends of his sticks to sharp points. When he was done he set the sticks down beside him. Just a few more things then I can finally have enough money for a drinkDarren thought, the gods of this world knew he needed it. With that he closed his eyes. Chapter 7: Slimey Silvers ¡°Excuse me, do you buy frog meat?¡± ¡° Yeh, we buy small ones for ten coppahs, the dog sized ones for eighty coppahs to two silvah¡¯ pendin on the size, and the adult ones¡­well no one usually goes to through the trouble of getting them because they¡¯re hard to kill those buggehs, but if you sell me a big one, the pay is ten silvahs¡± Darren walked towards the lake with his bundle of sharp sticks tied with twine in one arm and an iron shovel , that cost his three weeks of savings to buy from the blacksmith, on the other. ????? Jurvin was having a bad day, a horrible day. He¡¯d been assigned to this shithole village then sent to guard this port, where the most he would do is fend off big as shite frogs with his spear every once in a while and eat the poorly spiced gruel the cook in the barracks gave to the guards, all because he was ¡°helping¡± some of the more unfriendly folks in the city. It wasn¡¯t he fault that they gave him free coin to just skip going to some alleys at night, hell he would¡¯ve skipped them anyway, a guard wasn¡¯t paid enough to throw away is life just like that. Leave that shite to those stuck up ¡°honor is everything¡± rookies He thought. He spotted some movement in the distance. His thoughts of anger instantly got replaced by thoughts of amusement, if only for a short while. ¡°What in the blighted¡­..¡± A slim man with black hair and was running with a thick,pointed stick, but that¡¯s what caught his attention, the 5 greywolf-sized frogs and the one huge fockn mama-frog did. ????? Darren was running from frogs yet again, this world seemed to love throwing shit at him. He was aiming for just the small ones and maybe a single medium sized one, I didn¡¯t sign up for this shit he thought as he continued running the frogs getting ever so close. He guessed that the big ones could swallow him whole and also trample him flat. These thoughts made him run faster. Faster into an area near the forest Thump, tak tak tak tak tak,Thump tak tak tak tak tak. Darren heard the sounds coming closer to him, if he could just reach it in time. He heard the sounds again. This time they were so close he could feel the vibrations when the huge one landed. A crash of leaves then SilenceThe author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. A flurry of chaotic movement from the pit that took Darren three days to dig. He peered down on the pit It worked he thought with a mad glee. Then the huge frog started croaking with what seemed to be anger. It was bleeding from its gut and its legs were punctured by the spikes Darren set into the ground. The frog was looking up at him with what Darren was sure was a glare.He saw that its hind legs, despite being punctured by numerous stakes, were tightening, getting ready to release energy. Fuck I hoped it wouldn¡¯t come to this. Darren groaned internally. ¡°Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh¡± he screamed , as he hoped he wouldn¡¯t slide into the numerous spikes he set in the pit. He jumped down to the frog''s back using the technique Oz thought him. Angling the stake to impact the frog. He hit it in the neck. Darren climbed to its head, he had a hard time with all the slime , but eventually reached it. He pulled out the stake from the frogs neck and brained it. The sharpened wooden stake going through the giant frog¡¯s slippery skin. Again, and again and again. Darren stabbed the same hole so many times that all that was left of that part of the frog¡¯s brain was a grey slurry. He carefully slid down, being careful not to get impaled on his own stakes. He took each stake off then walked through. He stabbed the dog-sized frogs in the brains just to be sure, took off a bunch of spikes before climbing out of the pit. A guard from the nearby pier approached him. ¡°Fockin¡¯ ell, are you fockn mad lad? That was beautiful!¡± Darren looked at him all bloody and slimy, the guard had brown hair and some stubble, and had the same armor and weapons as the other guards. ¡°Yeah, thanks¡­. I guess¡± Darren gave a tired smile. ¡°Can you please help hail me a cart and get these frogs to town? I can pay you¡± The guard ran to town and pretty soon there was a carriage. The driver of the carriage came down to help them lift the frogs out. They removed all the spikes surrounding the frogs and tied rope to the dead frogs attached to a few still standing spikes. ¡°One, Two, Three ,Pull!¡± the three of them yelled in unison. They did this for several more times, until the biggest frog was finally out of the pit and loaded in to the cart along with the other five frogs. The carriage moved slowly into town the horses struggling a bit with the weight of the frogs. When they reached the butcher in the town center, they put down the frogs in front of him. The butcher looked at them with amused face, then he inspected each frog, lifting some parts like the legs and bellies. ¡°Well, I can give ya sixteen silvah for the whole bunch¡± he said ¡°I¡¯ll take three as payment for the carriage¡± ¡° two silver would be fine for me, if were naming our prices ¡®ere¡± Darren agreed, the butcher gave the two men their share and they went on they were off, the guard with a grin on his face. The butcher gave Darren the remaining silver coins he was owed. eleven silver! Im fucking rich! Darren thought, but resolved never to do that again, three days of work and almost dying wasn¡¯t really worth 11 silvers. Darren decided to join the guild, he had a bit of capital and he had heard that guild jobs pay well, He was gonna be a billionaire again in no time! Or a king, or maybe a lord? Darren didn¡¯t know nor did he care he was so happy, he could finally stop living like a goddamn beggar or vagabond or whatever they called him when he first got here. He walked towards the guild. Then it hit him. I need a bath Moving Up Darren walked into Bluepond fresh as fuuuuuuuuck. The bath in the lake, his furious scrubbing with a rough rock finally got rid of all the dried blood and slime and his newfound wealth made feel like a new man. He passed the familiar tables, followinf the firepit towards the counter in the back. "Welcome back! what can I help you with?" The woman said, the blue wisps above pouring a warm light. Shit, she remembered. Darren gave and awkward smile, a little sweat ran down his back. No, I have money now, its fine. He straightened his back and clinked five silvers on the counter. "Id like to join the guild" The waitress..receptionist?..staff? The lady scooped the coins off the counter. She placed a small card under a contraption that was basically a crystal ball on a golden stand. "please put your hand on top sir" she smiled Darren placed his hand on the smooth surface of the crystal ball, his mind lost on the thoughts of adventure and riches and not having to work again when he becomes a lord,Gonna get those fat sta--- a sharp pain flared and he reflexively jerked his hand away. "what the fuck! the fuck was that?" He said looking at his hand, blood was flowing from his middle finger. He looked at the crystal ball, drops of blood clung to it, courtesy of a two inch, thick golden needle that came out of the stand holding the ball. "Oh pardon me sir, I forgot to tell you that we need a small bit of your blood for your avdenturer''s card" She blushed, but Darren could''ve sworn there was a small smirk on her face. The ball glowed a yellow light and the blood slowly began to disappear, the lady dropped a silver coin and it sank right into the ball as if it was made of water, small ripples unsettled it''s smooth surface. A few seconds later, what seemed to be a yellow laser shot out underneath the gold contraption holding the orb and started to engrave the card underneath it. The lady took a look at the card, then handed it to Darren with a smile. "Your agility and dexterity are slightly above average, butsome of your other stats are below average especially your Luck most people usually have more than five. looking at your stats,may I suggest specializing into a rogue or ranger class later on? I can give you a list of the nearest guilds for those classes" Darren looked at his adventurer''s card
Name: Darren Torres Reed | Race: Human | Class: ~ | Specialization: ~
LvL:1 Exp:865/1200
Health: 65/65 Mana: 55/55 Stamina: 85/85
STR:9 CON:8 INT:11 WIS:10 AGI:13 DEX:12 END:10 CHR:8 LCK:1
Abilities: Common Tongue
Skills: ~
Resistances: ~
The lady explained how to use the card. From what Darren could gather it was basically a magic iPad card. When the lady finished her explanation, Darren giving in to his curiousity, pressed theCommon Tongue ability on his card. The text shifted on the card the same way one of Darren''s ebook readers would. Words appeared below the ability he touched.
Common Tongue: The ability to understand the most used language immedeate area.
"Oh damn" he put the card inside of his book. The ability he had eliminated the need to hire translators, since he was sure those were for hire, every time he went to a different place. Darren walked towards the quest board. It was a big board, there were lines that ran vertically down the board and divided into nine parts, there a lot of papers posted in the leftmost part then the amount of papers decreased each part until it reached the rightmost part where there were only five quests with pictures of dragons and other monsters. He put his hand on the board "Before I forget,how do these quests work?" "Quests are divided into nine tiers, F, D, C, B, A, S, SS, SSS. Toqualify for a certain tier you must pass the level requirement, because you are still level one you can only accept F quests, the lowest paying quests but also the most simple" she brought out a thick book, one that even rivaled Darren''s, dipped a quill in an inkpot then looked him in the eyes with a smile "so what quest will you do today? Sir Darren" Darren looked closely at the F tier quests. He glanced at the different quests, ignoring some like being a test dummy for a noble''s son, bait for a monster hunt, or any quest that required him to go to a scary sounding place,even if it was with more experienced adventurers.Whispering wood? Rockjaw Cave? fuck that.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. He settled on one quest he was sure was easy.
Quest (F) (repeatable): Green Vermin (repeatable) Reward: 25 silvers Requirements: None Where: Eladrian wood (near farms) Thefarmers near Pondcross are being plagued by goblins that have settled in sections of the Eladrian wood nearest to the farms, crops and livestock are being stolen leaving some farmers hungry and also making it hard for them to sell any produce because of the fear of a goblin attack while harvesting. To complete: Bring 10 goblin ears Bonus: 5 gold if proof a goblin chieftain''s death is presented
Darren picked the paper off the board. 25 silvers for 10 goblin ears was an excellent deal considering that goblins were the weakest enemies in any game, ever. Plus most goblins had two ears so he only had to kill 5 goblins? Darren walked on over to the counter and gave the paper to the lady, whose name Darren was still too shy to ask. She looked at the paper then proceeded to record it on her tome "good choice sir Darren, you can repeat this quest when your done" she handed the paper back to Darren. An easy money stream. Darren couldn''t stifle his grin. he was going to be paid good money for killing starting fodder monsters! he got the paper and placed it between the pages of his book.I really need to buy a pouch.He looked at the lady foranother question last question " How about if the monsters drop anything?" "its yours to do with as you wish, or you can sell it here if you can''t find a buyer, we will buy it for lower the usual price and then sell it to the next merchant who is interested so you dont have to wait" she closed the book and put it under the counter. Hmmm basically paying for the convenience of finding someone who would want or afford the item Darren nodded his head. "One last question" Darren put on a serious face earning a strange look from the lady "Do you have any food for sale?" a growl from his stomach emphasised his words. The lady chuckled "Oh my" she stood and called a waitress "okay, Alia!" the waitress smiled looking at Darren then walked quickly to the kitchen Boom got'' it ! her name is AliaDarren thought with triumph. he knew the name of a pretty girl, a feat that was next to impossible for him, even in his world. "That will be 4 silvers sir Darren" Alia held out her hand with a smile and a wink. Darrens business senses kicked, kinda like Peter Parker''s spider sense only his would turn on when he needed to pay any amount of money. Not even a beautiful lady in a fantasy world prevent him from getting a good deal!Darin all the people who sell, they add high price always , people steal from you if you let them anak. his mother''s advice rang in his mind. "Can I have it for 1?" He reached into his pouch "Oh dear, Im afraid we cant give you it for 1 silver sir. We can do 3 though" she smiled "2?" Darren got that amount from his coin pouch,and closed it. "very well" she took the coins from Darren. Alia gestured him towards some tables. All the tables had people in them though. Darren''s social awkwardness senses were tingling, and the thought of talking to people he didnt really know for a long time brought sweat to his forehead.Fuck this small talk is gonna be harder than those SSS quests he chuckled to himself then approached the waitress and asked her something. the waitress smiled and pretty soon she came back with his food wrapped in a big green leaf and secured by twine, kinda like how people brought food down from his mother''s province wrapped in banana leaves. he gladly took his take out meal from the waitress and went back to Oz''s place not even the rain could dampen his mood. "What do ye want you bugger?" Oz said as he opened the door Darren could tell that he disturbed him from his sleep. "Oz! wake up you geezer! Im an adventurer now and I brought us food to celebrate" holding up the leaf package. Oz took a second, Darren could see the gears turning in his sleep addled mind. Then he lit up with a smile. "I''ll be gettin the plates" he said, as he rushed inside, leaving Darren to lock the wooden door. Darren put his book down near his bedroll, The embers were burning but there was no pot. Darren sat crossed legged on his bedroll and waited for Oz, he returned with 3 wooden plates and 2 spoons. Darren placed the food on a plate and unwrapped it. It was a wooden bowl with a piece of brown, not black, brown bread. Darren almost shed a tear of joy. He got the bread of the bowl and handed half of it to Oz. The smell quickly filled the hut. Oz put some wood into the embers, the fire cast a warm light as they ate. What Darren thought was a wooden bowl was actually a mushroom cap. The soup inside had pepper and other spices he couldnt tell, rosemary maybe? It had peices of beef, a true livestock animal not another reptile like frog they found on the outskirts of town. it also had peices of carrrots and potatoes floating in the broth. They wolfed the bread and broth down with lightning speed, both their days work making them ravenous. after they were done with the soup they broke the mushroom bowl down and ate that too. The mushroom was spongy in Darrens mouth flavor flowing out of it every time he took a bite, again and again and again. The next thing he knows hes on the floor with a full belly and a grin plastered on his face as he falls into a deep sleep the warmth of the embers beside him. ????? Elanil stumbled inside her makeshift shelter, it was 2 sticks that were shaped like the human letter, Wai, there was a long stick in the middle and she used broad babao leaves for cover. she lay down on a wooden platform protecting her from the forest''s denizens that crawled, or slithered in the night. Thecold humid air was filled with mosquitos and the smell of fallen leaves and rotting wood. She could handle this though, just a little more time she arrive at a human settlement, it is common knowledge to settle near a forest and a source of water. Her maps showed her there was a lake a day''s travel from where she was. She would be an adventurer, she would hunt monsters that threatened lives, she would be alive. She took a bit of everseed bread she brought, it filled her growling stomach but it was bland and hard like stale bread. At least it gave her energy, Fertris below knows she needed it. She slapped her neck, the mosquitos biting her like needles to her skin. Then she heard it. The rustling of bushes, the faint crackle of leaves being broken underfoot, or underpaw, her enhanced hearing picking up the slow breathing of a predator. She sat up tensing her muscles like the very predator that hunted her, tight ,waiting , ready to jump at first sign of danger. She heard a growl, the foosteps soming faster now. She thanked Fetris too soon. 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