Legend of the Spellthief

The newly formed party of the Player Characters, Logan and Amalia, accompanied by Logan’s partnered NPC, Marcus, made their way to the markets of Gauntlet. Servoir trailed behind as before, not causing Logan any annoyance at having to resummon him for any situation.

Browsing the stalls for a bit, Amalia picked up a small hand crossbow, about the length of her forearm but not a wrist-attached version like Pon To had so long ago. It would be easier to load and fire, especially since she had no experience with such a thing and only really needed to hit a large target with it.

Logan also made sure to buy another cache arm so that Amalia could hide parts of her status, and even sold his old eagle’s eyeglass for a high-quality variant.

Amalia fiddled with the new weapon as the party moved towards the church, firing it without any bolt attached and pulling the string back into a locked position. Logan also passed down a few of his healing potions to her, adorning her belt for easy access in combat.

Marcus was the first at the doors to the church, though they didn’t need to enter it as he noticed the Devout that was going to accompany them back to Tinte alongside the man who had come to Gauntlet with the message.

“Is this everyone?” the hired Devout asked as he looked at Logan and the elemental behind him.

“Yeah”, Logan replied as he looked at Servoir, “I can take up to seven others with me, so we’re below that limit.”

The Devout who had brought the message, Aev, gave an astonished reply, “Really? That’s quite the mastery of a second-level spell. Marcus, you’ve made some strong friends.”

“You’re, Logan, correct? I think I remember you coming to our church a few times. So, that makes you the phasing hunter.”

Picking up their bags, the Devouts followed the rest of the party as they began to walk to the gates.

“I’ve grown a lot since Tinte too, Aev”, Marcus boasted.

“Since we are using teleportation magics, shall I take it we’ll be given a return trip?” the Devout asked.

“Of course. Once you’ve accessed the situation with Marta, we’ll see what needs to be done. If we can sort it out, we’ll try and do so, then come back. That fine?” Logan explained.

“It would be nice to visit another town for a few days, I am fine with a few days' leave.”

With Logan’s mastery of Dimensional Jaunt hitting six the other day, he was able to teleport thirty-six miles at a time, using his updated eagle’s eyeglass he was able to view past that distance. It would take him seven casts to reach Tinte, costing 14 MP. If he hadn’t used teleportations earlier in the day he could make a round trip in a day.

“Is this a friend of yours?” Aev asked as he looked back at Amalia.

“Yes. She will be accompanying us to experience another town too”, Logan half-lied.

“Hello. Is Tinte nice?”

“Was nicer a few weeks ago. We’ve had troubles here and there, the goblin invasion demolished a lot of our stocks and supplies.”

“Tinte didn’t have many adventurers over rank 5, last time I was there”, Marcus added as he twisted his head to look back at Amalia.

“I suppose even less after the goblin business”, Logan assumed.

“You’re right. Many seven day’ers lost that challenge. A lot of adventurers even left Tinte to find better employment elsewhere”, Aev solemnly admitted.

“Was Marta’s wound from the invasion?” Marcus inquired.

“Yeah”, Aev responded, his face betraying his lie away from the sight of the others.

Reaching the gates, a few guards waved off Logan and Marcus. Returning the gestures and passing over the large bridge, Logan took out his eyeglass and started to adjust its partitions to go to the highest zoom level.

“Everyone grab onto my coat and hold tight. We’ll be teleporting into the sky and then to the ground at Tinte to cover the most distance possible”, Logan instructed as he held up the monocular to check it.

The team did as he ordered, Servoir wrapping his body around Logan’s leg to leave room for the others.

Looking into the far distant sky, in the direction of Tinte, Logan mentally commanded Dimensional Jaunt seven times. Using his last Signature Spell of it for the day, he spent 12 MP for the last six.

The team soared high in the sunlight, the blasts of air they created halting most of the fierce winds in the higher altitudes. Marcus took in the sights of all that was below, while Amalia was still finding it hard to not shut her eyes at times. Aev let out an energetic breath at the exhilarating experience, while the Devout they had hired had seemingly done this a few times before.

With the final teleport bringing the team to the muddy floor of Tinte, Logan had bridged a massive span of land that had taken him ten days to walk before in a matter of a minute. Dust and dirt were blown away from their feet as they landed with little velocity, Logan being able to adjust how fast they moved through his spell.

Several civilians jumped at the sound and the sight, a few kids running behind walls or their parents in fear. Logan and Marcus waved their hands high and both spoke, “Everything is fine, just adventurer business.”

Looking over the village, Logan saw how hard the invasion hit the place. Whilst not physically damaged too badly, the streets were more empty than he had ever seen them. Several house doors had been boarded up, and pets taken away from the hovels.

“They’ll recover”, Marcus muttered under his breath as the team walked through the streets.

The team eventually wound up at the church, the exterior coated in dust and dirt, as well as a few smudged bloodstains across the entrance.

Opening the doors had wind rush inside along with Aev and the party. The smell of infection and rot prevailed within the interior, even with the movement of air.

“This way”, Aev said as he moved to the back and opened another door.

Entering a cramped room, the party saw Marta laid out on a large wooden table, wrappings around her stomach and bowls dripping onto nearby tables with dirtied water.

Aev stumbled to Marta’s side and grabbed her hand, “Marta, how are you?”

Marta muttered almost incomprehensible words, at a guess they were, “Terrible.”

The hired Devout moved to the patient's side and looked over her quickly, “I shall start examining her, please wait outside or return in an hour.”

Marcus covered his mouth, teary eyes holding back a flood as he looked at his mentor.

Logan placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder, “Let’s wait outside”, he whispered as he pulled Marcus out of the room.

Amalia followed, closing the door behind her. She looked as if she wanted to say something, but it seemed she settled on that she shouldn’t.

Marcus walked a bit faster, moving from Logan’s grasp and outside the large church doors. Breathing in and out, Marcus was flushing out the bad air from his lungs and trying to clear his head. Logan stood by his side, letting his friend know he was there.

“This isn’t the first time I’ve seen someone laying there like that”, Marcus began, his words shaky.

“Tinte is a small village, I doubt you’d always have the reagents for healing services”, Logan knowingly said.

“No, we didn’t.”

“She’ll be fine, don’t worry.”

“I know.”

Amalia closed the doors to the church and leaned against them, not wanting to butt in. Servoir stood at Logan’s side, keeping quiet as he knew his master’s will.

Minutes passed as the party stood outside, awaiting a diagnosis. They already assumed it was going to be regeneration, but the wait was deathly.

Waiting became even worse when others came to interrupt it.

A trio of adventurers, cocky strides and clanking weapons at their backs, approached Logan and Marcus, one of them tilting their heads to see Marcus.

“Hey, look here! The rumours were true, Marky got himself a phasing ferry back home”, the leader mentioned boisterously.

Marcus sighed as he looked to the side, ignoring the trio who had appeared.

“Devout got coin to spare if he can buy that. Come to see how we fared against the goblins?” a woman in the back asked teasingly.

“I don’t think he’s listening”, the last man added.

“If you got coin, you owe us a silver for that crossbow and bolts last time”, the leader put forward as he stepped towards Marcus.

Logan was about to step to block the man, but Marcus’s hand stopped him. Using the other to pull a coin from his pouch he threw it at the man. “Take that, and piss off”, Marcus cursed.

The leader knelt down and picked up the coin, “Marky, you got confident with your leave.”

“And you, after you left me.”

“I wasn’t about to die for someone whose mouth only produces what a potion can.”

“And yours spews what I flush at night”, Marcus insulted as he stared daggers at the leader.

The two stared at each other, the faces of the two others darkening a bit. After a heated staring match, the leader responded, “Whatever. Enjoy your nostalgia trip”, he said before walking away.

With the other two leaving as well, Logan was sure a fight was going to break out. He felt a chuckle in his cheeks at Marcus’s rebuttal.

“You good?” Logan asked.

“Yeah, no point worrying about trash.”

The trio walking away stopped as their leader’s body stopped their walk, turning around he shouted, “Damn Devout!”

Running at Marcus, the leader drew a large sword from their back and aimed to make a downward swing on Logan’s ally. Logan jumped to the side, out of their way, he knew Marcus would want to handle this himself.

Marcus’s body took on a grey glow as he Enhanced himself, drew up a dagger, and parried the man’s slash, pushing him back into a tumble at the overwhelming strength that Marcus had behind him.

Following the parry, Marcus jumped after the attacker, spun and drew his staff, and dealt an under swing into the man’s chin. Cracks could be heard, but it wasn’t from the staff, but from the teeth flying out of the man’s mouth.

Kicking off the ground, Marcus followed with a deft doublestrike into the man’s chest and stomach, pushing him into a crashing slide on the mud, making a large trench in it. The man’s slide stopped as he was left unconscious beneath his fellows who looked at Marcus in awe.

“Next time you attack someone, make sure they aren’t a hunter”, Marcus spat at the trio as he pointed at his armband.

They apparently had no clue what it meant, and probably had never dealt with a hunter to this point. Regardless they bowed their heads a few times as they picked up their leader and took him away.

Logan walked back to Marcus’s side, “You alright letting them go?”

“The guards here might take their side, at least he’ll have problems spewing any more shit”, Marcus said without looking at the trio.

Logan laughed as he nudged Marcus’s shoulder with his fist, “That was a good comeback, by the way.”

“Thanks.”

Amalia observed the situation, her body shaking a bit from the power on display. Marcus’s glowing body and the fierceness behind his attacks showed just how strong people got in this world.

Would she reach that strength too, she wondered. Walking to the pair she spoke, “Shitheads here too, it looks like.”

“As you’ll find anywhere. I can at least find something good in their actions. Them leaving me for dead allowed me to get saved by Logan.”

“A bad situation turning into an amazing future, huh?” Logan remarked as he shrugged his shoulders.

Marcus laughed, a smile returning to his face was a welcome sight with the current situation.

“What was that glow?” Amalia asked.

“Enhance, a second-level spell. I used it on my Strength and Agility”, Marcus informed as he turned to look at Amalia.

“For you, it’d almost double your current power”, Logan added.

“You’ll get it too, if we are going to hunt some trolls”, Marcus offered as he smiled at Amalia.

“I just gotta get used to using this thing”, Amalia mentioned as he brought up her hand crossbow.

“Let me show you.”

The rest of the time spent waiting was spent with Marcus teaching Amalia how to use her crossbow.

After several more minutes passed, the doors to the church opened as the hired Devout exited them to the party.

“What we looking at”, Logan asked.

The Devout sighed, “Marta was attacked by a necromane.”

“Necro-mane?”

“It is a necrotic-infused type of wolf. Often employed by demon species to guard treasures. No one else here could identify it, but it was killed. I am surprised the component master here didn’t check the items he was given.”

“This is the first I’ve heard of them”, Marcus admitted.

“Might be the first for the village too. Either way, their bites are deadly. It seems her organs were eaten away, and her healing kept her alive. However, she was cursed by its bite.”

“What?” Marcus asked under his breath.

“Normally, curses can be cured for a few silver to a gold, if they are tackled early. If not, they take very expensive components to get rid of.”

“I met someone else with a curse, in Moella”, Logan added.

“Then you might have some idea on this. She wasn’t diagnosed early enough. If we get rid of the curse, we still need to revive and regenerate her. You’re looking at 30 gold, minimum.”

“Fuck me”, Logan cursed.

“This specific curse is eating away at her. Even if we revive and recover her, it will give her a few months at best before the curse brings her back to this point.”

“Are there any other options?” Marcus asked.

“A few. Transferring the curse onto a new wielder, though that is expensive too. Getting permanent regeneration would also work, though she would be in discomfort for the rest of her life—”

“How bad would the discomfort be?” Marcus pushed.

“Think of it as like having ants in your stomach. Numbness spells and herbs could negate that though.”

“Anything else?” Logan asked.

“A combination of spells and herbs could replicate the organs she lost, but that would be bleeding her pocket as bad as her organs are bleeding out.”

“How long does she have for us to make a choice?” Marcus asked, his eyes shaking.

“A month, anything more than that and moving her would be dangerous and we’d need to bring the items and people to her. At most, two weeks after that.”

“What about using healing magic to steady her?” Logan inquired.

“That is counting that, she is already doing her best to slow the process.”

Everyone stood in silent contemplation for a few moments before Logan spoke up, “Can you gather the additional reagents needed for permanent regeneration? I’ve been researching trolls and I may be able to find one.”

“Oh? If so, that would be the best outcome. Your teleportation powers are sufficient enough for me to not worry about your safety fighting them.”

“How much will it cost?” Logan asked further.

“If you bring the blood, I’d say 50 silver, if all the reagents are here.”

Logan was glad that the price hadn’t fluctuated. He had investigated the components beforehand, the kicker was the blood. But this event gave him an easier approach to getting some. The other components were rare, but thankfully not too widely used in other items, hence the lower price.

“She won’t need revival if she gets permanent regeneration, right?” Marcus asked to make sure.

“It would run off her own power. It should be sufficient to bring her to good health if we monitor her. With everything added together, you can just pay me 1 gold.”

“All right, we’re going to talk with Marta and Aev first. We’ll look for you at the Dogslop Inn when we need you”, Logan explained.

“See you then”, the Devout spoke as he bowed and moved off into the village.

The trio looked towards each other as they made a sort of circle. “That sorts that. A curse is worrying though”, Logan started.

“At least the beast that dealt it is dead”, Marcus accepted.

“I’d hate to be in her position”, Amalia added.

“We know how to deal with it, let’s test my plan.”

Turning to the doors, they went to the back room.

“Marta?” Logan spoke as he got close to the Devout’s head.

“We’ve talked with the healer, and come to a decision. Troll’s blood is the easiest way to save you. You just need to ask us to get some. It is going to be costly, but if you can pay 1 gold, we can get it for you.”

Aev took on a somewhat strange face, a mix of eagerness and some sort of resentment. Logan’s words may have been a bit terse, asking for payment upfront. He may have heard it more like, “Pay or die”. But this was how it was going to be.

Marta looked at Logan, obviously weak but contemplating the option.

Marcus took a step forward, “It’s ok, Marta. Ask us to do this, and we can do it. We’re a lot stronger since we left here.”

Marta looked at Marcus who still glowed grey and then back at Logan, forcing out wispy words she spoke, “1 gold for troll’s blood. Please, bring it if you can.”

“Marta has asked you to bring her a phial of troll’s blood to grant her innate regeneration.

Do you accept? Yes / No.

Reward: 1 gold”, a new window appeared to the side of Marta’s head.

Logan thought for a second, and then pushed a bit further, “You want us to go kill some trolls for their blood? We can’t just buy this kind of stuff.”

He knew that if there was a way to just buy the stuff, the system could just have him trade for some and not Harvest it.

“Yes. It is never in stores. You will need to kill trolls for it.”

“Marta has asked you to kill trolls and bring her a phial of troll’s blood to grant her innate regeneration.

Do you accept? Yes / No.

Reward: 1 gold.”

“We’ll do this for you”, Logan accepted, the window disappearing into his quest log like any other hall quest or hunting contract as the, “Yes”, option turned green.

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