Legend of the Spellthief

Another few days were spent leisurely at the guild house. Logan couldn’t do much else, besides crafting the relic he had in mind for so long. Combining the materials from the most recent monsters, the experience gathered in the guild coffers, and some extra from the goblins he slew that his guildies could not handle, the new item was quite a hungry creation.

Whittling away daylight to moonlight, the days got colder and colder as they reached the negatives of Celsius. Snow fettered down to the city streets, and one day it was tall enough that Logan saw some small snow saebers being crafted outside his window.

There were no special events in the last week of the year, the 25th passed with little celebration. However, most people did take the last week off from work. Many spent the time cleaning and repairing their homes and spending time with family. However, this was also in preparation for the tournament in the new year, as many houses would become vacant during that time.

As five days passed, Logan finally completed the relic he had spent so much prep work for.

Placing the bracelet around his palm, between his finger and thumb and wrapping around the middle of the side of his palm, the trinket sat comfortably below Logan’s knuckles. A set of magical symbols appeared just above the bracelet, rotating with the shifting buildings in the band.

Aiming his hand at the door to his room, Logan concentrated and caused the wood to warp. Slowly, the door shifted into a more ornate design, with etchings on the frame and hinges, the guild symbol emblazoning in the middle of the door itself.

Lowering his hand as his adjustment was completed, Logan let out a small breath. It wasn’t too taxing, but he got a better idea of the resources and time it would take to change the entire building at his current power.

Opening the door, it made a satisfying click as the new handle and locking mechanism were more intricate and secure. The door made little in the way of noise as it opened, magic doing more than WD-40 ever would. Closing the door, it was flush on all sides and completely straight. No crooked wood or bent sides.

“Everything fine up there?” Advelt asked as he saw Logan come down the stairs to the foyer.

“Yeah, just adjusting my room. Is anyone else in the guild right now?” Logan inquired as he approached the counter.

“Just myself and Waerell. Most are off out completing some quests for the new year, and sir Marcus is visiting a church.”

“Good”, Logan replied as he turned to the rooms behind him, “Waerell, could you come to the foyer please?” he shouted.

Waerell came rather quickly at the beckon with a smile on her face, “What do you require?”

“I need you two to be out of the guild house for a few hours, take the rest of the day off.”

“Is this for your construction plans you mentioned before?” Advelt asked.

“That it is. Will probably take some time.”

“Very well. We can go do some browsing and shopping”, Waerell replied as she took her husband’s hand.

The pair left with Logan in tow, double-checking no one was in the guild before he shut the front door.

Pulling a chair with him, Logan placed it near the door and sat facing the guild. Pulling out a large piece of parchment that contained the plans for the remodelling, Logan looked over it as he raised both hands at the guild.

Wiggling his fingers, the magical ring appeared above the palm bracelet once more, the magical symbols flying from the trinket to surround the guild house as well as the building on its side and behind that Logan had purchased previously.

A surge of power rolled along Logan’s arms to his hands, a visible aura of purple dancing around his digits as he envisioned the new construction. The creaking of wood, grinding of stone, and clinking of glass from the shifting building made quite a ruckus.

Nearby inhabitants stopped to gaze at Logan and the magic he was weaving. Some were speaking amongst themselves, while some kids got closer to look at the animated materials. Thankfully they all had the intelligence to not touch the dangerous locale, but Logan didn’t have to worry about that as the barriers protecting his house also stopped them from getting in contact with it.

Hours passed, just as did the guards who stopped for longer than they should to appreciate the magical show. Logan had already informed the authorities of his construction and got permission from all associated craft guilds. Hardly anyone interrupted him, and if they did, all he said in reply was that he was concentrating.

As another moon reached the sky, Logan finished his reconstruction of the guild house. It kept the general entrance design, with windows peering into the counter and interviewing room to the side of the entry door, but was now much wider on the left side as you looked at the front.

The back had also connected with another building, the interior shifting to create a wider training environment for the guildies. Several new rooms were also formed on the first-floor front and sides, increasing the number of bedrooms from twenty to fifty, all with views to the outside with newly crafted windows from glass Logan had bought and stored in his inventory.

A few of the meeting rooms were also moved to more interior locales, lacking windows, allowing more bedrooms to have windows to gaze outside of. Logan knew the effect natural light had on moods, and meeting rooms weren’t used for that long.

The left side, while looking at the guild, led to a large smithery and crafting area for Amalia to work in, as well as other guildies who wanted to spend the time with crafting skills. Logan made sure to fill it with tools to increase the chances of good outcomes alongside speeding up creation processes.

As an addition, Logan created a basement section under the foyer with a staircase under the normal one that led to the first floor, and a trap door in the counter, which Logan also enlarged. The basement would act as a storage room and larder.

With a final flourish, Logan crafted a large wooden sign with slate outlines that hung over the front door with a bigger version of the guild symbol painted across it. The sign swung slightly in the wind, the metal pole that held it away from the building would also act as a good perch for oorans if needed.

Logan slouched forward in his chair as his concentration ended, a numbness was felt in his arms and head, completely drained from such a long period of casting. Another experience to add to the pile when he needed to use such a trinket in the future. If he was to continue growing the guild, he would need to use it again.

The next idea would be to increase the height of the guild, rather than the area it took up on the side or behind. Logan would need further building permits and materials for that, though.

Picking up his chair, Logan went back inside the guild to redo the magical barrier to encompass the new area, before taking a nap on one of the couches.

Logan’s nap turned into a longer rest than he had anticipated, instead awakening to the chirping of birds and the morning routines of his guildies.

Rubbing his face and casting Clean over it, Logan spoke to a nearby reader, “Morning, Vafith.”

The Wizard quickly wiped her face which was slightly red, “Morning, Logan.”

“You alright?”

“Yeah, just allergies”, she replied as she wrapped her long sleeves around her arms as they dangled.

“I take it everyone found their rooms alright”, Logan continued as he sat at the edge of the sofa, looking around the guild house.

“They did. I am surprised they didn’t wake you with all their loud voices”, Vafith giggled.

Logan sighed as he saw a new System window appear to his side, “Hopefully they have some nice time off. I got some business to attend to first.”

“Working yourself ragged, aren't you? You can take some time off too, you know.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I’ll get maybe two days off before next year”, Logan laughed.

Pulling up the window to peruse it while he approached the counter for his breakfast, Logan studied the new quest.

“Been a while since I had a ‘Main Quest’, no doubt it’ll be difficult to accomplish. The time limit objective would lead me to believe it’s not a ‘raid’ of any sort. It should be suitable for just me and Marcus”, Logan thought to himself as Amalia moved a mug in front of him, his partner knowing his drink of choice.

“Long day? The house looks like it took a lot out of you”, Amalia asked with a sincere smile.

“That it did”, Logan laughed, “Just as long as I was expecting, but it all came out as I wanted, near enough”, he continued as he looked back at the foyer.

“A lot of the others are either adjusting their new rooms or out buying some luxuries for their break.”

“They all deserve it. Hard to say any guildie has been slacking since joining.”

“Do you have any more construction plans? Or are you joining the week break, albeit midway through?”

“I have plans, but they will come later. After the tournament at least, and that’ll bring in a lot more attention to the guild.”

“I think I’ll spend a lot of the time reading”, Amalia laughed.

Logan finished his drink before replying, “I have a quest to do before the year’s end. So Marcus and I will be heading out to that when he gets here.”

Amalia grabbed Logan’s arm, “If that’s the case, maybe you should have this earlier than usual”, she said as she held out a small present box to Logan.

Logan looked at the box for a second before taking it, “Thanks.”

Opening the box, it contained a dagger in an intricate sheath of gold and mauve.

“It’s a legendary dagger suited to you, hopefully, it’ll bring you out of a shitty situation”, Amalia informed with a cheeky smile.

Logan unsheathed the dagger to reveal a smooth curved blade with a reinforced hilt portion and tipped with gold.

“It’s great, thanks”, Logan accepted as he planted a loving kiss on Amalia. “Yours will have to wait for when I get back, sadly. It’s taking some time”, he laughed as he put the dagger into his coat storage.

Not much time passed before Marcus returned to the guild house, a few of the other guildies accompanying their senior home with their bags heavy with new purchases. Taking his ally into a meeting room, the two conversed on the most recent development.

“Anyone we take would be at risk, and I doubt many people will just up and leave this time of year and without much word of worry from the seers”, Marcus rationalised.

“The way the quest describes it, seems like it’ll be an exterior location and just fights against these monsters. We both know how the random factor can play into these things though.”

Marcus laughed, “At least we know what we’re fighting. Let’s do a bit of research beforehand and check them out. As long as teleportation isn’t restricted we can leave if it gets hairy.”

“My thoughts exactly. Even if they are, I can still use Air Blast to make some distance or Barrier to block what they might throw our way.”

“Bring down these monsters quick, then time off till the tourney”, Marcus ended with a smile.

As was custom by now, Logan and Marcus spent a healthy period checking their gear and buying up supplies for the mission ahead. The ideals of over-preparation had wormed into Logan’s head, though he still wasn’t as obsessive as he thought Cassius was about it. There was the prevailing thought that the daggers he bought lost their value rather quickly, based on his faster level progression.

With everything settled, the pair warped away from Gauntlet.

Several Dimensional Jaunts later, Logan and Marcus found themselves with a full thicket. Sight wasn’t to be trusted within the brushing shoulders of trees. The flora wasn’t exactly thick, but numerous. Green canopies overhead painted the area more peaceful than its depths would like to hide.

Summoning up his elementals, Logan clicked his fingers and cautiously approached the mission area.

It didn’t take much longer to find their quarries. Three snallygasters led by a larger alpha. Their bodies were grotesque and monstrous, an amalgamation of half-bird and half-reptile creatures. Beaks formed at the tip of their faces, the pair were made of strange organic steel with an ever-present sheen across them. Those beaks were highly prized by smiths for their durability and magical properties.

Splitting out from the monsters’ beaks were squid-like tentacles that whipped around in the air for prey. While its hind legs ended in deadly talons, its front appendages were bat-like wings ending in similar talons. Like its face, the creature's hind had a lizard-like tail that whirled around.

Moving around for a better sightline, Logan spotted a single deathly-red eye dotted in the centre of the creature’s head, a single black vertical slit iris within it.

The three normal monsters were around 20’ tall, while the alpha was at 30’. Logan was tempted to use Identification on them, however, his previous investigations revealed that would be a terrible action against snallygasters, using the unique form of sight to enforce a monkey-paw wish on the onlooker.

Thankfully, the speed at which Logan tracked these creatures meant they were without any would-be wishers. Moving a bit away, Logan reconfirmed his attack plan with Marcus and the elementals.

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