“Welcome to Kalmyros,” Lukas said with an enormous grin. “Truly, I never thought I’d see my home again.”
“It’s huge!” Ophelia exclaimed. “There must be a million people living there. Is it the biggest city in the empire?”
“It’s one of the smallest,” Lukas replied. “But it’s an important trading hub, with the fae lands to the south and the undead war in the north.”
Piper crossed her arms as she stared down at the city. It had been a long time since she’d been around so many people, and honestly, she wasn’t looking forward to it. She’d gotten used to her idyllic life on a remote farm.
Then, almost by reflex, she pulled up her character sheet to examine it before traveling down to the city.
Piper Ashcroft
Race: Shadeling, Level 44
Class: Deceiver (Epic), Level 40
Attributes
Strength – 125
Dexterity – 70
Stamina - 60
Vitality – 30
Perception – 30
Swiftness - 70
Magic - 200
Mana - 750
Mana Regeneration – 750
Free Attribute Points - 0
Racial Skills (5/10)
- Demonic Blood, Level 33
- Demonic Fury, Level 1
- Demonic Intellect, Level 8
- Tail Strike, Level 12
- Quick Claw, Level 12
Skills (10/10)
- Ambush Detection, Level 5
- Animal Caretaker, Level 5
- Archery, Level 17
- Cooking, Level 6
- Enduring Casting, Level 11
- Identify, Level 10
- Hunting, Level 10
- Running, Level 12
- Stick Wielder, Level 1
- Subterfuge, Level 10
Spells (5/10)
- False Face, Level 10
- Truth Shroud, Level 16
- Umbral Terror, Level 5
- Veil of Lies, Level 14
- Wraithskin, Level 5
After emerging from the Black Pyramid, she’d allocated her 160 free attribute points. She’d added 15 to Perception, to increase it to 30. To her surprise, it had helped her Hunting skill quite a bit. Then she’d placed 7 in Swiftness, to bring it up to 70.
The rest she’d placed into magical attributes. More than ever, she was going to need her illusions. To start with, she’d added 68 to Magic, which brought it up to a nice even 200. Hopefully, not many people would have a Perception high enough to see through her illusions. Next, she placed 35 points into Mana and Mana Regeneration to give her 750 in each.
Reading over her skills, she noted that only her Hunting and Subterfuge had increased since leaving the Black Pyramid. The first skill had increased rapidly because she’d been hunting game animals almost non-stop to feed them. As for Subterfuge, she suspected it was increasing because she was hiding her true nature from Lukas.
At the thought of him, she turned to the young man. “And you promise to keep my secret?”
“You saved my life and kept us fed during our trip through the mountains,” he said. “I would do anything to repay my debt to you.”
“Make him buy us some ice cream,” Ophelia whispered. “Lots of ice cream.”
“Do you think you could recommend an inn for us?”
“I assume you’d like something cheap?”
Piper nodded. She still had a gold piece in her pouch on her belt. The other one she’d hidden in Ethel’s belongings before she fled from the Crimson Guard. Hopefully, the money would be enough for Ethel and Alfred to rebuild their farm when they returned to Alderwick.
At the thought of them, she said a quick prayer to whoever was listening that they were both safe. But she trusted that Justina would watch over them. While she doubted that she and the ridiculously tall woman would ever be friends, Piper knew she was honorable. And she believed the vampire would keep her word.
Lukas ran a hand through his hair. “I would recommend the Dancing Gnome Inn. It’s outside of the main walls, and as non-citizens, you won’t draw too much attention to yourselves there.”
“Do they have real gnomes?” Piper asked hopefully. The one thing she’d wanted to see since she’d arrived in this world was real fantasy races. At least ones that didn’t want her dead like the redcaps.
“I doubt you’ll see any gnomes there,” he said with a laugh. “Most of them live in the far north. But you never know. A few occasionally come through Kalmyros.”
“I don’t suppose there are any cat people?”
“Beastmen?” Lukas shook his head. “Their filthy kind are confined to the west… for now at least.”
The young man’s expression turned serious. “Would you like some friendly advice?”
Piper nodded her head.
“Become a Wayfarer as soon as you can.” He turned to stare at the city. “I was born here and love this place, but I doubt it will stand much longer. The undead encroach closer every day, and the dark elves are moving up from the south. If you can, become a wayfarer to earn citizenship. Then you can travel anywhere in the empire. Somewhere must be better than here.”
“Wait!” Ophelia exclaimed. “The city is going to fall, and you didn’t tell us? While we were walking through the mountains for almost two weeks, you never thought to say, ‘Hey, the city is about to be overrun by crazy zombies and evil elves?”
“It never came up.” Lukas shifted his heavy backpack. “I’m sure there are many things you haven’t told me about yourselves. Now, I need to report to the wayfarer aspirant’s guild. I hope our paths cross again someday.”
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Piper hurried forward and drew Lukas into a big hug, which seemed to surprise him. But after a second, he returned it with gusto. Then she stepped back, blushing slightly as she thought she might have overdone it. She watched the young man set off down the hill in the direction of Kalmyros.
Ophelia picked up a stick from the ground. “What are we waiting for? I’m pretty sure you owe me two ice creams. And they’re right down there waiting for us.”
“I do, don’t I?”
“Come on!” Ophelia set off at a jog down the hill, her cloak flapping in the gentle breeze.
Piper checked to make sure her bow, Gorebark, was concealed in the blanket she’d borrowed from Lukas. A smile flickered across her face as she watched her friend race toward the city. The last week of traveling through the mountains had returned much of her friend’s spunk. It probably helped that Piper had taken down plenty of birds and mountain goats to feed the three of them. Having a full belly made everyone feel better.
She took off at a sprint to catch up with Ophelia, her mouth watering at the thought of ice cream. It felt like it’d been a lifetime since she’d tasted the divine creamy treat. And in some ways, it had been. She hadn’t had any since she’d been reborn on this world.
I so need to find bananas somewhere. Then I can have a banana split.
Racing past Ophelia, she winked before slowing slightly. Together, they jogged down the rest of the hill, passing Lukas, and headed across the farmland toward the city. From there, it took them over two hours for them to reach the town outside of the walls.
The buildings at the edge of the town loomed over them, with most of them standing two-storeys tall, and the upper floors overhanging the street. The tall structures hid the sun and gave the road a vaguely tunnel-like feel.
As they entered the town, a few heads turned in their direction, but no gazes lingered on them. Only when an older woman looked at her before sniffing did she realize the state of her clothing. Demon claws had torn at the fabric, her healing spell had singed the edges, and numerous weapons had pierced her dress. Feeling self-conscious, she drew her cloak tightly around herself to hide her exposed skin.
A glance over at Ophelia showed her clothing wasn’t in much better shape. After they found a place to stay, they needed to locate a tailor. She hoped they sold pretty dresses here. While she’d never been much into fashion, she was a bit tired of wearing plain peasant clothing.
After wandering around for a bit, she smelled the delicious aroma of roasting meat. Exchanging glances with Ophelia, they changed direction and headed in the direction of the scent.
Darting through the crowd, they stopped at the entrance to a vast market. Stalls with brightly colored fabric crowded an open square, and they offered every kind of food a person could imagine.
There were plump birds roasting on spits, baked pies, dried fish and slabs of meat. But it was someone cranking a handle on a bucket that caught her attention. She’d visited a heritage village once with her dad, and she knew that was how ice cream was made.
Fighting down a girlish squeal, she raced over to the vendor. Then she fished a gold piece out of her pouch and slapped it down on the table. “Two ice creams, please!”
The short, balding man eyed the coin. “I don’t want no trouble with the guard. Take your stolen coin elsewhere.”
“It’s not stolen,” she said indignantly. “I earned this.”
“Oh yeah? Doing what?”
“I… sold an aetherstone.” Piper felt her skin prickle as the man used [Identify] on her. Thankfully, she’d taken the knight Raz Kalma’s advice and added a rarity to her farmhand class.
“Sure, a farm girl and her unawakened sister went into the mountains to retrieve an aetherstone. And I’m a member of the Sorrowguard.”
“We did!” Ophelia exclaimed. “Now give us our ice cream.”
Piper could only watch in horror as the man moved on to another customer and dished out a delicious-looking bowl of ice cream. She couldn’t believe that she was so close to achieving her dream, only to be thwarted by her lack of small denomination coins.
Grabbing the gold piece, she stuffed it back into her pocket. Maybe once they found the inn, they could find someone to change the money. Then they’d come back and buy ice cream—from another vendor.
“But… the ice cream,” Ophelia said forlornly. “It’s right here!”
“We’ll find the inn first,” she said. “Then we’ll come back for the ice cream.”
Ophelia reached toward the ice cream as Piper dragged her away.
Shaking her head at her friend's dramatics, she had to admit she felt disappointed, too. She’d been dreaming about ice cream for almost two years. When she returned, she was going to buy giant bowls for both of them.
They navigated through the packed streets, narrowly avoiding a richly appointed horse-drawn carriage, and having to duck into an alleyway as a patrol of armored men marched past. Only when they passed the food market again did she realize they were going in circles.
Ophelia rolled her eyes. “Do you have any idea where you’re going?”
“Not really…” In hindsight, she probably should have asked Lukas for better directions. But after living near Alderwick for almost two years, she wasn’t used to big cities. She would have to find someone who knew the way to the inn.
She took a step forward but froze as she felt something brush against her money pouch. Without thinking, her hand shot out and caught a young girl’s hand. The girl wasn’t much younger than herself, but she was painfully thin and much shorter. Her clothing was little more than rags that looked like they were held together by pieces of string and grime.
“How-how did you do that?” the girl stuttered. “You’re only a farmhand…”
Piper shrugged. “Lots of practice on the farm.”
“I’m sorry…” the girl babbled. “I was just hungry.”
An idea suddenly occurred to Piper. “Do you know this city well?”
The girl bobbed her head up and down. “Like the back of my hand.”
“Tell you what,” she continued. “If you help me find a few things, I’ll buy you dinner and some ice cream.”
“No tricks?” The girl eyed her suspiciously. “You’re not going to turn me into the guard?”
“I don’t even know where the guards are,” Piper laughed. “But my friend and I are completely lost.” She realized she was still holding the girl’s wrist and released it.
The girl stumbled back, rubbing her wrist. “You promise?
“What’s going on?” Ophelia asked, her gaze darting between them. “Was she trying to steal our ice cream money?”
“Something like that.” Piper turned back to the girl. “Do you know where the Dancing Gnome is?”
The girl nodded.
“Oh, and what’s your name?”
“Most people call me Wisp.”
“Alright, Wisp. Will you take us to the inn?”
Ophelia glared at the girl. “I can’t believe we’re asking directions from a thief.”
Without another word, Wisp hurried off into the crowd, making them run to keep up. The diminutive girl led them across a stream filled with waste, moving past an open-air animal market, before finally stopping in front of a ramshackle building with the picture of a Dancing Gnome hanging out front.
Piper pressed her lips together as she took in the inn. A few of the shutters were hanging off the windows, while vast swaths of the roof were missing roof tiles. The paint on the wooden walls wasn’t in much better shape, with pieces curling off in long strips. According to Lukas, it was supposed to be affordable, and she could see why. The place was a dump.
Wisp played with her dirty hair. “Remember, you owe me a dinner.”
“Are you alone?”
“I don’t need anyone.”
Piper raised her brow. Since she had no idea how to respond, she crossed the muddy road in front of the inn and pushed open the front door. Inside, she was greeted by a room full of long tables, with a roaring fire on the far side. Only a handful of people were seated, and none of them turned to look in her direction.
After a minute, a woman bustled out of the kitchen and hurried over to them. She stood unusually tall and had wild red hair. A touch of flour was on the tip of her nose. “What can I do for you?” she asked, wiping her hands on her off-white apron. “Are you looking for a room?”
“Yes, and some food if you have it.” She paused as she pulled out the gold coin. “Can you make change for this?”
The woman snatched the coin and then bit it. After a second, she pulled out a purse from beneath her dress and counted out 11 silver pieces in her palm. She offered them to Piper. “My name is Iris. If you need anything, let me know. And I’ll take one silver for my trouble since this money is probably stolen.”
Ophelia’s eyes almost bugged out of her head. “A whole silver piece! That’s outright robbery. Is everyone trying to steal from us here?”
“It’s a deal,” Piper said, taking the money from the woman’s outstretched hand. Though she felt the price of one silver piece, for changing money was a bit steep, at least they had some spending cash now. Plus, the woman hadn’t made a big deal about it likely being stolen.
The woman crossed her arms. “It’s one copper a night, with a second one if you want food and drink.”
Handing back one of the silver pieces, she received 46 copper pieces in change. The woman handed her a key before pointing upstairs.
“Your room is the first on the left.”
Piper gripped the key tightly as they crossed the room. Climbing the stairs two at a time, she arrived at an ironbound door. She slid the key into the lock and turned it. The door swung open to reveal a room with two narrow beds.
“Our own room!” Ophelia squealed as she ran over and jumped on the bed. “I can’t believe we’re going to be adventurers.”
Piper walked over to the other bed and settled down. A little smile played across her face as she watched Ophelia bounce up and down.
As she looked around the room, she was struck by the fact that they’d actually done it; they’d reached the Arissian Empire. Tomorrow, she could start on the path to becoming an adventurer. It sounded like there were a fair number of steps in the process, but she was confident she could do it.
But right now, all she wanted to do was go downstairs and collect Wisp before celebrating the end of their journey. And she couldn’t think of any better way to do that than with a big, heaping bowl of ice cream.