Well in the end just rushing off would be foolish, and you are no child who needs your hand held, so there is only one choice. Time to go pick up a meat shi….. partner. You meant partner. After you go poke around a general store anyway.
The trip to the merchants district is pretty short all things considered. The streets are starting to fill as the sun comes up properly now, but the crowd seems to break around you, making room for you to walk unimpeded without any thought from the people around you, it's a little unsettling really, combined with the way non-branded look... Fuzzy unless you really focus on them. You had thought you were just getting to the age when you would need eyeglasses like Uncle, but after meeting Archbishop Grant, it seems that to you the masses of normal people will just look less distinct from now on. You wonder why that is. Maybe you can ask the Archbishop next time you're at the temple.
You pass by the skill shop and confirm what you already knew, way too many zeroes even on the smallest price tag in the window. Similarly the shop selling weapons and armor, the very cheapest cost a few hundred gilder. It looks like you'll have to settle for your starting gear until you've made some money.
The item shop is run by a rather matronly older woman with her graying brown hair tied up in a neat bun, she smiles as you enter and begin looking around, calling out a greeting, "Good Morning young man, is there anything in particular you are looking for today?"
Hah, your robes are good for something after all. "Just some basics, what do you have that's under fifty Gilder?"
She nods easily enough, pointing you over to a section labeled for beginners. At this point another silver window pops up, this time detailing the limits of your inventory.
Loot and You
As a starting adventurer you lack many of the accumulated niceties that allow your more experienced kin to lug a dragons entire hoard in one go. Unenhanced your inventory can contain items equal to three times your strength. In your case this number is nine. This does not include equipped items though. You may carry up to twice your inventory in times of need, but this causes the [slowed] status which cannot be cured until the burden is reduced. Multiples of the same item take up multiple slots, so two potions take two of your current nine slots.
Huh, well you suppose that will be important later. You dismiss the message and look over the shelf. The below fifty selection is a bit… minimal. Potions are ten, and Amritas are fifteen. There are also antidotes and burn salves for ten and fifteen respectively. As well as vials containing 'the essence of the elements' which can be thrown for appropriate elemental effects. These cost twenty. You glance over at the row of humming orbs on another shelf, you were right, escape orbs are expensive, costing a full two hundred. You had better savor your free one for now.
You could also buy a single Hi-potion for fifty, but it heals for more health than you currently have. You should also keep in mind that you will need somewhere around five to ten gilder for room and board, it might be best not to spend below that in case something goes wrong. Not that it will of course.
In the end you decide to buy….
[]Write In
With your shopping done you head to the [Inn] The Drunken Goblin, really who comes up with these names, its so cheesy… you guess not every branded is as imaginative as you are though, if you had an Inn it would be called…. Uh, the Exploding… no that would give the wrong impression, the Mystic, yeah that would be good um, the Mystic Menagerie? No that sounds like a pet shop. How about Mystic Spirits? It's a play on another term for alcohol you see. Hah, you have much better naming sense.
Anyway you got distracted, you are now in front of the rather weather beaten door, a sign depicting a cartoonish goblin holding a mug of something foaming hangs overhead, alongside a much neater sign in the Mystic script.
Drunken Goblin
Inn Rank: D
Another pop up from your menu follows, jeeze, there are so many of these things…. It just explains that Inns of varying rank restore different amounts of hp and sp, as well as having other effects at higher levels. Nothing that matters for now, your current stats allow you to be more than fully restored by a D rank [Inn] if it comes down to it.
You open the door and step inside doing your best to look casual, a few people look up, but only a few really look your way. Most of the people in here are already in groups, some even in full five person parties, which you know is the maximum allowed. Also many of them are in the four to seven level range, a bit higher than you want anyway.
Lets see of those who are alone you can see… Well there is a rather average looking guy off in one corner, brown hair, plain features, nothing outstanding, his title says his name is Jack, and he's a Stalwart Cleric… useful, but you kind of need someone to take damage for you not heal it at the moment. He is level one much like you.
The second is a rather big guy, all bulging muscles and scarred arms and hands, he's bald too, you can see yourself in the reflection on his head. Maybe he was a gladiator before becoming branded? You've heard the richer merchants get up to that kind of thing in the inner city sometimes. Either way, looks like an axe warrior, and he's level three to boot, so that might verge a bit on over leveled for your tastes. Name appears to be Rolf.
The next is… ohmygods adorable. He's at the bar perched on a stool. He has messy brown hair that you just want to ruffle your hand through, and looks not a day over twelve, you know he must be at least your age though, since the brand doesn't activate until then. He's kind of scowly, but that just makes him cuter. He's level one as well and looks to be a spear warrior. His name is Anshelm.
Next is... well she can best be described as an 'older sister type' At least that's what some of the older magic using kids who spent their time using scrying spells to peak at the ladies baths would say. Black hair tied in a ponytail, calm, elegant features and…. large protrusions on her chest. Ugh, you bet the only reason she doesn't tip over is her branded abilities, useless things. Either way, level three and looks to be a dual wielding hunter. Name is shown as Maya
Last is rather twitchy looking girl your age with shoulder length blue hair, and robes like yours but done up in red and orange, fire elementalist you expect, level two. She looks like she's really uncomfortable in here though, and you don't recognize her from home, someone from an outlying village maybe? Her name is apparently Seraphine.
Well you can try approaching any of them for now, or you could just sit down and see who approaches you, or maybe other things that don't occur to you at the moment. The barkeep looks like a friendly sort of guy, only a few years older than you…. level twenty with the Innkeeper job at rank C though, must be pretty new. Kind of a pretty boy though, black hair and rather girly features…. Not that you can talk. Looks like his name is Adel? He might answer some discreet questions if you took the time to ask. On the other hand that Maya lady is eyeing up both the cute boy and the healer, if you don't claim one she might snatch them up before you have a chance, she's eyeing you up too, but you choose to ignore that.
[] Write In
((Gonna add a couple tutorials to the front page later so keep an eye out for that.))
