385 days until the Arkon Shield falls

1 day after Earth’s destruction

The humans and the Elders are connected somehow. It is the only conclusion I can draw from the Elders presence on the human homeworld so many millennia ago. But what is the connection? —Arustolyx, gnomish archaeologist.

I rose early the next morning, well before dawn, while the rest of the settlement was still asleep. I gazed around the tent at my meagre belongings.

Other than the clothes and armour on my back, I had little else of value to take. Just the two mysterious cores in the pockets of my cloak.

I sighed. I would manage. Somehow.

Ducking out of my tent, I stopped short at what awaited me. It was a sled. Loaded with four filled packs. My heart lifted at the sight.

Bless you, Melissa.

Inspecting the sled’s contents, I saw that it contained far more than I had asked for. There was a hunting bow, two filled quivers, and a dozen knives. The knives I was sure were from Anton. I chuckled, my dour mood evaporating altogether.

How many knives does Anton think I need?

I tugged at the sled. It was heavy but manageable. Perhaps I should invest a bit more in strength, I thought. It would make hauling the sled through the wilderness easier.

I chuckled. It was a nice thought, but not a luxury I could afford just yet. Wrapping the sled’s harness around my shoulders, I set off for the dragon temple.

✽✽✽

The temple was quiet.

The hordes of refugees that had occupied the area yesterday were gone. I wonder where the commander has housed them all. Leaving the sled at the bottom of the temple, I stepped inside, and a moment later emerged out of the gate in the centre of Wyrm Island.

Immediately, I saw that something had changed. To the left of the gate on a large stone table were two thick, leather-bound books. One black, the other white.

The messaging system? I wondered. Thoughtfully, I walked over to study the table and its contents.

“Welcome back, human,” said a voice at my back.

“Aurora,” I said, nodding in greeting.

“Are you here to use the messaging system?” she asked.

“I am,” I said. “But I’m also here to increase my Discipline knowledge and Attributes.”

“Well in that case, let us attend to your advancement first,” she demanded. “All you players always take forever with those things,” she said, gesturing irritably at the table.

In the act of turning back to the table, I paused. “Of course, Aurora. Please advance the same Attributes and Disciplines as I did on my previous visits. All to level twenty-four.”

“Done. You have one hundred and thirty-seven Tokens and two Marks remaining,” Aurora said. “Now, I will leave you—”

“One moment, Aurora.”

The purple woman scowled at me. “What?”

“I require just one other Discipline advancement. Please increase my light armour to twenty-four as well.” If I was going to be out in the wilderness alone, I needed to be as self-sufficient as possible, which meant improving the effectiveness of my armour.

Aurora looked put out, but with a wave of her hand, she acceded to my wishes. “Done. Now is that all?”

I bowed smoothly to her. “It is. Thank you, Aurora.”

“Good,” replied Aurora. “Now I will leave you to your messages. Goodbye, human.” Then she vanished.

I stared at the spot the purple woman had occupied not a second ago. She always seemed eager to escape from my visits. What does she have against players?

Shrugging away the mystery, I turned back to the stone table. The white book bore the title, ‘Incoming,’ while the black book was titled, ‘Outgoing.’

Simple enough, I thought, and opened the white book.

There were twelve entries. All from Eric. They started blandly enough.

Eric Anders message 1: Jamie, I’ve arrived. By God, this world is fascinating. There is so much strangeness, and so many things to do. But enough of all that later. I’m in the gnomish city of Splatterpunk. Don’t ask about the name! Anyway, where are you?

From there, the messages grew progressively more frantic.

Eric Anders message 2: Bud, where are you?

Eric Anders message 3: Why aren’t you answering, man?

Eric Anders message 4: By God, Jamie, don’t tell me you got yourself killed? But no, the system is still letting me send these messages. So, you must be out there somewhere.

Eric Anders message 5: C’mon, Jamie, answer goddamn!

I touched Eric’s message, penned in his own hand. My friend sounded deeply worried. I’m sorry, Eric, I wish there was some way I could have let you know I was alright. Sighing, I turned my attention to Eric’s last message, penned two days ago. It was the longest and most interesting.

Eric Anders message 12: Jamie, I think I am finally beginning to realise why you’ve been silent. You are in so much trouble, I don’t know how we’re ever going to get out of it.

An orcish delegation entered the city today, with the permission of its gnomish leaders. Apparently just for the orcs to stoop to entering a gnomish city was an event in itself. Our noble Sponsors were beside themselves, both intrigued and fearful.

The orcs entered the city for one thing only: to post a bounty notice for a human named Jamie Sinclair. Yes, bud, the orcs are hunting you. The notice included a full description of you, down to the last detail. The bounty itself is huge, a fortune large enough that even the gnomes, who hate the orcs more than most, seem tempted.

Questions are being asked. Of your whereabouts, and your associates. No one seems to know of our friendship, so for the time being Emma and I are safe. But we might be forced to leave the city on short notice. Don’t be too concerned if you don’t hear from me again soon. As long as the Trials’ system allows you to send messages, know that I am still alive.

Anyway, bud, wherever you are, I hope you’re safe. I will find you someday. I promise. Oh, and if you do get this message, whatever you do, please don’t tell me where you are.

Just in case.

Those last three words scared me the most. Eric had to be really afraid if he thought to say that. I could never imagine a situation where my loyal, lifelong friend would betray me. Yet, Eric must have been afraid of being forced to do just that.

I opened the black book and penned a short missive of my own.

Message 1 to Eric Anders: Damn, Eric, I’m sorry you’ve gotten caught up in all this. It’s the last thing I want for you or Emma. Thanks for the heads up about the orcs. I’ll be doubly careful. But I am not going to avoid them.

I’m going to hunt them down.

P.S. I’ll find you first bud, I promise.

I closed the book, and squeezed my eyes shut to hold in my bubbling rage. It was not enough that the orcs had killed Mum to get me, now my friends were in danger too.

I have wasted enough time.

The time had come to bend all my efforts into getting stronger.

And then… then it would be time to go hunting.

✽✽✽

Here ends Book 1 of the Dragon Mage Saga.

Jamie’s adventures continue in Dungeons.

Coming Soon!

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Many thanks,

Rohan!

Jamie's Profile At the end of book 1

Player: Jameson (Jamie) Sinclair.

Race: Human. Age: 24. Level: 24. Rank: Trainee.

Tokens: 123. Marks: 2.

Home settlement: None.

Potentials

Might (mediocre), Craft (gifted), Resilience (exceptional), Magic (extraordinary).

Attributes

Magic: channelling (24), spellpower (24).

Might: strength (10), agility (10), perception (10), vigour (24).

Resilience: constitution (24), elemental resistance (1), willpower (10).

Craft: industriousness (10), artistry (10).

Disciplines

Magic: air magic (24), dragon magic (24), death magic (1), earth magic (24), fire magic (2), life magic (24), water magic (1).

Might: anatomy (7), clubs (10), light armour (24), shields (10), sneaking (1), spears (10), staffs (20), unarmed (1).

Crafting: blacksmithing (10), lore (24), scribe (6).

Traits

Unique: Dragon’s Gift.

Rank 1: Pioneer, Spider’s Blood.

Rank 2: Crippled, Quick Learner.

Rank 4: Mimicked Core.

Rank 5: Twice as Skilled.

Rank 6: Spirit’s Invincibility.

Feats

Orcsbane (3), Lone Slayer (2), Lair Hunter (1).

Active Techniques

magesight, night vision, sinking mud, living torch, fire ray, restrained flare, flare, lay hands, analyse, mimic, invincible, repurpose, basic attunement.

Passive Techniques

orc hunter, burning brightly, revulsion, lair sense, slayer’s boon, tenacious.

Faction relationships

Orcish Federation: hated.

Forerunners: ally.

Equipped items

wizard’s staff, spider leather armour, silk clothes, aquaine knife.