Chapter 7: Portal to the frozen north

Durabo closed the window with a small sigh. The sun has just set and the gentle orange glow had reminded him of the many dinners they’d had while he was in the library. Once more a small pang of pain wormed its way into his heart, and even though he sought refuge in the calm it still weighed on his mind. Well people do say that time heals all wounds, too bad they never mention that it actually takes a long time to do so. The worst part was in the end Sylphie’s parting question. He regarded himself as a fair person, strict and harsh perhaps, but fair. Yet he hadn’t even giving her a chance to say goodbye much less explain, normally that would be the most basic of courtesies, something everyone had a right to.

Durabo walked over to the small desk and sat down, fiddling with the cover of the book at the top of the pile.

Now instead of doing what he wanted to, which was to absorb all his new magic knowledge and start utilizing his Mind magic, he would instead have to try and see things from her point of view. He would not consider going anywhere near her until he had a better grasp of how much of what he feels for her was real and how much was magic, as well as had some way of ensuring that he could not be influenced by her anymore. Truthfully she would probably always be able to affect him in some way, shape or form but there is a difference between attraction and compulsion.

So what would have happened had she been up front and honest with him and they read his mind? As far as he could see the primary reason not to tell him anything would be to keep her as far away from his readable surface thoughts as possible, making Elandriel, her family of some sort, unable to identify her as the instigator. But she was still the one that sent him down there in the end, clueless and in considerable danger.

Could it somehow have been for his sake? Would him knowing have put him in even greater danger or something? It didn’t seem likely, death is but a hindrance and the only other threat would then be Elandriel coming down and taking care of him at a much earlier point in time. Yet had he been informed he would have been better prepared.

Durabo sat back in the chair pinching the bridge of his nose. No matter how much he thought about it, he wouldn’t get any closer to an answer. Her actions simply hadn’t been what he would regard as either logical or ethical. So the next order of business would be securing his mind so as to make it possible for him to speak with her without fear of her magic. For that he would need to assimilate and reorder the vast amount of knowledge he had gained pertaining to Mind magic from Elandriel. While he was at it, he might as well absorb all the books he had bought as well. They might after all contain some concept or theory that would enable him to actually start laying the groundwork for Mind spells.

Unlike with Elandriel’s grimoire that almost forced itself upon his unsuspecting mind, the books he had bought should be almost painless to absorb as well as up to your discretion when they would be absorbed. So he just reached out took the first book in the stack and thought:

‘Absorb.’

Durabo’s eyes crossed for a moment as he almost blacked out, painless was a very relative term it would seem. It was worth every bit of pain though, now he understood how to draw more than one stream of mana from his mana pool at once, as well as how to draw more than one type of mana at a time. None of it was helpful in regards to Mind magic so he moved on. For now the focus should be to make sure that his mind was his own, now and always.

It was only when had nearly gone through the pile of painful books that he struck gold, and of all things it was the book on Water magic that did it. The problem he had with Mind magic was how to envision it since it didn’t have a physical representation, and Mindwalkers apparently see Mind magic as colors, not shapes. Some of the advanced Water magic concerned mist and the sigils and concepts used for that might just be something that could be used for Mind magic as well. At least it was worth a shot.

Durabo got up after having absorbed the last book, well after having recovered from absorbing the last book and sat down on the old worn wooden floor besides the bed. While settling in to the lotus position and readying himself for entering a meditative trance he enjoyed the soft by contrast to a cave feeling of the wooden floor beneath him. It took him longer than usual to reach the right place within himself despite his new and much more comfortable placement. His heart wasn’t quite on the same page as his head with regards to his current course of action.

When his five-minutes-to-forced-logoff alarm rang he had some basic Mind spells, but it was slow and tiring work to develop those few spells. His sense of accomplishment was enormous though.

*******

The lid of the capsule opened and Sebastian got out of it into his dark one room student apartment. Turned on the small wall mounted lamp and sat down at his desk, removed the loose sheets of paper atop his old school keyboard and booted up his PC. A few seconds later he was typing an email to the costumer service of Dragon Studios. There were almost certainly laws that regulated how much influence a game could have on your mind, and if he couldn’t figure the limitation of Mind magic out through the game he would just have to do it this way. It took him no more than five minutes to compose and send the email then he was on his way out the door.

Since he had been taken under the metaphorical wing of Xia he hadn’t been going to the gym every day. Instead he would run ten kilometers and do muscle building and limbering exercises every other day and receive instruction in stances the other days. According to Xia he wasn’t anywhere near fit enough to learn any techniques. Besides the fact that, it was usually something taught after the basics of the stances were ingrained in your muscle memory. As a result of this shift in his daily physical activities he had started to gain more leaner muscle, instead of the excessive amount of bulk he’d had before.

An hour and a half later he returned, having run his lap as well as doing some training at a nearby outdoors training facility. Checked his mail and found to his satisfaction that the customer service had already replied. The whole I think your game has messed with my mind thing is apparently something that elicits an immediate response from the ones managing it.

To:Sebastian Frost [[email protected]]From:Dragon Studios customer service #247

Greg.O’loughlin @cs.nexus.com]Re:Mind magic and it’s influence on playersMr. Frost normally we would not disclose limits nor possibilities of any aspect of Nexus since it is a great part of its charm, yet the case you have presented warrants a reply. Detailing all the ways Mind magic could influence a player would take an essay instead I will list for you the underlying limitations and be available for further consulting at this email should you need it.

Mind magic can only influence a player in the moment so to speak. So emotions can only be manipulated while under Mind magic and will return to normal when not under that influence.

The same goes for memories, it’s possible to alter what memories are formed but once formed they are not something that can be altered.

The most important rule is the fact that it can’t be permanent changes. But what you notice and see can be changed and thereby become a permanent false memory.

There are other things as well, but judging from your game log I would guess you are able to deduce many of them.

Best Regards and enjoy your stay in Nexus

Greg O’loughlin D-Studios customer service employee.

Sebastian shutdown the computer and stepped into his small white tiled bathroom. He took of his sweaty clothes put them in the small wicker basket to one side and stepped under his shower cranking the temperature up to almost scalding. For a moment he just enjoyed the feeling of the hot water and relaxed, then his mind strayed back to the subject most on his mind. Her.

What had been a ploy to get some closure and or grips on the effects of Mind magic had proven to be a curse in disguise. While not all doubts as to the source of his feelings were allayed some of them had been put to rest. He could no longer doubt the fact that he was at least physically attracted to her, how much of his other deeper feeling were a result of her reading and manipulating him, couldn’t be determined though. Even now he could feel the quickening of his pulse and other physical reactions just at the thought of her mischievous blue eyes, and crooked smile. Well he wasn’t even certain that is her real appearance, and all in all Mind magic was something entirely to destructive for his tastes. Without even using it you can make someone doubt their very being.

*******

Durabo logged into Nexus and rose from the hay stuffed bed. Luckily he didn’t actually sleep in this world, and this bed. Since it was midday on the second day after he had ordered his new clothes, they should be ready to be picked up by now. He therefore did a quick survey of the room, ensuring it was neat enough to be handed over since he wouldn’t be returning to this room if the clothes were done.

Last night he had tossed and turned in his bed, thoughts of meeting with her and talking things out tumbling through his mind. In the end he wound up sleeping too little and still not willing to talk to her, not sure of what he would say or do if he was confronted by her.

Fate is a fickle thing and he had made a grievous mistake in assuming he would be the one to decide when they would next meet, for in front of Nora’s stood a lithe figure, raven haired and unnoticed by the crowd. For a moment he considered just turning around and leaving. He could get the clothes another day was his rationale, no dire need to get them now. Except the second he spotted her she spotted him, those thrice damned blues eyes locking onto his.

With the quick words of a chant and the arcane movements of some sigils he cast one of his new Mind spells. This one was actually meant for the talk he had thought would be at a much later point in time than now. A sort of mental bulwark that kept your mind your own or if it couldn’t it would alert you to that fact. Six hours of hard work lay in that spell and he hadn’t even invented it himself.

As he cast the spell a look of sorrow and hurt passed across her face, fast as a bird in flight. How could she expect anything else from him?

“Could I have a moment of your time Durabo?” Silendra asked, her tone neutral and her face serious.

Well he had concluded that he hadn’t been the most courteous of humans when they parted ways and that she should have a chance to speak. That she was the one to decide when, was but a minor thing in the grand scheme of things.

“Well you might.” Durabo said and then his voice took on a hard edge.”But if I even catch a glimpse of Mind mana around you I will burn you to a crisp.”

The words were for him not a threat, more of a warning and statement of how they could proceed if she wanted to.

The momentary shock on her delicate face cut him more deeply than he would admit though.

“Would you be willing to go somewhere more private than in the middle of the street?” She asked, a hint of something at the edge of her tone he couldn’t quite put his finger on.

Even though they were at odds like this, the thought of somewhere private with her still caused his heart to beat faster. It could be risky, but truthfully she didn’t have that big of a reason for contacting him anymore, he had served his purpose after all.

“What did you have in mind?”

Briefly relieve made her face soften and the hint of a smile appeared on her face before it returned to being neutral.

“Theres a tavern down this street, they have booths.”She said and the hint of a smile played on her lips.” I was hoping that would be satisfactory.”

“Well alright.” He replied, having to stop himself from adding, since you asked, with a smirk. Damn those reflexes die hard.

A few minutes later and they were sitting in a private room in the tavern she had suggested. Tension thick in the air while they studied each other from either side of the wooden table. The dark bottle of wine left unattended, as Durabo didn’t feel a need to muddy his senses and she wouldn’t drink unless she had company.

He was forced to admit, at least to himself that he was just as attracted to her now without any outside influence as he had been when he first saw her. People talk about love at first sight and stuff like that, and in a sense they might be right, but like with many other things it’s not as simple as that. Being lied to, used, and manipulated would be bad enough, add on top of that the fact she had invaded his mind at least once and there were no room left for anything like love. That was what he told himself fervently while he felt the weight of those damn eyes on his.

“Why are you here?” He asked voice cold and distant, then added.”I’ve done what you wanted me to, I’ve hunted down Elandriel for you.”

Durabo wasn’t in the mood to go easy on her, the fair thing was to give her a chance to say her piece, that did not include making that easy for her.

Silendra’s eyes once more looked sorrowful as she collected herself before speaking.

“Because I don’t want us to part like this.”She said, the added with a small sigh. “Because you have barely been away and I already miss you.”

Her words had an effect on him, of course they did, but he would not let it show on his face. Serene and peaceful his mind was, as he fled deeper into the calm away from the painful emotions.

“Had you asked for my help you would have gotten it, no questions asked.” He replied face impassive.”Yet you choose a different way.”

He took a slow deep breath and then continued.

“Let me ask you a simple question.” His eyes bored into hers, searching for even a hint of deception or unease. “Have you ever used Mind magic on me?”

Her blue eyes answered his stare, much the same way he had answered hers the first time the saw each other.

“Yes.” She said, now no longer trying to hide the pain in her eyes.

“Then you tell me how I can trust a single thing I feel or think about you?” He said. “For without trust there can be no friendship.”

She looked troubled and when she spoke once more the regret in her voice was quite apparent.

“I can’t. I have no way to show you that I have only read your mind once and never manipulated it. “ She replied, mournfully.

“Then I’m afraid this is goodbye.” He showed her a small cold smile as he added. “Thank you for our time together and the passive, I’m sure it will be helpful.“

Durabo sat there and looked her in the eyes, this time she would have her chance to say goodbye. Otherwise his guilt would force him to speak with her again.

As if she knew what he was thinking, even without reading his mind, she stayed silent. Stalling for time while her incredible blue eyes searched his.

“I refuse to say goodbye Durabo.” Her face looked quite determined as she continued. “I will find a way to regain the trust between us.”

Well normally the thought of a cute girl like her saying stuff like that would make one happy, and in a sense it did make him happy. Trouble was the fact he doubted very much that she could do what she promised.

Seeing as the things needed to be said had been said, he rose and walked around the oak table. He had now given her the closure all people deserve and a right to speak, his mind was at peace. Well as at peace it would likely be for some time.

As Durabo left the private booth he got some leers from a couple of male players, wearing badly crafted plate armor. Luckily his mind was serene, Fire has a tendency to burn wooden things and his response to those guys would not have been gentle.

When he entered Nora’s he was greeted by the dour male player once more. Yet this time he was considerably more polite.

“Good day to you sir, how might I be of assistance?”

Durabo couldn’t help but grin a little, that kind of a-hundred-eighty degree personality changes isn’t seen often.

“Well I’ve ordered some clothes and were wondering whether they were finished yet?”

“Yes, sir. Nora is just putting the finishing touches on the robes.” He said, then gestured toward the door. “If you want to, you can go back and see her now. It won't take her long to finish it.”

Doing just as the now polite clerk suggested he walked through the door and looked for Nora in the workshop. She was sitting at a big table in one corner of the room a huge piece of blue cloth in front of her while she slowly sew along one edge. She might be a creepy old crone, but her whole aura while working was that of a master artisan. Consumed by the work while even doing such a basic task.

Behind her on a mannequin was his battle set, so while Nora finished her work he decided to examine it. The workmanship was exquisite, not a stitch out of place not a seem visible. Even with modern machines and techniques craftsmanship of this level costs a fortune. The jacket was a dark smoky grey and the knots running up the middle of it acting as buttons was a lighter silvery grey. High collared and formal looking. As he stood inspecting the clothes a couple of windows appeared before him.

Grey battle jacket of the mage:Rarity:UncommonType:Cloth Armor(Chest)UnboundDescription:A dark grey woolen jacket made for the use of a mage in battle. Has increased range of movement and warmth. It is a part of a set.Stats:RestrictionsEffects:Durability: 100/100

Defense: 10

Heat insulation: 20Class: Mage or variant

Lvl 30

100 Agility

300 Intelligence

100 Wisdom10 Agility

30 Intelligence

10 Wisdom

3% Resistance: Fire

3% Resistance: Ice

Set Effect

(Battle clothes of the mage): 10 Charisma

Black battle trousers of the mage:Rarity:UncommonType:Cloth Armor(Legs)UnboundDescription:A pair of dark woolen pants made for the use of a mage in battle. Loose fitting and comfortable to ensure a free range of movement. They are a part of a set.Stats:RestrictionsEffects:Durability: 100/100

Defense: 10

Heat insulation: 20Class: Mage or variant

Lvl 30

100 Agility

300 Intelligence

100 Wisdom10 Agility

30 Intelligence

10 Wisdom

2% Resistance: Fire

2% Resistance: Ice

Set Effect

(Battle clothes of the mage): 10 Charisma

The clothes seems to be above what he expected, even giving a small amount of resistance to Fire and Ice. Besides they looked cool as well, and that’s an argument in and of itself isn’t it. As he thought this he felt a hand on his shoulder and breath on his neck.

“So, do you like it?” Nora said, a hint of mirth in her voice.

“Yes I do, I think it’s great.” He answered.

“Well want to try on the robe?” Nora asked, and gave him a suggestive look. Crazy old bird.

“Yeah, might as well check how well it fits.”

Took him a whole five minutes just to get all the layers of the robe on, since it consisted of a pair of dark grey pants and a shirt as the inner layer. After that was the robe and in the end a broad dark grey piece of cloth was used to tie it together. But even when he only had on the shirt and pants, he could see her expertise. Even though the game supposedly adjusted it to your size automatically the fit of the shirt showed off his broad shoulders in a flattering way. She had even managed to show his build when the robe was one, quite a feat the amount of cloth taken into consideration. This had definitely been worth every copper.

He took off the robe and put on the Battle set instead, before putting it away he inspected it, as he would like to know it’s stats.

Blue robe of the mage:Rarity:UncommonType:Cloth ArmorUnboundDescription:A royal blue robe made to be used for important public things by a young up and coming mage.Stats:RestrictionsEffects:Durability: 150/150

Defense: 5Class: Mage or variant

Lvl 30

50 Charisma

300 Intelligence

100 Wisdom5 Charisma

30 intelligence

10 Wisdom

Robe stat: 25 charisma

It really wasn’t too bad. Since robes fill the slots of both legs, and chest piece, they get a special stat slot that isn’t under the same restrictions as the other stat slots. Which was also the reason why it was the most popular amongst mages and clerics, it enabled you to have way more of your main stat then any other piece of gear at the price of set bonuses and higher secondary stats. Well as with all cloth it had the downside of low defensive value as well.

Now ready to go exploring in the north Durabo said his goodbyes and left Nora’s heading towards the Tower. As he did so he got quite a few looks from players of both genders. Well the males seemed to think him weird for having used such an odd design of clothes instead of just using a robe, that or they were envious of the reaction from the female players. The females players on the other hand sent him small smiles every time he looked in their general direction, amongst other clearer signs of interest. It might be a tad odd his new style, but it was apparently not a style he couldn’t bear judging by the reactions of his fellow players. Nora would’ve told him if it was an atrocious style for him he was certain, well almost, she could let him wear it just for kicks, that crazy old bird.

As he entered the Tower he was amazed by it’s sheer size. The ground floor and entrance hall alone could fit the ground plan of a house with no difficulty whatsoever. After marveling at it for a while, now he had the time, he took the great stairway to the second floor and was stopped by an initiate of the black order standing guard at the top of it.

“Name and purpose please.” The initiate said.

“Durabo.” The initiate eyes kindled with interest as he said his name. “I’m here to use the portal to Auril, the reason is mine to know.”

The guard looked him over, his eyes intent.

“You are the one that took down Elendriel are you not?”

Durabo felt a small rush of anxiety break through his calm.

“Well done, there is a reason why we no longer employ Mindwalkers.” The guard said while giving him a clap on the shoulder. “They were just too dangerous. Well done.”

With that the initiate stood aside and let him pass. The second floor was the central point of the High Elven portal network, all portals connected to here and here only. There was a great staircase to one side leading up to the next floor guarded by two black initiates that looked pretty battle hardened, in the middle of the room was a great slightly raised wooden platform where it looked like most off duty members of the Blackened Earth sat drinking in moderation and enjoying each others company served by a bar keep and some serving girls from a small circular bar. Really quite an ingenious way to secure a hub, there were three hundred or more well trained and highly feared spellswords present in the room at all times, making this room one of the most secure in the whole Eislonien realm.

Along the wall of the room were painted doorways surrounded by a complex combination of runes and mana storing crystals. Each of these portals had a typical mage look alike standing besides them in white robes not unlike his own novice robe.

As he stood there watching the room for a moment a contingent of a hundred blacks with a High magus at their front came down the stairs from above, and headed for the portal named Enclave of Hunters Moon. Curious Durabo headed over to the bar and asked the barkeep:

“What’s going on? I thought the black order never left the Tower?”

The barkeep looked him over seeming to judge him before he answered:

“That is mostly true young one, they have not left the Tower for almost fifty years.” The barkeeps face and voice then turned serious. “But trouble is stirring in the territory of the Wood Elves and the council has decided to assist them by sending a High magus and his escort as a deterrent. Showing the Eternal Emperor that if he wants the territory he will have to face the full might of the Arch mages. “

Durabo thanked the barkeep, to distracted by this new development to give him anything but a cursory goodbye.

This continent, ironically called the Sword Isle, wasn’t the only continent in Nexus. There is at least one more continent, Ortus, a place of strife and conflict, home of the Golden Empire and its Eternal Emperor. Elves as a whole had a part of the Western continent as it’s only foothold on the whole continent. Guarded by the Wood Elves as it lay deep within the World Forrest, and the loss of that foothold would be devastating on a lot of levels.

As it had nothing to do with him, and he had a mission to take care of, he shook it out of his head and walked over to the portal marked Auril.

“Excuse me, could you open the portal to Auril please.” Durabo asked the young mage.

The mages eyes looked him over from head to toe and then said:

“There is only one person who has been granted the right to use the portal for the moment, and I doubt you have the mana to pay for it yourself.” Then he turned around and started ignoring Durabo after having delivered this statement with a supremely arrogant tone.

So the NPCs who actually manage to become mages are arrogant bastards, what a surprise. Durabo was certain he had the mana to pay for the transport, put since he had the right to use it for free he would rather do that. Instead of bickering with the fool, he stepped in front of him and showed him his simple iron ring, the side with the flame fully visible of course.

The young mage paled and a slight quivering of his hands indicated some degree of nervousness. Durabo remained silent, if he had something to say he could do so, otherwise he could just open the portal and let him through.

The mage went with option number two. He muttered a low chant while placing his hands on two plates on the wall.

Durabo could see a complex swirl of Fire and Air mana enter the gate runes, and as they reached the mana crystals pure silvery light flowed from them into another set of runes making the portal open. Looking through the portal he could see a plain stone walled room and a stone floor. The cold air from the other room brought a chill into the hall.

While stepping through Durabo flashed the arrogant mage a smile, one that showed his incisors.

The first thing he noticed as he strode into the room, was the cold. His body was warm and cozy but his hands, weren’t. He had completely forgotten about gloves because the main part of all his time was spent in Nexus, and Vetas had a temperate climate. That was a problem he would have to solve. So he gave the mage standing on the other side a polite nod and left the bare room.

Durabo found himself in a big courtyard surrounded by high grey quarried stone walls. Auril was an Elven outpost made to defend the Eislonien realms borders with the Northern Shifter Tribes. As such it was only common sense that the paraphernalia of armed conflict was all around the courtyard, as well as the people using it. Striding across the courtyard towards the gate and it’s iron teeth he stopped and asked the nearest guard.

“Mind if I ask you a few things?”

The guard looked him over and seemed to conclude something.

“Of course not sir.” He replied, and even though he said sir, there was no hint of respect in his voice.

Durabo showed him a boyish grin and then said:

“I find myself in need of gloves, since I’m a clutz and forgot all about them. “ He smiled then asked.”Could you tell me where I could get some?”

The guard suddenly looked really tired. Well seems like this guy doesn’t buy into the whole mages are nobles thing, that or he just don’t like nobles.

“Yes sir, our quartermaster has some standard issue gloves you might find satisfactory.” The guard sighed. “He is inside the keep when you enter, turn left and then three doors down on your right hand should be his office.”

“Thank you, now I just need to find someone willing to teach me basic tracking and survival techniques. Where might I find the resident scout?” Durabo asked.

The guard face lit up with slight interest and his voice lost it’s cold edge as he replied to the question.

“Our scoutmaster has just returned from a scouting trip,” the guard smirked,”and if she finds you worthy, she might teach you some of her skills young one. She is in the office right before the quartermaster’s.”

“Thank you.” Durabo gave the guard a slight nod and then left.

In the quartermaster's office he was met by a young girl clad in a flowing white dress and of all things big leather boots. Sitting on a carpet on the wooden floor in front of the desk in the small office. As he entered the room she lifted her eyes from the doll she was playing with and looked at him with the most piercing hazel eyes Durabo has ever seen.

“Hi there,” Durabo said while smiling, “do you know where the quartermaster is?”

She just looked at him for a bit, and then pointed towards the door behind the desk. She did give him a small smile while she did so, her eyes sparkling.

Durabo walked around the desk, and was just about to open the big oaken door, when it opened and an Elf stepped out almost bumping into him. The Elf looked at him shocked by his presence and then turned to the young girl.

“Valaia, why did you not tell me we had a guest?” The Elf asked, exasperation and irritation apparent in his tone.

The girl’s face blossomed into a beautiful smile.

“Because I thought it would be more fun if he surprised you.” Valaia said, her voice filled with barely contained laughter.

A small sigh escaped the man as he sat down, while slowly shaking his head.

“I am sorry sir, non military personnel are not allowed beyond this point.” The Elf said and the corners of his eyes crinkled in mirth. “And Valaia our dear tomboy is well aware of that fact.”

“No worries, the little rascal is welcome to her fun.” Durabo replied, the hints of a boyish grin on his face. “I was just looking for you, so I could request some gloves. I will of course pay for them.”

Before the Elf could answer Durabo felt a jab in his side.

“Hey, I am no rascal.” Valaia said, her voice high and pure.

Durabo ruffled her hair as he answered her. She didn’t seem to mind him doing so.

“Well, can we then agree that you’re a trickster at least?” He asked, voice containing barely hidden mirth.

Her eyes turned serious for a moment as she contemplated, then she nodded once and sat down to play with her doll again. He was apparently forgiven now.

The Elf just waited until she was done with him before continuing.

“You can have a pair of gloves sir, and there is no need for coins to come into it.” The Elf said and then continued. “We use so many of them, that a pair more or less will not make a difference.”

He then went back through the door to what was supposedly the armory and returned with a pair of brown leather gloves. Not fancy or anything, pure workman's gloves.

“Thank you.” Durabo said then bowed down to ruffle Valaia's hair once more before leaving. He got another one of those charming, beaming smiles as a reward.

The office of the scoutmaster looked a bit different than the quartermasters, the room smelled of old leather and the walls were covered with the tools of the trade. Everything from bows and arrows, to traps and hunting knifes. There was no desk instead there was a work table in a corner where the makings of a new bear-trap lay in pieces waiting to be assembled.

Sitting on a small stool, a female Wood Elf was running an oiled cloth along a tall unstrung wooden bow, with meticulous care. Unlike most Elves she had crow’s feet at the corner of her hazel eyes, and the sun browned skin of someone spending most of their life outside.

Durabo knocked on the door to announce his presence and then stepped in. Not that he thought it was necessary, he got the feeling she knew he was there before he even thought of knocking.

“Anything I can do for you mage?” She asked and as she did her tone was impassive, as if either way she wouldn’t care.

“I was wondering whether you would be willing to teach me?” Durabo smiled trying to charm her before continuing.”I’ve conclude that tracking and general survival skills might be beneficial for me to know.”

He only noticed it now, but every time he talked to NPCs they gave him a once over much like the one she was giving him now, weighing and measuring him against something before answering him. What exactly they measured against he didn’t know. Nexus didn’t have fame or intimacy as in other games, mostly because Dragon studio felt that they are things too nebulous to quantify, so it couldn’t be that. Well we judge people when we see them for the first time as well, might just be that he looks odd for a mage.

“Why would you like to learn that?” Her hazel eyes turned piercing. “If you need trackers or scouts, you just have to ask the Tower and you would get them.”

“That’s true, I more than likely would get what I asked for.” He said with a smirk. “But I would much rather rely on my own skills.”

Durabo didn’t feel a need to point out the fact his job practically required him to be self sufficient, and able to hunt down other sentient beings.

“Well if you want to learn I will teach you.” She replied with something not unlike respect in her voice.

After she said that she rose and put the bow in a cloth bag before taking some arrows from a box and putting them in her back quiver. Without saying another word she headed out the door, clearly expecting him to follow.

She set a fast pace, and in no more than five minutes they were outside the keep and the small village that surrounded it.

The keep had been meticulously cleared of snow, the moment they stepped outside it Durabo felt glad he had invested in some prober boots.

When the got to the outskirts of the village, she turned around and asked him:

“Anywhere in particular you need to go?”

Durabo considered not telling her, but he needed to get there and how much could she guess from his destination alone?

“I was thinking of heading to Fursreach and after that further north.” He replied.

Her eyes widened at that and she started heading north-northeast. As they went along she pointed out tracks of snow hares and foxes , explained how you could see when they had been made, what direction they were going and what speed the creature making them likely had and other useful things. When the sun started to set we stopped and she showed how to make a fireplace, dig a cold grave, set up small strings with bells around the camp, surprisingly she was a very thorough teacher and by the time they turned in for the night he had learned some life saving skills.

Durabo helped her set up a small but warm tent so they could sleep in comfort, well so she could, he would read the Codai and meditate instead. That was the price of dealing with NPCs, had he been alone he would just have continued on. Well he had a lot of magic knowledge to assimilate anyway, so it was by no means a big hindrance.

Durabo was brought out of his trance like meditative state by a hand gripping his shoulder and squeezing once.

“Have you been awake the whole night?” Asked the Elven scoutmaster.

Durabo opened his eyes and gave her a small smile, the whole flirting with the Elven females having become an ingrained habit by now. Well he did have a thing for the outdoors sporty types as well, so it wasn’t that shocking he found her attractive.

“My kind can stay awake for a long time so I like to use the time constructively.” He replied, then added as if an afterthought. “We do go to sleep in our own world though and when we do our minds leave this world for a day or two.”

She sat down at the small square of rock he had raised by the cold fireside and looked at the rising sun.

“How do you keep yourself safe when gone?” She asked.

“I surround myself with Earth walls on all sides.” He replied.

“That would make you secure enough I suppose.” Mirth entered her eyes, and her voice lowered suggestively. “ Had I known that, we would have been doing something else last night.”

After her words she rose and started back towards Auril. Leaving a confused Durabo in her wake.

Shaking his head he quickly dismantled and raised new Earth walls around himself before the system forcefully logged him off.

*******

As Durabo logged in he found his body shivering, as well as subjected to the freezing status. Leaving your body in a big stone square does not protect you from the cold it would seem. He really should have thought about that before logging off. He dismantled a wall and then cast the spell he had designed to be used as a fireplace. While he sat by the fire anyway he got out some of the basic supplies he had and ate them, pondering how to keep himself from having to do this every time he logged in. The hard bread and even harder jerky left him parched, so he cast another spell to create a stone bowl and then filled it with Water by manifesting some in it.

Durabo dispelled the rest of the walls and rose, time to get going. He consulted his compass and started jogging towards the north-east. While he was jogging he kept his eyes out for tracks, both for the skill experience but also because he wanted to hunt some animals. Until now all his opponents had been both humanoid and sentient, well he wasn’t certain Bloods counted as sentient, yet they clearly didn’t operate in the same way as beasts. For that reason he wanted to hunt beasts, well he would also like some pelts because they would help immensely with the current problem pertaining to his log out shelter.

Four hours after he started out he found some tracks, wolf tracks no less, and he felt his blood boil at the thought of fighting them. Normal adult wolves were level thirty to level forty so they should give good experience. Besides that, they also had good pelts and as pack animals they were in a sense the perfect prey for him.

The tracks were even relatively fresh, and looked like they had been made within the last half hour or so. Durabo started following their tracks, keeping an eye out for them doubling back or doing other kinds of mischief.

After twenty minutes he spotted them on the horizon at the same time they spotted him. There were five of them, and they were big black brutes. Maybe a click away from him, and coming at him fast. He started casting fireballs at them one after another, and while they did reach them, it became apparent that when they did the ambient temperature had reduced their damage quite a bit on their path to them as they barely burned the fur on the big wolves. Durabo tried to materialise the fireballs further away from himself before sending them towards the wolves, problem was that he could do so no further than ten meters away from himself. The spells simply wouldn’t form if he tried doing it any further away than that.

As if that wasn’t problematic enough as the wolves got closer and his fireballs started doing real damage to them, they started dodging. Not only that, they also split up and came at him from several directions. He cast three of his biggest Earth walls around himself, leaving him in a box that was twenty by twenty meters. He dropped shooting at the wolves while they were closing in and instead cast some water magic quickly at the entrance to the box and then retreated to the back of it. The water from his spells became mirror like ice almost immediately.

Since they had tried to surround him from all directions the first one to come at him was the one that had been running at him for their starting position. As it ran onto the ice he cast fireball upon fireball at the wolf and it died without even crossing it. Next came two wolves at a time, one from each of the sides, he cast an Earth wall in front of the one on the left letting the wolfs momentum carry it into it at high speed. The other he dealt with the same way he dealt with the first one, killing it before it got off the ice, but only barely. He dispelled his newly cast wall and prepared to shower the wolf behind it with fireballs. Only to find it already off the ice and running away from him, joined by the other two wolves of the pack.

Result of the test run against beasts? He had something to work on, he couldn’t kill them cleanly enough and had they rushed him he would probably be dead now. Well that was the conclusions he came to while he drew his knife and started skinning the two carcasses. Well he would get stronger if he started using Ice magic, but that would require him studying and training it for a while before he started using it.

After having skinned the wolves he started heading towards Fursreach once more. The two fresh pelts should be more than enough to keep him warm, with the help of magic of course. So he just jogged and studied track until nightfall. Then he stopped and set up his shelter. When he had made his tone box he cast his Light spell to see and after that he sat down and designed a new spell. An hour later he cast his new spell which had the simple purpose of heating stone to a high temperature thereby making his walls work like radiators. After having done that he did what he did last night. Read some more of the Codai and meditated trying to perfect more spells as well as understand his new knowledge.

*******

The sun was setting while he was entering Fursreach after having traveled for most of his play session in much the same way as the last one.

As Durabo strode through the town he noticed that it seemed rather dead, only the smoke in the wooden cabins attesting to the fact that the small village was even populated. Just as he came upon the town center the last rays of the sun flitted across the sky before the world became filled with shadow. The darkening sky was then pierced by howls of pain and anger, as he watched with horror the seven iron cages in front of him.

Status Window:

Spoiler : Status WindowName:DuraboGender:MaleLevel:34Experience:57%Job:Silver InquisitorRace:High ElfCombat Class:MageSupport Class:NoneTitles:Firecaller, Novice Eislonien MageExpendable Stats:HP:1230HP/s:9,7MP:14460MP/s:7,1Stamina:1230STM/s:19,4Satiety:30kSAT/s:-1Basic StatsStatBaseBonusTotalAgility:6765132Charisma:521062Endurance:71071Intelligence:357125482Strength:25025Vitality:1230123Wisdom:10240142Advanced Stats:Concentration:173Serenity:31Willpower:84Affinities:Air:25%Earth:26%Fire:30%Ice:5%Light:25%Lightning:5%Mind:31%Nature:1%Water:25%Resistances:Air:5%Earth:5%Fire:11%Ice:5%Light:5%Mind:5%Water:5%

Skill Window:

Spoiler : Skill ListCombat Skills:Skill nameSkill RankSkill LvlSkill EXPControlled Manifestation: Fire (Active):Novice683%Grimoire (Passive/Active):Adept1089%Intuition (Passive):Novice1089%Mana Feed (Passive):Adept1317%Manifestation: Air (Active):Adept649%Manifestation: Earth (Active):Adept1022%Manifestation: Light (Active):Adept137%Manifestation: Mind (Active):Novice179%Manifestation: Water (Active):Adept745%Mastery: Air Spells (Passive):Adept647%Mastery: Chants (Passive):Adept1084%Mastery: Earth Spells (Passive):Adept93%Mastery: Fire Spells (Passive):Adept1296%Mastery: Hand To Hand (Passive):Novice157%Mastery: Light Spells (passive):Novice1583%Mastery: Magic Staffs (Passive):Novice87%Mastery: Mind Spells (passive):Novice154%Mastery: Sigils (Passive):Adept1091%Mastery: Wands (Passive):Novice129%Mastery: Water Spells (Passive):Adept1121%Running (Passive):Novice2318%Third Eye (Active):Adept966%Support Skills:Skill nameSkill RankSkill LvlSkill EXPCartography (Passive):Novice1594%Charm (Passive):Novice107%Cooking (Passive):Novice10%Language: Rune Tongue (Passive):Adept262%Meditation (Passive):Adept699%Subconscious Note-taking (Passive):N/AN/AN/ASurvival Skills (Passive):Novice788%Tailoring (Passive):Novice10%Writing (Passive):Novice1836%

Hi there fellow penguins of our great empire :)

So here's a new chapter for you guys, and it's even one of the long ones. I feel my writing has gotten more descriptive and while this is not a bad thing, it can get to be a little to much, I hope you guys tell me if it does.

I promised Vincent1875 to do a skill description at the end of this chapter, I haven't done that and I'm sorry. I will make a new thread with all of them some time this week though.

I'm starting school tomorrow or well university and will have no where near the same amount of free time, this will result in a less frequent update schedule than the one I've had up till now. I hope you will still read my story even though it wont update as much. I will endeavor to update at least once every fortnight.

Also this story broke into the top fifty list, and I just want to say thanks to you guys for rating and reviewing my story, it would not have happened without that support.

As always I hope you enjoyed my story and do comment if you feel like it. :)