The Guild Master turned around and stared at Jarrax. Seeing the Guild Master glaring at him, the man shrugged and lifted his hand off what I assumed was a platinum coin. The Guild Master looked down at the coin and then at me.

I tried to smile as I pushed the coin towards the odd-looking older woman.

“So you admit to breaking guild rules and killing those who have issued a declaration of war?”

“Well, no one has told me the rules yet, in my defense. The first group attacked people on the road, and I helped defend themselves. The group outside the wall attacked me first. They tried to stop me from going into town, and when I kept walking, they fucking shot me in the back with an arrow. Their mistake. I’m sure anyone on the wall yesterday could detest that.”

“Keep your coin. You tell the truth,” the Guild Master said, holding up a tiny glowing white orb in the palm of your hand.

“You have joined our ranks somehow without the oath. This must be rectified, and those who allowed you to skip them will be dealt with. Come, place your hand on the center pillar and repeat after me.”

I heard Jarrax curse under his breath behind me, causing me to chuckle a bit.

“This is no laughing manner, young man. You will take our oath or be removed from these halls not to return.”

“No, you’re right, lady. It’s not a laughing manner. Your people will sit in here drinking ale and continue to be merry while those outside are killed in a pointless war. I’m sorry, Jarrax, but I’m out.”

I removed my white badge from my bag and moved closer to the woman. I could now see her odd features. Her skin was wood, like a tree’s trunk. She caught the badge and uttered a few words before the badge crumbled into dust. She looked at the doors, and I got the hint. I began walking towards them. I heard Jarrax shout something and turned. He had gotten up and picked up the platinum coin from the table and tossed it to me.

“Get what you need from Jydnir. Tell him I sent ya. He should have everything you needed.”

Luin jumped up and caught the coin, the Minotaur using far more energy in his toss than I think he intended. She handed me the coin a moment later, and we walked out of the hall.

I was glad not to see the de-ranked man and his group standing around outside. I began to walk toward the store. I was both grateful and pissed off at Jarrax. He casually gave me a platinum coin worth a thousand gold to buy what I needed to help defend the town. He could have easily helped those kids out with that kind of coin, sent them away somewhere better. I couldn’t fathom people hoarding wealth when others were in dire situations. Everyone back on my planet was taken care of to the point most of the population hadn’t needed to work. This world’s culture and beliefs were truly far different than that of my world.

I took a look around myself as I walked, I hadn’t done it before, but looking at the town’s folk on the streets, I could see the fear on their faces. The guard seemed to be more reserved and didn’t show their emotions as I passed them.

The Gnome shopkeep was sitting upon his raised chair when I entered the store. He was already climbing down his steps to the counter as I approached.

“What can I do for you today, lad? I do love repeat customers.”

“Jarrax sent me. Said you would have the things I needed. I flashed him the white coin.”

“Oh, did he now,” he said as he walked to the side of the counter and pulled on a rod in the wall.

I heard a ‘clunk’ a moment later near the front door and looked at the Gnome with a puzzled look.

“For security purposes. Now, what is it you need, friend of Jarrax?”

“Do you know or have the construct for the Crystal Tier 2 spell, Charge?”

“A moment, please,” Jydnir said as he walked to the back of the raised counter area. He tapped a section of the counter.

A moment later, the section of the counter began to rise, then flip open. Inside, the now open counter looked like files upon files. Jydnir bent down and began leafing through them before grabbing a piece of paper from out of nowhere and copying what was on the page down.

The Gnome folded the paper, tucked it into his vest’s pocket, returned the original, and closed the hidden compartment.

“That’ll be two hundred gold. What else is it you need?”

“Two hundred gold for a copy of a construct?”

“That’s the Jarrax discount, my boy. Crystal mages are a secret bunch. Anything outside of Shard, you’re going to pay to see. Now, what else can I fetch for you?”

“Cores, how many you have for sale?”

“That’s going to be tough, my boy. Cores have become scarce with no new trade coming in. I have around fifty Bones and twenty-five Jades. I may have a couple Azure left as well. I’ll give the lot for fifty gold. Anything else?”

“Do you have any healing potions? Children's clothing? I’ll also take the rest of your smoked cheese and sausages.”

“Basic Healing Potions are a hundred apiece. How many you be needing? I can scrape together some clothes for the lads.”

“How many do you have? Do they cure sickness or disease?”

“As long as it’s not an infection, they’ll work wonders on the common cold. Be cheaper to see a healer, though. If it is an infection, you’ll want to take a Cure-All Potion first. Those are only ten gold apiece. Dungeon delvers use them all the time, as cuts and gashes can get infected with all kinds of nasty stuff while you're inside a Dungeon.”

“Ok, let me get four of the Basic Healing Potions and ten of the Cure-All.”

The Gnome whistled and went to work. He returned with four square wooden small boxes with lids a few minutes later. Then returned with two long wooden boxes. That’ll be seven hundred gold for the lot,” he said, taking the paper he had written on before, handing it to me.

I passed him the white coin as I unfolded the paper. The Tier 2 spell Store’s constructed looked like the upside diamond of the Tier 1 spell, but now three new nodes were added. A node was added at a ninety-degree angle from the side it was added onto at each point. The construct looked like a triangular pinwheel.

I tried to make the construct click, and it wasn’t happening. I was beginning to think the Gnome had conned me. He returned a moment later, lying quite a few sets of clothing on the counter. Then the smoked cheese and sausages.

“This construct isn’t working, Jydnir.”

“Ah yea, made sure you paid first. You need to overly the construct over the spell’s construct you wish to store. If you want to simply store Mana, add a single Mana node at the triangle’s center.”

I added my blue Tier 1 Fireball spell on top of the Store spell, and it clicked. I took out the shard I had created before and willed the spell to release into the shard. The shard promptly exploded, sending crystalline pieces in every direction. Jydnir began screaming, as he had been close enough to the spectacle but looked unharmed.

“Damnit, boy. Why the hell would you do that in my shop. You can’t put a higher tier of a spell inside a lower-ranked shard.”

I mentally berated myself. Using the blue fire had turned the simple Tier 1 spell into a Tier 3. I had hoped I could skirt that rule, but it looked like I couldn’t

“Do you have the construct for the higher Crystal Storage spells?”

“Afraid not, Only have this one because the bastard owed me money.”

“Do you have any of the Void Storage runes passed five by any chance?”

“I believe I do,” he said as He began pocketing the gold coins, he was stacking for my change.

He went back to his secret nook and began looking through his papers. Shortly after, he removed one and read it before looking back at me. “I have the runes for size six and seven, along with the rune for air storage.”

“Air storage?”

“The note says it allows you to store air, like liquids. All I have.”

“Interesting, How much for all three?”

“Three hundred,” came back fast.

“Keep the damn coin, and give me those runes, please.”

The Gnome’s smile grew, and he slowly copied the runes onto another sheet of paper.

Ten minutes later, we were outside the store and heading toward the orphanage. I split my new stock of provisions, giving the kids enough food for the upcoming weeks, if not months. Luin brought over the two kids who had been coughing, and I could feel the fever by touch alone. I had them both drink the Cure-All’s, then downed a Basic Healing Potion.

The fevers dropped within moments. Their skin tones got pinker within a few more minutes. I couldn’t believe it. If we had something like this back in my world, we wouldn’t have lost so many to the mysterious plagues of our past.

With the kids fed and clothed in something better than rags, we left to head back to Jarrax’s place. Luke’s little sister gave Luin’s leg a tight hug before leaving. If we could keep the peace here, maybe I could pull funds to create an orphanage at Mythtide and hire people who gave a damn about the unwanted kids. Then we could travel and send anyone we found there to live. I explained my idea to Luin, and she was thrilled with the idea.

Jarrax was waiting for us back at his home and wasn’t alone. He introduced us to Sniddnuth, a female Gnome who quit after I did. She had tried to run after us, but her brothers had stopped her and tried to get her to reverse her decision on quitting The Guild. She didn’t want to see her beloved home burn while sitting inside the Guild’s hall.

She wanted to help us defend Meckingmoor and begged Jarrax to introduce her to me. I didn’t know how I felt about her, throwing away her own protection to join me. It was fine when I was doing it myself. I could revive if things went south. If she died, she was gone, but she wanted to protect her home. How could I stop her from doing that?

“Welcome, what kind of class do you have? What kind of skills do you have that might be able to help?”

“I’m an Artillerist. I can fire my hand cannons without Fyr Powder. If I have Fyr Powder, then my rounds do twice as much damage.”

“Hand cannons?”

She removed what looked like a primitive flintlock from her bag, then another. Her class used guns?

“This here is Alabastor and Onyx. My pa, rest his soul, made them for me before he passed. They can reload once every seven seconds and pack a wallop.”

“Alright, how far away can you shoot them and remain accurate?”

“Around thirty paces.”

“It’s best if you stick to the wall and take out anyone who comes close. I plan to be underground, causing as much chaos as possible before the fights start. The spaces will be cramped, and I'd rather not get shot in the ass.”

“Fine by me. I hate cramped spaces,” she replied.

We spoke for a while longer before she left to go home and face her angry siblings.

“Were you able to get everything you needed from Jydnir?” asked Jarrax.

“I did. Thank you for the funds.”

I created another Shard without exploding and stored a regular Tier 1 Fireball inside. I went into the basement and tried to use it but couldn’t figure out how to use the spell. Going back inside, I asked Jarrax, and he said the crystal had to be crushed.

Going back to the basement, I crushed the shard, and the fire orb began floating above my hand. I grabbed the orb and tossed it against the back wall, where it exploded.

Sitting in the center of the basement, I began to create Shard, after Shard then storing a Fireball in each. Each shard cost thirty Mana to create, and the Store spell on top of the Fireball spell cost me a hundred and ten each, for a total of a hundred and forty per Stored Fireball.

I kept creating them until I began to feel weak after the fifteenth one. I took out the cores I bought and began to fill my mana back up.

[ System Notification ]

Thirty-two Rank D Bone Cores has given 64 Energy

Twelve Rank C Bone Cores has given 36 Energy

Six Rank B Bone Cores has given 36 Energy

Five Rank D Jade Cores has given 60 Energy

5% Bonus: 9

205 Energy converted to 2050 Mana

Almost filled to the max again, I began creating more of the Fireball Shards.