The group spent the morning in deep conversation with Anwen. Mattock was the most vocal, and he explained the details of the events transpiring in the capital and the attack that forced them to leave. Eric learned Anwen was Mattock’s cousin, and they grew up together in Drail before Anwen married Bryn many years before and moved to Fraylin to establish themselves as architects.

Eric found himself distracted as their discussion was reaching its conclusion by Mari and Erwin’s exchange in the corner of the room. Erwin relented to Mari’s constant bickering to play, and he was showing her a strange device that Eric noticed Erwin had pulled from his knapsack. Eric identified the device was of wooden construction and in the shape of a cube with a small raised edge on one side.

Erwin sat the device on the floor in between himself and Mari and lightly tapped the raised edge while speaking softly to Mari and instructing her to watch carefully. As the seconds ticked by the device slowly morphed into something totally different. Eric heard a soft click, and it quickly began to spin and change into a small flat disk in the shape of a spinning top. It displayed a beautiful deep blue and Mari’s eyes lit up in delight at the sight.

The disk slowly lost speed, but just as Eric was sure it had lost all its momentum it seemingly shifted back into the originally shaped cube with the single raised edge. Eric tilted his head at a loss for a moment as Mari giggled and clapped her hands together with happiness at the spectacle. Erwin carefully picked up the cube and offered it to Mari with his outstretched hand. She immediately snatched it from his hand and inspected it in detail before setting it back on the ground and pressing the raised edge which initiated the effect again.

Erwin nodded contently and stood before heading back over to the group of furniture on our side of the room. He returned to his high-backed leather chair and looked back over to Anwen and Mattock as they continued their discussion. Eric sat in thought for a moment wondering about the mechanics behind the simple, yet puzzling toy that Erwin gave to Mari to play with.

His thoughts were quickly interrupted by Anwen standing and saying, “You have all had quite the adventure. I’m sure you are hungry. Why don’t we get some lunch and then you can rest from your long journey?” She smiled toward Clare and Eric and continued, “Eric and Clarke, I will see to it you both have a room for as long as you need while you are in the city.”

Clarke spoke for them both and said, “Thank you. We are honored to be a guest in your lovely home.”

Eric simply nodded in agreement and gave Anwen a warm smile. He noticed Mari looking up at her mom before rushing over to show off her new toy.

Eric took the opportunity to ask Erwin about the device, “Erwin, where did you come across that toy.”

He looked at Eric with a confused expression for a moment before spotting the wooden cube and saying, “Ohhh. That small thing. It’s just something I brought from my workshop.” His face saddened, and Eric realized this must be one of the few possessions he kept from the things brought from his village.

Eric tried to lighten the mood and asked cheerfully, “It is incredible! Did you build that yourself?”

“Yea, I used to build all sorts of stuff with….,” he paused for a second swallowing a lump in his throat. “I had a workshop back in the village and liked to tinker with things. I hope to one day learn from a master mana crafter to create more than simple toys…”, he finished saying.

Eric frowned realizing he may have pushed the topic too far. “You are very talented,” Eric said with a reassuring smile. He had read about the ability to create technology in Teurilia, but after seeing the unique item created by Erwin, it made him even more curious about its potential applications.

Eric looked around the room quickly said, “So, did someone say something about lunch?”

The room fell back into a lighter mood, and Anwen took everyone to another room on the main floor with a beautifully carved wooden table and sent Mari off to tell one of the home’s live-in helpers to bring some lunch for the group.

After lunch, Eric found himself in a cozy bedroom on the second floor of the house stretching from a much-needed nap. It was the first time in days that he hadn’t felt on edge, and he took a few minutes to sink into the soft mattress of the bed and clear away his sleepiness. He opened his eyes and started to think over all the events that brought him to Anwen’s home.

It had been a whirlwind of events since Eric entered Teurilia. He had learned so much about how the world worked but still felt incredibly ignorant about the continent and the bigger activities at work. He shook off the nagging feeling and focused on what he knew for sure, and that was the quests still ahead of him. Fortunately, he was not too off track from locating the Tarth since their suspected location was North of Drail and almost directly West of Fraylin.

He sat up and put his feet on the smooth wooden floor. There were still several hours left till dark, and he planned on using them wisely. He learned from Anwen of a market nearby that should be able to supply him with whatever he would need to continue his journey into the frontier. He also received directions to the nearest magic shop to finally get the tome he looted from the Valix warrior many days ago identified.

He made his way out of the house through the front entrance in no time and set off in a determined pace toward the magic shop. He arrived after making one wrong turn and stopped in front of a pristine sign of shining metal. The symbol showed a tome with a bright light flaring from the pages as if it was unleashing some great power. Eric hoped the tome he found lived up to the picture on the sign and stepped through the front door to the sound of a ringing bell.

The store was full of shelves of books and glass cases with all sorts of items. He walked through the store mesmerized as he found the front desk and lifted his now much less impressive tome from his bag. The edges were worn, and the deep green cover reminded him of a dirty moss or mold. The shopkeeper was an elderly man with thick spectacles and white ruffled hair. He was wearing a clean blue robe and seemed absorbed by a small item he was tinkering with on the counter in front of him.

Unidentified Tome – Grade: Rare; Durability: Unknown; Requirements: Unknown; Effect: Unknown

Eric set his tome on the counter and gave a delayed cough to get the man’s attention. The shopkeeper looked up with enlarged green eyes and stared back at Eric through magnified spectacles. He quickly flipped the spectacles onto his head and with a straight face said, “What can I do for you?”

Eric cut right to the chase with a goal of reaching the other shops before nightfall and said, “I’d like to get this tome identified. I was told you may be able to help.” I pushed the smelly tome toward him across the counter.

The shopkeeper handled the book carefully and even smelled along the spine making an intrigued squeak. He looked up after his quick examination and mumbled, “Interesting…May I ask where you found this?”

“I picked it up off a fallen Valix warrior,” Eric replied calmly.

The old man tilted his head slightly and returned to his examination. Eric waited patiently for many minutes until he finally looked back up and said flatly, “Three gold for the identification.”

Eric coughed a bit at the sudden price and looked the man over carefully before responding, “That seems a little high...I don’t even know what I’m paying for.”

The man laughed at him outright and said, “This is a very rare tome. I have only ever seen one other tome like this, and I suspect its secrets will be very valuable to you. You have no idea what you stumbled on here.”

Eric studied the man carefully for a moment before relenting and realizing his curiosity would always win out against his coin purse. “Very well…Let’s see what you deem so valuable.” Eric slid the three gold coins slowly across the table, and the man snatched them with unexpected speed and agility.

Eric sighed hoping he didn’t just waste most of his hard earned coin on something useless. The elderly man grinned after accepting his payment and said, “One moment.”

He rested his hands on the laid out pages, and a white glow started to emanate from his hands. The jumbled text suddenly started rearranging and made sentences and then paragraphs. After only ten seconds the light from his hands started to dissipate and he looked up with a satisfied smile and said, “As I expected. This book shall provide you with a very valuable skill indeed.”

The man slid the book back across the table, and Eric looked down at it, visualizing its stats once more.

Tome of Translation– Grade: Rare; Durability: 1/1; Requirements: One time use; Effect: Grants user ability to understand and speak any language as if it was common tongue.

Eric looked back up at the man with surprised eyes and said, “How is this possible? This book must be worth a fortune if you are truthful about its rarity.”

The man had already slid his spectacles back down onto his nose and said, “There is still plenty of good in the world. I spotted you as one of the new adventurers everyone has been yapping about as soon as you walked in the door. I just hope that you use this skill for the right reasons.”

The man turned his attention back to the small item he was tinkering with, and Eric simply said, “Thank you. This will prove invaluable.” Eric turned and left the shop with a smile.

Eric rotated the tome over in his hands trying to figure out how to activate the skill. He opened the front cover, and a pop-up appeared.

Activate Tome of Translation?

He thought ‘Yes’ in his mind, and the book immediately started to unravel in his hands as the pages were torn out of the spine and surrounded Eric in a whirlwind. The pages abruptly flashed into a short bright flame before turning to ash and disappearing into a gust of wind.

Ting!

New Skill Alert: Language Translation (Passive) – Ability to understand and speak any languages as if they are common tongue.

Eric was pleasantly surprised at the simplicity of learning the skill. It was much easier than he expected, but he realized he had no way to test his new skill. He put faith that the skill would come in use at the appropriate time and made his way toward the rest of the market to stock up on the remaining supplies.

He quickly located the shops he needed and stocked up on plenty of rations as well as some additional health, mana, and stamina potions. He looked through some of the armor shops and noticed the quality of equipment was higher than what the shops in Drail offered. Eric learned from a burly dwarf stocking some shelves in one of the armor shops that the local blacksmiths had access to resources directly from the nearby mines, and it helped keep the quality of weapons and armor higher than most settlements in the kingdom.

The rest of Eric’s shopping trip was uneventful, and he found himself back in his room within Anwen’s estate preparing to share a meal with the group by nightfall. He packed away his new goods and made before making his way back to the dining area.

He walked into a room of laughter and spotted a free chair at the end of the table near Erwin and Clarke. Anwen spotted him entering the room, and she quickly perked up. She welcomed him and quickly introduced him to her husband Bryn who was sitting next to her. Bryn had been engrossed in e conversation with Mattock until his wife nudged him in the side to get his attention. He quickly stood and gave Eric a hardy handshake and thanked him for the help provided.

Bryn wore a soft expression but appeared to be in deep thought as he returned to his seat. He had rigid features and wrinkles on his forehead that seemed unusual for his age. Eric also noticed Bryn was wearing a fancy attire with stark colors of yellow and purple. He observed the room for another moment before nodding gratefully and finding his designated chair. The smell of freshly prepared meat and break wafted into the room as he sat down.

The rest of the evening was full of laughter and joy. Eric felt the strong love the family shared and was thankful he could help them find safety together. Mattock approached Clarke and Eric at the end of the night with a warm smile and extended his hand out holding a loose scroll and said, “I believe this belongs to you now.”

Ting!

Quest Complete: Protection of Pryde II

You’ve completed a great service to the Mattock and Erwin Pryde by safely escorting them to Fraylin.

+8,000 Experience

+200 Fame

Item Acquired: Ancient Map of Pryde Family

Level up

Ancient Map of Pryde Family – Grade: Epic; Durability: 1/1; Requirements: None; Effect: Leads to undiscovered secret.

Clarke and Eric thanked Mattock for entrusting them with the map of his ancestors and promised to return once they had discovered its secrets. After Mattock departed, Clarke and Eric had a serious discussion about what to do next and how to begin the next stage of their journey.

Eric shared his quest to locate the Tarth with Clarke and they agreed to see it through together. The companions decided to stay in Fraylin for a couple more days to sort out establishing a path westward and gather additional supplies. They spent part of that time examining the map provided by Mattock, but were unable to make out much from the sparse details. It depicted large geographic details, but they didn’t align with anything they could find on the maps available to them. They decided the map would have to wait until they dealt with the mission from Flynn considering its importance to the safety of the continent.