Someone was knocking on my dorm room door, rousing me from a bad dream. I was trapped in a video game. One where I not only had to play myself, but the monsters really hurt me with every little nick or cut. “Go away!” The knocking kept up, getting up I stumbled over some clothes on the floor. I think the clothes grunted. Moving to the door I swung it open. There was a man from a bad dream standing there. I stared dumbly at him, then memories rushed back. Looking around I groaned. I wasn’t in the dorm. I was in The Roost and the man was the Innkeep. “begging your pardon sir, but could I get your assistance?” Rubbing my eyes, I nodded, “Sure give me a moment to pull some pants on.” I closed the door and turned back into the room. The clothes on the floor sat up rubbing his side. “Sorry Ace. I didn’t mean to kick you.” The boy rubbed his face, “Its okay master.” Grabbing pants, I pulled them on looking out the window. The Sun was beginning to set on the horizon. I could still see people milling around in confusion and the city chat showed there was still chaos afoot. Opening the door, the Inn keep stood there nervous. “I beg your pardon, but I have an issue.” “What is the issue and how can I help?” The Inn keep studied the hall full of doors. “Well last night I was fully booked with Travelers. All rooms paid for. Tonight…” He hesitated, but I had a sinking feeling I knew where this was going. “The Travelers they are all now Stiff’s. They don’t pay for their rooms or can’t leave.” He rushed the next words in a single breath. “I do not mean to be greedy, but I have to live. Well I could just push them out, but that’s not right. They paid me for a safe room. But only for one night. I heard you had a warehouse that they were putting Stiff’s to be safe.” Stopping to inhale the Inn keep sighed and opened his mouth to continue. I held up my hand to stall the words. “I’ll do what I can. How many Travelers do you have?” Looking around at the doors the man said, “Not including yours. Which is paid up. There is 16. If you can help me, I will give you my room upstairs for as long as you stay for the same price. I will even let your second room be free.” He shrugged gesturing toward Lien, “Not like she will eat much or the kids either.”

New Quest

A Helping Hand II!!!

Description: The Inn keeper of The Roost faces a dilemma. He has rooms with Travelers who are unable to agree to pay for another nights stay. He does not want to push the Stiff’s out in the street where they could be robbed or killed, yet he needs his rooms freed up. He has asked for your assistance.

Quest Type: Unique

Difficulty: Easy

Outcome:

Find a way to free up The Roost’s Rooms.

Reward: The best room at the Inn and a free room.

Failure: None

I was stunned. Did that quest just ask me to do something about Stiffs? I guess it could be referring to them not paying, but I don’t think so. I agreed to help the Inn keep and went back in my room to get my armor and weapons. The city was not safe enough to run around without them yet. As I finished and opened the door, the girl was standing there. “I’m ready.” “Your ready to do what?” She looked confused for a moment then stuck out her tongue thinking, “Well your going to help the Inn keep. I’m ready to help him too.” Laughing I moved to go past the girl. She stepped in my way, “Well?” “well what?” The girl stomped her foot, “I thought you weren’t a noob. You have to invite me to your party so we can quest together.” I frowned, “I can’t invite you to my group. I am not sure if its safe outside.” Thinking quickly, I added, “I don’t even know what your name is.” The girl smiled, “Oh silly I can protect myself and my name is Kim Simmons.” The words were just out of the girl’s mouth when her status bar updated.

Kim Simmons (6)

HP 550/550

Mana 0/0

Stamina 55/55

The girl was level 6 and judging by her stats a warrior. Well she really could take care of herself. I sent the group invite. We grabbed a quick early dinner and left the Inn. I wasn’t sure how I was going to help. I guess I might just pick up the Travelers one at a time and take them. But what would happen if I happened upon Guards… Guards! I turned toward the training grounds. While I had slept, I had received a couple letters and it also appeared that some of the Brotherhood of Steel had found an Ambassador and bought Familiars. The Guild chat all looked pretty mundane. Discussions on organizing the Guild, and good leveling spots. I knew most of the important conversations would be in the closed Officer chat, so I ignored the guild messages. The City chat was similarly uninteresting. But I did check my mail the first post office box I came across.

Mail:Alexander Steiner: Azriel, I hope you heard about Logging out and didn’t. I sent messages to Luxus and Lien too. Let me know if your still here.

Mail: Auctioneer: Your Auction of Magic Dust x 10 sold for 1 Gold.

You receive 95 Silver. (5 Silver Guild Tax)

Mail: Auctioneer: Your auction of Overseer’s Breastplate sold for 50 Silver.

You receive 47 Silver 50 Copper (2 Silver 50 Copper Guild Tax)

Mail: Auctioneer: Your Auction of Miners Heavy Pick Sold for 50 silver.

You receive 47 Silver 50 Copper (2 Silver 50 Copper Guild Tax)

Mail: Alexander Steiner: I haven’t heard from you, so I guess you logged. I didn’t hear from Luxus or Lien. I wish you luck and I hope everything turns out okay. Mail me when you come back.

Mail:Auctioneer: Your Auction of Lesser Mana Potion sold for 25 Silver

You receive 23 Silver 75 Copper (1 Silver 75 Copper Guild Tax)

Three more Mana Potions sold and then my inbox was empty. I did the math and was grumpy. Lothorb didn’t waste time did he, with a 5% Guild tax. Shaking my head, I continued on. Kim asked hopefully, “was there a message from my Papi?” I sighed, “No little one there was not.” Her eyes teared up, but she wiped them away before they fell. Thinking about Alexander I sent him a Clan Invite. Even if he didn’t want to stay, this would at least allow us to talk for now. I double checked my Friends List to make sure he was still on and it showed he was asleep. Wait asleep? Since when was that a status?

To my relief the streets were clearing of Stiff’s and people were almost acting sane again. At least as sane as normal. There was a lot more violence being reported in city chat with whole sections of town being completely unsafe, but regular guard patrols kept the main areas clear. I didn’t understand these players. They must be losing so much reputation with Humes killing people unprovoked like this. Reaching the Training Grounds, I was amazed the normally mostly empty grounds were full of people. Commoner, Shopkeeper, Wench, no these were NPC’s and they were being drilled by Guards. I saw Captain Stuart yelling at one Stable hand. As we approached, he saw us coming and stopped berating the poor man. Instead he yelled in a voice that carried across the entire grounds, “Good job people. That is enough for today. Go home rest, I’ll see you half an hour before dawn tomorrow!” Groans and curses went up all over the grounds as NPC’s threw down swords and other weapons to storm off. Captain Stuarts face turned red seeing the weapons litter the ground, “Sergeant!” A lanky Guard Sergeant saluted, “Sir?” “Get some men and pick up this mess. Then tomorrow make sure you let the recruits know what you think of your extra labor of love.” The sergeant smiled coldly, “Yes Sir!” Stuart turned to me, “Hello there, how can I help you today?” I looked around, “recruits?” Stuart grimaced, “One can barely call them that. Sadly, they are all the city has. With no High Lord in the keep to hire replacement guards, I only get 5 new men a month.” Do you lose more than 5 guards a month?” I winced at the thought. Most guards that I had seen in Hub were level 30. Which should be more than enough to handle things in these parts. The Captain shrugged, “Not normally but these are not normal times. With the massive numbers of you Travelers coming into town my manpower is being stretched thin. Then this lot.” He gestured to the now empty grounds, “Will take time to get up to par.” I nodded understanding that concept at least. Ace spoke up, “Master?” Looking down at the boy he continued, “Would it be okay if on the days we were not busy, I come here and train with them?” I looked at the Captain questioningly. The man laughed, “Of course! It would be my pleasure to train a Starblade!” I nodded at Ace, “then I do not mind.” Turning to the Captain I had another thought. “You said that a High Lord could hire more guards. Why isn’t there a lord in the keep?” The Captain shrugged, “There hasn’t been a king, regent, high lord, or even a lesser lord since the Travelers left some 500 years ago. When you all disappeared over night our entire world fell into ruin.” Shocked I thought about that then asked. “Why didn’t you appoint new nobles to take their places?” Stuart’s brows knit together thinking, “Well I guess we don’t know how.”

New Secret Quest

Lost Nobles!!!

Description: Guard Captain Stuart has informed you that no Nobles have ruled in Esper for hundreds of years. The knowledge of how to appoint new Lords and Ladies has been lost.

Quest Type: Secret

Difficulty: Varies

Outcome:

Discover how to appoint a noble. Become a Noble

Reward: Unknown

Failure: None.

Kim gasped and swiped a hand in front of her face. I guess she got the quest too. I would have to think about how to go about figuring that mystery out later. One thing at a time. “That reminds me Captain. I did come for a reason.”

“Oh, what’s that?” I explained the situation to Captain Stuart who listened looking thoughtful. “I see. I would expect that there are other Inns with similar issues too. This Stiff’s thing is causing all kinds of unexpected trouble. Did you know I’ve had to commandeer not only your warehouse but three others to hold these people and I’m not even half done with the city. My men are starting to grumble that it would be easier to kill them and let them lay in the Graveyard. I must admit it would be easier.” I grimaced, “I’m sure it would be Captain, but it would also be easier to steal your horse than it would be to train my own.” Stuart laughed, “You would find it hard to steal my horse, but I understand your meaning. No, we will continue to do this right. I’ll send men to your inn. The Roost, was it? My guards will be there to collect the Stiff’s there as well as others to the other Inns. I suspect this will become a daily routine. One more reason I need more manpower.”

Quest Completed!

A Helping Hand II!!!

Rewards:

50 EXP Finest Room in The Roost Free second Room as long as the first is paid for in advance. +250 Fame

Smiling, I asked another question that was on my mind. “has any of the Stiff’s that have been placed into a Warehouse woke up? I mean start moving again?” Captain Stuart frowned, “Not one.” I shuddered. Picturing the mess, I am sure my body had made on my Dorm room bed, I smiled. Maybe this would make the damn cheap school buy new mattresses for the dorms. Shaking my head, I thanked the Captain and left the training grounds.

I knew I should probably go out and level but with all this going on I didn’t feel like it. Instead I went to the Magicians Tower and bought Potions Vials and other items I would need to make use of the plants currently taking up loads of space in my bags. On the way back to the Inn I got a message.

Alexander Stiner has joined your Clan, The Conclave!

With a wide smile I made it to the Inn as full dark fell over the city. Looking at Kim who had followed me around town mostly playing with Ace for the last couple hours, I sent her a clan Invite too. For good measure I also sent invites to Lien and Luxus. I figured if they woke up, they could get the message. Then I got Kim’s dad’s name and sent him an invite too. The Inn Keeper greeted me, exchanged keys with me and told me everything was already moved. Smiling I led the two kids up stairs.

The room at the top of the Inn was nice! A three-room suite that took up the entire fourth floor. The main room had two nice couches a small coffee table and a giant fireplace. Through an arch on the left there was a fully stocked Study. Including a book shelve full of books. A large writing desk and two general use crafting tables. Through the right arch was a massive four poster bed, wardrobe and another fireplace. In all I think the square footage matched my parents Apartment. I began to unload things on one of the workbenches when I got a surprise.

Clan:The Conclave:Alexander: Hey!

Clan:The Conclave: Azriel: Evening! I see you found where to pick up a familiar.

Clan:The Conclave:Alexander: Yeah, I found it. Thanks for the invite to this huge, powerful, server shaping guild.

Clan:The Conclave:Azriel: If you don’t like it you don’t have to stay. Lol

Clan:The Conclave:Alexander: Heck no! I’m glad to be here and I look forward to getting out and killing some more creeps with you. But if you don’t mind, I’m exhausted tonight, and I just want to stay in. I’m finding I rather like this Imp made Flame Mead.

I looked at all my Alchemy supplies spread over the table and smiled.

Clan:The Conclave:Azriel: No, I don’t mind at all.

Clan:The Conclave:Alexander: Great! I knew I liked you! I’ll message in the morning and we can go to this Forest I heard about. All kinds of critters to blow up there. Night.

Clan:The Conclave:Azriel: Night

The kids were in the main room playing, I had checked on Lien in her room below, and all was well. With my mortar and pestle ready, vials and reagents spread out, I set to work on my best mad alchemist impersonation

Character Sheet for: Azriel Starblade.

Name: Azriel Starblade

Race: Hume Class: Apprentice Magi

Level: 5 Exp: 10,266 / 15,000

Strength (STR): 18 (19)

Muscle: 9 (10) / Endurance: 9

Dexterity (DEX): 10

Agility: 5 / Instinct: 5

Constitution (CON): 10 (11)

Health: 5 (6) / Resilience: 5

Intelligence (INT): 18

Logic: 9 / Mind: 9

Wisdom (WIS): 10

Perception: 5 / Conviction: 5

Charisma (CHA) 10

Appearance: 5 / Personality: 5

Luck (LUC): 2

Hit Points (HP): 520 / 520

Mana; 590 / 590

Stamina: 52.5 / 52.5

Character Points (CP): 11 / 13 Talent Points (TP): 1 / 1

Renown (REN): 2,050 / 3,000

Fame Level: 1 Popular Deity: None

Faith (FAI): 0 / 1000

Titles: Freeman

Achievements: Famous Family: Starblade, Savior of the city: Hub.

Deeds and Properties: Esper: Erthoia: Southern: Central: Hub, District 4, Warehouse 2C.

Spellbook

Skills:

Concentration (Apprentice): 5 / 75

Leadership (Apprentice): 9 / 75

Parry (Apprentice): 11 / 75

Running (Apprentice): 4 / 75

Tactician (Apprentice): 9 / 75

Abilities:

Armor: You can proficiently wear Cloth, Leather and Chain armor types.

Channel: You can focus on your mana. This allows you to increase your mana regeneration rate by 100%. You may also now channel your mana into other people or objects at your normal mana regeneration rate. This ability is easy to interrupt, avoid all distractions.

Home Point You can set a Home Point and create a Hearthstone. Using the Hearthstone will allow you to teleport home from anywhere, once a day.

Rush: You can rapidly move forward 15 yards to strike an enemy for 3*STR damage. This strike stuns the target for 3 seconds.

Shields: You can proficiently use Light shield types.

Weapons: You can proficiently use Dagger, Short Blade, Axe, Mace, and Crossbow weapon types.

Professions:

Alchemy (Apprentice): 1 / 75 ©

Herbalism (Apprentice): 26 / 75 (G)

Spells:

Detect Magic (Rank 3)

Fire Arrow (Rank 3)

Flame Wave (Rank 1)

Light (Rank 3)

Magic Missile (Rank 3)

Read Magic (Rank 3)

Sleep (Rank 1)

Social

Friends: Lien Xi, Luxus Swiftblade, Alexander Stiner, Kim Simmons.

Enemies: Jazmine Oxford.

Family: Ace Starblade.

Clan: The Conclave.

Guilds: Brotherhood of Steel.

Nation: None.