The old man in a new body again commented on the mess he had made of the woman's robe, unaware he had made the statement before while floating in and out of consciousness. Solaria was weeping when she told him not to worry about it. Jack rose slowly unstable on his feet at first and pretended not to notice that everyone was staring at him expectantly. Jack had no idea what exactly they were expecting. The whole experience had drained him on some deep internal level, and he had nothing to say.

Jack was almost happy when the two dwarves who happened brothers took over the conversation by introducing themselves. They both had brown hair and beards, but one was light brown with red touches while the other had dark brown to nearly black. The one with the lighter hair and beard spoke for the two.

"I'm Firbed Copperheart, and this grumpy fellow is my brother Osgruth" he was interrupted by Osgruth's one and the only addition to the conversation.

" Of course, I'm grumpy. They drank our ale, and made us watch!" the dwarf's pain was evident, and Jack bit the inside of a cheek to keep from laughing. Firbed continued with determination.

"First and foremost, let me thank you deeply for saving my brother and myself. We are in your debt. I have a rather pressing concern to bring up despite the unfortunate timing. While you were," the dwarf searched for a pleasant way to word it and then gave up and said," dead. Your friends indicated that they would make no decisions in regards to the caged animals. Unleashing the things could be dangerous for us now and, more importantly, deadly for other travelers later on."

"Hhhmmm," Jack interrupted.

" I know someone who would be likely to purchase said animals and a plan for getting them out of here. It just so happens that we have an uncle in Pendershold that deals in a bit of everything. There are Copperhearts all over the place, you see." Firbed said.

Jack couldn't focus on the details without his head hurting, so he decided to just accept what he got from the beasts as an unexpected win and agreed with the dwarf who set off at a run to Pendershold with his brother tagging right behind. The players, plus a priest, set off to Pendershold as well but not at the same pace.

Jack didn't talk at all on the trek back to the city. At the same time, he unceremoniously dragged the sealed chest with a rope tied to the stout handles uphill, hoping that it's contents were worth the effort. He managed to stay mostly ahead of the others and just grunted or nodded or some nonverbal gesture in response when addressed, which happened little. Jack didn't want to talk about his experience of death at all, and he felt a weakness throughout his entire body. Tom tried unsuccessfully to take the chest on multiple occasions, but Jack refused. If he had to put words to the feeling, it felt like the tail end of a severe illness when your body is just drained.

When they finally emerged from the cave's darkness, they were greeted by the dark of night. Jack made a beeline for the inn and after a quick wash, went to straight to bed and soundly to sleep. It was a deep and absolute sleep.

Jack woke the next morning, trying to remember what had happened and found that everything after his death was foggy. Moreover, he felt like a fucking fool. He had nearly led them all to their deaths in those fucking caverns. He was in the middle of beating himself up when there was a pounding on his door.

Tom stood outside his door, looking at him somewhat quizzically. Jack just stepped to the side and let him in.

" Take a big swig of this and sit down I have some shit to say, and it might sting," Tom said, pushing a jug into his stomach.

" I don't like being the voice of reason," Tom said as Jack shut the door and took the recommended swig of the potent beverage, " but here we go. This is a fucking game. You can let us die. I mean, try to save my good equipment if you can, but dying isn't a big thing. You are acting like you are still a leader of men on a battlefield. The same rules don't apply. If we die, we die, get a drink, laugh it off and try again tomorrow. It would help if you also got clear about your build man. I wasn't going to call you out on it in front of the others, but haphazardly placing your points without a clear goal in mind is going to hurt you and the team in the long run." Tom said, being uncharacteristically serious and concerned.

Jack suddenly remembered that Tom was a teacher who guided young people to realize their potential beneath his skirt-chasing, beer-drinking, and music playing. Jack had overlooked one of the essential aspects of leadership, know your people. He had been a damn fool indeed but not for the reason he had thought.

" I don't know what my intended build is. I want guns and equipment closer to what I used in the real world. I also want to lead more soldiers. Crap, it might be nice to fight a war. Not having to worry about some asshat appointee from the right family making decisions that made no fucking sense." Jack confessed.

" Finally! We can work on all those things. I mean, we will probably go different ways at some point a massive military campaign doesn't sound like a good time to me, personally. Although with some attentive camp followers and nights playing around a campfire, it could be worse. That doesn't matter, though. Right now, we should think about how you get there. We are going to need a fuck ton of gold, oh, and I expect some cool title like Baron or Viscount or something when you begin to take over the world. " Tom said.

" Okay, where do we begin, know it all," Jack asked, relieved that Tom hadn't seemed to think his words to be crazy or childish as they had seemed in his head.

" Guns, I would think. I have a similar problem, actually. This lute is, okay, but I want a guitar. I figure that seeing as I know how they are made, I can find a crafter that can follow my directions and make one. It will probably cost quite a bit and take some time, but I can be patient."

" There is a morality thing too. This doesn't feel like a game, so starting some war that gets thousands of people killed, NPCs or not, isn't going to feel right." Jack said, fearing he would be some sort of evil warlord.

" I admit this world has given me a bit of an existential crisis. I have laid in bed talking to some beautiful women, and I can never think of them as anything less than real. Not to worry, though, I am sure we can find some real dickheads for you to wage war on around here somewhere, and you can even make some lives better in the end." Tom replied confidently.

Tom and Jack cut off their conversation when there was a knock on the door. Solaria burst into the room and wrapped Jack in a hug. Tears had welled up in her eyes by the time she stepped away, and she punched Jack in the upper arm.

" Don't be a fucking idiot next time. You don't get to sacrifice yourself. " she chastised.

The three had coffee and food sent up, and they talked, really talked. They strategized about builds and the future. Solaria began to see the difference between her and the men. Not the age but the difference between going home every night and having other essential aspects of her existence. It may be a game to them all, but to the men, it was also their lives.

Jack found out some more information about the night before. After checking his log, he discovered that he had suffered resurrection sickness that came with a seriously massive debuff. Resurrection caused a fifty percent drop in all stats until you have completed a long rest or have been logged out for at least 6 hours. He also learned that the dwarves had offered to sell the caged animals for them, and Lance had taken the crown and split as soon as they exited the cave. When the events were explained to him, Jack remembered them more like a fading dream than actual events.

The trio finally decided to go through the loot. Tom dumped his bag, and the players sorted the abundance of coins, trinkets, and small gems. The gems were mostly mear pebbles. Finally, Jack summoned Alfred, who informed them that a mage could open the sealed chest for 100 gold.

To Jack and Tom's surprise, the mage summoned was none other than Sebastian, the mage who had been among those to appear in the thieves warehouse. Sebastian informed them dutifully that it would be just as easy for him to bind the chest to someone new as to break the lock. The players chose Jack, so after it was done and the chest was opened to reveal a cloth over unseen objects, Sebastian left. Jack had decided to wait for the mage to leave before peering under the fabric for a reason unknown to him but went with his gut.

What lay beneath the cloth caught the breath in the players' throats. Gold coins amounting to hundreds if not better than a thousand. A couple dozen gems ranging in size from similar to the nail on Jacks pinky to a fist-sized perfectly cut sapphire. A necklace of ruby that enhanced fire magic damage by fifteen percent. And finally, a helmet. It was dulled metal masterfully crafted into a bear's head, the fierce mouth opening to allow the wearers face to be visible. It added a twenty percent increase to the duration of all Shouts or Battle Commands. Jack didn't know what a Battle Command was, but he had Demoralizing Shout and definitely wanted the helmet.

Jack picked up the helm and got the prompt.

You have received Helm of Bear's Shout

+50 to armor

Durability 600 of 750

Quality Epic

Adds twenty percent to the duration to all shouts and battle commands. Piece of the First Bear Epic Set

"The necklace is mine!" erupted Solaria snatching the item with frightening speed and also got a prompt.

You have received Necklace of the Fire Mage

+5 to Intelligence

Durability 60 of 75

Quality Epic

Adds ten percent to damage of all fire spells.

Tom looked it over and said, " I'll split the gold, smaller gems and other junk after I sell them, and keep the big jewel."

Jack was okay with this agreement. Tom set out to sell the small gems, and the other players began sorting the coins into stacks of twenty-five. While Tom was gone, Firbed and Osgruth had come. True to their words, the brothers intended to settle on the profit from the sale of the animals from the caves.

The brothers looked a dam sight better than when Jack had last seen them, but he was surely looking better himself.

"Please help yourself," Jack said, gesturing to the food.

"Thanks. Don't mind if I do." was Osgruth's obligatory one and only addition to the conversation.

"Most of the animals were of common quality and useful mostly as food for the exotic creatures. There were three exotic animals worth collectively about 2,500 gold and the other worth about twenty. After hiring men to haul out the cages and other expenses, there is 2,345 gold."

Firbed tossed a heavy gold sack on the coffee table.

" I won't be offended if you count it," Firbed said earnestly.

Jack just shook his head in reply.

" I have another proposition for you, though. I don't know how much you know of dwarven culture, but when young men like us come of age."

Firbed motioned to his brother and himself before continuing.

"We leave our clan hall to gain trade skills and gold before returning home to buy into or make a business and marry. We want to be adventurers, not guards to caravans or merchants, as is common in our clan. So we would like you to hire us on to your party for a share of the loot." Firbed said in an uncharacteristically stoic manor.

Jack thought about it, and when he replied, he was sincere.

"As it affects loot shares, I would have to talk with the others. My reservation is that while I would hire on one warrior, I wouldn't hire two because what my party needs more than anything is a healer, as you saw in the cavern."

" So what you're telling me is that if one of us could act as a healer, we'd have your blessing to join the group?" Firbed said with a grin that made Jack feel like he was about to step in a trap.

" Yes, if one of you could act, effectively, as a healer, I would be more than happy to hire you on, so long as it passes a vote with the other group members. Come back for dinner prepared to answer questions about affiliations and abilities." Jack said, finally.

Tom came back with 397 total from the little jewels and trinkets, noting that none of the jewelry had any attributes. They added it to the 1,374 gold from the chest, the 2,345 gold from the animals' sale, the total was 4,116. They split it evenly each way. All in all, it was a profitable dive even before they returned the quests and got the rewards.

The group didn't adventure the rest of the day. After some more talking and a couple of cups of coffee, they returned the quests. Jack leveled upon returning the quest and getting a big bonus for returning Father Doronee alive. He still didn't place any points, and he was up to fifteen that he was unsure of where to put. The party also received blessed items from the master at arms at The Temple Of The Light, who gave the quest. Jack happily accepted a new shield and looked it over.

You have received

Holy Kite Shield

+20 to armor

100 of 100 durability

quality enchanted

1-6 Holy Damage upon contact with evil-aligned creatures can block spirits and spirit weapons.

The shield was amazingly well crafted in comparison to what he had seen so far. The core was wood, but unlike his current shield with metal banding around the edge, the new one looked as if it had been dipped in molten metal. The back right up to about an inch from the side was a sold dense wood, but the rest was a dulled metal that didn't reflect light.

Solaria got a pair of daggers in a beautiful wood box, and Tom got a boss looking rapier. Jack assumed, they all carried similar enchantments of extra damage to evil-aligned creatures and effective against spirit-based creatures. Jack decided that if the other players were game, he'd soon find a quest that involved ghosts or some kind of spirit-based creatures. Trying out the new weapons seemed like an excellent idea to him.

The players all had points to spend. Tom and Solaria quickly did just that right in front of the church. After that, they walked, talked, laughed, to the mercenary quest giver. The captain was standing before a group of men dressing them down for the state of their equipment when the players approached. The captain promptly ordered the men to run and turned to Jack.

"So, ya did it. Well, I suppose the prize is yours. I can reward you in gold, equipment, training, or mercenaries." the old man said.

Jack chose mercenaries, but to his surprise, Tom and Solaria both chose training for him.

Complete Quest Find and Clear Kobold den?

Yes or No?

They all selected yes, and the captain looked Jack over for a few seconds.

" You are choosing a path I know well, I can see it in yer face. Let me offer you an opportunity to get you started. I will give you two raw recruits for the quest reward. If you can bloody their noses but keep them alive until they have some experience under their belt, I will reward you much greater." the captain explained.

You have been offered a unique quest.

Make Men of them

Will you train these men into warriors?

Reward: 10,000 exp. Training in battle commander profession

Yes Or No?

Jack chose to accept greedily.

" Wait, the battle commander is a profession?" Jack asked.

" Of course, boy. It takes skill and experience to learn how to mold men into a weapon. A true battle commander is a mansmith. He molds individuals into a single weapon to protect or crush. Learn this out there, and I'll see you when it's done."

With that, the men's contracts were handed to Jack who purused them quickly. It was a detailed contract laying out an impressively comprehensive framework. The articles included at what levels their pay would increase when the deal could be broken by either of the parties involved, when lodging would be provided by the contract holder and when the mercenaries would be expected to provide for themselves.

The two men were utterly unimpressive. They looked like farmers. Shabby cloth tunics, rusty iron short swords, and worn sandals were the entirety of their equipment. They were going to cost him a bundle from base pay to lodging and food, even equipment. He was thinking that this quest was utter bullshit before accepting that this is what he had asked for.

Jack opened his interface and looked at the quest.

The quest information description gave him more information to work with.

Make Men Of Them

Raise recruits to level 5 1 of 5

Raise one weapon skill of each recruit to level 10 3 of 10

Survive 10 combat encounters 0 of 10

Reach a personal level of 10

Jack addressed the two men, " Name, level, and primary weapon ?"

The larger of the two, a scarred bearded man spoke first, " Wolfweir level one, ax."

The other, a tall, lean man, spoke next, " Samital also level one, and I prefer javelins."

Jack looked to the captain, Codrift was his name and asked, " I assume I can buy equipment from you for these men?"

The man gave a slight smile and said, " Yes, I can sell you gear, and I will even do it at cost."

Within twenty minutes, the recent additions were out of the rags and into something far better suited to keeping them alive. Both now donned think leather armor with brass studs, newer short swords, shields, and boots. Woldweir got his ax, and Samital got four javelins.

Done there, they went to the area that contained the fancy shops that Jack had avoided, choosing instead to do his shopping among the vendor stalls. The stalls seemed more down to earth, and personable. This area reeked of opulence with its wide paved roads and complete absence of pain looking everyday folk. Jack was sure that everything in these stores had a jacked-up price just because of the atmosphere. He thought that he would probably browse here but buy among the stalls.

Jack strolled into an armor shop to hopefully gain more information. He noted that the two mercenaries posted outside the door naturally and figured that it was either a cultural thing or part of their training. Either way, he figured it was better then them filling up the shop.

"Hello," said a burly man polishing the counter.

"Hello," Jack said.

Jack continued, " I'm going to need to replace my armor soon, and I was thinking a good set of leather armor and a scale overcoat."

The man appraised him for a moment and then asked, "Battle Mage?"

Jack chuckled," Way closer to the battle part than the mage part."

" If you are going to do spells, then your next question is bound to be, what kind of nonmetal scales can I make. The answer is availability is constantly varying on that. Twice in my career, I happened to get my hands of dragon scale, but that is super rare, making for some legendary armor and costs a king's ransom. Drakes are more common, less dangerous, and an overcoat made from their scales is a good alternative to metal, but I don't have any now. In fact, right now, I have nothing that I would be willing to make an overcoat from that is a nonmetal." the man said apologetically.

" Why does nonmetal matter?" Jack asked.

" Well, metal armor messes with spells, something about magnetism. You'd have to ask a mage if you wanted to know more. What I know is that the more metal you are wearing, the more mana it takes to cast a spell. It is a ratio you see, and mages are familiar with the balance and often develop a strategy that works well for their fighting style. Some mages lean heavy on fighting ability and wear metal armor.

In contrast, others lean on magic and wear little to no armor. Wealthy mages get nonmetal armor that, in some cases, provide the strength of metal and actually help magic. Take dragon scale of instance. If you have red dragon scale, it lessens mana usage for fire spells and adds to the damage." the smith was cheery going on and on about different materials with great enthusiasm.

Jack accepted the unpleasant news that he couldn't get armor made out of a nonmetal at this time and asked about repair services as his only armor had a horrific tear in it. Jack had decided that the service here was worth the probable overcharge, and if he was honest, he liked the smith and wanted to do business with him. After a brief back and forth, Jack said he would have his current overcoat sent over for repairs and bought a plain scale overcoat to have something while his was being repaired. The man agreed to let Jack know if any scale material came in that would be of interest. To Jack's surprise, Tom, who he thought was only browsing waiting for him to finish, bought a set of black leather armor that put a severe dent in his wallet. Later Tom said he had to buy the armor because as soon as he saw it, a voice in his head screamed that it was exactly what a rock god would wear.

Jack wasn't really interested in casting spells, but he was very interested is immunity to them.

So, before he left, he asked, " Is there a material that lessens the effects of spells used on you. "

" Man after my own heart. There are more than a few beasts with magical resistance. Most of the time, armor made from them carry to an extent the ability to lessen magical damage." the smith said.

Then went on, " There are also enchantments that can do the same, so if you were to have a boatload of gold to spend, you could have something commissioned with that intent in mind.

" One last question, if you don't mind? If I were to acquire rare scales, what kind of price would you charge for the crafting?" Jack asked.

" That really depends if they are rare enough to get me a boost in my crafting skill or not. When dealing with crafters, remember that if you provide an exceedingly rare material, you can sometimes charge them for the honor of crafting with it. However, suppose it is beyond their capability. In that case, the results are going to be lackluster, and in the very least, cause a larger amount of waste. That comes down to how far above their ability the material and design are. The larger the difference, the worse the results." the smith replied honestly.

The next shop they went in was a magic shop where again the men simply waited outside. A very well dressed and manicured man whose every detail screamed mage was standing behind a long counter. Jack wondered if a spell had been cast on the building because it was so much larger then Jack had expected when he saw it from the outside. The store was also jam-packed with items of every sort a person could imagine, and a few none would want to believe. One large bookcase carried jars of alchemy components and were all somethings eyes, testicles, bladders, or other body parts. Another similar case with drawers contained herbs of all sorts.

"Do you have a bag or holding or something that would allow me to carry more than should be reasonably possible?" Jack asked

"Such things are available but tend to be rather expensive." the man said kind of snootily in Jack's opinion.

Jack rolled his eyes.

"Are we talking hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands of gold?" Jack replied.

The vendor smelling gold perhaps said, "There are literally unimaginable combinations, but as a registered member of The Mage Guild, I only sell guild approved items. This allows for standardized quality and pricing. Of course, you can find less expensive variations of almost any product in my store among the vendors. Still, buyer beware the quality and effects will vary. If you buy a pouch from me, I can guarantee that it will hold pretty much anything you can fit through the opening. The deciding factor, actually there are two, isn't the bag's size but rather the size of the opening into which you can put things and the weight reduction value.

Imagine for a second that you found a million gold coins, a small coin purse with a reduction value of 1/1000th would be better than a massive bag with a 1/10th or even 1/100th. But said coin purse will be worthless if you find a collection of battle axes because you'd never fit the head through the opening. It's straightforward to understand, actually. There are three qualities of containers, lesser magic that reduces weight to 1/10th, magic that reduces weight to 1/100th, and then the greater magic, as I'm sure you can assume, reduces weight to 1/1000th. Of course, there is a level even greater known as the ultimate magic bag reducing weight to 1/100,000th the weight, but they are scarce, and I wouldn't even know where to acquire one. Then you have to consider the size of the opening, the larger the opening, the more powerful the enchantment needed, and the price and rarity raise accordingly."

The merchant placed a few different size bags in front of Jack, and after some talking back and forth, Jack thought the group should buy a decent size bag with a 1/100th weight reduction when they had the crazy 20,000 gold, it cost.

" We'll take it," Tom said, to the shock of the others.

The player's perused the shop like kids in a candy store. Must of the items were well beyond what any of them had to spend being in the tens to hundreds of thousands of gold. When Solaria found a white mage robe with golden threading ornately patterned around the edges, she fell in love. To Jack's surprise, the dress was a very well aptly named piece of equipment, Robe Of The Enchantress. The vendor saw how enraptured the young woman was with the robe and applied his trade. He stated he was asking 10,000 gold for, leaning heavily enough on the asking part to let everyone know he would take less.

"I'll give you 5,000 gold for it right now," Tom said, surprising everyone.

"Impossible." the vendor replied in fake disgust.

"Unlikely at best, and I'm a pretty persistent guy," Tom replied, settling in for the negotiations with a smile.

"Trust me, you are not that persistent," was the man's dry reply.

As the back and forth continued, the price increased as did the goods, but Jack lost his interest and began strolling deeper into the store. Jack saw a few helmets, but he was far too happy with the new one he had gotten from the chest to consider them.

Jack walked past the helmets until he stumbled upon his spear. The design was what Jack had been hoping to find. The weapon had a crosspiece at the base of the spear's point to prevent the spear from sinking in too deep. Now that Jack was thinking about it, he was almost sure it was called a winged spear, at least it was called that back home. It was love at first sight, and Jack felt more than a little giddy when he hefted the spear out of the rack beside other polearms. The spear was solid and heavy, definitely not for throwing, which suited Jack just fine.

Jack walked back toward the counter to ask the vendor the price when he saw what the situation had evolved into. Solaria just stood there mouth agape absolutely shocked by the sum being discussed.

"Fine seventy-five thousand gold, and you include that spear," Tom said, pointing toward Jack.

Jack was now staring just as mouth agape as Solaria at the sum of gold being discussed.

"Will it get you out of here?" the merchant replied in mock irritation.

" I'm offended," Tom said though he clearly wasn't and continued. "To answer your question, yes, it will get me out of here, for now, but I'll be back. You'll see, I'm going to be one of your favorite customers." Tom said in complete earnestness.

" I agree, besides I still doubt you can produce the gold." the merchant said.

" Very astute. I can not, in fact, provide the gold, but I can play you a song worth more than gold." Tom said swing around the lute that hung on his shoulder

The merchant turned completely red. His hands turned into a fist before Tom burst into laughter and held up both his hands placatingly.

"I couldn't resist the joke, please forgive me," Tom said while reaching into his backpack. What he withdrew made the shop keeper's eyes bulge. In his hand was the fist-sized blue gem from the chest sparkling with reflected light. The merchant reached under the counter and produced a magnifying glass that glowed a bluish light, then took the jewel from Tom and carefully looked it over.

"How much do you expect to get for this?" the merchant said.

"The gem seller's first offer was 100,000, and that was the first offer, so I strongly expect you to do better. I will take what we have agreed, "motioning to the goods on the counter," and keep the other 35000 in credit. See Leofric, that means I'll be back to become one of your favorite customers." Tom said in complete self-satisfaction.

Leofric, which was obviously the vendor's name, just rolled his eyes. The vendor was the only one not paying attention when Tom scooped all the items, and dispenced them into the bag. Jack was amazed when he watched the things disappear one by one into the container that should have been far too small. Tom grabbed the dress and was about to unceremoniously cram it into the bag and was stopped cold by Solaria.

"Don't even think about jamming that beautiful robe into that bag," the woman said, not leaving any doubt that she did not appreciate even the thought.

Tom did not put the robe into the bag, he instead handed it to Solaria delicately. Jack had some other questions for Leofric. "Is there a means to communicate over a long distance with a person even if you aren't sure of their location?"

Leofric replied, " Oh yes, you could have any Mage Guild approved vendor or trainer send a magic pigeon for ten gold pieces or twenty if you want it to bring back a response. It is far more expensive than a messenger at first, but depending on how far away the person is, that could change. A messenger starts off far cheaper and may take weeks while incurring expenses and could ultimately be unsuccessful. Magic pigeons can always find a person who is not clouded by magic. If the message is undeliverable, the price is refunded."

"Magic pets and or steads that can be summoned, is that a thing?" Jack asked, and the other players perked up.

"Yes and no. Nothing truly living and be sent to the neither, abyss, nor void which are all names for the realm things are sent to when they go into a magic bag. The objects that go into the bag must leave some part of themselves in this realm or be lost entirely. That is why there is a weight reduction, not a complete weight disappearance. Sorry I digress, living things can not be summoned and then dismissed at will like they went in and out of a magic bag. I suppose if a mage were to know where a creature was, they could teleport it to them then teleport the beast back to where ever it had been after the need went away. Then there are conjured creatures that are not living but instead magic based. Those are summoned all the time and could very well be something capable of carrying the mage and often are. The only other thing that I can think of is a construct, gnomes can make creatures that are autonomous but made of metal, gears, and magic. Depending on how the magic works, you could use a magic bag to summon use then dismiss them similarly.

In fact, I have a few things in stock that could very well serve the purpose of a magical stead. I have scrolls of teleportation, scrolls to conjure a nightmare, and a few other creatures that could be ridden." Leofric concluded.

After finding out that the steads would be far too expensive, like in the tune of hundreds of thousands of gold for permanent steads, and 100 gold for a single scroll of teleportation, Jack decided to keep these things in mind for later.

" Can you train someone in an identify spell or have something that could be used to identify items?" Tom asked.

" Both actually. The glass I used to look at the gem I could part with for 50,000 gold. I have one use scrolls for 1,000 each and a book that teaches the spell for 10,000. " Leofric replied.

" Can I use the book considering that my magic is song-based?" Tom asked.

" Possibly. You would have to use the book for inspiration then adapt it to your style. Still, in the end, all books teach you is a way another magic-user went about the spell. There are nearly unlimited ways to go about creating the same effect. " Leofric informed.

"I should be getting back to the hotel to prepare for the interview," Jack said.

"We have an appointment with the magic trainer anyway," Tom said, gesturing to Solaria and himself.

"I wanted your opinions on the brothers," Jack said.

"Not really my thing brother, I trust you to make the decision," Tom said

"I'm with him," Solaria added as they all headed towards the inn.

Fuck Jack thought when he remembered that he had made an appointment with the spear trainer for this morning that he had forgotten entirely.