The next two weeks were an exercise in a misery. He wasn’t sure exactly what he had expected: maybe a few pushups, some target practice, learning a kata or two for the glaive. What he got was bootcamp all day long, followed by lessons at night covering all manner of topics from identifying traps to gathering herbs. It was fourteen days of misery, but when he at last returned to the void to see his results, he was forced to admit that it had been worth it.

Jasper Welles (14)

Level up available: 0

Exp: 0/200

Health 340

Stamina 580

Essence 760

Heritage(s)

Greater Djinn

Class(es)

Acolyte of the Secret Flame

Titles

The Blood Runs True

Betrothed of Kas̆dael

Stats

Racial Traits

Class Abilities

Weapon Skills

Strength 12

Born of Flames

Sacred Star

Improvised Weaponry I

Endurance 15

Locked

Purge

Slingshot V

Vision 15

Locked

Eternal Night

Glaive IV

Inspiration 24

Locked

Willpower 24

Charisma 12

In just two weeks of training, Jasper had gained two points in strength, three in endurance, and surprisingly one in willpower. It was vision, though, that had received the most benefits, gaining five new points. Apparently vision didn't only cover his physical ability to see, but also his chance to perceive hidden things. Thus, the classes on detecting traps had paid rich dividends. A few training expeditions had taken them out to kill low-levels monsters, and from that he had also gained four levels. He dumped four points each in inspiration and willpower, and there another two into charisma and endurance. While Jasper knew he probably could have leveled faster by just going out into the jungle and finding some ruins to explore or monsters to kill, he was glad he had decided to take the training course. This was his life now, and he'd rather not die from stupid mistakes, like using explosive spells at close range.

Returning from the void, Jasper opened his eyes slowly, savoring the deliciously cool air of the guild’s courtyard. Now that he had completed the guild’s mandatory training, Gebor had arranged for him to join an expedition that was leaving tomorrow. But for today, his slate was wide open. After paying the tuition, he only had about five silvers left, but he still had the craftsmen tools he had found in the academy. He still need to buy at least some basic light armor for the trip, so he hoped the tools would sell well. He lingered for a moment - it was hard to find the willpower to leave the guild’s cool interiors for the steamy heat of the city - but at last, he heaved himself up with a grunt, and headed for the market. At least the streets are shaded.

Although the morning was still young, the market was every bit as lively and crowded as when he had first arrived in Hargish.Jasper weaved his way through the crowd, watching the merchants hawk their sales. He finally decided to approach one where the customers, more often than not, left with a smile on their face - or at least not a frown.

“Pardon me, but I have some crafting tools to sell, if you’re interested.”

He spread out some of tools on an empty space on the stall. The merchant looked through the tools, clearly debating in his head, before finally pushing them back towards Jasper. “I’m sorry, but I can’t offer you much for these. Enchanting tools are quite valuable to the right buyer, but I would be hard pressed to sell them. I’d recommend you take them to a specialist.”

“Is there one nearby?”

A few minutes later, armed with the instructions the merchant had given him, Jasper wound his way through a smaller side street. The crowd had thinned out, but the few customers making their way in and out of the craftsmen’s stores wore elaborate robes and ornate headgear that set them apart from the crowds in the market. Thankfully the guild provided a simple uniform for all new recruits, so he was no longer stuck wearing the farm clothes he had earned at the tavern. Still, Jasper felt out of place amongst the obviously upper class clientele of the craft district, and the snooty looks some were sending him certainly didn’t help. But he arrived at the store without being hassled and pushed the door open. He was pleasantly surprised to be greeted with a blast of cold air - although, on second thought he realized that perhaps it wasn’t so surprising that an enchanting store might make use of enchantments.

A short older man was bent over a table in the back of the store. Perhaps he had once had a dashing figure, but now his shoulders were locked in a perpetual hunch from his years of labor, and his grey hair was as thin and insubstantial as the wisps of clouds on a bright, sunny day. The door slammed shut with a bang behind him and, startled, the crafter turned to look at Jasper. Despite his age, his eyes were sharp and clear, immediately taking note of Jasper’s new blue jumpsuit.

“Ah, a new recruit to the adventurer’s guild, I see.I’m sorry, my lad, but I think my prices will be a bit of your reach right now.If you’re looking for some beginning enchanted gear, the market should have everything you need.”

Jasper shook his head. “Actually, I found some enchanting equipment in the ruins of some academy, and I was hoping to sell them.” He brought the tools out of his equipment and laid them on the table.

The old man’s eyes sharpened. “An academy, you say? Where? Did it have a pyramid?”

“Why, yes. A library and lots of statues of six-winged beings. Djinn, I think.”

The craftsmen hobbled over the desk and begin thumbing through the goods. “Aye, I know the place well. Back before it was abandoned, I had a friend there. He was just a hobbyist enchanter, but he used to frequent my store.”

Jasper suddenly remembered his glaive. With some difficulty, he fished it out of the holster on his back - while terrible for fighting, he got tired of carrying it in his hand all the time. He laid it on the table before the craftsman. “I found this in the same place, and it had a quest attached to it. Do you think your friend made this, too?”

The craftsman laid his hand on it, reading the description.

Imperial Glaive (unfinished)

The private project of Sir Jakaryus, this glaive was lovingly crafted as a replica of the glaives wielded by Imperial Guards in the era before the Desolyton. Find someone familiar with the blade to advance the quest.

”Jakaryus was the name of my friend. Didn’t know he was nobility, though.”

“Do you know what happened to the academy? Why it was abandoned?”

The old man thought, lost in recollection. “I never knew a lot about the academy. None of us really did. They mostly kept to themselves, and visitors were only rarely allowed there. I know they first came to the area maybe three or four hundred years ago. Their group was some sort of political refugees, fleeing with their lord. Issha, Ishka, something like that. And then, a few decades after their lord died, I guess the political situation had changed, or maybe it was just their lord that was exiled. Anyways, as far as I know, they just went back home.”

The quest still hadn’t advanced, so Jasper pressed on. “Home? Where is that?”

“Their homeland, of course. The depths of Harei Miqlat. But you won’t make it past the border unless you’re one of them.” The old man studied Jasper’s face, for a moment, and then his eyes fall on his hands, detecting the faint blue tattoos. “Or you carry their heritage.”

Jasper picked the glaive back up, and saw the description had changed.

Imperial Glaive (unfinished)

The private project of Sir Jakaryus, this glaive was lovingly crafted as a replica of the glaives wielded by Imperial Guards in the era before the Desolyton. Travel to Harei Miqlat and find Jakaryus or his descendants. Reward: Class evolution, finished Imperial Glaive.

The crafter turned his attention back to the tools, and after careful examination, agreed to buy them. “I can give you one gold for the lot. Some of them are a bit out of date, but they’re still good enough to form a decent starter kit for some aspiring apprentice.”

Jasper readily agreed, and thanked the old man for his time.He was almost the door when he turned back.“Do you have any recommendations for where I could get a decent set of leather armor, for say 50 silver?”

“My grandson’s wife has a small shop on the west side of the market. Small girl, but hair as red a torch, so you’ll have no problems spotting her. Tell her I sent you, and she’ll give you a good deal.”

With another round of thanks, Jasper headed back to the market.It was indeed quite easy to find her stall, as she was the only redhead in the market. A short bout of haggling later, he was the proud owner of a new set of leathers for 65 silver. The greaves, gauntlets, helmet, and cuirass, all looked vaguely Roman, and as Jasper admired his new gear, he felt like he was long lost legionnaire out for an adventure. There was also some sort of a plaited leather skirt, which he was considerably less excited to wear. But the other option - leaving his junk protected by nothing more than a pair of pants - seemed like a very bad idea indeed, so reluctantly, Jasper let himself be talked into buying the skirt as well.

For another 10 silver, he purchased a new sling and ammo pouch. While he had a soft spot for the palm-fiber sling he had created, he wanted something a little more reliable. Mana stones, however, were shockingly expensive, with each one costing a silver a piece. The array of choices was positively dizzying, and Jasper vowed to return when he had more money, but for now he had to pass. Satisfied with his purchases, he wandered the marked for a bit, before returning to the guild. Tomorrow was a big day - his first real expedition. He could only hope that it would be a little less exciting than his last big day.

Early the next morning found Jasper sitting in the guild bar. Idly, he toyed with the food on his plate, his stomach a pit of nervousness. Once again, he read through the short dossier he had been given for the mission.

Mission: Extermination

Threat Assessment: Medium

Reward: 1 gold per party member, plus loot. Price may negotiated if contract is more difficult than expected.

Reports indicate that a group of trolls have moved into the ruins of Yhar-Khennor. Our scouts have not been able to determine their numbers, and it is possible that more dangerous variants may be lurking in the depths.

Normally, a new recruit like him wouldn’t be sent on such a dangerous mission, but trolls were weak to fire. The guild here was small, and despite his complete lack of experience, he was the only fire mage in Hargish. Thus, Gebor practically begged him to take the job. He tried to refuse at first, but Gebor was relentless. It was only when Gebor promised that he would cover any death penalties that his deity might impose, that Jasper finally broke down. With a wistful sigh, he remembered the nice, simple bandit job he intended to take. So much for easing into things.

His revery was interrupted when, a girl in leather armor much like his plopped down in the seat across from. Ihra.She was another new recruit, with some sort of an archer or class.She had a skill that let her set her arrows on fire, so she had been roped in just like him.

“No sign of the rest, yet?”

Jasper shook his head. “Just me thus far. I was starting to wonder if I had the right place.”

“Well, if not, I guess we screwed up together.”

Ihra fiddled with a shiny new hunter’s knife, as the two rookies waited for the rest of the crew. An hour later, the group finally arrived. They were an already established crew, with the standard five members that most groups had - except for the fortunate few who managed to recruit a healer. There was a tank and two melee fighters to guard his flanks, while a mage and archer sniped from the back. A tall woman strode forward, clearly the leader of the group. Her skin was the color of ebony. and raven locks of hair cascaded down her back, held in place by a diadem on her forehead. So she’s the mage. As she neared their table, he could feel a slight chill, like the rush of wind of a glacier, and amended his initial assessment. Ice mage.

“Are you our new recruits? Jasper and Ihra, right?” Without waiting for a reply, she swept her hands back to the other party members. “This is Pa’al, Heizim, Erebe, and Rashpa. And I’m Qara. Try to stay in the back, and take shots when you can, but be sure to stay with the group. Even without the trolls, Yhar-Khennor is a very dangerous place. There is a reason that it was not stripped bare of loot long ago.” She turned her attention to Jasper. “You have some sort of a fireball spell, right?”

“Yeah, sacred star. Three small fireballs, with homing capabilities.”

“And fire resistance?” He nodded. “Useful skills indeed, especially against trolls. But dangerous in the hands of newbies. Gebor has overruled my objections, so I simply ask that you be extremely careful with your magic. As I’m sure you’ve guessed, I’m a mage myself, and like most of us I’m resistant to my own magic. It can be easy to forget, but your spells are as deadly to the rest of the group as they are to monsters. Only Pa’al,” she nodded to the tank, “has fire-resistant armor, so be careful where you aim your spells. If you needlessly endanger the lives of my crew, I will be forced to take action. Understand?"

She fixed him with a stern glare, not relenting until he nodded his head in acknowledgment She relaxed, and clapped her hands together. "Alright then, let’s head out.”

It took almost a week to reach Yhar-Khennor. Built deep into the heart of the mountains, it had once been the home of a colony of Tannin. A small race of bipedal lizard-like beings with the heads of crocodiles, the Tannin made their home deep in the rivers and springs that ran beneath the mountains, far from the light of the sun. When the specter of Gemliria had spread its wings over Corsythia, the Tannin had fallen into darkness. Dark rites of sacrifice were carried out in the carven halls, and their armies had laid waste to the surrounding lands until the city was destroyed in the cleansing of the Desolyton. Since that time, Yar-Khennor had lain abandoned, though some swore that the Tannin still lurked in its depths.

When they finally arrived at the base of the ruins, Qara sent Rashpa and Ihra out to scout the entrance to the city, while the rest made camp. The trek had been much better than Jasper had expected. The sheer beauty of the soaring mountains and lush jungles still took his breath away, and as long as he stayed close to the beautiful ice mage, the jungle heat was not so oppressive. It had been a profitable experience, too. At night around the campfire, she taught him a variety of ways to use small amounts of fire magic without spells. He had all but forgotten about the almost invisible tattoos on his hands, but Qara taught him how to use them as a focus. He couldn’t do much for now except set his hands of fire, or project a small spout of flame in front of him, but at least he’d never have to worry about lighting a fire or being in the dark ever again.

“Spells are the most valuable tool in your arsenal,” she’d told him, “but magic is not wholly constrained by spells. Unstructured casting is often a mage’s last line of defense. Even, when a sword is coming for your throat, and you don’t have enough essence to cast a spell, you’re not helpless yet.”

The stew was already lightly bubbling over the fire when Rashpa and Ihra returned. The usually ebullient Rashpa sported a grim look on her face. “You’re not going to like this, boss. There’s only about ten trolls by the entrance, but this is no wandering band. They’ve got heavy gilded armor, and all of them are equipped with maces or spears.”

Qara scowled. “Damn it! They’re descendants of Gemlir, then.” She paused, reflecting. “If they’re here, they must be looking for something, a rival expedition.”

With a sigh, she looked around the campfire. “I’m sorry, crew, I was hoping we could just kill a few trolls lurking around the entrance, the presence of Gemlirians changes things. We’re going to have to delve into the city. Whatever dark artifact they’re after, we can’t let them have it.”

She turned to Ihra and Jasper. “I really should send you home. This expedition has become too dangerous for you, but we’re undermanned as it is. Just stay close to the group and follow my commands closely. When we’re in the city, never walk off by yourself, always stay in sight of another, and whatever you do, don’t listen to the whispers.”