The stories the group told was mainly what they did together as a party. It seemed this was how they played. They would come to a new area. Get class specific quests. Do them and after that they would do things together. Or help someone that had a difficult quest.

The story about their times in the Fellwood forest was the best. They moved to the area after finishing up in the starting zone. Their levels were then in the thirties when they arrived. They killed many monsters from cursed plants that came to life to cursed animals that a person would normally find in forests. After a few weeks they received a quest to investigate the source behind the cursed animals. It was not hard to figure out that the problems were coming from what seemed to be old ruins near the centre of the forest. That is where they started a week long cleanse of the ruins. It turned out cultists used their dark powers to summon a demon. They had to kill all the cultists in the huge ruins to weaken the demon enough to kill it.

When they first encountered the demon they did not know that and attacked. They were just overpowered and died. Well almost all of them did. Yuri used his ranger skills and managed to escape, only to die a couple of hours later. Peggy asked how it happened before Tinker could. He only chuckled and said the forest was a dangerous place. When they awoke in the town’s chapel they asked around in town and did research on how to kill the demon. They had a lot of time since they had to wait for Yuri to log back in. It was during this time they heard that the demon had to be weakened by killing all its followers. Thus they took it upon themselves to kill every follower and cursed creature they came across.

Before they started this intense grind they stocked up on supplies and stayed in the forest. It took some time and they managed to kill everything in the ruins. They felt confident and went to face the demon. Just to get killed again. They did well this time and got the demon down to about half hp before they died. After the day lockout they came back and talked to everyone in the town again. Since Yuri cooked they did not need to go back to town. Thus they did not know that as the number of cultist died in the forest a few of the villagers went missing. They then concluded that someone who worshipped the demon was still in the village and they had to figure out who it was.

They decided to split up. Zomger and Lina would sit at the gate and keep track of all who come and go. If the cultist wanted to sneak off during the night they would also see him. Cuzen and Yuri camped out at the demons location in case the cultist had a secret way of sneaking in and out of the village. This is how it happened. It was late at night. Cuzen was sitting in the dark looking at the stars and just taking it all in. When Yuri returned from a patrol and he held a head in his hand. He shot a cultist that was sneaking about and tried to enter the broken temple through the front door. Yuri explained how it was the best head shot anybody has ever shot. It helped that the moon and starts gave light and there was no wind. Since he was the only one there nobody could verify the distance he made the shot at.

He claimed it was nearly 200 meters. Archers range was far but to land a shot at that distance was a hard story to believe. The next morning the town was in an uproar when they came back with the head. He was one of the wealthy merchants in town that seemed to be doing well lately. Only after this revelation did the town’s people notice that those other people that went missing were some of his employers and friends. All of the missing people could be tied to this one man. They went back to the ruins to kill the demon. The demon looked different. Its dark colour seemed lighter and its sized decreased. The demon was clearly weakened after losing all its worshipers. It was an easy fight after that. The best item from the loot was a wand which Zomger was using to cast stronger curses. That is usually how a story ended. The number if items or gold were never said, only the best item was mentioned.

In the real world it was only midday but in Royal roads it was getting late. Peggy said she had to go and sleep because she and Tinker had a busy day in the morning. After the goodbye all eyes turned on Tinker.

“Why are you guys looking at me like that?”

‘Idiot’ Lina muttered, but Zomger spoke first. “You don’t spend much time with ladies do you?”

“Not really, no.”

“It shows, first you choke outside and do not invite her to join us. During the last 2 hours you hardly spoke to her. Here at the end you did not even volunteer to walk her home like a gentleman should.”

Cuzen en Yuri looked like grinning idiots and Zomger face was serious. Lina face showed that she was just disappointed.

“Come on guys, I met her today and she is just an npc.”

“It does not matter if she is real or fake. Doing the right thing and putting your best forward will get you far in life, or in this case Royal Road.”

He was defeated and just agreed. “What is the plan now guys?”

Cuzen” Log off, eat lunch and come back in. After today’s battle I need to spend more time in the training hall and finish up my basic training”

Yuri “Got some business to do and then I’ll log off and be back to play tomorrow. In game time”

Zomger. “I am going to log of now and come back tonight.”

Lina, “Same here, I need to go the mall and shop”

Tinker ”Ok then, I’ll get some food in the real world and come back to train in the hall as well”

They said there goodbye’s and each went their separate ways.

Tinker Logged in about half an hour later. It was midnight and he could train till the sun came up, then head over to the greenhouse and get the last of what he needed.

At the training hall he saw Cuzen attacking the scarecrow. He walked over and watched. Cuzen wore a plain green shirt with brown pants. With mace and shield in hand he attacked. He stopped when he noticed Tinker.

“Took you long enough, grab a crow and go man.”

“Yes I know, why are you not wearing your plate armour?”

“I don’t need to and with it my stamina drains faster, this way I can attack longer and finish the training faster.”

Tinker did not know that, he took out his swords and made ready for a long night.

Cuzen chanted a few words and told Tinker he just used blessing of fortitude on him. That will increase his life, stamina and vitality. He also explained that he had other blessing that would not help him during basic training. Cuzen took the time to explain that these blessings he cast do not get stronger the more he uses it but relies on his faith stat to get stronger.

After a couple of hours they took their first break, Tinker took this time to ask more about the skills they used during the duel and how did he spend his stats.

“Only if you share your secrets in return.” Well ok.” You seemed to know bash and did a good job to avoid it. The first skill I used is just charge and bash in one. A handy skill to have when you have to attack first and just that much better to lead with the shield. Do not want to impale myself on a sword and do all the work for my enemy.” Tinker just nodded.

Bash

Uses a shield to knock back opponents.

Damage and knockback varies depending on Strength and stamina.

Shield type and size effects damage, knockback and cool down.

Costs 150 Mana. Cool down varies. Current cool down is 6 minutes and 22 seconds.

Leap

Covers a distance in one leap

Distance varies depending on weight and maximum stamina.

Cost 100 mana and 10% of maximum stamina.

10 minute cool down.

WARNING. Cannot leap vertically.

“Wait a moment. I thought you charged at me.”

“Nope, if you had time to look at my feet, you would have noticed I was airborne.”

“Interesting. People usually leap in an arc, why were you leaping horizontally?”

“Only if there is a difference in terrain I will leap like that. Leaping straight at an enemy helps make me a few milliseconds faster.”

“It still does not explain how you bash when you are done leaping. I thought it was one skill.”

“Nope, I combo the skills, just before I hit I activate bash. The added momentum really does increase my knockback potential.”

“That is pretty smart. What is weight? I have not seen a stat or tab that shows weight.”

“Thanks, I can’t take all the credit. Saw another person doing it to a scarecrow back in our starting city. I am not sure about the weight. Think it just means a person in full plate won’t be able to leap as far a person with no plate on, If they had identical stats. I won’t lie, with my mace and shield I probably weigh a lot.

“That makes sense I guess”

“The other skill allows me to block any physical attack against me. I must have a shield and it must be a physical attack. It’s cool down is an insane 20 minutes. I tried using it at a start of a fight so that it might be used again later on. In a way it works. But through trial and error I found it best to save it against a special attack or to create an opening like I did against you.”

Blind Block

Instantly block any 1 physical attack aimed at you in a 360 ° radius. Including range attacks.

Cost 100 mana. 20 minute cool down.

WARNING. Must have a shield equipped.

“That is pretty legit, I myself only have 1 skill. Seemed like I need to learn another skill or two or else I will be left behind.”

“Indeed. But you can imagine I have got myself in a lot of trouble with that skill. I learned the 3 skills very close after one another. At a time I would leap, activate Blind Block for in case the enemy counters me, and then bash. During 1 encounter a arrow hit my from the back. My shield was there to block it, but I could not bring it back in time to bash the person I was leaping into. So I bashed to the side and impaled myself on his pike. Now there are still enemies that have their weapons out and ready, but when I bash them, my shield doubles as a block. When I am leaping and other attacks hit me, so be it.”

“Do you have any other skills?

“Nope, I read that some skills get unlocked as you reach a certain level and others you get from quests or training. I even read that if you repeat the same action long enough you can learn a skill like that, but those posts I read sound a bit dodgy.

“Where do you find the mana?”

“I have read a few books, have a ring that gives me 100 mana and did spend a few stats on intelligence when I was a low lvl. It depends on the type of books you read, Lina explained it to me. If you are a mage and you read mage related books you gain intelligence, wisdom and if you are lucky you can learn a skill. If I read the same books she does I will only gain less wisdom, because I am paladin. If you have no class and you read the same books you will gain less wisdom and intelligence than she did, and no skill.”

“Well I did mainly read history books at the start and the odd warriors book. But they were all like how this dude killed that one or how this nation got conquered by that one. I only managed to gain 1 intelligence and the rest were wisdom. That only increases my mana regen. Feels like those few weeks I spent was wasted.”

“Not wasted, just not well spent. At least now you know and can focus more on books that increase intelligence”. Well are you not going to tell me your skill?”

Tinker would have to consult the all knowing forums or the Dark gamers union on how to raise the intelligence of a warrior. He skipped the details and most of the good parts and just told the part where an ancient apparition asked him what skill he wanted to learn. Since he was the first to discover the place he got rewarded double. He explained that if Cuzen went there now and asked for a skill like his he would only get to morph 1 stat into 1 other. Maybe later when he levelled it up he would be able to do more. He was not sure himself but he assumed that nobody would be able to do what he does

Cuzen was impressed and could already see how this skill would become stronger and more useful later on. It also explained how the speed of Tinker increased and decreased. Tinker also explained that only 1 person can learn a skill once per year. He would like to go there and learn a skill that no other paladin knew. He would not have to worry about that for now.

“Then there are the stats, currently I am dumping all of them in strength. I do not choose agility because I want people to hit me. That leaves the faith stat which I level through quests and the like. Some might say you need agility to move faster and be a better warrior or even take a few luck points. Freya protects me and thus I do not need luck or increased agility that much. When Freya fails to protect me I have my insane strength, shield and a healer.”

“I just spread my stats evenly in agility and strength. That apparition explained that it is my primary stats, so for now it makes sense I spend it only in those 2. In time I will be able to morph the others stats for whatever purpose.”

“Tell me more about your buffs.”

Blessing of Fortitude

Increases life, vitality and stamina.

The amount depends on casters faith stat.

No cool down or mana cost needed.

Blessing of Attack

Increases damage of physical attacks.

The amount depends on casters faith stat.

No cool down or mana cost needed.

Blessing of Brilliance

Increases Wisdom and intelligence.

The amount depends on casters faith stat.

No cool down or mana cost needed.

Blessing of Salvation

Increases defence and resistance

The amount depends on casters faith stat and current resistance.

No cool down or mana cost needed.

“That is pretty neat.”

“Yes, but they have flaws. You can only have one blessing active on you that I cast. If we had 4 other paladins you can run around with all the buffs. I heard that later on a person get’s an additional buff and can cast them as AOE Spells. You can imagen I do not want to walk to every person in a raid or war situation and bless them. The AOE helps a lot. At level 50 you can set the duration to 30min or 2 hours. Think at level 100 a third of the time gets added and then again at 200. How true that is I have no idea. Have not even met or seen a level 100 paladin yet.”

“How does that last blessing work?”

“The faith stat determines the amount of defence that gets added. The resistance is complicated. You need to have resistance against things. My current amount of resistance plus my faith determines how much added resistance you get. Some races like dwarf and elves start with resistance. I have none. So if I use it, you will only gain defence. In time and with larger parties, things like these would become relevant.“

They went back to hitting the scarecrow till the sun rose.

Tinker was making ready to go to the greenhouse. Cuzen said he had a quest today. He had to spend the next few days guarding a priest that was doing charity work in the slums of the city. Most praised and adored Freya but like all people there were trouble makers and non believers that would harm a priest giving out free food.

At the Greenhouse he met Peggy that greeted him with an eager smile and a lot of enthusiasm.

“The cave or water world? Those are the pet names that we gave to them. You can choose where we start. I suggest the cave.”

“So be it, will we need torches and stuff like that?”

“I have all we need. In the cave we have special lights that provide vision for us and do not affect the normal habitat of most of the plants there.”

In the cave he could see clearly but the vision was a bit off. It looked almost like everything in the cave had a touch of yellow colour in it. The collecting went fast, they would take 2 mushrooms from a patch that looked the same. They would cut off and handful of moss and divide it again for two samples. Most of the samples collected were mushrooms. The odd plant and moss was a welcome sight. He never knew that there are so many types of different looking mushrooms. Some were plain some had spots or patches. Some had round shapes, other were puffy. Some were the size of a man’s head.

His eyes hurt when they left the cave and went to water world. It was if the outside world looked funny. The water world was not what he expected. It size was the same as the greenhouse. Instead of being on 1 level and having the odd big tree or plant. He saw pools, some going deep, others only a foot or so in depth. The water was clear in some and not so clear in others. In the middle of the room was a big pool. A person could almost not see all the way to the bottom. This time they seemed to collect only special parts of the various plants. A leaf here, and a pad there, a flower in this pond, piece of what seemed to be a root. If water plants had roots. If a person did now know what you are looking for it would take long.

He was very thankful for Peggy helping him. He assumed that if he had the book, and put the entire plant in it, The book would tell him what parts are used for what, or so he hoped. The working of the book he will have to figure out when he gets it. At each of the pools there were deeper then arms length there were poles and other equipment that helped a person remove parts of plants. In the pool in the middle there was nothing. He and Peggy stood at the edge and looked down. There seemed to be fishes in this pool. They did not look harmful or that big, they were very colourful however.

“You see those orange things at the bottom. We call them water peaches.”

“No all the fishes are in the way, can’t really see what’s going on down there”

“The clown fishes always nest around water peaches. Only when the peaches break free of the plant will the fish eat them, how weird is that?”

“Very. How do we get them?”

“There is no we this time, you have to dive down and get them. You can swim right?”

“Yes I can. The clown fishes don’t eat humans do they?”

“Not that I know off” She said with an evil grin.

“These are the last and only samples I need to get like this right?”

“Yes, they are the last…regardless.”

“Regardless of what?”

“They are the last sample you will need to collect for your quest. Or it is the last sample you will try and collect before the fishes eat you alive.”

Tinker was not amused at this. Were these friendly fishes or not? Peggy did not seem like the type to send him to his doom, but then again it’s Royal Road, anything and everything can happen.

He took off his shirt and placed his pouch and back pack on the ground next to the pool. He turned around to see if Peggy had any last words to say. She looked in her element watching him like a hawk. It occurred to him as he turned back to the pool that she was checking him out, in a perverted way. His face was turning red, he decided not to turn around and show how embarrassed he was. He had taken off his shirt without thinking it was acceptable in Royal Roads culture. Since she did not scream and run off to call guards he left it at that. As a matter of fact she seemed very pleased with herself.

His plan was to put his hand in, count to three and remove it. That way he can decide if it was safe to go in. He did it and just started counting when the fish came for him. He nearly yelled and pulled his hand out with all the speed that he could. He was so embarrassed he could not bring himself to look back to Peggy. His face was getting warmer. He assumed it was him blushing even worse. He calmed himself and went back to the edge. Just three seconds he told himself. This time he was going to close his eyes and count. Closing his eyes he put his hand in and counted aloud. One….Two…THREE! He did not say three and three was shouted next to him by a woman voice, followed by a splash. He opened his eyes and started to panic, Peggy was in the water laughing at him.

“Some grand adventurer you are, scared of some fishes. Are you sure you fought wolves and trolls?”

“Of course I did” he nearly shouted. His face was heating up again due to a combination of rage and the fact she had fooled him. It would seem that today’s humiliations will never end.

He dove in head first to the sound of Peggy’s laughter. In the water the fish surrounded him. Some left and others kept on swimming close to him. With the worst over he wanted to share his disgust with Peggy, but in the clear water he noticed that she only had a swim suit on. The robes she wore she removed before coming in. It was in this moment he realised that Peggy was attractive for an Npc. Normal height, Blond hear that came to her shoulder and a body that had all the right curves in the right places. With his face going red again he tried to make it look like he was looking to the bottom of the pool and not staring at her.

“How far to the bottom?”

“Not sure but a single breath will do.”

He was mentally preparing himself for the dive down when he felt Peggy’s embrace. Just like that she kissed him, it was not his first kiss, and he had played truth or dare a few times and dated one of the girls after that, so at least he knew what to do next. He pulled her closer with the one arm and held the edge with his other. Her lips were soft and he could feel her breath quickening, He was getting into the moment when she pushed herself away. His first instinct was to keep her close and not let her go, but she was already out of reach when he regretted his choice.

She looked sad “I am sorry Tinker, it is just that you are done here and will not likely return. You outlanders come and go all the time and soon you would run off to another city or adventure”

He knew it to be true. He was at a loss for words. So he tried to say the right thing. “Yes it is so. Adventuring is what we do and live for. I regret I cannot spend more time here”

“As do I, I hope that the man I marry at year’s end is a lot like you. I have never met him, but my mother says he is handsome and my father says he is a fine soldier. And just maybe he will share my love for plants. May Freya reward me with a man like you. Now hurry and go get the water peaches.” She was already moving to the edge to climb out. He dove down and got 2 peaches. They broke off easy enough and the fishes came closer to eat them. When he climbed out Peggy was already in her robes again and fixing up her hair.

Tinker got out and sat at the edge of the pool. He had no towel and was not sure how he can dry himself. Peggy came over and extended her hand. He took it and she led him to a bench were the sun was shining in through a window. She said nothing and just clung to his arm and they sat in silence. He was long dry and started to feel the sun bake him. The moment had to end but neither of them wanted it to. Tinker stood up first, after all he was an adventurer and moving on is what he does. He tried to walk away but Peggy pulled him back, she stood on her toes and kissed him on the cheek this time.

“I’ll miss you handsome” with a tear forming in her eye she walked out.

Tinker went over to his gear and took his leave. He wondered if he should tell the others what happened here today, he would have to think about it. It was well past midday and time for a snack. He had wolf jerky left. He arrived at the alchemy lab and just went to room 305. Knocked and was told to enter. Inside Tristan was at the desk hard at work.

“Hello, I have done what you asked, collected 2 of every sample at the Greenhouse.”

“Took you only a few days, it is that kind dedication that will get you far in the world of alchemy.”

Quest completed. Ask Tristan for your reward.

Quest updated : Become Tristan’s student. Stage 2

“So what is next?” He was pleased to see that quest went up from stage 1 to 2

“The fun stuff, here is my proud and joy.” He took out a big brown book that was nearly the size of a small table. “Start by taking out a sample and open the book on a blank page. The last page will always be blank. After you REPLACE a sample you will have to close the book and reopen it. This book is soul bound and unique to you. Place the sample on the page and say the magic words. It costs 10 mana to use and if you add a sample that’s already in the book, the sample you just added burns up into nothing.”

“What are the words?”

“Ah yes, Item Consumption”

*Ting new skilled learned

Item Consumption

It was not a fancy spell name but simple and to the point.

“I got a message from the Grand Magus, with these 4 scrolls you can expand on the book so that other samples that are not plants can be added. You will have to go to room 301, 302, 303 and 304. Ask each of the masters to use the scrolls with this book, and all their knowledge will be transferred to the book. For example, I have no idea what fine grinded dragon horn can do in a potion, but if one of the masters know and you add it to the book the uses will appear. Again there will be many items that you will have to grind, taste and ingest to learn their effects.”

“This is great, I am well on my way to learning alchemy.”

“In a way, Alchemy takes a life time to learn and there is more. Once you finished with getting the masters to activate their scrolls we will move on to your next task.”

Tinker wondered when this was going to end, this quest difficult rating was level C, but this was turning into a long quest by the looks of it.

“Each of the masters will probably ask you to perform a task before they agree to activate the scrolls. I suggest you start at room 304 and work your way backwards to 301.The guild master should be left for last, He is a very intelligent man that will answer questions you will have.”

Tinker nodded and started adding more items into the book until his mana was empty. As a warrior he had a small mana pool and low mana regeneration. He would do this again later.

“You gave me the herbal pouch, harvest tool and vials but no shovel. Was I supposed to dig holes with my hand? All the items you gave seemed important in the process of getting plants or parts of plants.“

“Yes a shovel, I have not used one in 30 years. With earth magic I move dirt and make holes where I want. Guess I forgot you will need one.” He said it grinning while lifting up his shoulders and arms while making the gesture that he does not know.

He left and walked to room 304. He knocked and a woman voice told him to enter.

Inside the room were tables and shelves. It was the same size as Tristan’s and seemed to have a stove in addition.

‘’Welcome, I am Suzan. Member of The alchemy council and master cook.”

“Hello, I am Tinker. I am in the process of doing quests for Tristan.” He explained about the book and what he needed from her.

“Come over here and show me your skill window. Maybe I can find a use for you.” He went over and showed her. She started looking at the skills and closed it about as fast as she opened it.

“You have cooking, that will come in handy. The church is in the process of feeding and helping the needy of the city. I may have volunteered to make food for them, but my time is limited. You will go in my place and help them make food for a week”

Complete a task for council member Suzan.

Go cook in the place of Suzan for the church of Freya.

Difficulty level: E

Quest requirements: Must have the cooking profession.

Reward is getting Suzan to use the scroll for the Alchemy book

“Sounds easy enough” Quest accepted

“What must I make and who is supplying the food?”

“It is up to you what to make, and the food is donated from around the city”

He did not plan to stay logged on for the next few days so he thought he would make food now that they can hand out later.

He arrived at the church and informed them of his situation. They sent him to the kitchen. There he came across the donations. There were a lot of meat and he decided to make a stew. It was easy to make and can be given to many people all at once. Also if they had bread it can be given with it. The church had some of the biggest pots he had ever seen. This was going to take a while and boost his stats. He started and cooked all the time to night fall. After he added everything in the first pot he would cut up the ingredients for the second pot, In the second pot he mixed it up a bit and added a few of his own spices. Later that night he logged off to get food in the real world and stretch his legs. After the he took a shower and made ready for bed

He logged back in as the sun rose for another day. His huge pots were left to slow cook over night and be given to the hungry the next day. He was fast asleep in the real world and told the others in the kitchen to handle the rest from there on out. He started on the new pot the moment he was logged back in. This was going to be a sweet chicken stew. He had never made one before so he hoped this would work. That is how he spent the next few days, cooking away with the supplies from the donations. He chose to stay away from fish. His cooking skill was coming along well, cooking only for oneself and a few people did not help to level the skill up fast. Mass cooking on the other hand was the fastest way. Since he did not use his own meat he did not hold back.

During his days cooking he monitored the party chat. Seemed Lina was still questing at the Mage tower. Cuzen was guarding and keeping the peace. Zomger said he finally found a quest for his class and did not want to get into the details over chat. Yuri was outside the city hunting deer and other animals. During these days he managed to add each sample he collected so far.

He returned to room 304, Suzan was sitting at her desk. “You have done what I asked?”

“Yes, made so many different type stews and it seemed the people enjoyed it. The monks and kitchen staff just told me to keep on making.”

“So it was you, I heard the slums were in an uproar. Usually they get soup and maybe a vegetable stew of some kind. For the last few days they ate like kings.”

Tinker did not follow and he assumed the confusion showed on his face.

“Once a week, every third month, the church of Freya hands out free food for any who want. Mainly the poor or those less privilege make use of these free meals. And soldiers, they will never say no for a free meal. The rich and noble also do their part by donating food to receive Freya’s blessing. Many believe it is the reason why the Heaven kingdom still stands strong and has not vanished like other kingdoms.”

He was not sure where she was going with this so he just nodded.

“Apparently the best of meats get reserved for the church high priests, cardinals and bishops. But since they were off praying and handing out the food you made, they all just assumed it was a bountiful week and that their store rooms are safe. A couple of hours ago Bishop Ralph discovered that the cooks were using the best meat for the peasants. I assumed it happened about the time you left or your last cook pot was finishing up. He was mad to say the least and raced over to me. He found out my representative was responsible for this”

Now the story started to make sense, he was in trouble. He did not know the church were bastards that kept the good meat for their store rooms and gave the scraps for the poor. Seemed this was 99% realism.

“We talked for a while and I managed to get myself out of another function I volunteered myself for. The bad news is that he is out for blood. The good news is, it is only him and not the entire church.”

“Does he want his pound of flesh?” Tinker was impressed with his merchant of Venice quote.

“In a way, in 3 days time he and a few others from the church are invited to Lord Max Maximuss estate for a feast. The church usually provides the best and biggest stag for the feast. But as you know it was already made into a stew. Thus you must buy or go hunt one 14 hours before the food is served”

“That does not sound too hard.”

“You are young and what I can tell will be just fine. If you fail you will not get tossed in jail but the Bishop Ralph will use his title and influence to make your life hell and no one will give you a quest. More good news is that you completed the other task I gave you. Hand me the scroll and book.”

Quest Complete. Reward is that Suzan will pass her knowledge to your Alchemy Book.

Quest updated: Become Tristan’s student. Stage 3

It took about 5 minutes for the transfer and the scroll used vanished into the air.

She handed back the book with a smile. “Two things before you run along. First do not forget about the stag”

Making amends with Bishop Ralph.

Due to your ignorance you are obligated to buy or hunt down a grand stag.

Difficulty level: E

Quest requirements: Must have offended Bishop Ralph by using or losing the church best meat.

Reward is unknown

Failure will result in the branding of your name as a vagabond within the capital.

Quest cannot be cancelled or declined

Time remaining to complete the quest is 35 hours and 24 minutes.

“Second is how cooking and alchemy comes together. A piece of mutton can be cooked and used to restore fatigue and depending on your cooking skill have many other effects. To cook items takes time. You can use that same piece of mutton to make a potion that can do the same but with a lesser effect. The type of item you use is more important. The more exotic the creature the better. If you manage to get dragon parts it all depends on the type of dragon that will determine the effect it has. The tricky part of this comes from taking useful parts from not just beast and monsters, but humanoids.”

“Wait, you mean like elves and us humans?”

“Yes, that is one part of it. I mean more in the line of goblins, lizard men and other non friendly humanoids. The type we would not eat and are punished for eating. The point I am trying to make is that you can eat almost any type of meat when faced with starvation. A tale of a lizard man can be helpful if you add it in a potion or cook it. The venom sack on the other hand a person can make a fine acid potion with. To know what parts to take come from experience and experimentation. Some parts are obvious and some not, I have done my share of dissecting many humanoids including those of the goodly races.”

“That means you know what effect a human heart has in potions….”

“Or that Dwarf livers can temporary increase resistance against ingested poisons. The list goes on. I would suggest that you only add parts of humanoids where nobody can see.”

This was sickening, he could turn into a Frankenstein or some such thing.

“Come now, don’t look like that. Did you think Alchemy was just for nice things? We create potions to save or end lives. It is just more creative then making a sword. But the basics are the same, what you do with the knowledge is up to you, it is my duty to tell you about this ‘dark side’.” With that she returned to her papers and he took that as his sign to leave.

Outside the door his legs felt weak, he was getting nauseas and he was questioning Alchemy as a profession. Just thinking of eating and chopping up an elf made it worse. With what seemed to be taking all his strength he walked over to room 305 for help. Tinker did not knock and just opened the door. It took a moment for Tristan to realise someone had entered. When he saw the state Tinker was in he jumped up and helped him to the chair. He darted over to a chest and took out a potion. Tinker tried to resist but Tristan poured the contents of the potion down his mouth and closed it with his hand. Tinker swallowed and could feel his strength returning. The sickness he felt started to fade and even the room seemed to brighten a bit.

“You scared me son, with your pale complexion I thought you might have ingested a poison. I tried talking to you and ask what is wrong but you just did nothing.”

Tinker was still out of it, he could not recall if that even happened. He was starting to feel better, but the news from next door weighed heavy on him. He blurted out all that happened. Tristan sat there and just listened, when Tinker was finished he stood up and rested his hand on his shoulder. “It will all be alright. A person needs shock like this to put you on the right path.’’

He walked over to the window and stared outside. “I ventured to the Black marsh fresh out of the Mages guild. I convinced my parents it was to go help the troops stationed there and to get plants for my herbalism. I had just started alchemy then and was still new to the world. I knew that we alchemists made poisons. I was not ignorant to that fact, but it was also us that made the antidote as well as other potions that can heal health lost. I was at the marsh for over a week and collected all the samples I would need.

Some plants I collected more than others and started to make potions, mainly antidotes or potions that will increase the resistance to poisons for the men stationed there. It was just a normal night when a raiding party attacked the garrison. The marsh had been dormant so security was low. In the first assault we lost half our men. As the sun rose that morning we could see our losses and the fact that the enemy outnumbered us 4 to 1. The enemy were regrouping and resting up for the next attack, which gave us time to from plans. As the only living mage they looked to me for the answer or some sort miracle. I was not really a combat mage, I knew basic fire spells, with earth and waters spells. I knew this would not be enough to defeat our enemies so I turned to my alchemy. With my life in the balance I made poison potions from all the plants I had. I was close to using up all of the plants I had when they attacked. I managed to create many potions.

The warriors coated blades and spikes with them, the few archers did the same. The attack went on and off for an entire day and we just manage to hold. We were only 9 remaining after that day’s battle and in bad shape. The enemy still outnumbered us and were making camp that night. We were too scared to sleep and were on guard duty. That night the enemies did not sing or be marry at the camp fires. Oh no, the screams that came from the camp was horrible. You will not know the sound of terror in another man’s voice until you hear him scream while he dies slowly from poison. The screams went on all through the night and died down by the morning when the last infected people died in what sounded like a person drowning in their own blood. With their moral broken the raiders left.

After those screams I made a vow not to make poison potion ever again. But alas, a few years later a Lords son who was only a child ate a poisoned plant. The only cure was to make a poison from another plant that acted as a counter agent to the first poison. As the boy’s life hanged in the balance I broke my vow to save him with the very stuff I hate. It is funny how plants are, to make an antidote you sometimes need the poison. To this day I would never make poison potions even if it’s to kill monsters, but if it’s for an antidote I would make if with no hesitation”

Tinker understood what Tristan was saying, It is all about how you use what is around you and also the reason for using them. They sat there in silence for what seemed to be a long time. He thought about many things and what type of player he wanted to become. It was in this moment he thought about his reason for playing this game. At the end of the day this was a game for him, but the realism behind it made it far more intense than he expected. He logged of right then and there, not bothered if Tristan was fine with it or anything.

Scot stepped out from the capsule and went outside in the garden. It was night time in the real world. He only came to the garden to talk with his mother if he needed something or she called for him. The garden was well lit and no one else was about. The workers were not around so that left him all alone with a fountain squirting in distance. He never really appreciated the amount of work that went into maintaining a garden of this size. He had been to a few other estates and rich people always seemed to have big gardens. Between the statues, fountains or bushes in different shapes there were much stuff to look at.

None of the gardens rivalled those of Royal Roads. He started to look at all the plants around him, due to his questing in game he suddenly started to wonder what affects these plants in their garden can do. He did not really care for the names or the aesthetic value of the plants, just what he can do or use them for. If you want to use alchemy you can only just mix plants but a person would never be able to maximize the use of the profession. Scot was prepared to fight unicorns and other mythical beast. After the battle he would skin them and take the useful items. The cooking and eating of the meat was a bit freaky to him, but after he ate a wolf and found it was acceptable. The thought of killing an elf or dwarf to get parts to eat or make potions with really did bother him. He did not have a problem to kill them, but in Royal Roads you are there, not just controlling your avatar from your computer.

Scot was not evil. He had killed his fair share of innocents in other games. Come to think about it he had only killed monsters and beast so far in Royal Roads. He had not killed an Npc, or pk’ed some one. He had only seen elves and dwarfs in passing in the city. When killing a troll the ooze and blood poured from wounds and the howls of pain that followed hit hard. The first time he killed one he wanted to stop. The amount of realism was uncanny, but his will to survive was stronger so he attacked again and resumed the killing. The thought of going into his game settings to lower the gore setting never crossed his mind.

Scot walked over to a part of the garden where his mother kept an exotic plant from South Africa. He recalled its name being a Protea plant, and that it requires very specific soil composition to grow. His mother told him what it was, but he was not paying attention and just remembered the name. It was in this moment that he realised that he enjoyed mysteries. Royal Roads held many plants like this Protea, the Ninroot was one of them, the uses and effects were unknown and waiting to be discovered. He wanted to be that guy, the one that does things that no one else had done. To gain an edge with a potion may not be as impressive as having a new sword or armour but anything to gain an edge is acceptable. He did not want to cut up an elf or human. On the up side he would only have to cut up one of each to record it in the book, if there are organs he can use, he would harvest them from corpses or think of something else.

With new motivation he was walking back to the house to get back in the game to start anew. Duncan met him at the door.

“Are you alright? Think it is the first time I have seen you go to the garden out of you own.”

“I am fine Duncan, I just had a problem which I had to figure out”

“I understand sir, it is just you were outside for nearly 3 hours and you had me worried.”

“Ahh shoot, been wasting time, need to eat and drink and get back to the game.”

“Understood, I am here if you need me Presscot.”

With that Scot zoomed past him to the kitchen, as always there was left over food for him and something to drink. He took soda this time and a plate of chicken pie and went to his room. Before he logged back in and while he was eating he decided to browse. At the dark gamers union website he searched their information on alchemy. All he took away from a number of posts was that alchemy was mainly monopolised by the guilds. Even if you required the skill it was hard to make a profit from it because the guilds potions were better, cheaper and more available. There was a post that claimed the guilds did not have many or that good poison potions, he theorised that the way to make a living was to provide poisons for more dedicated players and assassins. That did not matter, what mattered now was to get back in the game and go on.

Duncan watched the young master run off to get food and then back to play his game. He had worked for the family since before Presscot was born. He did not really get involved in his growth and just focused on his duties at the Miles Manor. He watched from the side lines as he grew up. He was a good boy and would be a fine young man some day, this change in his behavior was new. He assumed it had to with the game he was playing.

Duncan decided then and there he would use one of the extra capsules and go into this world to see what waits inside.