Cara chuckled at Mark's reaction to the small number of people running the orphanage. “It does get a bit hectic at times.”

“Do you need any help?” his mom asked hesitantly.

Mark looked at her in surprise. “Are you sure? At some point you’d need to walk here on your own. Would you be comfortable with that?”

She let out a dry chuckle. “Probably not? But I have nothing to do in this city. I need fulfilling work, and even if this isn’t it in the long run, it’s something to do while I search for the right path.”

Mark shook his head. “Mom, you were a wreck when you quit social work. I was eight years old and I still remember the day you came home and told dad that you were done. You’d think someone had died.”

His mom shuffled uncomfortably but gave him a resigned shrug. “I know. But I have to do something.”

“I wouldn’t say no to an extra pair of hands on a volunteer basis,” Cara said, “but even volunteers need training. I don’t want to invest the time if you’re going to back out, so you take a couple of days to think about it. If you’re still interested, come back and let me know.

“Oh, and come alone,” she said, tapping the desk for emphasis. “I need to know that you can regularly make the trek down here. What happened to you wasn’t common, but it will be hard to convince your mind of that.”

“Certainly,” his mom said in a decisive tone. “I would—Oh!” She looked surprised as a piece of paper opened in front of her. Reading it, she looked at Cara and chuckled. “I should have expected that.”

“What’s it say?” Mark asked.

Flipping the page around, she showed it to him:

Profession Quest Opportunity! “THINK IT OVER”

It is very sound advice to make sure you are committed to a path before taking it. Besides, we don’t want those dear children getting attached if you are unable to handle the commitment. Simply take at least 2 days, but not more than 7 days, to think it over, then return here and speak to Cara if you are still interested. You must make the trip to Cara alone, with no outside assistance. Either way, I stand by your decision. I’m here for you, Beth!

Quest Completion Criteria: Wait at least 2 days, then walk, unaccompanied, from your home to the orphanage and speak with Cara to accept the job. This quest will automatically expire after 1 week.

Reward for success: “Orphanage Aide” Profession, Profession-related bonuses

Penalty for failure: There is no way to fail. A job you won’t enjoy is a job you don’t want to have.

ACCEPT? YES/NO

“Are you kidding me?” he said, staring at her.

She looked at him in confusion. “What’s wrong? It sounds reasonable to me.”

“That’s what I’m talking about! Your Tome is being reasonable. Mine is a complete dick.”

Cara laughed. “Tomes can be a mercurial sort. They have personalities of their own. Some people think they reflect their owners, but I think it’s simply the luck of the draw at birth.”

“My Luck is 13,” Mark said.

Her eyes went wide. “After the increase you just received?” she asked incredulously.

He nodded.

Cara gave him a sour look. “You said it was bad, but…woof. Score one for my theory, I suppose.” She gestured towards the interior of the orphanage with one thumb. “You should read some of Gavin’s Tome. The text is some of the most beautiful poetry you’ve ever read, but he doesn’t know his letters well enough to appreciate it.”

“Great for him,” Mark said in a flat tone. Then he forced out a smile for his mom. “All joking aside, it’s good advice. Whatever way you go, we’ll support you.”

“Thank you, I know you mean it,” she said, tousling his hair. “Now, I think we’ve taken up enough of this lovely woman’s time. Shall we go? I have some more furniture to shop for.”

“Please, god, no,” Mark said, already feeling the life drain out of his body.

She rolled her eyes. “Oh, you don’t have to come with me, you big baby. You’d probably fall asleep anyway.”

“All furniture shops and fabric stores have AOE narcoleptic attacks. It’s not my fault you’re immune,” he noted. “But I’ll come with you. It can be my good deed for the day.”

“Your enthusiasm is infectious,” his mom said dryly.

They got out of their chairs and headed for the door, but the sight of Cara’s bookshelf caused Mark to pause, surprised by its contents. There wasn’t a lot there, but what was there was in impeccable shape. He would have expected books in an orphanage to look second- or third-hand, but these looked like treasured heirlooms. They weren’t like the books he was accustomed to, either, bound with cardboard and glue. These were more like the kind of medieval hand-painted books that predated the printing press. There had to be some kind of Bookmaking Profession to make them more affordable. Otherwise, he couldn’t imagine how an orphanage could have even this tiny selection

“See anything you like?” Cara asked.

“Hmm?” Mark said. “Oh, just admiring the collection.”

She raised an eyebrow. “It’s hardly a collection. Just a few things for the kids; the full library is on the second floor. Although…” she crouched down and pulled a book off a shelf at knee height, handing it to him. “Here, you can borrow this. A History of Palmyre. Not a bad choice for someone new to the city. A bit dry, and it’s not up-to-date on the last twenty years or so, but good nonetheless. Might even net you folks a few Intelligence points if you’re lucky.”

“13, remember?” Mark said.

Cara winked and pointed skyward. “Don’t worry, I know a guy. Just promise me you’ll treat that book with respect, and I’ll put in a good word with Ádhmór. Besides, it wouldn’t do to have you sent to prison for damaging my book by accident.”

“Uh, thank you?” Mark said, thrown off a bit by the comment. Sent to prison for damaging a book? That seemed harsh.

Then he reconsidered the idea. This was a world where everyone had an intimate, lifelong relationship with their Tome. If any culture were to venerate books so much that they’d jail a person for damaging one, this would be the place. So maybe it wasn’t so strange after all.

Opening the book, Mark skimmed the elaborate text. A Tome notification immediately unfolded in front of him like it had been used as a bookmark:

NEW GENERAL SKILL LEARNED!

Reading – Skill Level 23 (Tier-II)*

This Level may seem decent, but if you told an Arenian about it, they’d wonder if you were allergic to vowels. These folks take their Reading Skill seriously. Looks like you’ll have to move on from your normal fare of takeout menus and fantasy football projections.

Tier-1 Bonus: Can infer the meaning of novel words at a faster rate.

Tier-2 Bonus: Words can be read at twice the normal rate without losing comprehension.

3,450 XP Earned (cumulative)

RENOWN LEVEL UP!

Level 12 Achieved

XP: 30,400

XP to next Renown: 3,800

Oh damn, Mark thought. That was a healthy dose of XP, and he already knew he wasn’t a superstar reader.

He handed the open book to his mom. “What do you think?”

She took the book from him and casually skimmed the page, her eyebrows rising in a barely perceptible surprise as she got her own notification. Snapping it shut, she smiled at Cara. “This is perfect. Thank you again for your generosity.”

“Not a problem,” the old woman said. “Let’s go track down Gavin, shall we? I imagine he’s gotten into some sort of mischief while we’ve been talking.”

She escorted them out into the vestibule, then disappeared back inside the orphanage to track down Gavin. As soon as she was gone, Mark leaned over to his mom and whispered, “You got the Reading Skill, I take it?”

“Yes. At Level 36, too,” she said. “That was enough for Level 15 of Renown.”

Mark whistled softly. “Zoinks. You’ve always read a lot, but that’s impressive. What’s the Journeyman reward?”

“An increase to your maximum vocabulary size. It increases by 10% per Journeyman level. If you get to Level 39, your vocabulary becomes theoretically unlimited.”

“Wow,” he said. “I guess that’s almost Master level, though. Can’t imagine what that reward looks like.”

“Undoubtedly,” she said. “This book is great to have. Not only can we learn about this place, but we might also get some Intelligence points.”

“I was meaning to ask you about that,” Mark said. “Why is your Intelligence so low? That makes no sense.”

“I have no idea,” she said. “Something is going on with my Base Stats. I even have a quest about it.”

“Really?”

“Take a look,” she said, taking out her Tome and showing him an entry:

Quest: “The Missing Stats” Part 1 Completed!

It’s not so much that you finished the search for your Strength stats, but you’re acknowledged that there’s a mystery. I’m calling that a win!

Reward for Success: 500 XP

Quest: “The Missing Stats” Part 2

This is quite the pickle. Not only is your Strength stat being artificially restricted, but so is your Intelligence! Are other Base Stats being limited as well? I am thoroughly peeved on your behalf and encourage you to get to the bottom of this right away.

Reward for success: XP, remove the restrictions on your Strength and Intelligence.

Penalty for failure: Permanent limitation of your Strength and Intelligence statistics, which we can all agree would be very bad!

QUEST AUTOMATICALLY ACCEPTED

“Wow,” Mark said upon reading it. “That is super weird.”

“I’m not too happy about it,” she said, putting her Tome away.

A commotion down the hall interrupted their conversation, the sound getting closer and closer until finally, Cara emerged from around the corner, tugging Gavin along by the ear. He was covered from head to toe in soot and scratches, and boasted a nasty lump upon his forehead.

“Gavin just learned what happens when that famous Luck score of his doesn’t save his rump, didn’t he?” Cara said with a scowl.

“Yes, ma’am,” he answered with downcast eyes.

The old woman shook her head and lightly shoved him towards Mark and his mom, shooing them out the door. “Alright, out you go. I don’t want you tracking soot all over the place.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said again, shuffling his way outside.

Cara stopped in the doorway to see them off. “Your generosity is appreciated, both of you. And Beth, hopefully, we’ll see you soon, but if not, I understand.”

“Thank you,” Mark’s mom said, with Mark adding his own goodbyes. Cara headed back inside, and once it was just the three of them, Mark turned to Gavin, looking him up and down.

“What the heck happened?” he asked.

“It wasn’t my fault!” the boy said pleadingly. “Charlie’s kobol went up the chimney, and I said that he should—”

“Wait, what?” Mark asked. “One of the kids has a kobold? Isn’t that dangerous?”

Gavin looked at him funny. “O’ course not! I said a kobol, not a kobold. A kobold’d strangle ’im in ’is sleep.”

“Ah, okay. That makes more sense.”

“Besides, a kobold is too small to make a proper pet,” Gavin added.

“Gavin, sweetheart?” Mark’s mom said, her tone causing Mark to unconsciously take a step away from the boy. “Please finish the story.”

“I was gettin’ there!” Gavin said, oblivious to Mark’s mom’s body language. “See, Charlie’s kobol ran up the chimney. An’ I said that if we sent Errol’s cat up after it, it’d chase ’im out the top. But it would only work if tha’ kobol wasn’t hungry. So, we found the cat an’ we tied a mouse around its collar so that the kobol would go after that instead of the cat if he were hungry—kobols love mice—but that distracted the cat a might bit too much. So we figured that if we got up on the roof we could just—”

“Stop!” his mom said. Closing her eyes and raising her hands. “It has rapidly become clear that I am not equipped for this conversation.” She pointed at Gavin. “You. Lead us back to your father’s forge. I’m sure he’ll be interested in what you have to say.”

“But—!”

“No buts! Off we go.”

Gavin pouted and stormed off in a cloud of soot.

Mark’s mom shook her head, laughter twinkling in her eyes as they followed the diminutive form of Gavin as he heavy-stomped his way down the road.

“You realize I actually do need your help with the furniture, right?” she asked.

“And suuuper looking forward to it,” he said, tacking on a sarcastic fist pump. “Are you sure I’m the best person for the job?”

“Oh, come on, we already have most of it. It’s just a few spacefillers. I promise I won’t even look at art. I can do that with your father.”

“I’m sure he’ll love that,” Mark said with a smirk.

“Be that as it may, he’s coming. As are you. Today at least. Unless you have other plans?”

She meant it as a joke, but they caused Mark to perk up. “Ah-hah! I do! I have plans! I was going to meet Angela for lunch.”

His mom looked towards the sky in disappointment.

No…wait…she was looking at the sun. A sun that was very clearly not overhead yet.

“It looks to me like you’ve got time,” she said with an evil grin. “Now come on—we’ve got shopping to do!”

With a sigh, Mark followed her down the road.