Legend of the Spellthief

The city air returned around Logan, only now noticing how clean the interior of the Lightbeam guild building was. Looking from left to right the Spellthief saw a wide range of allies and opponents. A guild would help him against traitors, and grant him more allies, but in return, it cost him both money and experience.

Easy access to tomes and party members was a great pro for planting himself within a guild, yet with a fifth of his income and levels being gifted to the leaders. Since his power allowed for exponential growth, being able to kill more enemies in a day and faster to boot, if his levels slowed down so did his ability to gain even more.

“Thoughts, Logan? Was the tax too high for you?” Marcus asked as he looked at his friend.

“Something like that”, Logan replied. “If I signed him on to a guild for two years, and I left in two months… that’s even more selfish acts adding to what I am already doing now”, he fought with his thoughts.

“I take it you had no hope in the hero returning with good news about teleportation magic?”

“I share little hope that he will even return, with how long he’s been gone”, Logan stated plainly as he looked over in the direction of their inn.

“Truly? Four heroes are a force to reckon with. With their high ranks to boot, I wager none in the kingdom could rival them”, Marcus spoke with adoration.

“I guess”, Logan said off-hand. Moving with Marcus to the other side of the street, Logan tried to get a better view of where their inn was.

“Something on your mind? Want to talk at the inn?”

“I’d prefer it, just trying to get a sightline on it.”

Grabbing onto his ally’s shoulder he made sure to get a confirmation nod before using his final Dimensional Jaunt for the day. Warping into their centres with blasts of wind they disappeared and reappeared atop a rooftop a stone’s throw away from the Meek Moat Inn. Sliding down the wooden roof, the pair jumped to the floor below, shocking a few unaware civilians.

Logan was visibly at war with his thoughts, putting him off focus as he walked into their lodgings. Marcus noticed the change in attitude but knew it would be best to discuss it in privacy due to the nature of Logan’s existence.

Waving to Yetveka the gashriek manager, the pair walked to their room and shut the door behind them.

“Listen, Marcus. There’s something I haven’t told you yet”, Logan began.

“Oh? Another quest from Vokka?” Marcus asked as he sat on his bed.

“It’s about Vokka. This whole oracle business”, Logan began as he tried to find the right words, “it’s not like what you think. I wasn’t ‘gifted’ this, Vokka forced this onto me a few days before I met you.”, Logan blurted out.

Marcus took on a look of shock, “Forced? You’re saying you weren’t born an oracle? That would explain why all the oracles we researched were adults by the time they were found.”

“It seems to be the same for all of them. The quests that are given to me, and the dangers that follow me, they will only get worse. From what I can tell I have two options, either a quest from Vokka presents me with a way out of this or I make my own portal to meet them. I don’t want to put you in danger, or make you work so hard just so you can see the tail-end of me leaving you behind.”

“What about the others? Your quests are sometimes more than you can handle. Cassius was required to take down the goblin leader, you’d be leaving him behind after he aided you”, Marcus retorted with a hint of anger in his words.

“He was going to do that without my interference. Up until now, I’ve been giving back to you on each quest we finished and every action we took. I can’t have your life on my conscience. Eventually, you’ll give too much to me.”

“Is that why you didn’t want to join that guild? Because it indebted us two years?”

“Would you be fine if I left after two days? Leaving you two years of work on my behalf that I can no longer fulfil?”

“We’ve spent over a month together already. Working with a guild is no hassle for me. If anything it’d help me along with allies by my side.”

“What if my next quest ends us? Plenty of past oracles met their end at the quests given to them.”

“The same danger I face with any quest I take. You saved me from those wolves, you took the brunt of our enemies’ attacks. If I am to die, I’d rather it be by your side than someone I have yet to know.”

“You’d continue being an adventurer, not return to work at a church with your greater healing powers if I were to go or stop my oracle powers?”

Marcus stared at Logan for a few seconds, his brain playing the scenario in his head before responding, “I had decided to become a full-time adventurer after meeting you. I can’t change the world as I am now. Who’d listen to a Devout who can’t even cast second-level spells.”

“Knowing I will leave, you still want to stick by me?”

“Better you than Wallace, better you than the church.”

“What about the power being forced on me?”

“I trust you. Vokka wouldn’t have chosen you without a reason.”

“Well, if they have one, I’d love to hear it”, Logan responded as he placed his hand over his face, wiping from his forehead to his chin, squinting his eyes as his hand rubbed over them.

“Has something happened to bring this on? We were fine until this whole invasion and guild business”, Marcus asked.

“I just thought… up till now I was going off of conjecture. I hoped I could get out of this oracle business. Now it’s been reinforced that I could.”

“We’ve been on that trail for weeks now. Since you’ve found it you question if I’d stay?”

“It’s not just that. You have seen how much stronger our enemies have gotten. I’ve even reached rank 12 and you’re still 6. There will come a time you can’t survive a single hit from what we face.”

“I have faith that you’ll keep me alive. Besides, my healing has allowed you to do so much more in a day. If I drag behind I will hide better and train harder.”

“Fine, but if things get worse I’ll probably bring this up again.”

“Fine by me. Do you still not want to join a guild?” Marcus asked.

“You got rid of one concern, but another is that a guild seems to mess with my oracle abilities.”

“What? Strange. How does it mess with them?”

“My progression slows a lot. I assume it may be the case with you too. I don't believe it’s intentional”, Logan said with a wrinkled brow.

“I guess guilds help hasten quests so it wasn’t noticed? Bigger quests, more of them in a shorter timespan. Even sharing tomes may hide that fact.”

“Whatever it is, it may be too big a price to pay.”

Taking on his own look of thought Marcus replied, “Does that mean you want to go the route of making your own portal?”

“That’d be more in my hands if I can find the right tutelage or tome.”

“If I were to guess, it would take years to reach the point of making your own portals. It’s taken me over a month to go from rank 2 to 6”, Marcus calculated.

“I was thinking of taking the middle road. Do the quests from Vokka until they grant me an exit whilst increasing my rank to be able to make one if they don’t”, Logan informed.

“Probably for the best. Your last assessment put you at a rank 8, shooting to 12 in such a small gap of time is quite the accomplishment. Though at this point I think our fame is out of our hands.”

“Helping to take down a goblin hero, saving people, engaging with a large guild owned by a hero. People know of us by now. Even the MT approached us. Thankfully we’ve hidden well enough that I don’t suspect anyone has oracles on the mind.”

“We’ll cross those bridges when we ride up to them”, Marcus stated.

“And I guess we’ll cross together”, Logan replied.

The pair looked at one another for a few seconds before wide smiles appeared on both their faces. Sharing a quick laugh, the atmosphere in the room mellowed out. It seemed for better or worse that Marcus was going to see things through with Logan. Though the Spellthief still had worries deep-seated in his mind. Memories of his talks with Ahren about his fallen partner.

“I don’t think I should reveal the existence of Earth, at least not yet. Marcus should be fine for a while longer. At least he knows I may not stay an oracle forever”, Logan reconciled in his head.

Planning for the rest of the day, Logan informed Marcus about his use of spells draining him to nothing as his last MP fizzled away. They couldn’t do much with what was left to them, Logan didn’t want to rely on Marcus’s spells if he were to absorb them. The pair decided to spend the rest of the day resting and reading.

It didn’t take long for Logan to finish his Safecasting Manual 1 that he had purchased some time ago, granting him further Reading mastery and a new skill.

Any worries of accidentally killing his marks faded away with this new skill, he could even repeatedly use Force against classless marks without fear. It would also allow him to engage in duels and matches fully with his spells and not accidentally kill any, if he wanted to actually engage in them that was.

Mulling over the information in his head, Logan continued to throw around the idea of staying in Avanar. He had a group he could call family if he joined Lightbeam, Marcus was a close friend, and the people here liked him, outside of the caster reputation. He still wanted to take his father to the beach, his health had probably declined due to the stress of Logan disappearing.

His extended family was probably looking after his father, though many lived far away from where they did. Someone was bound to be helping him. Right? Would his father be completely abandoned without Logan to help? The family gatherings had slowed down in recent years, his father’s side not being too large in comparison to his mother’s.

At least the healthcare was sorted before being kidnapped. Logan’s father would at the bare minimum have a hospital bed if he needed it. Two appointments would have gone by during Logan’s absence. His father taking taxis if needed. God forbid if his father drove on his own. “I don’t want you falling asleep at the wheel again”, his mind repeated. The warning he gave his father after one crash too many.

Logan’s body shuddered as painful thoughts washed over him, anxiety being the least of his worries if death came to anyone he cared about. His mother’s death already did a number on his mental health. Looking over to Marcus, Logan perished any thought of losing him too. A good night’s rest was all he needed, work and activities would bury the thoughts deeper in his subconscious.

Closing his eyes, Logan slept away a day that had brought him many answers and many questions.

Awaking to a new dawn, Logan was treated to another mission covering most of his vision. This was how most came his way, at least the main quests, and this was a doozy of a main quest as he read its details.

“A portal already!? Are they basing quests on my thoughts and situation?” Logan beamed in his head.

It was certainly an exciting development and after putting the clues together, his previous quests were similar. The 7-day death timer was an adventurer concept, so his beginning days were surviving it. He was in the vicinity of Dena’s team, so he was tasked with killing them. He was at Gauntlet before it was attacked, so was asked to assist the defence. Now, he thought and sought a portal, and so he was given a quest with one as a reward.

The reward of a portal did instil a sense of fear, however, as from the information he had gathered beforehand was that the quests that led to these were incredibly difficult. With the mention of an “Ice King” Logan was also hesitant if it was going to be another hero monster, or something with the strength of the naegren lord, but even more powerful.

His fears mounted with the additional objectives, featuring the survival of his teammates and completing the quest in a quick enough timeframe. They increased the quality of his rewards, was there a possibility that if he didn’t get enough additional objectives his portal reward would be forfeit? Or maybe it affected where he was transported, maybe even allowing him to keep his powers back home.

“System. Do you have any information on this Ice King or the portal home?” Logan thought to his inner ally.

“We do not have any information over what you have, Logan. We can surmise this foe would be an elite enemy similar to others you have faced. If they were allowed to fully revive it could be an even harder following quest. As for the portal, we suspect its appearance would be a timed affair, with each objective giving you more time to enter it before it closed.”

“That was what I was thinking. Though, if the portal has a timer, it would be best if I complete this quest as soon as possible. Since I can’t exactly ‘hold’ a portal in my hands it might just appear in front of me, or near where this throne is.”

“We recommend visiting the bookshop, adventurer hall, and Ahren, regarding the information on this Ice King and portal.”

“I was planning on running to Ahren too.”

As Logan had a thinking conversation with his System, Marcus got up and strolled over to his friend’s bed. “So, are we going to talk with the MT today? See if they have good resources on portals?” the Devout asked.

The Spellthief flinched at the question as it brought him out of his train of thought. “Huh? No, new developments. I got a new quest just as you asked”, Logan spoke hastily.

“So soon? I suppose it is close to a week since the business with the goblin invasion, a bit under that time actually.”

“I would be more annoyed at its closeness to the last one, but this is a good quest, trust me. One of the rewards is a portal like I was wanting. I could get out of this oracle business a lot sooner than I had hoped”, Logan continued with a smile.

“Oh, grand news. What is our duty?” Marcus asked with a less enthusiastic tone.

“We are to stop the resurrection of an ‘Ice King’, does the name ring any bells?”

Marcus paused for a second as he rubbed his chin in thought. “I don’t recall anything like that. Something like a ‘king’ would be handled by a larger and stronger force than I was accustomed to. Tinte wasn’t the best for rumours trickling down from Gauntlet either.”

“Then it is time for some investigations. We have forty-eight days to complete this quest, after which the Ice King will resurrect. I would like to have it done before 18 days have passed. However, the way the quest reads, it seems like it may be a dungeon, so the hall will have to supply a lot of help.”

“Really? How many people are you thinking of asking to aid us? It isn’t like you to seek a larger group”, Marcus asked as he made sure his equipment was all prepared.

“I don’t want anything to go wrong with what may be my final quest from Vokka. So the more the merrier. I will have to see if the hall has any advice for a party size for this. It seems like it may be a well-known place, at least to the older adventurers and staff.”

“Want to split up for info gathering?” Marcus asked as he looked out the window to check the weather.

“Can you check the bookshop for info on the Ice King? I want to go talk with my contact. We can meet up at the G-Hall”, Logan commanded as he checked his status to inspect his summons.

“Do you know when Celsius and Spark will return?”

“Just checking… Seems they may be done and heading back, if everything lines up we should be gone tomorrow”, Logan spoke as he tried to hide his elation.

“We can confirm purchases at the hall then. See you there, Logan”, Marcus returned, a sombre hint in his voice.

As the pair split off, Logan took a few seconds to collect himself. He could tell that Marcus was deflated with the situation. Logan was going to give up his oracle powers for safety, or at least that was how it was in Marcus’s eyes. Logan could at least give a good final send-off on their last day before travel.

Deciding today was a good day for exercise, Logan ran from the inn to the alchemist shop that Ahren ran. He wanted to keep his spell rings handy in case they could leave sooner, or his group gathering process at the hall led to someone getting offended that a caster was the leader.

If Logan was going to go home with the potential of losing his newfound powers he would like to get a last few good days of use out of them. Running for minutes, walking for hours, jumping and climbing, all without the exhaustion his previous desk-ridden body would suffer.

Logan arrived at the alchemist shop and opened wide its doors, entering into the musty room and closing the door behind him to not let a draft wander inside with him. Checking with his eyes and the click of his fingers, Logan found that no one else was inside the shop side of the building. Moving quickly to the counter he pressed the bell.

“Ahren, you in?” Logan called out, his voice passing into the curtained doorway into the backrooms.

Some shuffling could be heard as glass vials were placed into holders and shoes scuffed against the wooden floor. Ahren emerged, letting off another set of windows noting that Logan could see and was being seen by another PC. Ahren looked a bit more chipper today, his back was straight and his wrinkles almost non-existent.

“Welcome back, Logan. Here for potions?” Ahren asked with a smile, as if he saw an old workmate.

“Yes, but also, advice”, Logan started, stopping to look around again to check no one was listening, “I got a quest that rewards a portal.”

Ahren’s eyes widened at the mention, “Oh? That was quick. It was my seventh quest to grant that.”

“This is my fourth. I got a few questions though.”

“I’ll answer what I can, but remember I didn’t complete mine”, Ahren continued as he sat down.

“Anything will do. The quest says a ‘portal to Earth’ is one of the rewards, did yours say the same?”

“Hmm. To my memory, exactly.”

“Did your system have any advice on it at all? Does it appear as soon as you complete the quest, does it have a timer, etcetera?”

“I can’t say for the portal’s appearance, I guess it would appear immediately? As for the timer, that seems appropriate. Any portal I have seen or heard of only lasts a short while, the one for the heroes travelling to the demon realm was only open for a minute, even after the time spent trying to create it.”

“A minute huh, not a whole lot of time to escape.”

“Logan, remember my warning. The quest to gain a portal is hard, deathly. From what we spoke about it seems this is what killed the others. If you find you can’t surmount it, flee.”

“I aim to bring in a large team with me. Besides that, I do have this”, Logan replied as he pulled out the bastarn coven heart he had prepared for the invasion.

The heart continued to beat, even a month after it was taken from the bastarn coven Logan had fought in the mines. Enchanted and shifted into its new form it would grant the Spellthief a portion of demonic power, opening the gates to the steps of demonhood. Each power was different, vampires were easy enough to catalogue, but this heart would grant the man a seemingly random boost in power.

Ahren’s eyes lit up with a blue glow as he looked at the heart, “Interesting. A card up your sleeve. I am glad, at least, that you won’t take the vampire’s shortcut to power.”

“Disabling the ability to be revived? That is too great a price to pay for me. If I stay a vampire when I get home that’ll also cause too many issues.”

“Well, as long as your body is returned to a church, and you have the money or insurance, you can return”, Ahren informed with a hint of regret in his voice.

“What was it… 10 gold for a revival?”

“Within a day or so of dying, yes. The price increases until the seventh day, after which you cannot return. Without a body, you’re looking at prices nearing the platinum coin area.”

“I doubt I will have 1000 gold anytime soon. If I leave, I won’t need it. Speaking of, do you still not want to come with me?” Logan asked as he placed the heart back into his inventory.

“Thank you for the offer, but that is not my place anymore. Though I will do my best to aid you as you go. I am sorry to say I cannot sell any potions for spell recovery, but I had a wave of healing potions if you want to purchase them cheaply.”

“Let’s look at what you can offer me then”, Logan replied as he turned to face the store.

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