He pinched my shirt at the shoulder and pulled at a flap of cloth that had torn loose. “Six thousand gold. Come back in twenty years when you’ve saved that up.”
“I’m serious,” I said. “Hold it for me.” I saw Cindra standing on the other side of the shop, stroking an arrow shaft with her green fingers. “I’ll also take your finest longbow, quiver, and arrows. Throw in a war hammer too, adventurer quality.”
The man laughed and walked back over to his stool.
“Come on, Cindra,” I said. “We’ll come back tomorrow and pick up our things.” I turned back at the door and shouted a question to the man. “Where’s the Grippersnout?”
His face fell. “Down Deadman’s Alley,” he said. “It don’t open till dark.”
“Thanks,” I said, and stepped back out into the street.
The next shop we entered was an armor shop. One side of the store had suits of metal armor while the other had robes and leathers. Suiting up like a tin can didn’t seem like the right way for a head priest to dress himself. The priests I had seen so far wore flowing robes, but that didn’t fit my personality.
I was drawn toward a midnight blue leather vest. It would give my arms enough space to maneuver my long weapon, but still protect my torso. A brown pair of leather pants and black boots completed the look I was going for: lithe and dangerous.
“How much?” I asked.
“Those don’t match,” the shop owner said. “Most people pick a color and stick with it.”
“I’m not trying to dress like a bluebird,” I said, “or a tree trunk.”
“Fine,” the man said. “All together, these would be 4,500 gold. It’s worth it for the attribute bonuses, and I won’t be haggled with.” He folded his arms in front of him.
“And that?” I asked. Cindra was holding a slim purple dress that she found among the robes in the store’s rear. She held it against her body. She was wider at the hips and chest than that dress was, so either her body would reshape itself against the dress’s tight spots or she’d have to stretch out the dress to accommodate her large breasts. Either way, she really seemed to like it.
“That,” the man said, “is a Radiance Gown. One of a kind. It improves every attribute by two, and costs 2,800 gold.”
“Hold it for me,” I said. “And that too.” I pointed toward an animal-hide set for Vix. The top had shoulder straps and it cutoff above the navel. “As long as it’s not fox skin.”
It was little more than a leather bra, to be honest, but it would provide her the range of motion she’d need to swing that heavy hammer as she worked. The bottom half was a skirt that came mid-thigh. She wasn’t expecting a new outfit, so if she didn’t like it she didn’t have to wear it. If she did like it, it looked like it offered better protection than the skimpy cloth outfit she wore now.
I had to admit, I also liked the idea of seeing her in something as revealing as she wore now, but tighter.
“Cindra?” I called. She put the purple dress back and strutted toward me with her usual swaying hips. She looked a little sad, but that was okay. She didn’t know I had put her dress on hold. She thought she came on this trip to barter, but that she’d walk away empty-handed. I’d surprise her.
It had finally started to get dark, so we wandered down a side alley that looked like it might lead us toward someplace seedy enough to call itself “Deadman’s Alley.”
When we rounded a corner, a woman with a dirty face and clothing more tattered than my own held her hand out. “Spare a copper?” Her voice was weak, like she might die any moment.
“I don’t even have that much,” I said. She smiled like she didn’t believe me.
“Sweetheart,” Cindra said, “you shouldn’t be on the street, you should be in a hospital.”
She was right. The skin down the woman’s arm had magenta veins showing through her skin. She had some kind of poison working its way through her.
“Can’t afford a healer,” she said, “and I’m not strong enough to heal myself.”
“Wait,” I said, “you’re a healer?” She nodded.
“And the temple wouldn’t improve your skills so you could heal yourself?” I asked.
“It takes 20 coppers to make a silver,” she said, “40 silvers to make a gold, and more gold than I’ll ever have to make a priest help me. Not when it takes four coppers a day just to buy a loaf of bread.
“The poison works slowly, but I’m a little weaker each day. Healing myself is a losing battle. I’m lucky I opened one of my Lighthealer skills as a girl, before I lost everything. It’s the only way I’ve been able to stave off dying so far.”
“I can’t give you any money, but I could level you up,” I said. “I know it’s not allowed, but I don’t really care.”
“What kind of cruel joke is this?” she asked.
“Not a joke,” I said. “With your permission, I’ll do everything I can.”
She opened her mouth, likely to protest, but then sighed. I could tell she didn’t believe me, but she didn’t have any fight in her. Instead, she said, “I’d like that.”
I used my skillmeister ability to open a menu with her skills and attributes. She was at all 1s and 2s, with a single skill open: Beam of Health, which only healed 2 HP at a time because its strength depended how high her Focus was. I improved that skill, then opened a new one that would let her purge the poison running through her veins, since no other healer or priest was willing to do that for her.
By the time I was through spending her XP, she was a new woman.
Δ
Skillmeister View of:
Lana Fayven
Base Attribute / XP to Next / Intended Change / Total XP Cost
-
2 Constitution / 50 XP to Next / 2 –> 3 / Total XP Cost: 50
-
2 Vivacity / 50 XP to Next / none / Total XP Cost: 0
-
1 Strength / 25 XP to Next / none / Total XP Cost: 0
-
1 Hardiness / 25 XP to Next / none / Total XP Cost: 0
-
2 Focus / 50 XP to Next / 2 –> 3 / Total XP Cost: 50
-
2 Resolve / 50 XP to Next / 2 –> 3 / Total XP Cost: 50
-
TOTAL BASE ATTRIBUTE XP COST: 150
Stats Affected by Change
-
[Constitution] Health Points (HP): 34/200 –> 134/300
-
[Vivacity] Action Points (AP): 40/40
-
[Strength] Phys. Damage Inflict Range: 10-12
-
[Hardiness] Phys. Damage Block Range: 5-8
-
[Focus] Mag. Damage Inflict Range: 20-24 –> 30-37
-
[Resolve] Mag. Damage Block Range: 11-15 –> 16-23
-
Skills For Weapon Class: None
-
[Null]
Intended Change: None
Cost Subtotaclass="underline" 0
TOTAL SKILL XP COST: 0
Skills for Special Class: Lighthealer
-
Beam of Health 1.
Heal target’s health points equal to 1.2 times your own Focus.
[8 AP to cast] [Requires: Focus 2, Resolve 2].
-
Improve to Beam of Health 2 to increase Focus multiplier to 1.4. [11 AP to cast] [Requires: Focus 3, Resolve 3] [750 XP to improve].
…
Intended Change: 1 –> 2
Cost Subtotaclass="underline" 750
-
Locked.
Flash of Relief 1.
Remove the following status ailments from target: minor poison.
[15 AP to cast] [Requires: Constitution 3, Resolve 3] [375 XP to unlock].
-
Improve to Flash of Relief 2 to add
partial paralysis
to ailments removed. [20 AP to cast] [Requires: Constitution 5, Resolve 5] [750 XP to improve].
…