Josar. Human High Priest of Olar (Lvl 78). Neutral.
Indeed, all of the priests and priestesses were aligned Neutral. The fact they were taking money to help the people bothered her, but that was pretty much how it had been for most of history. So she turned her attention to the castle.
You've been offered Quest to Conquer Knaresburg Castle! Death and danger are assured, but the rewards are power and wealth. Do you accept this quest? Yes or No?
The castle guards were watching her. Could they tell that prompt appeared? She wasn't trying to call it up, and had no desire to tackle such a formidable dungeon. Not yet, anyway.
"No!" she said, and the prompt left. She looked at the temple.
You've been offered Quest to Conquer Temple of Olar! Death and danger are assured, and you could lose your Immortal soul, but the rewards are magical power and wealth. Do you accept this quest? Yes or No?
"No," she said, and the prompt vanished. "Both the castle and temple are dungeons, but I don't want to test either one of them at this time."
The others paused to study them. After a moment they nodded. Even Rand, who hated passing by any dungeon unchallenged, nodded agreement.
The High Priest stepped forward, staring at Asha. Actually, he was frowning. It took her a moment to realize it was the Staff of Dark Dominion that concerned him. So she took the lead and headed toward the northern side of the plaza, eager to get as much distance between her and all of those priests.
There were twelve streets that ended at the plaza. As promised, the locals didn't hesitate in pointing them in the right direction. Before long they were at the intersection of Forest and Silk Alley. Three half-timbered structures and a stone tower occupied the corners.
"We'll find Sir Danse in the tower," Killum said. "I see magic guarding the door and every window. It looks like powerful magic, too."
Asha just nodded. "Is it a dungeon?"
"No."
There was a large brass dragon head knocker. Killum used it to send a god-awful booming through the tower, yet there was no response. So Rand pounded on the door with his helmet until it opened.
"What is the matter with you?" the tall, dark, and quite handsome man demanded. He was dressed in silken robes and turban like a Hollywood sheik, with piercing brown eyes and a pointed beard. "Go away or I'll turn you into a one-legged monkey."
Sir Danse. Human battle-mage (Lvl 51). -15 Dark. PK: 3.
Despite discovering he was one of the most powerful minions of Dark she'd encountered, Asha managed to keep the smile on her face. Her job experience at the United Nations definitely helped her accomplish that.
"Go ahead," Asha said teasingly. Sir Danse's breath rushed out when he saw her, and all hostility faded away. She caught and held his gaze. "Rand won't mind, since both Tiana and I would cuddle with him all the time if he was an adorable little monkey."
"Seriously?" Rand asked. Both women nodded. "I'll be the Game's first Battle Monkey!"
"Ah. Immortals," Sir Danse said, shaking his head. "This is not a dungeon. Go away."
"But, don't you want to at least look at my staff?"
He glanced at her. She noticed his eyes lingered on her chest, before looking her up and down yet again. Only then did he look at the Dark staff in her right hand. That's when she really saw desire fill his eyes.
"It's for sale," she said. "Interested?"
"Yes. Please, come in," he said, stepping aside.
Once inside, and the door was secured with lots of locks and a wooden bar, he snapped his fingers and asked for refreshments. Sir Danse led them into a parlor and indicated a table to place the staff. A pair of servants entered a few moments later with wine and sweet meats.
Ashe stayed with Sir Danse while her friends devoured the food and drank his wine. Sir Danse moved around the table, casting spells and muttering to himself for several minutes.
"Very powerful, but the drow always do imbibe their objects with great power," he said. "This is exceptional work even for the drow, so the creation of a Master Wizard. How much do you want for it?"
"A million in gold."
"What?"
"Too much?" She'd sold it once in Oxenbluff for three silvers and twenty-five coppers, so she didn't want to take any less than that. "What do you offer?"
"I'll give you five shekels of silver."
Asha haggled with him, and in the end agreed to six silver shekels even, along with a Gift of three spells. Levitation, but for a full five minutes. Much better than the hover spell stolen from her by Joss. Thunderbolt was a spell giving her the ability to throw lightning bolts. She couldn't wait to try that out. Unlock was a spell to open doors and simple locks.
Congratulations! You've earned enough experience points to move up one level. You are now a Level 16 sorceress!
Congratulations! You've earned enough experience points to move up one level in Social Skill of Bartering. You are now Level 2!
"Is there somewhere close I can buy more spells, or even enchanted weapons?" she asked.
"Yes, there is Enchanter's Hall back on Central Plaza. It's full of small shops selling pretty much anything you would want," Sir Danse said. "It's easy enough to find, being the only five-floor building on the plaza. There's a sign out front, too."
Chapter 29
Killum made sure everyone passed out into the street before he departed Sir Danse's tower. He didn't trust the Dark battle-mage. No one who was a level 51 spellcaster should be entirely trusted, especially when he was Dark. And he didn't like the way he looked at Asha.
"We're pretty close to the gate onto Forest Road," Killum said. "Do we really need to go back into the middle of town to buy more spells?"
"Yes," Asha said. She averted her eyes, while her cheeks grew red. "I… I kind of let a Dark witch capture me."
"You let her?"
"No, but I dropped my guard and she snuck one of those subjugation collars around my neck," she said. Killum could tell every word came out with supreme reluctance. Asha was a proud woman, and rarely knew defeat. "Once I was under her absolute power, the witch ordered me to give her all of my magic."
That piqued his curiosity. "We can do that?"
"Yes, but you lose the spell you give away. So you can see, I need to buy some very basic spells like Fire and such." She smiled at him. "Give me your hand."
They stopped and Asha took his right hand in both of hers. Her hands were warm and soft, and that contact made it hard from him to concentrate.
Asha moved her right hand to his chest, right over his heart. "I Gift you the Power of Healing. Deidra said I could Gift it up to once a year, and that it cost one mana for the simplest healing, but the worse the wound, the more mana it will cost you."
"Thank you," he said, feeling flush. "That's an amazing gift. Does that mean I can also give it to another mage?"