When he had been in middle school, Jay’s mother started having terrible migraines. For the duration of the migraine, she became irritable to the point of real anger (though she always apologized for her behavior afterwards). Jay never blamed her; he had only had a few headaches at this point in his life, but they had always left him snappy and tired. With the way his mother described the pain she felt during these episodes, he considered her outbursts a remarkable sign of restraint.
To battle this anguish, his mother would lay down in bed and sometimes not get up for a whole day; once, she had gone so long without making an appearance that Jay had risked her wrath to check and make sure she was still breathing.
He had learned, in the months prior to this incident, to walk on the pads of his feet; he made almost no noise that way, though it was much harder to keep his balance. He had crept across the hallway carpet and into his mother’s room, the door making no noise as it swung open, the air inside still and deadly quiet. Each of his steps had been carefully considered and precise: he knew where all the squeaky spots were and avoided them like the plague. His mother, so sensitive to the noise of the house that she often turned off the air conditioner (the whoosh of the air coming through the vents was enough to bring her to tears during a bad episode), did not stir as he crept closer to her side.
When he had cut the distance enough to reach out and touch her, Jay stopped. His mother’s eyes were closed, her mouth turned down in the midmorning light peeking through the blackout curtains.
This memory of her was one that Jay would never forget; even years later, he could still close his eyes and remember every detail. The way her brown hair was tousled from her pillow, the smell of her perfume lingering in the air, the silhouette of her face in the near dark. And, of course, the gentle rise and fall of her chest: the sign that Jay needed to confirm that she was, in fact, alive. She had always been beautiful, though she often denied it, and he resisted the urge to kiss her cheek as he left the same way he came, unseen and unheard.
All this to say, Jay was no stranger to stealth. He didn’t know the stable nearly as well as he had known his old house, but it didn’t matter; he crept along the well-trodden straw and didn’t make a sound. His eyes, adjusted to the near darkness, made out quite a few useful tools: buckets, pitchforks, tongs, harnesses, the essential elements of a stable. The only thing is that if I take anything valuable, someone is bound to notice before we leave. I have to be smart about what I take. Fuck, I don’t even know what’ll be useful in a place like the Badlands. What will we need to survive? Food, but I doubt I’ll find much of that. Water would be good; I have that crystal, but no way to use it just yet. Maybe if I fill a bucket with water, I can put it in my inventory?
There was a water pump close by the double doors that they had entered through. A short search around the area revealed two wooden buckets, which Jay carried back to the pump. He lifted the handle once, pressing down once the pressure had built, and winced as the water splashed down into the bucket. He waited, holding his breath, but nothing stirred; after a minute, he did it again, and again, until the bucket was completely full. Alright, here goes. I don’t think that this violates the inventory rules, so it should work. Lifting it was no problem, and when it vanished into his inventory, Jay pumped his fist into the air and hissed, “Hell yeah!” He quickly checked his quest book, where the number of items stolen had gone from 0 to 1. Alright, 19 more to go. Easy money.
His mood lightened considerably by this discovery, he filled and stored the other bucket, keeping an eye out for anything else useful. There were spare wheels for carts leaning against the leftmost wall, and bales of hay stacked in the corner; Jay picked two of the better-looking wheels, and one of the hay bales. There were also some bunched-up blankets that smelled like horse, but beggars couldn’t be choosers, and Jay took those too.
The real prize, though, came in the form of a ladder to the loft above. A single window let the moonlight in, making it much easier to hunt for treasures. There, Jay found a stack of half broken planks of wood, rusty nails poking out at odd angles all along their lengths. Someone’s probably keeping them in case of emergency. Guess they’ll have to do without. He put enough of them into his inventory to get to 19 items, careful not to complete the main quest before finding the secret stash… whatever that was.
It occurred to him, after he had already taken the 19th board, that he had no way of knowing what the secret stash actually contained; if he was wrong, he would miss out on the experience he needed to level up. He cursed himself in his head, fuming in the gentle moonlight. Stop fucking up, Jay. You need to be right this time.
He did a careful sweep of the loft, but found nothing else of interest. On the ground, he crept into every corner, running his hands over the walls, even moving a crate or two to check underneath for hidden passages. It was time intensive, and the hours slipped away as Jay combed over the stable. Stumped, he crouched by one of the horse’s stalls, thinking hard. If I was a secret, where would I be? The only place that I haven’t checked… He clenched his teeth as he realized: the inside of the horse stalls. I’ll have to check them all.
This was a dangerous task. The horses were huge, big enough to kill him with ease if they felt like it, but who knew when Jay would have another opportunity to gain EXP before they were abandoned in the wilderness? He mustered his resolve, clenching his trembling hands, and proceeded to the first stall, undoing the latch like he was defusing a bomb.
The door creaked softly as he swung it open, just enough to slip through. This close, the sleeping horses seemed even bigger than before; their large bodies rose and fell with each snorting breath. Jay moved as slowly as possible, feeling the walls, checking below and behind the trough, cursing inside his head when he found nothing. He slipped from the stall empty handed, a sheen of sweat on his face.
The second stall was the same, although the horses here were louder in their sleep; one of them nickered softly as Jay closed the door behind him. The last stall, however, held a surprise; not a horse, but a gigantic lizard, scaley and shimmering in the low light. It looked like a mix between a four legged dragon and an anole, with a broad back and triangular head. Jay stared at it for a while, but it seemed asleep as well, its breaths coming quicker than the horses, as though it needed more air. Fuck, that thing that looks dangerous. But this is the only place that I haven’t checked, the stash has to be here. He steeled himself, stepping into the stall, holding his breath as the lizard stirred.
It shifted in its sleep, revealing thick legs capped with claws the size of Jay’s fingers. It did not wake, though, and after a tense moment, Jay continued his search, pausing when he felt a loose board under the trough. He strained to pry it up with as little noise as possible, but it creaked ever so slightly, and the lizard stirred. Jay pressed himself against the wall as it lifted its head, double lidded eyes wandering over the stall. Oh no, oh god, oh fuck. Go back to sleep, go back to sleep, nothing to see here, mister gigantic death lizard. Please don’t get up.
As if it had heard his internal pleas, the lizard yawned, turning away from Jay, and set its head back on its front legs. Jay didn’t move until the lizard’s breathing had been steady for at least five minutes, his hand creeping into the hole under the floorboards to close around a small leather satchel. He banished it into his inventory without looking at it, feeling around for anything else, but there was nothing.
His escape from the stall was easy, and when he was out of it, he let out a shaky breath, trying to slow his racing heart. That was way more dangerous than I thought this was going to be. No wonder that optional quest was worth so much EXP. Alright, let’s get back to the cart, no time to waste.
He was right; the dark was already not as oppressive, the moonlight coming in through the loft window replaced by the grey of approaching dawn. Jay hurried back to the cart, wiping off his feet with one of the horsey blankets before putting his sandals back on. Even through the thumping of his heart, he was grinning; he hadn’t stolen anything game changing, but the rush of adventure was a high he wasn’t used to. It appeared to be the same for the five prisoners; Maude was dancing from one foot to the other, Deacon was nodding in approval, and even Chatri had a smile on his face. Azun’s nimble hands soon had Jay back in the harness, and he explained his findings after he was safely back in place, opening the Quests screen as he did so.
Quest complete! Land Pirate.
Escape your bindings and explore the stable, acquiring a few goods along the way. It doesn’t matter what you take, really; quantity over quality is a real pirate’s mantra. That being said, keep an eye out for some not-so-obvious loot. Don’t get caught to earn extra EXP! Just remember: a good pirate always double checks his ropes.
Main Quest progress: 20/20 items stolen: (30 EXP rewarded)
Optional Quest: Find the hidden stash in the stable: Optional Quest complete! (30 EXP rewarded)
Optional Quest: Complete the main quest without being caught: Optional Quest complete! 10 EXP awarded.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Total: 70 EXP
LEVEL UP! Claim your level up rewards in the PROGRESSION tab.
Jay almost cheered. YES! Alright, now let’s see what this Discerning Sight ability is all about.
Holding up a hand to halt the questions from the crew, he clicked over to the Progression tab, elated to see that his EXP bar had been reset, and it now read Level 1. He now had 1 Skill point; it glowed in silver at the top left corner of the screen. There was 200 EXP to go until level 2 now. Jay hoped that it was just a 100 EXP increase and not a doubling kind of thing. That could get really expensive really fast, although I don’t know how the power scaling works here. Could be that as the levels increase, the amount of EXP you get per quest increases too… but somehow, I doubt that.
He put that thought to the side for later (he really needed a notebook to keep track of all his questions in), clicking on the Discerning Sight ability once more to remind himself of what it did.
Discerning Sight: when acquired, user will be able to target an object/creature. Targeted object/creature will be outlined, and a small informational blurb will be displayed. At level 1, the information displayed will be:
For objects, name and rarity. Objects that are being mimicked by Mimics higher than LEVEL 1 will show up as the object being mimicked. Objects that are trapped by a spell higher than LEVEL 1 will not show up as trapped.
For creatures, name and current status. Up to ONE title will be displayed at LEVEL 1. Stats (HP/MP/????) of any creature stronger than LEVEL 5 will show up as ????. Level of any creature stronger than LEVEL 10 will show up as ????. Up to ONE skill will be revealed for creatures up to LEVEL 5. Creatures that are being mimicked WILL NOT be revealed at this level.
Would you like to purchase this Skill? (Yes/No)
Excellent. Now I can do some threat assessment. He clicked yes, and the square glowed before breaking into a thousand pieces, the shards fading away to reveal the same symbol (an eye with lines coming out of it), but now glowing silver. A new textbox popped up on the screen.
Using Skills
When skills are acquired from the skill tree (or other places), they will be automatically turned on. They can be turned off in the PROGRESSION tab. Skills earned from places like ACHIEVEMENTS or TITLES will appear in the PROGRESSION tab as they are earned.
To use a skill, first ensure that the skill is activated. If the skill costs mana, make sure that you have the appropriate amount of mana to use it. Think the name of the skill, and it will activate; be careful not to accidentally cast Fireball!
Jay read this text twice, making sure he understood. The Discerning Sight skill didn’t say that it cost mana; hopefully that means it’s free, because I don’t think I have any right now. Only one way to find out.
He clicked off of the screen, making sure that his new skill was active, and closed the tab. He focused on the closest thing to him, one of the small crates that he had already identified, and thought, Discerning Sight.
The effect was immediate; the outline of the crate suddenly appeared sharp in his vision, all the corners crisp where they had been blurred by the grey dawn light before. Words popped up above the crate, black writing on a white box that was easy to read and small enough to be out of the way.
Small shipping crate, common item. 50/60 capacity.
There was no other information, but Jay didn’t need it; that was more than enough for now. He turned his attention to the prisoners, who, in the absence of his attention, had been talking among themselves in low voices. Eid was shaking her head at Chatri, who looked furious; Deacon looked more nervous than usual, sweat dripping into his eyes. Maude just had on that same signature grin, her hands up in a what can you do? kind of shrug. None of them noticed that Jay had finished his Outsider shenanigans.
Azun was the only one not involved in the conversation; their attention was on Jay, and when he met their eyes, they raised a single, hairless eyebrow. He nodded, whispering over to the orc, “I found a secret stash in one of the stalls. I don’t know what’s in it; want to see?” Azun’s mouth twitched in what might have been a smile, and they nodded once. Jay tabbed to the inventory, pulling out the small leather satchel he had stolen without reading its contents on the screen. He started to open it, and then paused. I wouldn’t have been able to do this if Azun hadn’t helped me. They should be able to share in this too.
Resolved, Jay handed the bag over to the orc, who took it with uncharacteristic hesitation, treating it as if it would break at any moment. The others noticed this transaction, and Maude muttered, “Hell of a choice to give that to the orc first. You might be as dumb as Chatri thinks you are.” Eid covered the older woman’s mouth again, whispering furiously in her ear, but Azun ignored her, undoing the buckle that held the satchel shut. It clinked gently as they reached inside, pulling out a handful of coins that glimmered in the growing light.
Chatri sucked in a sharp breath, pointing at the metal in the orc’s hands. “Do not tell me that those are Silver. Wherever you found that thing, put it back, or someone is going to kill us for them.” Jay leaned in closer, trying to get a better look, and Azun put a few coins back until there was only one left, holding it up so that the human could see.
It was, indeed, a coin made of silver; it was large, only slightly smaller than Jay’s palm, stamped with the mark of the queen. It was maybe an eighth of an inch thick. The backside had two words on it that Jay couldn’t quite make out. Maude looked at it like Azun was holding a venomous snake; Eid was mostly indifferent, but Deacon’s eyes sparkled with a look that Jay knew well. He had seen it at casinos, in the eyes of men losing all their money trying to strike it rich. I don’t like that look. Whatever he’s here for, it probably has to do with money, somehow; I don’t think I should let him handle any of it. Jay looked at Chatri again and admitted, “I don’t know how the currency works here. What is it worth?”
The man put a hand to his face, sighing, and spoke slowly, like Jay was a slow child. “It goes from bronze to silver, but there’s a divide between the Alloys and the Pure metals. The Alloys are bronze, brass, and invar, and the Pure metals are copper, gold, and silver. We common folk use Alloys to do our business most of the time, but the nobility deal in Pure coin only. That piece of metal,” he flicked an irritated hand at the coin still in Azun’s grip, “is enough to buy all of our lives a hundred times over. Someone is going to come looking for that, and whoever they are, we do not want to be in their way.”
Maude was nodding furiously, surprisingly silent in the presence of such riches. Deacon looked like his heart would break if Jay agreed; Eid remained unmoved, but her eyes never left the coin in the orc’s hands.
Jay nodded, only a little irked at the way the man was talking to him. “Right, right. Azun, how many coins are in there? Are they all Silver, or are they a mix?”
The orc counted the coins in the satchel, their sharp eyes not missing a thing. “There are four of the silver ones in here. There are also a few gold coins, and many small coins. A few of them look like gold and silver, but are not.”
Chatri held his hand out impatiently; Jay guessed that, if it had been anyone else holding the money, he would have snatched it from their grip. “Oh gods, give it to me. I’ll see what we’re dealing with, and maybe then you’ll listen to me and put the damned thing back.” Azun turned their level gaze on the smaller man, who wilted beneath the cutting blue eyes. “…Please? I promise I won’t do anything stupid with it.”
Jay was surprised; he hadn’t expected that the man would swallow his pride enough to ask that nicely. Azun grunted, putting the coins in their hand back into the satchel and handing it to Chatri. He immediately flipped it open and started gathering coins in his hand, counting beneath his breath. While they waited, Jay decided to test his Discerning Sight ability again; this time, on Azun. The orc became completely visible; it was as if the bars of the cage weren’t there, allowing Jay to see every limb in sharp relief. Another textbox appeared.
Azun, Level 3 Orc Ranger. Status: Healthy. HP: 50/50. MP: 10/10. Knows Unerring Flight.
That was all.
Well, it’s better than nothing. I wonder if I can use that to see enemies hidden behind things; that would be incredibly useful, if so. Chatri broke Jay out of his musings, something like awe in his voice. “There are 4 Silver, 5 Gold, and 8 Copper Pure in here. 12 Invar, 9 Brass, 15 Bronze. This is a fortune. Where did you even find this?”
Jay gestured towards the stalls that he had searched. “In a stall, under a loose floorboard. Whoever it belongs to has a crazy lizard horse thing that scared the shit out of me, it was with that.”
There was silence. He stared at the faces before him, which had all shifted to varying degrees of horror. Even Azun looked unsettled. Maude was the first to speak this time, her voice trembling. “A lizard? There’s a Sunbather, here? Chatri’s right; you need to put that satchel back, now. Whoever’s ridin’ that thing won’t just kill us, they’ll make what the Red Hands do to people look like a vacation.”
Deacon moaned, suddenly very pale. Eid looked like she might be sick; Chatri’s eyes were almost bulging out of his head. In the distance, the sound of footsteps echoed across the cobblestones. Jay’s eyes slipped to the loft window, which revealed that the sun had begun its rise in earnest; Raul and the other guard were back. He made a hundred calculations at the speed of light in his head, and reached for the bag of coins, gesturing impatiently at Chatri. “Give it here, now. Hurry!”
The taller man hesitated, and Jay reached forward, snatching it from him just as the stable doors opened. The bag disappeared into his inventory as he turned away, and he prayed to anything that was watching that the guards hadn’t seen it. There was a single beat, during which Jay’s heart dropped into his stomach, and then Raul spoke, amused and sleepy. “What happened to you all? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
Maude muttered, “Not yet,” to which Deacon shushed her. Chatri sat down heavily on the floor of the cage, laughter bordering on hysteria bubbling into his throat, and covered his face with his hands.
