The Ruby Magician

The midsummer air was hot and dry as the sun beamed down its harsh rays onto Alestead. Most people in the city were wearing light clothing and a cloak to repel the sun’s heat while staying as cool as possible, but some foolishly kept wearing their climbing gear. Wyn found it interesting to see Climbers walk around in their armor and equipped weapons in the roasting air that was worse than the first floor jungle from last month, their hair slick with sweat and panting like dogs. He immediately assumed those people likely weren’t from Jahnin. Locals knew the weather in the middle of summer was notoriously dry and hot, like standing by a fire. If they wanted to stay for the rest of the season they’d have to adapt.

But Wyn just sipped his refreshing tea outside of the training hall while he waited. His Sage’s Overcoat kept him nice and comfortable no matter the weather, and he thought it was both stylish and practical.

Still, he wondered where his teammates were. They were normally later rather than on time, but being this late was just egregious.

As he took his final sip of tea he spotted John and Marcy walking towards him. They were wearing light clothes, too, while John also had on his backpack. Wyn’s excitement grew seeing John carry their new items as he knew they were in there. Plus, the big smile plastered on his face was a dead giveaway at his and Cedric’s success.

“Nice of you two to join,” Wyn said as the pair approached. “I’ve completely finished my tea waiting on everyone.”

“Sorry we don’t have the same military mentality with being on time,” John said. He was making a big show waving his hands but he still couldn’t keep a straight face.

Wyn finally smiled, too, as Marcy yawned. Obviously she wasn’t as interested.

“Be grateful we even got out of bed this morning,” Marcy said. “I didn’t really want to come for a training session so early.”

“But it’s less hot right now,” Wyn said. “And it won’t be as bad when we finally jump into the tower. We’ll be ready with our equipment and warmed up, too. It’s a win-win situation.”

“So he says,” John said.

The three then moved into the training hall and picked the nearest open area to use. It was easy to find a spot as the hall was nearly empty except for a group of people on the far side. Sounds of sparring and instruction could be heard, though the group seemed to keep to themselves. Wyn saw about half a dozen people training and a similar amount standing to the side watching, a couple of them even taking notes on a pad of paper.

As John began explaining his and Cedric’s trip to the trading district yesterday as well as the items they received, Tasha and Cedric strolled through the door.

“You’re late,” Marcy said. She then rubbed her eyes and stretched. “If I can get up and meet this early, you two have no excuse.”

“I saw Cedric in a small cafe this morning and we lost track of time,” Tasha said. “It’s my fault. I couldn’t stop asking him questions about Magician spells and his experiences in Alistair.”

Cedric rubbed his stomach and patted it. “Good company and good food makes the time fly away.”

“Did you really fight a snow ogre a few seasons ago?” Tasha asked. “That seems like a little white lie.”

Marcy snickered. “Put six arrows in it myself on top of all of the spells and blows it took. I’ll never forget that damned white furred menace.”

“Who cares about that,” John said. “What’s this cafe? Do they sell pastries?”

Tasha sighed while Wyn laughed. Even getting ready to try out new magical items John still couldn’t take his mind off of food.

“I’ll show it to you tomorrow morning,” Tasha said. “But what are you holding?”

John shook the wand in his hand before flourishing it and handing it to her. “As I was telling Wyn and Marcy, these are our new items we traded for! This is one of yours - it’s called Unicorn Horn. And this ring that helps with mana efficiency. Not sure exactly what it does, but it’s better than nothing!” John pulled the ring out of his pocket and handed it to her. It was a silver ring with a pearl set in the middle along with faint, tiny runes that lined the outside. Not as extravagant as some jewelry but still a nice piece.

Tasha took both items carefully and held them. “That’s wonderful! I wouldn’t have thought to use a wand but it might be a nice change from a big heavy staff. Let me look them over for a minute.”

“No problem,” John said. “Wyn and I are going to try on ours!” He took the large piece of splint mail armor out of the backpack and began to put it on with Marcy’s help. The helmet was much easier as it magically fit on his head, covering his head and neck while leaving his eyes and face mostly open. He looked much more like a knight than a Squire, and made a bit of a show showing both pieces off.

Wyn fitted his hat and took some practice strikes with his new spear. Both items felt excellent. The black hat was snug but comfortable on his head, and though he felt a bit silly wearing it he admitted to himself that the magical effects made up for it. He could feel the soft hum of the magic it radiated, and appreciated that it still protected his head despite it not being a traditional piece of armor. The spear was also impressive as the shaft had a deep blue hue to it like seawater, with various runes closer to the spearhead. The base was simple but held a good sized aquamarine gemstone the size of a marble, and the spearhead was long with a slight flare at the base of the end as though it was meant to kill and spear fish rather than monsters. While his last weapon looked to be made from the skies, this one appeared to be made from the sea.

Wyn didn’t care as long as he didn’t have to go into any water. Wielding water based weapons was perfectly fine as far as he was concerned. If one of the floors presented as traveling through water, well… he’d have some serious decisions to make.

He pulled out his parchment and looked to see the effects from his two new pieces. He looked over his skills and spells and noticed some key differences.

Lucidity: Allows passive recovery of mana. Your mark will show the current status of mana and is a guide to your expected amount of recovery time from empty to full. When your mark fully glows you are empty and currently recovering. When your mark is dull and grey you are full. Current time to fully recover: 2.5 hours (1.25 hours). While recovering mana, spells and skills have a slightly reduced mana cost.

Regen: A healing spell that will heal the user or target over a period of time. Heals basic wounds, not able to cure diseases or remove poisons. Currently takes more time to heal and consumes a smaller amount of mana.

Wyn felt his heart beat faster with excitement. Lucidity was reduced quite a bit further with the additional effect of his spear on top of the bracelet Cedric gifted him, and Regen took less mana than before. Where it previously said a less moderate amount, it now said a smaller amount.

It was finally starting to happen. His gear was showing actual, meaningful change for the better. If he was able to secure more items, like jewelry or other pieces of armor, that effect would be even better. That had to be how Climbers survived in the higher floors. Which made sense, of course. But if he could get even three more items to help with his mana recovery, he would feel far more comfortable with his plan of being more liberal with spells and skills. And it would make climbing the second tier floors repeatedly that much easier.

Wyn folded his parchment and looked over at John, who now looked like a magical knight. He was wielding a sparring sword and shield and practicing some maneuvers with Marcy. Tasha and Cedric were working on her casting spells with her wand, and she seemed to be enjoying the new weapon based on her excited smiles and jumps of joy.

Wyn turned to one of the dummies and decided to try out some of his own moves. It held a sword and shield and looked exactly like he remembered. He looked it up and down and saw runes all over its back, but couldn’t figure out how to activate it. Daniel made it look so easy on his first day. Could he just push some of his mana into it? How would that even work? He was used to thinking and saying his spells and skills to activate them. What in the hells was the spell for this stupid wooden dummy?

“Mind if I help?” A voice said.

Wyn looked over and saw a smiling, lanky man casually dressed and holding a notepad. A woman stood beside him with a bored look on her face, more focused on John and Marcy. Wyn recognized them as two of the people standing by for the group further in the training hall.

“I’d appreciate that,” Wyn said. “I’m not ashamed to admit I don’t know how to activate these dummies. My mentor did it when I used them before.”

The man nodded and walked over to the dummy, then placed his hand on its back. A small plume of magic radiated from his touch similar to Daniel’s activation.

“It’s nothing special, just an activation rune,” the man said. “Think of it like activating your skills but you’re willing the dummy to come to life instead. There are different layers to it and you can choose the difficulty, so to speak. Or, you know, just push some mana into it. That works, too.”

Wyn chuckled. At least the man was friendly.

The dummy began to shake and jerk its body as it came to life, and a new, shimmering aura appeared around it. Wyn didn’t remember that. Was this new? Or some kind of hidden trick by the man?

“Don’t worry,” the man said, “I only made it magically resistant so you can use your spear without damaging it. You know, so you don’t ruin it.”

Wyn relaxed a bit. The dummy did look magical, carrying a green aura around it. Almost as though it was a green rarity item.

Even with an audience Wyn proceeded to practice his usual combat maneuvers. He didn’t care if they watched him or not. The freedom of executing his practiced spear thrusts, slashes, dodging and repositioning made Wyn’s body feel powerful. A sense of strength boosted him as he was easily able to outclass the dummy at every move, and he was only using his own combat prowess. He didn’t have the same physical enhancements that John or other combat classes had.

Soon the dummy faltered and went slack, returning to its statue-like state. Wyn took a deep breath to gather himself before trying out the runes on the dummy for a second round.

“That’s pretty good,” the man said. “And I have to admit, I can’t place you. Your weapon and equipment choice isn’t usual. No offense.”

“Unusual means too bold to a fault or uneducated,” the woman said. She was still watching John and Marcy and taking notes. “Or both.”

The man waved her off. “What’s your class, if you don’t mind me asking? And let me guess, this is your third or fourth season? About to break into the second tier?”

Wyn looked at the pair and stood tall, holding his spear upright beside him. He mentally reverted back to his days as an officer giving his report. Spitting out information was easy and practiced. “This is my second full season. And I’m a Ruby Magician upgraded to a Ruby Strategist. My group here advanced our classes early last week.”

The woman looked over at Wyn for the first time. “Bullshit.”

Wyn extended a hand towards John and Marcy. “Go ask them yourself if you don’t believe me.”

The man tried and failed to hold back a wide smile. “Where’s your sixth member?”

“We don’t have one. It’s just us five.”

“And the Fighter over there is your group leader?” The woman asked.

Wyn shook his head, pausing for effect. Now he was curious at their reaction. “I’m the group leader. And he’s a Squire now.”

The man audibly laughed this time while the woman’s face contorted into further confusion. She nearly dropped her notepad but was able to hold onto it against her leg to prevent it from hitting the ground.

“Now I think I’ve heard it all,” the man said. “A spear using Red Mage leading a group of five and finishing the first tier in their first season. I love it!”

Wyn couldn’t help but smile. At least the guy wasn’t mocking him, and if anything he seemed to genuinely be impressed. Still, Wyn had no idea who they were.

“Who are you two, anyway?” Wyn asked.

“We’re guild recruiters,” the man said. “I’m Dorn, and this is Mesta.”

Mesta recovered her papers and cleared her throat, though offered no additional response.

“I’m Wyn. Nice to meet you both,” Wyn said. He put his hand out in a greeting and Dorn shook it with a firm grip. Maybe the pair were Climbers, too?

“Don’t let us interrupt your training,” Dorn said. “We’ll just introduce ourselves to the rest of your group and be on our way. Maybe we’ll see you again.”

“Maybe so. It was a pleasure.”

Mesta grunted and scratched something in her notepad. “Don’t butter us up, we aren’t looking to invite you into a guild right now. We’re just taking notes.”

“Don’t worry, I wasn’t asking to join a guild. You’re looking for John, the Squire. He’s the one interested.”

Dorn laughed while Mesta simply walked away towards John and Marcy.

“I stand corrected from before,” Dorn said.

“What do you mean?” Wyn asked.

“A Red Mage who doesn’t want to be in a guild? Now I’ve heard it all.”

*****

The decrepit wooden door creaked open as Wyn still held the key. John stood opposite him in the doorway in case there were enemies on the other side, looking more like a Knight than ever. His new helmet and splint mail along with his sword and shield gave him a very serious and intimidating knightly look. It bolstered Wyn’s confidence, too, as he felt he probably looked a bit more ridiculous in his officer’s jacket and wizard hat.

The door in front of them looked like it could have been kicked in as it barely hung on hinges, and John definitely tried that. And then he needed a minute to recover as the door was magically sealed. Wyn tried to warn him as the Mushroom Lantern chained to his belt made the door light up with a faint aura of magic, but John insisted. Backtracking a few hallways led them to a room full of traps that Marcy was able to strategically set off and bypass to reach the lone chest in the room. Its only prize was a key, but it was an important one.

It wasn’t a portal key. It was a key to something else, and the group intended to find out what.

Floor three was proving to be a bit of a hassle so far. It wasn’t in the sewers, to everyone’s relief, but it started in the dungeon of what the group assumed was a castle. Tight corridors, several cramped rooms, and limited light were their initial obstacles. Then John set off a trap that sliced his leg over his boot, requiring some healing from Tasha. And soon after that more of the Ashen Dogs showed up, except they were larger and fiercer. At least they didn’t pose much of a threat as John’s sword was water empowered with an aquamarine gemstone and Wyn’s water spear made fighting them much easier.

The hallway beyond the locked door was similar to before - dimly lit, long, and wide enough for only three of them to comfortably stand side by side. There were two doors that could be seen on either side before the hall ended in a winding staircase that led up.

Tasha sighed in relief. “Finally, a way up! I hope this entire floor isn’t in a castle. I’m ready for some space again.” She held her new Unicorn Horn in her hand ready to cast a spell at a moment’s notice, appreciating the lighter weapon.

“Me, too,” Wyn said. “I prefer fighting with room. A spear isn’t the best in tight spaces.” He stepped forward cautiously a few feet behind Marcy, partly leading the way as the magical glass jar on his belt gave the group plenty of additional yellow light. Unfortunately he didn’t find any hidden passages so far, but he held some hope that he’d find something interesting during the season. If they could find another secret room like last month, that would be a big boon towards getting more items and coin.

Marcy had an arrow ready to fire at a moment’s notice and was actively searching the ground and area for traps. It was slow progress but necessary. She relaxed when they came to the first door and then grew excited when it hummed with magic as Wyn stepped closer. The lantern on his belt made the door’s magic visible.

The door shimmered with a green aura like an item. A single marking was on the door, though it was large like the markings back on their apartment doors in Alestead. Like a symbol telling what was beyond. It resembled three wolf heads staring directly at them with pointed ears and fangs from their top jaws. The group looked at each other and simultaneously hoped for a secret room.

“Well?” John asked. “Are we going to stare at it or try to open it?”

Marcy tried the door but it was locked, the handle not moving. A large keyhole was placed above it similar to the magic door that led into the hallway. John stepped forward with the previously found key and placed it in the keyhole. It turned and clicked.

The marking on the door shifted from three wolf heads to one.

“Interesting,” Cedric said. “I wonder why it changed since that’s the key that opens it?”

“Who knows,” Wyn said.

“Who cares,” Marcy added. “I want to see what’s on the other side!”

John readied his sword and shield and smiled under his white-glowing helmet. Tasha placed a casting of Cure on his helmet to be used if he was in a pinch and she couldn’t reach him. He protested against a defensive spell like Arcane Aura, saying he’d rather the emergency heal as his armor would be enough for the rest of the tier.

The Squire hoped to test his theory with more challenging enemies, and a secret room was the perfect place for it.

Wyn readied his spear and mentally prepared to cast Shield just in case. They didn’t know what was on the other side, but he knew they’d fight like hell to get the reward. With a final nod, Marcy pulled open the door to let John and Wyn lead their group inside.