10390 words.
Reading previous entries is recommended to understand the current context. Not based on any particular gaming franchise or storyline.
I'm still shocked anybody else likes this backwards take on an RPG world. Cheers!
*****
"Alright, time to go give some good news," Nuru said.
/Hello, Nuru./
"Wha- hey Adana. Since when you are up earlier than me?"
/You say that like I got to sleep last night. Sit your ass down, mister./
"Come on, let's talk on the way, I've got stuff to do."
/Or not. Your call./
"Urgh! Ow, dammit!"
Nuru fell to his knees, holding his head as his MP bottomed out. His eyeballs felt like they were pulling back into his skull.
/This is necessary, before you ask. I have critical preparations to make today, and I need your help./
"You have... my attention..."
/Good. Bluntly, I need mana. Fortunately, the quantities I need are within our combined capacity, but only just barely. I've rarely been able to do this before, so I don't have the proficiency bonuses. However, I need it a bunch of times. I need you to go buy some mana potions./
"Is it gonna be... like this all day?"
/And possibly tomorrow. Nuru, this is make or break. If this works I *might* have a lot more freedom to help you, but I've only got one shot at this. I need to know you're not going to pull from me, and that you're going to do your best to keep your MP as high as possible. Do I need to remind you the price of failure?/
"Torment in my head... the rest of my days... is what you said."
/So, we understand each other. Go buy some mana potions./
"That requires... walking," Nuru complained.
/You know what it doesn't require? Excuses. You've got until your MP recharges for the next one./
"Oh, shit. Hope the shop isn't... backed up with customers. I'm barely gonna... make it as it is."
He stumbled to his feet, clumsily stuffing his face with some food as he went.
/I'll warn you again before each pull./
"Suppose I aught to be thankful for that much."
/Damn right. Aren't you just sitting around waiting for people to talk to you all day?/
"Sure. And you just jump from one bed to another all night, stealing souls."
/It's not that sim- ah, yes. Point taken./
*****
Nuru made it to the shop. His head was starting to clear from the mana burn.
"Can has mana potions?" he said.
"There's a two liter quota per month. You wanna ration it out, or do you want all of it now?"
"Mm. Give it to me now."
"That'll be a hundred."
"What!? That's extortion! You get people dumping that stuff in here because they don't use all of theirs!"
"It's a limited resource, buddy. Supply and demand."
"Hell with this, I'll go buy some from people coming back."
"They catch you bypassing the official supply chain, you'll get fined something fierce. Can't get around those taxes."
"I'm not reselling, I'm using myself. Forget it, I don't need you. I'm making a complaint at the courthouse for price gouging."
"Alright, alright. Forty-five. A hundred and I'll throw in next month's ration too. It's tomorrow anyway."
Nuru leaned across the counter and glared at the man, who grinned sheepishly.
"In writing," Nuru finally said.
The man gave him a formal trade offer. Nuru accepted.
"Thank you, come again!"
Nuru headed to the armor shop next.
"Oh hey, you're that new business partner aren't ya?" the dward behind the counter said, fussing with something.
"Yeah. Is Makena in?"
"Oh, he's occupied at present. He'll be available when he's done."
"I... see."
Nuru's MP hit max, and he wandered the aisles, pretending to check out the merchandise.
/It's time./
Nuru took a swig of mana potion and held it in his mouth, and then set the bottle down on the shelf to keep from dropping it. He double-tapped his shoulder. He grunted as his MP fell away, and he choked down the mana potion he had ready to swallow, held on to the shelf as his MP refilled. He put the cork back in the partial bottle, and waited to see exactly how much he'd need to drink to completely refill.
"That wasn't so bad," he muttered.
He still hurt a little from the first mana burn, but the second one wasn't so bad with the potion to offset the effects.
"Ye alright there?" The dwarf was looking up from his task at him funny.
"Fine, fine. How long do you think he'll be?"
"Oh, not long, if he quits screwing around like I told him to."
"Right... suppose I've got a little time. What about you? What are you doing back there?"
"Mind yer feckin' business, is what I'm doin'. Cuntfecker."
"Alright, geez, just trying to make conversation."
/I still don't have a read on your MP since you changed your name. Got another full bar?/
"No, gimme a sec," Nuru muttered.
He took another swig from the mana potion.
"They're rationing this stuff by the way. Only have four liters."
/Damnation. We'll have to juggle this carefully, then./
"Ready."
Nuru winced as his MP emptied in an instant, only a slow dribble from the potion keeping him from remaining right at zero. He took a deep breath.
"When's the next one?"
/I'll give you an indicator./
Nuru swatted at the air instinctively for a moment, then noticed that the vaguely candle-like apparition in his vision moved right along with his head as he turned it.
/Relax. When the top meets the bottom, it's time./
The dwarf behind the counter groaned, stretched, then walked out the back of the shop. Makena stood up from behind the counter coughing, flushed, and red-eyed.
"Oh hey, didn't see you come in," Nuru said.
"Ahem, yes. Sorry for the wait, Nuru."
/Ooh, I do get some breakfast after all./
(!?)
/I'll explain later./
(Oh... he was down there the whole time.)
/Fucking finally you found your inside voice!/
"So, uh, yes. I have news."
Nuru put the armor he'd acquired on the counter.
"My, you have been busy. Wait... Nuru, is this what I think it is?"
"How could I possibly know what you're thinking?"
"This all matches. It's part of a rare set. I mean, even rarer than this style is to begin with."
"Is that... a problem?"
"I don't know, is it? The chest piece is the rarest part. If you can get it you'll be greatly exceeding my hopes for this, but there is the question of 'can you do it?' I notice you haven't gotten parts from any other set here."
"My guy thinks he can. I did tell him to bring me everything, and I've got a few others out looking. We've got time, right?"
"I suppose that's up to you. I have some instructions from the Mayor - he wants something ceremonial in a couple days, something new. Rumor is, he wants to make a show of this trial for Gram. Think you'll have it by then?"
"Yes."
"OK, I'll try to stall him a little bit before I let him into something cheap and chintzy; but he's got a lot of pressure to make an example and keep this town family-friendly, and... yeah, I heard what happened, I know you've got a lot to deal with right now. But, meaning no offense, I hope that armor doesn't need cleaning when you bring it in; there won't be time for more than a bit of polishing with everything else I have going on."
"Trust me, I need this more than you do. It's gonna work."
"I hope you've got a Plan B. My rules lawyer... Nuru, I've never seen him so agitated. I can't divulge the conversation, nor can I ask what you know, but I will just give you this warning. Someone told him some things he didn't like. This venture you've proposed may not be allowed to proceed."
"I'll have to make it unofficial then. Run it myself."
"Hopefully it doesn't come to that. I have my doubts about whether you'll be able to keep up the traffic without being cut out as the middleman, without an established business behind you."
"Then it's a good thing I've got an ace in the hole. So to speak."
"OK, too close to dangerous subjects. This discussion is over. I'm giving you standard sale value for this until you get me the last part."
"Thank you. Until next time."
Makena washed his face in a bucket as Nuru walked out.
*****
/Almost ready for the next one./
(I'm full.)
Nuru grunted as his MP took another hit. He took just enough of a sip of mana potion to stave off the headache, although he couldn't completely cancel it out.
"You, uh, OK?" the Level Twelve thief said.
"Urf. Yeah. Got something for me?"
"I do. Here you go. Hey, did you just cast something?"
"No, I got poisoned. Healer left me a regen, but it eats my MP every now and then until I'm healed. Gods above, that's a mess of stuff."
"Yeah, right at my encumbrance limit."
"Right at your... and you have greater strength than I do. Crap."
"What, did I do something wrong?"
"No, no - I just should have told you to bring in fewer at a time. Hauling all this stuff away is going to take me forever."
"Don't leave it lying around, somebody'll just take it."
"I know, I'm gonna have to pile it all on or drag it. Which is why it's going to take me forever."
"Ah. Not my problem. Anyway, gonna go farm a bunch more of these."
"I have enough of the easy parts, I don't need any more. I don't have anything left to swap them out for."
"Hey, you made the quest. Should have been more specific; you just said you'd take any matching parts. You're on the hook, man."
Nuru sighed. "Here's your currency."
"Bye!"
He held everything together as best he could, stacked leg armor together and made a pile of them in his arms and managed to get a chest piece over his head with an open gap facing forward so he could halfway see where he was going. He heard a few snickers as he trudged slowly to the weapon shop.
"Noob! Watch your encumbrance limit! Lolz!"
"Yeah, yeah, I know!"
*****
"Good heavens, Nuru. You know I don't need all that."
"Yeah, but neither do I, so here we are. I'll tell you what. You wanna take the enchantments off of these leg pieces for scrolls, you go ahead - I'll take them back, and you can keep the scrolls, no charge."
"Can't say as I really need them."
"I mean if you're just gonna throw them out, I'll take those too."
"I'll have to charge you for the scrolls."
"Fine, fine. Sell me the enough scrolls that the cost of however much extra armor will cover it. I can't carry every single one of these anyway."
"You've got a deal. We'll call it a quest and I'll let you have them at cost."
Nuru left with a bunch of the leg armor pieces, stripped of all enchantments, and a pocket full of minor buff scrolls. He went back by his house to drop the scrolls, and then went to the bank.
"Yes, how can I help you?" the banker said.
