I head out to what must be the Tailor based on the large painted sign of a golden needle and spool of thread. I open the door to the sound of a small bell ringing. A short girl with a head of dirty blonde hair jumps up from a stool she was sitting on while adjusting a dress.

“Hello, I am Susan.” She greets me warmly.

“Hi, I am new to town, so I have no money yet, but I wanted to see all of the shops and of course check for any quests.”

“No problem. I don’t have any quests for you but check back when you are at a higher level. When you get some money, I can offer you a good price on basic clothes that look great and will also increase your defense score.”

“Thanks. See you later.” I say as I head out and over to the Blacksmith next. The Blacksmith shop has a wooded sign with an anvil, but it is obvious with the sound of hammering coming from within. It also has a big brick chimney that is currently spewing black smoke into the air. I enter through the stout oak door. The sound of hammering intensifies. I see a large man with arms thicker than my legs. His strength score must be huge. As I watch he takes the hot piece of metal he is working on and puts it back into the fire. When he turns to get a ladle of water he notices me.

“Greetings, sorry I did not see you there, my name is Tal.”

“Not a problem, I was just admiring your work. I am new in town and I am checking out all of the shops to see what they sell and if you have any quests I may be able to help you with.”

“Well as you can see I sell all types of metal armor and arms. It you want leather armor you will have to go to the tailor. As to a quest I could use wood, which I create charcoal with for the furnace. It is always hungry for more. I will give you 10 coppers for 1 stack of wood from one tree. You can borrow my axe.”

“Great I will take you up on that.” I take the axe and make my way over to the Alchemist shop next.

The Alchemist shop has a wooden sign with a purple potion bottle on it. The shop has a door with glass panels and I can see a room full of display cases. As I enter a gentleman sitting behind the counter glances at me. He has green scales for skin and his eyes like a snake. Besides that, he looks completely human. I try to inspect him, but I get nothing. He laughs saying. “You will have to have a much higher level to successfully inspect me young one. Also, you should know that many higher-level people can detect you Inspecting them and will return the favor. In this case I am sure you are curious what I am? My name is Mathis. People with a mixed racial heritage like myself are collectively called demi-humans. In my case I am half human and half Salazar, which is a race of lizard men of the deep desert. We are very much in tune with nature, so we are very good at herbalism and alchemy. I take it you just arrived in the village and are here with little money and hopeful for quests?”

“Almost.” I reply. “I have no money and I am in search of quests.”

He laughs again replying. “Of course. Well there are various plants that I need to create the potions that you adventurers seem to always need. If you are willing to collect these plants I will teach you basic herbalism so you can identify and collect them. In exchange you will get health and mana potions.”

I accept and get a prompt.

Learning Herbalism Quest Accepted

Bring the alchemist Fire Thorn (x10), Golden Lily (x10), and Sun Blossom (x10).

Reward: Lesser Health Potion (x5), Lesser Mana Potion (x5)

Penalty for not completing: No access to Alchemist Shop until complete.

Mathis reaches behind the counter to hand me a thin book titled a Beginners Guide to Herbs. He gestures for me to read it now, which I quickly do and receive another prompt as the book turns to dust.

You have learned the skill Herbalism, 10 XP awarded. Basic 1. Lore increased to Basic 1 (50%).

With that I take my leave to visit the Church. The Church has a set of double doors that are open. Stained glass windows decorate the side of the building, inset in the cut stone. As I enter a feeling of stillness and peace washes over me. Tensions I did not know I had seem to flow out of my body as I collapse boneless to a nearby pew. I hear a chuckle as a robe woman approaches me up the aisle. I take in the simple grandeur of the church with its high oak beams overhead to the simple polished mahogany pews. In the front appears to be a stone altar and a statue of a woman. I focus on what I assume is a priestess. She is wearing a grey robe with gold trim. She appears fit and in her thirties with brown flowing hair braided down her back, with striking green eyes and a ready smile on her face.

She stops in front of me and says. “I see the goddess affected you more than most. You must be from the Start Glade and decided to keep your memories.”

“That’s correct, but how did you know?” I answer in surprise.

“When you enter the Church the goddess influence lifts your fears and worries and for you to be so affected it is only natural to assume you have been uprooted from everything you know and placed in a different world.”

I sigh, “You have that right.”

“Well let me say you are always welcome in the Church of the Goddess Vera. She presides over all the other gods and keeps the balance for the System. You can come here for healing when you need it. On a more mundane note I have a quest for you if you are interested.”

As I nod yes, she continues. “The back corner of the church near the foundation has cracked and needs new stones to replace them. Around the wolf area there are several granite nodes you can mine for stone that we can use to make mortar to patch the damage. I have a pick you can borrow to mine the stone.”

As I accept I get another prompt.

Stone to Repair the Church Quest Accepted

Bring the priestess of Vera stone to repair a crack in the churches foundation.

Reward: 100 XP, fame +10.

Penalty for not completing: None.

I thank her for the quest and I get a pickaxe from her, which I place in my inventory. I have a thought. This is not a game, but the real world, so changes to the quest should be possible. I ask her if I can see the crack in the foundation. “Of course, but do you have some knowledge in masonry?”

“Something like that.” I reply and we walk out the front and to the back right corner, where the crack is obvious. It is cutting through three stones and there are signs of previous repairs.

“I ask if I can try to repair the stone itself.”

She hesitates for a moment before gesture for me to proceed. I touch the bottom cracked stone and access my Stone Shaping.

Stone to infuse Stone Brick: 12” long, 6” wide, 6” high. Total 432 cubic inches.

Base Mana required 432/1728 * 200 per cubic foot = 50 (Cubic foot is 1728 cubic inches.)

Desired change simple, repair crack, no cost modifier.

Shaping time: 1 min

This is perfect. With my mana regen over a minute I won’t dip below 50% and pass out. I picture the cracked edges of the stone merging together. I feel a slight headache, but otherwise no ill effects. I smile as I see the stone looks perfect.

The priestess claps her hands and says “That is incredible. Will you be able to do the other two stones as well?”

“Yes, it will just take me about 12 minutes to refill my mana before I can do it again.”

“Ah, well then I can help with that.” She gestures and a wave of blue light envelopes me that sooths away my headache and refills my mana to full.

I smile and turn back to the next stone. After which she renews my mana again and finally the last. As I sit there relaxing from her latest casting, which renews my mana a final time I see icons are flashing again. I mentally acknowledge them and see a great message.

Stone to Repair the Church Quest Updated

Permanently repair the foundation stones of the Church of Vera.

Reward: 500 XP, fame +50. (Award increased x5, first time accomplishment.)

Penalty for not completing: None.

Congratulations

You have leveled up!!! You have three free stat point to allocate, choose wisely. For your actions during your level progression your reward is: +4 Intelligence, +4 to Wisdom, +2 to Strength. Rewards are doubled this level due to the blessing of Vera. This is a one-time increase.

Endurance has increased one point.

Fame increased by 5.

I reach into my inventory to retrieve the pickaxe and say. “I shouldn’t need this after all.”

The priestess smiles and say. “Please keep it. I will not be needing it either.”

I laugh and put it back in my inventory. After dusting myself off I take my leave and head to the General Store.

“This must be the one.” The priestess Julia thinks to herself. The Goddess had given her a dream two 10-days ago that a special Reborn would arrive in our Starter Area. She thinks this is the one, since while it is certainly possible to change a quest in certain cases, it is hard to do. Also, the change usually just solves the quest in a different way, such as ‘take the road to deliver a package’, but instead you ‘take a boat to deliver the package’. In this case the repeatable quest has disappeared from her quest list and no new quest has replaced it, which she has never heard of. He must have a unique ability to allow him to repair the stone. She would really like to ask him more to satisfy her curiosity, but her Goddess was specific in the dream. Offer any quest in her quest list, but don’t offer any other aide.

She has served as a priestess of Vera for thirty years before she was picked to serve in a Starter Area, which is considered a high honor. In general, after service in a Starter Area for a year, she can expect to become head priestess of a Church and be granted the Title of Chosen. The Reborn are the reason the Starter Areas are so important. This is where they get the first exposure to the Goddess. Typically, special quests will be granted to try to increase their faith. In this case, she is to treat the Reborn just like any other adventurer. She watches as George walks away, wondering what the Goddess has in store for him.

The General Store is different than the other buildings. It looks like a white adobe building with a red tile roof. It’s interesting that it looks like some of the buildings from back home, but I guess it’s not to surprising since adobe is just sun-dried earth. The main difference are the large windows along the whole front of the store. As I enter the store I smell leather, cloth, and some faint spices. I see a man up on a rolling ladder that goes all the way around the store. He is taking some items down from overhead to put on the shelf. He shouts a greeting and slides smoothly down the ladder before turning to face me. He is of medium build with black hair and a thick beard. He is wearing a leather apron over the cream-colored tunic, brown pants, and black leather boots. I wiggle my toes wishing I had some money to get some boots myself. He reaches out a hand to give me a firm handshake and says. “Welcome adventurer to the General Store and no I didn’t get to pick the name. My name is Howard we have a little of everything here including spell scrolls for aspiring mages, lock picks to disable locks and traps, Lore books, and various sets of leather armor that neither the Tailor or Blacksmith will carry. So, what can I do for you today?”

“Well, I would love to peruse your goods, but I am newly arrived and have not money yet. I am stopping by each store to check out what is available and to see if you have any quests I could perform for you.”

“I don’t have anything right now but check back when you gain a few more levels.”

“Thanks, I will. Have a good day.”

Next, I head over to the Barracks to find several guards sparring to the right of the building. Between them and the wall is a sandy area for the guards to train. An officer is yelling at one of the guards to straighten his sword arm as he practices striking a wood and straw dummy. I clear my throat and he turns to face me with a scowl on his face. “What is it?” He barks.

“Excuse me sir, but the Tavern indicated I should stop by to see if you have any quests.”

He starts to say something then looks at me more closely. “Already level four are you. Well there is a quest you could do. The wolf population needs to be culled. You will get 2 coppers per tail you bring me.”

I accept the quest and get a prompt.

Cull the Wolves Quest Accepted

The Guard Captain Bail needs to kill the wolves to reduce their population. Kill (20x) wolves.

Reward: 100 XP, 2 copper pieces per tail.

Penalty for not completing: None.

After speaking he turns back around to bark another command to one of his men. Let’s see, the last place to visit is the Bathhouse and since it’s free for seven days I should take advantage of it. I walk over to the Bathhouse and enter an open room with large man sitting behind the counter. “Greetings adventurer,” he says. “I bet you are here for a free bath?”

I laugh. “How did you guess?”

“It wasn’t hard. You get seven days of free baths. The baths are divided into women on my left and men on my right. I hope you don’t get confused and try to go in the wrong one.” He says as he cracks his impressive knuckles.

“I don’t think that will be a problem.”

“Ok, then here is a towel and a bag for your clothes. Go through the door on my right, put your clothes in the bag and hang it by a shower with your towel. Shower first, then take your towel and bag to the baths and hang them there for when you get out. Stay in the bath as long as you like. The bath tubs are enchanted to keep the water hot and clean.”

I follow his directions, get a shower, and then soak in the hot tub, which is heavenly. I finally must make myself get out and dry off. I put on my clothes and returned the towel and bag to the Bathhouse owner.

Well there are still a few hours left, so I head toward the south gate to practice on some Horned Rabbits.