Chapter 2, Destined for adventure

I sit with my back to the fire as the morning rays warm my face, steam rising from my clothes laid out to dry. I squint out towards the valley we traversed the night before as I put away my pipe in my storage ring. It’s a magical sight, if less enjoyable with the sun piercing my bleary eyes. I lazily stretch my long legs and lose my balance tilting too far backwards. Falling flat on my back with my snow white hair splayed out dangerously close to the fire I try to brush it off as checking if my socks have dried yet. The snickering I hear in Julie's direction tells me I didn’t succeed.

I send an annoyed glare her way but catch Barhald’s appreciative eye studying my shapely form and turn the glare into a smug grin. Arching my back I manage to emphasize my bust, annoy Julie and do a little morning stretch in one go. It works like a charm. Barhald’s beard twitches, Julie’s eyes narrow and someone on the other side of the flames snorts. Was that Jake? No it couldn’t have been.

Raising myself and sitting straight once more I close my eyes and just breathe as the others talk about what we will find in the dungeon we’re now at the entrance of. I tune out their voices as I think back to what has led me to sit at this hard but flat natural granite in my undergarments, soaking up the rays as my clothes dry on around the embers from a dying fire.

I’d been born in the empire to the east of the kingdom I’m currently in. My homeland was called the Terosvar Empire when I left it but it doesn’t exist anymore, or so I’ve heard. It isn't the land itself that’s gone but the collapse of the ruling class and imperial family. The news of something like that happening spread a year or so after I arrived in this kingdom westward from my now lost homeland.

It isn’t really like any of that matters now anyway. I had been a simple girl, living in a simple village, destined to lead a simple life. That’s what my parents had decided for me but it wasn’t something I could accept. I love my parents dearly and it must have come as quite a shock to them, waking up one morning, entering the kitchen and expecting their daughter to be ready with the day's porridge, only finding a simple note of farewell.

I was 14 years of age at the time of leaving everything I knew behind. When the merchant caravan was preparing to leave our village I used all of my savings to book passage to their next destination, the Riverflow kingdom. My quaint village was close to the border and the merchants accepted my coin, meager though it was, and off I went. To new horizons and new adventures. Yes, adventures. That was what I was destined for.

Entering the Riverflow Kingdom and being dropped off in a “village” thrice the size of the one I was born in had been an eyeopener. At first I struggled to make ends meet. To simply not go to sleep hungry or fall prey to the nastier inhabitants of the much larger community.

Through some foul encounters which left lasting impressions on my young mind I quickly understood how naive and sheltered I had been. It took time, dangerously long in fact, but I learned ways to make small amounts of copper coins without being a registered adventurer.

I had no idea before setting out that doing work for the Adventurers Guild required you to be a member. I also had no idea that said membership cost 2 silvers to apply for. And lastly and most importantly, I had no idea that I had to have a class to even be eligible to apply for membership with the guild. So stupid.

These three obstacles had been quite a conundrum for the young and airheaded Zelaria to solve. At first I thought the silvers would be the biggest hurdle but one quite easily achieved.

I’d have one year to get the silvers through my own hard work of different means and when I became considered an adult at 15 years of age, with the unlocking of my class, I would be on my way to the Adventurers Guild getting my new shiny membership token and badge. The real problem only became apparent when I checked my available classes the day of my 15th birthday.

I let out a deep sigh as a lone cloud covers the rising sun, stopping its warmth from reaching me. Might as well get a move on.

I’m now a little depressed over reminding myself of my troubles. I start putting on clothes that’s at least partially dry while checking my status. It’s been almost two years since I unlocked my classes and I’m getting anxious to get a move on selecting something but I know that the time hasn't come just yet.

-Status-

Name: Zelaria

Level: [0]+

Race: Human

Age: [16]

Strength: [10]

Constitution: [10]

Vitality: [9]

Agility: [9]

Dexterity: [11]

Intelligence: [14]

Wisdom: [15]

Health: [100/100]

Stamina: [100/100]

Mana: [140/140]

Health, Stamina, Mana regen: [4.5], [9], [15] / Minute

Traits:

Arcane affinity

Resistances:

…

General skills:

…

Identify - [5]

Small Blades - [5]

Manabolt - [16]

Mana Sight - [7]

Mana Manipulation - [11]

Class 1: None - Available [9]

Class 2: Locked

I gaze at my compressed status sheet but nothing has changed since the day before. I usually try to check my status in the morning in the hopes that something has changed but it hasn’t in the last 5 days. The last time I was excited about my status was 4 months ago when I got a notification during a magic practice session.

Ding! General skill [Mana Manipulation] has leveled from [9] to [10].

It was the day I thought I’d finally gain a long anticipated arcane mage class but no such thing happened. I had been so sure that level 10 would be the threshold I’d have to cross to get a class related to my arcane affinity. Since I didn’t get an affinity aligned mage class with [Mana Manipulation] at level 1, like every other affinity aligned mage class I’ve ever heard about, I was hoping that it would have shown itself at level 10.

Most call me insane for leaving a class slot empty for so long but I know it doesn’t matter as long as I manage to stay alive long enough to make the gamble pay off. At least I have a backup plan if increasing my skill levels isn’t enough or becomes too difficult. It’s the reason I am working for this party as a cargo hauler on this dangerous expedition to the middle of nowhere.

The money I have been saving will go to a magical education at one of the established mage’s colleges. It’s really expensive though and I’ve been saving up for it if I can’t manage to get my affinity mage class on my own. No one I’ve asked knows the requirements for arcane mage classes as they’re terribly rare, practically unknown, and I hope a college might have some answers.

I lose the thread of my thoughts when I realize one of my socks has disappeared. Searching I find it stuck under Howard’s enormous steel gauntlet. He must have placed them on my sock without noticing. I heave the monstrous gauntlet of my now crumpled sock and quickly snatch it before someone else decides my sock should disappear again. I have a suspicion that Julie would find that highly amusing.

After bouncing around on one leg, doing a weird looking ritual dance in order to fight the crumpled sock onto my foot, I exhale a long breath in contentment while looking down on myself. Since I don’t know what we'll be facing in today's dive into the supposedly abandoned dungeon I decide to equip the gear I wore yesterday. It isn’t all that dry but it is far better than going in unprotected.

On my head I wear my favorite dark red wool beanie which covers me all the way down to the earlobes. It’s warm and comfortable when the weather’s getting colder. My flowing hair trails down my back as my luxurious, dark eyebrows move towards each other in a frown. My brilliant golden eyes roam over my tightfitting leather gambeson and my frown deepens.

“Looking for this?”

Ormar is holding out my knife towards me bottom first. When did he take my knife?

Seeming to read my mind Ormar simply laughs and explains that mine was the closest while he was cutting the strips of dried meat for breakfast. I graciously accept my knife and his explanation, hurrying to sheathe it and fasten it to my belt as Julie calls for attention. I quicken my pace with pulling on tight fitted leather pants and sturdy if a bit worn boots, soon joining the others around the glowing coals still giving off some heat.

I take a seat next to the others, filling the gap in the circle, while looking over each and every one of them. I don’t really know too much about any of them since no one has shared much of their past during our journey. As Julie drones on about this or that I do a simple summary of what I actually know.

Howard hasn’t said much about his past but from what I’ve glimpsed from other conversations he seems to have been a cage fighter of sorts. He must have become an adventurer later in life and is now approaching 30 years of age.

Mister Mason likewise hasn't revealed his origins or why he demands being referred to as such but he’s a control mage focusing on manifesting earthen obstacles and defenses. His age is a guessing game but Ormar is certain he’s not more than 25 years of age. I’d put my silver closer to 40.

Barhald refers to himself as “a dwarven lad at a spry 45 years of age”. He’s also tall for a dwarf according to him but I don’t really know if he’s lying or not. He’s certainly wide at least. He’d been in the army or some such but now adventures with this party for whatever reason.

Julie. The party leader, half elf, 67 years of age, with ‘parental issues or some such’ if you ask Barhald. According to Barhald, Julie was abandoned by her elf mother. Leaving her with a wastrel of a father who didn’t care enough to give her an appropriate elven name. A half elf without a heritage Ormar calls it.

Jake. A man of few words. In regard to his nature his description will be brief.

I chuckle quietly to myself but apparently not quietly enough. He gives me and my now slight blush a questioning glance before returning his attention to Julie.

Jake is our tracker, ranger, hunter, rogue, locksmith and knitting expert. A man of many talents if few words. His class and age is a mystery,

Lastly we have Ormar. Ormar is their youngest permanent member at 19 years of age. He’s a mage with a fire affinity and he’s very smug about it in my opinion. He’s from a long line of proficient fire mages in the Riverflow kingdom. He called his family name something like ‘Fiery Flower’. Or was it ‘Fire Rose’?

Then there’s me.

I sigh. Not much to me except a few general skills and abysmal stats. Carrying luggage which doesn’t fit in the storage rings and acting as an extra pair of eyes is all they’re paying me for anyway. I dearly hope this is the last adventure I have to feel this weak and useless.

“-and that’s what we’ll do. Zelaria,-”

At the sudden mention of my name by Julie of all people I jerk out of my thoughts and shift my full attention to what she’s about to say.

“-you’ll have the rearguard and make sure nothing sneaks up on us from behind. It’s very important that you signal to us clearly if you think there’s a problem in the path of our retreat.”

“Will do. You can count on me for that much.”

Even though I missed most of the information they went through it’s probably only a reiteration of what we’ve discussed and planned before. The dungeon we’re about to enter has supposedly not been in use since it broke down a few centuries ago.

We aren’t sure of what we’ll find deep below but we are expecting good experience and loot from any monsters that might have stayed behind or wandered in during this long period of inactivity. There might even be riches left behind from when the dungeon was active.

Excited to start the dive into the depths we get the last of our equipment in order and carefully start walking deeper into the cave, looking for the entrance. What we are about to walk into would be considered a deathtrap by most people and they’re probably correct. A dungeon untamed and festering below the earth for centuries isn’t something to take lightly after all.