As he flipped through the book, Dalzrin asked me a few more questions about my class. With each answer, he thumbed toward a different location in the tome. Finally, he landed on what he wanted to show, and turned the book in my direction, his finger stabbing at the picture of a small stone trinket that was shaped like a trumpet.
“What does it do?” I asked. Written beside the illustration was only the name of the item, and no indication of its purpose.
“It’s the Call of the Grateful. It’s a single-use trinket that very well may turn the tide of your coming fight in your favor. As you can see, the system restricts information on the device, as well as most in this inventory tome,” Dalzrin said, flipping a few pages and showing me more magic items, weapons, and armor, but just like with the Call of the Grateful, they were only named, not described in detail.
“How do I know this one is the right pick for me?” I asked.
“You only have my recommendation to go on, I’m afraid. While I can see additional details on all the inventory, I am prevented from sharing them with you. I know trusting one of my kind is anathema to you after all you’ve experienced, but remember, I have turned away from the practices of my kin and only seek more knowledge and to share what I’ve learned with others,” Dalzrin explained.
He was correct, I was leery of trusting any of these infernals, but this was a bit of a different situation. Dalzrin was asking nothing in return for his assistance, and the academy seemed to trust him enough to allow Dalzrin to teach their students. I doubted the academy would allow him on staff if he intended harm to a fellow faculty member, even one in a temporary position like my current situation.
“Thank you Dalzrin, I appreciate the advice, and taking the time to help me,” I replied.
“Always glad to help someone from the academy, especially someone who has shown an open mind to those of us that come from species with rather nefarious reputations. I may have some time for a training session or two once the semester settles in. From your descriptions of this Gary, I think I might be able to offer some insight into how he will approach the fight, and a few pitfalls to be wary of,” Dalzrin offered.
“Thank you, Dalzrin, I’d be honored to have more of your time and advice,” I said. The rattling latch of the door to the classroom, and a series of knocks interrupted our conversation.
“Ah, my next appointment is here. Sorry, Rico, but I must bid you farewell for now. I have some research to attend to,” Dalzrin said.
As he showed me out, I watched as several of the academy staff brought in large crates that rumbled and shook like something alive was inside them. Whatever it was, I decided that I wanted to be nowhere near that classroom when Dalzrin opened those crates. Hurrying to the nearest student cafeteria, I managed to find Melody and her tour group after weaving through the growing crowds of students.
After another hour of herding the students around, we were finally finished with the task. Melody didn’t need help with anything else, so I was cut loose in the late afternoon to do as I wished. First off, I headed back to my room. I wanted to check in on Clancy to see how his merchant activities were progressing.
Clancy, Merchant Cart Vendor.
Current funds available for you to withdraw:
- Gold: 13.
- Silver: 27.
- Copper: 144.
Items of interest held by your minion.
- Summoning figurine, Tier 1, Rank 4.
- Scroll of Barrier, Tier 1, Rank 5.
This minion can be recalled to your location. Do you wish to recall Clancy? Y/N.
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
This time, I did choose to recall Clancy, and a moment later, a portal opened in my room and Clancy stepped through pushing his overladen cart in front of him. It looked like he was doing well enough on his own and there was more inventory on the cart than he had started with. Added to the money and items he’d found for me; I’d say my third minion for this summoning was turning out to be a good choice.
“What do you have for me, Clancy?” I asked.
“Here you go, boss, a figurine and a scroll you might have interest in. If you don’t want either, I can put them back up for sale,” Clancy said, also handing me the pouch of coins he had collected as profit.
“Do you need any of the money for restocking?” I asked.
“No, sir, that’s coin already set aside for you. I’ve kept some for operational expenses, and while you can have that, it will reduce my revenue capabilities if you tap into it,” Clancy explained.
“Understood, just what you’ve given me is fine. Hold on for a minute and let me check out the items you’ve found,” I told my minion as I looked at the figurine and scroll.
Scroll of Barrier, Tier 1, Rank 5. This scroll creates a protective barrier around the caster, absorbing a modest amount of damage before expiring.
Rot Grub Swarm figurine, Tier 1, Rank 4. This figurine conjures a small swarm of Rot Grub that will mindlessly attack the nearest hostile target.
Both were good options, nothing especially powerful, but something useful in battle. I added the figurine to the pouch on my belt where I stored the others. The scroll went into the pocket where I used to keep the Notice of Cessations scrolls.
“Thanks, Clancy. Here’s some potions that you can sell, and I’d like you to keep on the lookout for more figurines and the like. Also, can you see about finding any kind of storage items like my pack here. I’m wanting something a bit less bulky, like a ring, to hold my inventory without lugging a backpack around everywhere,” I explained.
“Not a problem, boss, I’ll keep my eyes out for anything I think you might like,” Clancy said. It was odd talking and interacting with a minion, but I suppose this type of minion would be rather useless if it couldn’t interact with potential customers. Just to be safe, I tried something.
“Clancy, are you real, like a summoned being, or are you a mana construct?” I asked him directly.
“I was created to serve in this capacity, and am not a summoned being,” Clancy answered woodenly. I wasn’t convinced, but I’d make a point to treat him fairly, and not put Clancy in danger if I didn’t have to. Of course, if it was a life-or-death situation for me, I’d throw Clancy into the meat grinder. If he was a summoned being or something of the like, he’d respawn. There were no more respawns for me now.
“Well, Clancy, you’re doing a great job so far. Keep up the good work, and don’t feel bad about taking a break now and then. You have my permission to spend some of what you make on yourself,” I told him.
“Thank you, sir, I appreciate that. If you don’t need anything else, I’d like to get back at it. I’ve found a real sweet spot to set up my cart. It’s near several restaurants in town with a lot of foot traffic, and I don’t want to lose my spot to some other vendor,” Clancy said.
“No problem, Clancy, see you later,” I told the minion. For a minute, I was worried that he would be stuck in here. My room’s door was wider than a normal home back on Earth, but nowhere near wide enough for the cart. Thankfully, a portal opened to dump Clancy back to where I’d called him from.
With new items, a little extra coin, and nothing to do, I headed into town. The first thing I wanted was to get into the queue for another dungeon. Once again, the guards at the academy gates gave me a quick glance before waving me through. When I was outside the academy, I swapped out the school robes for my armor and other gear.
I had tried to wear my armor under the instructor robes, but it proved a bit too warm and uncomfortable. Being able to instantly summon my armor and weapons made it easy enough to switch out when needed. By this point, being in armor and carrying weapons seemed more natural to me than being in civilian garb.
Even back on Earth, I was usually decked out in combat gear for most of the day while helping with training. Here, there seemed to be a mix of people in regular clothing and more than a few in fighting gear. With so many dungeons nearby, it was likely common to see armed and armored people out and about.
When I reached the adventurer’s guild, one of the clerks pointed me toward the right queue where I could sign up for a dungeon run. I lucked out, and there was a slot open for a solo delve later that evening. It was for the tier two, rank zero dungeon called, the Smoldering Vault.
It turned out that the guild was required to keep several slots open for academy faculty or students, and with most of the students still getting settled, and the instructors putting together their classrooms for the semester, I had the pick of several options. The caveat was that I had to arrive an hour ahead of the scheduled delve or I’d lose my place in line and the slot would be given to an adventuring party on the wait list.
I now had a little over an hour before the delve, and with the guild guidebook in hand, I realized that I was going to need some kind of fire protection if I didn’t want to have a rough time in the dungeon. It was time to hit up the shops in town and see what they had on offer.