(CS) Chapter 11. D1 (Patreon)

They got to talking, and Zach seemed like a pretty nice guy. It turned out that he was originally a baker, but after some events that he didn’t want to get into, he’d decided that he’d be better off making the world a safer place as a Journeyman. After coming to that realization, he’d worked his butt off to get trained, and eventually he managed to catch the eye of a scout, who’d invited him to the Citadel for schooling.

Apparently, the reason he’d chosen Delving instead of Cooking for his club was that the act of baking brought back some bad memories, and he’d rather just move on with his life. Arik could respect that.

"Ahem! Sorry for the delay, it took a bit longer to prepare than we'd anticipated. In any case, welcome to Delving!" A tall man at the center of the field raised his voice to reach the small crowd that had spread across it. People started to congregate around him, so Arik threw a shrug at Zach and they followed suit.

"Now I'm sure you're all very excited to explore some Lairs, but today we're just going to be going over some ground rules." He smiled at the soft groans. "Yes, boring, I know. Still, it's important that you know what to do and are able to interpret your captains' orders."

Some booklets were passed around, and Arik flipped his open to find that it contained a list of basic formations, terminology, and rules for Delvers. While it may seem obvious to look out for environmental traps, and call out Beasts when they're found, pounding these things into an individual's skull improves group cohesion and safety.

“For as long as you’re in this club, this book is your life. Read it. Study it. Absorb it. You’re to take this time to skim read and ask any questions you can think of. In the meantime, we,” he gestured to himself and the other faculty, “Are going to be calling you up one by one to talk about where you see yourself in a delving team. We’ll then group you accordingly.” Then the guy moved to go sit in a chair to the side. Arik didn’t even know his name yet, though he was sure that would come in time.

He flipped open the booklet and started reading.

Some of the most interesting parts of the information packet were the terminology explanations. It seemed that there was actually some technical speak when it came to Delving. For example, Paralysis was when an individual couldn’t move their body, or their movements were stuttering. Charm was when someone viewed another in an unnaturally positive light, and may be influenced to follow their suggestions.

Most of these were quite simple and easily explained, but they were put into the packet to categorize them in a way that Journeymen and Delvers could easily identify and call out without needing long descriptions. For example, you could say that someone’s flesh was being necrotized by dark magic and they were becoming weaker over time, or you could say that they were Cursed. Of course, this could lead to some minor misinterpretation, but effects like those were usually similar enough that it was better to save the seconds and kill whatever was causing the effect than explain it in detail.

There was also a description of some basic exploration and fighting formations, mostly consisting of melee and mixed fighters at the front, mages at the sides, support in the middle, and ranged fighters at the back. The general assumption there was that the ranged fighters would be sturdy enough to survive any sneak attacks, whereas the mages and supports may not be, and the supports were the ones most likely to keep everyone else alive.

Arik had only briefly skimmed the book when his name was called.

“Arik! Please come to the table.” The man from before was the one calling them out, while a scrawny man to his right wrote at an almost comically fast pace.

“Alright kid, first question: What role do you see yourself filling in the exploration of a Domain Enhanced Location?”

Arik had come prepared for this one. “Preferably, I’d be an offensive melee fighter with some supportive and defensive capabilities, as is typical of a Paladin.”

The big guy nodded. “Alright. What will you do once you leave the Spartan Citadel?”

Arik thought for a moment, then replied, “I’d like to become a Journeyman. If possible, I’d like to stay near Jexticar, but I know that’s unlikely.”

“Too many Journeymen limit their potential by sticking to one place. Adventure is a key part of the life of a Journeyman, and don’t you forget it.” The official to his right cleared his throat, and he rubbed the back of his head. “Apologies. Next question. What is the most important role in a party?”

Arik took a moment to think. “Depends on the scenario, I guess.”

An eyebrow was cocked. “Elaborate.”

“Well, in a full 8-man party, it would have to be the support casters, but if there were only a couple people, then I suppose I’d rather have a mage or a ranger with me. Supports are great, since they increase the strength of the whole party and often have healing magicks, but they’re typically the least offensively powerful and have the weakest defenses, since they rely on a party to keep them alive.

“If I were in a party with less than, say, four people? I think it would become difficult to keep the support casters alive. Also, in such a reduced group, having one melee fighter is more than enough, and the rest should have at least a bit of range in order to dispatch threats that the melee fighter may not be able to reach or handle.”

The big man looked impressed. “That’s a well thought-out response. Anyways, do you have any issue being in a group with any specific member of this club?” Arik shook his head, and he moved to the next question, sliding a piece of parchment towards him. “Please write your class, level, approximate stats, and any relevant Skills or other information.”

Arik had to remember for a moment, but eventually got it all down. He stopped for a moment to consider writing down his Blessing of Celestial Skies, but chose against it.

He looked down at what he’d written down.

Name: Arik   Age: 18

Class: Stellar Paladin  Level: 2

Phys: 16   Limit: 15

Tal: 12    Wis: 12

Ess: 7    Pur: 19

Skills: Heavily Armored, Bladework, Starlight

Preferred Weapons/Armor: Greatsword, Full Plate

Once he’d confirmed that everything was valid, he folded it in half and pushed it back over the table, where the big guy glanced at it, then handed it off to his partner and stood to shake Arik’s hand.

“We’ll get you some equipment that works for you and make sure you get put in the right party. The name’s Herolles, and my oh-so-friendly coworker here is Kulamesh.” Arik nodded. “Arik, though I’m sure you already knew that.” Herolles waved him off, and Arik walked back to his books and went right back to reading up on Delver terminology.

===

Arik inevitably finished the short informational packet and shoved it into his bag. He’d probably read over it again later, just to keep fresh, but in the meantime, he pulled A Guide to the Celestial back out and started reading. It didn’t take long for him to get fully engrossed, and the bell rang before he even knew it.

“Don’t worry kids! That’s the halfway mark. There will be another bell when it’s time for you to get some grub.”

Arik grinned and kept reading. It didn’t take long for him to reach the second part of the book: Classes. He resisted the temptation to immediately look for his own, and kept reading sequentially. “While most Celestial magick users fall strictly into the category of mages, there is a wide variety of Classes that have this type of Essence. The following* is a list of such:”

He found an asterisk at the bottom of the page. “*this book may not cover rare Classes, or Classes of 2nd Degree or higher, as information on those is difficult to obtain.” With that in mind, Arik dug into the Class list.

As the author had mentioned, many of the listed Classes were mages, such as the [Planetoid Caster], which apparently had the potential to call down small meteors from above, though they were small and had low velocity until the Skill they were from was of a high enough level. The book also listed a number of their common Skills.

He also saw a number of Cleric and Paladin classes, though, such as the [Unearthly Champion] and the [Ether Priest]. After digging around some, he found an entry for his own Class.

[Stellar Paladin]: The Stellar Paladin is considered the archetype for 1st Degree Celestial-type Paladin Classes. While not exactly common, it is the standard by which all other Paladins of the Essence type are held, due to its above-average defense, powerful auras, and strong fighting style.

Arik looked excitedly down at the Skill list, hoping to get a peek at what was waiting for him, but was disappointed to find it very lacking. Everything below 5th level was smudged out. He touched the ink, and found that it was still wet. What the heck?

Arik tried to guess at what the characters might have been, but eventually accepted the situation for what it was. I wonder how that might have happened, though. None of the other entries were smudged out. He could clearly see that the Lunar Knight got access to the [Moon Beam] spell at 25th level. Maybe the school doesn’t want me to plan things out before I get real-world experience and know what I really need? Anyways, I guess most people who pick a Class without an extensive amount of research and schooling probably don’t get this kind of chance anyways, so what’s on the list?

[Shield Mastery]: This Skill makes its user tougher while wielding a shield, and increases their speed of learning in the use of shields.

He dismissed the option 3 levels before it was even offered. So something like Bladework, but for shields. Sorry, but I like my swords big and chunky, and that means I need two hands for them.

[Paladin’s Aura]: Increases the magickal resistance of the Paladin and allies in their surroundings.

Arik considered this one for a bit longer, but decided he didn’t like it much either. He wanted to be more offensive, and if he was going to be offered multiple defensive Skills at the same level, he’d rather just save his Skill Points.

Well that sucks. Hopefully this Class will make it up to me with some really good options later on.

Having seen all he really wanted to see in this chapter, Arik flipped to the next one: Celestial Bodies. At first, he thought about skipping it, but then decided that it would probably be a good idea to read it, just in case it came in handy later. Who knew, maybe he’d be offered a Skill that worked better if he knew a lot about these Celestial bodies? Unlikely, but possible.

“This chapter will contain a brief overview of multiple types of Celestial bodies, their properties, and potentially associated Essence-types.” Just as he read the sentence, a bell went off, and he knew it was time for dinner. Arik reluctantly put his book away, needing to remind himself that he’d be able to finish it later.