Chapter 17: Exploding Flibberjublets and other guilds

Chapter 17: Exploding Flibberjublets and other guilds

I was trapped on the second floor of my childhood home. Somehow, I had gotten from Manhattan to Brooklyn using nothing but my shadow. To make matters worse, I couldn’t use it to get home because my shadow traveled with me through itself.

I tried Analyzing it in an attempt to make it send me home.

Oliver’s Shadow

Class: Shadow

Level: 3

Age: 13

Weight: 0 Lbs

Height Depends on the light

Suggestion: Try tethering your shadow in place using Shadowbind if you wish to travel between shadows.

But what is Shadowbind?

Info: Shadowbind is an advanced sewing technique used to adhere shadows to physical objects.

Your Research skill has increased: +1 (5)

Info? That was new. While the information was useless at the moment, it might provide a clue for a future project. I pushed myself off of the bed and hugged my sister goodbye again. I was going to have to sneak out of the house the old-fashioned way.

Fortunately, my childhood home was only a two-story house. Still, we were on the second floor, so I was going to have to be careful. While I did want to avoid injury, I couldn’t let my stepmother know I was there at any cost. There was no telling what that woman would do if she found out.

The fancy window to my sister’s room consisted of a pair of shutters that opened inwards and a glass sliding window. I pulled them open and stepped out onto the roof.

Grace closed the window behind me while waving frantically, her voice muffled from behind the glass. “I’ll miss you, Big Brother!”

“If everything goes well, I’ll be back soon,” I replied, though I wasn’t sure she heard me.

I slowly made my way to the edge of the roof, looking for something soft to jump onto. I’d often dreamed of doing it when I was younger but I never actually needed to sneak out. Dad was never around and Stepmother didn’t care where I went so long as my chores were done.

Outside of a few thorn bushes, I was completely out of luck. I was going to have to jump for it and hope I didn’t break anything when I landed. A gutter ran along the end of the roof, with several drain pipes that led down to the ground. I attempted to shimmy down one of them. Halfway down, it broke with an ear-shattering creak.

The next thing I knew, I was looking up at the sky from the perfectly manicured lawn that was still wet with morning dew. Lights flicked on in the houses all around me and it was all I could do to climb to my feet and run away.

As I ran, I did a self-inventory. The fall had knocked the wind out of me but otherwise, I was largely undamaged. Could the magic clothes be responsible? I’d have to ask Miss Spencer.

After running for a reasonable amount of time, I stopped to get my bearings. I knew I was somewhere in Brooklyn and I needed to get back to Manhattan. Part of me wanted to return to the orphanage for a nap but I knew Miss Havasu would never let that happen. Not unless I was sick. I wondered if Analyze could help make me sick somehow. Something simple like a cold.

Suggestion: Chewing castor beans can cause flu-like symptoms. Other side effects include respiratory distress, fever, coughing, nausea, lightness of breath, and death.

I sighed. Analyze was a little too good at that job. The last thing I wanted to do was die just so I could rest in peace.

Deciding to just suck it up and go to work, I started walking in the general direction of Manhattan. It would take hours on foot. I’d never walked that far before. The other option was the subway but I didn’t have money for that. I heard of people sneaking onto the train but I’d never tried it myself. Perhaps I could Analyze the best route to take.

Show me how to get to the guild.

Brooklyn Adventurers Guild

The guild is located at 200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn New York.

I blinked at the message in disbelief until the words faded away. There was another adventurer’s guild, and it was close by. I had to check it out. I made good time considering I had a skip in my step as I looked forward to seeing new things. It wasn’t going to help with the growing list of people that were about to be annoyed at me but at least it was a start.

I was shocked once again when I arrived at the Brooklyn Museum. Not that I should have been, considering the Manhattan Guild was located in the Chrysler building.

The first thing I did when I walked through the door was look for a man in a bathrobe. There were none. I walked up to a window next to another set of doors. A sign above the window listed the prices of admission. The price of a child over twelve years old was twenty-five cents.

“Um, excuse me,” I asked the man in the crisp blue suit behind the counter. “Can you tell me how to get to the Adventurer’s Guild?”

He sighed loudly. “Your kind need to enter through the back.”

I wasn’t sure if he knew I was awakened or if he thought I was the help but I decided it probably didn’t matter. I walked around the building, looking for anyone who might look like they were awakened. What I found was a steady flow of traffic through a pair of double doors. I followed a pair of men and acted like I belonged.

The two men flashed identification cards to a girl at a small desk just inside the door. The hall was less grand than the one in Manhattan. It looked more like a bingo hall, with tables scattered around the room and private booths in the corner. I saw a series of bulletin boards along the far wall where I assumed quests were offered.

Several patrons sat at the tables smoking cigarettes while waitresses pranced through the room bringing food from a window.

“Can I see your identification, Sir?” the girl behind the desk called out to me.

“Oh,” I replied, “I don’t have one yet. I just signed up two days ago.”

“I don’t remember you,” she said, giving me a dirty look.

“I’m from Manhattan,” I admitted.

“Very well,” she sighed, taking out one of the big magnifying glasses. “I’ll have to scan you. State your name, please.”

“Oliver Evans,” I replied, waiting patiently while she used the cumbersome device on me.

She put it away after scanning me from head to toe and scribbled some notes furiously in her notepad. “Temporary members aren’t supposed to use neighboring facilities but there’s no rule against it. Please be warned that you have no credit here and be sure to collect any quest rewards directly. We will not be able to look them up for you until you are officially recognized.”

“Understood,” I sighed, stifling a yawn. “Is there anyplace around here where I can take a nap?”

She pointed to a door I hadn’t noticed right next to the quest boards. “Guild rooms are five copper a day, and an extra five if you want food.”

I still had fourteen of the copper Sam had given me. While I felt a little guilty spending money I hadn’t earned directly, walking back to Manhattan while exhausted felt like a nightmare. I decided to spend the five copper for the room and worry about food later.

The receptionist slid a key across the table in exchange for my payment and gave me a rare smile. “Enjoy your stay, Sir.”

“Thanks,” I replied, yawning again as I started toward the door.

I stopped by the board on the way to the room to see what kinds of quests the Brooklyn guild had. The first I came to looked similar to the ones I’d seen back in Manhattan. There were delivery and kill quests ranging from D to F rank.

My eyes nearly popped out of my head when I saw the next board. C rank had a variety of quests I wasn’t familiar with. The adventurer was expected to deal with customers directly, either doing favors for them or escorting them around town. I was mildly curious about those quests considering it was fairly safe walking from one place to another. At least during the day.

The next board was more in line with what I’d come to expect from fantasy novels. Quests calling for help exterminating a dragon and a gargoyle caught my eye immediately. Both were A rank. I was about to leave for my room when a special quest caught my eye.

Item Request: Dragon Scales

Quest Rank: S

Task: Provide 5 Dragons Scales (Any Type)

Reward: 1 Platinum

Issued by: Penderblast

Seeing that quest got me excited for a couple of reasons. First, it meant I could do the same, offering money of my own to get fancy materials like Pickler skins. Second, there was a chance that people might issue quests to buy the things I made someday. The cherry picker at the quest counter had said my bag was fancy, after all.

Armed with a new dream, I continued to the guild inn room. Inside the door was a long hallway with a series of doors. I walked down the hall until I found the door with the number matching the one on my key.

The room was rather lackluster with nothing but a bed, a nightstand, and a tiny bathroom with just a toilet. That didn’t bother me though. It was a nicer bed than the one I normally slept on.

I must have been more tired than I thought because I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

***

Congratulations, you have reached level 3

+100 HP

+100 Mana

+100 Stamina

Skill Unlocked: Mana Link

When I woke, I knew I was in trouble. I’d overslept. I wasn’t used to uninterrupted sleep. Usually, someone woke me up either by making too much noise or pouncing on me. The only reason I’d woken at all was because I needed to pee.

I quickly got up and took care of my business before debating whether to try and sleep again. While I probably could have, I knew I needed to get back to Manhattan before it was too late. Miss Havasu, Miss Aires, and Miss Spencer were all going to be missing me.

I emerged back in the guild hall to find it deserted. Most of the tables were empty as well as the receptionist counter. The only people left were a couple of women in one of the booths and a man sitting at a long table working on a mechanical device of some sort.

Curious about what he was working on, I walked over to the man at the table.

Mortimer Penderblast

Class: Tinkerer

Level: 54

Age: 45

Weight: 245 Lbs

Height 6’4

While he did look big, I was still surprised by how tall he was. He didn’t look it while hunched over a machine.

Flibberjublet

Grade: B

Created by Penderblast

Warning: Power source not secured properly. Do not activate or risk imminent explosion.

I cleared my through to get his attention. “Don’t turn that on. It’s going to explode.”

He only looked up when I mentioned the explosion, though he didn’t look very concerned.

“Do I know you?” He asked, returning his focus to the device. At least he didn’t turn it on.

“No,” I replied. “What is a Flibberjublet anyway?”

That got his attention. Mr. Penderblast set the device down and stood to look at me. “How do you know what it’s called?”

I could have smacked myself. I gave my skill away again.

“I can Analyze things,” I said gruffly.

“Really?” He said with a tone of surprise. “And why do you say it’s going to explode?”

“The power source isn’t properly secured,” I said, noticing a tiny hose was glowing for the first time. “That one there.”

He leaned over to see what I was looking at before prying it loose.

You have gained 250 experience points.

Congratulations, you are now level 4.

After taking his time to make sure everything was in the right place, he breathlessly asked a question. “Who are you?”