Tales of Pristinia: The Six Sacred Gems

The Capital of Rolance

Before the sun rose to signify a new day, the whole party woke up. Everybody greeted each other good morning. Myles let out a yawn and stretched. Jon and Paul, meanwhile, were already preparing for breakfast. Viethra took a stroll not far from the three. The two merchants then served breakfast and they all ate, except for Myles who only ate a little, before the sun showed itself.

                 Setting the horses to their cart, the two merchants got ready for their trip to Talida. With everything set, the four went on their road ahead to the capital of Rolance. While on the road, Viethra read her scrolls while Myles looked at the map that the merchants gave him. He asked Paul what was the largest city in the federation. Paul pointed out that it was Talus, one of the twin capitals of Paladia. Paul also told him several other details about Paladia, its ruling noble, the people, the arena, and the festivities. Viethra asked how to get there the fastest way and Paul told them to buy horses and travel for three days straight along the road.

                 They suddenly reached a plain which had clear and serene streams and was overflowing with flowers. Viethra smiled seeing the plain. They traveled without any worries until a giant carnivorous plant attacked them. Myles and Viethra wanted to fight back, but Jon whipped the reins and they ran off escaping from the predicament.

                 It was almost noon. The sun scorched hot and the horses needed rest. Under a tree in the middle of the plain, the four sought refuge. Jon and Paul foraged some herbs and flowers in the plain to sell, while Viethra climbed up the tree they were resting under and mastered the new spell, Nature Bind. She practiced first with the fruits bore by the tree. Then she proceeded to rocks until boulders. Myles, meanwhile, took a dip in one of the deep streams.

                 Noon then came in and the two merchants invited the two to eat lunch with them, but they refused. Myles practiced his sword while Viethra foraged some herbs and fruits. Rested up, they continued on their way to Talida. They went over three hills. On top of the fourth hill, they finally saw the city from a distance.

                 “Behold Talida, the capital of Rolance,” Jon said to them.

                 “We’re finally here,” Paul said to the two of them.

                 Before actually arriving in the city, Paul and Jon told them how big cities like Talida worked. Everything depended on money. Money could be earned through selling herbs and other items to traders or doing specific jobs in the city through recruitment guilds. The most important thing that they told them was the fastest way to their true destination, Talus.

                 Shortly, they got near the city gates and entered without any problems. A river flowed through the city and supplied most of its water. The city was bustling with people. Stores and shops lined up at every street. They even saw dwarves who were selling weapons and armors in the flea market. The carriage stopped in front of a*****e where Paul and Jon told them that they were finally stopping. They gave Myles and Viethra some gold and silver and some supplies as thanks. Myles and Viethra thanked them and went on their way.

                 “So what’s the plan?” Myles asked Viethra. “What do we do from here on out?”

                 “The elder said to go to the largest city in the human federation. We should stock up on supplies and money in this city.”

                 “Earn money?” Myles asked.

                 “I’m going to sell some of the herbs I collected on the way. Find out where the guild is so we can do some jobs.”

                 So Viethra went off and sold the herbs she foraged to an herbalist. Meanwhile, Myles had a hard time finding the guild. He looked from street to street, until he came across swordsmen and mages. Myles followed them and eventually they led him to the guild which looked like a normal building. He entered the guild and everyone inside had full battle armor. There were even a few dwarves who gave him the cold glare as they felt what Myles truly is.

                 Myles walked to the counter and inquired how to take on jobs. The woman in the counter told Myles to look at the request board and grab the poster of the job that he was going to take. Still feeling the cold glares of the dwarves, Myles ignored it and looked for an easy job on the board. As he was looking, one dwarf suddenly approached him and asked him where he came from. He stayed silent and tried to ignore the dwarf. The dwarf asked again and pushed Myles to the request board. However, Viethra came and confronted the dwarf.

                 The dwarves in the room trembled as they felt Viethra’s magical power. Mages who were also in the building turned to Viethra as she intervened. The dwarf who pushed Myles was instantaneously overwhelmed by his fear. He returned to where he sat and acted as if nothing happened. Myles continued to choose a request but he couldn’t make up his mind, so he let Viethra chose.

                 Right out of the blue, Viethra grabbed the poster of the most difficult request in the request board. They submitted it to the woman in the counter and all eyes suddenly turned to them. The swordsmen who wore armor laughed at the two. They joked about them not having the proper equipment. The mages and the dwarves were taken aback but they felt Viethra’s intense power hiding inside her. One particular mage, however, felt the magic from Myles. He walked up to them and asked why Myles has strange life energy. The two ignored him and just said their farewells, accepting the quest before heading out.

                 Now the quest that the two accepted requires 16 giant spider talons. So they have to cut off the talons of the giant spiders in the grove outside the city and put it inside a bag which the woman from the guild gave them. Viethra thought it was strange because creatures of decay decompose after being defeated.

                 Making their way outside the city, they headed to the grove right away and after moments of searching. They finally stumbled on a giant spider that had a different color than the ones that they faced before. The giant spider attacked them first spewing sticky webs that stuck Viethra immobile. Viethra countered and immobilized the spider with Vine Bind. Myles moved in and cut two of the spider’s talons. The spider eventually got free from Viethra’s spell and attacked Myles. Myles was able to fend off the attack but it left him with a scar on his shoulder. Viethra was now able to move after breaking free from the web. She then used Nature Embrace and the two prepared to launch another attack.

                 Viethra this time used Growth Sap but it seemed to have no effect. Myles closed in to s***h at one of its legs but he was repelled by a spew of webs. Hit by a web, Myles was rendered immobile too close to the spider. He quickly slashed the web with his sword and managed to break free. Viethra tried Nature Bind and was successful in holding down the giant spider. Quickly, Myles cut off four talons. As he moved on to cut the remaining two, Viethra’s spell completely crushed the spider along with the rest of the talons. They put six talons inside the bag while the rest of the spider’s body turned to ash in a blink of time.

                 They now have six talons out of 16. The two fought over Viethra’s spell. Myles said that it was too overwhelming and should never be used in this quest. Viethra, meanwhile, insisted that it was her spell that enabled them to acquire six talons. While the two were arguing, a giant spider rushed towards them at full speed.