Alonsha laughed, a musical peal that sounded charming to Lukazio until he heard her next words, "That's because you aren't holding it right."
Frowning, Lukazio looked down at the handle, and noticed that the grip was symmetrical, not hand moulded as the prior rifle had been.
Alonsha smiled and shouldered the younger brother, "Look at Alonzo."
Looking over at the younger brother, Alonzo, whose weapon was most similar to his, Lukazio immediately noticed the difference.
Alonzo held the weapon with the teeth side facing inward rather than the blade side. While he also assumed an upward pointed angle with it, the horizontal level of the weapon changed the dynamic.
Speaking for the first time since he arrived, Alonzo's voice was clear and strong. "Holding the Nion in this fashion against smaller weapons can better insure you have the angle and responsiveness to catch an incoming weapon."
"While it can be useful against larger ones, the danger and likelihood of failure to catch outweighs the benefit in those situations. Be careful stranger, though its a good weapon for the quick or the skilled, you can die using it."
Lukazio looked at the Break Soul Sword with a
complicated expression. Quickly he realized that nonetheless it had come at an opportune time. He had leveled up using it as well.
Alonzo smiled and seemed to understand. "Though you are a stranger, we can spar sometime since you currently have Sinthell's blessing. We ourselves are not exactly experts in its use. More like we are experimenting with such old styles to verify their history and worth."
Alonsha chimed in quickly, "Though currently it is not a good time, the Master is hard at work above and wouldn't like being disturbed by our clamoring about." Chuckling, she added, "It also seems you need some rest and attention after dancing already."
Sinthell nodded and grabbed Lukazio's hand, dragging him away from the cheery peals of laughter behind them.
Eventually they reached a nearby clearing where many stalls were set up. The elves traded various goods here and there were not a few strangers of other races, but not as many as what he had seen in the Courtyard City earlier.
Here, the crowd size was small and manageable. Stopping at one of the first stalls, Sinthell gestured to a young elvish girl, barely a wisp of a thing, who approached Lukazio timidly. At Sinthell's behest in Elvish, the girl began thoroughly examining his wounds. Applying several bandages and poultices to the worst ones, she finished quickly and ducked back into her stall with a quick smile and a nod.
They were soon on their way, walking a dirt pathway. They passed numerous stalls each with a wide variety of goods. On the opposite end of the clearing from where Lukazio stood was a path with clear signage pointing along the beginning of a stone paved road.
The sign indicated that the road would lead toward a symbol that resembled a stout castle wall. Lukazio couldn't be sure, but guessed this was the formal road leading to the Courtyard Capital a short distance away.
Sinthell pulled him toward a smaller table where therr stood an aged elf, stuffing his ground-length salt and pepper beard into a pouch hanging at his waist. He eyed Lukazio suspiciously, but gave a start when he noticed Sinthell beside him.
At his table were a various assortment of cubes, pyramids, and spheres of various sizes and materials amid placards with swirling characters, loops, and what
appeared to be letters stylized to look like various trees or leaves.
Sinthell gestured to a small orb made of a black material, shot through with a vivid blue vein of material. She spoke with the aged
Elf at length in Elvish, which was not translated.
During that time, the elder listened intently before taking a great interest in Lukazio, studying him intently.
After a few brief moments, the older elf nodded, picking up the small orb from the table and gently handing it over to Sinthell.
She handed it over to Lukazio saying, "These are the different types of currencies used here in Amrashai, this one here I'm giving to you on credit."
"They each have wildly fluctuating values, but its' based upon supply and demand more than any pre-established value. Their value comes from their functions. For example, this is an 'Orb of Memory', which can be highly valued or very common depending on the memory interred within. The memory can be transferred in whole to the holder."
Sinthell handed the small sphere to Lukazio. It felt warm to the touch in the palm of his hand, and was small enough that he could easily hold a handful of them. The blueish vein seemed to glow slightly, even in the daylight.
"So this orb here has a memory inside it? Of what?" Lukazio asked.
Sinthell waved her hands, leaving rainbow colored afterimages. "De ar cànan. Mar sin faodaidh tu bruidhinn e."
Lukazio, looking perplexed, suddenly closed his eyes as the orb became blindingly bright.
On the inside of his eyelids, he saw and felt thousands of words and an intuitive understanding of their use and meaning inscribed onto his mind.
He could already tell that it was the language of the fey, the elves.
Sinthell repeated herself after the effects wore off. (Elvish)"Of our language. So you can speak it."
The older elf standing at the table chimed in excitedly (Elvish) "Newcomer, I am Amrogad, an Elder among the People of the Tree. I have given the gift of the Orb of Memory to my tree-niece[1] Sinthell'anila, but since you are new to this realm you likely have no currency, correct?"
Lukazio answered while still reeling from being able to immediately understand the unfamiliar language as if he had grown up using it. (Elvish) "Indeed. I have nothing but the work the Concierge told me I must perform as a Gladiator."
Amrogad looked thoughtful at this. Sinthell appeared taken aback, but with a light of understanding in her eyes as both elves studied Lukazio pensively.
Amrogad cleared his throat and adjusted the folds of his brown vest under his lengthy
beard. (Elvish) "Well, perhaps that's not surprising, if the unique properties that you have are true. Sinthell'anila tells me that her
Mana was unable to touch you to initiate her Spell of Understanding. What can you tell me about this?"
"Well, I was told that mana just cannot be applied to humans. Something about the Universe we come from." Lukazio replied, thinking back to the mana portion of his status screen.
Nodding, Amrogad waved his hands over his table while chanting. The tabletop shimmered and vanished.
Pulling several rectangles of copper, silver, and gold from a different pouch at his waist other than the one containing his beard, he handed most of them to Sinthell.
He held up a golden rectangle for Lukazio to see. It had an engraving of a wheel with spokes coming out of it and extending to the edges of the coin.
(Elvish)"This is a Traveler, the highest of the portal currencies. Though you cannot use mana, these function with a type of divine energy, backed by the deity of this realm. So, I imagine you'll be able to use them, as you did the Orb of Memory."
Throwing the coin harshly to the ground it shattered and became a golden circle of energy which Amrogad and Sinthell walked and stood upon.
Lukazio also stepped forward and felt a warm light envelope them all as he saw several others nearby watching with interest. The light ring flowed upward and washed out the background.
Lukazio heard a suction noise and felt movement in his abdomen before the light curtain suddenly dropped, showing him that the group had now changed locations.
[Author Note: All further conversations in Elvish until noted otherwise]
The three were now in a large room, one corner apparently a laboratory and library while the other was dedicated to rows upon rows of various plants and herbs.
Amrogad inspected Lukazio closely before he chanted sonorously, his wild gestures erratic, but with a dissonant rhythm.
After several variations, some which encircled the area around Lukazio in purple flames, colored lights, freezing rays, and energy missiles. [2]
All faded before reaching Lukazio.
"Fascinating." Amrogad muttered as he took a few notes.
Sinthell merely watched with a hunter's hawkish gaze. Though her easygoing smile softened the piercing look. "I'll cut to the chase. We could use your help against some very devious creatures nearby. Your ability to nullify magic can be of great value in subduing them."
Amrogad nodded, "They are the Rakshasas, fearsome spellcasters who have kidnapped many of our less capable youth. They have encroached upon the Silver Groves for several years, and we do not have any way capable of removing them without great risk to ourselves."
Amrogad strode over to the laboratory and began working on what Lukazio could only describe as an alchemy setup. There were glass flasks and numerous books, quills, ink, and other chemicals.
"The Rakshashi leader is quite fearsome with her spells. Many others there are formidable as well. They aren't always that strong in physical combat however. I'm willing to assist you with funds and other specialized currency if you can thin their numbers or even kill their Queen."
Lukazio frowned. "I understand, but I'm not a terribly experienced fighter, at all really. In fact, some guards we saw earlier had to point out I've been holding my weapon backwards."
Sinthell chimed in, her musical voice suddenly very annoying to Lukazio as she said "He is correct. Not very skilled, probably only second level. Doesn't have a defined style or skill set. Still, obviously some natural talent, especially if he's been recruited as a gladiator."
Amrogad nodded, then moved to a section of wall emblazoned with symbols. He gestured at them and chanted as the symbols lit up and the section slid away revealing shelves
of various items.
A few minutes later, he returned to where Sinthell and Lukazio were standing with his hands and arms laden with items.
First he handed Lukazio two silvery orbs, one shot through with red veins, the second with green. "These are Orbs of the Improved. The red boosts the body while the green invigorates the mind. If you are successful, I will give you several Orbs of the Improved Soul."
Lukazio stared at the two orbs in his hands, their heft and weight about the size of large tomatoes. "How do I activate them?"
Amrogad answered quickly "Simply think about your consciousness as its own force, and use that force upon the orbs."
'That doesn't really tell me anything.' Lukazio thought. Nonetheless he attempted to focus while staring at the orbs in each hand. He imagined his mind had a force all its own and he tried to imagine that force bearing down on the orbs.
For long moments nothing happened. Frustrated, Lukazio invoked the burning sensation in his chest and he felt a click in his head as his chest throbbed.
{Unlocked Skill 'Focused Will' and Will has improved by +1}
(It seems that while ancient humans had access to mana, they somehow lost it. As a result, humans learned to focus the combined energy of their Soul and Mind to invoke powers based on Will, a statistic that has few equivalents).
The veins of colored material suddenly flared as if burning, and Lukazio felt his mind being refreshed and his body improving further
{The skill 'Focused Will' has doubled the usual benefits provided, +2 to Body, +2 to Mind}
Looking down at his hands he saw the orbs were now a flat white. He set them down on a counter nearby.
Amrogad then handed him two smooth cubes of an orange material. It felt soft and slightly sticky, but when he took his fingers away there was no residue. He touched them again, feeling the texture while he pressed hard. There were no indentations in the soft, cheese textured blocks.
"Eat them. These are Cube Currency, which can improve various aspects of their users. These will improve your speed and other related attributes. There are others, but I only have these for now."
Lukazio did so without hesitation, wondering how long it had been since he had last had anything to eat or drink. The cubes tasted slightly oily but the flavor wasn't bad. They crumbled easily in his mouth.
Not even a minute later, Lukazio felt his joints burn. Pressure gathered on his muscles, tendons and ligaments themselves as they were improved by the strange materials.
Thinking he could get used to these kinds of rewards, Lukazio asked the only couple of questions that mattered next:
"I want to know if anyone else will be going with me, what you will be paying me, and what information you have about the location and these creatures."
More rewards like these could only help him further his goals.
[1] tree-niece: elvish term similar to english term 'god-daughter'.
[2] energy missiles is in no way related to a
similarly named missiles spell from a different franchise; its totally based on 'energy' but I wouldn't be surprised if it functioned exactly the same.