I stayed up late to read. The herbology book was still at the bottom of my backpack, forgotten as I read through ancient reports illuminated by the flickering light of a candle.Report, Seventh of HarvestApprehended drunk bard at Well Inn Good, began a brawl with local musicians over ‘the quality of the music.’ Minor property damage evaluated at two sil, three cop. Confined in cell overnight until sober.-Overseer HardyA bard. Was it Bonesy a long time ago?Report, Eight of HarvestMana fluctuations detected by local mages including alchemist. No sighting of the adventuring party sent out to the Dunwich dungeon.-Overseer HardyA dungeon? Those were a thing here?Report two, Eight of HarvestLarge mana shifts. Felt them myself. Worried someone might have damaged the dungeon core. Guard rotation C spotted someone in the forests in green. Imperials? This far out? It could explain the shifts in local mana. Doubled the guards just in case. Sent a scout to the Dunwich Dungeon.-Overseer HardyThings were getting interesting, very interesting. A dungeon sounded like a neat place to visit, and there was a lot of talk here about mana as if it was a thing that was just... in the air. I wondered if the mana here was thick or thin and if I would be able to tell the difference.Report, Ninth of HarvestDunwich dungeon was destroyed. The shifts in mana are the ley lines snapping apart. Spoke to the mayor. She doesn’t want to evacuate but we have no choice, not with Imperials so close and the mana turning like this. No news of the adventuring team sent out. Still have their bard in a cell. Will release him later.More imperial sightings. Hopefully they’ll let a group of civilians pass unharmed.-Overseer HardyAnd that was it. No more reports, just a few blank pages. So there were ley lines for magic. And Bonesy the Bard had been part of an adventuring group. That was kind of neat! Good on him. Not so good was how he had caused trouble at the Inn. He was just as poorly behaved in life as he was in death.Ding! For repeating a Special Action a sufficient number of times you have unlocked the skill: Archaeology!I smiled and blew out the candle, then shifted until sleep took me at long last.***I woke up feeling refreshed. Not at my best, and my tummy still rumbled for food that wasn’t honey, but the pall of depression was lifted and I felt my face twisting back into my usual smile. Then I unleashed a blast of cleaning magic at myself and shivered as mana coursed over my body and clothes. It was like taking a shower but better.Standing up, I stretched, ran through an abridged version of my morning routine (I’d give all of my silver for a toothbrush and paste) then stepped outside after making sure the coast was clear of ghosts.Today was the day I would take on the wraith. But first, I had a church to explore and a sickly sweet breakfast to lick.I strolled across the ghost town, spoon in mouth and attention swivelling around to take in everything. Things had changed in the two short days I had been here. There had been grass when I first came out, but it was brown and feeble and kind of sad. Now bushes were sprouting up everywhere and the grass was thick and lush and vibrant. The entire world seemed more alive, somehow.Was it because there were fewer ghosts?I couldn’t believe that level one monsters were that strong. But then again, the ghosts couldn’t be hurt through normal means. Maybe the animals and such were careful and cautious around them--proving once more than the average animal was smarter than little old me.The church was a stately building, even with fresh vines climbing up its sides and huge holes poked through its stained glass windows. It looked like the kind of place that local weddings would be held in, and where a nice old priest would try to help people with their problems and all the old ladies would gather to trade the juiciest gossip.There was a sense of lost serenity around the building, a sensation that took me a long time to name and would take longer to get used to. It would have felt wrong to scream and shout or fight.I pushed open the front door and slid into the main hall. It was a single large room with rows of wooden benches all facing a trio of stone altars. Dust swirled in the air and the light, most of it pouring through the mosaic windows, coloured the entire room in a spectrum of soft blues and greens and reds.“Hello?” I asked as I moved in. Only silence greeted me. I moved through the room, careful to be as quiet and respectful as I could until I was at the altars. They were all different. Did they practice one faith with many gods here, or were there many religions housed in one church?The first altar had a small stone chalice built into it, with stone grapes and fruit around its base. The second had a carving of an arm holding an axe engraved atop it and the third had a statue of an archway reaching from one side to the other.Strange, disparate symbols with meanings I could only guess at. Most buried under a layer of dust. Three quick flashes of magic cleared the altars, leaving them as the only untouched things in the entire room. A strange dichotomy, maybe.I bowed to the three altars and moved on. There was nothing for me here.According to my map I still had five houses to explore, but I doubted I would find anything incredible there. No, my goal at that moment was to face the wraith and inspect the hole. I could return to exploring at any time after that.The monster was hovering over the opened pit, twisting and turning and writhing in the air as if it was wracked with pain. Pain that it almost seemed to enjoy. Now that I was closer I could hear its delighted howls, the almost ecstatic moans that it made as jolts of... something coursed through it.Whatever the wraith was feeding on came from the hole. Evil mana, maybe? I could only guess.My backpack was left on the doorstep of a nearby home. I took a moment to go over my plan, as simple as it was. I was going to go out and attack the wraith, first with the showerhead-flail I had, then by throwing my magic wand through it. Then, if it was sufficiently distracted, I would use my cleaning spell on it.If things went well that would be enough to clear it out.The very first step though, of course, was to talk to it.Maybe it was a nice evil wraith? “Insight.”An evil wraith, level 2.Maybe not. But I wouldn’t hit someone in the back without at least trying to talk first. Anything else would just be wrong.I sat back and ate another spoonful of honey as I looked over my many skills.

Name

Broccoli Bunch

Race

Human

First Class

Cinnamon Bun

First Class Level

Age

Health

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