Part 1:
There was this man named Fred, who was the member of a four character party. He was a powerful mage and priest, and he also does pretty well in melee. Today was his birthday and his party members were setting up a surprise party for him at Fort Emergence. Claudia, who was the main priestess of the party, was decorating the halls. Zack, the front-line fighter, was setting up the presents, and George, the secondary fighter, was handing out invitations. When Claudia finished decorating the hallway, she went inside the dining hall to decorate in there. When George finished handing out all the invitations to everyone in Fort Emergence, he went and told Zack, "Okay, I'm done with the invitations." Zack then said, "Good. Well, anyway, do you have a present for Fred?" George then suddenly got nervous. "Present?" He quavered. "Yes, we all got Fred presents, did you get him one?" Zack responded. Nervously, but bravely, said, "No, I didn't." Zack then got an angry look on his face and said, "Well, go get him one!" "Why should I? He didn't do anything on my birthday?" George said. Zack then said, "Well, that's true I suppose, but he did do something for you!" "What?!" George said. "He saved your life! Remember when we were fighting those giants? He saved you from a nasty blow by a falling giant rock by pushing you out of the way." "Don't remind me of that!" George yelled. Zack then said, "You didn't even thank him for that, did you?" "Well, no." George replied. Zack said, "Well, getting him a present will be the chance to thank him for what he done." George then thought for a moment, then said, "Okay, I'll get him a present. But just let me tell you, it's not going to be expensive. I don't have a lot of gold on me." Zack then smiled and said, "That's more like it! But don't worry, it doesn't have to be expensive. Just get him a little something to thank him by." "Okay." George said, smiling back.
Then he walked down the hall, through the double doors, then west, then north, until he was on the surface. Then he walked east to road, then south to Krizsan, knowing that it will be safe there, since his party and him defeated the Alien Slime, the source of the slime plague. He entered Krizsan, where the guards saluted him, knowing that he and his party members have done a good deed to the province. George went over to a nearby armor shop, where he then talked to the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper said, "Good day sir. How may I help you?" George said, "I'm looking for a normal, nothing special shield for a birthday present for one of my party members." "Okay, let's check my inventory." the shopkeeper said. He then ducked under the counter and looked in a huge cedar chest, and then took out a beautiful looking iron shield. He placed it on the counter and said, "I've got this nice iron shield. It's pretty cheap, only 480 gold. Would you like it?" George looked at the shield, and picked up and threw a few soft punches at it. Then he said, "Okay, I'll take it." "That’s very good sir! That would be 480 gold." said the shopkeeper. George took out from his pocket all his gold, and then he counted, "One, two, three, four,..." He then counted until he ran out of gold. He ran out of gold at 265. "Uh oh,...." George said, "..it looks like I don't have enough gold for this shield. Could you give me a 215 gold discount?" The shopkeeper frowned and said, "I'm sorry, no can do." "Oh great!" said George. He left the store, mumbling.
Part 2:
When George walks out of the store. He walks to the nearby inn, sits at the bar, and orders a glass of root beer. As he pays the small fee of 8 gold pieces, he asks the barkeeper, "Say, do you need any help around here, because I could work for you if you like." The barkeep just looked at him and said, "Sorry, but I don't need any help. This inn isn't too hard to maintain by myself." "Oh, okay." George says, feeling even more sad and depressed. The bar keeper notices the sad, gloomy look on George's face. He then asks, "You look a little depressed, sir. What's wrong?" "Well, it's my friend Fred's birthday, and I can't afford to get him a decent birthday present." George answers. "Oh. Well, maybe there is a way I can pay you some gold." The barkeeper says. "Oh, really? How?" George asked, suddenly feeling a little happier. "Well, I have an errand to run, but I can leave the inn without anyone here to take my place. You could be my replacement barkeeper while I'm out. I'll pay you 500 gold, for your troubles." "Great!" George says, "But how long are you going to be gone?" "Well," the barkeeper says, "It's a long way away from here and if I walk there, which I am, it will take me 2 days total going and coming." "Oh, George says, "I can wait that long for my payment, and I can't stay here that long. I have to get the present for Fred tonight." "Oh, alright then. Maybe I'll find someone else who will be willing to be the replacement barkeeper while I was out. But you know, if you want to make money faster, you should go to the Jobs Dispatcher. He may have a job for you that will earn you some gold." the barkeeper says. "Oh, really? Well, thank you sir." says George. "You're welcome." the barkeeper says. "Oh and here's a little something for the tip." says George. Then he gives the barkeeper 15 gold pieces. The barkeeper says, "Why thank you sir. Good luck finding a job!" "Okay, thank you, and goodbye!" says George. The barkeeper then says, "Goodbye!"
Then George leaves the inn. He asks a townperson where the Jobs Dispatcher's office is. "It's in the City Hall, over there." says the townsperson. The townsperson points at a large building. 'Thank you." says George. "You're welcome." says the townsperson, and then he walks away. George then goes up to the large building the townsperson pointed to. He looked at the sign, and it said, 'City Hall' He asks a nearby guard, "Is this the City Hall?" "Yes, it is sir." The guard says. "Oh, okay, thank you." "You're welcome." says the guard, and then he goes back to his duties. George enters the City Hall through the double doors. Then he sees three other doors. He walks up to the first and looks at the sign. It says, 'Mayor's Office'. "This isn't the right way." says George. He then walks to the second, which there is no sign. He opens the door slightly and looks into the room, he sees a young woman, probably only in her 20s, who is wearing the robes of a mage. Then George notices brightly colored slime everywhere, especially on the floor. George closes the door, seeing that isn't the correct way either. The mage doesn't even seem to notice George looking through the door. Then he goes to the third and final door. He opens it,and sees a hallway. He walks in, and looks at the sign next to each of the office doors. One says, "Garrison Commander" which isn't the right one. Then he sees a door without a sign next to it. He opens the door and then disturbs a woman in her office. She says, "Hey, I'm trying to study here." George says, "I'm sorry." and then closes the door. Then finally he
comes to the final door. He looks at the sign, and it says 'Jobs Dispatcher'. Then he says, "Okay, this must be it."
He knocks on the door, so he wouldn't be impolite and just barge in, like he did to that woman. A voice, which is of a man, then says loudly, "Come in." George enters the office and then asks the man. "Are you the Jobs Dispatcher?" "Yes I am, " the man answers, "I'm Ben, Jobs Dispatcher of Kristan. Have a seat." George then sits down on one of the two chairs set in front of Ben's desk. Ben then asks, "Okay, now how may I help you?" "Well, Ben, I'm looking for a job." George says "A job you say?" asks Ben. "Yes, a job." says George. "Well, Mister, uh, uh.." says Ben and then George says, "My name is George." "Well, George. You've come to the right place. We have many good jobs with very good payments. Take a look at this list of the current jobs that are available." Ben says. Then he pulls out a binder, opens it to the correct page, and then turns it around, so George can see it. Then George moves his chair closer to the desk and takes a look at the list of current jobs that are available. The jobs are:
Job #1: Urgent Delivery - We need someone to deliver a box of healing potions to the Sisters of Mercy hospital in Shayder on the Isle of Bigail in 4 days. Time is of the essence. Pay is 800 gold.
Job #2: Monster Body Parts - We need someone to slay a Fire Lizard and bring its body to the inn in Silvar in 12 days. It is for our Fire Lizard Stew. Pay is 1,450 gold, plus a free sample of the Fire Lizard Stew.
Job #3: Magical Supplies - We need someone to deliver a package of spellbooks to Sara, the mage, who works at the magic shop in the city of Shayder on the Isle of Bigail in 9 days. Pay is 1,000 gold.
Job #4: Weapons Delivery - We need someone to deliver a package of Steel Broadswords and Steel Rapiers to the weapon shop in the city of Sharmik in 7 days. Pay is 700 gold.
George looks at the list for a while, but then finally looks up at Ben. Then Ben says, "So, have you found a job that you want to take?" George then looks back down at the list and then looks back up again and then says, "I'll take the second job!" He then puts his finger over the text about the second job. "Excellent choice George. Okay, now you need to go out there and hunt for a Fire Lizard, then kill it, and bring it's body to the innkeeper in Silvar, a town that's is only a few miles east of here. The innkeeper will then take the Fire Lizard's body and give you your payment. Just remember, that you have 12 days to get the Fire Lizard to the innkeeper, or else you won't get paid, and as a law of the Job Dispatchers Code, "I won't be able to offer you anymore jobs for 2 months. Do you understand George?" "Yes, I understand Ben. I'll do my best to bring the innkeeper in Silvar that Fire Lizard's body in time." George says. "Okay, very good. Now go, and get that Fire Lizard!" says Ben. Then George gets up from the chair, and walks to the door and walks out of the office, and then walks out of City Hall, and then walks out of the city. Then he decides to go hunting for that Fire Lizard. He hopes that he can get it to the innkeeper in Silvar on time.
Part 3:
George decides to go west to hunt for a Fire Lizard, because there was some of those lizards in some hills to the west. He reaches the hills and starts hearing hissing that gets louder and louder. Then he noticed some Giant Lizards were on his tail. He also saw one with a reddish tinge to its skin, meaning that it must be a Fire Lizard, the creature George must kill and bring its body to the innkeeper in Silvar, a town to the east. Using all his mighty strength, George strikes down about 3 or 4 of the lizards in the group, while the Fire Lizard kept on breathing fire on him. Then, with a very low amount of health remaining in him, he drinks a Strong Healing Potion, then a Weak Speed Potion, and finally a Weak Strength Potion. The potions he drunk then helped him beat off more of the Giant Lizards, leaving the Fire Lizard, which still is breathing fire at him. Using the hasted effect he got from the Weak Speed Potion he drunk, he attacked the Fire Lizard twice, doing about 10 damage each time. The Fire Lizard breathed another fire burst, doing 25 damage to George. Now again he is wounded terribly, but he doesn't have any more Healing potions, nor he has the skill or the ingredients required to make such a potion. But, even with his great wounds, he still was hasted, and also blessed, which increased the damage he done on his physical attacks by a good amount. He hit him the first time that turn for only 8 damage, but then, the next attack, it did 15+18 damage, thanks to his Assassination skill. That final mighty blow killed the Fire Lizard.
Then carefully, he picked up the Fire Lizard's Body, which was very hot even though it is dead. He then carefully takes it to the the town of Silvar, and to the innkeeper there. The innkeeper greeted him with a smile and said, "Good day sir." "Hello." said George. "I see you have a Fire Lizard body there. I could use one for my Fire Lizard Stew I'm preparing. It's guaranteed to be delicious." the innkeeper said. Then George said, "I took your job of locating and killed this Fire Lizard that you had with the Jobs Dispatcher in the city of Krizsan." "Oh, so you did. Well, let me just take that lizard off your hands, and I'll pay you your expected fee." George then places the Fire Lizard's body on the counter, everyone who was sitting at a table eating was looking disgusted, and slowly began to leave. "Oh, my customers always do that. No problem, once this Fire Lizard is cooked, and I use him in my Fire Lizard Stew, and then start serving bowls of it, they will come running back. Here is your payment for bringing this Fire Lizard's body to me. He hands George the expected 1,450 gold. Then the innkeeper says, "Well, I'll just be putting this Fire Lizard in the oven. When the Stew is ready, be sure to come back for a free sample of it. I'm sure you will enjoy it." "Thank you sir, but I think the gold is enough for me." George said. "Oh, okay, well, I still have a free sample waiting here in case you change your mind. Have a nice day sir." "You too." said George, as he exited the inn with 1,450 gold pieces in his hand. He now has enough to get Fred a good birthday present. But where could he find something good, and what would Fred like?
He then decided to go to Randall's Junk Shop in the city of Lorelei. He sold some pretty interesting items sometimes, at a fair price. He entered the shop and Randall grins and says, "Hello George, are you back for some more items?" "Well yes, Randall, but it's not for me, it's for my friend, Fred. I'm here looking for a good birthday present for him." said George. "Well, I think I have some pretty interesting items for sale that will make a perfect gift for your friend. Take a look at this nice Runeshield. It was given to me by some traveling wizard, who just told me to keep quiet and he will pay me a lot of gold to keep an eye on it. However, he was just too creepy looking to strike a bargain with him. Anyway, it's been about two months since he was here, and I never received my payment. It's strange, but anyway, this Runeshield will protect you from physical attacks by a great amount. That creepy wizard said he would pay me 250,000 gold if I would keep an eye on it. Well, anyway, it will cost you 1,200 gold. George then said, "No, I don't think Fred could use a Shield." Then Randall said, "Oh, okay, then how about this Potion of Bliss. It is well known for it's great healing and blessing properties. It will cost you 1,000 gold." George then said, "I don't think Fred really needs a Potion of Bliss." "Okay, then check out this Magic Halberd. It is a very rare and powerful weapon. It costs normally 3,450 gold, but it's on sale today for 1,225 gold." says Randall. "No," said George, "Fred is a mage, not a warrior." "Oh, so Fred is a mage, well I think I have just the thing for him." Take a look at this Wand of Fireballs. It is very useful in battle. It has 6 charges, and it will cost you 1,400 gold." says Randall. "Okay, I think I will take the Wand of Fireballs." says George, "Excellent choice George. That will be 1,400 gold." says Randall. George then puts his hand in his pocket and takes out 1,400 gold, leaving him with 315 gold remaining. "Here you go." says George. "Thank you George. Oh by the way, since it is a birthday present for Fred, would you like me to gift wrap the Wand of Fireballs? It will be for no extra charge. "Oh, okay. Thank you Randall." says George. Then Randall takes some gold wrapping paper, some tape, a bow, and a box, and places the Wand of Fireballs in the box. Next, he takes the gold wrapping paper and wraps it around the box, using the tape to keep it on. Then, he sticks the bow on the top. Randall then hands the gift to George and says, "Here you go George." "Thank you Randall." says George, and then he exits the shop, with Fred's birthday present in hand. He then runs as fast as he can back to Fort Emergence. He runs up to Zack and tells him, "Zack, I got a birthday present for Fred." "Okay, very nice." says Zack, "Place it on the table with the other presents, and then get ready, because Fred will probably be coming back soon." George then runs to the dining hall, which is decorated nicely with balloons and things. He then sees the table where the presents go in the corner of the room, so he runs over there and places the present on the table.
Zack then runs in and says, "George, one of the guards saw Fred coming back! We all need to hide and when he comes in, yell 'Surprise!' okay?" "Got it." says George. Then both George and Zack ran into the main area of Fort Emergence, and hid in a passageway. They got there right on time because Fred walked in, holding a box which seems to be filled with potions. He took a few steps into the Fort and then he says to himself, "Boy, it sure is quiet here. I certainly hope the Empire didn't attack." That's when everyone jumped out from their hiding places and yelled, "Surprise! Happy birthday Fred!" Fred then almost dropped the box of potions he was holding then. He then placed it on the ground, when Zack ran over to him he says, "Well, Fred, I'm sure you were surprised." "I was." says Fred. "Well then, let's go have your special birthday dinner." "Sure." says Fred. Then they all walk into the dining room, where almost the entire population of the fort was sitting in. The only people who were not in the room where some of the guards, since they still need to guard the fort. Fred sat down in between Zack and Claudia. George then came in, and sat next to Zack. So then the cook announced the special birthday meal. "Our special birthday dinner for Fred here tonight is some nice Steak with mashed potatoes." she said. "Wow!" said Fred. Then the cook served everyone the steak with mashed potatoes. After about 1 hour to an hour in a half, everyone finished eating, and then it was present time. Everyone pulled chairs over to the table where Fred's presents were. Fred walked over there, looking at the large amount of presents on the table. Then Zack got up and said, "All right everyone. It's time for Fred to open his presents, gather around." When everyone was sitting down, Zack gave Fred the signal that he can start opening his presents. He first took a box-shaped present, and he read out loud, "Okay, this one is from Claudia." Claudia blushed a little bit at the mention of her name. He tore off the wrapping paper, and opened the box, and then he found this sphere shaped object inside. "Oh, what's this?" Claudia then said, "It's an Orb of Sight. I know you always wanted one." "Thank you Claudia." said Fred, placing the present back on the table. Then he took another one, in the shape of a cylinder, wrapped in silver paper. Fred read the tag out loud, "This gift is from Zack." Then he tore off the paper, and inside was a box, which he opened, and saw a bundle of Wands inside. Zack walked up to Fred and put his hand on Fred's shoulder, and said, "It's the 'Bundle of Wands' value pack. It contains every wand ever created in the world. It cost me about 6,000 gold to purchase." "Wow," said Fred, "Thanks, Zack." "You're very welcome." said Zack. Then Fred was up to George's gift, in the gold wrapping paper. He picked it up and read the tag, "This one is from George.", he said. Then he tore off the wrapping paper, and opened the box and saw the Wand of Fireballs George bought for him. He took it out and said, "All right! Another Wand of Fireballs, this is just what I need! My old one was getting low on charges. Thank you George!" "Your welcome." George then said, smiling because Fred liked his present. Then Fred when on to presents from everyone else in Fort Emergence, and then after he opened the last one, the surprise birthday party was over, and everyone left. Claudia and Zack began to clean up the dining area. After they were done, Claudia said, "So Fred, did you enjoy your surprise birthday party?" "I sure did." answered Fred, smiling. George then stepped up to Fred and said, "Did you like the present that I bought for you?" asked George. "Yes, I did, I badly needed a new one, my old one only had 2 charges left. Thank you." "Your welcome, and think of it has a gift also to repay you when you saved me that day, from the Hill Giants." said George. "Oh yeah, I remember that, you were in trouble, Hill Giants were just about to those giant rocks at you and then I had to....." "Oh please don't remind me." "All right then, but this Wand of Fireballs was an excellent way to repay for when I saved you. Once again, thank you George." "You're welcome." said George. So then that ends the story.
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