Curselock

Chapter 3: Legacy of Curses

Chapter 3: Legacy of Curses

“Ah!” Leland blurted, pulling the blanket off his weary form.

He quickly threw on trousers and shoes, rushing as if he went too slow, he’d miss it. He paused, however, at the door of his family home. A quick check couldn’t hurt, right?

His grimoire appeared from the back of his hand, popping into existence already opened to the first page. There, he read the words he had been dying to see since he could remember. Even though he was not the Legacy of the Lord he had aspired to be, he could still marvel at this moment. He would cherish it forever.

Leland read, along the thick stale pages in deep black ink, his personal information.

Name: Leland Silver

Legacy: Curses

Archetype: Initiate of the Curse Lord

Overall Rank: 1

Initiate of the Curse Lord: Mana costs are significantly lowered for all curses at the expense of the caster’s regenerative lifeforce.

A bizarre sound formed and flew out of Leland’s mouth. It sounded between a startled cat and a giddy child, something that would normally embarrass the young man. But, as long as his parents didn’t see, the excitement of finally having a Lord trumped any mature countenance he was trying to maintain.

Having his lifeforce be used as fuel was a scary thought, however. But then again, any spell played with lifeforce technically. A bolt of lightning could easily be rebounded and kill him, so Leland didn’t think that the negative aspect of his archetype would be all that bad. Not when mana costs were significantly lowered. His parents always complained about lack of mana, having the problem somewhat removed seemed like a good tradeoff in his eyes.

Gently, Leland flipped the page. The pages, for a moment, felt stuck but with a bit of leverage the next set of words came into view. He gave them a brief glance before trying to skip ahead to the next. The pages didn’t budge, in fact, Leland couldn’t go beyond page two.

This, while disappointing, was completely normal. The grimoire was a window into his soul, his Legacy. It would unlock in time, as his body became more accustomed to the Lord of Curses’ gift.

His frown twisted into a smile when he went over the information on page two. It was exactly as he was hoping, a spell. And not some boring thing like dust removal or automated sweeping. No, no, no, the spell on the second page of Leland’s grimoire was a combat spell. His smile only grew as he realized he was one step closer to following his parents into battle.

If only they were here with him today.

Fracture:

Type: Curse

Rank: 1 (C)

Call upon the Lord of Bone to shatter those in your way.

55% chance to break a random bone in a single target.

Hmm... Leland thought.

It wasn’t quite what he was expecting. But then again, he had been studying the general path of the Lord of Magic. Of course curses would be different. The dark aspect of the spell scared him a bit though, especially with the Lord of Curses warning about Witchhunters. But that was for future Leland to deal with. Right now all he wanted to do was experiment with his new Legacy.

As Leland exited his home, he quickly saw the potential of his first spell. As his proficiency in the spell became greater, so too would the effects. Maybe, with enough practice, he could break every bone in an enemy’s body. That, surely, would make adventuring easy, right?

Right now, he had to get to the town’s walls otherwise he’d miss all the action. With his grimoire stashed in his hand tattoo, he took to the streets in a hurry. As he powerwalked, movement in his periphery pulled his attention.

He was a bit bigger, his Legacy adding to his muscle mass like wool to a sheep. Since his birthday, Jude had bulked up two, maybe even three, shirt sizes. Something the others pointed out quite often.

Together the three strolled up the wooden staircase leading to the top of the town’s walls. They bypassed guard and adventurer alike, their tattoos prominently on display for all to see. A chameleon for Glenny, a crossed set of battle axes for Jude, and a flying crow for Leland.

Their three marks left little room for argument despite their young age. Their team was finally complete, all three with marks, all three present and in prime health. The guard couldn’t stop them, not like last time when they attempted to help out.

All three stopped cold when they reached the top. Looking out into the vibrant spring forest, greens and pops of colors clashed in the form of flowers or buzzing Rainbow Bees. The beautiful scenery under the midday sun wasn’t what froze the young men, however. It was the carnage below.

A decently large troop of Trihoof Wolves had all but been dispatched.

“We’re too late!” Leland cried.

Using the heightened senses of the Chameleon, Glenny scanned the area. “One right there! See it?”

Leland and Jude looked, straining to see a smaller wolf treading carefully around a town guard. The three friends looked at each other and shrugged. Jude was first, he jumped off the wall and landed with his knees bent. Glenny was next, slipping into a semitranslucent form before clambering down the wall’s edge like a rock climber descending a cliff.

Leland frowned, shaking his head. He’d break a leg if he jumped and he didn’t think his body was strong enough to slide down a straight drop. So, he took to the stairs, his face reddening as he went.

Hopefullymy curses make up for this, he thought.

Eventually Leland exited the town and found Jude arguing with a guard about rite of the kill. The guard was saying he arrived first, so he should have the say over who killed the beast. Nearby Glenny watched the wolf, eyeing it in case of attack.

Leland sighed. “Glenny we talked about this. Jude can’t be the one to interact. He’s too much of a brute, all he does is try to pick fights.”

“I do not!”

“You do.”

“Fight me!"

“Anyways,” Leland turned his attention to the guard. “May we take this battle? It is our first, you see.”

“Nuh uh,” the guard responded. “I’m not giving you special treatment just because your parents are famous.”

All three of the boys grimaced at that. They hated to be compared to their parents, specifically living in a shadow that seemed impossibly deep.

“No special treatment needed,” Leland continued, feigning a smile. “We will give you all reagents from the wolf, we just want the experience.”

Seeing the guard’s hesitation, he spoke quickly. “Glenny here will even gut and skin the beast for you. How does that sound?”

“Hey!”

“Deal,” the guard said, pulling his short spear to his shoulder and walking off a few steps. “I’ll be here if you need me. Can’t have the town’s star trio dying against their first monster, huh?”

Again all three frowned, but a low growl pulled their attention. The wolf stalked closer, its meaty trihoof paws elongating as it bared its claws. It lunged, aiming for Leland’s throat but an equally meaty fist punched it, sending it off course.

“Woah there, Leals, got to watch out,” Jude said, eyeing the red mark across his knuckles.

“Yeah thanks,” Leland said, summoning forth his grimoire. “Let's kill this thing.”