Perception check (Very easy= 3)- passed
Given he could literally hear the Malfoy's approaching, in no small part due to the distinctive sound of Malfoy Senior's cane striking against the wooden floor of the shop as he moved, Harry knew he didn't have time to really come up with a plan.
"Ms Rose, Professor McGonagall sent me to find you, but I need you to wait here one minute with me... Silently." He tagged the end bit on as it was clear that his m- the young redhead was bursting with questions.
'Time to put Ollivander's little gift to the test...' He hadn't taken the gauntlet off after trying it on, something he was surprised Sirius or Hermione hadn't commented on in all honesty, and a muttered observe was sent in its direction in the hope that it had something that would help him avoid the attention of the two Malfoy's.
Gauntlet of Saladin's shadow-
The gauntlet is surprisingly light, given it's half plate metal structure, metal that is covered in hundreds of small runic patterns. The runes shift and dance before your eyes, making it difficult, if not impossible to decipher more than a few of the clusters in a pattern at a time. Despite this, the runes are clearly for more than aesthetic value, though given the difficulty in deciphering the runes, there maybe more practical testing required to unearth its secrets.
Level ? Magical gauntlet-
Properties-
12 armour (left hand)
+3 (illusion magic) skill
+1 (stealth) skill
Item traits-
Undiscovered potential- matches level of user to level cap, gaining greater and additional properties as the user levels. (Current level- 2)
Hidden secrets- several of this item's traits and properties are hidden and can only be discovered/unlocked with intense study of the artefact's Magic and runic clusters. (Current secrets unlocked- 1 of ?)
Stored magic (MP 50)- This item has it's own way of drawing and storing the natural magical energy of the world, giving it a pool from which it can power it's inherent spells and abilities.
Active ability unlocked (illusion skill 5, MP 110) - Cloak of Darkness
Cloak of darkness (level 1 0%)-
Whether Saladin had summoned a shade from the outer hells itself, or whether he merely had some kind of shadow Mage in his employ didn't matter to my esteemed Lord, as he once again had to change the fort's defensive plans in wake of another infiltration. After the guards had surrounded a cloaked figure in the fort on the previous night it seemed like we would at last have our thief, only for a shadowy mist to descend and snuff out all light whilst the spy escaped. After swearing an oath in the name of the crusades to capture this heathen alive or dead, my Lord started offering large amounts of gold to anyone who could counter this 'black magic'.
Given the nature of this land and its heathen populace, I can only shudder at what devilish sorcery we will sink to ourselves to try to rid ourselves of this menace...
The gauntlet can use its stored energy to extinguish all lighting and fires within a certain radius, at higher levels the ability can also summon a large amount of black smoke. For a period of time after activation, the runes of the gauntlet will glow brightly for the character's eyes only, aiding in the character being able to slip unseen through whatever chaos he has caused.
To activate- Clench gauntlet and pull to chest.
Cost- 17 mp (37 mp for external magic usage (0/1))
Effects-
+5 stealth (inside or at night) for 17 seconds within 16 metres
Vision radius of 7 m for caster only
Bad lighting negatives increased to maximum for those looking into affected area or within it.
All light sources within spell radius add an additional +10 to the difficult of all spells/attempts to relight them for 23 seconds
Harry would have to thank Ollivander when he got back, the gauntlet was awesome! It was somewhat situational in it usefulness, but Harry was already envisioning how differently the department of mysteries would have gone with a couple of uses of this particular ability.
Waiting until the sounds of the cane were as close as he could risk without actually catching sight of two of his oldest enemies in his original world, Harry clenched his fist and pulled it towards his chest.
"What the!" The confused cries from around him showed the ability had worked even as the soft light emanating his gauntlet provided something resembling vision of the surrounding bookshelves.
"This way Ms Rose." Grabbing the girl's hand, Harry winced at the nervous face she currently had, though thankfully she let him lead them away from the Malfoy pair and out of the darkened area of the shop without incident.
Stealth test (very easy): 5
Stealth value- +1
Average Dexterity (3)- +0
Lighting- +5
Accomplice - -2
Accomplice stealth value- +2
Impeded vision- 0*
Luck Bonus (0-5)- +1
Effective Awareness Skill Value- +7
* Would be -3, countered by equipped items.
Stealth test passed (5)
"Apologies everyone, someone seems to have cast a powerful nox for some reason, let me just..." The head clerk bustled past them with his wand ready, not giving them a second glance as she started trying to light the lanterns in the area with increasingly frantic waves of her wand.
"Hopefully they will have sorted whatever the problem is by the time we finish getting you your wand Ms Rose, we just need to wait by the entrance of the shop for my guardian and we will escort you back to the others." Guiding her over to one of the entrance windows so that he could spot Sirius if he approached, Harry belated remembered that he was still holding the poor girl's hand, letting go with a muttered apology and a small blush.
After several seconds of silence, which given how eager to ask questions his m-Lily had been when he had enacted his plan was slightly unnerving, Harry turned to check that she was okay. Catching sight of Lily Harry had to resist the urge to laugh, the girl was literally bouncing from one foot to another whilst looking desperately in his direction, either she really needed the loo or she had taken his earlier instruction a little too seriously.
"Are you okay Ms Rose?" Obviously his question was enough to countermand the silence instruction, Lily almost vibrating as she unleashed a torrent of words.
+5 relationship (Lily Rose)
"That was so cool! You didn't even use your wand like the Professor did when she showed me some magic. It was just *poof* and everything went black, though you could still see just fine somehow, is it your glasses? Why did you do that by the way? Am I in trouble? I didn't mean to do it, with how the Professor was talking to that other girl I thought they would be ages and, and I was just so excited at seeing all of these new things that I just wanted to have a quick look around..."
It was like a stream of the girl's consciousness, filled with so much wonder and swinging emotions from one sentence to the next before trailing off in what Harry could only assume was a well practiced nervous fretting stance.
"Professor McGonagall will tell you not to do it again but you aren't in trouble, I promise. I would prefer it if you didn't mention what I did there to the others though, it's my little trick and I don't want any of the others to know what I can do if I am not sure I can trust them." To his surprise Lily didn't seem put off at the idea of keeping what had just happened a secret from the others, instead she looked even happier before nodding rapidly whilst giving a hopeful smile.
"You, you trust me? I mean, of course I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to, but why show me if you don't want people to know you can do it... I'll shut up now..." This was not how he had expected his mother to be like in all honesty, given the few snippets people had given him about his mother as a child, he had to admit he had instead imagined her to be very much like Hermione.
But Hermione wouldn't have been so prepared to hide something from a teacher she felt she had to impress in her first year, or even up until the whole Moody debacle really. And whilst Hermione had been full of questions about magic and the wizarding world, Lily seemed far more relaxed in terms of her questions, as long as she knew whether or not she needed to know what was happening that seemed to be enough for her right now.
"Let's just say I have a good sense of people I can trust Ms Rose and that I definitely have a good feeling about you, unlike a certain parent of mine who is currently trying to sneak up behind me." He had seen Sirius enter the shop out of the corner of his eye before trying to surreptitiously sneak around behind him, he was slightly surprised there hadn't been a awareness test of some sort, but he supposed it was in keeping with the games 'promise' not to test him for each and every little thing that didn't have a major impact on quests.
"Boo!" Despite the fact that his godfather had clearly heard him announce that he had spotted him, Sirius carried out his 'surprise' regardless, Harry managing to control his reaction to a rolling of the eyes that had Lily giggle for a moment whilst he could see his adopted father moping in his mind's eye.
"Ms Rose, meet Sirius Black, my adopted father and guardian for my sins. Dad, this is Ms Rose that I just rescued from a potential meeting with the Malfoy's, should we head back to Ollivander's?" Turning to face Sirius as he introduced the pair of them, Harry could see behind the moping exterior that Sirius' eyes were looking round the shop as the lights finally came back on, the slight smile he gave one that Harry was well used to by now.
"Of course, Professor McGonagall would have my hide if we didn't get back soon, I was surprised she actually let us leave in the first place, though obviously her faith wasn't misplaced if you managed to find her so easily." The grin was one Sirius used to show appreciation to a good prank, the fact it was also the same face he pulled whenever he pulled a prank himself just made life more difficult to prove that he was involved.
Given there were still people milling around in the aftermath of his avoidance of the two Malfoy's, Harry guessed Sirius knew he had been involved in what was going on somewhat. Luckily, the man didn't comment further before they left the shop, Lily becoming a little more subdued as they walked through the bustling crowd but still looking around with the sense of awe and wonder that made it hard for Harry to resist the urge to wrap her up in a giant hug or pat her on the head.
"Is that an actual flying broomstick? And is that flamberge glowing orange like it is on fire? IS THAT A PET SHOP?" Despite almost whispering, Harry had to resist the urge to flinch at intensity in Lily's voice as she flitted from one side of him to the other as they walked along, the girl seemingly forgetting her earlier nervousness in the face of all these new experiences and places.
"You sure picked another excitable one here squirt, though I don't think she would be so happy if she knew what was going to happen in a minute..." As if on cue the crowd parted enough for them to be able to see Ollivander's, with a very stern faced McGonagall stood at the wand shop's entrance, arms folded in her usual disapproving manner.
"Ms Rose, so glad you finally decided to rejoin us..." As Lily turned to face where she had heard her name called from, her face rapidly shifted from awe to worry as she took in McGonagall's general demeanour.
"She got separated from you in the crowds Professor, and went into Flourish and Blotts to wait rather than risk being out in the middle of an unknown street surrounded by strangers, it was easy enough to find her when we asked in there..." It was stretching the truth quite brazenly, especially the 'asking' part given he was told by whatever made these quests appear, but there was no way he was going to get his mother in trouble so soon after meeting her.
+10 relationship (Lily)
+5 relationship (Sirius)
+1 charm
"Well, that was sensible of you at least Ms Rose, though I suggest you stick closer to me from now on to avoid the risk of this happening again. Now, let's get you inside with the others. Lord Black, thank you for yours and Mr Potter's help, I will make sure the headmaster knows of your good work here."
Whether the extra relationship points with Sirius were for him knowing Harry hadn't told the straight truth, or the more likely option of his use of the word 'we' to earn the prankster some points with his former teacher Harry wasn't sure, but the thankful look Lily was casting him even with the world freezing was the real reason he had done it,
Quest complete: The Case of the Curious Wanderer
One of the new first years has gone missing on the way to the wand shop, not a good thing given the traditionalists views on first generation magic users, so finding them is not just important for the shopping trip but for the other first years peace of mind as well...
Main objective:
Find the missing child before anything bad happens to them (05:00): (+50 Relationship (Lily Rose), +1 searching)
Bonus Objectives:
Avoid confrontation with Lord Malfoy (+2 Stealth)
Impress Lily with your magic (+10 Relationship (Lily Rose))
Not bad, not bad at all, especially the bonus stealth points he got for evading the Malfoy's entirely, which would bring his stealth up to... Frowning, Harry realised that he couldn't remember most of his stats beyond hitpoints and mana, a knowledge gap he was keen to address now he had a much better understanding of this new world.
Grabbing his character book from his right thigh, where it seemed to attach itself regardless of what he was wearing without anyone noticing, Harry opened it for the first time in several weeks. He was surprised at the sheer number of exclamation marks that littered the tabs of the book, every tab having at least 2 attached on imprinted on them, whilst the journal just had two stars next to an exclamation, which he assumed meant there were too many to properly show.
Glad he had taken the time to do this in a 'freeze point', Harry decided to go through as many of the new areas as he could now, though he would definitely leave the journal tab till tonight if he wanted to retain any mental capacity for the rest of the trip.
The exclamations on his character page showed things he already knew, such as his increased hp and mana from his level up along with his achievements from the incident with the Formian onwards... Had it really been that long since he had last checked it?
Character attributes:
HP: 165 (167)
MP: 128 (129)
Stats:
Strength: 4 -
Strength determines your character's physique, high strength means more damage with melee weapons, higher carrying capacity of items in backpack and is a prerequisite for most weapons and armour. Also impacts on a number of skills such as climbing, swimming and challenges related to heavy objects/feats of strength
Perception: 4 -
Perception focusses on the character's senses, at high levels of Perception the character can perceive objects that are smaller and further away with much more ease and senses are heightened to pick up the slightest movement or sound, as well as increasing the character's ability to react to new situations and conversations. This gives major bonuses for Awareness, Observation, Search, ranged fighting skills and minor bonuses for other skills such as persuasion.
Endurance: 3 -
Endurance relates to the character's stamina and ability to take a hit and keep on moving. High Endurance means higher hp and stamina boosts at level up and base stats as well as contributing to damage resistance, Athletic based skills and magic resistance. Has a minor effect on inventory capacity and is a requirement for some potions and enchantments.
Intelligence: 5 -
Intelligence is not just about the characters I.Q but relates to the speed at which the character can comprehend new ideas and data, also contributes to the number of skill points that are gained every level and their learning rate of spells and techniques. Influences the amount of mp gained per level up and base mp.
Wisdom: 5 -
Wisdom is the measure of a character's 'sense' both tactically and in terms of avoiding 'foot in mouth situations'. Contributes to skills such as etiquette, negotiation and appraisal and is a prerequisite for some quest/conversation choices. Also influences mp recovery rate.
Agility: 3 -
Agility makes you nimbler and more likely to avoid those rather troublesome killing curses, as well as other varieties of life ending problems. Higher agility means that you move faster and have a better chance of dodging attacks, as well as influencing skills such as duelling, Athletic related skills and other skills and feats related to coordination and reflexes.
Charisma: 6 -
Charisma is a measure of your character's general social aptitude, higher Charisma values mean that the character has a better chance of being well liked and succeeding in conversation challenges. It also contributes to Speech and social skills and is a prerequisite for some quest/conversation choices.
Luck: 5(6) -
Luck is the attribute of probability and fate, not only does Luck increase the number of skill points randomly by up to half of the total luck stat (rounded down), each Luck point has a small chance of being included beneficially to every skill or attribute challenge and improves your luckiness in general. It also increases the chances of critical strikes in combat and is a requirement for certain feats.
The boosts that he had gotten from his wand were useful, especially the perception value boost to above average for his age, though his still average endurance was worrying given how much trouble he was still getting into. What grabbed his attention more was the Mommy's boy title description, something Alexis was still bringing up every opportunity she got.
Mommy's boy:
Being respectful and loving towards your parents is no bad thing, if anything it shows that you are merely from a well adjusted and loving family. However, not everyone will take it that way...
Gives: +5 modifier towards social tests with older women (3+ years older), +100% relationship gains with Freya Bishop, increased hostility towards those who disparage either of your mother figures or refer to you by the title, -5 reputation with 'the cool kids' that are near your age.
Whilst not as potentially game changing as the initial titles were, the opportunity to have an easier time with older students, teachers etc was not something to sniff at. And given that he would hex anyone who insulted any of his family regardless of this modifier, the extra hostility probably wouldn't be an issue.
Browsing the rest of the character tab quickly, Harry then shifted over to skills page, given it had been the reason he had referred to the book after all. As a pop up screen appeared out of the book in front of him, Harry only had to read the first sentence before his teeth were grinding once more.
Welcome back to the skills page, we noticed you hadn't looked at this for some time, so we decided to do a test to see how long it would take you to notice that the new skill points you were receiving weren't being logged...
It took you far, far too long! Bad player, don't do it again!
However, this has affected over a dozen of your tests outside of the major tests, which was something we were not meant to interfere in... Our bad.
As recompense, have 2 extra skill points! Now remember to keep checking your character book regularly, unless you want this to happen again... And no, this won't lead to more free skill points next time!
"Deep breaths Harry, deep breaths..." It was only thanks to all of the shit that he had to put up with in his previous life that Harry was capable of resisting the urge to throw the character book as far as he physically could. It was a lesson, he would be the mature one, learn from it and move on... though if he found whoever wrote these notes at some point, he made no such promises.
Closing the window, Harry finally got to scroll through his skills, and given the slowly diversifying number of tests he was being subjected to it was probably a good idea to start spending some of the skill points he had been unsure what to do with until now.
Skills- Physical
Jumping 3 + -
Running 4 + -
Sprinting 3 + -
Dodge 3 + -
Unarmed combat 1 + -
Improvised Weapon Combat 0 + -
Melee Weapons (One hand) 3 + -
Melee Weapons (Two hands) 0 + -
Ranged Weapons (Thrown) 0 + -
Ranged Weapons (Other) 0 + -
Duelling (Physical) 2 + -
Dual wielding 0 + -
Flying 5 + -
Skills-Magical (Locked until Enrollment complete)
Illusion Magic 5 + -
Transfiguration Magic 5 + -
Charms Magic 0 + -
Holy Magic 8 + -
Demon Magic 0 + -
Ritual Magic 1 + -
Blood Magic 0 + -
Black Magic 1 + -
Fey Magic 2 + -
Healing Magic 5 + -
Potions 4 + -
Alchemy 0 + -
Battle Magic 0 + -
Destruction Magic 0 + -
Enchanting 0 + -
Arithmancy 0 + -
Runes (Knowledge) 0 + -
Magical Items (Wand) 1 + -
Magical Items (Staffs) 0 + -
Magical Items (Other) 3 + -
Skills-Other
Awareness 6 + -
Pickpocketing 0 + -
Stealth 4 + -
Cooking 2 + -
Crafting 1 + -
Searching 6 + -
Hiding 1 + -
Trap making 2 + -
Pranking 7 + -
Tracking 3 + -
Tactics 1 + -
Tutoring 1 + -
Intimidate 0 + -
Charm 13 + -
Muggle Science (Explosives) 1 + -
Muggle Knowledge (Common) 1 + -
Muggle Knowledge (Science) 3 + -
Muggle Knowledge (History) 2 + -
Wizarding Knowledge (Common) 8 + -
Wizarding Knowledge (Creatures) 10 + -
Wizarding Knowledge (Pocket Creatures) 1 + -
Wizarding Knowledge (History) 7 + -
Wizarding Knowledge (Social) 7 + -
Wizarding Knowledge (Rituals) 3 + -
Wizarding Knowledge (Mystical) 3 + -
Etiquette 3 + -
Magic Sense 4 + -
Logic 6 + -
Authority 2 + -
Willpower 13 + -
Attractiveness 1 + -
Available points: 10
A/N:
(Heads up for those reading/re-reading this... Yes the numbers are different now, I had someone point out to me I had missed a couple and it all spiraled out of control from there. These are the corrected final numbers now.)
Which skills would you spend your points on if you had the choice? I am interested to see what people would pick.
The message from the admins is a dig at myself, you lot have been pestering me to do a character update for a while, so to break it up we have addressed the first part in this chapter and we will close it all out in the start of the next chapter.
What do people think of the Gauntlet's ability? Not bad right? But also not too overpowered unless you are inside or it is already dark, exactly what a young student who might want to do some exploring might want...
I am also wondering whether people can see how I am planning on have Harry become 'dark', though given the connotations and fanaticism of the Inquisition there isn't that much he would have to do in order to be demoted to at least 'grey' in their eyes.
Regardless, hope you enjoyed the chapter and leave a review on the way out
Defias