by Sean Oswald
She did however focus everyone back on the items before them. “So what all did we find?”
Both Mira and Dave got excited at that as they had been casting Identify non-stop for the past few minutes trying to sort out all of the items. Any of the armor or weapons which were rusted, they discarded out of hand. When she asked Dave why, he told her that magical items wouldn’t degrade like that. In the end, they had a long sword, a bow, three arrows, a torn robe, and a small bag, two foot long finger-thick sticks, a dagger, a breastplate, three rings, a pair of leather bracers, and a book.
“Do you want to tell them dad?” Mira asked, clearly gleeful with excitement.
“No you can do the honors. You are the master of magic here after all,” Dave’s tone and manner conveyed anticipation like a hungry man looking at a Thanksgiving spread and being told he has to wait for someone to say grace, but underneath it, there was something else. Perhaps it was an uncertainty or an angst. It was only because she had been married to him for some twenty years that Emily even caught it. She definitely recognized it. It was the way he acted when he was worried about something but didn’t want to burden anyone else with it. If there weren’t others here, she would have pushed him but had too much respect for him to make an issue in front of all these people. It was however a particular sore spot that he would so often refuse to share his burdens with her.
Mira didn’t need to be told twice. “So we checked and double checked these items, because it seemed like such a haul of magical items in one spot.” Waiting as some of the others nodded in approval, she then said, “Anyway, here is what we discovered.” Then she pulled up the notifications from the Identify Spells.
High Steel Long Sword of Sharpness:
Quality - Excellent
Base Dmg: 15.
Attack Speed: 7.
Weight: 3.0.
Passive Effect 1: +15% chance of critical strike
Passive Effect 2: +40% critical strike damage
Hawk’s Eye Ashen Wood Longbow:
Quality- Excellent
Base Dmg: 7.
Attack Speed: 4.
Weight: 1.5
Active Effect: 3/sunrise- Hawk Eye- increase ranged viewing visual
Magnification by 400%.
Passive Effect: Range of Bow increased by 200%
Arrows of Penetration x3
Quality: Excellent
Base Damage: 5
Passive Effect: Penetrates 25 damage resistance, negates non-magical armor
Robe of the Scrying Eye
Quality: Destroy (formerly excellent)
Defense: 5
Weight: 5.0
Active Effect: 2/moonrise- place Scrying Eye enchantment on a location for 24 hours
Passive Effect 1: +25% resistance to scrying and +50% to both scrying range and duration.
Passive Effect 2: Reduces mana cost of Esoteric Sense by 80%
Bag of Holding
Quality: Epic
Weight: 1.0
Passive Effect: Creates an extra-dimensional space capable of holding up to 1000 lbs. with 99.9% weight reduction and/or up to 100 cubic feet.
Time Dilation is 100:1
Wand of Viscid Globs (Tier 2)
Quality: Excellent
Weight: .03
Active Effect: 6/sunrise - Creates a 4’x4’ glob of extremely sticking gel
(STR: 40) Flame/Acid Resistance: 120, Electric Amplification: +100%, Cold
Vulnerability: 200%, Physical Resistance: 180 Health: 300 Range: 100’
Cool-Down: 1 minute
Wand of Fireballs (Tier 3)
Quality: Excellent
Weight: .03
Active Effect: 3/sunrise - Hurls a Fireball Spell with radius 25’ for Physical Damage: 40-80 and Fire Damage: 40-80. Range: 200’, Cool-Down: 10 Minutes
Dagger: Mage Slayer
Quality: Epic
Weight: 1.0
Base Damage: Special
Attack Speed: 4
Cool-Down on Use: 1 hour
Passive 1: Ignores magical defense of Tier 3 or less
Passive 2: Deals damage equal to the targets Intelligence-10 x15
Target may make a Constitution Save of 100
Breastplate of Spell Guard
Quality: Excellent
Weight: 10.0
Defense: 30
Passive Effect 1: Spell Resistance +40
Passive Effect 2: Energy Reflection +200 (fire, cold, lightning, prismatic,
necrotic)
Epic Ring of Health
Quality: Epic
Weight: 0.1
Passive Effect: +300 Health
Ring of Charismatic Influence
Quality: Excellent
Weight: 0.1
Passive Effect 1: +20% on all Charisma based social skill checks
Passive Effect 2: +25 faction with anyone who is not in negative faction toward the wearer. May be resisted with a Wisdom Save of 100. Effect will not be detected unless using specific Divination magic even if the effect is resisted.
Ring of Spell Storing
Quality: Excellent
Weight: 0.1
Active Effect: May store for quick casting up to 3 x Tier 1 spells + 2 x Tier 2 spells + 1 x Tier 3 spells. Spells will be cast as though cast by the one placing them in the ring.
Bracers of Hardened Skin
Quality: Excellent
Weight: 1.0 each
Passive Effect: Wearer’s skin gains the toughness of stone. Defense: 60
Damage Resistance- Physical: 50 Fire/Cold/Electric: 75 Acid: 25
Spell Book Advanced Primer
Quality: Excellent
Weight: 4.0
Author: Mercer Thalion
Being a treatise on the advanced basics for apprentices who are ready for more.
Tier 1: Shrieking Alarm, Invisible Housekeep, Minor Scan: Secret Doors,
Minor Forgetfulness, Minor Mule Disk, Minor Mirror Strike
Tier 2: Lesser Elemental Resistance, Conjured Wind Whip, Lesser Gauge Defenses, Lesser Irresistible Joke, Lesser Shield Breaker, Lesser Gazelle’s Grace,
Tier 3: Mage’s Mantle, Line of Sight Teleport, Discern Hidden Desires, Paralyze, Lighting Bolt, Mass Lesser Enlarge
The rest of the party stood there in awe as she rattled off the entire list. Dave already knew most of it, but it brought back all the memories of finishing off a raid boss. Then came the divvying up of loot. It was the worst part of being an officer in a guild, well other than fielding the occasional whining from some guy who should be old enough to know better. That thought made Dave wonder how much whining a baron would have to put up with. Maybe that was why the nobles were such dicks. They had to deal with whining all the time.
Anyway, he was excited to see the loot and was already trying to sort out who should get what. They didn’t exactly have a dragon kill point system, like his old guild had where people accrued points for guild event participation and could use those points to bid on loot drops. Really looking back, he felt a little silly for how into that he had been. Now that he was living it, well pixels on a screen just couldn’t compare with the excitement of actually possessing magical items.
“Well, the book is something we are going to hold onto for a bit until we can use it in a controlled environment. If I understand it correctly, the book will enhance your chance to learn the spells contained within but are not a guarantee,” Dave said.
“It’s obvious who the book should go to, I’m the only one with a high enough Intelligence to really make use of it.”
“Mira, you will not speak to your father or anyone else like that.”
The two women stared at each other, their similarities on display for all to see, but in the end the mother won and Mira said, “I’m sorry.”
“You may be the best suited for it, but the book belongs to all of us. To my knowledge, only your mother, you, and I can make use of the spells, but we will be sure to figure out the best way to teach them to as many people as possible
,” Dave had his soapbox voice going.
“Can it be that you mean to share spells with the subjects under your rule, Baron Murkwood?” Jaselm asked with incredulity. Kraden’s mouth even hung a bit open as he heard the passion his baron spoke with.
“Just you wait and see, Eris’ Rise is not going to be like anything you have ever seen or heard of before. But now let's look at the other stuff. I don’t know if that sword is an upgrade to mine or not. Would any of the rest of you use it?”
“It won’t work for me or Mira. Daichi do you use swords?” Emily asked.
“I have experience in learning how to fight against them, but they are not part of my dragon fist style.”
Jaselm added, “I can’t trade in a blessed weapon for it, but if no one else needs it, perhaps it will be possible once the temple is built in Eris’ Rise to get a blessing placed upon it. That is if you are certain that you don’t want it, Baron?”
Kraden mumbled, “Well I sure as the warts on Bal Zar’s behind can’t use it.”
“Jaselm, what’s with the resumed formalities? If you thought some treasures were going to change who either Emily or I are then you didn’t have much trust in us. So let me make this clear again. This loot will be split as evenly as we can between the entire party that earned it, all six of us.” Turning then to look down at where Kraden sat propped up against the tunnel wall, “And don’t think I didn’t hear that moping over there. You are part of this team and you will get your full share.”
“My Lord, I am a cripple I am unworthy. I had only hoped to beg of your noble wife the mercy of being sent in a wagon back to Konig where I might beg for a living, you know, being as she is a lady of the church and all.”
Dave started to walk around as if in a frenzy, a low rumble of frustration from deep in his chest escaping out. He ran his hands over his face and even tugged at his hair. Emily knew these signs well. It was how he acted when he couldn’t deal with the emotion of a situation. “Honey, it's okay, they don’t know us yet. You have to give them time to learn who we are.”
Dave continued to pace, but at least he seemed to relax some at her words, “Kraden, my husband means what he says. I can tell you this. I will not send you back to Konig.” She watched his face drop before she added, “Unless you mean to turn us down for the position as head miner. Is that your intention?”
“My Lady, if you must make jest of me then so be it but …”
He never got to finish his words, “I make no jest. I would never ridicule you who have sacrificed so much. You have served me and my family well without even knowing us. But now you shall know us. I make you this pledge, that if you will work hard, obey orders, and do your best for us and Eris’ Rise then I shall see you’re hand and foot restored. Be it by magic or mechanical device. It shall be done.”
Everyone watched while Emily spoke and a soft glow started to form around her. Then as she spoke the last words of her proclamation there was a brilliant flash of light around her and she had a wide grin covering her face from ear to ear.
“Shanelle has heard my vow and given me a quest to complete it.” Emily felt such passion as she spoke even though a part of her thought she sounded far different than ever before. She had always been a person of faith, but now she almost sounded more like one of those tv evangelists. Well, she grinned again, she was only a fraud if she didn’t deliver. Then she read off the notification she had received when the light flashed.
Daughter of Redemption, you have chosen to make a holy vow of redemption. You have pledged to redeem the body of this man Kraden son of Kraden, a simple miner. You have seen value in his life contrary to what is common in Eloria. This vow comes with a quest.
New Quest Received: Redeem the Miner.
Success Conditions: Provide a way for Kraden to replace his lost hand and foot. You must do so within 7 months.
Reward: succeed and you will gain 5 permanent faith points, +75 faction with Kraden, +25 faction with the people of Eris’ Rise, +10 faction within the Church of Shanelle, and Tier 2 in your class Daughter of Redemption. Fail and you will suffer the opposite in loss of faith, faction, and will forever lose the opportunity to reach a higher tier in your class.
Life is conflict and redemption is a core conflict waged within the souls of men. The battlefield of this conflict is laid out upon the person of Kraden the miner.
Dave came up behind her and hugged her. “Leave it to you to find a way to be cooler than a bunch of loot.”
She just took it in the spirit he meant it. “So are you guys ever gonna figure out who is getting what?”
Dave squeezed her a little tighter then and said, “So Jaselm, the sword is yours, and you can keep it until such a time as it can either be blessed or you decide to sell it. I only ask that you give first chance at purchasing it to the other individual’s serving in Eris’ Rise.”
They continued to talk, and it went on for a couple of hours. Emily was thrilled to see that even Kraden seemed to be involved in the conversation now. Daichi turned down all of the loot except for the bracers. He said they were perfect for him since he didn’t wear armor. Given that he wasn’t asking for anything else, no one was inclined to disagree with him having it. Jaselm already had two good rings and didn’t want to trade out for any of the new rings, but besides the sword, he did want the Spell guard breastplate. Again, while Dave might have wanted that, he just let it go to Jaselm. That left the rest of the items for the Nelsons and Kraden. It seemed to Emily that the miner was at least willing to accept the items given to him but that he still instinctively wanted to defer to any of the three of them. Mira for her part was making an argument about how any of the items would benefit her other than the dagger which she looked at with a sickened expression.
They all agreed that Dave would carry the bag of holding, but he promised to research it and learn how to make copies of it for all of them. Apparently, they were in high demand and sold for as much as a platinum piece for even the most basic of them. The big thrill was when he opened it up and found it chocked full of food items and potions. That was until he pulled the food out and found the roast pig to be rotten. They could only wonder how long these bodies had been down here for the food to go bad with a time dilation of 100:1.
The potions on the other hand were a treasure trove in and of themselves. They found Cure Disease, Cure Poison, four purple potions, ten big red, and twenty small red along with a matching number of blue ones. Then there were some other potions which they opted not to take the time to Identify now, but figured once they were out of the mine, they could sort them out. The bag also contained three hundred gold pieces which they agreed to split, but Dave and Emily insisted that since Kraden was the only one to have been critically injured and honestly the one getting the least in the way of magical items that he should get an extra portion of the coins. In the end, they decided that each of them would get thirty points except the miner who would keep one hundred and fifty gold, a veritable fortune by his standards. Emily wasn’t sure if Kraden was going to laugh in excitement or cry out of unexpected blessing.
They likewise decided that the robe would belong to Mira although she was torn about wearing a red robe, saying that it didn’t go with her complexion. It didn’t matter either way though because it would require significant repair work, and they weren’t aware as of yet how to do so.
Emily took the dagger. First because that was her primary weapon of choice and secondly because it was too dangerous to leave around. Not when it seemed like it was perfectly equipped to kill her daughter in one blow. Likewise, Dave took the bow and arrows because he was the only one with the skill for it, but wasn’t sure if he would sell it or keep it. He promised Kraden if he sold it to split the profit with the man.
The wands were the next issue of dispute. Mira insisted that she should get both, but Emily wasn’t hearing it. In the end, Mira had to concede on the wands since she really wanted the ring of spell storing. So Emily ended up with the wand of fireballs because
that would give her a good ranged attack, and Mira took the wand of viscid globs because it was the only wand left. She tried to offer it to Kraden, but he said he had no aptitude for any type of magic, so it would be wasted upon him. They brought up the revelation that in order to use certain magic items like a wand, the individual had to be attuned to that type of magic, but Emily still wasn’t willing to give up the wand, saying that maybe she would learn the required magic later.
That left the rings. Dave ended up keeping Mira’s Epic Ring of Health and insisting that Emily take the other if she was going to be fighting. She could only keep it as a backup because she needed her Mana Regeneration and her Ring of Noble Command. Mira would have the Ring of Flight and the Ring of Spell Storing. Dave’s old Health ring went to Kraden because Dave really wanted the Charisma ring. Emily didn’t care as she was always happy with her mana regeneration ring.
Thus equipped with new gear and hope to go along with it, they left Kraden for what they told him they hoped would be the last time. He gave them some tips on how to find the ore and what it would like, although he admitted he was only going from stories because there hadn’t been a mithril found in Albian since the expansion.
