by Tao Wong
“But-” Daniel hesitated for a second before he dismissed the thought, dropping the crossbow to the ground and grasping the rope. With a heave, he began to pull up his friend, a concentrated look appearing on his face. Beside the stocky Adventurer, Asin was flinging her throwing knives with abandon in an attempt to keep the Imps away from the duo above.
With Daniel pulling, Omrak was rising faster now. But the blond giant could not help but wonder how long his young friend could keep this up for. Strong though he might be, there was still a distance left. As another Imp tore into Omrak’s shoulder, he gave up on those thoughts, removing a hand to snatch up a hatchet. With the rope knotted and twisted around, he could keep himself stationary with one hand. This freed him to swing his weapon with the other, allowing him to defend himself slightly.
“Stop. Moving,” Daniel grunted, fingers white against the rope.
“I am defending myself!” Omrak grunted in return. A lucky swing tore off a wing. But it was a bad trade as an Imp plunged its claws into Omrak’s left bicep, tearing at the muscle. His arm bereft of strength, Omrak began to slide down, only halted as he dropped his hatchet to grab at the rope with his now free hand.
“Asin!” Daniel called urgently. The Catkin launched a vicious kick against the pair of Imps harrying her, sending them scrambling back and giving herself a second to peer over the edge. Seeing Omrak’s precarious position, she tossed her knife down, activating her skill Fan of Blades. The suddenly multiplied projectiles fell around the Northerner, one nicking his kicking feet and another managing to impale an Imp in the back.
“Five more feet,” Daniel grunted to himself. His eyes had grown slightly distant, the needs of the moment forcing him to focus. An Imp, taking Asin’s distraction as an opportunity, landed behind Daniel and thrust its hand forward to no avail. The layered iron breastplate gave Daniel sufficient protection, especially against a monster that fought on instinct alone.
As the top of the walkway came into sight, Omrak threw his hand over it quickly, using the momentum to help swing his own leg above. With Omrak’s weight gone from the rope, Daniel staggered backwards and in a split-second decision, decided to go with it. His armor-clad form fell, catching the Imp behind him by surprise and crushing the smaller, winged, infernal monster beneath him.
Cheated of their easy prey, the Imps raged and threw themselves at the trio, ignoring caution and their winged advantage. For the next few minutes, the trio fought back to back, fending off razor-sharp claws and jagged teeth. In the end, the better experienced and equipped Adventurers were victorious, if not without injury.
“Healer’s Mark,” Daniel said with a groan, throwing the spell on Asin as he touched her. Forced to fight in close quarters, the lightly armored Catkin had a long cut across her chest that bled freely and another along her thigh. Both would have required stitches in another setting, but with magical healing available, Daniel pushed the wound closed before bandaging them tight. “Don’t move for a few minutes. Let the spell work.”
“How close are you?” Omrak asked, having finished tying off the wound around his bicep. He too had the cheaper spell cast on him already.
“I have enough for one more Minor Healing,” Daniel said. Both party members understood though why he refused to use it yet. With Mana taking nearly a quarter of the day to fully regenerate, Daniel could not afford to waste the spell in case of another more serious wound. “Tell me at least that there really was a chest.”
“There was. And it was not trapped!” Omrak said with good cheer. “I have the Mana Stone.”
“Good. Very good.” Daniel sighed and sat back down, his eyes half-closed.
Omrak, seeing the exhaustion in his friend, fell silent after moving to put his back to the group. Together, the trio sat on the walkway, watching for trouble. Still, Omrak found himself smiling. They had a floor Mana Stone and just over two score Imp stones. A very decent haul for a single day.
Chapter 4
“You are that new team, aren’t you?”
The voice broke into the trio’s peaceful interlude as they sat next to the fireplace in the Lonely Candle. With autumn just beginning to make a showing for itself, the fire was not lit as the packed bodies within the inn and the lingering heat from the day was sufficient to keep the inn warm. Too warm for the Northerner. Before them was a Silverstone special, a dish called ‘pizza’ that both Asin and Daniel had tasted before and found to their liking. This inn seemed to have added a plethora of cheese to it though.
“I guess?” Daniel said, brows furrowed as he regarded the speaker. Standing at just over five feet tall, Daniel might have called him a dwarf if he had not met an actual member of that race before. No, this was just a shorter, very tanned individual with a neatly trimmed goatee and bad manners.
“Good. I am the vice guild master of the Seven Stones. We need a healer. We’ll pay a salary to you whether you delve or not and silver for each member you heal. You’ll also get double shares for any guild delve you take part in,” the short man said.
“Uhh…” Daniel blinked, staring blankly at the guild master.
“Don’t be taken in by this cheater,” a husky, seductive voice interrupted Daniel before he could say anything further. The speaker was an older lady, probably in her mid-thirties, clad in a tight dress and an armored bodice. Daniel absently noted that her dress would really not protect much, the way it held up her bosom. Then again, perhaps it wasn’t meant to, considering how nearly all the men in the room were focused on the speaker. They weren’t in the Dungeon at the moment, after all. “Nicole Novak. Guild master of the Bent Nails.”
“Bent Nails?” Daniel said, blinking.
“They are a women’s group,” the Seven Stones vice guild master said with a snap. “They don’t take men.”
“We don’t take most men. Most are crass and annoying and blunt,” Nicole said as she looked pointedly at her opponent.
“I’m not really looking to join any guilds,” Daniel said, interrupting the pair.
“Don’t be stupid. Everyone says that before they realise how hard it is to progress without a guild. We have special deals with merchants, access to alchemists and enchanters for specialised potions, maps and journals about all these dungeons. You’ll progress three times as fast as doing it alone.”
“Still…”
“Leave it be, Gadi,” Nicole said. “He obviously doesn’t want to work with you.” Turning to Daniel, Nicole leaned over the table, giving the young man an eyeful as she continued. “But do make sure to think about us. We do make exceptions for exceptional individuals. And I can tell, you are one. And I know many of my members are just looking forward to meeting you…” Asin cleared her throat, breaking the sudden silence that had fallen over the table. Straightening up, Nicole smiled at Asin and inclined her head to her. “And we can always take in your friends too.”
“Oh, you shameless-” Gadi began and then stopped when the innkeeper appeared next to his elbow, the matronly woman smiling widely at him. The vice guild master then turned to her and offered a strained smile. “No offence meant.”
“This is an inn. You’re all welcome to be here - if you’re buying,” Erin said pointedly
“I got a table,” Gadi said hurriedly, pointing over to his friends. “I’ll just be going back there then.”
Erin continued to smile widely as Gadi hurriedly retreated. When she turned to look for Nicole, she noted that the Guild Master had also taken the opportunity to disappear. Troublemakers sorted, she turned to regard Daniel. “So. You’re a healer, are you?”
“Yes…” Daniel said slowly.
“Good on you. If the guilds bother you, just holler. I don’t let them bring their recruiting or other beef into my inn,” Erin said firmly. “And I don’t want to see you bringing it in. Hear me?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Daniel said hurriedly.
“Good boy. You and your friends are quiet and neat, so I’m happy to have you here,” Erin said one last time before sh
e hurried off to deal with the next impending crisis in her inn. This one involved a lack of beer at least.
“I feel inadequate,” Omrak said with a chuckle. “It seems that my strength is insufficient to garner attention.”
“Healer,” Asin said simply, pointing to Daniel. And then, to emphasise her point she reached over and poked Omrak’s left arm where the bandage covered his still-healing wound. “Useful.”
“True. And that hurt,” Omrak said, yanking his arm away from Asin. Without the spells, including the last one that Daniel promised to cast later tonight, it was unlikely the trio would dare to venture into the Dungeon tomorrow. It would be at least a week before they were sufficiently healed to attempt it after their last fight. Purchasing sufficient healing potions to do the same would have removed nearly all the profits from this delve.
“Split?” Asin asked.
“No. Let’s do it upstairs,” Daniel said after a moment’s thought. While they had often split their earnings back in Karlak in the open, there, the community had been much smaller and more tight-knit. Here, they were all strangers. Better to be safe.
“Okay.” Asin nodded. After a moment she fished out some coins, placing them on the table as payment. Daniel nodded as he tried to hide his yawn, exhausted as well. Healing and casting so many healing spells was tiring.
“I’m thinking we should go shopping first,” Daniel said quietly over breakfast the next morning. Rather than eat in the overcrowded inn below, the trio had picked up their bowls of oatmeal, a platter of bacon and eggs and taken it up to their attic after voracious promises to bring the bowls down afterwards.
“Shopping?” Asin asked, tail wagging slowly.
“Well, I’d like to see what other people do to deal with the Imps. And I want to get pricing on the Lighter than Air enchantments,” Daniel explained. “Is there anything you all need?”
“More knives,” Asin said, patting her knife harness. While it was still full, Daniel knew that she had lost nearly half of those she had thrown yesterday.
“A hatchet would be good. And perhaps stronger pants,” Omrak said, glancing at the leg coverings he had darned last night. “And we should identify the dagger.”
“Okay then. It looks like we have a plan. Together or…?” Daniel trailed off, unsure.
“Split,” Asin answered immediately.
“I would welcome company,” Omrak said at the same time. Daniel glanced at the youngster who, uncharacteristically, looked slightly nervous. After a moment Daniel realised that Omrak probably was nervous – this was a very large city. Especially for someone who had spent most of his life in a tiny village in the mountains.
“Then Asin will go on her way, and Omrak and I will go shopping,” Daniel said, smiling. “We’ll take today off. Maybe get some training in this afternoon.”
Asin offered a quick nod, licking up the last of her oatmeal before she scrambled out of the attic. Daniel frowned slightly, curious about why the Catkin was so eager to go off on her own but after a moment decided against it. Friend or not, she had a right to her privacy.
“Come, let us journey henceforth!” Omrak said as he chewed on the remainder of the bacon. “I look forward to the exploration of this great city.”
“Yeah. That too,” Daniel said, rubbing his chin. “Let’s make sure to ask Erin about where to go first though.”
“As you wish, Hero Daniel.”
“Enchanters? Hmmm…” Erin hummed, tapping the wooden spoon against the side of her face. “Well, I got a few enchantments done for the kitchen, but they’re not really who you want. You’re looking for the Lighter than Air or Flying ones, right? Doing Porthos?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Well, depends on how much you want to spend. If you want cheap and serviceable, Millicent’s on Magic Road is the way to go. If you want something that’ll last more than a few months though, you’ll want to speak with Poe down at Barbary street.”
“About the expense…”
“How much would this cost, honoured innkeeper?” Omrak rumbled over Daniel.
“Har. Honored innkeeper,” Erin said with a grin. “Millicent has pre-made boots with the enchantment on it starting at about twenty gold coins each from what I was told. Poe custom makes everything, so you’ll be waiting a bit. It’s at least fifty gold with him.”
Daniel coughed, subconsciously feeling at his pouch. Not that he actually kept that much in it these days, what with his Inventory ability. That Skill made pick-pocketing Adventurers much less enticing, which, of course, was why most Adventurers stored their wealth there. Even after all their hard work and their successful run last night, he only had six gold left to his name.
“That is too expensive. I fear I shall have to brave the first floor without such aid,” Omrak announced unashamedly. “Perhaps we should visit the armorer first, Hero Daniel.”
“I’d still like to see them,” Daniel countered and then turned back to Erin. “Thank you for your recommendations.”
“Not a problem,” Erin said with a wave of her hand. She hurried off back into her kitchen to check on her pot of stew while the two Adventurers left the inn, still arguing about which place to visit first.
The blacksmithing quarter was quite a hike away, located in the south eastern most part of the city where prevailing winds would take the constant smoke out over the Arq river or down south. It kept the majority of the city clear of the never-ending smoke from the forges and, subsequently, most people happy. The only exception being the coal merchants who had to drive around the city itself to get to their biggest customers. Luckily, the city council of Silverstone had long ago built an external semi-circular road that ran outside the city, large enough to allow wagons to pass each other abreast. Still, people being people, the merchants still complained.
Rather than spend half the day walking to the blacksmithing quarter, the pair chose to ride on one of the many public carriages that ran down the main roads. While expensive at a copper a ride, the large armored corraks moved quickly and seemed to never tire in their endless circuits around town. Of course, the carriages never stopped, so passengers had to jump on and off the transport. Even so, in a short hour, the pair found themselves walking down the streets of the quarter, peering at working blacksmiths as they filled orders.
“Out of here, Adventures. Your street is down that way,” a grumpy merchant said as she shoved her way past the two slow-moving Adventurers. Suitably chastened, the pair hurried over to the next street where, as promised, blacksmiths and armorers worked on weapons and armor.
The pair walked the streets with interest, both of them highly interested in what was being created in front of them. To Daniel’s surprise, Omrak showed a surprising level of knowledge about blacksmithing, often commenting on the methods used.
“My Dad always sent me to visit Uncle Graz whenever he and my brothers were out hunting. So, I worked the bellows and occasionally made some nails,” Omrak explained. “I’m no expert, and most of my work was barely acceptable for my heart was never in the steel.”
Daniel nodded, understanding Omrak’s point. More than that, he knew that Omrak desired to return one day to his village and purchase the land next to the family farm and settle down as a farmer.
“So, what are you looking for?” Daniel said, glancing at Omrak’s pants.
“Mmm… chainmail or scale mail. Probably chain sewed into leather would be best,” Omrak answered Daniel, running a hand along his legs. “I dislike the restriction of full plate. It is too hot.”
“Tell me about it,” Daniel muttered. Since the pair were not going to the Dungeon today, Daniel was wearing his old leather breastplate. Even then, he had to occasionally swipe at his forehead and drink from his canteen to hydrate himself. Together the pair continued to amble down the street, commenting on various weapons and armor.
“I fear we might not find what we look for here,” Omrak said after a while. The pair had made their way halfway down the street already and had
yet to see any pair of pants that suited what Omrak desired. The closest they had seen was a skirt-like object made of banded metal that would cover most of Omrak’s thighs but still left his calves open to attacks.
“Maybe we should ask?” Daniel said hesitatingly. It was quite obvious that the blacksmiths and apprentices were extremely busy and disliked to be bothered. Still, the pair gathered their courage and stopped by to ask one particular apprentice who was cooling off.
“Armored pants?” the apprentice sniffed, shaking his head. “We don’t sew here. Got good solid steel cuisse, greaves and poleyn’s here, but we sell off some of our chainmail parts to the hacks up near the north. You’ll find them next to the-” the apprentice hawked and spat, “-leather workers.”
“Thank you,” Daniel said. With their main needs sorted, the pair turned and headed back up north, though not before Omrak purchased a replacement for his hatchet. He even splurged and picked up another as an additional backup to store away.
“I see more Beastkin here,” Omrak said as the pair made their way farther north as instructed. As they neared the area farther away from the river and closer to the tailors, there certainly were more Beastkin working the forges.
“No surprise,” Daniel said with a sigh. While it was unlikely to be a case of overt speciesism, Daniel knew from his talks with Khy’ra and Asin that it was easy to ‘lose’ rental applications or to choose to rent towards other, less bestial, species. The wars with the Beastkin and their rumored ties to Ba’al continued to impact human and Beastkin interactions, even hundreds of years later. When Omrak made signs of interest, Daniel lowered his voice and explained how the world worked – as explained to him by those older and more experienced.
“I do not like such dealings,” Omrak said eventually and determinedly. “One should be judged by the strength of one’s arms, the honor of one’s words and the depths of their courage. All else should pale.”
“No, neither do I,” Daniel agreed. “It’s why I’m a bit hesitant about the guilds. Some of them, they don’t take Beastkin. Others treat them as second-class Adventurers.”
