by Tao Wong
“We should not join such places,” Omrak said firmly before suddenly grinning. Omrak then rushed away like a child having spotted free candy, leaving Daniel shaking his head behind him. Sometimes, Daniel envied Omrak’s ability to see things so simply. But at least in this he completely agreed with the Northerner. He would not abandon his friend for measly material benefits.
What Daniel did not mention to Omrak but which preyed upon his mind was his Gift. If the guilds were competing over him now, with his measly healing ability, their reaction when they learnt of his Gift was likely to be greater. It would be best to only join a guild that he could truly trust. One that would value and understand Daniel’s own reluctance to exploit his Gift too greatly. Or else the consequences might be unimaginable.
“Come, friend, Daniel. Do these pants fit me?” Omrak roared, his loud voice cutting through even the clang of metal and the hiss of boiling water. Face flushing, Daniel hurried over before Omrak said something else embarrassing for the entire city to hear.
“Are you Millicent?” Daniel asked, hours later when the pair had finally left the smith quarters with one pair of well-fitting scale mail pants and one less shred of dignity.
“Depends on who’s asking. If it’s the tall drink of muscle behind you, I certainly can be,” the old woman says, hungrily eyeing Omrak. Omrak flushed at the attention, stepping back protectively as he crossed his arms over his chest. That just made Millicent grin wider.
“We were hoping to look at some boots with the Lighter than Air enchantment,” Daniel said as he stepped in front of Millicent.
“Yes, yes. You’re new Adventurers doing Porthos. Probably not even enough gold among all of you to buy a single pair,” Millicent said with a sniff and waved her hand to one corner of the shop. “The new shoes are there, but if you turn right around, you’ll see some of the used ones I buy back and resell. Enchantments will be powered up before you leave, of course.”
“Used?” Daniel’s voice actually grew slightly excited at that. He might be able to afford those. With a nod and smile, Daniel and Omrak turned to browse the boots which were nicely arrayed according to size. Unfortunately, that seemed to be the only organisation done with styles ranging from simple ankle-length boots to thigh-high pieces that had heels on them. With their disparate sizes, the pair quickly split up to browse for potential options.
Daniel was finding things much easier with six different options to choose from. While all were serviceable, some were more worn than others, and all at least required seven gold coins. The most expensive pair was nearly as expensive as a new pair at nineteen coins.
Omrak on the other hand, under the constant, smiling scrutiny of Millicent had found only one pair in his purported size. But a simple test showed that the wearer had much slimmer calves, forcing Omrak to browse the remainder of the store. The blond giant soon realised that the majority of the store catered to that single enchantment with cloaks, boots and pendants all hosting that same spell. There were, surprisingly, few cloaks available while the pendants sold were all new.
“Your variety of cloaks are low,” Omrak said bluntly as he fingered one particular woolen piece.
“Not much demand. Cloaks get damaged easily during fighting,” Millicent said, shaking her head. “I put the enchantments near the collar, but still, few experienced Adventurers want enchanted cloaks. Pendants now, those you can wear forever.”
“Forever?” Omrak said, frowning. “I have heard spoken of conflicts between enchantments.”
Millicent sniffs slightly at those words. “Oh sure, if you want to carry a dozen or more, you’ll need to be careful with how they affect your aura and yourself. Especially if you’re a Mana user. Big man like you, I bet you swing that sword only, right?” At Omrak’s nod, she smiled. “You probably could get away with eight or nine before it’s a problem. Your friend over there, the Healer? He’s got to be more careful.”
“I do not understand why,” Omrak said.
“Don’t worry your pretty little head,” Millicent said. “If you’re interested in those pendants, I can always work out a deal with you. Have you help around the hou… shop till you are paid off.”
“Do you not fear me disappearing on you?” Omrak said, frowning.
“I’d get your Adventurers Card first, my dear,” Millicent said with a cackle. “I’m not that old yet.”
“I was more concerned about my potential death,” Omrak corrected her. “I would never take what is not mine.”
Millicent’s grin just grew wider at Omrak’s words. As she started to lean over to point out other pendants for Omrak to look at, Daniel stepped up quickly to Omrak’s side and yanked on his elbow. When the blond giant looked at him, Daniel beckoned him down to whisper in his ear. A moment later, Omrak’s face turned beet red before he turned around and left the shop, stomping out.
“Did you have to spoil my fun?” Millicent said, glaring at Daniel. One hand came up from under her counter holding a wand which she casually fingered.
“I did. I truly did,” Daniel said, stepping away. “Well, I can’t afford anything yet. I’ll be back another time.”
“No, you won’t. But your friend is welcome,” Millicent said bitingly.
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll let him know,” Daniel said as he scurried out. Outside, he looked up and down the street before he finally found his blond friend. When he caught up, Omrak was looking straight ahead, refusing to meet Daniel’s eyes. Well, this was a less than stellar shopping trip, Daniel thought. Still, if they were here on Magic road they should be able to find someone to identify the dagger.
With that thought in mind, the pair started walking along the road, asking questions of those shopkeepers within. Quickly enough, the pair realised that the vast majority of shopkeepers were just that – shopkeepers. Very few had enchanters within, and the few that did refused to speak with them without an appointment. They were nearing the end of the road, and they had just entered a rundown, sparse shop in desperate hopes of finding someone when they encountered the gnome.
Sat on a high-chair, poring over a single bracer and gently tweaking the gold wire it was laying down, the gnome was entirely engrossed in its work. Pink hair, cut short and a workman’s leather apron along with large, bulky gloves and a pair of goggles covered the enchanter’s face. The pair quietly and respectfully stood aside, waiting for her to be done.
With a slight exhalation of breath, the gnome placed the forceps down, leaning back and stretching. As she did, she saw the pair and jerked backwards, uttering a low yelp as she over-balanced and fell off the chair. The pair of adventurers raced forwards, Omrak and Daniel apologising profusely while the gnome popped right back up.
“Sorry, sorry, sorry! Didn’t see you customers! What can I do for you? Sara Vorfix at your service!” Sara said excitedly. “We don’t have much stock right now, but if you need any commission work, I can give you the best prices in town!”
“We require an identification,” Omrak said, pulling out the enchanted knife they had acquired in Peel and laying it on the counter.
“Oh.” Deflated, Sara stopped bouncing as much in excitement. Still, she grabbed the knife and pulled it from the sheath, pulling a magnifying lens from her belt and beginning the examination. In twenty minutes she finally nodded, almost to herself. “That was boring.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s a boring enchantment. Snake’s Curse,” Sara said. “Poison. It’s a slow build poison, so it increases with each strike.”
“Ah,” Daniel nodded and then glanced at Omrak. The pair of them sighed, knowing that it wasn’t a particularly useful enchantment. At least for them. “Do you buy enchanted weapons?”
“I do,” Sara began enthusiastically and then deflated suddenly, “But I don’t have the money for it right now.”
“Oh.”
“I could take it on commission?” Sara said slowly, her eyes wide and hopeful. “Give you a better deal.”
“That…” Daniel and Omr
ak shared glances, noting how disreputable the store looked. Yet, Daniel had a good feeling about the gnome. “Well, maybe. What would the terms be?”
Grinning, Sara leaned forward and began the negotiations. A short while later, the pair walked out of the store, less one enchanted dagger and with the addition of a new contract. Inside, Sara was already busy cleaning the store and getting ready to display the new weapon, obviously more spirited than ever. Their business complete in the magic sector, the pair decided to move on to the training grounds.
“Welcome back, boys!” Seth greeted the pair as the two strode in. “Here to use the grounds?”
“Yes, sir,” Daniel said. “We’re hoping to perhaps speak with one of the trainers and work with them for tactics on the first-”
“Floor of Porthos,” Seth finished for Daniel, smiling. “Of course, you are. That’ll be two silver.”
Once the pair had shelled over the coin, they were directed to Quinn, an older man who sat squinting over a book. Surrounding the man were a wide variety of boxes and specimen jars, many containing recognisable loot pieces.
“Yes?” Quinn said.
“We were told you could help us with the Imps?” Daniel said, unsure what this man could do.
“Right, right. Imps. It’s always Imps,” muttered Quinn. With a snap, he shut the book and slid it under the table before turning to the chest on his right. Within seconds, he had extracted a surprisingly complete Imp specimen whose body glowed ever so slightly.
“Here we have a common Infernal Imp. As you can see, this particular specimen is considered average for its kind standing at three feet two inches tall. Now, Infernal Imps are known for attacks conducted by their sharp claws and have been known to bite prey that have angered them. In the wild, Infernal Imps are known to carry diseases and other infectious substances under their nails, but those in the Dungeon, having no such source, are ‘clean.’ However, Adventurers should always watch out for their flying attacks with the Imps tendency to go for crippling maneuvers. Now, as you can see here, the Imps wings are similar to the Dark Wing Bat with webbing between thin limbs. Unlike the Dark Wing Bat, there are no digits at the end of the wing…”
A half-hour later, the pair of Adventurers walked away from Quinn with a dazed look on their face, right into the arms of the smiling Armsmaster who guided them over to his corner of the training grounds. There, a series of weapons were laid out, ready to be borrowed or tested for training purposes.
“Have a good talk with Quinn?” the Armsmaster said teasingly. “Don’t worry; you can always get him to explain anything you didn’t understand.”
“I… thank you,” Daniel mumbled, staring at the weapons.
“Mateo,” the Armsmaster supplied at Daniel’s hesitation. “And you’re welcome. Now, let’s talk tactics and arms now that you have some knowledge of the Imps.”
“Uhh…”
“Well, what do you know of them?” Mateo said impatiently.
“They fly. Light bones to give them flight. Low body fat, high metabolism,” Daniel repeated. Unlike Omrak, with his own knowledge of biology gained through studying healing, he had understood a significant amount of what Quinn had spoken of. No longer under the onslaught of information, he began to truly think. “They tire fast.”
“True,” Omrak said, recalling past battles. “They land after a few passes.”
“And they’re easy to injure because of the bones. Their skin is pulled tight, especially along the wings. Not much elasticity at all,” Daniel said.
“Well, well. You were listening,” Mateo said with a smile. “That’s true too. Too many Adventurers fight them like they would a Harpy, but that’s just a waste of good arrows.” Mateo reached out to the table, hefting a strange looking crossbow. Rather than a single, narrow shaft for a bolt to sit, a hollow cylinder sat in place. A long cut ran along the cylinder, allowing the bow to be armed by sliding the end of the bowstring back which seemed connected to something within the cylinder itself. “This here is a rockbow. You use these,” a hand pointed to a series of similar-sized rocks which had silver-green veins running through them, “in them. Load it in, aim and fire. Just make sure to keep it pointed up a bit, the rocks can roll out if you’re not careful.”
“Boom rocks,” Daniel said, identifying the rocks immediately. That wasn’t its official name of course, but for the Miners, it was best known by its colloquial name.
“You know of them,” Mateo said slightly surprised.
“I used to be a Miner.” Daniel frowned, recalling his experience with these rocks. They were an uncommon feature in the mountains but had a tendency to explode when struck too hard. The rocks themselves were solid; it was the vein of silver-grey metal that caused problems. When faced with a vein of suck rocks, Miners had to either work slowly around the vein, abandon the seam or wait for a more experienced Miner to arrive.
“Well, that explains it. The shards aren’t big, and the rockbow is useless against most other monsters, but the Imps in flight get knocked out and down easily. Pepper them with these and their wings shred, forcing them to land,” Mateo said. “Of course, the other option is the tank and spank.”
“Tank and spank?” Daniel said with a frown. In answer, Mateo pointed to the large tower shields.
“Tank the attacks, wait for the Imps to get tired. And then spank them like the naughty little boys that they are.”
“Ah…” Omrak walked over to the tower shields, hefting them. “I dislike such implements. But if the Imps do not face me directly, perhaps this is an acceptable response.”
“That’s the spirit! We rent all of this equipment out too. You’ll need to leave a deposit of course, just in case you die, but it’s cheaper than purchasing them outright. You’ll find they’re not as needed on the next floor,” Mateo said, all business now.
“Thank you. I think we will,” Daniel said as he hefted the rockbow.
“I’m glad you youngsters are taking this seriously. Most others, they don’t understand what makes a great Adventurer.”
“Courage!” Omrak said enthusiastically.
“Preparation,” Daniel said softer, recalling one of the first conversations he ever had.
“That’s right. Preparation. Courage can be bought. Preparation is key!” Mateo said, clapping Daniel on the hand. “I see great things in your future, young man. If you survive.”
Chapter 5
“You think he saw us?” Daniel asked as they eyed the Imp Overseer in the distance. The Overseer was on a particularly large platform, protected by a horde of Imps. The entire group seemed to be lazing around, occasionally breaking out into fights while waiting for an unlucky Adventuring group. Looking down at the group from a higher platform, the trio was slowly backing away as they debated their options. It had only been a week since their first visit to the first floor of Porthos, and while the party had managed to gain some confidence at battling the Imps, caution said they should not attempt the Overseer yet.
“Yes,” Asin said, pointing. The brewing scene of chaos, where the Overseer was kicking and whipping Imps into action left a feeling of dread in Daniel’s stomach. Sniffing the air, Asin turned to look around before adding. “Smell only them.”
“It seems we must do battle,” Omrak said, moving forwards to where the walkway connected to the platform they were on. He propped the tower shield on the ground, letting it rest for the moment while he waited.
“Ba’al’s tears,” Daniel swore, cranking back on the hand-held rockbow. This was his second as he’d come to realise that the heavier bows were of less use to him. In fact, Daniel had fallen in love with the weapon – his miserable aim was significantly compensated by the explosive nature of the projectile. He didn’t have to hit the Imps, just get the shot near them to do damage.
Unlike the pair, Asin had not changed her weapons or fighting style. What she did sport was a new enchanted harness, one that constantly replaced the knives that she drew from it with those in her Inventory. It was a p
owerful enchantment, one that she had only started wearing today. Daniel was slightly surprised to see it, knowing how expensive such an enchantment could be – and the fact that Asin herself had just bought one from Tevfik not so long ago. Then again, it was not his place to dictate how she spent her money. In either case, with less concern about running out of knives in the middle of battle, Asin’s effectiveness at dealing with the Imps had grown.
“Coming,” Asin said, drawing Daniel’s attention back. The herd of Imps had split once in the air, coming at the group from three directions. The first flew just in front of the Overseer who took its time walking towards the trio. The second and third each attempted to flank the group.
Without speaking, all three Adventurers took a corner of a triangle, leaving enough space for each of them to step back if needed while they waited. It would not be long before the first Imps, those coming directly ahead arrived. Omrak roared the Challenge of the North, drawing their attention to him and forcing them to attack his raised tower shield. Hunkered down low beneath the angled protection, the Imps could only crash, jump or swerve away depending on their own nature. One particularly brave Imp landed on the shield itself, hooking its claws in an attempt to pull the protection down. It was an action that would see the end of its life as Omrak would take a swift step forwards, smashing the shield and Imp into another, sending both Imps falling into the mists.
Soon after, the other wings of the attack arrived. Daniel shot and loaded as quickly as he could, pulling rocks from the carefully designed bandolier across his chest as he fought. It was, to Daniel’s estimation, the safest place to keep explosive rocks – right in front of the biggest, toughest piece of armor that he had. Better than around his waist for sure. Rocks flew from the crossbow, some exploding a few feet away from Daniel and peppering him with their shards, the smaller rocks sounding like heavy rain on a metal roof as they shattered on his armor. Most of the rocks blew up a few dozen feet away from him to harass and injure the flying red monsters.
