A Mage Prepared

by Thomas Whipple

  We spent two more nights camping as we traveled back to Efftin. Each day we traveled southeast while taking out any of the leftover possessed that we came across. The encounters were easier and faster now that we were stronger than before and they were less organized. Not worried about drawing attention to ourselves we also talked a great deal. By the second night I think I knew more about her than I ever knew about someone that wasn't a family member. The closer we get to the village the fewer encounters we have, which is allowing for faster travel. By the time I went to bed the last night before we would reach the village I had increased Enchanting to 5, Water magic gained a level to be 5, while fire magic is now level 4 and even air leveled up again. Time magic seems to take a while to level but it's now level 3, and the constant use of Mana Bolt and Mana Barrier has risen Neutral magic to 7. Thia also improved all of her skills by one, except Merge. Even with all the fights we have had, there isn't much progress in level. Especially so since the level of enemies we face also fell a little.

  We didn't see any more of the possessed the rest of the way to the village and when we approached the guards at the gate they seem rather surprised to see us. I didn't recognize either of them but they looked like they knew what was going on. A male beast kin with stripes like a tiger sent his partner to fetch the council and send another guard back to escort us to the meeting hall. His partner, a wood elf with a bow, took off at a run. A few minutes later a dwarf in full plate armor and carrying an almost comically sized hammer I recognized came to the gate.

  "Hello Grondar" I say in greeting.

  "Ah, the human with Azzaria again. Vol was it? I assume that since you are here you were successful in your quest." At my nod he continues. "Well, better to get this over with so that everything can get back to normal I figure. Follow me."

  Turning on his heals he motions for us to follow along before walking toward the large meeting hall we met with the council in last time. "So lass, how was your adventure? Did you get stronger hanging out with this guy?" He is talking to Azzaria with an interested expression on his face.

  "I did Grondar. It was a little scary at times, but really, I was more worried about my companion here. He makes it to much of a habit to jump in and take the hits for me. I think he forgets who is actually stronger." She is obviously teasing me but she gives my arm a little squeeze to show her affection for my idiocy. It's a gesture that doesn't go unnoticed by Grondar either, because he gives me a raised eyebrow when she does it. I only smile and shrug in return as we reach the building. He leads us into a side room from the hall to await the council. While we sit in the room Grondar stays outside the door waiting to inform us when the council is all here.

  "Azzaria, let's not mention anything about the Mana Fount to the council OK?"

  "Why" she seems a little confused then understanding dawns on her. "You don't trust them?"

  "No Azzaria, I do not trust all of them. I was planning on telling Dolan and Hildre, probably Enora as well. I definitely do not trust Serin and some of the others would probably tell him if they were told."

  "Sounds like a good idea. They don't really need to know about it anyways."

  A few minutes later the door cracks open and Grondar waves us into the hall. They are all sitting in the same places as they were before and Serin looks particularly displeased with us this time. It's Dolan that speaks for the council "Did you complete your goal?" At this I nod and say "Yes." I continue on to tell him about the increasing numbers we saw and the goblin village that we found. Then about the cave we cleared out and the killing of the queen. From there I just skim the clean up of killing any that are around and destroying all the eggs we could find. When I am done Dolan turns to Azzaria.

  "As a member of this community, can you verify that what he has said is true?"

  "Yes. It's as he said. There are still some possessed that are out there but since the death of the queen they are much less organized and pose little threat to us here."

  "Great! That is all settled then, and you have earned the respect of this council Vol Adare. See me after this and I will give you your gold. For now though you are welcome to stay in our community as long as you wish."

  "There is no need for the gold Dolan. The welcome of this community is reward enough" I say while smiling to the confused council members. I may have also left out the amount of money we found too, so 5 gold was no big loss. With that though I hear a sound and the quest message appears.

  Quest complete: Cleanse the Corpse Beetle Scourge. Reward: you are now welcome in the village of Efftin.

  Making it quick while I am in front of the council I close the message and take a second to verify a theory of mine by checking my status. The quest did give me experience toward my next level even though it didn't mention it. Better yet I am close to level 12 now. I close the status screen and focus on the council once again. Dolan speaks again "If that is it then" but he is interrupted by Bolden the gnome. "I see that your Familiar is grown now. I would like to remind you to come by my shop later so that we can talk about it." I smile at the gnome before I answer "Of course. We've had a long few days on our journey and still have a few things to handle today. I will see you tomorrow in your shop if that is OK?" He nods to this and Dolan looks at the other council members to see if anyone else has something to say. When no one says anything he turns back to us "That will be it then. I will see you two later." With that they all start to get up and leave. Since we are closer to the door we walk out and wait for the council members to leave.

  When Serin comes out he sneers at us but doesn't say anything and walks away. A minute later Jerick walks out and I catch his attention. "Hi Jerick. Is it ok to come back to your shop with you to have you take the final measures for our order?" He smiles when he sees us. "Yes. Definitely come with me. I was able to finish one set after yours and it sold very well. The fact that the skin you brought me had no damage to most of it made a very good material that needed little stitching and improving the end results. I made good money off that other set and I will have this finished for you by tomorrow in thanks. I just need you to try them on so I can measure and get started on the final adjustments." Following along with him it only takes a few minutes to get to his shop. Once inside Jerick hands me a pair of boots made from the very same hide that we provided to him before we left, and motions to a nearby bench. He then turns to Azzaria and points her to a rack on the left wall for her to try on her things. I identify the boots in my hands and I can honestly say that I am impressed.

  Steady Boots of the Stone Tortoise: Boots made from the strong, scaled hide of a Stone Tortoise. Made by a skilled leatherworker they were designed for protection and endurance. Light Armor. Item class: Rare. Durability: 50/50, Armor +20. VIT +5. Makes the wearer harder to knock down.

  When I tried them on I felt more stable on my feet than ever before. They were a little big though. While Azzaria was getting into her armor Jerick came over to kneel in front of me and started making marks on the boots with a small piece of chalk. After a minute he told me I could take them off. By this point Azzaria was done and he spent some time making marks on her armor. While waiting I pulled out a few things to practice my enchanting. When he was finally done checking out my girl, ehem, I mean, taking Azzaria's measurements, he turned to me again. I may have been a little distracted by his hands on approach to fitting gear. though I couldn't tell you if anything he did was unnecessary, it irked me a little. Because of my distraction I didn't realize it would bring attention when I sent the items I was working on to my Dimensional Storage. Jerick's eyes went wide for a second and then he composed himself very quickly. What surprised me was the fact that he seemed to ignore it after that and just continued on without asking about it.

  "You can come by tomorrow. I should be done with the alterations by noon." He seemed a little friendlier with his smile as he led us out.

  Out on the street I turn to Azzaria and say "That was a little odd. Why did Jerick act like that after I used my s
torage ability?" She starts walking toward the other side of town while she answers. "It's considered rude to ask about someone's abilities, so he was surprised but the fact that you have something like what he saw makes you someone he doesn't want to offend." Well, that does explain it. Headed to the blacksmiths shop we take a detour into the alchemist shop. Enora is already behind the counter when we enter. Seeing us come in she gets up and walks around the counter to give Azzaria a warm hug. "Let your companions in so that I can say hi to them as well" she says to me over Azzaria's shoulder. Shrugging, I open the door again to wave them in. Timbre walks in with Thia in her customary spot on her back. Turning back to Enora I am surprised by her catching me in a hug. Startled, I didn't react to it and she leans in to whisper "She looks happy with you. Are you serious about this?" I return the hug and whisper back "Dead serious." After that we release and the elderly elf gives me a nod before fawning over my companions.

  Azzaria walks over to me. "What was that about?" I give her a one armed hug and tell her "It's nothing." She shakes her head like it isn't worth digging and we turn back to Enora. Done spoiling my companions with some kind of treats she pulled out of a pocket, she returns to the counter. I spaced out a little while I was looking at Thia and asking her what Enora gave her. Mostly the two were talking about our trip, with a little more detail than was given to the council as a whole. All I could get from Thia was that "It was good." I tried a new tactic then "I can't get more for you if I don't know what it is." I get a bunch of jumbled emotions through the bond we share and then she just gives me a mental shrug. At that point I get pulled back by Enora who is looking at me and asks "Is there anything else you need while you are here?" Looking around I am reminded that we are low on potions. I focus back on Enora and say "Your potions were very useful on our trip but I think we could use some that are a little more powerful. Do you have anything like that?" Waving us over to the counter she starts to pull out some potions that are a red, blue, and purple color.

  Health Potion: Using this restores 200 HP instantly and another 200 HP over 30 seconds. Item class: Uncommon.

  Mana Potion: Using this restores 200 MP instantly and another 200 MP over 30 seconds. Item class: Uncommon.

  Potion of Minor Rejuvenation: this restores 100 HP and MP instantly with another 100 HP and MP over 30 seconds. Item class: Uncommon.

  Seeing them I ask her "Do you have 10 of each?"

  "Yes I have that many. Azzaria said you collected some money, but is it enough? That will cost you 30 gold."

  I smile and hand over the gold instantly. "There you are. You may want to attend dinner with us tonight. I am sure that Dolan and Hildre will be expecting to eat dinner with us and I think you should join."

  "Perhaps you are right Vol" she says while giving me an appraising look. "Please tell Dolan that I will be joining for dinner then."

  We both said our goodbyes for now and left to head next door.

  Chapter 15

  We can hear Dolan at his forge hammering away before we even start going around to the back of the shop. When we get there he is working a horse shoe. It only takes a few minutes waiting before he finishes and comes over to embrace Azzaria. Then to my surprise he catches me up in a crushing bear hug next. After a couple of seconds where I worried that I would pass out he releases me.

  "Now that ya be here I figure ya plan on telling us the whole story, and not tha watered down bit that you told the whole council?" Dolan raises a bushy eyebrow to me as he asks.

  "Of course! I even asked Enora to join us tonight for dinner so that you all could hear it together. I hope that is OK with you?" I wait until I get a nod and continue "Before that I have some business to discuss with you. I need you to make me an amazing staff. Do you think you can do it?"

  At this he scratches his beard and says "I don't know how much help I can be for ya. Most staves be made of wood and I not be so good with the stuff."

  "Not a problem" I tell him and then I set 3 bars of Blessed Starlite, the three feathers I gathered from when I was Merged with Thia, and the large Blessed Diamond on a work table to the side. Seeing it all, his eyes get so large I think they might burst. The next few minutes he spends inspecting the materials. Finally he drags himself away from the table to look at me wide eyed.

  "Where ya be gettin this stuff?"

  "You'll hear all about it tonight. So do you think you can make a staff for me out of these materials?" I ask him.

  "With the extremely light weight of the metal I can make a staff that should have a very low strength requirement. It be needin to be chanted as a focus mid way through if ya want it to be any use to ya. You can talk to Bolden to do it for ya."

  "No need. That is my profession now and I plan on doing it myself. I need you to do the forging, but I want to do as much as I can myself."

  Dolan looks at me a little surprised when I say I'm an enchanter, and then with a little respect when I say that I want to do as much myself as possible. "That is good Vol. I will get started tomorrow morning. You can be doing the chantin' fore you head over to Bolden's shop tomorrow. Lets go say hello to me wife."

  We all head into the shop through the back door and meet Hildre, who greets us all with another crushing hug. Even my companions. I take a look around the shop and notice that it's set up the same way that Jerick's shop is setup, but with metal armors instead of leather. On one wall are all the weapons, sectioned off by type. Everything from daggers and swords to morning stars and war hammers line that wall, each in its own section. Seeing the daggers though reminds me of my own back up weapon, the hunting knife I keep on my belt. Azzaria and Hildre are talking a little quietly and I can see Hildre look over at me every once in a while, which is making me a little nervous. Having an idea that it's along the same lines as my short conversation with Enora, I try to ignore it and get Dolan's attention. When he turns to me I ask "Do you think you can make me a dagger for backup just in case?"

  "The metal ya gave me be plenty for a staff, but not quite enough for tha and a dagger."

  Nodding to him I pull another bar of Blessed Starlite out of my storage and hand it to him. I only have one more bar of the blessed variety and I want to save it for a rainy day. "Will this be enough then?"

  He nods to me and responds "I be think'n I should use one of them feathers you gave me for the staff too."

  "Sounds good. When do you think you will be able to get to it?"

  "I be wanting to get to it tonight. There is still a few hours in the day fore Hildre be ready wit dinner and I be wantin to get a feel for the metal fore I start tha staff of ya's anyway. Why don't ya an the lass get cleaned up. Then ya can come back an chant the new dagger for I finish it. Ya got some mana crystals for the chant wit ya?"

  I have plenty that I grabbed from the room we found in the cliff cave system. "I have more than enough."

  "Tha be good, cause wit the metal ya brought me I spect tha ya be needin a lot."

  At this point Hildre and Azzaria are waiting for us and we turn to them. Hildre speaks then "Both of you get cleaned up. Then Azzaria will come to me and help with dinner. You can come back to help my husband."

  To this, Azzaria and I head over to her house while Dolan heads out back with us to place one of the bars of metal I gave him in the hot coals of his forge. In Azzaria's home she immediately heads to the bathroom and closes the door before I get there so I take a seat in the living room until she is done. While I wait, I go through the things in my storage space mentally. Seeing an emerald a little larger than a big marble I get a couple of ideas. Then Azzaria is out and she heads into her room. My turn in the shower is refreshing and, when I'm done, I change into a set of plain clothes that Azzaria left in the bathroom for me before stepping out. There in the hallway is Azzaria, who holds her hand out to me and asks for my dirty clothes. Curious, I hand them to her and follow her to the living room. There she opens a door on top of a box that is in the corner I never noticed before, and tosses our clothes in. Looking at it now I
see that there is a couple stones that are enchanted on the edge at the front of the device.

  "Is that going to wash our clothes with magic?" To her nod I wonder at the conveniences they have made with magic and enchantments. Having cleaned up we both head to the door, but before we get there I grab Azzaria's hand and turn her to look at me. I embrace her and give her a deep kiss, slipping my tongue between her lips to deepen it further. After a minute or two...or three, we part and catch our breath. She squeezes me tight in our embrace then we let go of each other and say our goodbyes until dinner. Making my way over to Dolan I can hear him already hammering away at the metal I gave him. During the couple of minutes standing there I could see the metal forming into the rough shape of a dagger. When he places it in the coals again to heat up he turns to me.

  "I'm not quite ready for ya yet. The metal takes more ta heat than anything I seen fore."

  "That's good Dolan, because I was hoping you could attach this Diamond to the hilt." I take out a diamond that is about the same size as the emerald I was looking at earlier and hand it to him.

  "Good you caught me now or I might not have been able ta do it later" he says, taking the gem from me.

  When he takes the forming dagger out of the fire he spends a few minutes more forming the general shape and then waves me over. Seeing that it's my turn I get up and walk over. I take two fist sized mana crystals from my storage and place them on the anvil next to the raw dagger. Then I hold my hands right over them, close enough to feel the lingering heat off the metal. Concentrating, I activate the pattern I learned for my Focus talent and push mana into it then out of my palms and into the metal. As I watch I can feel my mana drain quickly and see the mana crystal start to liquefy. As the mana crystal changes the liquid flows over to the metal and gets absorbed. After a little more than a quarter of my mana and a whole mana crystal with some of the second, the enchant ends as I can feel it come to completion.