“Joining the Cartographer’s Guild, remember?” I asked in disbelief. What was wrong with this little guy?
“Right, five gold and one sample of your work,” Ruffalo said, holding his hands expectantly.
I could only shake my head in disbelieve at the little guy. I wondered if maybe he was elderly, and his race just didn’t show it. Still, I complied, placing 5-Gold in one of his little hands and my rolled-up map of Hurlig Ridge in the other.
“Follow me,” Rufi instructed, guiding me through the labyrinth of metal and stone shelves filled with maps, my UI lighting up with province names and dungeon names for the various maps as we passed but there were far too many to see as the halfling sped along before suddenly stopping in front of a sparsely populated shelf.
I was fascinated as I watch the halfling cast a spell that warped the stone floor raising him up to the top shelf like an elevator.
“Here we are, level 1-5 provinces, Hardwick Valley, Herne Fields,” he read off the map name as he picked it up and set it aside. “Ah, here it is, Hurlig Ridge. Only a single map on file,” he pulled the map from the shelf and the stone elevator sank back into the floor as if it had never been disturbed.
Before I could ask any questions, Rufi was speeding off again, back the way we came. I had to run to keep up with him, how the little guy moved so quickly was beyond me. I chased him all the way back to the front where he entered a rather large office right next to the main entrance to the building.
Inside the office was a cartographer’s dream. Every imaginable tool for making maps was here, large map boards to spread large sheets of parchment across, scale rulers and dividers for creating map grids, sextants and compasses to better measure distance and direction. Everything I could have ever wanted for creating maps was here.
“First, a little magic,” said Rufi, spreading my map on one of the boards and the map from storage on the other. “We need the maps to be on the same scale, so we will enlarge yours a bit to match.”
Was this a cartographer spell? Or was it a magical function of the map board?
Rufi chanted under his breath and my map grew a few inches at a time until it was roughly the same size as the guild’s map.
“There, that is better,” said Ruffalo, moving in study my map closer. “Good detail . . . looks about right for scale,” he mumbled, then pull it off the board and set it over top of his map.
“This will be a little bright,” he warned briefly before the board the two maps laid on lit up with near blinding light, causing the two maps to project into the air a few inches from the board with the lines overlapping.
“Hmm, your distance scale is a little off, but overall, I would say your map is a significant upgrade over the map on file. I see here you have found a previously unknown dungeon,” Ruffalo praised the map, tapping the dungeon I marked on my map. “We’ll have your updates applied to our map and you will begin receiving a 50% royalty on all maps sold for Hurlig Ridge province. Consider this your acceptance into the Cartographer’s Guild.”
Professional Quest: Cartography Guild Entrance Exam - Completed
Pass the entry exam for admittance into the Cartographer’s Guild
Reward: +1000-Experience, Title: Mapmaker I
Ooh, I love completing quests I didn’t even know I was on. Especially quests that reward me with a title.
Mapmaker I (Increases Mapping speed by 5%, increases map accuracy by 5%)
Now, that could be nice while I’m working on my maps, a nice little bonus to both their quality and the speed I drew them at.
“The bonuses will increase as you continue to rank up your ‘Cartography’ skill. Do you have any questions?” Ruffalo asked, his eyes still fixed on my map, but his hands were now glowing as he poked and prodded the map image floating above us. Each time he did, part of my map would disappear only to reappear on his map. Then I saw a part of my map vanish and not reappear.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“I told you before, I am integrating your map into the guild’s. The magic on our maps is such that any update to one of our master maps will update to all guild produced maps,” he explained.
That was a really efficient system, it was also no wonder the maps were ridiculously expensive to purchase.
“What if someone gives you a fake map?” I asked.
“You cannot fool a master cartographer’s eyes,” said Rufi, sounding a little affronted at the suggestion.
“Good to know. Can I get a finished copy, for my own collection?” I asked. Not happy to see my map being destroyed.
“Oh, I almost forgot that part,” said Ruffalo sheepishly, his work temporarily halted. He bustled over to his desk and searched through it for a moment before producing a key. With key in hand, he approached the large bookshelf that covered the back wall of his office. The stone under his feet rose again, lifting him all the way to the ceiling where he removed a loose stone revealing a keyhole. Inserting the key and twisting left, then right, left, then right, up then down, up then down, he pushed the key in deeper twice then spun the key completely around getting a little jingle sound that was familiar, but I couldn’t place. The bookshelf rumbled then sank into the floor revealing another room, this one filled with the same book filling two shelves.
Ruffalo sank back the floor and entered the new area of the room and removed one book and carried it back to his desk. As soon as he passed the floor section where the bookshelf sank, it began to rise up again.
“Right, as a member of the guild, I can now give you this,” he said, holding the book toward me.
Book of Maps (Cartographer Guild Member’s Only) – By placing maps or drawing maps in this book any and all updates will be sent to the Cartographer’s Guild upon logout. Please note, this book is not for doodling!
“So, can I only input maps or can I get maps on file?” I asked.
“You can input maps and you can get your maps, maps you have purchased, or any maps you have personally updated,” he answered, already back to work on updating the Hurlig Ridge map.
“What if I have a dungeon map already drawn?” I asked.
Pausing in his work, he looked at me eagerly. “You can give it to me directly now and we can make it available in about a day or so, or you can put it in your book and wait a month or however long it is before you need to return to the other place.”
I handed him the map.
“Excellent,” Rufi said, accepting the map with a little bit of reverence. “I will get started on this as soon as I finish updating Hurlig Ridge. I expect we will have copies of your map sent out to Hurlig Ridge and the vendors near the province’s portal within a day or two. Now, as to the royalty, dungeon maps earn an 80% royalty for each one sold. Additionally, you get a finder’s fee of 1,000-Gold.”
“1,000-Gold!” I shouted in surprise and shock, maybe a little of both.
“I know it is not much, but this is a beginner dungeon,” said Rufi. “I promise, you find some of the higher-level dungeons and map them and I guarantee you will earn ten or twenty times that.”
I could have fainted at hearing that. I just made almost $100,000.00 dollars for a low-level dungeon and he was telling me I could make ten to twenty times that. Does no one in the World Tree know about this? Does no one have a clue just how much maps can be worth?
I know I should have just been happy with this, but I had to ask. “How much does a dungeon map sell for?”
“A low-level dungeon map like this will sell for 20-Gold,” Rufi answered. “Please, understand, this is just a low-level dungeon map. A more complex dungeon is worth a lot more.”
I was going to be rich . . . richer. Assuming conversion rates stayed where they were, this meant I had just found the biggest cash cow in the history of cash cows. Assuming I found more dungeons . . . which I would in time, it was what I built my character to do.
“Will there be anything else?” he asked, startling me out of my thoughts again.
I was about to s
ay no, when I saw the golden glint of the sextant on his desk. “Actually, yes, where can I buy more cartography tools?”
“Place an order with me and they will be delivered to you directly,” Ruffalo answered, still focused on the maps.
“How much for a good starter kit?” I asked.
“10-Gold,” he replied simply.
“And something a little better than that?” I asked, knowing I had money to burn at this point.
“50-Gold will get you a top end kit, pencils, scales, slides and rulers, compass, sextant, and a good range spyglass,” Rufi answered.
“I’ll take that,” I said.
“Leave the money on the desk, I am almost done with the updates to the guild map then I can let you out,” said Ruffalo, starting to sound a little annoyed.
I didn’t mind the wait, watching Ruffalo work was very interesting. It made me wonder if I would ever have the skill to do the same. It was almost 20-minutes before Ruffalo finished. Then I asked him for a little instruction on using the ‘Book of Maps’, specifically on how to call up any maps I had submitted, specifically making sure my Hurlig Ridge map came up on request.
Thankfully, Olaf was waiting for me outside, looking bored to be there as he flipped through a massive tome he had sitting open in his lap. Bored, but safe and whole.
“Ready to go?” I asked him, waking him up.
“Yeah,” he said, snapping the book closed. “I was just checking the forums for any news. Apparently Hurlig Ridge has become a major starting zone location. People are raving about the dungeon and training facilities. Is it wrong to feel a bit of pride that we had something to do with that?”
“No,” I answered. “I just hope it doesn’t come across like candy to player killers hoping for easy marks.”
“There have already been two raids since we left, all of them easily put down thanks to the sheer number of players and the ‘player killer debuff’ as they are calling it,” said Olaf.
I nodded, glad to hear it. I really needed to look at my own ‘Tome of Otherworldly Knowledge’.
“Anyway, did everything go well in there?” Olaf asked.
“Yeah, really well,” I replied.
“Where do you want to go next?” he asked.
“Did you find out where the other three professional orders are?” I asked.
“Yeah, mining, engineering, blacksmithing and construction are all about 2-miles that way, they share a single complex. The Rune College is about 2-miles past that, so it would require some back tracking,” answered the ogre.
“I can check out the Rune College tomorrow or the day after,” I stated. I didn’t need any training at the moment, or rather I wasn’t interested in training right now. I just wanted to join the guild, maybe find out what kind of benefits came with it. Hopefully it would be as good or better than the Cartographer’s Guild.
“Did you find out where the auction house is? Or a sundry store?”
“Auction houses are all over the place,” answered Olaf. “They can be found in every ring, same with sundry stores, though the quality of the sundry store and the selection of goods varies based on the ring. Honestly, for the sundry store we should stop at one in the fourth ring on our way back. What did you want to do at the auction house?”
“I wanted to check the prices on skill and spell scrolls,” I answered. I didn’t know if I would make any skill scrolls but if the price was right and it was a skill I didn’t consider absolutely vital or something I considered common then I might.
“I can tell you now, the few I’ve seen go for thousands of gold, even simple spells and skills. Something like one of your Norse skills, you’re talking tens of thousands. Or at least they were last time I checked. It might be more common now that it has been a few months,” Olaf answered. “How about if we spot one as we walk toward the Corp of Engineers we’ll pop in and have a look see?”
“Sure,” I agreed. “Lead the way.” Part of me began to imagine the money that would roll in if I started creating skill and spell scrolls. Mayor Simper was right, my professions were going to make me stupid rich if I was smart about it.
A quick look at my game clock showed it was about 10:30 AM, taking into account the two hours it took to walk from the manor to here and that it would take about as long to walk back, it gave Olaf and I about 3 hours to do what we needed before returning. I was actually looking forward to letting Olaf work on his engineering, allowing me to sit and read in peace. I was determined to finish at least one of those books today.
The shop Olaf led us to was enormous, more than large enough to accommodate his bulk and frame, even the equipment inside was more than large enough to suit his needs.
“Welcome!” a jovial voice shouted as we entered, surprising the both of us. It was a troll, large tusked and purple skinned, standing at least a head taller than me but still shorter than Olaf.
“I’m here to work on my engineering,” answered Olaf. “I’m Rank I, level 72 but I’m not gaining any more experience for the patterns I know.”
“Right, you will want to speak with Master Blundercrash, watch yourself around him, it is not exactly unusual for that crazy dwarf to accidently blow up one of his students,” warned the smith. “And how about you?” he asked, turning to me.
“Just keeping my friend company. I planned to find a quiet corner to sit down and read for a bit,” I answered.
“Not many quiet places to be found in this shop. You can hunker down in the office if you like but it will not do much to muffle the noise I am afraid,” the smith offered. “Ah, where are my manners. I am Master Rakanituvasharama Ikorpunganakalameticalacadala, but most just call me Raka.”
When I saw his nameplate fill in with his full name and then wrap and hyphenate it in six different places I wanted to laugh. I did laugh when the nameplate changed to read <’Raka’ Lvl ??>.
“Nice to meet you,” said Olaf, offering the troll a handshake. “I’m Olaf Crushhammer, this is my friend Bye-bye Jacko.”
The troll happily shook Olaf’s hand, then mine. “Pleased to make your acquaintance. Master Blundercrash is on the top floor, it is the only safe place to keep him or he might destroy my smithy . . . again.”
“Right, wish me luck,” said Olaf, giving me a final nod before heading for the metal staircase at the end of the building.
“So, about that office?” I asked.
“Follow me young adventurer,” Raka said, leading me to a small stone office set in the corner of the large forge building.
Following him, I was surprised by all the players bustling around, many of them helping each other work, pumping bellows or taking turns swinging giant sledges against sheets of red-hot metal. They worked together, joked around, even talked and laughed with the NPC trainers. There was none of the short-clipped demands for quests I’d come to expect of adventurers from my early experiences in Hurlig Ridge. It seemed players learned as they leveled that this game was more than just demanding a quest . . . or maybe it was unique to these crafters, maybe they had figured it out before anyone else. Admittedly, I hadn’t spent a lot of time in the crafting forums. If I hadn’t had a trio of books recommended by my Goddess, I might well crack open the ‘Tome of Otherworldly Knowledge’ and peruse the forums for a bit.
Alas, I was going to finish the ‘Portals of the World Tree’ book even if it killed me.
Chapter 12
When I had started reading ‘Portals of the World Tree’ the day before I had thought it was complex but interesting. The math was interesting, the theory was intriguing, and when the two started to intertwine it honestly left me feeling stupid. I read and reread so many parts of it, I eventually resorted to taking
notes in my almost full journal. I was forced to start taking notes and then tying them back to the formulas, then running the numbers myself. It was exhausting, engrossing and exciting in equal measure, so when Olaf gave my shoulder a shake, I was surprised to see him.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. “Did he refuse to teach you?”
“What?” Olaf asked, looking confused by my question. “No, mate, it’s been three hours already, we have to leg it back to the manor.”
I blinked in surprise then glanced up at my game clock to see it was almost 2:00 PM already. “Wow, I totally lost track of time,” I said.
“Right, let’s go or we’ll be late,” Olaf said again.
We ended up having to run part of the way back to the manor. As it was, we arrived just as the Duchess’s chariot did. Her slamming the chariot door before storming into the house was a sign she was not in a good mood.
“Good luck,” I said to my friend, earning a half-hearted glare from the ogre’s single eye.
“Don’t give me that look, we looked after her yesterday, it’s your turn,” I said, earning a reluctant sigh.
“You sure you can’t take her today? She seems to like you,” he pleaded.
“No can do, Rose and I have an appointment at the Patrolman Barracks,” I countered.
Olaf sighed in defeat. “I suppose I had better go face the music.”
I chuckled and followed behind the towering ogre. Walking behind him, I took a moment to check my update messages. I had to blink in surprise, I hadn’t earned any new skills, but my ‘Lore’ profession shot up 33-levels.
Lore
Level: 62
Experience: 1.21%
Professional Skill: Lore is the study of the history of the World Tree and its denizens.
World Tree Online: The Duchess of Hammers: 2nd Dive Begins Page 18
