“Why did he do it, though?” Grognard said. “Now we know about his new weapon system, and he knew you’d come back.”
“True. And now we also know how his Guild was able to take a bunch of level-capped wizards in their own turf. But he was counting on it. He wanted us to know that he could shoot me dead with impunity.”
“We can report him to the City Guard,” Tava said. “This was murder, plain and simple.”
Hawke shook his head. “No witnesses other than Lady. People heard a few loud noises, and some Paladin tourist dropped dead, except his body was gone a few seconds later, so I bet most people didn’t see much of anything. Nobody will believe us.”
“What now?” Grognard asked. “Going out for a stroll sounds like a sure way to get your brains blown off.”
Thinking about the answer helped him cool down. He focused his anger on how to deal with the situation, instead of letting it overwhelm him.
Oh, yes, he told her, relishing a vision of Kaiser’s demise. He’d never considered himself to be blood-thirsty, but he’d discovered that watching your enemies die was very satisfying.
“This time, he knew where and when to place his teams,” he said out loud. “I’m guessing there were at least three of them. Maybe four or five, to make sure they had all the bridges leading to Dwarven Hills covered. Only two teams had a shot at me, and even then, one of them had to shoot me twice.”
“How many guns do you think he has?”
“Not many. Maybe half a dozen, a dozen tops. If he had more, he would have deployed them more closely together. Enough to take shots at the rest of you.”
If they’d killed Tava… The thought almost drove him into a frenzy, but he clenched his fists more tightly and went on. “Those things cannot be cheap. We don’t know what sort of propellant he’s using instead of gunpowder, but it must be some high-level magic. Let me see that bullet again.”
He examined the missile with his Advanced Mana Sight. As Grognard had said, the thing was infused with magic. At least three Enchantment and two Inscriptions were carved into it, some on the copper jacket, others on the alloys below it. Making the bullet must have been nearly as expensive and labor-intensive as creating a Masterwork-Quality item.
“Expensive guns, expensive bullets. Of course, they could have hundreds of regular non-magical rounds to kill normies with, but they definitely can’t make enough enchanted rounds to keep an assault rifle going. My guess is, it’s some sort of bolt-action. You said the last shot came four seconds later?”
Grognard thought about it. “Four, five seconds or so.”
“Single shot, then, with a fairly slow reload time.”
“Yeah,” Grognard agreed. “Making a magazine-fed weapon is going to require some fancy crafting. The recoil would also slow down the shooters. Physics still mean something, and sending a .50-cal bullet downrange is going to kick your shoulder like a mule. Takes some time to bring the rifle back into line, even with super-strength. Stronger doesn’t make you heavier.”
“I don’t understand the things you are saying,” Tava said, sounding annoyed. They’d been speaking Vulgate, but a lot of the terms were modified Latin words that someone who didn’t know about firearms wouldn’t be able to put into context.
“Sorry. Just two gun nuts making idle talk,” Hawke told her. “Guns send a metal bullet flying toward the target, kind of like a sling, but using a small explosion to move the bullet instead. The bigger the bullet, the bigger the kick at the other end.”
“I see. And these guns can deliver killing blows at seven hundred feet?”
“More than that, assuming they are as good as the ones from my world. If they have a clean line of sight, they can hit a target at well over a mile.”
Magic would be more than capable of providing the equivalent of a scope, too. On the other hand, a cramped city like Akila didn’t have too many places with a good field of fire. The big towers near the center of town definitely did, but the lower buildings would provide plenty of cover even if Kaiser could place his sharpshooters there.
“How can we stand against weapons with such reach?” Tava said. “I can strike an unmoving object at twelve hundred feet, if the wind doesn’t shift on me. A running target at nine hundred as well, more often than not. But I might as well be armed with a child’s sling against these foes.”
“They have to see you first. They must have a lot of anti-stealth measures, since they were gunning for me, the Paladin Ninja. But there are other ways to be concealed.”
“What’s the plan?”
“I’ll have to go incognito to run the errands I need. And I’m going on a mini-quest of my own.”
“What is that?”
Hawke smiled. “I’m going to get one of Kaiser’s guns. Maybe more. And then we can go play Enemy at the Gates on a level playing field.”
Tava’s grin matched his own. “And then you will teach me to use those ‘guns,’ will you not?”
“A girl who wants to go play guns with me. I’m the luckiest guy in the world.”
Fourteen
“Welcome to Akila, Tercos Agostes,” the bored-looking guard at the Silver Gate told Hawke after he pocketed the entry fee. “Stay out of trouble and you won’t have to deal with us red-clads.”
“Many thanks,” he replied as he re-entered the city after spending most of the morning running outside the walls like a crazy person. An invisible crazy person, thankfully, moving fast enough to leave a racehorse in the dust, and relying on his Transference spell to turn Mana into Endurance to keep going, long after any normal creature would have dropped of exhaustion. It hadn’t been fun, and he had discovered that it got mighty hot in the summer around those parts. He’d had to drink about a gallon of water and sweated most of it before reaching the Silver Gate on the other side of Akila. He looked like someone who had spent a rough week on the road, which worked for his cover identity.
The real Tercos was a former arena champion who had left the city as a tenth-level Gladiator a few decades ago, ending up as a mercenary in the Dwarven Kingdom of Dun-Takah, where he had met an untimely end in battle with Orc nomads. The Sterns had detailed records of the guy, having worked with him. They also had one of his suits of armor, left behind – along with the bill for repairs – when he moved on to greener pastures. The former champion had been gone for long enough that most people wouldn’t remember him, which allowed Hawke to pass as a fourteenth-level Warrior and Gladiator. Unfortunately, his Hidden Status ability could only alter his level by five ranks, which still would make him noticeable in Akila, so the cover story was the best they could do. A scroll of Face Change, a gift from the Sterns, gave him Tercos’ features, suitably aged, for twenty-four hours, of which he had already used six.
It was messy and probably overly complicated, but he was trying to avoid Kaiser’s snipers while he conducted business in town, and they would be on the lookout for him. Staying invisible was a possible situation, but there were countermeasures for that sort of spell. He was hoping to hide in plain sight. If he was wrong… Well, the armor he was wearing was hot garbage compared to his Battle-Mage set, and he didn’t have any of his defensive spells on. He’d be sent to respawn and, if he hadn’t gained some XP before it happened, he’d start incurring some serious penalties.
He joined the crowd of people pouring into the city and didn’t spot any Nerf Herder lookouts. They were probably concentrating their efforts on the eastern part of town, although he bet there would be some at most of the places he intended to visit. Probably not the Crafter’s Market, his first stop, but the Temple District would be under watch. He’d be headed there soon. And do a bit of counter-ambushing of his own.
But he’d do some shopping firs
t.
* * *
It’s a small world after all, Hawke thought when he recognized the head merchant at the Exotic Items Emporium.
The clean-shaven, and portly guy in the bright purple peaked cap was unmistakable. The hat was like nothing else he had seen in the Realms, like a silk version of an old movie’s policeman headgear. Hawke had seen it before, on top of the same guy’s head, while sorting through the memories of Greg the Necromancer. Peaked-cap guy had sold Greggie a dimensional pocket – and cheated him along the way. Here and now, the merchant sat on a throne-like chair on a dais at one end of the showroom, where counters and display cases were filled with rare items of all kinds, everything from weapons to garments to jewelry, all highly magical. The salesman didn’t seem to have aged any, either.
The Emporium charged one gold denar just to make it to the showroom, although the fee would be deducted from any purchases made there. It was a place for serious shoppers only. When Hawke recognized the head merchant, however, his first impulse was to turn around and leave, forfeiting the entry fee.
I don’t like coincidences. How come the same guy who sold Greg his pocket dimension is here?
Cloned merchants running a chain of stores? Hawke shook his head and stepped into the showroom. Hawke saw three other shoppers – two high-level Adventurers and a normie wearing magical robes and a small fortune in assorted bling – were already there, along with two saleswomen that looked like identical twins, both blondes with epicanthic folds on their bright blue eyes and deep mahogany skin, an unusual combination. They wore loose pants made of some sheer, near transparent fabric that had a way to cling to their legs, leaving little to the imagination, and little sleeveless jackets over something like a Victoria’s Secret bra. The three customers were spending half of their time ogling them instead of looking at the stuff in display.
The wealthy non-Adventurer hesitated for a moment, then walked up to one of the women and whispered something to her. She giggled and whispered something back. The guy seemed to think about what she said, looked her up and down once more, and finally gave her an abrupt nod, handing her a leather purse. A pretty full leather purse. She held it in her hand, her eyes closed, and then stopped smiling and cocked her head to one side, waiting until the rich guy shrugged and took off one of his rings, one with a big ruby, and handed it to her as well. Her smile returned; she took one of his hands and led him to a side exit.
Guess everything is for sale here.
Do you think he’ll get his money’s worth?
A third woman, looking exactly like the other two, came in and took the place of the one who was giving the rich dude the time of his life – or at least, the most expensive one. The other two customers, a Mage and a Sorcerer, paid no attention to the transaction and continued examining the goods at hand and stealing glances at the saleswomen. Hawke did the same, examining both the goods and the employees.
Emporium Worker
Level ??
Health 1,500 Mana 1,500 Endurance 1,500
Pretty tough, for a salesperson. And I’m not getting her species or level.
He turned to Purple Hat next.
Emporium Master Trader
Level ??
Health ?? Mana ?? Endurance ??
Wise guy, eh? Hawke thought, frustrated at the lack of information. He turned on his Advanced Mana Sight – and saw an energy dome around the Emporium Master that completely obscured him. Hawke couldn’t see anything past it, other than the sense that the dome and the entire establishment were suffused with a weird mixture of Order and Chaos energies.
“What an observant young man,” Purple Hat said with a wide grin, looking right at Hawke. “Perhaps his sharp eyes will spy something he may find worth the expense.”
Hawke’s jaw dropped; the merchant had spoken in English.
The Master Trader wasn’t done: “Lord of the Dead, ruler of the Sunset Valley, a land once known as the Green Cauldron in the Fae tongue, Champion of Order who has become an initiate of Chaos, consorter with gods, demons and those above them.”
“You know quite a bit about me,” Hawke said.
“In some circles, you have been noticed. You are not quite notorious; it will take some more seasoning before you gain that status. But we definitely have taken note of you.”
Hawke gave the man a bow of his head and switched off his senses, knowing when he’d been beaten. The Emporium belonged to someone he didn’t want to mess with. Maybe the Arbiters or even the Makers, or someone who reported to them.
“I am sorry for prying. I meant not offense,” he said.
“No offense taken, Lord Hawke. You were merely curious. Not a sin in itself, though curiosity may lead you to trouble, if you are not careful.”
“I’m sorry,” he repeated. “You have my apologies.”
Oaths were usually repeated three times in the Realms, to ensure the ones making them were serious; Hawke figured apologies probably followed similar rules.
The Master nodded. “Well said, and much appreciated. Perhaps we should talk, Hawke Lightseeker. Not today, I’m afraid, for you and I have many things to do. But when there are fewer urgent matters to attend.”
“That sounds great.” If I live that long.
“I will leave you to your shopping. My darlings will assist you with everything you need or want.”
Chastened and still curious, Hawke went back to his business. In the Realms even a shopping trip could unearth hidden dangers – and opportunities.
Fifteen
Neutrals nobody wants to mess with. Could come in handy.
Hawke walked up to one of the counters, hoping that the thirty-five hundred gold denars he had with him would be enough to buy what he needed. He’d sold one of his precious Mithril ingots to the Sterns, discovering the magical metal was worth almost twice as much as gold; between that and his dungeon-crawling earnings, he had close to five grand in gold – half a million copper denars, enough to purchase a hundred thousand man-days of unskilled labor. Unlike ancient or medieval times, however, in the Realms you could easily spend that money or more on things like magical items.
He’d left a third of his money with Helena Setes, who was using it for assorted Domain-related investments. He still had enough cash at hand to buy the entire town of Orom, but he didn’t know how far it would go in a place like this.
The woman’s smile didn’t waver as she greeted him. “Do you see anything that piques your interest, young master? Or are you looking for something else?”
There were lots of Masterwork Quality pieces of gear on the display cases and counters, but nothing on which he was prepared to spend his hard-earned gold. He’d gone to the Emporium hoping he could find stuff that he needed.
“I was told you might have Beast Saddles for sale.”
If they didn’t, he would need to scour the Crafters’ Market, although that sort of magical item was unlikely to be found elsewhere. Pl
an B was to hire an Arcane Leatherworker to make better seats for him and Tava, so that riding the Drakofoxes didn’t turn into a game of Russian Roulette.
The woman’s eyes glazed over for a second; Hawke guessed she was accessing some sort of magical interface – the store’s inventory, most likely. Her grin widened and she gestured with her hand, making three ‘windows’ appear above her head, each consisting of a white square filled with black text, just like the notifications the Arbiters sent Adventurers.
“We have such devices in our store, young master,” she said. “Their attributes, quantity and cost are listed in their description sheets, as you can see.”
“Thank you.”
He examined the devices’ stats, grunting at the listed prices.
Simple Beast Saddle (Enchanted Quality) (4 In Stock)
A magic saddle that will reshape itself to conform to the body of a riding beast of Medium or Large size. It will seat a single humanoid rider in relative comfort and safety.
Weight: 30 pounds. Durability: 150/150. Resistance Values (All): 50%. Requires Arcane Leatherworking to repair.
Price: 150 gold
Enhanced Tamer’s Beast Saddle (Masterwork Quality) (3 in Stock)
In addition to the properties of a Simple Beast Saddle, this item will fit any creatures of Small, Medium, Large, and Gigantic size. It can expand to accommodate one rider and one passenger. Minimum level to use: 10.
Bonuses: +5 to Riding Skill, +10% to any tasks involving maintaining control over the riding beast, +10% to any tasks and spells performed while on the saddle.
Special Abilities: Self-Repairing: Will regain 10 Durability per hour while not in use. If the Saddle is destroyed, however, it will not reassemble itself.
Weight: 40 pounds. Durability: 350/350. Resistance Values (All): 80%.
Price: 450 gold.
Master Tamer’s Beast Saddle (Legendary Quality) (1 in Stock)
In addition to the properties of an Enhanced Beast Saddle, this item will fit any beast of Small, Medium, Large, Gigantic, and Colossal size. It can expand to accommodate one rider and up to three passengers, each with an individual seat.
Guilds at War: The LitRPG Saga Continues Page 11
