Caged: Book 2 Of the King's Hand Series

by B. A. Monaghan

  He ended up going to Gimin’s blacksmith shop to return the machete and tell Gimin how incredibly thankful he was for its use. Hacking through the grass and plants with a regular machete would have been close to impossible. Without the loaned machete, he might still be in that grass trying to cut a tunnel.

  Gimin was happy to see Roland and hearing that his machete had been used. Roland let him know that they had been successful finding what they were looking for and left the shop soon after.

  Next, Roland and Shadow went to the Mages Guild. Better to get this over with sooner than later. For some reason, since he had come home from an adventure that had lost him a friend, it was hard to meet with people and explain what had happened on the adventure. He intentionally left out the details about the death of his friend to those he had already told the tale. Eli, though, would know something wasn’t right and would ask him about it. He just didn’t want to talk about it yet. He had an unease in his belly that just wouldn’t go away. It was like he had failed. He wasn’t able to help when help was really needed.

  The wait in the lobby to see Eli was very short. Roland and Shadow made their way to Eli’s office and knocked on the door. “Come in Roland and Shadow.” Eli’s office was a bit more cluttered than normal. It looked as if he had been busy with some project. Eli was reading a piece of paper as they entered. He put the piece of paper down on his desk and gave Roland and Shadow his undivided attention.

  “How did your adventure go Roland? I understand this trip was one of your most difficult yet. How are you holding up? Losing a good friend is always difficult. I’m sure it is going to take some time to get over a loss like this. I’ve learned that time is better at healing a loss than anything else.”

  Roland thought about that statement. “I think you may be right. I seem to get better at dealing with the loss of Damari every day, but it is still tough at times. It was my quest we were on and I wonder if he would still be alive if I hadn’t wanted an epic bow. I wasn’t interested in going into the stone city we discovered, other than to find a place to get dry. The rest of the group wanted to explore the ruins. It was my quest that got the group there, and it was the group who wanted to expand the quest and search for magical artifacts. Am I personally responsible for his death, or is the group responsible?”

  Eli had a serious look on his face and paused before answering. “I know you think this is your fault, but it isn’t. It is the water drake’s fault when you get down to it. He was an evil creature that preyed upon those who were unfortunate enough to enter his lair. If you hadn’t killed him, who knows how many more adventurers might have died. What you have done is to provide the Adventure Guild with a place to stay when they head into the deep swamp. What I hear is that it might be a boon for both adventurers and alchemists.”

  Roland looked up at Eli after his last comment. “Well the guild might like the fact they can go and stay in the swamp longer, but I don’t look forward to going back anytime soon. I am an expert in toughness now because of that stupid swamp. I wasn’t trying to improve toughness. It is probably inevitable if you go into that swamp too often.”

  Eli used the pause after Roland’s comment to move the conversation along. “How is the bond between you and Shadow doing?”

  “It is good. When the priest cast the persuasion spell on us, Shadow knew what was going and helped me come out of it. Mateo ended up reacting faster than either of us, though. It is nice to know that the bond helps to overcome a persuasion spell.”

  Eli smiled at that comment. “I’m glad to hear that. Some with the animal bond never get that far in their bonding process. I think it is because you have gone through so much in your young life. Most people never go through all the adventures you have so soon in life. I can’t imagine if you live a full life what your statistics will look like. Take a week or two and recover. A tough trek like you’ve been on takes a lot out of you. When you’re ready, I have a task for you. I’ll call for you later. Go home and get some well-deserved rest.”

  They departed the office and Roland decided he was going to take Eli’s advice to rest. He and Shadow had lost a lot of weight. Shadow soon left to hunt outside the city. Roland went to the market to purchase some fry bread stuffed with spicy meat. He ate two at the stand and then purchased two more to take home with him.

  The next week went very slow for Roland. He worked on his knife skills and spent some time practicing his mother’s instructions on his illusion magic. Even after these activities, it still left him with a lot of time on his hands, so he began adding mana to the elixirs Hazel and Vivi were creating. After several days of this routine he became utterly bored.

  His patience was waning. Every time he went to Gnorbit’s house he would be chased away, being told his bow wasn’t ready. Perfection couldn’t and wouldn’t be hurried. Shadow was taking things in stride and encouraged Roland to do some hunting. The problem with hunting around the capitol was that nothing was much of a challenge for him. He did run the city with Shadow every night in shadow form. The Thieves Guild was probably having a hard time of things while Roland was around.

  Just over a week after his returning home, Gnorbit finally allowed him into his workshop. He had finally finished the epic bow for Roland. Roland and Shadow quickly gave Gnorbit their complete attention. “Gnorbit, I’ve been on edge all week waiting to see what you’ve been working on.”

  Gnorbit was making the reveal of his epic bow as dramatic as could be. He covered the bow in a dirty blanket, of all things, and considered his words carefully before the big reveal. “Roland, nothing in history has prepared the known world for what you are about to see. I created a really unique bow.

  Gnorbit paused for dramatic effect. “First, the bow fires an arrow so fast and with such velocity that using a wooden arrow won’t work.”

  Roland interrupted Gnorbit at this point. “What good is a bow if you can’t use an arrow with it? That is why I use a bow AND arrows.”

  Gnorbit gained control of the conversation again. “UH, UH, UH, now listen to me Roland. I anticipated this problem. While you were gone I was able to create 50 arrows specifically for this bow. I made some metal arrows. They are made from a very light weight alloy I have been experimenting with. The shafts themselves are hollow. Then I had ruins placed on them to make them stronger and lighter. I also had a locater ruin placed on each one. The command to find the arrow is “Seek.” Once you give that command, you will know where all the arrows are within a two-mile radius.” He pulled an arrow out from under another blanket that Roland hadn’t noticed and handed it over for inspection.

  Roland took the arrow. It was black like his wooden arrows were, but with a white fletching. Along the shaft of the arrow he could see the ruins that Gnorbit mentioned. This arrow had a broad head, and the arrowhead itself had ruins on it. “Gnorbit, this is incredible. I have never seen or heard of ruins being this small. This arrow alone has to be worth a fortune.”

  Gnorbit laughed. “It wasn’t as expensive as you might think. On your map of the underground tunnels, I noticed you hadn’t searched some of the storage rooms. In one of those rooms was a safe, and well, you know me and safes. I couldn’t keep from seeing what was in it. I needed the practice too. Inside the safe was some incriminating evidence of what appeared to be an embarrassing event in the life of a mage that happened to be the master of ruin craft at the Mages Guild. He will be doing all the ruin work we need from now on, without cost. He was just happy to know I’ll never tell what I learned.”

  Roland interrupted again. “How do you know about my map? And I thought the Mages Guild put a stop to your thieving? As I recall, you're retired and living a life of luxury.”

  Gnorbit was all smiles, enjoying this whole conversation. “Roland, how am I supposed to create an epic weapon for you if I don’t know you? I had a small peak at your things. It’s not like you have much. You should think about spending some of that money you have. Enjoy life. I also need to keep up with improvements to securi
ty. How am I supposed to do that without inspecting the latest safes and security measures? I’m always surprised that the thieves have the best security around. They are the thieves. Who is going to steal from them? Well, other than you or me?”

  Gnorbit paused and again prepared for the unveiling that was taking way too long. “The second unique feature is the look of this bow. The shape I gave it, and the gears, is nothing like anyone has ever seen before and the fact that I used the amber slime to harden the spider silk. The bow had a very beautiful look about it before it was completely finished, but after I had the ruins added it kind of glows now.”

  Gnorbit finally pulled back the blanket back to reveal the weirdest looking bow Roland had ever seen. As it lay on the workbench, it appeared to be actually glowing a golden color. It had what looked to be two oblong wheels at both ends. The string itself ran back and forth three times. The body of the bow wasn’t even one piece, but several pieces and the pieces looked more like a frame with empty spaces inside the frame. It had a notch for the arrow to fit into. How in the world did this thing work?

  Gnorbit was laughing now. “Roland, you should see your face right now. I couldn’t have imagined a better reaction. I know what you’re thinking, that this thing couldn’t possibly work. I will tell you that this bow will shoot arrows 300 feet per second. That probably doesn’t mean much to you until you shoot something, and then you will appreciate the creation I’ve made. Pick up the bow and let’s go to my indoor shooting range.”

  “When did you get an indoor shooting range?”

  Gnorbit was laughing so hard now. “It was one of the upgrades I completed to the old shop while you were gone.”

  Roland picked up the bow. It was incredibly nice. It had a grip that seemed to fit his hand perfectly. He could see small ruins all over the bow. “Gnorbit I am seeing several ruins on this bow. What are they all for?”

  “Well, strength for one. This one here is for speed. It will give you the ability to shoot faster than ever. There is another one for accuracy. This one here will prevent anyone else from shooting straight if they try to use it. In fact, let’s give you the affinity to use the bow before you shoot it.”

  Gnorbit showed Roland a small ruin that he hadn’t noticed, one located on the palm of the hand grip. “Roland that ruin is connected to the other ruins on the bow. Hold the bow tight. I’ll add some mana to the ruin at the front of the bow. You might feel a little bit of discomfort.”

  Roland held the bow firm, not wanting the affinity thing Gnorbit was talking about to fail. He wasn’t going back to the swamp for more slime. Gnorbit was looking close on the front side of the bow. He put a finger up to the ruin and sent a burst of mana into the bow. Nothing seemed to happen at first, but then the bow began to glow even more. Suddenly, BAM, a surge of pain swept through Roland’s hand up into his heart and brain.

  Immediately, Roland was lying on the ground looking up at Gnorbit. The gnome looked concerned. “Roland, are you alright? I knew it would be a little painful but I wasn’t expecting that much of a reaction. I’ll record the effect so we can know in the future what to expect.”

  The palm of Roland’s hand was throbbing. As he looked down at it, he observed a very bright red welt with what looked to be a mirror image of the ruin that had been placed on the grip of the bow. Gnorbit grabbed his hand and inspected the mark. He smiled and helped Roland to his feet. “Roland that affinity worked really well. You must have been holding on tight. The tighter you hold on, the better the take. Congratulations, now let’s see how well this thing shoots.”

  Roland had to rub his palm on his pants to relieve the pain. Gnorbit was standing at a firing line in front of what appeared to be very long hallway. A target was at the end of the hallway and light was illuminating the entire length. It wasn’t immediately obvious to Roland what was providing the light, but he was sure this hallway had to be going well under the street in front of Gnorbit’s house. “Did you get permission to excavate away from your house?”

  Gnorbit laughed. “Did the thieves get permission to dig the tunnels? What a ridiculous question.”

  A stand was next to the firing line. On the stand were a dozen arrows. Gnorbit took one and handed it to Roland who picked it up and knocked the arrow. The draw on the bow was way too easy. Roland was sure this bow was defective. His long bow was very hard to draw and it shot extremely well. This bow was not going to work. At least that was what he was thinking. He released the arrow and it shot away from him and the bow faster than he had ever seen an arrow travel. He was speechless. The arrow embedded itself into the top of the target.

  Gnorbit was still laughing. “This has been the best day I’ve had in decades. It shot high because you weren’t expecting that kind of speed, were you? That is why you need to practice. Your aim will be off for a bit until you can adjust to the bow.”

  “I thought you said it would help my accuracy? I barely hit the target.”

  “If the accuracy ruin hadn’t been on the bow you would have missed the target entirely. Now cast the spell seek.”

  “Seek.” It was almost like the navigation spell, except he knew his arrow was in the target. Because of the new seek spell, he immediately was aware that arrows were next to him and that more were back in the workshop. It was a bit amazing. Out of curiosity he pulled up his status panel for Tracking. He had a hunch.

  Tracking - Expert Level 8

  You gather details of the world around you. You distinguish what has gone before you.

  Passive Abilities

  Detection +25%

  Animal Bond Share senses with Animal

  Active Abilities

  Shadow Meld (35 mana)

  Reveal Tracks (35 mana)

  Navigate (40 mana)

  Seek (20 mana)

  Sure enough there it was, under his Tracking skill. How many abilities were there under all the different skills? How many abilities are possible, and no one has any idea that there exists many still waiting to be used? “Gnorbit, did you know that the spell for seek is on the tracking status panel?”

  Gnorbit had a funny look cross his face. He turned and looked at Roland. “You’re telling me that the seek spell is in your tracking skill panel? Interesting.”

  Roland started to wonder about Gnorbit’s look and on his last comment. “You don’t have the tracking skill, but you have the seek spell. On which panel does seek appear for you?”

  Gnorbit gave him a knowing look. “Now that would be giving away too many secrets.” He laughed and waited for Roland to take another shot.

  The next few hours Roland worked on getting used to the bow. It was just amazing. The speed the arrows attained was ridiculous. The accuracy worked almost too well because the bow zeroed in on the target without Roland having to rely on his own abilities. When he let his concerns be known to Gnorbit, the gnome took the bow back to his workshop where he tinkered with it and then brought it back. “Now try it.”

  Roland picked up another arrow and this time just when he was about to release it, he knew somehow exactly where the arrow was going. He could place the arrow exactly where he wanted it to go if he adjusted the aim slightly. He would have to see if it worked for him in the wind. After another round of shooting he was convinced he could hit exactly what he wanted.

  As they went back to the workshop, Gnorbit was all smiles. The gnome hadn’t smiled this much in a century at least. Roland was smiling just because it was nice to see the old guy happy.

  The gnome got serious when they were back at the workbench. “Are you happy with the bow, and do you have any concerns about it?”

  “This is better than I had hoped for. I can’t imagine the bow getting any better. I do have a concern about the arrows, though. I have six arrowheads that I made out of the stinger of the Manticore that we killed. Those arrows will go through anything magical. I shot them through magic shields like the shields never existed. Can I have those six arrowheads placed on these new arrows?”

  Gnorbi
t was deep in thought when he looked back up at Roland. “I don’t think that will be a problem. Sometimes mixing different types of magic can lead to some unexpected outcomes. The Manticore stinger is probably a passive magic and shouldn’t affect the arrows’ flight. Send them over and I’ll attach them to 6 more arrows. That will give you 56 arrows total. I’ll make 19 more arrows with bodkin heads on them, just in case you need that type of arrowhead.”

  “Roland, I also wanted to speak to you about one more thing. This bow is an epic bow. Look here, I put my mark on it so that if any gnome sees it they will know that old Gnorbit created this thing of beauty. We gnomes take pride in our work. The thing is Roland, doing something grand is within every gnome if he puts his mind to it. Most never do, but what really sets gnomes apart are legendary works. For something to be legendary it has to be an epic work that is used by someone that does something with the workings in a glorious way. You see Roland, this bow I have created will be just an epic bow if you use it in a way that people, gnomes, and elves will talk about it for a millennium. I’ve put all my eggs in one basket, and that basket is you, Roland. I need you to become a legend with that bow.”

  This had Roland’s head spinning. “Gnorbit, I don’t know if I can ever be a legend. I’ve never wanted to be a legend. As I see it, anyone who has attained that status has fought in a heroic battle. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but there isn’t any battle going on at the moment and I’m not even in the army. I’m sorry. I don’t say this to hurt you Gnorbit, but facts are facts.”

  The gnome just gave a short snort. “I know what I know Roland. I know you have the capability to do something legendary. It doesn’t have to be in battle, either. I also know you’re just a babe. You’re what, 19 years old? A Half-Elf lives for hundreds of years. You have centuries to do something miraculous. If anyone I know is going to do something miraculous, it is going to be you. You don’t need to worry about hurting old Gnorbit, I have a feeling about you Roland, and that gut feeling has never let me down yet.” Gnorbit continued laughing as he walked down to his palatial living quarters leaving Roland standing by himself in front of the workbench.