Laughing, Brick grabbed its tusks and lifted its face so he could look it in the eye, “No, big fella. Not for you. I’ll get ye some proper food soon enough!” The pig snorted in agreement, then turned and leaned into the dwarf, nearly knocking him off his feet.
“Looks like he’s accepted you!” the stable master smiled. “Treat him well. He’s of a royal line that goes back to the days when this realm was settled. You’ll have to find a name that’s worthy of him.”
Max raised a hand. “So… not Lord Ticklepants, then?” he winked.
“Careful or I’ll find out if he eats elf!” Brick growled. The pig seemed eager to comply.
The stable master left Brick and his new mount to get acquainted. He looked to Max next. “The king tells me you requested horses, and we have some of the finest. But I can see you’re a ranger. The forests are where you’ll be. Might I make a suggestion?”
Max, and the others, all bobbed their heads.
“If it were you alone, I’d recommend a bear. They can smell near as good as a wolf, and let you know when you’ve got company. They’re strong, and fast over short distances. They can help you hunt, feed themselves on berries and nuts if needed, and can act as a tank while you kill your enemies from a distance.”
Max’s smile got wider as the man spoke.
“But bears are not endurance mounts. They’d not have the speed to keep up with a fast moving group for long. So for you, I’d recommend a wolf, or one of the big cats. A panther, maybe. For when you need to move in stealth?”
Max liked the idea of a wolf. They were fierce, and fast, and could run all day. They could be silent in even dense forest. But the mention of stealth got him thinking. “Sir, could a panther mount climb a tree if it was needed?” he asked.
“Ha! It’s a cat, master ranger. It can climb most anything. And faster than you!” He handed Max a figurine of a black cat.
Max summoned it. None of them heard the slightest sound as the giant cat padded out of the stable and up to Max. It was tall enough to look him right in the face. At least eight feet long, not counting the tail, the beast was a charcoal black color, and must have weighed 600 lbs. It sat on its haunches in front of Max, looked at him expectantly, and growled slightly. With an apologetic look toward Brick’s new mount, Max pulled a piece of boar meat from his bag and held it out to the cat. The cat took the meat, chewing it briefly before swallowing. It began to purr. Which in a cat that size sounded like a lawnmower running a few houses down the block. It butted its head against Max’s chest, demanding its ears be scratched.
“Oh, my GOD I want a kitty too!” Sasha had to be restrained by the stable master to keep her from leaping onto the panther and interrupting its bonding with Max. She regained her calm, mostly, and looked at the man. “Must. Have. Kitty.”
Behind her, Lainey raised her hand, “Me too, please.”
Laughing, the stable master reached into his bag. He pulled out half a dozen figurines, looking at the two ladies and considering.
While he was thinking, Alexander cleared his throat. “I’m sensing a theme here, so I’ll go with the flow and choose a cat as well.”
“Aye, cats are a good choice. The king himself prefers them. And we’ve several to choose from, as they come in litters, not one or two at a time like horses.”
He handed Sasha a figurine. “Lady druid, for you, I think maybe a mist cat. Magical beasts, they are. And more intelligent than most.”
She called the cat to her, and peeked anxiously around the stable doors, excited to catch her first glimpse. After about a minute, when no cat had appeared, she looked in confusion to the stable master. “Did it reject me already?” Behind her, what appeared to be a cloud of mist plummeted from the roof of the stables. A silver paw reached out and batted her playfully in the behind. Spinning around, she came face to face with a mist cat that seemed to be smiling at her. Well, not face to face. The cat was taller. Sasha leapt forward, throwing her arms around its neck and burying her face in its fur.
Lainey was next.
“Lady Valkyrie, a daughter of Odin should ride a majestic lion. But not one of those big lazy males. The lioness is the fierce hunter of the pride!”
Upon her call, a regal lioness of a size with the other cats padded out of the stable. It approached Lainey, circling around her and sniffing before coming to a halt back in front of the Valkyrie. She held out one paw as if to shake hands. Smiling, Lainey took the paw up in her own, much smaller hand, and bowed slightly to the queen of the jungle.
Then he looked to Alexander. “Knights are often found upon mighty white chargers. Symbols of strength and power. As you’ve chosen a cat, I think this will do nicely.”
Alexander closed his eyes and thought, Come to me. The group all gasped in alarm as a giant white tiger with silver stripes bounded at full speed out of the stables. It leapt at Alexander, bowling him over onto his back. It then straddled the defenseless elf, looking down into his face and growling. Alexander stared back, thinking Good kitty, nice kitty, with all his might. After a tense moment, the cat lowered its head and licked him with a sandpaper tongue that covered his entire face. It then shifted to sit beside him, and swatted him with one large paw as if to say “okay, get up now”. Even sitting, the cat was taller than Alexander. Rippling with muscle, it was easily half again as large as the other cats. Alexander reach out and scratched under its chin, for which he was rewarded with a purr that sent a thrill through him.
After a few more minutes of the friends feeding and bonding with the new mounts, the stable master gave them some brief instructions on the care and feeding of the animals. He explained how to summon them, and how to dismiss them. On Io, when mounts or pets were dismissed, they moved into a sort of limbo. For them, time did not pass. They did not need to sleep, or eat. And if they had been injured, upon being summoned again after more than an hour, they would return at full health. Lessons completed, the stable master sent them on their way. He promised to deliver appropriate saddles and gear to their stables within the hour.
Walking with the new companions beside them, the very happy group headed back to their home. They led the boar and clowder of cats into the stables. The boar wandered into the first stall, spun around a bit, then simply fell over on his side with a contented snort. Brick fell upon him and began wrestling with the giant pig, scratching its belly. “Who’s a great big hunk of bacon!?” he chuckled.
The cats, on the other hand, sniffed at the various available stalls, and declined. They began to spread out. The lioness leaped up on some crates stacked outside the barn, rolled over on her back, and proceeded to let the sun warm her tummy. With a similar idea, Max’s panther moved back to the smithy and leapt up onto the roof where the sun was warming the black stone. He sat with his front paws hanging off the roof above the door, and looked down at the slightly nervous dwarves below. The cat looked almost like a statue carved from the stone itself.
Sasha’s mist cat sniffed around the courtyard, before nosing open the door to the workshop and disappearing into the greenhouse. Sasha followed, and soon the sound of giggling could be heard from inside.
Alexander’s giant of a tiger simply sat in the courtyard and looked at him. “Haven’t seen a spot you like yet, fella?” he asked. “Well, let’s go look around.” They toured the compound, going in and out of the workshop, the gardens (where the cat paused to ‘mark’ the wizard’s tower, much to Alexander’s delight) the gatehouse, and the armory building. The tiger sniffed each room, then moved on. Once back out in the front courtyard, Alexander paused near the front of the main house. “Well, buddy, that’s about it. I don’t think Sasha and Lainey would stand for having you in the main house. Maybe Brick’s cellar? It’s sort of like a cave…” he offered.
The cat snorted. He took a few steps toward the gate, then turned and ran toward the house. Leaping up, he easily cleared the second floor balustrade. Pacing the length of the balcony, he curled up on the warm stone in front of the french doors that
led to Alexander’s suite. “Yeah, I don’t blame you. I like it there, too,” he chuckled.
With the mounts settled, the friends went their separate ways to take care of some business. Max headed to a butcher shop recommended by the stable master to arrange delivery of sides of beef and whole lamb carcasses for the cats. He also arranged for bales of hay and feed for the horse, and made deals with two fruit and vegetable vendors to purchase their leftovers at the end of the day for Brick’s pig.
Alexander went to visit with the mayor of Whitehall, learning that the refugees would be ready to make the trip home the next morning. He promised they’d be ready to escort them an hour after dawn.
Arriving back at the compound, he witnessed a very nervous looking butcher’s boy standing in the back of a cart, gingerly passing large chunks of meat to four large kitties. The cats patiently waited for the boy to extend the meat outward before taking it gently in their massive jaws and padding away to the stables to eat. Apparently they’d been trained that the stables were where dinner happened. Awesome, it makes cleanup much easier.
Thrilled to be alive, the boy asked if he could feed the cats again next time. Max ruffled his hair and said, “We’ll see.” Tossing the boy a gold coin for a tip, he sent him back to the butcher.
Alexander found Lainey in the study, reading a book about crafting with leather. He sat down next to her. Indicating the book, he said, “I actually wanted to talk to you about that.” She set the book in her lap and looked at him.
“I was thinking you and I should choose some useful crafting skills to develop. Brick can create and repair weapons and metal armor. Max can make bows and arrows for you both. Sasha’s our potion expert. I think between us we should cover other needed skills like leatherworking, tailoring, or enchanting. What do you think?”
Lainey held the book up, “Leatherworking sounds interesting. I can make use of all the skins we’ve been wasting from the bunnies, boars, and wolves we kill. Four of us wear leather of one kind or another, and even Brick’s armor has leather straps that will need to be repaired at some point. Plus there’s a section that teaches me how to work on saddles and such. Tailoring sounds ok, but mainly just for the ability to make items with void pockets to expand your inventory, and those only come at a high level. Plus I can do the same with leather bags at high levels, too.”
Alexander was proud of her. For a noob with less than a week in the game, she was learning a lot. And embracing the culture of Io.
“You’ll need to visit the trainer. He can teach you how to skin the animals, treat the leather, and figure out what leathers work well for which uses. And he can teach you some patterns for leather good. C’mon, I know where his shop is.”
As they walked across the courtyard, he said, “I think I’ll take up enchanting. And maybe gem crafting. Brick and I can both mine ores and gems easily with our magic, so I should have access to lots of materials. Then I can enhance the things you craft with permanently infused enchantments, or with gemstones that hold spells and attribute bonuses.”
“And we can make gear for more than just ourselves!” Lainey was getting into it. “We can make gifts for our friends, or sell the items we make in the market. If we can craft and sell high quality items, Brick and Max won’t need to depend on random loot drops to earn a living. After this year, I mean.”
Alexander guided Lainey to the leatherworker’s guild and paid the fee for her training. He watched as she was given some rabbit and wolf carcasses and instructed how to clean and skin them. Once he was sure she was going to be ok, he left her some money to buy tools and supplies, and told her he’d be back for her in an hour or so.
There wasn’t an enchanter’s guild in Stormforge, or anywhere that he’d heard of, so he went to a shop nearby that sold enchantments. The store was filled with enchanted weapons, armor, and useful custom items, like rope that would never break, or a flask that would replenish its contents daily. There were also some novelty items like a hat that changed color based on your mood.
Alexander greeted the proprietor as he walked in. He knew the man a little bit, having brought weapons in to be enchanted in the past. “Good afternoon, master Baleron. I trust you’ve been well?”
“Ahh, young Alexander. You’ve been making quite the reputation for yourself lately. Soon they’ll be buying me drinks at the Ogre just to hear tales of your purchases here!” the old man smiled at him. Master Baleron looked older than Fitz, if that was possible. He was a mage himself, specializing in enchantment magic. Less than 5 feet tall, with wrinkled skin and abnormally large ears, Alexander suspected he had some gnomish blood in him.
“Well, then here’s a story for you to tell. I’d like to become an enchanter, and I was hoping you’d be able to teach me a bit about your art.”
“Certainly, my boy! I’d be happy to! So few are willing to learn the art these days. Expensive, it is. Unfortunately, the best way to learn an enchantment is to study an item that holds the enchantment you wish to learn, and that study often leads to the destruction of the item. Too many think this a waste of good items that they could sell at the market, so most give up after a short time. But if you stick with it, you can grow your skill and create items of wonder!”
“You need not worry about me, master Baleron. I’m aware of the price. Myself and a friend of mine both have earth magic skills that allow us to quickly mine ores and gems. And I have half a guild vault full of enhanced items we’ve looted from dead PWP adventurers and other enemies we’ve faced. So I should have plenty to study for a while.”
At the mention of PWP, the old mage grimaced. “Yes. Well. The city certainly owes you its thanks for all you’re doing to oppose those villains. The guards caught several of them right out there in the street, preparing to burn down all the nearby buildings, my shop included! So I’ll teach you what you need to know, and I’ll do it at no charge!”
“Master Baleron, please. We were only doing our duty to the realm, as you yourself would do. I expect no favors for it, and the knowledge I ask of you is valuable. How about a compromise?”
Alexander removed a bottle of dwarven spirits from his inventory. The old enchanter’s eyes lit up. He was well known at the Ogre, and often lamented the lack of quality spirits.
“How about a bottle for each lesson?” Alexander proposed.
“Deal!” The man took the bottle and gently stowed it under his counter. “Now, then. Last I saw you, you were wearing warrior’s armor and asking me to enchant that ridiculously large sword. But I see from your current attire, you’ve decided to become a mage. So, you have some magical ability, then?”
Alexander nodded.
“Good. The hardest part of this is teaching you to access and control your mana. Without that obstacle, we can begin right away.”
Handing Alexander a leather bound book with a fanciful engraving on the front, he said, “This book is the work of a master enchanter. He has infused it with the knowledge of how to transfer and then lock a spell permanently into an object. It is the most basic concept of enchanting.”
Opening the book to the first page, Alexander saw lines of elegant script flowing in neat lines down the page. The words began to blur and move, then seemed to fly toward him. He knew this process. Scrolls that taught you spells and skills worked the same way. The information transferred from the book, directly into his mind. It was slightly disorienting, though nothing like the shock he experienced with Fitz’s first lesson. He checked his skills page to confirm that enchanting had been unlocked.
Alexander spent another half hour with master Baleron, learning some specific enchantments. He could tell, though, that the old man was anxious to get to his bottle of spirits, so he left and headed back to pick up Lainey.
They returned to the guild house in time for supper. While they ate, Brick announced that the smithy was complete, and that tours were available after the meal. He and the crafters had kept everyone out after the initial shaping.
After a pleasant meal
, they all filed outside and into the smithy. It was truly a thing of beauty. The floor, walls, and ceiling were all smooth and polished obsidian with highlights of silver and glass swirling throughout. The highlights glowed softly, lighting the entire 20 foot square interior space. The forge itself sat in the southeast corner, between the two doorways, and was shaped as if growing out of the corner column. Wide and deep, with a hinged door that hung open, there was room for a dwarf to crawl inside. The highlights on the outside were in the vague shape of dwarven runes, and were made of silver, gold, and other metals Alexander couldn’t identify. Above the door, at the top of the forge, the obsidian flowed into the head of a dragon, mouth open as if ready to spout flames. In front of the forge the stone floor rose up into a foot-high pedestal that supported an anvil.
Seeing how proud the dwarves were of their accomplishment, the friends lavished them with praise. There were more than a few toasts to the new forge before they all stumbled off to bed.
Chapter Thirteen
Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor…
Dawn found the group gearing up to escort the refugees of Whitehall back to their homes. Thea and the crafters, in no hurry to get home, asked to accompany the group. When Alexander was reluctant, they offered their services in making any necessary repairs at the village. After nods from the rest of the group, he sent them each group invites. On a whim, he tried to share the quest with them, and it worked. That’s new! The NPC dwarves had already received considerable experience for their role in the crafting of a Dragon Forge, enough to level each of them twice, and award them several skill points in their professions. Now Alexander was curious what benefits they’d receive for joining in the quest.
The Greystone Chronicles: Book One: Io Online Page 30
