Benvari Mountains (Emerilia Book 2)

by Michael Chatfield

  “What can I do you for?” The woman wiped her hands on her apron as Suzy approached.

  “Hello, my name is Suzy Markell. I am representing the Stone Raiders guild. I heard that there were people looking to move their goods toward Nadorf and looking for some protection,” Suzy said.

  “You think you and your pixie club friends can defend a bunch of traders against a Dragon?” the Elf asked, clearly not impressed with Suzy and her party.

  “Miss Potts, we’re but one party of the Stone Raiders. There are over a hundred members of the Stone Raiders in this town heading for Nadorf. They fought alongside the Mithsia Dwarves and Kufo’tel Elves against Boran-al’s cultists, masters of necromancy and the black arts all above level one hundred and with an Undead Demon Lord and won. I think providing protection for some traders would be an easy job,” Deia said, using her analysis to find out the woman’s name.

  Potts seemed to weigh Deia’s words and look her over. “You’re not a Player, are you?” Potts asked.

  “I am Oson’Deia of the Kufo’tel Elves,” Deia said.

  Potts’s eyebrows rose, apparently impressed. “You related to Oson’Mal?”

  Deia’s eyes thinned. “He’s my father.”

  Potts’s face split into a grin. “I heard he had a daughter but I haven’t seen the old codger for some time. I wouldn’t think of him to raise an idiot and I’ve heard about the citadel.” Potts looked around, leaning closer, and lowered her voice. “Is it as bad as they say? Did the Earth Lord really band with the Dark?”

  “It is worse. The Dwarves and Elves took high casualties. The Players lost nearly three-quarters of their numbers.” It was Deia’s turn to look around. “The Dwarves are raising their walls.”

  Potts leaned back, shaking her head. “Messy business, that. I still remember Asha-moor. After that, no lord or lady of Affinity is going to get my devotions.” Potts shook her head. “You’re going to want to talk to Jaek. He’s the jaguar-looking fella over there with all the piercings.”

  Suzy saw the man soon enough. He and those with him wore some rather exotic clothes that looked better suited for a warmer climate.

  “Thank you,” Suzy said.

  “Just make sure you get them there in one piece. They’ve already spent a ton on storing their wares.” Potts turned to a server with another order for drinks.

  Suzy turned and headed to the table where Jaek and his three companions sat.

  “What brings you to our table, High Elf?” Jaek looked to her. He looked to be a Demi-Human, like Anna. His eyes slid over to Anna. A frown crossed his face.

  “Miss Potts said that you might be interested in an escort down to Nadorf,” Suzy said.

  “I might, but I need a freight bond. I’m not going to take my goods down there without some guarantees.” Jaek’s head turned to Suzy; his other friends looked over Anna.

  “How much of a freight bond do you require?” Suzy asked.

  “Twenty-five thousand gold at least.”

  “What goods are you transporting?” Suzy asked.

  “How do I know you’re not raiders?” Jaek fired back.

  “While we are called Stone Raiders, it’s because we go on dungeon raids. We are one of the most well-known guilds in all of Emerilia. If we were to take your goods, then it would spoil our reputation,” Suzy said.

  “Why would you care about your reputation?”

  “Kingdoms send us a message to ask us to clear out their lands of monsters and clear dungeons and raids that they can’t deal with. If we want others to ask us the same, we’re not going to start raiding people who are just looking for some added protection. If we took your wares that are worth a possible twenty-five thousand gold, then we’re just shooting ourselves in the foot for how much gold we can make off of raids and dungeons that kingdoms inform us of,” Suzy said.

  Jaek held her eyes for a few minutes before he nodded slowly.

  “Very well, come with me. I will show you our goods then we can talk bonds and expenses.” Jaek stood and headed for the door. His fellows followed behind the four ladies.

  “Deia, could you send a message to Josh or the higher-ups? If they want to do more protection details, then it might be an idea if they were to join the traders’ guild and then we could put some postings on the walls here for people to contact us if they need protection down to Nadorf,” Suzy said.

  “Well, Dave is already part of the traders’ guild—Wis’Zel and Kol talked him into it. I can use his reputation to put up a posting,” Deia said.

  “Ahh, I forgot about that.” Suzy opened up her interface’s notepad, going to the tab about Dave’s businesses, and entered a note about asking the Stone Raiders whether they wanted to do their interactions through Dave’s position in the traders’ guild.

  “You mean Wis’Zel, the ceramics factory foreman?” Jaek asked.

  “You know of him?” Suzy asked.

  “Yes. I come from Heval’s plains. I came here gathering frost giants fat and skins.” Jaek led them toward the warehousing district.

  “I thought that the plains of Heval were extremely warm?”

  “They are. The frost giant’s fat is a great insulator and actually cools a home. Their skins also have a chilling effect. I was passing through Omal after trading in For-Dohl and I met up with Wis’Zel. We got talking about building materials and how he had bricks and these shingles that allowed a home to be airy and bright instead of having to make out homes from thick stones. He also talked of the heating and cooling systems that his boss was developing. We became friends and I hope to visit there again when I can. If it is as he says, then I will not need to go to the southern cities of Opheir on my next trip.”

  “Why are you going south?” Induca asked.

  “Well, we got a large amount of timber for cheap and are going to take that down to trade in Nadorf. Our spices and fruits can fetch a good price down there. We sell and move cargo till we reach Zeleheam and then we will chart a ship back to Heval. Taking foods, frost giant materials, some of those ceramics and fabrics found in Mikaow,” Jaek said.

  “That is quite the journey,” Deia said.

  “It keeps things interesting, though with a Dragon all pissed off it is costing us dearly.” Jaek signaled to two lizard Demi-Humans who stood in front of a warehouse.

  Both of them were bundled up in furs, with their weapons clearly visible. They nodded and opened the doors as Jaek walked through with the party in tow.

  Suzy looked over the wagons that were stored in the place. There must’ve been thirty or forty packed into the warehouse.

  “We have twelve carts filled with lumber, eight with spices and rarities from my lands. Seven with frost giant parts. Three with tiles and the rest have an assortment of personal trading goods and trinkets for sale.” Jaek waved at the groupings of carts.

  Suzy looked over the goods that were on display. She pulled up her notes, referencing them to the stock market tracker that tracked all of the markets across Emerilia, from the smallest town to the biggest major cities. Using that, she could start to figure out what price they had bought the materials for and what kind of profits they would be expecting.

  “Well, I could understand the need for lumber. It seems that Nadorf got a rather cold winter and they are all very low on fuel. The spices I don’t see being useful until maybe Mikaow; their crops went in late this year due to the rains. Must be nice to be butting right on the tropical zone,” Suzy muttered.

  “Wow,” Suzy said, looking at the latest information.

  “What?” Jaek asked.

  “Well, it looks like some people have got word of the tiles and bricks in Nadorf. Seems that it has started something of a trend. Since Dave is the only person with all of the blueprints to both the factories and the goods, most of the people haven’t thought about building a factory due to cost. So, they’re buying up all of the materials.”

  “How do you know this?” Jaek asked.

  “I’m looking at the stock market.�
� Suzy bit her lip in thought. We’re going to have to make a factory down there—with the demand and the cost, it would be idiotic not to. Even Earth mages are buying a single brick for up to fifteen gold just to understand how it works and then paying the fees to replicate it to make homes from the material. Having to pair up with Dark and Fire mages just to make the bricks.

  “Stock market?” Jaek asked.

  “Yeah.” Suzy continued to study the different goods. Something clicked in her mind as she looked to Jaek, who looked utterly confused. No, it’s not possible. How could that be possible? He’s a trader but he doesn’t have access to the stock market?

  Suzy looked at her interface, her eyes going wide.

  Jaek was a POE. She’d checked the forums to see how there were Players working as merchants and making an absolute killing off it. Now she understood why. They had a massive advantage: they could see the trend and check on reports from the various cities around them in real-time. Having a Player working with a group of traders was worth their weight in gold, maybe even Mithril. Constantly updating the markets, knowing what to buy in one town to sell in another. Not just making wild guesses based off their experiences the last time they went through a town.

  Jaek was working on four-month-old information.

  “Uhh, sorry, just have people I know in the other cities who are passing me information.” Suzy smiled.

  Jaek nodded. “How much are those tiles and bricks going for?”

  “Now that would be telling. Potts might know someone in the city who could give you a better estimate.” Suzy turned her attention to the goods. She focused on them, checking her stock market prices against the different materials. Her notifications started blinking and she opened it up.

  New Passive Skill: Trader

  Level: Novice Level 3

  Effect: 9% chance people will give you preferential treatment. 3% better prices with those who see you as friendly.

  New Passive Skill: Evaluator

  After spending time looking at stock markets and looking at different goods, you’re starting to understand the real value of the goods in front of you on an almost instinctual level. Maybe later you can look at a good and you just know how much you could get for it in different towns. Might even be able to predict the market. Who knows?

  Level: Novice Level 2

  Effect: You can roughly estimate the price of some goods that you have background information on (+/- 25% of object’s value). The higher quality an item and the less information you have on it, the less accurate your guess.

  Suzy read the second notification again and scratched her head. She swiped it away, continuing to look at goods. A faint glow surrounded the spices she was looking at.

  Akamaran Spice

  29 gold per ounce (Limited information +/-65%)

  Origin: Havel Plains

  “Well, that might be useful.” Suzy scratched her head and looked at another object. Another information screen showed up.

  After twenty minutes, she had an estimate.

  “All right, we’ll do it for twenty thousand bond and three hundred gold,” Suzy said.

  Jaek rubbed his chin. “Twenty-one and two sixty.”

  “Twenty-one and two hundred,” Suzy shot back.

  “You said that you’re traveling with Dave, the owner of the ceramics factory. If you get me a meeting with him, then we have a deal.”

  “Done, though I don’t know how lucid he’s going to be. He’s been drinking for a bit.” Suzy looked to Deia, who shrugged.

  Chapter 13: Dragons and Driving

  “We should see if anyone is into a game of tree tag,” Deia said as they jogged. They had a caravan of nearly two hundred trader wagons making its way down the road with all of the Stone Raiders and their guards out and checking the area.

  “Yeah!” Induca agreed as Dave shook his head.

  The caravans moved slightly faster than walking pace but it was signficantly slower than all of the Stone Raiders could now travel.

  Dave knew that Deia was going a little nutty just waiting around. He’d been expecting the game to come up in the last two days. A smile crossed his face as he thought of the energy she’d had after coming off of watch last night. Maybe it’s not so bad going slow.

  Deia looked at him, staring as if she were trying to understand his thoughts. Dave just smiled back as her look became suspicious.

  “I’ll see if Josh is game.” Deia looked forward again.

  “Okay, just work on putting some more power into it,” Anna said.

  Dave turned to see another one of Suzy’s creations start moving and writhing in her arms. This one looked like some kind of freaky doll made from dirt mud and a few sticks. Dave shivered. “That is just unnatural.”

  “I think it’s kind of cute,” Induca said.

  Dave and Malsour shared a glance and shook their heads.

  Then the damned thing started moving.

  “I think I’ll go and ask Josh personally,” Dave said, leaving the freaky-deaky doll behind him.

  “What’s up, Dave? You joining in on the tree tag?” Josh asked as Dave made it up to the Stone Raiders leader.

  “Yeah, as long as it gets me away from that damned doll thing Suzy is playing with.” Dave shuddered.

  Kim started to laugh. “Getting freaked out by an animated doll.”

  Dave could feel it coming close before he saw it. “Well, look for yourself.”

  “Oh, that is weird as fuck.” Dwayne looked at the kind of awkward stick and mud figure that was quickly waddling toward them.

  “Just like a mud baby.” Kim patted the thing as if it were some kind of adorable puppy.

  “It’s like Chucky turned to mud and left his knife behind,” Lucy said, getting as far away from the thing as possible.

  “Okay, let’s go play some damn tree tag.” Josh peeled away to go talk to the other parties.

  “I second that.” Dwayne followed him.

  “I’ll see you in the trees!” Dave snuck around the wagons and went back toward his group.

  “You have fun.” Lucy’s carpet appeared; she jumped on it and sailed away from Kim and over the wagons.

  ***

  Tree tag was a game that the Wood Elves had come up with due to their high Agility and need to constantly challenge themselves and one another to be the best that they could be. The Elven rangers were some of the best at tree tag. It was simple: You touched the ground and you were it; you were touched by someone who was it, you then had to go on to hunt for the others.

  There were five people who were “it” and then twenty who weren’t.

  “Go!” Josh said as Deia, Josh, Dwayne, and two other Stone Raiders ran up toward the trees that ran along the caravan’s route.

  Deia jumped from tree to tree, using branches to swing herself forward, chasing the people who were racing away from them. She saw Dave and Induca run toward the wagons, jumping on them before jumping into the trees on the other side. Four more Stone Raiders followed them, one hitting the ground.

  They cursed, dusted themselves off and ran back up into the trees, now chasing their previous allies.

  Deia jumped off a tree, rolling over the top of a wagon and planting her foot as she rolled up and threw herself toward the other side of the road.

  She used Earth magic to bend a tree’s branch into her reach. She grabbed it and continued the chase. Her smile turned predatory as the group she was chasing split up.

  The rules for tree running included the ability to use magic, but it could only be on yourself, unless there were people who didn’t have magical abilities. With the Stone Raiders, all of them had at least one magical ability and they were using them constantly.

  Deia jumped, narrowly missing a runner who dropped three feet, pushed off a branch and moved as fast as they could away from Deia and the now two tagged Players. Deia moved closer to Dave, who was running full out. He had improved his Agility and Strength greatly over the last couple of months and he was doing a lo
t better than the Stone Raiders.

  Though the teacher doesn’t teach the student everything!

  Deia jumped past Dave, igniting the air to her side, which changed her trajectory, right onto Dave.

  He yelled as she tapped his butt.

  “Not fair!” He turned and swung around, landing on a tree limb.

  Deia grinned and jumped onto a branch higher than him.

  “So, who are we taking out next?” Dave looked around at the tagged and the runners.

  “That one?” Deia pointed at an Air mage who was laughing and escaping two other people who were it.

  Dave grinned and looked to Deia. “Looks good to me!” Dave jumped from the tree. Deia moved with him, keeping pace easily.

  It was exhilarating to chase people down one by one, but working with Dave made it all the more exciting. They quickly closed on their prey, working together with little need for words.

  Dave jumped early, making the Air mage dodge, only to have Deia drop out from the higher limbs and brush their shoulder.

  “You’re it!” Deia said.

  “Damn it!” the Air mage muttered.

  “Sorry!” Dave laughed; Deia grinned with the thrill of the chase. They watched their party chat as people relayed where groups of untagged people were.

  ***

  A golden light descended on Bendel as he and his hunting group moved away from their prey, a group of goblins that had been playing bandits on the road from Nadorf to Iska.

  “Bendel, what the hell is going on? You get some special loot?” Gillie pulled down her rogue’s hood and looked at him.

  “I dunno.” Bendel turned his hand to check out the golden light as he shifted the large axe over his shoulder.

  Quest: Dragon Hunter

  You have felt the touch of the Lady of Light. She believes that there are dangerous dragons in the area. You have proved yourself a worthy fighter and follower of the Lady of Light. Gather your party and anyone you wish to join you and clear the threat of the dragons from Opheir.