When Jason finally reached the abandoned little farming village where he’d spent his first night on Ludus, he was overcome by nostalgia. He took a break on top of a roof, resting his freezing, aching joints. Even with his endurance skill, the trip had been grueling.
It was obvious that monsters, probably goblins, had visited. Shutters were hacked to pieces, furniture had been pulled out of buildings and torn apart…The villagers had been wise to leave when they did.
The village itself was already being overgrown by the forest. A small tree was growing right outside George’s old front door.
Jason sat down with his chin in his hand and just rested. He knew he only had a few hours of daylight left, but he was suddenly emotionally exhausted. This was where it had all begun. This little village out in the middle of nowhere…if they hadn’t come to this place, he might not have even been alive today to feel so melancholy about the place.
It was a sobering thought. Not for the first time since coming to Ludus, Jason felt incredibly lucky. However, with his new suspicions about Dolos, he wondered how much of their good fortune was actually luck. Just how far did the manipulation go? If there even had been manipulation. They had no proof.
Jason sighed. He couldn’t sit around feeling melancholy all day. He had a job to do. He teleported into the air, and a few minutes later, he found the clearing he’d first seen Mareen and George in. The trail remained; there were probably goblins nearby.
As Jason started walking through the forest towards his destination, he realized the flowertop demon probably survived off of goblins.
When he had spotted his objective, he stopped. About 50 yards ahead of him, Jason spotted the bush with pink flowers. It looked interesting, like something he’d walk up to just to study. That was probably the point.
He drew his sword Breeze and advanced slowly. He wasn’t too worried. If the monster did anything too surprising, he was just going to teleport away.
About 25 yards away from the creature, Jason realized he was being an idiot, an arrogant idiot. He sheathed his sword. Why fight if you don’t have to?
He teleported to the top of a tree near his target. Even so close, the monster just looked like a bush with pretty flowers. However, when he threw a throwing knife to the ground, the whole ground erupted a split second after it landed.
Tentacles lifted from soil in an explosion of dirt and leaves, grasping blindly as the creature lifted itself from its hole. Jason was sickly fascinated. The bush seemed to actually be growing from a depression in the monster’s head. The rest of it was blocky, with thick, leathery skin. It almost looked like a worm with its mouth in the wrong place, on the side of its body.
Tentacles whipped around, coiling around trees, poking into the foliage, searching everywhere for food. The tentacles all had thick hairs at the end that Jason figured were for sensing prey. The monster itself was obviously blind.
As Jason observed the creature, he was glad he’d been smart enough not to deal with the chaos on the ground. He didn’t think he would have been in real danger, since he’d known that he would have been ambushed, but the tentacles looked strong and the creature’s mouth was huge and full of sharp teeth. Discretion is the better part of valor. He decided to use a new skill to kill the monster.
Jason held up a throwing knife and concentrated, causing the blade’s edge to shimmer with null-time. His target was currently at the farthest range that Jason could maintain null-time fields attached to objects after throwing them.
It would be enough.
Enchantment Emporyum
Uluula had a pocket full of money and wasn’t quite sure what to do with it yet. After the meeting with Ryan Gonzolez had ended, all the Delvers had gone their separate ways to begin preparing for the mission. Mareen had gone looking for Henry to accompany them while shopping, but somehow the man seemed to have vanished into thin air. Eventually, Uluula and Mareen had left together while Mareen grumbled about, “That man.”
Uluula thought about what Henry had said in the meeting, that people could choose not to go on the mission if they didn’t want to. The truth was, even if she had not been romantically involved with Jason, she would have still volunteered. The entire operation sounded incredibly interesting.
Uluula hadn’t been to Berber yet. At some point, Uluula had wanted to visit. Berber was also a border country with the Areva nation Hanana to its northwest.
However, she definitely had to improve her armor and weapons before going anywhere more dangerous, and she didn’t know the first thing about enchanted items. She also had to consider cost. The Mirana government had given Delvers LLC a small fortune as an advance, true, but most of that had to be kept for Henry’s projects before they left.
Maren had graciously donated what was left of her money to Uluula. Mareen hadn’t really needed any more gear, and if she did need anything, Henry could just make it for her. Still, Uluula was grateful.
Uluula held a sizable amount of money, enough that it made her uncomfortable.
The first thing she did was visit a weapons shop and learn the basics about magic items. Basically, magic items came in two types. The first could be operated by anyone and didn’t require any other equipment to use. These were usually simple items like elemental weapons or cups that created water. They had a switch, button, or some other physical means to activate them.
The second type was more complex and could be activated with a thought. Uluula believed most, if not all of Captain Haili’s items were this type. Complex enchanted items required the user to wear a focus crystal in order to sync with the item. These types of items were useless if their owner was not wearing the paired focus crystal, but they were more valuable because a random person couldn’t just pick one up and be the new owner after a random amount of time.
Pairing the enchanted object with a new focus crystal established new ownership.
Uluula discovered that rings were the most popular and most expensive types of focus crystals, and she didn’t understand why. She bought a necklace instead. She figured if she lost a hand she could still be fighting, but if she lost her head, she probably wouldn’t need the focus crystal anymore.
She chose a choker necklace, the choice being partially influenced by how Mareen usually dressed. Uluula was used to Mareen wearing a lace choker to help hide the line around her throat for her servitude contract. Uluula reasoned she could do something similar to hide her new focus crystal necklace.
It didn’t hurt to be careful.
Still, all these decisions were fairly simple. Actually deciding what enchanted items to buy was another matter entirely.
There were weapons, shields, projectiles, utility items, even clothing. All of it was expensive, even ridiculously so. Uluula kept thinking about how the enchanted items in other parts of the world were reportedly stronger, too. She had to keep in mind how important an item was and how easily it might be replaced if she found a more powerful item of that type in the future.
She wished Jason were with her. Mareen was good company and she was sharp as a vibrade, but Jason would have been much better to discuss strategy with. I wonder if I should wait for Jason to get back? The thought was tempting, but she rejected it. A warrior never knew when she’d be called upon to defend her life or the lives of others. Even a day or two was unacceptable, since she already knew what her course of action had to be.
Plus, she didn’t know when Jason was getting back. She dispelled the thought before it could ruin her mood, but her demeanor must have changed. The old shopkeeper she had been talking to wrung her hands and backed away nervously. Of course, Uluula and Mareen both wearing Delvers LLC masks probably didn’t help matters. Rumors were being spreading about people wearing metal masks. Uluula thought the whole situation was ridiculous.
The shopkeeper kept slowly backing away and Uluula sighed. She didn’t want to be too rude, but she was done at this store anyway. She jerked her head at Mareen and her friend followed her out into the street.
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br /> There was only one more notable store in Mirana that sold enchanted gear. In fact, it was the largest. Uluula had been avoiding it since it was also the most expensive. Oh well, no other option now. She and Mareen had visited almost a dozen shops already and hadn’t seen any gear that caught Uluula’s eye. Most of the items they’d seen so far were simple enchanted weapons.
Uluula had her spear with her, as usual. She trusted the spear, but she knew she needed an upgrade, preferably another spear. She preferred spears or halberds, and on Ludus, where everyone and everything seemed to be taller than she was, she wasn’t in a hurry to shorten her reach.
If she had to kill monsters, she wanted to keep the things at a distance while skewering them.
Mareen chatted idly with her as they walked. Uluula wasn’t very interested in inane conversation, but she knew it helped Mareen. Her friend had a lot on her mind and seemed to think she was required to present a strong front. Terrans were truly bizarre. Uluula wondered if the reasons Terrans always tried to act as if nothing was wrong was so other Terrans would not take advantage of their weakness.
Earth must truly be a hellish planet. She wondered how Jason was able to stay kind despite coming from such an evil planet full of violence and brutality. If anyone ever tried to change Jason, Uluula was going to carve their heart out with her spear while they still lived, and let them watch.
She would raze their homeworld to the ground. Nobody had better change her gentle giant. Well, gentle when he wasn’t teleporting behind people and stabbing them, but she liked that side of him, too.
They reached Enchantment Emporyum, the largest enchanted item shop in Mirana, while Uluula was still thinking dark thoughts about revenge genocide and Mareen was prattling on about tasty pies. The white-haired Areva woman shook her head; it was time to focus, time to get serious.
Even shopping could be a battle.
Inside, the shop was decorated very tastefully, the aesthetics pleasing to the eye. Nice colors, not too overdone, but with an undercurrent of wealth. It immediately set her on edge.
These merchants at this shop were probably very skilled negotiators. They’d be dangerous. Uluula would much rather have dealt with bumbling, stupid shopkeepers. The people running the Enchantment Emporyum were probably predators, skilled hunters.
The portly Terran who stepped forward to greet them had every appearance of a kindly old man. His eyes twinkled, and his smiled seemed genuine. He wore clothes more after the Ludan style: dark robes with a vest. Uluula didn’t trust his smile for a second.
“Hello, and welcome to Enchantment Emporyum! Based on the masks, I’m assuming you ladies might be part of Delvers LLC?”
Uluula could not believe the salesman had so brazenly tipped his hand. He’d just demonstrated how well informed he was, only possible if he kept close tabs on potential targets. Uluula increased her mental armor even further. Salespeople were all crooked.
Mareen began to speak, but Uluula cut her off. Her friend had already demonstrated earlier that she didn’t know what a pack of scavengers all these salespeople were. “Just tell us where everything is and leave until I get you,” Uluula demanded.
She spoke so abruptly, she almost expected the man to respond in kind. However, all he said was, “Very well. Utility items are on this floor. Armor, weapons, and higher-end utility items are grouped accordingly on the second floor.” Then he bowed and left them alone.
Uluula was so suspicious her skin began to crawl. A salesman who listened to her and even walked away…and a Terran, too? If she bought anything from these pirates, she was going to haggle them into the ground.
Into. The. Ground.
Mareen gave her a questioning look, but Uluula ignored it and stomped up the stairs. Anything she would want would be expensive. Unfortunately, that was just how the world worked. Her only recourse was to treat every sale like a fight to the death. She would not lose.
She studied and dismissed the decorations on the second floor, namely stuffed demon heads on the wall and paintings of dungeons, all of which were tacky. The exception was the decoration in the center of the room.
The centerpiece of the room, a giant crystal carved in the likeness of an Areva woman holding aloft a blazing sword, was lovely. The figure’s crystal sword used Ludus tech to glow and help light the room. Uluula recognized the artistic skills of her people in the piece, so of course it was nice. She nodded in satisfaction as she passed the beautiful sculpture.
From the center of the room, she glanced around. The shop’s reputation was well earned. She conceded it had the largest and most varied selection of magic equipment in all of Mirana.
Uluula noticed a couple guards out in the open, both of them Mo’hali. Both wore masks. She wondered if either of them was a Hero, but she doubted it; the masks were shoddy and didn’t look fitted to either guard.
She had a feeling that most shops employed Mo’hali guards whether they had a Hero or not, since the mere threat of one would probably deter most mages or Bonded. She had a feeling there were other, unseen eyes around the store as well, though.
She went to check out the utility section first, completely ignoring another salesperson and a few customers walking around. Despite herself, Uluula was impressed by some of the items and descriptions she saw. As with all the other shops they had visited in Mirana, each device was behind glass so customers couldn’t accidentally take ownership of anything. Uluula reflected it was a necessary precaution. Enchanted gear could only recognize three users before dissolving, after all.
Uluula examined a number of items, some of which had truly remarkable functions. A cloak that helped make its wearer harder to see, a necklace that changed the user’s voice, a hat that kept the user from being rained on, even in a thunderstorm, a belt that allowed someone to stay underwater on one breath for over an hour…
The item selection was extensive. There were even a few blessed steel items mixed in the merchandise such as cups, cutlery, and random bits of metal like hinges.
In the utility section, there was a staggering number of rings. There were rings that created light, rings that lowered light, rings that tested for poison, rings that could create a loud siren noise, even a ring that purified water.
Uluula moved on to the armor section of the Enchantment Emporyum and found more merchandise than in the utility section.
The Emporyum seemed to classify anything that created protection or was created from armor as “armor.” Uluula thought it would have been more accurate to call it the protection section.
The most common types of items in this section were rings and bracelets that created magic shields. Most shields created would be about the size and shape of a standard round shield, just made of force, or air, or some other element. Uluula began to realize that the items Captain Haili had demonstrated were probably individually more powerful than anything available in the shop.
In addition to all the items that generated magic shields, there was a surprising number of normal-looking armor pieces with resistances to various elements or attacks. Mareen pointed out a helm that was resistant to fire and gauntlets that were resistant to wind. Uluula agreed they were interesting, but she believed they were limited in value. Unless she had her whole body covered by a single elemental resistance, a single piece didn’t seem that useful to her.
What was far more practical was a leather chestpiece she noticed that offered puncture and slashing resistance, effectively making it the same grade of protection as steel armor. Uluula was interested until she saw the price and almost gagged. What the shop was demanding was obscene!
Robbery, just robbery. She continued to list every item, its description, and its price in her neuralcomp, the Areva hardware in her head. She’d been doing so all day at each store they went to. It paid to be informed. So far, she was surprised the Enchantment Emporyum actually didn’t have much more expensive list prices than the other stores in Mirana, but she was still suspicious. “Deals” were all relative, too, si
nce all the merchants were thieves.
She’d sold enchanted items on behalf of Delvers LLC. She could make a guess on what kind of markup the Emporyum was making, and it almost made her sick again.
Robbery!
She noticed some armor that truly caught her interest when she was almost done browsing the protection section. They were a set of light bracers, nothing really amazing to look at. However, the description made her eyes open wide in interest. She also did a double take when she saw at the price. So cheap!
Then again, thinking about it more carefully, it made sense that movement items would be less popular among other, larger races. They would probably be painful, if not impossible to use for larger people. There weren’t many Areva in Mirana; if there were, Uluula was sure the bracers wouldn’t have still been around, especially at their current price. She smiled and put a mark next to the bracers on her mental list.
Lastly, she perused the weapons section, the larger portion of the shop. Mareen visibly brightened up. This was the section she’d told Uluula she wanted to see.
As Mareen hummed to herself and moved over to examine the heaviest, largest weapons, Uluula idly continued adding entries to the database in her neuralcom as she made her way to the spear section.
There was a staggering amount of diversity in weapons. Rings that could produce sustained jets of flame, daggers that left infected wounds, bracelets that caused metal weapons held in the hand to glow, swords with elemental damage, even an axe that could almost effortlessly cut through stone. The enchanted weapons themselves were made of a variety of materials: bronze, copper, tin, blessed steel, even metals Uluula couldn’t identify.
When she got to the spear section, she almost immediately found two things she wanted. One was a ring that could create a spear of fog twice a day. The description stated the spear could be held and used as a weapon for a few minutes, or shot from the hand as a projectile.
The other weapon took her breath away. It was a jaalba, plasma halberd…or at least looked like one. Uluula had no idea why an enchanted item had been created that so closely resembled the traditional Areva melee weapon of war, but it called to her.
Delvers LLC: Obligations Incurred Page 7
