I admit it, I am more than a little worried. On one side we have my father, my brothers, and me all going on separate expeditions. On the other, father does not want us to speak about these quests, at all. Not to anyone else, and not to each other.
This, in and of itself, is highly troublesome. Before any expedition can start, father has always insisted that we must gather as a family and discuss the journey ahead. We must speak through contingencies, what-ifs, and plan for the unavoidable, but for these expeditions, father wants us to do nothing of the sort.
And if I think that he is being difficult with me and my brothers, the way he is treating Tessa is far more concerning. Sending her away, to hide in secret. There is little confusion that father doesn’t believe we will return. It’s all because of that blasted book that father found on his last journey.
Before he went to see the King, father joked about the contents of the journal and the claims made within it against His Majesty. But after he returned from seeing the King, he was not the same man. Father was frightened. Frightened by what he saw in the eyes of his Lordship.
When the messenger from His Majesty arrived, father handed out each of our assignments, one by one. He told us not to share the information with each other. Now I love father dearly, but I’ve never been one for following rules.
As soon as I saw that I was heading to one of the Monasteries, I immediately went to Constantine and asked him where he was going. Constantine admonished me for asking, quoting father’s orders. I told him that I thought there was little to worry about as I was simply going to a Monastery. That got Constantine’s attention, and he said he, too, was going to one of the Monasteries.
I volunteered that mine was the Monastery of Calm, and Constantine admitted that his was Might. I told Constantine that I had no idea where either Monastery was located, and Constantine showed me on the map he was given. With the little time that I had, I tried to commit that map to memory.
“We’ve got a location, boys! Check if you can see the new spot in your personal Maps.”
“Got it, Alex! Looks to be south of the main road, down in the swamp lands. What fun,” Dan said.
“Awesome. Let me keep reading.”
Father also handed each of us a bundle of papers. I could tell from first glance that they were from the journal that had started all of our problems.
When I tried to read the papers, I found that father had enacted a powerful ward over the pages. The only way I would be able to read what was written was if all five bundles were placed next to each other, in turn nullifying the ward.
I had little chance of even convincing Constantine to let me see what father had given him, let alone my other two brothers, or father himself.
When I have finished with this quest, I have every intention of finding Constantine and assisting him on his journey. Father’s rules be damned.
I looked in the satchel and found the bundle of papers that Tristan mentioned in his journal. I wasn’t able to read anything from the pages, much as Tristan had been unable to unravel what they said. The only way we would be able to see what was there would be to finish Lady Tessa’s quest.
“This doesn’t really change anything for us. I mean, we aren’t in any hurry to do the next Lady Tessa quest, and we know we still have to wait until another two groups hit 27 to do this caravan run. So I vote we keep going to see the Dwarves.”
“I’m in agreement with Naugha. After a little break, we can decide if we want to do this next Monastery.”
I nodded at Jason and then looked over at Dan.
“What? You seriously think I don’t want to go see the awesome little folk?”
Laughing at Dan, I agreed with the group. “Unanimous it is. Let’s go see our kin.”
*
The trip took us little time, and we saw the tell-tale sign of the arrow announcing our arrival before we entered the camp. Knowing there were friendlies approaching, the Dwarves met us at the entrance to their mine and quickly began exchanging greetings with our group. Sharla said hello to all of us and then never left Jason’s side after that. At least this time she didn’t kneel when she approached him, so that was an improvement in all of our eyes.
Once all of the introductions were finished, Wayne went off to see the improvements the Dwarves had made to their little village around the mine. There were now many more buildings that had sprung up outside of it, and several trees had been felled to make additional room for the number of Dwarves that were working the caves. Wayne was keen to determine how much progress our friends had made on their battle skills and leveling.
Jason was in a deep conversation with Sharla, but this time it didn’t seem to be about her treatment of him. As I got closer, I could hear the two debating the tactics of a battle cleric, and I heard Sharla giving various advice on upgrades Jason should make if he wanted to go that route.
Dan learned that with all the new buildings and the increase in population, someone had built a tavern. I doubted we would see Dan any time soon.
That left me with Tibble. This worked out perfectly, since it was Tibble’s expertise that I needed at this moment.
“Care to walk with me a bit Tibble? I have a favor to ask of you.”
“Ya know ya scare me when ya get like this.”
“Come on! When have I ever done you wrong?”
“Oh, I’m not afraid for me or the boys. I’m fearing for whatever Dwarf you are about to take over the fire!”
“Ok. You may be right there,” I admitted, sharing a smile with Tibble. “Let’s get away from the others, though. This is something I have been waiting to unveil until after I had a chance to talk with you first.”
Tibble nodded his head and followed me farther away from the camp and into the mine. There were no workers in the entrance at the time, as many were out with Wayne, knocking them back with Dan, or deep in the interior working on the rock. We had the place to ourselves.
“You know I’m not a Miner or a Smith. If I come across a piece of metal, I’m not going to be able to identify it at all. But I figure you, as not only a professional Miner, but also a Dwarf, could identify just about any piece of metal.”
“Aye, lad. It’s something we are born with, us Dwarves. You give us any piece of ore and we can tell you what it be.”
“Excellent. I found this particular piece recently, and it looked to be something expensive. But again, I’ve got no idea,” I said and removed the unidentified metal from my bag. “Do you know what this is.”
Tibble’s eyes went very wide and I had a feeling I found something way more valuable than I originally believed.
Tibble let out the smallest whisper, “Mithral.”
I couldn’t believe what I heard. The end-all, be-all of metals for the Dwarves, and I found a damn tunnel of the stuff. Not only did my idea have merit, I was going to have to rethink the entire thing.
I handed the piece of metal to Tibble and asked if he could identify the quality of the ore.
“Aye, Alex. I can tell ya by holdin’ it just what ya found,” Tibble said as he reached out to take the sample.
As soon as it was in Tibbles hand, his eyes got even bigger and he dropped the ore right on the ground. Before I could say anything, Tibble started shaking slightly and had to sit on the ground. I kneeled down slowly, placing myself at eye level with Tibble.
“What is it?”
“It’s Pure, Alex. It’s Pure Mithral. I’ve never seen or heard of anything of the like. That bit right there is worth more than I can imagine.”
I took Tibble’s hands in mine and helped him to stand back up.
“Send a runner to the King Under the Mountain. Let him know your adopted kinsmen are here with an offer. But don’t say about what. I imagine he will come but will take his time doing so. That will be just fine for what else I have planned for our visit here.”
Tibble nodded his head in agreement but didn’t say anything.
“Next, I’m going to need a rope that will g
ive a magical increase to someone’s ability to climb. Is that something they have Under the Mountain?”
“Aye. Dwarves ain’t really built for climbing, as ye can see. We need lifts to get up and down shafts or, for them harder spots, a rope. Dwarves been makin’ em since the beginnin’ of time. It’s the only thing we craft other than armor and weapons. But ain’t something we sell to outsiders. Gotta worry about thieves.”
“Good thing we are kin, then.”
Tibble smiled at that and nodded his head.
“What’s the best you can get me?”
“If you’re willing to spend the money, Alex, you can get yerself one that will make you and yers full expert climbers.”
“What would that run?”
“Ten Platinum.”
I handed over the money to Tibble, who couldn’t believe I was carrying around so much cash. “Ya sure ‘bout this? You can get lots cheaper with still great magic assists.”
“Trust me when I say that the investment will be fully recuperated.”
Tibble walked off and grabbed two different Dwarves. He sent them both to fulfill the tasks I had laid out. With that finished, Tibble walked back to where I was standing and looked back down at the piece of metal in my hands.
“Tibble,” I said, waiting for the Dwarf to acknowledge me.
After a heartbeat, he locked eyes with mine. “Not a word to anyone about this.”
“Not a soul would be believin’ me anyway, Alex. But not to worry, ye have me word.”
*
“Wait. Back up. Why the hell were you climbing to begin with?”
“Duh, Allicart! Why does any man climb a mountain?”
“Because it’s there?”
“What? No! To get the girl, fool!”
Jason turned away from Dan and asked, “There wasn’t a girl involved, was there?”
“Ha! Of course not. You were actually spot on. After you guys logged out that first evening, I started walking around the mountain, and I noticed that it looked perfectly flat. You know how that would be really weird for Resurgence, since everything looks and feels like the real world.”
They nodded along as I explained my contrived story. “So while I was running my hand against the side of the mountain I started to feel variations. And I grabbed on to a couple and tried to pull myself up. The first few times, I just kept sliding back down.
“But when I finally earned the first point in Climbing, the whole rock wall started to glow with colors. Green through Red. I couldn’t make heads or tails as to what I was seeing, but I kept trying to get up the mountain all the same.
“By the time I had mastered the Skill, I was seeing routes everywhere I looked.”
“And you just happened to find this cave during your last foray up the mountain?”
“Don’t give me that side-eyeball, Dan. It was literally the only part of the mountain that wasn’t Green and that I could ascend to try and max out the skill!”
“Well, I don’t care if you found it on the first climb or the last. What are we going to do about it?”
“I’ve got a plan, Wayne.”
“Care to share?”
“No.”
“What do you mean, ‘no’?”
“Look, we both know how this is going to go. I tell you my plan, you complain that I am being selfish, I in turn say I’m not asking for anywhere near enough, Allister and Dan agree with my first suggestion, and then we overrule you and you go away mad. So how about we just skip to the end, where we just go with my idea and you see how it all plays out.”
Wayne didn’t say anything for several moments.
“You’re a dick sometimes, you know that, Alex?”
“Yes. I do. So we good?”
“Yeah, just don’t…”
“I know, man. I know,” I said. Then, just to make Wayne feel a little better, I added “No one but Tibble in the clan has reached Level 20 yet, so they couldn’t even get to this mine. If they could, they wouldn’t likely be able to hold it anyway. I’m working the best angles I can. So just trust me.”
The runner Tibble sent to inform the King of our arrival had returned. The King said it would be another two days before he could arrive.
This sat fine with me, as I had every intention of liberating the second level of the mine we already had before the King showed. The Dwarves would likely accompany us again on this raid, and with their new levels, they were to be an asset and not a hindrance as they were before.
The second level of the mines only allowed for a ten-person raid, meaning the four of us and six of Tibble’s men. Well, five. And one battle Cleric. Sharla made it quite clear that she would accompany us on our raid. “If ye think I’m gonna be partin’ from the side of the Chosen One when you be goin’ into a fight, ye be daft.”
“Really? Chosen One? I thought we were past that crap! It’s just Allister, Sharla.”
“Makes no difference what I be callin’ ya. I ain’t to be moved.”
“I welcome your abilities, Sharla. But our Cleric already has protectors. You need to make sure the Clan doesn’t die down there. Allister is always our first concern.”
Sharla nodded her head but wagged a finger at me, letting me know I had better not fail.
The whole show of force was wasted.
My group had raised 11 Levels since we last helped the East Range Mountain Clan, and Tibble’s Dwarves had gained eight to ten levels of their own. Hell, the Dwarves probably didn’t even need us for the fight.
Tibble admitted at one point that they had tried to enter the lower levels to scout out the next group of targets, but the mine wouldn’t let them enter without the original raid leader. Namely, me.
Every mob, to include the so-called Boss, was green to my group. We ended pulling mobs non-stop and were done in a little over two hours. The gear that dropped from the higher level Orckin in this part of the mine was good for either selling or breaking down at the Smithy for base parts. I left the gear to Tibble and told him to do with it what he wanted. The drops from the Boss were also lower than what we were all using, so I allowed Tibble to divvy those out appropriately.
It was only the amount of progress we had made in our other endeavors that kept me from truly being angry at myself for not checking the mine with each consecutive level we earned. Opening the mine would have been far more entertaining than grinding, that’s for sure. I kept telling myself it was a benefit to the Clan if nothing else.
When we reached the end, I again granted the rights to the mine to the East Range Mountain Dwarf Clan and asked Tibble to do an assessment of what ore was available for mining.
As it turned out, the second level of the mine was rich in the opposite ore from Fermium. Namely, Ertunium. According to Tibble, where Fermium would add a sizeable physical damage modifier to Dan’s arrows, Ertunium would add a magical attack.
I showed the confusion on my face, and Tibble was happy to explain. Fermium offered the kind of punch you would need to get through armor. Sure, it could be magically imbued, but that only meant it could damage magic armor. An Ertunium arrowhead, on the other hand, was of little use against a breastplate. However, a summoning is highly steeped in magic and highly susceptible to high damage magic arrows.
I mentioned the golems that spawned during one of our most recent battles, and Tibble exclaimed this was exactly the type of thing an Ertunium blade or arrowhead would be perfect for.
When I started asking how long it would take him and the teams to mine, process, and fabricate the arrowheads for Dan, Tibble was way ahead of me.
“Give me and me boys a couple of weeks, and the Ranger can have his usual allotment of 300 arrowheads for the Fermium and the Ertunium.”
Since we figured we would spend most of the day down in the second level of the dungeon, we found ourselves with little to do after escaping topside. Wayne suggested we throw a party to celebrate the addition to the mine, and the flood gates were open.
The level of cheering tuned me in
to the fact that this suggestion was exactly what every Dwarf from the clan was waiting for. Before I could even suggest having myself or one of the guys go back to Port Town for supplies, Tibble and his Dwarves started dragging out tables and benches. And booze. Lots and lots of booze.
I noticed that there wasn’t much in the way of food, though. If we didn’t get some food in us, there was going to be a lot of drunk adventurers, and in a very short time.
I suggested some nourishment to go with the libations. Tibble and the Dwarves looked at me like I had just ruined the party, but he sent a runner to the Tavern for food anyway. Soon enough, a number of Dwarves arrived carrying numerous plates of some very tasty looking vittles.
And with that, the party was on. It would go on throughout the night and some would even make it into the morning. I didn’t make it much past the first four hours, but I clearly remembered seeing Dan slow dancing with Sharla before I passed out into oblivion.
November 5th, 2043
One of the great things about Resurgence is if you pass out in the game from over intoxication, the RAC automatically logs you out of the game. This way, you don’t find yourself so blasted that you violate the in-game rules for how many hours you can stay online. The downside is that you can’t log back in until your character is deemed to have the alcohol out of their blood stream.
With the amount I drank the night before, I was several hours late getting online.
Everyone was understanding. At least, I think they were. Honestly, they weren’t even bothering with me at all. Instead, Dan was pleading with Wayne while Jason kept up a steady stream of something that had Wayne laughing and Dan repeatedly shooting Jason the evil eye. I had obviously missed something.
“I’ve heard of having a bad rebound. And sure, all of us have woken up next to someone that we would rather forget. A bear trap if you will.”
Having no idea what was going on but never one to interrupt a Dan roasting session, I looked over to Jason and joined in. “What’s a bear trap?”
Restoration: The Rise of Resurgence: Book II Page 26
