by Jamey Sultan
“Why would they take soap?” Nidra asked.
James shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine.”
The next area of the check-in process made the DMV look like a rave. Dwarves filled benches as far as the eye could see, sitting and waiting while they clutched slips of paper with a ticket number. Every ten or so minutes a mage would conjure up a flaming number above everyone and a Dwarf would scurry over to another desk for what James hoped was the final part of the check-in process.
Danforth took them up to a desk where an elderly Dwarf was waiting.
Name: Eldora Stoneheart
Race: Dwarf
Level: ???
Class: Bureaucrat
With excruciating slowness, she took their papers and reviewed them, before setting them down next to her. She then handed James a ticket and instructed him to sit on a bench and wait for his number to be called. He looked down at the ticket.
Iron City Entrance Ticket:
Rank: Common
This ticket allows you to enter the Iron City. #1,983,120
James looked at the most recent number called: 457,983. “Ummm, how long is the wait?” He asked.
“We are experiencing a high volume of immigration, but your ticket should be processed in three to five years.” She smiled at him. “Have a pleasant day.”
“Hang on a second.” James put the ticket back on the desk. “Do you have an express lane or something?”
“Of course.” Her smile grew wider, and she pulled a small sign out from under the desk and placed it next to her. It read ‘EXPRESS LANE’.
“How much?” James asked, resigned.
“Ten gold,” she said without missing a beat.
He gave her the money, and she picked up his ticket and concentrated. A flash of orange light lit the ticket and singed off the number, replacing it with the number 457,984.
Iron City Entrance Ticket:
Rank: Common
This ticket allows you to enter the Iron City. #457,984
“Hey!” A Dwarf approached the counter and angrily pushed James out of the way. “I was next in line and my ticket just changed numbers to 1,983,120. This is my third year waiting! By Vither, you better fix this.”
“Sir, please calm down. Swearing won’t solve anything.” The smile across her face didn’t match the dangerous glint in her eye.
James and the others quickly backed away as the Dwarf continued screaming at her. The last they saw of him was two guards dragging him away as he cursed and thrashed.
Once at the next desk, they were greeted by yet another bored-looking guard. This one was idly playing with a metal puzzle formed from interlocking rings and spoke without looking up. “Please place your possessions on the bench.” He gestured to a bench next to him. “All of your stuff will be returned in four to eight months after a contraband check.”
“Excuse me?” James said. He was getting really annoyed at these guards and their clear disdain for their jobs.
The guard sighed and looked up from his puzzle ring. He gave James a droll stare. “If you would like express service, then I can process your equipment immediately. It’s ten gold each.” Satisfied that was the end of it the guard returned to his puzzle.
“Fine. Here.” James threw the gold on the table angrily.
The guard sighed and slowly put down his puzzle and counted out the fifty gold. Once he’d confirmed that all the gold was there, he stamped their tickets and gestured for them to head in. “Welcome to The Iron City.”
Chapter 36
The cold stone of the mountain was replaced by the warm kiss of sunlight against his skin as James stepped out of the tunnel and into full light for the first time in what felt like weeks. He shielded his eyes against the brightness. Once his vision cleared, he stopped walking and stared, taking in the amazing city for the first time.
He was standing at the boundary of a hollowed-out space inside a mountain, almost like a crater, and so large that he couldn’t see the other side. The walls of the mountain rose high above, towering over them until they ended abruptly, revealing the open sky. Roads wide enough for two horses to walk abreast wound their way up the walls, allowing Dwarves access to the numerous tunnels dug through the mountain. If he focused into the distance, James could just barely make out the wall separating the Inner and Outer rings.
James felt the hairs on the back of his neck start to quiver. Something was up.
You have gained 1 Skill Rank in Sixth Sense.
You are now Skill Rank 2.
Someone, or something, was watching him. With all the grace of a confused tourist, James looked around, trying to figure out where the feeling was coming from, but with everyone looking at them, he couldn’t pick out anyone in specific who triggered his skill. Giving up, he ignored the feeling and followed Danforth through the bustling crowd.
The group made their way to a building a few blocks away from the entrance. An old wooded sign above the door depicted a broken pot. Outside the door, a rotund Dwarf greeted them with a big grin.
Name: Tannen Wildfist
Race: Dwarf
Level: 54
Class: Innkeeper
He greeted them with a friendly voice and a cheery wave. “Welcome to the Cracked Cauldron, home of the best stew in the Outer Ring.”
“Morning, Tannen,” Danforth greeted the innkeeper before he turned to address the group. “Tannen, here, is probably the only innkeeper in town that’ll let two Humans and an Elf stay at his place.”
“How much is it going to cost?” James asked cautiously.
“It’s five of you, right?” Tannen asked, counting. “One silver and five copper will get you two rooms and two meals per day.”
That was much more reasonable than James had thought it would be, considering his recent experiences. “Deal. Here’s for the first week,” he said, handing over the coins.
“How about I get you all some dinner?” Tannen suggested, leading the group to a table after handing them their keys.
“Actually, I’ll take my own room,” Nidra said, handing him a few coins and receiving her own key.
“Fair enough,” James said, handing one of the keys to Arik. “You and Lucien stay in one room and I’ll stay with Danforth in the other.” James wanted to keep an eye on the Dwarf. Even though he’d been nothing but pleasant, James still didn’t trust him. The Dwarf was working for the royal family, after all.
While they waited for their food, the group relaxed and talked about what they wanted to do the next day. Nidra wanted to head to the library and the Mage’s Guild, but Danforth told her that she wouldn’t be able to get into either, since both were in the Inner City. Apparently, the ‘tax’ to get into the Inner City was a hundred gold, or close to a thousand if they didn’t want it to take years. Lucien wanted to practice fighting and earn some gold, so Arik promised to take him somewhere to learn. James wanted to go to a market and sell some of the items he’d acquired and replenish some of his gold.
That night, James sat down with Potion Making For Dummies laid out on the floor in front of him alongside the Red Silkweed and Roundleaf he’d need to make a healing potion. He’d borrowed a simple alchemy kit from Nidra and was determined to craft his first potion. Following instructions from the book, he put two strands of Red Silkweed into a bowl and added water. The mixture fizzed and warmed rapidly as he stirred, and the Red Silkweed dissolved into a dark red liquid that reminded him of that disgusting cherry cough medicine his mom used to make him drink when he got sick.
James then used a mortar and pestle to crush up a few leaves of dried Roundleaf and tossed a pinch of it into the red liquid. As he stirred, the solution started to glow. Once he’d finished, James poured the potion into a flask and examined his work.
Weak Health Potion (x1):
Rank: Common
-Heals 100 health.
A weak health potion crafted by a novice.
The potion wouldn’t win any awards, but it was stronger than he’d th
ought a weak health potion would be. Either way, that wasn’t why he’d made the potion.
You have gained 1 Skill Rank in Alchemy.
You are now Skill Rank 6.
You have completed the quest: Learning to Brew
+ 5 experience
Once he’d completed the quest, James stashed the potion in his inventory and stretched. It was time to head to bed.
The next morning, James woke up feeling refreshed and ready to take on the day. Lucien and Arik had already left to go train, so it was just him, Nidra, and Danforth at the breakfast table.
“So, what are we up to today?” Nidra asked.
“I was thinking we could go to the market?” James asked. “I have a few things to sell and wanted to see if I could find a few nice items.”
“Sounds good,” she said. “I’ll probably just stay here.”
“Do you want to come with me?”
She thought about it for a second before she nodded. “I guess it’s better than hiding in the room all day.”
“Great! It’ll be fun! Maybe we can find something for your fire magic.” James turned to Danforth. “So where’s the market?”
“Just past the temple district.”
They exited the inn and followed the cobbled roads through the city. James still couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being watched, but try as he might, he couldn’t find his stalker. By this point, he was sure it wasn’t just his imagination and didn’t want to ignore it, but there wasn’t really anything he could do about it.
Danforth filled James and Nidra in on the history of the city. James had never been a history buff back on Earth, but the history of the Iron City was fascinating. It had originally started as an iron mine thousands of years ago, but a disaster in the old city had made it uninhabitable, driving the Dwarves deep into the mountains where they founded the City of Iron. It was the only Dwarven city completely dug into a mountain and the only Dwarven city to survive the Orcs due to its inaccessibility. There were only two entrances to the outside world, and both had been barricaded by the Orcs for over fifty years, which was why the Dwarves were so cut off from the rest of civilization.
When James heard about the entrance blockade, he got a quest notification.
You have been given an open quest: Free the City of Iron I
Free the City of Iron I: Destroy the two Orc barricades blocking entry to the City of Iron. Report to Florius with results.
Suggested level: 50
Reward: Unknown
Penalty for failure or refusal: none
Another open quest. Interesting.
The gears in James’ head started turning. Maybe he could earn the Dwarves favor by helping them in the war, maybe even win his freedom. That would be preferable to his current plan, which was nonexistent.
A chill ran down his spine, accompanied by a sharp burning in his hidden brand, the Mark of Sytar. He stumbled, then caught himself, but he wasn’t in the street anymore.
James stood alone in a room, lit by only a candle, with something shifting in the surrounding darkness. He could feel his heart beating in his chest, and he shivered in the sudden cold. His brand burned hotter.
“Leave this place. You’re in grave danger,” a voice hissed from the shadows.
“Where am I? Who are you?” James called out into the darkness.
He blinked and found himself standing back in the warm sunlit street with Danforth and Nidra next to him. He squinted at the return of daylight.
“Are you okay? Nidra asked, concern written across her face. “You were just on death’s door. Maybe you need a few more days to relax?”
“I’m fine.” James said, looking around for an explanation as to what happened. He caught the eye of a Dwarf, standing on the stoop of a gothic temple built from black stone.
Name: Enzo Firetongue
Race: Dwarf
Level: 55
Class: Priest of Sytar
Enzo shook his head, then disappeared inside the temple.
“What is that place?” James asked, pointing at the black building.
“That’s the temple of Sytar,” Danforth said. “Not popular for regular worship, but an important god of Order. He rules the underworld and is the God of Death.”
“I thought the undead were evil?”
“He doesn’t rule the undead,” Danforth clarified. “Sytar hates the undead. They’re souls who have been stolen from him.”
“Oh,” James said, hurrying to get out of range of the temple and its strange priests.
The sun had reached its zenith by the time the group finally reached the market. They stopped in front of a shop called Pitro’s Pieces, an out of the way place off of the main road that Danforth assured them would have the best prices.
Inside, the shop was filled with teetering shelves and piles of gear organized seemingly at random. Behind the counter was the tallest Dwarf that James had ever seen. If Dwarves had football, this one would be a linebacker.
Name: Pitro Wideanvil
Race: Dwarf
Level: 41
Class: Merchant
The Dwarf’s eyes widened when a Human and an Elf walked into his store, but without missing a beat he introduced himself. “Hello, I’m Pitro. Anything I can do to help you fine folks today?”
“I actually have stuff to sell,” James said.
Pitro’s expression fell slightly, but he gestured for James to approach the desk and show him what he had. James pulled out a few of the equipment pieces that he’d picked up—the Keeper’s Staff, the Cursed Ring of Flowing Thought, and the Beast Tamer’s Whistle.
The Dwarf examined James’ items with a practiced gaze and nodded. “I’ll take them all. I can give you five hundred gold for the staff, ten silver for the whistle, and fifteen gold for the ring.”
“Why is the ring so cheap? It’s rarer than the staff.” James pointed out.
“Yes, but it’s cursed, which means a mage would need to remove the curse before I could sell it. I’m sure you understand how costly that would be.”
James thought about it for a bit and decided to sell everything but the ring, which might prove useful sometime in the future.
“Alright. What about store credit?”
“Store credit?” the Dwarf asked, unfamiliar with the concept.
“You give me a specific amount of gold that I can spend only in this store. That way the money returns directly to you.”
“Ahhh,” the Dwarf said. He thought about it for a moment. “I can bring the total up to five hundred and fifty.”
James agreed and immediately got a new notification.
You have gained the skill Barter
Barter (Skill Rank 1):
+ 1% price to buying and selling.
James wondered how high the merchant’s barter level was. If each level gave a 1% boost to price, then he’d probably just lost a fortune. In the end it didn’t matter though, he needed new gear more than he needed gold, especially if he was going to get out of here.
James browsed the shop, looking for something to buy. Eventually James found a few items that interested him.
Orichalcum Sword of Embers:
Rank: Uncommon
A sword of medium length crafted from Orichalcum and enchanted with a weak fire core. Can be wielded with one or both hands.
The sword was priced at three hundred gold and would be a huge upgrade from his regular steel sword. When James drew it, instead of bursting into flames, the sword glowed with the same darkness that always surrounded weapons when James used them, except this time the edges were tinged red.
With only two hundred and fifty gold left to spend, James went for a more utilitarian item—a pair of shoes that would repel liquid. It seemed like something that would be nice in a world with lots of dank dungeons and putrid puddles.
Hydrophobic Leather Boots:
Rank: Uncommon
These boots have been enchanted with a weak water core to repel fluid.
The
boots were two hundred and fifty gold. Exactly how much he wanted to spend.
After buying the items he wanted, James commiserated with Nidra that they just spent all the money they’d gained in a single trip.
Pitro, overhearing their conversation, interjected. “You could always try your hand at the Colosseum.”
“The Colosseum?” James asked.
Danforth quickly responded. “You don’t want to do that.”
James ignored him. “How much can I earn?”
“The grand prize is a million gold and a vial of Spirit Salve. For an intrepid adventurer like you, it shouldn’t be a problem,” the merchant said with a wink.
When she heard Spirit Salve, Nidra let out a small gasp.
“Spirit Salve?” James asked.
“It’s a legendary healing salve that has been said to cure all wounds in addition to granting special skills to whoever uses it.”
James thought about it. He’d could probably afford to push his trial up and get out of the city if he won. “Sign me up!” He exclaimed.
Chapter 37
That night, back at the inn, James told Arik and Lucien all about their adventures of the day. Including how he’d signed up for the Colosseum. Arik angrily turned to Danforth. “I thought you were here to prevent things like this from happening!”
