The Land: Forging (Chaos Seeds Book 2)

CHAPTER 13

“Goddamnhalfbloodsadistsunuvabitch!” This was the first utterance Richter made to the collection of skilled people that Randolphus had gathered at his request. More than a hundred people were crammed in the chamber of the Great Seal. He was sitting at the head of the table that his chamberlain had brought out of one of the larger rooms on the first floor of the catacombs. Alma lay curled in a ball on the table in front of him. After his training with Yoshi, standing during the meeting was out of the question. Even sitting would have been beyond him if Hisako hadn’t taken away the worst part of his pain with a spell. He was still left with minor to medium aches and pains, however, which had elicited the aforementioned expression when he had turned too fast and felt a painful spasm in his back. There wasn’t even any point in casting another healing spell. His health was full; he was just sore.

“Sorry about that,” Richter said. “I have gathered you all here because I want us to be working in the same direction. First, we need to speak about rebuilding the longhouse and finishing the smithy. The smithy will take priority.” There were a few murmurings at that, but Richter held up his hand until they died down. “We were woefully unprepared during the attack. We have a very small amount of guards and fighters when we examine our entire population. That will be fixed, but in the meantime, we will balance it out with better equipment and training. So we get the smithy finished as quickly as possible, and then the longhouse. After that, I want a switch to building with the quarried stone as opposed to just wood. Let the chamberlain know if you need anything else.” He asked the builders and carpenters if they had any questions. They merely said they would need a great deal more stone and more Mist Workers. Randolphus made a note of it and they moved on.

Next he turned to the hunters, “You need to range a bit more afield. I don’t want the hunting grounds near the village to be depleted. But the bugbears are out hunting for us so be especially careful. No one hunts alone for the foreseeable future. If you find an enemy, and can make a kill safely then go ahead. If it is a larger force send one person back to notify us, while the other follows from a safe distance.” The seven strong force just nodded. He went on to the next item on the agenda.

For this next question, he addressed the entire room, “Why aren’t there more enchanted weapons?” No one spoke, they all just looked at one another. Finally, a high elf spoke. Analyze showed:

Name: Gloran. High Elf Level 14. Health 210. Mana 320. Stamina 150. Disposition: Friendly. …

The elf’s stats were normal for his level, but he had the Profession of Crafter. Richter really had to learn more about Professions, but now was not the time.

“Without getting into specifics, Lord Richter, it is expensive and not many have the expertise to enchant. It also requires specialized items that are rare and difficult to acquire.” Several people around the table nodded in agreement.

“Do any of you have skill with enchanting,” Richter asked.

“I cannot speak for anyone else, but I have some experience, my Lord. I made enchanted jewelry in the past,” Gloran replied.

“So what do we need specifically,” Richter asked undaunted. If there was one thing that his years of gaming had taught him, it was that the right gear was crucial. Even more than training, enchanted items were a force multiplier and really could turn a person into an army of one.

“First you need a captured soul, my Lord.”

“Someone needs to give up their soul?!” Richter couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

Gloran laughed, “No, my Lord. The souls of most sentient humanoids cannot be captured. For instance, none of the races in this room could be captured. All creatures have souls, however. If a spell like Soul Trap is cast prior to a creature dying, then its spirit will be captured if you have a soul stone.”

Richter sighed, “Well then how do you get a soul stone?”

“They are made, my Lord. It is a relatively simple process. Any stone can be made into a soul stone, even simple rocks.” Well, that’s good news, Richter thought happily. “Those soul stones would only be sufficient to catch the souls of simple animals, though, like rabbits or deer. Even the soul of a large bear could not be contained in such a low-level gem.” Well, that news is not as good, Richter thought sadly.

“So how do we make better soul stones,” Richter asked afraid that he already knew the answer.

“Gemstones are used sir. The higher quality of gem used, the stronger the soul that can be trapped.”

“And I’m guessing that stronger souls make stronger enchantments?”

“Yes, my Lord,” Gloran replied. He must have seen Richter’s crestfallen look, because he added, “Even cheaper semiprecious jewels can make soul stones strong enough to trap most basic monsters.”

Richter nodded at Gloran’s last statement. That was helpful information, but he was just adding up how much outfitting his people was going to cost him. This world seemed dedicated to bankrupting him. The chest of jewels that was his nest egg just didn’t seem like that much anymore. He really needed to sell those Potions of Clarity. He told Gloran he would need some soul stones made later that night, and the man assured him it wouldn’t be a problem.

Not wanting to get bogged down in his own economic woes, he continued, “Okay so that covers the soul stones. Does anyone know the spell Soul Trap?”

Zarr, the Earth Master mage spoke up, “Every branch of magic has a version of that spell, but it is well acknowledged that of all of the Basic Elements, Life and Death have the strongest versions.” The other casters in the room nodded.

Richter looked around confused, “Basic Elements?”

“The ley lines which cross under the earth are ribbons of Power, Lord Richter. There are eight different types of ley lines: Life, Death, Water, Fire, Earth, Air, Light and Dark. These are the eight Basic Elements. Each has different strengths and weaknesses,” Zarr said. “Earth, for example, is excellent for defense and construction. Dwarves have a natural affinity for Earth which is why we build such strong citadels and craft the best weapons and armor. Mountain dwarves in particular.” He said the last with a smirk and the comment was answered by some grumbling by the other races present. It all seemed in good fun though. From the back of the room someone yelled, “Gnomes rule!”

Richter was happy that his people could smile with each other. It meant that the attack had not broken their spirits. “Alright, I will ask Sumiko to teach me the spell. So if we are able to capture a soul, what’s next?”

A dwarf from the back of the room spoke. His beard was black but well threaded with silver and white. Despite these signs of age, he stood straight and muscles bulged from his arms, “This is all well and good for making cute baubles to look at as you sit for afternoon tea, but what you need for a strong enchanted weapon is good metal and a better smith. The iron that has been harvested here is good enough quality to make steel, perhaps even a bit of high steel. What we want though is quicksilver, cobalt, or mithril. THAT is how you make a quality weapon!”

“How do we get access to that?” Richter asked. Analyze gave the dwarf’s name, ‘Krom.’

“Well those damn mists of yours kept us from searching the mountains to the north. It doesn’t go underground, but we couldn’t even find the rotten entrance to the rotten tunnels! Now that your lordship has given us all immunity, we can search for veins of rarer metal. We will sell them to the village. Plus our standard search fee and finder’s commission of course.” Krom had a wide grin on his face.

Knowing he was about to get fleeced, Richter opened his mouth, but Randolphus spoke up, “We will come to agreeable terms. I negotiated the longstanding contract between the old King of Yves and King Gromhold of the Serrated Mountains. I am well versed with the customs of dwarven negotiation. Gd’urt rikud alam b’tren!”

The smile faded from Krom’s face. Richter realized that his chamberlain had said the last phrase in the language of the mountain dwarves. The best translation Richter could come up with was, “Never bet against a Sicilian when death is on the line!” Haha, score one for Randy! Richter was going to have to get him whatever The Land’s equivalent of a Klondike bar was!

Sure that Randolphus would handle the finer details, Richter turned back to Krom, “Keep a lookout for any gems as well. Now let’s say that we get the soul stones and the metal. Is there anything else I need to know about the requirements?”

“Just that the quality needs to be Average or better. You can’t just enchant any ol’ trash.”

“Can you make Average quality weapons,” Richter asked him.

The dwarf’s chest puffed up, “I make superb quality or better! Who do you think you are talking to?”

Not wanting to get sidetracked by the dwarf’s ego, Richter redirected to the original topic, “So when we have all of that done, what enchantments can we make?”

Krom’s chest lowered and his expression took on a rueful look, “I am the most advanced smith in the village. I am a journeyman in my Smithing skill and have reached apprentice level in Earth magic. I am known to make strong and durable weapons. I have also almost reached journeyman level in Enchanting. The knowledge of how to create magic weapons is jealously guarded, however, and my old master only taught me a few enchantments. I can improve damage by +1, increase durability, and I can make armor with +2 defense.” Krom stopped speaking, and shook his finger at Randolphus and Richter, “Even those enchantments won’t come cheap! They can make a real difference!”

Damn greedy dwarves, Richter thought. “Well, how can we learn more?”

“Only masters or adepts can pass down those enchantments without a skills book. Masters can even make new enchantments or alter existing ones. Learning enchantments is actually one of the tasks a journeyman smith must undertake in order to one day be recognized as a true master by the dwarven people. Even if your skill level gets to one hundred and you can technically be called a master, without ten enchantments to your name you will never be recognized as one by the other dwarf smiths.”

“Okay,” Richter said with some impatience, “that’s fascinating and all, but what does that have to do with us finding more enchantments to put on our weapons?”

Hearing his tone, the surly dwarf snapped back, “Because! Only one dwarf is recognized as a Smith-Master by the Mountain Dwarves each year. Because the competition is so fierce, no journeyman would make a skill book for another, and we only trade in rare circumstances. Masters tend to stay in one place so you have to go to them. Even then you must devote years of service to pry even one enchantment from them!”

Richter was growing frustrated. Not only was it going to cost a great deal to make magic weapons, but it seemed they would be relegated to crappy little enchantments! “Is there no other way to learn enchantments?!”

“No,” Krom said definitively. “Well… not unless we can find a Magic Forge.” The dwarf started laughing, “and I only know of seven of those south of the Wilds. Not even you, Lord Richter, could afford to use one of those!”

This guy was really starting to get on Richter’s nerves. First the dwarf had tried to rob him with a smile on his face, and now he was getting all prickly. “Well, how would a Magic Forge help?”

Speaking slowly as if to a toddler Krom said, “Magic Forges can deconstruct other magic items. The item is destroyed in the process, but the Forge has a chance to learn the spell forever. The more a smith uses the forge the greater the chance he can learn the enchantment, and then make more items with that enchantment. Because of that, it costs a minimum of one hundred gold coins to use a Forge for even one day. And as I said, even then it’s not a sure thing that you will learn an enchantment.”

“Then how do we make a Magic Forge?” Richter asked.

It was quiet for a moment, then all of the dwarves and even some of the elves and gnomes started laughing. The laughter seemed to feed on itself and only got louder as they all saw each other having a chuckle at Richter’s expense. Shouts started to ring out.

“Make a Magic Forge?”

“Why don’t you make your bed first?” (Was his mom here?)

“As if Magic Cores just fell from the sky!”

“Gnomes rule!”

After a minute or two the laughter died down and Krom spoke again, “You need a Magic Core to make a Magic Forge! Magic Cores are relics from the time before the gods were banished! They cost more than a king’s ransom! Hahaha! I tell you what, if you find a Magic Core, I will enchant for free!”

Richter put an uncertain look on his face, “Well that doesn’t seem fair. You would still be getting to learn new enchantments without having to pay for them.”

Krom laughed even louder, “True enough. Then I would pledge myself to you as I would a dwarf chief. To serve by your side in war, to make your clan my own, and to work to increase the power of the village. What do you say lads? What will we give Lord Richter to let us use his ancient relic of power?” Krom’s voice was more than mocking.

The laughter started up again followed by shouts.

“We will give up half our finder’s fee!”

“Serve in the militia!”

“Two casks of Mithagan Red Ale!”

“Gnomes Rule!”

Richter still couldn’t see who was saying that last bit. Almost a hundred people were now shouting what they would give if Richter could produce something as wondrous as a Magic Core. Laughs and catcalls were mixed in. Fighting a losing battle to keep a smile from his face, Richter quickly added one last point, “And you would all teach your skills freely to other villagers so we may all get stronger?”

“Aye!” Came a shout from all in the room.

Gotcha bitches, Richter thought with extreme satisfaction. He reached into his Bag of Holding and took out the Magic Core he had obtained during a quest. He placed the clockwork sphere on the table. Red and white light peeked through the gaps in the mechanism. The silence in the room was so profound Richter could have heard a pin drop.

Looking at Randolphus, he asked, “Did you record all of that?”

Randolphus smiled broadly, “Oh yes, my Lord. Negotiating pay for services should go quite well here on out in light of the promises that have just been made.”

Richter was quite pleased with himself at getting so many to agree to reduced rates. Apparently, the Universe agreed as well.

Congratulations! You have reached skill level 3 in Trade. 0.5% bonus to buying and selling per level.

Congratulations! You have reached skill level 4 in Trade. 0.5% bonus to buying and selling per level.

Congratulations! You have reached skill level 5 in Trade. 0.5% bonus to buying and selling per level.

…

Congratulations! You have reached skill level 14 in Trade. 0.5% bonus to buying and selling per level.

You have received 2,000 bonus experience for reaching level 10 in the skill: Trade.

Congratulations! You have advanced from Novice to Initiate in: Trade. You can now “smell” when there is a deal to be made. You can now make trade agreements with other settlements that you have an Ally relationship with.

Well! Started from the bottom now I’m here indeed, Richter thought seeing the cascade of windows. He dismissed each quickly as they were all basically the same. It was awesome having that bump from leveling his skills again, though. But he hadn’t taken a Potion of Clarity in the last 24 hours. Damn! He had to remember to ask Randy about the experience from skill leveling. Maybe there was a way to power level more skills… hmmm.

It looked like he could enter into a trade agreement with the Wood Sprites now too, he realized with a smile.

He would have kept enjoying the shocked looks on the faces of his villagers, but the silence only lasted for a few moments. Then it was pandemonium.

“My Lord, don’t waste the Core on a Forge!”

“We can use it to make a golem,” a gnome shouted.

“No, no! A Creation Table!”

“The Core can power a shield for the village!”

“Gnomes rule!”

“Just let me study it!”

Richter held up his hands for quiet. At first, no one seemed to want to follow that direction, but Randolphus stood with a thunderous look on his face. He slammed both hands down on the table, and shouted, “Your Lord called for quiet!”

The tumult died down as everyone looked at Richter expectantly. He hadn’t known there were so many uses for the Core, but his priority was arming his people right now. He also had something important to deal with.

Turning his gaze to Krom, he rested his hand on the Magic Core, “Well Krom, what do you have to say?” All levity had left his voice. As much as he needed the dwarf’s skills, he wouldn’t force someone to work for him. “I will not put the lives of my people in your hands if you do not wish to be here. If you say the word, I will release you from the promise you just made.”

Krom stared back at him and a series of emotions that Richter couldn’t read crossed the smith’s face. He looked back and forth between the Magic Core and Richter’s face several times before speaking, “You would truly release me from the deal I just made?”

“Yes, Krom. You need only say the word.”

Krom stared into Richter’s face for another full minute, searching for something. Then he went down on one knee and bowed his head. In a formal voice, he said, “I pledge my fealty to Lord Richter of the Mist Village. I will raise my hammer for him in war or in service, and never against him. If you maintain faith with me, I shall never break faith with you. Will you accept my pledge?”

Richter didn’t know what he had been expecting, but it wasn’t this. He had hoped that he could maybe get a better price out the dwarf. He paused for a moment and the room was once again dead quiet. Words came almost unbidden to his lips, “Do you accept the position as Smith of the Mist Village?”

Krom looked up, surprise evident on his features, but he didn’t hesitate, “I do.”

Richter stepped forward and pulled the dwarf to his feet. “I accept your pledge, but I require those who serve me to stand, not kneel.”

Krom looked him in the eye and nodded thanks.

Your relationship with Krom has improved from friendly to trusted.

Congratulations! You have uncovered the first Job of your Village. You have filled the position of Smith. Your village will benefit proportionally to the skill of whomever you have chosen. The level of your Smith is: Journeyman. All weapons and armor produced in your village 8% more effective.

Richter read the prompt and smiled. It looked like this meeting would get him more than just a boosted Trade skill! “I will grant you access to the armory,” he said. “Let me know what we can use, and what can be melted down for new weapons.”

“I will see to it, my Lord,” Krom said in a respectful voice.

“And one more thing,” Richter said, “no need to be so formal.” Then he did what he had seen other dwarves doing with their friends. He head butted the smith. Now what normally happened is both dwarves laughed and clapped each other on their shoulders. That is what Richter fully intended to happen. What actually happened is that he felt like he had slammed his head into a boulder. Richter promptly dropped down onto his butt. A “stunned” icon floated in the corner of his village.

Then a hand reached under his armpit and pulled him up. Laughter echoed and he heard scattered cheers. “We will make a dwarf chief out of you yet!” Krom shouted. “Isn’t that right boyos?” Shouts of “Here here,” punctuated the revelry.

Richter found himself being led back to his chair, his head still spinning. When he sat down he said, “Okay then,” still blinking far too often. “I need to speak to Shiovana, the rest of you can go. Gloran, speak to the other villagers and make a list of the enchantments that you can place on items. And Krom,” the dwarf looked at him, “make my Forge,” Richter said holding out the Magic Core.

Krom came to take the Core with no small amount of reverence. They filed out, but not before Richter heard Krom say, “That’s why he’s my Lord. He is smart enough to hand off a task before he works himself to death, but just to be sure, he keeps a woman around to bring him back to life! Hahaha!”

The only people that remained in the room were Richter, Sion, Randolphus and Shiovana. Richter started stroking Alma’s scales. The dragonling gave a contented purr. “I am going to say this simply. I want you to build a kytachi vessel. Can you do it, and if so, what type of soul would you need?”

Shiovana looked at him with surprise, “That is not what I was expecting you to say.”

“What were you expecting?” he asked.

“Maybe some sort of joke about the motion of the ocean?”

Richter looked at her form, curved in all the right places. Sion was laughing freely and Randolphus had given a hard cough at her words. “Not today,” Richter said with a smile. “My stomach still feels a bit queasy from all the blood that was spilled.”

“Oh, I can understand that…” she said, “but how does your mouth feel?”

Sion stopped laughing and stared at her in shock. Randolphus’ cough now threatened to bring up a lung.

“Errr, pretty much all of me is closed for business right now.”

“Your loss,” she said with a smirk. “Now if you’re serious about making a kytachi, some monsters are better than others. Water based monsters are generally the best.”

“Like what,” he asked. “Lochness monster? Piranaconda? Sharknado?”

“Hmmm,” she said to Randolphus. “It’s almost like he is trying to be funny…” Looking at Richter, she said, “No sweetheart I mean like a water dancer, water elemental, or a kelpie.”

“Okay, so how soon do you need it,” Richter asked.

“Not until I have finished with the boat. It would be dangerous to attach a spirit to an unfinished vessel.”

“You mentioned enspelling jewels and attaching them to the hull. Would that work with the defense +2 that Krom had mentioned?”

“I don’t think so. First of all, you can’t forge a ship. His skill with making enchanted weapons won’t translate to building an enchanted ship. Even without that, and I don’t know much about smithing, but it sounds like he changes the quality of the object he works upon. Something like that would not mix well when you are going to bind a spirit to the boat. Just trust me, Lord Richter. You don’t need to worry about the boat. If you give me five or six jewels, then I’ll handle the rest. What you need to worry about is who will sail it. One of the reasons kytachi vessels are not often made is that it takes an extremely strong will to pilot one. Ideally, someone with the Sailor profession would captain her, they get a bonus to ship related skills. Theoretically, anyone with a strong will could force the spirit into submission, but if you lose the battle…”

“What happens?” Richter asked.

“If you lose the battle, you run the risk of spiritual damage. You could have a piece of your soul ripped out. You could be killed. You could even be possessed.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Richter said. “You didn’t mention anything about possession before!” Now that he was thinking of it, possession might be one of the only ways to permanently kill someone like him. “There have got to be ways to minimize the risk.”

“There are,” she assured him. “I just have no idea what they are.” Richter felt less assured. “I told you that I can build your kytachi vessel. I never told you I could captain one. My Lord, what I recommend is you just let me build you an enchanted ship if you can spare the gems. Whoever you choose to crew the boat can cut their teeth sailing this first enchanted vessel, and improve their sailing skills. I also will fulfill a quest of mine by working on these boats. Speaking plainly, if we wait to build the kytachi, I can build you a better boat and you’ll have more experienced people to sail it.”

“You make a good argument,” he said. “Okay, we will hold off on the kytachi right now. I need the first ship built ASAP. How quickly can you have it done?”

“You said I could have one Mist Worker per day. Can you spare another?”

“After the armory, building the ship is the top priority. How about four a day?”

“More than I need, just make sure I have two at the start of each morning if you please.”

Richter nodded, “How many gems do you need, and does it matter what type?”

“Mid-level gems will work for this. I need five, though six would be better. I can have the ship ready in a little over two months.”

Richter looked at her with some surprise, “You said it would take three months when I asked you a few days ago.”

She shrugged, “Things are a bit different now.”

She offered no further explanation, so Richter just shrugged in return. If he could get his ship faster, then he would take it. Richter pulled out the appraisal sheet Hafiz had made for him. After a quick check, he removed the gem chest from his Bag of Holding. It was what he kept his gems in. He selected three agates, two tiger eyes and one malachite. Shiovana caught a glance at the wealth of gems in the small chest and gave a small gasp. Leaning in, she breathed words softly into his ear. After the first few sentences, Richter began coughing. Whatever Randy had must be catching, he thought. When she was done speaking, Shiovana stood up slowly and gave him a smile full of promise, before walking out of the room.

Sion looked at him quizzically, “Huh! I didn’t know that someone your color could blush!”