The Land: Forging (Chaos Seeds Book 2)

CHAPTER 14

Randolphus, Sion, and Richter talked over a few more items. Richter resolved to include Terrod in future discussions like this. Even though the true significance of Companions was still unclear, Richter knew in his heart that they were important. He needed to spend more time with the man and figure out how he fit into this new society. He didn’t think he would be including Elora in discussions yet though, he thought with a smile. Giving birth to a new race had to be hard enough!

Sion gave an update on his task. He told Richter that he had the components to make health potions of various strengths. The other sprite that had helped him with collecting herbs, Fudave, was an apprentice in Alchemy, and the arcane gnome that had spoken up, Beyan, was a journeyman in Alchemy. Apparently, the gnome knew several useful potion recipes including mana replenishment. It took at least day to prepare, but several mana potions would be ready by tomorrow. Sion gave him a smile and told him a few other potions would be ready as well. When Richter asked what they were, the sprite just waved off the question. Richter told Sion that he intended to leave in the morning to unlock his next power. The sprite said he would be ready.

Sion left, and only Randolphus and Richter remained in the room. And Alma of course. She had flown to rest on a sconce set into the ceiling when Shiovana had started getting naughty. The chamberlain and his liege sat together in silence. Richter was pretty sure Randy was feeling the same thing that he was, relief and satisfaction at being able to just sit and do nothing for a moment. Randy started scrawling some more of his endless notes. To Richter, it seemed the perfect time to learn about a few topics that had been confusing him.

First, the topics of morale and loyalty. He, of course, understood the basic definitions, but it seemed like they had a specific and quantifiable meaning in The Land. He checked his village interface. Once again the sprawling forest of pulldown menus filled his vision. He chose “City Mechanics.” Sure enough there were two subtabs next to each other. Choosing Loyalty, a timeline appeared in his vision, but instead of dates it had words: Traitor, Faithless, Disloyal, Unreliable, Neutral, Dependable, Loyal, Faithful, and Unto Death. Each had a certain number assigned to it and productivity bonuses or penalties as well. Right now ‘Dependable’ was highlighted. Apparently it took +250 Loyalty Points to reach this tic on the timeline, and it offered a +25% productivity bonus. Morale showed a similar timeline, but the grades were: Rebellious, Hateful, Angry, Unhappy, Neutral, Happy, Delighted, Joyous, Party Every Night! ‘Happy’ was highlighted. The associated factors for Morale were productivity, population growth and something called fighting spirit. Apparently because his people were ‘Happy’ they had a +10% to those three elements. And if he got to Party Every Night… 50% bonus to all three, including population growth?! That’s the kind of party he could live with! He would surround himself with fine leather bound books… and make sure his room smelled of rich mahogany!

All jokes aside, there were clear benefits to increasing both morality and loyalty. Richter snapped his fingers. That must be why the ship would be completed faster now! He made his choice.

You have chosen the Tenet: An Honorable Ruler I. Loyalty +0.5 per day for all inhabitants.

There were other subtabs under City Mechanics: Health, Commerce, Statistics, and that was just to name a few. Two more specifically caught his eye. One was Science. It was grayed out, however, and nothing happened when he mentally clicked on it. The second was Faith. It wasn’t only greyed out, it also had a deep irregular gouge through the word. Of course, clicking that tab also accomplished nothing. It was interesting to see it, though…

The other thing he needed to know about was the bonus experience he received from leveling, “Randy?” he said breaking his chamberlain out his work focus.

“Yes, my Lord?”

“I leveled my Trade skill recently, and before that I leveled Herb Lore. I received experience for both.”

“Yes, my Lord,” Randolphus sounded unsure as to what Richter was asking.

“So why did I get the experience?”

“Ahhh. I apologize for my confusion. To most people this is common knowledge. When leveling skills, you will receive a bonus every ten levels. It starts with 2,000 experience points and each level gives you an extra 2,000 for every ten levels. At level 20 you would receive 4,000 experience points and so on, until level one hundred, when you receive 20,000 experience points.”

Richter did some mental math, plus 4, then carry the 1, so… that was another 110,000 experience points for making it to the level of master! Richter had been taking his skill leveling at a rather relaxed pace, but now that he knew it could provide so much experience… well that changed everything! Richter would have to set aside some time for skill grinding sometime soon, but not until some other things were done.

They spoke about other sundry items. Richter asked if Randolphus had a good candidate to go on the trade mission. The chamberlain said he had found the perfect man, a human named Basil. Apparently, he was naturally gregarious and had managed a successful business for years in the Kingdom of Yves. His success had unfortunately made him a target for one of the King’s noble friends. Basil was given an ‘offer he couldn’t refuse’ to sell his business for coppers. The man certainly had an axe to grind against the current government of Yves. It made it easier for Richter to trust him.

More importantly from Richter’s perspective, he was a long-time personal friend of Randolphus. The chamberlain personally vouched for the man’s honesty and said he could be trusted. Richter wanted Basil sent as soon as possible to rendezvous with the ship captain. He removed two hundred Potions of Clarity and set them on the table. He also placed five hundred gold on the table for any expenses that might arise.

Randolphus protested the sum was too big, but Richter disagreed. If he was going to trust Basil, then he was going to trust him. Richter didn’t believe in half measures. Randolphus nodded his head saying he was honored for the faith he was being shown. Richter waved it away, uncomfortable with the older man getting emotional. He focused on what he needed done. Richter had a list of things he wanted to be brought back from Leaf’s Crossing. It included another two months of food rations, more vials, paper and a dozen other little items. Richter instructed Randolphus to poll the villagers and sprites to see if there was anything specific that they needed. He promised that he would take care of it.

That just left one unfortunate item to discuss, “Have the arrangements of the funeral been made?”

“Yes, my Lord. I have arranged for the bodies to be taken up to the meadow. I was actually going to suggest that we leave now.”

Richter nodded and stood up. Together, the two men walked to put their fellow villagers to rest. The funeral went smoothly. There were tears to go around, but the villagers pulled together in support. Hisako and the other sprites were present as well. Sumiko had cast a spell on the fallen sprites. It left their bodies wrapped in golden threads like a mummy. Richter was told that it would halt decay until they could be returned home to be buried in the custom of the wood sprites. The Hearth Mother recited a small speech in the language of her people at the end of the ceremony.

No one felt like saying much after that. They all went in separate directions to retire for the night. More than a few walked to the Quickening to sleep under its canopy. Richter couldn’t blame them. The sense of wellbeing that exuded from the tree was palpable.

Richter walked up to the Hearth Mother. She was surrounded by Yoshi, Sion and the other sprites. “I am leaving tomorrow morning. I need to finish my quest,” he said.

“Will my son be accompanying you?” she asked. Richter looked at Sion, who seemed confused by the question as well.

“Yes,” Richter replied. “Do you not want him to?”

“I am not saying that, but I well remember how dangerous my own quests to unlock my powers were. My son must follow his own path, and it will be as the Forest wills. I have a request, however.”

“Anything,” he said immediately.

“I would like you to take Yoshi with you.”

Both Richter and Yoshi began to argue against that at once, but she raised a hand to stop them. “I am quite safe here behind the enchantments now, and I have recovered fully from the battle. We will be working and fighting together quite a bit in the future. It will be to our advantage if our two peoples are familiar with each other’s weakness and strengths. There is no better way to accomplish this than working together to complete a quest.”

Yoshi waited for her to finish speaking, then immediately said, “I cannot leave you alone Hearth Mother. These mists are not foolproof as you well know! Anything-”

“Enough Yoshi,” she said sharply. She seemed to immediately regret her tone because then her voice softened, “I know you worry for me, but we must all take chances in the coming days. There have been more incursions into the Forest by those with evil in their hearts than any time in recent memory. Do not forget, if not for the efforts of Sion and Lord Richter, where we now stand could have been the heart of a goblin stronghold. Instead,” she sighed and looked at the Quickening with satisfaction, “we are sitting in the presence of a celestial tree. Most importantly, the other half of our souls has been returned to us. Instead of new enemies, we have new friends.” She patted Richter on the shoulder with a smile.

She looked at Yoshi again, “Please be ready to leave with Lord Richter in the morning. Help him accomplish his quest.”

The sword adept bent his head in acquiescence, “As you wish, Hearth Mother.”

“Daniella, will you go as well? This quest could benefit from someone with brains,” Hisako said with a wry smile.

“Of course, Hearth Mother,” the cute sprite said with a smile of her own. Sion gave a faint groan.

“Then we leave in the morning,” Richter said. “Sion, finish preparing the potions. Yoshi, let’s do some sword practice.”

The look on the sword adept’s face was almost worth the pain that followed.

Yoshi decided that this time, practice would consist of multiple sparring sessions. Richter first sparred against Sion, both of them holding stout sticks. The sprite soundly trounced him up and down the meadow. His Companion was, of course, trash talking the entire time.

Unexpectedly, Yoshi had saved him by saying that Sion needed to work on his own forms and they faced off against each other. It was Richter’s turn to be amused as Sion was whacked in the backside more than once. Then entered Daniella. With a cheery smile she asked if Richter would like to spar. He made a mental promise not to hurt the small woman. He soon found out that his promise wasn’t necessary because apparently she had already resolved to beat him like he owed her money.

It wasn’t the most humbling experience in two lives to be beaten soundly by a three and a half foot tall woman, but it was up there! She moved like a ghost. Her two blade style was strongly reminiscent of the sword adept’s fight with the bugbear raider, leaving no doubt who had trained her. He face planted at least five times! At one point he was pretty sure he shouted at her, ‘Stop laughing at me!’ That may have been a hallucination, though. Richter was relieved when she finally stepped back and thanked him for the exercise. That relief only lasted until he saw the other sprites standing in a line, patiently waiting for their turn to ‘spar’ with the Master of the Mist Village.

Richter was nearing the end of his patience as he sparred with the last sprite in line. Yoshi had been watching his practice silently. When he started his fight with the last sprite, however, he started ordering Richter to use certain forms. The names came faster and faster, and Richter’s training allowed him to follow. Before he knew it, he was standing over his sparring partner with his stick pointing at the sprites chest. A cheer rose up from the other warriors and even his vanquished ‘foe’ smiled ruefully before accepting Richter’s help to stand again. They shook hands and parted with no animosity. Yoshi just walked up and said, “That was less horrible.” Then he walked off.

Richter’s mouth dropped open in shock. He spread his arms wide and looked around as if to say, ‘Yeah boyyyyy!’ Sion just shook his head and turned away with a laugh. Daniella followed close behind him, already restarting her constant monologue on the sprite’s many faults and how he could improve if only he would listen.

Laughing quietly at his friend’s stoic demeanor, Richter walked over to Hisako. He made a quick request to which she readily agreed. Thanking her, he decided to keep moving before the heat left his muscles. Prior training sessions had taught him that as soon as he slowed, his muscles would cool down, and then the aches would begin. He collected his map from the sprites, and then began to jog down to the village. While he was moving he saw a minimized unread prompt, he had advanced his sword skill by a level! Pleased with his progression, he made his way down to the village. The sun was going down and he wanted to speak with Sumiko and Gloran quickly before passing out. Luckily, Futen showed up while he was jogging, and Richter sent him to gather the high elf and the Life master to await him at the Great Seal.

When he got closer to the soon to be site of the rebuilt smithy, he heard raised voices and arguing. Sighing to himself, he jogged over. Krom and four other dwarves were shouting at each other. Every word uttered got louder and brought the arguers closer together. Anyone could see this was about to come to blows. In fact, judging by the lack of other people around, Richter was the only dummy running towards this conflict.

“Whoa! What’s with all hubbub bub?” The dwarves stopped fighting and looked at him confused. Richter sighed. Damn colloquialisms. He tried again, “Why for art thou fighting?”

Krom immediately started talking again. Why the hell did that work, Richter thought. “These short sighted fools want to just shove the Core into any ol’ anvil!”

Richter just looked at him. When the dwarves started arguing again, in dwarvish this time, Richter held up his hand again, “Hey! Somebody tell me what the problem is.” He pointed randomly at one of the dwarves, “You, what’s the argument about?”

“Well your lordship, the Core can be combined with any anvil to make a Magic Forge. But it will combine with the highest quality metal it is touching and change the entire anvil into that metal. Thereafter, any weapons or armor made will have special traits based on the metal the Forge is made out of.”

Richter had to take a second to process that, “So you are saying that if you put gold next to the Magic Core, then you could turn an entire anvil into gold?”

“Yes, my Lord, but gold would make a horrible anvil,” one of the dwarves responded.

This guy didn’t get it. “And we can do this over and over?” he asked. Richter was already dreaming of a factory churning out gold anvils by the dozens. He was going to invent both the car and grey poupon, just so he could drive around handing it out!

“The Core can be taken out of the Magic Forge, but the anvil would return to its former metal.”

Richter sighed, he guessed that would have been too easy.

“We would also lose any levels or spells that the Forge had learned,” the dwarf continued.

“Yes,” Krom spat, “and that’s why we need to do this right. The material that is used in the anvil will convey certain properties to the weapons we make! Right now we only have common metals, and these blockheads want to waste a MAGIC CORE when we don’t have anything stronger than high steel! Even orichalum would be a better choice, but I would sooner make love to an ant hill in winter than use the metal of those accursed bastards!”

“Wait,” Richter said raising a hand to hold off any more of Krom’s tirade, “what do you mean levels. The Forge could get stronger?”

Another dwarf spoke up, “That is the other reason Magic Forges are so valued. They will absorb the skill of those who work upon them. Each weapon that is made upon them and each weapon that is deconstructed on it will add to the experience of the Forge. When it has enough experience it will level,” the dwarf smiled, “and that is when the really amazing things start to happen. You see, my Lord-”

Richter held up his hand for the umpteenth time. He was too tired to get a lesson in smithing right now. He turned back to Krom, “What metals are there, and which one should we use?”

Krom’s face lost much of its animosity as he started thinking of a topic near and dear to his heart, “Well iron and steel of course. Bronze or its base metal copper is also possible, but only a blockhead or back woods tribesman would make weapons out of bronze these days. High steel can be made by combining molten steel and xanthite. Glass is stronger, but only those crazy islanders know how to forge it. Moonstone will make you a nice light armor. Quicksilver will give you something even better, though whoever could find enough quantities to make even a decent dagger is someone I would like to meet. Cobalt will make you a fine piece of medium or heavy armor, and ebony will protect you from almost anything, though you will need to be as strong as a bear and probably hung like one too if you want to move around in it. My pappy used to talk about red duranium, but I’ve only seen it once. Of course, mithril is the dream of every smith, but you might as well wish for a great dragon’s scales or adamant while you are at it.”

Richter was shocked that such a long winded and thoughtful discourse had come from the hot-tempered dwarf. It was clear that there was more to Krom than just the barroom brawler persona that the smith initially exuded. Krom wasn’t done, though.

“So if I had my wish, it would be duranium or ebony. I suppose in a pinch, quicksilver or moonstone would do, though. That’s why,” Krom’s voice regained its previous levels of derision and annoyance, “I’ll not hear about wasting the Core on high steel!”

From what Richter had heard, he agreed with his new vassal. Even though he was eager to have the Forge made and to start constructing weapons, he had always been a measure twice and cut once kind of guy. (Previous girlfriends might point out that certain Ikea desks or tables had been left a bit wobbly because he had refused to read the directions first, but that’s not the point!) Richter had a question to ask before he made his decision.

“How much metal will we need?”

Krom answered, “Well I have never done this before. The only information we have is based on fables the oldsters would tell us, but what I remember is my mam telling me a story about Frederico the Axesmith.”

“Holding one globe of silver mithril,

and one sphere of red and white,

he brought the two brother orbs together,

and unleashed his hammer’s might.

The Magic Forge was created,

to manifest the Axesmith’s will,

he swore to forge to save his people,

and never just to kill.

Educational dialogue and now poetry? Richter smiled at seeing the softer side of the cantankerous dwarf. “So it needs to be the same size as the Core then?” he asked. The clockwork sphere was about the size of a large grapefruit.

“We think so, my Lord. The problem is even if you could find someone selling that much precious metal, an ingot of pure quicksilver would cost near two gold coins. Ebony at least five times as much. Also, to be completely honest, the Kingdom of Yves regulates the purchase of higher level metals. All known mines that produce them are either owned by the Kingdom, the nobles, or one of the mining guilds that wouldn’t risk breaking the law just to sell to us. Some could be bought on the black market, but you would need a high skill level tradesman just to find one.”

Metal costs that much, Richter thought incredulously. He supposed it made sense. In medieval times on Earth, it was only the upper crust that could afford to wear armor. A knight clad in full plate was literally wearing a fortune. The kingdom’s stranglehold on metal also meant only their soldiers would have access to the best gear.

One of the other dwarves piped in loudly, “That is why we should not wait around for something that we will probably never find!”

“Quit flapping your sausage wrappers!” Krom shouted back. Turning back to Richter, he asked in a respectful tone, “Can you get us a high quality metal, my Lord?”

You have been offered a Quest: The Right Tool for the Job. Your smiths are arguing over which base metal to use when making the Magic Forge. You have been put on the spot to solve the problem for the fractious dwarves. Weapons and armor made on the forge will have special properties based on the type of metal that is used. The benefit of gaining a better forge must be weighed against the difficulty of finding a higher metal and delaying the production of arms to defend your village in a dangerous world. Failing this quest will lower the regard the smiths have for you. Reward: A Magic Forge that gives better traits. Do you accept? Yes or No?

Richter thought about it for a moment, and ultimately based his decision on the boon of the Quickening. The level 2 bonus provided a 25% greater chance of finding rare resources. There was a real chance that they could find a high-quality metal in the surrounding lands. Richter knew he would always kick himself if he just took the easy path that was right in front of him, to get a quick result. If he only applied himself, he could get something so much better. It was the same reason he never paid for sex. It wasn’t really so much about being moral, as it was about believing in himself… and having good fiscal sense.

“I agree with Krom. There is a good chance that we might find what we need around here. Search the iron mine. We might discover a previously unseen vein of precious metal. Also, carefully go through the armory Krom. There might be weapons made of what we need. If we don’t find anything after a time, we will reach out to our trader friend in Yves and see if he can help.” Richter quailed at thinking about how much the tubby, but shrewd, trader Hafiz would charge. It didn’t’ matter. The Magic Forge was worth investing it. It had to be invested in.

The dwarves seemed comfortable with that decision, and they walked off still good-naturedly grumbling amongst themselves. Richter stared after them. Now he was getting quests from his own villagers? That possibility hadn’t really occurred to him before. In some ways, he had just viewed the village and the people now living here as macro extensions of himself, like an arm or a leg. Even though he knew that this wasn’t a game, his thinking had unknowingly shifted back to those thought patterns. He supposed it would be good to remember that each new member of his community was an individual, real and distinct.

Richter resumed his jog over to where everyone had gathered to eat. A large bonfire had been made from the wooden remnants of the longhouse, and the villagers circled it. The overall demeanor was not joyous, but neither was it depressed. The people ate and spoke quietly. Richter was pleased that he saw a few smiles here and there. He was pleasantly met by his people who made room for him to sit. He begged off, saying there was no rest for the wicked, which earned a few good-natured laughs. He piled some food on a wooden plate and made his way up to the Great Seal.

Sumiko and Gloran were sitting in a small room that had also had a table set into it. They seemed to be laughing about something, but both rose quickly at Richter’s approach. He waved them back down, futilely telling them again that things like that weren’t necessary, and then came to the reason he asked to see them. Sumiko readily agreed to teach him the spell Soul Trap.

Congratulations! You have learned the spell: Soul Trap! Binds the soul of the target to this plane, preventing passage to the beyond at the time of death. They will instead be pulled into any nearby empty soul stone you possess of appropriate size. This is a spell of Life Magic. Cost: 30 mana. Duration: 2 minutes. Range 10 feet. Cast time: 1 second. Cool down: N/A.

Richter was thankful for the new spell, but the short duration and range were not ideal. Sumiko told him that there were other spells like Soul Trap with increased stats, but his level in Life Magic was still too low to learn them. She further told him that the basic Soul Trap spell only lasted sixty seconds if learned in another school of magic besides Life and Death. Richter thanked her again and spoke to Gloran.

The high elf had already prepared several dozen low level soul stones using pieces of the marbled quartz he had found near the cliffs. Apparently it served as a better template than he had thought it would. Gloran explained that there were multiple levels of soul stones: Weak, Basic, Common, Higher, Special, Resplendent, and Absolute. The marbled quartz had made ‘basic’ soul stones when he had only been expecting ‘weak’. Each level captured higher level souls. Gloran couldn’t give him a specific breakdown of which monsters went into which category, but he did tell him that ‘resplendent’ level stones were required to capture high level angels or demons, and ‘absolute’ could capture anything.

When Richter asked if an absolute gem could capture a human or elf, Sumiko’s face tightened. She said in a scolding tone that only the most perverted magic could be used to make a gem like that. Richter took the rebuke easily, but he still thought about it. Call him cold, but he knew that at some point he would face other Chaos Seeds. If he needed to put one down, Richter wanted him to stay down.

Richter took the basic soul stones from Gloran and looked at them. None were overly large, and Richter could fit several in one hand. He had expected them to look like the original stones they were created from, but none resembled the white stone of the cliffs. Each was the color of amber and formed a perfect six sided gem. Holding them made his hand tingle. Richter pulled some gems from his Bag that he had put aside earlier. He had taken Shiovana’s reaction to heart, and wouldn’t be flashing the contents of his whole chest again… not that he expected Gloran to start whispering sweet nothings into his ear and make a move, but better safe than sore, that was his motto. Upon further reflection though, he decided not to stand with his back to the elf…

He put several jaspers, a turquoise, a topaz, and a few opals on the table. He also placed one ruby, sapphire, emerald and diamond on the table with the other gems. “What can you make these into?”

Gloran’s eyes had widened at seeing so much wealth so casually strewn in front of him, “Are you sure that you want to use all of these, my Lord?”

“Wealth should serve a purpose,” Richter told him. “The primary purpose of my wealth is to make us safer and stronger. So what can you do with the gems?”

Gloran pushed the diamond, emerald and ruby back towards Richter, “My old master told me that these can be turned into resplendent soul stones, but my skill level in enchanting is too low to make them. I can turn the sapphire into a special soul stone, and the other gems into common or higher level stones.”

“Can you have it done by the morning,” Richter asked.

“I can do it now, my Lord. It is a simple spell of Light magic. It just also has the requirement of possessing the enchanting skill.” Gloran placed his hands over the gems and murmured a few words. A green glow shone down from his palms, and the image of each gem wavered, like air over a hot desert. Each gem grew a bit larger and when the glow vanished, more amber jewels sat in their place. Gloran identified the largest as the special stone, the slightly smaller gems were higher level soul stones and the common gems were smaller still. Easy enough to figure out which was which.

“A soul will go into the smallest appropriate soul stone available. Be careful not to run out of low-level gems or a weak soul will use up a valuable higher level gem,” Gloran cautioned. Richter asked if he could turn more quartz into soul stones by the morning. The enchanter bowed his head in agreement.

Richter had one more question, “I want you to look at something else.” He reached into his Bag and pulled out the depleted Wand of Dark Bolts. He placed it in front of Gloran, and said, “I found this on one of the attackers. It doesn’t have any charges left, can you fix that?”

Gloran picked up the wand, examining it, “The procedure to recharge the wand is fairly simple. Just place a filled soul stone next to it, and will the wand to be replenished. This wand, though, is not completely empty, my Lord.”

Richter frowned and took the wand back from the enchanter. When he examined it, he saw that Gloran was right.

You have found: Wand of Dark Bolts. Attack 4-6. Durability 17/17. Item class: Uncommon. Quality: Superb. Weight 0.2 kg. Casts spell Dark Bolts. Charge 2/50.

“I don’t understand,” Richter said. “I was sure that it had zero charges when I examined it earlier.”

Gloran nodded in understanding, “The enchantment that made this wand was a ‘charged’ enchantment, my Lord. That means that unlike your armor which gives a constant bonus, the wand has a limited number of uses. After that, it just becomes a stick with a weak attack. The charges can be restored by using filled soul stones as we discussed, but it will also slowly recharge over time.”

“So if I just wait, then my enchanted items will replenish?” Gloran nodded again but warned that it could take a long, long time.

Richter thanked them and said goodnight. His muscles had started locking up from his sparring session, and he wanted nothing more than to fall asleep.