The Land: Founding (Chaos Seeds Book 1)

CHAPTER 20

Apparently Terrod and other sympathetic humans had started to ferry nonhumans out of the city. They had to reach out to various groups to accomplish this, however. One of them was a local thief group called the Night Blades. The plan was for the nonhumans to make it to the sewers under the city and the Night Blades would help them out of the city from there. Apparently the first half had gone smoothly, but the Night Blades sent a message to Terrod’s compatriots that five coppers per head would have to be paid or they would send the nonhumans to the King’s guard. A silver coin was apparently the standard bounty for runaways. The Blades had said they were giving Terrod and his colleagues a bargain.

“We know where our people are being held. There are many people who disagree with the King’s laws. They help how they can, but not many are fighters. I have five good men that can hold their own and seven more who are willing to fight. Basically what I’m saying is we need a bit more muscle. If you help us, I will spread your request to the nonhumans. I will also help arrange travel for anyone that wants to leave the city. Will you fight?”

You have been offered a Quest: Fight for those Who Cannot I. A group of nonhumans is being held for ransom. Terrod will help you, but only if you help him first. He needs your aid to free the captured nonhumans from the thieves. Reward: Increased reputation with nonhumans of Yves. Possible colonists to come live in the Mist Village. Yes or No?

Richter looked at Sion who gave him a nod. Looking back at Terrod he asked, “What’s the plan?”

“I need to get some things together, rally the troops as it were. Is there anything else you need to do in the city?”

“I need to sell some gems. I also have a magic staff to sell.”

“I know two reliable merchants. Is there anything else?”

“This might be a long shot, but do you know anyone that can teach me magic spells?”

“Mage guilds are sometimes willing to sell lesser spells, but rarely anything stronger.”

“We are new to our magic, higher level spells are most likely beyond us anyway.”

“Go to Aldimah’s Focus. It’s where I was going to send you to sell that staff anyway. Walk uphill past two rows of buildings and then go left. Circle a quarter of the city, and you’ll see a string of shops. Aldimah’s has purple windows and a blue door. I only ask that you return by five bells after midday.”

Richter and Sion assured him that they would, and then they left. They decided to see the merchant first, in case they needed more coin to buy whatever spells were available. His shop was only a short walk from the inn. Walking in, they were greeted with a practiced smile. “Gentlemen! Please come in! Whatever you are looking for I’m sure I can help you find, and if not, I’m sure I can provide something even better, hazaah!”

The merchant wore a white turban with a colorful feather coming from the front. He was older, and couldn’t have been an inch or two over five feet. He carried more than a little weight around his middle. His clothes were loose silk, and he had a red sash tied around his waist.

Amused by the round merchant’s demeanor, Richter smiled and said, “Terrod sent us. He said that you could be trusted to treat us fairly.”

The merchant’s eyes grew somewhat large in alarm. “Yes of course! Please tell Master Terrod that as always, Hafiz is a humble servant and is happy to help. Any friends of his are already friends of mine!”

Richter was somewhat surprised by the reaction. Just what kind of rep did the innkeeper have? Richter decided that since an honest merchant was most likely as rare and precious a sight as a comet, he would not question his good fortune.

“I am actually here to sell some jewels. They were, err, part of an inheritance.” Richter pulled out the small chest from the Mist Village vault and opened it.

“Sir! Please be careful. That much wealth would be worth all of our lives!” The portly man came from behind the counter, and rushed past them to the door. He closed and locked it while looking out the windows to make sure no one had been looking in. Satisfied they had not been observed, the merchant walked back behind the counter, and drew aside a curtain. Hafiz motioned for Richter and Sion to follow him.

“You seem to be showing us a great deal of trust,” Richter said.

“Well you have been sent by Terrod which means a great deal. You also seem like a good sort overall. Finally you walked in with a chest of jewels that is most likely worth more than my shop. Not many thieves try to rob you with a golden blade encrusted with diamonds.”

Richter smiled, “Those are some good points. Either way, thank you for your trust, and I promise you that it’s not misplaced.”

Hafiz walked over to a small table with a stool. Several large lamps made the room well-lit despite the lack of windows. “Please place the chest on the table, good sir.”

Richter laid the chest on the table, and Hafiz began removing the gems one by one. He held each to his eye, looking through a small eye piece that had a soft orange glow coming from it. He examined each, and made notations on a small piece of paper. “This will take a while sir. Please feel free to peruse my goods while you wait. There are many different goods up front, but my elite stock is on these back shelves. I invite your companion to stay with me. Always best to keep each other honest, hazaah!”

Smiling again at the strange little man, Richter went back to the front of the shop. Sion decided to stay with the merchant as suggested. Richter walked through the front and found several useful items, rope, flint and steel, oil, and other sundry items. He gathered them on the counter and then moved to the back again to see the merchant’s “elite” items.

The lowest shelves held gems and jewelry. Since he had come to sell jewels, those shelves did not keep his interest. What he found above was much more interesting, however. The first thing his eyes were drawn to was a glass display filled with arrow heads. They all had a slight glow to them.

You have found: Arrowhead of Dispelling. Will dispel active enchantments on target.

You have found: Arrowhead of Flame. Will do additional 10-12 damage on impact. Chance to cause Burn.

You have found: Arrowhead of Stun. Chance to stun target for 3-5 seconds.

You have found: Arrowhead of Negation. Will ignore magical defenses.

You have found: Arrowhead of Poison. Chance to poison target, doing additional 2-4 damage for 10 seconds.

You have found: Arrowhead of Freeze. Will do additional 7-9 damage on impact. Chance to cause Freeze.

You have found: Arrowhead of Piercing. Will ignore up to 33% of opponents armor.

You have found: Arrowhead of Confusion. Target may attack anyone near, including possibly allies.

Jackpot! Richter moved the box of arrowheads to the front counter.

He also found various other items that would come in useful.

You have found: Ring of Health: Durability 11/11. Item class: Uncommon. Quality: Above Average. Weight: 0.1 kg. Traits: Increase maximum Health by +30.

He found four of those.

You have found: Ring of Mana: Durability 9/9. Item class: Uncommon. Quality: Average. Weight: 0.1 kg. Traits: Increase maximum mana by +20.

You have found: Belt of Strength: Durability 40/40. Item class: Rare. Quality: Superb. Weight 1.1 kg. Traits: Increase Strength by +4.

The last item that caught his attention was a black satchel sitting at the end of the shelf.

You have found: Bag of Holding. Durability 50/50. Item class: Epic. Quality: Exquisite. Weight 1.0 kg + 0.1 x total weight of items. Traits: Can hold large amount of items. Contents of bag will only be 10% of normal weight. Thinking of desired object will retrieve it from bag. Item is Soul Bound, it cannot be lost or stolen. Can only be transferred with an open heart.

At last! What Richter had been missing more than anything else from his game days was the inventory that was present in every RPG. Having to actually schlep everything he wanted to carry was a real pain in the butt. Anyone who has had to walk to the store for groceries would know what he was talking about. He held the bag almost reverently as he placed it on the counter. By the time he was done perusing, Hafiz was putting down his ledger, done cataloguing the stones in the chest.

“Well good sir, you are truly blessed to have found such a rich trove of jewels.”

“Are they really that good?”

“Oh yes! My monocle of identification was made by the finest elvish glass smiths and then enchanted by one of the Master Light mages of the Illuminator guild. I would stake my reputation by this ledger,” then he sighed. “As I suspected I can only afford a portion of these stones.”

The merchant pushed about a fifth of the stones to the side, and they looked mostly to be only the semiprecious stones. “These stones are worth roughly three hundred and ten gold.” Richter coughed, his mouth opening in shock. That was thirty one thousand dollars! He was hoping that the gems would cover his costs, but if Hafiz was correct his chest was more than a hundred grand, maybe closer to two or even three!

Hafiz misunderstood Richter’s expression. “I promise you sir that this is a fair price! I am an honest merchant, and especially would not cheat of friend of Mr. Terrod!” Richter closed his mouth and assured the man that he trusted his good intentions, mollified Hafiz continued, “I have this in gold bands,” and he laid two finger length rectangular bars of gold down on the table along a heavy bag and ten gold coins. Seeing Richter’s questioning look, he explained. “Each of these bars is the equivalent of one hundred gold coins. Now if you allow me, I can see what you have picked from my stock, and we can do the rest in trade.”

The rotund man walked up to the counter, making short oohs and aahs he lined up each item and placed a stone next to each. The arrowheads equated to a thumbnail sized jade, the rings a slightly smaller turquoise. The belt of strength, a square cut emerald, and the basic items he piled together equated to a small pearl. When he came to the bag however, he looked at Richter for a moment and then firmly placed two diamonds in front of it.

Richter coughed in shock. He knew because of the bag’s stats, as well as its usefulness, it would be expensive, but good god! Two diamonds that size probably meant he was paying as much for that bag as he had for his first car. Suddenly an argument with an ex-girlfriend came to mind where she criticized him for wasting money on video games, and he threw her expensive purse collection back at her. She had of course responded, “It’s an investment.” His response that maybe math wasn’t her strong suit had NOT gone well. Sigh, live and learn. Maybe if the purse had been able to fold space to make a pocket dimension, then she would have had a point though.

Even though it was painful he looked Hafiz in the eye and nodded his assent. The man grinned broadly, and clapped his hands. “Praise to the lord of commerce, let us both profit from this day, hazaah!” Shaking hands they finished the deal. Richter was surprised when Hafiz reached out with both hands and laid them on the bag. A white light emanated from his hands, and when he removed them a clear gem sat on the bag. At the merchant’s gesture, Richter picked up the gem and was greeted with the prompt.

Would you like to take ownership of this Bag of Holding? Yes or No?

Choosing “Yes” the gem disappeared, and he found a new small icon in the corner of his vision which looked like the black bag. Selecting it, a 20x20 empty grid appeared. Unable to keep a look of childlike glee from his face he began placing and removing items from the bag. Just as described, as soon as he reached into the bag he simply had to focus on the object he wanted and it would materialize in his hand ready to be pulled out. He placed the magic staff in, and sure enough its entire length disappeared into bag. The staff took up a 3x1 area of the grid. He then decided to put a copper, silver and gold coin in the bag, and retrieved each in turn. He might be excited, but he wasn’t about to throw all of his money into a black hole without making sure he could get it back first! Seeing as it was a success though, he placed the gold bands as well as his coins into the Bag of Holding. Thieves had been a major concern but now he could rest relatively easier needing only to keep track of the one bag. Each type of coin took up one slot in the bag, and clearly displayed the amount of each. He placed the rest of the gems back in the chest and placed it into the bag. Spending a few more moments he transferred over the contents of his old pack. Each herb stacked, and made it much easier to organize. Best of all it was Soul Bound! He finally didn’t need to worry about losing all of his items if he died again.

“Is there anything else I can do for you good sir,” Hafiz asked.

“Do you have any maps? Magic or otherwise?”

“I have a few maps of the surrounding areas and waterways, and one other item. Please give me a moment sir.” The white clad merchant walked to the back.

He came back after a few minutes. In his hands was a two foot long parchment that was bound with a green and yellow striped ribbon.

“This is a Traveler’s Map, sir. Are you familiar with their guild?” Richter shook his head.

“They are a potpourri of different skills and races. Some are magic users, others are fighters, some are simple woodsmen, and the only thing they have in common is a love of travel. Either singly or in groups they move across the land and create maps of the world. They sell these for exorbitant fees to the rich and powerful. The price is paid however, because this is actually an extremely versatile tool! It provides access to whatever information the Traveler imparted to this map. You can even do so mentally without opening the physical scroll. Finally owning the parchment lets you add your own geographic information. As the map is bound to you, the physical map will only show information that you wish shared!”

The item sounded amazing! As the description grew more detailed however, Richter’s heart began to sink. This must be an item of incredible cost! True he probably had the gems to pay for it, but Richter was not one to squander money. He might be looking at an eternity here, and being careless with money today could mean centuries of hard times ahead.

The reluctance on his face must have been apparent. Hafiz moderated his excited tone, “Well as I said, normally this is only an item for the wealthiest of patrons, but the information contained within is only as current as when the map was made. The particular Traveler that made the map lived at least two hundred years ago, possibly a good deal longer ago than that. It was found in the belongings of a recently departed nobleman. His family had fallen on hard times because of his love of the bottle. As such, he left his children with few assets and even less regard for him. They sold his items quickly and cheaply. So you see, with this particular map, I have no idea about the usefulness of any of the information contained within. The enchantments will still work either way though, sir, so it is a valuable item nonetheless. If you are interested, I could relinquish it for only one more small diamond.”

Richter understood what Hafiz was saying. The information was most likely hopelessly out of date. It was a risk to buy it. Admittedly he could make his own maps, and so the item was very useful in and of itself. Xuetrix the imp had said The Land was bigger than the Earth. If that was true he had seen less than 1% of 1% so far. Richter weighed the pros and cons and decided that even if the Traveler’s information was useless, the map itself was a good investment in his future. After all, G Maps had been about the most used app on his phone. He did need to know one thing though.

“How much are these diamonds worth, Hafiz?”

“Well sir, each is high quality and cut finely. So per carat each will be worth fifty gold coins.”

Richter’s eyes bulged again. Five thousand dollars! He dreaded asking the next question, but couldn’t help himself. “So how many carats were in the diamonds I have already traded you?”

“The diamonds you traded for the bag were two carats each. I will trade the map for this last diamond that is a bit over one carat,” the merchant replied promptly.

Richter sighed deeply. He almost wished he didn’t know. His calculations had been off. Those two diamonds had been worth more than his first car, a lot more! He tried to comfort himself that he couldn’t take it with him when he died, but he realized that now he could! He could and would take it with him! He tried to focus on the big picture, but his mind shouted that twenty five thousand bucks worth of stones was a pretty damn big picture!

Richter finally closed his eyes and rubbed the spot on his ear that always relaxed him. He had followed George Takei on Facebook, and one day it had showed a pressure point called “Shen Men.” Apparently it translated to “heavenly gate.” He had tried rubbing it, and actually found it was very relaxing! He closed his eyes to try to find the same peace with the gentle massage. Surprisingly a prompt came up. It was very strange seeing something even with his eyes closed.

Congratulations! You have learned the subskill: Pressure Points. Certain points on bodies can harm or heal. In unarmed combat, certain spots will draw your attention, and you will know intuitively what they do. This is a subskill of Unarmed Combat. As you have learned this subskill, you have also learned Unarmed Combat.

Congratulations! You have learned the skill: Unarmed Combat. You can attack and defend yourself without the crutch of weapons.

Thank you Hikaru Sulu! Richter was stacking up these skills! Taking his new skill as an omen, he nodded to Hafiz, and pushed the diamond across the table, picking up the map. “How do I use it?”

Again Hafiz touched the map and a white light flared leaving a clear ownership gem in its place, “Simply break the seal and pick up the gem,” he said.

Richter did as instructed.

You have found: Traveler’s Map. Would you like to accept ownership? Yes or No?

As if he had paid all that dough for nothing! He accepted “Yes,” and a small map icon appeared at the corner of his gaze. The gem crumpled to dust after he accepted ownership. He selected the icon, and a translucent almost opaque screen appeared to fill most of his visual field. It was like looking down from above. The map was centered on Law, and the city took up about half the screen. But what if I want to see more or a different scale, Richter thought. Immediately a bar appeared vertically at the edge of the map. Focusing, he could make the slider on the bar move up and down and the map zoomed in and out. At maximum zoom, Richter could make out individual streets in the city. At minimal zoom the map showed Law as a small circle. The Kingdom of Yves was a roughly circular patch of green with a dotted line surrounding it. To the east of the kingdom was a yellow patch written as ‘Plains of Gold,’ and just north were the ‘Singing Hills’ and ‘Whisper Woods of Grevnt.’ Richter could see the Serrated Mountains and north of them was the Kingdom of Rione, but it was called the ‘Villages of Rione.’ Several other small kingdoms dotted the map. Farther north was a large swath of greyed out area called simply ‘the Wilds.’ The Forest of Nadria occupied the right side of the map. Going to medium zoom many dungeons, caves, crypts and other points of interest could be seen. It was strange, that some areas had more color on the map and others were almost monochromatic. He soon figured out that the colored areas followed his own path since coming to the Land. He had to guess that more color meant more current information. This map was amazing!

He zoomed out to maximum and the colored part of the map became a small island in a sea of black. He zoomed back in. Off to the bottom right there was a small glowing arrow. Richter changed his focus and the map slid in that direction, no longer focused on the Kingdom. It moved past the Forest, over the open ocean and then settled over a series of islands. The map named them the ‘Isles of Lonyu.’ On the second biggest was a glowing marker. When he zoomed in he saw was a small dilapidated castle. Another prompt filled the screen.

You have discovered the Lost Citadel of the Mage Poquatil.

You have been offered a Quest: Right an Ancient Wrong I. The Traveler that made this map accepted a quest that remains undone. As he is now dead, and no previous owners of this map have completed it, the task now falls to you. You must travel to the Lost Citadel and find the remains of the mage Poquatil. Unlock the mystery of the Lost Citadel. Reward: Unknown. Yes or No?

A lost castle on a hidden island discovered on a treasure map? Uhhhh, yes please! It seemed like the kind of quest that gave legendary of even artifact gear! It also seemed like the kind of quest that had monsters that would use his balls for ju-ju bees at his current level. Looking closely at the map he saw that the citadel was considered a timeworn dungeon. That meant it was at least a thousand years old, and possibly up ten thousand years old! He couldn’t tackle it at his current low level, but that wouldn’t always be a problem now would it? No, it would not, Richter thought with a smile. Then he thought, it’s kind of creepy to be talking to yourself in the third person. I need to stop this. He dismissed the map.

A second prompt had been hidden behind the map.

Congratulations! You have learned the skill: Map Making. Through careful observation of the world around you can map everywhere you have been. Finding additional maps will add to your personal map.

Hafiz had been looking at him as he worked with the maps functions. “Are you satisfied with your purchase, sir?”

“Oh yes,” Richter replied with a smile.

“Hazaah! Most happy to have been of service then,” Hafiz replied with a smile of his own. “I will add these other standard maps as part of the price with the diamond. Now is there anything else I can help you with?”

“Not right now, but I may need a varied amount of items later. I will need them brought to Leaf’s Crossing, could you arrange that?”

“I am ever your humble servant, good sir,” Hafiz said bowing his head. Hafiz handed him a bundle of arrow shafts to affix the arrowheads too. Richter had said he was going to use his sprite arrows, but Sion had told him mixing magic was never wise. Even imbuing an arrow that was already enchanted could be dangerous. Deciding to follow his friend’s advice, Richter thanked Hafiz and accepted the shafts. He then equipped his rings and belt. He felt a perceptible change in his body as it filled out slightly reflecting his increased stats. Shaking hands with the merchant one last time, Richter and Sion left the shop. Two bells tolled as they walked outside letting them know there wasn’t much time left before they had to meet back at the inn.

They followed Terrod’s instructions to reach Aldimah’s Focus. The store front looked much as Terrod had explained it. The panes of purple glass were varied in color. As they walked into the door they heard a chime. A tall man came to the front. Not wasting any time, Richter said, “Terrod sent us.”

“What does he need,” the man replied. There was none of the obsequiousness that Hafiz had displayed.

“It’s actually myself and my friend that are looking to trade,” Sion said.

“Then what do You need,” he asked gruffly.

“I’m looking for spells, my companion specifically for Air Magic, but I’m interested in anything useful.”

“By the laws of the King, magic can only be taught to and by members of licensed guilds.”

The merchant stared at them both, no one speaking.

Richter placed a small jewel on the counter.

He looked at what Richter had dropped and then looked back up.

“But laws don’t put food on the table, right? Come to the back. Ryun! Come watch the front!”

A teenage boy walked up from the back to stand behind the counter. Richter and Sion followed the man, walking through a back door into another room. He sat at a circular table and offered for them to join him.

“Are you Aldimah,” Richter asked.

“No, Aldimah is right behind you,” pointing behind Richter and to the left.

A hand gripped his shoulder just as the man pointed, “Holy sh-!” Richter thought only the three of them were in the room! Scrabbling to turn quickly, he knocked over a chair. A golden skinned elf stood before him. She had silver hair, not with age, but as if someone had spun silver coins. She wore blue robes with arcane sigils in silver thread embroidered along the hem. She looked like she was Richter’s age, but he realized you couldn’t really tell in such a long lived race. A wry smile was on her face as she said, “I’m sorry. I get so bored cooped up in here.”

“Which doesn’t make it right,” the merchant said in admonishment.

“I’m sorry,” she said contritely letting her head hang slightly. “Hmph,” the man just grunted in reply, but he seemed mollified.

“Please don’t give it another thought,” Richter replied with a faint smile. She really was remarkably beautiful. “Are you Aldimah?”

She gave a small laugh, her voice resounding with the purest tones. If the Wood Sprites were woodwinds when they spoke, she sounded like a violin. “Aldimah is my grandfather’s name. He founded this shop, but he and the rest of my family left Law several years ago. I have been running it with our old family friend Killik,” she said, pointing to the merchant. “You may call me Leandra.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Richter replied. “Terrod sent us here when I said I wanted to learn some spells.”

“You do know that it is against the King’s laws to learn spells outside of a registered guild?”

“We’ve been over that Leandra,” Killik said.

She gave another small laugh and looked at Killik, “Well you are the one that always told me to say it.” Looking at Richter she said, “My powers are focused in Earth and Water magic. I have some spell books that can teach you some low level spells, if you have the affinity and level to learn them.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem,” Richter said with a smile.

“Do you have any experience with Earth or Water? No? Then you can only learn skill level one spells then, but they should still help you.” She took three books from a shelf along the wall.

You have found: Book of Barkskin: This spell will increase natural armor by +2. This is a spell of Earth. Cost 20 mana. Duration: 20 min. Range: self. Cast Time: 1 second. Cooldown: N/A.

You have found: Book of Grease: This spell will make a 10x10 foot area slick with grease. It greatly increases the chance of anyone in the area falling down. This is a spell of Earth. Cost 15 mana. Duration: 30 sec. Range 25 feet. Cast time: 2 seconds. Cooldown: 10 min.

You have found: Book of Ice Dagger: This spell will throw a dagger made of ice at your target. This is a spell of Water. Cost 20 mana. Duration: 1 min. Range: 40 feet. Cooldown: N/A.

All the spells seemed pretty basic and uniform. That didn’t mean they weren’t also wonderfully useful. He especially liked the grease spell. In Richter’s experience, even high level enemies could be affected indirectly by spells that changed the environment. He remembered a tough fight from years ago. He had to kill a dungeon boss. It was a death knight whose spell resistance was so high that no spells could touch it. A mage he was playing with had created an icy floor though, that made the knight fall on its back. Richter had been able to score an easy critical strike after that and win the fight.

“I’ll take them all,” Richter said. He was practically salivating thinking of increased capabilities.

“At two each that will be six gold coins.”

Errrrrrch! What was wrong with these people? It seemed like they were determined to bleed him dry! He had to fight the impulse to see if he bought two if he could get the third free. Six hundred dollars for three books! Say what you want about massed produced crap back home, it made things cheaper. He did have a thought though. Using Analyze on Leandra, he had her stats

Female High Elf, Lvl 8. Health: 160/160, Mana 190/250, Stamina 110/110.

“Each of these spells seems like it takes about 10% of your mana,” Richter said enjoying her shocked look. “I would think that a way for you to be able to reduce the cost of your spells would be valuable.” He withdrew the blue staff from his Bag of Holding. He handed it to her, allowing a closer examination.

Leandra took the staff looking at him, but then switched her gaze to the item in her hand. She focused, and a white flare that looked like when Futen identified items extended from her hands and surrounded the item. Her look of surprise switched to one of excitement and greed. She began muttering to herself. “Leg bone of a frost giant… Steeped in waters of Great northern glacier… Must have been enchanted by…” She came back to herself all of a sudden, seeming to realize how transparent she was being, and tried to shift her features to studied nonchalance. “It’s a nice trinket.”

A large wolf-like smile was on Richter’s face, and he settled into some serious haggling.

An hour later the two companions left the shop, and Richter had three new spell books and several restore health, mana and stamina potions. He had even bartered to obtain the recipes to health, mana, cure poison, and other useful potions for Sion, who assured him that the ingredients were easily found in the forest. For all of these goods, he ultimately gave her two gold and four silver coins. He was even able to secure a 10% discount on future purchases. Leandra didn’t seem to mind much though as she lovingly held her new staff. He could swear she was cooing to it. Before leaving the shop he opened and read each book. The same process occurred as with the book of Charm, each crumbling to dust and leaving him with a new spell. Reading them gave him two new corresponding skills. There was also a pleasing third prompt.

Congratulations! You have learned the skill: Earth Magic. Increasing your skill will unlock more spells.

Congratulations! You have learned the skill: Water Magic. Increasing your skill will unlock more spells.

Congratulations! You have learned the skill: Trade. Bargaining has afforded you a better price. Increasing this skill will allow for better prices and open new business opportunities.

Leandra agreed to keep an eye out for other spells books. Richter and Sion thanked her, and then hurried back to the inn knowing not much time was left. Going inside, one of the men behind the bar made eye contact with Richter, and nodded his head towards the back. They made their way by the smiling patrons and entered the kitchen, Terrod met them and walked back into the alley again. Immediately cautious, Richter and Sion slowed down, but Terrod kept walking without pause to a sewer grate and climbed down. Having no choice, they followed him in. They stayed to the side once they reached the bottom to avoid the stream of foul smelling water flowing down the tunnel. The sewer was made of dark stone with an indentation in the middle to channel the flow. They could stand upright, but Richter only just. Terrod was ahead of them, moving along the right side of the tunnel torch in hand. They hurried to follow.

They took turn after turn until Richter had no idea as to their current location. He guessed that was part of the point though. Terrod finally stopped in front of a ladder leading up. He climbed it and opened a trap door at the top, allowing the sound of hushed voices to come through. They followed him up, and found themselves in a warehouse filled with boxes. It had a dirt floor and straw was scattered on the ground. There were twelve other figures there. Everyone quieted upon seeing Terrod.

“Alright gents. I’m glad we are all here. The two with me I vouch for. They will stay with me. Go back to what you are doing. I will fill them in on the plan.” The men continued on with their preparations and Terrod turned to Richter and Sion. “Alright, the plan is relatively simple. We are going to strike just after midnight. The Night Blades have a base on the wharf. That’s where we are now, but all the way on the other side of the harbor. We have been told this base is where they have our people. Now as you’ve already seen, many of these buildings are attached to the sewers. If we attack above, you can be sure they will bolt underneath. So we have divided into two groups. You will be with me and we will be in the group attacking underneath. We will try to disable anyone we find in the tunnels quietly. When we hear the attack above, we wait a moment so it draws focus, and then kill anyone attempting to flee. After that we move in, and attack these bastards from behind. Do you have any questions?”

“It sounds like there is going to be a lot of close fighting underneath. Sion should be in the above ground attack. He is tough in a close up fight, but he is absolutely deadly with a little room to wield his bow. Are you okay with that,” he asked his friend.

Sion looked at him somewhat concerned, “Are you sure you don’t need me to watch your back?” His gaze wavered to the other men for a moment, the implication clear that the Night Blades might not be the only danger.

“This is going to require trust on all of our parts. And I think it’s understood that there will be vengeance on anyone breaking that trust,” Richter said looking Terrod in the eye.

The man didn’t seem offended by the veiled threat, “I absolutely agree,” he said returning Richter’s gaze. “Randal,” he said over his shoulder summoning a man to him. “The sprite is going to be with you. Apparently he is pretty good with the bow.”

Randal looked at Sion with disbelief, “Hey little man, you sure you can handle yourself, urk!”

An arrow was suddenly quivering in a crate only an inch from the questioning man.

“I didn’t even see him move…,” Randal said in disbelief. He continued in a respectful voice, “We will count ourselves lucky to have you among our number sir sprite. Please come with me and we will figure out the best role for you.”

Sion walked off with the man, leaving Richter with Terrod. The reserved man looked at Richter, “The walk to their base by tunnel should take the better part of an hour. We will leave at eleven bells. Take the time to center and prepare yourself. We will be safe here until it’s time.” He walked away to confer with the other men.

Richter decided to spend his time using his new powers. He started with Ice Dagger, mostly because it sounded coolest if he was being honest. Focusing upon the spell, he immediately felt a chill in his hand. Strange, he thought. He let go of his focus and the sensation disappeared. It hadn’t been painful or unpleasant, just surprising. Looking at a crate against the wall he invoked the spell. His arm shot out of its own accord and a one-foot dagger made of ice sprung from his finger tips and struck the crate. It penetrated the wood and stuck there. He walked up to it and examined the blade. It had a simple spiral handle with no cross guard. The “blade” was a cone coming up from the hilt. He wrenched the blade to the side, but it did not snap in two, apparently the ice that comprised it was extremely dense. He was able to pull it out of the crate and saw that it ended in a wickedly sharp point. It also remained solid in his hand and he was able to slam it back in the crate, leaving it stuck there. He hadn’t counted one being able to use the dagger after it was “thrown.” He would never be without a weapon again!

Next he cast Barkskin. His skin grew rough, and the sensation in his fingertips decreased slightly. Drawing the dagger from the crate he scraped the point along his skin with little effect. He pressed lightly and then somewhat harder before it was able to pierce his skin despite its sharp point. He was clearly not impervious, but the spell was a large improvement to the unarmored parts of his body.

Last he cast Grease. The floor looked slightly shinier and dark in the torch light, but otherwise there was no real effect. He was wondering how to test it, when one of the men to his right fell with a loud curse. Another fell trying to help him. They looked around with irritation until seeing Richter’s sheepish expression. The tirade that followed convinced him to sit quietly and wait for the operation to begin.