B01DCAV4W2 (S) (8 page)

“Krom I need a short sword.  The best you can make.  There is more moonstone, cobalt, quicksilver, and a few bars of elementum in the treasury.  Let me know what you need and I will get it to you.  Feel free to make use of it.  Learn the enchantments and start making weapons.  The elementum is for my use only until I say otherwise, though.”

“I understand, milord.  It will be done.  That does remind me of something.  Like I said, most of the weapons in the armory were beyond saving.  In the far back though, I found three metal boxes that had a clear circle on them, like on the doors.  I couldn’t open them, but yer Lordship should be able to with that fancy Mark of yours.”

“I’ll take a look at it.”  Richter put his glass dagger back into his Bag and handed over most of the filled soul stones he had collected.  He kept the resplendent level stone that held the crypt mistress’s soul to himself though.  He didn’t want Krom using it until the dwarf had a better grasp on the Forge’s abilities.

While accessing his inventory, Richter did see something he had forgotten about.  “Krom, what do you think of this?”  Richter handed him one of the palm sized scales from the giant skeeling he and Sion had killed. 

“Hmm,” Krom said turning the thin scale over.  He kept looking and then let out a more interested, “hmmmmm.  Lightweight, but strong.”  Krom drew an awl from belt.  He scratched the scale, then did it again harder.  Then he laid it down on the anvil and drew the awl down it with all of his force and barely left a scratch.

“What is this,” the dwarf asked with a bit of awe in his voice.

“They are the scales of a large monster Sion and I killed not too long ago,” Richter answered. 

“How did you manage it?  These scales are as tough as me first wife!”

Richter chuckled, “It wasn’t easy.  Well do you think you can do something with it?”

“I might have an idea or two,” Krom said.  “Do me a favor and stand still for a second.”

Krom took a length of string from one of his pockets and took a quick series of measurements from Richter.  He was quick and industrious, making notations in a small leather bound book.  He was a touch rough when measuring the inseam, prompting Richter to tell him to, “watch the monster,” but that moment passed quickly.  When he was done, Krom handed Richter a high steel short sword that the smith had made while he was gone.   It was nothing special, but it was at least a weapon.

You have been given: High steel short sword.  Damage 11-15.  Durability 35/35.  Item class: Common. Quality: Above Average.  Weight 1.8 kg.

“Thank you Krom,” Richter said.  “It seems like what you make is normally high steel.  Why would anyone make something out of steel or plain iron?”

“Well milord, there be a few reasons.  Ye must be at least an Apprentice rank smith.  Ye also must know how to make xanthite.  It not be hard, but ye still must know the trick of it.  Also because it be a higher grade material smiths do charge more and it takes longer to forge.  It be much cheaper for a noble to outfit most of his guards with iron or simple steel.”

“So if we make only high steel weapons and armor, then we will be better equipped than most people out there?”  Richter asked.

Krom scratched his salt and pepper beard, “I can guarantee we will have an edge over any goblin tribal scum or even most of them bugbears.  I wouldn’t hang yer hat on having better gear in general.  Mercenary guilds will have many members with specialty armor, and the higher ranked soldiers in Yves may even have magic arms and armor.  We have a long way to go if ye want to go head to head with groups like that!”

After that Krom had no more time for his liege apparently.  He took the rest of the scales and then said absently that he would work on them, but his focus was obviously on the Forge.  The other dwarves had started stoking the fires near the central anvil while the smith was taking Richter’s measurements and now they started heating a high steel ingot.  The dwarves got to work with a single minded obsession and not even a ‘goodbye milord’ was thrown in Richter’s direction as he walked out.  

Richter realized that recently he hadn’t been correcting people to just call him Richter anymore.  The ‘milords’ and ‘your Lordships’ had started to feel natural.  He wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing.  It was true that he definitely didn’t want to become an elitist a-hole that didn’t value others.  On the other hand, if he was going to lead his people, then he needed to be a leader.  Back in Georgia he had been raised to say ‘Yessir’ and ‘No ma’am.’  That wasn’t to be a kiss-ass.  That had been because showing the proper respect was a social convention that made society run smoother.  To be sure he had also said some ‘less nice’ things to people when the situation required it, and their age be damned, but that was the exception, not the rule.  Whatever his thought process behind it, he had to admit that it felt comfortable to be given respect as a matter of course.  He was the Master of the village, so he would just need to live up to it. 

As if the Universe wanted to stress the point, Richter was again reminded of his responsibility to his people and his earlier mistakes.  When he looked around after leaving the Forge he saw three people, two men and a woman standing off to the side.  They had a melancholy air, and when they saw Richter, there was no smile or happy greeting. They merely bobbed their heads and then dispersed.

Randolphus had remained at Richter’s side through the entire transformation of the Forge and walked out with him.  Richter spoke to his chamberlain, “I feel bad about this, but I don’t remember their names,” he said indicating the three.

“They are farmers, my Lord.  The woman is Parul, the taller man was Wuren and the shorter is Lenric.”

“Why did it seem like they were avoiding me?” Richter asked.

“They all lost loved ones during the bugbear attack,” Randolphus said gently.

Richter’s chest clamped up.  Over the past several weeks in the dungeon, he had been focused on just surviving.  When he had come back to the village, there had been another flurry of activity with Hisako’s response to the eaters being back in the Forest.  The fact was he hadn’t really wanted to dwell on the lives that had been lost during the attack, an attack that had happened because of his poor judgement.  Seeing the sadness that his people were still living with every day, brought it all flooding back.  He watched them walk off and then asked, “Is the project I asked to be completed ready?”

“Yes, my Lord.  It was finished several days before you returned.  As you requested, it has remained covered.  I was told by Gloran that it will only require one basic soul stone.”

“Good,” Richter said.  He handed over one of the soul stones.  “Gather everyone tonight under the Quickening.  Let’s say right after the evening meal.  We will unveil it then.  I need everyone together anyway.”

“It will be done, my Lord.”

CHAPTER 3

Richter and Randolphus continued walking through the village, talking about this or that.  At some point, Alma flew up and took her customary perch on top of Richter’s shoulders.  As they walked, Richter greeted everyone that he could.  He wanted his people to feel comfortable coming and speaking to him.  The best way he could figure out to accomplish that was to go speak to them first.

It also let him get an overall feel of his people’s mood.  It was true that the village interface had a Loyalty and Morale bar.  It showed Richter that the overall Morale of the villagers was ‘Happy’ and their Loyalty as a whole was ‘Dependable,’ but it wasn’t enough for him to hang his hat on.  The interface didn’t show him an individual’s Morale or Loyalty.  He also didn’t know how his city screen was updated.  He knew he had to spend some time really investigating it, but now was not the time.  The truth was, Richter put more stock in actual physical interaction than some mythical mood rock. 

He was pleased to see that most of his villagers greeted him with smiles.  Actually, many were excited about the Forge having been built and tried to pester him with questions.  Randolphus was able to effectively shoo most away.  Richter was pleased to see that his chamberlain and the other villagers had a positive rapport.  Though they left without the answers they sought, they still left with smiles on their faces and easily accepted the chamberlain’s authority. 

Even more important than the one on one interactions, was the fact that Richter often heard laughter as he walked.  Children ran around playing and his people smiled at one another.  Overall, the village had a bucolic feel, and other than the three villagers he had seen upon leaving the Forge, his people seemed to be recovering well after the attack. 

The two men walked to the meadow leading up to the hill, because Richter wanted to check on the project with his own two eyes.  To be honest, he also missed the calming influence of the Quickening.  As they walked he took the opportunity to check his status page.  Some of his stats were lower without the perks of his enhanced sprite armor, his Dexterity especially looked lower without his bow equipped, but he still had a respectable build. 

When they got to the top of the hill, he was greeted by the beautiful sight of his celestial tree.  The thick, hand sized leaves were velvety in appearance.  Softly swaying in the wind, the tree looked like a lake of cream with gentle moving waves. He couldn’t see much of the trunk from the distance he was standing at because the limbs bent down gracefully like a willow, but what he could see was the same smooth silver that he remembered.  Apparently the trunk only glowed at night, because now it only simply reflected the sunlight that occasionally pierced the thick canopy of its white leaves. 

They walked closer and Richter saw that a portion of the meadow had been cultivated for the herb garden.  Well circumscribed lines of earth had been tilled and plants of all colors were beginning to sprout.  Most of the herbs had been found in his secret glen and, according to Sion, all were valuable.  He was somewhat surprised by the large amount of growth in what couldn’t have been more than two or three weeks.  He wondered if the herbs would be considered a resource and so would benefit from his Bounty of Life ability.  He examined a few as he walked. 

You have found: Green Spriggan’s Breath.  You feel that this herb could make a sneezing powder, could lower a fever and could be a component of a tracking potion.

You have found: Yiren’s Thorn.  You feel that the roots of this herb would cause indigestion, the thorns would be hollow and could be used for poison darts, and the leaves will make your tongue orange.