The Land: Catacombs (Chaos Seeds Book 4) (40 page)

Several of the dwarves were hard at work and Krom was at his customary spot at the main anvil.  His hammer rose and fell with regularity, a level of proficiency that was enjoyable to watch.  This time, though, Richter interrupted him.  “It’s time to add some new enchantments to the Forge.” 

The dwarf smiled and relinquished the anvil.  The entire thing was the color of clear green glass except for two small motes of light that danced near the center, one blue and one gold.  Richter planned to add some more lights to the show, and hopefully his increased Luck would help out with that. 

The first thing he pulled out was his Arrow of Confusion.  He placed it on the anvil and accessed the Forge’s power.

You have brought an enchanted weapon into contact with the Forge of Heavens:
Arrow of Confusion
.  Do you want to deconstruct this weapon for a chance to have the enchantment stored for future use?  Yes or No?

Richter selected “Yes” and watched as motes of white light appeared around the arrow.  They circled the weapon, and every passing moment, more sparkling light joined the rest, until the arrow could no longer be seen.  The lights began to flow down towards the anvil and then into it.  The sparks coalesced into a black sphere that floated near the initial gold and blue ones. 

Richter did a fist pump. “Woohoo!  Right out of the gate.”

“Good job, yer Lordship!  What else ye got?” Krom said with a grin.

Richter laughed and pulled out the next item to be deconstructed.  For the next thirty minutes they went through the enchanted weapons and armor Richter had managed to collect.  They were able to add
Earth Resistance
and
Goblin Slaying—
Richter noted Krom was exceptionally excited about that one.  They were also able to successfully destroy his Shadow Dagger and learn
Ignore Defense. 
He smiled when he saw the Iron Axe of Strength he had taken from the goblin chief to claim the Mist Village.  A green light joined the others floating in the anvil’s center. 

Some of the enchantments failed to be absorbed, though, and just fell to dust.  He lost the Summoning Staff of Earth, the Steel Dagger of Beast Slaying and most of his new arrowheads.  The motes of white cascaded off of the large anvil again and again without kindling a new colored light.  Richter began to grit his teeth as it happened again and again, but he was able to save three of the enchantments:
Dark Attack, Tracking,
and
Analysis. 
The sleep powder arrow was a device that the Forge couldn’t deconstruct.  Krom said he could take it apart to see if he could recreate it, but he was doubtful.  Richter placed it back in his Bag. 

He wasn’t willing to risk the Ebonwood Bow of Sundering or the Glass Boots of Shockwave until he had the luck potions.  Just like the Potion of Nil Abilities, they were too valuable.  Richter also discovered that his set of unenhanced sprite armor wasn’t able to be deconstructed.  Krom thought it must be because sprite armor wasn’t forged in a traditional sense.  Richter didn’t let him daunt him though.  He had actually felt a bit off about sacrificing the first armor he had ever worn. 

There was one embarrassing moment when he brought out the Ouroboros armor.  Krom examined the hood and asked Richter, “When you were underground, how many of those darkvision potions did ye drink?”

“Six or seven.  Why?”

“And every one of those had squished kobold eye jelly in them?”

“Yesss.  Why?” Richter asked with a hint of consternation. 

“Did it taste good?” the smith asked with a smile.

“No!  It tasted like old taint!  Why?”  Richter was getting pissed at Krom’s random teasing. 

“Well you do know that you could have just worn this hood and you would have been granted darkvision, right?”

Richter’s mouth hung open.  He started talking, but then stopped and just stood there with a pained expression.  Finally, he said, “Let’s not tell anyone about this, okay?”

Krom looked at him with barely concealed glee. “Of course not!  I would
never
embarrass ye, yer Lordship!”

Richter glared at him suspiciously, but Krom moved them past the moment by asking if Richter wanted to hold onto the hood or deconstruct it.

“Well of course we’re going to destroy it!  Give it here!”

A few seconds later, Richter forgot about his bonehead move because he had earned another black sphere in the Forge.  They went through the rest of the Assassin’s armor.  He was able to successfully add the enchantment from the leggings, fighting gloves, and arm wraps.  They provided the ability to increase movement speed, increase unarmed attack damage, and increase attack speed, respectively.  The other pieces of armor simply fell to dust. 

Despite the fact that a fair number of his attempts had resulted in the items just being destroyed, when Richter looked at the good number of lights dancing in the central anvil, he knew he’d made the right choice.  It also felt nice to have unloaded so much of the gear he had been carrying around.  Checking his clock, he saw that it was actually a few minutes past twelve.  He literally had to order Krom away from the anvil.  As they walked away, the dwarf kept throwing longing looks back at the Forge and all of the new enchantments that were waiting for him.

Richter clapped his arm around the Smith’s shoulders and said, “Don’t worry, mi amigo.  We’re going to go kill some shit!  There might even be goblins.”

A smile broke out both on Krom’s face and in his heart. “Aye!”

CHAPTER 25
 

Before they left the Forge, Krom handed him some high steel heavy arrows.  Richter happily took his quiver out of his Bag and placed the arrows inside.  He also took several pieces of armor and weapons from the Forge and put them into his Bag, then they were on their way.  When they arrived at the gate, Richter found that everyone was waiting.  He looked around and was pleased to see Sedrin standing with the others.  The guard walked up to him, and the two men clasped wrists.  Looking down, Richter saw that his fingers had been reattached, but that his left pinky was still missing the last two segments.

“Good morrow, my lord.”

“Hello, Sedrin,” Richter greeted him.  “I wasn’t sure that you would be here, but I’m glad to see you.”

“How could I stay away when our smith has provided me with such an excellent weapon?”

Richter looked and his eyes widened as he took in the stats of Sedrin’s spear.  The head was pure moonstone.  A central spear tip extended a foot and a half from the socket, three inches across at its widest point.  It appeared to almost be a pitchfork, as two prongs extended horizontally from the base of the spearhead before turning at a right angle and extending up six inches.  These solid spikes ended in wicked points.  No man or beast skewered with this weapon would reach Sedrin as long as the man kept a sure grip.  As the guard moved the spear, Richter saw the same glowing four pointed star that was on his short sword.  The weapon was a beauty of utility, but its properties were what stood out.  It was clearly Forge born. 

You have found:
Charging Moonstone Spear of Freezing
.  Damage: 24-29.  Durability 96/96.  Item class: Scarce. Quality: Exquisite.  Weight 4.1 kg.  Traits:10 points of water damage per attack.  6% chance to cause freeze.  +10% damage vs spell barriers.  Charges: 290/290.  Bonus Trait: Can absorb direct moonlight to increase attack power.  Current charge 0/10.

Richter arched an eyebrow at Krom.  The smith shrugged. “I thought he deserved it after what he had been through.  I had intended to make a simple spear, but as sometimes happens, the metal took on a life of its own.  After I saw how beautiful it was, I didn’t hesitate to use a higher stone and one of the commons.”

Richter smiled. “I think you did a great job.  I pray the rest of my men can be so well equipped.  Let me speak with Sedrin a moment, though, Krom.”

The dwarf nodded and walked away.  Richter looked Sedrin in the eye and was about to speak when the guard beat him to the punch. “I bear you no ill will for what happened, my lord.  I knew that things could be dangerous when I agreed to be a guard.  As promised though, you met the danger with me.  I was a bit delirious on the way back, but I know that you carried me yourself.  Most rulers I know see their men as disposable, little better than slaves.  I am proud to serve you, and if you allow it, I will serve you for life.”

Richter was quiet for a moment. “I am honored, Sedrin.  I don’t know what else to say.  Thank you.”

Sedrin nodded, then a smile broke out over his face. “There was an unexpected benefit.  I got a nickname!  ‘Ten Fingers.’”

Richter’s face took on a bemused expression of confusion. “I don’t get it, man.”

Sedrin leaned in and whispered, “One of the village women gave me the nickname.  It’s because my biggest finger is the one you
can’t
see!”  Then he started laughing. 

Richter joined him in the laugh and they walked over to the rest of the men.  Everyone else was chuckling a bit, and he heard Krom say, “and he had the hood in his bag the whole time!”

Richter fixed the dwarf with a glare. “You’re a dick, Krom.”

Krom smiled back. “Thank ye, yer lordship!”

Shaking his head, Richter created the war party again and made sure that everyone was visible on his minimap.  Then he had Sion hand out health and stamina potions.  The sprite also handed over thirteen mana potions for Richter and several more for the casters.  Richter looked at him in surprise.

“Did you think I just wasted the week you were away?” his Companion asked with a laugh. 

Richter put the potions into his Bag and then handed out Potions of Clarity.  After feeding one to Alma, he took one himself.  Then he loaded his Ring of Spell Storage.  Not knowing what they were going to find, he decided a little extra help couldn’t hurt.  His hand glowed green as he finished the three-second incantation.  As the light died out, another green light flared within the clear gem on the ring, letting him know that he had successfully stored
Summon Weak Saproling. 

The last thing he did was to distribute some of his items.  He made it clear that everything was a loan, just like any weapons or armor they may have gotten, but he wanted to see his war party better equipped.  When he had been deconstructing items at the Forge, he realized that his extra rings weren’t doing any good just sitting in his inventory.  Coupled with the fact that he had drank all those darkvision potions when he could have worn the hood (he shuddered again remembering the taste), he came to two conclusions.  One, he should spread the wealth.  Two, he had so much stuff that he forgot to use his items.  He had to unload. 

First, he pulled out all of the armor he had taken from Orvin, the Warrior who had accompanied Sonirae.  All of it went to Caulder.  The sergeant groaned when he hefted the Steel War Door Shield, but he was strong enough to handle it.  The task became much easier when Richter gave him the Belt of Strength.  Caulder smiled as soon as he buckled it on and started moving around with much greater ease than a few seconds prior.  Richter looked at his new Tank and knew that he had made the right choice.  The Belt of Sustenance went around his own waist, and the sleepiness gnawing at the back of his mind faded substantially. 

Next he offered the Stone Lizard armor he had taken from the bugbear ranger to Beyan.  The gnome begged off, though, saying he was concerned about disruption of his spells, so instead, Richter gave him the Apprentice Dark mage robes he had scavenged after the bugbear attack.  The defense on the robes was only +5, but it covered the alchemist head to toe and would give extra protection against magical attacks. 

The armor ended up going to Ulinde.  The archer seemed more than happy with the durable, but lightweight, protection.  Richter also handed over the Ebonwood Bow of Sundering.  Though the bow was powerful, Richter wasn’t willing to relinquish the Dexterity boost his wood elf bow provided.  Ulinde reverently took his weapon and immediately began checking the wood for cracks. 

The Wand of Dark Bolts he handed to Jean.  Krom happily took the crossbow away from the Air mage.  He considered giving Jean his original sprite armor, but it just seemed wrong somehow.  He told the mage to stay back from any direct fighting and hoped that the mail armor Krom had provided would be enough.  Richter asked the mage what his Air magic skill level was, but unfortunately Jean was still only level seven.  That meant it would still be five levels before the man could cast
Lightning Bolt I. 

He also equally handed out his extra rings and amulets, increasing everyone’s health and stamina slightly.  The mana ring went to Sion.  He searched through his inventory once more and lastly pulled out a wooden shield that he gave to Terrod.  With his war party as well equipped as he could make them, he addressed the group.

“We have two objectives today.  We will be searching a small area, looking for a specific plant, a shiverleaf frond.  We are also going to be investigating a monster sighting that the hunters have reported.  Any monsters or dangerous animals that we find while we are doing those two things, we take out.  Any questions?”

Caulder spoke up. “I thought we were going into the Catacombs, my lord.  I was looking forward to that.”

Several other party members nodded.  Richter could understand where they were coming from.  He had told them that this excursion was going to involve the Catacombs and yet they were going nowhere near them.  In fact, he had barely thought about the Depths since he had put the kobold egg back in stasis.  Despite that, he said, “Suck it up, Sergeant.  The Catacombs aren’t going anywhere.  We’ll get to them, just not now.  So get your game face on.”

Caulder bobbed his head in acquiescence, but Richter heard him mutter, “Promises were made.”

The Air magi cast
Haste I
on everyone, and the party took off through the gate.  The guards stationed there saluted as the war party jogged past.  The sun was warm, and looking up, Richter appreciated the azure sky dotted with fluffy white clouds.  The farmers waved to them as they moved by, as did the villagers tending the livestock.  They crossed into the trees with a light breeze at their backs and birdsong echoing in the trees around them.  As they got into their stride, Richter rechecked their collective status page.