Ar'Kendrithyst

Chapter 51

Erick practically locked himself into his mage tower, crafting rings. He stopped for the necessities, like eating, sleeping, raining at the farms, bathroom breaks, his daily [Familiar] attempt, but otherwise, he made diamonds, and then cut them to spheres, and then he enchanted them. For a full two days, he made Strength rings and Willpower rings. His Strength rings varied as high as 28 and as low as 24, while Willpower varied between 27 and 25. He was almost through his first shipment of 50 rings, in the process of making ring #48, when #48 turned revealed itself to be only 18 Willpower.

Something had gone wrong.

The 18 Willpower ring was done the same as all the rest. Erick had no idea what had happened; he was going to find out. But the enchanting textbooks gave little hints at how to diagnose a problem. Erick suspected he was supposed to have an enchanting teacher who knew how to troubleshoot these sorts of complications. He had no teacher, though, so he needed the next best thing: tools. In this case, a jeweler’s loupe. But...

“What do you mean there aren’t jeweler’s loupes?” Erick complained, “I know you guys didn’t have telescopes, but no loupes, either?"

Poi said, “I don’t know what you mean by any of that, sir.”

“[Ultrasight].” Rats said, “If you want to see better, use that.”

Erick frowned, then looked up [Ultrasight].

Ultrasight 1, 10 HP per minute.

See clearly

Purchase [Ultrasight 1] for 1 point? Yes/No

Erick dismissed the box, asking, “10 HP a minute?”

“It goes down to 1 HP at level 10, like [Swift Movement],” Rats said. “I have it on all the time.”

“… They put the only way to see better under an HP cost.” Erick frowned a bit. He said, “Makes sense, since the Script was made to control the abuses of the Old Wizards.” He added, “Whatever! I will teach you guys about the magic of lenses.”

Poi grinned. “We know what lenses are, sir.”

“Pah!” Erick asked, “Then why don’t you have loupes for looking at the imperfections of jewelry!?”

Rats said, “Because Ultrasight is right there. 1 point. Basic ability.”

Poi nodded, agreeing with Rats.

Erick thought back to one of the Mage Trio, probably Eduard, saying he linked [Ultrasight] to his [Familiar], and asked, “Can you combine the HP drain abilities with the MP cost spells and create tier 2 stuff that costs both?”

“No,” Rats said—

At the same time Poi said, “Yes.”

Rats turned to Poi. “It never turns out well.”

Poi frowned. “The answer to the question asked, was ‘yes’. The main problem of combining an HP ability and an MP spell is that the costs are multiplied significantly.”

Rats relented, “Yes. Fine. You’re right. The answer is ‘yes’.”

Well that was all interesting, but what Erick was thinking, was that maybe having a real [Familiar] gave it HP to use for stuff like [Ultrasight]. Or maybe he could just imbue HP and the HP cost stuff onto his [Conjure Force Elemental].

… Yet another thing to test!

Erick bought [Ultrasight], just to fix the problem in front of him; he’d work out jeweler’s loupes and telescopes and all that other stuff some other day.

Inside his mage tower, Erick turned on his new ability and felt his HP tick down. Erick had never needed glasses, but he’d helped enough people to know how they reacted to their first pair. ‘Trees have leaves!’ and ‘I can read the street signs!’ were not uncommon reactions. [Ultrasight] was like that. Erick could count the whorls in his fingerprints with his arms fully extended. He saw how wardlights reflected off diamond dust and moisture in the air. He gazed upon the pre-enchanted spherical diamonds sitting in front of him, on his workbench, and saw how this part wasn’t curved correctly, how that part was too flat to be part of a proper sphere.

After he carved away the outside platinum shell of his 18 Willpower ring, he saw the problem; the gem had cracked. A hairline fracture, barely visible even to Erick’s new [Ultrasight], ran through the gem, just off center. Because of that crack, the gem was leaking Ultramarine light in tiny sparks inside the gem’s clear interior; much too small to see without [Ultrasight]. The diamond probably would have exploded under normal crafting conditions; enchanting under water stabilized most of the process, but not all.

As to why people didn’t normally enchant underwater? Very simply: resonance absorbed into water, so while some of it was going into the gem, it was also coming out at the same rate; this was especially true for clear gems, like diamonds. Erick got around this quirk of enchanting by locking in that resonance with a layer of platinum.

The 18 Willpower ring was a waste; broken beyond repair. Erick relegated it to a big stone box of rejects, along with a vast majority of his fully-platinum diamonds. He’d get around to throwing them out some day, or maybe even finding a use for them, but for now they could sit there, looking pretty.

… And now that Erick was looking at the rest of his work under [Ultrasight], he realized that he might need to redo all of his rings, because all of them were not spherical, at all. Ovoids, peach-shaped, potato, and more; very few of them were actual spheres, once Erick could see them under [Ultrasight]. They were probably worse under their platinum exteriors.

Erick let [Ultrasight] lapse.

He blinked out tears as his eyes readjusted.

The world looked normal again. This was a good thing; [Ultrasight] was too much for him, but it was nice to see the world through a microscope, in small doses.

Erick told Poi, “The first shipment is going to be delayed. I need to remake all of them.”

Poi frowned, but said, “Yes, sir.”

“And I need to get some tools for gem shaping.”

“Teressa has done some research on lathes, like you requested.”

“Perfect.”

With Teressa’s help, a man from Portal delivered Erick’s items to Liquid, the quartermaster of Spur’s Army. From Liquid, Erick’s new tools came via Rats to the house. For 950 gold, a bit of time, and a bit of remodeling, Erick was the proud owner of a foot-operated jeweler's lathe, a larger lathe meant for metalwork or woodwork, and a grinding wheel. All of them were foot-powered via a large, heavy rotary stone to maintain a constant speed, and a lot of tough metal cogs. The rad-powered ones cost three times as much as these plain models, and were completely unnecessary. Erick’s Handy Aura was better than any automatic power system.

With his new equipment, and a slight learning curve, Erick began zipping through the regrinds.

Enchanting turned out to be the easy part. After regrinding, all his rings were worth 29 to 31 Strength or Willpower. Properly spherical gems made a huge difference!

Over one more day, Erick finished crafting his first 50 rings, 25 each of Willpower and Strength. Rats took them to Liquid, who was given the task of distributing them however she saw fit. Erick wasn’t privy to that process; he didn’t need to be. The rings would get to whoever wanted, or needed one. Liquid’s response to the rings was a curt, ‘Thanks’. Her heart wasn’t in it, she didn’t know what she had been given; she was being forced to accept something that had a historic precedence of going wrong.

But Erick was feeling rather secure in the stability of his enchantments.

Before the first shipment was dropped in Liquid’s hands, Erick had taken off the 22 Strength ring and put on a 29 Willpower ring, and burned through 4100 mana, 35 times. The 29 Willpower ring only dropped by 1 point. Spherical, perfect carving, and flawless gems of the correct size, were essential to a proper Stat enchant. Erick briefly considered wearing both a Strength and Willpower ring at the same time, but that experiment caused extreme vertigo; he stuck to his 22 Strength ring.

When the next shipment of 50 rings was ready, six days after Planter was added to the Daydropper Kill Quest, and two days after Erick’s first shipment had gone to Liquid, Liquid showed at Erick’s house to pick up the rings, in person.

Erick met the matte grey dragonkin-shaped wrought at the door. “Hello! I don’t think we’ve formally met, yet, but you’re Liquid, right? The lathes worked out very well; thank you for speeding up that process. Come on in.” Erick stepped to the side.

“Hmm.” Liquid, who had a reputation for being harsh and acerbic, stepped three steps into the house. She stopped in the foyer, saying, “I wish to apologize for thinking and acting like your enchantments were shit. Stat enchants, especially by new enchanters, are never good, but I suppose someone had to go and prove that rule wrong; might as well have been you, Archmage Flatt.”

Erick smiled wide, asking, “Do you want to see the process?”

“I can’t stay. I just came for the next batch, to apologize, and to ask if you can add a few Focus and Vitality rings to the next shipment, which will be the last shipment for the foreseeable future.” Liquid said, “Your rings have already saved lives, but Killzone, Silverite, and I have decided to limit the influx of Stat rings into the general operations of the Army.”

Rats came into the foyer carrying the box of rings in his hands, which he handed to Erick.

Erick took the box, then handed it to Liquid, asking her, “Is everything okay?”

Liquid took the box, saying, “There are always problems when treasure is distributed. Nothing we can’t handle, but there is an adjustment period, and we don’t want people to start thinking they’re getting two of these things. Some people seem to be able to handle two, but most cannot, which of course leads to discord and the usual Strength-waving contests.” She lamented, “I will count myself blessed if I never have to see two young idiots try to outdo each other ever again.”

Erick smiled. “I can understand that.”

Liquid nodded.

“How is Jane, by the way?”

“She’s adjusting quite well; if I were the kind of person who believed in fate, I would say that she was born for this role. She’s rescued dozens of people from hard missions.”

Erick relaxed. “She said something about a hard mission last night; I’m glad to hear she’s doing well.”

“It was a difficult mission; some younglings decided to go after a Daydropper nest.”

“I heard Planter has trapped them all, but Jane would not elaborate.”

“Quite trapped; quite deadly. Three of the five adventurers died before they could be rescued. Jane and Kiri retrieved the remaining two from inside the stomachs of Changeling Vines.”

Erick had heard about those vines. They ate people then became those people, in order to eat more, in a cycle that only got worse as the vines got bigger. Many people considered Changling Vines a nastier version of the crystal mimic.

“How is Kiri? Jane keeps calling Kiri a spy, but I’d like to know your opinion on the matter.”

“Kiri is a spy, but only for herself, which is hard to fault when she uses that knowledge to defend those around her. She is doing well. She will be rejoining you under Poi’s command in 9 days. She is very eager to learn from you, and as far as we can tell, she is a capable, smart young mage.”

Erick sighed in relief. “I’m happy to hear that.”

Liquid nodded, hefting the ring box under her arm. “If you have any further questions, feel free to contact me directly, or through Poi.”

Before she could walk out the door, Erick asked, “Is there anything you would like, specifically? In the way of enchanted items, I mean.”

Liquid paused. She said, “Something that would increase the maturity of my subordinates.”

Erick laughed.

Liquid nodded, and then walked out of the house, carrying her second shipment of rings.

- - - -

Poi walked into Erick’s tower. “Sir! We have an unannounced guest of supreme importance!”

Erick laughed as he looked up from the jeweler’s lathe, blindsided by Poi’s remark. “What?”

“Champion Yetta, Chosen of Atunir, has graced us with her presence.”

Erick stopped what he was doing and took a moment to look at Poi. The sapphire dragonkin man was nervous; his posture was too straight, his gaze too darting. This was a serious event, apparently. Erick Handy Aura’d away his tools and set his workstation to rights. He dusted himself off, mussing his hair to get rid of some of the diamond flakes. His skin sparkled. He frowned.

He shrugged. He needed to cut his hair, and his beard, and he needed a bath, but none of that was going to happen right now, so he just [Cleanse]d himself, the diamond dust on his arms remaining, and said, “Let’s entertain some guests.” He asked, “Or is it just the one?”

“The Champion is accompanied by four stewards; two childhood friends, one prince of Odaali, and one mage of the Tower. Not an archmage, but connected, nonetheless. All of them at least level 65, according to our threat assessments.”

“Okay! That seems high.” Erick said, “Fun times.”

- - - -

Erick stepped to the top of the stairs and looked down upon his human guests, as they looked up at him.

Yetta was obvious; the very air around her crackled with divine fire. She held herself like Jane would; strong armed, hard faced, watching every entrance and exit and planning accordingly. Her skin was the color of dark wood, her hair curly, but short. She wore nice clothes, but not too nice; if she were a dragonkin, and not a human, she could have easily passed as a farmer in the fields of Spur, if her divine gift weren't so completely obvious. Her entourage was much nicer dressed; with crisp white outfits on two of the men, while a woman wore metal armor, and the last man wore clothes much, much nicer than everyone else, with gold buttons and tessellated brocade.

“Hello.” Erick said, “Welcome to my house. Would you like some coftea, and some cookies? I always make sure to keep something available for guests.”

“Greetings, Archmage Flatt. I’m Yetta Wheat, Champion of Atunir.” Yetta gave a curt bow, while the other four did not. She said, “Thank you for your hospitality. I have come to speak to you of matters of utmost importance; I apologize for upsetting any schedule you might have had.”

Erick smiled, gently. He walked down the stairs, gesturing to his left, toward a conveniently placed Rats, saying, “Rats will escort you to the banquet hall, while I prepare the coftea—”

Poi’s mind touched Erick’s, ‘We can organize everything, sir.’

‘Uh? Okay. Sure. Thank you, Poi.’

Erick shifted gears, as he reached the bottom of the stairs. “Actually: I’ll escort you to— uh— the sun room? Over this way.”

Yetta nodded, saying, “As you wish, Archmage.”

The afternoon sun filled the sunroom like a lazy cat.

The only one who joined Erick in the room was Yetta.

As Erick sat down, and Yetta sat down across from him, he asked her, “Your friends? They don’t want to join us?”

“Not right now. This is a private conversation between you and I.” Yetta asked, “Do you know how they made the Daydropper?”

Erick answered, instantly, "I have an idea of how they made it, but I don’t know how they did it exactly.”

Yetta paused in thought as she stared at Erick.

Poi entered with platinum coftea and lemon scones. Erick almost complimented him on his speed, but this conversation seemed to be a serious one, so he waited for Yetta to break the silence. Erick picked up a lemon scone and sipped his coftea as Poi exited the room. Erick nibbled while he waited for Yetta to continue.

She looked to the dessert, and broke the silence with, “What are these delightful yellow breads?”

“Scones. These are made with the yellow-fruit lemon trees you might have seen out there. Lemons are useful in all sorts of foods.” Erick added, “Put some in cream to make sour cream, and though the name is unimaginative the product is amazing. Great on potatoes, for example.”

Yetta tasted the scone. She nodded. She set the scone down then picked up the platinum coftea, and took a sip. She nodded. She set the drink down.

Erick politely waited for her to organize her thoughts, but he was really hoping that she would have said something good about the platinum coftea. Everyone else seemed to love it.

When she said nothing, Erick realized that Yetta was playing the part of a guest, only putting up with her role long enough to get to what she came here to say. There was a certain clarity to Yetta’s personality that Erick liked, but she seemed completely out of place in the social setting Erick had prepared.

Eventually, Yetta said, “I want to rid the world of all Daydroppers. Can you help me with this goal?”

“Yes, I can and I will help you with this goal. But there are certain things I cannot do. One of these restrictions is that neither myself nor my magic can enter Ar’Kendrithyst. Archmages aren’t allowed in there.” Erick added, “I would like to kill every Shade, but I don’t believe I could without them retaliating in kind.”

Yetta nodded, once. “I have heard this restriction.” She asked, “Could you help us in the Republic, to take back Odaali and the surrounding lands?”

Erick paused. He wanted to say 'yes', but...

Yetta continued, “Since you are an Avowed Pacifist, I will not be asking you to help us against the Halls of the Dead. But the Corrupted City has turned back even our strongest magics and people. The Daydroppers that killed the city are much stronger than we feared. If a person is not under a [Cleanse Aura] within twenty kilometers of the Corrupted City, they will die, and their deaths will feed the growth of the Mother Vine. We suspect it’s already level 90.”

“Wha—” Erick coughed to the side, spilling his coftea. He turned back to Yetta. “Level 90!”

Yetta slowly nodded. “All of the vines that sprouted that day killed many people, gaining a lot of power. The larger vines born of that atrocity killed their smaller cousins as they mutated into even larger, active hunters.” Her voice turned solid. “I will not allow my homeland to become like Continental Nergal, with monster plants infesting the land. I would like your help. Any way you can give it.”

Erick thought. He said, “I want your people to kill Planter. When you do, I’ll gladly assist you in taking back your city.” One way to help immediately sprung to Erick’s mind. He asked, “Do you have masks that allow you to breathe clean air?”

Yetta smiled softly, and in that one moment she looked like a happy 20-something, without a care in the world. “And thus, we strike a bargain.” The happy moment passed. She said, “We have [Cleanse] masks, yes, but they’re a detriment when facing higher level monsters who can rip them away; useful for the rookies holding back the tide, useless for striking at the heart.”

Erick frowned. “Are the vines sapient?”

“They learn, like any high-level monster.” Yetta stood, and bowed; but only a little. “In exchange for the killing of Planter, you will assist us in clearing Odaali of the Daydropper threat. Any assistance past this will be met with gladness, but is not expected.”

“I agree.” Erick stood, saying, “I have some help I can give you right now.” Erick pulled out of a pocket five rings he had picked out of the pile, in case his conversation with Yetta went this way. He held them out to her, saying, “They’re very well enchanted; but you can’t wear them with any other Stat items. They destroy other Stat items.”

Yetta looked at the rings, not frowning, though her eyes did narrow. She took them, glancing at the ring on Erick’s finger. “You wear one, too?”

“Yes. 22 Strength. The ones I’ve given you are all 30 Strength or 30 Willpower. There’s a little ‘S’ or a ‘W’ on them to tell you which one is which. They’re pretty good, from what people have told me. One of these kinds of rings went through 33 iterations before it dropped 1 Stat point.”

Yetta held the rings a bit more cautiously.

Erick added, “They also consume cursed items, but they can’t do that many times before they turn to ash.”

“… Huh.” Yetta said, “Thank you for… Thank you for your contribution to the cause.”

“So, you must tell me: I’ve never been in a situation like this. Do you have any suggestions for preparing for my time in the Republic?”

Yetta blanked. She quickly found her words. “Most people are not this willing to accept that they will have to keep the bargains they have struck with me.” She put the rings Erick had given her into a pocket. “Nor are they so willing to provide such monetary assistance.”

Erick smiled. “I’m sure that’s untrue. Your friends are helping you, right?”

Yetta held still, then she nodded, ever so slightly. She said, “Thank you, Archmage Flatt.”

“You can call me Erick.” He added, “What should I call you? Do people actually call you ‘Champion’?”

Yetta nodded, slowly. “‘Yetta’, is acceptable.” She added, “Any 5 star quest at an Adventurer’s Guild would prepare you for your time in the Republic.”

“I will go do that right now, then. Oh! Do you have somewhere to stay in Spur? There are lot of extra rooms in my house; more than enough for each of you to have one.”

Yetta grinned for a moment, then her grin was gone. “We already have lodgings, but thank you.”

And then she walked out; out of the sunroom, out of the house, taking her people with her. None of Yetta’s entourage said anything to Erick on their way out. Their combined exit was rather abrupt. Erick kinda just watched them go, not sure if he had done something wrong, or what. Upon asking Poi, Teressa, and Rats of their experience with their guests, they all said that Yetta’s people were perfect guests, but completely silent, except when turning down the refreshments Poi had tried to offer.

Erick said, “So they’re going to kill Planter, and then I’m going to help them take back Odaali.”

Poi did not frown; he didn’t have to. His displeasure came out in his words, “I suspected as much.”

Erick added, “And to that effect, Yetta suggested I try out a 5 star quest at the Adventurer’s Guild to get a feel for what attacking Odaali will be like.”

Poi frowned. Teressa hummed, slightly smiling.

Rats laughed once in disbelief, then said, “It can’t be that bad! Odaali’s only been dead for, what, 15 days?”

Poi’s frown deepened. “It’s a Kill and Exterminate Quest, Rats.”

“I get that.” Rats said, “But 5 Star, already?”

Erick cut short whatever argument Rats and Poi were getting into, by saying, “I want to go to the Adventurer’s Guild and see what a 5-star quest looks like for myself.”

Poi said, “Of course, sir.”

- - - -

The crowds in the Adventurer’s District were as large as they had ever been; maybe even larger.

As the sun dipped down in the west, the four, several hundred foot tall trees of the district glowed from below and within, the light of hundreds of lightorbs chasing out all shadows in the entire district, leaving not a speck of darkness in the streets. People in armor walked around, laughing with friends in robes, eating fried things wrapped in paper. Dragonkin in leathers spoke with people wearing hooded cloaks. Voices filled the air, right alongside the scents of meats and breads and all sorts of foods and their various spiced ways.

And not a single restaurant, or apartment building, or shoppe, or hotel, stood vacant; there were even signs of new construction on top of the smaller stone buildings. The bars were absolutely packed.

More than a few people noticed Erick walking in the crowd. Some waved; Erick waved back, though he did not know the people who waved at him. Some took a look at Teressa, in her full grey armor, and Poi, at Erick’s side, and quickly went the other way. A few guards said hello to Erick; one pair jokingly asked if they were going to get Stat rings, too. Erick paused, taking a moment. He told them he’d bring it up with Merit and Silverite. The pair of guards left, happy and hopeful.

The Adventurer’s Guildhouse was a sprawling, log cabin wilderness mansion, under four enormous trees, surrounded by an [Environmental Ward] of some sort that made stepping onto the property like stepping into a thousand year old forest. Wardlights illuminated everything, but light still spilled out from the two open doors of the main structure.

Erick walked forward, into the building. He had been here for classes a week or two ago, but even in that short amount of time, the place had grown even larger. The front room which had been split into two floors, was now split into three. There were at least two full restaurants; the largest remained on the bottom floor, to the left of the entrance, but tables had been strewn everywhere. High up, on the third floor, Erick saw people sitting near the railing, sipping drinks; Erick had heard about the restaurant up there, but only those with permission to enter Ar’Kendrithyst were allowed up past the first floor, and Erick had yet to even get his adventurer’s license. The main adventuring board had been moved to the back left part of the thousand-square-meter main room; people stood in front of it, studying the requests and the rewards.

A young tealscale man approached Erick through the crowd; he was wearing the tan with cyan-accents uniform of the Guild. “Hello, Archmage Flatt. How can I assist you?”

“I’m going to sign up as an adventurer, but I’m probably only going to take one or two quests and then call it there. I just want to know how everyone does this sort of thing; you understand?”

Tealscale nodded, his eyes going wide for just a moment, before saying, “I will be happy to assist you with this. Please follow me.”

Tealscale brought Erick to another tealscale teller at a booth similar to the style at the Mage’s Guildhouse, saying, “This is my sister, Paril—”

Paril smiled on the other side of the metal bars and marble counter that separated the receptionist space from the public space. “Hello, Archmage.”

“—who has many years of experience, and who I am sure can help fulfill your needs of experiencing the life of an adventurer.”

“Thank you, Wade.” Paril said, “I’ll take it from here.”

Wade bowed a little, as he moved away.

Paril smiled wide, her sharp draconic teeth showing for a moment, as she said, “Welcome, Archmage. Are you finally going to sign up with us? Get yourself an official badge?”

Erick smiled. “Yes. I’m also interested in 5 star quests. What are those, exactly?”

Paril stilled for a brief moment, then said, “You certainly don’t start off small, do you?” She slid some paperwork under the metal bars, across the marble counter. “If you could please fill this out. Since you’re already affiliated with the Mage’s Guild, we can use that badge, if you want, and link all of your dealings here with your dealings there.”

Erick began filling out the paperwork on the marble counter, using the quill set out for just such a purpose. “Is that what everyone does?”

“It is very common, yes.” Paril said.

As Poi said, “Yes, sir.”

Erick took off his mage’s badge and placed it on the paperwork, which was surprisingly easy to fill out. Do you have at least 600 HP? Check. Do you have at least 600 MP? Check. Can you comfortably spend 1000 HP or MP per hour? Yes. Name, age, city of residence; each of which were optional declarations according to the paper. There were a few other minor questions regarding a Mage Guild affiliation, which Erick filled out truthfully, because that part linked his Adventurer’s Guild badge with his bank account. Then he slid the paper, and his badge, toward Paril.

Paril took the paperwork and his badge, and said, “This will take twenty minutes.” She looked over Erick’s shoulder. “It appears Guildmaster Mog is here to see you.”

Erick turned around. Mog stood there, smiling.

“You’ve finally decided to join my guild!” Mog said, “Took you long enough.”

Erick smiled. “I promised the Champion of Atunir if she killed Planter, that I’d help her assault Odaali. She said it would be similar to a 5 star quest, so I came to see what that actually meant.”

Mog whistled low, then said, “That’s a high bar to set for yourself.” She frowned a little. “Let’s talk somewhere a bit more private.”

Erick followed Mog across the main room, past people at tables talking amongst themselves, up a staircase to the second floor, then up one more staircase. She sat down at a table near a railing on the third floor that had sightlines to the receptionist area and the front door. Erick sat across the table from her.

Mog asked, “Do you know how the star ranking system works?”

“Mostly. Jane said that 1 star quests were about killing wolves in town.”

Mog smiled. “Those quests are almost all gone, now. There’s still sewer slimes and repair jobs down below, but the starting quest level in Spur is 3; Crystal Mimics. They’re actually really tough to take down in a fair fight.”

Erick smirked. “Why would anyone play fair?”

“Because, my dear archmage, you can’t always stoneroll your problems into the dirt.” Mog added, “Usually.”

Erick asked, "What are the other 3 star quests like?”

“Venturing into the Sinkhole up north to step into the Underworld to fight Ar’Kendrithyst’s rejects. That’s a solid 3 stars. Sometimes 4, sometimes 2. 3 stars is also the start of the Hunter quests; to kill known killers. Exiles sometimes get kill quests attached to them as they’re booted out the gates, but those only get put up a day after the booting.

“4 star quests usually involve some nasty monster that’s decided to wander into the Crystal Forest from elsewhere, or that burrows up from below as a part of its natural life cycle. Wyrms are the usual wanderers; there’s at least 50 known wyrms out there right now, but finding them is half luck, half destiny. They gorge themselves on mimics, staying far away from each other and from Ar’Kendrithyst. You usually gotta go through two teleports and days and days of searching via flying to find one. But they always have at least 3 grand-rads inside of them, so they're worth it. Desert Roses are a life cycle kinda monster; picture a bright blue flower the size of the trees out front, but fond of [Force Beam Bolts]. Very difficult to kill without specialized tactics. This isn’t the season for Roses, though.

“5 star quests are stuff like the weaker Shades, later stage Desert Roses, and old wyrms. Cloud giants vacillate from 4 to 6, depending if you caught them hunting the Forest for food, or near their cloud castles, which are usually invisible.” Mog spoke seriously, “Shades, on their own, are 5 to 7, but together, they’re an 11 star threat; which is why killing a Shade is illegal in almost all scenarios.” She added, “Except for 2 of them, that is. You can kill Bulgan if you see him; he's a 6. Planter is fair game now, too. Planter is 4-stars on his own, but he’s 7 at his home in the Arbor; maybe only a 6 in the Garden. A lot of the Shades are like that.

“Everything above 5 is ranked at the discretion of the guild overseeing the quest.” Mog said, “We try to be exact with our rankings, but we always rank stuff inside Ar’Kendrithyst with an extra star. This quest to kill Planter is ranked 8, just so you know. Some people could get really lucky and find him outside the Garden, planting a new trap, but I doubt it.”

Erick listened. When Mog was done, he asked, “What sort of reward are you offering?”

Mog smiled wide; little fangs showing on her lower jaw. “What are you offering? I thought that was why you came in tonight, and with two guards, too.” She added, “I’ve been hearing some fun things from the Army.”

Erick smiled. “Single gem rings I can get up to 31 or 32 in a Stat. If I link two of those, I can get 60 in a belt, or a crown. Maybe a bit more. That 55 Strength belt you tried on? I made that with three gems. A bit of testing has revealed that each new gem I add to the product halves the time to losing a point of resonance. So: Your choice. What would you like? You'd know better than I.”

“If you’re offering...” Mog grinned. “I’ll take one of everything.”

Erick liked the flirting, honestly. But he didn’t know what it meant, either in orcol culture, or on Veird, so he kept his reaction professional, though his 20 Vitality certainly had something to say about how Mog moved one massive arm and pushed her ample chest forward.

Erick swallowed, then tore his eyes upward, to say, “I’ll fulfill your request to the best of my ability.”

Mog laughed. She said, “I’m sure you will, fill it right. Up. Good.”

Ignoring that particular flirt, Erick asked, “How is Draz and his class, doing?”

Mog sighed, her smile fading, as she said, “He’s doing a lot better now that you’re not there. That’s not a personal dig, but… He once saw an allied archmage welcomed into his camp, who then immolated herself and almost his entire company. When he came to Spur he wanted to start over and leave all of that behind, but archmages still freak him out.”

“… Oh.” Erick said, “I’m sorry, then. I suppose it was strange for me to be in remedial lessons.”

“Don’t make a big deal about it and you’re golden. Draz is already embarrassed that he let it get to him.” Mog said, “I can’t let you take a 5 star quest right away, but if you want to do some 4 stars, hunt a wyrm or take down a cloud giant, then I could see about approving you for a 5 star quest.”

“Sounds fine to me.”

Mog giggled, and Erick flushed red.

She said, “You’ve never seen a wyrm, have you?” She stood up. “Let’s go to the armory.”

“Oh…? Okay?”

- - - -

Mog led the way. They didn’t have to go far. The ‘Armory’ was on the second floor of the guildhouse, past an open aired walkway that ran beside and above a sandy arena Erick recognized.

The armory was a library. Erick laughed.

A small, cozy library, with ample lighting and a bored incani girl on duty, the ‘Armory’ served a purpose: to instruct people on the capabilities of the monsters they would be facing. Mog didn’t have to tell Erick that; the sign painted across the archway into the library did. It read, ‘Learn their weaknesses and take their heads!’

“Knowledge is power!” Mog said, as she pulled a book from the shelves, shoving it at Erick. “A book of wyrms! Read up then sign up for a quest. Paril should have your paperwork done by then.”

Erick took the book, saying, “Thanks, Mog.”

“You can thank me...” Mog smiled. “By coming back with some battle experience.” She walked away, swaying her hips.

Erick watched her go.

It was a wonderful sight.

- - - -

Erick read.

Gnashing teeth and biting claws, a whipping tail and glaring flaws that draw you in so they can strike, from up above or with a spike pulled from their backs, quickly regrown; wyrms eat and rage, they are renown for killing teams, down to the man, they eat and eat until they burst. They’re naught but meat that lives a semblance of a beast; it certainly looks like a cheat when they stand on limbs made of the deceased. Wyrms will give your heart a pause, for how’d you ever catch this monster? In the middle of a cycle? It obeys no natural laws! All it does is live to slaughter. With brand new scales shining in light and fangs flexing in working jaws, watch now as the beast takes flight, with gnashing teeth, and biting claws.

… Uh. Wyrms seemed pretty damn far out of Erick’s league. If [Domain of the Withering Slime] didn’t work…

He would need to kill the monster anyway, using Decay magic, which the book said was an absolute necessity for fighting a wyrm. The book recommended a minimum of Scion of Strength to harass the creature into one spot, along with exceedingly high mobility in whatever ranged attackers joined the fight. Erick had the mobility and the Decay, but he would need to buy several new spells...

He was still going to do this. There was nothing in the book about wyrms having [Teleport Lock], though they did have magic. What they used was a blend of high tier magic unique to each wyrm and rapid fire basic spells. Erick would not know what he was flying into until the fight started, but he should expect fireballs, [Force Bolts], and [Blink].

[Blink]ing horrors; now there’s a nightmare for ya.

Erick set the book down, and turned to Poi. “Have you ever killed a wyrm?”

Poi had kept his face neutral this whole time, but now, he frowned a bit. “Yes, sir. They are difficult fights but ultimately necessary, like all the quests here at the Adventurer’s guild.” Poi added, “Except maybe the mimic quests. Wyrms roam down from the northern mountains and kill unprepared adventurers all the time, so if they’re not culled, they will eventually roam all the way down here.”

Teressa giggled.

Erick shivered to hear Teressa giggle. It was as disturbing of a sound as Erick had ever heard, because her giggle echoed inside of her armor, and Teressa rarely ever expressed herself. Erick turned to her. She chuckled again, then lifted the faceplate of her armor. She was smiling wide, but only exposing the tips of her lower fangs.

Teressa said, “I love hunting wyrms.”

Poi grumbled.

Teressa said, "Please. Let's go hunt a wyrm."