“So, what can I do for you today?” Molly asked errantly, looking back to Rhyes and seemingly forgetting I was there already.
“Bye-bye was hoping to pick up some canteens and water,” Rhyes answered, getting lost in Molly’s eyes again.
“Canteens are one aisle that way,” Molly said, motioning to the left, not really paying attention to my presence.
I hoped Rose and I weren’t like that. I went in the direction Molly pointed to where I found the canteens easily enough, but wow, there was a huge selection. And the prices . . . I wanted to cry a little. The same canteen I had gotten from Ned’s for almost 4-Gold apiece were only 5-Silver each here and there were so many of them. Probably so cheap simply because they bought them in volume. It still hurt just to think about how much I paid, especially once I saw a ‘High-Capacity Thermos’.
High-Capacity Thermos – (0/200) – Enchanted to keep drinks contained cold or hot increasing effectiveness by 20%.
And only 2-Gold each . . . so much water, where were you two days ago? I put four of them in my basket, two for mana and two for stamina.
With my first objective obtained, I went back to the bar to find Rhyes sitting on one of the stools, whispering something to Molly and her giggling afterward.
I cleared my throat again.
“Find the canteens alright?” Molly asked, jerking up straight.
“Yes, now I need to fill my canteens and the four thermoses I just picked up with mana and stamina restoratives,” I answered, setting 6 regular canteens, 2 high-capacity canteens and all 4 of the thermoses I just picked up on the counter.
“Do you know what kind?” Molly asked.
“What is the best you’ve got for level 7 or lower?”
“M1 Drink and S1 Drink are probably your best bets,” answered the clerk. “They restore up to +250-MP per drink.”
“Fill me up, half and half,” I requested.
Molly just sighed and went to work, she took each canteen and thermos, one by one to one of the kegs and filled them up.
“That’ll be 87-Gold for the water and 8-Gold for the 4 thermoses,” Molly said, tallying it all up.
“That seems awfully high for drinks, even drinks that good. Surely you can bring the price down a bit. Let’s say 60-Gold for all of it,” I countered.
“This one is a real laugh, Rhyes,” said Molly, turning back to her would be boyfriend. Turning back to me she countered, “80-Gold.”
“70-Gold,” I countered again.
“75-Gold and done,” Molly said, offering a hand toward me.
“Deal,” I said, shaking her hand and placing the gold on the counter. It was a lot of money, especially considering it was for drinks . . . mana and stamina restoring drinks but still drinks. Thank goodness I had the money for it.
“Can I get you anything else?” Molly asked, glancing back toward Rhyes, clearly wanting to get back to her conversation.
“Foodstuff, something like the ‘Adventurer’s Jerky’ that restores HP and sates hunger,” I requested, eager to get what I need and to let them resume canoodling.
“Three aisles that way,” Molly said, pointing to the right this time.
I shook my head as the woman was quickly lost again in flirting with Rhyes. Just as before, I found the aisle quickly enough, there were all kinds of jerky and dried meats and hard tac. I found something called pemmican that restored +250-HP per bite. Each pemmican bar was shaped like a deck of cards with 6-squares or bites per bar. I finally opened up my ‘Tome of Otherworldly Knowledge’ to look it up, it was pressed meat, fat and berries and the various reviews said it tasted pretty good. I dumped 10 of them into my basket at 5-Silver apiece. Having gotten the last of the items I needed to stock up on, and knowing Rhyes and Molly were otherwise occupied, I decided it wouldn’t be so bad to wander around the sundry and see if anything caught my eye.
I tried to think back on our various adventures and think of anything that might have been useful to have. There were more aisles of food stuff. I wandered through the clothes, they were not very good quality and I was happy with my current clothes. There was a large section filled with crafting equipment, that had everything you could ever want for crafting. There were smithing hammers, skinning knives, needles and even bolts of cloth, pruning shears and art supplies. I grabbed a few extra pencils even though I expected the cartographer’s kit to be delivered today or tomorrow. Then I found the books. Actual skill books if the description I was seeing were correct.
Seeing as I was so entangled with the Dwarves at the moment I was happy to find three books, ‘Dwarven Language for the Soft Skinned’, ‘History of the Dwarven Forges’, and ‘Legacy of Ivaldi and lesser Dwarven Gods’. Each offered a very nice ‘Lore’ Subskill.
Professional Skill: Lore
Subskill: Ancient Dwarven
Knowledge of the Dwarven Language
Professional Skill: Lore
Subskill: Dwarven History
Knowledge of Dwarven History
Professional Skill: Lore
Subskill: Dwarven Mythology
Knowledge of Dwarven Myths and Legends
They would probably also be useful in my search for more of Gungnir’s blueprints. There were so many more but at 100-Gold per book, and these the cheapest among them, I felt that was more than enough. If I wasn’t careful I was going to burn through all the money I made from the Dungeon map. Then I realized I should buy an extra copy of each book for Rose, it would be just as useful to her as it was to me. Painful for my wallet and financial future but worth it. Still, between the water I already purchased, the pemmican I was going to buy and the 6 books, that was almost 700-Gold gone in just a day. I groaned at the thought of it.
“Look who came out all by himself today,” said a voice at the end of the aisle drawing my attention,
“Why, it looks to me like one of the Duchess’s little bodyguards. And what is this? Is he all by his little lonesome?” another voice taunted from the other end of the aisle,
“Not completely alone, no,” I replied, my eyes searching for a way out of this mess.
“If you mean your little guard friend, he will not be joining you,” said a third voice, this one a female stepping up next to the first Mage to speak,
That was less than helpful. And to make matters worse, I couldn’t equip my spear. I tried just to test the waters, but it was a no go. Thankfully, I still had magic . . . less thankfully, these three were all magic types and probably had stronger magic than I did. Right now, I needed to get out of the store where I could fight these guys more fairly.
Quest Alert: Sundry Under Siege (Recommended Level 6-8)
Wally's Sundry has come under siege by the Ardentia Guild. Rescue the hostages and end the siege by any means necessary.
Reward: Experience, Hidden
Do you accept this Quest?
Yes
No
Naturally, I accepted the quest, not entirely sure how I was going to pull this off.
I spared a look at the pair, they were grinning confidently and appeared relaxed, probably overconfident. Then at the one on the other end, the mage looked very determined but tense, clearly less confident but more prepared. Still, the odds of me getting around one guy was better than trying to bypass two.
I turned suddenly to the solo one of the groups and cast ‘Holy Shock’ stunning him and locking him in place, surprising the pair that was now behind me. I was already running, flipping over the stunned mage and apparently just in time too as I saw two magic bolts of energy pass just below me, one in orange exploding as it hit the stunned mage, the other in purple bursting on impact into a purple cloud. I watched as the HP of the mage I just leapt over plummeted rapidly. Made worse when I put a stack of ‘Holy Fire’ on him as I flew over him, ticking down r
apidly at those last few HP. I didn’t like that I was about to kill again but right now, it seemed survival was more important.
“Do not just stand there, chase after him,” ordered the female, the enchanter.
“But Payton is about to die, we can’t just leave him,” protest the mage.
“Do not worry about Payton, worry about yourself if we fail to kill him,” ordered the enchanter.
“I do not like leaving him behind, Charlene, it does not feel right,” the mage tried to protest again.
“I will look after him, Docksen, just go,” ordered the enchanter, her voice getting quieter as I put some distance between us.
I ran hard, hoping to get to the exit and out into the open to fight. When I was just an aisle away, I had to stop suddenly, forced down to my knees and to slide on the polished floor as another bolt of magic soared over my head.
“You missed Wes, keep firing,” ordered another voice.
The front entrance was guarded by two more,
“I am trying, Ralph,” snapped the mage, Wes.
Popping back up to my feet, I cast ‘Holy Fire’ on the level 6 mage, breaking his concentration and interrupting his cast just long enough for me to keep running, diving into a rack of clothing that exploded in fire after the mage, Docksen I guessed, fired off another shot from behind me.
Looking through the hole in the burning clothes rack, I lit up the chasing mage with ‘Holy Fire’ then ‘Holy Shock’ as the spell came off cooldown. I couldn’t sit idle, I was already running. I was going to have to fight these guys using guerilla tactics at this rate.
I barely saw the purple light of another spell, forcing me to dive out of the way on reflex. The spell impacted the wall next to me and burst into a cloud, and dispersing into the air. I wasn’t sure what that spell did, but I had a feeling I wanted nothing to do with it. Looking quickly to the source, I cast another ‘Holy Fire’ on the enchanter, getting an enraged scream from her. I would have loved to stay and taunt her but the other two were already chasing me.
I turned a corner sharply, trying to get into an aisle with a little cover when my feet slid out from under me. A quick glance showed the floor glowing blue with magic ice. Looking where I was sliding showed the enchanter waiting for me, a ball of purple energy forming in her hands.
I cast a ‘Holy Fire’ on her, adding a second stack but also interrupting her spell . . . sort of . . . it actually burst in her face, wiping out a big chunk of her HP and causing her to cough painfully as she breathed in the smoke of whatever her spell was.
It didn’t change the fact I was still sliding right at her like a cement block on a curling board on a collision course with another stone, also known as the
“He caught Charlene,” called one of the mages loudly.
Looking to the source, I saw the two mages, both already throwing bolts of magic at the captured Charlene and I both. I grabbed her by the robes and dragger her out of the path of damage just as the two bolts hit the wall exploding in steam. I had to guess one was a fireball of some kind and the other a waterball if they created steam like that. Lucky for me, it had the added effect of creating a smokescreen for me to escape in.
If I wasn’t so busy running and hiding for my life, I might have wondered where all the adventurers were, they usually lived for this kind of thing, I know I did but at the same time I had been hounded by these Ardentia clowns for days and was honestly exhausted by it.
“Where did he go?” one of the two mages demanded.
“I lost him in the steam. Why did you use a water spell? What were you thinking?” the other mage demanded, Wes, I think.
“What was I thinking? What were you thinking? Do you know how much of this store is flammable? If it catches fire it will kill us all,” shouted the other mage, Docksen.
“I did not think about that,” answered Wes. “Do you think Ralph thought about that? I mean, I know his fire prison is effective, but it’s still fire.”
“You want to tell him that?” Docksen asked. “Remember Sam? Remember what happened to him when he pointed out something obvious to most of us.”
“Right, I forgot about that,” said Wes. “You know, I am starting to think that joining the Ardentia Guild might have been a rash decision. Sure, Winona leaving hurt, it still hurts, but the guild really hasn’t done anything to help me get her back, you know what I mean?”
“Are you trying to get us both killed? If Ralph hears you talking like that he will kill you, your ex-wife, Charlene and then me too,” hissed Docksen.
If I was understanding the conversation between these two, there was doubt, a lot of it. It was a risk, but if I succeeded, I might come out of this alive. “What if you didn’t have to worry about Ralph?” I called to the pair from hiding. I assumed Ralph was the sorcerer and from the sound of it, he was a bully.
I felt the water splash over the shelf I was using for cover as the both of them had resorted to using water spells.
“Just hear me out,” I called, hopeful they would give me a chance.
Two more water blasts impacted the shelf, actually warping it slightly. I could have kept running but these two sounded like they were starting to doubt the Ardentia doctrine. If I could reach them, without having to fight and possibly kill them then I had to try. I wished so badly I could just use ‘Order: Surrender’ and be done with it. I was about to try just that when I had an idea.
I focused mana to my throat like I would for ‘Order: Taunt’ or ‘Order: Surrender’. “It’s not too late, we can still talk this out.”
“Maybe we should hear what he has to say?” Docksen suggested.
“That is how we ended up in this mess in the first place,” countered Wes.
“Still, how much worse could it be?” Docksen asked. “He already captured Charlene. Maybe he can really beat Ralph too?”
“Okay, let us hear your offer,” said Wes.
“It’s like this, you two help me beat Ralph with your water magic and I’ll make sure you don’t get in too much trouble with the City Watch,” I offered. I would have promised them immunity if I had the power to do so.
“You are still talking about jailtime. I want to be let go, free and clear. Maybe even relocated to someplace safe and quiet,” countered Docksen.
“Look, to get something like that, you would have to be able to really give the City Watch something big. I know I can broker you a deal, but it is completely dependent on what you can offer in return,” I said. I was sure I could do that, negotiate on their behalf.
“What do you think, Wes? Are we trading one devil for another?” Dickson asked.
“This devil is likely to burn us alive if we look at him wrong. The other at worse will put us in jail for a few years,” said Wes.
I risked peeking out from behind my shelf barrier to see the pair facing each other and talking in hushed tones now. I risked taking a look at the flashing notification while they were discussing.
You’ve learned the Law and Order spell ‘Order: Negotiate’
Order: Negotiate
Level: N/A
Experience: N/A
Spell Duration: 30 seconds
Spell Cast Speed: Instant
Spell Mana Cost: 100
Spell Effect (Active): You have an additional 40% chance to cause a moment of doubt, encouraging enemies to consider negotiating.
“Alright, you have yourself a deal,” said Wes, t
urning to face me first.
“Yeah, alright,” said Docksen, sounding a little reluctant.
“So, what is your plan for defeating Ralph?” asked Wes.
It took about an hour to get everything set up, including putting Charlene in actual shackles, not just my hour-long spell.
***
Hands bound in rope, check. Two mages roughly shoving me forward, check. Ralph the Sorcerer looking impatient and angry, check.
“About time you two caught him, what took so long?” Ralph demanded.
“He is a lot more skilled than he looks. He captured Charlene, she’s still chained up back there,” said Wes, pointing to the area they had ‘captured’ me.
“Heh, never liked her anyway, we can leave her here for City Watch to arrest her. Those pathetic patrolmen will think they had some kind of major victory,” chortled the sorcerer.
“Say, you’re Ralph, right?” I asked.
“Yeah, what about it?” Ralph asked.
“Nothing, I was just surprised is all,” I said.
“Surprised, what do you mean?” Ralph asked, getting into my face and taking a fist full of my shirt.
“I didn’t mean anything by it at all,” I said defensively.
“No, you meant something, spit it out,” Ralph demanded.
“Well, it’s just that we caught one of your priests the other day. Real chatterbox that one, he’s been telling us all kinds of things about the Ardentia Guild . . . er, sorry, Cult, he definitely called it a Cult, insisted in fact. Anyway, he was talking about the members and he mentioned you,” I answered.
“Oh, what did he say?” Ralph asked.
“Well, he was talking about how worried he was for you after Sam,” I answered.
“What about Sam? The man was an idiot. He should have known better than to talk back to one of his superiors,” said Ralph, puffing out his chest.
“He was worried when you killed the man destined to be the love of a certain someone’s life so callously. It saddened him to know that you would never be given the opportunity to find love now. That the cult would need to find a way to sacrifice you in the name of love. Something like setting you an impossible task,” I answered, choosing my words carefully.
World Tree Online: The Duchess of Hammers: 2nd Dive Begins Page 23