“No need to drag me away from anywhere,” said the mountain master, striking another blow to break off some ore. “You just look at this ore. Look how beautiful it is.
Someone tried to get her here before me. And they disfigured the local multi-faceted beauty of this magnificent vein. Yes, it is not metal, it is a work of art that nature has created,” Grolm almost cried, looking at the next neatly broken off piece of metal ore. “Hail Quartz Karn! There is nothing more to desire in this life.”
“Why are you acting so strange?” said Alyona, who came here from the city of mercenaries, after she escorted the detachment. “Is it some sort of debuff? If it is, I could help get rid of it.”
“This is not debuff, this is an aura of happiness,” the dwarf shed a tear of joy. “Can’t you see how much wonderful armor is hidden here, magnificent swords, axes, spears, maces.
And just imagine the anvil that can be made out of that piece, mmm. I already see this marvelous metal melting. Thank you, thank you, Quartz Karn, for guiding me to this cave!"
“I’ll rather die here than wait for this beetle to return,” the magician lamented, dragging his staff on the ground. “This dwarf is going to drive me crazy.”
“And you are going to drive me crazy with your complaining,” the girl began to get angry. “How long are you going to whine, you’re a grown man.”
“I’ll whine however long I want to, I’m a grown man,” the wizard grinned.
“That’s better,” the elf answered with a smile.
“Look, isn’t this our bug running?” said Hyde.
“Yes, it’s him,” the elf nodded, looking into the distance.
“I apologize for being late. There were two minor problems,” I said, without mentioning that those problems were above hundred in their levels. “As I promised, here’s your cloak.”
“At last,” the girl took her cloak from my hands and, with a smile, buried her face in it, then rubbed it against her cheek, then put it on her armor.
Yes, it looked great on her. And the light breeze of the cave was caressing this magnificent fabric with the color of the night sky.
“So, what did you want to talk to us about?” the two-legged asked me.
“I would like to speak to everyone,” I said. “You too, Grolm,” seeing that the dwarf was not reacting, I tried something different, having heard what he was talking about. “I need to make a lot of weapons.”
“I’m listening,” the dwarf ran up to me so quickly that even Alyona, who was standing next to him, didn’t catch him move.
“Right. Soon I will need help in dealing with the head of the spikers. I would like you to help us in this difficult battle. You, Grolm, will have to make a lot of weapons and maybe armors, we will discuss it in more detail with Derergon. I’ll make it worth your while.”
You offer the task “Weapons and Armor”!
Goal: You need to prepare a batch of weapons for mercenaries. The types of weapons that need to be manufactured can be obtained from Derergon, the leader of the mercenary squad.
Additional goal: Accompany the dwarf and do not let him die.
Additional goal: Help the dwarf collect and drag however much metal ore he needs.
Waiting for an answer…
Task accepted!
“And besides this task, there is the main thing.”
You are proposing the mission “Battle with Narr Nutt”!
Description: The cruel ruler subjugated all the spikers, destroying everyone who opposed him. Pursuing his goals, he wants to take control of the entire level of the cave and establish his own order.
Goal: help Tes Sel Er and the rest of the beetles kill Narr Nutt.
Additional goal: Prevent major losses among the beetle-warriors.
Reward: Angelic weaving, Shining with life (x3).
Waiting for an answer…
"And so that you do not doubt the reward," I said and took out a ring and mushrooms from my spatial pocket. "Have a look at it."
“Damn!” the magician swore, seeing the mushrooms. “Can you see what I see, Lintirionel? These are the rarest mushrooms for the great raising life potion.
“And not just for that,” said Hyde.
"You'd better look at the ring," said the elf, whose eyes grew. "This is the key to another task because this ring is unusual."
“That’s right, it’s epic,” said the magician. “It is hard to surprise one with epic.
"But it can be done," Helen said and smiled. "We agree to help you, Sel Er."
Task accepted!
Chapter 57
Ringlide. The Disorder among the mercenaries. The fight.
Derergon
“Ringlide, why weren’t you in the appointed place? Why did we have to rely on the rippers for help instead of you?” Derergon was angry, walking alongside a very large beetle.
Ringlide, Four-Armed Ghirn, Level 60
This bug had four full-fledged arms, one pair he crossed behind his back, and the other pair he folded across its chest. Ghirn was a little bigger than garadarok, but not stronger. Derergon was famous for his mastery of the ripper claws, and he defeated Ringlide more than once, even though Ringlide used four claws at once.
“Do you blame me?” asked the head of another squad.
“What for?” said Der, slightly opening his jaws as a sign of threat.
“You think that I betrayed you, but it is not so.”
“Give me a good reason to change my mind.”
“Hmm...”
“How much did that crazy Narr pay you?”
“He did not pay me anything,” Ringlide waved him off.
“So, you sold us out for nothing,” Derergon was astonished. “Wonderful. That will be great for my reputation. Another detachment of mercenaries betrayed me, nothing terrible, things happen. But to betray me for no reason, without any benefit for yourself... You’ll ruin your own reputation this way.”
“Ar-rg-h! Gold is just shining trifle, as I used to tell you,” Ringlide grinned. “Nutt also offered a much more valuable thing. This one,” the ghirn struck a powerful blow with an awesome-looking blade, but Derergon blocked it.
“Commander, what are you doing?” asked one of Ringlide’s subordinates.
“I am taking over the power in our city, eliminating strong competitors,” the squad leader answered and decapitated his subordinate. “You will be next if you don’t distract your friends,” he said to the second subordinate. “What are you waiting for? Do it!”
“Y-es s-iir,” the warrior said uncertainly and ran out of the room.
“It’s good that you can’t pretend for long,” Derergon grinned. “So, you planned all this not long ago, perhaps during that attack on your squad.”
“You’re a smart one,” sniffed the ghirn. “Narr Nutt led that squad personally. We had no chance, but he proposed a very good plan. I only have to give him all the little fellows in the city.”
“You venal bastard, the mercenaries have their own rules that cannot be broken, but you spat on that as well,” Derergon shook his head. “I’ll teach you a lesson, and you’ll understand that your people and your friends are the most valuable things in life, and you should not trade them for any trinkets.”
The mercenary leader bounced off the ghirn and snatched the second blade. Derergon attacked, stretching his arms. A couple of powerful blows almost cut off Ringlide’s hands, but he managed to block them and immediately counterattacked.
Garadarok dodged every attack and knocked out one of the blades, severely damaging ghirn’s hand and causing him to hiss with pain. Crouched down, Derergon made three quick strokes.
Three airwaves crushed a stone wall behind the enemy, but only one cut off a limb. Ringlide got furious and he, forgetting about the pain, rushed to his opponent.
The spiker leader’s strongest attack broke the ripper claw in Derergon’s hand. But the mercenary did not lose his head and, turning around, made a deep cut on his opponent’s hand. Ringlide pressed the injur
ed limb to his chest, and then abruptly released it, squirting the blood from the wound into Derergon’s eyes.
“Die and the city of Girerd will be mine,” the four-handed ghirn grinned and tried to strike again, but he missed.
Derergon easily dodged and first he cut off the enemy’s hand, which was holding Narr Nutt’s gift, and then Ringlide’s head. Temporarily blinded by the ghirn’s blood, Derergon did not see the annoyance on his enemy’s face, replaced by a grimace of pain.
“Der, are you ok?” asked Mulf, who appeared next to him. “What happened?”
“I’m okay,” the mercenary leader sighed. “A small civil war happened. Damn this Ringlide. Send two of our boys with a couple of zombie warriors to the house of this corrupt four-armed beetle. Mohr will help you. Warn all our men. We need to protect the little fellows. I’ll take care of this bastard’s followers, and while I’m at it I’ll find those who’ll push the rest to civil strife.”
“The leaders began killing each other!” shouted one of Ringlide’s warriors. “How can we, ordinary mercenaries, trust them now?! We need to find new leaders who will be worthier of their power.”
“The leaders only command the detachments and no one else,” another bug shouted back.
“Exactly! Did Ringlide go crazy again?”
"Don't you understand? You will be controlled just like the spikers. One of the leaders will seize power in Girerd and you will have to obey because there is nowhere else to go. There are no more secluded places in the cave to hide!"
“If you don’t know about them, this does not mean they don’t exist.”
“We don’t need this power even for free,” the big beetle spat.
“Why should we listen to him at all? Aren’t we mercenaries? Beat him! Let’s have some fun!” someone shouted and went for the orator. The rest followed him, and a huge fight broke out.
“He-he,” said Derergon cheerfully. “Did the guys beat Ringlide’s minions, and then they started beating each other?”
“Yes they did," grinned the Death Herald. "All throughout the city. I ordered the zombie-spikers to protect the civilians so that the guys won't inadvertently hit them. Ringlide was arrested and lead to the prison. We will need to talk to all the leaders there later.
“Good, we have a lot to talk about.”
“I didn’t expect Narr Nutt to use such tricks,” Mohr mused. “So, he still wants to become the ruler of the first level.”
“And eliminating the mercenaries would allow him to do that,” Derergon nodded. “And while Ringlide is enjoying his short-term power, Narr Nutt would bring spikers here and kill everyone, until our men use up all their rebirths.”
“No, he would kill half or less to intimidate the others,” Mohr disagreed. “Besides, he will need someone to rule over, so there would be no point in killing everyone.”
“You’re right,” Derergon nodded. “We have to wait for the other leaders. And I also would like to listen to Sel Er.”
“Yes, the Karkant is a very unusual beetle and has already done a lot for us,” said the Death Herald. “We need to help him.”
Chapter 58
The talk. The meeting of the leaders. The reward for the mercenaries.
Sel Er
All of us returned to the city of mercenaries together, including Lintirionel’s detachment. Everyone was carrying a bunch of ore pieces, even I took a couple, and they turned out to be quite heavy.
The dwarf filled his spatial pocket to the brim and was carrying more in bags. The mountain master swore a lot, expressing his surprise with fun words whose meaning I did not understand at times.
But he was mostly saying that everyone around him was weak moaners, who could not drag a couple of pieces of mother earth and the blessings of Quartz Karn.
We couldn't carry much since the pieces were big, and the dwarf stubbornly refused to break them into smaller parts, saying that it was impossible to handle the treasure like that.
Mulf met us halfway and helped us drag the metal, and told us some interesting things about what happened in Gerard while we were gone. Surprisingly, one of the very serious mercenaries decided to seize power in the city, with the help of a gift from the head of the spikers.
“Wow,” Hyde scratched his head. “I didn’t think such intrigues could happen among mobs, or rather I didn’t even think that mobs would be capable of that.”
“What does ‘mobs’ mean?” I asked, noticing how the elf struck the knight with her elbow.
“The wanderers call everyone who does not stand on two legs mobs,” answered the magician.
“So, we’ll have to chop up those rebels?”
“No,” answered Mulf. “No one rebelled, and the other residents have already sorted out those who wanted to start a riot. It was useless to start something like that here, and surprisingly, Ringlide decided to try.
He was always smart and, despite his behavior and reputation, he was still a well-respected warrior. But his thirst for power and greed apparently deprived him of his sanity and he got furious.”
“And what will you do with him now?” asked the dwarf.
“The leaders will decide. Meanwhile, the mercenaries want Tes Sel Er to attend their meeting, while the rest will have to wait,” said the warrior who merged with the entourage. “Don’t worry, a usual meeting does not last long. There is not much to discuss in this matter. Rather, Derergon wants to finally announce some very important decisions, for which there is no excessive time to discuss because Narr Nutt is now threatening our city."
“It looks like the thing is going to be tough,” Hyde grinned. “I think it will be fun.”
We soon reached the small cave where the negotiations took place. Everyone unloaded, and the dwarf sent them all back for a new load of ore.
He seemed to have decided to make weapons for the next several hundred years. I went inside and saw eight beetle warriors, two of whom were already waiting for me, and the others, squinting, looked in my direction.
Derergon and Mohr stood nearby, the others across from them, so I approached my... friends. Apparently fierce battles, when you’re fighting side by side to protect the weak, make you friends.
“Hmm... it’s really a Karkant,” a strange beetle with two pairs of jaws looked at me. My memory called back a phrase that described this serious-looking and dangerous beetle: he’s got a mouth on him.
“Though I am not a leader as such, I have the right to vote at this meeting,” Mohr said quietly to me. “So, let’s try to convince them that we are right.”
“You have already seen the consequences of endless clashes with the spikers,” said Derergon. “Narr is sick of us, and he decided to deal with us from the inside.
Together we did only one thing - we defended our peaceful fellow citizens, and provided ourselves with food. Now it is time to start fighting together, and it is this very beetle,” the leader of the mercenaries pointed at me, “who gave me this idea.
In our last battle, which was set up by Narr Nutt and Ringlide, we defended the little fellows and had rippers on our side.” At these words, the other leaders frowned. "And among them, there was a two-legged one, to whom we all owe our lives. She resurrected all the dead, saving them a number of rebirths.”
Surprise and distrust settled among the beetles, but they continued to listen to Derergon because most of the mercenaries did not have that many lives left and what they heard now could, in fact, provide them with longer and happier life. Rippers occasionally cooperated with mercenary troops, traded, fulfilled some tasks, but never tried to resurrect them.
“But the two-legged can’t stay in the city for long,” said another beetle warrior. “How do we keep her?”
“Sel Er can answer your questions about the rippers.”
“I think that Alyona will not refuse to help and she will stay with us until we defeat the spikers,” I answered. “And talking about spikers, I would like to hire several troops.
I remember that the squads are char
ging a hundred gold coins,” I learned this not long ago from Derergon. “But unfortunately, I do not have seven hundred gold coins to hire all seven units. However, I can cover the missing amount with things taken from rippers.”
“Spit them out,” without hesitating for a second, said the beetle with two jaws.
I laid out the things that I got from the slave traders and which Alyona helped me drag here. The eyes of the mercenaries were burning. Even though the boots could hardly be used, the warriors looked at them as if they were a great treasure. I also looked at the ring, which the goddess helped me identify, and I would have kept it for myself, but it was of no use to me.
“And here is the gold,” I laid out four hundred and forty gold coins, and the mercenaries could not hide their delight.
I wonder why they love gold so much. Is it only because it allows them to buy the rippers’ stuff?
“I think no one would refuse to break a couple of spiker jaws and test their armor for durability," said the same beetle warrior, and seeing approval in the eyes of the other leaders, he continued. "Then we are in business. These things should be taken and used by those who can use them as well as possible.”
“That was clever,” Derergon grinned, when the contented leaders, having acquired gold and things, went out to begin preparations for the battle against Narr Nutt. “My squad did not need gold, we would have helped you anyway. But there is never too much gold.
You were able to unite the rest of the leaders. And by saying that the two-legged healer who can resurrect us will stay in our city, you have shown that you should be listened to, because, despite your low level, you have great power. Even if this power is not expressed in skills, stats or any other characteristics.”
“Thank you for your trust,” I said to Derergon. “But I have not told them that the mountain master wanted to forge weapons for us,” seeing the surprised look in his eyes, I hurried to reassure him that I had found out that recently. "Though he will need help and tools, maybe you have something of that kind."
“We will help with everything we can and even a little more,” said the leader of the mercenaries.
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