by Aleron Kong
Randolphus was covered neck to toe in leather armor. It was a red color, so dark it was almost black. It was well-worn and scored, but was otherwise in good condition. The leather had small knobs on it from whatever creature it had been made from, and the strips were banded, fitting Randolphus like a second skin. Dark metal nubs dotted his gauntlets, obviously able to do some damage in hand-to-hand combat. What was really striking however, were the knives. The man was bristling with blades!
A bandolier of throwing daggers hung across Randy’s chest like a sash, holding a dozen razor-sharp knives. A long dagger extended out of his left boot, while two more stuck out from his belt on the right. A heavy blade was affixed to his armor horizontally at the small of his back, an easy draw for his left hand. His armament was completed by a black whip coiled on his left hip.
The chamberlain’s gear practically hummed with magic and Richter’s identification Talent triggered:
Ember Scourge Chestplate of Vibrant Elemental Absorption
Defense: +21
Durability: 61/61
Item Class: Rare
Quality: Masterwork
Type: Light Armor
Weight: 7.4 kg
Traits:
1) Up to 7% of any Fire, Water, Earth or Air damage received is partially absorbed and converted to Health.
2) +7% Fire Resistance to area covered by item
Enchantment Rank: 5
Enchantment Level: 1
Ember Scourge Bracers of Poison Resistance
Defense: +13
Durability: 35/36
Item Class: Scarce
Quality: Exquisite
Weight: 4.2 kg
Traits:
1) General Poison resistance of 15%. Only works on poisons equal to or less than Solution level and/or Fortified strength.
2) +7% Fire Resistance to area covered by item
Enchantment Rank: 4
Enchantment Level: 1
Ember Scourge Greaves of Earth Resistance
Defense: +13
Durability: 35/36
Item Class: Scarce
Quality: Exquisite
Weight: 4.2 kg
Traits:
1) +11% Earth Resistance to area covered by item
2) +7% Fire Resistance to area covered by item
Enchantment Rank: 4
Enchantment Level: 1
Studded Ember Scourge Gauntlets of Fire Strike
Defense: +11
Durability: 56/56
Item Class: Scarce
Quality: Exquisite
Weight: 2.5 kg
Traits:
1) Unarmed combat strikes add +12-13 Fire damage. Up to +7% chance to cause Burn
2) +7% Fire Resistance to area covered by item
Charges: 348/348
Enchantment Rank: 5
Enchantment Level: 1
Ember Scourge Leggings of Air Resistance
Defense: +14
Durability: 67/67
Item Class: Scarce
Quality: Exquisite
Weight: 3.8 kg
Traits:
1) +17% Air Resistance to area covered by item
2) +7% Fire Resistance to area covered by item
Enchantment Rank: 6
Enchantment Level: 1
Ember Scourge Boots of Quick Movement
Defense: +12
Durability: 46/46
Item Class: Scarce
Quality: Exquisite
Weight: 2.2 kg
Traits:
1) +11% Movement Speed
2) +7% Fire Resistance to area covered by item
Enchantment Rank: 4
Enchantment Level: 1
Even as Richter watched, Randolphus shoved his robe into the bag at his side and pulled out a helmet. Richter was momentarily confused at how the small bag could hold so much, then the obvious clicked in his mind. His chamberlain had a Bag of Holding! Richter used his Talent on it as well. The weight reduction was only 23%, and the grid was only 14x14, but it was definitely a dimensional bag.
The chamberlain’s helmet completed the set and showed the bonus from having a matching set.
Ember Scourge Helmet of Perception
Defense: +12
Durability: 42/42
Item Class: Scarce
Quality: Exquisite
Weight: 2.0 kg
Traits:
1) Increases Perception by +14
2) +7% Fire Resistance to area covered by item
Enchantment Rank: 5
Enchantment Level: 1
This is an entire set of matched armor: Ember Scourge. This armor was made of the skin of a powerful Fire elemental.
Match Bonus: Defense +25%.
This suit of armor was specifically tailored for Ran’dolphinius the Half-Undine.
Tailored Bonus: Defense +25%.
Material Bonus: +20% Fire Resistance
Entire Set is Soul Bound (Level 2)
“Goddamn, man!” Richter exclaimed. The armor gave better defense than his own! The Enhanced Sprite Armor was the most powerful light armor he had come across, until now. In addition to its inherent high defense, it had been masterfully sculpted to fit Randolphus. That, plus the fact that it was a matching set, increased the defense of each piece by +50%. That prompted a quick question because he always thought the fitted bonus was only 10%. The chamberlain told him that the Smith Profession had Talents that could increase that value. The royal armorer of Yves had apparently been extremely Talented.
Richter just shook his head and went back to marveling at the high defense. His own elementum blade only had a damage of thirty-one to thirty-three points of damage, which meant the chamberlain’s armor was almost a match. Seeing Randolphus’ defense was a good reminder that his own weapons weren’t exactly the trump card he often thought of them as.
Each piece was also heavily enchanted. Even with the Forge of Heavens, Richter had only reached rank four in one of his enchantments, Freeze. The rank of an enchantment basically made it stronger. Rank one of Freeze added one point of damage and gave a 1% chance to immobilize an enemy with ice. Rank four increased that to four points of damage and a 4% chance per hit at baseline.
The enchantments were all level one, but that didn’t take away from the impressiveness of the armor. Richter hadn’t come across any level two enchantments yet, though his Specialty, Essence Enchanter, allowed him to evolve his own unlocked enchantments. He had to funnel his own mana into doing so, however, and the costs could be prohibitive. In fact, the only enchantment he had unlocked so far was Sonic Damage, level 1.
The first level of Sonic Damage had cost twenty-seven hundred mana to unlock. The cost was determined by multiplying the spell cost of twenty-seven mana by one hundred. Thanks to his high Wisdom and Ring of Flowing Thought, his mana regen was a respectable 32.4 MP/min. Richter had been able to unlock level one in a day by channeling the runoff from his mana pool once it was full.
Richter had been pleased and surprised to find that after unlocking level one of the enchantment he was given the opportunity to unlock its second level as well. The chaos seed had become somewhat less pleased to discover that the next level was a full hundred times more expensive than the first, at two hundred and seventy thousand mana points.
He had been funneling his mana into the second level of the enchantment for thirty days. If he had done nothing else besides try and unlock level two of Sonic Damage then he would have been done after a week. That was not the case, however. Between battle, training, summoning mist workers, and countless other reasons, the mana he had been able to allocate to the enchantment had been a trickle rather than a steady flow. That was why he was so surprised when he checked on the progress.
You know the enchantment Sonic Damage, Level 1, Rank 3
Enchantment Size: 3
Enchantment School: Earth
Effect 1: Increased Damage – Each rank increases weapon damage by +1.
Effect 2: Disarm – When trig
gered, opponents may lose their weapon. +1% chance per rank. Higher rank also increases the likelihood of weapon loss.
You are attempting to learn the enchantment Sonic Damage, Level 2
Enchantment Size: Unknown
Enchantment School: Earth
You are currently at 258,147/270,000 for the mana cost to learn this enchantment.
Effects: Unknown
He was almost there. Only a few thousand mana points away from having a level two enchantment! Soon, the size and effects would be filled in, he thought with excitement. The enchantment size let him know how many Soul Points were required for each rank of the enchantment. Rank one of Sonic Damage, level 1 cost three Soul Points, rank two cost six points, rank three cost twelve, etc.
He was hoping that level two of the enchantment not only increased the previous effects but also didn’t have too high of a cost. Even if the effects were twice as powerful, if the cost tripled it might still be better to use level one of Sonic Damage. He’d have to wait and see, but thankfully, not too much longer.
Richter had turned off the auto-channeling of his mana into the enchantment before the goblin raid. It wasn’t worth risking going into that battle with anything less than his full mana pool. Now though, he accessed the interface again.
Currently you are allocating 0% of your mana regeneration to purchasing Sonic Damage, Level 2. Do you wish to increase this? Current mana pool regen rate is 5.4 mana:10 seconds. Yes or No?
Richter exerted his will and was rewarded with another prompt.
Currently you are allocating 100% of your mana regeneration once your mana pool reaches 650 mana points to purchasing Sonic Damage, Level 2. Mana still required: 11,853
He did some quick calculations and realized that was less than 25% of the mana he could generate in a day. Even subtracting the MPs, he would probably use in the Dungeon, he should be done tomorrow. Richter couldn’t wait! He had no idea what his level two enchantment would bring, but he was sure it would be amazing. Increasing the rank of an enchantment was like training an animal to be stronger and faster. Increasing the level, on the other hand, was more like transforming a monkey into a gorilla. Feeling like a kid on Christmas Eve, he turned his attention back to examining the rest of Randolphus’ items.
The fact that each piece of armor had a different enchantment spoke volumes about the prowess of Yves’ enchanters. Either there was an incredibly proficient master or there were a series of enchanters that knew some potent magic. True, Randolphus was the bastard of royalty so maybe he hadn’t gotten the best Yves had to offer, but it was most likely still up there. It let Richter know that if he ever went up against the elite of Yves, or even their wealthy noblemen, he’d be facing the medieval equivalent of Master Chief’s armor.
Randolphus’ weapons were also impressive. Each blade was augmented with a type of elemental damage, either water, fire, air or earth. It was clear to Richter that his new Companion’s arms and armor were geared to fight within Yves’ Dungeon, the Hall of Elemental Hunters. The chamberlain’s undine heritage most likely made him susceptible to fire damage, so it made a great deal of sense that he wore a fire monster’s hide to offset that. The fact that none of the enchantments gave water resistance probably meant that Randy’s parentage covered that. That same reasoning explained the enchantments on the weapons. An earth damage dagger might make short work of an air elemental.
It was the chamberlain’s whip that really stood out though.
Nether Whip of Weight Reduction
Attack: +27
Durability: 111/111
Item Class: Rare
Quality: Masterwork
Weight: 1.1 kg
Traits: Made from the sinews of a Void Stalker, this whip is incredibly strong but also unbelievably light. The magical properties also affect any unlucky enough to be ensnared
1) Ensnared targets are 50 kilos lighter in regards to being moved by the wielder
2) Soulbound (Level 2)
“How?” Richter asked simply. He was astonished by the power of his chamberlain’s armament. It was slightly insane to think that this powerhouse standing before him had been in charge of making sure the latrines were dug properly. The whip didn’t even seem to be enchanted, which meant it had been created by a high-level Crafter out of strong magical materials.
“My father wanted to ensure that I was well protected when I accompanied him into the Hall of Elemental Hunters. My weapons and armor were specifically crafted to destroy the monsters of that Dungeon. I promise you, they are deadly to almost any creature we will find here as well, my lord.”
Both Sion and Terrod were looking at Richter with questioning glances. Neither of his original Companions had the capability to identify magical items, so they were unaware of just how awesome Randolphus’ gear was. Even if they could identify the base enchantments, they still wouldn’t have all the info. Richter had only been able to see the rank and level of enchanted gear since purchasing the second tier of his Identify Enchantments Talent.
“Trust me,” the chaos seed told his two friends, “he can handle himself.” Richter turned his head to look at Randy, “So you just happened to be wearing all that even before I announced we were going into the Dungeon?”
The Spy just arched one eyebrow while the corner of his mouth twitched up.
“Good enough,” Sion said shouldering his bow. He called Sapir down to him and Alma landed on Richter’s shoulders. “Shall we make our way over to the Dungeon?”
“Actually, I have a better idea,” Richter said with a smile. He had everyone stand close to him. Arcane words spilled from his lips and mist-colored light surrounded his hands. The eight-second cast time gave his Companions plenty of time to react.
Terrod spoke with a faint amount of alarm in his voice, “My lord? My lord, what are you doing?” A wind picked up that only seemed to be felt and to affect things within five feet of Richter.
Sion sighed and said, “There’s no point worrying about it.” A mist appeared around all of them and they felt dampness on their skin. A slightly manic grin found its way onto the sprite’s face, “Besides, depending on how you look at it, this is probably the easy part.” Randolphus just gazed at his liege calmly.
Richter finished casting Dungeon Transport. Tendrils of mist rose from the ground and spun around them, increasing the density and opacity of the cloud. As the mist encircled his party faster and faster, they were obscured from view. A second later, the billowing grey air dissipated. To the amazement of the watching guards and villagers, Richter and his Companions were gone. A faint afterimage hung in the air for just a moment, a copy of the Great Seal on a miniature scale, till that faded as well.
CHAPTER 22 – Day 142 – Kuborn 32, 0 AoC
A bubble of mist light appeared in front of the Dungeon of Bloody Chaos a split second before the party appeared. The bubble burst, spilling forth grey mist across the ground. It disappeared, and the Companions were left standing in the same configuration they had been in at the village gate. They looked at each other for a moment, then took in their surroundings. In the space of an instant, they’d crossed from the village to the Dungeon mouth. The black spire topped with the golden sphere was close by.
Richter looked at all of them with a huge smile on his face, “Whew! Well, that’s a relief!”
Silence reigned for a moment until Terrod asked, “A relief, my lord?”
“Well, yeah,” Richter responded, “Where I come from, teleportation stories always have the risk of one person being left behind, or rapidly aging, or, of course, being turned inside out when you arrive.”
“Inside out?” the captain echoed, turning slightly green.
“Oh yeah! All you see is a fleshy mess with blood and other random fluids shooting in every direction. Somehow, the mouth is always left intact though, so the man can scream.” Richter adopted a falsetto voice, “Dear god, kill me! Kill me! Whyyyyy? Why would you do this, god? This is worse than the torments of the deepest pits of hel
l!”
When it was quiet again Terrod stared at Richter with a mixture of horror and disbelief. Richter gave them a reassuring smile mixed with a relieved sigh, “So, good news. That didn’t happen… Result!” He raised his hand for a high five, but didn’t have any takers.
“Not to worry,” Randolphus told Terrod in a comforting voice, “I am familiar with the spell Lord Richter used. Disembowelment almost never occurs.” He turned his head towards Richter, and his left eye winked quickly. Terrod missed the exchange, but it filled the chaos seed with joy. He had a feeling he was going to like the fact that his chamberlain was showing more of his true personality.
Sion rolled his eyes, not gullible enough to fall for his best friend’s lame gambit. It didn’t mean he wasn’t also enjoying the creeped-out look on Terrod’s face, however. Richter started leading his Companions toward the Dungeon mouth. After only a few seconds, he realized Sion and Terrod were lagging behind.
“You know, this might be a bad idea, Richter,” the captain said in concern.
“I agree,” Sion seconded. His face wasn’t nearly as concerned as Terrod’s, but he was still clearly uneasy. Sapir’s voice squeaked agreement in pixiespeak.
“I am not sure that I can adequately protect you in the Dungeon,” Terrod continued. “I advise we leave immediately.”
Randolphus looked at the men in confusion and Richter’s own brow furrowed. Both Sion and Terrod were tough as nails and had killed dozens of enemies. And that was just the body count he knew about. Why would they be hesitating now, when they were ready to go minutes ago. They weren’t acting scared exactly, more like…