Raising Allies (New Game Minus Book 2)

by Sarah Lin

  "I suppose. It could prove a worthy undead." Bloodwraith started to put it into his bag, but the skull bounced away into its lap. It hopped up his chest and began rubbing itself against his neck.

  "Aww, it likes you too!"

  "Nonsense! It merely knows I am the source of the necromantic power that gives it life."

  Danniah leaned down, patting the skull on the head, and it clattered its jaw at her. "I like this one better than Stompy. Does it have a name yet? Hmm, I think..."

  He raised a hand to cut her off. Not this time. "I have already given thought to this subject. It is not unreasonable that an undead that will be our ally for some time should have a name, but it should be an appropriate one. I dub this undead..." As he spoke, a box emerged in response to his will.

  [Rename this Undead Companion?]

  "It is named Izilthor." As soon as he finished speaking, the naming box disappeared and the new name appeared on the undead's box. The skull bounced up and down, almost as if it understood, but that was impossible. They responded to commands, not actual language.

  "Hmm." Danniah's lips twisted as she thought about it. "I guess that's not a bad name, but it's not a very cute one for such a brave little skull."

  "Undead are not meant to be cute! Izilthor means 'Great Devourer of Flesh' - one day the name will be feared across the land."

  "I guess so. Anyway, you picked it just in time."

  "Just in time?" Bloodwraith winced as more sunlight hit his tired eyes, yet he still instinctively looked toward it. As he did so, he understood what Danniah meant. As the sun rose above the horizon, it glinted off something else. It was no mirage, instead the twinkle of light reflected from metal.

  Manascas lay on the horizon.

  Chapter 9

  As they approached Manascas, they all took a moment to marvel at the massive walls surrounding the city. In times past, they had been essential for repelling raiding parties from across the desert, though now they were just a legacy of a past age. Though the walls appeared to be made of yellow sandstone, the material proved harder than sandstone and he could feel magical reinforcement rising from the foundations.

  They were a few travelers among many, waved through by the guards without any need for checking. As they entered the city Bloodwraith eagerly began to summon boxes for those they passed, but to his disappointment the majority of them were declared Level 0. Manascas might be popular with adventurers, but it was popular with many others as well. The guards were generally Level 8-10, which was a good reminder that he shouldn't cause unnecessary problems.

  With the boxes proving uninteresting, Bloodwraith had to look at the people and structures on the streets instead. The buildings were mostly old, built from the same quarries that fed the outer walls, but they were adorned with the styles of many different groups. He recognized many humans and dwarves from Bannlind, desert tribes, oasis elves, even drakekin from across the desert. It was a colorful mix of humanity that utterly annoyed him.

  "Isn't it amazing?" Danniah looked around herself eagerly. "Just being able to experience all this was worth the trip on its own!"

  "It's certainly a long way from my village, much less that monotonous little forest." Though Meara seemed less awe-struck, her eyes soaked in all the sights around her.

  "Is there anything you want to do first, Bl-Raigar?"

  "First," Bloodwraith said, "we need to find the best place in the city to sell our jackal pelts."

  Danniah groaned. "That is not what I had in mind. We came a long way, we should enjoy ourselves a bit!"

  "We can enjoy ourselves once we have our feet firmly under us. Right now we don't know what types of threats we might be facing, how dangerous the city is, or even where we'll be sleeping for the night."

  Though neither of them was enthusiastic about it, they accepted his logic. Meara said she still wasn't comfortable enough in the city to determine anything with unnatural senses, but she used the normal skills she'd learned in selling potions to suss out the city. Unlike Cresthaven, it didn't have a single adventurer district, but it did have pockets specifically catering to different groups.

  They went to one of those and found an establishment for selling such raw materials. Bloodwraith stood back and let Meara do the talking, thinking more about their financial situation. She actually got more for the wolf pelts than the jackal pelts - they might have less intrinsic mana, but they were less familiar in Manascas, whereas it seemed every single adventurer in the region was killing jackals.

  In the end they had a total of 6 gold pieces, 47 silver pieces, and change. That was before Meara started selling all the goods she'd smuggled in, since she needed more time to determine prices. They didn't flash that much around, of course, but Danniah's eyes widened when she heard.

  "That's so much... and it wasn't too impossible to gather, either..." She was unfocused and Bloodwraith wondered if she was thinking about the gold she had saved for her dream orphanage.

  "The stronger we become, the easier it will be for us to earn large amounts." He put a hand on her shoulder gently. "In time we'll be able to earn more than you would need."

  "You do remember." She smiled and put a hand over his gauntlet.

  Meara stood nearby and gave them a moment before sighing. "Alright, you two, get a room. Literally, we need to find an inn." As they headed out the door, Meara shook her head slowly. "I might be able to find us a good inn by talking to merchants, but I don't have the experience to find places to buy equipment."

  "It would be more logical to split up." Bloodwraith stopped once they were on the street, glancing in all directions. "Manascas seems relatively safe so far, and you can handle yourself. You can find an inn, we'll find equipment, and we can meet up here."

  "No need for that last part. I'll be able to find you." With that, Meara pulled up her hood and moved into the crowds. Something about her seemed to change, becoming duller and flatter, the way she acted when she was playing a merchant. Soon she vanished entirely, leaving Bloodwraith and Danniah alone.

  There were a great many shops catering to adventurers nearby, so it didn't take them long to find ones that sold equipment. Danniah wandered toward one of the larger ones that seemed to have a wide variety of adventurers moving in and out.

  "Think this is a good place to start?"

  "We might as well." Bloodwraith stepped in first, using his size to part the crowds so Danniah could follow behind him.

  They faced a large and well-stocked store, weapons and armor of all kinds shining around them. Though Danniah seemed impressed at first, Bloodwraith was more concerned with the boxes. They were unparalleled at being able to evaluate equipment like this. He started with the most common weapons, a curving blade that might have been steel.

  [Manascas Scimitar

  Base Damage: 6-8

  Durability: 75/75

  Rarity: Common]

  Frowning, Bloodwraith checked it against his equipment. Not impressive at all, but logically a smaller weapon like a scimitar would have lower damage. He looked more carefully until he found a greatsword similar to the old ones he'd used before acquiring the Lodestone Greatsword.

  [Manascas Greatsword

  Base Damage: 9-13

  Durability: 75/75

  Rarity: Common]

  Barely better than the iron weapons he'd started with, and on top of that, selling for an absurd half a gold piece. As Bloodwraith started to say something, he saw Danniah hefting a mace with a frown on her face. When he moved closer, she spoke softly.

  "All the weapons here look brand new and fancy, but... I don't know, the balance is strange and these spikes are more to look scary than anything..."

  "You're absolutely correct - the boxes agree." Bloodwraith gestured toward the door with his head. "Let us depart, I have a better idea."

  When they got back out into the street, he focused and summoned boxes only for the Levels of passersby. Just like in Cresthaven, he hoped that he could get a sense for the value of the diffe
rent shops via that information alone.

  Though he was looking for patterns, he couldn't help but compare the strength of those he saw. He saw that the largest number of adventurers were in the Level 4-8 range, but a surprising number were Level 10 or above. Just in the short time he watched, he saw several at Level 14-15 and even one Level 17. No one as strong as Daek the Knife, but the most powerful people in the city would not be wandering past him randomly.

  "Come. We have a great deal of work to do." Bloodwraith strode down the street, Danniah following him.

  "You know the best store, then?"

  "There was nowhere as obvious as Haral's shop back in Cresthaven, but I see several stores that seem to be used by adventurers of all types. Those are likely where we'll find the best offers."

  The first store they tried was less fancy and lit less brightly, but the value was obvious. While Danniah looked around by hand, Bloodwraith scanned the boxes until one leapt out at him:

  [Manascan Steel Greatsword

  Base Damage: 21-27

  Durability: 100/100

  Rarity: Uncommon]

  That was a fantastic weapon, superior to his own in terms of raw power. He wouldn't want to give up the ability to store mana in his blade, but the idea of a similar weapon made with that quality appealed.

  But the price... it wouldn't make sense to use 4 of their gold pieces on an upgrade like this. Though there were no other weapons in the shop comparable to it, clearly many weapons were made of Manascan steel. Despite the price and the quality, this was nothing truly remarkable, for Manascas.

  "This stuff is really expensive." Danniah shuffled back to him, a bit downcast. "They do have some basic armor that looks better than mine, though, even back when it was new. If we spent most of our gold, I could get new armor, but is that worth it?"

  "No." When Bloodwraith saw Danniah look to him uncertainly, he hastened to explain. "The local economy will be glutted with basic equipment, so it's inefficient to upgrade regularly. We need to spend our money on equipment that will last, which means looking for single valuable pieces."

  "Oh, so it's sort of a treasure hunt! That could be fun..."

  They looked through several stores, one of them selling used equipment like Haral's. Though he saw a number of decent items, Bloodwraith didn't purchase anything. Mostly, he was frustrated by the hefty cost of everything. Part of him had been hoping their money would be enough to pay for an overall upgrade, helping them cope in the difficult city, but that was clearly a fantasy.

  Though it had been some time, he remembered fighting Daek very clearly. The other man had been far faster than him, an overwhelming force that he could only deal with via strategy and relying on others. It had been a frustrating experience that he didn't want to repeat. In his old life as a lich or in his new life as a barbarian, he preferred to strike with overwhelming force.

  While looking through a specialized jeweler's wares, something notable caught his eye:

  [Ring of Great Might

  Might +5

  Durability: 25/25

  Rarity: Rare]

  He had never seen a piece of equipment that the boxes gave such a high statistical rating before. That was what he needed - or perhaps an equivalent ring for speed. They had rings for many different statistics set in a locked and reinforced case and he could only imagine what it would feel like to wear the whole set.

  Each one cost at least 8 gold pieces, however. Getting a full set was impossible for now, but if they saved their money a little longer, he could afford one of the most useful. Bloodwraith thought back to the prices Meara had negotiated, trying to calculate how quickly they could earn enough.

  While he was focused on that, however, his eyes happened to fall across something else. A dark helm he liked the style of, with only a narrow slit for the eyes. It was too small for him and so he nearly dismissed it, but then he realized that it was about Danniah's size. Though he was still more interested in one of the rings, he examined it more carefully anyway.

  [Vicious Helm

  Armor: 17

  Might +3, Vitality +1, Willpower +1, Charisma -3

  Durability: 90/90

  Rarity: Rare]

  What a curious helm. He wasn't entirely certain how the enchantments on it could reduce one's "Charisma" - he'd read the description of that statistic, but still wasn't entirely sure how it worked. However, it did seem clear that Charisma wasn't very important for warriors like Danniah, so its primary disadvantage was hardly crippling.

  The price was over five gold pieces, however, and it wasn't a truly exceptional item. Besides, Danniah probably wouldn't like the imposing design. Bloodwraith turned away from it and continued to browse, but found he couldn't get the helm out of his mind.

  Was it really an inferior item, or had he just convinced himself so that he could buy equipment for himself? Though Bloodwraith was no longer uncomfortable thinking of Danniah as his lover and ally, he still had a strong instinct for self-preservation. She had done just fine with her current equipment, after all, and she usually took a less dangerous role in combat.

  But then he thought back to how she had almost died while fighting Daek's men. Bloodwraith walked back to the helm and stared down at it, slowly rationalizing the decision. He wanted Danniah alive and healthy, and she would always be fighting at his side, so spending almost everything they had on her was still rational. Besides, she'd given a greater sum to purchase his equipment.

  Meanwhile, Danniah was cheerfully looking through maces and shields across the store. None of them were rated higher than "Uncommon", however, so he knew that he'd made the right choice. Bloodwraith purchased the helm, tried not to wince at the loss of money, and brought it over to her.

  "This is the best item we've seen today, within our means." Bloodwraith presented it to her and Danniah blinked at it.

  "Isn't that a little small for you? And I thought you needed to wear all your equipment because of the enchantment..."

  "No, it's for you."

  "Me?" Danniah's eyes widened and she took the helm as if afraid it might bite her. "I don't know, it looks kind of scary... you wouldn't be able to see my face at all."

  "But feel the power of the enchantment. And we already know what you look like, we don't need..." Bloodwraith suspected that might be the wrong direction to go and hastily changed course. "Our communication is good enough in combat that it's more important to protect yourself. We'll have plenty of time without our helms later."

  "I suppose you're right." Danniah tugged off her helm and handed it to him before carefully lowering the new one over her head. Soon after she perked up, though he had to imagine her cheerful expression. "Wow, I feel stronger! You were right, that's a great enchantment!"

  She put her initial helm back on and turned the new one over in her hands as they left the shop. Her enthusiasm made him feel a little better about his decision, though his eyes lingered on the rings on the way out. What he needed to do was acquire his undead army again and conquer a kingdom. Then he would have more than enough money to purchase everything both of them needed.

  Just as Danniah started to ask about Meara, they both noticed her leaning against a wall outside. She had been staring at nothing, but she smiled when they got closer. "Well! Isn't that scary!"

  "I didn't pick it!" Danniah awkwardly played with the helm a while before stuffing it under one arm. "But it's a really good helm. It cost a lot, but hopefully I'll be able to use it for a long, long time."

  "Oh, it wasn't a bad thing. You and Bloodwraith are more of a matching set, now - I feel like I need a scary helm or I won't fit in. But I doubt Bloodwraith would spend all our money on a gift for me."

  Even had he been unable to see Danniah's face, Bloodwraith would have known her exact expression based on how she squirmed. "Meara, don't make such a big deal of it. Did you find an inn?"

  "Many, but one in particular is a good match of price and privacy." Leaving aside the teasing, Meara rapidly led them through the st
reets of Manascas to her chosen location. "I don't know that we can afford getting two rooms, but I have enough to do that I can leave you two alone."

  That was a practical choice, especially given that they had far more valuable equipment to purchase than they had money. Though Bloodwraith felt it was a fair trade-off, he wasn't sure about Danniah. When he glanced down at the short woman, however, she was yawning.

  "I don't mind if it's you, Meara. You're like family. Besides, we've been walking around all day. I just want to sleep."

  "Agreed," Bloodwraith said. "Better to stick close together in any case."

  Meara nodded, her serious expression giving way to another smirk. "So you don't mind if it's me, Danniah? That sentence is open to a great many interpretations..."

  Danniah groaned and slumped into his side. "Ugh. Can you find a helm that makes it so I can't hear her? I'm too tired for teasing..."

  Bloodwraith chuckled and put his arm around Danniah's shoulders, supporting her. He glanced at Meara, but she just smiled at them affectionately and let it go. The three of them headed to their inn as the sun set on Manascas.

  ~ ~ ~

  Though the two beds in their room were a bit cramped, they all slept soundly. Bloodwraith woke up first, entirely refreshed, and eased from under Danniah's arm to let her sleep longer. He headed into the main room of the inn and spoke to some other travelers. From them, he learned that while Manascas had a thriving Adventurers Guild, even more skilled travelers focused solely on the Red Sands Arena.

  Apparently it wasn't all grand combat events - there were smaller competitions every single tenday. Only the winners of many qualifying events were eligible to compete in the more significant events that granted the real prizes. Though Bloodwraith was not interested in prizes or notoriety, not yet, he was glad to learn that even the smaller competitions paid the winners.