by Sarah Lin
Meara's lips twitched as she tried to contain her amusement. "Something else, Bloodwraith. It can be practical, but not something you just found in a cave. Something that has more intention and meaning behind it."
"Alright, fine. No need to belabor the point. I've mastered complex necromancy, this really isn't that complicated."
"I'm sure. I was going to recommend giving her a thousand cureleaves." Her voice was completely deadpan, but she couldn't quite hide the amused glint in her eyes. Bloodwraith found himself smiling, but his mood quieted as the silence stretched.
Eventually Bloodwraith stared back at her. He searched her face for any hints of malice or regret, but found nothing. "Thank you for not making this difficult, Meara."
"Of course. There's no one else in this world who can understand what we've been through, or what we're facing. Whatever else happens, we need to stick together."
After all the lighthearted banter, Meara's words hit him heavily. There was nothing he could say for a long time. She gave him an odd expression and tilted her head to the side, eyes fixed on him intensely.
"Do you feel the same way?"
"I..." The pause extended for a long time, yet Bloodwraith found that he knew what he wanted to say. He returned her gaze. "I don't have much practice being a good person, Meara, and I don't think I really want to be. But I do want to be an ally worthy of those words. I... will work on it."
To his relief, Meara smiled. There was a hint of wryness in her expression, but a surprising amount of relief as well. "I'd have been disappointed if you'd lied to me. I don't expect you to turn into 'Bloodwraith, Friend to Orphans' or anything like that. Honestly, I think that things will work out if we just move forward together."
"I can agree to that." Bloodwraith extended his arm in her direction. "Shall we get today started?"
Chapter 20
On their way to Haral's shop, they discussed whether or not to show him the gauntlets. Ultimately it came down to the fact that they had only very vague reasons to think that there might be negative consequences, but logically he might know more about it, and Meara thought it could help her. As they entered, he handed the gauntlets back to her again.
"I swear, you come in here more than anyone I know." Haral stopped working and approached. "Here are your gloves."
He handed them over and Bloodwraith quickly pulled them on. Not only were they soft, he could feel the enchantment increasing his strength immediately. But when he didn't leave, Haral sighed.
"What is it this time? The resale room again?"
"Yes, but I'd like you to take a look at this." Meara showed him one of the gauntlets and Haral stopped completely for a moment. He took it from her hand and Bloodwraith tensed, but the smith only seemed eager to look into it.
"This is a solid piece of work. I'd say that it's the work of local dwarves, but they've basically left. Historical piece found in some crypt, then?"
"We were hoping that it might still be useful. Can you tell us more about it?"
"Well, it's in good shape, but that's pretty common for armor with a heavy magical component. I'm no expert there, but it seems high quality. I only get a few orders of this quality per year." Haral handed the gauntlet back to Meara, but kept looking at it. "Something about the style is familiar, though, I just can't quite put my finger on it."
"Good, I was hoping you might say that." Meara glanced over to Bloodwraith, indicating that he could head to the room, then turned her attention back to Haral. "Anything you can tell me about this material or style would help..."
Trusting Meara to track down other leads by whatever abstract methods she could, Bloodwraith settled for the simpler task of checking for good equipment. A small part of him hoped to stumble upon another piece of the Armor of the Tyrant in the room, but obviously that would be improbable.
No, it seemed like the selection hadn't changed too much since the last time he had been there. That made sense, given the market, but it was inconvenient. Just as he started to grow frustrated, he happened to notice a ring partially tucked under another item.
[Ring of Charisma
Armor: 0
Charisma +1
Durability: 12/25
Rarity: Very Uncommon]
Bloodwraith stared at it for a long time, trying to weigh unknown variables. On one hand, the ring would be completely useless to him in combat. Perhaps it might be useful for a merchant, and he considered buying it for Meara, but he doubted any of her skills really used "Charisma" as the boxes measured it.
The only reason he had to buy it would be to acquire another +1 item for the quest. With the gloves picked up that day, he had 4/10 pieces, and reaching the half way point was appealing. He'd checked the shop many times and knew that such items weren't exactly common, so part of him wanted to buy it immediately before someone else could. Yet it cost over an entire gold piece, and could he really afford to waste most of his money on a piece of equipment he wouldn't actually use?
While he was still going back and forth on that decision, Bloodwraith noticed something else out of the corner of his eyes. An item he had entirely disregarded the first time because it wasn't useful to him, yet it was actually rated "Very Uncommon" as well.
Moving closer, he looked over the shield more carefully.
[Guardian's Shield
Armor: 21
Magic Resistance: 2
Max Stamina +10
Vitality +1
Durability: 29/100
Rarity: Very Uncommon]
It actually was a +1 item, but he had no use for shields personally. He picked it up to test, but it felt entirely wrong in his hand, confirming his suspicions there. Yes, it was definitely of no use. To him.
He glanced at the price: 1 gold piece, 25 silver pieces. An absurdly expensive gift, surely he wouldn't waste his money on such a thing...
Different sides of him warred for a time before he decided that it was an investment. If he was going to work with Danniah in the long term, then her equipment was an asset for him, same as his own equipment. Besides, her current shield was in terrible shape. Maybe he was being irrational, but it did fit Meara's advice...
In the end, he brought the shield out of the room. Meara glanced at it, curious for just a moment before her eyes lit up in understanding. She looked like she wanted to smirk, but he glared at her and she closed her mouth, though she couldn't entirely hide the twitching of her lips.
"How long would it take to repair this?" Bloodwraith asked. Haral glanced over the shield, checking the damage, then shrugged.
"The enchantments are still solid, so it's a question of what you want. I could do a quick and dirty fix by later today. You want it fixed up nice, it'll take two or three."
"Let's... go with the latter."
Before he could think better of his kindness, Bloodwraith focused on negotiating the price. In the end he was left with a mere 26 silvers and no piece of equipment at all, but hopefully it would be worth it in the end.
As they left the shop, he glanced to Meara, who was mercifully silent on the subject. "Did you learn anything from him?"
"Just rumors and a few similar pieces. But even that helped me think about this clearer - I don't think I can just sit down and see the shape of everything, I need more to work with. Haral is going to ask around a bit, so I could get more leads from him. If I get close, I'm sure I can narrow it down with quest instinct."
"Any chance that could bring any suspicion back to us?"
"I don't see how it could. It's Haral's job to focus on armor, so a few questions won't be out of the ordinary." Meara walked closer to him and lowered her voice. "How likely to do you think it is that Daek will attack you again? He hasn't made a second attempt."
Bloodwraith shook his head. "I'm not sure. When his initial attempt failed, he might have decided that he needed something more elaborate. But I can't believe he just forgot about what happened."
"There's also the fact that he only targeted you."
&nb
sp; "Right. We're still lacking information."
They kept speaking about the matter obliquely on their way to the Adventurers Guild. Part of Bloodwraith wanted to just resolve things by confronting Daek directly, but he knew that would be foolish. There was little chance that the confrontation would end peacefully, and almost no chance that he could survive an encounter with a Level 19 fighter.
Of course, even if Daek had been Level 0, he was still the ruler of Cresthaven's underworld. It was easy to forget amid all the boxes and points, but that was a kind of power that mattered just as much as personal strength. If he wanted a chance against Daek, he'd need to think more flexibly as well...
Though Bloodwraith had a number of ideas, he didn't come up with any real plan before they reached the Guild. Inside, he found Danniah eagerly waiting beside the wall of requests. She looked so happy to see him, he was relieved that Meara hadn't made an issue of it - if he'd gone with the backup plan of just not meeting with Danniah, she would probably have been crushed.
He'd expected Meara to disappear again, but to his surprise, she stepped forward. "Danniah! How are you?"
"I'm doing great!" Danniah jumped forward to hug her. "You already know Raigar?"
"Oh, yes, we're good friends. I was going to help him choose a quest today."
Though Danniah seemed a little confused by that, she didn't press on it. Instead she chatted with Meara as they looked over the available requests. She also kept shooting glances back at Bloodwraith and blushing, which was honestly getting irritating. Getting past that stage was one of the best arguments for just having sex, as far as he was concerned.
It seemed to take longer than before, but eventually Meara chose a paper and turned back to him. Though she had been laughing and smiling while talking to Danniah, she looked completely serious now. "I am almost entirely sure that this one will have another piece of equipment. But I'm not sure about the danger. It doesn't seem high, but... it might take a while. Go prepared."
"Thanks, we'll keep that in mind."
[Quest Accepted!
Excavate the site of an ancient elven pool.
Reward: 50 silvers]
Bloodwraith frowned at the box, looked through to the paper, and discovered that it was accurate. Apparently a local historian wanted a location in a moderately dangerous region excavated, but wasn't willing to pay much for it, given the work involved. Requests like this were among the least respected and wanted in the Guild, which was why the paper was so old and yellowed.
"Is this request even still valid?"
Meara shrugged. "It may not be, but... let's just say I feel like you should put in the effort."
"Then we'll give it a shot. Are you ready to go, Danniah?"
"Of course I am!" She hefted her battered shield and moved closer to him, grinning. "This is going to be so much fun!"
Taking a deep breath, Bloodwraith desperately hoped this wasn't a mistake.
~ ~ ~
It took them until the next day to actually depart for the alleged excavation site. Most annoyingly, the Guild declared that they couldn't go alone, instead requiring adventurers with expertise on elven sites to join them. Three were available and agreed to meet them at the site itself, but that meant that the meager reward was being split even further.
10 silvers for what might be several days of dangerous work was hardly what adventurers were used to, so it was no surprise that no one had taken this quest in so long. Bloodwraith actually spent more than 10 silvers on various preparations, and considering the cost of potions and equipment repair, it might not even pay for itself. If not for Meara's recommendation, he never would have accepted the quest.
But regardless, he ended up marching out of Cresthaven toward the unprofitable site, Danniah happily skipping along beside him.
"What do you think they want with the pool? Could it be magical?"
Bloodwraith shrugged. "The request didn't say. It might have just historical significance."
"That's true, a lot of elves care about that sort of thing. But I feel like there are a bunch of lost ruins around here, so you'd think they wouldn't care unless there was something important about it."
"The reward suggests they don't care much."
"Haha, that's true!" Danniah kept talking happily, and to his surprise it wasn't frustrating or awkward. She didn't spend time staring at him, she mostly just seemed happy to be adventuring together with someone again. Reading between the lines, he thought that she had been lonely without a party of adventurers.
If she wasn't the most scintillating conversationalist, she was at least reasonable. After lifetimes finding most people intolerable, Bloodwraith could accept that. He did find himself wondering if it was possible to increase her statistics, though. Presumably ordinary people didn't receive unassigned points as he did, so perhaps certain attributes were fixed.
Curious, he examined Danniah more carefully while she kept talking.
[Name: Danniah
Race: Half-Human/Half-Dwarf
Class: Warrior
Health: 201/201
Mana: 0/0
Stamina: 157/157
Level: 8
EXP: ???
Affection: 91/100 (Passion)
Statistics:
Might: 20
Vitality: 31
Quickness: 14
Intellect: 9
Charisma: 14
Willpower: 18
Wisdom: 8
Luck: 10
Piety: 12
Skills: Defend (8), Shield Bash (4), ???
Proficiencies: Heavy Armor, Heavy Shield, Mace, ???
Inventory: ???]
Not all information was available, which didn't entirely surprise him. The box only listed skills that he knew she possessed, but she presumably had others. And he had no idea what all she was carrying in her pack, so it made sense that it would be unlisted. But it struck him as odd that the box would give her a level, but no information about EXP.
Because he wasn't able to evaluate her progress, or because she didn't collect "points" at all? The reason Raigar had been able to grow powerful so quickly was that he grew both normally and via the deaths of his enemies, finishing quests, and other arbitrary requirements. But was EXP just an approximation of development that the box gods cheated, or something else entirely?
Bloodwraith chose to entirely ignore the "Affection" section and its absurd label.
Regardless, it seemed as though Danniah had been getting stronger, and he presumed the changes were due to normal growth. Her Health and Vitality continued to be greater than his, despite his swift growth. Curiously, her "Intellect" had risen by 1 - if the number represented raw intelligence, how could such a thing be? He wasn't going to complain, in any case.
"-talking to Herena the other day and it sounds like Daek is having trouble with controlling the Cresthaven Guard. Apparently too many of them are taking bribes to supplement their pay, and that means that some of them..." Danniah trailed off as she realized he was distracted.
It wasn't his evaluation of her box, however, since he could do that easily while following a conversation. No, he had been distracted by the appearance of a box in the corner of his vision. "A wolf!" Bloodwraith tore off after it, drawing his sword.
The creature hadn't been attacking, just ranging and looking for food. He ended its life and quickly began to skin it, the motions now incredibly familiar. Danniah came up behind him with an odd expression on her face. "Uh, Raigar? Are you okay? Wolves... aren't that exciting."
"No, I..." He started to say that it was difficult to explain, but realized that in a city of mad adventurers it didn't seem quite so insane. "It's for a Guild assignment."
"You know requests like those don't pay very well, right?"
"I know. But I'll feel better having it completed."
"Aww!" Danniah's reaction made him look up sharply and he realized that he'd misjudged the conversation. "You just did it to help people? That's so nice of you!"
"I just-"
[Affection +2!
Danniah Affection: 93/100]
Bloodwraith surrendered to the momentum of it. He felt a bit bad about deceiving her even unintentionally, however. No, it wasn't guilt - it was simply rational not to give an ally the wrong impression, since Danniah needed to be carefully managed. As he finished removing the fur, he responded carefully.
"I don't want to give you the wrong idea. Most of the time I only take quests that benefit me."
"Oh, sure." Danniah nodded, unconcerned. "That's what practically everyone does all the time. I still think it's nice."
Finishing his work, Bloodwraith shoved the pelt into his bag and returned to the path. Danniah followed, looking at him curiously. "I saw you use it earlier, but I didn't realize how good your Extra-dimensional Bag is. I wish I had one like it."
"They're unquestionably convenient," Bloodwraith agreed. "You haven't bought one?"
"Oh my, no! Even the littlest ones cost at least ten gold, and as an adventurer you usually need a much bigger one!"
Were they really so expensive? He knew the magic was rather advanced - he hadn't been able to create such artifacts even in his past life - but hadn't considered just how expensive they would be to acquire. Since adventurers had always attacked him in the past, he'd had a supply of such bags for anything he'd needed.
That changed how he thought about the Forest of Beginnings. The box gods pretended to drop their own into a world with nothing, but not only did they use the Forest to give them many advantages, they handed them an extremely rare item from the start. Either they didn't understand true difficulty or they simply didn't care.
It took them a third of the day to reach the location of the site, with only a few stops for wolves or cureleaves. Though she didn't fully understand, Danniah was happy to participate in trying to locate them. Soon he'd have both of those useless quests removed from the boxes.
When they arrived, they found the entrance was a miserably run-down stone doorway. There were a great many ruins around Cresthaven, but this was one of the least impressive he'd seen. A group of three elves stood near the entrance, waiting impatiently.