by Sarah Lin
[Gauntlets of the Tyrant (enhanced)
Armor: 11
Might +2, Quickness +1, Vitality +1
Durability: 50/50
Rarity: Rare
NOTE: This item is part of a unique set.]
"Excellent work, Gharavi." He quickly took them from her, testing the feeling. "These will do nicely."
"They feel stronger, but is the improvement good enough? Are there any conflicts?"
"This will more than do, considering that I'm not likely to find any other armor of this quality." Bloodwraith frowned as several other boxes appeared in his vision. "It does seem that I will lose the enchantment gained from wearing the complete set while the enchantments are unbalanced. But we can simply finish them all, right?"
Gharavi smiled and rolled her shoulders. "Let's get to work."
They moved through every piece of his equipment, strengthening the enchantments on each. Since the monsters of this floor were so strange, they needed to use different components, and a few of the resulting bonuses weren't exactly what he would have wanted, but in the end his equipment had received a significant upgrade.
Better, when he wore the entire set, a new box appeared:
[Set complete: Armor of the Tyrant (enhanced)
So long as you wear all pieces of this armor and no equipment with conflicting magic, you will receive the following bonuses:
Might +2
Vitality +2
Quickness +2
Physical Resistance +15%
Magical Resistance +15%
Bonus to Intimidation +75%]
That was improved as well. Bloodwraith flexed his fingers, feeling the new strength flowing through them. This was a suit of armor he could be proud of.
Once, that sentiment would have made him ashamed, but he was far past such weak thoughts now. Instead he noted that with enchantments, his Might was a truly massive 91. Recalling how much the box gods liked round numbers, he wondered if anything would occur when he reached 100, but he suspected that only natural statistics counted. Disappointing, but he would have to set such goals aside for now.
Completely satisfied, Bloodwraith instead focused on Gharavi. "We've done excellent work. What about your custom staff? Can we finish it now?"
"My staff?" Gharavi blinked at him as if she hadn't been expecting it.
"Yes, I know you want to replace that wand. It would be only fair if I could help you improve your equipment as well."
"Thank you for offering, but... none of these components will do exactly. If I need to create a completely new staff, I'd like to do more than just replace my old one. In theory I should be able to create one that is substantially better than the old one was."
"An admirable goal. Let me know if I can support you in it."
Gharavi gave a strange smile and shook her head. "Let's hold off on it for now. But do you think we can create a cloak for me?"
"We can certainly try." Bloodwraith began sorting through all the strange items they had discovered, choosing those that had the most potential for spellcasting. Gharavi surprised him by bringing out the jar with the fragments of the Fellsilvered body - apparently she had been slowly working on them to neutralize the Outsider control.
In the end they needed to call Meara over to help, but they were able to create a new cloak for Gharavi, a striking silver fur that curled around her body with a mind of its own. Its box was equally impressive:
[Fellsilver Cloak
Armor: 2
Magic Resistance: 10
Intellect +3, Quickness +2
Durability: 50/50
Rarity: Custom (Rare-level quality)]
Bloodwraith nodded approvingly. "That should be quite an improvement. Do you think we can improve the enchantments on your armor?"
"I think the risk of conflicts will be too high." Gharavi smiled and sat down opposite him. "Let's just work on your sword for now."
Though his offer had been completely sincere, Bloodwraith wasn't about to turn down the opportunity to upgrade one of his oldest pieces of equipment. The Lodestone Greatsword had been an excellent find back in Cresthaven and had served him well, but even after improvements, he was beginning to see its limitations.
For that reason, they set about creating an entirely new weapon. They had already created the basics, a greatsword that the boxes had declared Very Uncommon quality. But it had yet to receive enchantments and Bloodwraith hoped that they could do better than that.
They fused together all the most valuable components along with a significant chunk of their remaining money. The process left both of them drained of mana, but when Bloodwraith laid eyes on his new weapon's box, he knew it had been worth it:
[Fellsword
Special Traits: Might +5, Class Skills +25%, Spell Penetration
Base Damage: 21-29
Durability: 100/100
Mana Capacity: 0/16
Rarity: Custom (Rare-level quality)]
It was stronger than he had hoped and some of the traits looked promising to him. On top of that, the weapon was even aesthetically pleasing: the steel was dark black with silvery lines of enchantment flowing from the edges like gentle waves.
Bloodwraith stood up to experiment with his new weapon. The grip felt perfect in his hand, and when he swung it...
[WARNING: This item cannot be used effectively with a character level lower than 20.]
The sword dropped to the ground like it was made of lead. No, he could probably wield a sword made of pure lead without much difficulty, given his strength. Yet the sword handled as if it had a drunken mind of his own, refusing to cooperate - the power of the boxes themselves prevented him from using it.
"That is very strange." Gharavi came up to stand beside him, examining the blade. "It's like there are conflicting enchantments, yet I considered that... does anything seem off about it?"
"You did fine - the boxes are behind this." Bloodwraith sighed and slid his new greatsword into his Extra-dimensional Bag. "You see, they divide equipment into different 'tiers' of power, and those tiers are enforced. The weapon we created is so powerful that it was put into the third tier, which I can't use at my present Level."
"Rather inconvenient. Are you likely to reach this third tier soon?"
"No, and given how the Level requirements increase, I'm not likely to reach it at all. Not during our present conflict." Getting the sword fully put away, Bloodwraith instead focused on Gharavi and smiled. "But it is still an excellent piece of work and I'm sure I will use it in time. What would you like to do next?"
"Take a break, honestly." Gharavi walked away to one of the walls, but she glanced over her shoulder at him, so Bloodwraith joined her.
For a while they just sat against the wall together, letting the buzz of enchantment fade from their minds. Even though the others were within sight, they almost felt alone. Izzy had stopped testing her new leg, Meara was sleeping, and Danniah was entirely focused on her training. Though the silence stretched between them, it didn't feel awkward.
Eventually Gharavi reached into her bag and pulled out a glass bottle with a thin stem. He started to examine it more closely, but she cut him off. "Don't bother - it's not a potion, it's just bloodberry cordial." She took a drink and then closed her eyes in bliss. "They drank this near where my tribe lived and I haven't tasted it in a very long time. I was saving this one."
"This isn't much of a special occasion."
"It's good enough." Gharavi handed him the bottle and watched him closely. Since it would have been impolite to ignore it, Bloodwraith took a sip, then another.
"Sweet, but with a little bite. I like it." Had he still been a lich, it would have tasted like nothing to him, not even pure water. How had he abandoned so many of the simple pleasures of life?
"I'm glad." Gharavi took the bottle back and took a sip of her own.
They traded the bottle back and forth a few times before Bloodwraith began to feel the silence wasn't as comfortable as before. He searched for som
ething to say and his eyes happened to fall on Gharavi's box. Every since he had met her, it had stated [Race: Half-Orc/Half-???]. He hadn't particularly cared, since all fleshly races were roughly the same to him, but now he found himself curious.
"Sorry if this is an improper question, but... the boxes say you are only half orc. What's the other half?"
"Human. The usual case of captives taken in raids."
Bloodwraith looked at her sharply. "You spoke of your father and your tribe earlier. If you do not wish to answer, that is fine, but do not insult me with obvious lies."
In response Gharavi smiled and he wondered if it had been a test. "You're right - it wasn't like that. But do you really want to know?"
"It makes no difference to me either way, but I would like to know you better." Also, he wanted the "???" indicator in her box to disappear, but Bloodwraith had a feeling he should keep that part to himself.
"Then I would be glad to tell you the truth, because I have told very few people and it weighs on me. My mother... was an Aesidh."
He simply looked at her. "How did that occur?"
"Heh, I should have known you would react that way." One corner of Gharavi's smile twitched up. "If I was Meara, I think I would have to make some quip about where babies come from."
"But you are not, and I do not think you are discussing this subject for the sake of quips."
"No."
Gharavi was silent for a time, drinking from the bloodberry cordial and then handing it to him. While he drank, she began to speak.
"I wasn't quite truthful with you earlier. Everything I said about my tribe being manipulated by the Earthians was true, but I had other reasons for suspecting Outsiders. I barely knew my mother, and I didn't determine that she was Aesidh until much later, but I knew that she was not of this world. That was part of what drove my father to his research."
"Was she of the Mirror Court?"
"I'm fairly certain she wasn't. From what I've pieced together, she was simply wandering through our world. Her relationship with my father... I think it was almost entirely a whim for her. Like so many Aesidh, she was seeking amusement in any form. So she spent some time with brutish orcs, and in the process I was conceived. I remember her visiting a few times, dangling me from one leg like I was an odd toy, then she lost interest and never returned."
That was a rather heavy story and Bloodwraith had no idea how to respond. If he had known that asking about a trivial item on her box would lead to this, he might have reconsidered. But then again... it seemed to be doing Gharavi some good and he didn't mind learning more about her. He handed her the cordial and she took a drink before she continued.
"The tribe didn't care about my mother, but I did. I always felt like I didn't belong here, yet based on my memories of my mother, I knew that I would never be accepted in her world." Gharavi turned to look at him with a strange smile on her lips. "But then I found you and your allies. In this group, my history is barely even remarkable."
"That is true. It is irrelevant to your worth."
"Heh. You do like taking that dry tone." Gharavi leaned closer to him, catching his gaze with hers and refusing to look away. "But I know you aren't just dry intellect. I've seen that you can be more with Danniah. Is... is your relationship an exclusive...?"
He stared at her, again wishing that he hadn't asked the question, but it was too late. "What exactly are you asking?"
"Yes, what are you asking?" Danniah stood not far away, staring between them with a flat expression. Gharavi winced and immediately pulled back.
"Danniah, I... I would never try to do something behind your back. I just... wanted to know if your relationship was exclusive. Over time Bloodwraith has come to matter very much to me, and I... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up."
"But you did. And to be honest, I'm not sure." Danniah closed her eyes for a while, then spoke slowly. "It's not like I asked him to marry me. I'm... not sure what I feel about it. But... I like having you here, Gharavi, and I see you two have a good relationship. Would it... be a bit selfish to try to keep him to myself?"
"Really?" Gharavi's eyes widened... and then she suddenly hunched over, gripping her head with both hands. "Gods... are they still manipulating us? I thought I had utterly destroyed the connection the Outsiders developed, but... is this just one of the effects Raigar chose?"
Danniah's expression fell and she wrapped her arms around herself. "I... I don't want to think like that. I was just starting to feel like I could accept it, but now... the idea that they can change our world so much... I feel cold and hollow..."
Bloodwraith stared as the situation spiraled wildly out of control. His gaze shifted away from them and he found himself locking eyes with Meara. She had sat up across the room and now stared at him. As they maintained eye contact, she reached up and tapped her forehead - somehow, that was sufficient.
"Enough melodrama!" Bloodwraith rose to his feet and smashed one metal fist into his other gauntlet. "What we know for an absolute certainty is that Outsiders are manipulating our world and that all of us want to stop them."
Both Danniah and Gharavi turned to look at him. If they weren't exactly hopeful, at least the hollow expressions were fading away.
"I have no idea whether or not the boxes are manipulating our relationships and it might not be possible to know. At least, it's not possible now. But if we defeat the Outsiders and seize control of the system, then we can eradicate any manipulations. I propose that until we do so, we institute a moratorium on all relationship questions. The relationship that matters is that we are allies."
Across the room, he saw Meara smirk. Gharavi was nodding thoughtfully, while Danniah gave a huge, relieved smile. "That sounds so much better than getting into a really painful conversation."
"And you're right that we have higher priorities," Gharavi said. Her gaze turned to Danniah. "I don't mean any offense by any of this. I'm happy to fight alongside you for now and we can return to the subject once we're certain that we can have the conversation as rational adults."
"Great!" Danniah grinned at Gharavi, then her expression faltered. "Uh, would it be better if Bloodwraith and I didn't... do anything anymore? You know, to be fair?"
"I wouldn't do that to you. There's no need for complicated agreements: we continue as we were until we've defeated the Outsiders."
At that moment, Izzy popped up between the two of them, pulling both into a hug. "I'm glad you're friends again! I'm not sure what was going on before but it's much nicer when everyone is being friends!"
The two of them patted Izzy on the head and it was clear that the dramatic confrontation was over. More importantly, Bloodwraith was certain that the warmth between Danniah and Gharavi was legitimate. He wasn't sure exactly what had just happened, but he felt like it was a victory over the boxes.
Though Izzy was running around hugging everyone, Bloodwraith just patted her on the back once before moving away. He walked across the room and sat down beside Meara.
Both of them eased back against the wall and said nothing.
Chapter 21
After the dramatic encounters of the day before, Bloodwraith was not prepared for a giant cube of living acid.
The irritating thing was that the creature was potentially very dangerous despite being so fundamentally stupid. Its acid seemed to be quite potent and its surface was almost completely clear, so they might have run directly into it if Izzy hadn't smelled that something was wrong ahead. But it was still a giant cube of liquid moving along dungeon corridors... he couldn't imagine how such a creature could exist naturally and if he was a wizard capable of creating something so elaborate, he had more efficient ideas.
In any case, it didn't prove to be much of a problem once they were alerted to it. Gharavi rained spells down on it from a distance and for once all elements seemed effective. Though the cube surged toward them, it wasn't fast enough to engulf them and in any case physical weapons also seemed effective. Eventually it collapsed into
a pool of acid.
[Victory! You received 9150 EXP.]
He would certainly take the additional power, but he was growing eager to finally escape this dungeon and return to the conflict outside. Though he couldn't increase their pace too much or risk serious injury, he kept them moving through the third floor as fast as reasonable.
Eventually the random walls gave way to a circular room of blue stone. Remembering the last one, they glanced at each other, but in the end they had no choice but to enter. They had exhaustively searched the dungeon prior to this point and there was simply no other way to go.
As expected, as soon as they entered, the doors closed and a blue pillar of stone emerged in the center. As it rose, Bloodwraith glanced at the walls, noting that their patterns looked like shields. The knight statue that appeared from the stone appeared almost identical to the statue from the red room, but he had a feeling it would operate on different principles.
[Defeat me to proceed!]
But not too different.
"Let's begin with a cautious experiment." Bloodwraith sent a command to one of his skeletons, which marched forward and swung at the statue.
Nothing. The knight statue didn't lose so much as a single piece of dust.
"Hmm. Let's escalate carefully then and see if there are any patterns."
But the only pattern was that the statue was impervious to their efforts. Danniah tried a light mace swing and then her flame technique, but neither did any good. Izzy spent a while gnawing on an arm before giving up and sulking. Gharavi tried the conventional elements and also some sort of wind and stone-based spells, but the statue remained impervious.
With all the obvious options removed, they stood back and just stared at the statue. Danniah looked back over her shoulder at him. "Maybe it's another puzzle thing? Like we have to do something other than just attack it?"
"Possibly, but the box gods like violence." Bloodwraith walked around to examine the statue more carefully, looking for any anomalies that might offer a hint or serve as a weak point. While he did, Meara went to the opposite door.