by Shawn Kass
Looking around the room, Anna saw the warriors, mages, and rangers from the various clans, and in each case she noticed that they were either writing down notes from the information on the board, or they were talking to someone next to them, probably from their own clan. Few, if any, seemed to be paying attention to the woman speaking in the front of the room, and at one point, she even saw a couple leave the Pub towards the direction of the shops in town. From what she could tell, it looked like Sam was correct, which left her with a decision.
Anna furrowed her brow as she dropped her gaze to the floor and thought over their situation. After a long moment, she let out a sigh and said, “Okay, saying that I might go with you, how would we proceed?”
Smiling, Sam said, “Same as before. We make sure to stock up on food and supplies because we don’t know what we’ll encounter once we are inside. Then, we want to make it over to the blacksmith and see if there are any weapons or armor left, or if he can make anything for us from the items we picked up in the forest, cave, and mountains. I personally have a few questions for Madame Esmerelda that I would like answered, and I think it would be a good idea for you to check in with your mother to see if she has anything she could give us to help us succeed, or at the very least, survive.”
“I can ask, but I don’t know if she’ll be willing to do much. My mother hates the Tower and what it’s done to Anozira.”
“It’s worth asking her, though, don’t you think? I mean, you are her daughter, after all.”
“I guess. How long do we have to do all of this?”
“Not long. Kat said she wanted to head out in two hours. The girl, Raven, will run out of magic otherwise.”
“That’s not long at all. I don’t know if we can get to all of those places before then. How much longer is this meeting?”
“I don’t know, but we could divide and conquer. How about I stay here and find out what I can from the Reckoners and these other people while you go to pick up the supplies and talk to your mother?”
Nodding, Anna said, “Okay, then where should we meet up?”
“At the Tower. Just make sure you are there in under two hours. I don’t want to leave you behind.”
“Okay, what about you?”
“I’ll run over to the blacksmith’s shop and Madame Esmerelda’s as soon as this is done.”
“Excellent,” began Anna, and as she stood up, she added, “Okay, I better get going.”
Holding up his hand, Sam said, “Wait, what about Jeva and his people? Are they taken care of?”
Kneeling back down, Anna said, “Yes, the mayor is setting them up with a place to stay now, and Doctor Brown is already working on their injured. He said you made it just in time for Peter, by the way, and that he will make a full recovery.”
“I know,” admitted Sam. “The poor kid didn’t look too good when I first got there, but after the doctor gave him the flower, he seemed to be cured.”
“Jeva and his people will take a while to acclimate, but given some time, I think they’ll do well here. With their backgrounds in the military, the mayor is even considering hiring them on as the city’s guard.”
“That sounds great,” said Sam. Then as the thought struck him, he asked, “Say, do you think Mal would like to come with us? I mean, he did pretty good with us out there on the mountain. Maybe he can help with the Reckoners.”
Shaking her head, Anna said, “It’s a nice thought, but I think he is too busy right now helping Jeva and the rest of his people. Besides, I don’t think it would be good for anyone if something happened to him inside that Tower, and there is no way we can guarantee his safety.”
Nodding, Sam said, “Okay, I was just thinking the more the merrier, but you have a point. He hasn’t spent as much time with us, and he might not be ready for what we find inside.”
Glancing about the room at the other people, Anna said, “If that is all, then I should probably head out. It is going to take a while to get all of the supplies and talk to my mother.”
“Okay, see you at the Tower entrance.”
As Anna left, Sam returned his focus toward the stage and tuned back into the discussion. The first thing that he noticed was that the names of the monsters the Reckoners had encountered in the Tower had been replaced with a list of traps. As he had with the list of monsters, Sam recognized several of the traps on the list from his experience in other games. The pit of spikes and swinging guillotine were pretty common, as were the giant bolder and wall arrows, but the raging silver fire was a new one. As he listened into the conversation, he learned that there was a room with a circle of glowing runes on the ground. If someone found themselves in this room, they needed to run as fast as they could to get into the circle because that was only place which would be safe once the trap was activated. The runes, apparently, created a safe zone, like a dome or a bubble, while the walls, floor, and ceiling erupted with a blast of fire. Kat said that they had tried to deactivate it a couple of times but had never found a way around it, and they believed the room to be enchanted by some sort of magic.
From the middle of the crowd, a large brute of a man asked, “So what are we supposed to do? We can’t all fit inside that circle.”
“Simple,” said Kat. “We don’t go in there. After hours of deliberation, we have come up with a route which avoids as many of the traps as possible, so rooms like this one and the Achilles Hallway won’t be an issue.”
Sam noticed that when she mentioned the hallway, several people in attendance visibly shuddered at its name, and he made a mental note to ask someone later about what could be in there to cause such a reaction.
The meeting went on for a little while longer until the point where Sam honestly began to worry about the time and contemplated leaving so that he could get things done before the official meet up. Eventually, however, Kat wound down her presentation and stated that she would be available at the pub for the next hour to answer questions before she began to walk over to the Tower. Taking this as his cue, Sam stood up and caught her attention. When she lifted an eyebrow
questioningly, he gave her a sharp nod to signal that he would join the Reckoners for this adventure. Once she smiled her understanding, he quickly turned and headed for the door.
He didn’t have a watch so he knew measuring out exactly two hours would be impossible, but he figured that if he went directly to the blacksmith and Madame Esmerelda’s, he ought to be able to make it back to the Tower in time. The only problem was he needed to decide which one to head to first.
Looking back over his shoulder, more towards the gear people carried rather than to the people themselves, he figured that there would be a number of people attempting to go to the blacksmith’s shop. Therefore, he made that his first priority and left Madame Esmerelda for later. Turning up the street, he set off at a light jog.
It only took him a few minutes to reach the shop, and as Sam approached the door, he heard the familiar sounds of a hammer coming from inside. Entering, he said in friendly greeting, “Good afternoon, Kip,” but to his surprise, not only did the blacksmith not seem to hear him, but the entire lobby of the shop seemed to be packed with people. Looking around, Sam spotted a few faces he recognized from the meeting, people who he assumed had sneaked out early, but a number of them were people he had never seen before. Those that were new to him, however, each had a clan pin attached to their clothes, and he recognized nearly all of those.
Easing his way around several people, Sam slowly made his way up to the counter and passed those who seemed to be idly standing around or checking out the armor and weapons which were hanging off the walls. As he did so, Sam heard a couple of the men ask one another who he was and what kind of sword they thought he carried. Rather than turn around to answer their queries, Sam ignored them and kept on task.
When Kip set his hammer down and plunged his latest metalwork into the nearby trough of water causing a plume of steam to rise up, he finally took notice of Sam and said, “Hey there, Sam.
Is Anna with you?”
Hoping that acknowledgement would get him a few favor points, Sam answered, “No, Sir. Anna is picking up some other supplies for us.”
With a grim frown on his soot-covered face, the blacksmith stepped over and asked quietly, “You two aren’t planning to go into the Tower with the rest of this bunch, are you?”
Reluctantly, Sam shrugged and nodded before he admitted, “I’m afraid we are. The Reckoners lost one of their clan members in there, and we felt like we should help them.”
Leaning in so that the rest of his patrons didn’t overhear, Kip said, “Look, I think it’s great how you have been doing everything with Anna to help out the townsfolk, here. I mean, I heard about Peter Kirkland being up and out of bed already. It’s a miracle, is what that is, but this,” gesturing with his chin towards those behind Sam, “this isn’t your business. Let the clans take care of themselves. I don’t want anything bad to happen to you two in there, and trust me, everything in that place is bad.”
Taking a deep breath, Sam said, “I know, but that’s why we have to go. The Reckoner who is in there is a girl. She’s new to their group, but she doesn’t deserve to get stuck in there or killed, and if there is something we can do to help, I figure we have to try.”
Shaking his head, the blacksmith stood back up and said, “You’ve got a big heart, Sam. Just don’t let it lead you into something you’re not ready for.”
“I don’t plan on it, Sir. That’s why I came to see you. I was hoping you might be able to help Anna and me out so that we are at less of a risk in there.”
Glancing around his shop, Kip said, “I don’t think I have anything better than what you’ve got for weapons, but you two should probably consider some armor. I’ve got a few pieces left around here, but they’re fairly basic.”
“I saw them,” began Sam, “But I was hoping you might be able to make us something a bit more unique if we brought you the right materials.”
Leaning in once again, Kip asked, “What did you bring me?” When Sam pulled out a few of the items he had gotten from the wolves including their teeth and bones, the blacksmith looked them over and said, “These are good quality, but there isn’t much I can do with them on their own.”
“What about these?” asked Sam as he set down the tusk he had gotten from one of the wild boars in the forest.
Picking it up, Kip examined it quickly and said, “Same thing. I could make you each an accessory with this stuff, but that’s about it.”
Looking into his sack, Sam spotted his big prize, and as he pulled it out, he asked, “What about this?”
Even before the yeti’s hide had touched the counter, Sam saw that the blacksmith’s eyes were twinkling with the excitement of a schoolboy, and his hands reached out to grab the soft white fur.
“Where did you get this?”
“Up in the mountains,” replied Sam.
“Do you know what this is?”
“I think so. I had to take down a rather large beast to get my hands on it.”
Wide-eyed, Kip stared at him and then back at the fur in his hands for a second before he asked with a low stutter, “You…you took down a yeti?”
Nodding, Sam said, “Yeah, we didn’t have much of a choice with everything that was happening up there.”
Swallowing hard, Kip said, “If you beat one of them, then…well let’s just say you have a better chance than most of surviving that infernal Tower out there.”
Not knowing what else to say, Sam responded, “Thanks,” before he gestured towards the remains of the yeti and asked, “So, do you think you can make anything out of this?”
Looking back at the fur, he breathed a reverentsounding, “Yes. I can do something for you with this.” Then looking up to meet Sam’s gaze, Kip asked, “Will this be just for you, or for Anna as well?”
“Both of us, if possible.”
“Okay, I think there’s enough here for each of you.” Then looking down at the bones, teeth, and tusks on the counter, he asked, “You want me to use these, too?”
“Sure, I mean, whatever you can do to make the best. In fact, I have more of those if you want.”
Holding out his one empty hand, the other not letting go of the yeti hide, Kip said, “Give me whatever else you have, and I’ll see what I can do.”
Opening his sack, Sam began emptying its contents by pulling out all of the teeth, bones, tusks, and other random loot and items he had gathered. All that was left inside by the time he finished was a sleeping Tezukayoshi, his gold, and the few supplies they hadn’t used while on the mountain.
Taking it all, the blacksmith said, “Just give me a few minutes,” before he turned around and headed for his workbench.
Setting the yeti fur down on his workbench, Kip took a few moments to spread it out evenly and place the teeth, bones, and tusks on it in what appeared to be strategic and planned locations. The process took longer than Sam expected, but considering the results of Kip’s work on the spider sword, Sam wasn’t about to say anything. His silence, however, was put to the test when, upon finishing his placement of all the items Sam had given him, Kip picked his hammer and began to repeatedly smash it into the items with a force that seemed likely to break the workbench itself.
Nine blows later, Kip stopped swinging his hammer and set it down. With a huge smile on his face, he lifted up his work and brought the items over to Sam, saying, “I think these will suit you two quite well.”
Looking down at the material he laid out before him, Sam focused on craftsmanship and found the description he knew would be there.
Abominable cloak, Lv: 10 armor, +17 to defense, +50% resistance to fire, +100% resistance to ice “You two should feel much safer wearing these,” said the blacksmith, and then pointing to his craftsmanship, he added, “As you can see, I used the bones, teeth, and tusks you gave me to give it more of a fixed shape and to increase its durability.”
Considering the fact that he knew none of the other armor in the store had stats even close to this, Sam said, “Wow! This is amazing. You did some really great work on these.”
Nodding, the blacksmith said, “Thank you. I have to admit, this is some of my finest work.”
A little nervous, since Sam had already given the man his honest reaction, he asked, “What, um, what do I owe you?”
“Two thousand” replied the blacksmith, before he added, “Each.”
“Two thousand each!” exclaimed Sam. “What about a deal? I mean, you couldn’t have made this stuff without me bringing you the supplies. Doesn’t that count for something?”
“Aye, it does, and so does the fact that you’re working with Anna to help folks, that’s why I didn’t charge you six thousand for the two of them.”
Sighing, Sam reached for his sack and complained, “This is going to cost me just about everything I have.”
“If you would like, I could offer to sell it to one of these other fine folks here in the shop. I’m sure they would be willing to pay me full price for it.”
Grumbling under his breath, Sam said, “No, I don’t want you to do that. I just hoped it wouldn’t cost so much.”
“I’ll tell you what,” said Kip with a knowing grin. “The next time you get some quality materials, bring them right over here, and I’ll make you something else. Then you can sell me back whatever you have, and you’ll get the new gear cheaper in trade.”
Having never been a fan of the escalating economics he had encountered in most of these games, Sam shook his head and said, “You drive a hard bargain, but you’ve got yourself a deal. We’re going to need something while we’re in there, and I can’t deny the quality of your work.” Handing over the requested amount of gold, Sam was sure he saw the blacksmith flash a micro expression of greed, but it was so quickly replaced by a smile that Sam felt he might have imagined it.
Transaction complete, Kip pocketed the gold and pushed the cloaks towards Sam.
Wanting to surprise Anna with hers, Sam chose not to p
ut his on yet and pushed both cloaks into his sack as he headed for the door. In doing so, he noticed the large ball of lizard scales, which was actually Tezukayoshi, deep inside the sack open a single eye and watch what he was doing. Sam sent him a thought saying he was sorry for waking him and then closed the sack and stepped outside.
Back out in the sun, Sam considered his options. He didn’t know exactly how much time he had remaining, but his best estimate was that the walk over here combined with the time he spent in the blacksmith’s must have used up about half of his time. That meant that he could really only afford one more stop. Considering for a moment his idea of visiting Sekuri to show off Tezukayoshi’s growth, Sam dismissed the idea in favor of his original goal of visiting Madame Esmeralda and learning about his skill and level increases. The way he figured it, any information he could get about his own capabilities at this point was much more valuable since it could prove the difference between whether or not he survived the Tower. Taking the most direct path to get to the psychic’s place, Sam stepped between two buildings and began to cut through the alley.
A dozen steps in, however, Sam was suddenly stopped by a wicked sounding voice asking, “Where do you think you are you running off to in such a hurry?”
Turning around, Sam saw that it was one of the men from the lobby of the blacksmith’s shop. As he entered the light, the tall Hispanic man looked to be wearing a matching set of brand new black leather armor, and whether consciously or not, the man’s hand casually rested on the hilt of the sword strapped to his side. Hoping that this wasn’t the shake down Sam thought it was, he answered politely, “I just need to do a bit more shopping before going into the Tower tonight.”
“You spent quite a bit of money in there a moment ago. I can’t imagine you have much more left.”
Still not sure where exactly this was headed, Sam responded, “It was a lot, but I’ll be okay. I’ll just need to do some work to earn it back.”