The Land: Catacombs (Chaos Seeds Book 4)

by Aleron Kong

  Richter’s mouth dropped open in shock. He looked at Krom and then back at his new weapon and then back at Krom again. “How did you do this?” Richter had awe in his voice. His high steel longsword only had a damage potential of 12-17. And how did it have all of those other enchantments?

  Krom cracked his neck and began speaking in the affectionate tone he reserved for discussing his craft. “Well, my lord. Short swords normally have a base damage of 8-10 and the metal…” The dwarf laughed. “Well, let me just say that elementum be a tough son of a bitch. Even I di’na know how much power the metal would add, but the base damage increased by +9! The rest though is due just to my skill and the strength of me arm. I am a level sixty-two smith, and the bonus from my skill increased the base damage and the bonus from the metal. When ye add the +5 for the exquisite quality of the weapon, it brought the damage up to 33-37!”

  The smith took a sip of water, then continued, “I can tell ye that it wasn’t easy. We had to stoke the fires to be hotter than me asshole in summer! As you can see though, yer lordship, it was well worth the effort. I was a bit concerned seeing as how me Smith rank is lower than it should be to work with that type of metal, but it still turned out good!”

  Richter agreed. It was a gorgeous weapon. Richter could barely tear his eyes from it, but he was confused by something Krom had said. “What do you mean? What does your skill rank have to do with anything?”

  “Ye know that I be a journeyman smith, yer lordship. That means several things, but one of them is I can bend and poke any metal up to ebony like it was me second wife.”

  “Not your first wife?” Richter asked with a smile.

  “No, yer lordship. She was so tight that if I had put a copper between her knees, it would na have hit the floor for years! But that na be the point right now. To work elementum without penalty, I would have to be an adept. Seeing as how I am a rank short, it shows in me work.”

  Richter struggled to keep a straight face and asked, “How does it affect the weapons that you can make?”

  Krom scratched his beard and asked, “Are ye sure ye wish to know this? It be a bit technical.” After Richter nodded, he continued, “I’ll need to tell you something else about Smith ranks first. For each rank there be a specific chance to make a weapon or armor of a certain quality every time I swing me hammer. The higher me rank, the more likely for me to make a higher quality item. Do ye understand?”

  After Richter nodded again, Krom grabbed a piece of hide and a charcoal stick. He started making lines on the pale leather and writing words to either side of each line: Trash, Poor, Average, Above Average, Well Crafted, Exceptional, Superb, Exquisite, Masterwork. Then he drew a curve perpendicular to the lines, and Richter almost dropped the sword in shock. Krom had just made a bell curve.

  The smith continued speaking and pointed at the line between average and above average. “A novice smith would start here, yer lordship. They would have a large chance making an average or above-average quality item and a smaller chance of making a poor quality or well-crafted quality piece.”

  “In that scenario, is it a 34% chance to make the average or the above-average weapon?” Richter asked.

  Krom looked at him, surprised. “Not exactly, yer Lordship. I was never too interested in the specific percentages of me craft, but me old master said the chances of making the lower quality was closer to 55% and to make the higher quality was about 35% when ye first achieved a new rank. When ye move another quality level over either way, it was three times as likely to make a lower quality piece than higher quality. Also, the chances to forge higher quality items do improve when yer skill gets closer to the next rank. This all be the broad rules though, yer Lordship, because Luck, ingot quality, and other factors would affect the numbers somewhat.”

  Richter nodded. So not a standard bell curve, more like a negative skew. He did some quick math in his head and realized that meant there was probably about a 7-8% chance to make a much lower quality weapon and only a 2-3% chance to make a much higher quality weapon. Interested in the complexities of the Smithing skill, he motioned for Krom to continue.

  “At me journeyman rank, the middle of me curve be here.” He pointed at the line between exceptional and superb. “If everything turns out near perfect, I might make an exquisite piece, but the best I can normally hope to make is a superb quality weapon. Like I said, though, there is a penalty for working a metal a rank above my ability. Anything I make would automatically drop one quality level, so the best elementum blade I should have been able to forge would be capped at superb quality.”

  Richter examined the blade again, seeing that it had exquisite quality. “Then how—”

  “The Forge!” Krom interrupted excitedly. “All of the elementum ingots ye brought back were masterwork quality, which made forging them easier. I poured all of my energy and sweat into it, and I made the best blade that I could. I swear, yer lordship, I felt like me hammer was being guided to exactly the right spots. When I finished the sword, I knew that it was exquisite, but of course the rank penalty knocked it down to superb. Then the main anvil started to glow! The light shot into the sword, and when I looked again, the quality was back to exquisite! I can only take part of the credit for this fine weapon, yer lordship.”

  Richter laughed. Krom was almost dancing a jig. The smith calmed himself and went on to explain the magic imbued into the blade. “Now, the freeze enchantment is a bit lower than it could have been. All I had to work with were the common soul stones ye left. Luckily, Gloran agreed to help. His journeyman rank in Enchanting allowed him to spell the item without penalty even though I was the one forging the sword. It also let him use two soul stones on the enchantment. We were still way short of the forty-five possible points we could have used, but we worked with what had. The twenty enchantment points Gloran could get from the common stones allowed us to get four points of cold damage as a base and give a 4% chance to activate the freeze ability. His level sixty-five Enchanting skill increased the base enchantment to 6-7 damage!”

  Richter was always impressed by Krom’s dedication to his craft. The only other time the taciturn dwarf spoke passionately was when he was cursing someone. He grew downright loquacious when he talked about making weapons and armor, though. “Okay, so I get the high damage and the cold enchantment, but what about the bonus trait? Why is it stronger against Dark and Earth creatures?”

  Krom looked around at the Forge with what could only be called love in his eye. “That be thanks to Ria here.”

  “Ria?” Richter asked.

  “Aye, yer lordship. The Forge reminds me of the first love I ever had. A strong beauty of a woman, who would happily burn your nuts off if you didn’t pay attention the whole time you were with her. She also let me come inside whenever I wanted.” Krom kept looking around at the Forge with a wistful smile.

  “Inside… of her house?” Krom’s bearded grin only deepened. Richter looked at his Smith with a slightly scrunched face. This seemed… inappropriate somehow… and how many true loves and wives had Krom been through? He wasn’t sure what to do. When Krom started audibly and breathily sighing, however, Richter couldn’t take it anymore.

  “Dude!”

  “What? Oh yes, sorry, yer lordship. Went somewhere for a bit. As I was saying, when I finished forging the sword, the sun and one of the moons glowed on the ceiling. A beam of nearly clear green light came down from the moon and a beam of yellow-white came down from the sun and bathed the sword in a bright glow. When it went out, the sword had the bonus trait, and that be when the mark appeared.”

  “What mark?” Richter asked.

  “At the base, yer lordship.”

  Richter looked closely at where the blade met the hilt and saw the slight impression of a four-pointed star. As he watched, it glowed slightly before resuming the appearance of clear green glass. Richter turned the blade over and saw another impression. It was a square with four characters, one in each quadrant.

  “That one be me s
mith mark, yer lordship. It let all know that the weapon was forged by Krom of the Red Stone clan,” the dwarf said proudly.

  Richter smiled. “So do all of the weapons you’ve made here have this glowing star?”

  “So far it only be this one. I do believe the mark only appears when the ceiling be triggered to grant extra powers.”

  Richter was pleased to know that the special quality of the Forge of Heavens had already come into play. The extra damage could make all the difference, especially in the catacombs. “And so far only my sword has gotten this kind of special bonus trait?”

  “Yes, yer Lordship. When the moon and sun lit up, the two points formed a straight line to the central anvil. I was actually thinking that if we knew more about when the moons and stars would be present overhead, we could know how to get more of these special bonuses. Could ye figure that out?”

  You have been offered a Quest: My God! It’s Full of Stars I! Krom has tasked you with learning more about the movement of celestial bodies. How you do this is up to you. Will you accept? Yes or No? Reward: Improved Weapons and Armor.

  Richter had almost expected Krom to give him a quest. He accepted it without another thought. Another prompt appeared.

  You have unlocked a new field of study: Astrology.

  If only Ms. Cleo were here, Richter thought. Then he’d know everything he needed about that field of study. She could also teach him about tax evasion and fake accents.

  “I’ll take care of it, Krom, but it might mean having some gnomes wandering around the Forge. They’ll most likely need to study the ceiling.”

  Krom’s face darkened. He prepared to protest, but Richter cut him off. “Do you want to understand the Forge or not? What would the real Ria do if you ignored her needs?”

  The Smith immediately hunched as if to protect his middle. “You’re right, yer lordship. I guess I can deal with it if there only be one at a time.”

  Foreseeing a potential future issue, Richter decided to nip it in the bud. “More than one may need to be in here at one time, Krom. You need to be okay with up to four.”

  “Four? Four? My speckled arse I will have four of those buggers in me Forge. Two! Two is all I could take.”

  “Two then, but you have to be helpful,” Richter smirked on the inside and couldn’t resist twisting the knife. “You also have to be nice.”

  Krom looked almost apoplectic. Richter added, “We could always just set aside some dedicated time for the gnomes to be in here without you…”

  “Banished gods, no! I absolutely refuse… yer lordship. I will be”—Krom’s mouth twisted as if he were chewing sour glass—“nice.”

  “Good,” Richter said. “Make sure the other smiths are as well. Understand that if I have to come over here to deal with silly complaints myself… I. Will. Not. Be. Happy.” Richter clipped each of the last words as he said them. “Are we clear, Smith?”

  Krom, who had seen Richter’s steely disposition when he had accepted the job as village Smith, definitely saw the merits of keeping his lord happy. “I will keep these knuckle draggers in line, yer lordship.”

  “I knew I could count on you, Krom,” Richter said jovially, clapping the man on the shoulder. “Now, do you have any other toys for me or should we just get to business?”

  Before answering, Krom grew serious. “Ay, yer lordship. Before I show ye, though, I wanted to say one thing. Yer blade should show ye the power of having such a wonder as the Forge of Heavens. I just wanted to say that I take the honor seriously. I am with ye til death, yer lordship.”

  Richter held out his hand until Krom reached out too, and the men clasped wrists. The smith’s fingers were rough and his grip sure. “I know you take it seriously, Krom. I am lucky to have your service. When you make these weapons, you are saving the lives of your fellow villagers. This is your home for as long as I breathe.”

  They released their shake and Krom coughed, somewhat embarrassed. “Well, I do have one or two more things to show you, milord.” First, he tossed Richter a small piece of flat and thick marbled quartz. “Ye’ll be needing that. Any softer stone will be cut right through when ye try to sharpen yer blade.” Then he walked over to another stand and took down a quiver of arrows. “I thought ye might be able to do some damage with these. All we had left were the basic soul stones from the hunters, though, so the enchantment came out weaker than it could have.”

  You have received: Moonstone Arrows of Freezing. Quantity: 60. Durability: 8/8. Item Class: Uncommon. Quality: Superb. Damage: +4. Traits: +3 Water damage. 2% chance to cause Freeze.

  “How did you enchant all of these?” Richter asked. He was thoroughly pleased. “I didn’t give you that many soul stones.”

  “That was na a problem, yer lordship. The arrowheads are so small; you can enchant them in lots of ten. I have to warn ye though. I be almost out of powdered crystal. If ye want more enchanted weapons and armor, I will need more.”

  “It won’t be a problem,” Richter assured him. Then he went back to gushing over his new arrows. “This is amazing, Krom. Thank you. That reminds me, though, can you do anything with this?” Richter reached into his Bag and pulled out the schematic for the heavy arrows.

  Krom greedily took the diagram and rushed over to a wooden table. He smoothed out the large parchment and began poring over it. “Yes… See I always thought that… The counterweight…” Krom muttered to himself for a full two minutes. That was the extent of Richter’s patience.

  “Krom! Can you make these or not?” he asked.

  The dwarf looked up. “I think so. Yes, yes I can make them. Just going to take a little trial and error. Thank you for giving me this, my lord. Give me… a week. Learning to make these will increase my Smithing skill a lot more than just swinging a hammer. Can I hold onto this?”

  A prompt appeared in his vision.

  Return to Smith Krom in one week to see if he has learned the creation of Heavy Arrows.

  Richter dismissed the notification and nodded. “Just make sure that you get it to one of the scribes when you have figured it out. Tell them to make a copy and then give both to the chamberlain. Okay?”

  Krom nodded. He weighted down two of the parchment edges with daggers he took from a nearby stand. From the longing glances he cast at the diagram, Richter was sure the Smith would be back to poring over it the moment he was alone again. “I do have one other thing to show ye, milord.”

  Krom walked over to another table and reached underneath. He pulled a chest out and lifted the lid. Inside was a collection of white, hand-sized scales. The skeeling scales.

  “Haven’t made much progress, huh?” Richter asked.

  “More than ye think, my lord. Each scale has been scraped clean. Each also has small holes drilled to link them together and have been treated with a resin that will keep them strong, yet supple. I have done everything short of making the actual armor, but it is completely planned out. We will also measure ye for the armor first. It will take longer, but there will be a boost to the defense.”

  “So why haven’t you made it yet?” Richter asked, confused.

  “I believe these scales will make something special, my lord. Because of that, they not only need to be forged well, they need to be enchanted well. I know it not be easy, but we need more soul stones with strong souls. It also would be a good idea to place more armor enchantments into the Forge. If you do that, I can make ye an amazing set of armor.”

  You have been offered a Quest: The Spirit of Defense. Krom wants to make you an amazing set of armor, but he needs more soul stones! Will you obtain them? Obviously, higher-level stones will give you a better yield! Optional: Place new armor enchantments in the Forge of Heavens. Yes or No? Reward: A new set of armor.

  “Of course,” Richter said. He chose the “Yes” prompt.

  “Just let me know when yer ready to start on the armor. Well, that be all I have for ye so far, yer lordship. Much of our time be spent making arms and armor for the new militia.”


  “This is more than enough, Krom. Thank you. I’ve seen the new gear the militia is wearing, and I want to congratulate you on a job well done.” The dwarf’s chest swelled up with pride. “I need to ask something else of you, though. The hunters need better weapons and armor if they are going to keep going outside of the walls. Can you make sure they are equipped with what they need?”

  “That will not be a problem, yer lordship. Do ye want me to wait until we have more soul stones?”

  Richter thought about it for a moment. “No. In addition to the meat they bring in, they are invaluable as scouts. Just equip them as fast as you can. I’m not letting them beyond the walls until you do. Find them during the feast and set up a time for them to meet with you. I’m going to send Basil to speak with you about his diplomatic mission with the Serrated Mountain dwarves too. He is going to need as much information as you can provide. Actually now that I’m thinking about it, should you go with him?”

  Krom’s face immediately clouded. “I can’t leave now, yer lordship. I just learned my new enchantment. I know I’ll learn the other one soon! I can feel it!”

  Richter raised his hands placatingly. “Okay. I do think someone should go with him, though. Preferably two someones. Are there any dwarves here that you trust to guide Basil’s party and act as a liaison?”

  Krom scratched his beard. “I might know just the dwarves. Me second cousin and his friend. They’re young, barely thirty, and still more balls than brains. They’ve been spoiling to go exploring and wouldn’t mind a bit of an adventure. It be a good idea for Basil to have a guide. There are more than dwarf tribes in the mountains. More than one goblin and orc clan call the mountains their home.”

  Richter nodded grimly. He would have to increase the number of guards that he sent with Basil. He felt much better knowing that Krom would pick a good guide for the man. He thanked the smith and said, “Now I have to go. I still have a few stops to make before I go hunting. Keep up the good work.”

  Richter had turned and started walking away when he heard, “Ahhh, yer lordship. There was one more thing.”