The Land: Catacombs (Chaos Seeds Book 4)

by Aleron Kong

  Congratulations! You have crafted a Legendary Object: The Dragon’s Cauldron. In light of this amazing achievement, you may choose to drastically increase your skill level in either Enchanting, Alchemy, Crafting, or Herb Lore. Which do you choose?

  Richter paused before moving onto the notification window. He had been hoping to get the option to improve his Enchanting skill again. He had planned to choose it despite whatever options were offered, but he hadn’t counted on Herb Lore being present. On the surface, there was no comparison between the two. He would choose Enchanting ten times out of ten. There was one other thing to consider, though: the Quickening. Sion had mentioned once that Herb Lore was so valued by his people because at higher ranks it allowed you to accelerate the growth of plants. Richter pondered the decision as he walked towards the Cauldron.

  He ultimately decided on the Enchanting skill bonus. Better to go with a known benefit that he could use now rather than an Herb Lore benefit that might still mean years of waiting for a potential gain. Richter selected “Enchanting” on the prompt and waited to see what he would get.

  Congratulations! You have reached skill level 30 in Enchanting. All enchantments 1% more effective and increased chance of enchantments taking hold.

  …

  Congratulations! You have reached skill level 46 in Enchanting. All enchantments 1% more effective and increased chance of enchantments taking hold.

  You have received 7,500 (base 6,000) bonus experience for reaching level 30 in the skill: Enchanting.

  You have received 10,000 (base 8,000) bonus experience for reaching level 40 in the skill: Enchanting.

  Congratulations! You have advanced from Apprentice to Journeyman in: Enchanting. You can now create magic books based on spells that you already know or if you are in the presence of someone else who is willing to have you scribe their knowledge. You can now create skill books based upon skills that you already have or if you are in the presence of someone else who is willing to have you scribe their knowledge. You can now add enchantments to already created items, albeit with a 40% penalty to effectiveness. You can now help other craftsmen enchant items they are creating. Enchantment will be based upon your skill level.

  Richter clapped his hands together. “Whooose house? Richter’s house!” He laughed wildly at the huge bump to his skill. Alma’s head rose from his shoulder. She glared at him before lying back down. He turned his head and winked at her before continuing to go through his prompts.

  Know This! Your creation of the Dragon’s Cauldron represents devotion to the furthering of alchemical sciences. You now enjoy an increased relationship with all alchemists in the village.

  Bonus Reward: Your people are impressed by the creation of a Legendary Object. Morale increased by +50.

  Congratulations! You have created a Legendary Object! You have won +1,000 fame points!

  Know This! You have built a fully functional alchemist’s workshop. Your settlement will now enjoy the Building Bonus of increased chance of higher strength potions and increased chance of successful potion creation.

  Know This! As you have built a Philosopher’s Cauldron, you have maxed out the Building Bonus of having an alchemist’s workshop. +10% chance of a potion being automatically upgraded to a higher quality once completed. +10% chance of a potion being successfully created.

  There was more to read about the Cauldron’s properties, but something strange happened. A prompt with a flashing red outline jumped to the front of the message queue. The color flashed as if to demand his immediate attention.

  Know This! You are intrinsically linked to your Place of Power. By creating a Legendary Object within its boundaries, you have been Marked. The dragon’s blood you have absorbed will change you, and the full effects may not be seen for millennia to come.

  Richter abruptly stopped walking. “When I absorbed what now?” he exclaimed loudly. He began to experience a familiar tingling over the entirety of his body. It began as barely noticeable but quickly became intense, like the worst itch of his life. This is different than my previous marks, Richter thought with some concern. The sensation began to localize to the inside of his left forearm and as the area grew smaller, the itch grew more intense. It felt like beetles were crawling under his skin! The area was covered by the straps of his bracer, so he hurriedly started untying them. His fingers fumbled in his panic and before he had even undone the first clasp, the pain skyrocketed and spread out from his arm to encompass his whole body. His blood was boiling!

  Richter screamed. His back arched from a muscle spasm and one of his vertebrae fractured from the strain. His only thoughts were of the horrifying agony that somehow still seemed to be getting worse. His red status bar flashed as whatever was happening to him drained his health points at a prodigious rate. Alma flared golden, casting Slow Heal I, but it didn’t stop the transformation that was racking his body with more pain than he would have thought physically possible to experience.

  A rib broke and punctured his lung. Blood shot from his mouth in a brief spurt as the change in pressure in his chest cavity triggered a reflex to expel perceived foreign matter. An evolutionary reflex meant to buy a few more moments of life when his body was faced with massive trauma. Richter’s neck contorted in a hopeless attempt to escape the pain he was

  experiencing, and his last sight was of his guards running towards him, swords drawn. As he fell to the ground and blackness flooded in all around him, Alma landed and placed her head on his chest, crooning in despair.

  HAPTER 20

  Richter came to a few minutes later. The first thing that he noticed was the lack of pain. Without even opening his eyes, he said, “Oh thank god!”

  One of the villagers cried out, “He calls upon the banished gods! His end must be near!” A wailing moan rose up from many throats all around him. Fuck me, Richter thought. Tears and hysteria were the last thing he needed at that particular moment. He was about to open his eyes and tell everyone to be calm, when a matronly voice spoke up with the commanding certainty of a general.

  “Quiet all that noise before I thump you and give you something to really cry about. Our lord just spoke. In my experience that is much more likely to indicate life than impending doom! Now get back. Get back!”

  As Richter opened his eyes he saw a brown blur in the shape of a cane swing out and rap someone on top of the head. There was a corresponding “OW!” and the crowd of shapes hovering above him pulled back. Well, dude, she warned you, he thought. Terrod’s face came into his field of vision and the captain reached down and helped Richter up. Once he was standing, though, the captain took a step back with a startled, “Wha—?”

  Richter couldn’t be sure of course, but he was fairly certain Terrod’s exclamation had something to do with the fact that it seemed like he had grown. Terrod was a tall man and had always been able to look Richter straight in the eye. Now, though, Richter had to crane his neck down slightly to make eye contact. By his guess, he must have grown two or three inches!

  Despite everything that he had just been through, his first thought was that maybe he could dunk now. His second thought, he was ashamed to say, was that this should make it easier to get laid! Luckily, his third thought showed at least the smallest amount of introspection and maturity, as he wondered if there were any external changes to his appearance. He raised his hands and cast Mirror.

  A flat reflective surface appeared in front of him. While his people whispered to each other around him, he moved close to the mirror and examined himself. After a minute of close scrutiny, he felt fairly certain he hadn’t grown any scales and that his tongue wasn’t forked. He dismissed the mirror and was about to address his people when one final and horrible thought occurred to him. He reached his hand into his pants and made sure that everything was where it should be, then exhaled a sigh of profound relief. The monster was safe! Sumiko let out a disgusted grunt and started walking off muttering about the idiocy of men.

  “Are you alright?” Sion asked. “
What just happened?”

  Richter shook his head. “I’m not exactly sure. I was reading about a new Mark when— Alma! Not so tight!” The dragonling had flown down from where she was circling overhead and had wrapped herself around his neck in a tight hug.

  *I was so worried, Master! You were bleeding from your eyes! Oh, Master, never do that again!* Then her tone grew scolding. *What did you do? Whatever you did, never do that again!*

  Richter pried her body loose from the choke grip she had and then shook his head. Why was it that the smarter and wiser a woman got the more they believed that anything bad that happened was somehow a man’s fault! It was quite rude in Richter’s opinion. The fact that the women in his life were usually right in blaming him for any mischief that might arise was completely beside the point. He sent calming thoughts to his familiar, but only received a mental huff in response. He absently noted that Alma’s thoughts were clearer than he had ever heard them before.

  He looked around and assured his villagers that he was fine. A subtle look to Terrod spurred the captain to start shooing everyone away. It wasn’t too difficult to convince everyone though. Now that they could see that their lord was up and about again, they remembered the majesty of the Dragon’s Cauldron. Krom was known to chase lookeyloos away from his Forge with a hammer, so most of the villagers hadn’t been able to closely examine a Core building before. Besides, the old villagers had started to become accustomed to their lord’s eccentricities.

  His people moved off, and Richter felt a bit of relief at no longer being under the microscope. The truth was, he was just as eager as anyone else to know what had happened. The only time he had felt pain worse than what he had just gone through was when that bitch Sonirae had maimed him. His lips twisted in disgust as that particular memory flashed through his mind, but he didn’t let himself dwell. Instead, he focused on the now.

  Richter turned his left arm over and started undoing the straps of his bracer. After watching him pick at the tight knots for ten seconds, Sion grunted in irritation and moved over to help him. The sprite’s smaller fingers made quick work of the knots, and the bracer fell free. All Richter saw was smooth unbroken skin, but with a bit of focus, his newest Mark revealed itself.

  The Mark itself looked like a glass dragon that had been pressed into his skin. Its body was bent into a circle and its snout was touching its tail. The entire thing was only two inches in diameter, and Richter looked at it bemused. It seemed crazy that the horrid ordeal he had just lived through had just been to get this strange little tattoo. When he started reading the prompts waiting for his review, he realized he had gained much more than that.

  You have received a Mark: Dragonkin I.

  Know This! You are now considered dragonkin. This may drastically change how some races respond to you, for good or ill. The reaction may be instinctual as few will be able to detect the change simply based on your physical form. The full ramifications for this may never be known, but the following changes have taken place immediately: Strength +5. Constitution +5. Fire resistance +5%. Fire magic +5%.

  Know This! Being dragonkin gives you a considerably increased connection with the Dragon’s Cauldron. What this bodes for the future, only time will tell.

  Richter smiled. Well that explained the increase in height. His body was just making allowances for his increased stats. And dragonkin? It didn’t get much more badass than that.

  Sion and Terrod looked like they were ready to brain him if he didn’t share, so he told them about his increased stats. Something made him hold back from telling him that he was now dragonkin, though. He didn’t understand what it meant, but the message on the prompt was clear. The people of The Land could have a strong reaction to the information, and the response might not be a good one. Now was not the time to find out that Sion’s ancestors had been killed by dragons or something like that. Sprites were known to hold a racial grudge, as evidenced by Sion’s hatred of goblins, even harmless ale-serving ones. No, Richter decided, he would keep this to himself for now. He waved his Companions forward, and they started walking back to the Cauldron. Richter dealt with the rest of the prompts.

  Know This! As dragonkin, your bond with your dragonling familiar has deepened. Psi Bond increased to level 5! Your familiar’s base innate intellect is increased by 100%. She can now communicate with you without restriction. Her base Intelligence and Wisdom are also increased by 60%. You will also benefit from this stronger tie to your familiar. Your mental resistance from Psi Bond has increased to 40%. Maximum distance of communication increased from 1000 yards to 1250 yards. Tasks which require strength of mind will come even easier than before. The Psi Bond has provided your familiar with a greater understanding of herself and has unlocked a new ability!

  Your familiar has gained the ability: Psi Channeling. You may now cast spells through your familiar. The cast time will still be the same for you, but any restrictions based on distance can use the location of your familiar as the casting point! At the current level, the range of Psi Channeling is one hundred yards, and using this ability will require 300% greater mana usage. Any other spell requirements will remain unchanged.

  Know This! Tame is now much more effective in regard to reptiles. Being dragonkin gives +10 skill levels to taming reptiles. Psi Bond level 5 gives +10 skill levels to taming reptiles. You may attempt to tame up to common-level reptile souls.

  Though Richter couldn’t bring himself to actually admit that the new skills and abilities were worth the pain he had experienced, in his heart he knew he would go through it again. The increased stats were great, but the ability to channel his magic through Alma was amazing. He wouldn’t have to wait for enemies to get within striking distance anymore! True, the mana penalty meant he couldn’t use the ability indiscriminately, but it was awesome to have the option.

  The three Companions were a few hundred yards away from the Cauldron now, so Richter quickly went through the remaining prompts. He planned to clear most everyone else out when he got there and then play with his new toy!

  Know This! Your Philosopher’s Cauldron can transmute one base ingredient or resource into another. The conversion ratio will be greatly determined by the abundance of both the initial resource and the final resource in the surrounding lands. Simply place the ingredient you wish to change into the central cauldron to initiate the transmutation. The Cauldron can only make ingredients or resources that have already been placed in the central cauldron and subsequently consumed.

  Know This! Placing an assortment of ingredients in the central cauldron will allow you to know if a potion can be created from that combination. At the Cauldron’s current level, this can be used once per day.

  Know This! Placing a potion into the central cauldron will give you the chance to learn the exact recipe used to create the potion. The potion is used up during this procedure. If local equivalents of the ingredients exist, those will be provided as a substitute recipe. Each time the potion is created there is a small chance to learn another recipe for either that potion level, the level below, or the level above.

  Know This! Your Map Making skill is synergistic with your Cauldron. While ingredients common to your location will not be marked, the general location of rarer ingredients may be indicated. Increase your Herb Lore and exploration to increase the effectiveness of this.

  Know This! At this level, your Dragon’s Cauldron has a final function to separate it from common alchemy sets. If a potion is successfully created, it can be placed in the central cauldron. If enough materials can be provided, there is a 100% chance to make nine additional potions of the same level and strength. Potions created in this way cannot be used to trigger this or the Cauldron’s other powers.

  Richter still didn’t understand exactly how potion levels worked or what the difference was between levels and strength, but he was excited to find out. He couldn’t wait to start learning some recipes. He still remembered Beyan yelling at him for almost idly drinking the luck potion. He still hadn
’t used it for fear of needing a boost to his luck sometime in the future. If he could get an unlimited supply of them though… the sky was the limit.

  He went through the final prompts.

  You have completed the Quest: If It Grows From The Ground, It’s Probably Okay I. You have completed the first quest given to you by one of your villagers! Doing this has shown that you are attentive to their needs. You have been granted the Administration skill. You have gone above and beyond the call of this quest by supplying a Core-level building! All rewards doubled!

  Reward: 7,500 (base 3,000) experience points.

  Bonus Reward for supplying underground area: 10,000 (base 4,000) experience points.

  Reward: +20 (base +10) village-wide Loyalty.

  Know This! As you have built a Philosopher’s Cauldron, you have maxed out the Building Bonus of having an Herb Shed. +10% growth of herbs. +10% strength of herbs.

  Congratulations! You have been granted the skill: Administration. Not every conqueror can rule the conquered. Not every ruler can rule well. You have shown that you can meet the needs of your people, however. Increasing this skill will affect every facet of your village’s abilities.

  …

  Congratulations! You have reached skill level 6 in Administration. +1% to Morale, Loyalty, and Production for your village.

  They walked into the Cauldron, and Richter gave an order. Terrod and the other guards slowly began ushering everyone else out. Isabella, Beyan, and Sumiko were allowed to stay. Terrod’s wife leaned in and thanked Richter profusely.

  “My Lord, I never expected something so grand! This is amazing.” She looked around the building and ran her hand through one of the rainbows being created by the sun shining through the walls. She looked through the wall to her tilled garden outside and then looked at Richter while biting her lip. She opened her mouth slightly, but then closed her lips again and seemed to withdraw into herself. He watched her follow through that pattern a few more times before he took pity on her.