Benvari Mountains (Emerilia Book 2)

by Michael Chatfield

  26

  Endurance:

  110

  Intelligence:

  146

  Willpower:

  131

  Strength:

  72

  Agility:

  68

  After some mental math, if he was to convert the stat points to the equivalent he would have got for straight level grinding, he was the equivalent of a level 98.

  “Come a long way since starting.” He still felt gloomy about his latest mess-up. Mithril was a lot harder than he’d thought. He knew that his friends were willing to wait for him to become a master, but he couldn’t fight the feeling that he was holding them back from so many adventures they could be having.

  I just need to work harder to get this done so we can go and work on their abilities. I owe them big time. Players would have just left me alone to myself to grind out mobs and other creatures. I’m a lucky dude to have friends willing to hang around for me.

  It didn’t take him long to get to the smithy, using trains and elevators to reach his destination. He checked his interface. It was afternoon, so he went straight to the smithy to find Jesal instead of the classrooms.

  She wasn’t in the smithy when he got there, but he saw a long row of Mithril on one of the workbenches, surrounded by Gorrund’s four understudies.

  “Dave!” Mox noticed Dave there.

  “Hey, Mox.” Dave walked into the room toward them. “How bad is it?”

  “Bad?” Mox looked confused as the others tore their eyes from the Mithril.

  “If you mean that it is some of the finest smithing I have ever seen? Then yeah, you’d be right,” Loren said.

  “What?”

  They moved out of his way as he looked at four pieces of metal.

  He finally used his Touch of the Land, having held back on it as he hadn’t wanted to know how bad his mess-up had gone. “Holy fucking shit.” It was exactly as he had thought of it within his mind. He was completely absorbed in looking over every inch of the armor.

  “Runes are a bit fucked up in places, but shit, it actually worked?”

  “That it did. Seems that we found your smithing art,” Jesal said from the entrance to the smithy.

  “You’re a Soul Smith.” She tossed him a white ring.

  Dave caught it and looked at the last metal he needed to finish his necklace.

  A new popup appeared.

  Quest: Of Anvil and Fire

  After meeting with Jesal, she has decided to accept you as a candidate to be a Dwarven Master Smith.

  You will need to:

  Master the material Stone

  Master the material Malachite

  Master the material Gold

  Master the material Mithril

  Find your Smithing Art

  You have completed the necessary requirements of a Dwarven Smith. You have been named: Soul Smith, a Smith that uses their very soul’s energy to form and change the material they work with. It is one of the hardest practices to conquer.

  Reward: You have been named a Dwarven Master Smith

  New Active Skill: Soul Smith

  You’re all about the soul, huh? Should start a record label named after you. Well, anyway, you’re a special kind of weirdo who likes to use your very consciousness to change the things you’re working on. If that ain’t freaky, well, I’m not sure what else is.

  Level: Apprentice Level 5

  Effect: 15% less soul energy necessary for crafting with Soul Smith.

  Cost: Dependent on creation.

  “Huh. Only get a one percent bonus per level instead of the two percent of other levels.”

  “It’s rated as a rare Action skill, so it only gives a little boost, though no one can see it unless you show them, unlike your basic skills where certain people can figure it out,” Jesal warned.

  “Well, that is kind of weird as hell.” Dave looked back to the armor, still not understanding how the hell he had finished it.

  The other Dwarves moved out of the way as Jesal held out a simple stone badge of a hammer striking an anvil with a fire behind it.

  “David Grahslagg, you have completed the challenges of smithing and shown yourself to be a dedicated man to Anvil and Fire. I now ask you if you desire to become known as a Dwarven Master Smith?” Jesal asked, none of her usual joking in her voice as she offered the badge to Dave.

  “What do I have to do?” Dave asked.

  “Bring your creation showing your abilities to a meeting of the Master Smiths and make a binding oath to the Council of Anvil and Fire.”

  The other Dwarves looked between Dave and Jesal. Smithing was an almost holy act to them. Seeing someone become a Master Smith was a rare occurrence. Seeing the first-ever Halfling become accepted into the Council of Anvil and Fire—none of those there would forget this day for the rest of their lives.

  “Well, as long as you give me some time to finish this up, then I’d be happy to.” Dave smiled.

  “What the heck are you going to do now?” she asked.

  “A few tweaks.” Dave smiled.

  She shook her head and gave him the badge.

  Dave put it into his bag of holding and looked back at the Mithril again. “Well, I did it once, let’s see if I can do it again.” He pulled out Abscondita from his bag of holding.

  ***

  Kol looked around the council’s table. There were more Dwarves around than normal. They all wanted to see the Halfling who had progressed faster through the stages of smiths, faster than any before him, and was supposed to have the rare skill of Soul Smithing. It was so rare that there was no other Master Smith recorded as having the same smithing art.

  It had been four days since Dave had been given an invitation to join the Council of Anvil and Fire.

  Kol knew as soon as he had entered through the Benvari Mirror of Communication.

  “Well, that is certainly different—didn’t think it was capable of that. Will have to think of that later when talking to the rebels,” Dave muttered to himself.

  Kol’s ear easily picked it up as his sense found Dave wearing a familiar set of armor.

  “What has he done now?” Kol thought out loud as Dave was brought into the chamber.

  “Dave Grahslagg, you have been given an invitation to join the Council of Anvil and Fire. Please present your final exam item,” Sola said from the head of the table.

  Dave’s armor disappeared before he pulled it out of his bag of holding.

  There were murmurs and whispers as Dave handed it to Jesal, who gave it to Sola.

  Kol didn’t need to hold the armor in order to understand it. He looked through the armor. He chuckled to himself, seeing Dave glance over and grin. Kol couldn’t quite hide his own smile.

  “It seems to be simple. Wait—” Sola put her hand to the metal and closed her eyes, looking past the surface. After a few moments, her eyes snapped open as she looked from the armor to Dave. “How?”

  “Well, I needed some time to integrate the parts together. I had the Mithril done but it wasn’t meant to stay on its own. With the ebony that I got from Boran-al’s Citadel, I made a new interior. Using Soul Smithing, it was quicker than I dared hope.”

  “These runes—they are incredible. I can feel their potential but understanding them is complex. You are even using a different way of making Magical Circuits.”

  “Well, on Earth, we have this thing called coding. I kind of took that and adapted it over to Magical Circuits to make it easier. I didn’t think it would work at first but I did some tinkering and it seemed to work fine.” Dave shrugged, as if talking about different ways to grow crops.

  He’s going to turn smithing practices on its head. Once that whole factory thing he has going on at Cliff-Hill catches on to other Dwarven smiths, production is going to skyrocket.

  “Well, pass it around, will you, Sola? I’m rather eager to have a look at it myself!” Quino said.

  Sola handed it to her left. One by one, Dwarves looked over the armor
, asking different questions.

  “Why the Boran-al ebony?” Gorpal asked.

  “Well, in the time that the cultists spent in the citadel, they did nothing but practice magic all the time. It’s some of the highest Mana-charged ebony I have ever seen or heard of in my research,” Dave answered.

  “This central layer—it seems that it is growing. What is it?” Helick asked.

  “That is a vault-classed soul gem—was a pain in the ass to figure that thing out. It will take a few weeks until it is fully formed.”

  “You have two sets of runes here—runes on the ebony sheets stacked on one another and then the Mithril sheets. Why?” Quino asked as the armor got to him.

  “The soul gem is the power source; the ebony is the detailed processes and set commands. The Mithril should be thought of as a control panel. I input different runes and it connects to the layers of ebony and performs a task.”

  “Why hide the Mithril under a layer of steel?” Endur asked.

  “If people see someone wearing Mithril armor, then they’re going to come at me with everything they have to steal it from me. Abscondita is more than meets the eye. While on the outside it looks like well-made steel armor, underneath there is Mithril plating for defense, engraved ebony plating for augments, and a soul gem of my own creation powering the runes carved into the ebony.” Dave shrugged. “The Mithril is just one piece of it, as you know. The runes in it are more powerful than the Mithril, in my opinion.”

  “Why do you have pieces of wood between the layers?” Kol asked. Everyone looked between the two of them with shock.

  “You noticed that, huh?” Dave smiled. “It was a pain in the ass finding some Elven wood. I used it because if you get hit, metal can take an impact and stop it from getting through, mitigating the puncture effect. It does nothing to try to stop the blunt impact of being hit. Having the wood in place allows the armor to compress slightly and spread out the impact force more.”

  “Why Elven wood?” Jesal asked.

  “Most woods don’t allow the transmission of magic through them. I needed to have that ability so that the Magical Circuits could continue to work,” Dave said.

  “Well, I think that I will be getting a few pieces of wood to try out different things,” Quino said.

  “Be useful for Dwarven shields. Having your arm numb from a nasty impact is a pain in the arse,” Endur agreed. “Should have thought of it sooner. Too stuck on just ores to think of wood.”

  “There is always more to learn.” Sola smiled and looked to Dave. “Well, I say we put it to a vote. All those in acceptance of David Grahslagg’ s application to be a Dwarven Master Smith, raise your hands.”

  Kol smiled as every Dwarf’s hand climbed into the sky. “Welcome to the club, boy. Now get a damn seat.”

  The other Dwarves chuckled and laughed as Dwarves moved to make room for him. Those nearest patted him on the back, accepting him into their world as one of their peers.

  “Now we’ve dealt with the good stuff, we need to deal with the issues of the time,” Sola said. The armor continued to make its run, with more than a few of the Dwarves making notes on paper that would save it to their interface’s notepad.

  “Lo’kal has made it clear that we are allowed to do with the Weapons of Power as we see fit. It also seems that he is releasing all of the creatures that he has captured and held away from Emerilia since its beginning. Right now, he is letting out those that he saved from death and persecution. Within Benvari Mountain, the Demon Prince Alkao is training and gathering strength. We have had reports of other Demons surfacing across Ashal. New water creatures roam our seas and there are Aerial species that have not been seen in millennia. Dave, we have heard a lot about Lo’kal, but we do not know him. What do you think of his character?”

  “Well, I know him as Bob the Gnome, and well—he cares deeply for the People of Emerilia. He cannot directly act here but he has moved more than one group of people and used them as instruments in order to keep the balance on Emerilia. Wait—why haven’t you talked to him?” Dave asked.

  “Well, he is an almighty being. Would he not find us?” Sola said.

  “One second.” Dave opened up his interface and typed out a message.

  When did Dave come to know Lo’kal? Kol wondered.

  “What is our conference room code and password? He needs it to get in,” Dave said.

  Sola opened up her interface, sending Dave a message back.

  There was a light at one of the room’s entrances. Out walked a Gnome, lighting a pipe. “Well, this is where you’ve all been? Lost the last password a few centuries ago. Hey, Dave, how’s everything going? Seems like you’re doing well.” The Gnome leaned against one of the pillars around the room and puffed on his pipe.

  “Bob, this is Sola. Sola, this is Bob, or Lo’kal, or balancer, or gray weirdo, or the seventh strangeling.”

  “We’re going to have to work on your presentation.” Bob puffed on his pipe absently. “So, everyone, what’s going on?”

  “He’s Lo’kal? The administrator and creator of Emerilia?” Endur said.

  “Hey! It was a lot of work making this place, I’ll let you know. None of that seven days shit. More like two decades, what with the change in the atmosphere and then the seeders and lack of funding. Jukal cheapskates always giving you a tenth of what you need and still expecting you to be on time and happy with their generosity.” Bob sighed.

  ***

  Dave conjured a beer in his hands; everyone in the room could be trusted. He conjured a table for Bob with a single Scotch on it.

  The other Dwarves had looks of shock, to confusion and amusement.

  “I knew I picked the right guy for the job!” Bob took the Scotch, taking a sip and making a silent cheers with Dave.

  “Well looks like you’ve been keeping a few things close to the chest,” Sola said, looking at the conjured items and then Bob, leaving Dave and his secrets alone.

  “With regards to all the creatures that you pulled off Emerilia, is it true that they are coming back in a few year’s time in some kind of event basis?”

  “Unfortunately, yes. I tricked the system somewhat, turning it into an event instead of just having it full-out. That said, it’s not going to be pretty. Some of the races I had to move in groups, or in the middle of a ceremony. They’re going to appear in large numbers and sometimes, right before casting one hell of a shitty spell. Some will be weak. I can let you lot and some other groups who hold conferences like this know. That said, I cannot show myself longer for five minutes on Emerilia.”

  “Why?” Dave asked.

  “I have lost my ability to see the other lords and ladies of the Pantheon. After five minutes of being on Emerilia, if they have a scrying spell, they can see where I am and what I am doing. Whoever I am talking to will be of interest to them and in grave danger. Lucky thing that I have friends and the interface’s chat is perfectly secure.” Bob smiled and looked to Kol. “Dwarven Master Kol, would you like to be my friend? It makes sense that the two people who taught this bozo to make things get acquainted.”

  “I will,” Kol said.

  “Regular charismatic guy, I am!”

  “He has to or else the only other person is me or my party,” Dave said.

  “Yeah, which reminds me—I need you to go and meet up with the Stone Raiders. Even if the rankings don’t show it, they’re one of the most powerful guilds, not for their equipment or levels, but due to their stats and their determination. Never seen a group get killed so many times and then go right back into battle. You Humans are weird.”

  “Sir, we are Dwarves,” Quino said.

  “I know what you are—I made you. Was really messy, all kinds of subsets, the gene splicing and making you people stable. Took me an entire century!”

  “Bob…” Dave’s warning tone got him back on track.

  “Yeah, so I need you to go and meet up with them. Need someone influencing them. That way, got more chances for the People of E
merilia and the Players to work together for the common good. Look at me, making alliances and shit.”

  “You sure that he’s a lord of the Pantheon?” Gorpal asked.

  “Gorpal Dunsk, lives in the Akrimon Mountains, southeastern Ashal, creator of three Weapons of Power: Mace of Fury, Treanar tower Shield, and Boots of Smash. Dude, seriously, Boots of Smash? Well, yeah umm, smithing art—Paint Copy. Oh, that’s cool—whatever you paint, you can then replicate completely. Kind of go into a fugue state. Props, dude. Call a pendant the Pendant of Shiny for all I care—that’s cool as fuck. Hmm, never been an Affinity dude—agree with you there, they don’t deserve any of your power. Umm, you’ve got what, like eight Weapons of Power in Akrimon? Wow, got the Staff of Growing. Trust me, Arch-mage Jekoni was not a pervert—just, well, you know, names shit weird stuff. Plus, he bound his soul to it. You are keeping up with having someone from the mages guild talking to his bored ass, right?”

  Dave rubbed his face as the Dwarves seemed shocked and unsure of what they wanted to say.

  “Yeah, we do. He really wants to get out. Nearly started hopping his stick ass across the vault when we said that the dragons had returned.” Gorpal shook his head.

  “Might be like what, five hundred years old, but he’s always been a spritely fellow. So annoying when he actually had legs.” Bob shook his head and finished off his Scotch.

  The Dwarves chuckled and snorted.

  “In light of the upcoming arrival of some rather nasty people who will wish us and the People of Emerilia harm, we are debating whether or not to have a tournament for new owners of the Weapons of Power,” Sola said.

  “I like your style, Sola. I’ll do my best to hide the Weapons of Power. Most of the Players are too low of a level to attract attention with the Weapons of Power as they can’t use their full strength. The People of Emerilia, on the other hand, you’ve got quite a few high-leveled people. Might be an idea to brief them and make them sign a contract that they use the weapons under certain conditions and then another one that they can’t use it against the People of Emerilia. Going to be a pain to write up those contract runes, but thankfully that guy right there has been messing around with a ton of runes.” Bob pointed right at Dave.