by N H Paxton
“We don’t have to do this. Once you go down this path, there’s no turning back.” Alvinoth’s face wasn’t cold or angry, but concerned.
“No, gave up great amount to accomplish this feat. Cannot turn back now.” I closed my eyes and nodded.
“You’ve already decided then,” Alvinoth said.
“Have made choice, was no other,” I responded.
“There’s always another path. This one leads... well...” He trailed off, looking toward the front of the building.
“If had to pin title of enigma to person, Alvinoth would fit bill,” I said.
“Yeah, you’re not wrong. Alright, this path has a lot of pain, Vlad. Are you sure you want to do this? You’re taking the first step on a very long road.” Alvinoth gave me a stoic look.
“As said before, am decided. Plan was to complete quest, create guild, discover Vault of Souls. Task given by you.” I pointed an accusatory finger at him.
“You’re right, I did kind of start this whole thing.” He shrugged, then waved a hand over the flasks of blood that were sitting on the table between us and in a circle around the Dungeon Heart.
“This isn’t Traveler blood or even NPC blood. It’s Fiend blood.” Alvinoth uncorked the remaining vial, then set it in its place in the circle.
“You mean from Demon?” I asked.
“Basically, yeah. I’ve been bleeding the Fiends that the Dark Father has been spawning, planning for this.” Alvinoth smirked, then looked shocked, slapping a hand over his mouth. “Man, I gave too much away.”
“Am assuming you know some of future, is not surprise.” I waved a hand at the vials of blood encircling the sphere.
“Yeah, let’s get this rolling. Do you know the incantation?” Alvinoth pointed at the blueprint, which changed slightly.
Where the blueprint had previously contained only text, it now contained a detailed diagram of hand gestures, words, and alchemic formulae.
My mind rolled over the gestures and text, instantly memorizing them. It was like a burst of inspiration.
“Am ready.” My resolve hardened as I brought my hands together in front of my face, fingers splayed out, points of each finger touching the other respectively.
“We’ve only got one chance. If we fail, the Heart will rupture, and we’ll likely both die.” He put his hands in the same position I had.
“Cannot see if we succeed?”
“There are some things that are only recorded in the farthest depths of the library.” He shrugged. “On three?”
“Is good.” I narrowed my eyes, preparing myself. Everything I had worked so hard for could explode in my face.
“One, two, three.” Alvinoth’s fingers shifted, his entire hand rotating to a vertical instead of horizontal position.
My hands followed, mirroring his movements.
“Sanguinum Arceus Collumvitae,” the words slipping from my mouth were altogether foreign and familiar.
My hands shifted in unfamiliar ways, the motions almost painful.
“Caraleum Delecorum Ocham.” The words cued another gesture, my mind taking over automatically.
Our motions began to build energy between us, like an unseen wind.
My eyes widened as the blood from the vials began to siphon out from them, gently rolling in the air like it was flowing downhill. At first it was a trickle, then it began to move faster, a swift flow of red ichor moving of its own accord into the air, coating the black sphere with a thin layer of red.
“Corpus Elicitum Sonourus.” Another gesture cue. My fingers and hands were starting to cramp up.
The air began to buzz, the hum of magic building all around us.
“Aetherium Fusale Oblexitus.” Alvinoth’s fingers splayed over the orb, and my hands moved to follow accordingly.
A bolt of electricity struck the top of the sphere, startling me. I nearly lost my focus but managed to maintain it as Alvinoth looked at me sternly.
“Finitum Arderius Infinitum.” The final words stuck in my mouth like I had tried to eat an entire spoonful of cinnamon. The difficulty in saying them caused my brain to ache.
Alvinoth’s palms slapped together, and an instant later mine did the same.
A larger bolt of electricity struck the Dungeon Heart. The blood that had coated the sphere boiled all at once, then congealed.
The sphere appeared to expand in size for just a moment before snapping back to its original size.
Alvinoth put his face close to the Dungeon Heart, his brows furrowing in concern.
Thud.
The Dungeon Heart beat, then again and again. A smile crossed Alvinoth’s lips as he leaned back, a pleased look on his face.
“Congratulations, my friend. You just revived a Dungeon Heart.”
Create, Construct, Absolve
<<<>>>
X1 Level Up!
You have (5) unassigned stat points.
You have (1) unassigned proficiency point.
<<<>>>
“MASTER VLAD, SIR?” The young Alchemy apprentice nearly ran into me as he skidded to a stop.
“Yes, can not see am having a moment with friend...?” I raised a hand to where Alvinoth had been seated, but he was gone.
“Okay, sorry. Um, here’s the item you wanted.” He fished a large leather canvas from his bag and handed it to me.
He bowed quickly to me, then hesitantly bowed to the empty chair.
Wonderful, now the entire workshop was going to think I was insane. I was partly beginning to think that I was insane.
Thud.
The Dungeon Heart beat again, demanding my attention.
It speaks. It wishes to fulfill its job. You brought it back to life, now give it purpose. Gamma no longer sounded like Gamma at all, but exactly like Mathias.
I was going to miss Gamma’s harsh voice.
“Yes, yes, fuse to Guild Standard, attach to building, make guild. Am aware.” I waved a dismissive hand in the air.
I grabbed the canvas in both hands and looked hard at it. I had no idea how I was going to fuse the two objects together. I had just used a ridiculous amount of blood to resurrect a Dungeon Heart, and now I needed to stick it to this piece of leather.
I shook my head and set the leather canvas down on top of the sphere and looked away. I rubbed my temples with my thumbs, trying to clear my mind.
A sound like tearing leather snapped my attention back to the sphere and the canvas.
The sphere had liquified and was spilling itself over the entirety of the canvas, changing it from clean leather to bloodstained.
<<<>>>
Choose your Guild’s Symbol
<<<>>>
An interface appeared before me, an empty space with the canvas spinning around in the middle of it. I looked at it and thought about the Hammer and Sickle of old Russia.
The canvas shifted and changed, the old emblem of the CCCP now emblazoned on the leather.
I shook my head, and it vanished. No, we couldn’t do that. It wasn’t very appropriate.
No, we needed something that would signify freedom and unity. Something that would signify power and function. Something that would show that we were crafters.
I started the image with an anvil taking up a large portion of the bottom of the canvas. There needed to be images that gave knowledge to those who entered.
A book, open and emitting light, appeared above the anvil and in the middle of the canvas.
A good start, but we needed more.
I considered all of the crafts that existed in Eldgard: Alchemy, Enchanting, Blacksmithing, Runescribing, Glassblowing, Carpentry, Tailoring.
A standard needed to be powerful, but also simple. I wanted the standard to convey the far-reaching impact of the guild.
Above the anvil and book, I chose a simple image: a crossed sword and staff, with a shield behind it.
The sword would show power and strength, while the staff would provide the ideals of magic and enchantment. The shield would signify fortitud
e and solidarity, where all of the crafters were united in one front.
I looked it over, then gave it a splash of color. Silver for the blade, white for the shield, and red for the staff.
The canvas spun quickly. After it completed a single rotation, the images were colored as I had desired.
It was exactly what I wanted.
I took the Guild Standard outside to the front porch of the workshop and stared into the night. The cool breeze felt great after being trapped underground for the better part of two days.
I looked down at the Guild Standard symbol and finalized the Guild Standard options. As soon as I was finished, I was met with another notification.
<<<>>>
Please Provide a Name for Your Guild
<<<>>>
There was an option to generate a random name. I’d had an interesting experience with that in the character creation window, so I decided to give it a go.
The first option it provided was Amazing Guild of Ultimate Creativity.
I frowned hard as I saw the name and had to keep myself from cursing at the development teams. I selected random again, evidently not irritated enough with my own mistake.
Another name, somehow infinitely worse than the first, appeared before me. Guild Super Amazing Alpha Wolf Dynamite.
I couldn’t keep my face straight. I erupted into laughter at the second guild name. Who in their right mind would name a guild something so childish?
“Okay, okay, need to focus. Fatigue is catching to Vlad.” I took a deep breath and centered myself.
“Need good guild name, one that will be remembered in generation ahead.” I scratched my head, then ran my hands through my hair.
“You could name it something really corny.” An enormous Risi, covered in scars with a battle-axe strapped to his back, stood next to me. He leaned heavily on a large hammer.
“You have thoughts?” I asked.
The Risi’s name was Forge, and he was an incredible fighter, but an even better Blacksmith. I had heard rumors about him circulating in the workshop, but didn’t know much more than that.
There was hearsay that he had been on the team that stormed the control tower at Rowanheath, but there was no evidence of it.
“Name it the Great Forge.” A smile crossed the Risi’s face as he shifted, hefting the hammer over his shoulder.
“Is corny, for certain.” I looked to the night sky for answers.
“Alright, alright, I was wrong. How about the Darkshard Emporium?” The unusual accent that Forge had made his words thick.
“Getting closer,” I said, my thoughts closing in on an idea.
“I ain’t got much else for ya.” Forge looked up at the stars in the sky.
“Should name guild Crafter’s Absolution.” The words flowed easily and smoothly.
“Man, that’s good.” Forge chuckled gently, then walked back into the workshop.
<<<>>>
Do you wish to name your Guild [Crafter’s Absolution]?
Yes/No?
<<<>>>
“Yes,” I whispered.
I clenched my fist as I finalized the guild’s name. That was it, I had created the Guild Standard and given it a name. All that was left was to affix the standard to the building.
“But how am going to reach?” I looked up at the top of the door.
It stood taller than I could reach, and I had no idea where the apprentices kept the ladders. I rolled my eyes as I looked at the door. I could just stick it on the side.
I pulled a mallet and some barbed nails from my bag and stuck the standard on the wall.
A flash emitted from the Guild Standard, then raced across the walls, over the entire building, and snapped back to the standard.
<<<>>>
Congratulations!
You have founded a Guild!
As the Founder of the Guild, you are the owner and sole proprietor. You now have access to the Building Workshop menus, as well as guild levels and skills.
You may also alter the building that houses the guild to your desires, so long as it does not exceed the guild’s level in structure points.
<<<>>>
“Okyuha.” I reflexively stepped backwards as I saw a number of new icons appear in my options list. They were titled [Guild Information], [Guild Command], and [Guild Design].
Curious to know what exactly was going on, I mentally selected Guild Information.
<<<>>>
Crafter’s Absolution [Crafting Guild – MultiRole]
Current Guild Level: 1
Current Guild XP: 0
Guild XP to next level: 10,000
Guild Rooms: 1/10
Guild Building Points Used: 70/100
Number of Guild Members: 1/50
Number of Guild Officers: 1/5
Founder: Vlad Nardoir
Number of Guild-Owned Structures: 1
Guild Workshop [General]
Guild Skills: None
Guild Skill Points: 1
Guild Coffer:
0 Gold
0 Silver
0 Copper
Guild Inventory:
0/10,000 stacks
<<<>>>
“Is a lot to take in,” I said, mentally working through a number of potential outcomes.
I looked at the workshop wall where the Guild Standard was hung, and I noticed a small icon with arrows protruding up, down, left, and right. I grabbed it, and it popped off the wall.
“Is interesting.” I put it on the opposite side of the door, and it stuck firm.
“Icon symbolizes Vlad can move item freely then.” I scratched at a spot behind my right ear absentmindedly.
I grabbed the door of the workshop and pulled. The door shifted without much effort. I slid it to the side, and the entrance to the workshop went with it.
“Is unbelievable.” There were some windows on the side of the building I had been meaning to move, but I wanted to rearrange the interior first.
I cracked the knuckles of both of my hands, stretched my fingers out, then stepped into the workshop. All of the workbenches, storage units, walls, doors, and ceiling panels developed a framework. Every time I focused on one, the same little icon with arrows would pop up to move them.
“Am having to move everything by hand?” I shook my head. That would take hours.
I looked at the other buttons within the Guild Menu and selected Guild Design.
A scale model of the workshop came to life in front of me, hovering in place. I nodded with a smile of appreciation. Truly the development team for this game world had thought of everything.
There were a number of options in the drop-down menus that were involved in the Guild Design tab: [Rooms], [Sub-Rooms], [Floors], [Work Spaces], [Furniture], and [Hall].
Each of them seemed to contain a specific type of item, or rather a collection of items, that would benefit a crafting guild as a whole.
I chose Rooms, and a small green square appeared on the floor in front of me. A description popped up next to the square.
<<<>>>
Rooms (From Wiki)
A Guild Building can be divided into multiple rooms, used for different purposes. Each room can contain items from that specific category, such as a smithy for Blacksmithing, or a laboratory for Alchemists. Permanent objects cannot inhabit a room that is not intended for their use, such as having a forge inside an Alchemy laboratory, unless a new type of room has been established, such as an [Augury] or an [Elemental Smithery].
Current rooms: 1
Type: Common Area
<<<>>>
There was a wiki in the game? I had spent all of my time in Eldgard not knowing about a collection of knowledge that was built by the community. I shook my head at my oversight and continued.
I looked at the floor again, imagining the square going out to the front corner by the door. I was going to make the entrance a smithery. Eventually I would need to discover what was meant by Elemental Smithery, perhaps through a quick wiki search
if the information was available, but for now I would use the basic rooms.
I designated the front third of the building as a smithery. Once I had made the decision, a click sounded in my head and a slight glow appeared around the forges, anvils, and workbenches that stood within the smithery boundaries.
<<<>>>
Secret Quest Alert! For Smith’s Sake has been completed!
You’ve constructed a Smithery inside a Guild Building, providing important working space for the hammer swinging and tong wielding members of the Blacksmith subclass.
As a result, your guild space will receive a permanent 10% increase to the durability of smithed weapons and armor, as well as providing an additional 5% XP bonus to those who use the designated area to perform Blacksmithing duties.
Additionally, the guild will receive 1 skill point.
(Current Guild Skill points available: 2)
<<<>>>
My eyes widened as I read the information. I had not expected there to be quests involved in the process of making this building functional.
The middle third of the room, I designated as an Alchemy laboratory. There was the same click, followed by the workstations that were aligned with the Alchemy subclass gently glowing.
<<<>>>
Secret Quest Alert! Double Bubble Blah Blah OH NO! Has been completed!
You’ve constructed an Alchemy Laboratory inside of a Guild Building, providing important working space for the bubble-loving, potion-spilling Alchemists.
As a result, your guild space will provide a permanent 15% increase to formula strength for each potion created and a permanent 5% decrease to the Toxicity of each potion. In addition, every Alchemist working within the designated area will receive an additional 5% XP bonus for their craft.
Additionally, the guild will receive 1 skill point.
(Current Guild Skill points available: 3)
<<<>>>
There was one for Alchemists as well, how convenient.
I looked over the layout of the room. There were some blacksmithing stations within the laboratory and some alchemy stations inside the smithery. Those items that were in the wrong room had a slight red tinge to them.
I did a quick wiki search for the information.