The last thing Hal expected was to have so much attention on him suddenly.
“You just took it off the board?” Ashera asked him.
Hal’s brow furrowed. “What was I supposed to do?”
Ashera shrugged.
“There’s a duplicating spell on the Notice Board,” came the familiar tones of the copper-haired elf from earlier. “Accepting a bill doesn’t mean you’re depriving somebody else. Unless of course it’s a unique bill and then it’s first come, first served.” She looked at Hal and Ashera, motioning with the mug in her hands. “Mind if I join?”
Ashera exchanged a wary glance at Hal. Hal motioned for the elf to sit. “Not at all,” he said.
“Thanks.” She took a peek at the bill and let out a low whistle. “Going after the Big Score, huh?”
“What do you mean?” Hal asked, feigning ignorance. He was supposed to be new after all.
“It’s one of the older bills around Murkmire. The Coffin Contract we call it, on account of the… y’know. Deadliness. Also, that’s the name of the district,” the elf explained. “By-the-by, I’m Mira.” She extended her tanned hand to each of them, shaking their hands in turn.
“Hal.”
“Ashera.”
“Where’d the cute little Ranger go?”
Ashera looked over at the counter. Following her gaze, Hal saw Elora talking to one of the Guild agents. “She should be back soon.”
“Do they really call it the Coffin District?” Hal asked, continuing with the charade.
“Yep. It’s even official. Nobody really remembers the old name anyway. They call it that because the Mason’s Guild was contracted by the Founder himself to wall it off from all sides, including from above. So it’s like one big stone coffin. Coffin District.”
“Has anybody come back from attempting this bill?” Ashera asked. She was idly curling and uncurling the edge of the paper. But Hal could see she was subtly reading it.
He had no idea how she managed to keep her expression so calm. When he first read it, he thought his eyes might roll out of his head.
It was a constant effort to remind himself that they probably couldn’t get in. And that this contract had remained so lucrative because every other person who attempted it failed.
“Oh yeah,” Mira said, gesturing widely. “Plenty. Most people give up pretty quick once they get to the area. It’s not like it’s guarded or restricted. Well. It is guarded but they won’t stop you if you’ve got your badge on. If you go in there after they warn you away once, it’s on your head.”
“And what about those that press on anyway?” Elora asked, one hand on her hip standing behind Hal.
“Never seen from again!” Mira cackled happily. “Don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure.” Mira extended her hand and Elora shook it. “I’m Mira.”
“I’m Elora.” Elora pulled up a seat on the other side of Ashera and looked across her at Hal. “May I?”
Hal handed the contract over to her. Elora was much less practiced at hiding her expression than Ashera. Her eyes went round and wide, her lips slowly mouthed the rewards.
To her, this was a last-ditch effort to get everything back that she lost. It represented a lot more to her than it did to Hal, he realized.
Mira leaned over to her previous table and snatched her plate just as a pair of mages sat down at the empty seats. Her food was a collection of powder-sugar-coated pastries in various whimsical shapes. One of the apricot dragon pastries tried to fly away and she snatched it out of the air, taking a hefty bite out of it.
“You’re not seriously thinking of taking that bill, are you?” Mira asked, pointing a crème horn at Hal.
“Of course, why not?” It offered the perfect chance to help the koblins while simultaneously providing funds for the supplies they would need for a settlement.
He started at that line of thinking, surprised that he was so willing to go along with it. And why shouldn’t I? This world provides so much opportunity. I could make a real difference here. After all they’ve done for me, I at least owe it to them to try, don’t I?
“Wearing that?” Mira asked, drawing him from his thoughts. She looked aghast. “Okay, as an Apprentice rank in the Guild, I cannot in good conscience let you walk into a death trap wearing that. Does it even have any defense?”
“Only the belt and spaulder,” Hal answered.
“No, no, that simply will not do. We’re going to Rondo’s Junkshop, pronto.” Mira stood up and clapped her hands at Hal. “Chop-chop. We need to get there before all the other adventurers start waking up and realize they need some random piece of gear too and head over there!”
He was on his feet and halfway toward Mira’s lithe form before he knew what he was doing. His suspicious glance was met with a sly smile and a crook of her finger. “Come along now, all of you. It’s time you met your new best friend.” She threw them a wink. “Besides me, obviously.”
A burly adventurer came up suddenly to them. “You takin’ the Coffin Contract?” he asked Hal.
“He sure is,” Mira said, draping an arm casually across Hal’s shoulders. She lifted her voice so the gathering group around their table could hear. “And he’s already spoken for Falan. Ain’t no more room in this party, I’m afraid!”
That was met with a lot of grumbling and furtive glances but as they left the Adventurer’s Guild, nobody else asked about the contract.
“What was that about?” Elora asked.
Dragging them along, Mira weaved the group throughout the thronging streets of morning workers. “Your boy here just picked up the most lucrative, prestigious contract in the Murkmire Adventurer’s Guild.
“You’ll attract all sorts of hangers-on. Mostly adventurer’s who’re looking to watch you fail more than anything. Best to let them think you’ve got it all handled. If you need to round out your party, I have a few contacts I can introduce you to.”
“Like yourself?” Ashera asked.
Mira blushed and spread her fingertips across her scale mail armor. “I am honored that you would ask me! Very well, if you insist. You guys drive a hard bargain.”
With a shrug, Elora formed a party with the three of them since her Leadership was highest. They were missing only a single member and Hal intended on paying both Giel and the Adventurer’s Guild a visit before they went in.
He wanted to thank the former and had questions for the latter.
Mira led them out into the street and then down to the first level, the Mercantile Ring. She immediately dove between two towering buildings of stone that slightly bent inward, making the tight alley fall into deep shadow.
They went down one alley after the other, turning down so many cramped passages between impossibly tall buildings that Hal lost all sense of direction.
He nearly ran into Mira when he came around the last corner to find the elven woman standing there staring at a brick wall. She looked over her shoulder at him with a smug look.
Hal looked around trying to understand why she had brought them here. There was nothing but broken crates and standing puddles of murky water.
“I don’t get it,” he said.
“You get it,” Mira said, pointing at Elora. “Don’t you?”
Elora walked up to the brick wall and reached a hand out. She grasped something Hal couldn’t see and twisted her wrist, pushing in at the same time.
A line of light split the brick wall and a doorway appeared, opening onto the inside of a shop filled with dusty morning light from high mullioned windows set into thick wooden frames.
Your Perception has risen to Level 7.
+2% Perception highlight chance (+14%).
+5% Awareness of magical items (+35%).
Hal hurried up to the door. Up close, he could see the cunning camouflage used to make it seem like nothing more than a simple brick wall from afar.
Mira looked at Hal as he studied the façade. “Technically, this is the back door,” she explained. “You come through this door, a
nd you’re considered a friend.” She threw him a wink. “With the friends-and-family discount. You walk through the other door and you pay full price. Still a good deal but not nearly as the one you’re about to get.”
She clapped Hal on the back and slipped in ahead of him.
The shop was filled with knickknacks and various potions, most of them not equally filled. It looked like the equipment equivalent of a thrift store. Which, Hal guessed, it was judging by the clear wear and tear on several pieces of armor on display.
Nothing was dirty but the items were clearly not new.
A small fellow stood on a tall ladder cleaning one of the windows near a door that Hal guessed to be the one facing the bustling street. He couldn’t have been any more than four feet tall. His head was bald except for a halo of white puffed hair that stuck out all over.
When he turned, his coke-bottle glasses made his topaz eyes bulge with shock at finding people in his shop so early. “Oh my! Quite the early risers you’ve brought me, Mira!” He had a thick bushy cloud of a mustache that hid his upper lip. It waggled and bristled with each word.
“This is Rondo,” Mira said, hiking a thumb in his direction. “Rondo, this is Hal, Elora, and Ashera. They’re good friends of mine so I’d like you to take real good care of them. These folks are about to tackle their first bill: the Coffin Contract!”
Surprised by the news, Rondo nearly tumbled off the tiny ladder. He swung his arms in a windmilling fashion until he regained his balance, then he hurried down to the shop’s floor. He had on a smart black vest and button-up white shirt with large ruby cufflinks.
Hal’s attention fixed on that, and he knew without a doubt that they were magical.
“My, my! Quite the adventurous lot, eh?” He hurried around the counter at the far end of the shop, disappeared behind it, and then climbed atop a box that let him appear at Hal’s height. “Any friend of Mira’s is a friend of Rondo’s! Come in, come in, browse to your heart’s content! ‘It isn’t new, but it’ll do!’ That’s the Rondo slogan.”
Hal looked around at all the gear, the various weapons, belts, suits of armor, blades, bows, spears, and so much more. His eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas morning. This is going to be fun.
29
Hal wandered around the shop looking at everything. There was something for every Class, for every style that he could possibly imagine. And it was almost entirely out of Hal’s price range.
Wow, I really thought 100 sparks would go a little further, he thought, looking at a well-worn but intricate piece of chest armor.
It had a quilted forest-green coat with a high collar and gold threading beneath a half plate chest piece. Its pauldrons were made out of a silvery-blue metal, worked into curling designs along the chest and shoulders.
Revelation Mail
[Body] (Heroic)
Item Level: 45
DEF: 50
AGI +5 | STR +5
Perception +3 | Evasion +5
Slots: 2
DUR: 600/1,500
Lv. 25 All Classes
The pricetag? 2,000 sparks. Cheap, if Mira was any judge but still far out of Hal’s range, even if they pooled every last spark they had, it wouldn’t be close to enough.
And Hal would never ask them to spend their money on him.
He still couldn’t help staring at the armor. Aside from its beauty, it had enough stats to equal two full Level Ups and a lot of skill besides. Not to mention, whatever “slots” were.
“If you don’t mind me saying so,” Rondo said, his elbows propped up on the counter, chin cradled in his palms. “You seem like you’re in need of a little guidance. I’ve seen you look at heavy armor, light armor, medium armor, mage-specific, close-quarters, and everything else in my shop.
“While I enjoy boasting of my large selection as much as any other merchant, my aim is to help young adventurers. Since you are all so happy to go running off into every cave and dungeon that exists, my aim to make it so you survive long enough to come back to town and do it all over again. So, c’mere. Let old Rondo have a look-see.”
While Rondo was correct, Hal wasn’t doing it out of confusion. He was already a few steps on the path to being a battle mage. And he was, so far, very pleased with his Beast Magic.
His perusal was borne out of a desire to understand what kind of armor was out there. And, if he was honest with himself, he liked viewing the different types of armor. Window-shopping for clothes was boring, but for armor with stats? It was oddly enjoyable.
Hal looked wistfully back at the [Revelation Mail] and made his way to the counter.
“Gnomes are wicked good at fitting things together,” Mira added in, suddenly at his shoulder. Her violet eyes glittered with ever-present mirth. “Rondo just happens to be good at fitting people with equipment instead of parts to machines!”
The old gnome snorted at the elf and adjusted his spectacles, peering up and down at Hal. Elora was studiously examining a potion bottle but clearly close enough to Hal that she could step in if something happened.
Something like Rondo trying to pull back Hal’s sleeves, which he didn’t do. Not that it would have done him any good. Hal still had the bamboo bracer on under his long sleeve. He wasn’t taking any chances. Not in a city full of people.
Rondo didn’t do much other than stare at him unblinkingly for nearly two full minutes.
That’s… disconcerting.
Right before Hal was about to ask if everything was okay, Rondo suddenly spoke up, “My oh my, aren’t you a complicated one. Loads of potential, yes, yes, already well on your way to one goal but so many forks in the path! Mage? No. Battle mage? Maybe. Spellslinger? Definitely. Hmm.” He hopped down from behind the counter and began rushing around somewhere out of sight.
The jingle and clank of metal rang out and the rasp of leather followed suit. “Simply put, you’re a puzzle, Hal. One that I intend to solve! I see you’ve already got a good blade, that’ll make this easier.
“You need a proper set of armor like your friends there but even then I daresay I have quite the deluge of improvements for you fine ladies!”
Rondo poked his head up over the edge of the counter and threw a dark red quilted shirt up on the counter followed by a set of leather bracers.
“We’re fine,” Elora said, but Hal didn’t miss the way she looked longingly at a pair of brown leather long boots with half a dozen buckles.
“Strong, though smarter than strong,” Rondo rambled on. “Best to avoid getting hit than weathering damage. Rules out heavy armor immediately. Barely have the strength to wear it anyway! No, better to avoid getting hit, and yet no evasion skill! Strong magic, never felt that sort before though. Quite peculiar indeed.”
“Wait, what do you mean, evasion skill? There’s a skill for dodging?” Hal asked, thunderstruck. Why hadn’t he ever gotten any before? Hadn’t he dodged a few goblin attacks while slipping out of the way?
“Harder than most to Level Up, I’ll grant,” Rondo said, absently tossing a pair of worn, turned down boots onto the counter. “But well worth the effort for those with the reflexes!
“It takes a keen mind and good speed to make any use out of evasion though. Most close-quarter fighters prefer to beef up and overpower their enemies.” Hal could just barely see his white puff of hair as he shook his head ruefully. “We’d have more adventurers if they used their brains a little more!”
Hal took a glance at the equipment Rondo was loading up onto the counter.
Bounding Boots
[Feet] (Uncommon)
Item Level: 12
DEF: 2
AGI +2 | DEX +2
Insulation +2
DUR: 189/300
Lv. 10 All Classes
Traveler’s Aketon
[Body] (Uncommon)
Item Level: 12
DEF: 8
AGI + 2 | STR +1
Insulation +5
DUR: 77/200
Lv. 10 All Classes
Duelist�
��s Bracers
[Hands] (Uncommon)
Item Level: 12
DEF: 2
DEX +1
Insulation +2
DUR: 81/200
Lv. 10 All Classes
Leg Guards +1
[Legs] (Uncommon)
Item Level: 12
DEF: 4
AGI +2
Insulation: +3
DUR: 129/200
Lv. 10 All Classes
All told, it came to just about 80 sparks. More than reasonable, though Hal was curious if he could squeeze something more in there and he asked as much.
“No, no,” Mira said, hopping up on the counter to face Hal. “You’ll always want to keep some of your sparks on hand just in case. You never know when they’ll come in handy!”
“Why?” Hal asked. “Aside from crafting or as currency, how effective are sparks at raising skills?”
“I don’t know where you got him,” Mira said, jerking her chin toward Hal. “But he is adorable. If you haven’t adopted him, I will.”
“He’s spoken for,” Ashera said without looking up from the thick, battered leather-bound tome she was studying.
“Aw, all the good ones usually are.” Mira looked back to Hal. “So there’s a few things sparks are super useful for in dungeons. Namely, you can convert a single spark to a single point of skill EXP.
“Oh, and if you’ve got any enchanted items, sparks can restore the charges! Though that depends on the strength of the enchantment. Some are one-to-one, others are more drastic like ten sparks for one charge. But still, super useful to do when you’re far from town!”
Mira tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Let’s see, what else, what else…. Oh! Yes, you can also throw them at your enemies and stun them so you can run away!”
“Seriously? They stun on contact?” Hal asked.
“What? No, that’d be silly. But it can be very distracting to get hit in the face with a bunch of crystalline chips! So there’s a chance you’ll surprise them long enough to beat a hasty retreat.”
“Right, so I should keep some sparks on me for emergencies,” he agreed. “Then I’ll just take this stuff here. Thanks, Rondo.”
Beastborne- Mark of the Founder Page 28