Hal immediately turned around and tried to go back to bed. It was too early, though judging by the light coming in through the arched entryway it was well past midday, and Durvin was far too loud.
Mira was at his side in a wink and he didn’t possess the strength to shrug her off. Not that having a hangover made any difference. The Dragoon could overpower him on his best day if he wasn’t using Splice to channel essence. And even then, he wasn’t entirely sure how he’d fare against the woman.
Forced to take a seat on a log fashioned into a bench across from Durvin, Hal tried to remind himself he was talking to an important man. A man who likely could snap his spine in half without much effort.
Without Hal’s hefty CHR and Leadership bonuses, he was at a severe disadvantage. The glint in Durvin’s bronze eyes suggested the dwarf had set this all up on purpose.
Crafty bugger, he thought with a wry grin. The dwarven leader was smarter than he looked. That was good.
Hal ran a tongue over his fuzzy feeling teeth, his gaze unfocused as he tried to look around for something to drink to rinse the horrible taste from his mouth.
Ashera pressed a tankard into his hands. When Hal looked at it suspiciously, she gave him a coy smile. “It’s just water.”
Muttering a word of thanks, Hal drained it in one go. He could barely taste anything but even with his lack of functioning tastebuds, Hal could tell it was not ordinary water. There was something tannic in it that had a bite.
You drink: [Revitalizing Remedy].
You gain the effect of Minor Restoration.
You no longer suffer from Hungover.
Keenly aware that Durvin was watching him intently, Hal half-lidded his eyes and did his best to mimic the fatigue and general malaise from just a few seconds ago.
Whatever Ashera put in this, she could make a mint selling back on Earth. Heck, people could probably use it here too.
Hal cleared his throat a few times, as he imitated trying to focus his eyes on Durvin. “What more is there?” he asked.
The dwarf gave him a once over and nodded, buying the act it would seem. He was only fully convinced once he received the notification.
Your Deception has risen to Level 5.
+1% Deception success (+4%).
+0.5% Deception awareness (+2.5%).
-0.5% Reputation loss (-2.5%).
+1.5% Deception success for each person you have told the same lie to (+1.5%).
Of course there would be more to talk about. The Clan Leader had agreed to the broad strokes but without any particulars, nothing would get done.
There was still the matter of the koblins, getting supplies, and Murkmire’s Coffin District to settle but once that was done there would be nothing holding him here anymore.
The dwarves and his group would need somewhere to live while working on the Sanctum. They’d need a Manaseed. Which they didn’t have – though Hal did have a lead on one – and they would presumably need some sort of recompense for their work. And likely a dozen more different specifics Hal couldn’t think of.
Hal didn’t need to fake the headache he felt coming on as he pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned.
The tired, weary look he gave Durvin set the older dwarf back a bit. He cleared his throat and when he spoke it was far gentler than Hal expected. “Me clan makes a pittance on these items. But the clans back at the Anvil rely on this trade. One of many, don’t ye doubt, but valuable all the same. Ye get what I mean boy?”
He was about to answer when he realized it was a test. Had he still been hungover the suggestion would have been entirely lost on him. Hal would have to make an offer that was – monetarily at least – as good or better than what they got from their trade with Murkmire.
As he didn’t have any idea about the economy of such actions, the confused look he gave Durvin wasn’t faked.
The dwarf slapped his knee and Hal put on a wincing expression. “Not so loud,” he said softly.
“Humans,” Durvin said with a snort. “Can’t handle yerselves. What I’m saying is, unless ye can gift us with somethin’ that we can take back to the Anvil, I can’t bring me whole clan just like that.” He snapped his thick fingers to accentuate the point.
“At best I could send a few o’ me more hearty adventurous folk. A half-dozen, perhaps. But they won’t be much help when ye be needing to make a home.”
Hal thought about it for a moment. He had a fair amount of sparks on him at the moment and plenty of items he hadn’t yet been able to sell or trade for. In fact, his inventory was practically overflowing.
Maybe there was a way he could fill the dwarves’ coffers while simultaneously dealing with his inventory bloat and his severely damaged gear.
“I’ve got an idea,” Hal said.
“Oh, another one?” Durvin asked. “Go on then, spill it.”
“How much do you make on each sale through your intermediaries and after you’ve paid off the City Guard, and whoever else you bribe?”
Durvin’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “I’m not fer likin’ where this is leadin’.”
“Just bear with me. You make a fraction of what they’re actually worth, right?”
“Still make a decent profit,” Durvin countered. “But maybe ye got yerself a point. What of it?”
Hal looked around at each of his party members. No one was untouched by the countless fighting. Most of them sported large gaps in their armor if their armor worked at all.
Each of them was heavily torn up and Hal could guess that the repairs alone would likely cost as much as a new set of gear.
Not to mention the Coffin Contract paid very well.
At 20,000 sparks per party member, they had a collective 100,000 to their names. Add to that what Hal, Elora, and Ashera possessed and he suspected they were at least half again as wealthy.
And that didn’t even begin to touch on selling the loot they acquired or the sparks Vorax-
Hal started and looked around frantically for Vorax. He hadn’t explained the mimic to the dwarves and he doubted the sturdy folk took well to surprises.
Once again, it was Ashera that had arranged for everything. She gave him a soft smile, a gentle touch, and subtly directed his attention toward several sacks. Stuffed among much of their things was Vorax. He looked like nothing more than a promising treasure chest.
Good.
“What if we traded with your clan?” Hal asked, composing himself once more. “Each of us has a hefty amount of sparks to spend and we’ve got plenty of loot from our recent adventure. I’m sure between the trade and money we can offer at least an equivalence to what you’d get from Murkmire.
“If not more. And besides, imagine what rich veins of untapped ore you might find in the mountains near our newfound Sanctum.”
That last bit made Durvin’s eyes grow wide with wonder. He covered it up quickly. “That’s another thing,” he said. “Ye haven’t told me where ye plan on this newfangled Sanctum bein’ placed. We can’t march off without knowing where we’re headed!”
With a look at each of his friends, he leveled a steady gaze at the dwarf. “The Shiverglades.”
This time the older dwarf couldn’t hide his shock. His mouth hung open for a long moment. “Ye daft, boy. The Shiverglades is death itself!”
“So I’ve heard,” Hal said, putting on his most confident face. “Is the courage of the dwarves not all that I’ve heard?”
“Oh ye a keen one,” Durvin spat. “Dangling the carrot with one hand and proddin’ with that stick o’ yers with the other! I got half a mind to show ye where ye can shove that stick if’n ye ain’t careful.”
Your Leadership has risen to Level 16(21).
+1% Party damage (+21%).
+2% Leadership efficacy (+42%).
Your Persuasion has risen to Level 11.
+1% Persuasion success (+11%).
+0.5% Antagonistic persuasion success (+5.5%).
Hal smiled at the blustering dwarf. With his CHR, Persuasion, an
d Leadership restored, he felt confident in his ability to bring Durvin around. To show him the untapped potential of a land untamed.
96
They talked for a long while, breakfast was served and still, they talked.
The surly dwarf had made many harrowing treks in his long life. He understood that a great number of supplies would be needed to make the dangerous trip if the majority of Clan Bouldergut was going with Hal to the Shiverglades.
As Hal feared, it was going to be costly. Very costly.
More than half of what the dwarves made went into traveling expenses. With so many mouths to feed and without skilled hunters to bring in food, they had to load up with countless supplies.
So many supplies necessitated the need for large wagons and beasts of burden – many of which didn’t make the trek for any number of reasons – and the list went on.
“Luggin’ that many folk around is slow business,” Durvin said. “Once there was a Great Road that was bein’ built. Folk said it’d be a new golden age. Merchants only worryin’ themselves with bandits and the like, not deadly ‘storms they can’t outrun. And ye know, the further west ye go the worse the Manastorms get.”
“I have a solution for that,” Hal said.
The dwarf gave him one good look and spat to the side. “Always with the solutions, ye got yerself more secrets than bloody Mornhammar! Well, out with it. If I’m to be yer partner in this – I ain’t subservient to any soul – I’ll have no secrets atween us.”
Fair enough, Hal thought.
Clan Bouldergut would no doubt be a massive gain for his burgeoning Sanctum. Instead of huts made of twigs and straw, he saw towering stone buildings with elegant facades. Strong, thick gates of worked stone that swung effortlessly on cunning dwarven-made hinges.
And so Hal laid it all out for Durvin. His powers, the Manashield he could conjure and the path they would have to take to a crystalline land to the west in order to gain the Manaseed they’d need.
Seeing Durvin’s rightfully skeptical look after proclaiming he can stop Manastorms, Hal even went so far as to give a display of Manashield.
Brilliant prismatic light spilled out of Hal’s hand, raised to the heavens, and a large dome - much larger than the barrow they were in - was erected.
“To think,” Durvin mused, rubbing at his short beard. “I nearly let ‘em cut ye down! Things’ve been too wrong for too long lately I say. By Dumaduin! If’n ye got a mind to make some changes fer the better, then Clan Bouldergut will stand with ye.” He snorted. “Anvil’s been gettin’ a bit too crowded for me tastes anyhow.”
He grasped Hal’s forearm and they shook.
Clan Bouldergut Reputation: +2,200 (Dwarf-Friend).
The Bouldergut Clan now sees you as a friend of not just themselves, but the race as a whole. You are to be afforded every courtesy and aid they can give within reason. Dwarves consider you as extended family and will go out of their way to invite you out to drink and carouse.
“If yer really able to stop a Manastorm in its tracks, well… we can travel much cheaper and lighter then! We usually pay a few mage-types to do some o’ their mage-y stuff. Mostly that’s predictin’ where the Manastorm will be at so we can try to move around it.
“If we get stuck in one we got some shells we assemble and crawl under but they be heavy and not friendly to carry around if’n ye lookin’ fer speed.”
“Mages willing to make those treks are also very expensive,” Ashera said. “And the barriers they can erect are temporary at best. They last one or two strikes and then another needs to be erected and maintained.”
“Aye, the lass has the right of it.”
In the end, Durvin agreed to trade with them. Even going so far as to offer them the same rate they gave those on the black market within Murkmire. As Hal pointed out to the leader, even if they charged those prices they no longer had to pay bribes or for people to forge documents on their behalf.
They also wouldn’t need to make a trip into Murkmire in the first place.
There was still much to discuss. The logistics of moving such a large clan of dwarves was no small feat. Even with the Rangers helming the hunting and gathering for food, it would be a large procession. And as the one leading it, Hal was the one that would have to make the decisions.
He could go with just the Rangers and a small troupe from Clan Bouldergut but then they would have to return at some point for the bulk of the dwarves.
They could take everybody but then suffer being slowed down by so many people who couldn’t match the long measured strides of the Rangers.
Or he could go for a third option, one where he brought a large portion of dwarves but not so many that they drastically slowed him down.
Once Durvin left to arrange for their wares to be shown, Hal took out his [Explorer’s Map]. Now that they were out of Murkmire, the map showed large swaths of the Fallmark Region.
Sanctum-Fallwreath was there up on the far right of the map and several of the other Sanctums he heard about. If the map was remotely to scale, Hal could make a decent estimate as to the time it would take to reach the Shiverglades.
Traveling from Fallwreath through the woods and being delayed a day or two by the goblin cave, it took them weeks to reach Murkmire. And that was largely because of the children and sickly koblins they had in tow.
Accounting for the detour to that absolutely terrifying purple-pink hued crystalline section of the map, Hal figured it’d take them at least the same amount of time if they were going at an equal pace.
Unfortunately, the map was rather unhelpful in finding out where to set up a Sanctum. If they didn’t have to press far into the Shiverglades, then even with things going completely off the rails two days into the journey, they would likely make it to the Shiverglades within the month. Two at the outside.
Rolling up the map, he looked up to find the rest of his party watching him. “What?”
“When I first met you,” Mira said, leaning forward to peer intently at Hal. “I thought to myself, ‘no way this dude survives a single hour, let alone his first fight’ and now I’m watching you browbeat and cajole a friggin’ dwarf clan leader on his home turf. Haggle a dwarf down to a reasonable price and gain an ally all without getting somebody’s head cut off. I mean, what the heck. Who are you?”
“I told you he’d make a fine leader,” Ashera said to Elora.
The Ranger eyed Hal and a soft smile perked up the edges of her lips. “He’s come a long way. But we’re going to need to be careful. In fact, it might be best if you didn’t go into town at all. Who knows if Rinbast is looking for you.”
Grinning, Hal said, “I got a plan for that. I figure Durvin’s going to be a while uncrating all the goods for us to look over. I’ll go into town with a few people. Don’t worry, I can disguise myself.
“We’ll hand in the Coffin Contract, get paid, look in on the Gone Goose, and set up the area for the koblins. Meanwhile, one of you can go find the Rangers and explain what’s happened. I’m sure they’re worried.”
“I’ll go,” Elora said. “I can get there quickly.”
“That’s nice and all,” Mira said, getting up and stretching. “But there’s no way we’re all going to be able to leave. Not until we’ve made an oath or a pact of some kind with Clan Bouldergut.
“That they’re willing to trade at all speaks volumes for their regard for us - for you. But I doubt they’re going to let us all walk out with promises of going to get more money. That’s got to be the oldest trick in the book.
“Money, which I might add, we sorely need for supplies and-” Mira paused, seeing the strange look everybody was giving her. “What?”
“You’re coming?” Hal asked. He couldn’t help but smile. As much as he liked Mira’s company, she did seem a little scatterbrained. The sort of person that wouldn’t stick around for very long.
Add to that the reality of what Hal was trying to do – form a competing Sanctum right in Rinbast’s backyard – and the
outlook of anybody tagging along with Hal was decidedly murky at best.
“Of course!” She looked positively incensed that they hadn’t considered she would stay. “Why would I leave you guys? You’re like family now. Nuh-uh. There’s no way you’re getting rid of me that easily. I want in on this Founder bull you got going on. Do you have any idea what kind of awesome gamble this is?”
Elora and Ashera nodded, Hal just shrugged. He had an inkling.
“Okay,” Mira said, pacing back and forth. “If you manage to create a Sanctum then that effectively makes us the founding members, yeah?”
“Seems reasonable,” Hal said.
“Elves aren’t allowed positions of high power. In fact, most races besides humans and a few rare instances of other races aren’t allowed to be anything higher than an assistant to a councilor.
“Now take it a step further. People are sick of Rinbast’s oppression. Once word gets out that there’s a safe haven for people who feel rejected or marginalized, your population is going to boom.”
Hal stood up and walked to the archway as Mira talked. He glanced out into the main central area of the camp. It was a hive of activity, dwarves bustled about unloading one crate after the other.
“Where are you going with this, Mira?” he asked, turning back to her.
“We’re going to need somebody to shepherd these poor souls to and from areas under Rinbast’s control. Normal citizens, especially craftsmen and tradesmen aren’t going to be able to make the trip. Heck, one of us might not be able to make it. What I’m saying is, we’re going to need an underground railroad.
“A path marked out and safeguarded along the way for those that know where to look and have a proper guide. I’ve walked the breadth of the Murkmire region all the way down to Withermere and even up to Amberhearth. I know the wilds, probably as well as Elora if not better. Let me come with you and I will bring you people who can’t get there by themselves.
Beastborne- Mark of the Founder Page 77