She gave me a look that said she clearly didn’t believe me and frowned. “Sorry, but you’ll have to take a number and wait your turn just like everyone else,” she said and gestured to the people lounging in the grass near the inn where they could wait and still hear the music from inside.
With a sigh, I took the little slip of parchment with the number fifty-nine written on it and took a seat on the grass nearby, waiting for my turn.
“Now seating number forty-one! Forty-one!” the girl called out, escorting the lucky customers inside when they came forward.
The music was enjoyable, but it was hard to hear clearly through the inn walls, so I gave up trying and moved a little further away so as not to disturb those who were still trying to enjoy the music with my own antics.
Earning a few strange looks, I refreshed the Create Undead slots that I’d expended in my fight against the bandits. The ability to instantly turn a fallen enemy into an engine of death and destruction was an amazing ability that I intended to use as often as possible. I considered replacing the Necromantic Bolt slot with another insta-minion, but decided that the bolt was still useful for those “oh shit” moments.
Once that was done I decided to work on some upkeep. It had been a while since I’d reorganized my bags, and shoving in random bits of meat and hide had resulted in quite a mess. Well, not a physical mess, buy my inventory looked like an old school hard-drive in desperate need of a defrag.
Each of the various crafting and gathering professions I’d acquired had come with their own convenient bag to hold their tools and components, and luckily for me there was no limitation on nesting bags so I was able to sort the various items into their appropriate slots and then tuck them away within my satchel.
Once everything was sorted, it was much easier to catalog. My component supplies were pretty good. I had enough Bone Dust and leg bones to last awhile, and I still had eight doses of fine sand for Psychometry.
I had enough basic components to work on my Alchemy, whenever I had time for that, and a slew of other random items that I’d either picked up on a whim, dissected, or purchased due to some concern or another that had yet to come up. I mean, fifty feet of rope could be critical to survival… when it came up.
I guess I’m a hoarder, I thought with a shrug. The Dawnchaser’s Satchel had spoiled me. Why bother throwing anything out when I had a virtually unlimited inventory.
I continued sorting things out, using different sections of the inventory grid to separate items into “keep”, “auction”, and “needs research.”
What's this? I had totally forgotten about the dragon statuette I’d salvaged in the ogre’s treasure room. I pulled it out and examined it again.
< Dragon Statuette, Unknown >
A small magical statue of a dragon.
Unidentified
The hostess had posted up a convenient “Now Serving” sign, and they were only up to fifty, so I still had a pretty long wait; I decided it was time to make use of some of that fine sand and see if the statue had any useful properties.
Sprinkling the sand over the object, I cast the spell and watched as my mana sank into the statuette and it started to glow.
Psychometry Check – Item Level 10 vs Psychometry Rank 1 – Bonuses/Penalties: Scavenged+, Kobold+
Success! You have identified a < Statuette of Dragonkind >.
< Statuette of Dragonkind >
In ages long past, the Drahk ruled the world of Argos with an iron grip. As the favored children of Dragons, the Drahk used their physical and magical might to subjugate all who would stand against them, until the fall.
New Gods ascended from the elves, dwarves, and humans, bestowing their people with gifts that rivaled those of the Drahk. Thus empowered, the mortal races formed an alliance and threw off the yoke of the Drahk oppression, destroying their empire and driving their people underground.
Over time, this once proud race became small and frail, and forgot their previous status, and even their name.
Now referred to as kobolds, the Drahk people are a shadow of their former selves.
At the height of the Drahk rule, Statuettes of Dragonkind were used by the ruling clans to harness the energy of their Dragon ancestors and bestow it upon those deemed worthy, usually in return for personal service to the Emperor.
The alliance sought out and destroyed those that they could find, but some were secreted away, hidden in the hopes that one day the Drahk would rise again and regain that which was lost.
Properties:
-Draconic Veil – Only members of the kobold race can detect the magical emanations of this object.
-Kobold Evolution – 1x Ever – Use of this object will initiate the first stages of racial evolution. This will begin the quest – Draconic Legacy.
-Quest Item – This item begins the racial quest line – Draconic Legacy
-Soulbound – This item may not be lost, stolen, or given away.
Value: Priceless, May Not be Sold
“Holy shit,” I said, glancing at the statuette in my hands. I’d heard that Argos had some sort of racial quest system available where you could eventually become a more powerful version of your starting race, but I’d never heard of one for kobolds… then again, not a lot of people actually played kobolds so…
My face split in a gigantic grin. Had the statuette not been Soulbound I would have had to sell it. It would have been much too valuable to hold on to. My financial goals would have taken precedence over my inner gaming nerd doing a mental happy dance at the chance to play through a legendary racial quest line.
But it was Soulbound. No selling, no giving away, nothing. So I used it.
The core of the statue started to pulse with a soft golden glow that grew brighter with every passing second. Eyes turned my way as the statue lit up the clearing with an almost unbearable light. I gave them a weak grin and a shrug and then turned my attention back to the statuette.
With a flash, the glow was sucked back into the statuette, and then nothing.
I looked down at the miniature dragon, a curious expression on my face. “Why didn’t it-‘
Before I could finish the thought, the statue’s eyes popped open and it turned to look directly at me. Beams of golden light shot forth and enveloped me in light and heat, and then there was blackness.
Statuette of Dragonkind casts Draconic Evolution on you!
You take 42,391 damage!
You have lost 454xp due to the death penalty!
Respawn Time: 70 minutes.
Well shit. That was unexpected, I thought as I cursed myself for not doing more research before activating random legendary magic items on myself.
I watched the replay of my death, cringing as the searing eye beams reduced my reptilian avatar to cinders and then dissolved into a golden mist that mixed with the ashes of my former self and then disappeared, leaving behind a small piece of paper with the number fifty-nine printed on it, which was quickly snatched up by a waiting lupin.
Chuckling silently in the void, I logged out, planning a trip to the local shawarma place to fill my seventy minute timer.
***
49
After a tasty Mediterranean dinner and a brief call with my family, I logged back into the game, wondering if the whole statuette thing had just been some sort of elaborate trap.
I logged back into the death screen, the final seconds of my death timer ticking down. As the timer hit zero, my vision swirled and resolved into the graveyard. I took a step forward and then stumbled, feeling dizzy and disconnected from my body as a wall of text scrolled past my eyes.
Congratulations! You have unlocked the Kobold sub-race: Drahkling. This is the first stage of evolution available for the kobold race. Please take the time to review your new racial stats and abilities. A onetime use of the character appearance editor will be made available now.
As a part of this process the Death penalty has been refunded.
You have gained +2 to each base attribu
te.
Racial Ability: “Natural Weapons” upgraded to “Superior Natural Weapons”
Superior Natural Weapons – The claws and fangs of the Drahkling sub-race are sharper and stronger than those of the base kobold; as such, your natural weaponry will now do additional damage.
Racial Ability: “Tough Hide” Unlocked
Tough Hide – Drahklings possess a fraction of their draconic ancestors’ natural resistance to damage. You now possess a minor resistance to damage. This skill may not be increased with skill points.
Racial Ability: “Lesser Breath Weapon” Unlocked
Lesser Breath Weapon – Harnessing your draconic heritage, you can produce a cone of magical fire from your mouth. This skill may be used once every hour per five ranks in this skill. This skill may not be increased with skill points. Use of this skill at your current level will cause exhaustion for 5 minutes after use.
QUEST RECEIVED: Draconic Legacy
You have taken the first steps on the path to reclaim your legacy. Seek out and find additional Statuettes of Dragonkind to progress on your path towards greatness.
Criteria: Obtain another Statuette of Dragonkind (0/1)
Reward: 5000xp, Racial Evolution II
Entering character editor. Acknowledge to proceed.
I read through the wall of text, each new ability heightening my excitement. The refund of the death penalty XP was nice, but even if it’d stuck it would have been worth it.
I mentally acknowledged that I was done reading and was transported back to the character customization area.
My avatar had been subtly transformed. The snout was slightly longer, as were the pointy teeth contained within. Likewise, the neck, torso, and tail were elongated and more serpentine in appearance.
A small ridge of spines now started on the avatar’s brow and extended all the way down to the base of the tail. The claws were at least an inch longer than they had been and looked down-right deadly.
Some of the options that had been limited in the initial character creation interface had been expanded, allowing for some additional features and tweaks that allowed for an even more draconic flavored kobold.
The cap on horn length had been raised, allowing me to extend my current horns to a full six inches in length, and a new option for a dorsal crest let me add a spiny ridge from head to tail.
My neck and tail gained a bit of length, while my torso and limbs gained some mass, reflecting the added armor. I adjusted the rest of the features to maintain my minimal size profile, while keeping my proportions in line so I didn’t look like a caricature.
Giving my new and improved avatar a once over, I nodded in satisfaction and locked in the changes.
I re-materialized in the graveyard, feeling a bit awkward in my updated form. I moved around the area, getting used to the new me while my mind slowly adjusted to the slight shift in balance and Perception.
I would have loved some more time to play around with my new skills, but I’d already spent too much of my mining time fooling around trying to get the look of my avatar just right, and really needed to get to work, so fun would have to wait until morning.
Summoning my mining minions back to active duty, I headed towards the mine, stopping at the smelting shack to consult with Darr and find out what shaft would be ideal for my malachite mining purposes.
Mine shaft three had a large concentration of copper veins and thus the best chance for malachite finds. It did have a pretty severe rodent infestation though, which made it unpopular with the lower levels. The mine hired parties to clear them out every so often, but one hadn’t been through recently.
I wasn’t too worried about rats though. I was probably way over-leveled for the area.
I took the elevator down to the third level and headed in. The mine had a pretty generic layout; a single long corridor with multiple side corridors running perpendicular.
Further in, the tunnels became less regular, but nothing that was unexpected. I headed towards the deepest parts of the mine, hoping that there would be higher concentrations of metals there. I renewed all my buffs except Vampiric Link before we went in. I wasn’t expecting any combat.
I decided to keep Aura of the Grave up in case it had any impact on the mining since its upkeep was negligible out of combat.
I pulled out my pan and water and started prospecting, loving the upgraded radius from the Journeyman Pan.
Mining Skill Check (Prospecting) Success! You have gained 10 Mining XP!
You have reached Mining Rank 13!
Always having gathering skills at the cap was a bit silly, but since my Mining skill would always be on the same level as my character level, I’d constantly be hitting the cap, then busting through the next time I went back to Mining.
Although this session’s efforts wouldn’t be doing anything to raise my Mining skill due to the quality of the nodes, my prospecting had revealed a large concentration of copper nodes that should result in quite a successful haul.
I stationed Chief at the center of the cavern, weapons ready to deal with any rats brave enough to disturb our Mining operation while Gimli and the three amigos joined me in clearing out the copper nodes in the area.
...
After about four hours of constant mining we had worked our way through the entire shaft. The number of veins had petered out. My latest prospecting attempts had uncovered only one or two veins in the entire area of effect, and they were small, yielding only a couple hundred ore apiece. I had exhausted the mine.
I checked my bags and tallied up what I’d found and was quite shocked. With four minions and myself mining I’d managed to gather over twelve thousand units of ore, and a hundred and sixty-seven uncut malachite. More than enough to grind out some levels of Jewelcrafting.
I still had four hours left in my dedicated work shift, so I headed down to Mine Shaft Four to mine tin for the rest of the night. I’d have to do some research on the bronze bar market. With that much copper ore in the bag, and a bunch of tin about to be mined I could probably produce a nice pile of bronze.
The rest of the night went by in a flash, netting twenty-eight hundred tin ore and thirty-nine more uncut aquamarines. I’d be set for my Jewelcrafting grind for a while.
Another day, another dollar.
***
50
Mornings were pretty routine by that point, both in and out of the game. The only difference that day was that I’d decided to do some research into bronze before logging in.
It was a pretty straightforward process, mixing the right ratio of copper and tin bars to produce the bronze. I had no clue if it was how you made bronze in real life, but considering the game method would result in an end product worth more than the sum of its constituent parts, I wasn’t going to complain.
A message was waiting for me from Kelikk when I logged in, letting me know that Cedric’s exam was this morning and if all went well, they would be on after lunch.
Perfect timing, I thought. I should be able to get all of my errands done and get it some solid Jewelcrafting grindage before then.
I headed over to the smelting hut and found Darr hard at work, finishing up a large batch of smelting in a crucible almost as big as my avatar.
“Good morning, Darr,” I said, watching as he poured the last of the bars and started to clean up. “How do I get ahold of one of those?” I asked, gesturing to the gigantic crucible.
The dwarf laughed. “Goin’ ta be quite a while till ye can get yerself a master’s pot,” he said with a smirk. “But I can rent it ta ye if yer interested. It’s not cheap, but might be worth yer while.”
“How much is it, and how many bars can it handle at once?” I asked, hoping that I wouldn’t have to spend the entirety of my morning here smelting copper.
The dwarf looked me over, considering. “Normally I’d charge thirty gold a session, but fer ye I can do twenty.”
My eyes widened at the price. That was a lot of money for a simple rental fee.
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Darr just chuckled and held up a hand. “Now before ye get all crazy about the cost, let me tell ye what the master’s pot can do fer ye,” he said.
I nodded, gesturing for him to proceed.
“Firstly, fer the rental ye get the master’s crucible and mold, so ye’ll be gettin’ the full benefits o’ the entire set,” he said, gesturing to the large mold sitting nearby. “Together ye’ll be able to work five hundred ore at a time and mold fifty bars.”
“Wow,” I said with a smile. “That would speed things up a hell of a lot.”
He nodded, his own smile growing to match my own as he continued. “And second, ye get to pay me, and not spend the rest o’ yer life bent over a fire, grumbling ta yerself about wastin’ time like ye do every other damned time ye’re in here.”
“Wait a sec, I don’t-“
“Yes, ye do,” he interrupted, waving me off. “I’ve been half tempted ta put in an order at the general store fer a good cheese to enjoy with yer whine, and I’m tired of it. Ye get a discounted rate, so I can ‘ave some peace.”
I grumbled for a second. I didn’t whine. I mean, I didn’t think I did. I might have cursed about how long it took once or twice, but not all the time. But even if it was true, I shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth… if the math checked out.
I did some quick calculations. Upping my smelting capacity by a factor of ten was nothing to sneeze at, and while it would probably take longer per batch, I’d definitely be gaining time overall. And since making bronze required double the smelting, I’d be making out in the long run.
“Okay, Darr. I’m in,” I said and reached out to shake the dwarf’s hand, careful not to catch him with my claws.
Extra Credit Page 36