Azarinth Healer: Book Two - A LitRPG Adventure, page 18
“I’m good with space enchantments, so I could certainly get all your weapons into some kind of bracelet or earring. Or a ring, of course, but considering you fight with your hands, that might not be the best idea.
“I suggest a wind enchantment for your bow. It should vastly increase the flight speed and distance of your arrows. You won’t be able to shoot as stealthily due to the increased sound and visibility, though given its size, I’m not sure if stealth is a concern in the first place.”
“More speed and power for the bow sounds perfect,” Ilea said with a wide smile, even though she hadn’t actually tried the weapon yet. “What about these?” she asked, summoning her two pairs of gauntlets onto the workbench before her.
“Well, they’re heavy, meaning the impact will be massive – if you manage to use them at all. Cracks and damage will accumulate fast, so I suggest enchantments to prevent that, or at least to slow that down. That should allow them to serve you much longer before any repairs are required.
“As for the bladed ones, I assume they’re made for cutting, so magical sharpening is a must. Any enchanted blade will cut more reliably due to less chipping, and you won’t have to think about sharpening it in the future as long as the enchantments stay intact. If you’re not looking for anything more specialized, that’s what I suggest.”
“You’re the enchantress, so I’ll trust you,” Ilea said, summoning her bow onto the workbench as well. “Can the enchantments be removed again, and can others be added? And can you both do the bracelet enchantment and the durability and sharpness ones?”
“With the quality of these, yes. I can remove and add different enchantments. As for your second question, yes, the runes are different enough so that they won’t overlap. I can add all of them. Do you want to bring me the items at a later time, or should I work on them immediately? I’ll need around four days for everything.”
“Work on them now, I’ll get them in a week. It’s not very far if I fly at top speed,” Ilea said. She could always leave the training sessions a little early to visit Balduur and Iana. It felt like a nice change of pace. Their workspace had something calming about it.
Iana agreed and put away the bow and blue steel gauntlets. The black olvor ones had to stay on the workbench as she was unable to move them.
Ilea continued to talk about enchantments with Iana for a while, but she found the possibilities to be much less impressive than she had initially thought. In a close battle, having enchanted armor might just make enough of a difference to save your life, especially when things were going down to the wire and every second mattered. But in a fight where you were already outmatched or overwhelmed, no amount of enchantments would change the outcome – they simply weren’t powerful enough compared to the skills and levels a person or creature might have.
She wondered if her thinking was mainly due to the fact that she had mostly faced monsters of a far higher level than herself. A slight edge against people or creatures close to your own level would surely be more relevant to people who fought things that didn’t far exceed their own power.
Balduur was still working on the new arrows, but a glance at the man revealed that he was already done with a sizable number. Ilea switched her leather armor with her Elven Juggernaut armor, eliciting a quick gasp from Iana.
“W… what is that?” the girl exclaimed, immediately closing in on Ilea and touching the armor. “This is amazing… brilliant workmanship… the layers are beautifully done… Ilea, this is Elven! Where did you find this?”
Iana’s reaction was a little more extreme than Ilea had expected.
“Found it in a dungeon. It’s Dark Elf Juggernaut Armor,” she explained.
“Now that is a beautiful set of armor,” Balduur said, having seen the change. “Elven – and it’s actually made to last. Can I see?”
Ilea just nodded, switching back to her leather armor and placing the Juggernaut armor on a nearby workbench.
“Knock yourselves out. I’m going to take it with me as soon as you’re done with the arrows though,” Ilea said.
Five minutes later, Balduur said, “It’s good. As good as if not better than the best armors I’ve worked on. I’m unfamiliar with the metal, but it seems to be an alloy of black mithril, drakken ore, and something else. Impressive, to say the least, and expensive. You’re wearing a suit of gold, Ilea,” the smith said, holding up a bracer.
“The enchantments are pure durability,” Iana said, eying the armor. “Several layers and beautifully intertwined. I’ve rarely seen anything this resilient that can actually be worn. Given the metal combination, I think it’s mostly good against physical damage. Right, Balduur?”
“Right. So the wearer better have elemental resistances. Something tells me this lassie here does,” Balduur chuckled. He put the armor down, walking back to his workbench.
“So, no way for you two to make it any better?” Ilea hazarded.
Balduur ignored the question, and Iana shook her head. Ilea stored the armor inside her necklace again, feeling good about her equipment.
“I’ll see you in a week then. Make sure the bracelets aren’t destructible either,” Ilea said as she waved farewell.
“Don’t die out there,” Balduur said.
“Sure you don’t want a pretty necklace or earrings for the weapons?” Iana asked, but Ilea shook her head. She simply wanted functional, tight-fitting bracelets to store her weapons in. She did decide to pay Iana in gold for at least some of the work, even though she had found an easy way to exploit the enchanter by allowing her to study Aki.
“Bracelets are fine,” Ilea replied, summoning ten gold coins before handing them to the girl.
“I’ll make them extra nice,” Iana said, smiling and giving a small wave.
Ilea smiled back and blinked out into the winter air. She was already late for her last class, so she activated all her buffs before spreading her wings behind her. A second later, she was on her way back to Ravenhall – and to an angry archery teacher waiting for her only pupil.
“And you will fly us there?” asked the woman, a level 85 mage, looking to Ilea for confirmation. She was middle-aged and a little chubby, her red hair drawn up into a messy bun. Overall, she looked more like a housekeeper than a magic wielder.
Ilea nodded, activating her wings.
“I’m really not sure about this, Lars,” the woman said, looking at her colleague. Her partner was as thin as she was large, looking like a coat rack draped in dark robes. His bald head only added to the contrast between the two.
“I can wait outside if you want to discuss it,” Ilea said, but the man was already shaking his head.
“Our usual rate is ten silvers per hour. I’ll consider the job for twice that, no less,” Lars said. His eyes held the gleam of greed, which Ilea figured made this a done deal. His words obviously annoyed his compatriot, and she drew herself up with a sharp intake of breath.
Ilea didn’t miss the chance to interject.
“I’ll make it thirty per hour. We can only work on it for two hours every day, but we can do the planning here, of course,” Ilea said, and now even the woman seemed to be considering the proposal.
“We’ll have to see the place first. You’ll only take me for the site visit while leaving a deposit of two gold coins with Merina here,” Lars said.
“Lars, are you sure about this?” the woman asked.
“It’s alright.” He went up to her and continued in a whisper at what he likely assumed was a safe distance from Ilea. “If this works out, it’s going to secure our shop for the next two years. I’m sure she’ll want some extravagant ‘money is no object’ things as well.”
As he finished, his greedy gleam seemed to have spread to his partner.
“I’ll leave five gold coins as a deposit, and we leave right now. You can take a look, and we’ll be back in two hours. If I break my word, the gold is yours,” Ilea said, placing five gold coins on a nearby table.
“If I’m happy with the finished job, I’ll pay you the agreed sum on top of the deposit,” she finished, quite tired of the conversation. They had been the only reputable architects willing to even see her, and she wanted to move on.
The flight from Morhill to the cliff she would have them build on was pretty safe. Sadly, most of the people capable of building houses in both Ravenhall and Morhill had “concerns” about “security” and “wildlife.”
“Alright, let me get ready, and I’ll be with you in five minutes,” Lars said, obviously trying not to stare at the gold now sitting on the table.
The power of gold…
Ilea suppressed the smile that was attempting to steal onto her face, knowing it could be interpreted as something else.
Lars was ready in two minutes and reemerged in leather armor and a heavy coat that would protect him from the cold weather outside, something Ilea had stopped considering because of her resistances and high Vitality.
“Ready then?” she asked, watching the man wrap a thick piece of cloth around his head. It had been one of her requirements. Ilea knew they could probably guess the location of her cliffside, but having them cover their eyes on the way would help at least somewhat with keeping it secret.
Ilea let the two builders say their goodbyes and then wrapped her arms around the man below his shoulders.
“Just tell me if I have to stop. I’ll heal you on the way if needed, so you should be fine,” Ilea said as she started climbing into the air.
Lars tensed up and didn’t calm down throughout the trip, but he never asked her to stop, nor did her healing skill tell her about any damage he was taking. Perhaps he had decent ice and wind resistances?
The two landed safely on the cliffside just under an hour later. Ilea would be late for her archery lesson again, but that had already happened a couple of times now, and Martha didn’t seem to be bothered. Quite the contrary, really – her mood seemed to worsen whenever Ilea actually arrived for her scheduled lesson.
“We’re here,” Ilea said, setting the man down. He stumbled a couple of times on the slippery stone and gripped his coat with both hands to pull it closer to his body. His teeth were chattering as Ilea removed the blindfold from his face.
“You alright?” she asked.
The man nodded slowly before a low growl made him tense up again.
“S… s…. swordmouth…” he stuttered, staggering backward and losing his footing while Ilea walked up to the tiger, shushing it away with an absentminded wave.
“Shoo. Shoo! Go back to your cave,” she said.
The tiger listened, but only after pausing to glare at the new human.
“Don’t worry about the locals, I’ll be here to protect you while you work.”
Lars slowly got up again while shaking his head.
“T… this is ridiculous…” he said. His face was growing red from more than just the cold now; he appeared on the verge of panic.
Ilea walked over to him. “As I said, I’ll be here. Trust me, I can handle that little cat. What do you think of the place? We don’t have long before we have to leave again.” She could probably take at most a day off from training with the others to let the duo work on her project.
Lars seemed to calm down a little. He dabbed his sweat-moistened scalp and breathed slowly with both eyes closed. “Alright, alright. I’ll take measurements and check the stone. Then we’ll figure something out when we’re back in Morhill.”
“Sure, knock yourself out,” Ilea said, taking some food from her pack and sitting down in front of the cave, not letting the tiger out of sight of her sphere.
“That should be doable. We’ll figure out some concepts, and I’ll draw up some plans for you. How long should we invest in the planning phase?” Lars asked, and his partner nodded at the sketches he’d produced.
“Until we find something I like,” Ilea responded. “I’ll be back tomorrow to take Merina to the location like you suggested. After that, you have a week to plan some things out. Go a little crazy with the designs. I’ll pay 30 silver per hour you two invest in this as discussed.”
Ilea placed the silver for the time already invested in travel and evaluation on the table. The gold deposit was still there, but she made no move to take it back.
“If you need help from somebody else or materials, just inform me, and I’ll try to get them for you,” Ilea said while getting up. She had decided to skip the archery lesson today to finish up with the two builders.
“That’s very generous of you. We won’t disappoint, don’t you worry,” Lars said, and Merina nodded from the side.
“Great, see you tomorrow then,” Ilea said before blinking out of their beautiful house in Morhill.
The place had caught her eye from above as it had been constructed in a series of overlapping hallways and rows of rooms, such that the roofs appeared as a set of gentle waves. The woodwork was exquisite, perfectly curved and rounded as if the house had grown out of the ground itself. It wasn’t gaudy, with no gold or marble or large decorative features. Just a simple, well-crafted home that, even from the outside, looked like it would be comfortable to live in. It reminded her of some of the best beachfront architecture she had seen on Earth and was one of the reasons she trusted the two with her own future home.
“We’d better not disappoint that one,” Lars said to his wife and colleague. Merina nodded and went to take the money left behind by their customer.
“Let’s get to drawing then. At least we know this one won’t bail on paying like the ones before.”
Lars had a sad look on his face, remembering the debacle. That was one of the problems with working for people independent of any guilds or cities. And with this one. The flying black-haired warrior could simply leave once her requests were fulfilled. Or kill them as soon as the work was done.
Lars and Merina hadn’t come as far as having their own house and business in Morhill without having to deal with those kinds of people. Background checks were already being paid for with the advance the woman had left behind.
“I don’t think she’ll try to screw us over or attack us,” Lars agreed.
The water in front of him started boiling as he activated the rune below the kettle. Merina really liked her tea when she was working. ‘It gets the mind running’ is what she usually said. Lars found himself agreeing as he added dried leaves to the boiling water, filling the room with a beautiful and fresh aroma, quite contrary to the bleak weather outside.
“She seemed nice. And honest. But you know just as well as I do that there are good actors out there,” Merina said as she prepared their worktables and rolled out sheets of paper. They would analyze their customer’s requirements and then discuss some basic ideas.
“She’s not a mage, at least,” Lars commented as he got two cups from a nearby cupboard. Warriors tended to be easier to deal with in Lars’ experience. Merina grunted at his comment and went to get some pencils.
“We have the requirements. Did she mention a budget?” Merina asked, her hand hovering above the paper.
Lars would’ve liked to hug her, but he needed to keep powering the rune below the boiling tea with his mana.
“I mentioned some estimates, and she just nodded. I don’t think there is an upper limit, dear.”
“Then it shouldn’t be as hard to make something outstanding. How was the flight, by the way?” the woman asked as she started to draw.
“I think she flew slower than she normally does. She can heal as well. Other than the cold, it was quite comfortable. An efficient way to travel. To think we’d have to join a caravan for dozens of silver just to get to the next city while this woman can just fly wherever she wants to.”
He shook his head and let go of the rune. The tea would continue to boil for a little while until the aroma mixed perfectly with the water. Something he’d learned in the past five years while working with Merina.
“I’m sure she’s suffered enough to get those wings. You can go out there too and prove yourself.”
Lars just grunted at her response and finally hugged her.
“What do you think her level is?” Merina asked with a smile.
“I don’t care,” Lars said, kissing his partner on her neck.
“That’s quite troubling news, Dagon.” Adam scratched the stubble on his chin.
“It is. We have to act now if we wish to stop him, or it’s over for the Hand as we know it. Wallace Urn is betraying the very basis this guild was built on, and if we let him gain more favor and influence, it may soon be too late,” Dagon spat.
The Head Librarian was standing in Adam’s office, though he was quite unhindered by his large proportions.
“Dagon, I trust you beyond even the other Elders. Do you believe a forceful removal is the only option left to us?”
Dagon frowned. “He has too many members on his side already. His pockets are deeper than I thought.”
“Baralia,” Adam said, grinding his teeth.
“We don’t know for sure. There are other powers that would be interested in disrupting the Hand.”
“It won’t be a quiet removal, even if the other Elders agree.”
Maybe this creates an opportunity. A chance in the darkest hour. It might work, Adam thought.
“Verena will be persuaded easily enough,” Dagon muttered. “She cares about the guild as much as I do. The other two won’t even know what has happened until a few months or years have passed. When was the last time they were even here?”
Dagon’s concerns weren’t unfounded. Adam didn’t even know if the two missing Elders – Pierce and Lucas – were still alive. But something told him they were, and while someone like Wallace Urn was playing political games, they were out there fighting monsters well beyond what the man had ever seen. Well, so far, at least.
“We need a team of members we can trust. Strong enough to deal quick deathblows to other members. Contact all your sources and collect favors where you can. I will lend you what I have. We will need to act fast and remove him from the Shadow’s Hand in a single, brutal strike. Wallace has to be removed, as do his most fierce supporters,” Adam said. His eyes felt cold as they bored into Dagon’s.
