Advent of Eternity - Chapter 115 (Patreon)

The meal wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t noteworthy either. Furgus delivered two keys to them midway through the meal. Once they’d finished eating, Knell caught Furgus’ attention as they prepared to head back out into Apton.

“We’re going to wander around town a bit,” Knell said, stopping beside Furgus at the counter. “Does there happen to be an Artificer in the area?”

“Course there is. He isn’t cheap, though. His store is called the Singing Anvil. It’s pretty close to the front of the market. You can’t miss it, the walls are all white and shiny. Pretty place.”

“Fantastic,” Knell said. “We’ll be seeing you. Thanks again for the bounty papers. They’ll make some good decoration for my walls.”

Furgus let out a deep laugh. “Now that’s an idea. Could draw a few moustaches here and there, and boom. Decoration. I like that. See you all tonight. I’ll have a bath ready for the lot of you.”

They all bid him farewell and headed back out into the town. Once they’d put some distance between themselves and the inn, Cyll slowed down and leaned over to Knell.

“So, we’re going after those bounties, right? That’s a lot of gold.”

“What? No. Why would we waste time doing something like that?”

“Money. Money is nice,” Maya said. “Cyll is right for once. That much gold is nothing to scoff at. Even without me being very useful, couldn’t the three of you handle one person? Think of what we could get for that much coin.”

“Nothing that I care about,” Knell replied, pausing to glance at some crooked wooden signs before turning onto a populated street. “Most of the tools we need cannot be bought with gold. Have you ever seen someone selling a Boon for gold?”

“Well, no,” Maya admitted. “But… fifteen thousand gold. You could buy a second ship.”

“Why do I need to buy another ship? If I wanted one, I would simply take it.”

“We are pirates, after all,” Cyll pointed out, stretching his hands above his head and yawning. “The Cap’s got a point. We could just steal the gold from whoever gets the kill.”

“The gold isn’t worth it,” Knell said.

They all looked at him in surprise.

“What do you mean?” Stix asked. “I get not needing all that money, but it’s still useful, even if it isn’t necessary. We could get better weapons and armor, ammunition for the Withered Rose, mercenaries, on and on. That could be useful for the cause, don’t you think?”

“You misunderstand,” Knell said. “Of course the money is useful. Nobody would say no to free money. The problem here is that the Adventurer’s Guild are the ones that put the bounty out. That means having these people dead is worth more to them than the coin is. Any enemy of the Adventurer’s Guild is aiding us in splitting their forces and attention.”

Stix and Maya fell silent for a few moments.

“I didn’t think about that,” Stix muttered. “Damn. It seems kind of obvious now. Actually, since gold is put into dungeons by the gods, doesn’t that mean that it’s borderline worthless to the very top members of the Adventurer’s Guild?”

“Correct,” Knell said, giving her a small nod of approval. “That isn’t to say that we are allied with the other bountied people. The enemy of our enemy is not necessarily our ally. They are simply also causing the Guild problems. It is very possible that we may come into conflict with them. If that happens, then we will kill them.”

Stix nodded, but Maya frowned.

“Wait, you said also. I kind of remember the drunkards talking about that. Was it the Guild that put it on you?”

“No. I believe it was some Scion. I never caught their name,” Knell replied. “It’s of no interest to me. The bounty will come as the rumors continue to build. I would not be surprised if it came in shortly.”

Maya glanced around the street at the passersby. The group was nearing the market, and everybody around them was caught up in their own thoughts. Nobody was paying them any more attention than normal.

“Shouldn’t we be on our guard or something, then? What if someone recognizes us and tries to attack?”

Coal clacked his beak and Knell chuckled. “I am always on my guard. If you are not, I would suggest starting.”

“I think I preferred it when the only people that knew of my crew were other pirates,” Maya grumbled, sending another glance over her shoulder.

The road turned to the side, opening up into a large, busy square full of merchants and shoppers. Wooden signs pointing in every direction were set up along the roads, each advertising a shop of some sort.

Furgus had been correct. Knell’s eyes immediately caught on a fine marble building just off to the left of the road. A large pillar of smoke rose up from its chimney, and the cherry glow of the forge lit it from within.

“Bit fancy for a smith,” Cyll observed as they walked over to it.

“Artificer,” Knell corrected. “And a very successful one, if looks are anything to judge by.”

The door was made of the same material as the rest of the building, but it was trimmed with glowing red metal. It swung open smoothly as Knell pushed on it, moving as if it had been waiting to open its entire life.

A wave of warmth washed over them as Knell led the crew inside and the door swung shut behind them. Several smooths benches waited, empty, along the back wall. The rest of the shop was surprisingly bare, bereft of the typical weaponry that usually hung from the walls of weaponry and equipment stores.

There was a small counter across from them. Behind it was an open archway that led into a forge, where shadows danced across the ground in the light cast by the flame. Rhythmic clangs rang out after every few seconds, accompanied by a deep, baritone hum.

“Just a moment,” the man called. “Feel free to take a seat if you’d like.”

The clangs continued for another few seconds before a loud thud rang out and a man strode out of the back room, small embers still smoldering on his leather apron. He was short and stocky, with bulging muscles formed only through years of hard work. A bushy gray beard framed his sharp face and he plucked a pair of dainty glasses from beneath the counter, fitting them over his nose and peering at Knell.

“Looks like someone got too close to the forge as a kid,” he said, nodding to Knell in greeting.

Stix’s eyes widened at the rude comment, but Knell just laughed.

“So I did. Fire had a bit too much allure. I think it gives me a rather rugged appearance.”

“More like a crisp one, pirate. You remind me of my grandpappy.”

He paused for a moment, then looked at Maya when nobody responded. “Ask me why.”

“Why?”

“Because we cremated him,” the man said, letting out a bark of laughter. He extended a hand. “Name’s Owen. What brings you lot to the Singing Anvil?”

“Certainly not your comedic talent,” Knell replied, taking it. “I hope your talent in Artificing far eclipses your humor.”

Owen’s grin grew wider. “Sharp tongue, boy. Not as sharp as the ridges on your toasted face, but perhaps there’s enough there to respect. What do you need forged? I’ll warn you, my services aren’t cheap. I take pride in my work.”

Knell reached into his side pouch and pulled out the two Boons he’d taken from the Visions at Golden River. Owen’s eyes widened as Knell set them down on the counter between them like loose change.

When Knell reached back into his pouch and carefully removed the slime’s core with the golden band wrapped around it using a handkerchief, Owen’s eyes became nearly as large as saucers. He glanced back at the pouch, as if Knell would continue producing artifacts from within it.

“That’s it, I’m afraid,” Knell said.

Owen cleared his throat. “You’re speaking my language, boy. You got people after you?”

“Is that relevant?”

“Damn straight it is. I need to know how much time I’ve got to work with,” Owen said, crossing his arms. “I told you. I take pride in my work. I won’t be rushing out an artifact.”

“We have nobody chasing us that would pose enough threat for us to have to flee.”

Owen’s lips split apart in a toothy grin. “Very good. Let’s start with the Boons, then. What do you need from them?”

“That depends on what you’re capable of doing,” Knell replied. “I don’t suppose you can make armor indestructible?”

“I could make it hard to break. Really hard. But… indestructible? Not with two Boons.”

“Improve the weapons of my crew, then,” Knell said. “Can you do swords and bows?”

“Swords, easily. Bows… depends on the bow. They’re more finnicky, and I much prefer working with metal or hard materials,” Owen said, chewing his lower lip and tapping a finger on the counter. “Wood doesn’t hold a Boon very well, but I can enforce it with other materials to help. How big is the bow?”

Knell gestured to Stix, who removed the large crossbow from her back and pulled the protective tarp off, unfolding it with several loud clicks. Owen grunted in approval.

“Best bow I’ve ever seen. Nice and sturdy. Like me. Yeah, I could do something with that, and I’ll be a knob if I can’t forge a sword. That’s my most common request, even with Boons being as rare as they are. The bow looks dead, though.”

“Dead?” Stix asked. “What do you mean?”

“There ain’t no emotion in that thing,” Owen replied. “Take a sword. When you kill a man, you soak it in lifeblood. When you train, you sweat with it. A sword is part of you. That has an effect, even if you don’t see it. Gives them personalities, and Boons can bring those out. But a bow – bows don’t kill people. Arrows kill people. Bolts kill people. The bow just chucks ‘em.”

“So it’s harder to enchant a bow?” Stix asked. “I still practice with my bow, you know.”

“Not harder, exactly,” Owen said, rubbing his chin. “More like it’s harder to get a good bow. The practice is different. I can’t explain it to someone who isn’t an Artificer. Just pretend swords like taking to Boons, while bows need more to get that spark lit. Using a powerful material with some existing feeling behind it could help, if you’ve got anything like that.”

Stix frowned. “I don’t. Not that I’m willing to give up, at least.”

“For the right price, I could find something,” Owen offered. “It won’t be cheap, though. Five hundred gold.”

Knell shook his head. “We have two swords to upgrade right now. If I understand you correctly, then allowing the bow to build a personality by having her use it more will result in a better weapon when it receives a Boon, correct?”

Owen nodded. “Correct.”

“Then we’ll do the swords.”

Maya blinked. “But… we’re already here for–”

“It isn’t a competition. We require all the strength we can get,” Knell said. “Stix will receive her Boon when it is most optimal for her. It’s better to spend the Boons where they are actually useful.”

“No complaints here,” Cyll said, tapping the huge, jagged sword slung over his shoulder. “I like pointy things, especially when they kill stuff faster.”

“Two swords it is,” Owen said, rubbing his calloused hands together. He shifted his gaze to the slime’s core. “Now, about that artifact.”

“You’re certain its an artifact? We wanted it identified.”

“That’s an artifact, all right. Practically glowing to me.” Owen’s eyes flickered with hunger. “I’ll buy it off you.”

“Not interested until we know what it does,” Knell said. “How much to determine what it does?”

Owen sighed. “Bastard. For three things, I’ll say one thousand gold.”

Knell snorted. “No. You’re getting to use two Boons. That should give you a significant boost of experience that you wouldn’t normally be able to get. A thousand gold is ludicrous.”

“I’m the best Artificer on this side of the island,” Owen said, crossing his arms over his burly chest. “My services aren’t cheap, boy.”

“I’ll get you a third Boon,” Knell said. “You can decide what to do with it. But, if I do, you’ll also have to do one more job for me, free of charge.”

Owen’s eyebrows rose. “You think you’re getting your hands on two more boons?”

“My word on it.”

“Hm. Perhaps. What if you just take my work and run off with it, though? I have no reason to trust your word, no matter how good you may say it is.”

“You can just do one of the swords to start with,” Knell said. “Keep the other Boon for yourself. You’ll do the second sword and my next task whenever I return with the other Boons, no questions asked.”

Owen smiled and extended his hand. “A done deal.”

“One that includes identifying the artifact,” Knell said. He waited for Owen to nod before reaching out and taking the Artificer’s hand.

“Looking forward to our partnership,” Owen said, letting go and wiggling his fingers in excitement. “Let’s get to it then, boy.”