Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 5 - Responsibilities (Patreon)
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Beneath his palm, the first menhir Elijah had created pulsed with power. It was one of nine that comprised the dolmen that had unlocked so much potential, transforming Ancestral Circle into Roots of the World Tree, giving him the ability to teleport across the world, so long as heâd created a circle to receive him.
But it felt different than it had before. Stronger. The ethereal flows that coursed from one menhir to the next hadnât been nearly as obvious before, but now, Elijah felt that he could practically see the web of ethera connecting the entire thing. And in the center of that circle was a level of power Elijah hadnât seen anywhere but his grove.
There was something beneath it, too. Something he couldnât even begin to understand.
Had the flows grown stronger? Or was Elijah simply more attuned to the ethera, now that heâd reached the second stage of Soul cultivation? He had no idea, though the guide heâd bought had suggested that progression through the stages of cultivation often came with increased perception. At the time, heâd thought that it only meant that his senses would grow sharper. That had been the case so far, with his visual acuity and hearing having progressed far past human norms, especially in his bestial shapes. Yet, he suspected that there was far more to it than that. Perhaps one day he would be able to sense ethera as clearly as he could see the leaves on a tree.
There were Scholars who specialized in studying ethera, after all. So, such a thing was almost assuredly possible. He just wasnât certain if he would ever reach that point.
âThis is incredible,â muttered Biggle, his mouth agape. âHow far have we come? Who built this? Is it some relic of the past? Iâve heard about transportation networks before, but this is different than any stories I have heard.â
âTransportation networks?â Elijah asked. âLike the teleportation feature associated with the Branch?â
Biggle shook his head. âNo. That is often far too expensive for planetary travel. Normally, there are mages who specialize in such things,â he said. âOn my home world, it is still too expensive for the likes of me, but forâŠahâŠmore prosperous people, using that network is no great burden. I have never seen such things, though. My village was too remote and far too poor to qualify for a hub.â
âSo, whatâs the point of Branch teleportation?â Elijah asked.
âInterplanetary transport,â Biggle stated. âThere are ships capable of moving between worlds and universes, but that is only viable on a large scale. Or if someone is obscenely wealthy. Or powerful, though the two normally come hand-in-hand, from my experience.â
âI see,â Elijah said.
âThis is so cool,â Miguel said, having circled the dolmen, running his hands over each heel stone. âItâs like the one outside of Seattle, right? Except itâs different. The rocks are different, but the carvings are, too. Why?â
âThatâs the nature of inspiration,â Elijah stated.
âWhat is a Seattle?â asked Biggle, struggling to wrap his name around the cityâs name. Clearly, he had no idea what it was.
âDonât worry about it. Câmon. Weâre on the clock here,â Elijah said. They had six days to accomplish his goals, and given that one of those goals involved trekking into a swamp, he knew theyâd be pushing it to get everything done in time. So, he led his small group away from the Dragon Circle and toward Argos.
âHow far have we come?â Biggle asked, struggling to keep up. His short legs were definitely a weakness when it came to trekking across the wilderness. Though it had never seemed to bother Kurik, who was only a bit taller than the gnome. So, maybe it was more to say that the Alchemistâs class didnât give him the tools to overcome the shortcomings of his race.
âAbout a thousand miles? Maybe. I didnât exactly keep track when I was traveling,â Elijah answered. âIt could be closer to two-thousand, but I donât think so. I ended up backtracking a lot in the more mountainous regions.â
âImpressive,â Biggle said, glancing back the way theyâd come. They were well away from the Dragon Circle, so he couldnât see the dolmen. Still, Elijah thought he knew what the Alchemist was thinking.
So, he decided to cut any issues off at the pass, saying, âYou will not visit one of my circles without my permission or accompaniment.â
âWhat?â
âYou heard me, Biggle. Iâve been told to watch out for Alchemists. Iâve heard that people like you can get a bit greedy. Iâm not saying youâre one of those sorts of Alchemists, but I am cautioning you to leave my things alone.â
âIâŠsee,â Biggle said. âFor what itâs worth, I was only curious about how it all worked. I had no intention of doing whatever it is youâre afraid I would do. I prefer to grow my own ingredients, not harvest them from nature.â
âGood,â Elijah said.
After that, the trio trekked across the terrain until, at last, they reached Argos. It had fully recovered from the tempest that had swept through the area, which only highlighted how impressive construction classes were and how quickly they could complete a project. Eventually, they would reach a point where they could easily build structures to rival anything from the old world. And they would assuredly be equipped with all the modern amenities. It was only a matter of time.
And survival.
In any case, the two guards on duty recognized Elijah, so after only a few momentsâ worth of polite conversation, they waved him through. Elijah found it notable that theyâd barely even looked at Biggle, indicating that they had encountered non-humans before. Soon enough, he found himself walking into Atticusâ shop.
âAh, good to see you, friend!â the tall, hawk-nosed merchant said. âI was just thinking of you. And you brought guests! Any friend of Elijahâs is a friend of Atticus. I will even give you a discount. Two percent off any weapon in my shop. Quality guaranteed, of course!â
Elijah grinned at his friend. Even with his morose tendencies of late, he couldnât help but smile when seeing Atticus. The man was so full of joy for life that it became infectious.
âI have some things Iâd like appraised. And Iâm sure Iâll want to sell some, too.â
With that, Atticus led them into the back, where they stated the process of identifying each item. The first was the Ghoul-Hide Satchel, which turned out to feature a fifteen-percent weight reduction and a trait called Preservation, which, true to the name, kept any perishable goods fresh for twice the duration as normal.
âA great item,â Atticus said. âI would offer to purchase it, but it appears you have grown quite attached to it. A good call, my friend. One can never carry enough goods.â
Next came the Weighted Gloves, which, according to Atticus, would increase his unarmed damage by twenty percent. Elijah had expected something like that, but he was impressed with the degree to which it would augment his attacks.
The canteen was, predictably, called an Everlasting Canteen, but to Elijahâs surprise, it hadnât originated with a tower or Rift. Instead, Atticus informed him that it had a creatorâs name attached to it: Rajesh Bedi. There was no more information, though Elijah was definitely interested in finding the maker. After all, with something like that, Seattleâs water supply issues could be solved much more easily.
The spear Thor had used was called Ancestorâs Spear, and it had an ability that allowed the wielder to recall it once thrown. Elijah had seen that in action during his fight with the Viking, so he knew precisely how useful such an ability would be. However, he still had no intention of using it himself; heâd grown accustomed to his staves, and he had no desire to change what had worked so far.
Neither had Miguel expressed any interested in the weapon â he seemed to prefer swords, from what Elijah could tell â so he intended to sell it to Atticus. Fortunately, the merchant was willing to pay good coins for the item, probably because Argos had a culture of spear use.
âI blame Delilah. All the young men want to impress her with their spear work. Most of the young women, too,â Atticus said with a shake of his head. âToo bad most are too weak to use this monster. Still, I know of a few strong fighters who would pay a premium for a High-Simple-Grade weapon with such a useful ability.â
After that, they set it aside until they got to the negotiation part. There were still a few items left to go, and Elijah preferred to sell everything together.
There were only two other items for which Elijah had high hopes, and he wanted to save the most interesting one for last. So, he ended up having quite a few daggers and a few Crude-Grade swords appraised â none of which were nice enough to pass on to Miguel, considering that his mother could make him better weapons when he came of age â before finally arriving at the penultimate item â the fanged necklace heâd taken from Thor.
âInteresting,â Atticus said. âItâs called a Snake Totem. Iâm guessing thatâs the origin of the teeth, though itâs clearly a system reward.â
âWhatâs it do?â
âPlus three to all attributes,â the merchant answered. âPowerful. But itâs a Complex-Grade item, so thatâs to be expected. The trait attached to it is even more interesting, though. Adds fifteen percent duration to all afflictions.â
âOh. Nice,â Elijah said. That was as good as a fifteen percent increase to the damage of Swarm, Contagion, and Venom Strike, which meant he was definitely going to wear it. It also explained why the hunterâs debuff had lasted so long. âThat should help.â
âVery good indeed, my friend!â
âAlright. I only have one last item to check,â Elijah said, handing over his staff. Heâd yet to bond it, largely because, on the off chance that it was unsuitable, binding it to himself would render it worthless. Still, he thought that unlikely, given the name.
âDragon-Touched Staff,â Atticus said. âAdds fifteen points to Strength and Dexterity, with five to Constitution. It also has a trait that increases the power of all enhancements by a flat five points. ThatâŠthat is unheard of. Do you know how valuable this is?â
âPriceless,â Elijah said.
âA less honest merchant would steal this from you,â Atticus said, handing it back to Elijah without hesitation. âBut they donât call me Honest Atticus for nothing.â
âNo one calls you that.â
âThey might.â
âIâve never heard it.â
âNeither have I, but I assume thatâs only because they donât want to stroke my ego. Everyone knows how humble I am,â Atticus said without a hint of humor.
âRight. Youâre the humblest man I know.â
âThatâs what I keep telling people!â
Elijah just smiled wryly and shook his head. âAlright â so how much for the pile?â he asked. The collection of items included the nearly worthless â to Elijah, at least â weapons, as well as the Ancestorâs Spear. Elijah also threw in Thorâs armor, though Atticus confirmed that even the best piece was only Low-Crude-Grade, which meant that the set was almost useless for anything but disassembling it for parts. Still, Elijah wanted it out of his satchel, so he insisted that Atticus include it.
The bickering was a long and arduous, though good-natured, process. Every now and then, Miguel would break in to ask a question about something heâd found in Atticusâ storeroom, but the merchant didnât mind it at all. Eventually, they came to an agreement, with the entire collection bringing Elijah almost fifty silver coins.
Once they exchanged the sum â via folios, which was a new addition on Atticusâ part â Elijah said, âOh. I meant to tell you this earlier. My sister-in-law is a Blacksmith, and sheâs going to be making some new equipment sometime soon. Sheâs getting her forge set up right now, but I expect her to get to work within a few weeks. I might bring some of her products around, once sheâs up and running.â
âAhâŠI donât know, my friend. This is not a place for amateur workâŠâ
âSheâs on the power rankings,â Elijah said. âAnd I think sheâs capable of creating Complex items under the right circumstances.â
âWhich is why someone of her stature, skill, and no doubt, beauty will be more than welcome to display her wares in my shop,â the merchant said, switching gears without missing a beat. Though Miguel mouthed the word âgrossâ when Atticus mentioned Carmenâs beauty.
âThought that might interest you,â Elijah said with a grin. âJust wanted to let you know so youâll have enough money to make some purchases. Wouldnât want you to miss out.â
After that, Atticus told Elijah about Thorâs visit to Argos, which elicited quite a lot of genuine laughter from everyone in the storeroom. But in the end, it was soon time for them to get going. Not only did Elijah want to introduce Miguel to the glories of Greek food, but he also wanted to visit Isaak â and maybe Delilah, if she was in town â before turning in for the night.
Because in the morning, they would set off for the swamp, where they would hopefully save some children.