T he caves were as friendly and welcoming as ever, warming up every visitor to the point of burning, but Artificial Snowstorm made it possible for Raven to overcome this obstacle without sustaining much damage.
Reaching the smithy, he dusted off and straightened his back, massaging his stiff and aching spine.
“I should’ve asked if there’s another way in,” he muttered under his breath. He wasn’t sure if there was such a thing as a backdoor in here but there was a chance that there could be. A small one, true, but still a chance to avoid this grueling journey.
Gulping down a Health Potion, he tossed away the empty vial and looked around for the blacksmith. He frowned. Hendelson was nowhere to be seen.
And then a faint but familiar voice came.
“I don’t know who you are, but you’d better...”
“Hendelson?” he interrupted, looking around for the source of the voice.
“Ah? Is that you, Raven? Good. Very good. Don’t stand there like a statue. Help me out here,” the blacksmith said with strain, as if every word brought great pain to him.
The voice was coming from the lava-filled channel. Surprised, Raven hurried toward it.
Looking over the edge, he saw the blacksmith hanging over the river of molten lava, holding onto the chain of his hammer, the handle of which could be seen protruding from the wall. A three-foot-wide furrow coming down the stone betrayed the tremendous strength with which Hendelson had struck the hammer in to stop himself from falling. The dwarf perhaps lacked actual combat experience, but he was still a formidable fighter. As a master blacksmith like no other, one had to possess tremendous physical strength.
He probably attacked me with less than half of his strength back then.
“Take a picture, lad, it’ll last longer! Are you gonna help me or not?”
“Khm, yeah, sorry... My questions can wait,” Raven said with a guilty smile and helped the dwarf out of the channel.
Exhausted, Hendelson lay sprawled on the floor, staring at the ceiling. He then closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
“I’m very... very... thankful. Perfect... timing. Gods damn you.”
From his story, Raven learned that he had been hanging over the pit for quite a long time.
Shortly after Raven had left the cave, Hendelson, exhausted by spending seventy-two hours without sleep, somehow stumbled over his own feet and barely avoided falling into the lava.
Raven shivered. Could it be that the quest’s deadline had been three days because of this unfortunate accident?
No. That’d be a bit too much.
Your relationship with Hendelson Nir has been upgraded.
+15 relationship points
“Now, if you—”
“Zzzzz.”
“Goddamn it...”
Grumbling, Raven sat down. He could do nothing but wait for Hendelson to wake up and amuse himself by observing how the dwarf’s beard wiggled as he snored.
He used this sudden break to message Zarnitsa and ask her about pets. The next thing he did was browse the forums for item ranks and types, as well as mob and NPC classifications. Soon enough, he realized that he wouldn’t learn anything he didn’t already know.
There were lists and estimations of each monster’s strength, but nothing that he wasn’t already familiar with. The Cursed, Insane, and a few other ranks were mentioned in passing, but there was no useful information on any of them.
Giving up on that, he opened the auction menu to look at and maybe get some new gear. Except for a few really good items like the Dark Hero’s Jerkin and Heart Dagger, everything else he owned was in dire need of replacement.
A thorough search yielded a pair of good pants and boots of Silver and Golden rank. Their price was insane but he could afford to splurge a little — not that feeling his coin purse become lighter made him feel good — as spending some money was better than keeping outdated and worn-out gear.
THE LOYAL FOLLOWER
Rank: Silver
Part of the Maniacal Liar Set.
Usage Requirements: Level 98
Characteristics:
+ 209 magic defense
+ 90 physical defense
+ 20 Agility
Raises every NPC relationship to Neutral or higher by adding 200 relationship points.
THE EXHAUSTED TRAVELER
Rank: Gold
Usage Requirements:
Characteristics:
+ 235 physical defense
+ 15% walking speed in mountainous areas
+20% speed (when not in combat)
+7% resistance to Stun, Disorientation, and Knock-Down in combat
Skill: Half-Dreaming
Type: Passive
Description: You can sleep on the go, restoring your strength faster.
+ 7% HP and mana regeneration (when not in combat)
Raven knew too well that this solution was temporary. His ultimate goal was to equip himself with items no one else had.
Unique. Epic. Legendary. Heroic.
And those intended for use by Messengers of the Heavens only.
Remembering the Defender of Darkness gloves, he recalled Zal’Sscar’s challenge where he had learned about the Gift race. Was this the kind of power she was talking about? But even if it was, he couldn’t accept her resorting to torture.
Even if he was a frog at the bottom of a well, seeing only a tiny part of a larger story, he had his opinions on what was acceptable and what wasn’t.
Going through his inventory in silence, he realized that he could remember the time and exact circumstances of obtaining each item, except those he had collected in bulks without even looking at their descriptions. A lot of rare, unique, and even epic items and materials were stored in this Ring, waiting for their time to shine.
Weird. I don’t remember these.
He stared at a couple of There and Back Again scrolls, struggling to remember how he had come to have them, but failed. He had probably collected them along with many other items while destroying the slave traders’ bases. Much of those he had paid as compensation to the released slaves or moved to his warehouses.
As pleasant of a surprise as these two scrolls were, he’d rather save them for a better occasion. Closing his inventory, he checked the time. It was seven in the morning. He had already spent five hours sitting next to the sleeping blacksmith.
Having no idea how long Hendelson would remain asleep, he decided to take a look around the cave that looked more like a palace, or a baroque church.
As he strolled about and stared at the writing and intricate drawings covering the walls, he suddenly remembered the Gaharadja stuck inside the mountain.
Could this hall have been teleported here by powerful magic, too?
Darting a glance at the snoring Hendelson, Raven ran his gaze over the tables littered with various tools and materials.
Well, I’m a rogue, after all. And these are just begging to be stolen.
But something was off. He didn’t recall the tables having anywhere near this many gleaming magic ores on display before.
Or did he simply not look hard enough?
He took a step toward the tables but stopped himself and, shaking the idea off, turned away.
I’d better not steal from someone who can help me. I don’t want to lose my humanity to greed.
Once he made this decision, he received a system message.
Congratulations! You have passed Hendelson’s test.
By not using his moment of weakness to fill your pockets with easy loot, you have earned his favor.
+ 50 relationship points with Hendelson Nir
Title awarded: An Honest Fellow
Description: You are honest with yourself even in the face of temptation.
Some blacksmiths will meet you halfway when negotiating the price of their goods and services.
“I’m glad you’re not a greedy bastard, White Raven,” came Hendelson’s voice before Raven finished reading the message. “I’d toss you into the lava if you were.”
Turning around, Raven saw Hendelson’s smiling face. Arms crossed and with his hammer in his hand, he nodded in approval.
So it was all just a performance.
Realizing that, Raven sighed with relief. He had barely avoided making a huge mistake. Had a test like this one come his way before he became rich, he probably would’ve surrendered to greed.
“So, you’ll help me?” he asked, putting on a smile and his best act of a friendly guest.
I hope that this quest will be worth it.