Chapter 333. The Founders’ Drafts
“S
o, you’ll help me?” Hendelson mimicked sarcastically, his face showing genuine astonishment at how ignorant some people could be. “Not before I hear more about your problem. But I won’t even consider it until you give me the flower.”
He outstretched his hand, and Raven handed him the quest item.
Attention! You have completed the quest: The White Flower
+ 45,000 XP
+ Relationship level with Hendelson Nir upgraded to Friendship.
Hendelson
Current relationship status: 15/400 ― Trust
“Oh, it’s a good one. You got lucky,” Hendelson said as he examined the plant. “A flower with such strong leaves is rare. It must be over fifty years old. I can tell by these small veins. I’m glad I’ve entrusted you with this task.” He sounded pleased and there was a gleam of respect in his eyes. Coming up to his table, he put the flower on it and, having remembered something, looked up at his guest. “If you want me to hear you out as soon as possible, you’ll have to help me with the order. Or come back in five days when I’m done.”
Attention! You have been offered a quest: A Clumsy Assistant
Rank: Hidden
Description: Hendelson, the arcane blacksmith, respects you enough to invite you to help him complete his friend’s order. You have an extremely rare opportunity to see Hendelson’s work in progress.
Reward:
+ 2,000 XP
+ 20 relationship points with Hendelson Nir
+ 3 Strength
Accept?
Yes/No
“I’ll do my best to help you.”
Seeing the Strength bonus, Raven smiled and accepted the quest. He would have to be an absolute idiot to turn down a stat bonus: one of the hardest things to come by in Ascension. Even for a player as special as him, stat points were nowhere near easy to gain.
***
The next two days passed quickly. While helping Hendelson, Raven learned more about him and about this cave.
Hendelson was a half-dwarf; it was his human blood that made it possible for him to learn magic. His father was a human wizard. Inheriting his magic ability, Hendelson was able to bring his skill to heights unattainable for any other dwarven blacksmith.
Leaving home early, Hendelson had seen much of the world, learning many things in his journeys. As he perfected his skill, his fame spread over kingdoms and countries but only a few could boast ever meeting the arcane blacksmith in person.
As for the cave, he had discovered it by pure chance twenty years ago when he was looking for rare materials to complete an order. He had been living in this place since then, but the only change he had made to it was bringing in his anvil. The lava and water channels, and the intricate symbols covering the walls had been here prior to his arrival. As a wizard’s son and a practitioner of magic, he had tried to read them but failed. Soon, he gave up and used the cave as his home and his workshop, giving all of himself to his trade.
Once the dwarf finished his story, Raven received a system message.
Attention! You have found a lead to a heroic quest: The Founders’ Drafts
Study ancient writing to start this quest.
A heroic quest?!
He felt like the system was teasing him. Learning this ancient language would take a lot of time and tremendous effort. Since there were no tutorials or textbooks on dead languages, he would have to gather bits and pieces of information all over the Floor... or outside it. He wasn’t sure whether this quest was even worth it.
Nonetheless, he accepted it. With his new skills and knowledge, he just might be able to finish it someday.
When Hendelson was done forging the spear, Raven couldn’t help but touch it briefly and use Identification on it.
THE SWIFT STORM OF A DYING DAY
Rank: Epic
Description: A spear crafted by Hendelson, the arcane blacksmith, using all the knowledge he had obtained throughout his life. It reflects the inevitable end of every living creature whose life blooms like a flower in the daylight and closes its petals when night falls.
Characteristics:
+ 1,400–3,200 physical damage (depending on the time of day and air temperature)
+ 36% chance to summon a magic shield that absorbs 7,000 damage
Skills:
Description: A series of ten blows comes upon your enemies like sunrays.
Duration: 13 seconds
+ 8% base damage over 2 minutes
+ 0.4 seconds to Stun for every fifth blow
Cooldown: 5 hours
Limitation: Can be used only during the day.
Description: Summons seven ghostly spears that inflict dark magic damage.
Duration: 10 seconds
+ 8% damage from skills for 2 minutes
+ 5% chance of casting Freeze on your enemy for 3 seconds
Cooldown: 5 hours
Limitation: Can be used only during the night.
No wonder he’s so famous. He must be a Grandmaster at least. And... Do I really need the Hand of Treason?
Right in front of him was a fantastic weapon that he could sell for a tremendous amount of money; tremendous even by his current standards. He swallowed nervously.
“Thank you, Raven. Without your help, I wouldn’t have finished this early,” Hendelson said, bringing the rogue back to reality.
Congratulations! You have completed the quest: A Clumsy Assistant
“I wasn’t really of much help,” he said humbly, but Hendelson’s next words made him want to spit in the dwarf’s face.
“Sure you weren’t. Any dwarf child would have been better.”
Raven had spent forty-eight hours without sleep, keeping Hendelson’s fire burning, working the bellows, and cooking food. And what did he get as thanks? An insult.
Swallowing any comment he might’ve had, Raven forced a smile.
“Now that the work is finished, are you ready to hear me out?”
Hendelson smirked.
“I know why you’re here. I could smell your curse’s stench from a mile away.”
Raven said nothing, waiting to hear what Hendelson would say next. If the dwarf refused to help him, he’d have absolutely no reason not to steal that spear — as compensation for all the effort he had put into helping to make it.
But there came no refusal. Just the opposite: Hendelson’s eyes flashed with enthusiasm. He seemed to be itching to challenge himself by accepting an order that unusual.
As Hendelson heard the full story, his face lit up with astonishment and the spark of interest in his eyes turned into a flame.
Attention! You have been offered a quest: The Diabolic Hand of Treason
Rank: Epic
Description: Having heard your story, Hendelson decided to help you by crafting an item that will seal the curse. Since this is the first time he is making such an item, he needs time to make the blueprint.
Goal I: Collect materials to form the flesh. Bring Hendelson at least 5 units of any material of Rare or higher rank. The more units of higher ranks you bring, the greater the probability of success.
Collected: 0
He must be a real fan of rare materials.
To quench the blacksmith’s thirst, Raven had not only to empty his inventory but also to visit his palace and fetch as many materials as possible from there.