“Oh, that? That’s just the gryphon. He’s harmless.” Lanek said while laughing at Ograch.
“Are you certain of that?” Ograch asked with trepidation.
“Pretty certain. I don’t know how close you got to the pavilion, but the gryphon is asleep and behind a barrier. I don’t think sound can pass through it because I’ve not tried to be quiet up here and it never woke up. I can’t even [Identify] the barrier, so I have no clue if it is protecting the gryphon or sealing it away. My guess is protecting it, though. I’m guessing that all of these stalls had gryphons at some point.” He explained to the hobgoblin.
Ograch seemed to calm down at the explanation, breathing in heavily before saying, “Why do you want to live so close to it? It could be dangerous.”
“Honestly? I think its the only reason this building isn’t infested with dungeon monsters. The only time I saw monsters near this place was when we were fighting those bugbears. I think the things in this city can feel the gryphon’s presence, aura, or whatever you want to call it and steer clear.”
“Talwarg calls it pressure. I can’t feel it very well, but he has told me about it. Apparently, the stronger something gets the more pressure it puts out.” Ograch said after considering Lanek’s words.
“Glad to know I’m not completely wrong.” Lanek responded. “You know, I’m hoping you can answer a few more questions for me while you’re here. Like, what the hell is a core and why do I keep finding them?”
Ograch tilted his head to the side, “Your old world didn’t have cores either? Okay, let’s see, I’m not sure what cores actually are, but I can tell you some of their uses. For my people, having cores on hand that we can absorb when it comes time to evolve can unlock more options based on the type of core. Some classes can only evolve when you have enough or the right type of core when you begin the class evolution. I don’t know what classes require it and I don’t think humans evolve, so this might not be all that helpful. Sorry.”
“The other way we use cores is in crafting. If you have a high enough skill for crafting, you can create better quality products. When the Night Arrows still had an armorer with real skill, everyone would give her the cores to make the tribe stronger. I don’t think we ever had a weapon-smith with a high enough level to use them. Also, our shamans like to keep them on hand as absorbing one can replenish your MP.” Ograch continued.
“Wait, cores can replenish MP? It doesn’t happen naturally?” Lanek asked in astonishment.
“No, very few classes can replenish their MP naturally. From what the shamans have said, the only classes that naturally regenerate their MP over time are higher tier evolutions of casting classes. Until then, pretty much everybody needs the cores.”
Lanek shook his head. Here he was thinking this whole time that it was Soulbinder and [Soul Shackle] preventing him from replenishing his mana when it was just that he hadn’t figured out the right item to use. He considered some of the other things that the cores were used for and wondered if he could evolve Soulbinder with them. For that matter, could he evolve? He wasn’t a normal human after all, at least not according to his status screen. More importantly, can Sanguineus and Kazuma use them in their evolutions?
“Thank you for that, Ograch. You have no idea how many issues you just resolved for me.” Lanek said, much to the bewilderment of the hobgoblin.
“Sure, no problem. Ask me whatever you want when I’m here. Unfortunately, I’m going to have to head back soon and I’m not going to have time to look over those maps if I want to make it back before nightfall.” Ograch grumbled.
“No worries, the maps aren’t going anywhere. I’ll look them over while you’re gone and when you get back I can lend them to you so that your tribe can make copies or just study them.” He offered.
Ograch nodded in gratitude before bidding him farewell. A moment after the hobgoblin left, Lanek looked at Kazuma. The big cat chuffed in acknowledgment before turning into mist and following Ograch.
“Alright, guess it’s just you and me for a while. Ready to do some exploring?” Sanguineus yawned before promptly shutting his eyes. “Guess not. Sleep well, buddy.”
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He returned to the tower and decided to work his way down. First, he entered the door opposite the one to the stables. He still found it interesting that the tower was located in the middle of the monastery rather than on one of the sides. After entering the other door, he found that this side of the fourth floor was taken up by large living quarters, clearly reserved for the senior members of the order that lived here.
Every single room was well-appointed, with a bed, desk, table, several chairs, and their own private bathroom, much like the room for the head of the adventurer’s guild. One room in particular seemed likely to belong to the head of the order as it was similar in layout to the other rooms, but when you entered you found yourself in a large office with several very large bookshelves and a massive desk with the actual bedroom and bathroom being through another door. Another difference was that this room had a large fireplace, which made Lanek excited until he realized that actually using it would give his position away.
In the center of this wing was a large meeting room consisting of multiple chairs at a large table in a u-shape with the open side of the u facing the door. The floor in the middle of the u-shape was covered in strange symbols leading up to a pedestal at the center that looked very familiar.
Making his way to the third floor, he found that the entire floor was dedicated to living quarters. These rooms were much smaller than those upstairs, with none having a private bathroom. In addition, the only furnishings in these rooms were a bed sufficient for only a single person, a storage chest, and a desk with a single chair. Like the adventurer’s guild, the third floor was dotted with multiple communal bathrooms. When he passed to the other side of the third floor, he found himself in a large mess hall with long tables and benches. At the far end was a door that opened into the kitchen and pantry.
It became rather clear to Lanek that this place had held far more people than there were stables for upstairs, so the rest of the quarters must be for the support staff and regular soldiers. There had to be regular soldiers, the stables only had 8 stalls, 9 if I count the pavilion. That was also the number of those apartments on the fourth flour, which means that the higher ups were the only gryphon riders. But, this place is huge and even with support staff living here, there is way too much here for only 9 warriors.
Going to the second floor, Lanek’s suspicions were proven correct. The second floor was given over entirely to training. One side was a large hall lined with racks holding all manner of wooden and padded training weapons. At the far end of that hall was another room that looked like a meeting room. For the trainers?
The other side of the second floor consisted of a library, much to Lanek’s delight. He wasn’t sure how interesting the books would be, but it was better than nothing. Just walking around he could see tables set aside for study and a few small rooms with sigils carved into the floors and walls. That looks a bit foreboding…
Finally, he descended to the bottom floor, emerging into the main hall. He strode across the hall, eager to see what else this floor had to offer. On the other side of the first floor, he found various workbenches with incomplete work on them. He could see broken weapons and armor on the benches, clearly waiting for repair. Branching off from this room were two large storage areas, one for raw materials and one for weapons and armor. Sadly, the latter was mostly empty.
The last doorway led to a room that smelled strongly of herbs. Looking around at the equipment, not recognizing anything aside from a mortar and pestle, he left well enough alone. He didn’t want to accidentally poison or blow himself up if it was an apothecary or alchemist lab.
Lanek returned to the repair area, almost skipping in excitement. This place was well beyond what he had expected and would serve as an outstanding base of operations. As long as he could hold it, that is. I might have to get some help here, maybe Ograch? Not sure if he could even leave his tribe to help me hold this place.
Lanek’s eyes turned to the mostly empty storage room and decided to rummage around for some armor. His gauntlets were great, but he was feeling distinctly vulnerable without anything else to supplement it. He doubted he would find much, the place having obviously been mobilized when the dungeon broke, and he would have to be a bit picky.
As he walked through the armory, he did spot a few pieces of armor but had to leave them be as they were variants of plate, scale, and chain armor. Sure, they would definitely provide protection, but he needed to play to his strengths. Heavy metal armor would not only limit his mobility but could also hobble his stealth abilities. It also didn’t help that most of the armor he found was in need of repair, something he hadn’t the faintest idea of how to do. He also found a few weapons in decent condition, but nothing compared to his sabre and chain whip.
“Dammit, this isn’t going to work. I need to find something, I don’t want to die because I don’t have equipment.” Lanek growled to himself.
He returned to the fourth floor and retrieved his maps. Lanek quickly opened and looked at each map, finding a wide variety of map types for many different areas and regions, but found nothing for the city itself. I guess that makes sense, why would someone buy a map of the city when they could just ask someone for directions?
After much deliberation he made up his mind. He couldn’t ask a person for directions, but that didn’t mean he had to bumble around blind. Tomorrow, he would see Caelis.