I blink my eyes, expecting to see the interior of the vardo. Instead, all I see is the endless abyss one normally sees during the in game sleep mode. I know my eyes are open, because even in the abyss there's a discernable "floor" to walk on. After a few steps the floor beneath my feet solidifies into white marble, similar to the podium I was on during the character creation. I look around for the pantheon of gods and see only one figure.
Her body is made of the cosmos, glittering stars among swirls of black, pale purple, and deep blue. Her eyes are amber stars, simultaneously exploding and compressing with each second. I can feel them burning my core, seeing everything inside me and through me. I want to move to cover myself with my hands, but I get the feeling that it won't make a difference. I can only glance at them every now and then since I can't look directly at them for long periods of time. Her long, billowing hair is made of the same cosmic substance and waves like it's caught in an underwater current. I see no mouth on her face, but instead feel words spoken in my head in an ethereal and familiar fashion.
[Welcome back, Traveler Ardacen. It has been a while since we were in each other's presence.]
I try to respond in my mind, but get nothing back so I speak normally. My voice echoes as if I'm standing at the precipice of a canyon, "Ma'am. Have we met?"
[Yes, when you first came to Arc. But I was surrounded by my brothers and sisters so we were not properly introduced. My name is Dimitria, Goddess of Magic.]
I bow low at the waist, but shield my eyes with my hands when I stand back up, "It is an honor, ma'am. What-what can I do for you?" The light and heat dim and when I look past my hand I can tell she has her back to me. I drop my hand, trying to crane my neck to see what she may be looking at.
[You have with you a dungeon core named Sonasolaria, do you not? Y/N?]
"Yes, ma'am," I say, shielding my eyes again as she turns around. "Is she in some kind of trouble?"
[No, Traveler, though I appreciate your concern for her. She is the youngest of my seven daughters and was the first to join a group like yours.]
My eyes search my feet as I try to process this bit of information. "So," I say drawing out the breath before the next words, "We're not the only ones with a sentient dungeon core then?"
[No, Traveler. And the only reason I have come to you in person is it seems she has chosen a life outside of the dungeon that she requires to survive. I love my daughters. To see them waste away due to their own carelessness will be undesireable for all involved.]
I was hoping that she would be able to absorb some of the ambient mana from the two dungeons we are planning on visiting. But, the way it sounds, it will only be a stop gap measure. "What should I do?" I ask, arms open wide ready to accept any help with this new development.
[I cannot tell you what to do, Traveler Ardacen, though I may advise you should you desire to keep my daughter with you for much longer.]
"Anything! We'll try anything," I can feel the cold spike of panic running up my spine.
[She needs a constant source of mana. There are several ways and items to pursue that may aid her in this predicament, but it will be up to you and your group discover them.]
I furrow my brow at the vague hint, crossing my arms across my chest, "Is there maybe a boon or a blessing you can bestow upon me to help with this?"
[In this instance I cannot directly interfere, only guide. Besides, a boon from me is not necessary for you to figure this out. Though, there is one thing I can do.]
[Major Quest Received: Feed the Core
[To survive, Sonny needs 1000EP to maintain her current size (5000EP). For her to grow again she needs more. Find a way to stabilize her EP use and help her regain some of her lost mana. 0/11,000.
[Reward: 1000XP per person, 2*Rook Chest
[Time Limit: 7 days to stabilize
[Failure: Death of Sonasolaria, -30% XP Gain Debuff for 2 Levels.]
Damn. If she's at five thousand now, it's less than half of where we found her when we defeated Spindle. The punishment for failure is disheartening to say the least and the debuff is enough for my brain to start scrambling for solutions. But, not knowing exactly how one goes about generating mana out of nowhere puts any ideas I might be brewing on hold.
[I detain you far longer than I should. You must rejoin the others now. May your mana be bountiful, Traveler Ardacen.]
"Thank--"
My eyes flutter open and I'm back inside the vardo. For a moment I think I'm alone, but when I whirl around all of the sights and sounds hit me at once. People are surrounding the other players and showing off completed works, like children showing off their latest arts and crafts projects.
I'm about to be set upon by crafters holding up a myriad of objects when I'm pulled back and into the embrace of Victoria. Eyes closed, I take in the scent of fresh flowers and fruit and I know right away that she took advantage of the use of Lady Anne's bath recently. It is intoxicating and my eyes roll back as I nuzzle her neck.
When we finally unlock and stand side by side, Dawn's commanding voice directs the crowd to settle down, "You will all get a chance to bring us up to date. I know you are all excited, but having everyone talk all at once is a little confusing."
She asks everyone to sit at tables while the four of us seperately make rounds through them, like a children's science fair. I walk hand in hand with Victoria as everyone explains what materials they used, what they had hoped to make, and the results of their work.
I have to say that I am a little disappointed when the tailors hand me the one and only pair of black cargo pants. I pout, putting them into my storage to change into later. They explain that, in terms of utility it is a good idea. But, now that the world of fashion and style has been opened up to them, function has taken a back seat to form.
Fortunately, a lot of the materials they used in the crafting process of their other projects were enchanted loot drops from magical creatures and not simple things. They even worked with Mika on a special infusion of the turqiouse dye and Mandrake Petals that became the signature of the Linqs Clothing set.
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[Linqs Tunic. 2/2 Advanced Expert UnderChest.
[Durability: 300/300
[Armor: 4
[-1Sec SP Regen wait]
[Linqs Pants. 2/2 Advanced Expert UnderLegs.
[Durability: 300/300
[Armor: 3
[+1SP Regen]
[Ardacen's Custom Pants. Advanced Journeyman UnderLegs.
[Durability: 300/300
[Armor: 3
[2* Nonmagical storage spaces (7inch x 7inch x 1nch)]
It turned out that the bolts of canvas we bought were in fact "duck", or a tighter woven, softer canvas perfect for pants and heavier than the kind of simple cloth everyone was already wearing.
My pants are made of the same duck canvas. I can access the pockets from as far from the pocket as my hip without digging into them with my hands and the menu is visible only to me, a great advantage since almost all menus are plainly visible.
So, my purchasing mistakes combined with Dridersilk thread and strips of Nightmare Leather became high quality clothes for everyone, including Victoria, who I finally notice has a blue wolf emblem over the heart of her very own Linqs Tunic.
The color pallete remains the same throughout each design: light grey as the base, black trim, and the turquoise accents. The bright blue shows up as flowers on some, streaks of paint on others. One of the children had the basic design of the Grey Wanderer mask over the center of his chest. I felt like a superhero seeing someone wearing his merchandise.
The genius in the Tailors lies within the flawless customization of each individual or group’s wants and needs. The Foragers, for example, have long sleeves and pants to better protect themselves in the brush. Knee and forearm areas are reinforced with Nightmare Leather. And specially crafted shemaghs sit on their shoulders for versatile head protection. Though I would love to have one, they either equip to the neck, head, and/or face and I just don't have enough real estate for it.
Gorm and his crew, who now look as professional as their level of cooking implies, are wearing the cloth knot button up coats of chefs. I'm told the coats are imbued with Harpy Feathers to create a sort of breeze-based cooling element and my jealousy demon rears it's ugly head again. If onIy I could've had something like that IRL. The times behind the line wouldn't have been so brutal.
Speaking of Gorm, he is more than happy to share all of the recipes he and his crew came up with in a special card that I save for later. He can't resist slapping my back and me into the ground followed by his hearty laugh before sending me away to the rest of the hoard.
Next up, Boulder and Conner are showing off their stockpile of modified and improvised weapons, since they both reached Minor Survival Craft II. Crossbows and shortbows imbued with Harpy Feathers made them stronger and easier to draw. Using Stalker Scythes and strips of leather, they created shortswords and sheaths for every adult citizen with some left over.
"Thank you, boys, for all of your hard work," Victoria says.
[Tailwind Crossbow. Advanced Apprentice.
[Durability: 150/150
[Modifier/Distance/Ammo: Dex/200Yards/0
[Base Damage: 6
[Requirement: 3Strength
[+25% Damage to any flying creature]
[Tailwind Shortbow. Advanced Apprentice
[Durability: 150/150
[Modifier/Distance/Ammo: Dex/250Yards/0
[Base Damage: 4
[+25% Damage to any flying creature]
[Stalker Saber. Advanced Improvised.
[Durability: 150/150
[Modifier/Distance/Ammo: Str/Melee/1
[Base Damage: 6
[The wielder may use the Quickdraw Skill once every 2 hours while using this weapon.]
They make for perfect backup weapons to the militia's spears and the ability is an incredible bonus. Any situation that calls for the use of a sword would benefit from Quickdraw. Boulder and Conner salute us and we return it before moving on to the next table.
Many of the rest are citizens presenting comfort items and luxuries they crafted that they could never in their wildest dreams think of owning. Except, for the last table on our route. Sitting there, bubbling over with excitement upon seeing me, is Mika.
"Finally," she exclaims, holding on to a bottle for dear life, "Someone who'll understand."
She places her prize on the table, next to a few more of the same.
The bottles are the size of a typical bottle of wine, a wide body that tapers slowly into a long elegant neck, topped with a simple piece of cork. The liquid inside shimmers, as if made with fine glitter. From the neck to where the bottle starts to taper the liquid is a deep orange. It switches suddenly to a band of canary yellow and then another sharp change to rose gold. I know it's the liquid and not the bottle because the bands are still sloshing about from when Mika placed it on the table.
"Mika… Is that made using…" I'm a little tentative to complete my question and I don't want to Analyze and ruin her fun.
"Yes! You know! Of course you know! Oh, I knew following you was a good idea! I knew from the moment you asked to help Ol' Mika out that day."
She continues to ramble as I pick up the bottle, holding it up in front of Victoria and myself.
"That, is a very special potion, one that a thousand Alchemists would throw their next of kin into a cauldron just to get the recipe." I whince, hoping she's only exaggerating.
"I'm gonna Analyze it if you won't say what it is, Mika," I say, an empty threat but I have to stop her from babbling on the way she is.
"Right, you're right. Anyway, what you're holding in your grubby little paws is the Glorious Dawn Elixer. It is a Master ranked item, mainly because of the other crap ingredients we be having--"
"Hey!"
"No offense,” she says with her hands up towards me in a placating gesture.
I still scowl at her, but it doesn't change her mood in the slightest. She continues, "It is still a very, powerful potion and one that we can make cartloads of gold from."
I set the bottle down and give her a disapproving look, "Do we have to sell it? I mean, you still haven't said what it does."
She glances left and right, points to her two eyes, and then points at the bottle. What was the point of all that if she was just going to make me Analyze it in the first place? For show?
>Scan<[Glorious Dawn Elixer. Master Consumable.
[One sip fills your heart and mind with fiery energy and knowledge. The drinker is given 5Charges and 24Hours to cast these Spells:
[Daylight(1Charge)
[Healing Light(1Charge)
[Radiant Beam(2Charge)
[Base Faith will be 25 or the drinker's Faith, whichever is higher.]
>Scan<[Daylight (30MP) 50feet/ Create a small orb that will emit magical sunlight that lasts 1hour/dismissed. For all intents and purposes, it will be considered as sunlight but will not deal damage or cause sunburn. Will light up a 100ft diameter sphere.]
>Scan<[Healing Light (15MP) 35feet/ Cast a ray of light upon a target, healing them for Faith_Total+Strength_Base]
>Scan<[Radiant Beam (55MP) 45feet/ From the caster's chest as a starting point, a 6foot wide beam of energy deals 2*Faith_Total Radiant damage to all hostiles in its path, ignoring any neutral/friendly targets and obstructions.]
Mika's toothy grin widens when she notices my mental jaw drop. Victoria, able to see the menus since she is right next to me, tightens her hand into a death grip and I'm sure my fingertips are purple.
"How," I stutter the word over and over until she answers in a way that she either knew the question was coming or could read my thoughts by my facial expressions alone.
"Four bottles from one bloom," she places the bottle I picked up back into formation with the others.
"But how much--"
"You need to drink two ounces. Each bottle has about twenty six ounces. I would've just used smaller vials but the ones we have just aren't high enough in grade. But…"
I'm wagging my hand, trying to get the blood flowing back through it and hiding the fact that my hands are actually trembling.
There's still two blooms left and right now we have about fifty two uses in front of us. Mika produces two test tubes capped with corks and hands them to us.
"I had enough of these for you two and Dawn, who already has hers. Until then, I'm going to have to keep them under lock and key. If we're not going to sell any, and I don't think you should toss that idea out quite yet, then I'm going to have to keep them safe."
We agree with her as we place our vials inside our storage and Mika scoops the ones on the table into a bag.
The door to the vardo slams open and Lady Anne's voice bellows into the vardo, "Lady Victoria. Your spear is needed immediately at the front lines."
Vic turns to me and we scramble out to meet her.