“Why are we walling up the grotto again?” Kedryn grunted, struggling to place the last stone on the already impressive pile of rocks.
“So the Matriarch’s offspring have a better chance at survival,” Riya commented, examining the cave walls leading away from what had been their temporary home. “When you’re done playing with rocks, I’d like you to come examine these walls with your Natural Lore skill.”
“Playing with rocks,” Kedryn grumbled just loud enough for Glade to hear. “Hasn’t she ever heard of a rhetorical question before?”
“It was either this or wait in the grotto for the turtles to hatch,” Glade responded, making sure the improvised stone barrier was as solid as he could make it. “I, for one, am enjoying the exercise.”
Another day had passed since they had completed the second part of their protect the guardians quest, giving them a grand total of four days since their arrival on Veil. If it hadn’t been for his wrist watch and willpower regeneration rate of 1 point per day, time would have been next to impossible to measure.
The rest had been invaluable. Not only for recovery, but for getting a handle on their new abilities. Not that he wanted to stay another day, but Riya had been adamant. It was either hunt for additional food or wall up the cavern. Since their two hunting excursions had netted them a grand total of three slimes and five Dusk Rats, all of which were inedible, they fell back to plan B. Walling up the entrance to the grotto.
There was also plan C, which entailed Glade dragging Riya kicking and screaming away from the grotto. He hadn’t acted on that particular plan for one important reason.
Riya would likely have kill him.
Attention! You and your party have gone above and beyond the previous requirements outlined in Protect the Guardians II by providing a sanctuary and sustainable food source for the Fen Turtle Matriarch’s offspring. Your actions have granted your party the next quest in this chain.
You have been offered a quest: Protect the Guardians III - Sanctuary. Something has driven the Fen Turtles from their natural habitat, forcing the Matriarch to forage and nest in environments that are not conducive to long term survivability for her kind. This is a two part quest. Part one, protect the Fen Turtle’s nesting ground from outside threats until the hatchlings are old enough to fend for themselves. Part two, find whatever caused the Fen Turtles to abandon their previous habitat. Do you accept?
Yes/No
Success Conditions:
- Create a sanctuary for the Fen Turtle hatchlings within the next 120 days.
- Find out why the Fen Turtles abandoned their old habitat.
Reward: 500 XP (1,500/3)
They received the quest shortly after Glade had expressed, under no uncertain terms, that they were leaving the grotto to find an exit to the surface and food. Naturally, Riya ignored him once they received the quest, which had been automatically given to the whole group this time instead of just him, and declared she wasn’t moving a muscle until they agreed to protect the clutch of eggs.
Whichever one of the Adjudicators granting these quests had a terrible sense of timing or humor. Likely both.
Hence, blocking off the entrance to the grotto. It kept the Dusk Rats and other threats out. Plus, the turtles didn’t travel through the tunnels. The Matriarch had come from the underground body of water, which meant there was a way out.
Unfortunately for them, the waterways were completely submerged, which Glade had learned after trying to wash the funk from his body. He had only partially succeeded in washing the dirt and grime off.
Good thing they had decided to spend almost an entire day piling loose rock. Now he smelled twice as bad as he had before without access to a bath. The only real benefit was that his use of telepathy to track any minds in the area had worked like a charm. The skill allowed him to sense both the slimes, which were unique enough that he could easily distinguish them from others, and the Dusk Rats well before they were a real threat.
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The downside from using his skill in such a manner was that his head felt like it was about to split apart from the pain. Still, it had been worth it in both providing an early warning system and advancing his skill.
Congratulations! Through your hard work and diligence you have achieved skill level 3 & 4 in Telepathy! Your telepathic range has increased to a 40-foot radius.
The expanded ability improved his range, but the additional information he was sensing didn’t help his headache. Not to mention that holding the mana was starting to feel like a strain.
“What’s so interesting about the rock wall?” Kedryn asked, setting down his load and moving to stand beside Riya.
“Just scan it with your skill,” Riya responded, her eyes glittering in the wavering light floating over her shoulder.
Kedryn’s eyes briefly lost focus as he accessed his skill.
“All I’m getting is unknowns.”
Figuring there wasn’t any reason not to join in the exercise, Glade used his aura sight.
You have discovered a minor vein of star silver. Increase the skill Aura Sight to learn more.
Grade: Unknown
Size of Vein: Minor
Value: Unknown
“Natural Lore is one of the most powerful identification skills known on Veil and is assessed at the rare rank,” Riya said. “It has the potential to combine dozens, if not hundreds, of specialized identification skills like herbology, quartering, alchemy, metallurgy, gemology, crafting, enchantments, and many, many more into one.”
“If it's that powerful, why did the skill come back as unknown?” Kedryn asked.
And If Natural Lore was considered rare and couldn’t pick up the star silver, but Glade’s Aura Sight could, what rank was his skill considered?
“Even though Natural Lore is quite powerful, it is not without its faults,” Riya answered. “It is always good to remember there is always a balance when it comes to powerful skills. In this case, you have to build a foundation of understanding first before Natural Lore will trigger. Let me show you. You see the light gray stone that reflects my light?”
Both Kedryn and Glade stepped forward, eyeing the stone wall. The lighter stone was a few inches in width and encompassed the entire tunnel like a ring of light grey. It glittered along the surface, reflecting Riya’s naturally bright light.
“This is star silver in its raw form. You’ll notice the vein is narrow and stands out from the darker stone. If it were mined, the extracted ore could be smelted down. However, due to its brittleness, it isn’t considered very valuable. Now that you know what to look for, why don’t you try identifying it again?”
“Wow! It came up with the details you just described,” Kedryn said. “But does this mean I have to study all the varying types of rock and ore so I can identify it?”
“Good question. The short answer is no. There is a reason why Natural Lore is a rare ranked skill. You still need to study for the skill to become more proficient, like understanding ore grades, market values and the like, but now that you have unlocked this aspect of the skill, you should be able to identify common and uncommon types of ore.”
“Awesome!” Kedryn cried, and he immediately began looking around the rest of the tunnel. Likely trying out the new facet of his skill.
Deciding to keep quiet about his skill for now, Glade asked another question.
“Do you think this is why the slimes didn’t get into the grotto? They freeze up whenever they hit our improvised shields,” he asked, holding up the larger of the Magma Beetle carapace. The star silver alloy reflected Riya’s conjured light, showcasing countless small glitters very similar to the ones in the vein of ore.
“I’m certain of it. Do you see the smooth slime trails on the stone? They stop just before this vein of ore.”
Now that Glade was looking, the trails of smooth stone scattered around the tunnels were clearly evident, all of which ended at the star silver.
“Lucky,” Glade said. “We should probably be on the lookout for more star silver veins in the future. It would be great if we could find another place to rest without fearing an attack.”
Riya nodded, then looked back at the freshly blocked entrance to their temporary refuge. Knowing she didn’t want to leave the clutch of turtle eggs, Glade decided to nudge her along.
“Time to go,” he said, picking up their only pack before walking away from the grotto. It was far past time for them to move on.
They made it fifty feet before they heard Kedryn call out from where they had left him. The Kid hadn’t even noticed them leave.
“Hey! I found a pocket of Siderite! Is that good? I mean, it sounds good. It has to be magical, right? Any chance we can mine it?”
Glade immediately turned around, grabbed the Kid by the scruff of his robe, and shoved him down the tunnel.