True to his word, Krazzik had everything ready to go once the dwarves finished with their impromptu ceremony. Not a single person complained about the delay, allowing them to catch up on some desperately needed rest.
Before the group left to explore, Glade couldn’t help but marvel at the swath of intricate tattoo designs amongst the dwarven population. Croon’s was by far the most elaborate, his tattoos forming a series of interlocking weaves and knots that were simultaneously stunning and headache inducing.
The clan’s second in command, Bragden, was now completely bald. Of all the dwarves present, his was by far the most intriguing. Hundreds of intricate runes began at the base of his neck, wrapping in tight ribbons that were seamlessly woven into two greater runes that read Knowledge Seeker in ancient Dwarfen.
To say the event had left a lasting impression was a vast understatement. Dwarf after dwarf sat before Krazzik as he carefully revealed their heritage with the razor sharp knife. A process that felt almost spiritual in nature, something that Croon was all too happy to point out.
“Ye have the right o’ it. To us dwarves, our heritage, our family, our clan, they mean everythin. We are part o’ a greater whole that traces its lines back to the beginnin o’ all things. To take that physical representation away is like takin the musician’s soul out o’ his music. Sure, ye can hit all the right notes, but the passion o’ everythin that makes it great is gone.”
There was a subtle, but noticeable, change as each dwarf shed their hair to reveal what was beneath. They stood taller, laughed harder, and had a vibrance to them that wasn’t there before. Where once Glade had seen a beaten people in need of rescue, he now saw a unified and focused clan of tough as nails men ready and willing to face any trial.
It was amazing how shedding a little weight could help someone stand a little taller.
“You know, I wondered why every dwarf we met had a mullet when we first met them,” Kedryn said, interrupting Glade’s thoughts as they climbed the mild slope of a tunnel long forgotten. “Well, maybe not all of them,” Kedryn continued. “Bragden and a couple of others looked normal, but they were already bald up top. But the others? It was like walking into a Joe Dirt family reunion. At least now we know why.”
Glade was about to ask who Joe Dirt was but was beaten out by Riya.
“What’s a mullet?” Riya asked from further behind, rolling the word on her tongue as if trying to decide if she liked it or not.”
“It’s a hair style from back home,” Kedryn explained. “You know, long hair in the back with shorter hair on the sides.”
“Ah, we just call it dwarf style, for obvious reasons.”
“Tis the best kind o’ cut there be!” Krazzik called out jovially as he brought up the rear of their formation. “Shows they have good taste.”
Glade smiled at the banter, knowing full well their discussion was likely to veer into less than comfortable topics in the near term. At Krazzik’s request, Glade had refrained from looking at his status page until they were relatively alone. That way they could discuss any concerns openly without everyone else eavesdropping.
He was certain Krazzik would have a lot of questions.
“I think it be far enough away that others can’t hear ye,” Bragden said from the front, his tattoos on full display as Riya’s light bobbed up and down from behind, illuminating both the dwarf and the passage around them.
“Yer right, o’ course, Bragden, but do ye have to steal all the light and life o’ the whole thing? It not be every day we add someone to the clan as a Blood Brother.”
“Bragden’s right,” Glade interjected. “I was more than happy to wait to look at your status page, and you mine, until after we had some privacy. But I believe it would be better to get this over with sooner rather than later.”
“Bah, can’t be that bad. So long as ye don’t have any gnome blood in ye we’ll be fine.” Krazzik replied as Bragden came to stand next to his chief.
Glade had hesitantly agreed that Krazzik could share the contents of his page with his second in command, but asked that he not share it with anyone else. The fewer who knew about him the better.
Riya and Kedryn gave the dwarf a guarded look, each waiting for the reaction they knew was coming as Krazzik’s eyes went out of focus.
In the meantime, Glade opened Krazzik’s status page, giving it a quick perusal.
Name: Krazzik Slaghammer (Mountain Dwarf)
Age: 81 Level: 11
Experience: 23,765 Next Level: 28,500
Health: 210 Stamina: 290 Mana: 120
Attributes
Strength: 15 Dexterity: 13 Constitution: 21 Endurance: 29
Intelligence: 12 Wisdom: 12 Charisma: 14 (13 base) Chance: 11
Brands
Courage Creation
Titles
Chief of Clan Slaghammer
Languages
Dwarfen (All Dialects) Elvish (Basic Dialect)
Skills
Administration: Lvl 2: +2% Clan Administration.
Cooking: Lvl 19: +19% chance to enhance flavor.
Corporeal Magic: Lvl 9: +18% mana efficiency in Corporeal Magic
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Crossbow: Lvl 14: 14% stamina reduction; +14% damage/accuracy
Earth Magic: Lvl 8: +16% mana efficiency in Earth Magic
Unarmed Combat: Lvl 17: 17% stamina reduction; +17% damage/accuracy/defense.
Leadership: Lvl 7: +7% to Charisma
Mana Processing Technique (Crystallization: Garnet Level - Uncommon): Lvl 17: +28% mana absorption
Meditation (Granite Duster): Lvl 19: +28.5% mana regen and attunement absorption.
Medium Armor: Lvl 14: 14% stamina reduction. +14% movement speed.
Mining: Lvl 33: +16.5% chance of finding rare resource/gems.
Pick Axe: Lvl 33: 33% stamina reduction; +33% damage/accuracy; +16.5% chance of finding rare resources/gems.
Perception: Lvl 21: +41% to perception
Scribing: Lvl 3: +3% accuracy, +6% in learning languages.
Shields: Lvl 21: 21% stamina and damage reduction. +10.5% armor rating.
Small Blades: Lvl 11: 11% stamina reduction. +11% damage/accuracy.
Smithing: Lvl 9: 9% stamina reduction; +9% in creating uncommon quality
War Hammer: Lvl 19: 19% stamina reduction; +19% damage/accuracy.
Abilities
Earth Sense: Provides user with enhanced understanding of the earth around them.
Blood Bond with Glade
Specializations
Miner
Attunements
Earth: 22% (Sympathetic) Fire: 0% Corporeal: 31% (Compatible)
“Yer only name be Glade? No surname? That be odd, but nothin too earth shatterin. Hmm… Yer only level 7, and haven’t allocated all yer points I see. Thought you’d be a higher level for certain given how he handled those Gnoll’s. Normally, that would mean ye have higher than normal skills, but I see all them be below the trainee level? That be right odd, but the kind o’ skills ye got is somethin else.”
Bragden perked up at the last comment.
“Astral magic user, which old sourpuss ought to like,” he nudged his second in command with an elbow and a smile. Bragden didn’t react much to the revelation, likely because he had already figured out that Glade had an astral attunement when he had released some of the slaves. “Tactician? That be a right useful skill to have, but we already knew that seein as Bragden got the XP bonus when he was fightin with ye.”
“Look at that! A unique mana processing skill already at level 8! That be somethin to be proud of that’s for sure. Not every day someone starts out with a unique level technique at such a low level. Let’s see what else ye got… Telepathy? Really?”
Both Krazzik and Bragden looked at Glade questioningly.
“Sorry, it doesn’t work at the moment, seeing as my channels have ruptured. But that skill allowed me to sense any mind within 80 feet, to include slimes,” Glade said with a shrug.
“That be a right useful skill,” Bragden said. “Can ye look into others minds without them knowing?”
“Now wait just a moment,” Krazzik said, elbowing his friend. “Ye can ask yer questions later while we’re walkin. I jumped round a bit and want to see what I… skipped…”
Krazzik’s voice trailed off.
“How much do you want to bet he just saw Glade’s brands?” Kedryn whispered to Riya, but still loud enough for everyone to hear.
“No bet,” she replied, though her demeanor was anything but playful. She stared intently at Krazzik, waiting to see what he did next.
“What’s wrong with his brands?” Bragden asked.
The clan chief didn’t answer, his eyes slowly going over Glade’s status page. After a moment, the dwarf’s jaw fell open.
“I bet he either saw Glade’s titles or finally saw the extra attribute,” Kedryn whispered, his voice the same volume as before.
“Will you be quiet?” Riya hissed. “Or do I have to start pelting you with rocks again?”
“A treeless peltin a royal with rocks?” Bragden muttered, looking between the two. “Krazzik, just what have ye got us into this time?”
“Eight,” Krazzik finally whispered. “He has eight.”
“Eight what?” Bragden asked.
“Brands,” Krazzik finally got out. “He has eight bloody brands!”
Both dwarves looked at Glade as if seeing him for the first time. In answer, Glade rolled up his sleeves and showed them.
“May the Mother preserve and keep us,” Bragden said, his voice trembling.
“That be the worst o’ it, but there be so much else that I don’t have a slagging clue as to where to start.” Krazzik said, using Bragden’s shoulder for support. He then faced Glade, a storm of anger gathering just beneath his stoic surface.
“I said I would take ye as ye are, but I believe ye have a bit o’ explainin to do. Just who are ye Captain Glade? A human with 9 attributes and every mana channel just waitin to be opened? And while yer at it, please tell me what in the adjudicator’s names be your ability, Will? Never in all me days have I heard o’ such an ability! Then after we go over the easy stuff…”
Bragden’s eyes had continued to widen with every request his chief made, but the last statement made him whip his head to stare wide eyed at Krazzik.
“There be more!?!” He asked hoarsly.
“Oh, aye. Like how in the abyss are ye bonded to a slagging royal elf who’s not only a pyro with actual ceremonial robes, but is more clueless than me own touched boy?”
Kedryn let out an indignant “Hey,” but Krazzik, as well as everyone else, ignored him.
“And just how did ye come to be a named and titled protector to a treeless celestial? And not just any treeless, but the slagging heir of the entire bloody treeless house!?”
The dwarf was practically yelling toward the end.
Krazzik paused his tirade, forcing himself to take a deep breath before continuing.
“I brought ye into me clan, and yer me blood now. But it all be a long draw of the sword to simply take all that on nothin but blind faith.”
Glade heaved a sigh. That… could have gone much better. If Boon were here, he would have had the entire group dancing to whatever tune the silver-tongued devil wanted.
But Boon wasn’t with him, which meant Glade had to deal with this in the way he knew how.
Which for him, the only way through was forward.
“I honored your surprise request to bond by blood,” Glade began. “And truth be told, you put me into a position where it was very hard to say no. That said, I honor my word. Always. I meant what I said during the ceremony and am happy to share some specifics of who we are. However, I will spare you the longer story for a more appropriate time, but the truth is…”
“They are blessed of the Eight,” Riya whispered, interrupting Glade mid-sentence. The group all looked to the golden eyed elf, who was rubbing both arms against the cold of the tunnel.
“Not just Captain Glade, but Corporal Kedryn as well. Neither are originally from Veil. They have no knowledge of any of our ways or how the world works. They are like fresh born cubs, stumbling about with already sharpened claws and teeth too big for them to wield, let alone having the faintest idea of how to use them. As to how they came to be with me? They rescued me. Several times.”
“While you should rightly fear Captain Glade’s brands, you need to also realize the other danger,” Riya said, turning her eyes to Kedryn. “Corporal Kedryn was not only chosen by the Eight but granted a boon by them as well.”
Both dwarves gasped, their eyes suddenly fixating on the young elf.
“While I do not understand specifically what the Corporal sought from the Adjudicators, he was reborn as not only a royal elf, but as the true and only Bei.”
At her pronouncement, both dwarves paled.
“We’re dead,” Bragden said, his voice strained.
Riya nodded, acknowledging the gravity of the dwarf’s comment.
“Captain Glade was also chosen and was granted boons. For what purpose? I don’t know. But he commands Kedryn, a royal elf, with patience and wisdom. It was the Adjudicators who granted him the title of Sah’eld, my personal protector, and he is the one who has been given all eight brands.”
Momentary silence followed as both dwarves stared dumbly at the three walking calamities before them.