Returning to the guild, they were given the final component to their contract: delivering the sword to the client. The client in question was a scion of the Vitrax family, and the location of the delivery was to be the Vitrax estate that Atrax had pointed out on their first day entering the city. Since there was still daylight left, the mercenaries decided to go ahead and get the contract over with, so that they could receive their pay from the guild.
Mounting up, the five of them rode out of the city the way they’d first arrived as a team of four, and took a road leading along the river that would take them to the Vitrax estate. Even from a far distance, Xander was able to tell that the compound was far more lavish that even the Huraven estate had been. The Vitraxes must be extremely wealthy. He supposed it made sense then that they had the money to throw about to have lost items retried, or to be ordering enchanted swords in the first place.
As they neared the gate that would allow them to enter the estate, which had a trio of guards stationed at it, Atrax quietly said, “Be on your best behavior, everyone. Lord Huraven might have forgiven any perceived slights, but the Vitraxes are known for issuing duels for any impingement upon their honor.”
“Got it, keep my mouth shut,” Xander replied. “I’ll try to keep to, ‘Yes, Lord Vitrax and No, Lord Vitrax.”
“Probably for the best,” Frazay chuckled. “I suppose I ought to do the same thing.”
The guards at the gate were informed of their business, and one of them trotted off towards the estate to inform whoever it was that ought to know. About fifteen minutes later, the guard was seen jogging back, quickly being outpaced by what was, judging by his dress, which was extremely colorful, a noble.
Reaching the gate, the flamboyantly dressed nobleman enthusiastically said, “I hear you have brought my sword! Ah, but where are my manners, introductions first, of course. I am Erillian Vitrax, first in line for the seat of the Vitrax household.” He swept a short bow at the mercenaries, as the guard finally caught up, huffing and puffing.
Atrax, still mounted, offered a bow from the saddle, introducing himself. “I am Atrax, mercenary and mage, Lord Vitrax. And these are my teammates, Frazay, Graffus, Xander, and Gabrelle.” He gestured to each of them as he named the mercenaries for the Lord.
Xander looked Erillian over, thinking the man looked like a bowl of sorbet ice cream. The ruffles on his collar and his cuffs were a bright orange, whilst his tunic was a lime green. The pants he wore were similarly lime green, but with a blue tartan pattern to them. It must be in fashion currently, or else Xander doubted the man would be wearing it, but it would have been considered beyond tacky back on Earth.
“It is a pleasure to make your acquaintances, my mercenary friends,” the noble said. “Now that we have introduced, I must admit, as you likely can already tell, that I am quite anxious to see my new sword.”
Atrax turned to Xander, making a gesture that managed to convey ‘Well? Bring out the man’s sword already!’
Xander decided to add a little flair to removing the sword from his inventory, holding both his arms out, palm upwards, willing the sword to materialize from his inventory space laying flat across his palms for the man. The theatrics seemed to delight the noble, who, based on his dress alone, Xander had correctly assumed had a flair for the dramatic.
“Oh, I do love a good magic trick!” Erillian said, clapping.
Xander held the sword out by its scabbard so that Erillian could take the hilt, which the man did. Once Xander released his grip from the scabbard, Erillian brought it fully into his grasp and slid the sword from its protective covering. The blade was just as ornate as the hilt, covered in gold inlay, with ‘Erillian Vitrax’ inlaid down the center of the blade.
The Vitrax scion took a few steps backwards, then experimentally gave the blade a few swings. “Hmm,” he said, assessing the sword, “Good balance, to be sure. Now… Let’s see how these enchantments do…” He turned to face the gate and its metal bars and swung the sword at it. The blade flashed a deep green as it struck the bars, and sheared through them cleanly, with hardly any resistance at all. Erillian laughed. “Yes! Yes, this will do nicely,” he said turning to the mercenaries. “You have my thanks for bringing me the blade. I was loathe to wait any longer for it and was considering riding out myself for it. Now, I just need to have my armor done…” he trailed off thoughtfully.
Frazay perked up at the mans statement, and, slapping Xander’s back quite roughly, though he didn’t feel it too much due to his armor, said, “Well, Lord Vitrax, I think you just may be in luck. We happen to know a specialist in rune work who I’m sure would be happy to make themselves available to you.” She gave Xander a push when she said ‘sure.’
Erillian faced Frazay as she began speaking, eyebrows raised in surprise. “Is that so? I would be extremely interested in meeting this specialist. I’ve always loved the way runic arrays looked on a piece of armor, but by the gods, it’s hard to find anyone to do the work. They’re all in the capital, busy as bees. Where is this one? Also in the capital?”
Xander shifted uncomfortably. “Ah, it would be me that she is referring to, Lord Vitrax.”
Lord Vitrax clapped again and laughed, finding the situation hilarious. “Glorious, what fortune! To think, the team I ended up hiring from the mercenary’s guild to bring me my enchanted sword would also bring me someone to do my armor!” He cleared his throat, slightly, “Though, if you don’t mind my asking, what classes do you have that would make you a proficient mercenary and rune worker? I do of course need to view them to verify that you can indeed do the work. Ideally, I’d also like to see some of your work.”
Xander nodded in understanding. “Of course, Lord Vitrax. I am a [Combat Artificer] as well as a [Rune Lord],” Erillian’s eyes widened upon hearing Xander’s classes, clearly interested. “I’ll open my status for your viewing.” Xander did so, dismounting from Freyja to allow the noble easier viewing of the status window that was now floating in front of Xander. Erillian nodded, satisfied. “As for examples of my work, you are free to view any of the runes on my comrade’s armor, and, if you’d like, I can show you my mace as well.” Xander unhooked the mace from his belt and carefully offered it to the noble.
“Mmm, yes,” The noble was looking closely at the dense network of runic circuits that covered the head of Xander’s mace. “Your rune work looks good. Very dense. And I see you’re using an inlay, I quite like the look of that, it’s certainly something I’d like on my own armor. Would you be willing to view my suit of armor today? We can speak about what you’re able to offer and what I would like to have on my armor. I expect it will take some time, so I will extend the courtesy of a guest suite for yourself and your compatriots. Our stables is quite able to care for your exotic mount. One of my cousins is a tamer, you see,” He explained.
“We’d love to stay, Lord Vitrax. Thank you for your hospitality.” Frazay quickly answered for Xander.
“Ah, yes, I can, I can take a look at things for you, Lord Vitrax,” Xander said somewhat nervously. He hadn’t been expecting any of this at all.
“Marvelous! Come, all of you, and I shall show you to my personal armory.”
The five mercenaries rode in silence as they followed behind the noble’s brisk walk. He was clearly in a good mood, whistling a jaunty tune as he walked back to the estate. They passed row upon row of grave vines, with gardeners carefully tending to them here and there. Soon, they were moving through the outbuildings on the edges of the compound proper. Erillian led them to one of these outbuildings, which was larger than the rest. He threw open the doors grandly and ushered them inside. “Welcome,” he said dramatically, “to my armory!”
The inside of the building was one single, large room. It was finely adorned, dark wood floors and wall paneling contrasted with gold ornamentation and accents. Weapons lined all four walls, some of which, Xander noted, were runed. If he didn’t have access to [Rune Master’s Library] he’d already be trying to memorize the runes he could barely make out on the weapons to test later. Multiple armor stands lined one of the walls, covered in various suits of plate mail, leather armor, and even a suit of chainmail. Xander really hoped it wasn’t the chainmail that Erillian wanted done. He’d hate to have to tell the Lord that he couldn’t get his runes that small. The center of the large room was kept open, likely as an area for training and sparring.
Erillian walked over to one of the suites of plate mail, saying, “This particular suite is the one I’d like you to rune, if we are able to come to an agreement on what will be inlaid on it. If you can meet all of my needs, I’ll pay you, oh…” the noble trailed off thinking. “Let’s say one platinum coin. That’s about what I paid for the sword.”
Xander almost shouted at the man. A PLATINUM COIN? That was more money than he’d ever seen in his entire life on this world. He heard a couple of gasps behind him, his teammates equally shocked. God, how would he even spend a platinum coin? There was no way anything he’d ever need at this point in his career would even cost half that much. What was he going to do, buy a swath of land? He’d have to hire a banker or something to invest it for him, wouldn’t he? Either way, he knew he’d try his damned best to fulfil this request. This kind of opportunity was not something that would come around again.
“I ah, I think I can do that… Lord Vitrax.” Xander said in a daze. He’d almost forgotten to call the man by his title he was so shocked. “But uhm, just so you know, to get the most efficiency out of your runic circuits, I’m going to need to fill them with either rubies or sapphires and then cap that with gold or silver, whichever is your preference.”
“Mmm, I see. I believe I can arrange to have those needs met, though it may take me a day or two to collect all the materials. Now tell me, what exactly is it that you can do for my armor. Or… would you rather have a quick spar first?” Erillian took a rapier off the wall as he asked the question.
“Ah, uhm… I don’t think I would offer too much of a challenge, Lord Vitrax. Also… my weapon is designed to acidically eat through metal and then flesh…”
Erillian blinked, pausing for a moment. “Ah, perhaps it’s for the best that we don’t, then… Let’s cut to what you can do for the armor then,” he said with a nervous chuckle. Apparently the idea of being slowly consumed by acid did not sit well with him.
Xander explained to the noble the arrays he had on his own armor. The strengthening runes, silencing runes, the momentum reduction arrays, and the personal mana gathering arrays that all covered his armor. Erillian had nodded along with the explanation, interested. He’d even been intrigued by the light rune that Xander used a riveted cover to swivel on and off, keeping it covered when needed. The man wanted them all, which Xander has expected. What he hadn’t expected was his only additional request for the armor.
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“Do you think you could create an array that would amplify my voice? I find it to be quite crucial to be able to be heard over the din of battle.” Erillian asked.
“Mmm, you’ll have to give me a moment to research that, your Lordship, if you don’t mind. I’ll need to use a skill.” Xander had replied.
“Of course, of course, I always love to see a craftsman at their work,” the scion replied.
Xander sat down cross legged and activated [Rune Lord’s Library]. The skill was becoming easier for him to use now, and he had less trouble remembering all the runes he’d learned, though he still preferred to write them down. Searching through the mental library now available to him, he searched for amplification runes and arrays. He found several that would work well, but none of them transferred sound. He continued searching, finally finding a two-part array that did transfer received sound. Sadly, the arrays required a physical link, so there would be no wireless phones for Xander yet, but he could use them to create what would essentially be a landline telephone between two locations if he so desired. The two part array, one part of the array acting as a microphone, and the other a speaker would work in conjunction with the amplification runes to take the voice received inside the helmet and play it out through the other portion of the array at a louder volume.
“I think I have something that should work,” he said, standing back up. “But you’ll have to give me another moment or two to test out my theory, Lord Vitrax.”
“By all means, I’m quite interested to see how it goes. I’ve never had the opportunity to see the work done in real time.”
Xander created a small section of steel, engraving on one side the receiving portion of the sound array, then, in-between the line that would connect the receiver to the speaker, adding three amplification runes, and then finally the ‘speaker’ portion of the array. Several gathering arrays also connected to the whole circuit, powering it.
“Test, test, test,” he spoke into the side of the steel plate that contained the receiving array.
“TEST, TEST, TEST,” was blasted out of the other side of the plate, echoing through the room. It was like speaking into a megaphone.
Erillian laughed. “Yes, I think that will do nicely!”
Xander nodded at the lord, “Then I’ll make sure that it makes its way into your helm, Lord Vitrax. I can start now, if you’d like.”
“Of course, that would be lovely. I shall show your companions to the location of the guest house and the stables that you’ll all be using while you work.” With that, Xander was left alone in the armory. With nothing else to do, he started taking down the suit of armor that he’d be working on, carefully laying each piece out on the floor. He decided to start work with the chest and back pieces, as they were the largest. He wasn’t sure how long this was going to take him, as he didn’t want to settle for making a carbon copy of the arrays he’d already done for his and his allies’ armor. It would still be the same arrays, sure, but he wanted to try and get the rune work even finer and denser for this level of payment, even though he didn’t think it would make all that much of a difference. Appearance was important, and he got the feeling that Erillian only accepted what he considered to be the best.
Thus began a long three days, as Xander painstakingly carved tiny, dense runic arrays onto the armor for Erillian. With the runes being so small, he found himself having to go back and redo them sometimes, as he was not used to working at this level of detail, causing it to take even longer. Erillian often stopped by to watch him work, interested in the process, as well as the progress on his armor. Frazay had agreed to take care of Freyja for him, putting her in her stall for meals and watching over the cat while Xander worked. Halfway through the second day, Erillian had several small chests of gemstones and gold delivered to the armory for Xander to use.
The third day Xander spent filling the runes with the gemstones, and then with gold. By that afternoon, he was finished, revealing a suit of armor that was densely covered in golden runes. He’d even created a small knob on the side of the helmet that broke the circuit for the voice amplification array in one position, and completed it in another, allowing it to be switched on and off as desired. Erillian had been quite pleased with that.
“Splendid, absolutely splendid,” Erillian enthused, looking at the armor, now sitting back on its display. “I love how the gold brings out the runes against the steel… It’s so hard to look fashionable in combat, but this is certainly a step in the right direction. You have my thanks, Xander, for your work. And, most importantly, you have my payment.” With his last words, he flourished a coin from his hand, holding it between his thumb and forefinger. A single, platinum coin. Xander carefully took it from the noble.
---Materials Analyzed---
Platinum
“Thank you very much, Lord Vitrax. It’s been a pleasure working with you. This piece has been great for testing my limits.”
“I’d suggest you find yourself a bank for that coin, my friend. You’ll have trouble spending it otherwise,” Erillian said with a laugh.
The mercenaries rode out from the Vitrax estate the day that Xander had finished the etching and inlaying of Erillian’s armor. As proud as Xander was of the work he’d done, he kind of hoped that Erillian wouldn’t be recommending any other nobles to him. He’d found the ordeal rather stressful, with the constant fear of offending his patron hovering over him, and the man randomly entering to look over his shoulder. For the amount he’d been paid, it was worth it though.
“Hey guys, uh… how do you invest money in this world?” Xander finally asked, as they back towards Anlet’s mercenary guild to pick up their payment for the retrieval of the sword.
“Well, there’s a few different ways, I suppose,” Atrax began explaining. “Though, since we’re often on the move, there’re probably only two that would work well. You could either give the money to a broker of sorts who would manage it for you, and take their pay out of a portion of what they make with your money, or you can personally invest it in companies of your choice, and the funds you make from that would flow into an account in the kingdom’s banks set up for you.”
“Huh. That’s actually pretty similar to how it would have worked on my own world. I guess I should use a broker, though… I know next to nothing about business around here, or hell, anywhere.”
“There’s a whole host of them around the city, I’m sure. You can likely get a few recommendations for one at the guild, there are likely some that work with the more well off merc teams,” Atrax said.
“Congratulations, by the way,” Graffus said. “You earned yourself more than a pretty penny from that chance encounter.”
“So you’re paying for the rooms at the inn now, right?” Frazay asked.
Xander laughed. “Well, I’ll technically be just as well off as you all are once I hand things over to whoever is going to manage my money. But maybe if things go well enough in the future, I could see funding some team expenses. Hell, we could even start pumping more funds into the account to make more back in the future. That way we’d all have something to retire on?”
Frazay looked thoughtful. “You know, I never really considered much what I’d do after I got too old for mercenary work, assuming I make it that long. Not having to work for my keep sounds pretty nice. Maybe we should be putting funds away with a broker when we can…”
Graffus looked at her, bewildered. “You aren’t already? Xander, I’ll introduce you to my broker. He’s a decent sort, been workin’ with him for a few years now, though I’ve certainly put nowhere near what you’ll be able to towards investments.”
Frazay looked at Graffus in confusion. “Wait, you have a broker? Atrax? What about you? Does everyone have one?”
Gabrelle helpfully piped up with, “I don’t have one!”
Atrax rolled his eyes at Frazay, saying “Of course I have one, Frazay, did you think I spent every copper I make from contracts on books? What have you even been doing with your money?”
Frazay looked around almost guiltily. “Well… What I don’t spend, I just sort of… hold on to. Once it gets to be too much to carry, I go by the bank and deposit it into my account.”
Graffus sighed, loudly. “Looks like it’ll be three recommendations my broker will be getting. He ought to be paying me a finder’s fee at this point.”
The rest of the trip to the guild hall was spent alternately ribbing Frazay for her poor money management skills and educating Xander and Gabrelle on the financial system for the Kingdom of Dardin. Xander also took the time to finally update his class information at the guild, having forgotten to last time they were there to pick up payment from Lord Huraven.
---Xander Jones, Human---
---[Godsmarked]---
[Heaven’s Bounty] – You may receive additional objects from defeated foes
[Speak in Tongues] – Proficiency in languages of new realm provided
[Quest] – Patrons may provide you with tasks and rewards
[Reformation] – Physical ailments and deformities have been healed
[Cargo Space] – Integrated inventory function in status window
[Titled] – You have a greater chance of receiving titles than normal
[Regenerative] – You heal more quickly than usual, to the point where, given enough time, you may even regrow a limb
---[Slayer]---
Damage against targets that are a higher level than you is increased
---[Horde Breaker]---
---[Cat-Touched]---
[Cat-Touched] – You may form a bond with one feline creature, which lasts until either the caster or the targeted feline dies. Cooldown: 30 days. Mana cost: High. Duration: Until death.
---[Combat Artificer] 18---
[Store] - [Analyze]d materials are stored for future usage by [Creation]
[Analyze] – Determine the material and relevant properties of an object within 1ft of caster
[Improved Creation] – Created materials do not decay away from creator until 24 hours have passed.
[Improved Manipulation] – Manipulate the form of a material. Reduced cost for [Create]d materials
[Measure] – determine exact measurements of an object that has been analyzed
[Schematic] – Store entire objects to be used with [Creation]
[Rune Etching] – Knowledge of runes and how to power them with mana. Further runes and knowledge gained by leveling
[Ferrokinesis] – Move a metal object without physical touch. Mana cost dependent upon weight of object. Reduced cost for [Create]d materials. Mana cost: low – high.
[Rune Etching] – Additional runes have been added to library of known runes
[Automaton] – Create an automaton that persists for 24 hours, utilizing your available materials from [Improved Creation]. The automaton can perform simple tasks as well as attack or defend, depending on its form. Mana cost depends on size, form, and complexity. Mana Cost: low-high. Cooldown: 5 hours. Duration: 24 hours.
[Eternal March] – Increased Endurance. Scales with level.
[Weapons Of War] – Additional proficiency with melee and ranged weaponry. Scales with level.
[Shock And Awe] – Inflict significant additional damage upon a successful strike. Mana cost: Medium, Cooldown: 3 minutes.
[Sprint] – Increase movement speed. Mana Cost: Low
[Effective Ordnance] – You may imbue an elemental effect into one attack. Mana cost: Medium, Cooldown: 3 minutes
[Recon by Fire] – Designate one projectile, which will detect hostile entities within 30 feet for 2 minutes. Cooldown: 10 minutes, Mana Cost: Low
[Earthworks] – Create a raised or depressed area of ground in a designated area. Mana cost is proportionate to the size of affected area. Mana cost: low – high. Cooldown: 20 minutes.
[Unstoppable Force] – Increases strength. Scales with level.
[Rally Point] – Allies within 30 feet of you become immune to the effects of fear-based skills. Mana cost: medium. Cooldown: 1 hour. Duration: 30 minutes.
[Reactive Armor] – When cast, the next strike upon you is diverted by an explosive blast. Mana cost: low
[Explosive Reagents] – materials and reagents used to create explosives have increased potency
[Reactivity] – Touch one item, which, upon your command, will explode as if it were filled with the strongest explosive compound that you have created. Mana cost: high, cooldown: 2 hours.
[Explosive Effect] – Slain enemies have a small chance to explode at one quarter the effectiveness as if they had had [Reactivity] cast upon them. Ability does not take effect if caster or allies would be within the blast radius, or if the caster does not wish it to.
[Maker’s Ward] – Become immune to the effects of your own demolitionist skills and explosives you have created.
[Esoteric Explosives] – Created explosives can now harm incorporeal or completely magical beings.
[Smoke Screen] – Summon a cloud of smoke in a radius of 10 feet around you. You can see through the smoke, while others cannot. Cost: Medium. Cooldown: 5 minutes
[Boobytrap] – Damage from explosives that a target cannot see is increased against that target.
---[Rune Lord] 4---
[Engraved in Memory] – Increased Intelligence. Scales with level.
[Rune Library] – Provides access to a library of runes. More runes become available with increased levels.
[Runic Lordship] – Power and efficiency of runes is increased.
[Brand] – Brand an enemy within 30 feet with a rune of draining. Health and Mana will be provided to the caster equal to the amount that is drained over time by the brand. Mana Cost: medium. Cooldown: 1 minute
[Rune Master’s Library] – Vastly increased knowledge of runes and rune behaviors.
[Rune of Shielding] – Place a rune on a target withing 30 feet, which will create a field that absorbs damage before shattering outwards, damaging enemies within 10 feet. Mana Cost: medium. Cooldown: 1 minute
[Runic Dominion] – Runic arrays that are not your own have a reduced effect within 50 feet of you, if you wish them to. Scales with level.
[Reversal] – You may create runes that are the inverse of their original function