The die had been cast. Ricta was now fully aware of Lieze’s true nature. Although he had agreed to turn a blind eye to her plotting, she knew it was only a matter of time until he found some way of exacting his revenge. Her journey down from the castle was a strange one, passing by the guards who were sworn to protect the man who she had just been threatening with a sword just moments ago. Once she found herself back at street level, someone was waiting for her in the city square.
“You’re still alive.” Drayya seemed genuinely surprised to see her leaving the castle without an escort, “I take it that means your suicidal plan worked out in the end?”
“Ricta and his royalists won’t be troubling us. For the time being, at least.” She replied, “What a pitiful king. He’s more concerned with saving his own hide than serving the whims of his people.”
“Take that as a lesson. All monarchs - no matter how righteous they may seem - are eventually corrupted by luxury.” Drayya cast a glance over her shoulder, “I was able to meet with Baccharum.”
“All is well, I assume?”
“He was reluctant to believe that we could kill Helmach in a single week.” She recounted, “-But, just as you said, the possibility of our success was too tempting for him to ignore. 7,000 gold pieces should be sitting in your… uh, ‘account’. At the ‘bank’.”
“Fine work.”
“Hm.” Drayya smirked, “Is this turning out better than you hoped it would?”
“There is no ‘better’.” Lieze admitted, “It either succeeds or it doesn’t. We’ve exposed ourselves to the king. One misplaced step will mean our end.”
“All the more important that we put our new capital to use as quickly as possible.”
There were a number of things to cross off the list. An alchemy table, for one. Lieze had noticed that her [Necromantic Alchemy] wasn’t nearly as expensive as raising fresh thralls, but having the costs involved halved would aid her in the long run. She recalled a shop that Alma had recommended which was selling a used table for 1,000 gold. A bargain, apparently.
Quest "Magnum Opus" Complete! Reward - 500xp
-Unfortunately, the table still needed to be moved to the hideout. Thankfully, the shopkeeper was willing to hold onto it until transport could be arranged.
“One of Marché’s disciples can drag it back to the hideout.” Drayya recommended, “We should change our arrangement with Baccharum’s Dwarves while we make our way back.”
“It’s going to be quite the expense adding chambers to the hideout…” Lieze muttered.
“All we really need is a crypt. An area to store our thralls. I can’t imagine that it will be any more expensive than 1,000 gold. Didn’t you mention wanting to build some fortifications as well?”
“Hm… wouldn’t that make us too visible?” Sighing, Lieze raised her head, “No. It’s too late to consider such things. But what could we possibly pay for that would stop any attackers? A few measly barricades would just be a waste of gold.”
“Barricades? Come now, Lieze.” Drayya crossed her arms, “What we need are traps. Pitfalls, snares - things like that. Anything that could potentially slow or impede.”
“That’s not a bad idea… they wouldn’t be too expensive, either. It might also be worthwhile to invest in some magical items.”
“You know we aren’t permitted to make use of enchantments, don’t you?”
“I do.” Lieze paused, “-And I don’t care. My father would think the same. He has always opposed the Order’s archaic laws. Its restrictions have done nothing but make our lives more difficult. He wasn’t displeased when he noticed traces of transmutation magic on you, was he?”
“Suit yourself, then. I certainly won’t complain about having a few aces up our sleeves.” Drayya stared in the direction of the southern gate, “I’m headed towards the hideout in case Marché and his gang of sewer-dwellers have returned. I’ll trust your judgement when it comes to spending the gold.”
“I’ll try not to disappoint your expectations.”
“...And, Lieze?”
Drayya suddenly became pensive, as if confronted by a sudden desire to obscure her emotions. She was weighing whether or not to discuss a personal matter.
“...That woman. The nun.” Her brow furrowed, “I want to find her.”
She tried to hide it, but the honesty in her tone was profound. It was a rare thing to see Drayya so captivated by her own emotions, and rarer still for her to become so vulnerable. She was seeking Lieze’s counsel - requesting that their goals be diverted somewhat to fulfil a selfish desire. Just a matter of weeks ago, Lieze would have relished the opportunity to disappoint her, but recent events had muddied her perception of their relationship.
“...I understand.” Lieze answered, “I can’t say how successful I’ll be, but I’ll try to locate her.”
“Hmph.” Drayya exhaled. Her expression was stone-like, but the girl was relieved, “Thank you.”
The two of them parted moments later. Midday was upon the city, and as a welcome heat beamed down from the clouds, Lieze returned her attention to the incredible amount of gold Drayya had managed to coax out of Baccharum.
Her first stop was the Dwarven workshop she’d contracted to create an entrance for the hideout. As Drayya had predicted, digging out a fairly large chamber for storing thralls set her finances back by 1,000 gold pieces, alongside another 200 pieces to arrange for a multitude of traps around the hideout’s perimeter.
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“You’re wastin’ your time, lass.” Rüt, the proprietor of the workshop, happily took her money while complaining all the while about aiding a necromancer, “Once the Church comes for you, no amount of traps are gonna stop ‘em.”
“You’re saying you won’t do it?” She replied.
“Naw, we’ll do it. Jus’ givin’ you a warnin’, is all.” He sighed, “We’ll need three days, at least. Two for the new chamber, and one for the traps.”
“Very well. But I want a guarantee that you’ll be finished within the week.”
“Who do you take us for?” Rüt crossed his hairy arms, “Didn’t come all the way from Grapcka just to fleece customers, you know.”
“You might be heading back that way sooner rather than later.”
“Hah! ‘Cause the Order’s gonna sack the city. Is that right?” He seemed amused by her thinly-veiled threat, “Nah, lass. I don’t think so. But I’ll happily keep takin’ your gold if it means you’ll be back for more.”
“Suit yourself.”
Tonberg’s citizens had been brought up within the maelstrom of royalist propaganda. It was only natural that they believed the city would never fall despite strong evidence to the contrary. Who was going to risk siding with necromancers when the Church was breathing down their necks?
Lieze still had over 5,000 gold to spend. She resolved that it was time to invest in her own capabilities rather than strengthening the hideout. It didn’t take long for her to discover a shop selling magically-enchanted items along Tonberg’s main throughway.
The owner was a scholarly woman wearing the wide-brimmed hat of a sage, and seemed ecstatic to welcome a customer as the bell above the door rang. Seemingly mundane items were stocked on shelves and under fine cabinets of glass. The smell of church incense lingered in the air.
“Welcome.” Bowing, the owner gestured towards a collection of items behind the counter, “Are you looking for something in particular? Perhaps a Bottomless Cup, or a Bag of Holding?”
“I’m looking for something that could enhance my magical abilities.” Lieze answered plainly. There was no need to skirt around the subject.
“Ah… no mere housewife, are you?” She smirked, “I do have a variety of magical foci if you’re in the market for one. Ever since trade with Akzhem was halted, they’ve become quite the rarity.”
“I see. How does a focus improve my spellcraft, exactly?”
“Enchanted materials - especially those attuned to certain deities - act as reservoirs of mana which offset the exhaustion caused by spellcasting. Simply put, you’ll be able to cast more spells in a shorter period of time.”
“What do you mean by attunement?”
“Certain deities prefer some materials over others. The Gildwyrm, for instance, favours foci infused with gold, whereas the God of Many Faces has a taste for luxurious gemstones or black marble. Fulfilling the desires of either would improve one’s attunement to the holy or transmutation schools, respectively.”
“Could I see some of these foci?”
“Of course. Give me a moment…”
The storeroom at the back of the shop probably had assets worth more than a manor in the centre of the city. Lieze understood little of enchantments, but it didn’t take a particularly keen mind to guess at the worth of such items.
Back and forth went the shopkeeper, and each time she laid one or two objects on the counter. Some of them were plain staves. Others were more esoteric. Rings of solid gold and ampoules of colourless liquid. One in particular caught Lieze’s eye immediately: a staff which seemed purposefully made to harm the wielder, with meticulous bristles of iron erupting from its surface. At its tip was a ring of wrought iron, almost large enough to fit one’s head through.
“...That’s about all of them, I’m afraid.” As the owner placed the final item down, she placed both hands on the counter, “Until trade resumes. Whenever that might be.”
“This one here-” Lieze pointed towards the barbed stave, “It seems… unwieldy.”
“Ah, yes. Well… dangerous as it may seem, similar designs are put to use by the priesthood.” She explained, “It’s attuned to the Blackbriar - for the sole purpose of resurrection spells, of course.”
“This is actually precisely what I’m looking for.” Lieze replied, “I’m a healer for a group in the guild. I’ve made quite the sum from my last request, so I wanted to buy something that could help in an emergency.”
“I certainly won’t complain if you want to take it off my hands. It’s been sitting in that storeroom for years now…” The owner muttered, “I’ll even give you a discount. You’re the only buyer I’ll probably ever have for it, so how does 800 gold sound?”
“That’s quite the sum.”
“Well, this is quite the enchantment. I don’t like to toot my own horn, so to speak, but you’ll have a difficult time finding a higher-quality product in Tonberg.”
Was a simple stave really going to improve her necromancy? More importantly, was she willing to put up with cutting her hands every time she wanted to use it?
“I can see you’re hesitant.” The owner continued, “Try holding it for a few seconds. If you’re a spellcaster, you should be able to sense the mana reservoir.”
With some difficulty, it was possible to pick the staff up in a way that didn’t endanger Lieze’s hands. It didn’t seem like anything more impressive than an iron stick, but as soon as her fingers brushed against the bristled metal, a notification appeared from her scale.
Secret Quest "Apprentice Collector" Complete! Description - Possess 2 magical items simultaneously Reward - 800xp + [Identify] Feature
“Identify?” The word repeated in her thoughts. As if invoking a spell of some sort, the term caused a box of text to appear over the staff.
Magical Focus (Staff)
Attunement - Necromancy Attunement Index - 34% Reservoir Quality - 58% Stored MP - 1,600 Description - While wielded in both hands, [34%] of a [Necromancy] spell's MP cost is syphoned from this item's mana reservoir. The reservoir recovers MP at a rate of 1MP/minute. !CURSED! This item is cursed. Whenever you use this focus to cast a spell, you take HP damage equal to 10% of your maximum HP. This damage can reduce you to a minimum of 1HP.
Yet another mystery of the scale had been unravelled. Though she could feel the rhythmic pulse of mana flowing through the staff, there was no need to make any vague assumptions about its efficacy. Lieze had a perfect understanding of its intricacies, and as she scanned the wording, it was quickly becoming a boon she would have trouble refusing.
“...I’ll take it.” She spoke, “My gold is currently in the bank. Would you accept a contract?”
“Of course.” Leaning beneath her counter, the owner quickly retrieved a mass-produced sheet of parchment and a quill, sliding them across the table.
Most shopkeepers in the city made use of such documents. When handling large sums of gold, transactions were often made in the form of monetary contracts which the seller could turn into a bank for the agreed-upon price. Naturally, filling out a contract for money one wouldn’t be able to pay out was highly illegal, but Lieze didn’t have to worry about that.
“Thank you very much.” As Lieze finished filling out the contract, the shopkeeper expressed her gratitude, “Don’t hesitate to come by again!”
When she left the shop, Lieze was the proud owner of a new magical focus. With the problem of her exorbitant MP costs somewhat muzzled, she found herself wondering just how many more hidden features her scale had to reveal.