After the meeting, we made our way back to Goran’s house and said hello to Hagor and his family. They greeted us happily. Hagor and his kids, even Mina, seemed eager to hear about what happened from the perspective of rescuing the scavengers. But Philorena quickly ushered us off the bed, saying:
“You all must be exhausted! Go upstairs and get some rest. As for the rest of you, shoo! You can hear about their adventures later.”
Ann, Julia, and I were quietly grateful for her intervention. The last boost of energy from the party had fully worn off now, and the three of us were all feeling the lack of sleep. I practically melted into the soft cot of the guest room and was asleep instantly. After a long and dreamless rest, I cracked open bleary eyes and coughed a little from dehydration. Rubbing my eyes and yawning, I ambled downstairs to find a mostly empty household. I noticed that some food and water had been left out in lieu of people, however, so I didn’t hesitate to help myself. Since the food was untouched, I doubted that Ann or Julia had woken up to find it yet. The rest of the house must be out on some sort of business. Or, in Al’s case, making mischief.
I drank greedily from my mug of water and wolfed down the delicious meat. Soon, I heard footsteps and turned to see both girls making their way down the stairs. I went out of my way to pour them cups and make them plates of the food, which they accepted gratefully. We ate together in a companionable silence, engrossed enough in the food that there wasn’t much to say. This seemed to be Eirblaidd meat, a fact for which I was thankful. We hadn’t had much of this stuff, so our bodies hadn’t acclimated to it yet, making it ideal to boost our growth in strength. Especially after our most recent ordeal.
We weren’t alone for more than an hour before the door opened and the rest of our family walked through:
“We’re home!” Hope announced happily, before running over to us, “And the sleepy heads are up!”
She was followed by Victor and Lynn, who greeted us cheerily before the former said:
“Hagor wanted you three to go visit him the moment you woke up. He said something about a reward. He, Al, Magor and Goran are all down at the forge. Finish your food but go down there when you get the chance. Hagor asked that you bring your luggage and weapons as well.”
With the exciting prospect of a reward dangled out in front of us, we inhaled the last of our steaks, gathered our things together, and made a swift pace racing out the door and towards our host’s workshop. We made it there quickly and found all the men there hard at work. Wordlessly, the three of us joined them, though Ann and Julia were a little clumsy due to this being their first time. It didn’t matter too much, because Hagor stopped the smithing work after their active projects reached a good stopping point. He had Magor work on some necessary scripting in the other room, while the rest of us gathered within the specialty smithing chamber. He was the first to speak, saying:
“All right you fellows, great work on saving old Goran’s life and helping so many of us escape certain death as well! From what I hear, you certainly don’t do half measures. The city is in your debt, and on behalf of the city, I would like to say thank you.”
He put his fists together and bowed, an image that Goran mirrored next to him. Hagor’s figure was so huge and squat, it almost looked as if a boulder had decided to pay its respects. The contrast with the skinny, pole-like Goran next to him bowing as well was almost comical, like a dark tree had joined the boulder in giving thanks. We stifled a few smiles and bowed back, returning the gesture as graciously as we could. The moment quickly passed and Hagor continued, lifting his head, saying:
“Based on a few conversations I’ve had with Al; I think I ought to bring the rest of you fellows up to speed. Lurva berries, what you call Gleanberries, are expensive commodities internationally. Especially in the north, where it is particularly uncommon for them to grow. It seems that they were more common where you were from, such that you didn’t fully understand the value of your gift.”
He paused to allow that to sink in, before stating:
“The way I see it, we have two different options: Either we reimburse you fully with our own stock of Lurva berries, which has run dangerously low, or we give you another kind of gift of similar value. On top of what we already owe you for your help, of course. To be perfectly honest, we really can’t afford to fully reimburse you directly, since our stash of this stuff is for emergencies only. I promise you, if you choose an alternative option, we’ll make it worth your while. It’s your call, though.”
Mind working quickly, I turned to Al and posed the obvious question:
“Al, how many berries did you use on Goran?”
Al shrugged, a little defensive, as he said:
“I gave him 8 in total, boss. He was in bad shape. I think that blade the Snowwraith Chief uses has some kind of poisonous effect on Maegar.”
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Goran nodded, interjecting:
“What he says is true. My injuries would not have been life threatening were it not for the special enhancements the Harai chief can give to his blade, thanks to his enhanced bloodline.”
With that established, I turned back to Hagor:
“That means that my team and I used 18 whole berries in this excursion. If they are truly as scarce in the north as you say, then we have expended rare lifesaving treasures in our efforts to help your people. We need at least some of those directly reimbursed, but I understand your situation. How about we settle for a reimbursement of 9 berries, with the rest of their value going towards an additional reward.”
That would mean that we held onto a stockpile of 45 total, a decent emergency supply. It was too late to regret our wasteful use of these supplies earlier. My hunch was that the wisest choice here was to meet our hosts halfway, while seeing what other types of resources they could give us. We still had some very pressing weapon related needs, of course. Hagor nodded, seeming relieved:
“That’s perfectly fair, young one. Not to mention rather wise as well. There are many other useful things we can do for you besides giving you berries.”
I faced him, schooling my face in serious scrutiny:
“What are you offering?”
In an uncharacteristically somber display, Hagor frowned and gestured at Julia:
“Al told me that this young lady returned without her weapon. I can’t imagine the story relating to that is very good, so you don’t have to tell me about it if you like. But we can start with forging her a new spear. I would also extend the offer to reforge your own weapons as well. Gwyniron is an excellent material, but you could do better if you reinforce it with another valuable metal or material. You could improve durability, sharpness, weight etc.”
His eyes gleamed, clearly warming to the topic:
“But that’s only the start of what I can help you with. I suppose I should ask: Have any of you heard of Bonding?”
We all shared a few quizzical looks, before looking back at him and shaking our heads. He only grinned further as he continued:
“I thought so, as it has to do with scripting. I showed you boys effect-based scripting earlier with the specialty forge, but I neglected to tell you about the other form at the time. But for the ladies, I’ll start with the basics. Scripting is the act of laying down all that strange writing you’ve seen around. It’s what allows us to create our lights, among other things. One of the forms of scripting is called technique-based scripting.
Technique based scripting is where we take a Giftseed or Heartcrystal and imbue that item into a weapon or tool. A Heartcrystal is the source of our bloodlines in case you were wondering. If the Giftseed had a compatible technique, it will be imbued within the item and can be activated by channeling your Gift’s energies into it. A similar principle applies with a Heartcrystal, of course, though the energy systems do not discriminate. Any of you could activate a technique scripted weapon imbued with a Heartcrystal, for example, while I could activate a weapon imbued with a Giftseed.
Bonding is the most powerful subset of this discipline. It involves taking a weapon and connecting it directly to your own Giftseed or Heartcrystal. This ties the weapon to your Gift, meaning that so long as your Gift remains intact, the weapon will never shatter. It also makes it easier for you to channel your Gift’s techniques into your weapon. The process of imbuing and Bonding is energy intensive.”
He stopped to watch our expressions. I couldn’t speak for the girls, but my own face had morphed into an interested and focused formation. Leaning forward, I gazed intently at the large smith, mind churning with the implications of Hagor’s words. For now, I had only one question:
“What’s the catch?”
Something that good had to have some form of downside. Hagor nodded sagely at the question:
“An excellent response. There are, of course, a few complications. The process of imbuing a technique in a weapon is energy intensive, and the process of Bonding is much worse. It is extremely expensive. Furthermore, the energy type used in the Bonding process will change your Gifts in a meaningful way and affect your technique development. It’s not something to be undertaken frivolously.”
He let that sink in with us for a few long moments before continuing:
“Fortunately for you, at least one of those problems is already partially solved. We already owe you hugely for your help, not to mention the 9 Gleanberries, and a simple reforge doesn’t begin to cover our debts. I think we can give young Julia a new spear. I’ll also give the rest of your weapons a reforge with any metal or material you desire, and enough resources for a single Bonding. We can give you more resources beyond that as well, but not enough for a second Bonding.”
As Hagor had been talking, I had an idea and was rummaging through our supplies. I brought out a piece of Glasrock and held it up for Hagor to see:
“Could you use this as a source for powering the Bonding process?”
His eyes widened in surprise, and he nodded, saying:
“I had forgotten that you had used Glasrock to cross the Mist surrounding your home. How much of that do you have?”
I dumped out the full supply for him to see, making a pile on the forge floor. He eyed it critically, estimating:
“You fall a little short, but it’s nothing I can’t supplement with my own stock. I would be happy to perform a second Bonding for you.”
“Couldn’t you extend us some credit?” I persisted, “Loan us some of the material needed for a third Bonding ceremony. Whatever the difference between the remaining value of our reward is and the needed resources, we can pay it by doing more tasks for the city.”
Hagor eyed him carefully:
“I don’t have the authority to lend you resources on behalf of the city. However…”
His reserved gaze turned into one of unreserved generosity:
“I would be happy to lend you the resources out of my own pocket! I’ll take care of you kids.”
I suppressed a sigh of relief. I had secured a Bonding for all three of us, but there was one problem still outstanding. Julia got to it first, though, when she exclaimed:
“What about Al?”
I had been so focused on ensuring all the fighters could have Bonded weapons, I had neglected to negotiate some benefits for our team’s resident scout and explorer. But before I could say anything, Al himself piped up:
“Oh, I’ve already negotiated my reward. I’ve asked to be tutored in all the nifty details of scripting. They’ve given me a few useful knickknacks on top of that. I’m totally taken care off.”
The mischievous gleam in his eyes made me want to ask more about these knickknacks, but I shoved off the curiosity for later. For now, I looked Hagor in the eyes and held out a hand, which he clasped:
“We have a deal.”