Elijah awoke to the sensation of something nibbling on his toe. At first, he barely even noticed it, but then consciousness fully took hold, and he jerked his foot away. The moment he moved, the fish darted away, frightened by the sudden motion. Elijah blinked his eyes open, and his memories came flooding back.
At some point, seawater had come rushing back into the cave, so he found himself floating just above the cave’s floor. The last phase of pushing his Dragon Core to the Whelp stage had killed everything within the cavern, but enough time had passed that a few fish had come to investigate. In addition, a couple of tiny strands of kelp had managed to take hold, telling Elijah that at least a few days had passed while he was unconscious.
Otherwise, he had no idea how much time had elapsed since he’d begun the process of taking the next step in his core cultivation. He remembered that, even before reliving the tale of the birth of the first dragon, he’d spent almost a month cycling. So, given that he’d spent at least a few more days unconscious, he felt impatient to determine precisely how much time had passed.
With that in mind, he swam to the cave’s exit and pushed himself through the tunnel until he reached open water. Normally, he would have taken a few hours to repopulate the cave, but for now, he needed to take stock of his situation. Before isolating himself in the cultivation cave, he’d had about three months left before the Trial of Primacy began, so he knew he didn’t have much room for error.
Kicking to the surface, he leaped free of the water, then cast Shape of the Sky, transforming in mid-air. He flapped his wings, gaining altitude before racing across the sky toward his grove. He landed in a small open space Nerthus had created as a bit of a landing pad, then called out for his spyggent friend.
Nerthus appeared after only a few moments, and Elijah asked, “How long have I been gone?”
“Forty-eight days,” Nerthus answered.
Elijah frowned. That meant he only had about six weeks left before the Trial of Primacy. He thought that would be enough time, but there was a small chance that he’d have to make some cuts to his schedule. Originally, he’d intended to run the tower a few more times in the hopes of gaining a couple more levels. However, with how much time his core cultivation had required, that just wouldn’t be possible. So, he’d have to be satisfied with being level ninety. After having reached the second stage in every aspect of his cultivation, he hoped that would be enough.
“You reached the second stage,” Nerthus said. “Congratulations. Many people consider that the true beginning of cultivation.”
That made some sense. It had certainly been much more difficult than taking the first step, though Elijah had no real context for what that first stage of core cultivation usually looked like. After all, he’d accomplished it via the completion of a Kirlissa’s quest, so he’d never experienced doing it on his own. However, he expected that it would have been much easier than what he’d just put himself through.
“I think I have enough time,” he said, rubbing his bearded chin. “It’s going to be close, though.”
“If I may offer a suggestion?” Nerthus ventured.
“Sure.”
“Perhaps a nice meal and a shower will help,” he said.
“Are you saying that I stink?”
“Like a dead fish,” Nerthus answered without hesitation.
“Ouch,” Elijah muttered. “Message received.”
After that, he asked about Miguel’s progress, and to Elijah’s surprise, he discovered that his nephew had already reached the first stage in everything but his core cultivation. On top of that, he was well on his way to preparing himself to take that step as well. Most of it was due to Nerthus’ help. Much as he’d done for Elijah, Nerthus had sacrificed a good deal of his own power to ease Miguel’s cultivation. It wouldn’t have been possible if the young man hadn’t possessed a strong nature attunement, and according to the spryggent, his race – or others like them – often performed similar functions in the communities that grew around Druid groves. Seemingly, Nerthus regarded it as part of his duty, and though Elijah worried about the spyrggent overextending himself, he elected to trust his judgement.
Other than that, Nerthus let him know that his plans for the garden were well underway. Soon, he would replace the grove berry bushes with better alternatives, and the defenses he’d begun to grow had already taken root and were thriving. In short, everything was going according to plan.
So, it was with a slightly lighter heart that Elijah retreated to his treehouse to follow Nerthus’ advice. He wasn’t certain which was more beneficial – the shower or the meal – but when he finally emerged, he was ready to finish his preparations for the Trial of Primacy.
The first step was to complete his soap-making project. He wasn’t sure if it truly had lasting effects, but he’d grown used to the jolt of energy he received when using it. The notion of going without while he was in the Trial was an unattractive one, so he made enough soap to last him for more than a year.
After that, he headed into Ironshore and visited a couple of shops. His first stop was Biggle’s laboratory, where he picked up a few sacks of cleansing powder. Then, he visited the Tailor Mari, who sold him a few new outfits. They were cut in the same style he was used to, but they had the benefit of having a durability enchantment that would hopefully preserve them during the Trial.
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He also visited the general store, where he stocked up on odds and ends that he thought might prove useful. None of it was of graded quality, but things like rope, bandages, and waterproof bedding didn’t need to be, either.
Finally, he found himself in Gavina’s workshop. To his surprise, the little goblin Leatherworker was actually happy to see him, which was a huge departure from their previous meeting.
“Thank goodness you came back,” she greeted him, relief in her voice. “Having that armor here put a target on my back.”
“Huh?”
“It’s mid-Complex!” she practically shouted. “Do you know what people would do for that kind of armor? And it’s the whole set, too! I’m surprised someone hasn’t already killed me for it!”
“Do you really think somebody would do that?” Elijah asked skeptically. Ironshore probably had some criminal element – every settlement of any size did – but he’d heard nothing of open murder.
“I don’t know! Maybe,” Gavina answered with exasperation. “I’m not strong enough to fight them if they did, though. Better that you take it now.”
After that, she shoved a large bundle into his hands. It was heavier than Elijiah had expected, though given the materials, that was expected.
“I need a description of what it does.”
The goblin Leatherworker rolled her eyes and massaged her forehead. “Ugh. Of course you do. Here,” she said, handing him a piece of paper. “That’s what it is. Now go! Before someone attacks!”
Elijah didn’t think it was reasonable to expect an attack, but he got the sense that Gavina was the paranoid sort. She’d been worried about him killing her during their first meeting, but it seemed she’d graduated to suspecting an external threat. Still, there might’ve been some merit to her suspicions, especially if the armor was as high-quality as she’d said.
Before he left, Elijah took a look at the description on the piece of paper:
Armor of the Boar King (set)
Composed of eight pieces (Bracers x2, Gauntlets, Chestguard, Pants, Footwraps x2, Headband). Total attribute bonuses (from individual pieces):
+15 Strength
+25 Dexterity
+15 Constitution
+10 Ethera
+20 Regeneration
When wearing the entire set, gain the ability Bulwark of the Boar King: Wrap the wearer in an impenetrable shield. Duration: 3 seconds. Single Use.
“This is…this is amazing,” Elijah said. But then he saw a problem. “These footwraps…”
“Don’t worry about it. I noticed that you walk around barefoot like a savage, so I figured there must be some reason,” Gavina said. “Those footwraps don’t really cover much of the foot. I think they should be fine for your…whatever it is that keeps you from wearing shoes. And don’t tell me. Nobody can torture information out of me if I don’t know it!”
Elijah just shook his head at the little Leatherworker’s enthusiastic paranoia. There was nothing he could do about it, though, so he just paid what he owed and left the shop behind. However, he did stop by Ramik’s office to ask the mayor if he could periodically send someone by Gavina’s shop to ensure that she was okay.
“I will, but you should know that this is nothing new for Gavina,” Ramik said, sipping a cup of tea while he sat behind his desk. “She is a talented Leatherworker, but she came from a city ruled by an authoritarian regime. Her paranoia is well-earned, and despite my insistence that she doesn’t have to worry about those things anymore, old habits are difficult to discard.”
“It would still give me some peace of mind if you’d keep an eye on her. If you can’t, I understand. I’ll just get Colt to do it.”
“No – it’s fine. It will be no trouble to send someone by every few days,” Ramik stated.
After that, Elijah asked if anyone else from Ironshore intended to participate in the Trial of Primacy, and Ramik answered, “We are sending one team. Kurik is leading it.”
“Can you afford to lose him? Or anyone else, for that matter?” Elijah asked.
“He’s the only combatant. The others are Tradesmen or Merchants. We intend to use this Trial to make some trade alliances,” Ramik announced. “Our mine has proven quite productive, but that potential is being squandered by the fact that we only have one trading partner. Hopefully, this Trial will give us a chance to make some connections.”
That was a bit of a surprise for Elijah, but he supposed it made sense. So far, he’d thought of the Trial of Primacy as a test of combat potential, but there was nothing to suggest that it wouldn’t offer opportunities for non-combat archetypes as well. With that in mind, he offered to help the team from Ironshore in whatever way he could, though he wasn’t certain what form that help might take.
After that, his meeting with Ramik ended, and he returned to his grove. By that point, night had fallen, and with it came Carmen, who let him know everything that had been going on during his time in the cultivation cave. Apparently, Miguel was itching to level, but he’d so far agreed to forego doing so until he’d reached the first stage of every aspect of cultivation.
“He doesn’t like it, though,” Carmen admitted.
“Have you finished his equipment?”
She shook her head. “Still a work in progress. The problem is that he can’t really use Complex-Grade items. They’re too powerful. So, I have to find a way to make something weaker, which means that I can’t use the best materials. I’ll figure it out before he starts leveling, though.”
“I’m sure,” Elijah said. “Is there anything I can do?”
“No,” she admitted. “What about you? Is everything ready?”
“Not yet. I still have one project left before I go, and it’s going to take a while. I don’t know if I’ll have enough time to finish.”
“Then you’d better get started, right?” she asked. “What’s the project?”
“New staff,” Elijah said. “The Dragon-Touched Staff is nice, and I’ll keep it as a backup, but it doesn’t really do much for my damage or healing.”
The staff gave him a lot of attributes, including increasing the efficacy of his buffs by five points each, but he was more interested in direct enhancements to his abilities. And besides, he had the freedom to swing for the fences. If he failed, he still had the Dragon-Touched Staff to fall back on.
“Can I help?” Carmen asked.
Elijah shook his head. “I think I get better results if I do it all myself,” he said. “But I’ll let you know if that changes.”
“Fair enough.”
With that, the conversation moved on to other things – like local gossip. None of it was really all that interesting to Elijah, but he listened as Carmen explained who was courting whom, which families were feuding, and what she expected to come from the Norcastle alliance going forward. The discussion seemed comfortably normal, which was all Elijah really wanted.
Because tomorrow, he would start the final project before he embarked upon the Trial of Primacy. Given that, a little normalcy was precisely what he needed.