(Y6, December 26th)
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Quandocor contemplated the Earthen Keep’s battlements as they approached the entrance. One week of wandering around the countryside, clearing local predators, and doing the odd small dungeon – albeit without items, had been good for all. But the grinding was over, at least on his part.
“Time’s nearly up,” he said.
Birkathane put her hand on his shoulder.
“We knew we’d have to split up. But we’ll stay at the keep for tonight. Then Van and I will head out to keep grinding some while you’re on your way to making blue-skinned friends.”
“I hope they are friends. But we can’t afford not to know.”
“It’s not Hollywood. They don’t have an epic struggle scenario to follow,” Vantegaard said.
“It’s still funny that we were always together on Northworld for so many months and split across Earth, and now we’ll be split on Northworld and at the same place on Earth.”
“I hope the schedule from Vormacinus will allow us to synch.”
Quandocor got pointed out to a small office in the upper part of the keep and climbed the stairs. He found Berkleyyan trying to focus on some papers and reports.
“Hello.”
“Back? Good. We’re nearly ready here. Goglas arrived this morning, and she’s good to go.”
“She’s from…?”
“A Shaman For Us member. They’re combat healer specialists.”
“There’s a shaman build?”
“Not really, but that’s how they name themselves. Their founder has a tier 2 skill – that was new at the time – that gives him info on the local presence of critters, and he thought that could lead to some shaman spirit practice or something like that. In practice, their recruitment focuses on druidic and necromantic support skills since they have the most stats in common.”
Spirits of the Land
Tier 2 Intuition
Passive, Triggered
The land speaks to you. Its inhabitants’ voices are the loudest.
Will give an automatic sense of the area. The rank and type of its hostiles are available.
Current max range: 71 km
Precision for sub-areas: 490 m
Max hostile rank felt: 71
Skill level 71 (base 33)
Advancement: 22%
Quandocor considered the description of that “shaman’s skill”.
“It sounds like… a lesser version of one of my skills.”
“It’s slightly different. There’s also a tier 3 to localize items.”
“Let me guess. It’s called Treasures of the Land?”
Berkleyyan laughed.
“Bingo. There are a few skills like that where you have a visible progression across ranks, starting with Denizens of the Land at tier 4. Like the earth elemental in geomancy with three ranks from 3 to 1 or the fire presence for wizards.”
“So, we have our healer.”
“Best healer mercenaries. Of course, their best is with the Pyramid raid, but Goglas is still 1200. She should be more than enough for our trip.”
“And the last person?”
“Talokainy is one of the good tracker-slash-ranger builds from Beta. In case we need that. Psionics and archer combat build as well. He should be here any time from the message he left Earthside before respawning.”
Quandocor shrugged.
“I hope he’s not delayed. Do we have a replacement?”
“No, but we might rely on your Lay of the Land if all else fails. If he’s not there tomorrow, we leave for Manticore’s Buff, and he’ll try to catch up. I think he’s got quick travel skills… which makes being delayed strange.”
“The rest of the team is ready?”
“Yes. The two from the conference staff are there. Jonkartman will represent the Cotton Road mercantile and Teahvilast from the Cartographers. My colleague Varmatan is back from Tarquar, where he went to pick his new skill from Interference there.”
“Oh. We might have seen him there then.”
“I’ll gather the team this evening. Socialization and getting ready to work together, and all that.”
Quandocor stood up.
“See you then.”
“So?” Vantegaard asked.
“Got the appraisal. It is a good one,” Birkathane replied.
Spider Grip Glove (lvl 44); Requires 40 Resilience, +6 Reflexes, +4 Dexterity, +3 to all movement skills.
“That would be Carry the Load, Interpose, and Surface Climb for me, based on the Brethren’s guess. The only problem is…”
“44 Perception to unlock the actual properties.”
“I have 28 so far, with a few points already invested. I’d need something like 200 levels to raise it to that point, although by then, I’d probably have enough Resilience and maybe a couple of points from skills, but not much.”
“You have only tiers 5 and 4 in that stat.”
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“Yes, and if you can find me a druid grove with that stat or an Arcane thing, I might get something better.”
“Not found anything yet.”
“I get the worst boyfriend.”
“Hey.”
“The option that Brethren offered me is a straight swap. One high-level item for two lower-level ones. Not crafted, actually dungeon items. He says they’ve got some in the 25-30 range.”
“Up to you.”
“We should discuss it with Quan.”
“He already got an item out of this grinding, no?”
“If it weren’t for his Skill, we wouldn’t get those and have to rely on crafted gear, as most people do.”
“I’ll allow that.”
Birkathane snorted.
“Now, let’s find Quan.”
There were fewer cafeteria rooms now that more than half of the conference attendees had departed. Some of the Pyramid raid members had stayed at the Keep, but quite a few had left to adventure a bit for the remaining weeks until everyone was ready to depart. If you were high-level, it usually meant you never slacked.
Vantegaard had found the one they’d used back during the conference still available, and they’d grabbed the same table in the corner. Quandocor had found out it would also be used for the meet and greet with the rest of his expedition. Meanwhile, it was time for soft drinking. One advantage of being a Gater was that your liver would regenerate any damage from alcohol while on Northworld, but heavy drinking still gave you headaches the next morning.
Quandocor still couldn’t match the Valkyries’ bingeing, even on Northworld. And they tried to train him back when they Recessed at Birkathane’s farmhouse.
“Up to you,” he said as well. “It’s a bird in the bush vs. in hand thing. Although…”
“Although?” she asked.
“The stats are high, but you don’t have high-tier Skills there, right?”
“Right. Up to 4 only for Dexterity, up to 3 with Reflexes.”
“So the boost has less effect than if it was, say, Presence or Fortitude.”
“Good point,” Vantegaard noted.
“So… trade?”
“Sounds easy to me. If they can get you items in your stats. Or with better Skills. Or both,” he finished, eyeing the staff lying on the wall.
The Quartermaster of the Earthen Brethren brought them to a room that was an upscale version of the Valkyrie Keep’s store room. Looking at it, you knew it was a cornucopia of high-end items. The Brethren had pioneered a few dungeons in the early days of Northworld and more in recent years as their members went on all sorts of expeditions to explore high-end areas.
“So, two items around 30. Any preferences?”
“For myself, anything with Presence, Fortitude, maybe Resilience. And if it helps for Arcane, Druid, Brawl, or Geomancy, that could be good too.”
“And a pony, too. Good luck with any Geomantic item. Those are almost automatically claimed,” the man laughed as he looked into a ledger. “So, for you and…?”
“Reasoning primarily… Perception?” Vantegaard said.
The man made a snort in response.
“Thought so. My tier ones don’t need much boost, but I can use Strength. Anything about swords – I mean, if it could be a sword, that’s even better – Psionics, Aether…”
“Good luck on Aether. The guild is stocking up on Aether. It seems everyone wants to be an Aetherist these days.”
Vantegaard looked meaningfully in the direction where the courtyard had to be, and both men laughed again.
“Okay, got a ring that may be good.”
Four-Leaf Silver Loop (lvl 29); Requires 30 Dexterity, +3 Presence, +2 Fortitude, +2% to all vitals.
“That, or…”
Knee-High Waders (lvl 27); Requires 22 Strength, +3 Presence, +2 Resilience, +2 to highest Strength skill.
“Though call. An all-vitals boost could be good, with five different ones. Although given the way it progresses, I’ll get Icebreath soon on top for Strength…”
She stopped, looking at the boots the quartermaster had just put on the table.
“I’ll take the ring.”
Vantegaard didn’t have to hesitate much. The sword was plain-looking, but its descriptor was anything but.
Lucky Thoughts (lvl 28); Requires 37 Fortitude, +4 Reasoning, +3 Fortitude, +2 Presence, +3 to random Reasoning Skill.
“People hate the idea. Every time you draw it, it will pick a new random Skill,” the quartermaster commented.
“The stats make it worth it. And, well, I can put it back and draw it again until I get the Skill I need.”
“That too. If you have the patience because the random will screw you when you need it.”
After their shopping session, they found Berkleyyan in the cafeteria, along with Quandocor and a pair of people. The woman was introduced as Goglas, the healer he had mentioned earlier. The man was Jonkartman, the Cotton Road emissary.
“I can neither confirm nor deny I have anything to do with South Park,” he said, staving off the inevitable question.
Goglas picked a fizzy cocktail while the three men started with a local beer. Berkleyyan strongly discouraged asking how that one was brewed.
A few moments later, the Cartographer entered the room. Theavilast chided gently Vantegaard, saying, “You should have notified me that this was starting.”
“Sorry, I thought the Brethren had looked for you already.”
Two men finally joined the group. Berkleyyan’s Brethren colleague Varmatan looked almost like a real magician, wearing a large pointed hat over a bushy grey-speckled bearded face. The other man was Asian-looking and introduced himself as Talokainy, the last of the party.
“I’m bit sorry. Couldn’t do faster. Grandmother died and was pretty much only one who could organize the funeral. Parents are on a different continent and they could barely fly back in time.”
“Family first. Always,” Jonkartman said.
“I was not going to recess at that time, but friend got notified back Earthside and respawned to tell me, thankfully.”
“Life when you’re a Gater is weird sometimes,” Quandocor commented. They looked at him, and he elaborated.
“You pretty much live in a different world, but you’re the closest family member to come for a funeral.”
“True,” Berkleyyan sighed.
“Nobody’s found a way to bypass Adaptation Sickness. I wish it were doable,” Goglas said, contemplating her glass wistfully.
“So, let’s introduce ourselves, shall we? I’ll start. Berkleyyan, Earthen Brethren Officer, level 1500 and some. Presence-rich build with dual magic, geomancy, and rituals. And sword if all else fails. Sword never fails you.”
He looked around, and his colleague immediately picked up.
“Varmatan, also Earthen Brethren. Level 1055 as of today. Mixed build with Perception, using Geomancy, wizardry, and, as of last month, aetherist. With only one Skill in that, but still.”
You can probably go Archmage soon because of the leyline knot, Vantegaard thought. As confirmed by the Brethren, you needed one skill in the Aether line to allow locational interference to give you one, the Brethren had access to one private nexus, and the Stones of Tarquar were close by. The Earthen Brethren might have to rename themselves into the Earthen Archmages soon.
“Jonkartman, of the Cotton Road. I’m only 700, but I moonlight as a crafter. And I actually have six different magics unlocked, but I got, like, one single skill in each. I got Intuition as my highest stat by pure luck, but don’t count on it.”
He added immediately, “My boss thinks we can impress the blue savages with some glass beads crafted by myself.”
Everyone groaned. Nobody knew anything about the Deva, save that they existed, but…
“Goglas, 1200 Shaman For’Us. Got so many heals and regeneration mechanics it’s not even funny. It’s mostly druidics, so I need the wilds to have a decent recovery rate, but the reserves are enough to support any decent fight up to the 80-ranks, as long as you don’t expect me to chain those. You can call me a Resilient Axe Druid.”
She raised the fizzy drink and drained it entirely, then slammed the cup on the table as an emphasis.
“Theavilast, level 800 and some, representing the Cartographers. I got some crafting, not as much as the Cotton Road, I presume, but I’m very heavy Strength-melee oriented. Can’t touch me, it’s hammer time.”
More groans came.
“Talokainy, thousander as of last day, and an independent. I’ve got Intuition mapping and tracking to the kazoo – almost half of my Skills ended up that way, even with the lottery. It’s a bit embarrassing since I stay out of combat mostly and plunk targets with a small bow or impress them with Jedi tricks, but here I am.”
All turned to Quandocor.
“Quandocor, also independent, with probably the lowest level here at 320. But I have an advantage none of the company here, save for those two there who aren’t on our expedition, have. I’ve been there before.”
Quandocor could see he had everyone’s attention now and smiled internally.
“I heard you guys are good?”
“We survived where an entire Deva group got wiped. So yes. And I’m an Archmage, in case you wonder. Necromancer, Ritualist, and Wizard.”
There were a few whistles, save for Berkleyyan and Theavilast, who already knew more about the trio. Real ritualists were rare.
“That’s impressive,” Jonkartman said. “You need multiple skills to qualify, at least officially.”
“Only two, in theory, but I have three of each, even in rituals, which are one of the least “skilled” areas of magic. We cheated, of course. There was a broken raid next to where we spawned. We just figured out the door behind the boss that kept ignoring us, and we had an ungodly amount of Skill Stones waiting for us.”
“You’re Skill-rich?”
“Not that much, but let’s say we have enough to go by. I may be level 320, but I’ve got skills like a full veteran,” Quandocor laughed.
“If you’re not cheating, you’re not trying,” Goglas said, raising her – empty – cup in salute again.
“So, what can you tell us if you've been there?” the scout asked.
“It was relatively simple. We never found anything over rank 40, but our biggest fear was that there were tracks suggesting Drakes.”
“Flyers are the worst,” Theavilast said, and everyone nodded.
“I’ll probably take a Drake anytime compared to the Umbra Dominus that we had the misfortune to meet as we got close to Deva territory.”
Quandocor proceeded to detail the fight they had with the mind-controlling shade that turned Gaters against Gaters.
“You think it’s doable without a dual Immutable Mind?”
“Double healers for redundancy, and you survive your friends’ attacks until everyone has the mind debuff it leaves when switching. It’s probably one of those absolutely weird fights where the fewer people around, the better it is.”
“And those watchers in the Pyramid designed those.”
“Did they? Or maybe they copied some things from other worlds…”
The conversion very quickly went to weird tangents, and Quandocor relaxed some. He looked at the other two, who had stayed silent during the introduction, and smiled.
He got this.