“Over there is the residential section. The homes next to the barracks are for those who want more privacy, but anyone wanting to go that route needs to pay a land use fee to the outpost before starting construction.” Fara explained.
Samantha’s gaze followed Fara’s outstretched finger and looked over the cluster of buildings. Each was relatively small, but had a unique character that made them charming. The construction materials varied from wood, to clay, to stone, but a majority of the houses were built with cut logs that were stacked upon one another and interlocked at the ends with clever cut-outs.
“Just past the barracks you’ll find the market–one of the two shops in town–which sells foodstuffs. The general store can be found near the center of the outpost and carries everything non-perishable.”
Samantha interjected, “How should I pay for things? I brought up currency from the first floor, will that work?”
“The first floor uses metal coins, right?”
“Yes. They’re made of gold, silver, or copper.” Samantha confirmed.
“The coins themselves have no value, but the materials they’re made of could be traded. You won’t get many points for them here though unless someone has a use in mind for the metal, so I wouldn’t recommend it. You’d be better off trying to trade them in Centra.”
“Points? Is that this floor’s version of money?” Samantha asked, tilting her head.
“Right… I’ll need to get you set up with an emblem. For a small fee, of course.” Fara let out a chuckle when she saw Samantha sigh, “Hey, I warned you we didn’t do any charity here! I promise not to gouge the prices too much, but it will be more expensive since you’re not a member of the Delver’s guild.”
“You still haven’t explained what points are. And how would joining the Delver’s guild make things cheaper?”
“Ah, I’m going about this all out of order, aren’t I? Sorry. I haven’t spoken with many ascendants before you.” Fara stopped walking and tapped her chin a few times while she thought over what to say next. “Yes, guild points are essentially money. Hard currency is challenging to safely transport this far out, so you won’t see much of it until you get closer to Centra. Wait… do you have guilds on the first floor or do I need to explain that too?”
“I don’t think so–at least not in the same way that your guilds are here.” Samantha said.
“Hmm.” Fara hummed, thinking over her words again, “Think of guilds as a collection of people with similar interests who agree to become part of one, big, dysfunctional family. One that wants to own and control everything and doesn’t get along well with most of the other ‘families’ who are also trying to do the same thing. There are lots of different guilds: the Cartographers Guild, Agriculture Guild, Alchemist’s Guild, Blacksmith’s… you get the idea. Think of a profession and there’s probably a guild for it. If you’re part of a guild, you’re protected, taken care of, and can make use of its resources for a more affordable price than non-members. In exchange, members offer up their skills and service.”
When Samantha nodded her understanding, Fara continued, “We in the Delver’s guild are interested in finding and plundering unclaimed rifts. Those that participate in the delve get first pick of the treasures found, and everything else is shipped back to Centra to be sold at auction.”
Samantha scrunched her eyebrows together, confused, “I’ve been traveling these rifts for weeks and haven’t found anything valuable other than herbs.”
Fara broke out into boisterous laughter, “You really are an ascendant! If I had any doubts, you’ve just cleared it up. No, no… the Great Gulfs and the rifts are completely separate. Where should I begin with this… Basically, rifts are anomalies that form in the canyons. They are spatially and temporally isolated from the Shattered Lands in ways we can’t explain. All we do know is that somehow, the World Spire influences them periodically by… re-stocking them? I’m not sure how else to describe it. You could completely clear out the rift of the monsters and items, only to find it’s been replenished with new things a few days later. We don’t know exactly how they form, but there have been a lot of theories.”
“So when you say ‘spatially and temporally isolated’, you mean the inside of rifts are larger than they should be and that time flows differently?” Samantha clarified, trying to wrap her head around how this could be possible. She couldn’t understand how space and the flow of time could be different in one place versus another. The closest she had ever gotten to such a thing was her sphere of dominion, but even that wasn’t exactly the same. Time only seemed to slow because her perceptive abilities were temporarily increased, but that didn’t actually affect how quickly she–or other things–could move while the ability was active. Something about this niggled at the back of her mind, but she got the sense that this was only one piece of a larger puzzle.
“Exactly! A rift entrance could be butted up against a tree trunk, but you step inside and a lost city awaits you. You could spend a week exploring, only to find out that a single day has passed when you emerge!” Fara’s eyes lit up with excitement as she spoke.
“It sounds incredible!” Samantha said, trying to match Fara’s enthusiasm, “Is there a rift nearby you could show me?”
“Ha, no way! You’re an outsider, and rifts are precious commodities. That sort of privilege is reserved for official members.”
“What if I became a member of your guild and helped with a delve?”
Fara shook her head, “We don’t usually permit anyone below High Bronze to enter a rift. It’s too dangerous. Besides, I don’t have the authority to make you an official member. You’d need to pass an entrance test in Centra to join.”
“Well, can I at least see some of the items that you’ve gotten from a rift?”
“Also no, I’m afraid. If you go to the auction house in Centra you can look all you want, though.”
Samantha was starting to sense a theme. Fara really wanted her to go to Centra. Still, even if her time here was temporary she’d try and make the most of it. “Fine. Then how do you suggest I earn points here?”
“There’s a lot of odd jobs you can take around the town that’ll earn you something. Just start asking around for work. Any points you earn can be recorded on an emblem like this, which I mentioned earlier.” Fara pulled on a string around her neck and produced a flat, circular disc made of Jade. Mysterious runes were carved into its surface, and a hole in the center allowed it to be worn like a necklace. “Think of emblems like guild-specific purses. If you need to buy something from another guild you’ll need to exchange your points for hard currency or get your hands on one of their emblems, but for now this is all you’ll need. If you’re looking for points right away, you can try and sell some of your belongings to the shop. In fact, I’ll send word to the general store to give you 1000 points for that caster of yours…?”
Samantha wasn’t sure if 1000 points was a lot or not, and the interest Fara showed in Nethershot was more than a little suspicious. So, she didn’t say anything for now.
Fara shrugged, “The offer will stand until you leave, so think it over. Before any of that though, let’s get you an emblem. Follow me to the main hall.”
Samantha and her group obliged and made their way to a large building in the center of the town, dropping off Sandy in the stables on the way. Harold actually seemed hesitant to part with the spider, but she was too large to walk through the narrow roads without causing others trouble. Sandy, in contrast, seemed relieved for the break and happy that everyone finally took back all of the equipment that had been glued to her abdomen. She practically pranced–as much as a spider could, anyway–into her assigned stall, feeling lighter than she had in ages. As for Silas, since he was smaller he was able to stay with Samantha instead of being stabled.
Though the walk itself wasn’t far, their small group garnered a lot of attention. Curious children came up to get a closer look at the newcomers. When one of them offered Silas a vegetable to try and sneak in a pet, Silas took advantage of the opportunity to show off for them. He hopped down from her shoulders and strutted about, and the more snacks they offered him the more ‘tricks’ he performed to entertain them. He flared his wings, jumped high in the air, and even grew a set of antlers to the delight of the boys and girls watching. Samantha noticed several adults a short distance away watching the scene with caution.
“Silas, please be careful with the antlers? I don’t want anyone accidentally getting hurt.” she said aloud for everyone else’s benefit.
Silas promptly disconnected the bones from his temples and they clattered to the ground. The kids stared in surprise for a moment before fighting with each other over who got to keep them. The two ‘winners’ engaged in a short, impromptu sword fight with the antlers before they started to dissolve back into qi. The glittering motes of light caused the children to cheer, and Samantha saw the adults relax slightly. It was nice to have a bit of lighthearted interaction.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
“He eats pretty much anything, but loves fresh plants and herbs the most.” she told the group, smiling. Immediately, the children rushed off in every direction to pick whatever grass or weeds happened to be growing nearby, and she stifled a laugh. “Call me if you need me, Silas! And, no eating anything that isn’t explicitly offered to you.”
Shortly after leaving Silas and the children to play, they arrived at the central hall. It seemed to be of higher construction quality than the rest of the buildings in town. It was made of solid stone, and the consistency and smoothness of the rock reminded Samantha of structures created with stone-manipulating arts. Fara led them to a small room inside, where she and Harold each received an emblem. Each emblem cost 150 points, and for each day they spent as guests in the outpost it cost 50 points. They were forced to pay a week’s worth of fees up front, which resulted in both her and Harold being 500 points in debt to the Delver’s guild not even an hour after entering the town. Their combined debt also conveniently matched what Nethershot would be worth if she traded it in.
Fara gave an overview of the town’s rules and how the emblems worked before she shuffled them off to the barracks and pointed out which beds they could use. The basic outpost rules were simple enough–mostly because a lot of conflicts were expected to be resolved interpersonally. While staying at the outpost there was no fighting (unless it was in self defense or an agreed-upon spar), no killing, no stealing, and no cheating others out of rightfully-earned points. Usually if any of these rules were broken and couldn’t be resolved between the involved parties then there would be a tribunal to decide a punishment. Almost all punishments amounted to being fined points. In her case, however, since she was an outsider and had taken a Cultivator’s Oath to follow these ‘laws’, she would earn an Oathbreaker's mark and be promptly exiled from the outpost.
As for the emblems, the carved jade was apparently enchanted to connect to a recording system at the Delver’s Headquarters in Centra. Similar to the jade tokens on the first floor, Samantha would need to inject a bit of qi into the emblem to activate it and have it assigned to her. Only she could use the emblem, which made theft of an emblem mostly pointless. And, once her qi signature was known by the Delver’s Headquarters, her point balance would always be up to date. Even if she needed a new emblem in the future, the recording system would recognize her and update it with her previous information.
She trickled qi into the jade and a message appeared in her mind’s eye.
Emblem: Delver’s Guild
Membership: Non-member
Balance: -500 points
Transfer funds? Y/N
Samantha selected ‘N’ and the notification closed. This was the first time an item had caused a System message where she could make a selection like this to appear. She figured it must be part of the enchantment. It was impressive, and she had to admit, more sophisticated than what they had on the first floor. Perhaps the limited access to arts here caused residents to become more creative with enchanting methods.
“Pfft. These guilds are no better than gangs!” Harold griped, “Bullying us into debt immediately. Typical.”
“I’m sure your alchemy will see you debt free in no time.” she encouraged, “I, on the other hand, need to get to work and figure out how to earn some points. I don’t know how long I’ll end up staying here, but we’ll probably keep running into each other for a little while. In case I don’t get the chance later… I appreciate all the potions you provided for Silas and I on the way here. I wish you the best.”
“Wait… you’re really going to leave me in this backwater? In the middle of nowhere?” Harold questioned, affronted.
“That’s more than what I originally agreed to, if you remember.” she pointed out, “And I’m sure if you show them how good of an alchemist you are they’ll help you become a member, if you want. Or, you can probably pay to be escorted to Centra and try and join another guild.”
“Why would I go through all that effort when I could just go with you to Centra for free? That’s where you’re headed next, right?”
She sighed, “No offense Harold, but it’s just not worth it for me. Do you have any idea how many times Silas and I d–” she stopped herself. Harold still didn’t know that they had died and resurrected on multiple occasions since he’d always fled at the first sign of trouble. That information was something she still wanted to keep close to her chest, if she could. Quickly thinking of a replacement word, she continued, “--doubted we would survive while defending you?”
“That’s why I made you such high quality potions!” he countered. “We only made it through the canyons because of my alchemy.”
“We wouldn’t have needed the help if I wasn’t trying to protect you all the time!” she said, exasperated, “You know by now how we can turn almost invisible to sneak through the foliage. We can also increase our Agility to flee, use arts to quickly get out of range, or literally escape into the sky. The only reason we didn’t was because you and Sandy would have been killed. Silas and I are better off on our own.”
“I thought we were finally starting to get along! I still don’t like you, but I recognize that we make a good team. I thought you felt the same, since you finally stopped nagging me about my behavior and comments on the way here!”
Samantha felt the irritation she’d been suppressing the past weeks rising to the surface, “Nagging?! You mean how I was trying to teach you better survival strategies and how not to offend everyone you speak to?”
“If people can’t stand honesty then I don’t–”
She cut him off, “Will you just shut up for two seconds? I’ve had it with you! You’re the most irritating, selfish person I’ve ever had the misfortune of traveling with, and I refuse to go a single step further with you. How’s that for honesty, huh? Did you like it?”
Harold waved her off, unaffected, “I’ve heard worse, and I’m sure you’ll come around after spending some time without my potions propping you up. When you realize your mistake, come find me and we can figure out travel plans.”
“Argh!” Samantha shouted before turning on her heels and exiting the barracks.
A part of her wanted to strangle the man, but she didn’t want to do something she couldn’t take back. Perhaps this journey was punishment for her role in getting Harold exiled in the first place. Regardless, she was just glad she wouldn’t have to deal with him anymore. She had gone above and beyond to keep her conscience clear, and now that he was in a safe place he would be somebody else’s problem. She had no doubt that he would quickly sour relationships with everyone in this outpost, so she wanted to separate and differentiate herself from him as soon as she could. She figured the best way to do this was to interact positively and frequently with the locals far away from Harold.
First though, she needed to visit the bathhouse and clean up. Realizing she hadn’t taken her good set of armor when she stormed out of the barracks, she begrudgingly returned to fetch them. She pointedly ignored Harold as she grabbed what she needed and left again.
The bathhouse wasn’t hard to find. All she needed to do was follow the hot steam that continuously drifted out of its chimneys. After paying a fee at the entrance–resulting in another 10 points of debt–she made sure to thoroughly wash both herself and her clothes.
The weeks long trek had not been kind to her attire. She had roughly patched the cuts and tears in her Silver Weaver Battle Robes with scraps from her Steel Boar Leather Lamellar, but she doubted it was salvageable at this point. She’d get an armorer’s opinion later, but she expected it would be more affordable to just get a new set of equipment than try to fix all the damage the robes had suffered.
Once she was clean, she donned the stealthy armor she’d received from Lord Braxand. She had purposefully abstained from wearing it on the way so she’d have something nice to enter town with, though she hadn’t actually gotten the chance to change due to her encounter with Fara and Marcus. Still, she hoped it could help her make a decent impression as she traveled around town. She used the bathhouse mirrors to style her hair–which had grown long enough now to reach her jaw–until she was satisfied that she looked presentable. Thus, began her quest to meet and greet as many people as she could before Harold started trying to pay back his debt.
After stashing everything except Nethershot back in the barracks, she introduced herself to almost everyone she came across. In addition to asking if they had any work she could do, she also did her best to fish for more information. She wasn’t looking for anything in particular, rather, she wanted to know as much as she could about this floor.
Between what she learned from residents of the outpost and what she’d overheard from Lord Braxand’s interrogation of the raiders, she was starting to get a clearer picture of how exactly this floor worked. As far as information she got from the delvers was concerned, she found out that there were no known ascension obelisks nearby. The Cartographer’s Guild hadn’t yet explored this far south, but reliable maps could be purchased from Centra which depicted all known ascension points on the floor. She also gathered that every quarter there was a Delver-owned shipping fleet that traveled along the rivers to drop off and receive supplies from the outposts. Barring any complications, the next shipment would arrive in two months and she could petition to serve as a contracted guard in exchange for passage back to Centra. If she made a good impression on the people here, they could vouch for her and make the petition go smoothly. A caveat to this was that she’d need to pay off her debt to the guild first, else she’d be denied passage.
Samantha did a few quick, menial jobs and bought some things to get a better feel for the point economy. Cleaning out the stables had earned her 15 points, but it cost her 10 points to buy a fresh meal and a drink from the food store. Unloading a wagon full of wood earned her 10 points, chopping the rounds into firewood earned her another 10, and delivering the bundles earned her 1 point per location. Buying a bundle she just delivered to the general store would have cost her 5 points.
Unsurprisingly, jobs inside the outpost didn’t pay nearly as well as ones that required her to venture out into the canyon. Of all the options available, gathering herbs would be the most lucrative relative to the time investment. A single herb could go for several dozen points if it were of high enough quality and rarity, though she’d likely have to venture decently far out to start finding areas that hadn’t already been picked over by the residents. Silas would probably complain about having to give up so many delicious snacks, but if they were diligent about searching everyday she should have her debt paid off in no time.
So, her plan was simple: train like crazy to gain as many attributes as possible in two months, and earn as many points as possible so she could cash them in when she visited Centra.