Chapter 72: Share, Ore Else
With instructions from a Kordas Guard, Aegis found himself standing infront of the Night Hunter's Guild hall. It was tucked between two of the more majestic buildings within the city, in the wealthier district. Here, the streets were spotless and neatly paved with fancy decorative lanterns hanging Night Hunter banners lining them. There were few to no other players nearby, nor were carts with beasts of burden pulling them along visible in any direction. It was quiet and calming, and a wonder to behold the artwork depicted on the buildings around him, the Guildhall included.
There were large statues depicting Gods, Beasts, and Heroes of a large variety, the majority of which Aegis didn’t recognize, but he felt captivated by the intricate details put into some of them. Coupled with that, the frames, pillars, fences, doors, windows and posts that held up the buildings and surrounded them were all made with great care. From spiral and flower shaped engravings to uniquely shaped braces holding up walls, all of it was detailed and looked expensive compared to the plain buildings of the rest of the city.
A short stone walkway led from the street through a gated fence that surrounded the guildhall. Aegis could tell he was at the right building because the obnoxious 'Night Hunters' sign above the door, and two large owl statues flanking the path that matched the owl he’d seen depicted on the tabards of the members he’d encountered thus far. He walked along the path into the well kept garden within the fences and continued on towards the large pair of doors leading inside.
When he got in front of the doors, he wasn’t quite sure the etiquette. Should he knock, or just walk in as if it were a public building? Not wanting to be rude, he tried knocking first. After he knocked he waited patiently for a moment.
“It’s not locked, you may enter.” A male voice called out from the other side of the door. Aegis opened the door to see before him a purple strip of carpet leading him forward to a desk a few meters in front of him. The guildhall entryway was beautifully decorated but small, instead having several doors and hallways branching in various directions, including a staircase to the left of the desk in front of him leading to a second floor. As Aegis closed the door behind himself and walked towards the desk he heard nothing but the sound of his leather shoes tapping on the smooth marble floors, flickering lantern flames that hung off the walls reflecting off of them.
Behind the counter sat a Satyr NPC, the first of which Aegis had encountered. He was covered in short light purple fir with pink stripes and spiral patterns here and there, and a pair of large curled horns protruding out of his forehead. His nose was like that of a dog with a short protruding snout, his teeth structure resembling as such rather than having flat teeth like that of a human. That much Aegis could see as he opened his mouth to talk while turning in a spinning wooden chair to face the approaching Aegis.
“Welcome to the Night Hunter’s Guild Hall, how may I help you?” He asked politely with a smile. [Sek’trian - Level 30] sat above his head in white text.
“Hello… I was hoping to speak with the leader. I believe her name is Quinn.” Aegis replied as politely and respectfully as he could. Luckily, out of all of Sek’trian’s interesting features, his most interesting feature was his uniquely star-shaped pupils that helped Aegis in focusing on only staring into his eyes rather than rudely gawking at his horns or spiral patterned fur.
“And what is this in regards to?” Sek’trian replied.
“Well, I’d like to make a request, I guess.” Aegis shrugged.
“Unfortunately Guildmaster Quinn is presently occupied. If you’d leave your request with me, I can make sure she gets it.” Sek’train replied.
“Uh…” Aegis hesitated as he looked around. “I think this is something I’d need to request in person. Do you know when she might be back here?” Aegis asked.
“I do not.” He replied apologetically.
“Hm.” Aegis thought for a moment. “Is there anyone else around I could speak to? Herilon, or Sapphire maybe?”
“I believe they are all busy at the moment. There are a few members within this building from the Crafting Team, if you’d like I can call the lead Craftsman for the Night Hunters to speak with you, if he’s not busy.” Sek’trian suggested.
“Yup, sure, that’d be great!” Aegis replied enthusiastically. As long as it was another player, they’d be able to get information on when Quinn would get back.
“I’ll be right back, let me see if Tullan is available.” Sek’trian replied as he stood up, making an odd clopping sound as his feet hit the ground. He made his way around the desk and down one of the hallways, and as his legs came into view, Aegis saw he had hooves for feet and legs like that of a horse's hind limbs that made loud clopping sounds on the marble floors as he disappeared further into the building.
A few minutes later Aegis could hear him coming back with another pair of heavy footsteps, and eventually Sek’trian and a dwarf came into his view. [Tullan - ??] was a short dwarven player with bushy brown hair and a braided brown beard, wearing simple leather armor and an apron covered in soot stains, tools hanging from pockets in the front with blackened leather gloves on his hands.
“‘Ello there, what’s the matt-” Tullan began speaking as he looked up and saw Aegis’ name and level. “It’s you!” He shouted angrily, his accent as he spoke was Scottish in nature.
“Uh, I…” Aegis looked at him startled and confused.
“Yer the bastard undercuttin’ all me Iron Crafts!” He stomped forward with an angry glare while pointing at Aegis threateningly. “You and that blasted Chax feller! What’re ye thinkin’, sellin’ all that iron. And where’d ya get it!” He continued to shout as Aegis slowly backed away from his aggressive finger wagging. “It’s a damn waste, that shoddy craftsmanship. Ye’ call yerself a blacksmith!?” He continued while Sek’trian stood off to the side.
“I’m just starting out, I needed the gold… isn’t competition a good thing? For the players?” Aegis tried to defend himself as he quickly ran out of room to back up and bumped into the wall.
“‘Isn’t it good fer the players’ he says.” Tullan said in a mocking voice, imitating Aegis’ facial expression in an unpleasant way. “What’s good about this crap!” He pulled out one of Aegis’ lower quality Iron swords, from the unenchanted batch that Chax had sold, and waved it around in the air.
“You bought one of them?” Aegis asked curiously as he watched him.
“Of course I did, someone comes in with that much Iron, I gotta see what I’m competin’ with. Sure, the stats may be passable, but what kinda craftsmanship is this!” Tullan said as he tried balancing the sword on his finger, watching it keel quickly to one side. "The balance is off," He said as he quickly caught the hilt to stop it from falling, then held the blade upright and moved it to line up with Aegis' eyeline. "The blade is warped," he continued, pulling a smithing hammer from the front of his apron and slamming it on the pommel of the sword, causing the blade to let off a metalic wobbling sound. "And it sounds like it oughta be an instrument in a marching band!" He finished by tossing the sword on the ground in front of Aegis. “D’you know anythin’ ‘bout blacksmithin’ or you just havin’ a laugh usin’ the games skills to do all the work for ye’?” Tullan continued to scold him.
“I… I don’t know anything about it, but I thought all of my crafts came out pretty good.” Aegis defended himself.
“Pretty good, he says. Hah! What’s an idiot like you doin’ raisin his blacksmithin’ all the way to level 30 when he aint got a chance at goin’ intermediate?” Tullan waved him off angrily as he turned and began stomping way, kicking the blade to the side of the room as he did as if it was discardable trash.
“That’s just the uncommon ones. My better crafts were Enchanted. I just got intermediate Enchanting, so don’t think I can’t pass the intermediate blacksmithing quest too.” Aegis replied, a little bit annoyed now by Tullan’s behaviour. He understood the anger of being undercut, but watching a sword he’d worked hard on making just get tossed aside like that got under his skin.
“Hah, Enchanting? You think that’s somethin’ special? That’s the easiest intermediate quest ter get. And you think this is any better?” Tullan pulled from his inventory another sword, this time it was one of Aegis’ uncommon blades, enchanted with bless and giving off a shining glow.
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“It’s the same damn problem. ” He did the same balance test and the sword leaned towards the blade side before Tullan stopped it from falling. “Ye know, there’s more to makin’ a good weapon than jus’ a pretty lookin item card to put on the Auction House. I’ll admit, the holy damage enchant is a nice, ye’ don’t see that often, but that’s all it’s got goin’ for it.” Tullan put the enchanted blade back in his inventory and went back to pointing aggressively. “Yeh got all that iron, and yer wastin’ it on junk. If you’d given it all ter me, I’d be doin’ me advanced quest by now.” He sighed angrily.
“What do you mean there’s more than the item card? The game just uses game stats, doesn’t it?” Aegis replied, confused.
“Peh, yer level 30. You’ll get it soon enough, the beginner trainin’ wheels are gon’ start comin’ off. Then you’ll be gettin’ a real nice’n’ warm welcome to the Real Shattered World Online.” Tullan smirked while shaking his head in disbelief. “Alright then, kiddo, waddya’ call me down here for, I’m in the middle of repairin’ our team’s equipment.” Tullan’s voice finally softened up.
“I uh… I need to speak with Quinn about something. Do you know when she’ll be back here?”
“Aye, they’re battlin through an ol’ tower dungeon to the east. They aint plannin on comin back for an in-game month.” Tullan replied and watched as disappointment filled Aegis’ face. “Relax, they got a sage with ‘em, if it’s important, I can get her here for a chat.” Tullan shrugged as he began pressing buttons in his interface.
“Please, if it’s not too much trouble.” Aegis replied.
“Yeah yeah, this oughta be interestin’.” He replied dismissively as he finished pressing buttons. A few moments later, a blue portal ripped open in the middle of the hall. Sek’trian and Tullan barely reacted to it, as if it was a regular occurrence. On the other end of the portal Aegis could see a large number of high level players sitting around a campfire in a dimly lit chamber, all equipped with powerful looking gear, sitting around eating as if on a lunch break. Through the portal stepped Quinn as her feet went from standing on the floor of the dimly lit chamber, to stepping onto the marble floor of the guild hall.
“Aegis, you came sooner than expected.” Quinn smiled at him as the portal she’d stepped through disappeared.
“You know this amateur?” Tullan asked with a raised brow.
“Yes, he’s the Lord of Rene, a new land just outside of Orm.” Quinn explained to Tullan.
“That explains how he smelted all that garbage.” Tullan mumbled rudely.
“So, are you here to join the Night Hunters?” Quinn asked excitedly.
“Join? No, not exactly. I came to ask a favor.” Aegis said before taking a deep breath. “I spoke with Captain Leonard and he said he is willing to fly me to Kriene, but only if you are on board along with some other high level members, to protect his ship.” Aegis explained, and this immediately quieted Tullan into an intrigued stare, glancing between Aegis and Quinn.
“Why do you need to go to Kriene?” Quinn asked curiously.
“It’s… for a quest. I’m guessing Sapphire told you.” Aegis replied reluctantly.
“She did. Interesting. Kriene, that’s Arallia, right?” Quinn turned to ask Tullan who nodded. “The Monastery of Stars is there. That’s where the Great Prophet of Eirene is. Makes sense.” Quinn placed a finger on her chin. “Unfortunately, that's a week's flight, both ways. You’re asking a little bit too much. It'd be hard to convince several of my high level players to spend half a month just traveling there and back, not including the time it’d take you to complete your quest.” Quinn replied while tapping her foot.
“I know it’s a lot, but I don't have any choice. I’ve got to escort the priestess there. Please, if It’s gold, I can work towards paying you back for whatever you think it’d cost.” Aegis asked as nicely as he could.
“Gold would be nice. We can buy a lot of things with gold, but the amount would be just too unreasonable. I want something better than that.” Quinn looked to Tullan, then back to Aegis. “Tullan's been saying that the person putting all those weapons on the market must have procured a lucrative source of Iron. Seeing as it turns out the person is you, the source is no doubt somewhere near Rene. It must be quite the source, unlike any we have found in Kalmoore yet.” Quinn paced a few steps in front of Aegis as Aegis watched a grin grow across Tullan’s face.
“If you are willing to join the Night Hunter’s and give up your source of Iron, we’ll be willing to escort you to Kriene.” Quinn said as she stopped pacing and crossed her arms in front of Aegis. It went so quiet, you could hear a pin drop, as all three of them stared intently at Aegis as Aegis’s mind mulled over the proposed deal. The source of Iron he had was great, it’d allow him to keep leveling up his mining and blacksmithing until he’d figured out where to get Mithral, - but farming those golems was not very efficient anymore, given their level. It wouldn’t be a complete loss to give it up to players who only wanted to craft. But there was no guarantee he’d find another source as good as that.
“I won’t join your guild, and I can't give up the source of Iron completely. Me and my Crafter still need it. But, I'll share it with the Night Hunters." Aegis said as he saw the disappointment on their faces. "Me and my crafter get priority on the Iron, but anytime we aren't using it, you guys can have it."
“Just splittin’ it? We're just gettin' the leftovers?” Tullan asked, sounding annoyed.
“I’m not sure that’ll be good enough.” Quinn pulled her lips to one side.
“It’s extremely lucrative. This particular source of iron regenerates. Long term, in the hands of a skilled crafter…” Aegis motioned to Tullan as a form of flattery. “It’s priceless.” Aegis explained.
“Give us some numbers.” Quinn asked.
“The total amounts to a maximum of 50 iron ore per hour. And me and my crafter aren't sitting about mining it all day, we've got other skills we want to level, and quests to complete. So there will be plenty of time for the Night Hunters to gather.”
“50 Iron ore an hour, and it regenerates, you say?” Tullan’s eyes lit up, and Aegis could tell he was on the right track to getting his Airship ride.
“In a sense, yeah. I’ll give the full details and the location once the quest is complete in Kriene.” Aegis said confidently.
“Give us a moment.” Quinn said as she pulled Tullan away and the two of them went into a deep discussion. A few minutes later, they both came back to face Aegis.
“This crafter of yours, they runnin’ a dreamstate? Are they a mining class player?” Tullan asked.
“Nope.” Aegis replied.
“Alright then...” Tullan nodded to Quinn.
“But, we'll need you construct a public tavern and a teleportation circle within Rene. Our Sage can enchant the circle to allow other Sages to use it as a portal location." Quinn crossed her arms again.
"Okay." Aegis nodded, these were buildings he was intending to build eventually anyway. "A teleporting circle, that'll let anyone just appear in my land anytime they want? If they have a sage with them?" Aegis asked for confirmation.
"You can disable and enable it at will, as the land owner." Quinn reassured him. "So then, that's the deal?" Quinn asked Tullan and he gave her a nod. "You let us use your Iron mine whenever you aren't using it, and add two buildings to your land, and we'll board Captain Leonard's ship with a few of our high level players and escort you to Kriene." Quinn declared.
“Okay. I'll build those things and share the details on the mine after we get back from Kriene.” Aegis replied as he held out his hand to shake Quinn's, and she obliged and shook it.
“Alright.” Quinn smiled. “We’re in the midst of a dungeon raid that’s been scheduled for quite some time, our members have been eager to complete it so I’m not about to call it short. But if you wait a month in-game, or a week in the real world, we should all be back in Kordas. I’ll convince a few of them to tag along and escort you to Kriene.” Quinn said and Aegis gave a nod of acknowledgement. He felt a huge wave of relief flood over him - a huge obstacle in completing his class quest was now gone.
“Got it.” Aegis smiled.
“Good. I’m heading back.” Quinn smiled as she let go of his hand and pressed a few more buttons in her interface. “We’ll need those armor repairs done by tomorrow.” She said to Tullan and he gave her a nod. A second later, the same purple portal opened and she stepped back through. “Good luck on your other intermediate quests.” Quinn said from the other side of the portal, and with one last wave, the portal vanished and she was gone.
“Do yer’ self a favor, don’t bother with the blacksmithin’ intermediate quest.” Tullan chuckled as he turned to walk deeper into the guildhall down one of the halls, out of Aegis’ sight.
“Is there anything else I can help you with?” Sek’trian asked with a smile as Aegis turned to see his sword still laying on the floor. He walked over, picked it up and added it to his inventory.
“No, that’s all. Thanks.” Aegis said as he left the building, heading back out in the streets of Kordas.
As Aegis wandered, Tullan’s words lingered on his mind. It mingled in with a few things he had learned recently about how skill usage works within the game world, and in the outside world. Even though he felt he was making really good equipment and stats on the item cards turned out well, did he really have any clue what he was doing? Thinking back when he tried to draw bridge blueprints in the real world, he had no idea. Lina had said her skills with a dagger started out with not knowing how to use them, and eventually she was able to use them with or without the game's skill.
Aegis’s mind went to his skill with the Jewelcrafter’s kit, and alchemy. He’d put so little focus into Alchemy because it was so easy for him, he had no trouble going from level 29 to 30 in it compared to the others, and the engraving and jewel cutting he’d done with the stone cutting skill were no trouble because he’d had a ton of practice making precise cuts and keeping his hands steady in his Surgery Simulation.
Eventually he decided that there was no sense for him to ponder what Tullan meant about training wheels coming off, and that he’d figure it out first hand. Starting with his most important skill, he set off towards the training grounds in Kordas to begin his Shield Mastery intermediate quest.