Unknown Shovel
Unidentified Weapon
Appraisal skill required: 99
Even though it was a total crapshoot whether it was good or not, I wanted it. However, I was positive I could get more if I played my cards right. I walked right past that shovel and made a show of picking up a necklace on a nearby table.
Ambrose Necklace
Uncommon Item
Stats: Agi +5, Wis +5
Special: Auto Dodge *Works only once every 5 minutes.
Level to equip: 20
“That is an excellent choice,” One Guy said, admiring my selection. “Would you like to trade?”
“I don’t know,” I replied, putting the necklace back on its pedestal. “It doesn’t seem like enough. What else can you throw in?”
He rubbed his chin and let out a theatrical sigh. “I don’t know. I could get hundreds of gold easily for that necklace, and there’s no telling if I’ll find a smith who can do justice with that ore. Tell you what, how bout I throw in twenty gold to sweeten the deal?”
“Can you do fifty?” I countered.
“Thirty,” he came up.
It was my turn to hesitate as if I was considering his deal. While I could probably get more gold, the shovel was my primary goal.
I matched his sigh from earlier. “Fine. You got a deal…but only if you throw in that shovel over there. I need it for my class.”
He looked over his shoulder at the shovel and frowned. “I don’t know. I haven’t had that appraised yet.”
“Really?” I asked, pretending not to know. “Now I want it even more.”
He picked up the shovel and took two steps toward the door. “I’m sure Gregorious is still out there. Give me just a minute to have this…”
“No!” I barked, maybe a little too loud. “Make the deal or I go find a smith for myself.”
He looked out the door for a long moment before turning back to me with a smile. “You, Sir, drive a hard bargain. Looks like we won’t know who got the better deal until you get this appraised and I find someone to turn this ore into a masterpiece.”
“Sounds good to me,” I grinned. “I’ll come back so we can see who won.”
I had a feeling the shovel would be a double win for me. Judging by the skill requirements to appraise items, I was going to have to level it up, and that would require an unknown item to level on. I equipped the necklace and slipped the shovel into my inventory along with the gold.
One Guy lovingly took the large chunk of ore and set it on the pedestal in place of the necklace. “This bad boy isn’t going to be for sale until I have it transformed into something spectacular.”
“I can’t wait to see it,” I replied, walking through the door One Man held open for me.
“Aren’t you going to have that appraised?” he asked when I started for the exit without seeing Greg.
“Maybe later,” I replied over my shoulder as I raced out the door. “I got somewhere to be.”
Before anyone could follow, I opened the map and selected Under Drunder for fast travel. I shot out of the mountain and whisked above the snow-capped mountains. Far too fast to tell where I was, I flew into a cave near one of the snow-frosted peaks. Down a winding series of caves and past a pair of glowing red eyes I went as the system whisked me to the hidden city by the most direct route. I landed far above Under Drunder and was forced to hike the winding path that led to the city floating on a sea of magma.
A pair of hellfire dwarves barred my path when I got to the gates.
“It’s that human again,” one said to the other.
The second nodded. “I told you he’d be back. Pay up.”
Without another word, the one that won the bet pushed the gate open. “I trust you to behave yourself in there. Welcome to Under Drunder, the true city under the mountain. Enjoy your stay.”
“Thanks,” I replied as I entered.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
I’d been looking forward to being the first to experience a brand-new town. It was filled with untold quests, classes, and maybe even loot.
“Excuse me” I stopped a hellfire dwarf I passed. “Do you know a dwarf?”
The dwarf laughed. “You’re gonna have to do better with your descriptions, Kid. Everyone here’s a dwarf.”
“Oh,” I filed that info. “I believe she’s a hellfire dwarf.”
“That only partially narrows it down,” the dwarf continued. “Almost all of us are hellfire.”
“I see,” I sighed. “Do you know Rassala?”
He shrugged. “Can’t say the name’s familiar. Sorry.”
Just when I was beginning to regret not asking the gate guards, I came across something that made me forget all about it; a market filled with exotic shops. Wanting to test my first skill before going shopping, I stole away to an alley and scribbled Identify on a card. A stick figure holding a magnifying glass appeared just above the words.
Identify
Card Battle Card
Identify 1 chosen card in your opponent’s hand.
That was fine but I was more interested in what it did outside of the game. Plopping the card into my heart deck, I took out the unidentified shovel and used my new skill.
Fail.
I cursed and tried again.
Fail.
Identify skill +1 (2).
That was more like it. I used the skill repeatedly until I got another message.
Identify skill +1 (10).
Skill is capped for the day. Please try again tomorrow.
Sighing, I put the shovel away. While it was progress, that meant it would take at least ten days before I could appraise the shovel. It also meant my shiny new skill would be practically useless in the market. Still, I had a hundred gold burning a hole in my virtual pocket and there was plenty of shiny stuff just waiting to be purchased.
My first stop was the alchemy shop. While I’d gotten a few good recipes in Kingport, I still lacked ingredients and explosives.
“May I help you?” a hellfire dwarf with soot black hair to match asked.
“I’m looking for explosives,” I requested as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world to ask for; like flour.
The dwarf laughed and pointed to a line of flasks filled with a bubbling orange solution that reminded me of lava. “That’s Grade-A Blast-Oil. You can toss it, rub it, smear it, or paint it. All it takes is the tiniest spark to set it off. Each bottle is made of my special house recipe sealant and is guaranteed not to explode until you mean it to.”
“So, if I toss that, it won’t explode?” I asked, gingerly touching the bottle and expecting it to be hot.
The dwarf chuckled. “Go on. Try it. My bottle is up to the challenge.”
I picked the bottle up and pretended to drop it. The dwarf didn’t flinch.
“I said go on,” he insisted. “Now do it or I’ll do it myself.”
The thrown bottle bounced a couple of times on the ground before resting at the dwarf’s feet. He scooped it up and held it out to me. “See, not even a scratch. You might argue the bottle is more valuable than what’s inside. Of course, selling them empty would make no sense as I am an alchemist.”
“How much is it?” I asked, not asking if the blast oil worked after the bottle demonstration.
He rubbed his chin. “Twenty silver a bottle. Ten if you buy at least ten.”
“So, a gold a dozen, then?” I asked, hoping to haggle.
The dwarf laughed. “Hah, fine. You got yourself a deal.”
“Great!” I replied. “I’ll take five dozen.”
“Looks like I’m going to have to make more,” he said as I scooped the entire display into my inventory. “What else can I get you?”
“Do you have any recipes to sell?”
The dwarf picked up a tattered book and held it out to me. “I can give you a beginner’s guide for half a gold. I’m afraid the fancy stuff might be a bit out of your league right now.”
“I’ll take it,” I said, accepting the offered book in exchange for fifty silver. “Do you have any unidentified potions?”
He scoffed. “Why would I have any of those? The day I can’t identify a potion I make is the day I retire!”
“How about ingredients?” I asked, eyeing the jars and drawers lining the back wall.
The dwarf followed my gaze and moved over to his wares. “What do you need?”
“Everything!” I replied.
----------------------------------------
When I left the alchemy shop, my wallet was five gold lighter. I continued my quest for sweet loot, picking up several weapons I couldn’t use. They were made of lava glass which I was assured was an Under Drunder exclusive. We haggled the price down to fifty gold for ten level twenty weapons. I made sure to get an assortment in hopes of reselling them to adventurers who didn’t have access to the exclusive city.
With my purse significantly lighter, I resumed the quest to find Rassala.
“She’s out on patrol,” one of the guards in the market said.
“No,” the second shook his head. “She came back earlier. Check the pub.”
I chuckled once I was out of earshot. Every town, or so it seemed, had a full-service pub. I entered and scanned the bar for signs of the redheaded hellfire dwarf. Her hair’s contrast to her skin made her stand out like a sore thumb. She stood so abruptly when she saw me that her chair tipped over.
“You!” she barked. “Did you check in with the king?”
“Sort of,” I replied, referring to my meeting with the king of Drunder. “You told me to come find you as soon as I returned.”
“Ah,” she sighed. “Well, if you already met him I suppose it’s okay. Fancy a drink?”
Memories of the last time I was drunk and being forced to log out for several hours made me hesitate. “No, thanks.”
She frowned. “How about a steak? They serve an excellent chasm spider steak here.”
“Spider…steak?” I asked, my stomach turning at the thought.
The dwarf next to her, who I recognized at Drox, said, “Don’t knock it till you try it. Spider steak is a delicacy you can’t find anywhere else.”
“Thankfully,” I muttered under my breath.
Still, curiosity won out and I found myself sitting next to the dwarves. Spider wasn’t a delicacy served in the real world, at least nowhere I’d ever been. It made me wonder if the game had some kind of basis for how they ought to taste.
We waited patiently, me sipping water and the dwarves’ ale, while the chef prepared our meals. The dish he slammed in front of us looked remarkably similar to plain old beef steaks. Tentatively, I closed my eyes and took a bite while the others watched, trying my best to think of it as anything but snake. The meat burst with a flavor that was almost like chicken and was tender yet still somehow chewy. I even enjoyed the seasoning. Still, I had no plans of trying to program that one into my food processor. The thought alone made me sick to my stomach.
“You there!” someone shouted from the entrance, thankfully distracting me from my roiling stomach.
Rassala looked at me in horror. “Please tell me you talked to the king.”
“Well, I talked to a king,” I said, biting my lip. “Why?”
“You’re under arrest!” a hellfire dwarf wearing a black and red cloak announced. “By order of the king.”
“That’s why,” Rassala explained, slapping her forehead.