Waking up the next morning Duncan rushed to brush his teeth and gathered his dirty clothes into a pile. He walked briskly downstairs and greeted Wazsh before walking to Clara’s to get his clothes cleaned and continued to Elland’s to return the books.
As he entered the chimes chimed and Elland walked from the workshop.
“Morning. You are early,” Elland greeted.
“Good morning. I have lots on my plate today. Here are the books I borrowed,” Duncan said as he got them from his inventory.
“You learned all these, yesterday?” Elland asked, shocked once again.
“Yeah. I have a Reading and a Learn skill,” Duncan replied.
Elland wanted to yell at the unfairness of the world but held himself back before saying, “I didn’t know those two existed as skills but that explains the speed at which you are learning.”
Duncan nodded and replied, “If you have more I will drop them off at Wazsh’s in my room before going to Bolgar’s and the mine.”
“Sure. Here are the last three of the beginner ones. I only have three of the intermediate ones though but I have lots of other books,” Elland explained.
“That would be great. I have to go now if there isn’t anything else,” Duncan replied.
“Actually, Marykah told me to ask you when you want to come about the measurements?” Elland replied as he took out the three books from his inventory.
“Are you bringing her in the evening to the bar?” Duncan asked.
Elland pulled away for a bit and then answered, “Yes, probably we will have dinner there.”
“Alright. If she can, she can do my measurements after dinner. If not we can set a new date then,” Duncan replied and made ready to leave waiting for Elland’s answer.
Elland nodded as he replied, “Take care. I will see you tonight.”
Duncan rushed back to the bar and dropped the books on his nightstand and rushed to Bolgar’s.
“Damn. I wish I had some kind of teleportation ability. This running around is killing me,” he thought as he came to Bolgar’s door.
As he entered he saw Bolgar doing the hilts and greeted him.
“Mornin’! Had a good night’s sleep?” Bolgar greeted him.
“Yeah. Morning to you too. Let’s get this over it,” Duncan replied as he shoved the foamy sponges into his ears.
He came to the forge and dumped an ingot inside and activated [Make]. After four swords he saw the [ LOG ] blink and he opened it.
[ You have Learned Blacksmithing Level 9. ]
Strength +0.9
Dexterity +0.9
Perception +0.9
“Finally some more physical stats,” Duncan thought as he applied the low-quality healing potion to his hands.
He continued with another five swords before taking a break to once again heal his hands and drink two mugs of water. Those five took him only an hour to make but he knew he was closing to the limit of speed since heating the ingots with this forge was the most time-consuming task.
After six more he took another drinking and healing break and then did the last seven in one go.
He counted them up.
“Bolgar needs 40. He made three himself. I made twelve yesterday. That makes it 15 sword blades. Today I made 4, 5, 6, 7… that’s 22. Damn, I still need three more,” Duncan thought as he counted each series of the blades he made.
He dropped another ingot in the fires of the forge and hammered away. After a bit more than half an hour, he was finally done. The [ LOG ] was blinking again and he checked it.
[ You have Learned Blacksmithing Level 10. ]
Strength +1.0
Dexterity +1.0
Perception +1.0
Duncan checked the last batch of sword blades and they were all of perfect quality.
“I guess that explains the level up,” Duncan murmured and shrugged his shoulders and only now noticed how they ached. He checked the time and he spent a little over 5 and a half hours making the 25 iron sword blades.
Duncan came to Bolgar’s station and watched him concentrate on wrapping up a pommel with leather.
“I am done,” Duncan said.
Bolgar replied but Duncan could not hear him since he forgot to remove his ear protection. Quickly taking them out he said, “Can you please repeat what you said? I forgot I had these still in.”
“Thank you. Ya dinner and beer at Wazsh’s tonight are on me. If you need anything, you know where to find me. A dwarf always pays his debts. If he can,” Bolgar replied with the last part quietly.
“You will teach me soon how to make copper ingots. Have to run now,” Duncan said, waved, and rushed towards the entrance.
“Sure thing, come whenever you want,” Bolgar shouted as Duncan was halfway out.
Once outside Duncan rushed toward the barracks. He had a date with the guard to which he was already quite late. They didn’t specify the time but he was feeling a bit guilty.
As he rushed he suddenly saw a shadowy figure approach. After a while, it angled away from him. Duncan recognized the outline almost immediately and once he got closer it was plain as day it was Petris.
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Duncan smiled and used [Observe] and pretended that nothing was amiss. Soon he got the confirmation he learned Stealth to level three as Petris started walking from behind. This time Duncan could actually hear his footsteps. As Petris was almost upon him Duncan suddenly turned around and smacked him on the helmet.
“What? How?” Petris yelled at the sudden smack.
“Hehe. I could see you a mile away,” Duncan explained.
“What? How bloody high is your Perception?” Petris asked.
Duncan checked and replied, “It’s exactly 46 points. Why are you asking?”
“My Stealth skill is at 22. One level too low to work on you,” Petris said while shaking his head in dissatisfaction.
“So, you are saying Stealth level negates double the Perception?” Duncan asked.
“You could say it like that. Whatever. Come the Captain is waiting for you,” Petris said and started walking toward the barracks with Duncan following.
“Who will come with me today?” Duncan asked.
“Shaya, Tyrok, and Rosen,” Petris replied.
“Are you sure this is wise?” Duncan asked.
Petris turned around and frowned, “Ask the Captain!”
“Alright,” Duncan replied, seeing Petris was in no mood to answer any more questions he checked the blinking [ LOG ].
[ You have Learned Stealth Level 3. ]
Agility +0.3
Perception +0.3
“I am finally a bit faster. At least there is that. That level of stealth probably only works on rats,” Duncan thought as they reached the barracks.
“Captain is in his office,” Petris announced and left.
Duncan knocked on the office door and got an invitation to enter.
“Hello. Sorry, I am late,” Duncan said as he entered.
Fenris looked at him before he answered, “Hello. You are not late by much. The archers that are going with you had to sleep off their night shift first anyway.”
Duncan frowned before saying, “So, it’s true? Shaya is coming this time with Rosen and Tyrok?”
“I guess Petris could not hold his trap shut. Yes, she is coming with you. I suggest you go to the wilderness to train. She and Tyrok will hunt while Rosen acts as your bodyguard,” Fenris replied.
Duncan sighed, before asking, “What will you be up to?”
“Don’t get me wrong, I would love to go with you, instead of doing paperwork and pretending I am looking for Rathan following clues where I know there won’t be any,” Fenris replied.
“I understand,” Duncan relented.
“Don’t worry. Shaya is no slouch. There is a reason she is second in command. She might be a bit rough around the edges sometimes but she knows her duties well and is in some regards even more capable than I am,” Fenris explained.
“Do the other two guys know where we are going?” Duncan asked after he nodded.
Fenris nodded, “They have been briefed. I will go with Demira and Gabris next time into the wild with you. They are far more unpredictable than Rosen and Tyrok.”
“Alright. Where can I find them?” Duncan asked.
“They are waiting for you at the training facility. Good luck,” Fenris replied, adding the last bit just as Duncan turned around to leave.
“Yeah. See you later,” Duncan replied and opened the door before he remembered a pressing matter and turned around.
“Fenris. After this expedition I might not be around for a couple of days,” Duncan stated.
A look of surprise showed on Fenris’ face before he asked, “Going somewhere?”
“I have some stuff going on I can’t postpone,” Duncan replied, avoiding looking at Fenris.
“For how long?” Fenris asked.
“Three to five days,” Duncan replied.
Fenris sighed before saying, “This does come at a bad time. Alright do what you have to do but we continue leveling up when you come back. The matter with Rathan might just blow over at that time.”
“I will come back as soon as I can. Goodbye until then,” Duncan said and seeing Fenris nod left the office.
He went to the training facility and found Shaya at the rock while Tyrok and Rosen were pushing at each other in a circle drawn on sand.
“Great you are here,” Shaya exclaimed and stood up.
“Hello, Shaya. What are they doing?” Duncan asked.
“They are measuring their strength. Rosen, Tyrok, that’s enough. Let’s go! Duncan is here!” she shouted, snapping them from further pushing at each other.
“Will you form a party?” Duncan asked.
“Sure,” she replied and was immediately scrolling through an invisible menu.
Duncan got a party invite.
[ You have been invited to the Black Forest party ]
[ ACCEPT ] - [ DECLINE ]
Duncan accepted the invite and soon saw the other three at the side of his vision.
“Shall we go or do you need more time?” Shaya asked.
“Let’s go,” Duncan said and turned toward the mine.
They kept a fast pace without talking, although Rosen tried to initiate some small talk with banter but got tired of monosyllabic responses.
They soon reached the fork in the crypt that led the way outside and they took it. After a while, Shaya, Tyrok, and Rosen felt the barrier. Their facial expressions were getting signs of obvious pain and they stopped.
“Duncan, do your thing,” Shaya commanded.
Duncan nodded before asking, “Who goes first?”
“Take me over first, if you don’t mind,” Shaya replied.
“Give me your hand. You two wait here or move a bit further back,” Duncan commanded and after a second of hesitation, she complied. Rosen and Tyrok looked at each other and turned around. There was no point in suffering if it could be avoided.
Duncan and Shaya soon made it to the exit room and Duncan turned to go back.
“Thank you for doing this,” Shaya said as he was leaving.
He nodded and ran. Soon Duncan saw the other two waiting nervously.
“Who’s next?” he asked.
“Rosen,” Tyrok responded as Rosen stretched out his big palm with disgust.
Duncan grabbed him by his hand and pulled him along, running down the corridor to make this part last as little as possible. They soon joined Shaya and he turned around to get Tyrok.
As he reached him, Tyrok just sighed and they repeated the action as quickly as possible.
Soon they were all at the exit of the crypt and Shaya activated the door switch. She went first and signaled for them to follow.
As they came up she took out what looked like a notebook and drew the outline of the ruins in it.
“Are you drawing a map?” Duncan asked.
“Yes. Today our main goal is to draw a map of the perimeter and find which way the road and the village are from this ruin. Also killing any wildlife we find for food and materials. Hopefully, we can get some levels too, ” she explained.
He nodded and waited as she drew the broken pillars of the exit into her notebook and drew the four cardinal directions on it. She used the time of day and the position of the black hole sun to approximate them which was the same method he knew from the boy scouts.
“Let’s go the opposite way we came out first. Tyrok, count your steps and we will compare them with mine,” she commanded and took the front which was an obvious choice with her high perception. Tyrok followed right after her as Rosen took the rear with Duncan in the middle of them.
Soon they reached the effects of the barrier again and left Rosen hiding by a tree as they continued with Duncan holding hands in the middle of both of them. They reached a clearing and saw the village walls and the guard tower in the distance from it.
“Let us quickly return to the exit,” Shaya commanded and turned around. She pulled Duncan and Tyrok along as they were still holding hands until they reached Rosen who almost died laughing at the sight.
“Let go of his hand when we return through the tunnel,” Tyrok whispered to Duncan as he saw Rosen.
Duncan just smiled and nodded at that.