Chapter 6 - Rewards - Rewards For All (Patreon)

The following day started with shouting. My shouting, to be precise. Nothing from the day or evening before really indicated that there was shouting to be had. We chatted until the wee hours of the morning, of things small and large. It was like an invisible dam had come down and we shared anecdotes and tiny bits of our lives. Nothing too personal, but enough to learn a lot about Mia. I liked what I learned too. Her life seemed like a sheltered one. Her stories revolved around online experiences, games and movies – rarely friends or family. Even so, where I had often met loners who ended up shy or self-effacing, Mila was everything but. Once you got past her standoffish demeanor (and managed to not tick her off for a couple of days) you'd find a brash, energetic and loving personality. 

No, the shouting was all me. I may or may not have given off a few subtle hints at an earlier date how much I enjoy mornings. Simply put: I don't. To me, the best morning experience is being left to grumble in peace while I regain full use of my faculties. Caffeine and breakfast help cutting down on the downtime needed. I know a few morning people, of course. The type of persons who arrive at work, talking about waking up abuzz with energy or with their mind afire with new thoughts and ideas. Smug jerks, one and all. This might explain my reaction, when I came to, fully aware and with a full-body tingle like I had just downed three energy drinks in two minutes. 

"What the? What is this? Who's this? What the hell?" Whatever was going on, it did nothing for my vocabulary. Within seconds, I'd ascertained that I wasn't under attack but I still couldn't see what was going on. 

Mila wasn't helping my mood. She woke up instantly and reached for a knife. However, when she saw me patting my body, glancing in all directions, she resorted to howling with laughter at my distress. Eventually, she managed to force out the words, "Check your log," in between gales of laughter.

I'd already calmed down some and reading the log, I had the eye-opener I was looking for. The effects in themselves were impressive and my eyes widened as I read down the list. Still, it was the first line that finally made me chortle and calm down a bit.

[You awaken feeling well rested

You receive the following bonuses for spending the night in a fully established Apprentice-level Fixed Camp.

Stamina regeneration increased by 30%

Mana regeneration increased by 30%

Hitpoint regeneration increased by 30%

All stats increased by +3

Duration: 12 hours]

“Hoooly hell. This is incredible. Darya – sorry, Mila. I’m sorry for waking you up like that. I was just…”

Mila wiped tears from her eyes, waving away my concerns. “Don’t worry. I was a bit surprised the first time I felt it too – and it was only a third as strong back then. You should’ve seen yourself though.” She mimicked some of the more… expansive gestures I’d made and I scowled at her in mock annoyance.

In retaliation I looked down at the carpet that had dropped to her waist and back up at her. I grinned. “Please do that again. Especially that thing with the arms.”

A massive blush crept up her… everywhere. She rapidly pulled up the cover and punched me in the shoulder, none too gently. “Jerk.” She couldn’t quite keep the laughter from her voice, however. “So, what’s the plan for today? Which groundbreaking symphonies do you plan to compose? Any new negotiations to ace?”

“Nah - I was actually hoping you’d accompany me and a few of the others on a pleasant stroll through the woods. Cough. Get some battle practice under our belt… maybe kill a few monsters?”

“You know you’re not supposed to actually say ‘cough,’ right?” Her crooked smile was infectious. “You’ll have to work on that ‘romantic picnic’-thing a bit, though. But sure. I’ve got nothing better to do and it sounds like we’re going to have good company.”

“Wonderful. Join me in the Warlock’s End for breakfast? My treat?”

She grimaced. “If we’re spending most of the day among people, I’d rather stay here a bit.”

I smiled and kissed her. “You do that. I’ll go round up the others. Maybe see if I can avoid getting mixed up in any kobold conflicts today.” I got up, debated whether to say anything and blundered forward with my usual finesse. ”Soo – is this too soon, or can we do this again at some point?”

She winked, "I'm no timid princess, Daniel. I'll make sure to tell you if I need some alone time. How about this. If we catch something edible, I'll cook it... as long as you handle all the grunt work?"

"You've got a deal."

We chatted a bit more before I left for Grant's Crossing. Mia came up with the idea to visit Sourpuss. According to her, he'd be the person to pinpoint the location of monsters or hostile animals that Grant's Crossing would be better off without. In the meantime, I'd get breakfast and start rounding up the rest of the group.

I started off with a stroke of luck. Arack was lounging about next to the gate and readily agreed to tag along. She'd probably have agreed to anything to alleviate the boredom, but I did thank her for the trust she placed in me. I treated her to breakfast in the tavern - the Council was kind enough to provide the kobolds with food, but you'd have to be a Fallen to not complain about the taste. Meanwhile, she gave me the scope about what's been going on in the village. Nothing much, to my relief. Somebody - she said with a chuckle, had been spreading the news that a resolution to their boredom may be imminent. 

"It is happening though, isn't it, Arcangelo? I mean, Most of us are going to do alright, if we have to fend for ourselves - we're used to it and all. Still, the chance to get, like, a real job..." Her sigh said everything I needed to hear.

"I know Gillem's going to do his best. He isn't the type to break his word. And you've got me on the team as well. One question though: You, personally. What would you like to do? I mean, I'm not going to chase you off or anything - but is there any profession you'd like to pursue?"

For once, the forthright kobold looked abashed, "I may have mentioned that I'd like to develop as an alchemist at some point so I can use poison on my daggers. That's not a lie or anything - there's a bit more to it, though. You know, alchemists also deal in healing potions and salves - and I've always wanted to be a healer of sorts." She stared intently at her feet.

I put my hand on her shoulder. "That's an amazing idea and we're going to make it happen. Somehow." I was already looking forward to somehow roping Greck into becoming her alchemist mentor. He had no clue what fate had in store for him. Oh, and I was not at all drooling at the thought of adding cheap or free health and mana potions to the party. Nope. No siree.

Lyle was hard at work in the blacksmith when we found him. His dad gave me the evil eye, but otherwise didn't comment on my appearance. Arack's presence probably didn't help any. Lyle, however, brightened up with a huge smile at seeing us. "Be a sec. I've got to finish this, then I've got something to show you." Moments later, he was dusting off his hands, practically pushing us towards the back porch of the house. "Oh, man, I've looked forward to showing you this - it's so damn awesome, you won't believe it."

At first, when I saw the armor he'd arranged on a wooden mannequin, I was disappointed. It looked so... boring. The greyish colour of the leather armor practically screamed, "please don't look at me. I'm nobody important." I wasn't going to tell Lyle that, however. Not with how proud he looked. I stepped closer and, with a great deal of mental effort, managed to look further than the dull exterior. "Wait. This isn't leather. Which material is that?" I moved close to caress the material of the armor and recognized the rough, but yielding surface. "Nooo. The viper scales? How in the Pits did you manage to work them this well? I didn't think that an armorer would be able to handle this kind of material." 

Arack squinted at the armor. "Viper scales? Of that size? You'll have to tell me how you managed to kill that.

Lyle grinned sheepishly. "It was actually a bunch of snakes and I almost screwed it up something awful. I'm sure Arcangelo would love to tell you about it in detail." He turned towards me. "Ahem. About those materials. I had a chat with Benneth and he told me that he owed you a reward... so he's the one who fixed up the armour base.  I'm supposed to tell you that you're even now."

Reward? Even? Oh. The blinking notification helped my sorry memory along. Apparently, I'd never cashed in on that quest for killing the Dawnlight Soarer.

[quest completed: Annoyance From Above

You managed to do away with all the Dawnlight Soarers that were hindering the fishing along the Jagged Rush. In return, Benneth has helped Lyle craft his armor.

Reward: 

300 xp - experience towards next level: 45/6000

crafting assistance]

The next notification was even sweeter though. 

[Congratulations. You Gained a level.

You are now a level 5 Bard. +1 Charisma from racial bonus. You have 5 attribute points to assign.]

Awesome. I'd been waiting for that and the timing couldn't be better. With a great deal of effort, I managed to wrench my focus back to the armor. "Erm. What's the material like? I mean, compared to regular leather, for instance?"

Lyle was practically beaming with the need to tell me about his new armor. "Amazing! It's hell to work with - Benneth cursed constantly while he was working it and he still broke two of his favorite needles. Thing is, apparently their diet includes ingesting small rocks... for their digestion or something. But - they don't just pass it through their system - some of the effects from the rocks stay within their body. That's why you'll find that it's immensely resistant to piercing and slashing damage. This baby's pretty much the same as wearing the skin of a troll. I mean, having skin like a troll. Ew."

"That's incredible!" Arack blurted out. 

I had to agree. Suddenly, the dull-looking chest armor looked a lot more impressive to me. I'd have to give Benneth my compliments on his crafting - there was not a stitch to be seen. In addition to the full-sleeved armor, Lyle had added a handful of worked iron pieces in strategic places. He had one huge chest piece and back piece, along with smaller pieces guarding his shoulders and elbows  Looked like he would be well protected from anything the forest could throw at him. "Love the additions too. You'd need enchanted weapons to be able to thrust through both those iron plates and the snake leather beneath. How did you fasten them?"

With a smirk, Lyle said, "oh, I've riveted them on. It's not iron though."

"Oh - fair enough. What is it then? Wait..." I studied the metal from way up close and voiced my suspicion, "It's not the scales from the clutch mother, is it?" His self-satisfied nod was all the answer I needed. "Oh damn. How did... but it looks just like iron? What does it do?"

"Why, it protects me in battle, Arcangelo." I stared daggers at him and he brayed with laughter. "Sorry. Couldn't help it. Benneth was no help with this - apparently it's not every day you manage to do away with a beast of this size. Or maybe it's because it was the mother. Anyway, Da' agreed to help me experiment on it some. First, we took a file to it, to check the hardness of it. You wouldn't believe the face on Da', when it left practically no mark. Then we used a grinding wheel. Did you know you can tell the type and quality of metal from the sparks? Well, we soon..."

I zoned out a bit as Lyle blathered on about the many issues with manipulating the scales. The material was pretty amazing, really, even if I couldn't summon the energy to listen through the minute-by-minute recap Lyle was delivering. Even polished as it was it didn't shine or sparkle. I rapped a knuckle on it - but the ring of metal failed to appear. "How come it doesn't sound like metal?"

"Because it isn't. I know, the look of it's pretty similar. Still, from what da' told me, it's a bastard child of very hard, very fine-grained rock and leather. It's hard enough you'll have to manipulate it sort of like metal though - took a while to find a decent working method." His smug smile was back and I knew he wasn't finished. "You still haven't asked the right question though."

Arack clapped her hands. "Let me, Uncle! Erm. How did you... no, not that. What's it do? What are the properties of the material? No wait - I've got this. Is it magical?"

He clapped his hands. "Exactly. It is. The material in itself is exactly like you'd imagine. Hard as hell and pretty absorbant to shock on top of that - It'd take something like a mace blow pretty well. The most amazing thing, however, is the fact that the residual magic in the scales means that I will be able to attune to it."

"Really? So... you can make it your own? What does that mean, in practice?"

"It means that if I allow it to soak part of my stamina every time I use it, it's going to use that energy to release whatever powers the material holds."

"Sounds like a great deal. Well, depending on what it does. No more tiptoeing around the topic - I'm dying to hear what the damn thing does! Tell me!"

For the first time since I saw him today, he seemed nervous. "I... well, I don't know. Y'know, this work was as much that of Benneth and his reward was actually for you. I didn't feel good attuning to it without your consent. Unattuned armors made of rare materials... well, you could probably get a decent price for it at Mrs. Bertinga's."

I couldn't help it - a giggle escaped me. "Lyle, you silly goose. Sometimes you're the epitome of a knight in shining armor - and other times you're like a blushing schoolboy. You're the tough bastard standing in front of me and Arack with a shield when the monsters are after our blood. Of course, you'll need the best possible protection."

He looked equally relieved and chastised, but grinned at me. "I was hoping you'd say that. I mean, even if it's pretty bad, you can still get some money from an attuned armor. The effects are just... different. Diminished, usually. You see, if you..."

"You're about to launch into an explanation about the characteristics of attuned armors, aren't you? I can tell. Stop it and put on that damn armor, already. So help me Serune, I'm about to start a new grudge right here, Lyle."

He clamped his hand over his mouth and said, "sorry." Removing his hand, he continued, "I can't help it. I've only got da' to discuss these things with and... sorry. Well, help me put it on, already."

The armor was less cumbersome to put on than some types I'd seen. There were a handful of buckles to be tightened, but mostly he just had to shimmy into it. With the three of us, it only took a couple of minutes.

"So... now what?"

"Now, you wait. I think I'm supposed to... wow, that feels weird. Hold on." He grunted and rolled his shoulders. "Yeah, that's going to take a little getting used to. I've got it now, though." He whistled in amazement.

"Lyle! Now you're just being a pain."

"Hah. Alright. The armor increases my endurance and strength a bit and apparently it deadens my nerves or something, because my resistance to pain goes up by quite a bit. The real kicker, though? If the armor gets damaged, I can use my own vital force to have it self-repair. Don't worry, no blood or fluids involved, it just drains my stamina."

"Are you serious? That means -"

"That as long as it isn't destroyed, It will be able to knit itself together as long as we have the time and energy for me to sit in peace and concentrate."

We celebrated after that, congratulating Lyle on his well-earned armor. Turned out it was really easy to convince him to join us on our mission. "Braille, yes. I am so done with being cooped up inside here." He opened the door back into the house and shouted, "Da! I'm leaving. Be back for supper!" An unintelligible rumble was the only reply.

"He won't be mad that you're ditching work just like that?"

"Meh. He already dislikes you. Besides, he's had nothing but work from me the past four weeks. I'm way ahead of schedule on everything and we're down to busywork.

Lawrence stood there as we left, glaring daggers at me. I deigned not to notice his presence. Lyle received a grumbled "stay safe" and a pat on the shoulder as we fled, eager to get going.

As we steered towards the forest, a notification appeared:

[The attitude of Lawrence Brenathan towards you has improved slightly by letting Lyle attune the Viper scale armor.]

Whatever else, I had against the man - at least he cared.