503. Enchanting I

503. Enchanting I

Omen: 5, 14

‘I suppose I should finally make those enchanting recipes.’

After his morning routine of working out and feeding his children, Adam made his way to the enchanting shrine. An Iyrman he did not recognise escorted him to the shrine. Six sturdy standing stones encircled a large patterned floor. The entire area, not just the standing stones, was engraved with ancient symbols Adam couldn’t comprehend. The sun shone from above, providing them with light and warmth, and its power.

Adam placed down seven amber gems, one on each standing stone, and the last on the floor, right in the centre. He held a longsword he had forged within the Iyr over a year ago, one of his best blades he had forged. He had thought about using an axe, but he chose a longsword, since it would sell for more.

Mana: 18 -> 11

Enchanting Check (Intelligence)(Iyr Shrine)

D20 + 7 = 13 (6)

Omen: 5, 14 -> 5

14 + 7 = 21 (14)

Adam plucked a Thread of Fate, using one of his Omens. His presence had already caused the world to change, but with his ability to shift Fate was something which went further beyond his reach. The Divine knew about his ability to shift Fate, and though there were some complaints, Lady Arya, Goddess of War, was glad for it.

How else could civil wars break within Aldland and Aswadasad?

‘Why did it take so much Mana?’ Adam thought. Typically, his enchanting required much less, one to three Mana, but it had never reached seven before. ‘Bell?’

[Yes?]

‘Why is it using so much Mana?’

[You are creating a recipe.]

‘Right?’

[...]

‘Oh.’ Adam had forgotten just how useless Bell was in explaining the system. ‘I guess I have to use at least this much Mana to create new recipes for weapons?’

Adam returned to the estate in the late afternoon, his triplets already staring at him as he stepped through through the archway into the courtyard. The Iyr’s estates were made of blocks, each a square, which could be accessed through the four entrances in the middle of each side, with a central courtyard in its centre.

“It feels a little weird enchanting again,” Adam admitted to Sonarot over dinner. Once more, the Ool family cooked, as they always did for the first week of the month.

“Working hard feels weird to you, Adam?” Sonarot asked, her smile playfully teasing the boy.

“Hearing that back also sounds weird,” the Half Elf admitted. He had enchanted so much the previous year, he was starting to feel sick of it. Not quite the same sickness he had when he enchanted too much, but more a sickness of the heart. “I’m not sure what the plan is for this year, but I probably won’t be enchanting as much. I say that, but I do need another axe.”

Sonarot placed a hand on his knee, smiling warmly as she always did. Adam replied with a nod, realising a darkness had overcome his face. He had lost his greatest treasure to the Rot family, which was now in the hands of his brother, Jurot. Phantom was his greatest axe to date, though he had not yet understood how terrifying the weapon actually was. His second axe, that which he had created to keep the Iyr off his back, was called Wizard’s Axe.

“I was thinking that the Iyr could auction them on my behalf? I mean, if you don’t want them.”

“We can.” Zijin made a note of it within a book. It was bound within thin, grey leather, with his family symbol in the corner.

“Appreciate that, as always.”

“You are fortunate to auction the weapons this year,” Zijin said, pushing forward the tray of snacks towards the Half Elf. “The war will increase their price. They may increase two fold, but you can at least expect an additional half portion. A fifty percent increase.” Zijin smiled.

Adam whistled, picking up one of the fried, doughy snacks. “Nice. They say war is good for business. Not sure Vonda will like that, but Dunes will love it.” He bit into the hard cracker, chewing it quickly.

Zijin smirked slightly, before writing in his book. “I will send the weapons to be auctioned. One weapon each month should bring you more coin.”

“I’m not sure how long I’ll stay this year,” Adam admitted, unsure of how many weapons he could make for the auctions. “I was rather lucky today with enchanting, top five percent you might say.” Adam chuckled at his joke. “I’m hoping to make a new weapon this year, one that I’ll be allowed to keep, and one that’ll sort out powerful old men who want to kill my friends.”

“Which enchantments do you wish to place on the axe?”

“I’ll be making something using the nightval bear core I have. I won’t be making it quite as powerful as Phantom, though, I assure you.”

Zijin bowed his head slowly. Adam wasn’t an idiot, no matter how much he pretended to be one. He had started behaving well after finding out he had five children.

“Alright, well, I should head back before dinner gets cold. I’m sure Jirot is being a menace. She’s been crawling all over the place like a maniac.”

“Are you still saving up for their university fees?” Zijin joked.

“Something like that.” Adam smiled towards the Elder, winking.

“Have a nice dinner, Adam.”

“You too, Elder.”

Once Adam left, Zijin brought up the black book, which would be used as evidence on whether to kill Adam or to spare him. He made a note within the book, before placing it back into his robes.

Elder Zijin's notes.

Adam is so annoying talking about his children all the time. Reason to kill #666.

Jirot is indeed a menace but she's cute. Reason to not kill #4.