Book 2: Chapter 5: Quest Choices and An Old Dwarf

Book 2: Chapter 5: Quest Choices and An Old Dwarf

"Hmm..." Lone stroked his jaw as he looked at a few of the requests which had drawn his interest.

'Quest details: Need help reroofing my new home at 21 Grinfer Avenue.

Quest issuer: Falga Orsigar.

Requirements: Enough stamina to not get tired roofing a building and a good sense of humour.

Reward: 15 copper coins and a free lunch.'

He could gain some constructive skills which would be very helpful in situations where the fort in his Dimensional Storage wasn't usable or if it needed repairs when his MP was sealed like right now.

Or, assuming his MP was unsealed, being able to fix the structure with his hands would be better in his opinion as opposed to wasting valuable MP on such a trivial task.

'Quest details: I require immediate muscle. I just need some people to look tough and keep my shop free of cunts for the open hours today. The location is Rider Smithy at Alba Square.

Quest issuer: Hoof the Blacksmith.

Requirements: A naturally intimidating look or strong-looking armour, whatever gets the job done. At least a G-ranker.

Reward: 1 silver coin per day and a 1% discount at my shop that lasts for 7-days.'

Lone's thinking for this one was that he'd be able to work on his Persuasion skill but that would require people to actually seek trouble with the store which wasn't a guarantee. It could end up being a boring day of standing around doing nothing, which would be a waste of his time.

'Quest details: I'm returning my old buddy Olim's corpse to the Stone near where he was born. The place is in the Farwinds and it's a bit blocked up by monsters. More details upon acceptance of the quest.

Quest issuer: Four-twelve.

Requirements: Non-dwarves only. At minimum a D-ranker. The monsters ain't too tough but there's a lot of them, so a weak-kneed grass-huffer ain't what I'm looking for. The trip'll take about 4 days there and back, so I need someone who's fine camping out in the Farwinds.

Reward: 2 gold coins total regardless of if you're solo or come as a group. I'll tell you old war stories too if that interests you.'

Lone didn't see much potential for gaining new useful skills in this one but honestly, it sounded interesting. Something about it felt... mysterious and fascinating.

He wouldn't accept it now since he'd promised to stay away from fights to Soph for a while but he intended to keep it in the back of his mind and perhaps accept it if it was still available in a few weeks or so.

"I guess it has to be this one then..." Lone mumbled as he looked at the final quest which had drawn him in.

'Quest details: My good-for-nothing assistant got done in by the Darkness spawn in the Farwinds. I need a competent steamforger to help replace him until I find a more permanent solution to his absence. I know steamforgers don't grow on trees so I'll take a blacksmith who's willing to learn. Location is my shop and forge at 7 Copper Lane.

Quest issuer: Master Steamforger Wilbur.

Requirements: At a minimum 1 skill related to blacksmithing and a can-do attitude.

Reward: 10 copper coins per day and 5 copper coins per order you help fulfil. Free training too.'

"Only issue is that this is a solo quest..." Lone said to himself as he puckered his lips in thought.

"That's fine," Sophie said as she approached his side. "We found a quest looking for a guard. The owner of a tailor shop keeps getting robbed so he wants a bodyguard or two. We can handle that on our own. He also posted a quest looking for a short-term apprentice to help with the busy season on account of a new fashion trend popping up. Breena, you can do that. Perhaps you'll gain skills for fine-handling or how to wield a needle; both potentially useful for combat."

"Um, okay," Breena answered softly. She didn't really have a preference and the quest sounded like it involved minimal contact with people which suited her just fine.

"D," Lone answered.

Nodding lightly, the dwarf asked, "Any resistances to fire and smoke?"

"Fire? No. Smoke created from a fire? Complete immunity. A perk of Poison Resistance," Lone explained.

"Poison Resistance? That's a nasty skill," Steamforger Wilbur remarked. "I guess ye didn't awaken twice for no reason. Which Primal does that black belong to anyway?"

Lone smiled. "None. It's actually an obscure curse that prevents me from using magic," Lone lied. "There are only eight Primals, after all, and none are represented by the colour black. Everyone knows that."

It seemed wiser in his mind to mix truths and falsehoods on this matter than exposing Void as a Primal. One, people likely wouldn't believe him. Two, he'd be up shit's creek without a paddle in regards to the Church of the Primals if they did.

"A curse, eh?" The dwarf nodded softly. "It's a big world, ain't it? Okay, consider yerself hired. It wouldn't do me any good to keep grilling little Grimsley's apprentice, now would it?"

"You know Grimsley?" Lone asked in shock. "Actually, how do you even know I have anything to do with him in the first place?"

Steamforger Wilbur shrugged. "Not many dwarves living in Milindo, fewer still holding steamforged artefacts built by the great Frodley Goldsbane himself. Didn't little Grimsley tell ye that he had a contact here? I assumed he sent you out to get trained by someone who actually knows something about smithing. Was I wrong?"

"Yes, you were," Lone answered with a bit of a wry smile. "What a coincidence this is, huh? Of all the quests to accept, I accepted the one posted by Grimsley's contact."

Steamforger Wilbur snorted. "Ain't no coincidence, boy. Do you think that luck stat's a joke?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Lone asked.

"Do ye really think any other dwarf in this city would take ye on as an apprentice but me, even if only temporarily? Our methods are a tightly guarded secret. There's a reason the only place ye can get steamforged artefacts first hand is in a krieg. I'm breaking so many laws by even just agreeing to teach ye," Steamforger Wilbur said with a shrug.

He threw his head back and sighed deeply. "Old Lady Luck clearly knew I just needed an assistant badly enough to accept anyone. She also knew I don't care much for tradition ignoring the fact my knowledge isn't bound to secrecy via contract magic like most."

He chuckled faintly. "Ye must have a lot of luck, boy. Well, maybe not considering the fact you've awakened. Anyway, shop's not very busy right now as you can see. Come in back and tell me how little Grimsley's been doing in that cesspool of a human kingdom."

'Ah... Okay, incredibly illegal. Good to know. There goes my squeaky clean record,' Lone thought sarcastically.

"Uh... sure," he answered with a warm smile.

'Is it really okay to leave the storefront empty though? Isn't he worried about thieves?' Lone thought as he followed the dwarf into the back of the building.

Surprisingly, unlike Grimsley's now burnt to the ground smithy which held its forge in the backroom, Steamforger Wilbur instead has a cosy living room.

It was spacious and the furniture seemed imported and not of dwarven design, especially the central figure of a featureless stone woman. "Interesting statue."

Steamforger Wilbur furrowed his brow as he took a seat. "I'll let that slide since ye're likely ignorant but that's no statue, it's a corpse."

Lone's mind blanked for a moment before he recalled the men made of stone who were ahead of him in the line to enter the krieg. "Ah, uh, yeah, I wasn't aware. So... her kind solidifies upon death or something?"

"More or less, yes. Well, most species do just Ickold's people aren't made of flesh thus don't rot," the dwarf explained with a shrug.

"... Was she your wife?" Lone asked.

Raising an eyebrow, Steamforger Wilbur chuckled. "Perceptive. Yeah, she was. She passed away about 40-years ago if my addled mind serves me well. Surprising ye guessed right."

Lone smiled as he took a seat. "My lover is a human. Interspecial relationships aren't a foreign concept to me. Besides, love doesn't need to be restricted by physical boundaries. I can't imagine you had an overly steamy relationship, after all."

"Hahaha, cheeky git!" Steamforger Wilbur laughed heartily. "Well, ye're not wrong. Anyway, tell me about Grimsley, boy. Last I heard from him he'd found traces of his niece in Milindo and decided to set up a smithy there to act like a hardworking citizen while he investigated her whereabouts."

"Where to even start..." Lone scratched his cheek and said, "Well, I should probably tell you that he's not in Milindo anymore..."