Chapter 183: Showing Off ‘The Hammer’

Chapter 183: Showing Off ‘The Hammer’

Varrin looked fresh as new-fallen snow. He wore a white silk shirt, pristine and with nary a wrinkle or speck of dust. It was loose-fitting in a way that miraculously made his Herculean musculature look even more impressive as it bulged around his chest and shoulders. His pants were dark leather, fitted and flattering–not that he needed it–with a pair of low-cut boots that he could wear on the trail or at the ball.

Flanking him were four gorgeous women, making him look like the protagonist in one of Grotto’s ‘research’ novels. The first was Khigra, who stood casually with arms crossed, wearing her very-tight-but-only-for-functional-reasons smithing outfit. Xim was beside her in the ivory-colored top and charcoal pants she favored when outside of her robes and chainmail. The other two women, however, were unfamiliar.

To Varrin’s right was a Level 1 platinum who looked slightly younger than the big guy. She was a little more than six feet tall, with white hair and pale skin that marked her as ethnically Hiwardian. Her features held a familial resemblance to Varrin, down to the ice-blue eyes and bone structure perfect enough to make you wonder whether one of the Ravvenblaqs had Genetic Engineering as an intrinsic skill. Where Varrin was a slab of unrealistic expectations for the male body, the woman beside him was similarly ‘gifted’ in the feminine direction.

The other woman was also Level 1 platinum, with a slimmer frame, strawberry blonde hair, and a dusting of freckles below pale green eyes. She was about average in height–an inch or two taller than Xim–but it was tough to recognize her stature as ‘normal’ while she stood beside a goliath like Varrin. Even Khigra had six inches on the newcomer, almost as tall as Varrin’s mystery relative.

Behind them were Xim’s parents, and a veritable horde of butlers, maids, and other servants.

At least he hadn’t shown up with any of the big shots. I’d prefer to get to know the king before modeling for him in my skivvies.

While I took them in at a glance and gave a cheery wave, Varrin gently placed his face into his palm and let out a mighty sigh. Xim looked me up and down with a wide grin, and Khigra stoically raised an eyebrow. The blonde woman lifted a hand to hide a blush, feigning a cough to excuse the motion, while the unknown Ravvenblaq looked... confused.

“Esquire Arlo Xor’Drel,” Varrin said, recomposing himself and holding a hand out toward the blonde woman. “May I present Lady Sineh Dukgrien, firstborn daughter of Thundralkes Bebhinn and Feargan Dukgrien. Lady Dukgrien is well-versed in the current political landscape of Hiward, and has volunteered to assist us in getting up to speed.”

I gave a brief Hiwardian bow. “Wonderful to meet you.”

She curtsied. “Aye, Esquire Arlo. The same to you. Varrin’s told me stories, but it’s lovely to meet you in the flesh.” Her eyes twinkled but stayed firmly in place above my neckline.

Varrin cleared his throat and gestured to the white-haired woman. “And this is my younger sister, Lady Riona Ravvenblaq. Riona is currently apprenticed to the Ravvenblaq Keeper of Decorum, and will be invaluable in aiding us to refresh our etiquette.”

We exchanged pleasantries as well. Riona didn’t add her own cheeky turn of phrase, but her eyes wandered a bit more than Sineh’s.

“Now that we’ve been introduced,” I said, stepping to the side and gesturing toward the foyer, “welcome to my not-at-all humble abode. Please, come on in.”

The pair of women curtsied again and walked through the portal, followed by Varrin and Khigra. Xim stepped up beside me, the stream of servants close on her heels.

She leaned in and whispered, “I didn’t know they made pants that small.”

We both glanced down at my hotpants, then back up at the same time. The people walking past were carefully avoiding looking my way.

“They’re very comfortable,” I said.

“They look like they give a lot of... support,” Xim added.

“Keeps everything where it oughtta be.”

“That’s good,” said Xim, nodding seriously. “It’s important for clothes to be functional.”

“Very easy to move in, too.”

“Really? Maybe I should look into buying a pair.”

“I’ll introduce you to my tailor.”

“I’d like that,” she said, bumping me with her shoulder. “You can help me pick them out.”

She flashed me a grin, then strode forward. She reached up to fluff her hair with her fingers, turning to give me an exaggerated wink as she did so.

I swallowed, then went to sort out my guests as the final servant came through.

The Ravvenblaq servants lined up into neat rows in the foyer, arranged in groups with matching formal outfits. Several men and women looked pale–paler than normal for a Hiwardian–and I doubted my uncouth appearance was the culprit. This was a group who’d likely never once visited the Third Layer.

That was an unusual trip for most Delvers, let alone mundane humans. The spectacle of Sam’lia’s eye mutating the world around them until it twisted into the alien landscape of the Xor’Drel tribe lands was probably quite a shock. Lord knows how they’d be reacting if they’d been dropped into the wilds on their first visit like I had.

Sensing no opposition, Khigra put down a berry-filled pastry, stood from the table, and casually made her way over. She wore a look of mild amusement at our antics as she brushed crumbs from her fingers. I got the sense that the Third Layer dream forger did not often find herself in the company of Hiwardian aristocrats.

She held out her hand, and Somncres appeared.

The weapon was in its throwing hammer form, pinpricks of light migrating through the emerald green head and spiraling down its ebony handle. I accepted it from her with reverence, inspecting the item as soon as it hit my palm.

My eyes widened as I went down the much longer list of effects. Two were the same as they had been, but the weapon’s original second effect was missing.

Somncres

Throwing Hammer

This is an evolving item.

Requirements

STR 20, INT 40, Blunt 25, Dimensional Magic 20, Mystical Magic 20

Effects:

1) Somncres can be summoned and dismissed at will.

2) Whenever you make a thrown weapon attack with Somncres you may create up to X Fleeting copies, where X is your INT/10. Each copy costs 2 mana to create. These copies possess all qualities imbued into Somncres at the moment the copies are created.

Before, the hammer’s shape and size could be adjusted at will. For whatever reason, it no longer had that capability. I decided to hold my questions until I’d gone through the entire list.

The third effect was the main upgrade Khigra had given the weapon.

3) Each Somncres copy can be individually assigned to a target for 1 additional mana.

Whenever I copied Somncres, the copies followed the path of the original, unless I engaged in some gravitational hijinks to bend them to my will. That meant I could only target one enemy at a time, albeit with a devastating amount of firepower. Now, I could attack up to five different targets with a single throw. I was betting I could even assign each hammer to the same target, but manipulate them individually with my Blunt 20 evolution, Hammerang. That way, hammers could assault one target from five different angles, directions, and even elevations.

Between this and my recent upgrades to Explosion!, my ability to engage with multiple targets was skyrocketing.

After the ‘major’ upgrade was a slew of potent traditional effects.

4) +100 Health Regen

5) +80 Mana Regen

6) +30 Armor Penetration to attacks made with Somncres

7) +60 damage to Dimensional attacks while wielding Somncres

Regen, more regen, and penetration. Khigra really knew what made my heart sing.

However, the most interesting of these ‘minor’ effects was the last. Added damage buffs on weapons typically only added damage to attacks made with that weapon, not anything else. The Penetration effect, for example, only applied to attacks made with Somncres.

The bonus damage on Somncres applied to all Dimensional attacks. That was something more commonly found on wands or staves. Somncres didn’t deal any Dimensional damage natively, but both Homing Weapon and Oblivion Orb were attacks classified under the Dimensional school. This would even improve Explosion! when I charged the spell.

Finally, the effect that allowed Khigra to add more effects had been reworded.

8) Khigra may Empower this item once you reach your next Intelligence evolution.

Empower, eh? What kind of tasty chocolate center is that keyword hiding?