(Hey, look! Issa chapter! My hiatus is officially over, so please enjoy the update, and support me on Ko-Fi, if you can!)

 

About an hour and forty minutes later, I close the book. Professor Jerome sighs, his eyes misty behind his spectacles.

“Thank you, miss. It’s… good to know what happened to him. And he even obtained valuable information on the fallen Raskel kingdom, too…”

He slowly wipes his face, and I hop off the table, running a hand through my hair.

“I’m glad I could be of help. Now, I have a question, if it wouldn’t be too much trouble?”

“Of course! After your invaluable assistance, I will endeavour to answer any question you might have!” the elderly College-master smiles a wrinkled smile, adjusting his tiny, thick-lensed spectacles.

“Is there a church, temple, or religious institute where one who serves one of the Lords might go? I have something I need to test.”

Professor Jerome nods. “Indeed there is! This is the capital city, after all. It would be stranger for there NOT to be temples dedicated to the Lords! Here…” he pulls out a map, unrolling it across the table, and moving his gnarled index finger over the delicately-inked surface.

“Hmm… which Lord are you seeking in particular?”

I answer with the name of Voltesse, and he brightens. “Ah, a fellow devotee of the Lord of Storm and Gale? Here!” he points at a spot, and, opening my map-window, I mark it as a location of interest.

“Thank you so much, Professor. You’ve been a huge help to me!” I smile and shake his wizened old hand. He grips my wrist with surprising strength for such an old man.

“Before you go, I have a favour to ask. My colleagues and I are… well, ancient. We do not have the ability to travel as freely and as widely as you and your Argonaut comrades, Ms Kettrin. However, we always seek to improve our Colleges’ repository of information. I ask, if you come across any tomes, scrolls, stone tablets, or the like that you feel may be of interest, would you be willing to bring them here? We’ll pay you for everything, and I have a special item that will allow you to fly straight in. Ordinarily, the Grand College is shielded by a barrier, but, with this-” He produces a bracelet, proffering it to me, “You’ll be able to soar through without issue. It’s a soulbound item, so it cannot be lost or stolen from you. A security feature, you understand, many of the articles here are incredibly valuable and beyond-ancient!”

As I ponder the offer, I notice the ‘Side-Quest’ icon on my HUD flickering. Opening the tab, I red,

“Professor Jerome Templeton of the Vassimarian Grand College has offered coin in exchange for items of ancient knowledge. 1/225 items obtained.”

I smile, and graciously accept the bangle, slipping it onto my wrist. It fizzles, and becomes a part of my armour, locked on and changing colours from a brassy red to a lightless black. “I will take the job, you have my word!”

He sighs in relief. “Thank you, young lady; you’ve eased this old man’s burden. Now, I will see you out, if you will permit me?”

I nod, extending my arm so he can escort me to the gates. By the time I return to the main entrance, Captain Silas has recovered and begun yelling at a couple of beleaguered-looking men-at-arms. He harrumphs upon seeing me with the venerable professor in tow.

“What now, you wretch? Come to find your tome isn’t as impressive as you’d thought?” he sneers, before Professor Jerome extricates his arm from my elbow, and totters round to face me.

“For services rendered unto the College of Vassimar, the Argonaut Kettrin is henceforth permitted ingress and egress via the barrier at any time! I, Jerome Templeton, High Master of the Grand College’s Linguistics and Archeo-glyphics Department, authorize her as an honoured colleague!”

Captain Silas splutters indignantly as the bangle on my wrist flashes, and a crest of light that looks like an unfurled scroll crossed by a quill appears for a moment. Professor Jerome then reaches into his robes and produces a sizable bag. “Your payment, and here’s to a long and beneficial partnership!” he totters back the way he came, leaving Captain Silas boiling-over like a badly-made kettle. The two guards wisely make themselves scarce as their boss bubbles away to himself.

 

I hide my wings again before I leave, shooting off a message to Trinity, asking if they and Ulged have made it to Vassim, making my way to the Temple District to find Voltesse’ altar.  A response comes back fairly quickly, with an icon popping up on my map. “Yeah, we’re over here. We’ve bought a forge and set up our business! Swing by when you’ve got an o-purr-tuna-ty!”

Chuckling at the enby system’s cat-puns, I ascend a staircase through a tunnel carved into the side of a rising plateau, the tunnel wall breached by arrow-slits and miniature firing positions, guards with huge crossbows, or robed in the uniform of Imperial mage-troops standing watch. Several greet me with nods or salutes, and I return them with my own, smiling.

At the top of the stairs, the flap plateau- top opens into a red-brick plaza, several buildings of equal size but massively-different design encircling the brickwork. I spot the chapel I need immediately, the dark stone cut through with electric-blue markings resembling those of the Lord I’d seen in my dreams.

Pushing the double-doors open, I enter the cool, quiet space within, the air charged with a crackling sensation of impending thunder. Aside from a few worshippers in pews, the church is empty. The altar stands at the far end, a cat-folk priestess, the same race as Trinity, in dark robes waiting by the smoothly-cut obsidian altar, her eyes fixed on me as I approach.

“Welcome, Argonaut, to the temple of Storm and Gale. What can this devoted servant do for you?” she murmurs, and I smile.

“I’d like to change my class, if that’s possible?” her eyes crinkle slightly, and she nods.

“Certainly. All who serve the Lord are permitted to change their class here, to any they have acquired. Which class would you like?”

I select Bulwark, and feel the familiar tremor of a level-up, only it’s simply my body settling into a comfortable role. I smile and check my skills. Imbued with Chaos and Earthshaker are gone, but I have Thunder Cannon, Sky Hammer, and Skill-Forge back. “Thanks. I’d… like to make a donation, if that’s okay with you, priestess?”

She smiles, her feline tail flicking slowly. “How kind of you, Argonaut. Donations and gifts from the faithful are always gratefully accepted.”

I pull out the coin-pouch Professor Jerome bestowed upon me and hold it out to her. She takes it, her eyes widening as she relishes the weight of it.

“Argonaut, how… how much IS this?” I shrug.

“I don’t actually know. I didn’t add it to my balance yet.”

She tips the bag over on the altar, carefully pouring fat gold Ducats onto its pitch-black surface. “One, two, three…”

It takes her almost twenty minutes of near-silent muttering, her nimble fingers stacking coin into neat little towers, before she finishes. 

“This… this comes to a total of one-thousand, two-hundred, and fifty Ducats. Are you… are you sure?”

I nod and smile. “Of course. I donated it all, so put it to good use, priestess. May Voltesse’s glory prevail.”

I turn and leave, silently giggling at the poleaxed expression on her face, making my way back down into the city proper, and heading for Ulged and Trinity’s shop.

 

About forty minutes of walking later (I could use my wings, but with that Anri psycho possibly still hunting me, I need to keep my identity concealed until we deal with her), I find the shop.

The sign above the door glistens with recently-applied paint, and reads, in bold, brilliant splashes of colour, “Bloodbath & Beyond”.  The doors are closed, but the sounds of metal on metal, the plumes of smoke, and the sounds of people shouting can be observed. Pushing the door open, I enter an enormous room, the back half of which is dominated by a massive forge, a trio of anvils positioned around it.

Nearby, a smaller anvil and jeweller’s workstation is set up, and Trinity can be seen working on something delicate and golden. There’s a huge doorway in one corner, leading to a workshop in the rear of the shop. At the forge, Ulged is bringing a massive smith’s hammer down on an ingot, beating it into shape as the firelight glints on his bared fangs, and gives his eyes an infernal glow.

A crowd of people are comparing the items they’d had made, or bought from the new proprietors, clearly excited about heading to find some monsters or whatever to test out their new equipment. A shadow falls across me, and I turn, confronted by something enormous and terrifying.

It’s some kind of gigantic, bipedal crocodile, with shorter jaws more designed for biting and chewing, with huge clawed hands. The creature’s body is covered in fur, and it’s clearly trying to smile.

“Welcome to Bloodbath & Beyond, miss. Are you here to place an order, or collect?”

The monster’s voice is very soft, and it’s polite, too! Ulged waves from over at his anvil.  The creature inclines its head. “I see that you’re friends with my master. I am at your disposal, if you have any inquiries about our products.”

It turns and lumbers away carefully, using its tail to balance as it retreats behind a desk. Shoving the beaten and misshapen ingot back into the flames, Ulged roars.

“Lassie! O’er here! Come say hello, instead o’ skulking by the door like a wee ghostie!”

I slip through the dissipating crowd as Trinity hands over the piece of jewellery they’d been working on to their client, who heads over to the monster at the desk. Trinity calls out, “That was Order 211, big guy! 450D, okay?”

As the client ponies up the gold, Ulged leans on his counter. “Kettrin, fair tae see yeh. So, what d’ye think o’ the new set-up? A mite fancier than squattin’ in a cave and plyin’ me craft, aye?”

I smile up at the huge gnoll. “Yeah, it’s really awesome! Look, I have a… a request. I need a spear, and I’d like you to make it from this.”

When I show him the item in question, he nods thoughtfully. “Ohhh, aye, this is fine metal… bit worn and chewed-up, though. I’d have tae mek it intae ingots first, but I c’n do it nae sweat. Any particular design ye’re after?”

I dig a scrap of parchment out of my inventor and Ulged hands me a stick of charcoal. I sketch out the design, and he grins. “Oh, a swordspear, eh? Best o’ both worlds! I’ll need an hour or two, plus some extra material and, since this is a custom order, it’ll tek some finaglin’… right. I’ll do it fer…700 Ducats. Sound guid?”

I nod and hand over the item. It takes him about ten minutes of volcanic heating to melt down the metal, and then the work begins. Heat and hammer, hear and hammer, over and over. Ulged’s blows land with incredible speed and power, but always in the exact spot he needs them to. No wonder he’s already making a reputation as a great smith.

He grunts as he works, “Yehr friend Asteria wis in in ‘ere earlier tae pick up a custom order. D’ye hae some kinda quest or summat yeh need new gear for?”

I shake my head. “Not that I know of. She never said what her errands were specifically, and I didn’t wanna pry.”

He shrugs and plunges my new weapon back into the forge, heating it again as he ladles thick clay over the centre on both sides.

“T’will help keep the body flexible, while the edge hardens and becomes tough! T’will gie it some extra resilience and durability.”

He explains, eyes locked on his craft. Trinity grins at me as they lounge at their workstation, tail slowly flicking as they bask in the warmth of the forge.