NOVEL NEXT Chapter 74
It had been several days since Logan had apologized for his thoughtlessness in using Moodprint on the others. While they hadn't resented him all that much, he had still needed to sleep off his own shame. After a night of rest, he felt much better, and the past few days had actually been really fun for them all.
Nugget had taken to passing time on the road and entertaining them with a little routine he practiced with Flick. Flick would toss a drakla pit into the air and then smack it with his tail. Nugget would fly up to catch it and then bring it back, swirling above the squirrel until he dropped it into Flick's waiting arms. Then the squirrel would hit another drakla pit while the first was in midair and try to knock the falling one as if they were playing baseball.
It was helping improve the squirrel and Nugget's coordination.
There hadn't been any more monsters to grind for the past few days now, and as of this morning, they finally started seeing trees completely untouched by the blight. According to the guild map, they had traveled along the back side of a region called Briarshade, which was supposedly a higher-leveled region than the valley around Gnashridge Heights. Normally, that should mean this part of the forest that was inside the Briarshade region should have higher-leveled creatures. With the blight, though, Logan didn't notice much of a leveling difference between the two areas.
The most notable change was the plantlife. Mavenberries and oranges didn't grow here. Analyzing the new plants helped Logan's Analyze skill rise, and they included: shadeshrub, which took an hour to digest, but then provided a Stealth boost; bloodpetal rose, which could be combined with certain oils to enhance bladed weapons; and wild caproots, which were edible mushrooms that were apparently a local delicacy. Logan had foraged as much as he could already in anticipation of a quest for one of the Caerwyn apothecaries. He didn't actually have access to the quests in Caerwyn, and wouldn't until he arrived and checked in with the guild hall, but Cassandra did. There were several quests for the shadeshrub and bloodpetal rose, but also for gray cave moss.
That latter one reminded Logan of the dead apothecary. He had helped the guild with a small funeral in Gnashridge Heights and tossed a small clump of the moss on the man's grave, but he still had enough to complete the quest in Caerwyn.
Cassandra pointed to a wooden signpost on the trail ahead, beyond which the trees thinned out around a corner. "We're close to Caerwyn."
The sign looked to be in good condition and of quality wood. Its beveled edges were laminated with resin, and the text on the wood itself was golden filigree. Nothing about it looked worn or faded.
"Looks like they just put up new signage," Logan said. "Think they're dealing with more traffic nowadays?" He doubted the blight had been the reason for the update since its presence hadn't yet reached this area. For that matter, it seemed strange they would bother updating it if it made its way here eventually and caused it to rot.
"Hm? Oh, no, this has been here since I was a kid." Cassandra chuckled lightly to herself and pointed to a spot on the sign's stem as they reached it. Among a bunch of other markings, she singled out a scratched CV.
"Cassandra Varesh," Logan mused. "I wouldn't have expected you to deface public property.
"I was young," she said as if scolding her younger self, although playfully. "Anyway, this is top-tier signage by master carpenter Ulfric Haystrom. He also designed my family's estate, and the city uses him regularly."
Logan nodded thoughtfully, then pointed to a messier bit of script right below her initials. "Who's SV?" The two entries looked to have been written at the same time, but by different hands.
"My brother, Stetson." Her eyes pinched lightly as she traced his initials with her fingertips, then she shook her head with a bittersweet smile as she cast some memory away. "We used to be much closer. Now he's inseparable from my father. He hasn't written to me once since I've been away."
"I think I see the walls," said Senna.
Mishki beside her gasped.
Senna smirked. "A lot nicer than Gnashridge Heights' palisades, isn't it?"
The goble nodded, still slack-jawed
Logan walked further to take in the sight too. As the thick canopy overhead thinned out, Logan couldn't help but be impressed too.
Massive graystone walls, easily five times his height, surrounded the city perimeter. But unlike the blocky defenses he'd seen in historical videos of fortresses, these walls were elegant. Pale vines carved into the surface wound between columns of gilded reliefs, and statues stood in recessed alcoves at every few spans, ranging from armored figures with cloaks flowing in imagined wind, to stern-faced scholars, each holding different emblems of academia likely tied to the city's history. The archways were pointed, with lacquered gates and inlaid with brass.
Beyond the walls, the city climbed gently upward along a shallow hill. Old stone towers rose over wide cobbled streets, their pointed roofs tiled in green and blue slate. Unlike Gnashridge's rustically scattered feel, Caerwyn balanced open spaces with grand plazas, tiered balconies, and circular courtyards woven into its dense residential sectors like a carefully designed tapestry. Smoke curled lazily from distant chimneys despite the pleasant weather, most likely from forges, and the sound of faint bells echoed from within.
"About time," said Alden. "I can't wait for Bromlin to take a bath."
They all laughed. They knew the real reason for Alden's eagerness to be in the city was to distill the toadkin cores and receive a skill that would work with his Life affinity.
Logan was also excited to turn in some of his quests. That reminded him he wanted Mariv's advice.
Logan: Hi Mariv.
Mariv: Logan! How goes the adventure? Any exciting updates with those perks?
Logan had already told the gnome about the quest completion with the divining rod.
Logan: I've decided on two specific ones. I unlocked one called Force of Habit. It gives me more flexibility and control with my Slipstream Mirage. I also got one called Walls Have Eyes which is great for detecting enemies through solid objects. I have the Void affinity now, but I still need one more level in CryoPyre to unlock its perk. The closer we've gotten to Caerwyn, the fewer threats there have been to grind against.
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Mariv: When will you reach the city?
Logan: Now, actually. That's why I wanted to check in. I know the others just have to be near me or Mishki for your level-cloaking skill to work, but I don't actually know how far the range from either of us is.
Mariv: The range is 5 miles, so anywhere in the city should be fine. They'll see you all as level 16. What level are you now?
Logan opened his status screen. He was only checking his level, but he was curious about the full spread, especially over the past few days of grinding. A special pride bloomed in his chest to see how far he had come.
Name: Logan Vitali
Race: Human, Exalted Kin (Masked)
Level: 30
Trait: Measured Touch
Heritage Boon: Forked Gambit, Core Cracker
Affinity: Void (Active); Life, Dream (Inactive)
Harmonic Threads: (2 of 3)
Health: 420/420
Stamina: 626/626
Stats:
STR: 73
END: 71
DEX: 98
AGL: 75
INT: 116
PER: 167
WIL: 128
CHA: 6
Free Points: 4
Core Skills:
Aetherlens (L), lv 24
Analyze (C), lv 31
Threshold Perk: Hidden Gleams (Identify standalone components)
Climbing (C), lv 36
Threshold Perk: Vicelock (Enhanced grip while stationary)
Crafting (C), lv 21
Meditate (U), lv 32
Threshold Perk: Pacifist Mindset (Meditate in combat)
Running (C), lv 30
Threshold Perk: Fleetframe (Reduced inertia penalty)
Stealth (C), lv 27
Threshold Perk: Shadowed Edge (Improved action outcomes while hidden)
Veilpiercer (L), lv 8
Resistance Skills:
Acid Resistance (R), lv 16
Cold Resistance (U), lv 13
Heat Resistance (U), lv 18
Pain Resistance (C), lv 42
Combat Skills:
Aerial Combat (R), lv 20
Gauntlet Mastery (R), lv 21
Parry (R), lv 4
Sharpshooter (U), lv 18
Void-Aligned Skills (Active):
CryoPyre (L), lv 24
Emburden Sigil (R), lv 15
Null Pulse (E), lv 33
Unrelenting Hunt (E), lv 27
Life-Aligned Skills (Inactive):
Eldertread (E), lv 33
Feral Echo (E), lv 27
Threshold Perk: Walls Have Eyes (Detect life through solid objects)
Invigorating Flame (L), lv 24
Wellspring Sigil (R), lv 15
Dream-Aligned Skills (Inactive):
Dreambrand (L), lv 24
Mindmirror Sigil (R), lv 15
Moodprint (E), lv 27
Slipstream Mirage (E), lv 33
Threshold Perk: Force of Habit (Up to three afterimages)
Utility Skills:
Interdimensional Storage Ripple
Quest Board III
Tetherlink Contract
Titles:
Giant Slayer X (+12 STR, +15 END, +12 WIL)
Intrepid Explorer II (+5 INT, PER, WIL)
Lizardboy II (+15 WIL)
Mold Breaker II (+4 END)
Monster Slayer III (+6 END, DEX, INT)
Regurgitation Station V (—)
Other:
Bounty of Silence: 1.5x Meditate efficacy; Concentration multi-focus
Talent:
Missing
He brought himself back to task and answered Mariv's question.
Logan: I'm level 30. The others are all about the same.
Mariv: Oh, and Razor is asking about Nugget.
Logan: He's doing great. I think he has a new skill now, too. I don't know the name, but I think it helps him sense rare types of loot. He helped Alden find a Life Affinity drop.
Mariv: Marvelous. Once you complete your bond with him, you'll be able to see the full details of each of his skills.
Logan: That would be awesome. We're keeping Nugget hidden once we enter the city, but I'll figure out how to complete that bonding without anyone seeing us. But hey, I actually had another question. I wanted your thoughts on how to handle this quest. It's related to finding the lost members of the guild.
Mariv: Go ahead.
Logan had already told Mariv how they had discovered the blast that had seemed to take down the guild members. The force had been strong enough to level Eurelius's cottage from all that distance, after all. While they hadn't found any bodies, they didn't know if the toadkins ate corpses, or if the sludge-like blight had decomposed them. Both were grisly thoughts.
Logan: We recovered a message from someone named Amatra. Whoever they were, it sounds like they were possibly an insider at the Adventurers' Guild or else just closely monitoring them. Either way, Amatra seemed to have a last-minute realization that the explosion would happen and wanted to inform the Mages' Guild, even suspecting they might die without having the chance to tell the guild personally. We've been keeping our eyes open for any signs of Amatra passing through the area, but we've found nothing. The quest gives us the option to pass Amatra's message along to the Mages' Guild or to inform the Adventurers' Guild about the knowledge. We already know Thessin thought Vellia was tampering with the mana-scarring detection devices. Based on this new information, though, it sounds like the Mages' Guild had also been using Amatra to try to plant an interfering calibration into the device.
Mariv: Hm. So, we are possibly dealing with a dual sabotage?
Logan: That's what I'm thinking makes the most sense. But anything is possible. Maybe Amatra had performed the miscalibration and Vellia had tried to undo it. Or maybe Vellia was trying to skew the miscalibration even more. What do you think of telling one guild or the other?
Mariv: I'm afraid I can't say for sure. But if this has anything to do with the blight's origin, it goes beyond either guild. Unless you find a compelling reason to trust one over the other, you may be better off checking if this relates to what happened in my own homeland, the Waterwoods, first.
Logan: Okay. Thanks.
When they neared the city's main gate, they funneled into a line of other travelers, and Nugget hid inside Logan's shirt. Some traffic looked like tourists, while others were merchants carting wares on wagons.
Mishki shrank in on himself at the number of people. Bromlin, who was closest in size to Mishki, gave the goble a dwarven cloak and a helmet. It fit the goble loosely and the helmet wobbled with each step he took, but it hid his features well enough.
Most people near enough to see an apparent dwarf with such a slender build cast curious looks at the goble, but he wore his adventurer pin prominently on his cloak, and that did enough to deter questions.
It was the same for the guards, who let them pass. It actually surprised Logan to see so many people wearing full sets of armor or concealed by hooded cloaks. They were entering a city. It wasn't like they were going into war.
"You'd think," he said, "the guards would be worried about someone dressed head-to-toe in metal and resting a greatsword on their shoulder might cause trouble if someone gets on their bad side."
Cassandra shook her head. "Most of the major cities are built up around special sites of power. It allows them to enforce city-wide protections that immobilize any hostile attacks and makes the entire city a safe place."
"And," added Senna, "don't forget about the Thieves' Guild. Some people wear all that armor to hide their identities. But since the guards don't have to worry about attacks, they leave things alone. At least, assuming things here are similar to other cities I've been in. If they go poking around or making everybody show their faces and they end up interfering with Thieves' Guild matters, it can turn out badly for them."
Mishki didn't seem to mind hiding his identity, but Logan didn't like it. Mishki was a hero, not a villain.
It would be one thing explaining that to the Adventurers' Guild so Mishki wouldn't have to hide his identity in the guild hall. But getting word out to the entire city? Unless they found a way to do that, Mishki would have to stay in disguise most places they went, and it didn't seem fair.
That was only one of many things on their plates, though. And a lot of that had to be done covertly.
Fortunately, he had plucked a whole lot of shadeshrub.