Steelforged Legacy 4 - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Einar and Vibeke went first, turning in the wooden plaques that they’d gotten for their kills during the trials.

Apparently, the Roaring Mountain worked with an internal system of points that they scored based on the work you did for the clan. Craftsfolk earned based on items they created, hunters on the quarry they brought in, and so on. One could exchange the points directly into coins, or trade it for goods and services. This not only allowed the clan to reward the work of its members, but it also allowed them to act as a bank of sorts.

Vibeke and Einar earned about the same amount—around three hundred points—for the auroch they’d brought back as part of the trials. There was a bit of difference between the two based on the poundage of meat recovered, but they were within fifteen points of each other.

“So the clan points vary in how they exchange for coin, depending on the values of certain goods,” the woman was explaining as she accepted the plaque from Casey and started skimming through her book. “They fix based off the trading rate of a particular good for coin. In this case, raw gold, silver, copper, and salt. The coin exchange rate for those is taken into account when the points exchange. This is to prevent people from playing games if the cost of silver drops but gold rises where they would exchange their points for one, sell it, then trade it back. We work to keep our trade here on par with that inside the valley. But if you happen to go on a long trip and make some good trades, then there isn’t a penalty or anything. They just don’t want backroom trading locally.”

“Makes sense,” Casey said with a nod. “It backs the points with an average value to make it another type of currency on par with the coinage without overshadowing one or the other. I take it that salt is a representative of material goods besides the precious metals?”

“Exactly,” the woman replied, shooting Casey a quick smile. “It makes for a bit of complicated mathematics, but thankfully they only adjust the points value when a market shift occurs or once a month.”

Gesturing over one shoulder, the woman indicated a large slab of blue-black slate streaked with chalk.

“The exchange rates are kept posted there, so that everyone is able to see them. When they change, we update the slate to ensure people know.”

Might be good to keep a variety of currencies on hand, Maude suggested. While they adjust to discourage people from working the market unfairly, it doesn’t hurt to have coin just in case you get a chance to make a bit extra on the exchange.

True, Casey replied to her mentally. But the opposite could also be the same, where the points end up being worth more if exchanged at a high and held. It’s complicated but also understandable. Basically the Roaring Mountain has instituted its own internal currency for internal trades.

“All right, it looks like…” the woman said as she scanned the page and then found the entry she was looking for.

Her eyebrows rose but she nodded once and then turned to rifle through a large cabinet full of both the half and full plaques.

A bit more searching found the correct plaque, and she pushed the two together. A flare of light and they sealed, getting another nod from the woman before she turned back.

“Drengr Casey, your current point total is four-hundred and forty-one,” the woman said as she turned back. Unlike with Einar and Vibeke, she had a large incisor in her hand, which she set on the counter.

“What’s this?” Casey asked, glancing down at the tooth.

“The butcher made a note that you had not claimed a trophy from your kill, so extracted one of the teeth and had it set aside for you. If you wish to forgo it, then I can add another twenty points back to the total?”

Keep it, Maude advised. You need more on your hunt-necklace than just Fomori trophies, love.

Casey just nodded and palmed the tooth, slipping it into his storage belt while making a mental note to braid the tooth onto his trophy necklace later.

“All right,” the assistant said with a smile, making a mark in her book before looking up at the three drengr in front of her. “What else did you need? You said you wanted supplies and equipment?”

“We aren’t really sure what is available,” Casey began to say only for the woman to interrupt him with an upheld hand.

“Of course, I can lead you back into the storeroom if you would like to browse a bit? I must remain with you, though, to supervise and document what you select.”

Having just been wondering how they might prevent theft with things like the storage belts, Casey nodded in understanding before glancing back at his companions.

“I’m game to look about,” Vibeke said with a shrug.

“It would be good to check and see what all is available,” Einar agreed. “While we may not have much right now, knowing what is on tap will help us quite a bit.”

“Before we go back,” the shop assistant said. “Do any of you want to exchange coins for points? We can always come back here and do it if you find something you want that is out of your current price range.”

“Let’s have a look first,” Casey suggested and got nods from his friends. “Might as well see what’s in the budget for those points.”

“Currently fangs are trading for fourteen points, if you remember that much it’ll be easy to convert your coins over,” the assistant said with a smile before flipping her book closed and tucking it under one arm. “If you’ll follow me?”

“Magnus, you need to wait outside,” Casey said without hesitation.

Aww, come on, brother! Magnus whined mentally, grunting low in his throat aloud. Why do you gotta do this to me? I wanna see what's in there!

“Can you promise not to try and steal anything off the shelves to eat?” Casey asked pointedly and the elk’s head dropped in a sulk. “That’s what I thought. It’s better not to tempt you unfairly. Go enjoy the sun for a bit, big guy.”

Magnus turned and sulked his way back out the doors, for all the world looking like a chastised puppy. A chastised puppy that perked up the second he thought he was out of sight and instead raced back to the feasting tables where food still sat out to steal.

“I don’t even want to think about what he’s going to snitch…” Einar muttered, grunting when Vibeke elbowed him playfully.

“Not our problem,” Casey replied with a smile. 

Don’t get into too much trouble, ideally don’t get caught at all, he sent to the Gladewalker Elk along their new mental bond.

You got it! replied Magnus, getting a snicker from Maude as well.

Following after the assistant, the trio of drengr paused at the large double doors as the woman pulled a medallion from under her tunic and swiped it before the doors’ locks.

A moment of grinding metal and stone came next before the doors swung open in front of her.

The room on the other side reminded Casey of the many general merchant shops that he’d visited over the last few months, but upsized to something reminiscent of a Costco as the cavern beyond yawned deep into the mountain.

“Thor’s left buttock…” Einar swore in wonder as he came to a stop on the other side of the door.

“Most people react like that when they see the storehouse for the first time,” chuckled their assistant as she gestured for them to follow. “Now, be aware that anything you take from the shelves will automatically be noted down. We are required to remind every person that theft is not tolerated in the Roaring Mountain. There are arrays that record the stocks here, and it will alert if anything goes missing that isn’t accounted for.”

“Got it,” Casey said automatically. “Don’t take something off the shelf if you don’t want to keep it.”

That got him a nod from the older woman before she turned to gesture out to the room.

The shelves closest to the door were the shortest, coming up to about breastbone-high and slowly rising from there. Those shelves closest to the doors held clothing, packs, basic tools, and cooking equipment that Casey could see at a glance. On racks further back he spotted weapons, armor, and foodstuffs.

“Generally, the rule is that the further from the doors, the more expensive something is,” explained their guide. “The closer to the door, the more ‘mortal’ an item is considered. So basic and nonmagical equipment is closest here.”

Gesturing to the ground underfoot, she directed their attention to the polished gray stone of the cavern.

“The floor will indicate what sector you are in. Gray stone is the mortal and mundane gear. Black stone is where the enchanted equipment begins, along with the qi-infused supplies like spirit-beast meat, cores, hides, and the like. When the black transitions to blue, that is when you are in the area reserved for those on the Immortal Journey. You can look through it, but do not touch anything. Those shelves have protective wards worked into them as touching those things may harm your cultivation.”

“Not to sound dishonest,” Casey asked as he studied the shelves for a moment before turning back to their guide. “But what keeps people from breaking in here to steal? There is such a great wealth here that it boggles my mind that only a set of doors keeps people out of this great collection of things…”

The woman’s smile didn’t fade, in fact it grew wider as she nodded along.

“It’s fine, Drengr. Many new recruits ask the same thing. It is one of the great arrays that have been worked into the Roaring Mountain itself. You cannot enter this room without one of the medallions like you saw me use, and they must be used by the person they are keyed to. All of us bearing one are bound by elaborate oaths of loyalty that prevent us from abusing them.”

“And if someone were to try and enter by force?” Vibeke asked, stepping forward to inspect a rack of multi-compartment packs.

“The wards would be enough to slow down even Queen Runa should she try to break through them,” their guide said confidently. “And loud enough that it would rally the entire garrison of drengr in the Roaring Mountain along with their partnered animals. Even someone at the end of the Immortal Journey would struggle enough to be brought down by the combined might of the clan.”

“Good to know that this is so secure then,” Casey murmured while studying the racks. “Shall we have a bit of a walk to look for things we need?”

“What should we prioritize?” Einar asked as their group slowly moved into the racks. He paused to gesture towards an entire shelf filled with wrapped bundles of dried fruits. “Quality food makes time in the  field far more comfortable, but you two are still missing some of your supplies, right?”

“Yes, I need to replace some of the more random pieces, like my fire-hook for the kettle and the like,” Casey said as he glanced over the selection of food. “A good amount of what we lost was replaced by the Roaring Mountain already, but if you wanted to get more comfortable tents or bedding, that might not be bad either…”

“I’m fine with what I have,” Vibeke said with a shake of her head. “Let’s just browse and see what is worth what. I’m with Einar that good food would help, but qi-infused meats and fruits are most important. If we can find a grove like those plums then I’d want to stock up.”

With that in mind, their guide gestured for them to follow her and stepped into the racks of supplies.

<><><>

In the end, all three of them spent all of their points and dipped into their coin reserves as well to properly restock and fill out their supplies.

Einar, since he still had everything that he had brought with him, ended up using his points to purchase qi-infused food as well as an enchanted drinking horn that would purify liquids put into it. His rationalization was that they could use it to ensure clean drinking water and that was going to be very important on longer trips.

Vibeke replaced what she’d lost in the way of camping, cooking, and everyday care goods such as combs and brushes for her hair, maintenance supplies for her weapons, and spare strings for her bow. The bulk of her points got invested in qi-infused foods though, as they made the most sense at their current stage of development.

Casey spent over half of his point total on qi-infused foods, getting a mixed supply of qi-grains and regular ones to supplement Magnus’ food as well. He also got a good supply of spirit-beast jerky and dried fruits as well. The rest of his funds, Casey spent on filling out his equipment needs.

As he and Maude had discussed, there was a great deal of utility in having a storage belt like his. So Casey purchased several of the round, wooden shields with iron banded edges. Given that he could swap them out easily enough, they had decided that using the mortal wood and metal ones would be fine for now.

Casey also bought a quiver and a half-dozen javelins to go along with his hunting bow to have an option for ranged weapons, with Maude promising him internally to teach him how to use the javelins properly.

But what took up the remainder of his points and the majority of the coin that Casey had left was the fourteen elemental cores that he found sitting in an elaborately carved stone bowl on a shelf at the end of the row.

The bowl itself was divided into four sections, with two red cores shaped like bits of charcoal that still glowed with fire, four blue stones shaped like droplets, one white stone that was perfectly round, and seven rough gray stones that looked like regular rocks but shone with power.

Their assistant had been surprised when he requested those, and had even suggested that he choose from the spirit beast cores instead as they had far more of them and they were cheaper on a per-item basis. 

“Surely you would prefer all of the same elements as well, drengr?” the assistant had said.

“No, these are the ones I want. I’ll take the lot in the bowl, I’ll just need to exchange coin out front to have the whole amount.”

The older woman stared at him, confusion obvious in her gaze, but she didn’t argue beyond that. Since Casey didn’t have enough points in his ‘account’ to cover them, the assistant tucked the fourteen stones into a bag she produced from her belt.

Einar and Vibeke were both shooting Casey confused looks as well, but he ignored them for now. Instead, Casey tried to distract them by directing the group towards the weapons and armor, asking Einar to help him select the three shields he bought. 

In the end, Casey was left with a small handful of silver fangs in his money pouch, but he was able to buy all fourteen of the elemental cores.

As soon as the purchases were complete, he tucked the precious stones into his storage belt along with the other purchases where they were safely hidden away. 

It took another half-hour for Einar and Vibeke to get measured for their clan-tunics, each being issued three that were close enough for now once the measurements were taken.

“A normal supply will be sent to your rooms within the week. The tailors just need to adjust them properly,” their guide, who had finally given her name as Brigit, explained.

“That is wonderful, Brigit. We were told that you would also have our room assignments and keys here?” Casey asked while his two friends tucked their purchases away into the packs that Casey had returned for now.

“Yes, that was actually next on my list to cover, Drengr,” Brigit replied with an small smile. “Things are slightly different between you and your companions for that. Since you already have a spirit beast—if my guess about that rather fine horned fellow from earlier is on the mark—you have a choice of room assignments.”

While they’d been talking, a few more of the newly inducted drengr had trickled into the quartermasters and were talking with other assistants at the desks. So Casey had to lean in closer to hear what Brigit was saying now.

“Your next assignment is finding and bonding with a spirit beast, as you know,” Brigit explained, producing a pair of scrolls which she offered one each to Vibeke and Einar. “You have one year to find and bond with a spirit beast, but it is expected you bond within the next several months. In those scrolls are maps and recommendations of where the different clans of spirit beasts that the Roaring Mountain is allied with roam, as well as general directions on how to approach each of them.”

“Thank you, I was wondering about how we should go about that,” Vibeke said warmly, already undoing the bindings on her scroll to open it up. “I had half-expected us to have a class or some kind of training before they turned us loose, but none of the elders mentioned it last night and I forgot to ask until this morning.”

“There are training classes,” Brigit continued, making a note in her book once more and seeming to check something off of a list. “But they are more of a… remedial thing. If you are unable to locate and at least begin the bonding process within the first three months, you will be assigned to such classes. Once you have a partner, you can seek out seniors with similar partners to teach you, or pay for a trainer's time to assist you in the bonding. Your scrolls will give you general guidelines for things, but as I understand it, the more time you spend with your potential partner and the closer you get, the more likely for a bond to begin forming.”

“And when do we get to undergo the ceremony?” Einar asked eagerly.

“If you, like many others, end up with a young spirit beast then it is usually a few months after the nascent bond begins forming. The spirit beast must be old enough to understand and consent to the bonding for it to work, after all.”

“And they can do that within a year?” Casey asked curiously.

“Oh, yes!” Brigit replied with a rapid nod. “The spirit beasts mature remarkably quickly, and most are able to carry a rider within a year of bonding as their qi syncs with their partner to help them grow. There are more details in your scrolls, but your current goals are to locate and begin the process with a spirit beast. But for you, Drengr Casey, your goals are different.”

“I assumed as much,” Casey said good-naturedly and accepted the scroll Brigit offered him.

“You are to train as you see fit and work on deepening your bond with your partner. Each of you has been assigned suites down on the ground-level of one of the four spires, with den-space for your future partner adjoining your personal rooms. Once your bonds have developed enough, you and your partner can choose to take different rooms or remain together. Depending on the spirit beast, this may become mandatory, as the stone drakes and others like them grow to rather impressive sizes.”

“Interesting…” Casey murmured, unrolling his scroll and scanning over it. Between the magic that Loptr had used to teach him the spoken tongue of this world and Maude’s advice, he’d learned to read the script of this world and could make out what the scroll said. It was basically orders to do just as Brigit had described, though at the bottom was a note about a trainer of weapons and combat that would seek him out in a month’s time to begin private instruction per Queen Runa’s orders. At the bottom of the scroll was a room and peak designation: East peak, second row, fourth room. A small key was attached by a dollop of wax on a ribbon below it.

So we have a month to help Einar and Vibeke get their spirit beasts and start their bonding process then, Casey thought, letting his elbow brush against Maude’s pommel to transmit the thought to her.

Then we should not waste time, Maude advised. These two are nearly as determined as you, and I think Magnus could do with some cross-country time. If we let him graze and steal treats for too long, he’s going to get fat and lazy.

“Shall we go check our rooms and drop off anything we aren’t bringing with us?” Casey suggested, looking up from his scroll to see his two friends still studying their, much longer, scrolls.

“That sounds like a good idea, friend Casey,” Einar said, looking up while blinking rapidly. “There is much to digest here… I will need time to study, but we can do that on the road.”

“Agreed,” Vibeke said, moving far more briskly than Einar and rapidly rolling up her scroll to tuck into her pack. “Just as with the hunt, if we can get moving now, we will have an advantage over the slugs still sleeping in the lawn outside.”

“Not for too much longer,” Brigit said with a grin. “The elders will be going about to wake those still sleeping soon so that the thralls can begin cleaning up the mess to restore the familiar beauty to the central valley.”

“Then we should waste no more time,” Casey confirmed, getting nods from his two friends.