Chapter 247: Wingwoman (2/2)
The dwarf laughed at that, “Agreed. It’s much safer here though. There are camps down there but the mechanical gateways, doors and magical barriers the city had put in place between the layers are broken. Beasts capable of slaughtering this whole town can roam up as far as even the city itself. The ones remaining down there are either more capable or just a little more crazy than me.”
“Why don’t the monsters come up here too? If they roam as far as the city below then why not up to Hallowfort?”
The dwarf looked at her a little confused, “They dislike the mana of course. It’s much more dense down there, more so the further you go. You’re human right? Didn’t you notice anything different when coming north? You should technically have difficulties breathing.”
Ilea shook her head, “I noticed it once when standing atop a mountain outside. Neither in the dungeons nor here though.”
“Interesting. Well you are above two hundred. Plus you probably have a resistance of some sort. Monsters born in dungeons rarely roam outside. Well it depends entirely on the beast but usually the like it inside or dislike it outside. Never wondered why the beasts here in the north never came to destroy your plains? Or our cities in the mountains?” The dwarf asked.
Ilea took a sip of ale, “I just thought it was too far away. Animals don’t like it in certain parts of the world. They need food and a climate according to their preferences…,”
“As well as mana.” She added, understanding it now. Perhaps that was also why elves didn’t like to enter dungeons. The higher density was something they disliked. Monsters were just the opposite she supposed, disliking the less dense mana.
Terok nodded, “Exactly. Plus right now I don’t have the coin to pay for a safe route down. Not worth it for me either. Maybe as soon as I get used to my advanced rig now but we’ll see where it will take me. There’s plenty to gain at the surface as well.”
“Well I’ll check it out sooner or later. First want to finish my current location.”
“Any chance of sharing that one with me?” Terok asked with a smile.
Ilea grinned, “Nah… maybe once I’ve stripped it of anything useful for me. For now you’ll stay content with my gift of steel.”
“Fair enough.”
They remained quiet for a while before Ilea spoke up again, “Any idea how people react to elves here?”
Terok raised his eyebrows and grunted, “Don’t think many have a grudge like you humans. Rarely travel north and they care little about the dwarves in the mountains. Why do you ask?”
Ilea smiled and finished her ale, “No reason in particular.” She lied, seeing no necessity to share the elf’s existence with him. She had no idea if she would tell him about Hallowfort and the city below at all but maybe once she’d explored a part of the dungeon. She owed nothing to either but until she could trust the elf completely she wouldn’t let him come close to the smith and dwarf. Their work being the main reason she could continue her adventuring with worthy gear.
Getting up, she summoned her helmet again, her blue eyes looking at the dwarf, “Come now. We’ll talk to Goliath and you can start your enchanting.”
He nodded and went into his machine, the thing closing with a hiss before its eyes started glowing lightly. It started moving a moment later with much more grace than before. “The metal really made that much of a difference?”
Terok laughed, his voice coming from the middle of the machine, “You have no idea. It’s like day and night.” She grunted and opened the door, the dwarf following before they walked down to Goliath’s forge.
Checking if she could heal the dwarf through his machine, she found it possible while a little subdued. “Do you have mana intrusion enchantments?”
“Yes but healing should get through mostly unhindered.” The answer came.
Would you listen to that? Might want to test Destruction on my dwarven friend…, She smiled and started healing him, of course not abusing him as a testing dummy. She had plenty of undead for that after all. He was a little apprehensive as she led him further in, the curse and health drain taking effect before the exoskeleton opened up, Terok puking on the ground while she healed him. “Come on, you’ll get used to it.”
He looked sick and pale but Ilea could tell he was fine through her healing magic. His health wasn’t falling thanks to her healing and the curse would soon get better as well. Getting a resistance skill wasn’t that difficult with a healer after all. “You’ll feel better in half an hour or so.”
“Half an hour… oh fucking hell.” He cursed but didn’t object, either because he would get a skill out of it or because he really did want to meet the smith.
“Truly… impressive work. I will finish the plating as the Ash hunter has requested. It would be a shame to leave such ingenuity trapped in an unsafe casing.” Goliath said, Ilea still holding on to Terok as she healed the damage done to him. Without a health drain resistance and apparently less health than what six hundred Vitality provided, she definitely needed to be there.
The dwarf had demonstrated some of the smaller tools, weapons and intricate movements he could now accomplish with the righe was wearing but she didn’t really understand the difference between what a conventional exoskeleton could do and his. The smith didn’t even ask for payment regarding the plating, her provision of the metal alone was enough coupled with Terok showing off the machine. Ilea had already stored the four armors already done, ready to be enchanted.
“Great, then we’re settled here.” She said as the dwarf thanked Goliath.
He smiled at her and nodded, “Sure. I’ll get right to enchanting. How will I get the remaining armors?”
The smith focused on him and spoke, “I will have someone bring them to you.”
Terok agreed and went back to his house with Ilea, the latter dropping the four finished armors near his work bench before she walked to the door, “I’ll get everything tomorrow. Think you’re done by then?”
He laughed and cracked open another bottle of ale, “For you, I’ll be done in the morning. Thank you again… truly!” Lifting his bottle towards her.
Ilea smiled under her helmet and nodded once, blinking out before she rushed off the side of the massive statue, her wings spreading to avoid walking through half the town. She had a new third tier ability to test and hopefully it would increase her kill speed on the knights a little. The dungeon below Hallowfort sounded very interesting but as long as she could still reasonably grow in Tremor, she would focus on that. At least for a while. The knights were around level two sixty to three twenty, most of them below three hundred.
Rushing back through the night, she checked for flying monsters when she glimpsed a dark vanishing presence in her sphere. Flying low enough to nearly touch the ground, she stopped as fast as she could but whatever it had been, the being had vanished already. At least I wasn’t torn to shreds… She thought and continued, a little more apprehensive of her surroundings. Her eyes hadn’t told her a thing about the monster her sphere had picked up. Maybe the Sphere would be a good skill too for a third tier… so much to learn.
The rest of the way was fine, a couple crows rushing towards her in the last stretch but they were far enough away to provide no danger. Somehow the beasts didn’t like going down into caves or even crevices, as much she had learned already. The miststalkers’ humming didn’t paralyze her anymore, allowing Ilea to use the upper parts of the cracks as hiding spots whenever she traveled through the night or trained with the beings in the first place.