Give the Dwarves Their Due 1 (2/2)
...and as his ministers gasped, he took out his son's coin.
Cecelia caught it by sheer reflex, as he flipped it to her. “This should cover the components she needs for a new Steam Knight suit. And if it doesn't, talk to the tallyman and take mine.”
“Sir... no...” whispered Bazdra.
“My heir's dead, I'm the last of my clan here, I've got no blood who might need it after I die,” Grundi snapped. “What are two pieces of Adamant in the face of all that, hm?”
“Adamant!” Garon shrieked, and stared around the room. At the hundreds of coins, filling hundreds of plaques. Just sitting there, next to the candles... “This is... the cost must...” He snapped his mouth shut. “This is the safest room in the hold, isn't it?” He said, conversationally.
“Oh yeah,” Hidon confirmed, recovering from his shock. “Little doll girl, I hope you know the honor the King just paid you.”
“Why?” Cecelia said, staring down at the coin, and up to the King.
He smiled, sad then, eyes misty. “Because he, too, believed in peace.” He glanced over to Gudrun. “Get them settled. Bazdra, keep them alive. The rest of you, come with me.”
*****
Two hours later, in a simple chamber decorated with hand-woven rugs and tapestries ranging from children's first attempts to masterpieces that must have taken years to finish, Graves and the golems and their cats stretched out behind a closed door and huddled together to discuss matters.
“So we've pretty much got free run of the place, so long as Bazdra or the other ministers are with us, right?” Kayin asked.
“Yes,” Threadbare said. “Though we need to be careful. The Lurker is probably going to try to kill anyone of us he can catch.”
“He can try,” Zuula said.
“He can do more than that,” Garon said. “If the Hand are actually the remnants of the Seven, then the Lurker's probably what remains of Graham.”
“Oh shit,” Madeline said. “That's wahse than just assassination.”
“What's worse?” Fluffbear squeaked.
“Graham was a con man, a grifter for the greater good,” Cecelia said. “The first one to unlock the gambler job... well, in Cylvania, anyway. He favored range attacks, bluffs, and cons that usually put the Seven's foes in a bad tactical position. If the daemon has any of his skills, he's going to come at us using people, and in a way that we won't be expecting. He was also a master of disguise.”
“Can he disguise himself as a doll?” Graves asked. “If there's size limitations we might be good.”
“Except for you,” Zuula pointed out.
“Right.” Graves sighed. “Groups. Nobody does anything alone until this is over.”
“That's going to be a bit rough,” Garon said, glancing toward Zuula, then quickly away before she could see him. “I mean, some of you have valuable jobs to montage, and armor to build, but some of us won't have much to do. I... I'd really like to help here, but I don't know how.”
“I've thought of that, actually. I think there might be a way you could help, you all could if you're willing,” Cecelia said. “I'm going to be stuck putting together my new armor, and montaging.”
“I'll be montaging as well.” Threadbare said, then frowned. “Maybe not. I taught you golemist.”
“You did, though I've barely used it. But I see where you're going with this.” Graves nodded. “I could montage it to other people easily enough.”
“I'm down for being useful,” Glub said. “Beats staring at the walls.”
“Good.” Cecelia leaned forward. “Gudrun tells me the two coins will cover the Steam Knight armor and the reagents to golemize most of our dead, but there's about forty or so left-uncovered. So we need a lot of money... or we need more sources of reagents. And since we're free to roam the city, we've got every legal reason to enter the dungeon that they've got down here.”
“Wait, whoa, dungeon?” Garon said, leaning forward. “I've never heard of one here.”
“Oh yeah. It's a well-kept secret outside these halls. I only knew about it because of the Lurker's intelligence reports. It's legal to go in, unlike a lot of the Crown-controlled dungeons were. The downside is that it's way more dangerous than Catamountain was. You know how that one was all about cats? This one's themed around giants.”
”Worth a shot,” Zuula decided. ”Ogre went down pretty easy, all t'ings considered. How hard giants be?”
”Mind you, that's also going to be a lure. We'll raid in and out of the dungeon, and try to tempt the Lurker into ambushing us when he thinks we're weakest- emerging from a dungeon.” Cecelia explained. ”But I've got an ace to play, there.”
”Yeah?” Kayin said, scooting in closer.
”I couldn't say anything before, because there were too many people listening, but we've got an old friend, one who'll probably be happy to help us. If she's alive, and if she's here. But I can't imagine she WOULDN'T be here.”
”Oh?” Garon asked. Then, ”oh.”
”Yeah. Once things are quiet, let's break out the dollseyed mice, Threadbare, and do some exploring. And if we're very, very lucky we might be able to track down Beryl Wirebeard...”
THREADBARE'S CHARACTER SHEET
Spoiler: Spoiler
Name: Threadbare
Age: 5
Jobs:
Greater Toy Golem Level 15
Cave Bear Level 12
Ruler Level 12
Scout Level 7
Tailor Level 11
Model Level 10
Necromancer Level 11
Duelist Level 6
Animator Level 12
Enchanter Level 10
Golemist Level 14
Smith Level 11
Sculptor Level 12
Attributes:
Strength: 125 Constitution: 140 Hit Points: 335(435) Armor: 52(65)
Intelligence: 226 Wisdom: 204(211) Sanity: 430(584) Mental Fortitude: 42
Dexterity: 147(154) Agility: 118(125) Stamina: 275() Endurance: 62
Charisma: 120(149) Willpower: 211 Moxie: 331(460) Cool: 20(48)
Perception: 125 Luck: 92(99) Fortune: 217(324) Fate: 15(22)
Generic Skills
Brawling - Level 43 (+14)
Climb - Level 13
Clubs and Maces - Level 9
Dagger - Level 9
Dodge - Level 9
Fishing - Level 1
Magic Item 1 - Resist Fire 13
Ride - Level 8
Stealth - Level 17
Swim - Level 5
Greater Toy Golem Skills
Adorable - Level 32
Bodyguard - Level 7
Gift of Sapience - Level NA
Golem Body - Level 28
Innocent Embrace - Level 14
Magic Resistance -Level 16
Cave Bear Skills
Animalistic Interface - NA
Claw Swipes - 26
Darkspawn - NA
Forage - 13
Growl - 2
Hibernate - 37
Scents and Sensibility - 20
Stubborn - 9
Toughness - 20
Ruler Skills
Appoint Official - Level NA
Emboldening Speech - Level 19
Identify Subject - Level 10
It's Good to be King - NA
King's Quest - Level 14
Noblesse Oblige - Level 30
Organize Minions - Level NA
Royal Audience - Level 22
Simple Decree - Level 15
Swear Fealty - Level NA
Scout Skills
Alertness - Level 3
Best Route - Level 3
Camouflage - Level 13(20)
Firestarter - Level 10
Keen Eye - Level 10
Sturdy Back - Level 13
Wind's Whisper - Level 15
Tailor Skills
Adjust Outfit - Level 4
Clean and Press - Level 15
Recycle Cloth - Level 1
Tailoring - Level 53(68)
Model Skills
Adjust Weight - Level 14
Call Outfit - Level 4
Dietary Restriction - Level 50 (+100 to all pools)
Fascination - Level 8
Flex - Level 20
Makeup - Level 10
Self-Esteem - Level 20
Sexy Pose - Level 2
Strong Pose - Level 15
Work it Baby - Level 50 (+50% to raw item bonuses)
Necromancer Skills
Assess Corpse - Level 12
Command the Dead - Level 28
Deathsight - Level 8
Drain Life - Level 7
Invite Undead - Level 12
Mana Focus - Level NA (+11% to sanity)
Skeletons - Level 19
Soulstone - Level 45
Speak With Dead - Level 24
Zombies - Level 3
Duelist Skills
Challenge - Level 9
Dazzling Entrance - Level 17
Fancy Flourish - Level 13 (20)
Guard Stance - Level 19
Parry - Level 10
Swashbuckler's Spirit - NA (+14 to cool)
Swinger - Level 2
Weapon Specialist - Level 29 (Brawling +14)
Animator Skills
Animus - Level 36
Animus Blade - Level 10
Animus Shield - Level 4
Arm Creation - Level 7
Command Animus - Level 19
Creator's Guardians - Level 27
Dollseye - Level 18
Eye for Detail - Level 20
Magic Mouth - Level 18
Mend - Level 40
Enchanter Skills
Appraise - Level 30
Boost+5 - Level 14
Boost +10 - Level 2
Disenchant - Level 7
Elemental Protection - Level 9
Glowgleam - Level 26
Harden - Level 32
Soften - Level 31
Spellstore I - Level 25
Spellstore V - Level 4
Spellstore X - Level 1
Wards - Level 2
Golemist Skills
Clay Golem - Level 2
Command Golem - Level 24
Golem Animus - Level 47
Golem Guardians - NA
Invite Golem - Level 12
Mend Golem - Level 29
Program Golem - Level 42
Toy Golem - Level 56
Wood Golem - Level 12
Smith Skills
Adjust Arms and Armor - Level 7
Refine Ore - Level 13
Smelt Down - Level 6
Smithing - Level 50
Sculptor Skills
Detect Clay - Level 8
Mend Ceramic - Level 5
Refine Clay - Level 16
Sculpting - Level 58
Equipment
Journeyman Tailor's Apron of fire resistance (+6 Armor, +10 Tailoring, Resist Fire 9)(+3 Armor, +5 Tailoring, +4 Resist Fire from WIB)
Okay Quality Bling
Ringtail Master's Coat (+5 CHA, +5 LUCK, +5 Armor, +5 Fate)(+2 CHA, LUCK, Armor, Fate from WIB)
Rod of Baronly Might (+5 CHA, +5 WIS, +10 Cool)(+2 CHA, WIS, +5 Cool from WIB)
Sneakypants (+5 Camouflage)(+2 Camouflage from WIB)
Yellow Belt of Bravado (+5 AGL, +5 DEX, +5 to the Fancy Flourish skill)(+2 AGL, DEX, Fancy Flourish from WIB)
Toy Top Hat (CHA +10)(+5 CHA from WIB)
Inventory
A Folded-steel Dagger (Dagger Level 10)
Tailor's Tools
A small jewelry box, now empty.
1 bead of Mend Golem (Level 15)
1 bead of Silent Killer (Level 10)
Minorphone (Enhances voice and social skills focused through it twice per day)
Quests
Unlocked Jobs
Berserker, Cleric, Cook, Cultist, Grifter, Spirit Medium, Tamer, Wizard