She tsked and shook her head at him, “You are really quite bad at haggling, Lord Richter. Being kind is one thing, but don’t be a fool. As a leader, you must negotiate for the benefit of your people.”
Richter nodded and looked chastened, as if that hadn’t already occurred to him. “You’re right, Lady Hisako. I do need to think of my people. You know,” he said raising one finger as if in inspiration, “it just occurred to me that we could make a more formal agreement. If I were to say, oh, I don’t know, agree to provide ten enchanted swords per month for the foreseeable future, you might send me some experienced craftsmen to help grow my village.”
Her eyes narrowed, and a crafty glint entered her eye, “One craftsman for ten swords sounds very agreeable.”
The chaos seed sighed regretfully, “Any sprite is worth a mountain of gold, I fully agree. Unfortunately, I do not believe that only one craftsman would free up enough workers to be able to meet such a large order of enchanted swords each month.”
“How, pray tell, does a builder, crafter or alchemist keep your smiths from working?” she asked.
“If I have learned one thing from your lessons about nature, it is that all things are connected,” Richter responded, bowing his head. “Either way, I do of course agree to provide you with ten enchanted Life swords.”
He had apparently overplayed his hand because he received another, harder, rap on the head. Hisako softened it with a laugh, though. Richter heard her mutter “Fresh” under her breath, but then she placed one hand on his head and the other on his chest. Power pulsed down her arms, and he knew!
Congratulations! You have learned the spell: Minor Slow Heal! Restore 90 missing health over 60 seconds upon casting. This is a spell of Life Magic, level 9. Cost: 56 mana. Duration: 60 seconds. Range: Touch. Cast Time: 2 seconds. Cooldown: 1 min.
Congratulations! You have learned the spell: Weak Mend Bone! Fix small, uncomplicated breaks in bone. Must be targeted to each fracture. This is a spell of Life Magic, level 8. Cost: 59 mana. Duration: 1 second. Range: Touch. Cast Time: 3 seconds. Cooldown: 15 seconds.
Congratulations! You have learned the spell: Summon Weak Gold Fox! Summons a magical fox that will heal you and allies for one hundred points each. The fox may heal five times before disappearing. This is a spell of Life Magic, level 10. Cost: 102 mana. Duration: 14 minutes. Range: 11 feet. Cast Time: 3 seconds. Cooldown: 4 hours.
Congratulations! You have learned the spell: Weak Static Life Shield! Creates a magical sphere around you comprised of Life magic. The shield has 100 HPs. Shield defense strength +3 (+9 vs Death attacks). Ineffective against Life attacks. Only your Life-based spells may leave the boundaries of the shield. Physically touching your own shield will dispel it. This is a spell of Life Magic, level 10. Cost: 127 mana. Duration: 5 minutes. Range: Self. Cast Time: 2 seconds. Cooldown: 38 minutes.
Congratulations! You have learned the spell: Summon Minor Chokespore Arachnid! Summons a level twelve Chokespore Arachnid. This is a spell of Earth Magic, level 9. Cost: 117 mana. Duration: 14 minutes. Range: 8 feet. Cast Time: 4 seconds. Cooldown: 92 minutes.
Congratulations! You have learned the spell: Minor Chitin Carapace! Covers the target in a flexible carapace. Natural armor increased by +6. This is a spell of Earth Magic, level 9. Cost: 68 mana. Duration: 25 minutes. Range: 3 feet. Cast Time: 2 seconds. Cooldown: 27 minutes.
Congratulations! You have learned the spell: Weak Static Earth Shield! Creates a magical sphere around you comprised of Earth magic. The shield has 200 HPs. Shield defense strength +5 (+15 vs Air attacks). Does not protect vs Earth attacks. Only your Earth-based spells may leave the boundaries of the shield. Physically touching your own shield will dispel it. This is a spell of Earth Magic, level 10. Cost: 136 mana. Duration: 10 minutes. Range: Self. Cast Time: 2 seconds. Cooldown: 24 minutes.
Congratulations! You have learned the spell: Weak Mirror Image! A duplicate image of yourself is summoned nearby. It will duplicate your actions with small variations to take terrain into account. Number of images is determined by Light Magic/5. Max 5 images. This is a spell of Light Magic, level 7. Cost: 61 mana. Duration: 8 minutes. Range: Self. Cast Time: 1 second. Cooldown: 10 minutes.
Congratulations! You have learned the spell: Weak Magic Missiles! This spell produces colorful balls of magical force that fly unerringly towards the enemy. Each sphere causes 4-5 points of magical force damage. Each sphere can be directed towards different enemies. Number of missiles is determined by (1 + Light Magic/5). Maximum 7 missiles. This is a spell of Light Magic, level 5. Cost: 38 mana. Duration: Instant. Range: 100 yards. Cast Time: 1 second. Cooldown: 5 minutes.
Richter mind swelled from the sudden and almost simultaneous flood of information. He drew in a ragged breath and coughed as it came out. A tear formed in the corner of one eye. It wasn’t exactly pain, but more that his brain needed time to process of all of the new spells. He went down on all fours, and, for the next few seconds, it was all he could do not to tip over. Even the awesomeness of learning two shield spells and one of his old favorites, Weak Magic Missile, couldn’t make him rally. The chaos seed remained kneeling until his head stopped spinning.
When his breathing was under control, he looked up and saw Hisako looking at him. “I didn’t expect you to be quite so… generous with new spells,” he said.
She reached out and touched him lightly on the cheek with an open hand. Her voice was kind when she said, “Such is the bounty of being an ally of the Hearth Mother. Now that that is completed, however,” her voice grew deadly playful, “let us formalize our trade agreement.”
The two of them spoke for a quarter of an hour, battering lightly back and forth, but they agreed on terms easily enough. Richter hoped his negotiations with other heads of state would go as easily, but he had a feeling that the agreement was reached quickly because of the strong relationship between himself and the Hearth Mother. She even agreed to supply a certain amount of filled common soul stones each month, if he agreed to make the enchantments rank three or better. When they were done, they were both satisfied. He agreed to supply even more weapons each month, but got a great deal in response. Richter was rewarded with a series of notifications.
Quest Update: Steel for Magic I. You have accepted payment for ten swords enchanted with Life magic, high steel or better. Deliver the swords within one month or suffer major penalties!
Congratulations! You have created your first Trade Treaty with another settlement! The terms of this treaty cannot be cancelled for half a year, though it can be renegotiated at any time with the consent of both parties. Failure to fulfill the terms of a Trade Treaty can have SERIOUS consequences. Early delivery may be negotiated and looked upon favorably.
The Mist Village offers:
The Hearth Tree offers:
15 enchanted swords per month:
Material - High steel or better
Enchantment rank - 3 or better
Quality - Superb or better