Damien smiled and walked over to a nearby rock, “Never underestimate a sprite.” He dragged his claws across the stone. There was a strange and faint hissing sound, not at all like the screech Richter expected to hear from dragging sharp metal across rock. Damien moved his hand out of the way, and Richter saw four distinct grooves in the rock. Shocked, Richter ran his finger over the furrows and found them to be smooth. There wasn’t even any dust. The chaos seed turned back to the grinning sprite and activated his Talent, Identify Enchantments II.
You have found:
Sprite Claws of Sublimation
Durability: 42/45
Item Class: Unusual
Quality: Superb
Weight: 1.4 kg
Traits: Activating the enchantment in these gauntlets will cause most forms of common rock to turn to gas
Charges: 253/257
“I… WANT… ONE!” Richter said. These things were amazing! If he could find a way to learn this enchantment, the possibilities were endless. Watch out Tokra, he could make insta-tunnels too! What if he could apply the enchantment to a pick axe? The productivity of his ore gatherers would sky rocket!
“These are not trinkets to just be given out,” Yoshi said severely. “They are only given to those who have undergone the Uddo Rengai.” Then his face softened somewhat, while somehow a cruel glint found its way onto his face. “You have proven yourself to be a trustworthy person, however, and I am happy to call you an ally. Perhaps you would like to undergo this training once we are done with this little task. In fact, I strongly recommend it.”
You have been offered a Quest: Uddo Rengai I. Your relationship with sword adept Yoshi has progressed to the point that he has offered to let you undergo a secret form of sprite training. Your Gift of Tongues ability translates this as ‘Trial of the Wood Spirit.” From his tone and phrasing, it is clear that refusing this training, would be unwise for your relationship with him… and possibly for your health. Reward(s): A set of Sprite Claws of Sublimation. Other unknown benefits from training. Penalty for Failure to accept or complete this Quest: Loss of relationship rank with Sword Adept Yoshi. Do you accept? Yes or No?
“Uhhh, I’d be honored?” Richter responded. It was half question half answer.
“Yes,” Yoshi said as if Richter’s answer had been a foregone conclusion. “Back to the matter at hand. My team will scale the ravine walls and cross over the top of the wall. From that side, with the help of your leech poison, we will be able to kill all of the goblins on this side of the wall. You and Sion must remain behind.”
“Look, I know I haven’t undergone your trial yet, but I can climb. Sion here is like a monkey. Just give us a spare set of the claws, and we’ll help. I promise I’ll give them back after.”
“No, battle sergeant,” Yoshi said. His use of Richter’s War Leader rank made the chaos seed pay close attention. It was almost like half-sprite was showing him respect. “I no longer doubt that you were a valuable addition to this squad, but you do not know how to move laterally across stone while ensuring that not a single pebble falls to tell of your passage. You would put us in danger. Also, you have your own battle to fight.”
Yoshi looked at him and meaningfully tapped the red dots still in the ravine. Richter understood immediately, “The patrol.”
“Yes,” the adept said nodding. “It will take my squad some time to scale the cliff and move past the gate. Those four goblins will make it back here before we can kill all of the gate guards. If they see their guards missing, they will raise the alarm. You and Sion need to kill them before the patrol gets suspicious. Richter, you have proven yourself an able warrior. I can leave members of my strike team to help you if necessary, but that will greatly decrease our chances to kill the gate guards quietly. Waiting for the rest of the army to come is not an option. If the patrol gets to the end of the ravine and sees their sentries gone, they will raise the alarm, and the mission will fail. Similarly, if you cannot silence the patrol all at once, and they raise the alarm while we are still climbing. While we are climbing, we will be vulnerable, and many of us will die. Speak true, Lord Richter. Can I trust you to kill the patrol quietly?”
Quest Update: Bloodstone I. The success of the mission rests upon you. Yoshi is confident that his strike force can kill the gate guards despite being outnumbered. The patrol of four goblins is already returning, however. You must kill them quietly. Yoshi will leave you extra men to help, but that would endanger his half of the attack. Penalty for Failure: The possible death of Yoshi’s entire strike force and failing the Quest. Can you and Sion kill the goblin patrol quietly? Yes or No?
Richter didn’t hesitate. A great many things had changed since he had come to The Land, but his ability to make a split-second decision when it was required was not one of them. “Those goblins are going to die, and I’m going to be the one that kills them.”
Yoshi extended an arm, and Richter reached out as well. The two clasped wrists and met eyes. Then, with a firm shake, the adept let go and told his men to move out. Alma flew back over the ravine. The patrol was still moving towards the gate, so the strike force started jogging down the crevasse as well. The more ground they could cover before starting to climb, the better.
The claws were amazing, but it looked like they burned through the magic of the enchantment fairly quickly. Based on what Richter had seen, the claws might only have about five minutes of continuous activation time before the charges ran out. A quick round of questioning showed that none of the sprites had the enchantment skill, which meant that they couldn’t use soul stones to replenish the charges. Damien assured him, though that they were trained for these types of scenarios.
They traveled half way down the ravine, and then the strike squad began its ascent. The sprites were natural climbers. Augmented by the magic in their gauntlets and even more so by the climbing spikes, they were able to move upward at the speed of a slow walk. Within a few minutes, they were several dozen yards up, and if not for the Night Vision spell, Richter and Sion wouldn’t have been able to see them. True to Yoshi’s word, not a single pebble fell to give away their passage.
Richter, Sion, and the shale adder continued forward. They had chosen a switchback in the ravine as their ambush point. The snake’s scales had already changed to match the grey rocky ground it was slithering over. The location they had chosen had several small boulders that should still be large enough for the cloaked Companions to hide behind. They found their positions and began to prepare.
Both men anointed arrows with leech poison. When Richter viewed the arrows in his virtual inventory, a small green teardrop icon appeared next to them. The poison status would not last long, but it would remain long enough for them to spring their trap. With that thought, the chaos seed reviewed the traps in his Bag to see if they could help.