Chapter 9
The captain gave him a smile before turning to Marcus. “You may proceed.” He said before following the mayor out the door along with the scouts. Leaving him alone with Delores and the quartermaster. Marcus’ nostrils contracted as he took in a deep breath before flaring out as he exhaled with his eyes closed. Opening his eyes, he reached into a drawer before tossing something to him. Snatching it out of the air, Xane heard the distinctive clink of coins inside the heavy pouch.
“That’s your bounty for the gob ears.” He said, closing the drawer and standing. “The captain has given you permission to access the armory. He thinks you may find something you can use.” He said while moving out from his desk and heading for the door. Looking over his shoulder, Marcus let out a snort, seeing the look of surprise on Xane’s face. “Well, come on, I ain’t got all day.” He said before heading out the door.
Xane looked to Delores, who looked just a surprised as him before she noticed and began to urge him to follow with her hands. Shrugging, Xane followed Marcus outside and over to another building a short distance away.
Pulling a ring of keys off his belt, Marcus made a show of finding the correct one before finally opening the door and stepping aside. Looking from the quartermaster over to Delores, she gave him a reassuring nod. Stepping past the man, Xane found himself in a room filled with racks of armor, weapons and other items the town guard would make use of.
“I have been told that you can claim four items from the armory. If I were to make a suggestion. I believe you should look at armor first.” The man said with a small grin. Xane looked down and inspected his leather pants and doublet. He felt a bit of pride when looking at the leather outfit he made. But he also knew the man’s words were true, and it was best to look for something better. Nodding to himself, Xane stepped further in as his eyes looked over the gear he had to choose from. It was when he was in the back corner of the room when he found something that held his interest for more than a few seconds. Dyed a dark green with intricate engravings set in leather plates, the set of leather armor seemed to call to him. The set of leathers included a set of vambraces, chest piece, pauldrons, grieves, and pants. With a casual inspection, he could tell this was probably the best set in the room if not in the town. Using identify only confirmed his thoughts.
Forest stalker leathers
Item type: crafted
Item quality: superior
Durability 200/200
The wearer of this armor will be granted the following:
+125 to Defense
+15 to Stealth while in wooded areas or grasslands.
+25% to movement speed while in wooded areas or grasslands
Picking up the set, he moved back over to where Marcus stood to show him his choice. The quartermaster gave him a curious look before asking. “Is that all? You still have three more items to take if you wish.”
Xane looked up at the man, then back down to the armor before looking back up at the man with a questioning glance. “Not four?” he asked. Marcus gave a brief look of confusion before he understood Xane’s question.
“No, that is considered one item, as it’s a complete set. Now go on, I don’t have all day.” He said with a small grin. Xane just shrugged in response before placing the armor in his bag and started looking again. This time, he returned with a cloak that matched the armor’s color and a pair of short swords, one with a wider blade than the other. Seeing his choices, Marcus excused himself as he stepped in to retrieve something before he handed it Xane.
“Those look a little big for you to wear normally.” He said, motioning to the two short swords. “This should let you wear them across your back. That way, they''re not getting in your way.” He finished as he pointed to the leather harness that Xane now held. Xane nodded in thanks before placing the items in his bag like before.
“Come on, let me show you somewhere to change.” Delores said as she held out her hand to him. Instead of taking her hand, Xane clutched the strap of his bag with both his tiny hands as his eyes looked down at his feet. Instead of taking his hand, she placed hers on his shoulder and gently pushed him forward. “We’ll go inside the barracks. There is a room you can use to change in private.” She said as she guided him away.
Xane, looked over his reflection in the mirror. Like his boots, the armor shifted to fit him perfectly. Gone were the sunken cheeks and pale skin he wore when he first saw his reflection. Now his skin held a healthy tan, and his face was full. Xane wasn’t sure if it was the childishness he sometimes felt or not. But to him, the image he saw before him, while small, was still fierce. On the middle finger of his left hand sat the gold ring he looted from the goblin shaman earlier that day.
He didn’t know why he hadn’t checked the ring before when he found it. In fact, it was on a whim when he was storing his old gear in his inventory when he noticed it. After pulling it out and giving it a quick scan, he slipped in on.
Hunter’s quiver ring
Item type: Magic
Item quality: superior
Durability 400/400
This ring can hold up to 300 arrows or 600 bolts.
Any arrows or bolts stored within can be summoned directly into the equipped weapon of matching type.
Contains
200/300 arrows
Taking one last look at the mirror, Xane let his smile fade before stepping outside. Delores sat a short distance away as she worked on resizing the harness the quartermaster had given him when he stepped out. Looking up, a small smile crossed her lips as she rose from the chair.
“You look like an elf.” She said with a smirk. Xane’s grin turned into a scowl as she knelt before him.
“Now, now. It''s not a bad thing.” She said with a small chuckle. “Here, this should fit you now.” She continued holding up the leather straps. Xane tilted his head slightly as he raised his brow at her. Rolling her eyes in response, she explained what it was.
“It’s a harness to wear your new swords on your back. As small as you are, you don’t want to risk your blade tripping you up.” Her explanation made him want to scowl, but it did make sense. His dagger already hung past his knee. If he wore the swords in the same manner, it would make running nearly impossible.
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Giving the woman a nod, he waited patiently as she placed the harness on him and made final adjustments. It took a couple of minutes to get the fitting just right with the swords attached, with their hilts hanging down by his waist. Last, she helped with getting his cloak situated around his shoulders, hiding the weapons from view.
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay here in town?” she asked him. Xane looked at the woman as he placed a hand over hers that was still on his shoulder.
“I’m sure.” He said, then took in a deep breath before he continued. “I need time alone. Besides, I don’t want to run the risk of killing Billy by accident.” He finished with a chuckle. Even Delores smiled at his small joke. Standing, she patted him on the shoulder before opening the door leading outside.
Walking towards the gate, Xane noticed a number of the guards giving him nods of approval as he passed. Eventually the two of them reached the gate, where Delores came to a stop. Surprising him, Delores squatted down and hugged him tightly before placing a kiss on his cheek.
“Stay safe out there, Xane. If you ever need anything, please come find me.” She said to him before standing up and wiping a tear from the corner of her eye.
“Thank you, Delores. Don’t worry too much. I’ll be around.” Xane said before waving to her and heading off towards the woods.
With the town of Stonevale behind him, Xane let out a sigh of contentment as he set off back to his home. He was amazed by how quickly he moved through the forest. Overhead, Wraith kept pace with him. Now that he had some proper gear, he realized how lacking his old gear was. The doublet would often pinch if he moved wrong and was overly stiff. His new gear felt as if it was made for him. He felt freedom of movement that his old gear lacked. Even the swords on his back were easy to draw from under his cloak.
Over the following months, Xane fell into a comfortable routine. His days were often filled with exploring and expanding his map. His nights were spent reading or working on crafting various things. Every couple of weeks, he would venture into Stonevale to sell off any of his larger kills or sell the herbs he often found.
The people of Stonevale just accepted him and his, for lack of a better term quirks. When Xane’s path did cross with Billy or Jimmy, they would remain silent as they would hurry past or watch him walk by. Thomas, the butcher, would still do his best to haggle as low a price with him as possible. Sometimes Xane would let him get the better price. Mainly because he enjoyed the man’s comical antics. Though every time the butcher got the better price, he always threw in some extra cuts with Xane’s request.
Boyd had surprised him one day when he could convince him to go to the tavern. Upon entering, he noticed the elk'' head from his second visit to town. Boyd, seeing the surprised look on his face, let out a hearty laugh and smacked Xane on the back. “I heard when the tavern owner visited the butcher and saw it, he had to have it.” Boyd said, pushing him towards an open table.
Xane moved past it to one further back and sat with his back against the wall and door in his view. Boyd, for his part, raised an eyebrow, then shrugged as he flagged down the serving girl. Xane looked around the large open room while his friend placed an order. Many of the tables were filled with townspeople and guards enjoying their lunch. Only a few sent curious glances his way.
Wraith clicking his beak brought his attention to the silly bird. The raven had perched himself on the back of an open chair, while giving him an expectant look. Rolling his eyes, Xane fished out a fresh scrap of meat and fed the greedy bird. A moment later, Boyd sat as he placed a sloshing mug in front of him. “Here drink up. We have time while we wait.”
Xane’s eyes moved from Wraith to the man with a curious glance.
“Delores will be here shortly.” That was all he said, giving Xane a shrug and bringing his mug up to his lips. Xane lightly scowled at him and rolled his eyes before picking up his mug. Looking inside, was a light amber liquid that sat under a small head of white foam. Shrugging, he took a drink and grimaced as he swallowed. The taste reminded him of the cheap beer he and Tj would find in the bar when he was Alex. He was about to comment when a notification caught his attention.
New skill found
Poison Immunity (passive)
Because of your gift of obsidian dragon blood, you have inherited their natural resistance to poisons.
Xane was about to jump across the table when a second notification stopped him
Poison resisted
Alcohol
While minor, the effects of alcohol can be averse to judgement and coordination.
It is among the many poisons that some consider beneficial.
“Don’t like the ale?” Boyd asked with a smirk.
“I’ve had worse, but not by much.” Xane replied, getting a laugh from the man. Even Wraith let out a sound similar to laughing.
“Aye, the ale is crap, but it will get you drunk if you can stomach enough of it.” Boyd said with a chuckle before taking another drink.
“Speak for yourself.” Xane thought as he took another drink and winced at the taste. A minute later, Delores entered, still in her guard uniform of leather armor and helm. Her eyes swept the room, landing on him. She muttered something to a woman next to her before they both started heading their way. Delores smiled at him before greeting Boyd and introducing her friend.
“Sarah, this is Xane. If anyone can help, it would be him.” Delores said, motioning to him as his grip relaxed on the mug. Originally he thought, Delores was going to pressure him into this woman’s care. Realizing that wasn’t the case, his tension eased slightly.
“Are you sure he’s a halfling? He looks to be nothing more than a boy.” Sarah said, giving a Xane a quick once over, her eyes red from worry and tears.
“Sarah, look at his gear. You think a kid could wear anything like that?” Boyd asked with a raised brow. “Hell, I made his boots and we all know crafted items won’t resize if you don’t have a class.” Those words made Xane tense up. He didn’t realize his gear gave away the fact he had access to the system. “Perhaps letting people think I’m a halfling is the way to go?” He thought, taking another drink and grimacing again.
Delores snatched his mug from him and sniffed it before glaring at her friend. “God’s damn it, Boyd. You bring him here for a drink and get him the cheap shit?” She said, then flagged down the serving girl once more, as Xane suppressed a snicker.
“I figured I’d see how he’d handled the swill before he tried something that would put hair on his chest.” Boyd said with a grin as he raised his arm defensively. Moments later, Xane had a new mug placed before him while Boyd nursed the lump now growing on the back of his head.
“Go on, the mead is much better than that swill he prefers.” Delores said, indicating the mug with her own. Before turning to the newcomer. “Sarah needs your help, Xane.” She continued as she motioned for the woman.
The woman who had taken more interest in him and his gear startled when Delores mentioned her.
“Sorry. Delores tells me you know the forest rather well and go places our own scouts won’t?” she said questioningly. Xane raised a brow as his eyes moved from Sarah over to the sergeant. In response, she just shrugged and took a drink. Turning back to Sarah, he nodded.
“My daughter is sick, Xane. The only known cure is from the seeds of a flower that grows deep in the eastern forest. It has five petals colored purple and rimmed with a blood red.” Sara explained while he took a drink from his new mug. A small grin grew on his lips from the taste that turned into a look of recognition from the woman’s description.
He remembered seeing a similar flower in passing the night he met Thresh and Persephone. Though he didn’t remember seeing the next day when he returned to loot the bodies.
Sara must have noticed his reaction, as she grew excited. “You know of it?” she asked. To which Xane nodded in reply.
“Please, I beg of you, Xane the halfling. Please, will you gather some and save my child?” The woman’s response made him go wide eyed as he looked to Delores for an explanation.
“We’re just a minor town that only does some logging, farming and mining. Because of that, and the lack of beasts. We don’t have a guild of adventurers that can be asked for help. The guards can only go so far out on their patrols, same as the scouts. So, anything like this needs to be handled by the citizens or wait to send a request off to the guild the next city over.” She explained.
“So, that leaves me. The mysterious halfling. Don’t haflings have hairy feet or was that hobbits?” He thought briefly before tuning back in.
“Will you help me good Sir?” Sarah asked when Delores finished speaking. Xane thought for a moment and nodded. He had a good idea where the flowers could be found. He just had to go look.
“How long?” he asked, hoping that Sarah wouldn’t question his childish voice.
“Three days at most.” She said, turning somber again. Xane nodded before draining his mug and sliding off his chair. He was fishing in his pouch for some coin, when Delores put a hand on his shoulder. “Boyd is paying for your drink.” She said with a small grin as Boyd let out a harrumph. Xane nodded and patted her hand before calling to his raven, that had remained quiet throughout the conversation. Wraith let out a loud gronk, startling Sarah and a few other patrons before taking flight and landing on his shoulder. When the door closed behind him, a mix of laughter and good natured complaints was cut off.