“Besides the level, it’s almost insulting. Don’t you agree, Glyph? The work to reward ratio is awful.” She asked the [Voxel]. “Though I’m not sure what [Experience Pearls] are, I’m assuming they’re used to level up without working hard.”
“[Experience Pearls] are typically used by those with Classes that are difficult to level, especially higher rarity Classes as they grow far slower than lower rarities.” He blinked a few times as if refocusing. “With Arthur’s [Elemental Pactlord], these tasks should be child’s play for our party. A single level twenty-five [Earthshaper] could manage the first two in a matter of minutes and he should be more than capable of summoning a half-dozen [Azers] to finish the last two without even denting his, admittedly impressive, Mana reserves.”
Looking over the rewards after I finished writing them out, I saw what he meant.
[Springiron Caverns Bonus Reward Challenges:
- Ore Run:
- Requirements: Gather one ton of Spring-Iron ore
- Reward: One additional Rare item
- Heart of Fire:
- Requirements: Craft a forge large enough for a human or dwarf to use it
- Reward: Two additional Uncommon items and one Fire Ruby
- Smelting the Future:
- Requirements: Refine one hundred Spring-Iron Ingots
- Reward: Two Uncommon Experience Pearls
- Coil of Might:
- Requirements: Forge one Spring-Iron Dagger and deliver it to the Foreman
- Reward: One level and a private exit from the Dungeon]
“You’re right.” I rubbed the side of my head nervously. “Most people would have a hell of a time, but [Elemental Pactlord] is kind of a cheat…I almost feel bad.” I flashed them both a sharkish grin, shocking them out of their surprised looks. “Almost.”
I turned around and struck up a pose I hoped looked confident as I addressed my full Party. “Let’s get going, every hour we don’t spend in there can be spent in Ironhold. I know from personal experience that their sulfurous springs are fantastic for adjusting to bodily changes and at least two of us could really use that.”
“Let’s go!” Raiju cheered as she bolted into the cave and vanished.
What followed was the most anticlimactic Dungeon run I’d ever heard of, let alone been in. The moment we entered the Dungeon, we were greeted by a receptionist construct from where she stood behind a hostess stand. The room was rough, but obviously served to mimic the interior of a few dwarven shops I’d seen in Ironhold. She informed us that we would need to get the approval of the foreman, or retrieve a key from around his neck, if we wanted to leave through the door to her left. She let us know that the ambient temperature would increase the longer we were inside the Dungeon, though only five degrees per day. With even my limited [Toughness] I would be able to stay more than a fortnight at that rate, though I didn’t know how Mindy and Gabby would do if we were to stay that long.
After explaining that, she let us go through the door behind her into a large round chamber with three more exits. Each of the large tunnels had words written in Terran above them letting us know they led to the mines, forge, and finishing chamber. My friends were a bit frustrated not to have any monsters to fight, but I was glad to have found a Dungeon that wasn’t just about smashing a bunch of monsters.
Long story short, I summoned a pair of [Earthshapers] and the same pair of [Azers] from my first Dungeon run back in the gold mine. Those four absolutely smashed their tasks, with all but the last completed in less than an hour. The [Earthshapers] were mole-like elementals who were more than happy to help just for the Mana I’d provided to summon them, but when the two [Azers] got into a competition to finish a System-recognized [Spring-Iron Dagger] the fastest, I put the finger sized chunk of star rose quartz I had up as a reward and the pair really kicked it into high gear. Less than ten minutes later, the [Azer] I learned was named Arturo finished his dagger’s hilt with a flourish while his competitor was still applying the final edge to the blade.
I tossed him the gem and he was very grateful, but told me he would use it to evolve among his clan, so I sent him home with a grateful nod. I tried to offer his competitor another crystal, but he wouldn’t take it, citing that it was against [Azer] law to take something without earning it. He passed me his completed blade before asking to be dismissed as well.
Making our way down the hall from the finishing chamber, we found a large round chamber with a single ten foot tall figure working an anvil in the center with fervor as his hammer blows shook the ground around him. He looked up from his work and I was surprised to see he was a [Forgemaster Cyclops].
He held out his hand wordlessly and I walked up with the [Spring-Iron Dagger] held out hilt first. He took the blade in his massive hand and turned it over a few times before nodding and handing it back, but not before applying a blue rune to the pommel with a touch of his thumb. Checking it out with [Essence Reading] I was surprised to see he’d applied an enchantment in that single movement.
[Forgemaster’s Spring-Iron Dagger - Rare
Durability - 250/250
Description - This blade is a testament to efficiency and practicality. It was forged from a unique metal that allows the blade to spring forth from the hilt, delivering a swift, unexpected second strike when used to stab. A vibrant blue rune imbued by an impressed Dungeon Boss, etched upon the pommel, imbues this secondary strike with a fiery kiss of blue flame.]
Tossing the blade from hand to hand, I bowed to the [Forgemaster]. “Thank you. I’ll aim to do good work with it.”
His voice sounded strangely like his hammer blows from before, resonant and clear. “May it serve you well.” He nodded and a portal opened up in the wall behind him, swirling in a circular frame. “Good help makes for light work, never forget that.”
He hefted his hammer and we hurried to leave when the first hammer blow struck and each of us took nearly a quarter of our health at once. Upon leaving the portal, I looked up at the sky and nodded to myself as I got a bunch of notifications about completing the Dungeon as well as the bonus objectives.
“Too early to camp, let’s see if we can’t make it to Ironhold a few weeks early.” I grinned at the looks of confusion on their faces. “Yeah?”
From my shoulder, Glyph stepped in to ruin my fun. “What he means is that we are now a full week ahead of schedule and he would like to take the high pass two mountains over to try and make it two weeks ahead of schedule.”
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“Kind of ruined the fun of the surprise there, Glyph.” I grumbled as I unrolled the [Cloud Carpet]. “I was reviewing the area and found an old pass high up in the mountains that appears to be clear now, but it won’t be if we wait a week.”
“Why would it change in a week?” Gabby scrunched her face up. “It’s not like the mountain is going to move…”
“It’s not the mountain that’s moving, it’s the weather.” Ylsa sat in her usual spot on the carpet. “These mountains get snow far earlier than most, though my family’s valley is much farther north and has been closed off by snow for a few weeks now, at least, if I’m correct.”
She nodded approvingly at me. “Well spotted on the map, Artie. I, for one, approve this change of path.”
“Really?!” I tried to sit on the leading edge of the carpet and nearly missed as I stared at her. “I was expecting to have to convince you, but–”
She held up a hand to stop me. “You know people, money, and magic, but I know the mountains. This winter is going to be particularly vicious and I would like to spend the worst of it in a place designed to handle it instead of,” she waved her hands at the open air all around us, “out here. Frankly, I’m surprised it’s not already snowing if winter’s already begun…”
As if summoned by her words, a snowflake landed on the tip of my nose. “Nope.” I waved for everyone to get on. “We’ve got to move, or the pass will be closed.” Volta launched herself to land squarely next to Ylsa, she didn’t have to be told twice.
When Gabby and Mindy didn’t hop to it, Raiju grabbed the pair and hauled them along with her before planting them on the edge of the carpet.
She flashed me a grin as she sat next to me. “We’re all good to go, let’s move!”
With a thought, the [Cloud Carpet] took off at the steepest angle it could with all of us still able to hold on as I sent it straight for the pass I hoped wasn’t full of ice and snow yet.
As we flew, I reviewed our loot from the [Ironspring Caverns] and was surprised at how much we’d actually been given. Then again, when I thought about it more, it was supposed to take at least a week and we’d finished it in an hour. So maybe it was a normal amount of loot? Either way, I went over it with Gabby to try and distribute what we had as evenly as possible.
[Magical Loot:
Uncommon - Experience Pearl x2
Uncommon - Power Hammer
Uncommon - Forge Visor
Rare - Fire Ruby
Rare - Emberforge Skill Book
Rare - Forgemaster’s Spring-Iron Dagger]
Some goodies in there, I guess I should take a look at them to see where they should each end up. No one has asked for anything yet, so I guess I’ll just have to be fair, though I’m definitely keeping the [Forgemaster’s Spring-Iron Dagger]. It’s perfect to use with [Rapid Strike] and no one else really uses daggers, though I’ll have to check what kind of weapon Volta ends up deciding to use.
[Experience Pearls - Uncommon
Description - Allowing one of these pearls to dissolve under your tongue will grant you an amount of experience depending on your level. At Uncommon, gain one level if used between levels 1 and 30, one quarter of a level if used between levels 31 and 45, one sixteenth of a level if used between levels 46 and 55, and nothing above that point. Note: All Level Ups are to the exact threshold needed and any excess experience contained within will be lost.]
If Mindy and Gabby had listened to me about stockpiling, they’d be able to use these to catch up to us a bit since they’d get the whole level. I guess it can’t be helped, but I really hope they listen about not applying the level we all just got if they ever want to catch up to us or at least close the gap.
[Power Hammer - Uncommon
Durability - 250/250
Description - The Power Hammer is a sturdy blue dwarven hammer, its head forged from a chunk of Spring-Iron and imbued with a faint magical aura. While primarily used for shaping metal, its weight and durability make it a surprisingly effective weapon in a pinch. The hammer possesses an unusual magical property: between forging sessions, it helps the metal being worked to maintain heat, allowing the smith to work more efficiently. When used for forging, the hammer moves with surprising speed and agility, defying its weight as it allows the user to strike far faster than should be possible.
I’m willing to bet any dwarven smith would love to have this thing. Maybe I can use it to lure one of them to join us? It’d be great, but we’d probably have to get a different way to fly. The [Cloud Carpet] was built for comfort and safety, not people moving. Maybe we can get one of the famous dwarven flying machines while we’re in Ironhold? That would be awesome.
[Forge Visor - Uncommon
Charges - 12/12
Description - This visor, tinted a deep ruby red, grants the wearer the ability to identify or appraise metal objects. It also reduces the amount of smoke and fumes that affect the wearer while forging.]
Another thing to lure a smith over to The Dominion with. Moving on.
[Fire Ruby - Rare
Durability - 750/750
Description - A fist-sized gem of vibrant crimson, Fire Rubies radiate a gentle heat. When spoken to with the command word, “Ignite,” the ruby's core ignites, producing enough heat to forge most metals without the need for an external heat source.]
I might owe the System an apology, or maybe these items are its apology to me because if I can’t recruit a dwarven smith with these? I might as well give up on The Dominion and move to the arctic. Any journeyman would be happy to have one of these and I’m going to offer them all three, maybe I can even get a newer master? Probably not, but a guy can dream.
[Emberforge Skill Book - Rare
Charges - 3/3
Description - Grants the first three readers the Emberforge Unique Skill. Emberforging is a unique technique that allows a smith to manipulate the flow of heat within a metal, effectively “sculpting” it from within. Instead of relying solely on external force, the smith channels their inner fire, guiding the metal’s internal temperature and causing it to bend, twist, and reshape in unexpected ways. This can be used to create intricate designs, imbue weapons with elemental properties, or even repair damaged items with surprising finesse.]
Shit. I kind of want to learn how to smith now and this would let me do it. I mean…we’d still have two charges to entice a smith or two to join us…wait a second. I can just steal it with [Skill Dominance] and only slot it when I’m forging. That’s a great idea, good job, me! Regardless, I’m absolutely certain this is going to change things for The Dominion for the better.
I was a bit frustrated that none of the magical loot was good for my friends, but when I did the math on how much we’d gathered besides the magical stuff, I didn’t feel as bad.
[Non-Magical Loot:
Pure Spring-Iron Ingots x96 (Valued at 1000 gp each)
Spring-Iron Dagger (Valued at 2500 gp)
10 pp (Artie)
17000 gp (1500 given to each non-summon besides Artie who gets 500)
Total Estimated Value of Non-Magical Loot: 98,500 Gold]
After a long argument as we flew toward the pass, Gabby and I came to an agreement that half of all coin coming in from Dungeon runs would go to The Dominion in what I called a Dungeon Tithe and the other half would be split up among those who ran the Dungeon. I even went so far as to codify the Dungeon Tithe among The Dominion’s Code of Laws, which I’m sure checked a box on a checklist somewhere leading up to a new Boon for The Dominion.
While I’d been arguing for only taking ten percent, she wisely pointed out that wouldn’t be enough for the fledgling Domain to survive. We’d settled on a fifty-fifty split not because it was obvious, but because I stubbornly refused to deal with a thirty-seventy split.
“It’s too much math for most people, halfsies is already a pain when you have to split it six more times. This way we’re relatively sure people can’t argue that they couldn’t figure out the right Dungeon Tithe to The Dominion.”
The rest of the loot we didn’t distribute went into The Dominion’s coffers where I was certain Gabby would make them grow far faster than anyone else I knew. She was some kind of financial genius and I was reminded again how glad I was to have poached her when she told me she thought she could get an extra thirty percent in Ironhold if I helped her with the bargaining.
We distributed the loot that evening as we approached the pass, not wanting to stop right as the snow was starting to pick up. I checked in with everyone then about stockpiling our levels and was pleasantly surprised. Everyone agreed to stockpile the extra level we’d all been granted for finishing the Dungeon properly, bringing most of us up to two, though Mindy and Gabby only had one.