Chương 126: Chapter 125: Homecoming

I said my farewells at the quarry's edge. Alice shook my hand firmly, although I discovered a strange sadness in her eyes. Will she miss me?

"Back to Tidemark?" she asked.

"Yeah," I nodded.

"Crimson Court's not done with us."

"You have powerful allies here, Alice," I looked at Gaul.

"You both do. CC can't do anything to you unless they move their entire operation here. And in that case…"

"Phantom comes and cleans them up," she smiled.

"Skull has many enemies. If he pulled something like that, I don't doubt half of the region's guilds would unite against the bully." Gaul clapped me on the shoulder hard enough to rattle my teeth.

"You're always welcome in Vanguard's camp, Ranger." Denxy just nodded from his stone slab, still cradling his battered shield.

"Safe travels, Orion."

"Thanks, guys."

I walked back to Serendine with Lune at my side. The city was bustling with life. I passed through the market district without stopping and climbed the hill to the teleport gate. The blue light pulsed steadily as I opened the interface. Destination: Tidemark, Tidemark County Cost: 10 gold Cooldown: 24 hours I confirmed the destination, the light swallowed me, and I was back where I started. Back home. Tidemark was exactly as I remembered.

I stood near the harbor district, and the first thing that hit me was the sound. Gulls crying overhead, the crash of waves against the seawall, merchants advertising their wares in the market below. The air smelled of salt and stone. Serendine was a coastal city, too, but it was still incomparable to the Jewel of the Coast in that regard. By noon the sun was high, and the harbor was alive with activity. Players moved through the streets in greater numbers than when I'd left. The city had grown.

New shops lined the market district, guild banners hung from several buildings, which was surprising since none of them had formed yet, and the general level of equipment I could see on passing adventurers was noticeably higher than a few days ago. Everyone was getting stronger. I should, too. I sent a message to Danzaburou as I walked. Orion: Hey, Danza! I'll be in Carpa in a couple of hours, and I would love some new equipment. His reply came within a minute. Danza: Orion, long time no see!

Riga is running the Carpa stall, but if you want to do business with me personally, I set up shop in Tidemark city! I raised an eyebrow. Set up shop? Orion: Even better, I'll see you in a minute! But first, duty. The coded journal. I'd been carrying the thing for quite a while now, and Elindra was the best chance I had for deciphering it. The Court Mage's tower was in the palace's eastern wing, and my title gave me unrestricted access to the palace grounds.

The palace guards recognized me at the gate and let me through without a second glance. The Count's Friend title had its privileges, and walking through the palace courtyard without being stopped was one of them. I climbed the spiral staircase to Elindra's tower. The door was closed, which was unusual, so I knocked. A young man opened the door. He was maybe twenty, with ink-stained fingers and the look of a student who'd been studying for hours.

"Can I help you?" he asked, eyeing Spriggan's Will on my back with unease.

"I'm looking for Lady Elindra."

"The Court Mage is not currently in the county," he said. He held the door as if considering whether to close it.

"I'm afraid I cannot share any information regarding her whereabouts. Her orders."

"It's important. I have something she'd want to see."

"I'm sure you do, but my instructions are clear." The apprentice was polite but firm.

"If you'd like to leave a message, I can ensure she receives it upon her return." There was no point in pressing him.

"When is she expected back?"

"I'm afraid I cannot share that information either." I thanked him and left the tower. The Count, then. Vizgrad had sent me to Serendine in the first place, and if anyone would tell me where the Court Mage had gone, it was him.

The Count received me in the same audience chamber where he'd given me the quest. The room was unchanged: tall windows overlooking the harbor, maps pinned to the walls, the heavy oak desk covered in parchments. Robert himself looked at least five years younger than when he was leading an army against his own seat of power.

"Orion." He rose from his desk and extended a hand.

"The Champion of Tidemark returns. I had heard you were making quite an impression in Serendine."

"News travels fast."

"I have my sources." He gestured to a chair.

"Sit. Tell me what you've found." I gave him the full report. The sighting lead, the Flock's surveillance, the dead contact in the shack, the coded journal recovered from the scene, and the trail going cold when Calian vanished. Vizgrad listened without interrupting, his fingers steepled beneath his chin. When I finished, he was quiet for a moment.

"You've done well," he said.

"I'm grateful. Most would have returned empty-handed. You brought back something tangible." He nodded toward the journal in my hands.

"May I see it?" The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. I handed it over. The Count examined the pages, turning them carefully, his brow furrowing at the script.

"I cannot read this," he admitted, setting the journal down.

"And the person who can is not here."

"I looked for Elindra. Her apprentice turned me away."

"He was following orders." The Count leaned back.

"Elindra left for Ravencrown two days ago. The dark mages, the Church of Abyss… their activities have not ceased since the civil war. Traces have appeared in other regions, and the pattern suggests a larger network than what we faced here in Tidemark. Elindra went to consult Lord Andrée." The name meant nothing to me.

"Who?"

"Apologies," the Count said.

"Sometimes I forget how new you are to our world. Andrée's name is known even on the other side of the Great Ocean. Must be an impressive fellow.

"Lord Andrée Starfield. Royal Archmage of Ravenloft. He serves King Seraf the same way Elindra serves me — as a court mage. He oversees magical affairs across the entire kingdom. Also," he raised a finger, "he was the one who taught Lady Elindra everything she knows. If someone understands the scope of what we are facing, it's certainly him."

"I see," I nodded. We were probably talking about the strongest single individual in the kingdom, and that was hard to grasp.

"When will she be back?"

"That depends on what she finds in the capital. It could be days. It could be weeks."

"Is there a way for me to reach Ravencrown?" I asked, already knowing the answer. Regional travel was still restricted by the devs, but I wanted to see what the in-game reason for it was.

"Not at the moment," the Count said.

"The kingdom's roads and gates between regions remain sealed by decree. Duke Dayne is already considering lifting them, but that time has not yet come." A dead end, then. At least for now. The Count stood and walked to his desk, pulling a small pouch from a drawer.

"For your service in Serendine," he said, placing the pouch on the table.

"The information you gathered, the journal you recovered. These are worth more than coin, but coin is what I can offer at the moment." Quest Updated: Ghost of Tidemark Wait for Court Mage Elindra to return from Ravencrown, or seek her out in the capital. Rewards for progress: 400, 000 EXP, 20 Gold Coins Half a level's worth of EXP was nothing to scoff at.

Level 25 was a huge milestone, and the experience needed for it mirrored that, but it looked like above it, the additional EXP needed was once again increasing in smaller increments. Level 26 only needed 800, 000, 50, 000 more than the previous one.

"Thank you, my Lord."

"Thank yourself. You've earned it." The Count returned to his desk.

"Good work, Orion. When Elindra returns, I'll send word, regardless of where you are." I bowed, pocketed the gold, and left the palace.

The crafting district on the east side of the market was busier than I remembered, with several new workshops and stalls that hadn't been there when I'd left for Serendine. Smoke rose from forges, and I could hear the ringing of hammers on metal from two streets away. And there, tucked between a leatherworker's workshop and an alchemist's storefront, was a small building with a wooden sign hanging above the door.

Carpa Crafter Group Weaponsmith — Armorsmith — Leatherworker The hut itself was nothing spectacular: single story, timber and stone, with a workshop visible through the open front window and a display rack showing a handful of finished pieces. But the sign was official, painted in clean letters, and the door had a proper lock. A player-owned shop. The first I'd seen in the game. Danza was inside, bent over a workbench, examining a set of blueprints with Kev beside him.

Two other crafters I didn't recognize were working at stations along the back wall: one shaping leather on a form, the other grinding an edge on a blade. They expanded.

"There he is!" Danza looked up with the grin of a man whose business was booming.

"The prodigal Ranger returns!"

"Nice place," I said, looking around. The interior was organized with the same care Danza brought to his craft: materials sorted by type and quality on wall-mounted racks, tools hanging in precise rows, finished pieces displayed on mannequins near the window.

"How did you manage this?" Danza leaned against his workbench.

"You remember when we first started, back at the Spring Festival? How the Association official told us we were full-fledged residents of the Kingdom?"

"Vaguely."

"Turns out that's not just filler. If you can prove you're associated with one of the soon-to-be established guilds in the county, and you've contributed meaningfully to the region's welfare, you can petition for a commercial license. We supplied half the army during the civil war, Orion. Consumables, repair kits, emergency gear. There are even official Association records about it!" Kev picked up the thread.

"Second Wind vouched for us, and with the guild forming soon, Athos put our name on the paperwork as affiliated crafters. The Count himself signed off on the license. Said something about supporting the economic development of the county."

"The Count interceded on your behalf?"

"His office, technically," Danza corrected.

"But yes. One of his administrators reviewed our contributions, our Association and reputation standings, and our output, and approved the shop lease. We're paying rent, of course, but it's reasonable." I looked at the display pieces near the window. A level 20 Rare shield, a pair of leather bracers with a faint glow, and a dagger with a blade that looked sharper than anything I'd seen outside of Epic gear.

"Business is good?"

"Business is insane." Danza laughed.

"We've set up branches in Carpa, Oakenlight, Shadowreach, and Dryhollow. Riga runs Carpa, we run Tidemark, and the others rotate between the villages. Second Wind's members get priority rates, but we serve everyone. We're the largest crafting operation in the county."

"Probably in Silverwing," Kev added.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves." But Danza was smiling. He nodded toward my inventory.

"Now, I know you didn't come here to listen to me brag. What have you got?" I opened my inventory and started laying materials on the workbench. The pile was substantial. Gorilla hides, Webspinner chitin and silk glands, Ironhide Boar plating, Greenveil Prowler pelts, Thornback bark sections, and Stalker chitin from my grinding sessions in the forest, Paleshimmer Crystals and common ores, just to name a few. And the Ravenkin Dreadcaller Fangs. Exquisite quality, from the elite we'd killed ages ago.

Danza and Kev went quiet. The two of them leaned over the workbench, picking up materials one by one, examining them with the eyes of artisans.

"These Ravenkin fangs..." Danza picked them up and turned them over.

"We'd actually used them for armor before, but I hadn't seen Exquisite quality so far."

"Armor?" I was mildly surprised, as fangs were usually better suited for weapon crafting.

"Yeah," he smiled.

"I was surprised, too, but it is what it is." I was beyond happy with that. I had no need of a new weapon, and that wasn't going to change for a while. Chest armor, however, gave the biggest upgrade out of all the pieces, and I was still wearing the Black Warg set. Danza set the mats down carefully.

"What do you want made?"

"A chest piece from the Ravenkin fangs, if you say it could be done. And boots, gloves, and leg armor from the rest. Level 25, all of it. Use whatever combination of the other materials gives the best result." Danza was already pulling out blueprints, cross-referencing materials against recipes. Kev joined him, and for a minute the two of them spoke in words I barely understood.

"The Ravenkin fangs as a primary material for a breastplate," Danza said again, tapping a blueprint.

"We've gathered recipes from across the county, thanks to Second Wind's reach. There's barely a recipe we don't have access to at this point. I have one that can use Exquisite-quality fangs as the core material, with supplementary materials for reinforcement." He looked up.

"With these fangs and the supporting mats you've brought, Epic rarity for the breastplate is a real possibility. Not guaranteed — crafting at this level always has variance — but I'd put the odds at better than half."

"And the rest?"

"High-end Rare is almost certain, if you choose the Carpa Crafter Group!"

"Cost?" Danza did the math.

"If you are willing to sell all the materials here to us, you can have them for twenty gold! Friend rate, as always. After all, you came through for the previous set, too."

"Thank you, Danza," I said, and transferred the gold. He pocketed them with a satisfied expression.

"Give me a day. The breastplate alone will take most of that, and I want to get it right. The secondary pieces Kev can handle in parallel."

"I'll be here."

"One more thing," Kev said, looking at the Paleshimmer Crystals.

"These are enchanting materials. We don't have an enchanter in the group yet, but if you find one, these could add some interesting properties to the finished gear." I made a mental note. The crystals had been sitting in my inventory since Alice had mined them, and finding an enchanter was another item for the to-do list. I left the shop and stepped into the afternoon sun. Tidemark's streets were warm, the harbor sparkling below, and I welcomed the breeze on my face.

I walked through the market district, past the Association Hall, down to the harbor where the seawall met the water. My message notification chimed. I opened it expecting Alice, or maybe Ace checking in. It was Cyrus. Cyrus: Hey, Orion, I see you're back in Tidemark! I hadn't spoken to Cyrus since forever. The Arcanist and his team had been doing their own thing in Tidemark while I'd been in Serendine, building Second Wind together with Kara and Athos, and our paths hadn't crossed. Orion: Just got back. What's up?

Cyrus: We cleared one of the Fang Forest caves yesterday, and found something interesting. Orion: What's that? Cyrus: I'll tell you in person. What do you say we shake Tidemark once again?