The Runesmith

“Ughh…”

“Egh, that’s disgusting.”

“Shut up you damn shrimp…”

Grisalde proclaimed while leaning her head over the edge of the main deck to relieve herself of some food. This brought a smile to Senna’s face that was to the side just watching as the oversized woman was still vomiting after getting drunk once more.

“I hate this ship… how much longer ‘till we get to land … URP!”

“Nah much o' a sailor. We'll be thar soon, want some rum?”

“Leave me alone.”

Isabela started laughing along with all the other sailors that couldn’t help but tease the large barbarian woman. She didn’t stomach the waves too well and along with the proclivity to get drunk, she spent most of the days flopped against the edge of a deck.

Roland at this time was closer to the bowsprit of the ship and looking out into the distance. There he could almost see the port town that he had visited all those years ago. Due to the situation, they found themselves in, the captain decided to first reach the closest safe haven.

‘We should get there within the hour, finally I can put this whole mess behind me.’

His long mission to get this golden rank was finally over. With his new card, he would be able to organize his own small expeditions if he wanted and command other adventurers. Some of the prices would also be lowered and he would get paid more but was this worth what he had been through?

The biggest problem was the reemergence of his old enemy, the Abyssal Cult. Even now they were probably still setting the city and the forest ablaze. The only lucky part of that whole mess was that due to the chaos his name would probably be forgotten. His old enemies would probably turn their attention towards the church instead.

‘That is if the Church wins…’

There was a possibility of the cult actually winning the battle. If they managed to catch people from the golden order that knew of his involvement he would find himself in danger. The possibility of that happening was very low and he didn’t believe that the cult would go that far. Their main mission was probably to either retrieve that illusion device or destroy it.

‘After they take care of that thing they will probably try to lay low for a while…’

That was the usual way criminal organizations went with their business. If they started sticking out too much they would try to hide. The people in power couldn’t send out their forces to track them down forever. Everything cost money and after some time had passed they would be able to return to their evil ways.

‘Although now everyone will be alert to their presence, I’m not sure the nobles will just let their cities be invaded, just how many of them have already fallen?’

Edelguard popped into his head, there he had a run-in with the cultists. He had presumed that the cultists were just hired assassins to clear out the merchant union in the city but after coming in contact with the brain slugs he needed to reconsider his position. Could the person hiring them be part of the cult? Perhaps he was forcefully conscripted?

“Hey, how about you try to smile from time to time.”

Senna interrupted Roland’s brooding session and brought him back to reality.

“Would you look at those two idiots.”

She didn’t ask about his thoughts but instead pointed over to Orson and Dalrak that were leaning against some barrels. They looked like they had their life sucked out of them.

“What happened to them? Are they sea sick or drunk?”

Roland wasn’t really that noisy and kept to himself so he wasn’t sure what the problem was here. Only after seeing Isabela’s sisters walking out of their private cabin did he realize what this was about. He recalled seeing the two men interacting with these ladies and going inside that very cabin.

“Ye dwarves were supposed t' 'ave a lot o' stamina.”

Eve shouted out while bringing everyones attention to the two floppy men.

“Aye, sorry mah lassie, th' spirit is willing bit th' flesh is weakening…”

“At least yer dwarf can still speak, that scallywag passed out in the middle, had t' do all the work meself!”

Christie, the second sister grumbled while looking at the passed-out Orson. The man was barely moving and his complexion was quite pale. When looking at the two men he wondered if Isabela and her sisters had any succubus blood running in their veins. This was a possibility as their sex drives were a bit over the top. He did not indulge in these kind of events for a few reasons, the current one being that he had already settled on one woman and didn’t really see the point of branching out to any others.

“Maybe this will keep them from spending their money on whores for a while, we’ll have some money to buy better equipment. Hey Wayland, you know Albrook right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

After having a good chuckle Senna turned towards Roland. She was clearly looking at the runic armor that he had on. Previously he didn’t make it obvious that he was the one that made it but after going through some repairs on this ship it became more obvious.

“We’ll probably be stuck there for a while, know any good places with good weapons…”

“Are you looking for anything specific?”

He replied while playing dumb, it didn’t take a genius to know where this conversation was going. Senna was obviously looking at his runic items with a glint in her eye. Normally he would ignore such deliberate prodding into his business but during his journey, he had started realizing that perhaps it was impossible for him to do everything himself. Even though he was probably the main driving force behind their escape, without everyone else he would have probably not made it onto this ship by himself.

“Well you know, that big lug is missing an axe and she will probably need something fit for a gold rank adventurer… probably something with runes in it.”

Senna pointed to Grisalde that was apparently now part of their party. Her weapon had been dented during their escape and needed some repairing.

“You are right, might as well replace it now instead of repairing it, probably something with an impact rune to increase the cleaving power…”

The barbarian woman reminded him of his old acquaintance that used a large hammer with that kind of enchantment. It was perfect for people with low mana capacity and a lot of strength. It would just increase the weight of the weapon during the swing to produce more damage.

“Now, where could we find a nice runic craftsman that could help us out with that…”

“We can agree on the price later but It’ll probably be cheaper than whatever you can get in the other shops. If you want something just ask it directly”

“Oh, so you own your own store?”

Senna asked, seeming slightly surprised.

“Yes, something like that.”

“That does fit you more…”

“What does?”

“Owning your own store, don’t take this the wrong way but you don’t come across as someone that works well in a group.”

“Yeah, that’s probably accurate…”

Roland started thinking back to his past where even when he worked for others he was mostly doing everything himself. When working for the gnome he received his own small workshop where no one bothered him. Since then he preferred to just not interact with other craftsmen and do everything his way.

“So, Wayland. Who are you really?”

“What do you mean?”

His heart skipped a beat as Senna continued questioning his true identity. Luckily for him, this was not related to his noble birth in any way.

“I mean, you are obviously not just a mage, you can work with a hammer…”

“Oh, I’m a Runesmith.”

“A Runesmith, hm?”

There was no problem in revealing his identity as a craftsman to anyone here. In Albrook his name was already known and they would have found out about it sooner or later. Yet, Senna didn’t seem that convinced as she just nodded while raising her brow.

‘I guess that’s a normal reaction, other runesmiths can’t really do what I can…’

Even though other runesmiths would be able to create similar weapons and armor, they would not be able to use them as efficiently as he. The regular Runesmith class wasn’t suited for battle, if he didn’t achieve the Lord variant the armor that he was using would have to be trimmed down. Without his high mana capacity, there would be no way of him ever using that many powerful spells at once.

“Wha' are ye two natterin' about, we'll be dockin' at shore soon. How about ye get those two sobered up unless we can keep 'em.”

Isabela came around to break up the conversation that they were having. She pointed to Orson and Dalrak that looked like they were at death's door. With how Grisalde was in a similar state it would probably be up to him to pull them up. Senna was still just a halfling and would not be able to drag them down to the port.

“Does this happen often?”

“Not that often but I could tell you some stories.”

Senna laughed while Roland decided to get back into his suit of armor. With his help and some smelling salts that the sailors lent them, the two were back among the living. Yet, their legs were shot, they could not hold themselves steady even after he helped them up to their feet.

“What were you doing last night… do you expect me to carry you?”

“Wayland you don’t understand, my pride as a man was at stake, you would have done the same.”

“Aye, we might ‘ave lost th' battle bit won th' war!”

“Stop spouting nonsense, why do I put up with these two perverts…”

The two men exchanged strange bittersweet looks with each other as if they went through some life and death situation the previous night. Roland could only imagine what the two had gone through to get into this sort of state. In the end, he needed to lend both of them his shoulder while escorting them down the ramp after they had docked.

“Don’t think we are the only ones that escaped from the city.”

When they arrived at the shore they spotted a few damaged ships not far away. The people here were all shouting and giving recounts of the flying monsters that appeared which made things more obvious. After helping his weakened friends to a bench he decided to listen in on the conversation.

“What are the nobles and church doing, how could they have allowed something like this to happen?”

“Why are we paying taxes if they can’t even protect us? I heard they massacred half of the city!”

The rumors were exaggerated in most cases but the whole thing put both the nobles and the church in a bad light. People were clearly maddened by the leaders that had failed them. Normally such news would be kept secret but this catastrophe was too large. There was no way to halt the spread of these rumors and there would probably be factions that would just fuel them further.

‘Anyone that is against the Solarian church and the Valerians will try to smear them…’

He could only imagine what Arthur was thinking now. The city of Reeka belonged to one of his siblings. While this would pull their name into the mud it could be an event that helped his new associate out.

Perhaps if he proved himself in some way, they would divert some of their funds into the new city but that was still somewhat unlikely. Unless Albrook gained another valuable resource besides the C grade dungeon, it just didn’t have anything worth investing in.

“Fuck, I need some water, why don’t those bastards have any water? Do they just drink wine every damn day?”

While trying to listen to the people in the small port city the loud voice of Grisalde broke his concentration. She was able to get down the ship on her own accord but wasn’t looking great either.

“Ye adventurers 'ave no guts.”

Isabela laughed while following after the large woman from behind. With three people from the adventurer party down for the count, it was up to Senna and Roland to continue the conversation.

“So about our bounty…”

“Wait, you’re going to bill us, after all, we’ve been through?”

“Camaraderie won't fill me belly, I 'ave a ship t' run 'n we lost most o' our cargo, but ye did help us get t' the ship so I can lower it slightly…”

Roland didn’t really care one way or another, he had intended to get on this ship beforehand and had prepared the payment. Without saying anything he just placed the amount in Isabela’s hand.

“Pleasure doin' business wit' ye.”

The ship captain turned towards Senna with an open hand. Very begrudgingly did she fork up the money but there seemed to be an issue.

“If I count handsomes share wit' this, that still leaves one scallywag out…”

Senna grinned widely while looking towards the annoyed Grisalde who was listening in on the conversation.

“Fuck you, give me back the money you stole from me and I’ll pay!”

“I won it fair and square~”

He could see the two women looking at each other with some animosity. Grisalde did have some coins when they arrived on the ship,but he saw her gamble it away through the entire trip.

“I guess I’ll have to pay for my silly friend back there, I’m sure she’ll pay me back eventually~”

Senna made a spectacle by paying Grisalde’s share of the ship fare. This looked like a planned scheme to get the higher-level barbarian to come along with them. With her around, they would probably have an easier time fighting monsters down in the dungeon.

“Well if ye ever needs a ship don't be a stranger 'n…”

Isabela pocketed the few coins that she received but didn’t look all that happy. She had lost a lot of the cargo and probably a lot of money during this whole fiasco. Her ship was luckily not damaged and perhaps there were some wares that she could gather here or people wanting to go to the mainland.

“Wait, this is…”

“Ye know wha' 'tis, if ye needs somethin' t' leave the island I'll give ye a good price.”

Before walking away the chesty ship captain delivered a smack to his armored behind. What he received was a small card with a few names on it. It was obviously something related to the thieves guild through which he would actually be able to contact Isabela. She was a member and smuggling goods directly through her could be more lucrative than selling them on the black market.

“Hm…”

For the time being, he decided to put this card into his spatial bag. Due to the auction house, he did not need to use the black market to earn money. Instead, he could grow through the more common ways but if times were tough then perhaps he could look into this contact. Having Isabela on speed dial could also save his life just like it did during this small expedition.

Finally, he was almost back, while his mind was filled with future problems he still managed to think back to his home. There, people were waiting for him, people that he actually enjoyed the company of and didn't smell like rum all day. This was a rather odd feeling that he had almost forgotten existed.

“A place to call home, huh?”

“What are you mumbling about Wayland?”

“Nothing…”

“If you’re not busy then help me with these two idiots…”

“Yeah sure but don't expect me to haul their drunk asses through the entire city.”

Thus with two bad-smelling men leading against his shoulders, he headed towards land, there he first needed to get some proper food and then find a way to get back to Albrook.