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Forgotten Lands - Chapter 11 (Book 1)
🕑 Added 2024-02-13 13:56:03 +0000 UTC“Perfect”
Zayn couldn’t hide his smile as his hand moved gently across the cold steel of the weapon in front of him. He gripped the stout wooden handle and noticed with great relief that the grip felt perfect. The axe head, a masterpiece of cold steel, was placed at the apex of the handle, its long, razor-sharp blade extending gracefully over the handle, evoking a sense of both elegance and menace. Forged with precision, the blade was a testament to Igor Brecht’s talent.
It bore marks of intricate etchings and Enchantments, near the slightly curved edge of the blade and near the top of the handle, connecting the blade and handle.
It was a one-handed axe with a large curved one-sided blade that covered half of the handle. It was a ranked weapon with two Enchantments.
One-handed Shanyt Axe
Tier-1 – Uncommon
Enchantments – [Sharpness] [Mending]
Enchantments were a truly interesting subject that allowed Enchanters to engrave special effects into objects and armaments. All they had to use was unique engraving solutions, an Inscriber, and the proper Enchantments. While that might sound simple only truly studious students were capable of becoming proper Enchanters. Zayn once studied Enchantments because he was tired of purchasing ranked armaments for their exorbitant prices, but he noticed quickly that it required too much time to become a Tier-1 Enchanter.
At some point, he understood that it was much easier to grind for a few Cards and sell them to purchase the ranked armament he desired. Enchanting was not his fort. It was a good thing that he didn’t have to be an Enchanter to understand the value of ranked weapons and their Enchantments.
The One-handed Shanyt Axe was precious. Its blade glimmered azure in the strong afternoon sun, the two Enchantments dazzling like tiny stars. Sharpness was a rather common Enchantment, but Mending was something Zayn rarely saw on a Tier-1 weapon. The Sharpness Enchantment ensured that the axe’s blade would always remain razor-sharp. One could also channel some energy into the Enchantment to overclock the effect for a short duration, thus ensuring that the blade would cut through its enemies even more easily.
Mending, on the other hand, was a little bit different from Sharpness. The Mending Enchantment was similar to self-recovery. It would use the ambient energy to repair the One-handed Shanyt Axe as long as the damage was not too severe. Channeling energy into the Mending Enchantment would repair the axe even faster.
Both Enchantments were nice. They were exactly what Zayn needed on a sturdy axe. And Shanyt Axes were known for being sturdy. That was for sure!
“I want the Shanyt Axe!” Zayn declared without much hesitation once he saw the weapon.
Igor Brecht kept his promise. He rewarded Zayn with the Shanyt Axe and added a belt that had a special function resembling a magnetic field. The Shanyt Axe could be attached to the belt and not even the force of ten horses would be strong enough to remove the axe. Only if Zayn wanted to retrieve it would the belt release the Shanyt Axe.
The belt was not a ranked item but it was certainly worth more than his leather armor and the several steel weapons in his possession, combined.
“This is much more than I could have hoped for. Thank you very much,” Zayn thanked the former blacksmith formally. He did not even think about rejecting the gift for not being rude to a man, who wanted to thank his ‘savior’.
It might be exaggerated but to a man who’d lost the only thing of importance in his life, killing Scarface might have been salvation.
“There is no need for you to thank me. In fact, I feel like the rewards are not enough. If there is anything I can do for you, don’t hesitate to ask me!” Igor Brecht declared at once.
Zayn thought about the offer for a moment.
“For once, I would like to sell these weapons to you. I do not need so many steel weapons since I got the Shanyt Axe,” He mumbled, retrieving one weapon after another from his bags. Zayn put them on the wooden counter for the former blacksmith to inspect.
“I also think it’s a shame for you to give up on your passion. It’s not a request, but I hope that you can rethink your decision. Your talent is extraordinary,” Zayn spoke his mind before he added, “Just think about it. Nobody will force you. The decision is all yours.”
Igor Brecht stopped in his inspections and looked at Zayn for a while. He remained silent after a good minute and returned to the inspection of goods.
A few minutes passed in utter silence. Zayn didn’t have anything else to say. All he did was wait.
“I can give you 9 silver coins for everything. Some of these weapons haven’t been maintained over the years, but that can be fixed quickly. My price is probably one or two silver coins higher than the other workshops can afford. They would probably bargain with you, hoping to make a small fortune from you,” Igor Brecht said, speaking much more than usual.
He retrieved nine silver coins and put them down on the wooden counter where a knitted letter, sealed from old wax appeared as well. Next to the sealed letter was a small emblem showing a smithy. A phoenix ascended behind the smithy, the flames shrouding everything.
Zayn was drawn into the lifelike emblem. The flames in the emblem seemed to move around constantly.
However, instead of staring at the emblem in shock, Zayn was intrigued.
‘Are the letter and the emblem the reason these idiots gained so much fame and wealth in Forgotten Lands?’
“I understand your concern and I can only agree. I wrote this letter before my little girl…” Igor was lost for a moment. Tears dwelled in his eyes but he didn’t start crying again, “I wanted to return to my craft, but some things happened as you might have realized by now. You helped me out of this slump, and I would be grateful if you could reach out to General Manager Levi Zenot in the Merchant Guild in Spyra. I believe that I can trust you. Please give him this, show him my Forging Emblem, and tell him that I, Igor Brecht, sent you. He will know what to do next!”
It looked like Zayn was right. By helping Igor Brecht take revenge, he unlocked another quest, a quest that allowed him to interact with the General Manager of the Merchant Guild in Spyra – the closest city to Emberfall and a few dozen other Beginner Villages. Zayn presumed that he had just unlocked a series of quests that granted an enormous fortune, potential connections with higher-ups of the Merchant Guild, and knowledge.
That meant, as long as he solved the quests in time and without failure, Zayn could obtain all of the above, maybe even more.
“Is it necessary for me to rush to Spyra, or is it fine if I take a week or two?” Zayn asked, while retrieving the diary – turned notebook – and the wooden pencil before he wrote down the success of his first mission, the results and rewards of the mission, and the new quest he’d just received. He made a few details about Spyra he’d recalled just now before his attention moved back to Igor.
“There is no rush. I need some time to get back to my prime, either way. Maybe I’ll be ready in two weeks. It would be great if the letter reaches the General Manager by then. But if it takes long that’s fine as well,” Igor was not in a rush. If anything, he had to show the Merchant Guild that he had not lose his old spirit. It would be best if he was better than he had been in his prime, but that would require luck, nights full of work…and more work. Lots of work.
Zayn made a few more notes and nodded inwardly. He started to write down a few other things he recalled just now, including quest information in Spyra, intel about monsters, and much more.
Writing everything in a notebook or something similar was one of the most important ‘fine details’ that differentiated Forgotten Lands from ordinary MMORPGs.
There were no quest notifications or a quest log. One had to write down everything to remember all the information about the quest. Sometimes it was better to ask the quest giver to repeat their quest and write their comments down word by word or ask a bunch of questions to make sure that the quest could be fulfilled properly. That way, the Players would get their rewards and the quest givers would be satisfied with your work, potentially hiring you for more quests.
Igor was more than satisfied with his work since Zayn went above and beyond to kill Scarface after their first encounter. Zayn’s words struck Igor in his heart, re-igniting his passion for smithing. Therefore, Zayn was given the belt as an additional reward.
‘I have no idea how the idiotic team gained enough trust from Igor to convince him to get back to work, but they must have achieved it as well. The letter and emblem should be related to their wealth in the past, after all.’
Zayn didn’t particularly care that he destroyed the idiots’ source of fame and income. However, he was a little bit worried about the butterfly effect. He had to be careful about his future actions and shouldn’t rely too much on his knowledge about future events. His actions would slowly but surely initiate a chain reaction, resulting in drastic changes all over Forgotten Lands. Of course, that didn’t mean Zayn should hold back. If anything, he should be prepared for the worst and be ready for all kinds of unique encounters.
Zayn left the shabby workshop behind and returned to the center of Emberfall. He had 27 silver coins after selling the batches of steel weapons to the former master blacksmith. However, Zayn didn’t feel like purchasing anything unnecessary from the surrounding shops. He could buy some food and water to ensure that he could regenerate his Health, Stamina, and Energy a little bit faster, but at his level, it was not really worth it. Furthermore, he needed every bit of money for future purchases.
Therefore, Zayn decided to enter the Arylin Forest without buying anything other than two small vials each costing five silvers. The price was steep, but Zayn knew that he would need the vials later.
He tapped the Shanyt Axe lightly and hummed a song until he perceived something to his right. It was only subtle but notable enough for someone with a decade of experience on the bloody battlefield to notice.
Zayn grasped the Shanyt Axe tightly, removed it from the belt, and lifted it quickly. In the next moment, an arrow pierced through the thicket ten meters away from him. The arrow was fast, but Zayn had already lifted the Shanyt Axe, blocking the arrow with its flat side.
“I was already wondering how long it would take before the first batch of brickheads would attack,” Zayn mumbled, the corner of his lips curling upward.
He was not going to shy away from a sweet fight!
