Denizens of the Labyrinth

Jazmel stood at the entrance of the merchant hall and sighed. It had been four days since he returned after that incident with the unknown Ranker who hunted others. He had returned to the outpost, but Colin was not there, instead he had sent word for them to come to an auction and eager to head back out. Jazmel had agreed to attend, of course not alone. Instead, he had partnered up with Gilmore, Sadé and Bannerman. Baek had told them it made sense for them to travel in groups together; but also, to familiarise themselves with the different abilities of each core member of the faction.

It made sense and Jazmel agreed, so in turn he agreed to meet with Colin and to also be with his faction members and to sell his wares.

The gate this time opened them to a world unlike anything Jazmel had seen. The gate opened to an undersea port; which was fascinating to Jazmel ; he had seen the likes of ships that sailed atop the sea, but nothing that swam beneath it. but here at this port it was here where he saw his first submarine.

The great mechanical creations were all built in inspiration of creatures of the sea; some were shaped like balloons and with iron rotors and rudders they skimmed around surprisingly smoothly and capable. There were others; shaped like whales and other fish of the sea. But the ones that truly took his breath away were the ones shaped like swords and daggers; one particular one he was looking at was massive, the size of a sperm whale. It was slim and sleek and then ballooned out at the very end in the two circular vents and in them were spiralled rotors which gleamed copper and iron and he wondered just how fast it could go.

On the side of the dull grey hull; in brilliant white, emblazoned was ‘the scimitar’ Jazmel nodded respectfully at that. It was the name of a sword; this underwater ship was the sword of the sea. It was beautiful and he wondered if he would ever get a chance to get on board of something like that.

“Come on, Colin’s swan said he was round the corner from here.” Gil said and Jazmel dragged his eyes off the ship and followed Gil, Bannerman and Sadé who smiled at him cheerfully.

“I need to buy a sword, my last one broke.” She told him and he nodded, knowing what had happened to her and the other girls. They had killed a Titanoboa; a snake of such size that Katie and Timone had to haul it through the gate back to the outpost as it would not fit in their respective rings. But Melle had taken charge of it and dissected it with the help of her assistants and from the hundred freed slaves who had joined; some had joined her ranks and the three dwarven women. Now became fifteen assorted women and this allowed them to work seamlessly in supporting the whole outpost.

Jazmel followed Gilmore and they soon came to a freshly painted and still being refurbished merchant’s store. It was spacious inside and Jazmel felt the twinge of Mana which was being used to expand the inside of the store. On the outside it couldn’t have been bigger than one room. But when they entered the store, three different sections could be seen from the entrance.

“Welcome!” Colin offered as he came from the back of the store and hugged each of them and even bowing over the hand of Sadé who tried to hide her face with her hair.

“What brings you here?” Colin asked, turning to face Jazmel who simply pulled a ring from his own storage ring, he had swapped things around and taking the ring from the seeker hunter and instead, had used one of his smaller rings to keep all of his wares.

“I have come to sell, but also we are looking to buy.” Jazmel said and Colin nodded eagerly, always the merchant; before looking around. “All of you?” they shrugged but Sadé nodded.

“Well show me what you have, and I will show you what I can sell!” colin said, excited and he moved to stand behind his counter, this one was burnished copper and silver; far better than the one Jazmel had seen him using on the first floor on which they had met.

The first item he pulled from the storage was the cube that he had not been able to open at all and when colin saw it, he whistled and with a smile he took it from the hands of Jazmel.

“That is interesting, a cube of the hearth! I haven’t seen one like this, in such good condition for a while.” Colin said and Jazmel listened interestingly.

“A cube of hearth when opened, it will turn into a safe space in the wild. Deeper in the labyrinth, it becomes harder and harder to find safe spaces. But a cube of hearth can hide itself and its inhabitants. They’re expensive to make and really durable.” Colin explained and Jazmel nodded along understanding the need for such an item.

DING!

100X WHITE GOLD COINS

Jazmel accepted the offer; he didn’t need one of those when he could always return to the outpost. Currently he had the capacity to return to the outpost, but he also realised that anything like Orevalor could happen to him again, the labyrinth seemed to be advancing him along the way towards deeper and greater parts. Hidden and lost parts of the labyrinth, places he would have to overcome.

The next item he pulled, was the gold pocket watch that he had found but had not been able to open. Colin looked at it and when he couldn’t figure out what it was, he placed it on the counter and watched as the surface lit up and he smiled as something popped up in his status for only his eyes. Jazmel had wondered why he was always beside the counter but now he knew that this was something interesting and watched as the light in colin’s eyes flashed with joy.

“This item, I have never seen something like this before. It is called the watch of Mirmannon, it allows the owner to see five seconds in the future or the past.” Colin explained and Gilmore gasped. “That is basically a chance at foresight, which could be the difference between life and death.” Jazmel had to agree but he didn’t think he could keep an item of that strength. His eyes showed him a lot already and he was also wondering what would happen the stronger he grew and the more tier tribulations he underwent.

DING!

250X WHITE GOLD COINS OFFERED

He accepted quickly and the item disappeared to somewhere for colin to use or sell later. Next item was the small ring he pulled that was simple; a silver band with a red ruby in the ring.

“I have seen this before; this is a ring of life blood. It helps recovery during battle, if blood is spilt from either the owner or their victim(s); it will use it to heal the owner.” Jazmel nodded at colin’s words and without thinking he took the ring back and then handed it to Sadé who wasn’t prepared at all. She looked at the ring he pushed into the palm of her hand and then looked up at him. Jazmel didn’t realise why she was looking at him like that, but then he realised he had just given her a ring and they had shared a kiss.

“Well, that is something.” Gilmore said and Jazmel felt the heat of embarrassment begin to rise on the back of his neck. But he simply stared at Colin and then emptied the contents of the ring on the counter and watched as colin’s mouth all but watered as he looked over the array of items in front of him.

Jazmel took the Horn of the high dragon; he figured it was a tier tribulation item. But he didn’t know if it were monarch tier, but still it would be a boost for him all the same, he also took the black dragon tooth as well.

“I could take these all to auction and make a great deal, I won’t even ask how you came across these items. But I will give you a decent price, we have a good thing here and I want to make sure we keep our relationship.” He fanned over the items and then offered Jazmel ;

DING!

12 PLATINUM COINS OFFERED

DO YOU ACCEPT?

Y/N

Jazmel accepted immediately and then colin offered his hand and they shook hands. Bannerman and Gilmore were looking around and colin called Gil over.

“I have found something for you!” he went into the belly of his counter and then pulled a small gem out that was filled to the brim with Mana, Jazmel could feel it just as much as he could see it.

“This is a shadow crystal, not extremely dangerous. But it only collects dark Mana, for some reason it does that until it bursts, but I heard you use dark and ink Mana.” Colin explained and Gilmore took the gem from him and then they began to barter about the prices.

“Do you have any swords?” Jazmel asked colin and he shook his head; dejected.

“I do not have a sway on that monopoly I am afraid, but if you head down this road you will find another store and they have swords and other weapons. I think they will be to your liking.” He offered and they filed out of the store to head to the weapons merchant.

Bannerman and Gilmore took point and left Jazmel and Sadé to walk together, the port was quiet and though Jazmel couldn’t tell what time it was here, there wasn’t many people active yet.

“So, you gave me a ring.” Sadé started and Jazmel flinched as he remembered.

“Yes, I did. I thought it would be a good item.” He said and she looked at him, her face a still as stone.

“That is, it?” she asked, something in his gut told him he was treading on dangerous ground, but he didn’t know what he might have done. He was silent and she studied his face for a moment, but it truly felt like a day. She turned on her heel, her nose in the air. She left and made for the sword smiths galley, where she would replace her sword.

He wait for a moment and then followed behind her, meekly. He was sure he had upset her; he just did not know with what or how.

The galley was huge, much bigger than the shops and storefronts Jazmel had seen or been to before. This galley was as big as a hall, with inlets every few feet where the stores sold their wares and kept stock and storage further back.

They walked into the bustling crowd, and it wasn’t long before Jazmel found himself surrounded by people, he didn’t force his way through the crowd. But instead followed the flow of the movement as they rotated around each storefront and when they were done, they would move on. Or if they were interested they would drift out from the crowd and others who had been moving faster or had stopped shopping, seemed to join with them. Jazmel was truly intrigued by it but simply followed Sadé who was doing her best to look around and study the different stores and their wares.

They had walked four stores in and now Jazmel was looking at the swords that were resting atop the stacks and at this store they were a little more interesting than normal.

Not only were there much more Mana pouring from the swords than at the other stores. But also, the metals seemed to amplify the Mana that roiled off of some of the swords, Jazmel caught Sadé’s hand as she made to leave but he beckoned her to look in on this store.

“You have good eyes!” the man sitting at the counter expressed to Jazmel , and not for the first time did he wonder just how was it that these others could tell that his eyes were any different. But he simply shrugged and responded; “I can see a little better.”

The man smiled and shrugged back, nonchalant, and not taking his eyes of Jazmel for a moment.

“I take it you are here for the young lady?” he asked, and Jazmel didn’t respond but waited for the man’s explanation.

“You cannot be looking for a weapon, a sword better than your current one, can only be found deeper in the labyrinth or made by a master blacksmith. I am neither deep in the labyrinth nor am I a master yet. You have nothing to worry for, we will find her something suitable.” He said and Jazmel nodded, comfortable at how acute this man was.

“What is your affinity?” the man asked, turning to look at Sadé with kind eyes.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you are elfin aren’t you?”

“Yes, I am.”

“So usually you have an affinity, what is it?” he asked, and Jazmel nodded, he was right, and it seemed well known.

“Thunder.” she said, and Jazmel noticed that she did not mention her fire attribute.

“Thunder? That is interesting for a woodland elf.” He said and then he spun on the chair he was seated in and began digging around for something.

“Do you have to consume it, or do you make your own?” he asked over his shoulder.

“huh?” Sadé said and to be fair, Jazmel didn’t know what he meant either.

“Do you have a skill regarding thunder?” he asked, smiling at her, and offering a knowing nod.

“Yes, it consumes Mana. But it amplifies all my thunder attacks, but I have a Mana buff, so it barely takes much.” She explained and Jazmel remembered she told him that she got an extra five hundred points on her Mana for each kitsune tail she gained.

“That is a lucky find!” the man called over his shoulder, but he was still digging around and trying his best to look for something.

“What sort of sword did you use?” he asked and Sadé told him her previous had been a katana.

“That is a poor choice, your agility and dexterity should be high enough that you can get around and create space for yourself.” He told Sadé who seemed to listen intently.

“I have been trained to use swords, spears, and short swords. But I thought a sword might be the better option because they tend to be the most popular reward inside the labyrinth.” She explained and Jazmel had to agree, it made sense. He had seen others use other weapons, but swords were the majority all around.

“Yes but you forget that the system is individual, it will create rewards for its users. Specific for them, so whatever you genuinely want or need. You will find inside the labyrinth, which is always how impressive it is.” He said and Jazmel could tell he was enamoured with the labyrinth in his own way.

“Here! I found it.” he said and pulled out a sheathed dirk, it was elegant and old looking. It looked like it had been made a long while ago, but it was also in good condition. Jazmel pulled it from its sheath and the blade gleamed, gleaned with Mana and the force of a storm seemed to reside in the blade. Jazmel thrust with it a little and thunder rumbled in the tip of the blade. He cancelled out of his swing to stop the bolt leaping from the blade.

DING!

TIER III SHORT SWORD OF ISHKUR

20% THUNDER AMPLIFICATION

Jazmel whistled at the notification and handed it over to Sadé, she looked at her own screen and smiled; probably at the notification Jazmel had seen himself. She looked at him and nodded, she liked the dirk.

“How much?” she asked and the man behind the counter nodded sagely.

“That was an item that I was waiting to find the right owner for, but it also cost me a lot to procure. I cannot part with it so easily.” He said and though Jazmel wasn’t privy to it, he figured that Sadé would pay for herself, and he wouldn’t ask how much.

Whatever the price was, seemed to not bother Sadé, she paid as she placed the sheath onto her belt and then offering her thanks she motioned for Jazmel to follow her. She turned to walk back into the moving crowd and Jazmel followed her.