B4 – Chapter 34: Daylight Dell – Unseal!

Tristan spent much of the day working with Dorni. The design he had thought of was, unfortunately, panned by all the gnomes.

“Bandoliers full of artificed items? That’s silly,” one said.

Another added. “I was already wary of the amulet belt, but this is just ridiculous. It’ll hamper movement!”

Dorni finally shook his head. “Lord Tristan, you should really consider a shield, instead. We could easily incorporate slots for the rods on the back of a shield, and you could have it slung over your shoulder when not in use.”

“I’m already becoming overburdened with weapons,” Tristan replied as he gestured to his armor and weapons that were set out nearby. “I love the dagger, by the way.” It was a gorgeous piece, the same blend of metal and design as his sword, just appropriately sized for the weapon type; a nice replacement for the one that melted away when he fought the Starsworn. “But that on my other hip, and then the maul slung on my back, over the cloak, mind you, the Queen’s Wood staff, my bow.”

One of the gnomes slapped his forehead. “Dorni, didn’t one of those Winterbloom brats of Zeltana’s have something for this exact issue?”

Dorni scratched his beard. “Be more specific. Which brat?”

“The one who was born with the spell type that did what the fairy dragons do.”

“Extradimension is what the Citadel called it,” Tristan added.

“That thing! Lord Tristan, you should just get a bigger storage space.”

“The issue is quick access,” Tristan replied. “Without needing to rely on having essence to access it.”

The gnomes each put their heads down to their chins in deep thought, muttering ideas to one another in a near hive mind state. Finally, Dorni snapped his head up and locked eyes with Tristan. “You will have to deal with having multiple weapons you heft around, Lord Tristan.”

“Figured as much,” Tristan replied. “So, a shield added on top of all of that is right out.”

“Ooh! What if we . . . no, that won’t work.” Once more, the gnomes put their heads down in thought.

Felicity flew down from the branches and landed on Tristan’s head, gently batting his ears. “What’s going on?”

“They’re thinking.”

“Duh. About what?”

“Some way to let me have more artificed spells on hand.”

Felicity looked at the neatly stacked pile of round, platinum rods that could hold artificed spells, the spread-out papers with Tristan’s ideas jotted on them, and then across the corridor between crafting stations. “Why not cloth?” She hopped from Tristan’s head, glided to the ground, took her Elfanoid form, and walked over to grab several scarves. “Just take this, make little pockets for the rods, and then roll them up like this.” She quickly rolled the fabric into a tight bundle and tied it off with twine. “Artificed items just have to be within touch, right?”

“Not quite,” Dorni replied as he looked up and joined Felicity at the table. “It must be integrated into something touching the person. But you gave me a brilliant idea, young lady.” He turned to Tristan. “A scale cloak. We can attach scales made of precious metals and forged to the requisite quality for being an artificed item.”

Felicity glanced at Tristan’s armor on the mannequin nearby, and then back to Dorni. “Couldn’t you have done that to all the little scales on the main armor setup?”

Dorni shook his head. “Those scales had to be tiny to allow for the best mobility. These scales will be—” He cracked a big grin and looked at Tristan. “Looks like we’ve come up with a use for all those dragon scales. On their own, they wouldn’t count. But if we gilded and decorated them, those would count.”

“Well then, let’s get to it. Craft the scales and then let me know when we are ready. I’ll do all the spells and artifice them. Make sure we mark them out with numbers in Elvish.” He looked at Felicity. “Each number will correspond to a spell. Every single Fifth Order spell or lower that I currently have access to.”

Dorni spoke up at that. “We can always do multiple layers if we need to add more! Or, rather, fill in the gaps.” The gnomes began setting to work, dispersing and shouting out orders and replies. A well-oiled machine that was stirring to life as forges blazed and words were bandied back and forth. Dorni, however, stayed put and spoke. “It will take us two days.”

Tristan looked at Felicity. “Well then, I think we can keep ourselves occupied for a few days.”

Felicity grinned and grabbed his hand. “Come on. Down to your chambers!” She stood on her tiptoes so that she could whisper in his ear. “We haven’t done anything for weeks. You better be able to keep up.”

After two days of amorous repast, only broken up with visits to the Summerbalm Springs and a unicorn-back tour of the Fey Realm, Tristan was summoned to Dorni. As he walked up, he saw all the scales laid out, with the different spells next to them. They set to work; Tristan connected to the Fey Realm more than capable of using the full suite of spells at his disposal. The gnomes, on the other hand, had to rotate through their numbers to continue the bevy of spells. By the end of the process, over two-hundred spells had been artificed into scales, meticulously attached to one another, and then put onto the Cloak of Winterbloom. A banner of all the creatures Tristan had slain, on full, colorful display along his back. It would add some weight, but post-Trial of the Sap, Tristan was not concerned with the extra heft. The scales would also act as an additional layer of protection.

That is a lot of spells, Zeltana said in his mind as they worked on the last batch. Not taking my warning to heart?

Tristan replied in a whisper that only he could hear; especially with the sound of tink, tink from little hammer strikes drowning out his words. “I don’t want to have to constantly reference my Omnitome. That’s why I have the scales with those little, gilded numbers, and the matching chart sewn into the inner lining.”

Not what I’m talking about. You’re going too broad, not narrow enough.

“I can always detach the cloak if needed. I’m also not memorizing these ones. I’m following your advice on that part.”

I still think you will face choice paralysis in the moment.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

“It’s not meant for being used in the moment. It is meant to be accessed outside of a fight. Plus, those scales are hard, and with the reinforcement? I can use the cloak like a shield to protect from arrows, if I wanted.”

I suppose that is fair. Just make sure that you do not forsake your go-to spells and martial prowess in favor of these artificed trinkets. Sheer skill will overcome the most potent of essence-weavers.

“If that’s what you think,” Tristan replied. But the more he pondered her words and cast spells into the artificed items, the more he realized he would be an absolute idiot if he didn’t take her sage advice into account. After all, she had been a conqueror and had doubtless come up against hundreds of mighty threats. “Thanks for the feedback. I promise, the cloak and all these artificed spells are just to save time outside of a fight.”

Good. Now, about the dryads; I had previously advised you to unseal them last. However, circumstances seem to be forcing you to prioritize them. The Daylight Dell awaits.

Tristan finished up the last of the spells he needed to artifice and then thanked the gnomes before heading over to the cooking area. There were almost always people cooking, whether gnomes or residents. After grabbing some delicious vegetables on a skewer, he headed up to the top boughs to look out over the Fey Realm. “Okay, where is it.”

Look to your left. Tristan did so. Now, you see that part just past the Fallthorn Forest borders, but before the rise of the Undermount?

“Yes. It’s just a little spur of regular forest.”