“You. You are actually a hunter?” Padri was staring wide-eyed at Daniel as he stood outside the doorway of the house, though the gaze occasionally flicked to the dusker behind him. “People talked about that incident. I have never known an Artificer who could fight like that.”
I hope Thomas hasn’t worked his magic, Daniel thought, knowing the Cleric often exaggerated when it came to friends. “I got my class when the Thormundz region fell. It was fight or die, just like it is now,” he explained evenly. Daniel hoped the Craftsman was here for the reason he suspected, though the why of it wasn’t clear. He decided to take a shot in the dark. “That’s why I’m doing all this. There’s a formulae I have that my team needs to hunt here, but I can’t make it alone. Can you help me?”
“I heard you tried to warn people right before it happened. I will be honest, if anyone else in the guild could find you they’d be here asking what I am. How did you know what was coming?”
“How did you know where I lived?”
Padri knocked a talon on the doorframe a few times. “You are using guild housing. Not hard to locate if you know the right people.”
The Craftsman had a clipped way of speaking that Daniel hadn’t picked up on until now, mostly because this conversation had already doubled the words the avianoid had spoken to him. It sounded a bit like Tak, though this wasn’t due to level disparity in intelligence. At least, he assumed so. “Well, considering what happened I can forgive the invasion of privacy,” he said diplomatically, pulling out his phone. “My Focus can alert me to things like something hitting me with the fear effect. It caught a surge of wild mana responsible for the monster spawning, although I was able to sense it myself just after. It’s like a mana burst if it was a roiling whirlpool instead of an explosion.”
The same curious light entered the Craftsman as when Daniel had said he’d personally killed the wolves. “Hmm. Make something dependent on ambient mana, it could act as an alarm.”
“If you have a formulae that does that, sure.” Daniel didn’t, as most of his known formulae were tuned towards fighting. The firestarter one he’d just gotten was a sign that his particular way of acquisition could lead to utility items, but he still had a long way to go in his formulae collection. “If it helps, I think what happened is rare. The new Collapse is weakening Threst’s Spoke, but I doubt the gods or the Octyrrum would stand for it if this was a regular occurrence. They’re our protectors, right?” He hoped Cloak was around to hear that.
“Yes.” Padri turned to leave with that.
“Hey, I still need a Craftsman. Since you already know the way here, would you at least hear me out?” Daniel pointedly did not use any of his charisma powers. He had Steadfast Salesman which only proved these kinds of classes could get commercial defensive powers and didn’t want to put the avianoid on edge.
“I am very busy.”
Yeah yeah. “You have me at an advantage since all the other Craftsmen hate me. I’m not asking for anything long-term, just enough time to make what I need. If it’s items you want then I’ll tell you what I can make. You know I have a ton of fur, and that could make great armor. It even has a smoke bomb effect that’ll give you, or people you care about, a good way to escape if something finds them.”
Padri paused at that and returned to the doorway, unabashedly stepping inside to give Khiat a closer look. “All one piece?”
“Yeah, it would’ve been too complicated to enchant it a section at a time.”
Padri frowned. “How? That dusker is larger than any of the wolves. There shouldn’t have been enough mass to accommodate this.”
“Uh, hi, I’m Khiat,” she said, introducing herself to the avianoid who looked like he didn’t care much for information he hadn’t asked for.
Padri did give a second look to Khare on the ceiling, but his attention was mostly on the armor Daniel had made. “How?” he asked again.
“You know about affixes and how they work with enchanting?”
“I have heard of them. Craftsmen have modifications. Different, but the difference isn’t important.”
“Ok,” Daniel replied, smothering his curiosity so he could get to the point. “I have an affix that lets me use separate materials for one item so long as they stay close enough together during the process. By the way, I’ve met another Craftsman before, not evolved, and he could do this too. Is the single source limitation only for Artificers or would he have had something similar?”
Padri blinked at him. “Which affix?”
“Patchwork. It- hey!” Daniel called out after the Craftsman, but by the time he got outside Padri had already Grown Wings and jumped off the balcony. He noticed Tlara take an interest in the falling avianoid and they met gazes, Daniel almost chuckling as he intuited the offer. Maybe getting stuck in a wyvern’s body was doing some good for her personality. Still, what the hell is with that guy?
…
Daniel was woken from sleeping in by another call from downstairs. He looked out the window and sighed as he saw it was the same person who had ditched him the night before. Though, the haggard look of the avianoid made him frown. From what he could tell, the man hadn’t slept himself. “Is everything alright?” he asked as he opened the door, stepping outside so their conversation wouldn’t interrupt Khiat’s rest.
“Did you lie?” Padri accused.
“About the monsters?”
“The affix. It is not in guild records or the libraries of Torch.”
Oh, damn. “No, but that makes sense. I can get formulae from observing monsters, dead or alive. That one came from the wolves and they’re a new monster type. It was the best thing I got from them.” Daniel foresaw a problem and decided to head it off before rumors spread if they hadn’t already. “Just so you know, I Personal Mark everything I make.”
“Prudent. There are ways around that.” Daniel waited for Padri to say anything else, but that was it.
“So, why are you here?”
“You are familiar with Bekali platforms?” Daniel nodded slowly, not seeing where this was going. “Her full name was Bekali Tiltfeather. She was in my family line, ten generations ago. Regent of Threst, for a time.”
“Oh, ok. You want me to help you make them?” He knew those platforms were due to the combined work of a Craftsman and an Artificer like his own winged boots, though that was the bare minimum. He was sure it was more complicated than that. “I don’t know their formulae.”
“Not important. I likely do not know the one you want made. Only one needs to know for collaborative effort, and then I would learn it after the first successful craft. That’s not what I want.”
“What do you want?”
A passing platform, Daniel wasn’t sure of the make, caught Padri’s attention before he turned back to Daniel. “I want to make them better. Bigger, smaller, more. Differ the design, the function. The sky is the limit, as they say.” He indicated the house with a talon. “That armor, what you used, it is new. I have studied what Threst has and it will not work for me. I need something new.”
Daniel was beginning to get the bigger picture. “If you help me out now I can keep hunting with my team. You’re thinking I find something that’ll help?”
“You have already. The largest platform, the Bekali Hauler, requires careful cultivation of certain trees in the Shattered Falls. They graft them together so it is technically one living being before the wood is harvested. Craftsmen can work multiple pieces of base material into a final product, but not if they require Artificer help.”
“Smart! Wait, so they just enchant one huge block of wood rather than fit stuff together?”
“It is necessary due to the current design,” Padri said, waving a hand. “Inefficient, though Threst has attempted workarounds. Patchwork would negate that issue. I would like a sample you have enchanted with it.”
“To take to another Artificer?” Daniel asked skeptically. It was starting to sound like Patchwork was more valuable than he already assumed.
“No. It may have a Personal Mark. I wish to experiment. This, as well as others you feel are unique.”
He’s trying to do what I did with the ornithopters, Daniel realized. Does he have a way to prototype and improve formulae too? “I do that, and you help me?”
Padri gave a single, sharp nod. “That is the idea.”
“Thanks! Do you want to come by after your work?”
“No need. I have taken a personal day. If this bears fruit, I will sever my contract with the guild,” Padri said casually. “Bekali was an innovator before she was lost. The people I work with, they are… not. Threst is advanced for its place in the world, but it has grown too reliant on what works to test what might not. Advancement through innovation is seen as a gamble by most. Dangerous times require more than what we had in the past.”
Daniel felt something there, a connection to the part of him that had been excited to find the glue orbs in the skabs. Nothing that could form a bond, not even close, but it was a point of commonality that boded well. “Yeah! Well, if you’ve got time now I’d love to make a set. I’d have to use Patchwork on it and I the base formulae would work for the platforms, so win win. Say we make two for now?”
“Acceptable. What is the formulae, out of curiosity?”
“Winged boots,” Daniel answered with a smile. He gestured inside and slowly opened the door. The Craftsman followed, tilting his head as he inspected the interior and noticing the loose rolls of fur that cluttered a few areas. The lither frame of the avianoid had no trouble navigating the stairs up to his room, which he found a little too restrictive for comfort.
He winced as the two found themselves in the secluded and somewhat messy space of Daniel’s room. There were still scraps of material on the workbench he’d converted, and evidence of his nightly transformation if you knew where to look. He felt like Dr. Jekyl as Padri frowned and picked up a tuft of golden fur from the floor. “This isn’t from the wolves.”
“We should be quiet, if that works for you,” Daniel said with a hushed voice. “Khiat’s been sleeping during the day and I haven’t found any enchantment that would work with that.”This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
“Muffle Sound is a common base item enchantment. Not too expensive if you were to purchase. Also unnecessary with me here.” Padri closed his eyes for a moment, his face evening out. “There.”
Daniel guessed the Craftsman had just used a power, but he was a long way from being able to sense the mana flow in others. “What’d you do?”
“Tranquil Workshop, reduces ambient noise among other things. It is a feature I must designate daily. There are other powers I will use when we get started. First, I must prepare.” The Craftsman took out a pair of glasses, and here Daniel did get a faint twinge. It was like they radiated a faint heat to his magical senses, a giveaway that they were a Focus. That he could sense the magic in them from a short distance away was only due to their bond with Padri, as he still had to touch other magical items to get a sense from them.
Another sign I’m improving. Good. “Interesting choice. I thought a Craftsman would use something like a handsaw or chisel for a Focus.”
“Some do.” Padri shrugged, a little self-aware as if he hadn’t expected Daniel to notice. “But form defines function. It is the advantage we have over intrinsics, modification of the Focus to derive optimal functions. I am sure you chose yours for the same reason.”
“Totally,” Daniel said, turning away slightly. I didn’t even think about that. But Encyclopedia’s too good to turn down. If I make something that gives me other functions, it could break what’s letting me keep it. “So, uh, how does this work?”
“Similar to how Smiths and Artificers can cooperate. Enchanted edges on forged metal, arrowheads on Carver shafts. It will be more difficult now, but after the first attempt we can work apart.”
“Carver is a class?” Daniel asked, picking up on that. He thought there hadn’t been a woodworking-specific class, or else the toy maker should have had it.
“Not a common one. Threst sponsors those that evolve into it for the platforms, but it is too narrow to be palatable. Another inefficiency I wish to fix.” Padri walked up to the table and began pulling various tools, from a needle and thread to small knives, from various pockets. His clothing had many of them, each with an additional strap to prevent them from opening during flight. The size of some of the implements suggested they were bigger than they seemed.
Daniel pulled out a few sections of fur from his bag, joining the Craftsman at the table. “This should be enough. Though the boots are separate, I can enchant two at a time. Do you need to do anything before I start?”
Padri took the fur in his hands instead of answering, inspecting it. “I skinned this section,” he murmured to himself, holding one in particular. He put that one aside and gave the others back. “Show me more.” Daniel continued passing rolled sections along until the Craftsman was satisfied. “Good. I will need to learn the formulae for this first attempt. This will help.”
“I’m guessing it’d be easier if I had one of these made already. You could just copy the formulae from it.”
“No,” Padri said with a bit of impatience, apparently growing frustrated with how much Daniel didn’t know. “Collaborative formulae can only be learned by doing.”
“But once you know, you could make physical boots for me to enchant,” Daniel offered, hoping he was buying back some points in the avianoid’s mind. “And if we figure out how to make your platforms better I could do the same.”
“Indeed. For this stage, I will need to observe you. What other affix are you using besides patchwork?”
“Self-repair,” Daniel answered. “Gonna make another assumption, what you’ll learn includes the specific set of affixes I use. Is it locked to the type of material too?”
“No, as long as it works with patchwork.”
“Good. I don’t want to use fur for all of them, but I will for mine. It could get complicated, but the affix lets me use certain types of nonmagical material. I can even combine a number up to my level, or the level of the item.” Padri stared at him again for a few moments. “I didn’t mention that the first time, did I?”
“What a ludicrous effect. I must experiment with it. You have considered the implications?”
“Combining material bonuses? Yeah, I’m just waiting on a couple things to try it myself. Feathercut or whatever it’s called.”
“Featherworked. At least, for the Craftsman modification,” Padri added distantly, clearly still thinking of the implications for his project. “You should have mentioned this affix in the guild. Everyone would have wanted to work with you.”
“To steal it. But with you, you have as much of an interest in keeping it quiet, right?”
Padri’s eyes shifted back to a window, though he didn’t find what he was looking for. “For now. The enchanting, if you would?”
Daniel sighed and settled in for what would be an awkward hour or two. He barely knew this Craftsman and wouldn’t have a lot of time for small talk. One of the other reasons he was nervous about combining material was whether the added difficulty would throw him off. It wasn’t worth disappointing his potential crafting partner to try it out now.
He started the enchanting, and as soon as Padri laid a hand on the fur he felt the block that had prevented him from making the item before go away. While the mana dripped from him to the fur, Padri remained within two meters and kept his spectacles on at all times. From sideways glances, Daniel could tell the lenses could change by how the Craftsman’s eyes appeared. Magnification function? He didn’t ask, letting the man work. Something different happened when the material reached the point where he could begin to manifest the physical form.
“Hey, you’re going to break my-“
“Let me work!” Padri’s hands began to blur with motion and Daniel blinked, both due to the sudden shift and the pause in his mana flow. It was still locked in the enchanting pattern preventing him from doing anything else, but the weight he consistently carried had been lifted. The fur no longer required his direct attention, perhaps not even his direct presence, at least while Padri worked.
The fur was shaped so fast it was like the Craftsman was molding it from clay rather than cutting and sewing. Sections of it began to shift as he did, thickening towards the base where the soles would be. The Craftsman only took a few minutes to Daniel’s hour and when he was done, all Daniel had to do was invest the last of the mana. The assistance had completely negated the need to draw the item out.
“Finally,” Daniel sighed as he identified the item.
<hr>
Winged Boots (Item, Domain: Enchantment, Quality: Standard, Level: 2)
A combination of Crafting and Enchanting talent enabling Flight in any Creature capable of wearing them. This formulae is collaborative in nature, requiring the input of multiple individuals in the proper sequence to construct.
Added Affixes:
- Patchwork
- Self-repair
Material Bonus: Use of Special Item: Gray Wastewolf Fur has imparted Ability: Dust Cloud to the wearer of the item. This ability has a one hour cooldown once used, and this cooldown is shared between any wearers of the Item during this period.
<hr>
“We’re taking a break,” Daniel declared as he picked up the boots. They were the same silvery gray as Khiat’s armor. While they lacked obvious wings off the side, Padri had crafted flaps that swept off the front and grew wider as they went further up. He could barely contain his excitement as he pulled them on, and something in Padri’s gaze told him the Craftsman understood. “You can have these to experiment with. I’ll look more into combining materials for my team before we do anything else. Uh, sorry, but these are going to be worn first.”
“I see. Meet me at the Hunter’s Guild, one hour.”
“I don’t know if I can walk there in an hour,” Daniel said with a knowing smile.
“Then, do not.”
…
Everyone in the house had come out to witness this, including Khiat who would probably go back to sleep soon after. Padri had flown off before they’d gathered, but even Tlara was here in wyvern form. She’d been staring at Daniel’s boots, using the open-mouth ‘look how big my teeth are’ glare to stare at him. “Is this you asking me to make you armor?” She just continued staring, though he was sure if they could communicate she would be calling him an idiot or something. “Fine, I’ll see what I can do. So much to enchant. You know I’ve almost gotten to where I can walk in Beast Mode, right? We need to get back to hunting.”
“Those will let you fly?” Willow asked, bringing him back on topic.
“Yep! They, uh, should.” He looked over the edge of the landing platform attached to the balcony and had a flashback to the second floating island. “The item description says it gives flight, and the Encyclopedia’s never lied when it could give me information, so- aaaaaAAAA!”
Tlara had pushed him in the back with her tail. He’d seen it coming and had almost activated Dodge Roll in time before he realized the only place to roll to was forward. Graceful Fall was quickly heightened and he turned in the air to look up, seeing everyone looking back down as he fell. Tlara was grinning widely. I’m going to make your armor itchy for this! Daniel thought vindictively, before something else caught up to him.
He was flying. Kind of. As Evalyn had demonstrated with the original shoddy design, the propulsion of the winged boots was as if he had rockets strapped to his feet. Without his aerial power or enhanced dexterity it might have taken him too long to acclimate before he hit the part of the mountain a kilometer below that jutted out under his house. Once he consciously acknowledged what they could do, control became easier.
Daniel spent a full ten minutes spiraling through the air, just enjoying the magic. An entire axis of movement he had been denied in one way or another was now fully open to him and he was in the best region possible to try it out. It was all sky, all freedom.
He briefly returned to the house to flip Tlara off before making for the Hunter’s Guild. All the while he summarized his more practical thoughts on the experience. The top speed isn’t terrible. There’s a penalty when going up. Slightly faster than running, but there’s a problem. He tried, and failed, to activate both Jump and Dodge Roll. Both needed a surface to stand on, and if he declared the boots as said surface he would soon have a bigger issue. Flash Jaunt still worked, though it remained expensive. It did make him wonder how he’d been able to activate Jump while Hunter’d been in the air during the greater skink hunt. Had it been because his physical body had been on the ground? Something to test after we get Hunter back.
There were other problems. Turning sucks. I can hover fine, but I only have limited control of my momentum and that’s with Graceful Fall. Hopefully the lightning wings will compensate. As it was, he felt unbalanced and prone to twisting his body like a pretzel if he tried too daring a maneuver. And there’s no way of telling how this will work with Beast Mode. Thank god I still have the same shoe size as a cat.
The Hunter’s Guild was fast approaching and Daniel was about to land when he randomly remembered something. Pulling out his phone, he mentally adjusted the volume to about 125% and played back one of the landing screeches he’d heard others give. Not the one from the group that had fallen to the monster spawn, he would have removed that from his phone if he could.
A few looked up at him and blinked in surprise, though Padri was leaning against a tree and waved slightly, just a brief raise and jostling of the hand. He decided to touch down near the avianoid and found this process to be another point of difficulty. I can’t just cut out the boots or I’ll crash land. This’ll take some getting used t- oh shit!
He tumbled slightly as he misjudged his first step onto the ground and ended up rolling into a fast recovery. As he continually reminded himself, someone without all his powers, such as his entire team, would have had a much rougher fall. As it was, he’d unconsciously ejected his Focus as he opened his hands to catch himself, and the phone had landed on the dirt next to Padri.
The Craftsman picked it up and dusted it off. For a moment Daniel worried the Craftsman would run off with it, but he quickly held it out instead. “You will need to be careful. Lose this in the sky and you will need to remake it.”
“Yeah, that would suck. At least it can’t break.”
Padri gave him an odd look as Daniel accepted his Focus. “Oh?”
“Yeah, it’s got…” A strange sense filled Daniel at that moment. It was the same deja vu that told him he’d found something related to the missing time, and it was strong enough that he felt he could leverage it. The change was the foreboding and the consequences of the last time he’d successfully regained memories. He might not have pursued this thread here and now if it wasn’t for Cloak’s insistence that he do so.
Daniel quickly took off the boots, giving them in trade for his Focus. “Great work Padri. Look, I have to go. How should I get in touch with you when I’m ready to make more?”
“The guild can contact me. I will also make it known when I require your aid. Please, tell me if you discover anything else novel.”
“Yeah,” Daniel said distractedly, looking for a place he could sit down and not be bothered. “Looking forward to it.”