System Break

Ying followed Trik through the streets of Dawnharbour. The leader of the white cloaks wore a sword on his hip, leather pants and a fancy blue shirt.

"Here" Trik said.

"The luxury hall?" Ying sounded surprised.

Trik nodded. "They came with packs full of qi cores."

"The pickings must be rich where they're from. Where are they from?"

Trik's tilted his head to the side. "I can guess, but you may as well ask them. They're  friendly."

Ying took the two steps and used the door knocker. A few moments later it opened, and an incredibly beautiful woman held the door. She was Svartalfar, the wood elf race, and basically naked.

"I'm Ying and you know Trik. You're expecting us."

She nodded and flicked her head towards the centre of their common room. "Follow," she said.

Ying turned to Trik with wide eyes and the rogue smiled.

"Thanks for the heads up," Ying said and entered.

"You're welcome sire," Trik said with equal sarcasm.

Sakaala and Reyas were dressed in leathers but were still stunning as their outfits hugged their curves. It was an unusual group, Reyas was the only human, four Svartalfar and one Dokkalfar.

Sakaala did the introductions and finished with Barrin. "This is Barrin, he's a Dokkalfar master smith."

Ying glanced at Trik.

"We've been hoping to meet someone from the Dokkalfar. Is your home near Salastria or do you live with your companions here?"

Barrin sat and indicated for them to sit. "My stronghold is near Salastria. These are my friends; we travelled here together."

Ying sat, nodded and said, "I see. I'd love to see one of your weapons."

Their eyes were drawn to Reyas who stood. She was graceful like a cat and her black hair whisked below her shoulders. "The axe heads were made by the Dokkalfar."

She tentatively let them take one each to inspect. Barrin wielded a heavy hammer with a leather-bound metal shaft. One striking point was flat and the other curved to a point. It was mainly deep blue with matte black trim.

Ying inspected the hammer. "They're beautifully made. Can you make swords?"

Barrin chuckled. "If it's made of metal, we can forge it."

"Is there anything special about it. I mean magical?" Ying asked.

Barrin pursed his lips. "They will strike true and last a hundred years if you keep them well. But it is a rare warrior who can unlock the qi runes."

"What do you mean?" Ailen asked.

He held out his hand for Reyas' axe and Trik handed it to him. "See these inscriptions; the art has been handed down from our ancestors. There are some warriors who qi strike and the runes come alive giving the weapon tremendous power. It will cut through a qi shield or pierce a dragon's scale."

His audience was stunned.

"What is the blue metal?" Ying asked.

"It is our specialty – Cold Iron. It's an alloy we make with ore and great skill."

Trik chuckled. "Don't tell us the recipe."

Barrin smiled. "No, I will not. But even if I did you would not be able to forge it easily."

Ailen nodded. "I bet."

Ying glanced at Trik and back to Barrin. "What would it cost to make our relationship exclusive?"

Barrin adjusted his goggles. "What do you mean?"

"That you only sell weapons to our guild and no other?"

Sakaala cleared her throat. 

Ying waved his hands and said, "My apologies. I did not mean to include his friends of course. I mean the other guilds here in Dawnharbour."

Barrin shook his head. "This is not how we trade. If you are not an enemy and can pay, we will trade with you."

Ying looked at ground. "I understand," he said and sighed. 

"Not many can afford our best weapons. If it is advantage you seek you just need a kings ransom of qi cores and you can buy a Mithril weapon."

Ying looked up. "I see. How many pounds is a king's ransom?"

"Start at fifty for a simple weapon. Something like my hammer would be a hundred pounds of cores."

Trik and Ying looked dumbfounded. "That's a lot," Trik said.

"A king's ransom is a lot," Barrin said. 

Sakaala calculated they paid a hundred pounds for Redmond's conversion and training, but she kept quiet.

"Do you want something to eat?" Sakaala asked. 

They agreed, shared a meal, and engaged in small talk. Which didn't take long to turn into talk of guilds.

"There are four of you, and some expert locals I assume?" Ying asked.

Ailen glanced at Sakaala and she said, "Yes. Do not underestimate them."

"Oh, I won't," he said. "The protectors of Dawnharbour are very skilled. We're not on their level, not in the least and I assume it the same for other places."

"They have a protector?" Gisael asked. 

Ying nodded. "Yeah. A group of five, just like the tournament. There is an ancient tradition that wars are fought with five warriors from a city only."

Gisael nodded. "This is the way in the old world."

"Except for ferals," Ailed said and chuckled.

"That is not a war," Reyas said, "That's pest extermination."

Trik and Ying exchanged a glance. "Ferals are a monster I assume?"

Ailen nodded. "Like goblins, except not as good at sneaking. Not for us anyway."

"That's very civilized. Five champions from each faction," Sakaala said. "So, if we wanted to invade Dawnharbour we'd only need five strong warriors who could beat theirs?" She smiled demurely. "Not that we would."

Ying and Trik laughed. "You could try. But they have advanced qi abilities and the best weapons."

"Then there's Loctris," Trik said. "They could send their team here and take it back. They're the strongest, I think. It's the biggest city and they're allied."

"Surely someone who break the rules and invade in mass numbers."

Barrin cleared his throat. "Not often, but there are stories. In my lifetime whenever I've heard of a war they keep to the tradition. Races like the Myrkalfar, the Mogui and the Qizhu hold traditions in high esteem."

"We've not heard of these races. Are there any here in this land?"

"This island. Not that I know of," Barrin said. "Myrkalfar are our kin, like the Svartalfar and they keep to the under-mountain like us. There are only two ranges on this island we live in one and Reyas here lived in the other. Reyas, did you see a Myrkalfar in your mountains?"

She laughed. "No, but they are very sneaky. They could be hiding under our noses."

"Or under the very rock," Barrin said with a chuckle.

"But seriously, the shaman would know if they were there, I'm sure."

Ying leaned forward. "There is one more important item we'd like to discuss."

He had everyone's attention.

"We'd like to merge guilds with you. We have something you don't – numbers. And good people are very hard to find."

"Don't you have a limit of twenty-five?"

He nodded. "We all do. But we can kick out four, there is no rule against that. You only have four adventurers; they others don't count towards the total."

Sakaala sipped some water. "You do not know what you ask. We are affiliated with the forest and its intertwined with our identity. And even if we thought it was a good idea our leader is not here."

"I thought Ailen was the guild leader?" Trik asked.

Ailen shook his head and smiled sheepishly. "That's only in the system, it has no bearing on how we really run things."

Sakaala nodded and frowned at her twin. "In fact, he's almost at the bottom of the pecking order." She pointed to Gisael, "She is in charge when Benzhi is not here."

Trik rubbed his chin. "But you two do all the negotiations and talking."

"We've been assigned due to our specialties. Like the smith crafts the weapons, I am in charge of trade and Ailen is in charge of adventurer relations. Aside from those two areas we take orders from Gisael. And if she was away, then Reyas."

"And Talila," Ailen said.

"I think its strange that you take orders from locals, but its probably to do with the culture." Ying said. "You look like you're enjoying it."

Ailen smiled. "You have no idea." 

"Where is your forest?" Trik asked.

"In the north," Sakaala said.

"Past the mountain range?"

She nodded.

"We'd pay handsomely for a map."

Sakaala looked at Ailen who shrugged. "The best person to draw you one would be Benzhi."

"Is he coming for the tournament?" Ying asked and noticed the host's tense.

"Yes, he should be," Sakaala said. "I will visit him tonight."

"Oh," Trik said. "So, he's …"

"I will dream-walk, yes."

"That's a nice way of putting it," Ying said. "But if he's not here physically, then how will he cross the plains and where is he coming from?"

"He's in the Dokkalfar stronghold," Ailen said.

Ying glanced at Trik.

"And he will cross alone? From there? In a day?" Ying sounded incredulous.

Sakaala laughed. "Sure, why not?"

Ying looked at Trik who shrugged.

"Is he a monster?" Ying asked.

Sakaala laughed again. "Yes, you could say that."