Accidental Healer-Chapter 144 - 58 - Secrets, Secrets

"So, Mischief was right…" Jared paused then shook his head. "No—no I never doubted."

He said, clearly responding to a telepathic response from Mischief. Even though I couldn't hear what he'd said to Jared I could pretty much surmise.

"Yes, Mischief, always so wise." I said, only half joking.

It was hard to deny how often I'd turned to my friend when I was lost. "So I guess we'll need to turn up the heat on getting things done. How much time do you think we can cut off?"

Jared leaned back from his desk. He licked his finger and began thumbing through his notebook.

"I'm not sure we can. We're already operating at a razor's edge. Although…if we shifted…maybe?"

"If we shifted what?" I pressed.

"Well, if we contracted workers from the transplant factions…but they won't like it…"

Jared was of course referring to the Elder Gnomes, Blue Men, and Trasnik's goblins.

"Why wouldn't they want to help?"

He shrugged. "They won't want the scourge to end sooner."

And why would they? The scourge was essentially a never ending source of coins and levels. Not only that but the growth was manageable so long as they were careful. With few losses, crazy gains, and relative safety, it was basically a paradise.

"Can they be convinced?" I asked folding my arms. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"Well I guess you are the faction leader, so in the worst case scenario you could just say there is no choice. But I think if we offered some kind of incentive it would probably be good for ongoing relations." He scratched his chin. "Then again everyone is pretty enamored with you already. Trasnik especially. Apparently your resource upgrade token was more of a gift then we might've anticipated."

"No. This can't be a favor. I'm asking them to give up a lot. What could we offer?"

This was not the time for cashing in favors. If we were going to end the scourge early I wanted to make sure all parties were appropriately rewarded. Especially since it was for my own selfish reasons.

"We could create an objective? That would come with its own rewards, and we could even tie it to overall contribution."

"I like it. Do we have enough to make it worth their sacrifices?"

Jared chuckled. "Money is not an issue. We could even throw in materials from our best crafters. I think they will be happy to help."

***

Trasnik sat hunched over his cluttered workbench. A lamp hovered just in front of the crown of his head casting an orange glow that separated as it passed through the delicate mana crystal cradled gently in his thin nimble fingers.

The colors of the rainbows danced around the room like sparkling fairies. Trasnik focused on the movements of the lights, allowing the subtle shifts to tell the crystal's story. Each stone told its own story, each different from the last.

Moving with a surgeon like precision Trasnik infused his razor with mana. The hair thin blade came to life pulsing a dull red. He channeled a second strand of mana to his ears searching for the subtle vibrations that would guide his cuts.

His lip twitched and he followed the voice of the stone, placing the red of the razor blade tenderly at the base of the stone crystal allowing the vibrations to guide his upward stroke. Mana channeled into his eyes allowing him to witness the near imperceptible shavings to slough from the stone. His senses worked in tandem guiding his movements little by little until the vibrations gradually became a contented hum.

Stoneworking was a craft that demanded patience. Even the smallest blemish had the potential to be catastrophic. Weeks of work could be lost at the slightest twitch.

His hand froze mid cut. Voices.

He pulled his hand away from the stone, laying his razor reverently in a velvet cloth lined box. While others used spatial storage for their tools Trasnik preferred to see his tools configured on his stone workbench.

It was part of his process. He stood, glanced back at the velvet box and adjusted his razor just so. Satisfied he circled the table and pressed his palm against cool stone, activating the door. It slid free to reveal a beautiful red haired goblin woman with full red lips and almond eyes.

"Shelley. You know better to interrupt one of my crafting sessions."

White cheeks flushed red and she fidgeted studying the cool stone floor.

"I know Trasnik. Forgive me. But the human steward Jared has come requesting your attention."

Trasnik regarded the timid girl thoughtfully. She was the daughter of his clanmate who'd perished while leaving their dungeon. She was still just a child. Barely older than that boy. Trasnik's hand moved reflexively to his leg making sure it was still attached.

"He's here? It's sooner than we were expecting. Did he explain why?"

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"Simply that he needed to speak with you immediately."

Trasnik half listened while pulling a thin shirt made of chainmail from his storage. He shoved his arms through the links feeling the cool crystals kiss his wrists. Instantly he felt the infusion of power invigorating his body.

The shirt was Trasnik's own design. Three mana crystals, two at the wrist, one at the chest. Together they supercharged Trasnik, granting him powers far beyond anything even remotely possible for someone like him.

He was a crafter. Everyone in his faction was.

Trasnik was a stonebreaker to be precise.

As a young goblin the name confused him. Stonebreaker. A strong name. Someone with great power to crush even stone with a single strike.

That wasn't it though. His class was more like how the great goblin dragon riders broke their mounts. He bent the stone to conform to his will.

And in return, they lent him their powers.

Powers that allowed him to battle toe to toe with the likes of Layton Shepard. The boy was brash, hot headed. He was also complicated.

It was for that exact reason that Trasnik was covering his secret in his customary bronze armor. Maybe in time Trasnik would reveal the truth of their strength, but that wouldn't be today. For now, he'd keep it a secret.

They would stay bunkered in their tunnels toiling away, gaining levels. It worked for now. The scourge was the perfect cover. They assumed their levels were earned in combat, when the truth was they'd simply sealed off their tunnels and let the rest of the faction deal with the threat while they crafted.

"Alright."

He pulled the last strap tight and held his helmet under his arm.

"Let's go."

They walked together through the wide stone pathways of their underground city. The entire space was a gift from the system for surviving their dungeon with only crafters. A simple token that transformed the entire quarry into a new home for his people. Him and Shelley passed rows of doorways, some used for homes, others for workshops of different kinds.

In time the network of tunnels wouldn't be enough and they'd need to create their own tunnels deeper into the earth. But that wouldn't be for decades to come.

Jared was waiting for him next to the teleporter that connected their territories. He sat patiently at a stone bench with his legs crossed, head bowed, face obscured by a hat with a bill that only covered the front portion. He stayed busy scribbling notes into his worn out leather journal until Trasnik was only a few steps away—at which point he snapped the notebook shut and stood with a smile reaching out his hand.

Trasnik was used to this greeting by now and clasped his metal hand to Jared's.

"Thanks for coming, Trasnik. I know you weren't expecting me."

"You're our ally now, this is Layton's faction." Trasnik nodded respectfully.

He liked Jared. The man had no reason to respect his people's privacy. If he wanted they could easily force his goblin home to open its doors wide and unearth all their secrets. But he didn't.

"And we're glad to have you. Your help mining marble has been essential to completing this scourge trial."

"We didn't have much choice."

"No—I guess not." Jared grinned. "Still."

Goblins skirted around them passing through the main corridor to complete their many tasks. Trasnik gestured back towards the bench. His bronze armor clacked against the cold stone. Jared joined him.

"So?"

Jared watched the goblins comings and goings through the open great hall.

"Straight to the point, eh?"

"You didn't come for pleasantries." Trasnik stated flatly.

"I did not." Jared chuckled, not losing his good nature in spite of Trasnik's clipped responses. He opened his notepad and thumbed through the pages. Stopping on a page that had several detailed drawings of what seemed to be stones. "Do you know what these are?"

He asked, pointing with his pencil.

Trasnik studied the drawings noting the specific measurements wondering if he was reading it correctly.

"Mana stones? Are these measurements correct?"

"Yes and yes."

Trasnik was starting to understand why Jared was here.

"You want someone from our faction to refine the stone?"

"That's right." Jared snapped the notebook closed. "We're willing to pay. Is there anyone in your faction willing to help?"

Trasnik straightened his back. Careful not to appear too eager. A project like that would almost certainly earn him more than just levels. This was the type of project that earned titles.

"We have the people—let's talk about the payment."

Jared smiled and a screen appeared in the front of the stone bench in the form of the system interface.

"I've already drafted up a proposal." He pointed. "Each individual craftsmen willing to assist in crafting the stone will be assigned an objective that will reward 5,000,000 UBCs apiece, provided the work is completed within the allotted timeframe of three days. As I'm sure you're well aware there is also a system assigned reward once the objective is accepted."

Trasnik gripped the seat of the bench so hard he thought it might break under the weight of it. 5,000,000 million UBCs was an absolutely absurd amount. It was more coins than the combined wealth of his entire faction. With that amount of coin he could probably double his population, build the workshop of his dreams, and purchase much needed upgrades to his armor.

Was this the kind of riches they were missing out on by closing themselves in? He almost reached out his hand in the human sign of agreement right then and there. But fortunately, he had some self control.

"I'd like to accept. But under one condition."

Jared turned toward him and waited for him to continue.

"Make it an open objective and reward 10,000,000 UBCs. We'll also require a private workspace where I will personally supervise the project."

An individually assigned objective meant Trasnik wouldn't be able to participate. Jared, and by default Layton, still assumed he was a fighter class. He still wanted to keep it that way. At least for now.

If the objective was open it would allow him to participate without revealing his secret. The private workspace would allow them to work in Layton Mischief township and not have to transport the stones here.

Jared grinned and Trasnik felt like he saw a glimmer of something behind his eyes.

"You realize that would mean less money for your faction that way?"

Trasnik reached out his hand.

"Consider it a discount for Layton's generous gift of upgrading the marble quarry."

Jared clasped the bronze covered hand and they shook. A second later an objective appeared on Trasnik's screen, he accepted it immediately.

"I'm glad we could come to an agreement." He said cheerfully standing to go.

He took a few steps toward the teleporter before turning back.

"You know, since you'll be around more often—maybe you could tell me more about your class. Stonebreaker….sounds fascinating."

With that, he strode through the portal.