Syl-Chapter 212: Report

I also remembered I needed to decipher the new poison I had acquired; it must have been potent as it caused my trait to level up. Lost in the thought of being attacked, my new traits and level-ups had almost been a footnote in the day’s activities.

Sanguine Dream... It certainly sounds ominous.

Rather than naturally occurring like Bloodrot, this appeared to be a manufactured poison. But that was the limited extent of my attempts to break it down; perhaps I needed to become an alchemical slime to diffuse the ingredients.

Or maybe I just need to learn alchemy in general. Although I don’t think alchemists normally imbibe their own poisons.

I then recalled that the dwarves specifically had a trait relating to hazardous consumption and wondered if I needed to correct my assumption.

The Sanguine Dream was particularly nasty, causing the victim to enter an almost eternal slumber. It was a slower build-up than the other sleep poison I had, and you could fight off the effects, but once you succumbed, you presumably wouldn’t awaken. Even attempting to form it with my slime was a struggle, and I wondered if it was beyond my current trait level.

I had no problem creating Bloodrot even when my [Poison Slime] level was lower... Or did I? I guess it could have been more potent... Or is this just a limiting factor for manufactured poisons?

"Hey Syl, we’ve reached the guild..." Vee interjected.

"Oh... Thanks... I spaced out a bit," I replied.

Vee giggled, and we entered the guild.

I didn’t need to turn in my quest since it was just an indefinite "exterminate kobolds," so I instead requested a meeting with someone higher up. That led to me sitting across from Lukhek, the guild master.

"Good evening, Syl. I hope you’ve enjoyed your time in Dhoggurum?" The dwarf politely asked.

"It’s been enjoyable and very profitable," I answered honestly. "And I even got to meet Vee here."

I nodded to my spider companion, taking her usual seat on my shoulder. She gave a little wave with her front leg.

"Aye... That caused quite a stir," Lukhek chuckled nervously as he scratched his beard. "Still, it seems to have worked out in the end, and Jasgra hasn’t stopped talking about how amazing it was to witness an elven companion in person."

"Unfortunately, I’m not here on pleasant terms..." I admitted, breaking the ice.

"Oh gods, who’s done what now?" Lukhek grumbled. "I’ll box their bloody ears off!"

"None of yours..." I said, pulling out the assassin’s blade and placing it on his desk. Lukhek took a grim expression, presumably from using his own [Appraisal.]

"An elf assassin attacked me while we were out taking care of some kobolds," I explained before he could say anything. "I wasn’t sure who to turn to, as his identity was completely blocked. I thought I’d just inform the guild."

"Bloody hells..." Lukhek murmured. "Good on you for living to tell the tale... Did the body survive?"

"No..." I replied awkwardly and turned to a half-truth. "Acid doesn’t tend to leave much behind."

"Aye. Perfectly understandable. You can’t hold back when your life is on the line!" Lukhek agreed heartedly. "Still... Why would an elf assassin be after you?"

I shrugged. "He said he was here to finish the job the humans failed to do. There might be a report on it, but I was attacked by a group of humans in the Stantondale dungeon..."

"Bloody hell, what enemies have you made?" Lukhek shook his head. "I expected one of the first elf adventurers to make some waves, but you’re making a tsunami!"

I opened my mouth, but he held his hand out and shook his head.

"Forgive me, I shouldn’t be blaming the victim..." Lukhek sighed before pulling a flask from his desk and taking a deep swig. "As a member of the guild, you have our full support. Attacking one of our gold ranks might as well be declaring war... Do you have any suspicions that Tamnaeth is to blame?"

I shook my head. "I actually feel like he’s unrelated. I tried to give him something, which he refused, while the assassin tried to steal it from me."

"Thank the gods!" Lukhek cheered, taking a victory swig. "At least that’s one silver lining. Assuming you are alright with it, I can ask him for assistance and if we need to set up any additional security measures..."

"Please go ahead; I’d appreciate knowing if this was an isolated incident or if I need to sleep with one eye open," I replied. "Maybe even get me a meeting with Tamnaeth?"

"I’d be extremely impressed if they attacked you while within the city walls... They waited for you to go outside for a reason," Lukhek replied. "Not to toot my own horn, but I don’t think even the Glade can beat dwarven defenses! As for a meeting, I’ll let him know, and if he disagrees, we can put him on the suspicion list."

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I nodded.

"Can I take the dagger for evidence?" Lukhek asked. "If I flash it to Tamnaeth, it might also cause him to react."

"Go ahead... I prefer magic to blades anyway," I said, vaguely gesturing toward it. "Also... Do you have somewhere safe you can recommend staying at? I don’t want to drag Thern and his family into this."

"I can get you a room at one of the best inns in the city; it’s practically a VIP suite," Lukhek offered. "Although I still doubt they would attempt anything in the city, I respect your doubts."

"Thanks... Better to be safe than sorry," I nodded.

"Any other enemies I should know about for the investigation?" Lukhek asked.

"Ingotback tried to bribe me not to clear out the mine..." I answered. "Although I don’t think he’d be working with the elves...?"

"Ha! He wishes!" Lukhek laughed.

"Then no..." I mumbled.

Seriously, Sylthaeryn, what did you get yourself into? The only other enemy I could potentially have would be Odark, but I highly doubt he’s working together with the elves. Hell, how would he even get here?

"Okay... Well, thanks for bringing this to my attention," Lukhek said with a polite nod. "I’ll get right on this. But I’d suggest staying within the city for now unless you’re confident in another potential fight."

"Thanks, I appreciate it!" I said happily.

Lukhek handed me a note with the name of the inn and some directions to it. With that out of the way, I headed to Thern’s place to inform them of the attack and let them know I was staying at an inn until it was deemed safe.

***

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"Absolutely bloody not!" Thern shouted angrily. "You think we can’t ward the house for intruders?"

"I just... Don’t want you getting dragged into something related to me," I replied.

Thern was not pleased about my suggestion to move out. While I was glad the grumpy dwarf was willing to fight for me, keeping him uninvolved greatly enriched my attack options. If it was just Vee and me in a room, I could go full slime monster on the intruder, and Vee could whip out the [Rift Thread]. It was just safer for everyone, in my opinion.

"While I agree with my son that you are always welcome here, you’re welcome to do whatever you wish," Darmod informed me. "Still... I don’t understand why they would send an assassin after you?"

"Do you think you pissed off some elf bigshot by joining the guild?" Thern suggested. "You have broken a longstanding tradition for the elves refusing to join the guild..."

I shrugged. "Lukhek is going to question the diplomat and try to get some answers..."

"Damn, pointy-eared bastard better not attempt to obfuscate the facts..." Thern grumbled before quickly adding. "No offense."

I chuckled and waved it off. Technically, I didn’t even have ears.

"Well... If you are leaving, at least take your armor," Darmod spoke up. "Thessa completed it a while ago; it’s just been sitting at her forge for days until I visited."

"Thanks! I can’t wait to see it," I replied enthusiastically. "But wow, Thessa really is living in her forge these days..."

"I can’t blame her; she’s got a new furnace heart and obsidianite to work with," Darmod shrugged.

"Aye, she’s got the forge fever," Thern agreed. "Still... I’m not happy about you leaving. I brought you to Dhoggurum; I feel responsible for your safety."

"Well, I was planning on leaving the city sometime soon anyway," I replied honestly. "I was mostly just waiting for slime cores and to see a friend."

"That’s the pixie you mentioned, right?" Darmod asked.

I nodded. "Trixie. She said she would meet me here, but who knows, she might have gotten lost or distracted."

"Spirit folks have absolutely no sense of time, and coming from one of the other long-lived races, that’s saying something!" Thern declared. "Like... I know you elves don’t age, and we dwarves easily live half a millennium, but those spirits are another story entirely! I bet that pixie thinks it’s been a few hours since she last saw you!"

"Well... That’s not ideal," I said, pulling out the coin she had marked and staring at.

"I’m not telling you not to stay... But, if you have more important things to do, prioritize those," Thern commented.

"Right..." I agreed.

"Well, I’m definitely for leaving. I want to see what this VIP suite has for food!" Vee said, excitedly waving her front legs.

"What’s Vee’s opinion?" Darmod asked curiously.

"She wants to eat the inn food..." I replied with a giggle.

"Traitorous glutton! And after I cooked you so much damn food!" Darmod said, feigning outrage.

Vee made a shrugging gesture, causing Thern to cackle with laughter.

We discussed it a bit more, and I finally convinced Thern to let me stay at the inn. We also discussed potentially teleporting back to the human lands and away from the assassins. It was good to have options open, but I didn’t want to end Thern’s vacation early on my part.

I’m tempted to just wander around. If I turned into a worm, I could burrow in a random direction and explore quite quickly. I could even make a slime pocket for Vee to be safe and sound. Alternatively, I could ask to be teleported somewhere close to Keld and visit the golemancer.

When Darmod brought out my renewed armor, I gasped in surprise. My renewed salamander leather armor looked glorious. I could see the obsidianite reinforcements and the resettled enchantments being applied. I had almost forgotten about the armor as I had grown fond of making fake slime clothes.

"Okay... I’m jealous..." Vee replied, staring at the armor. "I’m grateful for the magic ring you gave me, but I’d feel a lot safer if I had some armor or something. Hell, do you even need armor?"

"A lot of good it would do me against [Rift Thread]... Still better to be safe than sorry," I teased. "As for armor... I’m not sure; it would need to be resized with you."

"Forgot about that... Maybe I should focus on my weaving and make my own armor!" Vee declared.

"If you do, I could ask Thern to enchant it for you. Or I could do it myself, although I might need to buy some more patents," I informed her.

"That sounds great! Otherwise, maybe I should get more rings! I have only one, and I have more legs to work with!" Vee said excitedly.

"We can go on a shopping trip," I suggested. "If we are going to be stuck in the city for a bit, we might as well use my funds."

Vee was so happy and excited about that offer that I almost suspected our bond level had grown just from that. It was nice to see her settling in. Now that she had the [Elven Legacy] emblem, we also had some potentially easier magic lessons to look forward to.

I also questioned Darmod about the slime cores, and it sounded like Flintheart would provide me with some during our next meeting. That tickled my fancy, and I wondered if I’d get my tendrils on a violet core.

Either way, any extra cores will be appreciated. I might as well start trying to get all my slime traits capped out!

After that, Vee and I left for the inn. Lukhek hadn’t been joking, as it was massive and well-decorated. It immediately made me think of some of the buildings I had seen in the noble district of Kaerlin. Entering the establishment, we were drowned in the bluster of joyfully cheering dwarves.

After a quick flash of the note, I was soon shown to our room, which had far more than the basic essentials. Closing the door, the entire din of the bar and common room was instantly halted, much to our relief. Vee excitedly explored the room before declaring a portion of it her own and spinning a web.

Well... Let’s see what the next few days bring...