Beyond Chaos – A DiceRPG

Sir Paige watched the carriages slip away as the morning sun bore upon the Order. The Priests had offered to pray for them, and since they were a Priest of Lady Arya and a Priest of Lady Tempest, the Order accepted eagerly, especially since the business offered to pay for the service, paying themselves to provide others a prayer. That offer had surprised her, but it was the offer to deal with their Order which surprised her more, especially considering just how great the deal was. 

‘Alright then, how about this?’ Adam had begun, after a long moment of thinking, but certainly not thinking enough. ‘For this particular order…’ 

The woman waited for the half elf as he grumble to himself about how words had different meanings in such a context.

‘For this particular… offer, the first request, for the Primrose Order, if you procure Greater Enhanced weapons, for each Greater Enhanced weapon, we will also hand over a single Basic weapon, of the same kind, too. The limit will be…’

The pair exchanged a look, and she had no idea that Adam was asking Jurot how much he should enchant, while Jurot replying that since the half elf was going to be the one enchanting, then it would be up to him, and Adam frowned, since he was certainly going to be in great trouble with his daughter if he worked too much. 

‘Hold on!’ Adam gasped. ‘Won’t it be a little too difficult for newly formed Orders to afford such pricey items? That was my mistake on thinking you should be focused on procuring weapons when you should be more focused on establishing yourself here!’

The half elf had said it with such joy, Sir Paige was certain he was trying to pick a fight with her.

‘Then how about this? Basic Enhanced! Essentially, think about the sword we’re gifting you, but Basic Enhanced instead of Greater Enhanced. We’ll hand over… a Basic spear for each that you procure? Up to a maximum of… five? No, no, since we’re trying to form good relations, let’s say a maximum of ten.’

Sir Paige was entirely uncertain of the half elf. He always spoke as though he wished to fight, and yet he offered them a deal with was unmatched by any other she had ever received. Even as she trained and took the position of the Primrose Sword, her life had been a give and take, a fair deal from one side, and often times, she had to give a little extra to those she dealt with. 

However…

This half elf had come to the Order, picked a fight, and then gifted their Order a Greater Enhanced weapon. Then, after speaking so openly about their poverty, offered a free Basic spear with each Basic Enhanced weapon they procured, a weapon that smote thrice per day, allowing her warriors to keep their spells for other matters? Such weapons were worth thousands, and he was offering Basic spears, each worth in the hundreds, if not a thousand, for each of those fine Basic Enhanced weapons she would order? She would buy? Up to a maximum of not one, or two, or three, but ten?

‘Just how much influence do you think you can buy?’ Sir Paige thought, and though she should refuse such an offer, if she brought the matter with the nearby town, couldn’t she negotiate a better deal with them? For there was quite a lot she had to sacrifice to the nearby town, and though the southern town had been a decent enough counter balance, it still didn’t match Grove Petal, but with the United Kindom also willing to invest within them, she’d finally be able to balance each of the various forces, and claim a greater position for herself and her Order within the land.

‘If I had known your intentions were to invest within us, I would have treated you far politer,’ Sir Paige thought, reaching towards the silver token. ‘Ah!’

‘Now that you’ve cashed it in, you need to return the token so we can begin working on the gift,’ Adam said, holding out his hand expectantly. 

‘Does he have an inability to remain polite?’ Sir Paige thought.

“Sir Primrose Sword,” one of her aides called. “Where do we put the chest?”

“The chest?”

Quest Complete: Order of Business

XP Gained: +100

XP: 27 200 -> 27 300

‘Oh?’ Adam thought, smiling to himself. ‘Nice!’

“Adam, from now on, we must step forward in the proper way,” Jurot said. 

“What do you mean?”

“You must wash your hands, show your gratitude to the Divine, show your gratitude to the cook, then you may eat. When we arrive at the outposts, we should pay the silver and gold, show our respect, and behave appropriately.”

“Right, right…”

“When we arrive at the Order of the Heroic Honeysuckle, we must hand over the silver, speak politely, and inform them of our intentions to discuss business between their Order and our business. If you had handed over the chest of one hundred gold to the Primrose Sword, she would not have been so hostile towards us.”

“Understood,” the half elf replied, throwing up a quick salute to his brother. 

“Will you take it seriously?” Jurot asked.

Adam raised his brow. “Yeah? I will.”

“Okay.”

As the group continued along within their carriage, they came across the large river which wounds its way along the plains between the hills, all the way to Gold Port. 

“Hmm?” Adam noted the new road heading northward as they stopped to refill their water. “A new road?”

“Floria is forming outposts upon the hills to provide a bulwark against Central Aldland,” Jurot replied. 

“Investing in his security so he doesn’t lose his land?”

“The King is sparing no expense to protect his land,” Jurot said.

“Sparing no expense?” Adam whispered, smiling wider. “I see. Well, well, well…”

“We must remain polite so we can draw many concessions from the King, and the various Orders.”

“I was wondering if my previous deal was good enough.”

“It was too good.”

“Really?” Adam raised his brow. 

“Your original offer was too good, but you also offered free Basic weapons with every Basic Enhanced weapon, which was too much.”

“Only up to ten!”

“If it was a single free Basic weapon, it would have been enough.”

“Really?” Adam raised his brows. “Everyone always calls me too generous, I didn’t realise they weren’t joking…”

“It is also to give this much, for she will feel your sincerity.”

“Right! I’m just being sincere, that’s all. Aren’t I that kind of guy? A sincere kind of guy, whose heart is so full of generosity.”

“…” Jurot’s eyes met with the Priest’s eyes, and Dunes smiled politely, bowing his head in understanding. 

‘That is why they pay you the big bucks, Executive,’ Dunes thought, smiling to himself.

As they stopped for a break, Adam allowed them to refill one of their barrels, the half elf warming the water using his magic, letting them boil it under his orders, before finally chilling it.

“Haa!” Adam sighed after drinking the cold water, his eyes falling upon the soldiers, the half who were taking a short break. The half elf could feel the noonval sun already searing him, so he wondered how the soldiers felt in their heavy armour under the bare sun.

‘What is he doing now?’ the Commander thought, standing up, doing his best to fight off the saddleache upon his groin.

“Hello, hello,” Adam called, waving his hand towards Commander Silversky. “I was just wondering if, under this wicked noonval heat, you’d like for me to cool down your water with my magic.”

“That would not be necessary,” the Commander replied.

“No?” Adam asked, glancing aside towards the soldiers, noting the way they eyed him up. “I merely thought, as a Priest, I should do my duty to assist those in need. I hate the heat. A lot. So I can only imagine how you feel, for the carriage provides me shade, and I can use my magic to cool us down, your brave soldiers must be cooking under this heat, especially in that armour of theirs.”

“We appreciate your concern, but we have trained to endure such heat, as is our duty.”

Adam inhaled sharply, his eyes taking in the sight of the sweaty soldiers, each growing more ragged as they travelled through the heat. “Alright, well… I suppose what am I worrying about? I’m a Priest of Death, aren’t I? Please do inform me if they die of heatstroke, I shall lead the prayers to guide them towards the next realm.” 

Commander Silversky blinked while the half elf shambled away, his shoulders heavy with annoyance.

‘Seriously! I’m just trying to look out for them, but they still can’t trust me?’ The half elf continued to fume. 

“Adam, does the heat not effect you?” Dunes asked as they continued their way.

“I have been thinking, the heat isn’t that bad recently…” Adam admitted. 

“The heat is barely acceptable,” Dunes admitted, meaning it was quite hot here, and yet the half elf, who used to complain about the heat all the time, was barely acknowledging it outside of chilling their water now and again. 

‘Now that he mentions it…’ Adam glanced aside, towards the middle of the air, as though reading something. ‘Oh!’

Soul of the Forge

Resistance to fire damage. 

+1 to DEF when wearing heavy armour.

‘Oh, right. I keep forgetting I’m a Forge Priest.’

‘How can he chill the water?’ Commander Silversky thought. 

Oh, right.