Chương 81: Small Talk

With the addition of a Lv. 20 Shaman, the party had become a formidable trio. At least in theory. Before departing for their adventure, however, each member of the party had some final preparations to make. Jordan and Pewter—or rather, mostly Pewter—occupied themselves by fitting the Heavenly Cauldron with a new and improved [Harness]. The raw material had been provided by Lord Padma free of charge, while the Gym Rats worked collaboratively on the modified design.

The trick was to have it be just as secure as a backpack while also allowing a smooth switch to 'meteor hammer' mode at a moment's notice. Pewter the Tetherer went through some trial and error while Jordan the cauldron-slinger played the test subject. It took some doing, but they managed to arrive at a satisfactory product without cutting too much into bedtime.

Jordan then worked on the actual slinging technique some more, while Pewter put on the finishing touches with a glyph, set to trigger and self-repair the [Harness] if it ever broke mid-battle." You might legitimately be a genius," Jordan told his friend sincerely, as was his wont to be easily impressed by any display of competence.

"One day when you're running a multi-provincial corporation, let me buy some early stocks on the sly, yeah?" Pewter, as was his wont, deflected with a shy smile and some words of self-deprecation. He didn't, however, outright deny the future possibility of a multi-provincial corporation. Hanza Padma, on the other hand, remained strictly solo in his preparation efforts. He'd retreated into his personal compartment of the estate, to emerge only the next morning for the promised departure.

With him were several items he'd dug up just for the outing. 1) an heirloom dagger, the very same from the story about the ancestor also named Hanza—bejeweled hilt, engraved scabbard, and still plenty of aura after more than 1, 800 years of being passed down from Padma to Padma. 2) a walking stick, which just seemed like a sensible thing to bring to a long walk through the forest.

And 3) a straw hat with a veil attachment that went over Hanza's face, obscuring the man's features while also presumably protecting him from… sunlight? Jordan was a little perplexed by this third item—not like they'd be expecting much sunburn while trekking through a dense forest. But then he remembered their conversation from yesterday, about the personal risk Hanza would be taking by physically leaving the estate. With that in mind, he decided not to pry into the rationale behind his partymate's hiking attire.

The trio set off. The Gym Rats, having learned their lesson, doffed their shoes from the get-go. The Shaman, it went without saying, was as barefoot as always. The mood was noticeably lighter than when Jordan and Pewter had braved the woods by their twosome. There was a confidence born of 'been there done that' and knowing what to expect. It certainly also helped to have an eminently experienced spellcaster—one imbued with multiple lifetimes' worth of experience, no less—on their side.

The mood was so light, in fact, that Jordan was up for some small talk." I know you've got your hands full with Padma problems at the moment," he panted while hacking up some branches with his [Dagger]. Hanza walked behind the two Mountain Men, preserving his heirloom dagger for a much different purpose.

"But do you get much news from the rest of Leafell at all? Any active lines of communication?"" Certainly," Hanza answered cheerfully. His face was hard to read because of the veil, but his voice carried well enough.

"I regularly send out envoys to the capital city, trying to keep abreast of all the goings on around the province and beyond. When you're in a remote and isolated settlement like ours, it's important to have friends in high places."" Sure, sure. You, uh, haven't heard of anyone in Leafell turning up with a tripod cauldron as their Vessel, have you?" A pause. Despite being at the head of the group, Jordan could feel Hanza's gaze on his back."

No," came the eventual reply, "and in truth, Gatekeeper, it was a genuine shock to see you turn up with a tripod cauldron as your Vessel. And lugging it on your back, no less! I for one wouldn't know what to do with a Vessel so heavy and unwieldy, but you make it look so easy."" Oh, it wasn't easy when I first started out, let me assure you. And I still have a long way to go before I can get the most out of my Vessel."

Jordan fell silent, mind wandering away from the small talk and onto his main quest, ever simmering on the back burner. It occurred to him that he was still a ways out from filling the Heavenly Cauldron's partial VC. Which, if this were anything like last time, would be a prerequisite to opening the third Gate of Ascension. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon."

Say"—he decided to try some small talk that could also double as the main quest—"what do you guys do for mana around here? You're giving me and Pewter 20, 000 cc for our quest reward, so you must be at least somewhat rolling in it. But I didn't notice any mining operations, and the monster density around here seems a bit too low for consistent farming. You got imports coming in from somewhere, or what?" Another pause. This time, Jordan thought he could 'hear' the wry smile behind Hanza's veil."

No imports, but your curiosity is understandable," the nobleman admitted.

"I can't talk in too much detail without divulging certain trade secrets, but… remember those past lives I told you about yesterday? Including one that belonged to a—what did I call him—'pre-unification adept of some renown'? Suffice it to say, the knowledge I gleaned from my [Ancestral Communions] have helped me and the Padma estate achieve self-sufficiency when it comes to mana." Hanza apparently did mean for that cryptic statement to 'suffice', for he made no effort to elaborate further.

Jordan turned around momentarily to exchange a look with Pewter. The latter's bemused expression might as well have been the shrug emoji. Cryptic or no, the topic was of great interest to Jordan and his main quest. He might have pressed further, were it not for some distractions that soon beset the party's progress. Ghosts. White shadows. Unintelligible whispers. They were here again, trying to lure the living into the land of the dead.

And if Jordan weren't mistaken, they were here in far greater numbers than ever before, perhaps drawn to the presence of a man who'd spent more time [Commune]-ing with the dead than any other living soul. Just ignore them, Jordan told himself. This is just like that last time. Focus on my feet, my connection with the mortal realm. And these ghosts can't touch me. And it seemed to be working. At least for the first little while. But alas, Jordan was traveling in a party.

And not everyone in the party was as sturdy and road-tested as a pair of Mountain Men." Ah!" A startled cry, one expressive of surprising frailty. Hanza Padma the Lv. 20 Shaman stumbled on an exposed root, having to then rely on his walking stick to keep himself from falling over. Both Jordan and Pewter turned to rush to the man's aid. In the moment, neither stopped to wonder about the discrepancies in the picture. A 30-year-old man, a Lv.

20 spellcaster, someone who grew up in the region, no less, stumbling over the most innocuous obstacle. Neither stopped to wonder, preoccupied as they were with helping out their third partymate. The ghosts shifted en masse. They'd sensed a weakness, a crack in the armor. The whispers grew loud, even as the white shadows jumped with unrepentant glee. The shadows then jumped into and through the party's midst, 'touching' all three of them in turn. Cold!

It was like some prankster had dropped an ice cube down Jordan's back. Except the ice cube then somehow managed to burrow its way inside his body, slipping and sliding across his internal organs. There was no way to get the ice cube out and chuck it back at the prankster. Jordan could only stand and bear it, rally the party to regroup so they could get out of this mess. Except— HANZA PADMA Affliction: Fear. — one among them clearly wasn't in any shape to follow suit!

Hanza lost his balance again, nearly falling to his knees. Only a firm hand from Pewter held him up. Watching this, Jordan did find the presence of mind to be mystified. He thought he no longer recognized this man—face veiled against gods knew what, [Fear]-ing the garden-variety ghosts of his homeland, and doddering all over the place like an old man. The Hanza Padma he knew had been left behind in the estate…

and it was up to Jordan to protect this severely weakened version that had bitten off more than could be chewed. To that end, the Mountain Man opted for the only intimidation tactic available to him. He unfastened the Heavenly Cauldron from his back, lengthened the rope just like how he'd practiced earlier, and then— Athletics DC 14: success Acrobatics DC 14: success — swung it in a wide circle above his head!" Arrggghhhh…!!" The Heavenly Cauldron became a veritable propeller, spinning around and around and around.

Branches fell, leaves danced, and the ghosts— Intimidation DC 14: success — scattered to the wind, frightened away by a madman who was even more far gone than any of the fell creatures of the nether realm. Jordan lowered his cauldron, panting heavily from the effort. The whispers were gone, and the shadows had retreated into the shadows. At least for now." Are you alright, Lord Padma?" Pewter was tending to the beleaguered Hanza, who still needed a few more moments for his [Fear] Affliction to go away.

The Shaman did eventually stand by his own power, though he needed every bit of the leverage provided by the walking stick." I'm alright," he said with a smile that was just barely visible through the veil. Yet his voice didn't quite match his expression, strained as it was by stress, fatigue, and age.

"I'm sorry to have troubled you both so. But let us keep moving at once. I'm afraid that my debts are more debilitating than I'd feared… that I may not have much time left to complete this quest."