Chapter 693 B6 Chapter 654: Simmering Anticipation, Finale

First came a folded square of shimmering scale. It was massive, almost mountainous, and a pale egg-shell blue. The winter sun scattered across its surface with a lustre and beauty Kaius had only seen in nacre.

Streamers of material rolled off the mountain of leather, reinforced with a dense edge-stitch of a forest-green fibre that covered their banks like dense reeds. The rushing rivers flowed over folded ravines of pale-blue scale to pool on the table, and deep in the darkened caves he caught sight of shining seams of silver.

For a moment, Kaius thought it might have been all of their armour — but then the rivers resolved into straps, the hidden seams into buckles, and the dense, grey walls of the caves into the diamond-quilted stitch of gambeson padding. It was barding.

Julian unfolded Porkchop’s under armour until it was draped over the entire oversized long-table.

“Oh, that’s nice.”

“It certainly is,” Julian replied. “Of all of the pieces, this one leaned into the natural properties of dragonscale the most. Plus, each of them has turned out particularly well — something that is, my artisans tell me, due to your direct hand in the provenance of the materials. I can only hope that myself and my team will benefit as much.”

The lord summoned a hunting knife to his hand, and spun it into a reverse grip. Faint mana radiated from the blade. Not enough to be in the second tier, but still an artifact. A handspan of steel slammed down — and lurched to the side as it slid across the scales with a shrill shriek.

Julian spun the blade around, showing it off. The tip was bloody cockeyed, like someone had used it to chisel at granite.

“That is dragon scale — but you probably know that well enough. Treated with alchemicals and worked with care, it has lost almost none of the durability afforded by Katarax’s Stats and Skills in life. The larger pieces used in Kaius’s armour, and parts of Kenva’s, are close enough to small slabs of heavy plate, and this thinner belly hide is closer to a solid sheet of mythril-doped mail than anything else. All of them have a standard array of enchantments and effects, plus a few odd ones that came about thanks to the material itself. Beyond that baseline, our crafters ensured me that they pushed the focus of the armour in ways best suited for your needs. In Porkchop’s case, impact dampening.”

A grin spilled across Kaius’s face. It certainly sounded like a reward worthy of a dragon slaying. He pulled up the item’s description to take a peek for himself.

Wyrmhide Gambeson of the Beastknight:

Unique - Tier II

Touch the finescale on the forequarters and I’ll cut you — I need all of it. Yes, all of it! You saw the bloody size of that thing, any bigger and it could wear the whole bloody wyrm as a skin suit!

Stitched from a single, continuous piece of deep wyrm bellyscale and backed by quilted layers of cloud cotton, this gambeson-barding was crafted to unique specifications. Draconic materials, alchemical treatments, and masterful craftsmanship have emphasised the resilience of this armour, and heightened its ability to dampen heavy blows.

Thanks to the Deep Wyrm’s Bounty, this armour will leave its bearer perfectly at home in the water, and shield them from its fury.

Artisan-wrought Artefact

Under Armour (Gambeson-Barding)

Draconic Resilience III, Deep Wyrm’s Bounty II, Impact Reduction XV, Self Repair V, Self Cleaning III, Resizing III

His appreciation grew — that was a nice piece. Kaius shared the notification with Porkchop, who promptly let out a happy rumble. The jump in impact resistance from his current gambeson would be boon enough on its own, let alone all the other benefits that came with the armour.

“Deep Wyrm’s Bounty?” Ianmus questioned, his head tilted slightly as he stared at his own notifications. “Can you tell us any more about it? The description isn’t the most clear on what it does.”

“It’s the oddity I mentioned,” Julian replied, leaning on the table to take a sip of his drink. “All of them have it, though it’s a set effect for the rest as they lack the simple mass of this barding. It’ll give you two hours of waterbreathing every time you dive into water, including sequentially; you’ll be able to swim almost as fast as you can run on land, and you’ll have increased resistance to, and protection from, water affinity abilities.”

Kaius nodded appreciatively. While the ability was niche, that didn’t bother him overmuch. Right now, an underwater battle would leave most of them at a severe disadvantage. This would help, especially if some enterprising water spirit decided to deal with them by washing them away in a flash flood.

Porkchop stared at the gambeson with naked desire blazing in his eyes. Ghostly mana shone in the midday light, shaped into a hand. It flipped open the dimensional satchel he wore strapped to his hip, closer to a simple coinpurse on his massive frame.

A bucket of shining, perfectly ripe cherries snapped into existence. Ruby fruit scattered across the lawn. Three more buckets followed, then a grain sack that blanketed the area in the rich smoked scent of venison jerky.

“What in the hells is this, fatso?” Kenva said, staring at what could only be described as snacks in disbelief.

Porkchop ignored her, too busy scooping up his new armour and feeding it into his bag.

“Seriously, Porkchop, when did you even get these? I don’t remember stopping at a produce market — and I wouldn’t even know where to get an entire sack of smoked venison!” Kaius said.

Porkchop gave him a flat look. “Sometimes I ask Jossua to get me things. He’s very good at his job.”

A loud bark of laughter came from their host. “The legendary discretion of the Ruby Crown! It seems it’s good for more than just nobles looking to dabble in a touch of infidelity and conspiracy.”

Downing his drink, Julian held the glass up to the light and inspected it like a jeweller might a diamond’s clarity. He shrugged and poured himself another. Kaius just sighed and started picking up his brother’s snacks.

Once he was done, Julian gave him a slight nod and moved down the table once more — depositing gear as he went.

Ianmus’s under-armour was next. To Kaius’s surprise, it was more than a simple undershirt. Instead, the crafters had made him something akin to a gambeson, if far thinner and less padded. There were a pair of trousers too. Whatever treatment the artisans had done had bleached the scales a bone white, each shining like a well-polished pearl in the light.

Then came a full set of light armour — an arming jacket and high-waisted reinforced trousers, gloves, and boots that cut off just below the knee. The original rich sapphire of the hide had been tinted to a seafoam green, with the dull gleam of well-used metal compared to the shine of the previous sets. Thinner belly scales were used wherever flexibility was most needed: the upper section of the trousers that would sit beneath the arming jacket, around most joints, and below the knee where the trousers could be tucked into the boots. Slightly larger scales had been used with tactically placed metal plates to protect Kenva’s vitals, the front of her legs, and anywhere else where it could be added without impeding motion.

His own set came last. Dense, layered armour of midnight blue soaked in the light. Of all the pieces, his used the largest and thickest sections of Katarex’s natural armour, melding into a seamless blend of scalemail and light-plate. The largest scales sat on his chest and upper back, overlapping as they tapered into a finer and finer size. Along the outer edges of his arms and up his shins, the scales flared up into defined points, melding seamlessly into spiked couters and poleyns forged from enamelled metal the same deep blue as the dragon hide. So too were the pauldrons, gorget, helm and bevor formed of reticulating plates that mimicked the rest of the scale. It had been incorporated seamlessly wherever thinner, more flexible sections of hide wouldn’t provide enough protection, but needed more fitting and motion than a larger scale could provide.

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Kaius’s glee only grew as he settled on the helm, with its flowing skirt of belly scale. Those artisans sure were something. One of them must have caught a glimpse of the pommel of his sword, for they had recreated it from memory alone. Closed-faced, it had been wrought into a ghost of the very wyrm that had died at their hands, draconic fury etched into steel forever more.

“It’s alchemic bone steel,” Julian explained. “Both yours and Kenva’s. Jacque, our armour-smith, demanded a section of femur to work with, so it’s every bit as draconic as the hide itself.”

“It’s fantastic,” Kaius replied, his sentiment echoed by the rest of his team.

He identified every set, focusing on the chest pieces as he realised that they differed mostly in their epigraphs.

Mystic Warrior’s Dracoplate Cuirass:

Unique - Tier II

Stoke the forges hot, hotter than damned dragonfire. If you’ve still got eyebrows standing a dozen strides away, it’s not hot enough. We’re making bonesteel. Without draconic energy, the flow of energy won’t be cohesive across the metal plates, and I refuse to give a project like this anything but my best. Nor do I want to give that leather-loving seamster any more excuses to natter — he came at me with a knife for taking a few straps!

Large spinescales and thick plates of draconic bonesteel form the backbone of this armour's defense, while a clever use of smaller, layered scales around points of flexion has reduced encumbrance as much as possible. Draconic materials, alchemical treatments, and masterful craftsmanship have emphasised the resilience of this armour.

Thanks to the Deep Wyrm’s Bounty, this armour will leave its bearer perfectly at home in the water, and shield them from its fury.

Artisan-wrought Artefact

Medium Armour (Cuirass)

Draconic Resilience VIII, Impact Reduction V, Self Repair V, Self Cleaning III, Resizing III

Set Effect 5/5: Deep Wyrm’s Bounty II

…

Wyrmslayer Arming Jacket:

Unique - Tier II

Pass me the prybar! I need to rivet these plates under the scales. Want me to crimp them over the welt while I'm in there?

Thick wyrm scales are layered with small plates of draconic bonesteel to shield the wearer’s vitals, with more supple hide forming the base of the garment. Draconic materials, alchemical treatments, and masterful craftsmanship have emphasised the flexibility of this armour, while preserving as much defence as possible.

Thanks to the Deep Wyrm’s Bounty, this armour will leave its bearer perfectly at home in the water, and shield them from its fury.

Artisan-wrought Artefact

Light Armour (Jacket)

Draconic Resilience V, Impact Reduction III, Self Repair V, Self Cleaning III, Resizing III

Set Effect 5/5: Deep Wyrm’s Bounty II

…

Tunic of the Deepserpent:

Unique - Tier II

Finally, some proper bloody leather work! Now, if I can just stop nicking my finger on these damn scales.

Stitched from a single, continuous piece of deep wyrm bellyscale this tunic was designed to be as light and unrestricting as possible, while retaining its resistance to cutting and piercing strikes. Draconic materials, alchemical treatments, and masterful craftsmanship have emphasised the resilience of this armour.

Thanks to the Deep Wyrm’s Bounty, this armour will leave its bearer perfectly at home in the water, and shield them from its fury.

Artisan-wrought Artefact

Under Armour (Tunic)

Draconic Resilience II, Impact Reduction I, Self Repair V, Self Cleaning III, Resizing III

Set Effect 2/2: Deep Wyrm’s Bounty II

The three of them rushed forward with as little reservation as Porkchop had shown only moments prior. Kaius picked up its helm, appreciating the heft and solidity of it — and the way the light shimmered over the deep-blue metal.

“I certainly feel a lot more prepared for the shardworld with this,” Ianmus murmured, his armoured clothing vanishing into his ring.

“One would certainly hope! But you can’t forget this.”

Julian summoned a mage’s staff to his hand. Six strides in length, it had been carved almost entirely from bone, with the last quarter of the staff having been wrought into a wyrm that coiled around a faceted, milky crystal that shone with magical might.

Ianmus took it gladly, a wild grin on his face.

Tidewall Wyrmbone Focus:

Unique - Tier II

More power to the ward! And ready the voidspirit temper! If we don’t purge and fix the energy channels in place, it’s going to be too strongly aligned with the water affinity. I’m sure it’ll look all sorts of pretty in the duke’s vault — but I don’t think he’ll be happy we had to take another section of bone and spine.

Carved from the femur of a deep wyrm, with a shaved core made from one of the creature’s spines, this casting focus seats a sizeable chunk of natural aurorus crystal to focus the empowered energies that flow through it.

An artfully wrought enchantment draws on the latent magics of Katarex, allowing the user to summon a raging wall of whitewater to block attacks and stymie any enemy foolish enough to cross its boundary.

Artisan-wrought Artefact

Staff

Tidewall III, Draconic Spell Potency III, Draconic Resilience I, Self Repair V

That was fantastic! Not only would it potentiate Ianmus’s magic, but it gave him a way to protect himself — and any method they could use to segment and control the battlefield would always be welcome in Kaius’s eyes.

Right at that moment, a door slammed open behind Kaius. He whipped around. One of Julian’s staff was rushing out of his manor, tearing across the ground without a whit of care for propriety. The man rushed right to Julian’s side, handing him a wax-sealed note with a severe expression.

“My lord, an urgent missive came!” he said slightly breathlessly.

Kaius shared a glance with his team, staying silent as Julian cracked open the seal with a frown. The expression vanished as he read through the page, his eyebrow cocking.

“I do believe this might be the end of our little sojourn,” he said, looking up at them.

“Oh? Urgent business to attend to?” Kaius asked.

“Yes, but not for me,” Julian replied, flashing them a smile. “A greater gate has just been found in the Temerian Swamp. A month away, at most.”

Kaius’s heart slammed in his chest. Finally! Finally! This was everything they had been waiting for — and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Now that they had gotten their new gear, they had nothing else that they needed to prepare.

“Hells!” Kenva cursed.

He snapped to her, surprised at the total lack of excitement in her voice.

“Remember how Helena was complaining about Quesro? And their similarly unpleasant neighbour of felborn, Zerrakard?”

“I do…” Kaius said cautiously.

“Well, there’s a third polity in that little triplicate — Millios. By and large, they’re agreeable, if cut-throat. They soak up all the regional trade and use all-human and felborn merchant caravans to profit off their neighbours' xenophobia.”

Kaius had a bad feeling about where his friend was going with this. “What does that have to do with the gate?”

“The Temerian Swamp makes up a quarter to a third of all three countries by area,” Ianmus answered with a groan. “The depths of it are solidly in unclaimed territory — but that greater gate is going to be right in the middle of all three.”

Well wasn’t that just great.

“Indeed,” Julian said with a wry smile. “It’s certainly going to be a quagmire, if you’ll forgive the pun. Regardless, the four of you should get moving. I expect that Guildmaster Guilewind will be holding a debrief for interested parties within an hour.”

The man was right, they had to go. Thankfully, they’d been ready for something like this. Everything they owned was in their storage artefacts, the Guild could inform the Ruby Crown of their departure, and the Pegleg was usable, if not fully repaired.

Scurrying into activity, they stored away their newest acquisitions and readied to leave while Julian looked on with casual amusement.

“Thank you, Julian. And good luck at the Crucible,” he said when they were ready to leave.

The lord raised his glass. “I do hope I won't need it, friend.”