The Land: Catacombs (Chaos Seeds Book 4) by Aleron Kong Read Free Book Online

moon and sun lit up, the two points formed a straight line to the central anvil.  I was actually thinking that if we knew more about when the moons and stars would be present overhead, we could know how to get more of these special bonuses.  Could ye figure that out?”
    You have been offered a Quest: My God!  It’s Full of Stars I!   Krom has tasked you with learning more about the movement of celestial bodies.  How you do this is up to you.  Will you accept?  Yes or No?  Reward: Improved Weapons and Armor. 
    Richter had almost expected Krom to give him a quest.  He accepted it without another thought.  Another prompt appeared.
    You have unlocked a new field of study: Astrology .
    If only Ms. Cleo were here, Richter thought.  Then he’d know everything he needed about that field of study.  She could also teach him about tax evasion and fake accents.
    “I’ll take care of it, Krom, but it might mean having some gnomes wandering around the Forge.  They’ll most likely need to study the ceiling.”
    Krom’s face darkened.  He prepared to protest, but Richter cut him off. “Do you want to understand the Forge or not?  What would the real Ria do if you ignored her needs?”
    The Smith immediately hunched as if to protect his middle. “You’re right, yer lordship.  I guess I can deal with it if there only be one at a time.”
    Foreseeing a potential future issue, Richter decided to nip it in the bud. “More than one may need to be in here at one time, Krom.  You need to be okay with up to four.”
    “Four?  Four?  My speckled arse I will have four of those buggers in me Forge.  Two!  Two is all I could take.”
    “Two then, but you have to be helpful,” Richter smirked on the inside and couldn’t resist twisting the knife. “You also have to be nice.”
    Krom looked almost apoplectic.  Richter added, “We could always just set aside some dedicated time for the gnomes to be in here without you…”
    “Banished gods, no!  I absolutely refuse… yer lordship.  I will be”—Krom’s mouth twisted as if he were chewing sour glass—“nice.”
    “Good,” Richter said.  “Make sure the other smiths are as well.  Understand that if I have to come over here to deal with silly complaints myself… I.  Will.  Not.  Be.  Happy.”  Richter clipped each of the last words as he said them.  “Are we clear, Smith?”
    Krom, who had seen Richter’s steely disposition when he had accepted the job as village Smith, definitely saw the merits of keeping his lord happy.  “I will keep these knuckle draggers in line, yer lordship.”
    “I knew I could count on you, Krom,” Richter said jovially, clapping the man on the shoulder.  “Now, do you have any other toys for me or should we just get to business?”
    Before answering, Krom grew serious. “Ay, yer lordship.  Before I show ye, though, I wanted to say one thing.  Yer blade should show ye the power of having such a wonder as the Forge of Heavens.  I just wanted to say that I take the honor seriously.  I am with ye til death, yer lordship.”
    Richter held out his hand until Krom reached out too, and the men clasped wrists.  The smith’s fingers were rough and his grip sure.  “I know you take it seriously, Krom.  I am lucky to have your service.  When you make these weapons, you are saving the lives of your fellow villagers.  This is your home for as long as I breathe.”
    They released their shake and Krom coughed, somewhat embarrassed. “Well, I do have one or two more things to show you, milord.”  First, he tossed Richter a small piece of flat and thick marbled quartz. “Ye’ll be needing that.  Any softer stone will be cut right through when ye try to sharpen yer blade.”  Then he walked over to another stand and took down a quiver of arrows.  “I thought ye might be able to do some damage with these.  All we had left were the basic soul stones from the hunters, though, so the enchantment came out weaker than