Redford was not what SJ had expected. She wasn't actually sure what image she should have had in her mind, but the tall, smartly dressed elven maiden that knocked on the door definitely wasn't what she had pictured. Maybe it was because of the construction industry and her stereotypical imagination of workmen in the UK on building sites dressed in denim and hi-vis. Redford wore a perfectly fitting suit, flowing black drainpipe trousers with a pristine white blouse, covered by a matching black jacket. She looked more as though she was a high-powered banker.
"You must be SJ," Redford said, offering her hand. Her hand was slight, and SJ thought she might crush it if she wasn't careful. The grip of Redford's hand was a different story. Firm and strong, belying her delicate appearance.
"And you, Redford, I assume?"
"I am," she smiled. "Edward mentioned you need to do some renovations."
"I have some ideas, but I am no builder, so I'm not sure how easy they are to achieve."
"Well then, should we have a look around and see what's what?"
The next two hours vanished as SJ showed Redford around the property. She learned that Redford had a very rare profession class. She was actually an architect, which Dave had stated was very unusual. Architects were not the same as she understood them from the UK. They were apparently a specialist mage subbranch of earth mages. The profession only opened as a choice once an earth mage reached level 30 and had opened specific branch skills. The reason it was so rare is that the majority of mages never waited to select their profession, with their choice being at level 10. The skills associated with the profession allowed them to analyse materials and understand their tensile strengths. Those with the profession were pretty much able to build and design anything once the needs were fully understood.
"I will get a quote written and sent to you," Redford said as she bid farewell to SJ.
'Well, that was rather unusual,' SJ thought. 'The way she was talking about changing some of the basic building structure to accommodate the requests I asked for. It was like listening to a foreign language.'
"I have only met a couple of architects before, but once they are skilled in their professions, they really are sought after. Edward must pay her well, as many cities would wish for someone with her knowledge."
'I am surprised then that she has never stated the use of iron in a building if she is that skilled?'
"Why would they? The standard approach for a building is stone and timber. Edward mentioned that the cost of iron could be problematic when you spoke to him. Only the excessive mage guild charges are currently making it a viable substitute. If prices dropped, it would probably then return to normal."
'Right, I need to find Malvon. I am running out of time on the quest Carlito gave me. I only have until the end of today. Otherwise, what I have done so far is irrelevant, especially after the death of Charles Shaltier.'
SJ still felt a pang of guilt over the death of the unknown being. She wanted to find out more about them but didn't dare ask any questions at the Astaria.
The streets of District 12 were still filled with the strikes of multiple hammers on anvils, and the smell of the smith's fires left permanent soot in the air. SJ asked for directions to Neflew Street, where Malvon had his smithy. The smithy was like many within the city walls—a single forge with a chimney spewing its soot. SJ watched from across the street as a bugbear stood pumping the bellows, forcing air into the forge as a squat, powerful-looking dwarf hammered fervently on a red-hot piece of metal, skilfully manipulating it with a pair of tongues. As she watched, the metal was hammered and adjusted, and the dwarf moulded it into the rough shape of a breastplate.
Finally, he quenched the metal in a large trough, hissing and steam rising as he did.
"That's it for today, Destro." SJ heard the dwarf say as he pulled his leather apron over his head and hung it on a hook by the forge.
"Sure, boss," the bugbear said, removing its apron and placing it over another hook.
"When is the ore due?" Malvon asked.
"Weston said it would be delivered tomorrow. Hopefully, by noon," Destro said.
"I hope so. I need to get this order finished. Right, let's lock up. Are you coming to the Slug tonight?"
"No. Belinda wants me home. The young un has been unwell recently."
Malvon just nodded as the pair of them left the smithy, Malvon pulling the heavy wooden door closed and attaching a heavy chain and padlock.
"I will see you in the morning then," Malvon said as Destro left.
As Malvon left the smithy and headed down the street, SJ followed at a distance. She looked inconspicuous in her adjusted dress and cloak, like any other being on the streets. Malvon turned down an alley.
'I just need to get this done,' SJ thought.
"I'm not complaining," Dave said.
The alley wasn't very wide, but it was wider than many in the city, and it also wasn't filled with the same amount of refuse that most had. Malvon walked casually, whistling his hands in his pockets. SJ started to pick up the pace, narrowing the gap between them. The alley turned slightly, and Malvon disappeared around the bend. SJ hurried to the bend and, turning it, noticed the alley ended, and Malvon was crossing another street towards another alley. She was within forty feet of her target.
He continued down a couple of more alleys similar in design to the first before he crossed another street where the next alley looked narrower. SJ sped up, not wishing to miss the opportunity for a surprise attack. She was nearly in striking range when Malvon turned. The move took her entirely by surprise, and she stopped in her tracks as the flash of a black metallic object flew towards her. Thankfully, her boots allowed her to keep her balance as she stumbled back from the strike.
In an instant, her claws appeared on her hands.
"So, what do we have here then?" Malvon sneered. The object he had swung at her was a rather nasty-looking hammer with an exceedingly fine point. Freya had mentioned the item, and it had to be the dwarven pick.
"You just went to attack me," SJ replied. "Should I not defend myself." Her claws were now in a defensive pose.
"If I had wanted to hit you, I would have," Malvon said, his eyes narrowed accusingly. "What makes you follow me down an alley?"
The turn-in events hadn't been planned, and SJ had never wished to even get into a conversation with the dwarf. She couldn't think of an excuse that would justify her following the dwarf. She triggered her identification skill.
Malvon Creswelder
Level: 37
Class: Fighter - Barbarian
Hit points: 345 of 345
Mana points: 55 of 55
Armour Class: 35
Attacks: Hammer, Spike
Special: Piercing, Rage
Weaknesses: Nil
At the sight of Malvon's details, SJ blanched slightly. He was much stronger than she had expected. His points were insane compared to many she had fought, and this would not be an easy fight. Her claws gave her a significant damage bonus, but with his basic armour class and level and not knowing his skills or abilities outside of piercing. She had witnessed the effect of Rage when they had fought Bordon in Killic and knew how formidable a skill it could be.
"This could be interesting," Dave said.
'Not sure I would call it interesting,' SJ thought in response as she adjusted her footing slightly, ready to strike.
"You killed your cousin," SJ said, staring at Malvon, watching for the slightest movement. His speed when he had spun around had been impressive.
"Did I, indeed, and what proof do you have?"
"That weapon you hold in your hand." The hammer looked purely designed to kill. It oozed lethality. The spike was approximately twenty centimetres, and on the other side of the hammer's face was a smooth surface. "He was murdered by a dwarf pick."
"Was he," Malvon said, a wicked smile creasing his lips.
It was obvious that this dwarf was not concerned about his cousin's demise.
"That look tells me all I need to know," SJ said as she lunged forward.
SJ had fought and trained with various beings in Killic, several of them being dwarves. Her advantage in the training ground ring had always been her speed and agility. As her blades neared Malvon, his hammer moved with an unexpected speed, and the smooth face smashed her claws away, parrying her strike.
"So, we get to play, do we," Malvon smiled. The dwarf was of the usual dwarven stock, short and powerful, his broad shoulders and barrel chest with massively muscled arms from hours spent working in a forge bulging as he moved with a surprising speed and struck out towards her. Only SJ's agility saved her from being pummelled in response to her initial strike.
"I'm not sure you can win this one," Dave said nervously after seeing the initial move from Malvon.
'I don't have much choice now,' SJ said as she stepped back and reassessed. Malvon stepped forward, his hammer swinging downwards, having spun its face so that the spike sailed towards her. Stepping back again, SJ threw her arm up defensively, the sound of the hammer on her claws being absorbed by their special feature. Malvon's face was one of twisted pleasure. He was enjoying the fact that he was fighting as he continued to attack her.
His speed seemed unnatural as he swiftly and deftly swung his hammer. Only SJ's agility and heightened senses allowed her to parry or dodge the blows. Under the onslaught, she had triggered her shroud skill as a natural defensive measure. Infrequently, she tried to strike back but basically just defended herself.
'I need to do something,' SJ thought. Her adrenaline was pumping, and she noticed her breathing was already ragged. She knew she had seriously misunderstood her opponent's prowess, expecting him to be slow and awkward, of which he was showing no signs.
"Keep your distance and switch to ranged," Dave said.
Unconsciously, SJ took Dave's advice as she increased the gap between them and, calling a dart from her inventory, let it fly towards Malvon. Malvon laughed as he again parried the dart, it flying harmlessly away and embedding into the wall of the alley.
"You aren't very skilled, are you?" Malvon said. The look on his face was one of pure evil. It was as though a demon had taken on the form of what had initially appeared to be a typical dwarf.
"I think you may need to retreat," Dave said.
SJ could see that from where they were; it was about thirty feet to the end of the alley leading back onto the nearest street. She could turn and run. She could even attempt to shrink and fly, but that would give her race away, which she really didn't fancy doing. There were so few faes in Asterfal, especially ones that equipped claws, that it may not have been difficult for her to be discovered if Malvon had told others about the attack.
As Malvon moved to get within striking range, SJ triggered shadow step. Almost instantly appearing behind Malvon and turning as she did, her claws slashing out in half-panicked sweeping strikes, more than controlled attacks. As she spun, her right claws raked across the back of Malvon, taken by surprise by the sudden vanishing act SJ had performed. Red streaks appeared across his upper back as the claws cut deeply.
The strike triggered SJ's display as Malvon spun around, grunting. SJ watched her skill cool down in the corner of her display. Her skill was the only possible chance that she might have in this fight, as she backed away again deeper into the alley, drawing Malvon towards her. The last thing she wanted to do was end up fighting on the street. The hit may have damaged Malvon, but it was tiny compared to what she would have hoped for her claws.
'At least that worked,' SJ thought, gasping.
Malvon's face was flushed with anger, and he snarled as he swung his hammer towards her. Again, SJ backpedalled, staying out of the range of his swings. Malvon had been looking cocky until her latest move. It seemed to take an eternity for her skill to cool down, and she triggered it again as soon as she did. This time, her moves were more controlled, and she attacked deliberately, her claws on both hands raking across the dwarf's arm and side as she spun back on him before again backing off. The damage again was minimal compared to Malvon's health.
Four more times, SJ triggered the skill on cooldown, appearing and striking out at the dwarf. She triggered identification again. He still had 267 hit points remaining. Malvon hadn't even received a quarter of his hit points in damage yet. They had already been fighting much longer than SJ had expected the fight to last, and although her constitution wasn't low, she could already feel tiredness beginning to creep slowly into her muscles.
'I don't think I can keep this going much longer. I will end up getting too slow.'
"You can always retreat. I doubt Carlito would have ever expected your target to be so strong."
'I also didn't perform an assassination. I should have just hit him as fast and as hard as I could. The only way I could have ever killed someone so strong was by a surprise attack.' SJ was aware that regardless of the level of a being, if she could strike at a being's throat or chest when they were unaware, she could instantly kill. She wasn't sure if, under these circumstances, it would have been a fatal attack, but it would have put her in a much better position than she now found herself.
Malvon continued his attacks. He didn't appear to be affected by the damage he had received; in fact, he seemed to be enjoying the damage he was taking. A wicked smile still spread across his face as he approached, swinging with the same ferocity and speed he had begun the fight with.
SJ glanced further down the alley. She could aim for the distant shadow at the far end after her next attack and step a much further distance, allowing herself the time to flee. As SJ stepped and spun, she realised that Malvon had almost predicted her move. He was already spinning as she spun back towards him. Stupidly, she had been jumping on cooldown, allowing the dwarf to understand the time between her skill activations. Her shroud skill was on cooldown, so she was unable to trigger it again as the spike of his hammer approached her side.
Flinging her arm down as fast as she could to attempt to block the spike hitting her, it made little difference as the spike punctured her arm. She yelped in pain as it went cleanly through her arm, and the tip even still punctured into her side. Gasping in shock from the impact, SJ was also flung sideways by the power behind the spinning move, clattering into the side of the alley. Her boots played their part, keeping her upright. She staggered and began to run as best as she could down the alley away from the dwarf.
"You aren't getting away that easily," Malvon said as he started after her.
Panic flooded her mind as she grimaced with the pain and damage the spike had caused. Her arm hung uselessly at her side. Malvon was already beginning to close the gap as SJ sprinted as fast as she could. Reaching the corner of the alley, SJ threw herself around, crashing into the wall and continuing down the next. The way she was currently, she could see an exit to a street up ahead. Her shadow step skill counted down slowly as Malvon chased.
"UP," Dave shouted.
SJ could see what Dave was indicating; the overhang of the building was within reach of her step skill. As soon as the skill reached zero, she triggered it, launching herself upwards. Instantly, she appeared in the shadowy overhang. Scrabbling frantically, she attempted to get a hold of the roof edge. Her left arm was useless under the circumstances, and she just managed to grip with her right, dangling precariously from the ledge. She could see Malvon suddenly stop and turn around, looking behind, unaware of where she had just disappeared to, never expecting her to go upwards.
She tried to stay silent as pain flooded her shoulder, holding herself aloft by one arm.
"Where did you go?" Malvon spat in the alley below. "I was enjoying that fight, much more fun than my weak cousin."
SJ held her breath, not wishing to make a sound, although all she wanted to do was scream in agony.
"Next time," Malvon called as he stalked back down the alley.
