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Chapter 44
Chapter 44
[Riven Thane’s Status Page:
Riven slowly opened his eyes after the much-needed nap. The blue mana potion Athela had taken from Jalel’s bag was being gently poured over his lips to slide down his throat. His head was propped up against that same bag, and she was watching him wide-eyed like a child on Christmas while remaining completely silent.
The headache quickly cleared as he accepted the rest of the potion, nodding to her in appreciation. “Thanks.”
“Not a problem! Just glad you’re okay!” The spider raised both of her front legs and chuckled with that usual chittering noise of hers, squinting and looking rather pleased with herself.
They were still in the alley, with mist dampening their bloodstained clothes and the body of a harpy not far off on the narrow path, though Athela had made sure to create an intricate pattern of webbing overhead to block any potential flyers from diving down. Riven was rather impressed by it. Not only for the protection, but for the shade it cast on them as well.
Jalel was gone, only a puddle of blood where he’d been before. Otherwise the damage wrought upon the surrounding area was evident by the torn-up stone alley and scattered dead harpies.
“I’m glad you’re okay!” Athela whispered again, following up with another chittering laugh. Her legs trembled slightly, and she nodded to herself and pushed her head up against Riven in an action of affection that Riven would have thought to be very uncharacteristic of spiders. “We’re okay now. It’s all okay...”
Riven’s body remained a little stiff, and his rib cage ached from where he’d met the harpy in a head-on collision, but he’d be fine.
The sounds of crunching, tearing, and chomping reached Riven’s ears—causing him to furrow his brow and slowly turn his head to get a better look behind him. When he saw the huge flaming demon chowing down on pieces of harpy, he smirked and pushed himself into a sitting position. “Athela, have you met Azmoth yet?”
The arachnid proudly turned her head and chittered over her shoulder at the brute. “Yes! We talked while you were sleeping. He’s a very nice young man!”
Riven had to suppress a laugh at that one and kept a straight face. “Nice young man? Really now... Wait, Azmoth talked to you?”
“Of course!”
“He doesn’t talk to me. He just grunts.”
“It’s because he knows I’m royalty.”
“Because you’re a princess?”
“Mmm-hmm. Mortals like you are too beneath him to speak to.”
“Agreed, comrade Riven!” Athela replied enthusiastically with a skip in her step.
Riven snorted with amusement. “You’re ridiculous.”
A couple more steps into the mist over the smooth cobblestone blocks, and he saw the first signs of their destination. Riven’s eyes widened at the size of the statue, and he really couldn’t believe that he hadn’t seen it before even with the thick mist in between.
First was the giant battle-axe. It was granite, was dozens of yards across, and was planted firmly in the ground—blades down, penetrating from a shadow above. As they progressed farther through the mist, the rest of the statue shortly appeared.
It was modeled after a confident-looking man with a neatly trimmed beard, pointed ears, and intricate, curved armor. His long hair was carved to look like it was majestically swaying out to his left as he looked out into the distance on his right. He held the shaft of his axe in both hands, resting his gauntleted hands on the weapon, and his armor had a symbol of a sun plastered across the breastplate. It was even what Riven would describe as awe-inspiring and was definitely out of place considering everything else around here had literally gone to hell.
It stood nearly five stories high, was well carved, and despite the moss was relatively well preserved compared to everything else in the city. But what caught Riven’s attention most was the small altar at the bottom of the statue in between the warrior-elf’s armored feet. The rectangular altar stood about three feet high and had two gleaming crystals hovering in the air, shimmering in and out of existence repetitively while the baseball-sized objects seemed to call out to him.
“Do you see those?!” Athela exclaimed excitedly while pointing—jabbing one foot toward the shimmering crystals ahead of them. “Are those the prizes?!”
Riven cocked an eyebrow and glanced at a harpy that’d perched far up, along the statue’s outstretched arms between the body and the axe shaft, shrugging as he did. “I’d guess you’re right... Let’s get them so we can leave.”
“Indeed!” Athela exclaimed, rapidly poking Riven in the shin and skipping forward to follow the other demonic familiar toward the elevated stone altar. “Can’t wait!”
Riven chuckled at the humming noises Athela made and quickly pursued her, coming up beside her at the altar a minute later and observing the shimmering crystals in closer detail. Each of them was ethereal, with both of them being labeled as Quest Crystals.
[Congratulations! You have completed the final objective for your quest Find Your Spider Princess by meeting Athela at the base of the statue of the bearded, axe-wielding man. You and your minions have gained XP. You have received twenty-five Elysium coins and will now receive your tailored prizes!]
The crystals shattered upon deliverance of the notification, each of them dissolving into dust to reveal two new items. One was a cloak, and the other was a mask. There was also a new bag of twenty-five bronze coins, which he placed in his backpack before inspecting the other prizes.
[Cloak of the Tundra (Light Armor): 22 average defense, negates frost damage by an additional 56 average defense and significantly decreases effects from cold weather.]
[Breath of Valgeshia (Mask) (Vampiric) (Light Armor): 48 average defense, amplifies blood damage by an average of 13 base damage plus an additional +9% of mana input. Increases mana regeneration by 6%. If worn by a vampire, applied bonuses are tripled. Combat level 5 and Blood subpillar affiliation required to use.
[Set Piece: one of five. This item is part of the Valgeshia set. Acquire three items of the Valgeshia set for additional bonuses. Acquire five items of the Valgeshia set for all bonuses.]
The cloak looked rather heavy; it was made from a thick brown cloth and was lined with fur along the outer rim. It had a hood that came up along the top, had two medium-length sleeves, and was otherwise rather plain. Grasping it from where it floated in the air and trying it on, Riven found the cloak was actually very comfortable and rather soft. The sleeves came down to his elbows and kept the cloak in place, while the hem reached his calves. He turned around, bowing as Athela started clapping like a fanatic.
“Stunning! Just stunning!” Athela cooed while her two front legs went crazy slapping at each other. “Bravo! Bravo!”
“Shucks,” Riven said with a wink and a laugh while Azmoth looked from one to the other at a loss.
He turned back to the mask, which was obviously the better item of the set, given it had a percentage value to it, and took it from its floating position as well. It also had been titled as a vampiric item, and he had to admit to himself that he was a little disappointed that he couldn’t utilize the entirety of the bonuses because he was a human...instead of a vampire...?
Or was that entirely accurate? Riven scratched his chin. That one was up for debate after the little incident where fangs exploded from his mouth in the blood pit. He’d tried not to think about it since then, but it had definitely been a little creepy, and he didn’t know what to make of it. Regardless, it hadn’t happened since, so he would cross that bridge later.
But it was also the first time he’d ever seen a set piece item... How was he supposed to go about finding other items in this set, exactly? There wasn’t any instruction manual or guide, so he was at a complete loss as to how to even begin searching for the other pieces.
Unlike the cloak, this mask was somewhat impressive. Not amazing, as was indicated by the combat level requirement of 5, but definitely a good thing to add to his arsenal. Probably great for his level, but he’d definitely outgrow it. The mask was meant to cover just his chin, mouth, and nose—leaving his eyes open—and was black and red. The majority of the metal was thin, a sleek black with padding on the inside where it would be secured to his face, but crimson markings wove intricate runes of Unholy pentagrams, modified crucifixes, obscure sigils, and other designs into the surface that glowed faintly and had little holes for him to breathe through. It was polished, obviously enchanted with smooth surfaces that felt warm to the touch, and as his fingers grasped the mask, the dull glow of crimson runes began to smolder.
Bringing the mask up to his face, it sucked down against his skin when he was within a centimeter of his mouth and the padded inside quickly molded to the shape of his nose, mouth, and jaw. The back of it extended to his ears, where it abruptly stopped, and it had no problem staying there without any straps to keep it up. Breathing or talking through it caused tiny amounts of red mist to erupt from the mask, and it was rather sinister-looking as he looked down at his reflection in a pool of blood nearby.
On top of that, Athela definitely approved and came over to inspect it thoroughly by jumping up onto his chest and shoving her face within an inch of his own.
He’d really need to talk to her about personal bubbles, because it was apparent she didn’t know about them at all.
He took the sack of coins and added it to his own backpack, giving the larger bag Jalel’s old party had collected to Azmoth to carry and getting up to continue their trek. He had no idea where he was going, and neither did his minions...but it was getting dark, and he didn’t want to be caught out here in the open when night fell.