Chapter 30: Tasty Dragon Snacks

Chapter 30: Tasty Dragon Snacks

“There’s something I need to know,” I began, thinking of the question that had been on my mind since she made the incredible offer. “Why did you want me so bad?”

“You came highly recommended,” she replied, tapping the desk with her fingers rhythmically. “Both Mortimer and Walter insisted that I make you a top offer but didn’t say much else. Believe it or not, I’m just as curious about you as you are of me.”

It took me a moment to realize she was talking about Mr. Penderblast and Mr. Chrysler. Not getting the answer I was looking for, I decided to press on. “The reason I’m here is I wanted to see if I can work out a deal with you to learn Tinkering. It sounds neat.”

The woman, whose name I didn’t know, frowned. “You turned down our offer. Why come back to make a deal now when you know it will be worse than the last one?”

I Analyzed her before moving on.

Margarette Hurst

Class: Tinkerer

Level: 52

Age: 34

Weight: 141 Lbs

Height 5’7

“I’d like to offer a trade,” I began the speech I’d rehearsed countless times during the trip over. “Teach me how to Tinker and I’ll use my skill to help you.”

“What is your skill?” She asked, leaning forward in anticipation.

I had her but I didn’t want to give everything away. “I can tell if something is broken or doesn’t work right. Let me look at it and I’ll tell you how to fix it.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Is that all? Troubleshooting hardly sounds worth Mortimer’s time. But very well, let’s test it.”

Madam Hurst rummaged through her desk before pulling out a metallic rod with a ball on the tip. She laid it gently on the table in front of me.

Tinglestrumper

Grade: C

Condition: 11

Created by: Hurst

Error: Item Damaged. Core cracked. Replacement recommended.

I frowned. “Why do Tinkered items have such odd names?”

Madam Hurst returned the frown. “What name are you talking about?”

I groaned inwardly, upset at myself for revealing unnecessary info. “Um, Mr. Penderblast called his invention a Flibberjublet. I was thinking about that.”

She nodded, not giving away whether she believed my excuse or not. “Tell me what’s wrong with this item.”

“The core is cracked,” I replied. “I think you’re going to have to replace it.”

Madam Hurst picked up the Tinglestrumper and turned it lovingly in her hands. “I feared as much. One of the flaws of this device is that the core is sealed inside. Not much I can do to repair it without destroying it.”

Info: The core can be accessed using a Shadow Patch.

The moment I wondered about Shadow Patches more info popped up.

Shadow Patch: Harvest liquid void from any void-based entity. Soak overnight into jet-black silk. Apply to an object no thicker than one inch. Dissolves after use.

Your Research skill has increased: +1 (12)

Madam Hurst studied me as I took everything in. “Did your skill tell you anything else?”

I shook my head perhaps a little too vigorously, and Madam Hurst smiled. “You’re right. Perhaps I need to reciprocate first. Let’s see. It’s against guild regulations to officially teach anyone without a contract but I suppose it couldn’t hurt to give you a welcome kit.”

She walked to a tall black cabinet and withdrew a stuffed pouch. Rather than handing it to me, she opened it and started taking one object out after another.

“This is an Apprentice Tinkerer’s guidebook,” she announced, handing me a book that looked fit for a first grader. It was thin and had a picture of a woodstock holding a screwdriver.

“Next is your first multitool,” she said, taking out a thin cylindrical object. It had multiple attachments that slid out like a utility knife. “This one is rather basic but it should be more than enough for basic inventions.”

The last thing in the pouch looked like a jar of marbles. “These are mana-infused balls and work as power sources for lesser inventions. While the world you come from uses electricity for power, we use mana. It’s more efficient by a long shot.”

“What does that thing do?” I asked, nodding toward the Tinglestrumper.

“This is called a Pulse Plugger,” she said, her eyebrows shooting up when I was forced to cover my laugh with a cough. “I can’t show you what it does while it’s broken but I designed it to emit a pulse into an object to tell how dense it is. I’ve also discovered it has certain other uses. Unfortunately, I broke it and it is going to be difficult to replace.”

“Why is that?” I asked, my curiosity piqued.

She pointed at the sleek metal casing. “This metal is rare and somewhat expensive. It’s necessary because nothing else I’ve tried transmitted the pulse properly without causing damage. This was perfectly safe and even waterproof as a bonus. Unfortunately, the core I chose wasn’t up to the task.”

I sighed. “What would it be worth to you if you could access the core without breaking the casing?”

She blinked at me in puzzlement. “Are you saying you know how to do that?”

“I’m saying I might, for the right price,” I replied, realizing she’d already forced me to give up some information for free. “How strict are those guild regulations?”

Her mouth dropped open. “They are absolutely strict. I’d risk a black mark if I tried to take you on. I’m sorry. It’s not worth the risk. I’d offer you another contract but I’m afraid it wouldn’t be as good as the first.”

“I want to try everything before I lock myself down to a specific job,” I said defensively. “There has to be a compromise.”

She clutched the Tinglestrumper. “Will you accept money? I’ll gladly pay if you can help me fix this.”

“Do you have the core you want to use?” I asked, since Analysis didn’t tell me how to make another one.

She nodded, opening her drawer to reveal her own glass jar of slightly bigger balls than the ones she’s given me in the beginner’s kit. She opened it and selected one that looked like a galaxy with swirling white specs in a black ball.

“How do we do it?” She asked, not waiting to make a deal. “Do you need tools? I can get you anything you need.”

“Let’s start with money,” I replied, holding out my hand.

“Oh, right,” she said, opening a void bag of her own. “Will a gold work?”

My mouth nearly fell off of my face and she knew she had me. Placing the coin in my hand and folding my fingers around it, she asked, “Do you have an appraisal skill? I know you know what this is called. It’s a silly name. Many of us use codewords for prototypes. That’s what this is.”

“Yeah, I do,” I replied, finding my voice after stowing the coin in my bag. She wasn’t getting that back. “I can see basic information about an item by looking at it as well as how to fix it if it’s broken.

“Do you know how valuable the appraisal skill is?” She asked. “Depending on the amount of detail you can glean from an item, you might be able to make a career out of that alone. It also depends on what types of items you can appraise. A lot of novice appraisers can’t do magic items. Actually, let’s test that.

She walked over to a safe, placing her back between me and the nob as she opened it. I was a little surprised that the safe itself wasn’t magic.

Liberty Safe

Grade: D

Condition: 93

Owned by: Hurst

I only caught a glimpse of the items inside before she closed it but I could have sworn I saw a very large diamond. The item she returned with looked like a gnarled piece of wood.

Technowand

Magic Item

Grade: A

Condition: 100

Owned by: Hurst

Info: Assembles up to novice items automagically.

“It’s magic,” I mumbled, wondering if I’d seen anything else that was magic and forgotten to Analyze it.

Madam Hurst chuckled. “That it is. Tell me, what else can you see.”

“Not much,” I tried.

She shook her head. “Nope! You accepted my gold. You owe me at least a little honesty.”

“But I’m going to help you fix your metal thing,” I replied, hoping to get her back on topic.

But she just laughed. “Still, nope. I can tell by your reaction that you’ve never had a gold before. At least for right now, you owe me. So, tell me what you see. Don’t worry. I promise not to tell anyone.”

I already knew better than to believe the promises of adults. They were notorious for breaking them. Still, she did have a point. One gold was worth five thousand dollars. I could retire if I wanted.

“Fine,” I replied, deciding to use my skill to get more info out of her. “I can see the name and grade of items I inspect along with who made them. How do I make money using this skill?”

“What’s this called?” She asked holding up the wand while ignoring my question. “Tell me everything you can about it.”

“That’s a technowand,” I replied. “It’s grade A and owned by you. Do I just set up a shop somewhere and offer to appraise people’s items for a gold each?”

“Not with that level of skill,” she replied, shaking her head. “Did your appraisal tell you what this does or anything that defines it?”

“I know that it assembles items,” I replied.

Her grin got bigger. “Wait right here. I want to see how you do on an item we haven’t identified.”

She was gone before I had a chance to object. While she was gone, I took the opportunity to look around her office. It was pretty bland for the most part. The only interesting items were the wand and tinglestrumper. Except for the view, that was. I walked over to the window, looking down at the busy streets of New York buzzing by like a hive of frenzied ants.

Madam Hurst returned to find me with my cheek pressed to her window. “Like the view, do you? You could have spent the next five years up here if you’d signed the contract. It might not be too late, you know. Show off a few more of those skills and I might be able to reinstate that offer.”

I turned to find her holding an ornate chest. She placed a hand on the lock and gave me one final look before whispering a word that echoed. Was that magic? The lock opened with a satisfying click.

Inside the box sat a small wooden carving of a dragon head.

Draconic Effigy

Magic Relic

Grade: S

Condition: 100

Owner: Unbound

Info: Focus item. Once this relic claims an owner, it can be used to create a magic tool or weapon to enhance the wielder’s mana. This relic prefers to bestow draconic enhancements.

“It’s a relic,” I began. “Called a Dragonic Effigy.”

“Interesting,” She mumbled, looking down at the tiny head. “Why doesn’t it work?”

“It says it’s unbound,” I replied, not bothering to tell her the specifics.

She should already know about relics claiming their owner, right? I wondered if it would possibly claim me. The skull began to glow the moment I had the thought.

“What did you do?” Madam Hurst asked, dropping the chest on the floor.

The skull rolled to my feet and I instinctively bent over and picked it up. A flash of light flooded the room, momentarily blinding me. When I opened my eyes, a new message had appeared.

A relic has attuned itself to you.

Draconic Effigy

Magic Relic

Grade: S

Condition: 100

Owner: Evans

Madam Hurst lunged at me, reaching for the skull. Its eyes glowed red and it bit her finger.