But then Randidly’s eyes narrowed Either way they would quickly become embroiled in a cycle of violence if the Undying Hero wasn’t brought to heel That was the key that would open up a more peaceful alternative
“Any leads on where the Undying Hero is ” Randidly asked
Decklan grimaced and looked at the floor Neveah shrugged “We can infer generally that he is steadily heading South from the information from the Toad Lords who have capitulated and by looking at who is sending representatives to watch us But we have no confirmed reports He moves too quickly and likely is wearing a disguise we have heard no word of a human with the description of the Undying Hero moving through frog lands And the Frogpeople would definitely notice a human “
“Even if you don’t know the exact position can you guess how far he has traveled ” Randidly asked
Decklan grimaced “Four days hard running for me if I went through the night And moving further South every day “
Grunting Randidly tried to calculate how long it would take to catch up It would probably be fair to say that Randidly could move almost twice as fast as Decklan should he go all out on the attempt Faster still if he used Inspiration on the active component of Yyrwood Body of Yggdrasil He still had about eight days until he wanted to get back on Donnyton so if Randidly left immediately he should be able to make it with time to spare
The only question was how would he deal with the Undying Hero when he found him
“Alright then ” Randidly said shortly “I’ll leave as soon as possible But before I go tell me what you know about where I’ll be going “
Why had the rapier had a third option yet neither of the other two did
Sam sat in a wicker chair as the sun rose over the horizon and considered this problem
Briefly in a fit of madness Sam had mentioned his confusion to Donny But the boy had taken it exactly the wrong way He was disturbed that so high quality equipments could be made with three different boosts to them Especially boosts that reached as high as V Immediately he had brought up the possibility of buying those production based buildings again
Sam had harshly shut him down Then he had proceeded here to think about the issue and why it was important Because there was something about it that seemed to suggest to Sam that if he could figure out why he thought this was weird his smithing potential would explode
But it was best to look at it methodically Sam thought to himself To start go to the beginning Then confirm every step toward the goal
Common doctrine in Donnyton said that the extra options that could be added to pieces of equipment came from three things Materials Process and Unity between purpose and construction With Randidly’s help Sam was beginning to understand that the Unity they talked about really referred to the image a maker had So Materials Process and Image
Even with those as a guide there were many times that a weapon would have a strange option one that seemed to somehow combine one or two of those categories Or an obvious preparation process would yield no changes in options Some of that could be blamed on failures by the smith but it also seemed likely that they were missing something
Which was why the details of that rapier continued to tantalize Sam
Elemental Kaleidoscope III Not of This World I Spirit of the People I
Spirit of the People could be set aside that was the overarching image that every sword and shield and glove and condom that came out of Zone Seven possessed They were certainly consistent in that respect
The other two were Elemental Kaleidoscope and Not of This World The problem with these was that both seemed to be attributable to the materials and neither to the process It is theoretically possible that elements could be imbued into a material but that wasn’t the case here The elements came from the monster itself
It was even less likely that Not of this World was created with a process How could humans process something to be not of this world That too was directly because of the monsterÆs magical nature
Perhaps Sam was simply shortsighted he could be fixated on nothing But that didn’t seem to be the case It seemed far more likely to him as someone who had forged hundred of items in the System that he was missing something important His categories regarding the options in weapons were incorrect
“Humm ” Sam rumbled closing his eyes and allowing the sun to just soak into his skin
“What are you grumbling about ” Regina said Sam started she had moved so quietly out onto the porch he hadnÆt noticed her When Sam opened his eyes he noticed that she was offering him a cup of coffee He took it and savored the rich flavor
Grinning in spite of himself Sam sniffed and said “Damnit how do you do it I haven’t had beans like this in years “
“Rarely do people need surgeons with the advent of the System ” Regina said wryly “I’ve had some time to work at it And I’m not the type of woman to stop before I’ve made a quality product So you think it’s good enough to sell I harvested about a ton “
“Do you have packaging ” Sam asked skeptically
Regina punched his arm softly “Shush I don’t need you to hold my hand through this I’ve got it handled You are just an old tongue whose been around the block so much that I trust you So how is it “
Sam wrinkled his nose but dutifully took another sip Rich and oaky the flavor lingered on his tongue for several seconds after tasting “Tastes good “
Holding the cup up he considered the dark liquid in the sun’s warm rays The amber color was inviting and the familiar smell of coffee drifted upward to his nose “Looks good “
Seeing Regina rolling her eyes Sam finished with “And it was made by the woman I love What more do I need “
“Uh huh thank you very much ” Regina leaned over and kissed his cheek Then as she straightened she released a helpless laugh “Really Looks good smells good We aren’t buying a table this is just coffee “
Sam rolled his shoulders “Well design is important in everything Just because it’s a coffee doesn’t mean “
Then Sam paused He tapped his fingers very quickly against the wicker chair Was it really that simple
“Sorry I’ve got to go ” Sam said as he lurched to his feet “I’ll uh take a look later at your packaging Or maybe tomorrow I might be in the forge for a few days “
Regina just laughed and waved her hand and Sam was off furiously comparing his theory to the pieces of equipment and their options that he remembered Based upon Randidly’s insistence there probably was no way to get away from image as a defining factor for the creation of an item Plus there was no evidence to the contrary
On the other hand What if instead of Materials and Process You thought about the item in terms of design principles
Which would make the options created by Function and Form
With a furious scowl Sam hurried toward his workshop He would need to perform some experiments to see the limits of this
Chapter 890
You are just going to walk in Decklan asked as he hurried to keep up with RandidlyÆs deceptively long strides
Randidly chuckled DonÆt sound so worried You already said that the settlement below is only the warriors from the defeated Toad Lords too weak to join another faction right So there isnÆt anyone that can stop me And a guide would help things along immensely
Decklan seemed to consider that as the two walked through the long halls of the castle toward the gate After hearing some sparse geographic details about where Randidly was heading and creating Neveah six more Riders to expand the spooky ranks in her service Randidly was ready to head South
Besides the more quickly he left behind this moral quandary the better Even now he could feel his Crown slowly absorbing a portion of the Aether here Randidly had never thought about it before but it seemed that actions he took while in a leadership role gave the Crown something more than experience