Chapter 164: A Ranger Joins The Party

Sitting in the tub and holding Tanila close, Max closed his eyes, trying to let the memories of the last four hours fade away.

“You ok?” Tanila asked, softly kissing his hands while watching the steam rise from the water.

“No… I did… I did what needed to be done, but I don’t know if it was for the right reason.”

She frowned, nodding her head once. “Like Everett, sometimes the actions required of you aren’t easy. Would you still have done it if you had not possessed your skill?”

“Of course, but–”

“Then don’t dwell on it anymore,” Tanila said, not letting Max dwell on his frustration. “Move on. We have a big day tomorrow, and I will certainly not waste this moment alone with you.”

She spun, laying her chest against his as her wet red hair ran everywhere behind her in the tub.

“Do you think Everett or Tom would waste another moment after what they saw today?”

Max sighed and shook his head.

“Then take what you can get. Death is always close.”

Forcing a smile, Max kissed her forehead while running his fingers through her hair.

Later, lying in bed, Max listened to Tanila breathing next to him while staring at the two notifications, waiting for his attention.

He selected yes for both and felt the knowledge flood his mind.

[Skill Description - Weapon Crafting]

*****

Weapon Crafting- Legendary Skill: The user may craft weapons that will be known throughout the ages, provided materials are available for such a feat. The weapon crafted has four chances to gain additional stats or skills, each one having a base sixty percent chance of success.

During crafting, the user has a thirty percent chance to bestow the weapon with an element if the core required is present. May attempt a second elemental imbuing with a twenty percent chance of success.

Weapons crafted by the user of this skill will always be unable to injure their maker. Weapons crafted will be indestructible except by weapons, skills, or spells of Godly grade. The time required to craft a weapon depends on the materials used. The weapon may be crafted in stages and stored within dimensional pockets to prevent degradation of the process.

*****

Max froze, staring at the skill grade.

Legendary… impossible… for that to happen…

[Skill Description - Armor Crafting]

*****

Armor Crafting- Rare Skill: The user may craft standard armor of exceptional quality. Armor crafted has a twenty percent chance of acquiring two different stats. Armor has a five percent chance of being considered indestructible. Materials used may aid in the chance of creating higher-grade armor. Armor may be stored for one week in dimensional storage during the crafting process without any degradation.

*****

Two crafting skills?!

Max’s head began to swirl as he lay there, trying not to wake up Tanila. Neither of those was something he had ever considered having, and now that he did, it created a lot of problems he couldn’t easily solve.

How can I even use these? I doubt Everett would look the other way if I suddenly started crafting…

Unable to fathom what this meant, the timing of it all.

“I present to you four, Cordellia.”

Max and the others moved across the room to offer their hands to the elf woman, who stood four inches taller than Tanila.

“I’m Seth, and this is Fowl, Batrire, and Tanila,” Max announced.

The woman nodded and smirked as she shook his hand and then repeated it with the rest.

“An odd group, to say the least, though I am fascinated at the prospect of joining you four based on the information Everett has shared with me.”

Max was able to keep a straight face, but Fowl started to giggle like a schoolgirl.

“Is something funny?” Cordellia asked, glaring at Fowl, who received an elbow to his ribs from Batrire.

“Ignore him,” Tanila muttered. “He’s a dwarf who has a fascination with holy elf tits and more.”

Cordellia shrugged and frowned. “I’ve been around enough dirty-mouthed dwarves. I can put up with one more.”

“I’m sorry… just your voice–” another elbow from Batrire cut him off.

Sighing, Cordellia nodded. “Yes… my voice… the one that Thuyja herself decided I should have. Are you laughing because of how high it is? Perhaps we should get a ruler and see if Ockrim cursed you, like every other dwarf, where the beard grows.”

Batrire and Tanila started howling with laughter while Max kept quiet, staying out of the current conversation for as long as he could.

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Turning a light shade of red, Fowl filled his lungs and puffed out his chest. “If you desire a gander, you are more than welcome to see what Ockrim has blessed me with.”

“That’s enough,” Everett said, clapping his hands twice. “We’re not here to see anything like that. You four know why Cordellia is here, and she knows why I have picked her to be in your party. Now then, is there anything else you need to know?”

“I got a question,” Cordellia stated as she shifted her gaze to Tanila and stared at her for a moment. “Have you all actually killed multiple rare spawns?”

Fowl snorted as Tanila nodded. “We have.”

Grunting, the archer turned away and shook her head, shrugging her shoulders at Everett. “All I got to do is not share anything I see and hope for another one?”

Everett grinned. “You really haven’t asked the most important question.”

“Which is?”

“How many we have killed,” Max answered for her. “At least four.”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Holy elf tits!” Cordellia cursed, sending Fowl into a fit of laughter. She stared at everyone except the dwarf, who couldn’t stay upright, and saw all three of them nodding. “You’re telling me the four of you have killed at least four!?”

“It’s more than that, but we won’t get into an exact number,” Tanila replied. “The truth is, we need a fifth for obvious reasons. We’d prefer a damage dealer who understands our need to keep some things secret. None of us,” Tanila said as she motioned to the rest of the party, “want our names to be well known. We’ll share loot evenly, give you a turn with random loot, and treat you like family. All we care about is someone who can keep our secrets.”

“Hell, for a shot at the luck you four seem to have I’d cut my own tongue out,” Cordellia replied.

Sighing, Everett closed his eyes for a moment as he grimaced. “Let’s not go that far. Now, she is level fifty-four and almost level five for tower experience. She has a very strong skill set as long as you don’t need her to lock a creature down. For her level, her damage is hard to ignore.”

Cordellia grinned, nodding at Everett's praise. “Don’t forget, I’ve been in the tower for a while, so I’ll be useful. There's nothing like having an experienced person by your side.”

Glancing at the others, Max held up a thumb and watched as everyone else raised theirs in agreement.

“Welcome to the team,” Fowl said quickly. “Can you do just one thing for me?”

Raising an eyebrow, their newest member looked at Fowl, uncertain of what the request would be. “It depends… dare I ask?”

Batrire groaned as Fowl moved away from her quickly.

“Can you curse one more time?”

Max waited as everyone else left the room and headed for the gate to catch a quick carriage.

“You ok?” Max asked.

“No, but I don’t have the luxury of being like Tom. For all the hard-ass facade he puts on, this crushed him and… thank you for what you did… I couldn’t, and neither could Tom.”

“Had it been Tanila, I couldn’t have done it either. It was the least I could do.”

Everett nodded and sighed. “Baldin and I have known… knew each other for a long time. Tom didn’t care about our relationship and never treated me as less than a friend. Those two were like brothers. Sometimes, I swear…”

Everett trailed off as a single tear managed to win as he battled against his emotions.

“Sometimes they made my life hell, but I never doubted they would have my back. I see that with your group, and if you give Cordellia a chance, perhaps she might be the same.”

Max nodded, motioning to the door with his thumb. “I need to go, but I’m here if you ever need me. No one should be alone.”

“Seth, you’re different from most adventurers I’ve dealt with, and I still haven’t figured you out,” Everett stated as he started walking toward the door. “Most want power or money, men or women. You… you don’t seem concerned about it, even though I know you’re stronger than you’ll ever tell me… the fact you four actually got both the dragon and demon bonus proves that Dexic was right about you. She could sense it.”

Laughing, Max just shrugged. “Maybe one day I’ll be able to beat her.”

Everett erupted with laughter, shaking his head from side to side.

Opening the door, the Faction leader managed to stop laughing and took a deep breath.

“The day you defeat her is the day I’ll grant you a privilege she currently alone has.”

“Sounds like a deal,” Max stated as he walked toward the stairs.

“So, you want to tell me how you all work together, or just let me figure out things?”

Everyone glanced at Max, and he shook his head.

“Cart’s protected from listening?”

Tanila nodded.

“How many skills do you have?” Max asked Cordellia.

The large elf shifted for a moment as she sat next to Batrire on the seat.

“Four… you?”

“About the same, but mine are not like yours, and trust me when I say our party isn’t like most. The skills the four of us possess aren’t ones most have.”

“That’s a pile of ogre crap for an answer,” she replied, scowling at his response.

“Seth is right,” Tanila said. “I started with elemental mastery on my awakening day.”

Cordellia’s eyes popped open so fast that Max was worried for a moment that one might fall out. Her face scrunched up, and then she shook her head. “That’s a really rare combination, and I’m pretty certain it's only happened once in our kingdom, and if that were true…”

As their archer’s voice trailed off, Tanila waved her hand over her wrist, her bracelet appearing. When her hair turned gold and her eyes shifted, Cordellia fell to the cart floor, putting her face and body in the tight space.

“Forgive me, Your Highness! I will not say a word! I swear on my life!”

Max frowned at Tanila, knowing they had discussed using this card, but he didn’t want to if they didn’t have to.

“Rise, Cordellia, you do not need to bow like that.”

The woman glanced up, watching Tanila’s hair and eyes change colors, their glow having vanished.

“But why? Why be here and…”

She took Max in, and then she cursed. “Goblin shite! You’re not seriously in love with a human, are you?”

Max winced when Tanila responded. The tone in her voice was one he hoped never to have directed at him.

“Cordellia, I will show you mercy this one time for that insult, but make no mistake,” Tanila declared, leaning toward the woman still on the floor, “if I ever hear you mock or belittle our relationship like that again, I will end your life in a moment. I swear this by the crown on my father’s head.”

The tanned elven woman’s face went a shade of white Max never knew existed as she bowed her head and nodded frantically.

“Now then,” Tanila continued, her voice back to normal. If we are done discussing who I choose to associate with, perhaps we can find a way for you to act like someone I like until you earn my respect.”

Cordellia lifted her head slightly and saw that Tanila was smiling at her.

“Please get up and sit. I don’t need people to wonder why you’re groveling at my feet.”

As if flung by a magical force, Cordellia moved quickly and flattened herself against the edge of the cart.

Max leaned forward and smiled. “Cordellia, we really want this to work, and I promise you, I’ll protect you just like I do everyone here.”

The brown-haired elf nodded slowly, tension releasing from her body until she sat normally.

“It’s okay, dear,” Batrire said, patting the archer on the leg. “Tanila surprised all of us like that also. Seth is right; we’ll all treat you like one of us. Just try to act normal. I can’t stand having Seth grovel at her feet, and another one would be harder to deal with.”

Tanila groaned and shook her head.

“Let’s talk strategy,” Max said, trying to change the topic. “Here’s what we do.”