Construction Mage - Chapter 38: Veterans

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“Craftsmen guilds like ours never recovered from The Descent, but we continue to exist. It’s just that our influence over the markets of entire kingdoms has been reduced to the local level. Make no mistake, though. We are essential to every city’s upkeep.”

-Excerpt from an undisclosed guild’s records.

***

Pleased that the two veteran Delvers had accepted his invitation, Clay cheerfully guided them out of the dungeon enclosure. However, he didn’t manage to get too far before he came to a halt.

“Sorry, please wait for a moment!” Sylphira called out from behind.

When he turned around, he found the woman gesturing with her hands to someone, who then ran off around the corner. A moment later, a finely appointed carriage drawn by two horses returned in their place and came to a stop right before the dark-haired woman. The doors swung open, and three females rushed out. Two of them rushed to tidy up Sylphira’s hair and clothes while the other simply composed herself on the side. Seeing Clay taken aback, she quickly explained.

“Allow me to introduce my friends. These twins are Velda and Veyra, and this is Avel.”

The three curtsied, with the twins flashing a friendly smile in the process while Avel remained stoic.

“I am Avel. Lady Sylphira’s Head Attendant,” the expressionless woman sternly corrected, which elicited a chuckle from her lady.

“Come now, Avel. Lay down the pomp. You know I hate dealing with etiquette and all the other headache-inducing theatrics.” The attendant in question simply said nothing, and Sylphira continued. “Allow me to offer you my carriage. I believe it will be quicker this way?”

“Sure,” Clay weakly muttered, as he went along with the idea.

“Perfect. Feel free to sit where you please.”

The tall carriage had two rows of seats that were face-to-face. Clay went along with the flow and found himself seated facing the front, in between the two veteran Delvers.

“So, where is the destination?” the master of the carriage asked.

“Right. It’s in the fourth ring. Now that I think about it, maybe we should change the location? Maybe one of the famous cake shops or bakeries would be more fitting?”

“No need. You got me curious about your house, so I’d like to go see it myself. Or is it that we’re no longer welcomed?”

Clay had to restrain himself from letting out a sigh in response to the mischievous grin. Failing to come up with a retort in time, he let his head hang and gave up.

“Very well. It was my suggestion in the first place, so let it be.”

“Hahaha,” the balding man with a wide frame guffawed beside him. “There was no way you’d be winning that one. Sylphy hates stuffy places like cake shops. Too many of her kind there.”

Clay weakly laughed along as his mind raced for a new topic to redirect to.

“Do you make use of carriages often, Dorgan?”

“Me? If the destination is on the way, then I tag along. Otherwise, I’d like to use these old bones,” he said as he pointed to his legs.

“Yeah, I can see veteran warriors such as yourself, preferring to just run where you want with how fast you can move.”

“Fast? Oh, you mean earlier. We normally only do that in combat. We can move fast, alright, but only for short distances, and even then, we limit it. It uses too much stamina, so we have to be mindful of it.”

“Hmm, I see—I guess that means it would be foolish to spend all your stat points on agility, then?”

“Yep! People on the front line don’t have to luxury to specialize like you mages. We have to be the wall, reliable and sturdy, after all! Otherwise, you m—”

“Yes, yes. Us mages are so unreliable and need your protection,” Sylphira finished for him, exasperated.

The bantering quickly devolved into meaningless insults, and Clay didn’t know how to intervene. To be precise, he knew how to, but experience told him it would only redirect their ire to him, which he wasn’t willing to bear. As a last resort, his gaze reached out to the three attendants sitting across from him for help, but they seemed used to it and ignored the argument entirely.

Stuck in the middle of the war, Clay could only silently endure it until the carriage arrived in the fourth ring. Thankfully, horse-drawn carriages were much quicker than traveling on foot. He used directing the coachman as an excuse and repositioned on the opposite side and barked the directions out the window.

With mostly empty fields in the fourth ring, the carriage arrived in no time at all. It pulled up right before his humble abode, sparking a new type of concern in Clay. 

Sylphira was evidently a noble, seeing how she had attendants and a coachman. He regretted inviting such a figure to his shoddy home. He wouldn’t be surprised if most nobles would take it as an affront to their honor.

“Here we are,” he declared, trying to sound as neutral as possible.

“Hahaha, it seems you work quickly! You said you just arrived in Ravenhold recently? How long did it take to build this house?”

“Um, not that long.”

Clay stole a peek at the nearby ladies, preparing himself for the mockery to come. He saw them staring at his makeshift house intently until Sylphira noticed his gaze.

“Is that made from earth magic?”

“Yeah. It was the most efficient option available to me.”

“Amazing! I’ve never seen anything like it. The other earth mages I met were too pretentious to use their spells for anything other than combat. Even though we all know most of them contribute to the construction of the wall.”

Seeing how excited she was, Clay quickly invited her in, so they no longer had to look at the sorry state his house was in. Only the elderly coachman remained outside as the group of six strode inside.

As soon as they stepped through the doorless entryway, Clay ignited the light crystal and brought his guests to the only table in the living room. It was there so the owner of the house could enjoy a cup of tea, but the problem was that it only had two chairs. He hadn’t accounted for the three attendants to tag along.

“Give me a moment. I can set up some seats.”

Clay didn’t give them a chance to ask any questions and dashed into the washroom where he kept all the unused earthen bricks. He then whispered his chant and summoned the earth golem for assistance.

He had it help him carry some bricks to the table, stacking them up to use as seats while he quickly brewed some tea for the guests. The golem’s entrance was met with wide eyes. The moment he returned to the living room, his guests sought him for answers.

“You learned the Summon Elemental skill?” the only other mage in the room asked.

“Yeah.”

“Sir, there’s no need to worry about us. We’ll be standing behind our lady as our duty dictates,” the head attendant said.

Clay waited a moment for Sylphira to interject, but she didn’t, so he simply nodded.

No further inquiries came as the guests patiently waited for him to set up his seat. They only resumed the conversation once he was done.

“So, what’s the story?” Dorgan’s voice thundered through the house. “I take it that you’re a new mage looking to consult with Sylphy? Can’t say I agree with your class selection, but that’s none of my business.”

“Hm, there isn’t much of a story. I just recently found myself in Ravenhold—or any settlement around here, as a matter of fact. I’m just trying to survive, and hopefully share what I know about the dungeons and monsters.”

“Oh, you, as a beginner, claim to have some insight to share? Where have you been before here, then? Don’t tell me you were living with the monsters or something.”

“Shh, learn to hold back, would you, Dorgan?” Sylphira interrupted. “People’s past isn’t something you should ask about so casually. Especially on the first day of meeting them. You’ll have to excuse him, Clay. He’s not someone who’s good with words, but he has good intentions.”

“No worries, I don’t mind, but why don’t we change the topic, then? I have been itching to ask you about how other mages operate. You’re the first one I’ve spoken to, seeing how they usually aren’t the most approachable.”

“Ha,” she grinned as she chuckled. “You’re correct in that. Most mages are nobles with only a few who managed to take on the class in the early days of The Descent, managing to become powerful enough to be worth bringing along into the dungeon’s depths. I’m of the latter category, so no need to mince your words with me. Ask all you want.”

“Oh? In that case, I hope you don’t mind me asking what stats do you focus on? I’ve got an idea of what would suit me, but I’m curious about what the general trend is.”

“No problem, it’s not a secret or anything. Almost all mages focus on strength and intelligence. Other than that, most only put points into the other stats to meet the requirements of the skills they want to learn.”

“Why is that? Shouldn’t agility be a focus as well?”

“Casting faster is great, but for the more powerful spells, it shaves off too little time to be worth it. The difference between taking a minute to finish casting and fifty seconds isn’t that great, given you have a competent frontline.” She paused to acknowledge her companion. “Instead, raising strength allows you to amplify the effects of those powerful spells even more, allowing you to clear out swarms of monsters or armies all at once. Intelligence is usually the main prerequisite to learn those big spells and also lets you cast them a few more times.”

“That is—one way to do it, but isn’t it useful to be able to cast smaller spells rapidly as well? Especially in tight spaces.”

“That’s what the other party members are for. No matter how quickly we can cast, it won’t compare to a ranger firing their bows, or a rogue at close range with their daggers. It’s better to specialize in your strengths and allow your party members to compensate for your weaknesses. It’s why your golem is—quite a rare sight.”

“You can say that again!” Dorgan blurted without a filter. “Can I try dueling it?”

“Maybe next time. I can’t maintain it for much longer.”

“It’s a promise, then!”

What was left unsaid was that Clay didn’t want to embarrass himself. It was obvious to him that he was weaker, but he also had zero experience using the golem in combat. He had yet to have a chance. There was no point in doing so when facing Feral Kobolds, while he hadn’t faced anything else until today’s incident.

I really should start learning how to make use of it in combat. I surely will before the next time I see Dorgan again!

“Anyway, do you guys know a lot of other Delvers around here? About what I said earlier, I have some ideas that may be able to help them.”

“Really? Tell us, then!”

“I’m equally curious as well,” the dark-haired mage supplemented. 

“Are either of you familiar with guilds?”

“Guilds? The ones for the craftsmen in town?” Dorgan said with undisguised skepticism.

“Yes, the idea is the same. Except with a focus on pooling material resources and information together rather than dictating prices.”

Dorgan only took a second to try to understand it before looking toward his teammate, Sylphira. Thankfully, she wasn’t like him at all. Her eyes gleamed with interest. She leaned in, ready to continue listening.

“Oh, do go into detail.”

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