Lost in the Game

Favors

Shadow had no more than arrived back to the third floor and purchased his shop from the Mayor when he ran into Salune. She looked troubled as he walked up to her, and was shocked when his pet Wolf became visible and. jzzled up to her making her jump.

"What is his name?" she asked him as she pet his really soft fur.

"Thinking of names actually, but haven't decided." he replied as he walked up to her. "Can I ask what is bothering you so much?" he asked sitting next to her.

"Actually, if I can ask a favor it might help me out a bunch." she replied looking at him hopefully.

"Maybe, but favors usually have costs that you never see coming. What is it?" he asked her.

"Ypu know the tournament is tomorrow, and everyone is busy preparing for it, or resting so they have the best chance. I however have only one chance for preparing, and can't afford it now that I helped my Guild mates prepare." she said as he nodded.

"How much do you need?" he asked her knowing he had more than enough.

"Wait, your a leather worker aren't you?" she asked and he nodded. "Can you make the priest leather gear?" she asked hopeful.

"Most definitely, very expensive piece of equipment there." he said.

"I noticed, after I spent all my money." she said as he laughed.

"How much gold do you have?" he asked her.

"12 hundred." she replied hanging her head.

"Have any holy water?" he asked as she smiled.

"5, those are expensive though." she said as he smiled.

"Which is why the Priests Purified Leather Armor is so expensive. I would need 3 of them in order to make it for you, and we can discuss the cost while I do." he said as he stood and offered her his hand. "We have to go to my hideout first though, if you have the water with you."

"I do." she replied accepting his help up as he initiated the teleport to the middle of the forest. "Oh wow, this is amazing." she said as it dropped them into the middle of his crafting area.

"Recently expanded and converted to a Guild House." he told her as he walked over to his crafting chest and unlocked it.

"Aren't you afraid of someone stealing your stuff?" she asked as he pulled out a bunch of materials.

"If they can deactivate the traps on this, they deserve something for thier trouble. This is the extra from every day, so isn't really anything I have to worry about to often." he told her.

"What is this going to cost me?" she asked him remembering what he said. "It seems like you are planning an enchantment as well."

He smiled as he looked at her. "I am indeed." he replied closing the chest as he grabbed the leather first. "Gonna need that water." he said making her pull it out and set it down as he went to work.

"How do you know what I want it enchanted with?" she asked as he smiled.

"I don't, but if you don't like it when I am finished, I will make another to your exact specifications. Stand there, and I will need a sample of your blood as well when it is time." he said handing her a large needle. "Just a few drops."

"You sound sure of yourself." she said as he laughed as the leather was finished. She was surprised how quickly he could do it, as he grabbed different things and added them to the list.

"Should I not be?" he asked with a smile.

"I am always nervous when I make things for other people." she admitted blushing.

"Everything I make is for someone. Whether special order, or general sale someone almost always buys it." he said as his Wolf nudged his hand and he pulled out several slabs of meat and dropped them into a bowl for him.

"Never thought of it that way." she said as she could tell he was getting close to finishing it.

"Drops of blood please." he said as she pricked her finger and walked over. He gently took her hand and guided it to where he needed the blood before he added the rest of the stuff he had pulled out and completed the crafting incantation. "Yes." he exclaimed as it came out and he got to look at it.

She opened the stats menu for it, and was shocked when he saw what he had done. It was an Orange Enchanted Priests Armor, and still had an enchantment slot as well as 2 gem slots that would allow her to customize it more. Its stats were way better than anything she had seen before, and when she saw the enchantment he had added to it she nearly fainted. It would grow with her as she leveled, eliminating the need for more armor. She would just need the gems and enchantments redone once in awhile. It was also already soulbound to her, and she nearly cried when she saw all of it. "This is worth way more than 10,000 gold."

"My appraisal skill says 50,000." he said to her as she looked at him shocked.

"I can't afford that." she exclaimed as she sat down and the Wolf looked at her and flicked her with his tail making her laugh.

"Never said that was what I was going to charge, now did I. As you covered the most expensive materials, I can give you a great deal." he said with a mischievous smile that she wasn't sure she liked.

"Oh boy, how much?" she asked him.

"We aren't done yet, let's see the rest of your equipment." he said as she sighed and shared her equipment list with him as he chuckled.

"That is a good start, but we aren't done yet." he said as he d**g her into the house and to his room where his other chests were.

"I can't even afford this!" she protested as he threw her on the bed and went to the first one and opened it.

"This stuff isn't for sale, so there is no cost." he said as she looked at him weirdly.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"The stuff in here has another purpose, and isn't for sale." he said as he began setting things on the table and she was shocked. This was all Boss monster drops, and were some of the rarest as they were ultimate or legendary pieces that were bind on equip. He even pulled out a few unique pieces that would be Guild bound once equipped, and set those on the table. Each and every one of them for a Spirit Priest, and would make her one hell of a player.

When he pulled out the paired Staff and Wand for her, she about fainted again as she saw it would complete her gear setup with the best gear for nearly every slot. Only one ring wouldn't qualify as the best, but it was second best. Only because the first best was sitting beside it, and she couldn't wear two of them. "Than what the hell is it for?" she asked.

"People like you who need it. Most will likely go to the Strike Force, and all I ask is when you replace it, you allow ME to disenchant it." he said as he picked it all up and took her downstairs to the area he used for enchanting. "Speaking of, which enchantments do you want?" he asked setting his enchantment book in front of her. It was everything he had learned for enchanting, and she decided it would probably be best to look before she assumed.

She was amazed at what he could do, and each time she selected one for a piece, he added it and she was shocked when it came out even better than what was in the book. "What is your proficiency level?" she asked as he smiled. He pointed to a board that had thousands of scrolls on it, each one grouped together for the specific enchantment it was. These ones were the same as what was in the book, as she looked at all of them and whistled. "Makes the rest of us look like novices."

He laughed as he kept working, and within 10 minutes handed her the stack of gear and pointed to a changing room. "Let's see." he said as she shook her head.

"What's it going to cost me?" she asked.

"Dinner after the tournament is over." he said with a smile. "Assuming you don't have a boyfriend or husband." he said making her laugh.

"Very much single." she replied. "How about dinner every night of the tournament, my treat." she said as he smiled.

"Works for me, now change." he said as she grabbed the pile and walked into the changing room.

It took her a few minutes to change, and she could feel the power boost with every piece as it enhanced her skills beyond what she could have hoped for when she came to him. She looked in the mirror when she was done, and was amazed at how badass she looked now. Somehow the gear complimented each other, and even though she was a healer, she knew her other spells would be far more effective as well. She walked out nervously and was surprised when there was more than one whistle from the room as several others had joined him.

"Now that is a bad a*s priest." Robbin said as he saw her and Shadow smiled.

"Might have to agree with that assessment. Everyone, meet Salune of the Green Lotus Guild." he said as they all introduced themselves.

"Nice to meet you all. Thanks for allowing me to visit." she said making them laugh.

"Any friend is always welcome here, so long as they are escorted in and don't try stealing from us." Shadow said as the other Rogues blushed thinking where they had recently been found.

"Well, that is nice to know. Might have to come back and borrow your setup here, it is one of the best I have seen." she teased. "See ya in the morning Shadow, I have a feeling it is going to be a very long day." she said as he smiled.

"That it likely is." he agreed.