Chapter 91: Chapter 90 – Cool Scanner

The small elder ork gestures for Jason to come to the counter. Once Jason takes a seat on a leather chair the ork nods, “So you need something custom? Don’t look confused. While I do have a lot on my shelves, no one comes here for that. There aren’t even prices on them though like everyone else on their first visit, you didn’t notice. My leatherwork isn’t the best and you can get better work for less elsewhere. Custom designs is where I shine. Now what nonsense do you want me to make for you?”

Jason points to Lily on his shoulder, “I need a carrier to keep her safe. As it is, I have to hide her off to the side anytime I go into combat. This works but if I ever get ambushed, we would both be in trouble.”

The ork taps the counter and it folds away to the side. As he steps out from behind the counter the ork flips a switch. Along each wall the shelves lift up and leather sheets fall down over the windows. Across the ceiling magical lights turn on moments after the shop goes dark. Behind Jason a table rises out of the ground though only to waist height, perfect for the ork. With his workspace setup the ork grabs out some paper and starts to sketch. He gestures at Jason to set Lily on the table. Once Jason has done so the ork nudges Lily onto a square section marked out in one corner. Then small metal pillars pop out of each corner of the square. Red beams connect them and a screen of light passes over Lily a couple of times. The ork nods as a row of numbers start to scroll across the edge of the table. He once again dives back into the sketches and minutes pass. Jason and Lily just stand around until the ork looks up. He nods at them and tells them, “You can leave now. Got what I need, come back in three or so days.”

With that the ork ignores the two as they leave the shop. Though once they are gone a slab of leather over 5 inches thick lowers down over the front. Outside Jason can only shake his head at this. Whatever creature could provide a single piece of leather that big was not some normal monster. “This town is just filled with hidden masters. Nole at Plants Unlimited would of course have a minimum of ability to work at a place like that but it seems everyone else I meet is up there too. Then again, it mostly stems from Fern. Having her guide me to various places is why I keep bumping into these people. With her power and influence it would make sense that she knows all the other monsters in town. Anyway, he said about three days to complete it, whatever ‘it’ ends up being. That is not much time so I need to change my plans. Instead of going off to the forest area near the goblin plains I should go to the other side. Once I reach the forest there should be enough time to hunt five or so Snarltails. It depends on the density of the stupid cats over there. Still need 12 of them total to cap myself so the timing should work out. It will be close though. Probably should extend the time I am renting the room by a couple days.”

With a plan in mind Jason walks back to the Scratchy Pinecone. A quick exchange with Fern who gladly extends his stay and he is ready to head back out into the wilds. Before that though Fern stops him from rushing off. She gestures at the bones on display across the inn walls. There are a special series of bones in specific she has him focus on. Before he hunted them, it would just seem to be a strange eel or snake skeleton. Now Jason can clearly tell it is a tail off of some Snarltail. When Fern sees he understands what it is, she lectures him, “none of the bones here belongs to a monster below level 100. You obviously recognize that tail now having hunted them. As it is they are culled as often as possible so none have developed to this level. However I have seen too many adventurers assume after they fight a monster they know all there is about it. Snarltails did not conquer that forest region in the past with their current strength. Around most towns, even relatively new ones, you will only find weaker monsters. This doesn’t mean their levels are necessarily low. Rather, they will fight purely with instincts. To even set up a town in the first place requires people to come through and kill or bargain with all the elder beings in the area. Without the wisdom gained with time even if the area had high level threats they will end up blunted and unable to threaten the town itself. This is the very reason the relatively peaceful rabbit plains that your little Lily there comes from exists in the first place. Not all creatures gain intelligence with level or evolution. However time can change all things. The Snarltail those bones came from might not have been able to look in a mirror and recognize itself but it was wise. Even to this day the forest bears the mark it has left. No other predator willingly enters and yet herbivores don’t seem to notice anything. I don’t think you will have any problems out there. They get culled often enough most don’t even evolve once. However don’t let your first fight with a monster bind you. I would rather fight a high level monster who was only a few years old to a low level one that has lived for over a hundred years. Not that you would find many low level creatures over a hundred years old. That tends to be somewhat of a bottleneck in monster development. Pass it and they easily level up. Otherwise they tend to get frantic and end up dead. Anyway you can get on now. Your burning daylight standing here listening to me ramble.”