Evolution: A Warlock's Rise To Power

Chapter 44: Looking for Ore

Lucan arrived in Shadowsweep just before sundown. He sat in his chair on his porch and started making wands. The occasional villager would greet him as they passed. Sometimes they would stop and have a short conversation with the Lord of the village. Lucan tried to remain accessible to the people and listen to any problems they had.

Lucan eventually went to bed on his comfortable mattress. When he woke up in the morning, Adrestia would be off cool down and he could resummons her. Lucan looked forward to that.

***

The villagers kept busy in the morning. Adrestia sat on Lucan's shoulder while he read a book about formation symbols. He was originally glad for the peace and quiet, he had been reading for 2 hours and now felt bored and wanted a distraction. Silent had sent him a whisper yesterday saying she would let him know when they finished the dungeon, but he still hadn't heard from her.

"Hey boss, you're back. Why didn't you tell me?" The young man named Oar said to Lucan after he stopped in the middle of the street.

Lucan shut his book and looked at Oar. He looked much better after bathing and changing into some clean clothes. He looked completely different than the young man in rags, that they freed from slavery. "What are you talking about?"

"Alasan said I could be your steward while you are in Shadowsweep. That's okay, right?" The 16-year-old boy asked with a big smile on his face.

"Yeah, that's no problem." Lucan said. "What does a steward do?"

"Uhhh. I was hopping you knew." Said Oar who was scratching his head.

"Never mind for now." Lucan said putting his book away and walking out into the streets. "Have you had breakfast yet?"

Before Oar could answer his stomach started grumbling. "Okay, let's go get something to eat." Lucan said leading the way down the street.

They stopped in a dinner for a quick meal before heading to Alasan to find out what a steward did.

"As your steward it is Oar's job to run errands for you, carry extra supplies, to keep your bags free and help with anything that you require assistance with."

Lucan and Oar both nodded that they understood after Alasan Swift explained.

"Alasan, while I have your ear, are you aware of any natural resources in the area? We will need gold to improve the village."

"No sorry, but there are a few dwarves in the village who are always looking for funds to start an expedition. The problem is that dwarves always believe there is ore nearby even when there isn't. Without anything more than a gut feeling, the village has yet to invest."

"Where can I find these dwarves?" Lucan asked.

Alasan gave him directions. Lucan also withdrew his portion from the tax and left with Oar.

"If you want to be my steward you need to become my follower. That way we can stay in contact."

"I will do what ever it takes to become your steward. I owe you and Miss Night everything. Alasan said she would come back with you."

"She is busy." Lucan said while activating the pact magic.

"Wow! So cool." Oar said after receiving the acolyte class.

"Keep up now."

Lucan made his way to a forge on the outskirts of the village. 5 dwarves were sitting around a table out front drinking while the day was beginning to swing into motion.

"Lord Quilldrake! Sit down and have a drink with us." One of the rowdy dwarves hollered as he got closer.

Lucan took a seat while Oar stood behind him. "I will pass on the drink for now."

"Ah, come on Lord Quilldrake. A morning brew is the best way to start the day." A different dwarf said.

"I came here on business and was hopping to have a chat." Lucan said getting down to business.

The oldest dwarf, who had been silently drinking his cauldron of thick and frothy brew spoke up. "What kind of business does the Lord have with us?" Alasan had told him about the old dwarf who led the group. Edgit Hammerstone, he had spent most of his life in the mines before coming the surface, getting lost and arriving here.

"I hear there is ore in the ground, I want it." Lucan said.

Every drink hit the table at the same time as the dwarf's heads spun to look at Lucan. They older greybeard whipped the foam from his face as his eyes sparkled.

"There are several places surrounding the village that have ore deposits. We don't have the funds to support an expedition right now though."

"Can you tell me these places. I wish to investigate. If I feel any have promise I will fund an expedition to start mining at the location I chose."

"I don't like the idea of just giving my knowledge away." The Edgit Hammerstone said. "But on the other hand if you are dissatisfied with the results after you chose, you will have no one to blame but yourself. I will tell you some of the locations. How about that?"

"Good enough for me."

"Brindle, bring me a map. I'm Edgit Hammerstone, by the way. You can call me Ed." Ed said while laying the map on the table and marking a dozen spots on it. "Take this and have yer 'look around'."

"Thank you." Lucan said while taking the map and getting up. "I look forward to working together." He then headed off down the street.

"Oar, go get me a horse. I am leaving town."

"Let me come, I won't slow you down. Please?"

Lucan thought for a moment before giving in. "Alright, that's fine. Get 2 horse and meet me on the north side of the village."

"Okay! Right away!" Oar shouted while running towards the stables.

Taking him along wouldn't be a big deal. It just meant he would have to come back here when he logged out or the kid would be by himself for a day. With the location of the suspected deposits it wasn't too hard. Today and tomorrow Lucan would check the north and the east before coming back. He could then check the south and west once he was able to log back in again.

Lucan packed a few good meals in bag along side the basic rations. Lisel had shown him the benefits of eating a chef's cooking. The NPCs in the village weren't as skilled as Lisel and the buffs were smaller since the meals weren't eaten right away, but it was still a source of strength.

"Wow, you look pretty natural on a horse." Lucan said to Oar.

"Yeah, I used to ride a lot when I was younger." His usually chipper attitude was gone.

Lucan guessed he rode when he still had a family, he decided not to pry any further. "Don't feel like you have to buy magic and skills just because you're my steward. Do what you want, I just wanted to be able to communicate telepathically over long distances."

"Okay." Oar said perking up. "But there are a few things that I did find interesting. They also go well with my class."

"Oh yeah, what is your class?"

"I am a fighter. I can use almost every type of armor and weapon."

"That's impressive." Lucan said.

He was currently considering what class he should take. Lucan had a 4th class slot and it was capable of nullifying any restrictions. He could take another starting class if he wanted to. Lucan had been thinking about some sort of rogue. It would pair well with Magic Blade Assassin and would bring only benefits to his play style. There were over 20 different starting rogue classes and he was willing to hear other ideas even if he was determined to become a rogue.

They rode for 3 hours before Lucan had them come to a stop. Ed had marked this area on the map with a plus sign. Lucan concentrated and stared at the ground.

Magic filled this fantasy world and flowed through the land, the air, the sky, everything. In this realm shadow mana was denser than the rest, and Lucan could see it all. He spent several minutes studying the ground. The currents of magic flowed through the ground. 300 feet down the currents parted around a patch of slow-moving mana.

Lucan guessed something dense was slowing parting the mana. It could be ore; the deposit was half a mile long and went fairly deep. It may be ore, or it could be clay.

When Lucan finally looked up from the ground Oar asked. "What do you think Boss?"

"Eh." Lucan said shrugging his shoulders. "There is something down their but that doesn't mean it will be worth the money to dig it out. Let's move on, I am waiting for something to really catch my eye. Otherwise I feel like I will have to make a gamble."

Oar nodded while listening and feeding the horses. When the horses were ready, Lucan and Oar rode to the next spot.