Chapter 180 - Armor of the Crimson Juggernaut

Zeke hefted the armor, inspecting it with his eyes as well as the metaphysical senses that had come with his artisan path. If his plans didn’t work, the worst that could happen was that the armor would fall apart. But if it did work, it could be a turning point for him.

Ever since being reborn in the troll caves, Zeke’s life had been one of conflict, and his equipment had been forced to bear a significant degree of punishment. His body had suffered worse, but it had always been far more durable. And he wanted to change that. So, he’d partnered with Taggert, a master smith in his own right, to create something truly unique from the combination of blood mithril, ground raptor feathers, and a host of other, more eclectic ingredients. The result was the armor he now held in his hands.

All it would take was a simple use of his [Inspect] skill, and he’d know if they had been successful. Still, he hesitated. So much time, effort, and money had been expended on the project; failure wouldn’t just set him back; it would be a devastating loss. But then again, anything worthwhile always had that as a possibility, didn’t it? Like so many things, it reminded him of baseball. Specifically, taking a lead. Too far, and you’d get picked off. Too short, and it lost its purpose. The idea was to hover somewhere between the two extremes, balanced on a knife’s edge where, on one side, was abject failure. On the other was uselessness.

The armor project was like that in a lot of ways. He’d packed everything he could into the runes. Probably too much. But he needed to push against the barriers of what was possible, else it wouldn’t be strong enough for his purposes. His old armor – or its failure – had proven that. It had been created by one of the best smiths in Beacon from the carapace of an elite creature. It should have been close to the pinnacle of what was possible on their current plane.

But it had failed.

Reason suggested that Zeke needed something better, and he’d spent the past month in pursuit of just that. But now, after everything was finished, he was terrified of finding out whether or not all that effort had been in vain.

He took a long, deep breath, then used [Inspect]. The moment he saw the resulting description flit across his vision, he let out a sigh of relief as a smile crept across his face. The description read:

Breastplate of the Crimson Juggernaut (G) – A blood mithril breastplate that combines masterful smithing and innovative runecrafting to great effect. Special Functions: Skill Link (Heart of the Berserker) – Links to the skill [Heart of the Berserker], increasing armor’s durability while the skill is active. Skill Link (Life Scythe) – Links to skill: [Life Scythe] – A portion of stolen vitality is converted into mana to fuel the armor’s repair functions. Self-Repair (moderate), Self-Cleaning (moderate).  Special Functions only active when wearing the full set [Armor of the Crimson Juggernaut] (F).

It was precisely what Zeke had been going for when he’d asked Tagger to help him craft a new set of armor. The benefits were twofold. First, the armor’s self-repair and self-cleaning enchantments were a notch better than anything he’d ever worn before, and he hoped that it would help to fix the problem that came with how roughly he tended to treat armor. The issue he’d had to solve was related to power, though. While Zeke was certain that an experienced enchanter might know how to fuel the moderate-tier self-repair and -cleaning functions, he was incapable of doing so. And the runes Taggert usually used for such were incompatible with his other plans. So, Zeke had been forced to create a workaround. Thus, the link to [Life Scythe]. Was it an elegant solution? No. And he knew that it was a roundabout way of getting around the limitations of his knowledge. However, it was the best he could do under the circumstances, and most importantly, it had worked – probably due to the rarity and unique nature of the ingredients they’d used to forge the breastplate. He had effectively solved the problem by throwing money at it, and he was strangely okay with that.

The second benefit was the primary one. He’d long relegated usage of [Heart of the Berserker] to desperate situations. It was a powerful skill, but it came with significant demerits. For one, after deactivation, it resulted in a period of weakness commensurate with the period of activation. The longer he kept it active, the worse the weakness became. After using it against the Jotuns, he’d been out of commission for hours and weakened for days. There wasn’t much he could do about that for now, so he’d focused on the secondary demerit – activation of the skill came with increasingly decreasing endurance, meaning that he became more and more vulnerable the longer he kept it active. That was the problem he’d meant to address by linking his new armor to the skill.

To do so, Zeke had utilized portions of the skill’s rune, engraving them on the underside of the armor and binding them with a modified version of [Mark of Companionship]. In theory, he’d been sure he was on the right track, but until he’d inspected the breastplate, he wasn’t certain it would work.

Zeke quickly inspected the rest of the armor, receiving almost identical messages from each piece. The only pieces that were any different were the greaves, which also included surefooted, just like had been present on his old armored boots. His constant study of any rune – the Greaves of the Spider Queen included – had come in handy, and he’d been able to recreate the enchantment.

“You look like a kid who just got exactly what he wanted for Christmas,” Abby said, sitting nearby where she had been meditating. “Did it turn out like you wanted?”

“Better,” Zeke said, tossing one of the bracers her way. Abby caught it, and he said, “Inspect it.”

Abby focused on the bracer, then gasped. “Wow,” she said. “That’s just…I mean…you did that in a month?”

“I mostly just piggybacked off of Taggert’s work,” Zeke stated. “He’s the real crafter. I just added some runes.”

“We both know that’s not true.”

Zeke shrugged. “Seems true to me,” he said. “Besides, other people can do better work. A lot better. Like the bow of yours. And I bet if I gave Luigi the materials that went into making this armor, he could have done something just as good, if not better. Probably a lot more elegantly, too. Do you have any idea how tangled some of those runes are? It felt like every time I solved one problem, I created another. It’s all just a patchwork of quick fixes and workarounds.”

“Sure,” Abby said with a roll of her eyes. “I like the color scheme, though. It suits you.”

Zeke held the breastplate in his hands, saying, “Where I’m from, crimson and white is practically sacred.”

“Please tell me this isn’t another baseball thing.”

“No. Football,” he said. “I don’t –”

“Not interested,” she said, holding up her hand.

Zeke laughed. “Fair enough,” was his response. “I was never a huge football guy anyway. Of course, being in Alabama, that just meant that my entire life didn’t revolve around Saturdays in front of a T.V.”

“Whatever. So, does this mean we’re ready to leave?” she asked, obviously wanting to change the subject. “Because I think we’re beginning to wear out our welcome here in Jariq.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve been noticing people tailing me,” she said. “Nobody’s made a move or anything, but I think it’s only a matter of time before the gangs here take matters into their own hands.”

A surge of anger coursed through Zeke’s mind. “What about Talia?” he asked. “Has anyone messed with her?”

Abby barked a harsh laugh. “If they had, she’d have left a pile of rotting bodies behind her,” she said. “Restraint really isn’t something she…does. No, if anyone was stupid enough to follow Talia around, they deserve what they get.”

Zeke sighed, then started storing his armor. After a second, he thought better of it, and put it on. He’d been caught without his old armor often enough that he didn’t want to repeat the process. It was better to wear it and not need it than to need it and not be wearing it. Thankfully, the armor had a similar function to his old set in that he only had to hold it in place and channel a bit of mana into it in order to affix it into place. So, it took him only a few moments before he was fully armored.

“Impressive,” Abby said. “The horns are a bit much, though.”

Zeke smiled, and though his face was hidden by the full helmet, his amusement was evident in his tone when he said, “Well, I am half demon. It seemed appropriate.”

The horns in question were only eight inches long, but they gave the helmet a wicked appearance. Apparently, such flourishes were common among higher tiered armor, and Taggert had all but insisted on something of the sort. It hadn’t taken much to convinced Zeke to accept their inclusion, and the moment he saw the result, he couldn’t have been happier.

“Are you expecting trouble?” asked Abby, whose bow had just unfolded from her glove. She’d also conjured a silvery arrow.

“No. I don’t know,” Zeke said. “Maybe, I guess. We’ve been in here for a while, so there’s every chance they’ve given up, right?”

“You think they’re out there waiting on us right now?” Abby asked. “That…I don’t know. I suppose that would make some sense if they wanted to ambush us. But why would they do that if everyone knows we’re about to leave? Surely, Carlos has already told his people that –”

“Might not be the spiders,” Zeke said. “The Sultinate doesn’t like us here, especially since I’m healed. I suspect that if it wasn’t for you, Pudge, and Talia, I’d have gotten into some sort of accident in the Pools of Serenity. With you three watching, though…”

“They never had the chance,” Abby said.

Zeke sighed. “I don’t know why they don’t understand that I just don’t care about their stupid city,” he muttered.

“Well, you did destroy like a third of it already,” Abby said. “Some people would say that they’re justified in being terrified of what you might do.”

“I already told them, though,” he said, summoning his mace. “I don’t care about this place.”

Indeed, during his convalescence, Zeke had been visited by representatives from every gang and organization in Jariq. At first, he’d been polite and a little evasive, but when they’d kept coming, he’d gotten a bit short with them. Either way, he’d made his intentions to move on very clear. He had no interest in remaining in Jariq, and as far as he was concerned, they could go back to business as usual as soon as he was gone. He had other things on his mind than how they ran their city.

“Who do you think it is, then?” Abby asked, following him through the door and down the hall toward the stairs. “Remnants of the Jaguars? Maybe Tempest? The Barrel Boys?”

“I don’t know how you remember all their stupid names,” Zeke muttered, his voice slightly muffled by the helmet. “But I’m pretty sure whoever it is is out there. The tower’s aura doesn’t work on humans, but…well, it’s started to change a little. I can’t be sure, but I think I can feel them.”

“That’s wholly terrifying,” Abby admitted. “Especially when you look like a big, metal demon.” Then she grinned. “Kind of hot, too.”

“Really?”

“Women like powerful men. It’s a fact,” she said when they reached the atrium.

“Oh? Is that why you’re with me?”

“Of course!” she said, still grinning as they approached the doors. “It’s definitely not your looks, I can tell you that. Sure, you’re not horrible looking, but…well, be glad you’re powerful.”

“I’m hurt. Truly,” Zeke said, turning to her.

Abby patted him on his bottom, saying, “You’ll get over it. Now, do you want me to sit this one out so you can try out your new armor? Or…do I get some target practice? I’m fine either way.”

“Not worried about me?” Zeke asked.

She laughed. “In that armor? I’d be surprised if there was anyone in this whole city who could hurt you,” she said. “But I’ll be watching over you just in case. Plus, Pudge is still asleep upstairs. If you were worried about this at all, he’d have already come down.”

Zeke shook his head. “You can read me like a damn book,” he muttered. “Fine. I’ll go out there by myself. If they know what’s good for them, they’ll scatter. If not…”

“Then you’ll do your thing.”

“Something like that,” he said. “Wish me luck.”

“Luck,” was her response.

Then, he pushed the doors open and strode into the desert. As he did, he raised his voice and called out, “I know you’re out there. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll run away. Believe me, I hope you’re as dumb as following me out here suggests you are.”

Zeke concentrated on the sense he got from his tower’s aura, and after only a second, he could pinpoint the intruders’ exact location. There were three of them, all clumped together on the other side of the nearest dune. If they’d have been only a few more yards away, Zeke wouldn’t have been able to sense them. As it was, he stared straight in their direction.

But they didn’t move.

He sighed, rolling his shoulders. “You’ve got five seconds to either run or convince me that you come in peace,” Zeke said. “After that, I’m assuming you’re hostile. You won’t like that.”

Then, he started counting down. Disappointingly, there was no movement even after he finished. Shaking his head, he muttered, “I tried.”

Then, he started activating his skills. First came the toggled version of [Life Scythe], which mimicked the older version of the skill, [Leech Strike]. With that active, anytime one of his attacks landed, it would be subtly enhanced. In addition, it would steal a bit of vital energy from Zeke’s opponent.

Then, he activated [Heart of the Berserker]. It felt strange, using the skill at the beginning of a fight; usually, he saved it for when his back was truly against a wall. He needed to change that. That’s why he’d linked the skill to his armor in the first place. Immediately, a surge of energy rushed through his body as his stats were enhanced. He needed to move. He needed to act.

But first, he brought [Unleash Momentum] to the brink of activation. He didn’t want to use it unless he had to. It was his trump card. The ultimate ability that could turn the tide of any fight. Still, he wanted it ready, just in case he’d underestimated the power of his would-be ambushers.

With his skills taken care of, Zeke wasted no more time before springing into motion. With unprecedented speed, he darted up the dune and was upon his enemies before they even knew what had happened.

Predictably, there were three of them, but without the sense afforded by his tower’s aura, Zeke would have never even noticed them. Using some sort of cloaking skill, all he could see was a slight, easily missed shimmer in the air. It had made them overconfident. Zeke didn’t hesitate to shatter that hubris with his mace, taking one of the figures with a horizontal strike that crushed their torso to a pulp. Blood and viscera seemed to come from empty space, at least until the ambusher collapsed, their life spent.

“I warned you,” Zeke growled before taking his mace in a comfortable, two-handed grip. A thrown dagger clanged off his new armor, but it didn’t even leave a scratch. A second later, Zeke was swinging; the remaining two would-be attackers were dead in the space of a couple of seconds.

Letting out a sigh, Zeke deactivated his various skills. “That was disappointing,” he muttered before bending down to investigate the corpses. Predictably, there was nothing to identify them, but Zeke did get a few extra gold coins. Not that he really needed them, of course, but every little bit helped.

After looting their valuables, Zeke left the bodies where they’d collapsed. At one point, he might have felt a little guilty about his actions. But he’d given them every chance to leave or make peace. They’d dug their own graves. He’d just pushed them in, and he was fine with that.

When he reached the tower and saw Abby, Zeke said, “I think we’ve overstayed our welcome in Jariq. We need to leave tomorrow.”

“I’ll head back into town and gather Talia and Carlos,” Abby said.

“Not by yourself,” Zeke said. “From here on out, we’re on the buddy system. Nobody goes anywhere alone. As far as I’m concerned, we’re in enemy territory, now.”

“Fine,” she said. “We’ll all go together, then.”

“Works for me,” was Zeke’s response. “Let’s go, then.”