"We need a way to get it down. The problem is that this beautiful hunk of a Forge Fragment is too frickin' heavy to lift and carry down this pile of rocks. We've looked… this is literally the only place to get it down."
"Hmm…"
Quies consulted with the warm adventurer about different methods to get this Forge fragment down. The latter was explaining the current problem the group of adventurers had with an assumption that Quies hadn't been eavesdropping their earlier conversation.
Earlier, the warm adventurer explained to him why Forge fragments—artifacts to be specific—were valuable. Quies gleaned on a few things, but mainly the fact that the amount of notes one could be paid for retrieving this artifact was a little less than the amount he was getting from Evengarde. Either way…
"...either way, we're going back to Etris to turn it in. If we can keep the current condition of this Forge artifact, that'll be enough to afford this guy his traveling dreams and then some."
The warm adventurer gestured towards the sharp guy. His pale blue skin reminded Quies of Wally, except this guy had golden markings around his eyes, while Wally did not.
"Back? You've been to Etris recently?"
The adventurers went silent for a moment.
"...yeah. We usually sell our spoils in bulk there. There's always a demand. Why?" The sharp one quipped.
"No, nothing in particular. Just, because… you know… I was there a couple days ago too. My, uhh, friend ate a really big steak."
Quies connected the dots in his head. This cohort of adventurers… are the same adventurers he and Valerie kept hearing about when they were in Etris. It was also because of this connection in which he realized that the armor he was wearing—the lightarmor—likely came from the people standing right in front of him.
"Huh. We did have leftovers from the dread serpent hunt from before that we gave to them…"
Elis responded as she seemed to also have made the connection. Before she could elaborate any further, the sharp one talked again.
"We still need to find a way to get this down, though."
"Right."
"Right."
The two other adventurers respond in unison.
"Well, do any of you have attunements that can help with this?"
"No… not really. I mean, I'm a galebreather, but not as great of a galebreather as, ahem, the fine swordsman you mentioned earlier—if you were telling the truth, that is."
"I'm still learning from him." Elis added.
"Once I can get to the Central Luminant…"
Quies gazed at each of the adventurers one by one, listening to what they said.
'Is galebreathing a common attunement around here? It probably is, my father was a galebreather. Must be a luminary thing…'
The warm adventurer studied the artifact—hand on chin like a philosopher. Meanwhile, Elis and the sharp adventurer paid attention to Quies, who had climbed up the rest of the way and was now at the top of the ascent of rocks.
Elis looked deep in though—her serpentine eyes of radiant saffron looking similar to his own and the warm adventurer's.
'Must be Etrean.'
The Etrean people, which was the majority of inhabitants within the Etrean Sub-luminant, had slight traits which resembled that of a snake. It mostly showed in their eyes with slit pupils.
"I mean… I can try something. My attunement is, uhh… unique."
"What is it?" Elis responded.
"It's, uhh…"
'Should I? Hold on, they probably don't even know my attunement exists…'
He hesitated for a moment, since he was always hesitant about publicly using bloodrend. However, he realized that—to the public eye—bloodrend was practically unknown. It was an attunement that was never recorded in any books or literature, nor was it an attunement which there were masters of.
'Except for that one guy Valerie talked about…'
His thoughts were bound to continue flowing, if not for the fact that he realized all the adventurers were now staring him down.
"It's just better if I show you." He said with an exasperated sigh. "Could I get a knife or something sharp? I really don't want to use my teeth."
It was, in fact, much better if he showed them. Otherwise, they wouldn't believe him.
Quies didn't give them time to respond and quickly tucked his thumb against the sharp end of his tooth. He knew that asking for a knife—or even something with the ability to cut—would be suspicious. The adventurers definitely saw that he had nothing on his person—at least nothing they could spot.
"Stop, wait… I think Elis might have something."
The warm adventurer looked towards Elis. She folded her hands and returned the gaze.
"You think I'm gonna give a random guy my knife?"
"Well, he's going to use his teeth otherwise. I'll guess his attunement has something to do with blood, if that's even possible."
"It is."
Without hesitation, Quies clamped down on his thumb as hard as he could. The pain shot through his arm like red hot fire—but only for a moment. Soon, cursed crimson began to flow from the minor wound.
Since he was haemophilic, this seemingly small wound can actually release a decent amount of blood—enough for what he usually needed. He muttered his mantra under his breath, a toll being placed on his mind as he did.
"Look, even if you don't give me something sharp…"
The blood flowed continuously without impedance. He partially used blood enhancement to make it flow faster. In a split second, it formed into a small, crimson spike jutting out from the tip of his thumb.
"See?"
Elis gave him a complex look of many emotions. Perhaps she was surprised—it was most likely the first time any of them had seen a blood manipulator. Despite his slightly nonchalant exterior attitude…
'Goddamn it hurts!'
"Shit… he wasn't lying." The sharp adventurer reacted.
"Okay, that's cool and all, but… how exactly will that help us in getting that fragment down?"
It was definitely a boon to have someone that can create and manipulate forms like Quies. His applications of bloodrend were nearly endless. It was only limited by how much blood was available.
'Ah… that's gonna be a problem.'
Currently, the only blood supply he could use was his own, which meant that he couldn't use much without putting his life in danger. In earlier instances, he always had some other supply of blood, whether it be mudskipper blood or a megalodaunt's.
But after a few moments of deliberation, a sudden thought came to Quies.
"Well… it'll be similar to what Elis said earlier…"