CHAPTER 71: A COMPLICATED SITUATION

"These are two matters. Both vital to Havenwood." Martin paused. "There’s a quarry about a half-day’s walk from here."

"Before all this, we used it for the dam’s maintenance. Now it’s infested. A nest of earth-elemental creatures, too powerful for my scouting teams. The thing is, we desperately need that stone. Wood rots, and metal can be bent. The repairs Aaron is doing to the walls are necessary, but they’re temporary. To reinforce the dam’s foundation and create permanent defenses, we need the stone from that quarry. That quarry is our best shot at reliable stone."

Reidar frowned.

Reidar gave a terse nod. Already the thought of battling burrowing, hardened monsters made him edge his stance wider unconsciously.

"I’ve sent men there. It didn’t go well, as you can imagine. But you... you have a small army. You could clear that place with minimal risk and provide this place with a long-term security we can only dream of right now. With that mana reinforced stone, we should be able to have better chances during attacks."

The logic was sound.

"Am I asking too much?" Martin asked, noticing his hesitation. "I understand you’re just passing through Havenwood. But the help you’d give us would be invaluable. It would save lives, in the long run, and the rewards are great."

Here Reidar had a lot to think. The situation in Havenwood seemed to strange. Martin behaved as if he was acting, Lena remained silent as if she was afraid of saying something too much. There were no summoners, the town got constantly attacked, and there was even a fanatical church.

Reidar was not sure if helping these people was the safest thing to do. Monsters could not be reasoned with, he simply had to kill them, but humans... they could deceive him.

Yet, he looked at the quest’s rewards. It was a too good to pass on chance.

"No, it’s not too much," Reidar said. "I can do it."

"Great!" Martin said.

"The other quest?"

"The Sunken Convoy." Martin’s voice lowered.

"During the cataclysm, a military convoy pasing near the dam was lost. The quakes and floods and whatever that thing was increased the size of the lake from which the dam takes its water. Don’t ask me why..." Martin paused.

"The convoy is now at the bottom. According to the park service records I’ve recovered, it was carrying valuable mechanical parts. Advanced components."

Reidar looked at him.

"We need them," Martin said. "They’re for the dam’s turbines. Aaron has reviewed the original schematics, and he believes the parts, while not a perfect match, are compatible enough to get at least one turbine back online. Can you imagine what that would mean? Reliable light, heat, purified water."

"I bet there is a catch here too."

Martin nodded. "The problem," he added, "is the lake. It’s not a natural body of water. It’s a graveyard down there, and it’s teeming with aquatic monsters that have taken up residence in the wrecks. My team isn’t equipped for that kind of engagement. It would be a suicide mission, though you might be able to do it."

Reidar’s gaze drifted to the dam’s concrete wall above the survivor town. That was not an easy quest to take.

Reidar pictured his summons trying to fight underwater. His jaw clenched. Truth was even his summons, maybe aside from the Bone Militia, could do it.

I would need new types of summons. Something that is good at fighting underwater. Luckily, I’m already at Morv’axil shop.

"You’re sure the parts are still viable?" Reidar asked. "After being submerged since the cataclysm?"

Martin was not sure at all, and that uncertainty appeared on his face.

"The military builds its transport containers to last. The casings should have protected the most sensitive components. Besides, if the parts do not work, it will be our problem, not yours."

Reidar thought about it a little.

"So you’re asking me to clear monsters from stone pits and dredge wrecks. Both useful jobs, both dangerous."

"That’s right." Martin spread his hands like he was offering nothing but honest cards on the table. "I won’t lie—they’re not safe tasks. But no one here could do either. You can."

Now, while Reidar already accepted because of pure greed, which was, in fact, not a stupid idea at all given the world’s current situation, nothing stopped him from trying to understand what was happening around here.

"There is Lena and her team."

Reidar watched Martin’s face tighten at the mention of her name. He’d seen that look before—the careful, protective calculation of a man guarding his most valuable piece.

"You know I can’t ask her to do that alone."

"And why is that?"

Martin paused again. Reidar could almost see the gears turning in his head, weighing what to share and what to keep hidden.

Lena struck him as competent, ruthless even. If she couldn’t handle it, then the threat was either catastrophic... or Martin was lying.

"Because there are too many monsters there for her."

Martin said in the end.

"How many monsters are there?" Reidar asked.

"Thousands, if not more. Lena and her team had been at the cave already, but they failed..."

Reidar kept his expression neutral, but his mind was racing, connecting the dots. They were asking him solely because he could off-set the number of monsters somehow.

Martin’s gaze didn’t waver, but a muscle in his jaw twitched. "The quarry isn’t just infested. It’s ruled. There is a boss there." He trailed off, the memory visibly unsettling him.

"Lena’s report estimated it to be many levels higher than forty-five. Her team barely disengaged. One of them, Torren, was almost killed."

A level 45 team was a significant force. Yet they still lost.

So that’s it. He didn’t just need my army. He needed a disposable one. Sending his people in was political suicide. Sending a powerful outsider with a unique Skillset was a calculated risk. If Reidar succeeded, Havenwood won. If he failed, Martin lost nothing but a potential asset.

"You’re asking me to walk into a deathtrap your best team fled from," Reidar stated. It was a simple fact.

"I’m asking you to do what they cannot," Martin said, though the defensiveness was gone, replaced by a grim, pragmatic honesty.

"You don’t fight like them. Your strength isn’t in a single, powerful strike. It’s in relentless, overwhelming numbers. You can swarm it, occupy it, while something else lands the killing blow."

The logic was sound, even if the morality was questionable. Reidar looked past Martin, toward the dam.

The stone was necessary. The parts were necessary. Martin was playing a brutal game with the pieces he had, and Reidar was the newest, most powerful piece on his board.

"The rewards for both quests will be commensurate with the risk," Martin added, sensing Reidar’s calculation.

"Aside from the quest-issued rewards, I will give you full access to the quarry’s output for your own projects. First pick of any non-essential salvage from the convoy. And my personal gratitude, which in this place, can be worth more than any single item."

Reidar gave a nod. "I’ll clear your quarry." He let the statement hang, watching Martin’s shoulders relax a fraction. "The convoy... I’ll need to see the lake first."

"Of course." Relief was clear in Martin’s tone. "Oh... I will talk to Lena and the others and ask if they want to come with you. I might have asked for your help, but I’m not heartless."

"Good." Reidar’s mind was already turning, not toward gratitude or reward, but toward the practicalities of killing a creature that was several levels higher than him, and not just a few. He’d need to summon something new. Something resistant. Something expendable.