Twenty-eighth day after the Summoning.

  Red Goblin clan.

  Jack stood behind Frawn as he worked, watching the red goblin while keeping his arms crossed. Araneida was nearby, rummaging through a small pile of scrap and failed inventions of the red inventor, searching for whatever looked the most appetising and then gobbling it down in a single moment.

  Jack leaned a bit closer, his frame slightly over Frawns. “How much longer?”

  Frawn remained silent for a bit, adjusting his goggles a bit, before carefully bringing the rune carver in his hands closer to the blade he was making. “Just a little bit more… I have one last rune enchantment to add.” Frawn replied, right as the rune carver made contact with the blade.

  Carefully, the goblin slowly and gently carved a single word onto the blade, before touching it with his other hand's index finger and injecting a little bit of magical energy into the rune he had just carved. The rune lit up for a moment, spelling ‘REAP’ in runes, before returning to a dormant state.

  Then, Frawn pulled back, pulling the rune carver away from the blade and examining it for a bit. Then, the red inventor smiled, before exhaling, placing the rune carver to the side and standing up, picking up the blade he had just finished, giving it a wipe with a cloth he had grabbed off of his work table and then giving the finished blade to Jack. “It’s done.”

  Jack gripped the khopesh blade that Frawn had finished tightly, the texture of the handle feeling rough, yet not too rough. The hand guard was intricately designed — being themed after Araneida specifically and the blade of the sword itself, was long, curved and beautiful.

  It was one that Jack had requested from Frawn around a week ago — as a last resort weapon, in case Jack ever lost one or both of the shortswords in his possession. Narrowing his eyes on the weapon, Jack examined it a bit more closely.

  [ WEAPON ]

  White Spiders Fang

  Rank: B

  A Khopesh blade forged by the Red Inventor. It has been engraved with several different runes that grant the blade abilities similar to that of Familiar ‘Araneida’.

  Rune Engravings: INTIMIDATE, VENOM DRENCH, THREAD, REAP

  [ WEAPON ]

  “The blade is certainly strong and the runes engraved on it shall come in handy, as they allow me to possess abilities I otherwise would not be able to utilise. This will definitely serve me well for the time being.” Jack grinned, before spinning the sword and backing up from Frawn, before testing the blade out a bit – swinging it around before launching it at a target at the edge of the room, which the blade absolutely annihilated before stabbing into the wall that had been behind the target.

  Frawn shed a slight sweat, chuckling a bit nervously, while Jack exhaled in satisfaction. “It’s a fine blade. Thank you, Frawn.”

  “It is my pleasure to be of use to you, Master Jack.” Frawn bowed towards Jack, before the tamer walked over to the sword and pulled it out of the wall. “So, does this have a scabbard as well?”

  “Indeed it does.” Frawn replied, turning around and pulling a box out from underneath his desk, rummaging inside it a bit before pulling out a scabbard and tossing it to Jack, who caught it with ease, examining it a bit.

  “It’s a simple scabbard, however it has been engraved with several preservation runes to prevent the blades decay or damage. It also has been engraved with a rune that only allows the true wielder of the sword to unsheath it.” Frawn turned back to face Jack, crossing his arms. Jack looked a bit impressed, opening the scabbard up before placing the blade inside it and closing it up. Then, he threw the sheathed sword onto his back.

  “Once again, thank you Frawn.”

  “No worries.” Frawn nodded, before turning around and sitting back down at his work table. “Now if you excuse me Master Jack, I have other things to work on.” Jack nodded, before moving towards the entrance to Frawns workshop, calling Araneida over. The spider flung its little head out of the pile of scrap she had buried herself inside of, before leaping out and rushing after Jack, right as he left the workshop, closing the door after Araneida had exited as well.

  Walking through the Red Goblin clan's castle halls, Jack kept his eyes onto the path ahead, only throwing a momentary gaze towards Araneida. “We should head to the White Goblin clan next. Their craftsmen should be finished with the requests I made to them by now as well.”

  Araneida gave a joyous squeal in response to what Jack said, before the two of them picked up their pace a bit. Exiting the Red Castle, Jack headed to the center of the Red Goblin clan — where the gate connecting to the Black Goblin clan had been moved to. As he did, a couple of Red Goblin children blocked his path. “Hold on mister!”

  Jack looked down at the goblin children.

  Araneida at first looked a bit displeased, however Jack simply kneeled towards the children. “How may I help you young ones?”

  The goblin children exchanged gazes, before one of the females stepped closer, extending a small charm towards Jack. “We wanted to give you this as thank you for everything you have done together with the Goblin Overlord.” Jack looked down at the charm being handed to him. It was a small, round charm that had a small red flower depicted on it, with the center of the flower shining with a gentle white colour.

  Jack was speechless for a moment, before smiling and accepting the gift, taking the charm from the child, who backed up, placing her arms behind her back afterwards. “It’s based on the Redlight Blossom, a flower that our clan grows. It symbolises protection and unity.” Jack kept his gaze on the small charm for a moment, before sliding it into his pocket and gently patting the goblin child on the head.

  “Thank you young ones, I shall treasure it greatly.”

  The goblin children all looked joyous, before wishing Jack a farewell and running off. Jack stood back up and exhaled. “Those smiles… Those are the types of smiles my Master taught me to protect.” Jack gestured to Araneida to keep following him as he resumed his march towards the clan's center. The spider's gaze lingered after the goblin children for a moment, before she skittered after her master – catching up to him.

  Eventually, the duo reached the gate, which was being protected by a couple of Red Goblin guards, who immediately stood aside, letting Jack and Araneida pass through the gate and into the Black Goblin clan's citadel halls. From there, Jack and Araneida wasted no time heading to the citadel's entrance — keen on reaching the White Goblin clan as fast as they could.

  After a while, the duo had left the Black Goblin clans territory and entered the White Goblin clans territory, moving through it swiftly and easily — having no trouble at all navigating the rather uneven, rough terrain of the land that belonged to the White Goblins. It wasn’t long then, when they saw the White Goblin clans camp just beyond a small cliff.

  From afar, it looked impressive — like an impenetrable fortress. Guards lined up across the tall walls, with watch towers at each edge, where Goblins wielding muskets could be seen. It was definitely heavily defended.

  So much for a clan that apparently didn’t enjoy war.

  But then again — defence of your clan and kind was important, so the heavy security was understandable. “Let’s hope we don’t suddenly get treated like outlaws, huh Araneida?” The spider chuckled, squealing in response to Jack.

  The duo then began their approach to the White Goblin clans camp.

  The guards on top of the walls noticed the two of them approaching, one of them pulling out a small spyglass and extending — to see more clearly who was approaching. Upon noticing Jack and Araneida, the guard lowered his spyglass. “Open the gates! The Master of the Goblin Overlord approaches!”

  The guards at the top of the walls rushed, all beginning to push a massive wheel, which slowly opened the gates of the White Goblin clans camp.

  As Jack and Araneida arrived at the entrance, the gates were wide open for them, with guards beyond lined up and bowing towards the Tamer. “We welcome you, Master of the Goblin Overlord.” Jack smiled before moving forward, with Araneida sticking to his side. “Raise your heads, I’m here to just pick up my orders from my last visit.”

  The guards hesitated, however then raised their heads, bowing towards Jack before dispersing and closing the gates once more. Inside the White Goblin clan was a lot different compared to the other clans. It was far, far more advanced, with the buildings that composed the clan being built from metal, stone and wood – all of which looked to be a far, far higher quality than any materials used in the buildings of the other three clans.

  It was very clearly visible, that this clan had access to far more resources and manpower than any of the other three clans — the only clan that even somewhat came close to the level of advancement in this clan, was the Red Goblin clan, and that was only because of their leader, the Red Inventor.

  “Alright, time to head to the workshops to pick up our orders.” He looked at Araneida, who nodded happily, before beginning to move further into the White Goblin clans ‘camp’.

  As the two moved through the streets of the clan, many of the inhabitants here threw their gazes towards them, always making way and ensuring that they were not in the way of the tamer and the spider. It was clear that all of them were aware of who Jack was and the ‘authority’ he held — being the one that controlled Sallow, the individual who had just recently brought the White Goblin clan also under his rule, concluding their quest to bring all four clans under one leader.

  It didn’t take long at all for Jack and Araneida to reach their destination – a large workshop not too far away from the White Clans giant citadel. Entering the workshop, Jack and Araneida were immediately noticed and then approached by a female White Goblin, who was dressed in a suit. “Ah, Master Tamer, it's a pleasure to see you again. I assume you’re here for your orders?”

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  “Indeed. Have you finished?” Jack nodded, resting his right hand onto his hip. The goblin nodded. “We indeed have. Please, this way.” She led Jack along, bringing him into another room, where two larger White Goblins were working away inside off. These two were the White Goblin clans craftsmasters — Sisters Arah and Marah. They were extraordinarily skilled in their craft and had promised Jack to bring the utmost highest quality equipment.

  “Mistress Arah, Mistress Marah – Master Tamer has arrived to pick up his order.” The two sisters raised their heads up, and upon noticing Jack, quickly placed that they were working on to the side, before rushing to make their presence in front of Jack. “Master Tamer, Master Tamer!”

  “Glad are we to see you, yes, yes!”

  “Your orders have been finished, yes, yes!”

  “Give us but a moment to retrieve them!” The two sisters finished each other's sentences, before rushing into a different room. They were an eccentric duo, who often spoke in strange ways and tones, however, Jack couldn’t judge. If the two were expert, even master, craftsmen, then who really cared about how they spoke?

  In a short time, the two sisters had placed their finished products in front of Jack — brand new clothes, a new deep red cloak, which was lined with a deep blue colour on the inside as well as a small collar – specifically made for Araneida.

  “Here you go Master Tamer!”

  “Please, try them on, on!”

  Jack picked up the clothes, examining them a bit closely. They certainly looked and felt high quality. Well, higher quality than what he was currently wearing. After grabbing the cloak as well, Jack wandered into a changing room. “I’ll be back in a moment.” He said, disappearing behind the curtain.

  A bit passed while Jack changed, before eventually he pulled the curtain open and stepped out. The two sisters fell in awe, while Araneidas eyes widened and she started hopping around in excitement. The White Goblin that had greeted Jack upon entering the building also smiled. Jack stretched out a bit. “So, how is it?”

  The clothes that the two sisters had made were mostly white and deep brown in colour, with a white buttoned shirt at the base of it, a dark brown coat that went over the shirt with a massive collar that gently brushed against his neck and chin, a pair of black pants, which were neatly tucked into a pair of black boots, that were held closed via tight belts, while overall looking quite heavy duty — like something you’d see in a military uniform.

  Over the white shirt, but under the dark brown coat, was a greyish vest. Resting on his shoulders and drooping over his entire body was the deep red cloak, which was held down via small white chains that had small spider emblems on them.

  “Stunning, amazing!”

  “Beautiful, masterful!”

  The two sisters cheered, before rushing closer to Jack. “Our work fits you well, Master Tamer!”

  “You look gorgeous, Master Tamer!”

  Jack examined his look a bit, before nodding. “I assume you made this cloak exactly how I wanted?”

  “Yes, yes!” Marah responded immediately. “We made sure to make the cloak protect you from any and all temperatures! You won’t be cold or hot with it on!” Arah added after her sister.

  Jack nodded, before looking at Araneida, who had the collar made for her also put on. “Looks great Araneida.” The spider looked quite happy receiving praise from Jack, jumping around happily before showing the collar off proudly.

  “If we are to face whatever is beyond the White Goblin clans citadel, that being whatever is located in the rest of this dungeon, we need as much equipment as we can get our hands on. That collar I requested to be made for Araneida – it’s one that increases her defensive abilities, as well as grants her small boosts as she takes damage.”

  Jack walked over to the Spider, petting it gently, before turning back to look at the two sisters. “How much will this be?”

  “Oh no, no, no!”

  “We cannot take anything from you, Master Tamer!”

  “We can’t, we can’t!”

  Marah and Arah immediately shut down the idea of getting paid, before smiling together. “We are happy you like our work!”

  “Consider it our gift for your quests ahead!”

  Jack exhaled and nodded, before gesturing to Araneida to follow him. “Well, thank you then. I left my old things in the changing room – you can use them however you like. Now if you excuse us, we have places to be.”

  As Jack and Araneida left, being accompanied by the White Goblin worker, Marah and Arah waved a goodbye to him, while also encouraging him to come back at any time if he needed anything else. After leaving the workshop with the new clothes, Jack exhaled. “Alright, one last stop. Come on Araneida.”

  The spider followed after Jack at an even pace, happily showing off her new collar.

  The two of them wandered through the streets for a bit, before eventually reaching their final stop — the White Goblin clan's blacksmith. Jack had left a couple of things here with the smith, to be processed and turned into equipment that Jack was able to use.

  Entering the blacksmith, the smell of forging was immediately noticeable. It smelled like fire and iron in the building — with gentle humming playing into the atmosphere. There were weapons, armour and other things all lined up against the wall, as well as shelves filled to the brim with artifacts crafted by the blacksmith of this establishment.

  Moving further in, Jack entered the backroom of the blacksmith, where the master smith was working — a short, bulky white goblin, who had a rather swole physique. This was the White Goblin clans mastersmith, Gundrath. The goblin had a long black beard as well as a pair of goggles on his eyes while he worked away on a sword.

  “Pardon the intrusion Mastersmith, but I have come to pick up my orders.” As soon as Jack's voice rang out, the Mastersmith ceased his work and looked over, before standing up and lifting his goggles up onto his forehead. “Master Jack, good to see you. I will go get your finished products, please wait in the other room.” Jack nodded heading back out into the other room, with Araneida closely behind him.

  After a bit, Gundrath brought out two items with him, placing them all in front of Jack. “The materials you gave me were of impressive quality. I was able to use them to forge the utmost highest quality artifacts for you to use.” Gundrath explained before pointing to the first artifact — which was a gauntlet.

  “This was forged using the Slime Star. I call it ‘Aquas Fist’. I managed to use the slime stars' unique properties to grant this gauntlet the special ability to manipulate water, allowing you to replicate the effects of water magic. The only drawback is that it needs water to already be present for it to work.”

  [ ARTIFACT ]

  Aquas Fist

  Rank: C

  A Gauntlet forged using a ‘Slime Star’ at its core. This specific artifact allows its bearer to manipulate existing water at will, shaping it into whatever form and shape the bearer wishes.

  [ ARTIFACT ]

  Jack nodded, picking up the gauntlet before putting it onto his left hand, squeezing his hand into a fist a couple of times as well as moving his fingers around to ensure it was comfortable. Then, the Mastersmith moved to the other item, that being a small ring.

  “This was forged using the Crystallised Wyvern Blood. I have to say, while I haven’t worked with an item so rare, it wasn’t too difficult to extract its properties into effects I am sure will benefit you greatly. While wearing the ring, you will be granted the presence similar to a Wyvern, as well as receive boosts to your physical abilities. I call it the ‘Dragons Bane Ring’.”

  [ ARTIFACT ]

  Dragons Bane Ring

  Rank: B

  A ring forged using a sample of crystallised wyvern blood. This ring, while worn by its bearer, grants the bearer a presence similar to a Wyvern as well as enhances the bearer's physical abilities.

  [ ARTIFACT ]

  Jack picked up the ring, spinning it around in his fingers while examining it and smiling. “Thank you mastersmith. These are fine pieces of equipment you’ve created for me.”

  “No need to thank me.” Gundrath responded, crossing his arms. “I should thank you for giving me the opportunity to work with such fine materials.” Jack chuckled, sliding the ring into his trouser pocket, before turning around and waving the Mastersmith a goodbye. “I shall be on my way then. Thank you again.”

  The mastersmith nodded, waving a farewell to Araneida and Jack back, before moving back into the other room, to continue working away on the sword he was forging.

  Outside, Jack stretched out a bit, before exhaling.

  “Alright, what do you say we head back to the Black Goblin clan? We should check on how Sallow is doing with the binding ritual.” Araneida gave Jack a light squeal, before the two of them moved on, swiftly moving through the streets of the White Goblin clan, making their way towards the gates once more.