Three more days passed uneventfully.
Riku spent most of his time caring for the unconscious Lila, and the rest in quiet contemplation, reviewing his limited goodwill points and trying to strategize. The System’s quest to help 5000 people felt monumental with his current resources.
As evening approached on the third day, a familiar series of discreet taps sounded at their back-alley door. Riku opened it to find Elder Borin and Elder Thrain, their faces weary from labor but alight with a craftsman’s pride.
"Master Riku," Borin greeted him, a tired but satisfied smile on his face. "As promised."
Elder Thrain, with a reverent nod, carefully unrolled a thick leather cloth on the rickety table. Nestled within were ten gleaming copper talismans, each meticulously engraved with the modified formation Riku had designed. The lines were clean, the runes sharp – a testament to Dwarven skill.
"The metal is the best we could procure on short notice, Master," Thrain rumbled. "Pure copper, refined thrice in our newly rekindled forges. Durnik sends his regards; he worked tirelessly on these."
Riku picked one up. It felt solid, perfectly balanced, and hummed with a latent potential. "They are magnificent, Elders. Truly. Your skill is undeniable."
He wasted no time. Placing the ten talismans in a row, he began the enchanting process.
A soft, golden light flowed from Riku’s hands, splitting into ten delicate streams, each one sinking into a talisman. The intricate engravings on each copper piece began to glow, absorbing the magic, and soon all ten pulsed with a steady, warm, moderate healing aura, identical to the first prototype.
Borin and Thrain watched, still mesmerized by the process, even after having witnessed it once before.
"Remarkable," Thrain breathed. "Each one, a perfect vessel."
"But I was thinking," Borin asked. "Why don’t we make more? Why stop at 10, Master Riku?"
"Believe me, I want to make more of them as soon as possible as well. But there are a few troubling matters due to which I cannot cast any more spells for now." Riku replied, looking at his pitiful goodwill points balance.
"But for now," Riku said, carefully gathering the enchanted talismans, "we need to discuss how to get these to the people who need them. We need to operationalize this."
The three of them sat around the table, with Elara joining them as well, listening intently.
"A stall, perhaps?" Borin suggested. "Near the Church plaza? Many sick gather there. We could offer these talismans for a small fee."
Riku shook his head. "Too much attention, Elder. Vestarch Marius already has his eyes on us. Setting up a competing ’healing stall’ right under his nose would be inviting trouble. Besides," he added, gesturing to the ten talismans, "we have only these. We can’t possibly meet the demand a public stall would generate. It would lead to frustration, perhaps even riots, if we run out."
"Then how, Master Riku?" Thrain asked, his brow furrowed. "If we cannot sell them openly, how do we distribute them?"
"We don’t sell them, not in the traditional sense," Riku explained. "Think of it as a service. A ’pay-per-use’ system."
The Dwarves looked puzzled.
"People are desperate for relief," Riku continued. "They would pay a small sum – say, a few copper pieces – to experience the talisman’s healing aura for a limited time. They could wear it around their neck for, perhaps, fifteen minutes, feel the pain ease, the strength return slightly. Then, they return the talisman to us, and we can help the next person."
"Fifteen minutes?" Borin stroked his beard. "It’s not long, but if the relief is as potent as what we’ve seen... it might be enough to give someone relief, though they might need to use it more than once."
"But Master Riku," Thrain interjected, "if word gets out, even for such a service, what if too many people come at once? We only have ten talismans. How would we manage a crowd? The desperation for any relief is high."
Riku smiled. "That’s the next part of the plan, Elder Thrain. Initially, the people won’t be coming to us. We will be going to them."
"Door to door?" Borin asked, catching on.
"Exactly," Riku confirmed. "Discreetly. We start in the areas most afflicted, perhaps the outskirts of the city. We go to their homes, offer the service quietly. This way, we control the flow, avoid large gatherings, and build trust one person at a time. It also allows us to gather more information, more goodwill, without making a grand spectacle."
Elder Borin and Elder Thrain exchanged skeptical glances. Going door to door, offering a strange magical service for a few coppers... it was unorthodox, to say the least. The Dwarves were proud craftsmen, not itinerant peddlers of temporary relief.
"It is... an unusual approach, Master Riku," Borin said slowly. "But I suppose it could work."
"Yup, desperate times call for inventive solutions, Elder," Riku said gently. "The Church offers little true help to the common folk. The black market preys on their suffering. We can offer genuine, albeit temporary, relief at an affordable price, directly to those who need it most. It’s a way to help, to earn goodwill, and to learn more about this Creep without waving a banner in the Vestarch’s face."
"And once I solve some of my matters, we will be able to mass produce this talisman and distribute it to the entire public. This way, they do not have to live their lives in pain anymore."
Thrain grunted, still looking unconvinced. "How will people trust strangers coming to their door offering... magical relief on a string?"
"They will," Riku said with quiet confidence, "when they feel the difference these talismans make. We start small. We show them it works. Word will spread through whispers, not shouts." He looked at the two elders. "Are you willing to try this with me?"
Borin and Thrain looked at each other for a second, but their response did not take much time.
"Sure, Master Riku. We would be glad to help. We will also call some of the other humans living in the Underbelly. It might be more efficient for a human to approach another human."
"I will help too," Elara, who was listening to their talks nearby, sprung to her feet.
"Elara, you don’t need to do this," Riku said gently.
Elara, however, shook her head.
"No, I must do this. Till now, it has only been me receiving your help. This time, let me help others as well." Elara looked at Riku, her eyes determined as if there were no two ways about it.
"...Okay," Looking at Elara’s determined eyes, Riku finally acquiesced. "Elder Borin, Elder Thrain, let us meet up here later in the evening with the others to discuss the plan one more time. Then, we can start from tomorrow.
With this, the plan to complete the system quest was set. Now, they just needed to execute well.