Rise of the Living Forge

Chapter 84: Turns

Arwin’s labor concluded well into the night. It had taken longer than he’d thought. That didn’t bother him at all. The final piece of debris rolled down the ditch and thudded into the pile at its bottom.

Its arrival was the only sound in the deep cloak of the night around Arwin. The street was far away enough from the rest of the city that there had been no noise on the street aside from his work.

Soot had worked itself into every spot that it could have. His clothes were stained pitch black and ruined. But, as Arwin looked back at the now-clear plot of land, he was satisfied. It was with slight irony that Arwin found the night had turned everything just as black as it had been when it had been covered by soot.

He wasn’t going to be able to appreciate the fruits of his labors until the sun rose in the morning and banished the night to whence it came. A cool breeze rolled across Arwin’s tired shoulders like a caress. Goosebumps raced down his spine and he shivered.

The smithy stood on the precipice between life and death. What it had once been was gone and it would never be recovered. And yet, even though none of the brick remained, the dream still stood.

It wasn’t quite tangible. It wasn’t something that Arwin could have described through word or pen stroke. It wasn’t even something that he was certain he could feel. The now-empty plot of land was a breath of held air in the lungs of a city that didn’t care.

The only people that knew of what had happened were the ones on this street and the ones that had made it this way – but that would change. Arwin swore it to himself. There would be a time when this street would be known to all and the Iron Hounds were nothing but a passing memory burning away in the fire that they had started.

I won’t let this happen again. I’m sorry I can’t do more for you, Zeke. I wish I could. I wish I could have saved everyone. I wish I could have been the one that was in the smithy when the Iron Hounds destroyed it.

I wasn’t. I can’t change any of that. All I can do is remember the people that got me here. I will push on for all of them.

Rest well, Zeke.

The past was what the future was built upon. It could not be forgotten, but dwelling upon it would do nothing for the future. Arwin turned from the smithy.

He wanted to head back to the tavern, but he didn’t quite feel ready for it yet. His body didn’t quite feel ready to try and settle in. Arwin headed across the street to the rickety house that was serving as his temporary workshop and stepped inside.

[Soul Flame] ignited in his hand and he tossed it into the hearth. He picked up a scrap of metal from the ground and studied it. It was Brightsteel, marred and blackened by intense heat.

A bracelet will do.

Arwin brought the Brightsteel to the fire. He let it heat, then worked it together with just his hands. Verdant Blaze could have made it faster, but he just wanted to let his body work for a little longer.

He used [Scourge] to press the metal into shape and form it into a bracelet. The result wasn’t quite as smooth as it would have been if he’d worked the metal properly, but it had its own charm to it. Not something that would have held up in a fight – but it was a bracelet, not a sword.

A shimmer of the Mesh wrapped around the Bracelet as he finished it.

[Metal Bracelet: Average Quality] has been forged.

Metal Bracelet: Average Quality

[Roughshod]: This item was forged by strong, weary hands that longed for escape. It can direct all the power in its wielder’s body into a single strike at a significant cost of magical energy. [Weary]: This item is imbued with the feelings of a man who seeks rest and freedom. Using its ability will cause its wielder to feel exhausted and slow their movements for a duration ranging on the amount of magical power [Roughshod] consumed.

Another good bracelet, practically the opposite of the one he’d used to kill Yul. Arwin slipped it onto his wrist. He had no doubt it would be useful in due time, and its main goal had been accomplished. Rest didn’t seem quite so impossible anymore. His footsteps accompanied him through the night on the way back to the tavern.

Lillia was still awake when he arrived. She took one look at Arwin before jerking her thumb over her shoulder toward the small bathroom.

“You look like you went swimming in the pits of the Ninth Underland. I’ve already got some water drawn up for you. Don’t even think about heading upstairs like that.”

“Thank you,” Arwin said. He didn’t need to be told twice. A bath, even if it was in ice cold water, sounded like the most heavenly thing in the world.

He retreated to the bathroom to wash off. The dirt had been set so deeply into his skin that it took him nearly an hour before he even started to feel clean again. He’d stained the water in the tub pitch black by the time he was done.

His clothes, unfortunately, were done. There would be no washing them out. Lillia had been kind enough to lay out an extra set of clothes and a rag on a small peg beside the tub. Arwin dried himself off and pulled everything on before stepping back into the common room.

Lillia sat at the counter with a loaf of bread on a plate before her. She nudged the stool beside her out with a foot and Arwin took the unspoken invitation to sit down.

“Finished clearing out the smithy?”

“Yeah. Your other customer swung by as well.”

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Lillia broke a piece of the bread off and handed it to Arwin. She slid over a small bowl of liquid. He squinted through the darkness as he tried to make out what it was. It was fruitless – the only way he could even tell something was in it was by the sound the bowl made when she moved it.

“Which one?” Lillia asked.

“You don’t have that many, do you? The one that drinks.”

“Oh, him. He never says much. Didn’t think he was the talkative type. What did he want?” Lillia broke a piece of her loaf off and dipped it into the bowl before taking a bite. “Nothing bad, I hope.”

“I’m not sure he wanted anything. We just talked for a little and then he left.” Arwin copied Lillia. He had no idea what the liquid was, but it certainly tasted fantastic along with the bread. “Did you make this?”

“The bread, yes. Reya bought the oil. I don’t know how to make it yet.”

“It’s good.”

“Thanks.”

They ate quietly until they’d polished off the rest of the loaf and wiped the bowl clean. Even then, neither of them spoke. There was something comfortable about sitting in the dark and enjoying the silence. Words weren’t always needed to speak.

Eventually, Lillia picked the bowl up and rose to her feet. “Are we going back to the dungeon soon? I’m running low on supplies – and money.”

“Yeah. I need money to repair the smithy,” Arwin said. “And I’m going to go back to the market soon enough to sell my gear. I think tomorrow should be fine. We’ll have to ask Anna and Rodrick to see if they’ve got anything else planned.”

“They don’t. They want to head back in as well.”

Arwin wasn’t surprised. He wanted to get stronger just as much as the others did. The Wyrm still had to be dealt with and the dungeon was the best way to handle most of their problems at once.

“Then tomorrow it is,” Arwin confirmed. He rose from his chair and pushed it back over to the counter. For the second time, silence set in.

This time, it wasn’t quite as comfortable as the last. Arwin found himself at a want and a loss for words. He coughed softly into his fist.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

“Yeah,” Lillia said. “Tomorrow.”

He headed up the stairs and to his room. All the work he’d put into tearing apart the remains of the smithy had completely drained him. Letting out a heavy sigh, Arwin flopped into bed. The grip of sleep wrapped around his chest and drew him in the moment his head hit the pillow.

***

Arwin awoke to something clammy and sharp digging into his wrist. His eyes snapped open and he bolted upright. Whatever had been holding onto him had let go. It was still pitch-black outside and his room was no better.

Did I imagine it? I could have sworn –

Two orbs glittered in the dark at the foot of Arwin’s bed. He nearly called Verdant Blaze to his hands before the clouds shifted behind him and let a tiny sliver of moonlight through. A Lesser Imp stood before Arwin.

There would have been a time where Arwin’s next move would have been to paste the monster where it stood. He probably would have then gone to find whoever was responsible for the area’s security and given them a thorough scolding for letting a monster breach their defenses so easily.

Instead, Arwin rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. Even if he’d been in a particularly jumpy mood, he wasn’t going to attack this particular imp. It was hard for anyone to look intimidating when they were wearing a frilly maid outfit.

“Is something wrong?”

The imp didn’t respond. It struck Arwin that he’d never actually seen one of them speak. Perhaps all the jagged teeth made it impossible to do so without accidentally biting their tongue off.

Arwin was pretty sure that the imp hadn’t just come to socialize – and he certainly hoped that it wasn’t just watching him sleep. He may not have hated them like he once had, but that didn’t mean he wanted them staring him down.

The imp reached out and grabbed at Arwin’s wrist again to give it a small tug. It was trying to lead him somewhere. His brow furrowed and Arwin slipped out of bed. He was pretty sure the monster would have been acting much more urgently if something serious was wrong.

You know, I’ve never actually seen Lillia let them roam around on their own before.

Arwin let the imp guide him out of the room and into the hall. He prepared to activate [Arsenal] at a moment’s notice if he needed to. The imp continued toward the stairs and Arwin slowed his gait to match the monster. It didn’t look or sound like anything was out of place.

He followed it down and stepped into the common room of the tavern. Nothing felt off here either. Arwin squinted at the doorway in case someone was lurking around outside.

Maybe the drunkard came back and is going to get pissy that nobody is awake to serve him?

The imp pulled Arwin away from the door. With that theory nixed, he could do nothing but follow it into the kitchen and down the hall. The darkness grew thicker the closer they got, and it wasn’t long before Arwin was completely blind. He would have been completely lost if it wasn’t for the imp guiding him.

It led him into what Arwin recalled to be Lillia’s room and came to a stop a few steps later. Then it let go of his hand. He opened his mouth to ask what it was doing and caught himself at the last second.

Lillia was probably asleep. They’d had enough difficulty getting rest in recent nights. The last thing he wanted to do was interrupt hers.

And I’m not all that thrilled about mine being interrupted either. What the hell was that imp doing?

It wasn’t like Lillia could be missing or in danger. The thick darkness surrounding everything told him that she was somewhere in the room beside him. He went to leave the room when a muted mumble stopped him.

For a second, he thought that Lillia had said something to him. Then, a moment later, he realized that she was speaking in her sleep. Arwin did his best to avoid listening to anything she said. It would have been a breach of privacy – but he couldn’t avoid hearing the pain in her words. Hay crinkled as Lillia rolled over in her bed.

She rolled again a second later. The imp tugged at Arwin’s hand again, taking him by such surprise that he nearly jumped a foot into the air. He caught himself before he could make any noise and squinted. It was pointless. Making anything out in the dark was impossible. Lilla let out a distressed groan. The imp pulled at Arwin’s hand once more.

It brought me here because it’s worried about her.

“Lillia?” Arwin whispered.

There was no response. She was so deep in her dreams that she couldn’t hear him. She muttered something under her breath again. This time, despite his attempts not to, Arwin caught it.

The word wasn’t one he knew. It was in a different language, but Arwin had heard enough yells in the fights he’d had against Lillia’s armies to recognize certain intonations of the language. She was saying a name.

Lillia rolled over in her bed again and muttered more names to herself. Arwin didn’t recognize any of them but wasn’t hard to guess who they were. They were the people that she’d lost in the war.

Losing Zeke hit her just as hard as it hit me. I thought she was recovering as fast as I was, but she’s been the one supporting me this whole time. It’s hard to heal when you’re thinking about someone else.

Arwin edged forward until his foot touched the edge of Lillia’s bed. He sat down beside it.

“Lillia?” he whispered.

The hay rustled as she rolled over again and groaned. Arwin reached out carefully, trying to find her arm. His hand brushed against her shoulder. Before he could gently shake her awake, her pained breathing started to relax.

Pained whispers dropped to a murmur. Lilla shifted once more, moving closer to Arwin until his arm was draped across her back. Then there was silence broken only by soft breaths. Arwin relaxed and settled into a more comfortable position to wait out the night by her side.

She’d been there to support him when his mind had refused to let him rest.

Now it was his turn.