After guard Smeltfury left to retrieve Fokgrag from the jails, Thomas and the Magister remained silent. It wasn't awkward or uncomfortable, they were just both waiting for the guard to return so they could finish their business. They didn't have to wait for very long, in less than ten minutes Smeltfury arrived with another dwarf in tow. Thomas could only assume it was Fokgrag.

Fokgrag was... not remotely what he expected. Comparing Hekrin with Fokgrag was like comparing a gem with a turd. Hekrin was always wearing nice clothing and kept himself clean and well-trimmed. Even his huge beard was well maintained. Fokgrag though... He was wearing what could basically be called rags. Though, that could just be due to spending time in jail. However, his hair and beard... it would take a long time for them to get as tangled and ragged as they currently were. It was like he couldn't even be bothered to take the time to comb or braid it properly so he just tied it into ugly knots. All of his hair was pure white and the front half of his head was completely bald. His age clearly showed on his wrinkled face, yet his black eyes glittered with vigor.

As guard Smeltfury and the ragged and unimpressive looking Fokgrag walked into the room, Fokgrag looked directly at the tallest stranger, Thomas, and grimaced, "A godsdamned human? The hell is one of your kind doin' here punk?"

Before Thomas could answer, Magister Brewhide slammed his fist on his desk, "Enough Fokgrag. This gentleman is the reason you're not sitting in your cell still. You're being released into his custody until your trial in five days. I suggest you thank him and be on your best behavior."

Fokgrag glared at Brewhide for a moment before turning that glare on Thomas. Thomas just smiled as best he could. Meanwhile, Snowlily was glaring at Fokgrag while gritting her teeth and wrinkling her nose. It was like she couldn't decide if she hated him, or the smell. Thomas stroked her head as he spoke up, "Master Fokgrag, it's an honor to meet you. I'm a student of Hekrin Graveljaw."

That got a reaction from Fokgrag, a very quick one, "Bullshit! No way that little bastard could teach anyone anythin'! Little shit barely knows how to wield a hammer."

Before Fokgrag could finish his ranting, Brewhide interrupted him, "Shut up and get out of my office." He turned to look at Thomas, a bit of pity could be seen in his eyes, "Good luck with him."

Fokgrag glared at Thomas, "I don't need no damned babysitter, especially not one younger than the shit I took last night!"

Thomas shrugged his shoulders and looked back at Magister Brewhide, "Can I return him earlier than five days?"

The magister nodded his head, "Yes."

Fokgrag spoke up, "W-well there's no need fer that! Let's jus' go get some lunch and ya can tell me about how that little bastard Hekrin is doin' and what you want. Yeah?"

Thomas glanced at Fokgrag while his eyes flashed with blue light for just a brief moment.

Fokgrag Coalheart

Dwarf

Class: Emperor (Low)

His eyes widened a bit when he saw that Fokgrag was actually in the Emperor class. That meant the ugly old man was at least twice as strong as he was currently. Well, roughly, maybe. It just depended on how his attributes were set. Given that he was a Dwarf and Magitech Engineer it was likely mostly in Power and Endurance. It was just a random guess on his part though. Either way, Fokgrag was likely someone he couldn't manhandle with force so he'd use other means at his disposal.

Fokgrag seemed to be getting nervous as Thomas remained silent. Finally, after letting him sweat a bit, Thomas spoke, "Alright. We'll go get some lunch. First, though, we're heading to an inn and a clothing store. You need a bath and clothes that don't make you look like a beggar. We'll talk about why I'm here during lunch." He pat the top of Snowlily's head, "And don't even think about trying to run away. We'll be able to track you down."

Snowlily nodded her head in agreement. She could track Fokgrag now that she had his scent. It sure as hell was pungent enough. Fokgrag nodded in understanding. Thomas turned to Magister Brewhide and smiled, "I'll have him back in five days."

The magister nodded, "Good luck."

Thomas, Snowlily, and Fokgrag left the jail and were led back outside by Guard Smeltfury. Once outside of the jail, Thomas waved goodbye to the guards and walked with his two companions. Though he hadn't mentioned it earlier, their first stop was actually going to be the bank. He assumed Fokgrag would need to get some money to buy his clothing and pay for his lodging. The closer they got to the location of the bank, the more nervous Fokgrag seemed to get. Finally, he stopped and looked up at Thomas, "Where're we headin', kid?"

Thomas didn't even look at Fokgrag as he spoke, "The bank, unless you already have money on you."

Fograg looked off to the side and coughed, "Ah, about that... I'm not exactly what ya would call wealthy."

Thomas stopped and looked down at Fokgrag. He was supremely disappointed in this man. Everything about him seemed wrong for supposedly being the man that taught Hekrin. He crossed his arms over his chest, "Are you really the master of Hekrin? You are not at all what I expected."

If Thomas hadn't confirmed Fokgrag's identity and strength with his own eyes, he would swear that the dwarf in front of him was an impostor. Fokgrag sighed, "Everythin' I had was tied up in the experiment that put me in jail. I got nothin' to my name at the moment."

Thomas let out a long sigh. It seemed like he'd been doing that a lot since he set foot in this city. Once he regained a bit of himself he looked at Fokgrag with narrowed eyes, "Fine. I'll pay for everything but I want something in exchange. I came here for something very specific. I want an U.L.T.R.A."

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Fokgrag blinked, "What's that?"

Thomas felt his whole body stiffen in shock, "An U.L.T.R.A., one of your creations. An 'Unreal Legendary Transforming box Ready for Adventuring.'"

Fkgrag stroked his horrendous beard and pondered, "Sounds like somethin' I named." He stopped stroking his chin and started waggling his finger in the air. It took Thomas a moment to realize he was using the blueprint system. After a few minutes, Fokgrag nodded, "I see, I see. I guess I did make somethin' like that. Been over a hundred years since I made one, I think." He stopped waggling his finger and looked up at Thomas, "I ain't got one just layin' around but I can give ya the blueprints fer one... provided ya pass a few tests."

Thomas pinched the bridge of his nose, "Bailing you out of jail, paying for clothing, food, and shelter, all of that isn't enough?"

Fokgrag scoffed, "This an' that are two different things! I do appreciate ya helpin' me out but I ain't givin' ya the plans to one of my things until ya can prove ya deserve it, kid."

Thomas blew out a breath and shook his head. It wasn't unexpected, really. He'd known he would need to do some quests or something for Fokgrag. Still, he had hoped bailing him out of jail and providing for him would help him skip some of the annoying processes of fulfilling quests. With his only other real choices being dropping Fokgrag back at the jail or giving up on getting his own U.L.T.R.A... Thomas waved his hand, "Alright, lead the way to a store so we can get you some clothing first."

It took almost two hours for the three of them to get Fokgrag a few sets of clothing, a bath, and a room at an inn. The bath took the longest and judging by the dirty look Fokgrag got from the proprietor, the bathtub wasn't left in good condition. Fokgrag's hair was still a disaster with both his beard and the half-head of hair still tangled up in knots but at least he smelled a lot better and was wearing decent clothing. As for his inn room, they picked an inn within the mountain. There were only two and both were empty so it didn't matter which one he picked. As they finished getting everything taken care of, the ever-patient Snowlily was tugging on Thomas's sleeve and looking up at him with begging eyes. Thomas looked down at her with a smile, "Lead the way!"

Without a word, Snowlily took off like a bullet and ran through the city. Thomas laughed while Fokgrag looked confused. Thomas glanced at the old dwarf, "If you want lunch, try and keep up!"

Thomas took off and chased after Snowlily as she led him back to the restaurant they found earlier. From behind he could hear grumbling and cursing as Fokgrag was forced to move quickly to keep up with them. Though all three of them could move at speeds near or over the speed of sound, none of them actually ran that fast. It would cause way too much trouble in such a small area as a city street. Even so, they moved rapidly and arrived at the restaurant in less than a minute. When Fokgrag saw where Thomas and Snowlily intended to eat he actually smiled, "Well, at least ya got good taste. I ain't had a meal in 'The Mother Lode' in months!"

Thomas smiled at the name of the restaurant while entering with Snowlily at his side and Fokgrag following behind them. As they entered a dwarven woman wearing a frilly apron approached them. She was slightly shorter than a male dwarf but her beard was just as thick and full, though she kept it in twin braids. She smiled brightly at the group, "Welcome to The Mother Lode! We haven't had any humans in here in a long time. We got some human-sized seats if you prefer, if not just pick a table!"

Thomas chuckled, "No need, we'll just go to a normal table."

Thomas led the other two over to a random table and sat down. He had to curl his legs underneath his chair to be able to sit at least somewhat comfortably. On the bright side, even though a Dwarf's legs were shorter than his own, at least their asses were about the same size so the seat itself was comfortable. Once everyone was settled the waitress set out three menus. Without even looking at the menu, Fokgrag started ordering for himself, "Gimme a flagon of Fyremead and make sure I don't see the bottom! Gimme a rockgoat steak too!"

Hearing her favorite word, 'steak', Snowlily immediately perked up and stared at Thomas. He laughed and ordered some rockgoat steaks for the two of them along with some mixed vegetables, though half of the 'vegetables' listed were actually different kinds of mushrooms. When he ordered some Fyremead for himself the waitress looked concerned, "Are you sure? Fyremead is pretty strong stuff and most humans can't handle it. No offense meant."

Thomas waved his hand dismissively, "No problem. What would you suggest that a human could handle?"

She tilted her head and thought for a bit, "Mmmmmm we got a good Fyrewine. It's a mix of human wine and Fyremead."

Neither her nor Fokgrag bothered to mention that Fyrewine was actually meant for young kids to enjoy. Unaware that what he was ordering was akin to juice for kids, Thomas nodded his head, "Alright, I'll have that and she'll have some water."

The waitress nodded and left to put in their orders. She quickly returned with the drinks though. She set down three large flagons on the table. The one in front of Fokgrag contained a bright red liquid in it that even Thomas could easily smell from across the table. The scent of alcohol leaking from it was intense. Thomas was instantly glad that the waitress suggested he not get the drink. Just sniffing it for a while could probably get him drunk. His own drink was a much more diluted version with a darker purple color and a more fruity scent with only a slight hint of alcohol.

Fokgrag wasted no time in grabbing the flagon of Fyremead and gulping it down greedily. Lucky for him, the flagons served were so large they looked like they contained at least half a gallon each. After a few gulps, Fokgrag slammed the mug on the table and let out a mighty belch, "Gods that's good! Bastards only serve watered-down whiskey in the jail! Can ya believe that?!"

Thomas just chuckled and shook his head. Looked like no matter what game it was, Dwarves loved their alcohol. He picked up his own large flagon of Fyrewine and sniffed it a bit more. The drink had a bright fruity scent similar to grapes with a hint of alcohol. He sipped the drink and smiled brightly. It had a bright fruit flavor that gave his mouth a cool feeling, almost like menthol but without the menthol taste. The alcohol in the drink wasn't very high. If he had to guess, it was somewhere around twenty percent alcohol by volume. It was really just a delicious fortified wine. As he sipped on it, Snowlily sniffed at his drink and then tugged on his sleeve, "Can I try some?"

Thomas thought about it for a bit and then nodded. He saw no reason to deny her a taste. He wasn't going to let her drink enough to get drunk or anything like that but he remembered a time when he was a kid and his own father let him have a taste of his beer. Thinking about that time, Thomas smiled. He'd spit the beer out and hated the taste of it. It wasn't until his twenties that his tastebuds changed and he began to enjoy beer. He expected Snowlily wouldn't like the Fyrewine and he wasn't disappointed. The moment she took a sip of it she gagged and spit it out. She shoved the flagon back at him and pouted, "Gross."

Fokgrag looked offended but Thomas just smiled, "You'll probably like it more when you get a bit older."

It wasn't long before the waitress returned and sat their plates of food out on the table. As everyone turned to their food Thomas looked over at Fokgrag, "So, how many hoops am I going to have to hop through to get my hands on the blueprints for the U.L.T.R.A.?"

Fokgrag scoffed, "Talk after eating!"

Thomas sighed, again, he was getting tired of sighing. He looked at the delicious smelling food and decided to dig in. He could rip Fokgrag a new one later.