The sound of a hammering filled Helbram’s ears as he entered the smith’s workshop; a wide, spacious building built from stone. He took a glance at the walls, the cuts of the gray stone so symmetrical that they rested on top of and next to each other with seemingly no gap, though he knew there had to be plaster or some other method used to keep the construction together. The walls stood tall, so much so that it would take two of Helbram to reach the top. Its roof was made of wood, with slits spaced throughout where it and the walls met. Helbram guessed it was a place for heat to escape, beyond the windows that dotted the walls themselves, but in the dead of Winter these slits were sealed by small bits of wood. A comfort, for though the heat within the workshop felt stuffy, it was a blanket from the cold that had been biting his skin just moments before, sitting over not only him, but over the tables lined with tools placed in the center of the workspace.
His gaze focused on a far corner of the building, where the sound of hammering thundered from. A small green skinned-figure stood in front of a large, bulky machine that -from the way that it repeatedly slammed its ram onto the piece of white hot metal in the figure’s tongs - Helbram recognized to be a power hammer. The figure’s large, floppy ears were the tell-tale sign of a goblin woman, and they were turned down as she focused on her work, twisting the ingot between each strike of the mechanical hammer and slowly pulling it back to stretch out the heated metal. That is, until she saw Helbram.
Her ears perked up and she flicked a switch on the power hammer, shutting it down, but the last few strikes drowned out the words she said to another person on the opposite corner of the workshop, a man who was slipping another ingot into a square, tubed shaped forge. He possessed light toned skin and brown hair, and most of him was covered by the large leather apron that he wore, with a long sleeved shirt to cover his arms, though the muscle underneath was easy to see. The man strode across the room towards the woman and, after exchanging words that Helbam couldn’t make out, took the tongs and resumed shaping the ingot.
The smaller woman made her way to Helbram, wearing an apron of similar style to the man, but noticeably more worn and stained with various oils and other liquids. She removed the goggles from her eyes and pushed them up into her short cut red hair as she approached, revealing the yellow irises of her large eyes and slitted pupils. The smith rubbed her small button nose and let a wide, fangy grin spread across her face as Helbram raised a hand in greeting.
“Hail there Helbram, come to take a look at your armor?” she said, her voice light but filled with energy, she looked behind him, “With company I see.”
He looked back, seeing the rest of the party around him, lingering around the workshop’s open entrance. Elly looked in towards the building, a curious look in her eye as she examined the machinery displayed within. It was a look no doubt shared by the rest of his companions, but Jahora, Leaf, and Aria’s gazes were directed towards the house that was across the street. It was constructed from wood like most of the other buildings in Geldervale, but with the addition of a tower rising up from the back of the building, supporting a platform at the top that was bolstered by the addition of a thick wooden railing at the top. It was high enough to grant a vantage point over the entirety of the village and then some, and was only wide enough to support one person comfortably.
It was also the only house with a pack of wolves in front of it.
The two large wolves lay down next to the house’s front door, their bodies rising and falling from their steady breathing as they waited for their master, who followed Felix into the building. Their eyes were closed, but Helbram could see a tension along their limbs as their paws lay flat against the ground. The large black wolf had one ear up as well, turned towards the door. The white wolf, however, had both of the cubs on its back, who were in the process of nipping at both each other and the wolf’s ears. It was hard to tell from a distance, but Helbram was certain he could see the wolf frowning.
The townspeople, of course, gave the wolves a wide berth, but with an unnatural sense of composure to them. They moved as if they were walking past obstacles rather than threats, with only a passing glance towards the pack as they walked by.
He turned back to the smith.
“Just pursuing a curiosity, Kileka. I hope you do not mind the inconvenience.”
She shook her head, “Not at all. And please, it's just Kiki,” she rubbed her chin and peered at the party, “I may be able to get them fitted for some new gear as well.”
Helbram snorted, “Perhaps at another time, but may I trouble you for use of your workshop as well?” he held up his sword, still in its sheath, and a leather bag.
Her eyes glanced over the items before grinning, “It’s no trouble at all! You can get set up while I bring out your armor.”
She motioned towards a table near the door before marching towards the far side of the room. He placed his sword and bag on top of it, but before taking a seat he walked near an anvil close to the forge and grabbed an empty bucket. He walked outside and scooped it full of freshly fallen snow, courtesy of Winter’s touch. As he walked back into the workshop, he held it up to Elly, who had turned her attention away from the workshop and back towards the house across the street. She glanced towards the bucket and, still looking towards the house, snapped her fingers. A flash of red accompanied the sound, and Helbram could feel a burst of heat brush over his hand and the bucket, melting the snow instantly. He flashed her a smile and walked back into the workshop, placing the bucket next to the table and opening the leather bag. From it he pulled a rectangular wooden case, a file, flask and rag. He laid the file with the flask and rag close to his sword and opened the case. Within was a small wooden platform and three rectangular stones, which he pulled from the case and slipped into the bucket with care.
“Those are some fine whetstones,” Kiki said behind him, “Not a common sight in the Freemarks.”
“A gift from an old acquaintance,” Helbram said as he set the wooden platform on the table.
He turned to the smith, who held his armor in her hands. It was a brigandine chest piece, its rivets clattering against the table as she hefted it onto its surface.
“The old red cloth was so worn it was basically unrecoverable,” she explained, “I hope you don’t mind black.”
Helbram ran a hand over the cloth, noting that it was noticeably thicker than before, “A favorite actually,” he tilted his head, “Second favorite. More importantly, I’m surprised you were able to repair the plates.”
Kiki puffed her chest out, “Of course! I give nothing but the best. Though I won’t lie, most of them were beat to the Hells and back,” she crossed her arms, “and some were too broken to repair so we had to forge a few anew.”
Helbram winced, “And the shoulder plates?”
“The leather one just required a touch up. The one of metal… well it took some time but we managed to beat that back into shape too.”
He snorted, “I appreciate that, how much will it cost me?”
“Hmm… I should say around a hundred marks or so, cheaper if you could tell me how it ended up in such a state.”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
Helbram quirked an eyebrow, “Only a hundred? Come now, that is far too cheap a price.”
The smith shook her head, “You seem to forget that you and your party have been quite the big help for the past couple of weeks,” She nodded towards the party, “That archer friend of yours is quite the hunter, and your spellcasting allies have been a great help in bolstering our foundations.”
Helbram frowned, “Then grant them a discount, you need not go to such lengths with me.”
Kiki snorted, “What, and forget the hand you’ve been lending around the forge? If I hadn’t known better I would think you were a smith yourself.”
“Now you truly are flattering me,” he said, “The most I’ve been is an apprentice, and even then the term would be used loosely,” he picked up the brigandine, “Do you mind if I try it on?”
“I was about to ask you myself, see if we need to make any adjustments.”
He undid the leather straps of the armor and slipped the chest piece on, already finding it more comfortable than before. This was only further confirmed as he strapped it tight.
“The fit is much better,” he remarked as he started to twist left and right, “It had a tendency to catch at times, but that does not seem to be the case now,” he touched his neck, feeling the thick cloth that had been added to the armor, “the neck guard is appreciated as well.”
Kiki rubbed her upper lip with a smirk, “Of course. What you really need is a nice suit of mail or gambeson, but I’m afraid I don’t have the resources for that.”
Helbram took off the brigandine, “And it would be too large an ask. The work you’ve done is already far beyond what I requested.”
“Heh… it was nothing. If anything I should be thanking you. I’ve not had a chance to use my skills in ages and then your group shows up like rain in a drought. So yes, a hundred marks will do,” she smiled, “Unless you would like to tell me what happened to cause such damage.”
Helbram set down the armor and took a seat at the table, “Actually, I was hoping that you would be able to entertain a few questions of mine. If you are free to do so, of course,” he nodded towards the other smith that was still at the power hammer, his gaze fixated upon the flattening piece of metal he worked.
“Geoffery will be fine,” Kiki said, “The lad’s a smith in all but name at this point, but he still refuses to accept it,” she stuck her tongue out coyly, “something about his teacher being too skilled or somesuch.”
“Modest too, from what I hear,” Helbram said with a smirk.
“Always,” she pulled out the chair opposite of him, “but yes, I can spare some time to answer your questions,” she squinted at his sword, “Let me take a look at your blade first.”
Nodding, Helbram pulled his sword from its sheath, prompting a whistle from the smith.
“Scaled Steel, that’s a sight you don’t see often.”
He picked up his rag and wiped it across the blade’s unique pattern, hexagonal “scales” that were formed by thin black lines over pale, nearly white metal. The base of the blade was about three fingers wide, and this tapered to a tip that was around half that size. He examined the edge of the blade, noting a few burs and knicks along its length.
“It has served me well,” Helbram said as he placed the rag down and picked up his file.
“I imagine it has,” Kiki said, her eyes alight with curiosity, “Everyone knows the Quetali to be fierce warriors, but their craftsmanship,,, that truly is a sight to behold.”
“Given how rare it is to see one outside the Broken Lands, that is no surprise.”
“Indeed, makes it all the more curious how you got your hands on one of their blades...”
Helbram slid the file along the edge of his blade a few times, “By sacrifice of my own, along with a shield… and a suit of plate.”
Kiki’s eyes widened, “You fought with a Quetali and won?”
“I survived,” Helbram started to file the other edge of the blade, “Given the state I was in afterwards… well I would not call it a victory. Regardless, I needed a new sword, and this was the best option at the time. To say that it’s been through a lot would be quite the understatement, but I am certainly fond of it,” he checked both edges of the sword, finding them free of any major flaws, before holding it out to Kiki, “What do you think?”
The smith took the blade and looked it over, “The blade certainly had the most focus, which is no surprise,” she ran her fingers along its surface, “the rigid, almost uniform like appearance of the pattern is quite unusual even for one of these swords…”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, as I’m sure you know, Quetali are able to utilize Ether easier than most, and this extends beyond just the field of battle. This pattern is proof of that, the result of wielding Ether during its forging, most likely through the blacksmith’s hammer. The energy infuses into the metal - which in this case appears to be Pearl Iron - and alters the construction itself according to the smith’s will. These ‘scales’ are often the result - a sort of lattice pattern to further bolster the blade’s strength. The more defined these lines are, the stronger the reinforcement, and these appear to be as straight as an arrow,” she handed the sword back, “I’m certain the Quetali have another name for this, but given its pattern most have just taken to calling it Scaled Steel.”
Helbram reached down into the bucket next to the table and grabbed the whetstone with the roughest texture. He placed it onto the wooden platform and opened his flask before pouring a small splash of mineral oil onto its surface, “I see… I have only heard tales of its strength, but never its forging process,” he kept his eyes on his blade as he spoke, “interesting how you know all of this.”
“Ah well, I was just curious is all. Did a bit of research on the side. I’d never be able to make it myself.”
Helbram held his sword up to the whetstone, but after a moment reconsidered and placed the sword off to the side, drawing a curious look from Kiki.
“Why would you not be able to?” Helbram asked as he crossed his fingers.
“What are you on about?”
“If all it takes is a bit of Ether to make such blades, then should you not be able to?” He looked Kiki in the eyes, “You are Awoken, after all.”
For a brief moment, he saw her eyes widen, but it did not last as she laughed, “Now you’re talking nonsense.”
“I’m afraid not,” Helbram said, “For you see, though I do not possess the boon of Ether, my friend over there does,” He nodded towards Leaf, who was now looking towards the two, a knowing expression on his face, “His eyes are far better than mine - far better than most, really - and as Geldervale first entered his sight he happened to notice something. Cores of Ether; an unusual amount for such a small town in the middle of the Freemarks.”
As he spoke, Kiki’s smile started to fade.
“Of course, as our presence was known, these Cores started to fade. He believed he was seeing things, and for a while I was inclined to agree, but then I started to notice a few things,” he directed the smith’s attention out the door, towards a passing patrol of guardsmen who wielded spears.
“I have seen a wide range of soldiers, from ragtag mercenaries to professional armies, and though your town guard is making quite the effort to appear unassuming, they have not been able to shake their muscle memory entirely. Their steps are too in sync, postures too rigid, and the way in which they hold their weapons is much too comfortable for them to be a simple village militia,” he leaned back in his chair, “Now of course this could be explained by having someone with experience as their captain, but since Leaf made his observation I could not help but be curious.”
Kiki did not say anything.
“Not all of the Cores Leaf saw disappeared, either. There was one that remained, one that happens to belong to Felix, who is not only your ‘elder’ but captain of your guard at the same time. Of course, it is rare, but not unusual to find a single Awoken in a place such as this, and from what my companion has told me, he only appears to be a Journeyman of the Second Layer. As he is now, at least.”
He placed his hands on the table, “For you see, when Leaf first saw your village, he spotted a Core larger than that, one that had formed a smaller Subcore within itself. One that would belong to an Expert of the First or Second Layer,” he kept his tone composed, “That too, vanished as we entered your village, but the way in which Felix holds himself, the way that he immediately noticed that a Druid had entered his village, tells me that he possesses capabilities far beyond the Core he appears to hold now.”
Helbram pointed towards the machinery within the workshop, “Then there are your tools. I am familiar with their function, but not their form, and you, the smith that handles them, possess a wealth of knowledge that even some of the craftsmen in Helios are not privy to. If we compound that with the fact that the Awoken in your village are able to suppress their Cores then many questions are raised. However, there is only one that I wish to ask as of now.”
He looked into Kiki’s eyes.
“Who are you?”