The table was louder than usual today. In dinner’s and lunch’s my parents would try to chat with me, but because of the tiredness of the morning, there wasn't much conversation at the table, and we would just watch the view and have a quiet, sweet breakfast.
Eralith's presence forced my mother to talk to her, and Eralith was trying to have a conversation with my father. She seemed to want something from him. I thought she was one of the people my father did business with. I didn’t know exactly what she was doing, but I thought she was a successful woman in her own business. That was something I could respect, especially in an age like this. But that wasn’t our subject right now, our subject was…
“Mother, can I go hun-”
“No.” My mother answered my question without even letting me finish.
“But, why?” I gave her one of my puppy looks, I really wanted some action in my life.
Just as my mother was about to say something, my father suddenly entered the conversation and my eyes widened with happiness.
“He can go.”
My mom looked at my father in surprise, "What do you mean he can go? No."
Father took a sip from his kafe “You're being overprotective again, let him go. He’ll be fine, Nazir and 2 people from the Ocean will be with him.”
I watched my mother in silence and saw her gaze fixed on her kafe. She was sitting right next to me.
She sighed, leaned over and kissed me on the head, "You'll be careful."
I nodded my head a few times rapidly. I could finally get out of here. If I had a computer, I wouldn't mind so much, but there was really nothing to do in this house. I had read almost every book and I was tired of the childish jokes and games like hide and seek. Even though I've been practicing sword lately, as I said, there was really no activity in my life.
“If he's going hunting you should at least give him a weapon, do you have something you're keeping for him?”
I jumped in, “Can I have that turquoise dagger?”
“Turquoise?” My father looked at me for a moment in confusion and then asked, "The one you used on your first birthday?" After I nodded, he shook his head slowly and said, "That dagger is too dangerous for you, I'm sorry, but no."
“Why? Is it cursed?”
My father chuckled and was about to speak but Eralith interrupted. "Is he talking about the caerrum dagger?"
Father nodded and Eralith turned to me, “That dagger is not for hunting, it is made of a metal that is very dangerous to use in general, and it is usually used for special events such as your first birthday.”
She tapped the wooden table twice with her hand, "It can cut through this table like it's butter, but more importantly, it's probably worth more than this house, so you mustn't lose it."
I listened quietly to Eralith. It wasn't a problem for me that the dagger was so sharp, after all, even if I cut myself, I could still heal. But it’s worth… That would be a problem. Anyway... I guess I would have to find myself another weapon.
As I continued to eat my breakfast in silence, I heard Eralith's voice again. “If you want, I can give you a present for your first hunt?”
"That's not necessary," my father said, thanking Eralith, but Eralith insisted, “I know, but I want to, if that's okay with you.”
My father looked at my mother once and she nodded. “Sure, will you take him to the blacksmith?” Eralith nodded and took a sip of her kafe. And I continued to eat my breakfast in silence with a smile on my face.
After an hour or so, me, my father, Eralith and Nazir went to the city in Eralith's carriage. When we reached the middle of the city, my father got off the carriage, took a horse from an inn, left us and went to the harbor. After a while we got off the carriage on a circular street in one of the most crowded parts of the city and Eralith took me by the shoulders and guided me to the blacksmith she told me about.
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The place was huge, through the glass walls I could see the crowd inside, there were dozens of people looking at the weapons on the stands. The walls were covered with weapons and shields, like halberds, spears and swords. The interior design was red and black with a magma-like theme and one of the things that surprised me was that there were people sitting upstairs having a drink. I turned and looked at Eralith.
“Is there a cafe upstairs?”
“Yes, it's very popular in winter.”
As Eralith, me and Nazir made our way to the blacksmith, we passed by a short queue at the front of the place, the horned guard at the door bowed his head when he saw Eralith and we walked in as the people in line looked at us. The moment we walked in, I looked around. Impressive even from the outside, these weapons were eye-catching up close. I'm not an expert on weapons, but even I could tell the quality of the metal and the details like engravings. While I was staring at the weapons, Eralith grabbed me by the shoulder and moved me to a staircase leading down.
As we went down the stairs, we started to hear a man screaming.
“JUST WHEN I THOUGHT GODS DONE FUCKING ME!
VULCAN COMES!
ASKS WHAT’S THIS LINE!
“THORMUND!” Eralith shouted as she covered my ears but I had already heard everything.
WHAT?!”
When we finally came down, I wasn't surprised to see a dwarf. Unlike the dwarves I'd seen on the streets, this one had a shorter beard, wore a black apron and held a hammer, and fit the image of a blacksmith's dwarf. He was so dwarf that I’d call him a dwarf even if the word ‘dwarf’ was not existed.
When he saw us, he took off his circular goggles and put them on his forehead and Eralith interrupted him without letting him speak.
“What are you angry about again?”
“Nothing important, I'll tell you later.”
The dwarf threw the hammer on the wooden table behind him and took off his black gloves.
This might have been the warmest place I've ever been, the huge forge next to the dwarf was burning, there were two large anvils on the left side of the room, and shelves with parts like hilts and pommels on the right.
“Who is this?” The dwarf came over and started to look at me with curious eyes, but his brow was still furrowed.
“He is Altevia, son of Eliar.”
“Eliar?” The dwarf looked at Eralith and then at me again, sighed and continued.
“I'm Thormund, nice to meet you.”
I held out my hand to him and jumped back with the sudden heat I felt when our hands touched.
“How can you-”
“You get used to it.”
After interrupting me and answering my question, he looked at Nazir, nodded, then turned to Eralith.
“So, what do you want?”
Eralith folded her arms, looked at the forge behind the dwarf, and then turned her eyes to me.
“I want you to make a nice dagger for him, the finest quality.”
“Did I ever make something not finest?
Do you have something in your mind?” The blacksmith looked at me and I immediately answered his question.
“I want something simple.”
"Simple? That's all?" The eyes of everyone in the room widened in surprise.
“Yes, simple, and not easily broken.”
The dwarf put his hand on his chin and started walking left and right.
“I'll do something simple, but I don't want to give Eliar's son just a simple steel dagger.”
The dwarf walked around a few more times and finally stopped and turned to me.
“What's your favorite color?”
My favorite color?
“Purple, I think, and black.”
As soon as I said that, Eralith jumped in. “I think you can use siyah.”
“I was thinking the same,” dwarf turned and looked at Eralith, then looked in the direction of the forge for a while, “But we don't have any siyah left.”
“What do you mean we don’t?!”
“You know, none.”
“And you're telling me this now?!” Eralith's eyebrows furrowed and her voice rose slightly, and then the dwarf's voice rose too.
“I would've told you if you'd come, you've been gone for days!”
“You could have sent someone!”
“You can check your place once in a while!”
“You…!” Eralith was about to say something, but she looked at me and took a deep breath, “Since when?”
“Three days.”
“Three?!” Eralith scratched her forehead, looked around and sighed, “Okay, I'll ask Eliar. Don't accept special orders for now.”
“Do I look like an idiot from up there?” The dwarf spread his hands and walked backwards to the forge, “Do you need this dagger now?”
“I was going hunting.”
“Hunt? What will you hunt with a dagger?”
“Nothing, that’s for protect myself.”
“Yeah, sure.” The dwarf picked up his hammer, took two steps and then stopped and looked at Eralith.
“You know what, don't ask Eliar for siyah,” as the dwarf said this, Eralith looked at him in confusion and the dwarf continued, “I mean ask it but, let the boy go and get the ore for himself, isn't he going hunting anyway? Can be a great adventure.”
“Going to Mirstone hills, 2 week journey, just for the hunt?”
“I can do it,” as soon as I said that, Nazir put his hand on my shoulder, “My lord, I don't think your mother will allow it.”
When I turned my head to look at Nazir, he moved away from me with a frightened expression, “But, my father will.”
“I'm not sure that's a good idea.”
“What's the worst that can happen?”
And so we went to my father and explained the situation, and my father let me go as I thought, but this time the number of guards with me increased from 3 to 8.