Chapter 15 – Master Borin
The walk to the blacksmith was much longer than needed since Aenon’s guide was taking her job a bit too seriously. She pointed out every little detail she could think of, from the many unique products available in the Pinespire city market, to the family trees of the owners. The girl seemed to know everything. And from the furtive glances they were receiving, it appeared that most people knew the rambunctious woman. Anna had a spring to her step and had even begun humming softly to herself at times. She caught herself frequently but fell back to her old habits just as often.
“And there is the city herbalist. A charming old woman who always gives me the best…,” she droned on.
But Aenon tuned her out after catching the important bits. He was more focused on the townsfolk. Everywhere they passed, he could feel the stares bore into his back. With herculean effort he quashed the discomfort he was feeling, trying his level best not to just fade away into the shadows. Lucky for him, the loud commentary attracted just as much attention, taking some of the load off his shoulders. He breathed a deep sigh of relief when they finally reached their destination.
“And this is the blacksmith shop, Lord Ashryn. Let me go in and announce your arrival,” she said with a bow.
“That won’t be necessary,” Aenon said while stepping in to the store. The intense pressure of all the unwanted stares disappeared in an instant, making him relax for a bit. But the feeling returned just as suddenly as whispers broke out and everyone’s heads turned towards him. There was a long line of people who were here for various reasons, but they all parted to give him room to pass.
“Lord Ashryn. I was not aware of your upcoming visit,” a soft and formal voice spoke loudly as a young woman with dark hair and hazel eyes walked up in a hurry. Anna stepped up from behind Aenon to intercept the shop attendant.
“Yes, this was not planned, Kelly. Lord Ashryn needs some equipment fixed,” Anna spoke on his behalf, making the woman, Kelly, freeze in her tracks.
“Anna…,” Kelly said in a shocked voice. Judging from the emotions bubbling to the surface, the two women knew each other well. But Aenon didn’t want to be bogged down by another reunion, so he cleared his throat
“Ahem, I need someone to look at my daggers,” he said to cut in before the water works started.
“Yes, of course sire. Please follow me this way,” the attendant recovered remarkably quickly. She led them towards a side room that was a bit fancier than the rest of the store. “You can have a seat here. Master Borin will be here shortly.”
Once seated, Anna stood to his side like a statue. But Aenon could clearly feel the agitation in the air without even needing to rely on his soul sense. Kelly stared longingly for a brief second before starting to march out sullenly. Aenon sighed before turning his head towards Anna.
“You can go and wait outside till my work is done,” he said before leaning back in his seat. The woman barely managed to hide her smile as she bowed and left with the other shocked woman. Based on the sisterly love he felt from them, they were most probably childhood friends or something similar. But it wasn’t his place to pry.
Once the two left, Aenon put his head back in relief. This much interpersonal interaction was something he was not used to, and it was starting to wear him down. He needed to get his daggers fixed and be on the road ASAP. Now that he was finally alone for a moment, he pulled up his last System message.
And so, the inferno spreads!
He didn’t know what to make of the cryptic message. This was the first time that he had received a personal message without a reason. Earlier at least the messages were directly linked to an actual System notification. But this was more like a personal message. Whoever was behind this was getting bolder. Or impatient.
He was pulled out his thoughts as the door swung open with a bang, and a dwarf dressed in blacksmithing attire walked in. He was covered in soot and oil, and there were burn and scuff marks all over his protective clothes. The smith’s eyes narrowed when he saw Aenon, and he walked in and unceremoniously crashed on the opposite seat. And just stared at Aenon without a word. And so, Aenon responded in kind. The two determined adversaries just staring each other down.
It was obvious that the dwarf was testing Aenon. Unfortunately for him Aenon had an unfair advantage to such tests, his soul sense. Despite the stern expression and the grumpy old man act, Aenon could clearly see the curiosity leaking from the man’s soul. He was no doubt a stubborn fool, but very straight forward, and hence easy to read. It was only when a servant stepped in with a tray did they break eye contact, both turning towards the poor guy with a cold gaze.
The attending man started sweating uncomfortably as he quickly put down the drinks and practically ran out of the room. Once the man left, the dwarf picked up a flagon and filled it to the brim with a dark colored liquid. He slammed it down in front of Aenon, spilling some of it on his legs. Aenon felt anticipation from the dwarf, none of which showed on his face as the dwarf proceeded to fill his own mug. He then proceeded to gulp down the whole thing in a single breath, spilling most of it down his beard. Once done, he slammed it down on the table and belched out a very loud and impressive burp. And yet, Aenon sat impassively, just observing the man’s antics.
“Hmph. Too good to drink my mead?” he scoffed while pointing at the untouched mug in front of Aenon.
“Not my kind of drink,” Aenon responded calmly.
“Too cheap for ya?” the dwarf asked with some heat in his voice.
“I have lived in the wild for quite some time now. Had to drink from places that would make you throw up. Trust me when I say this, it’s not about the cost, or the company. I just don’t like alcohol,” Aenon responded with a shrug.
“Who ya trying to fool? Rich blokes like you would keel over from just the smell of anything you deem undesirable,” he said gruffly and folded his hands, eyeing Aenon with suspicion. “Look at you, sitting there in your fancy armor…”
Borin froze mid-sentence as his eyes landed on Aenon’s wrist. In a flash he reached out and seized Aenon’s hand, observing the bracelet closely. He looked at Aenon with fury in his eyes.
“Where’d ya get that? Some kinda trophy you collected?” he asked while squeezing Aenon’s wrist tightly. The man had impressive strength, making Aenon wince in pain.
“A kid gave it to,” Aenon responded without any outward reaction.
“Bull…,” the dwarf began to say before freezing up as Aenon unleashed his presence. He stumbled back into his chair as sweat started flowing down his forehead.
“You obviously care for this girl, so I will ignore your outburst,” Aenon said in a cool voice while retracting his presence. “I will also overlook the poorly disguised tests you have been conducting on me. The girl is housed at the mansion, and you are free to go visit and confirm it yourself. I am here as a customer, not a test subject for your character exams.”
Anna and Kelly burst into the room, having sensed Aenon’s presence. They looked between their seated bosses with shock and concern, not sure how to react. Aenon was sitting calmly, while the dwarf was covered in sweat as though he just came from an extended shift in his forge.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Master Borin. Are you alright,” Kelly asked with concern.
“I… I am ok lass. The years must be catching up to me. Letting a little presence like that throw me for a loop,” the adamant man responded to Kelly before turning to face Aenon. “Though I must say, it does pack quite a punch.”
Aenon stayed silent, not quite sure how to reply. For the dwarf was now grinning ear to ear, as though nothing had happened at all. He must have read into the confusion in Aenon’s eyes, since he started laughing boisterously.
“Bahahaha. Young’uns these days. Grown an impressive spine, you have laddie,” he said while grabbing Aenon mug and gulping it down with gusto.
“Master Borin?” Kelly asked in confusion.
“Go attend to your duties. Me and the lad have a lot to discuss,” he said while making a shooing motion with his hand. The two women exchanged confused looks but left without a word.
“So, what swill do ya like to drink,” Borin asked while filling his mug again.
“Tea,” Aenon replied with narrowed eyes.
“Heh. So, you are one of those,” he replied casually while pulling a bunch of things from his inventory. He put down something that looked like a burner with a stand and put a glass pot on it. He then added some dried leaves from another container, before sitting back and staring at the pot like a hawk.
“So, I am guessing your tests are done? How did I do?” Aenon asked while observing the water that was starting to change color as a sweet aroma dispersed throughout the room. The smell was heavenly.
“You still sitting here, ain’tcha? Would have kicked ya to the back of the line otherwise,” the dwarf replied without taking his eyes off the pot. “Now shut your trap and let me finish my brew. This is delicate work.”
The dwarf was absolutely immersed in observing the fire after that point. So Aenon waited patiently, taking in the tantalizing aroma that was permeating his very soul. He had never smelled anything so divine and couldn’t wait to try it. After an excruciating wait, the dwarf finally poured it out and served it to him. Aenon made the bottom of his mask disappear as he sipped the tea. And the wait was well worth it. Aenon felt his stress melting away as the sweet taste filled his mouth.
“Hmph. Looks like I was right. You ain’t a noble,” the dwarf said with a smirk when Aenon opened his eyes. “You trying to pretend to be one, but the act is atrociously bad.”
“What gave it away?” Aenon asked without regret. He knew his acting wasn’t perfect and he was sure to be caught sooner or later. This was all practice for when the real time to act came.
“I have lived amongst those disgusting bunch, laddie. Ain’t that easy to fool these eyes,” he said gruffly. “I’m just glad that you ain’t one. Finding a good noble is like trying to find a good piece of metal from scrap.”
“Why go through all this though?” Aenon asked.
“Would ya have told me if I asked?” he asked with a chuckle. When Aenon didn’t respond he continued, “Thought so. Not that it is a bad thing. Keeping your cards close is needed if you wanna live long enough amongst the monsters of this world.”
“Not going to ask why I am pretending to be a noble?” Aenon asked while putting down his empty cup. He eyed the pot that still had some delicious liquid.
“Bah. Every young’un has a reason. Why should I care?” Borin said while pouring Aenon more tea.
He went silent as he pulled a smoking pipe and lit it up, leaning back and enjoying it just as Aenon enjoyed his tea. The two sat in comfortable silence for a long while, at least till their respective drink/smoke finished.
“So, let me see this damaged equipment of yours,” the dwarf finally said while clearing the table between them with a wave of his hand.
Aenon retrieved the two daggers from his inventory and placed them on the table. He looked at the badly twisted dagger with regret, hoping that they were salvageable. But the dwarf was silent. When Aenon looked up he was surprised to find a horrified look on his face.
“WHAT THE FREAK DID YOU DO TO THESE BEATIES?” he shrieked, making Aenon jump in alarm.
“Ummm. I…” Aenon hesitantly explained everything about the daggers, including how they got to their current state.
When Aenon was done, the dwarf’s look didn’t change one bit. A vein was popping on his forehead. He stood up suddenly and grabbed the daggers before proceeding to the door, and leaving without a word
“What? Ya waiting for a written invitation?” he barked from somewhere down the corridor.
Aenon followed with a puzzled expression. He met an equally bewildered Anna along the way, who followed without a word. As Aenon homed in on the smith’s location using his soul sense, he found himself in a proper blacksmithing workshop for the first time in his life. He had seen videos, but never actually been in one. The dwarf was rummaging through a few shelves, looking for something. So Aenon looked around in the meantime. Even Anna was fascinated.
There were multiple anvils of varying sizes and shapes scattered around a central forge. It had some strange symbols on it and was emitting so much heat that Aenon could feel it all the way by the door which was 30 feet away. The anvils too had strange markings, and each one had a bunch of hammers and tools next to it. There was also a statue of some kind in an open area off to the left. A table was also set up in the open area. Borin carried a bunch of things in his hands which arranged on the table and beckoned Aenon to step closer.
“Alright. What is this?” Borin asked as he picked up the first object. It was a dagger, as were all the items the smith had arranged on the table. All with different shapes and sizes.
“A dagger,” Aenon responded.
“Wrong. What about this?” he asked while holding up another.
“Dagger?” Aenon replied uncertainly.
“Blimey. Which incompetent fool taught you?” he asked in exasperation. When Aenon didn’t respond, he handed him a thin long dagger with a cross guard. “See the training dummy. Have at it.”
Aenon didn’t know what this was about, but he complied. He leaned into his System weapon skill and attacked the dummy at a blistering speed from all angles. He stabbed, slashed, and even used the handle to bludgeon the dummy. But nothing he did left a scratch on the thing, but neither did the daggers get damaged. When he finally turned around, Anna was staring at him with an awed expression. The smith on the other hand had an annoyed look, with an eye twitching to reign in his anger.
“Lassie, get out,” he told Anna. When she reluctantly left the room, still admiring Aenon’s work, he turned to face Aenon with a fierce expression and asked in a dangerously low voice, “Did I ask you to use the System skill?”
“Then what am I supposed to do?” Aenon asked with genuine confusion.
The dwarf clenched his fist for a moment before taking a deep breath to relax. He looked around the room, before walking over and picking up a small piece of wood. It was probably a leftover piece from a handle material. He tossed it to Aenon who caught it effortlessly.
“Use that thing and show me what you got,” he said with a smirk.
Aenon looked at the supposed weapon in his hand. It was like a stake and could be considered a dagger if one was being generous. But his skills refused to trigger with it in his hand. For all intents and purposes, it was just a piece of wood and not a dagger.
“Heh. What? Can’t do your fancy footwork with it, can you?” Borin asked with a smug look as he folded his hands.
“This is not a dagger,” Aenon replied indignantly.
“Says who?” he picked up a new kind of dagger from the table. It didn’t have any cutting edge, instead having a sharp pointed end that was only good for stabbing. He tossed it to Aenon, who felt the skill kick in. “What’s the difference between this and the chunk of wood. Neither has a cutting edge, but both can be used to stab.”
Aenon compared the two and saw that indeed they were similar in shape. But the fact that the skill didn’t work with the wood confused him. Looking at his confusion, the smith explained.
“Only idiots rely on System skills. They are meant to be training aids to help you learn, not crutches to lean on your entire life,” he lectured Aenon gruffly. “Have you never heard of an internalized skill?”
“No…,” Aenon began to say before stopping as realization stuck him. There was a skill that never showed up in his skills list yet had been crucial to his development. His mana sense. He had gained it when he finally realized what mana felt like, and it had let him see the mana wisps around him. He had a mana manipulation skill, but no mana sense. Same could be said about his soul sense, but he hadn’t given it much thought since the Overseer had said it was linked to a Title.
“Yep. Ya getting it now. The skill is just a guide. It is not meant to replace hard earned knowledge and experience,” he said while shaking his head. He then picked up another dagger, “Knowledge that tells you what the types of daggers are. And experience that prevents you from throwing the wrong dagger type like a freaking bomb.”
Aenon walked up to the table and looked at the variety of daggers there. Each one was shaped differently, but he didn’t know anything about them. And maybe that was why he had badly messed up his daggers. He had assumed they would be ok since they conducted his mana effectively. But he had never tried to discharge the mana. He felt something hard hit the back of his head. It was a book.
“Read that thing before coming back for your daggers. I will grill ya on it, and if you get anything wrong, forget about ever wielding these priceless artifacts,” Borin said crossly while cleaning up all the daggers.
“But I need to go on a mission,” Aenon said with a frown.
“Not my concern. And don’t you dare use a dagger before you know that book thoroughly. Now get out,” he said and kicked Aenon out before he could get a word in.
“Well, this is going to be annoying,” Aenon said as he walked towards the mansion with a confused Anna following behind. What was he to do without daggers?
This meant he would have to change his plans a bit. He just didn’t know by how much. As they reached the building, he saw Eskad and his party coming out. An idea formed in his head, and like all his plans, it was way out there. He approached the elite party who all bowed to him respectfully. But their faces had nothing but confusion on them when he spoke.
“I guess you are in need of a healer, aren’t you?”