Chapter 15 – The Burden of Darkness

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.

BANG

The door swung open as 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 regarded Aenon for a second before taking a seat opposite him. Aenon could tell from his soul sense that the dwarf was very curious about Aenon.

“So, you the bloke who be ruling this city now,” he said gruffly.

“I am,” Aenon replied simply. The smith’s soul was just like the twins, direct and straightforward. Aenon was not sure if this was a characteristic of dwarves in general, but he had a feeling they would make really poor politicians.

“Well. What ya waiting for? A written invitation? Show me the mess you made,” the dwarf asked without ceremony.

Aenon nodded before retrieving the ruined daggers and putting them on the table between them. The smith ignored him completely as he lifted the horribly twisted metal and inspected them closely. He hummed and hawed, whispering incoherently to himself for the next 15 minutes. He finally leaned back with the daggers in hand.

“This be your work, I assume?” he asked with a frown.

“Yes. I used them as conduits to channel a large amount on mana to attack a fire ant queen. Took her out in one hit, but the result is as you see,” Aenon replied calmly.

“Hmmm. Show me your hands,” the dwarf demanded. When Aenon extended his hand, he inspected them closely, momentarily eyeing his bracelet, before continuing, “You have the hands of a fighter, no doubt about that. But it seems you have boosted your dagger skill using SP quite recently.”

“That is correct,” Aenon responded. He had heard that true masters of their craft could analyze a person by the calluses on a person’s hands. Seems it was true.

“These be some priceless treasures you ruined, holding a lot of potential. Will require a lot of work to fix, but doable,” the dwarf said while grooming his impressive beard. “My services ain’t cheap either. Think you can afford them?”

“Depends on the price,” Aenon responded, a hint of curiosity in his voice. He didn’t detect any greed from the dwarf’s soul, so whatever this supposed cost was, it was not monetary.

“Fulfill your promise of protecting this settlement. Even if it costs you your life,” the dwarf replied without remorse. Aenon stared blankly at the dwarf, unsure how to respond. There was no hint of humor or deceit from the smith’s soul.

“That price is unacceptable,” Aenon responded. When the dwarf frowned, he continued, “Its a moot request. The cost cannot be something that I am already obligated and intend to do.”

The dwarf’s eyes rose up in surprise, before a broad smile emerged on his face. “You don’t mince words, do ya? I like it.”

“In that we are quite similar, Master Borin,” Aenon said while displaying an amicable smile on his mask.

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“Bahahaha. Yes, we are. Well then, I’d charge the standard rate for an apprentice blacksmith and send the bill to the city admin. How’s that?” the dwarf asked in a mischievous tone.

“You are not an apprentice blacksmith though,” Aenon stated.

“No, I’m not,” he said cryptically with a smile, but didn’t elaborate.

“Seems like I am getting the better part of the deal here,” Aenon replied honestly.

The dwarf regarded Aenon with a mysterious gaze, before pulling a wooden pipe from his inventory. He lit it up and took a long drag before blowing smoke out towards the ceiling. He had gone quiet, so Aenon waited patiently for him to speak.

“I am tired laddie. These old bones seen enough spilled blood and tears to fill a damn sea,” the dwarf finally spoke in a somber tone. “My recent customers have been nothing but backstabbing nobles, and greedy honor less mutts. It be a fresh breath of air finally seeing someone in power who has some resolve and honor for a change.”

The dwarf pointed at Aenon with his pipe, taking another drag of the stuff that emitted purple smoke. Aenon’s curiosity was piqued for sure, so he let the dwarf continue.

“That bracelet on your wrist. The little girlie made that in my shop. Said it was for someone special. It be as worthless as dirt. Seeing it on ya, not to mention the mana reinforcement, tells me more about ya than can be put into words,” the dwarf said while his soul emanated respect and appreciation.

“You can’t really put a price on things like this, master Borin,” Aenon said while looking at the bracelet fondly.

“And that be the reason, it is not you who is getting the better end of the deal. It be my honor to work for someone like ya,” the smith said with firm resolve.

“I am curious though. The kid, how do you know her?” Aenon asked.

“The cheeky brat ran all over the market each day, trying to find work,” Borin said while pulling dozens of such trinkets from his inventory. “So, I hired her. This be her work for the last few weeks. Been taking them off the shelves when she is not looking, telling her they sold out. The smile on that lassie’s face brightens my day like nothing else.”

Aenon smiled as he got the full picture. Even if he was to pay every copper he owned, this was someone he would work with wholeheartedly.

“Very well then, Master Borin. Let’s shake on it,” Aenon said. The blacksmith smiled as he extended his hand, shaking Aenon’s with a firm grip.

“Good. Now onto business. Follow me to my shop for some measurements,” the dwarf said while standing.

He led the way at a brisk pace, with Aenon following in silence. He sensed Anna and Kelly in an adjacent room, inadvertently picking up a few snippets of their conversation

“…really didn’t demand anything in return?” he heard Kelly’s disbelieving voice.

“Would I lie to my best friend, Kel? I am serious…”

Aenon tuned the voices out, focusing on where they were heading instead. The dwarf finally entered a meticulously arranged forge, his first time being in one. He had seen videos of them, but never really stepped into one. There was even an open area with a mannequin at the center. Borin placed the two daggers on a work bench and went over to gather some things from a nearby shelf.

“Here, use these daggers to show me what you got,” he said while handing two plain looking daggers to Aenon.

Aenon took them and stood before what he assumed was a training dummy. He made some swift slashes and stabs to demonstrate his skill before turning to face the blacksmith. The dwarf had a thoughtful look in his eyes as he groomed his beard in contemplation.

“Hmmm. Your skill is obviously at Savant rank. But I got a feeling you holding something back. You got any class skills that go with the daggers? Ya know, the way ya ruined the poor things on the desk,” Borin asked while folding his hands.

So Aenon infused his mana into the blades and used some more tricks he often used while fighting. He specially demonstrated the ice slashes he used to freeze the ants in place.

“Not quite. What else ya got?” Borin asked with a frown.

“The only thing I can think of would be soul attacks. But I am not sure it will affect the dummy, seeing as it is a not alive,” Aenon replied.

“You a soul mage? Why didn’t ya say so earlier?” Borin said before dashing for a locked cabinet in the back. When he returned it was Aenon’s turn to be surprised. He was holding the soul daggers that the elf wielded earlier.

“Why do you have that?” Aenon asked with concern. He didn’t suspect the dwarf, but was worried, nonetheless.

“The assistant guild head asked me to melt these things. But I think I got a better idea,” Borin said as he started measuring the four daggers on his desk.

“Isn’t it considered taboo to use those things?” Aenon asked.

“Bah. Not after I am done with them. You won’t be harvesting or damaging souls with it. But the material is perfect for what I got planned,” he dismissed Aenon’s concerns. “What do you know about your old daggers?”

“Only that they have a soul imprint of their creator, and that they have health and mana debuffs associated with their attacks,” Aenon replied with confusion. Not sure where this was going.

“Precisely. A soul imprint is hard to forge onto just any material. It be rarer than most things, and these four beauties have that material. I am gonna remove the cursed abilities of these daggers and use the material to bolster yours. If successful the effects should work on all enemies, not just goblins,” Borin said while writing down some calculations.

“Wait, you can do that?” Aenon asked with shock. But the dwarf didn’t respond, too engrossed in his work. After almost fifteen minutes he finally looked up, a deep frown on his face.

“There is a problem. These new daggers have far too many negative emotions embedded in them. I can’t just melt them to extract the material I need. Plus, even the imprint on your daggers is very strong. It will refuse to work on anything but goblins,” Borin said while thinking. “There is a way around it. But it is risky.”

“What is it?” Aenon asked. If he could upgrade his daggers, that would be amazing.

“You’ll have to help with the forging process and use your soul powers to suppress the daggers. But if you fail, or are too weak, you will be consumed by the roiling mass of negative emotions left behind by the victims and the creator,” Borin said solemnly.

Aenon considered the pros and cons of the process. If it succeeded, he would get invaluable tools for his class. But the risk too was great. The question was whether he could handle the mountain of hate and anger that was embedded in those daggers. He had sensed the number of wails and cries from the elf’s soul.

“What do you think, Bane?” he asked mentally.

“It is your call, Alpha. Nothing is without risk, but you will have us backing you,” Bane replied with resolve.

“Very well then, lets do it,” Aenon finally told Borin.

“Thought you’d say that. Heh. Can’t imagine someone who could challenge an entire city to back off from a challenge,” Borin replied with a smile. “But be warned, souls be a tricky business. Stats and Titles matter little when it comes to them.”

“I should be fine. Just tell me what you need me to do?” Aenon said with a nod.

“Come back tomorrow. I need to prepare some things,” Borin said as he started making another list in his notes.

Aenon was about to ask something, but the dwarf made a shooing motion and got down to work. So Aenon let the crafter be and headed for the exit. He walked up to where he said Anna and Kelly were and wasn’t surprised to find them immersed in more gossip about random things.

“Ahem. I believe we can leave now,” he said loudly to get their attention. The girls shrieked in alarm before turning to face him.

“Yes Lord Ashryn. Right away. Where would you like to head next,” Anna said with a formal bow, her cheeks a deep crimson for some reason.

“Back to the mansion. My work here is done, but I will need to return tomorrow,” he said as he eyed the girls suspiciously. They were both blushing for some reason, but he decided to ignore it.

The way back was much faster as Anna didn’t say a word the entire time, keeping her head straight ahead. Aenon didn’t really mind, as he preferred peace and quiet. But at the mansion’s footsteps, a familiar face greeted Aenon. And realizing he had not asked her name, Aenon flagged the jubilant kid down, and got down on one knee before her.

“I am sorry about not asking your name last time,” he said while showing a smile on his mask.

“It’s Bella,” she said with a smile. A smile that got wider when she noticed her gift on his wrist.

“It’s a pretty name, Aenon said softly. “Where are you heading, Bella?”

“To my job at the Blacksmith, sir,” she replied cheerfully.

“You don’t need to work little one. Your grandmother will be taken care of,” Aenon said kindly.

“I know. That is what Henry sir told me as well. But I like working in the forge. I will grow up to be a big strong girl in no time,” she replied with a smile.

But something was off about the smile this time. It wasn’t genuine like before. So Aenon looked deeper into the kid’s soul. And what he found made his heart clench in agony.

“How about this, want to come with me on a trip? I will also inform your boss about it, so you won’t lose your job,” Aenon said in a cheerful tone. The girl hesitated for a bit, before relenting and nodding. Aenon turned to Anna while he picked up the kid in his arms, “I will be gone for a while and may not return by tomorrow. Please inform Master Borin and the kid’s grandmother about it. I will reach out when I am back."

“Yes, Lord Ashryn,” Anna replied with some curiosity. She obviously wanted to ask more, but she held it in.

“Ready to go, Bella?” Aenon asked with a kiddish voice that surprised Anna. She had never heard her boss speak in such a tone. He placed the kid on his shoulders, and started running, making the kid squeal in excitement.

Aenon firmed his heart with resolve. He would not let another kid go down the path he was on. The darkness his soul was accustomed to, would be his to bear alone.