Ulgrin had to admit, the taste of victory was sweet.

Especially once one of the chefs had splurged and pulled out a large collection of honey-glazed sauces. It paired well with the salamander meat and turned it into a scrumptious meal.

The entire crew had turned their success into a celebration and the night passed smoothly with no further complications.

Removing his boot had uncovered quite the bruise, but it was simple enough to apply a healing salve and speed up recovery without dipping into his emergency healing supplies. It had hurt him to part with so much of his grandfather’s coin but some things demanded expense.

Now, Ulgrin awoke with expectations that the day would hold another horrifying turn of events. He was pleasantly surprised to find that the second day was uneventful. Practically boring, but he had options to relieve such things. Mainly practicing magic, but he also mingled amidst the crew.

Proving himself a battle brother had done much to improve his image in their eyes. Fighting was the best way to make friends, not that they had been particularly distant in the first place. Still, he had received the choice cuts as a reward for his participation and role in the fight.

It turned out that giant salamanders did indeed possess something similar to prime rib. Doesn’t beat out father’s cooking, but it sure as the frozen hells is up there.

Reading, performing maintenance on the ship, and sparring with Captain Seeks took most of his time up the next day.

The muscular badgerkin had approached him and offered to train together. Ulgrin had accepted and promptly regretted it. Still, it was valuable experience and certainly told him the best way to fight people larger than him. Don’t.

If that failed, he knew to rely on his superior center of mass and send them falling. Strength only mattered so much when you had your leg pulled out from under you by the hook of a polearm. He was certainly growing used to the hammer at his side. Utilizing its expanding and shrinking capabilities had become almost second nature.

One trick that he enjoyed utilizing was raising his weapon to block a strike but shrinking it at the last moment. Most people couldn’t recover their failed swings in time to avoid being harshly reprimanded. That only worked once in spars, though. You learned quickly with pain’s teachings.

Not that he expected to fight humanoid opponents, but one could never be careful. Outside of a nation’s sphere of influence things could get downright barbaric.

He’d heard many tales of piracy and vagabonds choking the trade routes.

The third day came and brought with it their first sign of civilization. Another boat was traveling down the channel in the direction they were heading. After a tense moment of wariness it was revealed to be another tradeship. Ulgrin watched as Captain Seeks negotiated with his fellow captain.

“Yes, it seems there have been many collapses.” Seeks said, speaking with the Orcin woman across from him. Identifiable as a Captain by her fashionable hat, she rivaled the badgerkin in strength. Prodigious size and large porcine tusks were their kind’s staple features. That and a varying shade of oddly green skin. Then again, some Dunvi possessed skin the color of types of stones so who was he to judge? Green was odd though.

“So it is.” She replied, adjusting the wide-brimmed cap. Ulgrin had found that odd about the badger. He had no hat! Perhaps it was a cultural difference? In every tale he’d read they always wore hats. “Thank you for the information. Our destination is Dal’bur Hold but we take that path towards it. I am Hrokla. May the waters bring you to safe shores.”

“And I am Seeks-Shelter-Below-Stone. May the winds bring you fortune.” He reached behind him and held out a small gemstone. An amethyst, Ulgrin could see. Nodding, Hrokla responded in kind and offered a small bolt of silk. The two examined each other’s gifts before nodding and accepting. Trader rituals were strange.

Even his appraising eye could see both gifts were of roughly equal value. Was that the point?

“Shall we trade?” She asked, eyes suddenly gaining a spark of competition.

“We shall.” Seeks replied, his lips curling up in a grin that exposed sharp teeth.

Ulgrin could only retreat in the face of the upcoming battle, one he was ill-suited for. Offers were let loose like hails of arrows, and counters liberally used. The life of a merchant was not for him, but he sat in awe as they bickered and grumbled. Masters at their craft.

Casualties occurred on both sides in the form of sailors scrambling to frantically fulfill their Captain’s orders. I’d call it a bloodbath, but I’ve seen one of those already.

Eventually the engagement came to a standstill and neither side was left the victor. A draw, it seemed. Still, it left the two Captains satisfied about their duel. Even if it left some of the crews exhausted and reeling.

After an exchange of goods, the two ships undocked from one another and they all watched as the ship paddled down the river. They were left alone once more and the current guided them along through silent caverns. Ulgrin saw that the goods exchanged were seemingly random to his untrained eyes but Seeks told him elsewise.

“The traditions of traders are not without reason,” he said, rubbing his furry chin. “Hrokla’s goods are from different regions in the realm. While I will not be selling them in the capital, I have acquired them far cheaper than if I had contacted one of the major shipping companies. Likewise, she has received some of my difficult to acquire goods and will sell them elsewhere. Silks from the Eventime Empire will interest a buyer, provided one possesses a brass tongue.”

“Doesn’t the Stoneborn produce their own? I’ve heard spidersilk is our main source.” Ulgrin asked.

“Yes, but this is from a species of giant moth. It has different properties. While that may mean little to laymen, a tailor will be extremely excited to try new materials. That is the basis of economics. One takes goods from one region and sells them elsewhere that has a demand. It would make little sense for me to purchase these silks in Eventide and sell them a town over, no?”

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“I suppose.” He supposed the math added up. “Is that a normal occurrence? Just swap goods with one another despite the fact that you could get a much higher profit by holding onto it?”

Seeks shrugged. “That attitude is popular amongst the guilds or shipping companies. For us smaller traders this is worthwhile. Both of us still make good profit in the end and the lifeblood of trade is made to flow. That, and it is more exciting. A good challenge is best met head-on.” He grinned at Ulgrin and patted the young dwarf on the shoulder. “Now, we will be arriving at the Mithral Halls soon.”

Ulgrin took a deep breath and returned to his quarters to gather his things. This was it. His first step towards the future.

Activity surged in the next few hours. Travel via the tunnels here was dense. Vunverdern served as a hub between most of the cities of the Collective and it showed. There was even traffic!

He was amused to find these large boats getting stuck behind one another and acting the exact same as if two wagons had come to a head. Harsh vitriol was said and phlegm sprayed as they watched a pileup in action. Eventually, however, someone showed up to put a stop to this nonsense.

A sea-drake swam through the tunnel’s water at speed. Its sleek cerulean scales glittered in the torchlight and showed this was its domain. Riding atop it was an armored form, a dwarf wearing gold-adorned chainmail. Upon second glance, Ulgrin could see the sparkling blue glint of mithral.

Beautiful to his eyes.

“Break it up ye bastards!” The rider spoke, announcing himself. “Under my command as a member of the Depth Guard I order you to stop this.” A hand went to halberd holstered in the creature’s saddle. “Stop being idiots. Follow the rules! Keep to the right and left sides of the passageway!”

Ulgrin was surprised to see such an important member of the military being used for… a traffic altercation? Then again, he supposed keeping the rivers clear of any obstacles was of deathly importance in a city so reliant on trade.

Eventually the two boats were moved and their passage continued.

Arriving at the Mithral Halls of Vunverdern took his breath away.

Their ship traveled through a massively carved channel. The network of rivers in this area had been cut away to form a network of sorts that all connected to a central chamber.

Originally a cavern, the ginormous area had been entirely smoothed. Entirely formed out of gypsum, the slightly translucent material lent an almost etheric look to the halls. Light reflected off thousands of lights and filled the entire space with visibility. And what a huge space it was.

Shaped like a bowl, the Halls curved outwards and upwards at a gentle incline. Their channel guided them into the center where an entire armada of ships rested. Hundreds of ships filled the artificial lake and docked at its shores. Buildings and houses circled the lake, rising in layers over one another. Each street was joined by staircases. Some quarters were larger than others, carved directly into the stone and forming strange indents in the bowl-shape.

Not only that, but he could see terrace farms dotting the sides of the Mithral Halls. Large mushroom stalks towered over houses and grew rapidly in such an environment.

At the center of the lake lay a large fortress made entirely of granite. It must have taken generations to ship so much of it here. Not only that, he could see that threads of mithral had been interwoven into the stone. He surmised that blocks had been carved separately and joined using magic, the metal providing a significant amount of extra defense.

Not that the practically opulent castle had ever been attacked. Who would even try?

Their captain shouted orders as the Whirligig pulled into port. Finding a spot to anchor was difficult, but Seeks seemed to have a deal with the local harbormaster.

His grandfather had spoken fondly of the Mithral Halls and now Ulgrin knew how right those words were. It was a true crucible, a mixture of alloys melting together. Despite the clashing architecture in places, Ulgrin felt it all came together to form a wonderful city. Certainly bigger than his tiny home!

At this point Ulgrin’s neck was starting to strain from how much he was craning it to look around. Part of him wondered if climbing so many staircases would get old at some point. Then he saw the networks of minecarts and trains. Portions of the rails had been built precariously over the city, crisscrossing and weaving with one another.

His inner adventurer exclaimed in glee. So much to do! So much to see! It was almost a tragedy that he could only stay here for so long. Seeks had told him the price of room and board and he had almost cried. Highway robbery! Absolutely criminal to make someone pay that much for a dingy room.

Expensive was the nature of this place. So much coin floated through it that his city’s contribution was but an afterthought in someone’s ledger.

Looking back to the center of the lake, Ulgrin saw that he had missed one important detail about the castle. A tower rose from its center. It went all the way up to the roof of the cavern where… another castle had been built in reverse, hanging from the ceiling! Now that sounded like overkill.

He jumped as a hand was laid upon his shoulder. “Calm yourself, Dunvi. This city can be overwhelming for newcomers.” Seeks said, staring him down. “Take it one brick at a time. Now, I believe this is where we part ways.” He closed his eyes for a moment and smiled. “It was a pleasure fighting alongside you, Ulgrin.”

Nodding in turn, the dwarf held out his hand. “Likewise! Thank you for taking me here. Perhaps I’ll see you again when I return to Dun’Kagoth?” That would be good.

“Perhaps.” He reached out and grabbed a small crate. “One gift, though. Careful, it is full of glass. Containers.” Ulgrin raised an eyebrow. “We harvested the hearts of the salamanders. Their alchemical value is high. You deserve the spoils from your kills.”

“Ah.” He paused, joy filling him at this. This meant his money-pouch wouldn’t be quite so empty by the time he left! “Thank you very much, Captain. May the waters bring you to safer shores and might the earth’s bosom shelter you.” He mimicked the earlier phrase and added one of his people’s own traditions.

“May the winds bring you fortune, Ulgrin Hoofhome.” He shook the dwarf’s hand and patted him on the shoulder. “I suggest you take a visit to the Alchemist’s Guild. After that, perhaps a tavern? Most of them are too rich for our blood, but I know several in that quarter,” he gestured to one of the lower sections of the city. “Try heading to the Dripstone Delve. It has fair prices and good food.”

Nodding, Ulgrin grasped the crate tightly and took his first steps into the city. The docks were crowded and filled with sailors.

It was a bit of a struggle to push his way past the crowds, but he arrived at the city proper. People of all ancestries walked the streets. Some tall, some small, and some in between.

He even managed to spot a Dragon. The carriage-sized creature traveled down the center of the road and people made sure to make space. Their kind was an enigma. From what he had read, the oldest had been born with the creation of this world. They watched, listened, learned.

Knowledge was their greatest hunger. Rarely did they intervene in mortal affairs, preferring to watch. Some guided humanoids, others hoarded information and refused to share. They differed from one another as much a rainbow had so many colors. With the Shattering, many had fallen. Their race was in decline. Fading. So much had been lost.

This one possessed scales of a dark green, and almost lazily moved through the streets in their snake-like demeanor. Even from far away he could sense a vast potential of magic. Energy coursed through it, almost blinding when he focused his sight into the arcane. He turned away before his eyes began to hurt and moved along.

Moving through the streets was a bit labyrinthine. Not every avenue connected. This place was a nightmare in terms of structural engineering. No doubt architects had come to this place and promptly ran away. So many centuries of building had turned it into a bit of a mess if he was being honest.

That added to the charm in his opinion.

He knew he had arrived at an industrial section of the city by the smell in the air. A caustic mix of gasses. Primarily the result of smithing, but also alchemical mixtures. Ulgrin had noted this city was far less smelly than he would have anticipated, but he noticed large vents carved in the roof of the cavern. Glowing sigils pulled air in great quantities and pushed it the same.

Arriving at the Alchemist’s Guild, he stared at the scorch-marked rows of buildings. Not a yard of space was untouched in this area. Soot seemed to cover the place and served to replace paint.

Walking into their main building, he was hit by a noxious smell. The front seemed to act as a place to arrange business, with many bickering folks seated at tables and discussing with one another. He took five steps forwards and into the building, seeking a nearby desk.

Suddenly a voice called out. “Watch out!” Then an explosion filled the air. He had enough time to curse this hellish place before everything went black.

John Cliffhanger once said, 'Yes. Now we shall...' Those words inspire me to this day.

Lexicon of Words and Terms Used:

Eventide Empire - One of the physically largest nations, the Eventide Empire lacks the population to properly exploit its land. A fairly warm country, with most of its land being harsh badlands and canyons. Rich in mineral wealth.

Mithral - A metallic mineral of some rarity. Physically stronger than steel, but a fraction of the weight. Popular for mageknights, but hellishly expensive to purchase a full set of armor.

Guilds - The economy under the Stoneborn Collective is a dense network of connections. Various 'Guilds' have been formed around professions and allow the layman to have some influence upon the Council. They gather their power together to push out rivals. Joining one is mostly positive, but not all have the pacts necessary to ensure a simple worker remains fairly treated.

Alchemy - The art and science of combining magically treated materials to create various effects. Not quite spellcasting but still quite magical. Requires aetherically charged ingredients as well as mundane ones.