Pinum remained stubbornly silent as Alix walked back to Galdea. She didn’t even loosen her grip on his forearm when he dressed, which actually worked out for the best, as it left her hidden under his clothes. It shouldn’t have mattered, but knowing that she was there and sentient made him feel even more conspicuous, and the road was anything but empty.
So early in the morning that the sun had yet to fully rise above the distant mountains, compared to the lateness of the hour the day before, meant that bands of adventurers passed him on the road at a frequency that only increased the closer he came to Galdea. Luckily they paid him no attention, focussed on their jobs for the day. Merchants began to trundle past, wagons loaded with crops from outlying farms or piled high with goods from further afield.
“I’ve got a busy day, so if you aren’t going to talk, that’s fine with me,” Alix whispered under his breath when the great gates came into view, before he found himself among the mass of people looking to gain entrance to the city, the sleepy guards barely managing to get everyone into orderly lines. “If you decide you have something to say, at least wait until we are alone. I don’t want to have to do anything drastic to get you off my arm if you insist otherwise,” he warned.
There was no reply from Pinum, other than an uncomfortable tightening of the vambrace.
Once past the guards, his Guild ID card getting him swiftly past the gate, Alix headed for the Merchants Ring and found the first ore merchant on Katin’s list. The vambrace began to vibrate as soon as he stepped through the door. The sharp tang of metal filled his senses.
“What do you need?” a gruff voice called from behind a counter made of stacked metal bars, tarnishing after years of use. The man was bald, with a giant moustache. Alix felt his mouth twitch before he could hold back the grin, as the man looked like a parody of a circus strongman. Text appeared above his head reading Rode, Lv 48, Ore Merchant.
“I’m looking for Osmiridium,” Alix replied, ignoring the tugs of Pinum trying to reach out and grab the nearest stack.
“How much?”
“As much as you’ve got.”
Rode looked out the door behind him. “You sure? It doesn’t look like you have a cart and you don’t look like you have the strength to carry it yourself. No offense kid.”
“I’ll be fine. I guess I need a few kilos worth. I can collect it in batches if it proves too unwieldy.”
“A few kilos? Now I think I am the one that should be taking offense here. Don’t be wasting my time kid. Osmiridium isn’t sold by the kilo.”
“My mistake. How is it sold? I promise I’m not wasting your time, I’ve just never had to buy any before.”
“It’s sold by the cube. Each one is one inch square, and each cube weighs ten kilos. You sure you are in the right place?”
Alix silently cursed himself. He assumed a sword weighed several kilos at least and that’s how much raw materials he would need, but he needed to think more about the volume of the materials. A swords volumes worth of Osmiridium would weigh a ridiculous amount.
Does Selene’s sword weight hundreds of kilos? Alix asked the ring.
No, the metal loses weight as it’s alloyed.
What’s that voice! another presence shouted into his mind.
Pinum? Keep your voice down. That’s just the ring, don’t worry about it.
I’ve never seen that kind of metal before. I wonder what it tastes like?
I recommend you don’t try and find out, the ring replied dryly.
Will you two be quiet!
As Alix stared blankly into space during the few seconds of the inner conversation, Rode’s face grew redder and redder.
“Look kid!” Rode began to bark, but Alix quickly cut him off once he noticed the explosive look on his face.
“I’ll take everything you have.”
Rode huffed and went into the stacks. He returned a few moments later with four cubes of smooth sided, polished looking metal, and placed them on the counter. Then he repeated the trip to retrieve four more.
“This is all I’ve got. Can’t have too much of the stuff in here, what with the weight of the rest of the stock, otherwise the whole shop would collapse.”
“Thank you. Sorry for the misunderstanding. How much do I owe you?” Alix asked once the pile was stacked up.
“Ten gold per cube,” Rode replied, shocking Alix.
He had had expected the cost to be extortionate, but it was reasonable as the Osmiridium was so heavy that it didn’t have many practical uses that couldn’t be achieved with cheaper and easier to work materials. He handed over the asked for amount, and threw in a few extra coins for the annoyance he had been.
Rode slid the money into a drawer behind the counter without counting it and watched to see how Alix would handle the Osmiridium. At ten kilos a cube, he probably could have carried one fairly easily in his old life, but two might have been pushing it. He made a show of trying to lift two, then settled on one and carried it outside and around the corner, as if he had a cart waiting for him there. Then he absorbed the cube into his inventory and repeated the task until all the cubes were stored away.
Alix had similar experiences in all the other shops on Katin’s list, but he finally managed to return to the Magician’s Guild with forty cubes, weighing in at four hundred kilos. It was probably more than he would need, but he would rather have too much than too little. He was already getting tired and the Osmiridium was beginning to weigh him down.
Cylin rolled his eyes when he saw Alix return. Instead of wasting time dealing with him, Alix headed directly to Katin workshop. There he found the student mage engrossed in his work. Alix wondered how a student mage was able to have such a well provisioned workshop, complete with its own micro forge, all to himself. He guessed it had to do with the dispute with the Blacksmithing Guild. Katin was the only one left that was passionate enough to continue his work.
“Back so soon?” Katin said once he noticed Alix was standing beside him. It took him several moments, which Alix took to check out what he was working on. It looked like notes for Alix’s job. The paper contained different hypothesis and practical notes on the proper way to combine all the materials he had mentioned. “I take it you weren’t successful then,” he said, about to crumple up the paper.
“I was. I work quickly.” Suddenly Alix realised he had a problem. Katin had thought of something Alix hadn’t, and he had just read it in the student’s notes.
It was impossible for a normal person to carry forty cubes of Osmiridium like he was. He couldn’t just dump them on the floor. It would probably collapse. He also had no idea what the proper way to store Frostite was so he couldn’t just whip that out either, or the toxic Quicksilver. Katin’s notes correctly theorised that the Osmiridium’s properties would change as it alloyed with the other metals, otherwise it would be a pointless alloy to create, but that the equipment he had could only hold one hundred kilos. Until he advanced further, he didn’t have access to the grander forges and smelters within the Guild.
“Really? Where is it all then?” Katin asked, looking behind Alix for the materials.
“Ah…I didn’t bring them up here with me. It’s quite a weight. If you can show me where to deposit them, I’ll begin unloading it all and call you when I’m finished.”
Katin seemed so engrossed in his notes that he didn’t bother questioning him further.
“Alright, I need to finish these notes anyway. This is a very curious recipe you have given me and it’s taking a while to finalise the steps, but I am almost there. If you go down to the ground floor, head down the hall, then take a right and look for the room marked Autoforge Four.”
Katin returned to his writing and Alix quickly left to get set up.
Autoforge? The Magician’s Guild, from what Alix had seen and heard of it, was beginning to feel more and more like the Blacksmith’s Guild. He had no idea what an Autoforge was but it sounded like Katin was confident they could complete the job, leaving plenty of time to figure out how to actually turn the result into a sword.
Cylin glared at him as he reappeared in the entranceway. When Alix turned and headed deeper into the Guild instead of leaving, he almost made to follow him, but he couldn’t abandon his post.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
The arched hallway had many branching corridors and it turned out Katin’s instructions were overly basic. He never mentioned which right turn to take, so Alix had to try several before he came to a hallway lined with large rooms. He found Autoforge 4 and stepped inside.
Lanterns lining the walls lit themselves, illuminating the Autoforge. What looked like an oversized anvil filled the centre of the room. It had a large flat surface leading out from a central structure that had a firepit beneath what looked like a crucible with various pipes sticking out of it. Alix immediately noticed that there didn’t appear to be any ventilation in the room.
Alix quickly got to work. He deposited the Osmiridium in small piles to distribute the weight, not wanting to be held accountable for doing any damage to the floor, although it had to be strong enough to hold the weight of the monstrous Autoforge. With some scrap materials, he quickly crafted a heavy duty box to hold the Frostite shards, and a vial to hold the Quicksilver. He tried to take his time, but within only a few moments, he had everything ready and he was eager to get started. He returned to fetch Katin, and helped him carry armfuls of notes down to the Autoforge.
“What is this thing anyway?” Alix asked, pointing towards the Autoforge.
“It is called an Autoforge. I can’t tell you exactly how it works I’m afraid, Guild secrets and all that, but it is basically an all in one blacksmithing tool. Of course we don’t call it that so as not to fan the flames of the dispute with the Blacksmithing Guild any further, but it is basically a combined smelter, melter, and forge, and through the use of secret spells, it can automatically filter off any waste material created and bring out the best qualities of the base materials to create the perfect Spellbase. It has various loading mechanisms, which we are going to have to take full advantage of. But first, we have to get it started.”
Katin ignored how Alix had managed to carry four hundreds kilos of Osmiridium into the place so quickly, although as a member of the Magician’s Guild he was probably used to spells being used to simplify tasks and no longer questioned anything. Katin filled the forge with coal and lit it with a wave of his hand. Bellows built into the base automatically began to pump, but no smoke rose from the top.
“Another one of the spells,” Katin explained when he saw Alix sniffing the clean air. “It helps to keep them hidden away, and we also can’t be releasing those sorts of fumes all over the city. All of the fumes are collected and safely disposed of. Can’t risk a goblin or something crawling down a chimney to get a look can we?”
The forge continued to heat up as Katin examined the collected materials.
“Such an odd combination. What did you say this was called again?”
“I didn’t, it’s just an experiment. It might not work at all,” Alix replied, although he knew that the chances of the procedure failing were low. He just had to hope that Katin wouldn’t figure out that what they were creating was Selenite, something that no one was supposed to know how to make. Although even if word did get out, the materials weren’t exactly easy to acquire.
“Let’s get started then, the forge is hot enough to load in the Frostite now.” Katin donned a pair of heavy duty gloves and a thick apron, and then opened a panel in the side of the Autoforge that contained the giant central crucible. He pulled out another crucible, although this one was rectangular and a lot smaller than the giant one above them.
Alix lifted the box full of Frostite and carried it over to where Katin waved him over.
“How much should we use?” Alix asked.
“All of it I guess, if you don’t mind. I have never worked with Frostite before so I am unsure how it will react.”
Alix still had plenty in his inventory, and he could always easily harvest more, so he tipped the contents into the crucible and Katin quickly pushed it back into the forge, then sealed the panel shut again. “Now, we have to prepare the Osmiridium. Let’s go with eight cubes. We are going to have to mix the materials together slowly.”
They took it in turns picking up cubes from the pile, climbing the steps build into the side of the Autoforge and dropping them inside. The giant crucible within the Autoforge was glowing a deep orange as it hungrily awaited its meal of metals. The cubes fell with a loud band. By the time the eighth one was dropped in, the pile was beginning to melt.
“Frostite should be ready now,” Katin said, opening the panel and pulling out the drawer inside. The rectangular crucible was now filled with a liquid metal, but the container didn’t glow with the same deep orange of the larger one. Instead it burned with an angry dark red, the heat of the Autoforge fighting with the icy properties of the Frostite.
Katin put on what looked like a welders mask, then grabbed the vial of Quicksilver and motioned for Alix to step back. “This might splash, and you do not want to get liquid Frostite on your skin.”
Alix stepped back until he was out of the splash zone and watched as Katin, fully kitted out with protective gear, gently poured the Quicksilver out of the vial and into the rectangular crucible. The Frostite hissed and spat, but there were no dangerous gouts flying across the room, so Katin poured in more and more until the vial was empty. The crucible at first turned an even darker red, as if the Quicksilver was causing the Frostite to cool even further, but as the Autoforge continued to blast it with heat, the colour began to change from red to deep orange.
Alix heard a loud breath escape from behind Katin’s mask as he pushed the crucible back into the Autoforge and closed the panel.
“How is it looking?” Alix asked, having no idea if what had happened was a good or bad thing.
“It looks like it’s going well so far. The Quicksilver should help the Frostite to remain liquid at heat, otherwise it takes an incredible about of fuel to keep it in that state. It doesn’t like being melted and always tries hard to return to a solid. Even with the addition of Quicksilver, if I were to remove the crucible now and place it outside of the Autoforge, it would return to an icy block in only a few moments. The next step will be where we really see if this is going to work. I’ll need your help again. Stand by this lever,” Katin said, pointing out a lever that protruded from the Autoforge as he walked around to the steps and climbed up to peer into the giant crucible. On the way he grabbed a long pole.
“The Osmiridium has fully melted. Now, when I tell you, I need you to pull that lever very slowly and carefully, which will release a small amount of the liquid Frostite and Quicksilver mixture into the main crucible. Just a small amount, and then stop. Got it?”
“Sounds easy enough,” Alix replied, taking hold of the lever. At a sign from Katin, he slowly pulled down.
“Hold there,” Katin said, staring excitedly into the crucible. He lowered the pole into the crucible and began to stir the contents.
“Incredible, it looks like its working. It takes a moment to get back up to temperature, but once it does it appears the effects of the Frostite fade. Add a little more.”
Alix pressed the lever further and held it again as Katin continued to stir.
“It’s creating a huge amount of slag. I hadn’t anticipated that, but I guess that’s not the worst problem to have. Let go of the lever now, I think its time to add more Osmiridium.”
They continued like that for an hour, slowly adding cubes of Osmiridium, waiting for it to melt, then adding in another drop of the Frostite mix, then repeating again and again until all of the cubes were gone. A dial on the side of the Autoforge kept track of the weight within the crucible. Whenever a cube of Osmiridium was dropped inside, the weight would increase, but as the Frostite mix was added in, it would decrease.
“I think we are ready to pour,” Katin eventually said. They were both tired, faces sweaty and clothes dirty from the work, even with the spells cleaning the air.
“What about the gold?” Alix asked, pulling a few gold coins from his pocket.
“Ah yes, almost forgot. I still can’t figure out its purpose. In these quantities the effect will be negligible.”
Alix was of the opinion that it didn’t have a purpose, it had just been added for the aesthetic, but he wasn’t about to mess with the recipe at this stage. He handed Katin the coins and he threw them in. Katin gave the crucible one last stir and then came down the steps.
“Right, let’s see what we’ve got.” Katin lifted a cover in the large table sized anvil that protruded from the Autoforge, revealing a long trough, one end of which was connected to a pipe that led into the Autoforge. Then he pulled on another level, one of dozens that covered the thing, and after a few moments a golden stream of liquid metal poured out of the pipe and into the channel. The pit filled with the efforts of their labour, the flow stopping just as it appeared the trough would overflow. “Very curious,” Katin murmured, “From the amount of slag in the crucible, I expected to yield half this much. A very curious alloy indeed. It is a shame the dispute has put a halt to my work, I would very much like to study it further and try creating a Spellblade with it, but alas, that work will have to wait.”
Alix analysed the glowing metal and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the text Selenite. It had worked, but he felt reluctant to share the good news with Katin. He wanted to let the man know what he had accomplished, but it would bring up too many questions that might reveal who Alix was. He couldn’t stop Katin from doing anything with the recipe in the future. If he ever attempted to recreate the material, it would likely take him so long to gather all the materials that Alix would be long gone. It was unlikely Katin would ever figure out it was Selenite anyway, as there was only one other example of it in the world.
“Thank you for your help Katin, this is exactly what I was looking for. How long will it take to cool?”
“With the Autoforge it should only take a few moments.”
“Great. In that case, please that these,” Alix said, handing over a bunch of gold coins.”
“What’s this for? You don’t need to pay me,” Katin asked, but at the same time taking the offered coins.
“For taking up your time the past few days. I’d also like to ask that you keep this recipe to yourself for now.”
“If you wish. This has already given me plenty more to write about without naming the full recipe, but none of it will be useful until the dispute is over with.”
With the project complete, Katin went about shutting down the Autoforge and tidying the workshop. It didn’t take him long, and by the time he was ready to go, the Spellbase was also ready. Alix put on a bit of an act as he lifted the slab of metal, unsure of how heavy it really was with his newfound strength. He carried it with two hands, unable to absorb it into his inventory with Katin around, and made sure to grunt an appropriate amount.
Katin bade him farewell and returned to his rooms while Alix made for the exit. Before he could make it, Cylin loudly cleared his throat and drew him over to the counter, where a bill was waiting for him for use of the Guild Autoforge and Katin’s time. The bill felt like it had been inflated but Alix was in no mood to debate it. He already had what he came for so he paid the bill and left.
Once back at the Adventurer’s Guild, and with the Spellbase safely secured in his inventory, he handed in the completed job for Borrel Tonk then sat down for a drink. He got curious looks from the other adventurers, as he looked filthy from the past two days work, but he didn’t care.
As he drank, Alix thought of his next steps. He was beginning to long to return to the Darknight’s Castle, where he would have all the privacy he needed to work on the blade, but there were too many other things there that would require his attention. It wasn’t quite time to return yet. He needed the use of a blacksmiths workshop to create the sword, as there was no other option than to make it himself.
Alix thought about returning to Javin, and asking for yet another weaponsmith or blacksmith that might be convinced to let him use their workshop, but Javin was the reason he was currently in this mess in the first place. No, he would have to figure it out himself. Tomorrow he would head down to the Merchant’s District and try find a quiet place to work. Tonight, he was going to celebrate the progress he had made. He couldn’t wait to see the look on Sylvin Gyle’s face.