Chapter 26: Chiseled
TRISTAN
Garrow’s shop was full of weapons, all glowing with different colors and patterns. The old salesman kept pointing out new runes with interesting or unique properties as Tristan slowly followed him down each aisle. Upon seeing that Tristan was struggling to twist his bag through the tight spaces, the old man asked, “Maybe you’d like to leave your bag up front, or by the counter?”
Tristan wasn’t especially fond of the first idea, but the second seemed fine. He handed the big bag to the old man, who immediately grunted with the weight as he walked away. Meanwhile Tristan studied each string of runes with an investigative eye and found that they were all incredibly intricate. He knew, with his Core, he’d never be able to get them added to his weapon. Yet they were still so fascinating.
“The number of properties each blade can take depends on the surface materials, the crafter, and the types of runes being added,” the salesman said as he returned. “Tempy always tells me that any blade holding more than one major rune should be super expensive. You’ve got to account for both the materials and crafting time, obviously.”
Tristan nodded along, devouring every last thing the old man said about runes. It didn't matter that the man hadn't ever made one himself; he clearly knew way more than Tristan.
“How long does it typically take to enchant a sword like this?” he asked, pointing at a longsword with both the [Defender] and [Unbreakable] properties. He wouldn't have known it had two properties without [Identify], as all the runes were in one long string.
The old man squinted at the blade. “That project took her a full week, start to finish, but she also made the sword too. And as you can see, it has two rune sets on it, including [Unbreakable], which is our most popular rune for newer adventurers. Then there’s no worry about breaking it, no matter what it hits! Has it caught your interest, son? It's quite reasonably priced given the craftsmanship involved.”
A full week, Tristan thought, looking around at the hundreds of blades lining the walls and shelves. The shop was filled with decades of work, possibly more than a century. It made him wonder just how long they’d been in business for one person to have made them all. And just how old was the old man if his daughter was the one behind them?
“What about applying runes to a previously finished sword? Are you able to do that too?” Tristan asked.
“That would depend on the properties to be added, the quality of the weapon, and several other factors. Why, are you interested in enchanting your current blade? If you take it out of the sheathe, I could give you a quick estimate. Though it wouldn’t be binding, obviously, without a full evaluation.”
There's no way I could afford it, and I can't go to Jamal without a sword anyway. “No, I’ve done all the work for this sword myself, and I guess I’d like to keep it that way.”
“Something else in mind then?” the salesman asked, glancing at the bag.
“Maybe,” Tristan answered noncommittally. “What kinds of runes can be added to swords?”
The old man sighed. “Terminology, young man. I won’t tell you about the runes, but I can talk about the properties they grant. And though you’ll want the whole catalog of what she can do, I don’t have several days to list them all. So, how about you tell me what sorts of properties you’re interested in, eh?”
Tristan could scarcely contain his eagerness. “Maybe just the highlights for greatswords, like this one.”
One of the most interesting to Tristan was a greatsword displayed within a clear, glass-like case. The salesman explained that it was rigged in such a way that the [Sparking] property triggered repeatedly, and bolts of lightning coursed down the enormous blade's length. Tristan found it beautiful and fascinating.
[Minor Rune: Sparking] Your weapon surges with lightning, imbuing all damage with that element and applying a debuff that causes the target to take additional lightning damage on your subsequent strikes.
The old man continued, “[Sparking], [Flaming], and [Chilling] are your standard elemental-attack runes. They’re really good when you know exactly what you’re going up against. There are more than just those three, mind you, but the others aren’t among my daughter’s specialties, so you’ll not find them in our stock right now. We’d be happy to source them for you if you're so inclined.”
Tristan wondered at first if [Chilling] built up chilled stacks and caused the frozen condition like Aaric’s spells. A weapon like that might be a huge boon to the idiot. Luckily, Tristan would be saved from that conversation, as [Chilling] was nearly identical to [Sparking] just with ice replacing lightning as its element.
Throughout the course of his tour, Tristan started recognizing several of the individual runes that were repeated across multiple swords. Surprisingly, the orders and patterns of runes varied even among the swords that [Identify] said had similar properties. Apparently reordering the runes on a sword could dramatically change the enchanted ability. It also looked like the size of the blades mattered too. Some of the longest rune chains were ten symbols long per property. Tristan was not surprised that those were often the most expensive pieces in the shop.
What did take him by surprise was the notification that popped up near the end of his tour.
You have the ability to take Enchanter as a Secondary Class. Accept?
Tristan ended up dismissing the notification for now, but only after thinking on it a while. First of all, he wasn’t sure how enchanting would fit into his Path, and secondly, he had come to Rockmoor to take the swordsman Secondary. He needed to keep his priorities straight. Though it was certainly worth noting that his Path seemed to recognize what he paid close attention to.
Still, when the salesman showed him the final sword, which was kept in a locked case behind the counter, Tristan was genuinely awed. For a brief moment he looked back at his notifications, seriously reconsidering the offer of the enchanting Secondary.
In the case was a rare-quality longsword named [Blinking Rush]. It was clearly a display piece, too, as it was the only sword in the entire shop where effort had clearly been put into its appearance. Its design was all about sharp, straight lines and sharper points. The handle and both ends of the crossguard were clearly weapons of their own right, regardless of the patterned blade attached. The blade itself was etched not only with runes but with channels forming angular designs; the combination gave it the following property:
[Major Rune: Spatial Blink] Once per day, the user may relax the constraints of space temporarily, allowing short-range, self-only teleports for three seconds.
The runes making up that single property stretched across the entire length of the blade, and when Tristan checked the item tag, it said, “See sales representative for price.” He was glad the old man didn't immediately chime in this time, merely smiling politely. Tristan wasn't sure he wanted to know how expensive such a ludicrous property would be--but he could imagine himself hunched over one of his own swords, carefully tapping the incredibly complex runes into the blade. His imagination swam with all the trickery such an ability could enable. He shook his head. Those were thoughts for another time. For much later, if ever.
The old salesman finished by looping back to the entrance.
“And that's the shop! I deeply appreciate your curiosity, as it's allowed me to brush up on our products, but seeing as you're not going to buy anything today--"
“What about some forge time?” Tristan quickly asked.
The salesman's eyes narrowed. “My persistent young swordsmith, as I already explained, my daughter is busy in the forge and simply cannot be disturbed.”
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Tristan put his free hand over his heart. “Look, I promise not to ask her a single question, or even speak to her. I just want somewhere to work on a few ideas I've had, and I'll gladly pay for the time to make that happen.”
“Ah. And we're the only independent shop on the Row,” the old man said with a nod. Consideration furrowed his already-wrinkled brow. “Let me check if there's space first of all, and then we can discuss a proper price.”
The old man walked to the back of the store and through the door labeled “Garrows Only!” Tristan, meanwhile, went back to the corner of the shop where the greatswords were displayed. He appreciated that the forms of all the swords were kept simpler than normal. That focused attention on the glowing runes inscribed down the exact center of each blade, and only on the blade. Each line was precise and clean. Each rune pulsed with magic. They almost felt like art to him.
But how is the magic added? How is any of it actually done? Is it only applied after the weapon is finished?
“Ten gold,” the old man said as soon as he emerged from the back room, interrupting Tristan’s thoughts.
Tristan coughed at the steep price. He checked his coin pouch. I can afford it, barely. But I won't have much left over. He'd have to rely on Jamal's hospitality. He knew the master swordsman had agreed to lodge him, but he did not yet know the exact terms and details. “For how long?” he asked.
“An hour,” the old man said with a smile that engaged all his wrinkle lines.
Tristan’s mouth went dry, but he slowly walked over to the man. “If it’s for an hour, would you be willing to take 8?” He gripped his coin pouch tightly.
“No,” the old man replied sternly.
Tristan exhaled slowly, offering, “Nine?” But when the old man shook his head, Tristan dumped most of the contents of his pouch into the old man's hand. His grip tightened as he tried not to think about the risk he was taking.
There were only three gold coins left in his pouch.
The old man closed his hand around Tristan’s former wealth and escorted him toward the forge. At the door, he stopped and whispered, “The agreement is for one hour, which ends immediately if you bother her at all. Are we clear?”
“Yes sir,” Tristan whispered back.
“I hope you brought your own materials,” the old man said before opening the door to the warm forge beyond.
- - - - -
Tristan wasn't sure what he’d expected, but it wasn't to be completely ignored by the Garrow smith while having his every move judged by the old man.
It took him a little while to get used to the setup of this workstation. Tools weren't in the same places or even in the same groupings he was used to. The space was also a different shape, with only one forge that was on the opposite side from where Tristan was used to. The anvil was also a bit lower to the ground, requiring him to hunch slightly.
But once he got into the flow of crafting, he was easily able to ignore the woman working diligently only a few short steps away. All the minor inconveniences melted away, and Tristan found his rhythm and just worked.
He was glad he always kept his smaller Materials Bag on him, because after seeing all the runes, he’d been inspired to make a set of chisels. Even if he never tried his hand at runes, chisels would be helpful in some advanced smithing techniques anyways. He began by shaping some of his stored iron into simple, hand-length rods. The general shape was easy enough, so he made five in short order. He made each slightly different: a little sharper, or a little longer. A little thicker or a wider tip.
He was a little surprised when he didn't have to do anything extra to make them Soulbound. Merely by focusing on his intentions while shaping the metal, his Core added his soul naturally. He was left with what he felt was a great starter chisel set.
The last step was to stitch a spare scrap of leather into a suitable carrying sleeve. He'd need to pack them up and go, after all. He made sure that each chisel was stored to clearly show its length and tip but also be protected by the covering flap. Then he bound the small pouch with a strip of wrapped leather.
All in all, Tristan felt his time had been spent productively. He’d made tools that would help him create better gear in the future and he’d scratched his crafting itch. It had almost gotten so bad he would have paid to make something for anyone, even Aaric Longbloom!
Looking up for the first time in ages, Tristan was surprised to find the old man wasn’t where he’d last seen him. He might even have left the room during that time, for all Tristan knew. But now he stood right beside his daughter. They were huddled together actually, not exactly staring at him but definitely watching him. Tristan hadn't even noticed when the woman had stopped working.
“Your time ended a while ago,” the old salesman said, “but you were so absorbed with the crafting process that we apparently had to let you finish your work.” His disapproval was evident as he tossed his head toward his daughter.
“I insisted,” the woman said. “I wanted to see if you'd screw up the chisels. They look nice, by the way, but if you made them for enchanting, they won’t do what you want them to do.” She paused, biting her lip. “What exactly is Soulbound?”
For the first time, Tristan took a good long look at the other smith. She was sitting on top of a table, ignoring all the papers piled beneath her. She wore her brown hair in a short pixie cut, which moved any distractions well away from her sky blue eyes and slightly long nose. Her chin was a bit pointy, but that only added to her heart-shaped face, which Tristan found he enjoyed looking at. And her arms...
Focus, Tristan. She asked about your Core. How much do I explain? He considered his own father’s reaction, the first time he’d seen something Tristan had crafted after he’d Awakened. She’s never seen the property before and she’s curious. Maybe that’ll impress her.
He was surprised to find that he really wanted to impress her.
He found himself once again staring at her arms. She’d crossed them a while back, but that made them stand out even more. They weren't bulky like Tristan’s or his father's, but they were extremely toned. Chiseled to perfection.
As she lifted herself effortlessly off the table, Tristan was amazed by her triceps. He had to pull his attention back to the conversation. He couldn’t remember what they’d been talking about or even what he was supposed to be responding to, other than that both the smith and her father seemed to be waiting for him to speak. He scrambled to recall their conversation. Oh--Soulbound! My Core. “It’s just a property that gets added to things I make. So only I can use it. Though it comes with some perks, too. Thanks for letting me work here. I really appreciate it. Sorry for getting carried away.” He paused briefly before adding, “Oh! I also wanted to say that I was really impressed by all the runes. You do good work.”
The woman walked around her bench and spread a blanket over her workspace. “Sure, makes sense. Admittedly, I was kind of distracted once you started working. Your swing and work flow are so different from mine, even on something as simple as chisels. I appreciated seeing the different perspective, so to speak.” A wicked grin lit her face. “Do you realize you were humming practically the whole time you were working? How you expected me to get any work done is beyond me,” she teased.
Tristan blushed slightly. “Sorry, that happens sometimes,” he admitted.
“It’s tied to your rhythm, I noticed.”
Tristan liked her smile enough that he didn’t seem to mind her teasing tone. “If you think it’s a problem, I’ll happily take any tips.” He tried not to let his own grin get too big.
“No,” the old man cut in, “she's far too busy for any shop talk! Thank you, young man, but you’ve taken up quite enough of our time.” The way he emphasized the word ‘young’ and glared at the smith made Tristan wonder if he’d missed something.
“I guess I’ll just be going then,” Tristan said, not looking at the old man at all. But as he picked up his chisels and before he headed to the door, he extended his hand to the smith. “I’m Tristan, by the way."
“Temperance,” the smith said, laughing slightly, “Though you can call me Tempy. And don’t worry about my dad. He already overcharged you, so if anything I think we might owe you.” She sighed. “But he is right that I’m slammed silly right now. Too many commissions to have time for other projects. If you’re still around in a couple weeks, my queue will have opened up enough by then that we could talk shop. If you’re genuinely interested, I’d enjoy seeing your fresh perspective again.”
This time Tristan’s grin spread as wide as his face. My perspective, he thought. “I’d really like that!” Except the idea of planning anything that far out gave him pause. He had no idea what his training with Jamal would be like, including how long it would take and if he’d be allowed breaks. “I’ll definitely try to come back by then. I’m about to begin training for my first Secondary,” he tried to explain without telling her it wasn't crafting.
The woman waved her hand. “No need for explanation, Tristan. I’m sure we’ll work it out.”
The old man shook his head, standing up straight and smoothing out his shirt. “I'll escort you out now.”
“I’ll definitely try to come back when I can,” he repeated.
The woman held his gaze for a long moment, her grin soft, as she took his hand and shook it firmly. “I believe you will,” she said.
As Tristan was led out of the shop by the old man, he didn’t hear a single other thing that was said. All he heard was her name repeating.
Temperance. Tempy. He wondered what all he could learn from someone like her. I’ll be back as soon as I can, he told himself.