The next morning saw Thadrick gathering with an extra-large group in the mining hall. There were ten of them in total, but only seven were miners. The other three were guards that would be watching their backs.

  The plan was that four of the miners would make a trip to the relatively safe titanium deposit with one of the guards. The other three miners, including Thadrick and Bodvar, would descend to the deepest mine with the other two guards as an escort. There they would try and mine some of the extremely valuable Fire Steel.

  It was a silvery metal that had a high durability, but low melting point. In powdered form it was highly flammable too. Its real value was that it was great as a material for enchanting, and even without magical enhancement it could be used to make high quality weapons.

  That area of the mines was normally off limits, even before the arrival of the kobold threat. So far under the mountain, there were some deadly threats. Usually, it was only harvested when the king sent special guardsmen to guarantee the miners’ safety. This group was willing to take the risk as they were all veterans of many engagements. None were adventurers, but Bodvar and the other miner Bavona, had two quartz classes, and the guards had both reached opal in at least one of their classes. Thadrick was actually the weakest of the group.

  The two groups set off together. It wasn’t until they’d been in the mines for about an hour that they separated. Thadrick’s group said goodbye to the others and took the path heading farther down. Since they were all dwarves, they wouldn’t need torches or glow stones on their trip.

  They did encounter a group of six kobolds at one point, proving that their new enemy was not staying idle. However, the five-person party had no trouble cutting them down before any could escape and report their location.

  For four hours they descended. It was a far shorter trip than the one to the kobolds, but it was at a steep angle almost the entire time. At these depths you could feel the enormous weight of the mountain pressing in on you. The miners were more used to the feeling, but the guards were left feeling uneasy. Finally, they arrived at the section leading to the fire steel vein.

  Bavona took the lead, since she was the only one who had actually been here before. Another thirty minutes saw them standing before a wall, with almost glowing orange deposits in front of them. It was time to work.

  The tunnel here was narrow, only a couple of meters across, barely room enough to swing your pick. The two guardsmen set up on either side of the three miners, watching for any danger. Thadrick took position in the middle, and with a glance to his neighbors they started to carve into the rock.

  If this was something like iron or silver, they wouldn’t need to work long to gather everything they would need. However, the fire steel was actually locked inside of a crystal and it would have to be heavily processed to remove the ore they wanted. This meant they would have to collect a lot. They also planned on gathering almost three times as much as they needed.

  Partly it was greed, while they were down there they might as well get a bunch. It was also because they would need a lot of money to pay for later parts of the plan and to cover the ‘bribe’ they had paid Kespar for the help of his guards.

  After an hour they had made a lot of progress. If they could maintain this pace they would be finished in another five or six. Bad luck for them, it was only another twenty minutes before the first threat found them.

  It was a flame salamander, they were common around deposits rich in fire steel. It was a level ten, rare creature, and in addition to being almost as big as a dog, and twice as long, they were covered in bright blue fire.

  Knowing this was a likely enemy they would face, the guards had come prepared. They each had a large crossbow and special bolts that were designed specifically to use against this foe. Even with these preparations, this beast was not a pushover. It would take several shots from both crossbows to bring it down.

  Bodvar had both a guardian and fighter class, so he was assigned as their tank. His only weapon was a large tower shield. It was taller than he was and had a nasty twenty-centimeter spike in the front. His job was to keep the salamander occupied while the crossbows reloaded, then fall back so they could take another shot. The shield was painted with non-flammable materials to try and resist the intense flames.

  The first attack went according to plan, and the salamander was killed after only a few minutes. One of the guards set about harvesting the body while they resumed mining. The rapidly cooling body was too big to put into one of their storage items. It was a rule that if you couldn’t lift it, you couldn’t get it in your storage. He was forced to cut it apart here and hurried through the process because they all knew that after the first attack, more were soon to follow.

  And so it was that they faced their second attack not ten minutes later. These were a nasty type of deep dwelling goblin. A group of normal goblins wouldn’t have been a problem for either guard on their own, but these were a much more dangerous hybrid.

  At a hundred and fifty centimeters they were taller than the dwarves, and they had strong muscles as well. They were also more intelligent than their brethren, which wasn’t saying much, but were also tenacious fighters. The only saving grace was that their craftsmanship was still garbage. They wore leather armor, but it could barely be called that. There were large gaps where the pieces were separating from each other, and it wasn’t very thick. They also favored bone weapons, often simple clubs, but sometimes they had sharpened them into small spears or even large daggers.

  The group that attacked them consisted of eleven goblins. Bodvar was once again assigned as a tank, but Thadrick was also there to support him. This time their guardian had a smaller shield, so he could also wield his hammer. Bavona was a hunter-rogue hybrid and used a spear.

  The guards were set up in the back still and used their crossbows to whittle down the numbers. Bodvar took the brunt of the assault, with Thadrick next to and slightly behind him. His purpose was to protect Bodvar’s non-shield side. He never even tried to extend himself to deliver a powerful blow. Defense was his game.

  Offense was why Bavona was there. Her spear shot past the two of them and stabbed into the attacking goblins. None of the wounds were lethal on their own, but three or four holes would quickly lead to the creature bleeding out and collapsing. Between her spear and the powerful crossbows, they took them down in less than ten minutes. Their smaller bodies were tossed into storage and a special powder was sprinkled over all of the blood.

  The biggest danger from these early attacks was that the noise or smell of blood would attract more dangerous foes. There was nothing they could do about the noise, especially since they were also mining, but the powder they brought should help cover the scent from the blood left on the floor.

  Thadrick and his colleagues once again tore into the deposit. The sooner they got what they needed, the sooner they could leave. Blow after blow rang out, and rock and crystal were sent flying.

  For the next two hours they worked while occasionally fending off another attack. So far it was all things they were prepared for, but their nerves were starting to get the best of them. There were some enemies they knew they weren’t up for facing, and every time the guards announced another danger they feared what it could be.

  They had almost gotten enough ore for their primary mission, but without enough to pay for everything, when they were attacked by their first true test. Two Ember Knights came down the tunnel and the guard on that side immediately called for help. This was a fight they were not looking forward to.

  Ember Knights are actually a form of undead. They weren’t sure where they came from, but they occasionally appeared once you reached a certain depth underground. They wore plate armor and carried bastard swords which they usually wielded with both hands. Under the armor they were merely skeletons, but the bones were incredibly strong and they were actually skilled combatants. To make matters worse, their armor and sword were incredibly hot, to the point that touching it would instantly burn your skin. Even letting them get close could singe the hair off your arms.

  If you had the proper class build and weapons, they weren’t all that much more difficult to deal with than the salamanders, but Thadrick’s team didn’t have the right build. Against a skeleton, your best bet was to break the bones with heavy weapons like hammers and axes. But the plate armor would spread out a lot of the force, reducing the effectiveness of simple blunt weapons.

  This meant Thadrick and one of the guards were the only ones who could effectively deal damage, since they both used large battleaxes. That was fine for the guard who also had a dexterity class and an opal strength class, but Thadrick was at a severe disadvantage.

  The only thing that saved them was that the tunnel was so narrow. Both the bastard swords and the axes needed a lot of room to swing, and it meant that only one combatant could hold the line at a time. Thadrick stood in the back while the front guard took on one of the knights. While an axe is a great weapon against their body and armor, it wasn’t a great match against their swords.

  Luckily Bavona was still there with her spear. She couldn’t do much in terms of damage, but she could use her reach to deflect some of its attacks. It was a weird sight, watching her flimsy looking spear flicker out and smash into the powerful swings of the undead, and her spear soon had a collection of charred divots. It was enough, though, the guard’s axe finally found its mark and tore through the chestplate of the first knight and shattered its spine. Its body lost its motive energy and it collapsed to the ground.

  Unfortunately, in striking so deeply into the skeleton, it brought the guards hands too close to its armor and his skin started to bubble. He managed to hold onto his axe, but he was in no shape to fight. This meant Thadrick had to deal with the other one.

  It was immediately obvious that he was outclassed. It was all he could do to block the first two swings of his opponent. Alan might have been able to nimbly dodge out of the way, but his compact body wasn’t made for that. Luckily, he did have much better armor than his friend.

  The next time the knight attacked, Bavona was able to slightly deflect its blow. It was still going to hit him, but only a glancing blow. Instead of blocking he chose to accept the hit and to retaliate with one of his own. Even as the sword was glancing off his shoulder pad, his axe was cutting through one of the skeletons arms. The exceedingly sharp axe cut through the metal gauntlet with ease and then separated the knight’s forearm.

  It wasn’t a crippling blow since it could still wield the sword with one hand, but it would definitely slow it down. It still was stronger and faster than him, but it was a closer fight now. Bavona continued to try and help, but her stamina was rapidly depleting, and soon he would be on his own. Thadrick was getting desperate when he heard a call from behind him.

  He stepped to the side as Bodvar came barreling through with his spiked tower shield. The spike wasn’t a real danger to the bony knight, but it wasn’t meant to be. Bodvar had taken a page out of Alan’s last fight and was simply trying to bash the enemy away.

  There was a sizzle of burning flesh as prolonged contact with the armor caused the shield to heat up as well. The knight was forced back several steps before its boot caught on a rock and they both dropped. Bodvar rolled off with his shield as Thadrick stepped up and started chopping into it like his life depended on it, which it did. After the fifth blow the knight was in pieces but his adrenaline kept him going.

  Bavona came up behind him and put a restraining hand on his shoulder. He finally calmed down enough to offer his friend a hand up. They left the bodies where they were. The armor was made of a valuable type of metal, but it would stay hot for hours still, and it was cursed. Anyone living who tried to pick it up would regret it. Since there wasn’t any blood or meat to attract more enemies, it wasn’t really a problem anyway.

  Reaching into his storage, Thadrick pulled out the weak healing potions Alan had given him. Taking only one for himself to deal with his bruised shoulder, he passed a couple to the guard with the burned hands and to Bodvar. They both drank them gratefully, but Thadrick hesitated as he thought of the powdered rock and monster flesh he was about to drink. He finally decided it was better than swinging a pick with a bad shoulder and downed the potion.

  For the next two hours they didn’t completely stop mining for even a moment. As various monsters came at them, the guards tried to handle them on their own. This allowed them to finish their task faster, but it also meant the guards had to take more risks. They felt it was worth it if they could get out of here sooner. The Ember Knights had been worrisome, but they still weren’t considered one of the true dangers down here.

  There was the occasional fight where one or two of the miners would have to help out, but anyone not fighting was swinging their pick. This allowed them to collect just about enough to cover their expenses, and now anything more would be profit. It had been quiet for the last twenty minutes so they were actually considering continuing.

  A rasping noise soon changed their mind. They didn’t notice it at first, but during a lull when all three miners were collecting what they had harvested, one of the guards finally heard it. He told everyone to be quiet and soon they all could hear it. Most of them were unsure what it was, but Bavona turned white and told them to hurry up and collect everything they could.

  The guard who was closest to the noise picked his way past the dead knights’ corpses and took a glimpse down the tunnel. He turned and came running back, hopping over the cursed armor in his haste.

  “Time to go, run, run, run!”

  That was enough for the miners who grabbed the closest chunk or crystalline ore and turned to run back. They rushed past the other guard who was trying to ask the first guard what it was. He didn’t bother answering as he ran past.

  Around the curve of the tunnel, perhaps thirty meters away, came one of the terrors of the deep. Most of its body was hidden. All that the last guard could see was teeth, hundreds of teeth in row after row, spiraling deep into its throat. Its mouth took up the entire tunnel and the rasping noise was its scales scraping against the rock as it slithered along.

  It was a Deep Rock Worm and it looked to be a large one. They had no way of knowing, but in addition to taking up the whole tunnel, it stretched another seventy meters back. Despite their incredible size, they could fly through the tunnels, and were even responsible for making many of them. It paused briefly when it encountered the two cursed corpses, but it swallowed them down like everything else and kept coming.

  The second guard was already running by then and the whole group set a new record in making it back to camp. The worm wouldn’t pass above a certain depth, but even after it turned back they kept running. They wanted out of those suddenly cramped seeming tunnels as soon as possible.

  By the time they returned they had been gone for almost a day. The titanium group had already returned and they reported a successful haul. Memories of those relentless teeth following them for over thirty minutes made Thatdrick wish he had taken the easier job. The ore they had collected was already being refined and by morning should be available as ingots.

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  The fire steel they turned in was tricky to process, it involved some chemicals and a lightning mage to extract the metal from the rest of the crystal. That was actually why there was a mage in the camp. Dwarves didn’t usually lean toward the magical arts, although sometimes that was the class you were given, but they needed a mage who could handle electricity to process some of the ore they mined. He was a diamond level wizard, and was skilled enough with his mana handling that he could utilize lightning mana.

  The mining guild was in charge of processing what they gathered, and the miners could then take payment in gold or ingots, minus a fee. Thadricks group asked for both. They needed about five ingots of the fire steel, but they had harvested enough raw crystal for at least eleven. The other six the guild would keep and instead they would get a nice bag of gold coins.

  Most of the conspiracy left to get a drink. Thadrick and Bodvar had another task before morning. They hadn’t wanted to ask her until they knew they could deliver/ Now the materials were here and being processed, it was time to see the blacksmith. Being a mining camp, there were several to choose from. However, if you wanted a quality weapon, made from high-end materials, there was only one choice.

  Upon reaching her smithy, they initially had to wait in the front. She had recently taken on a new apprentice and he refused to interrupt his master to announce them. Luckily it was only a few minutes before one of the older assistants came into the client area and he immediately let them through. It paid to sleep with the boss.

  Helge, the blacksmith in question, was finishing up on a sword blade when they came back. He and Bodvar knew better than to interrupt her, so they watched quietly as she worked. Thadrick had to admit that she was impressive to look at as she lifted the hammer and brought it down time and again. She almost seemed to glow with an intensity as she worked. Too bad she wasn’t taller. Her biceps strained with the heavy weight, but her strikes were sure and regular.

  After about five minutes she moved it near, but not into, the coals to allow it to cool gradually. She smiled as she looked up and saw Bodvar. She was sweating from working in the heat, but Bodvar didn’t seem to mind as she hugged him and picked him up in the air, twirling him around. The kiss she gave him left him breathless as well.

  “Boddi! It’s always so nice to see you babe. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

  He blushed as she set him down. “A few of us came up with an idea and we need your help.”

  Thadrick watched the couple as Bodvar explained what they needed. He may seem older to humans, but at just over a hundred years old, he was barely considered old enough to be out on his own. In all that time he hadn’t ever really had someone special to him, and he sometimes grew melancholy watching others.

  Bodvar and Helge were still in the middle stages of courtship. She was a bit older, but they had only been together for a handful of years, not nearly long enough to start talking about marriage. While they had started dating that recently, they had been friends for far longer. That was actually how Thadrick got his beautiful axe. He had still needed to pay full price, but such a talented smith wouldn’t usually even make an item for a no name like him.

  So, the brilliant idea Thadrick had come up with was to get Alan a real weapon. To be fair, he was deadly with his knives, and he could hold his own, at least briefly, with a sword. However, that effectiveness was all thanks to Alan’s skill. With a proper weapon to utilize those skills with, he could become a true monster.

  He had seen his friend fight in a number of encounters and knew that he actually used a variety of weapons. He had seen knives, swords, a shield, and even a huge caveman looking club. Alan obviously was an adventurer, with a constitution and probably strength or dexterity class, as well as an intelligence class with all the fire he was throwing around. He had also seen him healing people so he must have a wisdom class as well. He needed a weapon that was both powerful and dynamic. Bodvar explained the basics of what they needed, and when Helge heard who it would be for, she became very excited.

  “Is that the human who helped bring you home to me?” she asked.

  This is where Thadrick took over. “He is, and we all wanted to do something to thank him. He’s not even from around here and yet he was willing to go down there to try and save all those people. I hope to give him something that will not only aid him in his travels, but also be a reminder of all of us who are here because of him,” he finished breathlessly. He didn’t like being the center of attention for all the people in the forge.

  They settled on the type of weapon after they spent some time explaining how Alan fought. It ended up being more a description of how he didn’t fight. That human was nothing if not adaptable. After deciding on a shape he also told her that he was hoping she could make it magical.

  There were several ways to create a magical weapon, with most of those falling into two categories. You could make an already existing weapon magical using methods like engraving, enchanting, or socketing enchanted gemstones, or you could infuse the magic into the crafting process itself. The more powerful magical effects were usually done post-forging, but a weapon that was magical from the start usually ended up with better enhancements afterwards.

  They didn’t have access to anyone with the skills to enhance it after the fact, but Helge had been known to create some special pieces. She didn’t have a magical class herself, but by using the proper ingredients she could imbue bonuses into the item. The problem was, magical forging components were not only expensive, they were rare. She didn’t have anything to use at the moment. Luckily, Alan himself had provided the answer.

  Thadrick had remarked on the different glowing stones Alan had while they were scouting their way to the kobold city. It was unusual to have one magical stone, let alone several different ones, especially with the seemingly same effect. He hadn’t told Thadrick where he got them from, but he did let him know that he had quite a lot of them.

  He also must have felt bad about dragging the reluctant Thadrick into the mines because he gave him some. Originally, he gave him a glowing stone and another that he said was simply mana-infused. Then he took out a third that was warm, almost hot, to the touch. It could get cold in the deep shafts sometimes and Thadrick had remarked on how nice it would be to have something like this. Alan took back the glowing stone and gave him another of the fire enchanted rocks.

  He now took them out of his pouch and passed them over to Helge. She had a skill that let her sense the usefulness of items for her crafting, and her mouth opened wide enough that a goblin could have jumped in. Apparently these would do. She also shared a few other items they would need. They wouldn’t have the raw materials for the weapon until the next day anyway, so Thadrick left Bodvar there and made his way around town.

  A stop at the mining guild saw him pick up the gold from the extra ingots they didn’t need. Then he made his way to Kespar’s house, not the HQ, and he left him with a good chunk of the gold to cover the guards who had defended them. It was fairly late at night at this point, so none of the shops he needed would be open. However, he didn’t want to see Alan until their plan was complete. He knew himself well enough to know he would spoil the surprise otherwise. Without anything else to do, he headed over to the training yard for the guards.

  Technically anyone could use the area, but almost no one took advantage of it. Something about his recent experiences, though, had him itching to swing his axe around. When he got there it was fairly empty, there weren’t many guards even. It was late for the day shift to still be working out, and most on the night crew were still patrolling. It would fill up more in the morning as people got some work in before starting, or after just ending, their shift.

  The training dummies were actually bags hanging down from poles. They used the hide of some of the more durable mountain creatures and a special curing process to make them very resistant to cutting. Thadrick worked for almost an hour, perfecting his stance and swing.

  He began by simply standing in front of the dummy, positioning his feet just so. Then he shifted his grip around and practiced adjusting his hands, until he could return to the proper position almost naturally. Finally, he took his first swing.

  Then he reset and did it all again, trying to make sure the axe blade caught the bag at just the right angle, with just the right amount of force. Practicing the flow of combat, and moving from one combination to the next was important. It was also important to force the basics of combat to become natural to his body. He had been practicing his axework for half his life, and with this axe in particular for years. But there was no such thing as too much practice. When moving his axe and feet were as natural as breathing or stroking his beard, then maybe he would stop.

  Even though it didn’t seem like he was moving much, it really drained his stanima. The axe itself wasn’t light, but the control he was using made it seem so much heavier. He sat off to the side and had a drink from his waterskin while taking his break. Thadrick was almost ready to get back and work on the fast-paced combinations when Alan and Cassidy came in.

  They didn’t notice him at first, so Thadrick hung back and watched what they were doing. He had never mentioned this place to Alan, so Cassidy must have told him about it. For the first little bit, Alan was practicing with his various weapons. First was that single edged long knife of his, then his sword followed by his large club.

  That almost caused Thadrick to laugh. The other weapons he was perfectly capable of using one-handed, you couldn’t even tell he was missing the other. But that club was way too big for the slightly muscular, but still thin, human. As he watched, however, he was impressed with how well he handled it. It wasn’t all brute strength, either. It was obviously a little too heavy, but he made up for it with a high dexterity as well. Just how many classes did this guy have?

  After Alan practiced for a while, he passed his shorter knife over to Cassidy. It was now her turn to practice on the dummy. All children in the Network get some martial training, in the hope that one day they might earn a class or even become an adventurer. However, it was clear she had never done more than the basics.

  He watched as Alan gave her instruction and helped with her form. He seemed careful to never touch her, other than helping to adjust her grip once. He must have been a good instructor, however, because even Thadrick could tell how much better she was doing by the end, and knives were not a weapon he used much.

  He thought he had avoided detection, but after Cassidy finished a good set on one of the dummies, Alan turned and looked right at him. Did he have a perception class as well? Knowing the jig was up, he made his way over to the pair.

  Alan was the first to speak, “hey Thadrick, I thought you were going to be away for a while. I didn’t run you out of your house, did I?”

  “No friend, I ended up getting back earlier than expected and I didn’t want to wake ya. So I figured this would be a good time to get a workout in.”

  Cassidy seemed content to hang to the side while they walked. “Oh, well, we ended up working later than expected and my mind wasn’t ready for sleep. When Cassidy mentioned the training area, I thought it would be a good idea to check it out.”

  “Ya seemed just fine swinging those things around with the one hand.” Thadrick observed.

  “Yeah, but my balance was a little off at first, and I miss having something in my other hand to use as well. Hopefully I won’t have to fight any goat hordes any time soon.”

  Did he say goats? “Hmmm…about that…” Dammit, this is why he didn’t want to see Alan before it was done. Thadrick had never really been able to keep a surprise secret his whole life. It wasn’t that he was a gossip or anything, he just wanted to share his excitement with others.

  He ended up telling the whole story to Alan while they stood there. His friend oohed and aahed at all the right places, and even Cassidy chimed in from time to time. When he learned that they were trying to make him a new weapon, the boy got very excited. Thadrick didn’t tell him what the weapon was, but he did share that he had given Helge the enchanted stones.

  And so it was that as the lights were starting to come back on around town, he found himself leading the two humans to Helge’s shop. They made a few stops on the way to pick up the other items she had required. The blacksmith wasn’t there when they arrived, only a couple of apprentices were present, puttering around, getting the forges going for the day. So they sat and waited. Well, Cassidy and Thadrick waited.

  Alan was fascinated by the smithy. He followed the apprentices around as they stoked the burgeoning forges and set the tools out by the anvils. He didn’t ask many questions, but Thadrick was still surprised they didn’t push him out. Smiths, even baby ones, were particular about nosy people. Something about Alan, though, had them smiling and eager to show off.

  Thadrick hadn’t thought about it while his friend was recovering, but he hadn’t noticed his Presence recently. Now that something had excited him, he was starting to catch a hint of it again. It must be influenced somehow by his emotions.

  Unlike her assistants, Helge was not smiling when she arrived and found a stranger touching one of her precious hammers. Once Thadrick managed to introduce her to Alan, she calmed down immensely and even took her hands off of his throat. Thadrick made note to never touch Helge’s tools.

  After she realized who he was, her hands went back around him, but this time for a hug. There might have been a little blubbering when she thanked him for bringing her Boddi back to her, but Thadrick was too polite to notice.

  Alan expressed an interest in how she was going to forge the weapon, and after she explained most of the basic steps, she talked about incorporating the mana stones. She even asked if he might have any more so that she could make the effect stronger.

  Alan got a strange look on his face and then he asked if they could talk in private. Private apparently meant not Thadrick or her helpers, but Cassidy followed along as they went into a small office or break room. He wasn’t sure, because he had never been allowed into the other areas of the smithy before.

  They were gone for quite a while before they came out. By then, Bodvar had come by after stopping at the mining guild. He had their titanium and fire steel ingots. The blacksmith was eager to start, but first she told the two male dwarves that they should go get a meal, drink, or anything that got them out of her hair. Subtlety is not really something Dwarves do well. Alan, however, was shown a place to stand, right in the middle of the forging area. Cassidy, of course, stuck around as well, but she at least was shown to a corner that was out of everyone’s way. They did provide her with a chair, though.

  After having a nice meal and sharing a round of beer with the rest of the group who had helped out, Thadrick and Bodvar made a return to the smithy. They were met in the front by the same new apprentice from the other day. He let them know that Master was busy, and when she was done, someone would find them. In the meantime, they should bugger off. The impudent whelp was lucky that they were so scared of Helge, otherwise they would have shown him the error of his ways.

  With nothing else to do, and not wanting to miss the messenger who would get them later, they returned to their favorite drinking establishment. That was probably a mistake because they ended up getting incredibly drunk and the awaited message didn’t arrive until just before dinner time.

  They stumbled into the smithy to find Cassidy helping to hold up a smashed Alan. He wasn’t injured, but it was obvious that he was exhausted. When they asked after the weapon, the same apprentice from earlier told them it wasn’t ready yet. He might have phrased it differently, but he and Bodvar were too drunk to listen properly.

  Bodvar sat to wait for Helge to come out, but Thadrick decided to help Alan make it back to his house. It really turned into Cassidy helping both of the boys because he was having trouble distinguishing between the multiple copies of everyone walking through the village. Also, something seemed to be wrong with the street, it kept changing height from one step to the next, causing him to stumble.

  It must have been an amusing sight for any spectators. The slight Cassidy was propping up the larger Alan, while also trying to hold up the shorter, but much more massive dwarf who couldn’t remember how to walk. By the time they all arrived back at Thadrick’s house, none of them were in any shape to cook.

  Luckily, they still had some of the travel rations they brought on the rescue mission, and they happily choked them down. Thadrick passed out on the bed, but before he did,he noticed Alan give Cassidy his roll. She was exhausted from dragging them both back, and apparently, he didn’t want her to have to walk back to her place. He took out some nice furs from a pouch and laid on those instead. It wasn’t until Thadrick woke up in the morning that he realized there was still a lot of meat and blood on the back of the furs and he now had a mess on his floor. At least it was only a dirt floor.

  His head was still pounding a little from the day before. He prided himself on his drinking, but that had been a long afternoon waiting. They were later than the day before when they arrived, and Helge was already there pounding away. At least Thadrick assumed that was what the brain shattering noise he heard was. A different apprentice from yesterday kept him from going back, but he did inform him that they should be done by tonight, but not before then. The two humans were of course shown into the back with a great deal of courtesy. A dwarf could develop some serious resentment from this treatment.

  Making his way to the mining guild, he found Bodvar waiting for him. They both decided to spend the day in the mines, it would be a more lucrative and less impairing way to pass the time. Although, smashing ore all day long was not a great way to deal with their headaches.

  They returned late in the afternoon and submitted their day's work for a couple of pouches of coins. They hadn’t tried for anything crazy today and had simply mined more iron. It was easy work, but it still paid okay and they had no desire to go anywhere near the deep shafts so soon after their last trip.

  When they returned to the smithy, they found the front room empty. Remembering the sight of Alan’s purple face and Helge’s thick fingers around his throat, Thadrick wondered who would be in more trouble, a thief trying to steal her tools or a woman making eyes at her precious Boddi. Either way, he chose to wait there and so did Bodvar.

  They only had to wait another hour before the smithy went silent. One of the older assistants came out, saw them sitting there and brought them back. Everyone was standing around, looking at the gleaming silver metal in the blacksmith’s hands.

  Fire-Imbued Dwarven Spewn (Epic): A weapon unique to the dwarves. It is a mix between a mace and a dagger, requiring a great deal of skill to wield effectively. This particular spewn has been crafted from high-quality materials by a talented smith. During the crafting process the metal was further enhanced with mana. All blows will inflict additional fire damage. It is approximately 65 centimeters long with a textured handle for a better grip.