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  When we walked in the workshop-turned forge, Doror was already waiting for us.

  “Ah, I knew you’d be back. I’ve been waiting for you”

  The Master Smith sat slouched over a wooden table, the last bottle of Dwarf’s Blood before him. There was just a little bit of the drink left at the bottom, just enough for one more drink.

  “It’s good to see you again, Master Stonehammer.” I said in my best polite voice.

  “Bugger off with that shit,” Doror pointed at the table and gestured at the crates all around us. “Grab a seat.”

  Kyrian looked around. “...There aren’t enough crates for all of us.”

  “Then sit on the floor, or be creative and find something to fucking sit on. Worse enough, I’m dealing with your fecking kind again. You want me to wait on you hand and foot too?” Doror snapped.

  Kyrian shot me a look and I shrugged in reply. My meaning was clear; I didn’t care how much of a nasty temperament Doror had. Right now, we needed him.

  This man right here in front of us was possibly the most valuable thing on this Island.

  Hell, maybe this entire trip.

  Kyrian sighed as we split up, each of us looking for a seat. While Aurora and I took some boxes and set them around the table, Kyrian took his time looking for something suitable. Skaris…

  Skaris grabbed an anvil and began dragging it over. The hunk of metal began to screech something awful and I saw beads of sweat beginning to form on Skaris’ brow as the Beastman struggled to move the thing even with his supernatural strength. He began to snarl and the sound mixed with the screech of the metal, not to mention the huge groove it left on the floor of the workshop.

  If Doror noticed, he didn’t comment.

  “Mister, there’s a kid over there.” Stole whispered.

  I looked over to see the white-haired kid from the first day. Getting a better look at her, I could tell she was no older than seven or eight. She still wore that one-piece dress which was nothing more than a dirty rag at this point. At Stole’s comment, I saw Aurora flick her eyes toward the little girl and then frown in disapproval. I could see why, the girl was in the corner playing with some rusty daggers. She was lucky not to get tetanus from even breathing near the things.

  Noticing Stole and Aurora’s gaze, the girl walked over –all shy. She was even skinner up close.

  She paused before Stole, looking up at the older girl. Stole looked down at her.

  And I swear to god, the little girl’s stomach growled as if on cue.

  “...Hey Old Man,” Stole said after a moment.

  “Eh? What you want, Lass?”

  “This your daughter?”

  Doror didn’t reply.

  “Nay, she ain’t.” Doror finally said after a moment. “She ain’t my kin, if that’s what yer asking.”

  Stole looked at the Dwarf and she opened her mouth –a fire starting in her eyes.

  “Stole.” I said calmly.

  “Whelp.” Skaris cut in as well.

  She closed her mouth, teeth bared for a moment before closing her eyes. “Then you won’t mind if I take her out to the city, won’t you, Old Man?”

  Doror’s eye didn’t stray from Stole.

  “...Aye, you go ahead and do that. Let the grown ups talk.”

  Stole snarled, a string of curses about to escape from her mouth.

  And right there and then, the little dwarf girl reached out and grabbed Stole’s pinky.

  That was all it took.

  Something melted inside of Stole in that instant and I learned more about Stole right there and then than any conversation could.

  I’m not one for kids. I can’t say I like them even.

  Still, there’s an innocence about children that brings out something fierce. Strangers will go to great lengths to protect children and parents will do even more. There are a lot of theories out there, one of them saying that it’s an evolutionary prerogative to protect the future generation. That we, as a species, have evolved to want to protect children, to feed them and cloth them. To care for them.

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  But looking at Stole…

  I don’t know a lot about those things.

  But I can say this. Stole is Kind. Like Capital K kind.

  I should have seen it earlier. For all her talent and her rough attitude, Stole had a heart big enough for someone like Darwin –a mentally handicapped Priest whom the rest of the world saw as baggage. It wasn’t just loneliness that drove Stole to befriend the guy. I think Stole has a genuine heart for people like Darwin and the little girl. A heart full of kindness.

  And suddenly I was ashamed.

  Because the last time I dropped by, all I had been thinking about was how to get Doror on my side. I hadn’t even bothered giving a glance to this girl barely old enough to be in school. I didn’t bother looking at her too skinny frame nor the dirty rags she wore.

  I only had eyes for the equipment around here.

  Isn’t it funny?

  That I, a human from earth, was acting more like those NPCs on the computer screen, worrying only about loot and the quest; while Stole, a native of MSS –who wasn’t even human by the way– was infinitely more of a genuine decent human being than I could ever be?

  Ha.

  Way to go, me.

  Stole picked up the girl in her arms, not caring that the girl looked flea bitten at best. She took a hand, brushing a stray hair behind the girl’s ear and walked out without another word. Darwin gave me a silly smile and followed after her, oblivious to what was going on.

  “So ye came back.” Doror produced glasses of varying sizes from god only knows where and began setting them in front of us.

  Aurora held out a hand. “None for me, Master Smith.”

  “Call me Stonehammer,” Doror said and pushed the cup into Aurora’s hands anyways. “You’re in my workshop? You drink.”

  Ugh. I recalled the last time that I drank with Doror and a strand of beard was in my cup. Aurora didn’t deserve that.

  “...I’ll drink in her stead.” I set her cup in front of me.

  “Suit yerself.”

  Aurora nodded in thanks.

  “To a Dwarf’s beard.” Without waiting for the rest of us, he downed his cup. Skaris followed suit after.

  Sighing, I downed my glass and Aurora’s.

  “I thought ye made me a promise, Laddie. Not to lead the others here.” Doror began refilling the cups.

  “I haven’t told anyone else of this city’s existence. But this is my party. I trust them.”

  “...Aye, you do.” Doror said, studying me for a minute. He sniffed in Kyrian and Aurora’s direction. “But these two, they’re Nobles, eh? I can see the self-righteousness oozing off of them.”

  Kyrian frowned. “How-”

  “Because I’ve seen more than one of your kind in this lifetime.” Doror interrupted. “Self-righteous, proud, hypocritical and-”

  “Stop talking.” I whispered. “Right now.”

  He glared at me. “Aye, of course. Can’t stand to see a dwarf-”

  “You’d do the same if I insulted one of your own in the city as well.” I answered back.

  Master Smith or not, I didn’t want him speaking to my comrade like that.

  Doror continued to glare at me. But he didn’t hold it, his gaze softening. He grunted and gave a nod towards Kyrian. From what I could tell, that was as close to an apology that Kyrian was going to get out of the Master Smith.

  Kyrian accepted it, raising his glass. The two downed their cups in unison.

  “So you need my hammer.” Doror gestured at the workshop. “It’s been years since I’ve held it, Laddie. You’ll have better luck trying someone else.”

  “I need a Master Smith.” I said.

  While Aurora and Kyrian were careful to pay attention, Skaris kept refilling his cup and downing it. I saw Doror glance at Skaris with a faint frown but didn’t bother stopping the beastman.

  “You don’t need a Master Smith, Laddie. You want a Master Smith.” Doror looked me up and down, then scoffed. “You don’t even know what you need to-”

  “For a Master Smith to forge a legendary or artifact, you need three things. Fire that can melt Grade-1 metals, Grade-1 Metals and the Core of a Monster.” I held up my fingers. “Higher the Core, the better. But they should at least be Grade-3.”

  Doror narrowed his eyes.

  “Who are ye, Laddie? Truly?”

  I shrugged and sipped at the glass, enjoying the warmth as the drink settled in my stomach. Doror grunted and reached over, refilling it.

  “I’m going to assume this workshop can melt Grade-1 metals. Which means you probably have some Grade-1 metals in stock.” I leaned forward. “Name your price, Stonehammer.”

  The Master Smith took a swig from his cup, draining it without breaking eye contact.

  He held the silence.

  I recognized this tactic. The Dwarf was testing us, seeing how badly we wanted his services. That way, he could gouge our eyes out while scraping out the bottom of our coin pouch.

  I held his stare.

  Doror held up his cup. “Do you remember what this was called, Laddie?”

  “Dwarf’s Blood.” I recalled.

  “Aye, Dwarf’s blood. And yer friend over here,” He looked pointedly at Skaris. “Just fished the last bottle in this entire fecking city.”

  Skaris belched in response.

  “I thought the bottle from last time was the last.”

  “T’is the same bottle.” Doror said sadly. “Held it for you, I did. Knowing you’d return.”

  I waited for him to talk.

  “I know humans. Greedy. Ambitious. Proud. Always wanting more and more and more.” He held up a hand. “Ah, no offense to you. But t’is the truth. Especially… especially adventurers.” He looked out the window. “This city, we had adventurers once. Those who went out, slaying monsters. Selling out wares across the seas.”

  “I didn’t see any adventurers on the way here.” Aurora remarked.

  “Of course.” Doror replied. “They’re all dead.”

  “The Uleum Horde, those fecking bastards. They were always waiting out there for my people. Sneaking, watching. Trying to take our blades for themselves.” Doror shook his head. “Funny, ain’t it? I make weapons for a living; but not once did I think to make weapons for my people to protect themselves with. Only to sell them. And what happened? The fecking orcs or humans or elves or only the Forge knows what took them. Half of them are probably resting in the bottom of the ocean right now.”

  “And the monsters kept getting stronger and stronger. They warned me they did, but nay, I just wanted more gold. Gold to trade with.”

  “Aye, I was crazy for gold back then.” Doror muttered. “Crazy for gold. Never once did I see what was important.”

  I looked out the window.

  I could see why Doror lived up here, on top of the ‘hill’-like structure. Just outside the window, he had a full view of the city and its marketplace. It was too far to make out any details but I could see movement. Children running around and moms chasing them. Men’s arms strained and I could almost hear the clanging of their hammer on the anvil –sharpening, shaping and creating. More than that, I saw the neat rows of houses.

  But it was dark outside.

  There was no rising or setting of the Sun. No warmth of Sunlight on my skin –nor was there the hint of a breeze that tickled my nose. There was no scent of grass or trees. My sharpened senses from the Crow Totem was perfectly aware of the lack of things around us. This place, for all its beauty and architectural perfection, was devoid of everything that made life… well, life.

  How long had Doror’s people lived here?

  Years? Decades?

  …Centuries?

  “You needed the gold to trade for food, did you not?” Aurora said, trying to be kind.

  Doror didn’t answer. He turned his head away from the window sharply, as if it pained him to look at it for too long.

  “Ye want me to name my price?” Doror said, reaching over and snatching the bottle from Skaris’ hands. “I want you, a human, to fix what your people did.”

  “What? That’s-” I stopped Kyrian with a hand.

  “Go on.” I said quietly, for I had a feeling for what was coming.

  “If yer people never hunted our people down for their smithing skills, if they didn’t burn down our slums and call us filth in the city we grew up in, if you humans,” He spat the word like a curse. “Didn’t take over our city, my clan would never have come here. To this… this fecking prison, with no life. No future. No light.”

  “You want my price? Fine. There’s a monster in this mountain. Ot’s the strongest one on this island. Because of that fucker, we can’t trade worth jackshit.” Doror closed his eyes.

  “The Myung-sa is dead.” I said.

  “Nay, not that one.” Doror continued. “This beast isn’t a dumb mindless beast, it’s smart. And Evil. It tasted dwarf blood and wants more. At night, it walks, hunting my people. Looking for us with its bright yellow eyes. It has six arms, with teeth like us– eyes just like us and talks in a voice that is neither man nor woman. Aye, it’s hair is tied in a bun on top of its three faces.”

  “You ask me why I haven’t been taking care of that girl? Don’t deny it, I saw the way ye looked at me.” His voice grew to a furious snarl. “What right do I have to take care of my own Granddaughter, when tomorrow, I’d be sending her off to keep the monster from murdering the rest of us?”

  Aurora gasped.

  I lowered my eyes, staring at the table. “Where is it?” I asked, knowing full well where it was.

  If these people had been feeding it, the monster would have developed a habit. Like Pablov’s dog, it would be nearby, waiting. Seeking. Trying to scent the fear in the air, of a little girl who was offered up as a sacrifice so that the monster wouldn’t break it.

  Doror smiled, his eyes tinged with insanity borne of desperation.

  “Aye, you already know.” Doror sat down on his seat and looked out the window. “It lives in the City with us.”