It was astounding, the way the shelves stretched into the sky to leave only the shallow sensation of longing--the desire to reach his hand out and dip into space striking his chest.
Beyond that, though, was the fallibility of the architecture, each shelf sluggishly hanging in the air, accompanied with moving ladders that had its end slide along the top of each shelf through metal railing.
It was clear that the place was made ages ago, dust settling into Rowan's eyes each time he looked up to try to get a better view.
"This is an interesting bunch," Alfred said, carefully pacing around them with his hands clasped behind his back.
With intrigue, he stared into Lucien, each of his eyes taking turns opening as if he were inspecting a gadget.
"Quite the constitution..."
Grabbing Lucien's hand, he felt for the cold of his skin, inching his wrist closer as if to sniff it before Lucien threw his shoulders to bring his hand back to his side.
Alfred hung still, his eyes slowly trailing up to Lucien's face, a small grin beginning to contort his lips.
"A feisty one," he mentioned as his tongue wet his lips, their plump red sticking out more, "one I would've helped myself to were we in different times."
"I don't like this guy, is there a different location?"
While Lucien was rotating to face Viral, he snatched his back and jutted his arm with an uncharacteristic flamboyant flair, taking little to no discretion in hiding his discomfort.
Alfred didn't take offense, raising his hands out lateral to his torso.
"Why, but I'm just about the only person equipped with the necessary materials to get you heroes ready for combat."
He grinned, turning his attention upwards.
"Hey, Oren, get down here!"
The air whirred from the man's descent, the heroes all shuddering from the violent thud that resounded from his impact against the ground.
Like a blur, he fell to meet the group of heroes, the dust shrouding his appearance.
Eventually, they saw a short man, burly with muscles and wielding small gadgets ranging from allen wrenches to small mallets.
"This is the dwarf, Oren, in charge of weapons forgery for my shop, although he's quite the quiet fellow. Either way, we'll see to it that we get you the proper armory deserving of your status' as heroes." He bowed, tipping his hand down and out toward Oren's head to force him into one as well.
"Hm, well, as long as you understand your role," Lucien responded, crossing his arms while averting his gaze.
"Sorry, perhaps the tension is a result of you guys being strangers. Allow me to properly introduce you."
The king stepped forward, standing between the two to try to close the distance.
"These two are Alfred and Oren, a vampire and dwarf respectively. You will find no better skilled weapons craftsmen than these two, especially given the materials at their disposal."
Only a couple heroes bowed, Rowan and Lucien standing straight for completely different reasons.
"And here, we have the heroes. Lucien, Liora, Kaia, Elias, and Rowan. You will find that their potential is bounded only by the endless heavens above. They are ordained to protect this world from the future threats I've already talked to you about, so I would believe it's in your best interests that you treat them with only the greatest hospice."
Alfred only tilted his head, brushing his hand up against his temple to roll his hair back, and Oren didn't move at all.
"Well then, lets get to it, hm?"
The heroes were lost for a response, only following up moments later once Alfred had turned to move through a gate of a wooden wall separating the front of the building from the section where the shelves laid.
He ran his fingers along a thin booklet laying on its table, his eyes moving back and forth through its pages with horrifying speed.
"What are you waiting for, won't you place your grimoires?"
The heroes looked between one another, unconvinced of his credibility, but as Kaia stepped forward with her grimoire in hand, the others could only move forward in hesitation.
"As long as you make me big gauntlets or a fiery blade worthy of my status of hero, I'll let you do whatever you want with my grimoire!"
The book laden in red burned slightly at her words, reminding Kaia of its sentience and causing her to pet it for a few seconds.
Finally, she placed her grimoire in front of Alfred, allowing him a moment to graze his palm against its cover.
"Hmmm, hmmmm..."
Humming with an extended brow and closed eyes, the deep breaths filling his stomach and displacing his chest silenced the room.
"I see, so you're the impulsive, violent type."
Kaia didn't see his blunt words as an insult, only bouncing her head.
"Then, allow me a moment to feel for the right material. A phoenix's crest, perhaps? Ah, but your flames run deeper--far more than just the flames of life the phoenix possesses. I have something far more befitting of your nature."
Waving his hand at Oren, he bent over to whisper into Oren's ear, prompting the first real movements in his body in the form of a slight nod.
Oren climbed up the ladder, jumping between each shelf while kicking off the walls to trail for different boxes and their respective material.
Not before long, his body was a speck, distanced hundreds of meters above the group.
Alfred looked back down at the heroes, waving his hand in front of them.
"Won't the rest of you guys place your grimoires? It's faster to gather materials in bulk than one-by-one."
Incredulously, they took turns dropping their grimoires onto the wood below, standing just a couple feet back so that they wouldn't drop their guard.
Yet, still, Alfred didn't display any belligerence, treading very carefully between the thin line making up the heroes' trust.
Thud!
Oren slammed into the ground once more, handing Alfred three boxes in varying size, one in particular glowing bright even through the black material surrounding it.
He clacked and released the latches keeping them shut, revealing a large, golden pair of gauntlets, two red gemstones containing a large abundance of aether, and a thin weave of threads that shaped in the same way as gloves.
"Yes, Volcanite alloy, Drakehide weave, and Fyrglass threads, their make top-notch. So, hero, care to try it on?"