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The next day, Aidan woke up in a square sleeping cabin that felt more like a storage container than proper quarters. He hadn't slept very well that night - probably because of the constant background hum of machinery and the unusual gravitational effects from living around a neutron star. Just as he sat up and tried to work the kinks out of his neck, a huge shadow fell across the doorway.
"You're awake," Eitri's voice boomed. "Perfect timing. Let's go grab some food." The dwarf king had just arrived outside Aidan's quarters. Their living area was arranged like the interior of a massive spaceship, with each person's space separated by simple metal walls that provided privacy but not much sound dampening.
"Alright," Aidan nodded and followed Eitri into the corridor. As they walked, many other dwarves emerged from their own quarters, creating something of a morning rush hour.
"Hey, boss, who's that kid behind you?" A powerfully built female dwarf approached them - someone who was actually a little taller than Eitri, which was saying something. To be honest, Aidan found it genuinely difficult to determine gender among the dwarves. From the individuals he'd observed so far, everyone here looked remarkably similar, with thick beards covering their faces and hair that ranged from disheveled to completely wild. Their clothing was practical but showed signs of constant exposure to forge work. The person who might be a woman standing in front of them was no exception to this pattern.
What was particularly interesting was that there didn't seem to be any children or elderly dwarves around - everyone appeared to be sturdy, working-age adults in their prime.
"This is the guy Odin sent over to study with us, the one I mentioned a while back," Eitri replied casually.
The female dwarf seemed puzzled. "Don't Asgardians usually prefer being warriors? How come this one wants to learn boring blacksmithing from us?"
"I'm actually from Earth, and I personally wanted to learn your forging techniques," Aidan said, tilting his head back to address her properly.
"Earth? Where's that?" She didn't seem very familiar with Midgard.
"He's a mage from Midgard," Eitri clarified.
"Oh, right! I remember now. I even built something for people from there once! But I can't remember when exactly..." The mention of Midgard clearly triggered some distant memory.
Aidan shrugged - he had no idea what she might be referring to. Although he'd read plenty of historical documents in Kamar-Taj's library, there were quite a lot of mages who'd traveled to various realms over the centuries.
"We're here. Let's eat some meat first," Eitri announced. They'd arrived at a large cooking area built around what looked like an industrial-sized oven. There were no visible flames inside, but waves of heat were still radiating from the structure. More than a dozen dwarves were already waiting around the cooking area.
"Capes, hurry up and bring us some barbecued meat!" One of the waiting dwarves spotted their group arriving, waved them over, and shouted toward the cooking area.
"Losquia, wait in line like everyone else. And be careful that oven doesn't burn your beard again," the female dwarf - apparently named Capes - called back as she rolled up her sleeves and approached the massive oven.
Aidan glanced at the dwarf called Losquia and noticed that his curly beard was indeed scorched black in several places. Since they were constantly exposed to high-temperature forges during their work, all the dwarves had beards that were curly and somewhat singed-looking.
Capes walked over to the oven, checked the food inside through a heat-resistant viewing window, and apparently decided it was ready. She flipped a control switch, opened the protective door, and reached directly inside to pull out an enormous skewer of barbecued meat.
Good grief, Aidan thought, that's really hands-on cooking. He couldn't help but wince as heat blasted out from the oven opening.
Capes placed the massive piece of barbecue directly on a communal table, then continued pulling out several more portions for other tables throughout the area. The dwarves who'd been waiting immediately converged on the tables, pulled out knives, and began cutting off chunks of meat to eat with their hands. Aidan found a spot at one of the tables with Eitri.
As soon as Eitri sat down, he produced a jug that had been hanging from his belt. He took a long drink from it like it was water, then looked at Aidan. "Want some?"
Aidan caught a whiff of the contents and nearly choked. A pungent smell of alcohol hit him like a physical force - this stuff was incredibly strong. "No thanks," he smiled and declined, then cut off a piece of the barbecue to try it.
"You won't appreciate how good alcohol is until you've been studying forging with us for a while," Eitri said with a shrug, continuing to drink from his jug.
At this point, Aidan's apparent age was around fifteen years old. Before coming to Nidavellir, he'd trimmed his hair shorter since long hair would be impractical around forges and hot metal. The new hairstyle made him look more capable and mature - at least when people saw him now, they wouldn't assume he was still a child.
In the hot, energetic atmosphere of communal eating, breakfast came to an end. Though calling it breakfast was somewhat misleading - this was actually their main meal for the entire day. The special barbecue contained enough concentrated energy and nutrients to fuel them through their demanding work schedule. One meal per day, with the rest of their time devoted to weapons forging.
"Most of the weapons we forge are melee items," Eitri explained as they finished eating. He led Aidan toward the central forging area of the facility. "Stuff like body armor, spears, hammers, gauntlets, longbows, and other close-combat weapons."
It was somewhat surprising to learn that Eitri himself would be personally responsible for teaching Aidan the craft.
"What about guns and rifles?" Aidan asked.
"We're not very good at making those," Eitri admitted with a shake of his head. "Though most people who come here wanting to buy weapons do ask for those long-range, rapid-fire types. So we end up making them the fastest, but they're honestly what we're least skilled at producing."
"I'm more curious about whether you guys built the containment systems around the neutron star," Aidan said.
"Of course we did. It's basically a natural forge. At the temperatures generated in there, virtually any material in the universe can be melted down."
"Would it be possible for me to learn about those systems? I could trade space transportation technology in exchange," Aidan offered, then added, "When Asgard's Bridge got destroyed, it was replaced by my dimensional transport device."
The mention of his role in the Bridge repair clearly got Eitri's attention. "You built that replacement system?"
Now Eitri understood why this particular human had warranted Odin's personal recommendation.
"Yeah. With space transport technology, you could travel to and from your realm whenever you wanted. It'd make acquiring materials and supplies much more convenient," Aidan pointed out.
Eitri considered this for several minutes. The dwarves weren't as proud as the Asgardians - if it weren't for Odin's protection, their advanced forge might not be able to survive. Having impressive technology without the military strength to protect it made them an attractive target for conquest.
"Let me think about it. I'll make you a proper hammer first," Eitri said. He wasn't agreeing immediately, but Aidan could tell the offer was tempting.
"So what're you gonna teach me first?" Since he'd probably be staying in Nidavellir for quite a while, Aidan wasn't in any hurry to rush the process.
"Obviously, how to properly hold and swing a hammer. If you wanna forge materials effectively, you've gotta master the hammer first."
"I thought it'd be material identification and properties," Aidan said, scratching his head in surprise.
PLZ THROW POWERSTONES.