*Date: 33,480 Second Quarter - Iron Confederacy*
Demir woke up to Brovick hitting the door. "Get up, ye lazy human. Sun's up already. Ye've been slackin', that's why ye couldn't make a decent weapon."
Demir got up and opened the door. "Master, I was fighting, spying all week. Let me rest a little."
"Hell no. Durnak hates slackers. Well, not now but back before he retired. Get yer shit, let's go."
"It's too early. He would be cranky."
"He's already drinkin' his mornin' tea. Old folk like to sleep at noon. Get up."
Demir picked up his satchel and went to old Durnak's house. Demir had never spoken to the unofficial leader of the town but he'd seen his fiery unwelcoming eyes defending his town from scout goblins when they'd been looking for Demir and his friends.
When they arrived, Durnak was on the porch drinking tea with a sandwich, watching the woods.
"What is it, Brovick? Why did ye come with yer pet human?" He pointed to the woods. "See that?" He tried to get up but gave up halfway.
"What is it?" Brovick asked.
"Spirit of the woods has blessed us with her presence. I heard her howlin' all night."
Brovick turned to Demir. "Is it the giant wolf ye were goin' on about?"
"It's after me. It wouldn't leave my side one day. Followed me here."
"Don't lie, lad. Ye wouldn't last a second against the spirit of the woods. Anyway, what do ye want?"
Brovick gulped. Even Brovick was nervous against this man, Demir thought. "I shouldn't say anything or I'll mess my chances," he mumbled to himself.
"As ye know, the boy's my apprentice. And he's progressed well, makin' decent armor but..."
"But he needs weapons. Always with somethin', these humans." He returned to Demir. "Even if I wanted to, I'm near three hundred years old. I can't make anythin' good. I didn't make anythin' good the last twenty years. Go to the city. There are lots o' young masters ye can buy from."
"That's the thing. He wants to learn forgin' weapons. And he says he'll work like a mule. He'll do all the things, just teach him important stuff. He may have a hard head but when it comes to swingin', he's good. Well, almost good." Brovick patted Demir's back.
"I'm too old, too tired for all this. Ye can't learn my two hundred year mastery in a week. Go to yer friends, go to yer family."
"Sir... I mean master Durnak. I don't need to make the best sword but I just need to learn how to make good stuff. I tried on my own but it didn't turn out good. Also I don't want to waste these either."
Demir opened up the satchel and picked out a couple ingots with different glows. "I don't even know what they are." The faint brown ingot opened Durnak's eyes.
"Where did ye get this?"
"We raided a goblin camp three days east. I got it from there."
"This is orichalcum ingot. In near perfect purity. Worth at least a thousand gold. Goblins can't make these. It requires hard and meticulous processes only the best dwarven forgemaster knows. Tell the truth."
"I am telling the truth."
"And this is viper leather. This is..." He went on, puzzled by the quality ingots and leathers. "Tell me the truth, lad. Which dwarven merchant did ye raid? By the looks of it, pretty high up on the ladder."
"Durnak, the lad doesn't lie. If he says he took it from the goblins, believe him," Brovick insisted.
"Well, there's one thing. When we were scouting, there were dwarven delegates. One looked very rich and they were offloading carts of goods and discussing politics." Demir explained what he'd heard from spying on the dwarves and goblins.
"Ye're sayin' we're givin' our most precious ingredients to burrow dwellers?"
"I mean you're giving pretty bad equipment. Maybe they kind of know how important these are and demand them for their chiefs. Or they robbed and killed the merchants. You can expect anything from them. He was already plotting to take down his high chief."
"With that prince as our head, if they guarantee his reelection, he'll give his missus to those creatures."
"Look, lad. These are pretty important ingredients. I'll not pick 'em from yer hands but if ye try anythin', ye'll be wastin' it. But I'm in no mood to teach ye."
Brovick cut in. "Elder Durnak, I never learned from ye but I always heard your crafts at the hands of our generals and legendary warriors. Our high city in what the players call high zones is standin' still thanks to yer legendary crafts. This lad is worth the work, not because he's a genius but because he keeps his promise."
Durnak was listening with half contempt. Brovick continued, "He promised ten thousand swings, put his hand on the line and delivered without stoppin' once. When scouts came to seek him and his friends, he promised to take 'em out before they harass again. And ye know they were gonna sit there and harass us. He took every one of 'em."
"And finally and most importantly, he promised to get his friends from slavery. He delivered. All his friends are in a safe town. He could have stayed there, took a woman and waited to die but he's here to learn. Ye're our elder. Be his, for my sake." Brovick's eyes watered but Demir was already crying.
Demir hugged his short master. "What did I do to deserve a master like you?"
"Ahh, shut up, ye watery eyes."
Durnak was still looking at the woods. Suddenly, a giant gray wolf appeared with a dead boar in its mouth.
Durnak completed his jump from the chair for the first time. "Asena. She came to visit us."
The giant wolf walked beside Demir and dropped the boar and pushed Demir with its giant paw, like saying "Look what I got. What do you have?"
"Not now. I am in the middle of an important meeting. Please."
The wolf bit the boar and took off, throwing a fit.
Durnak was puzzled.
Demir returned to the woods. "I told you you're better than me. Stop bothering me. You spooked the masters."
Durnak punched Demir's shoulders. "Lad, stop shoutin' at the woods spirits. That's Asena ye're shoutin' at. She'll kill us all in a second. How do ye know her?"
"The goblin camp where I got this loot. The chief enslaved her. Her, right? You said Asena."
"It's like a title we're given. Mother spirit of our woods. We call them Asena."
Demir thought they were probably saying "region boss, a woods spirit."
"Fine, I'll teach. If even Asena is blessin' ye with her challenges, I will try as well. We'll start with first steel. We may never reach orichalcum level but we'll try."
***
*Date: 33,480 Second Quarter - Chalice Theocracy*
Aris spread his notes on the table. Lyra had helped him copy recipes from dusty scrolls:
**Stamina Tonic**: Honeyroot and Rye Seeds.
**Minor Defense Draught**: Stonebark Shavings, Mudroot, and Goat Milk.
**Minor Agility Elixir**: Swiftgrass, Wild Honey, and Dewdrop Resin.
It seemed straightforward. Two or three herbs boiled together, strained, cooled. But Realmforge's invisible hand still played tricks. A written recipe did not mean guaranteed success.
Aris muttered as he ground honeyroot with a pestle. "Why do I have a twenty percent chance of success if I know the recipe? It's ridiculous."
Fox hopped onto a stool. "Because it's not you. It's the system. Same reason you couldn't manifest a shield for weeks even though you memorized every gesture." He flicked his tail. "This world runs on dice rolls. Accept it. I did."
"Fair enough," Aris admitted. He added rye seeds, poured spring water, and set the first cauldron bubbling. The smell of honey filled the air, then turned acrid. Smoke fumed up the vent. The mixture curdled into black sludge.
"Failure," Aris sighed, dumping it out.
Second attempt: too much heat. The tonic boiled over, leaving sticky resin on the stones.
Third attempt: too much rye seed. The mixture hardened into a lump before he could pour it.
Aris groaned, wiping sweat from his brow. "That's three failures."
Fox snorted. "Maybe the kid before you failed ten times before dying. Don't end up like him."
Aris made another batch. He ground honeyroot with practiced rhythm. He measured rye seeds more carefully this time, counting them out like dice. Spring water bubbled gently in the cauldron. He stirred clockwise, slowly, letting the scent grow warm but not acrid. Seeing nothing out of order, no changing colors, he left it for cooling.
"Tomorrow's an off day. I'll come back with the other ingredients."
Aris went back to sleep and in the morning went to the gardens again for ingredient hunting.