He squinted at them, then snorted. "Ah, I see that look. Relax, aye? I'm a dwarf, not a monster, name's Gorthmir. Don't want to kill you, don't plan to. My kind has no part in the war. Other than selling weapons to all sides and making a good profit."
Ward blinked, pausing for a second, "Name's Ward. We heard your work is top-notch and are looking to get some weapons made for my friends and me." He reached out his hand.
Gorthmir smirked, grasping Ward's hand with a grip like a vice. "You heard right. I could make you normal Iron weapons." Taking a second to look the group over, he continues, "But you lot look like you may be able to solve a problem for me and get better weapons out of the deal too."
"Sounds like something we may be interested in," Argent leaned in.
"Who'll darn town is short on crystalline ore. Not many want to go and get it. The Ledger also put out a large bonus for anyone who delivers it to them directly, and people still aren't going for it." Gorthmir said, scratching his head.
"Well, we aren't miners, at least as far as I know, but where does it come from that people don't want to go get it?" Replied Argent.
"Dungeon," Gorthmir replied. "Spread across the provinces, relics from before the war. The one here, people tend to steer clear of. Full of spiders as big as horses."
"Dying to a giant is one thing, but being eaten alive and remembering it. Well, that is another story altogether."
Ryn shivered, "Spiders..."
"Other worlds, dungeons, what's next, dragons...?" Argent crossed his arms.
"No, the scaledkin protect the central fortress, so you won't be running into them for a long time," Gorthmir said in earnest.
Argent just shook his head, "So besides the ore you need, are dungeons worth anything else?"
"If you can live long enough to kill and collect it all. You don't earn merits in there; monsters aren't a part of the war. But their parts fetch a great price. Crystals, ore, webs, I will buy anything you bring back."
"Just make sure when you go into the dungeon, you go right, that is where the ore and spiders are. Left, well, left is different."
Argent smiled, "So we can fight, get stronger, and richer. As well as getting what we need for some high-quality weapons. Sounds good enough for me."
"Aye, if you don't get eaten first. Let me do this. I'll give you all some generic weapons with runes of return on them. Then, when you come back with the ore, you can return them. Think of it as an investment."
Ryn spoke up, "Um...I use a bow. I see you have arrows here. Do you know where I can get a bow that won't break like the ones in the scrap pile?"
Gorthmir nodded, "Well, if that just isn't perfect. There is a husband and wife two streets over. He's a weaver, and she's a woodworker. Their shops are connected."
"I was going to send you all there anyway, with my recommendation, to grab some enchanted bags to carry the ore and weapons in. May as well pick up a bow while you are there, her work is top quality."
"One last thing before we leave," Argent pulls out the fang and unwraps the cloth he had around it. "I was wondering if you could turn this into a dagger."
"Wyvern's fang?! Don't see these often. especially here, they live in the forests beyond the giant settlements. Hard to find them, even harder to kill."
"A giant gave it to me after we fought."
"He must have really considered you a worthy challenger to do that, giants and their honor and such. I could make this into something fine, leave it here, I will work on it, then finish it with crystalline grip and bindings when you return." Gorthmir said, eyeing the fang.
"Thanks, really. We will get that ore and be back as soon as we can." Argent remarked as they left the shop.
Gorthmir's head snapped up as he had just remembered something he forgot to say.
"I should have probably told them the spiders are the ore... well, they will figure it out quickly."
***
Walking back up to the camp, each of the four had new pouches strapped to their thighs.
Ryn glancing at hers, then at Argent. "You really didn't have to buy these for everyone."
"Think of it like an investment, to our start here. What we do next will lay a foundation for how we move forward."
They had just stepped back into camp, Cinder having heard the conversation. "Presents? You brought us presents?!"
Argent reached into his pouch, hands brushing against the finely worked leather, stitched runes glowing along the edge.
"I grabbed us all one of these," pulling out and throwing a pouch to Cinder, Rime, Veyra, and Veyrn.
"They are rune-sealed. Can hold up to one thousand pounds each. Not the biggest available, but I figure that is enough for now."
"That is enough to carry a small horse," Veyrn remarked as he strapped his pouch to his leg.
"Or enough stew for a year!" Mugwort muttered from his pot. "If you want cold stew by the third day."
Ward pointed to the pouches, "We also made a deal with the blacksmith; he loaned each of us some weapons in return for us getting him some special ore from a dungeon. They aren't masterpieces, but they have runes of return, so you won't lose them."
Cinder blinked several times. "Hold up, too much at once." She gestured as if he head was exploding, eyes wide.
"Magic bags, like the fantasy kind that are bigger on the inside AND dungeons?!"
Argent laughed, "Yeah, also the blacksmith was a dwarf, and Ferric here is from some world called Lithryia."
Veyra and Veryn raised their hands, "Us too, you all aren't? I did think those ear things around Rime's neck looked weird."
Cinder looked around, waiting for someone to be as shocked as she was, sliding down in front of the log she had been sitting on.
Ryn decided to play along and tease her a little. "Of course, magical bags, dungeons, dwarves, other worlds. Completely normal!"
Ferric looked at the twins, "You have to go to the city and try these things, called 'corn dogs'."
Veyra tilted her head, "What is a corn...dog?"
Veyrn followed, "Does it contain a dog and some corn?"
"No, but it does contain happiness, real food," Ferric said without thinking.
Mugwort spun around, waving a ladle like a weapon. "The only real food is stew! You don't need sticks and fried bread when you've got perfectly good stew!"
Laughter filled the night air, and conversations continued until they all fell asleep.
***
Argent woke first, anticipating the day ahead. The dungeon was waiting for him. For a moment, all was still; he could hear the soft bubbling of Mugwort's morning stew.
Then he turned his head and froze. Lying beside him in the dirt was Thranir's axe. The same axe he had dropped when he died two days ago.
He sat up sharply, heart pounding. The blade's massive curve gleamed faintly.
"How..." He whispered. "How did you get here...?
Mugwort didn't look up from his pot. "Oh, that old thing? Ghost dropped it off. Happens every now and then. Always leaving things where they don't belong."
"Ghosts again?" Argent blinked.
"Maybe, also maybe the tooth fairy." Mugwort continued thoughtfully, stirring his pot. "You were carrying around that big tooth, and now you aren't. Maybe you lost the tooth and got the axe in return. Fairies.....worse than ghosts."
Argent reached out and touched the weapon's cold handle. a faint pulse filled his mind.
[Register rune of return?]
Without hesitation, he thought, 'yes'.