Post-Apocalyptic Survivor in Another World: New Beginning

It took an incredibly long time, but Joe and Sera had finally gotten out of the grasslands. Having traveled the plains for as long as he did, he was certain that they were hundreds of miles in diameter. They hadn’t immediately left after Joe decided to head for the mountains, there were still the bandit camps to take care of after all, so they both ended up wiping out the majority of them before they left. It took a couple weeks, but that road should be much safer to travel now.

The dwarves might have something he could use to harvest dragon bone, which Sera confirmed was stronger than steel. The scales may not have been as durable as the bone, but if he could sew those into his trenchcoat it would make it significantly sturdier. That, and it would be rad as hell. He dearly hoped that Varig would be around to talk to, for he would be Joe’s ticket into the Dwarfhold.

It shouldn’t be much longer before they reached the nearest one, all Sera knew about it was that it was called Ugals, the name of which sounded a tad familiar to Joe, though he couldn’t quite place where he’d heard it. Sera knelt next to his chair, gripping it as Betty traversed the rocky terrain. This was exactly why all the furniture was bolted down the way it was, when the ride got rough you wouldn’t want all your things falling down.

It had been about an hour now since they left the grasslands, and they had been steadily going upward since, the terrain becoming rocky and dotted with hills. He felt his ears pop periodically as they went, the eternal sign of a good road trip. Since the air was clean, he was alright with depressurizing Betty and letting in the air from outside via a retractable fan and vent on Betty’s roof. Old girl could get musty sometimes, getting some fresh air would be good. The dirt trail they followed was not wide enough to accompany Betty’s width, so keeping her completely on it was all but impossible. He was thankful at least for her cameras, for otherwise the sun would be directly in his face as it rose over the towering mountains on the horizon.

“Hey, what’s this Shard called again? Was it Everfall?” Joe asked.

Sera shook her head, “Everfae, Everfall is the forest.”

“Gotcha, so do dwarves call it something else? Will I offend them by calling it Everfae instead of Rockchew or something?” He asked.

Sera giggled at that, “No, from what I understand everyone calls this Shard Everfae, and it is doubtful that the dwarves would call it something else, and even less likely that they’d take offense by it.”

“What does a dwarf hold look like exactly?” He asked, “Lots of stone carvings n’ statues?”

Sera shrugged, “I’ve never been in one. I’m not allowed.”

“Right, yer an elf.” He said with a short nod, “Hey why do elves and dwarves not get along on Faenor?”

“That’s a complicated question.” She replied with a sigh, “The dwarves keep track of debts owed from all the races and peoples they’ve interacted with… apparently, elves owe them a great debt for something that happened right after Faenor’s birth… but none, save for the dwarves, can remember what is owed.”

“I’m guessing that was a bajillion years ago.” Joe told her, gently swerving to avoid a boulder, “But shouldn’t there be at least one elf alive from then that could remember? Even if there ain't, why won’t the dwarves tell you?”

“It’s difficult to say if any elves from that era remain. There could be one in any of the Shards perhaps, but if they exist they haven’t repaid that debt.” She said, “As for why the dwarves won’t tell us, it is a cultural matter. They always remember their debts and will go out of their way to repay them no matter the cost, they also hold others to this standard. If you owe a dwarf a debt and cannot repay it, the dwarf will refuse to speak with you until you repay them.”

“That seems like overkill.” Joe stated, “People don’t got perfect memories, and this elf debt was basically pre-history.”

She shrugged, “Dwarves do have perfect memories, they can remember the slightest of details from events that had happened hundreds of years beforehand. Whatever this debt is, they remember, while we do not.”

“Wait one second,” Joe said, shaking his head, “What if the debt did get paid already? You say these Shards are basically infinite right? Who’s to say that an elf somewhere out there didn’t already get this figured out? The dwarves could be waiting to be repaid for something that had already been resolved in another Shard.”

“That is a possibility.” Sera said, “But if that happened, news hasn’t spread from the other Dwarfholds, at least not yet. It could be centuries before dwarven messengers could reach the rest of their people.”

“Is that why they’re so secluded?” Joe asked, veering back onto the trail, “Does everyone owe them something?”

Sera nodded, “That’s exactly right, they’ve cut off basically everyone else for forgotten debts that they won’t tell anyone about. It is infuriating.”

“So they base this off of historical racial debts?” He asked, “Not individuals?”

“I heard that individuals of other races carry their own part of these debts, and as long as they find a way to pay it off, they’ll be in the clear to interact with the dwarves… at least somewhat. I heard that human merchants just pay a tithe of gold, as that is the racial debt owed by humanity to them. Basically this means your kind holds a monopoly on trade with Dwarfholds, as your debt is simple compared to that of other races.”

“I don’t think I would count as owing them anything,” Joe said, “I ain’t exactly from around here.”

“Oh, well in that case just tell them you’re an Outworlder. I’m sure that will go over well.” She said sarcastically.

Joe bit his cheek, “I didn’t say I’d tell em’ about that.”

“You sure made it sound like it.”

“Whatever.” Joe said, giving a dismissive wave of his hand.

He had to veer off the trail again, seeing a merchant wagon rolling just ahead of them. The guards all scrambled frantically to mount a defense against Betty, drawing crossbows and readying them to fire. Joe didn’t blame them for doing this, it wasn’t as if they were going out of their way to capture him or anything, they were just frightened. Betty had been scaring plenty of travelers during this trip, mostly human merchant caravans.

He always swerved off the trail to avoid them of course, but Joe still felt a pang of guilt at giving these poor folk a heart attack. When he was ahead of this particular caravan, he spotted someone he thought he recognized dismounting from the front wagon. It was hard to tell due to the pixelation… but that sort of looked like Morla, the first person he’d ever met here on Faenor. Joe didn’t stop, still moving forward with no hesitation. There was no reason to stop and say hello, it was enough to see that the girl was safe.

“Do you see someone you know? Is it this Prolo you’ve spoken of?” She asked, scanning the screens.

“No,” He said before explaining his encounter with Morla.

“I see, well you did good saving her.” She nodded, “Maybe she’s heading for Ugals like us?”

“If she is and we see her, I’m gonna pretend I never met her before.” He said, “I spoke English to her before I knew better, so she knows that I’m an Outworlder. Good thing is that I wasn’t wearing my normal gear when I went out there, so she won’t recognize me.”

“Very well, I will do the same.” Sera said.

The rest of the trip went smoothly… well, smoothly in everything but the terrain. If Betty had normal tires instead of tank treads, they would have probably burst by now. They rode up higher and higher into the mountains, until finally they hit snow. Tall snow-capped pine trees loomed high over the rocky crags, set firmly into whatever dirt their roots could reach. A heavy white sheet of clouds blocked out the entire sky above, large snowflakes falling gently down to the earth.

It was gonna be hell for those wagons back there to get through this thick snow, so Joe made it a point to flatten as much of it as possible with Betty’s treads. It wouldn’t clear the whole trail of course, but it was better than nothing. Another hour of this passed until finally they reached Ugals, the Dwarfhold.

Two massive statues of long-bearded armored warriors stood just outside massive intricate carved stone gates, facing one another and wielding double-headed axes over their heads. They looked as if they were going to swing at one another, but the faces looked serene and calm. As Betty drew closer, Joe could see that the big stone gate was preceded by a smaller barred gate set into a shorter stone wall. So, he needed to get through a gate to get through the gate, just great. Well thankfully the palisade looked like it was wide enough for Betty to pass through, but first it needed to be raised.

He pressed a button, a megaphone emerging from Betty’s roof. He then grabbed the microphone from a compartment beneath the chair, unfurling the wire as Betty drew closer to the sealed gates.

“What is that thing?” Sera asked him, “Will it let you communicate without having to step outside?”

Joe smiled, and ruffled her hair, “Exactly right.”

Sera slapped his hand away with a scowl, “Do not do that.”

“I’m proud of ya sport.” He said, still grinning as he plugged the microphone into the dashboard.

“If I am right about something, don’t pet me.” She told him with a huff, “It is demeaning.”

Joe, letting the goblin in his mind briefly take control, immediately leaned over and ruffled her hair again.

“Stop!” She yelled indignantly, slapping at his arm.

“Sorry I couldn’t help it, yer kinda funny when you’re mad.” Joe told her, retracting his hand.

“I’ll correct that view soon enough.” She said sharply, her cheeks red with either rage or embarrassment, “Just test me, Joseph.”

“I’m quivering.” He said flatly, as he parked Betty right outside the palisade.

Squat figures made themselves visible on the wall above, aiming down with… Joseph squinted at the cameras. Were those…? Sera leaned forward, trying to make out the long slender weapon in the dwarve’s hands.

“Those are rifles!” Sera shouted, “Like what you have!”

“No no,” Joe said, shaking his head, “They’re rifles all right, but these ain’t as advanced as what I have. Naw, those right there are called muskets.”

Dwarves had invented guns, and based off Sera’s reaction, they must have been a recent invention. How fascinating, he wondered if their bullets were round or conical, probably round but who was to say? He itched to find out.

“Pretend you are alone and that I am not with you.” Sera whispered to him, “If they find out an elf is with you, they won’t grant you entry no matter what you say.”

Joe nodded, lifting up the microphone before saying, “Greetings, I am a human come looking for trade. This here is my wagon, I got a lot of things you might be interested in if you let me through. Also, I can speak to you from in here but I won’t be able to hear you talking to me. If you’re interested in trading with me, simply open your gates and I will enter, if not, I’ll leave. Also I rescued a dwarf by the name of Varig, but I didn’t get his last name, I would like to know if he is here. Beside that, I have gold I can use to pay my portion of humanities debt. I’ll give ya some time to decide.”

The dwarves slowly lowered their rifles, with a few disappearing from atop the wall. The others still stood there, watching Betty like hawks. Curious hawks, based on the tilted helmets. Betty was probably something dwarves would take great interest in, now that he thought of it. If they had guns they could also have access to coal engines. Maybe they were wondering why Betty wasn’t exuding any steam?

He unplugged the microphone and leaned back in his seat, “Now we wait, I’m hopin’ they’ll let us in.”

“What if they search Betty and they find me?” Sera asked, “What will we do if I’m discovered?”

Joe shook his head, “I ain’t lettin’ no one but you in here, if they wanna search us then we’ll just leave.”

“No one but me huh?” She asked, smiling.

“Yeah.” He replied, “You’re in here aren’t you?”

“Of course.” She replied, still smiling.

She had a sort of ‘knowing’ look in her eyes. He didn’t know why but he wasn’t gonna press the issue. They both chatted as they waited for the gates to raise, but nothing happened. It seemed as if they made their choice, it had been an hour now and they hadn’t come back. It was a shame, but it would be back to the grasslands now-

Suddenly, the gate began to raise a retinue of heavily armored soldiers waiting within. Some wielded axes and shields, whilst others boasted muskets, the shield wielders sitting just in front of the gunmen. Their armor looked to be made of a sturdy dark steel, the helmets concealing their faces and only leaving their long beards visible. Their slitted visors all faced Betty, the dwarves completely motionless. Another dwarf approached from the crowd, unarmed but still fully armored. He gestured for Betty to come forward, and Joe followed the direction, the dwarf indicating that he should park Betty off to the side of the main gate. He did so, the formation of warriors adjusting so that it would always be facing the vehicle.

Once he was parked, he took a nervous breath. If he went out there with his normal gear and they opened fire… that could kill him. He didn’t think that the musket balls could easily pierce the kevlar padding, but a couple hits to the head and he’d fall unconscious. He’d need to wear the power armor for this one, at least until he was sure they weren’t gonna kill him. Joe could overwhelm their firepower with the mini-gun, but if he came out with something like that, they may shoot immediately.

He’d have to don the armor and forgo any weapons, if they opened fire on him then he’d have to kill them with the armor itself. Muskets weren’t going to puncture the T-12, no matter how many times they shot him with it. He wouldn’t feel bad about it either if that was what they planned, they had let him in willingly with the intent to trade, if they betrayed that then he’d be peeling the armor off their corpses for himself.

He stood, marching quickly to the workshop with Sera trailing right after him, “You ain’t coming out with me, remember?” He asked as he opened up the T-12.

“I know, just…” She hesitated, “Just be careful, please.”

“Byeah, I will.” He told her, stepping into the T-12 and sealing the armor.

He’d have thirty minutes to establish good contact with these dwarves, otherwise he’d need to leave. Actually, it would need to be twenty minutes at the latest, he didn’t want it to lose power out there.

“Keep an eye on the cameras, if they try to kill me then open up the door, I can lower the ramp but I don’t wanna do the knock if they get aggressive.”

“Can do.” She said with a nod, “Good luck!”

He nodded, lowering Betty’s ramp, grabbing the gold-filled duffel bag before stepping outside, closing the door behind him. All was eerily quiet from the dwarves as they stared at him from across the way. If they were gonna fire, they would have done so by now. He moved forward across the intricately carved stone blocks, duffel bag in tow. He needed to present them with some gold to pay off his portion of humanities debt, thankfully he had plenty more where this came from.

The dwarf that had directed Joseph on where to park approached him, his armor barely making a sound as he went. As the dwarf drew closer, Joe was able to make out more details about his armor. The first thing he noticed was that several dozen images had been engraved upon the metal, each displaying a dwarf locked in combat with various men and beasts. The most prominent of which displaying itself on his left shoulder plate. It depicted a dwarf and a griffon, the dwarf was making a triumphant pose, while the griffon lay decapitated at the dwarf’s feet.

Strangely, he noticed the same trend in the stone blocks at their feet. The carvings all wove together seamlessly, but they each showed wildly different events. A dwarf carrying a block melded into another throwing an axe, and so on and so forth. It made him dizzy to stare at it for too long.

“I, Bilmor Terghast, will hear your offer.” The dwarf said, crossing his arms, “But before that, I need your first and last name.”

Joe squinted, “Why is that?”

“I’ve read the records on humans that have paid their debts, I will remember if you were on that list and you can keep your gold if so.” He explained, “You also have claimed to save Varig, I must hear your name in case you are lying. He did say that a human had saved him, but let me hear your name before we continue.”

“Joseph Haythorn.” He told him, “I don’t think I’m on your list, I’ve never been here before.”

“Aye, I do believe you’ve not been here before…” Bilmor said, “Nonetheless, you owe us nothing, Joseph.”

He blinked in surprise, “I don’t?”

“You must be speaking truth when you say that you are the human that saved Varig Ugals, yes?” He asked, unfolding his arms, “There is no other man on the list with your name, indeed nowhere in the annals of our history have I read the clan name ‘Haythorn’ before. Varig knew of your first name and had written you down as someone we owe a great debt to.”

“Just for saving one of your citizens?” Joe asked, “You saying the whole city wants to pay me back for that?”

Bilmor shook his head, “No, only a normal citizen would be responsible for paying back such a debt, but you saved Prince Varig, and that is a debt that weighs on us all as a result.”

Varig was a damned prince!? What the hell was he doing chained up by goblins and not wearing shoes? What was he on a picnic out in the middle of nowhere and got gobbed in the middle of it? Wouldn’t he have had royal guards or something?

“I uh-” He stammered, “I didn’t know he was so important.”

“...That makes sense, considering your otherworldly origins.” The dwarf said after a moment of hesitation.

A pit formed in his stomach, “You won’t take me alive-” He started.

“Calm yourself.” The dwarf said, raising his hand, “We have no intention of sacrificing you. Dwarfhold Ugals is now in your debt, we cannot do such a thing to the one who had saved our prince.”

“That right?” Joe asked, “What happens if you pay back the debt? Am I free game then?”

Much to his surprise, the dwarf nodded. “Aye, but I would not fear this. Such a debt is not to be repaid until Prince Varig either saves your life or the life of your child… or unless another dwarf of this hold does so. If that cannot be done, then Hold Ugals will owe your descendants, and we will wait for a day where we can save them.”

“What if I go in there and someone fabricates some danger to ‘save’ me from, what then?” Joe asked, skeptical, “How do I know you ain’t gonna pull something like that?”

“Any citizen that would do such a thing would be put to death then and there… besides, only the royal family and myself know that you are an Outworlder, the general public is ignorant of that fact. All they would know is that you saved our third prince from the hands of lowly goblins.”

“How did he get captured by them, if ya don’t mind me asking?”

“His caravan had been attacked by a red serpent dragon, according to Varig. Our prince fled into the forest after his retinue had been burnt to cinders, shortly thereafter falling prey to goblins.” Bilmor’s fist shook slightly, but his voice remained even as he continued, “They forced him to smooth stone, him, a prince.”

Ah, well maybe he should get to explaining why he was here then. Maybe if he told them that the dragon had passed away from fatal buckshot disease it would put the dwarves more in his debt. Assuming it was the same dragon of course, but how many red serpent dragons would really be hanging around the woods? He’d lead into the subject gradually.

“Is that beneath ya’ll?” Joe asked curiously, “The stone smoothing, I mean.”

“No, it is an honorable profession… for commoners. Varig is a prince, his hands are only to be hardened by the forge, or battle… but enough of that.” Bilmor said, “Varig would have an audience with you, if you would be so inclined. Also, I must ask what you have come to trade with us for?”

“Tell Varig I’ll think about it, I can’t meet him wearing this.” Joe said honestly.

“You are the one he owes the debt to, if you do not desire to meet with him you can trade your goods and be on your way.” Bilmor said, gesturing toward the gate, “You do not even need to enter the hold if you do not wish it, we can bring out what you’re asking for and do the trade here.”

That was quite generous of them… and quite tempting as well. That would leave minimal risk to himself. A part of him was curious to see what lay inside the Dwarfhold, but if they were willing to give him what he wanted here with minimal contact, then that was what he was gonna do. Still, he did want to see Varig again, to at least give the dwarf a proper conversation.

“I would prefer to do the trade here,” Joe said, “If Varig would like to come out and meet me here, I would be happy to.”

“I will send word, he will come down as soon as he hears the request, I have no doubt.”

“Cool. So, I heard you dwarves have magical items right?” He asked, receiving a nod from Bilmor, “Remember that dragon you mentioned just a second ago?” Bilmor nodded again, “I killed it and I wanna harvest the bone, thing is, I can’t cut through-”

“You did what!?” The dwarf shouted, “Preposterous, show me proof. You’d put us in more debt than we already are? You better not be lying.” He finished, pointing a broad finger.

Joe glared, “Oh I did it alright. You know what? You want proof? Fine, I got some of its scales right in there, wait here and I’ll show you.”

“Very well. I will know if they are fake.” Bilmor said with a huff.

Joe was irritated with Bilmor’s tone, but also understood the skepticism. Dragons were probably both rare and incredibly dangerous after all, and here he was, a single man saying that he killed it? Well, Joe was gonna prove him wrong. As he approached the door, it opened, Sera staying out of sight as Joe moved past her.

“What’s going on?” She asked, “They didn’t attack you.”

“He don’t believe that I killed that dragon.” He said, “I’m gonna show em’ these scales to get him off my back. Also that Varig guy I saved? He ended up being a prince, so Ugals apparently owes me big time now.”

Sera’s brows raised at that, “Well how about that… so we get access to the hold then?” She asked, tone becoming excited, “I’ve always wanted to see what it was like inside one, I’ll have to stay in Betty unfortunately but I can at least see it through the cameras-”

“We ain’t goin’ in.” Joe told her, switching the duffel bag for the large sack filled with dragon scales, “Too risky, Varig knows what I am and so does the royal family. We’re just gonna trade n’ go.”

Sera slumped, “Please?” She asked, clasping her hands together, “Pretty please?”

“No way.” Joe said, shaking his armored head, “Just gonna trade n’ go.”

“That’s no fair.” She said, crossing her arms and glaring up into his helmet, “We came all this way, let’s at least take a gander-”

“Sera I can’t, that’s a huge risk for me to take. I don't know these folk. What if someone in there knows what I am and don’t care about repaying debts?” He asked her.

Sera opened her mouth, likely to argue, but whatever she was about to say died in her throat. “I’m sorry Joseph, you’re right. My curiosity gets the better of me most days, when it burns its brightest I hardly think of anything else.”

“It's alright.” He told her, patting her shoulder gently, “Maybe one day, but not now.”

“One day implies our partnership will last longer than another month.” She stated, raising an amused eyebrow.

Joe didn’t reply, instead taking the scales and stepping back outside, shutting the door behind him. Bilmor stood, arms crossed and waiting. Joe walked up to him, rifling through the sack and gripping a scale, presenting it to Bilmor, smirking beneath his helmet. The dwarf took the scale tenderly before he attempted to bend it with his massive hands. After a moment of struggling and failing to bend it, Bilmor sighed.

“Yet another debt to be owed by avenging the destruction of Prince Varig’s retinue.” He said bitterly, “Your name will carry more weight in our annals now, you have paid the equivalent debt of at least ten-thousand humans with your actions.”

“That right?” Joe asked, “What if I said there was a way you could repay that debt right now?” He asked, turning to look back at Betty.

“Speak.” Bilmor said, handing Joe the scale.

Joe put it back in the bag, “I want to know what it is that the elves owe you all, I’m curious is all.”

Bilmor fell eerily silent, seemingly refusing to speak.

“You can’t tell me, can ya?” Joe asked.

Bilmor shook his head, “That is related to a debt their kind owes us, it is not knowledge I can give freely, even if it would satisfy the debts we owe you.”

“So you do remember.” Joe said with a nod.

“Aye… at least some of us do. We keep it from the general public, as we don’t want the knowledge reaching the elves.” He said, “I personally know what they owe us, but we will not speak to them until it is satisfied.”

Joe clicked his tongue, “Look, that was a really long time ago, I don’t think none of em’ even remember what it was. Why don’t you tell them so they can get it resolved? I just don’t understand that.”

Bilmor shook his head, “Menfolk never could understand our ways. If we were to tell them the debt, it would be a grave insult to elvenkind, as we would be telling them that their memory is faulty.”

“Wait a minute,” Joe said, lifting his index finger, “I heard that there are none of em’ left alive that can even remember, how is that fair or insulting?”

“This subject will be dropped.” Bilmor told him flatly, “I will hear no more questions on this. I will send word to Varig and return with merchants that may have the items you seek.”

Joe nearly gave an irritated huff, but held himself back. If Billy boy here didn’t want to share then he wasn’t going to force him. Still, it would have been nice to know, at least for Sera’s sake. Maybe he’d have better luck when he spoke with Varig? He had no idea how long it would take for him to get down here, but he’d need to put the T-12 away if it took too long. They clearly weren’t going to kill him, at least not until their debts were repaid.

He watched as Bilmor began jogging toward the massive stone gate, seeming to phase right through the stone. Joe blinked. Was that gate magical? Was it an illusion or would it only let certain people through it? Yet another question he’d have to ask later it seemed.

While word was being sent to Varig, Joe returned to Betty, swapping out his armor and stepping out once more. He of course brought out his own rifle, just in case the firing line changed their minds. Much to his surprise and relief, those dwarves had dispersed, taking places along the wall and leaving him to his own devices. At least, most of them did, one dwarf remained, musket in hand and staring at Joseph. He supposed that just because they somewhat trusted him didn’t mean that they’d leave him unattended.

“Why did you swap your plate armor for something completely inferior?” The dwarf asked from across the way, “The steel you wear now is nothing compared to what you had on before.”

“You have steam power right?” Joe asked.

The Dwarf, apparently surprised, nodded, “The armor is like that in a way. It needs power to function, and I didn’t wanna waste any battery.”

He wasn’t going to give this guy all the details of course, such as the thirty minute time limit, but he saw no reason to not make conversation. This was going to potentially be a long wait after all. He and the dwarf spoke for around half-an-hour, discussing mostly about their respective armors. The dwarf had been surprised to hear that Joe had crafted his plate armor by himself, stating that most dwarven warriors often did the same.

He had been in the middle of giving Joe some tips and tricks for forging that he knew, with the most important detail being that dwarven ale, when poured in with the metal, apparently made it stronger. Joe didn’t know about all that, he couldn’t think of any reason that would make it better… in fact, it could make it far worse in quality. Yet, looking at their armor, it did seem better than anything he himself had crafted… maybe dwarven rum had some special quality to it that could harden the metal? He’d buy a barrel of the stuff and see for himself.

Joe was in the middle of explaining the functions of the electrical forge in his workshop when Bilmor returned, a large retinue of dwarves following after him. Two of them bore tall red flags with a symbol depicting a simplistic drawn dwarf and a barrel. He assumed that it was a dwarf at least, with how stocky it was and the long beard. The dwarf was lifting the barrel over his head, either getting ready to drink right out of it or to throw it at someone. That must have been the house symbol for Ugals if he was guessing right.

The retinue consisted of around forty dwarves, half of them being armored men and the other half being unarmored fellas pulling wagons. At the front of the group though, was a familiar face.

“Joseph.” Varig said, approaching him, “I see you are well. You have learned Faesh, I’ve heard.” He finished in a whisper.

He was no longer wearing dirty rags and lacking shoes, instead he wore a full suit of plate armor, colored gold and engraved with several images as the others had. A long purple cape hung from his shoulders and only barely touched the ground. He looked every bit of a dwarven prince, even his presence felt different than when he was in the cave.

“It is good to see you again.” He continued, “Peruse the merchant’s wares, they will set up a market in miniature for you to explore. You may take three magical items of your choice, as to repay the debt for slaying that cursed dragon. These are all the merchants that sell magical goods, but they also bring with them some other standard wares, if they suit you.”

“Well thanks.” Joe said with a nod, offering his hand.

Varig stared at it with suspicion, “You did not wish to shake hands back in that cave, why now?”

“I wasn’t completely sure about you is all.” Joe said, “If I shook hands with ya, you might have been able to pull me to the ground. I know ya won’t do that now, though.”

It was true, Joe couldn’t find it in him to distrust Varig. He knew what Joe was, but still didn’t try and seize him for a wish, even though Joe was horribly outnumbered.

“That paranoia will keep you alive on Faenor, considering who you are, so do not forsake it.” Varig said, clasping Joe’s hand in his own, “I owe you a great debt twice over, now please, go satisfy one of them and select your items of choice. Remember, only three magical items will be parted with, then the dragon debt will be settled.”

“Sounds good.” He said, “What happens if they don’t have what I’m looking for?”

“Then you may remain here until we can imbue what you need, though it may take time. I understand that you do not wish to remain here for long, but understand that you have my clan's protection and may stay under my roof if you wish.”

“I appreciate that,’ Joe said, “But hopefully they’ll have what I need. No offense I just don’t wanna be in a place I can’t get out of easily.”

“Again, that is a healthy paranoia.” Varig said with a nod, “But if something did happen, I would save you and satisfy our debt.”

“What would happen to me after that?” Joe asked, “Wouldja try and sacrifice me?”

Varig shook his head, “No. Even if the debt is settled, I will do no such thing, though we would be again on even footing. I will never forget you releasing me from my imprisonment, Joseph.”

“Hmm…” Joe replied, “Alright well, I’m gonna take a look at those wagons then and I’ll get back to ya.”

Varig nodded, his eyes finding Betty.

“I will allow you up to six magic items if you give us the schematics for your wagon.” Varig said, his eyes lighting up, “Such a thing would be perfect for hauling work in the mines.”

Joe grimaced, “I don’t want to offend Varig, but frankly you guys don’t have the technology to replicate it, and she’s more of a weapons platform than a cargo truck.”

“It is a weapon you say?” Varig asked, putting a hand on his chin, “I see… well, would it at least be alright if I send one of my engineers to look around the exterior of your vehicle? I assume you don’t want anyone inside.”

“Correctamundo,” Joe said, receiving a confused stare from Varig, “Will I still get up to six magic items if I let someone look at her?”

Varig nodded, “Our engineers are some of our most gifted minds, and we do not forget things like the other races do. All they would need is to look at it and they’d remember every detail.”

An entire race with the super-power of photographic memory… he found himself oddly jealous. He had always wanted to have a photographic memory, it would have expedited his learning n’ crafting greatly.

“Alright, but they can’t touch it neither.” Joe said, “She’s fragile.”

Varig smiled and shook his head, “A very dainty girl that, just look at her.” He continued, nodding at Betty, “She’ll blow away in a strong wind.”

“Come on now she’s obese, a tornado couldn’t get her fat ass off the ground.” Joe laughed.

Varig also broke out into a good chuckle before he waved Joseph off toward the wagons, calling out to them the new deal they had arranged. He headed toward the merchants, several of them staring wide eyed at Betty. They all seemed fascinated by her, but with how their people were, it was no real shock. Already he could see a squat dwarven woman wearing goggles rushing over to Betty, rounding her a single time before reporting to Varig and taking her leave. Was it really that easy for them to recall things like that?

Joseph approached the first wagon, run by a portly dwarf with a long red beard, “Ah, you made the right choice laddy.” He replied, “This is a sample of Ledwi’s emporium! I have utilitarian tools here, recently imbued! Please, take your pick and I will provide it gladly.”

“I’m guessing you’re Ledwi,” Joe said, looking over the various tools in his wagon bed.

“Aye, that I am! The best tools merchant in Ugals- no, on Faenor! I will have what you seek, surely.”

Joe spotted what appeared to be a kitchen knife and pointed it out to Ledwi, “Can that one cut through anything?” He asked.

Ledwi shook his head, “No, that one is self-repairing, if given enough time, meaning you never have to sharpen or replace it.”

Ooh, that sounded nice. A knife that didn’t need to be maintained and could self-repair? It was tempting, but there were still twenty wagons left to sift through.

“I might take it after I browse some more, what about that thing there?” He asked, pointing to a sphere made of steel, “What’s that do?”

“Ah that. Well, that is worth at least three magic items by itself.” Ledwi said, I do not know if Prince Varig explained how magical items are valued, but depending on their utility they can cost double or even triple the price of a standard one. Know that if you take that, it will cost three of the six you’re allowed.”

Joe narrowed his eyes at Ledwi suspiciously, “What if I take that up with Varig right now?” He asked, “He’s just over there, maybe I should confirm.”

If Ledwi was fibbing, his reaction would give him away. However, Ledwi simply shrugged, “Go ahead, I understand.”

Hmm… he didn’t seem to be lying or nervous about getting in trouble, but he’d go ask Varig anyway. Joe wasn’t about to be scammed out of three useful tools. However, when he returned to Varig, the prince confirmed what Ledwi had claimed. When Joe came back, he again pointed to the sphere.

“So, what does it do?” He asked.

Ledwi grinned, “It is a space expander.”

Joe blinked, “Care to elaborate?”

“If you put that inside a room, any room, the size of that chamber is increased by ten times its original size.”

Joe frowned, “I can’t take that one, sounds cool but if I put it in my wagon over there, she might explode.”

“Ah ah!” Ledwi exclaimed, wagging his finger, “Not at all, the space outside the room is left unaltered, your wagon would suffer no exterior changes, and before you ask, no, if you have steam pipes or anything else in the walls, they will still function as intended.”

Joe almost bit his knuckle, “Damn. That’s tempting. I wanna see it in action first though, got a way we can test it?”

His workshop, kitchen, or front room could end up being ten times the size without bursting Betty? The possibilities ran wild in his mind.

Ledwi chuckled, “As long as there is a roof, a floor, and walls, the chamber will be expanded, help me throw this cloth over the wagon, and toss the sphere within, see how massive it becomes.”

And so Joseph did just that, helping Ledwi move a large cloth over his wagon bed and placing the sphere inside. He watched with awe as the space within widened, his jaw dropping as it happened. It was about ten times the size it was before, just as Ledwi had claimed.

“As you can see,” He started, “It does not raise the ceiling whatsoever, it expands the walls. Keep in mind, this is a functional space, not an illusion. I caution you though, if you remove the sphere from an expanded room, everything you have put against the walls will come crashing back to the center as the walls shrink rapidly. So once you expand a room, I’d recommend that it stays there, and also, if walls contain it, the effects will be limited to what is within those barriers, adding extra rooms in this larger space. You can still do so of course,” Ledwi explained, “But you must install it in the center of these potential new rooms, and again, if it is ever removed those rooms will be destroyed by the shrinkage.”

That was kind of scary to think about, but if he installed it right… he could set it somewhere on the floor, bolt it in place so it couldn’t be removed easily, and have a larger front room, ten times its original size. From there he could build new rooms, give himself a proper library, a room for exercising, the possibilities were astonishing.

“Let's put a pin in that one.” Joe said, becoming dizzy as his mind worked, “I gotta find something that can cut dragon bone, do you got something like that?”

Ledwi frowned, “I apologize, but my wagon will not have what you seek. You are interested in the sphere though, yes?”

Joe nodded emphatically, “Absolutely, but I got twenty wagons to go through and I don’t wanna set anything in stone just yet.”

“I understand, please come back to me once you’re finished and we can see what you have decided.” Ledwi said, removing the cloth and causing the inside of the cart to immediately shrink.

“Will do.” Joe said, “You still got stuff that I don’t know the function of though, what does this weird ribbon thing over here do?”

“It changes into whatever color the wearer desires!” Ledwi shouted excitedly.

That was lame, he wouldn’t take that over a self-repairing knife… but he supposed that all these wagons were gonna have stuff like this.

And so on he went, questioning every merchant on the function of every single magical item they had. The process took well over an hour, but the dwarves thankfully didn’t seem to mind. Varig himself had taken to speaking with the guards on the wall, but for what reason he didn’t know.

After his search was done, he had finally picked the items that he wanted. The first of which was a knife worth two items, which could only cut through bone, but could cut through any kind of bone with ease, including dragons, which was why the price was considerably high. It was exactly what he needed though, and he wasn’t going to turn it down. The second item and the most expensive one by far, was the space expanding sphere. It was a close contest between that, and a cube that could emit a small flame indefinitely at will. The prospect of having what was essentially a lighter that never ran out of fuel had excited him, but he wanted the extra space more.

The final item, and the other key he needed, was the needle. The kicker was that it couldn’t pierce anything whatsoever, but it was capable of binding anything to cloth without needing to puncture it. It could phase through matter without issue, and the binding it did was strong, requiring significant force to remove whatever was bound. For some reason, this one was only the cost of one item… that merchant had no idea what he was parting with, the applications for such a thing were incredible. The armor he could make with this tool was going to be insane.

All he had to do now was set the time aside to sew the scales in, and then go back to the dragon’s corpse to harvest the bones. Oh yeah… it was all coming together. Other items had caught his attention too of course, ones that almost made him consider bartering with Varig so he could get more. If he did though, Varig would likely want to send an engineer inside Betty, and that wasn’t an option, not with Sera in there.

His survivor brain also insisted that he not be greedy, that letting a stranger in would be the death of him. So, he acknowledged it and staved off the temptation to ask for more. Once his choices were decided, he picked out some non-magical goods from the dwarves. He bought a barrel of dwarven rum, dried food, a few dwarf-made tools, ingots of dark dwarven steel, and a few bags of gunpowder. There were some other bits and bobs he collected as well of course, it was hard to hold back from taking more and more, but he felt some guilt at essentially robbing these people. They insisted that it was alright, that they were going to be compensated by the royal family, and in fact tried to pressure him into taking more. Everything he took was essentially a sale in the merchant's eyes, the bill being footed by Varig. Now guiltless, he indulged his greed, realizing that he was truly going to need the space expander to fit all this crap in there. Once he had all his items selected, the merchants deposited it by the ramp, taking their leave and moving back toward the stone gate…Again they just phased through it. Maybe it wouldn’t be so hard to get out if he brought Betty in… no, caution.

“That is our greatest defense.” Varig told him, approaching from the wall, “Currently the gate is an illusion, but our king can instantly solidify it at will.”

“That’s pretty damn cool, but just the king?” He asked, “What happens when you become king, will it be useless?”

“I am flattered, but I will not be king, I am third in line.” Varig said with a smile, “As for how the gates function beyond that, I’m afraid that I cannot tell you.”

He seemed happy that he wouldn’t be ruler, based on that tone.

“Alrighty, I won’t pry… say,” He said, suddenly having an idea that could satisfy both his caution and his greed, “You let me get a few more magic items, and I’ll let one of your engineers take a gander at one of my guns.”

Varig’s head snapped sharply to him, “That sounds like a bargain, but you’ve already taken so many… You’d need to show us more than just that.”

“I can’t let you inside my wagon, sorry Varig.” Joe told him.

Varig shook his head, “I mean I want to see your collection of guns, we only recently invented our own, but the Outworld seems as if it is leaps and bounds ahead of anything we can currently make.”

So he could get some more magical items, as long as he jumped Ugals ahead by a few tech levels. Joe thought of the ramifications of this, wondering if the dwarves would conquer this Shard with their newfound weaponry. Sera said that they were isolationist, not expansionist, and based on their behavior that was clearly the case. Even if they did want to conquer this Shard, what the hell did he care?

The place was crawling with bandits, rife with human trafficking and corruption, maybe if these dwarves were in charge things would be better. Yet, Joe had a feeling that was not what would happen. They’d just be even harder to dig out of their mountains than ever before, they were cautious people that didn’t want much to do with the outside world.

“It’s a deal, Varig. I got some things that’ll make your head spin.” Joe said with a grin, “But first, let's talk business, how many magic items will you give me per gun?”

Varig grinned back, “It depends on how powerful the particular weapon you let us study is.”

“Get a few engineers out here and I’ll let em’ take a gander at what I got.”

He dearly hoped that Sera wasn’t going to be horribly bored being by herself, he had a feeling that this was going to take some time.