Rise of the Living Forge

“Seriously?” Reya asked, her eyes going wide. “You aren’t messing with me?”

“Why would I joke about something like this?” Arwin asked. He stretched his arms over his head and yawned. Now that his work on the greaves was done and he’d gotten his tier advancement, he was exhausted. “I’m dead serious.”

Reya swallowed. “I – thank you. I don’t know if it’ll work out, but I really appreciate it. I’m not so sure I’ll be able to get a class. If I could, wouldn’t I have gotten one by now?”

“We aren’t always dealt the hand we want, and the Mesh can be strange. From my experience with it, the thing you desire will come to you so long as you work toward it. If you don’t have a class yet, it’s not because you can’t get it. It’s because you haven’t been in the situation where you’ve been doing what you truly want to.”

Reya didn’t look completely convinced, but she gave Arwin a nod. “Okay. I’ll trust you, so just tell me what to do. Shouldn’t I… I don’t know, train or something?”

“Do what you want. I’m not an expert on this,” Arwin said with a dry laugh. “For today, I’m done doing anything other than sleeping. I’m about an inch from passing out on my feet. Just make sure you’re around three days from now.”

“I will!” Reya promised hurriedly, her eyes flashing with a mixture of excitement and determination. She caught herself and cleared her throat sheepishly. “Thank you.”

“Stop thanking me for something that hasn’t happened yet,” Arwin grumbled. He trudged over to his bed and tested it with a hand. It sank beneath his palm – not as much as he might have liked, but it was still far softer than the floor.

One more step toward making this place a real home.

Reya edged toward the door. “I’m going to go practice, if that’s okay. I don’t think I’m going to be able to sleep anymore.”

“Suit yourself, but don’t be out too late and end up exhausted when the time comes for us to do the real work,” Arwin warned as he sat down on the bed. “Just relax. You’ll be fine. I’m confident you’ll do just fine. And, even if you don’t, I won’t let you fail.”

A soft breeze passed through the open doorway, reminding Arwin that he still needed to get a door for it – and to find a way to patch the walls while he was at it. It was past time to make the smithy into a proper building rather than just a crumbling pile of stone.

“Why?” Reya asked softly.

Arwin’s head tilted to the side. “Why what?”

“Why are you doing so much for me? You’ve never asked for anything in return other than the most basic information on the area. I just don’t understand what you get out of this.”

“Do you need a reason to help someone else?” Arwin asked after a few moments. He wasn’t so sure he had an actual answer to Reya’s question. He didn’t have a reason to help her – not a logical one, at least. “I’m helping you because we’re a guild.”

“Not in name,” Reya said, clenching her hands and averting her gaze. “We aren’t registered, and there’s only two of us! How can two people be a guild?”

“A guild is not about its size.”

“The Adventurer’s Guild would beg to differ.”

“I don’t give a shit about them,” Arwin said brusquely, waving his hand with a snort. “A guild isn’t about the number of people in it. It’s about the people that are. It’s not like getting officially recognized as a guild changes anything anyway.”

“I guess not. But… why me?” Reya asked. “I’m not special.”

“That’s hardly true,” Arwin said with an amused snort. “To be frank, you’ve got more problems than anyone of your standing has any right to. It’s beyond me how you’ve gotten yourself into this much shit, but that’s a talent. It doesn’t matter in the end. You’re the one that decided to throw her lot in with me, and I’m not going to leave a member of my guild unable to properly defend themselves. Everyone has problems, but the guild can’t always help every single individual member. It’s the responsibility of the guild leader to make sure everyone can handle their own problems whenever possible. And, when a problem that’s too big for one person to handle on their own shows up – that’s what the guild is for. That’s all.”

“I’m not sure I understand.”

“That’s fine,” Arwin said, pulling his dirty shirt off and tossing it to the ground as he got into the bed. “You will.”

Reya stood in the doorway silently for a few seconds. Then she gave him a small nod before turning and slipping into the night. Arwin watched her leave, then laid his head back against the mattress and let out a satisfied sigh.

It had been so long since he’d properly rested on something comfortable that the instant he let himself relax for an instant, sleep rushed up to pull him into its embrace.

***

When Arwin woke the next morning, Reya was still out. He didn’t particularly mind – there was more he had to handle before it was time to go out on their trip, and he’d need as much time as possible to get it all done.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

There was also a small part of him that felt it better for Reya to not be present for his current work. If she was around, she’d see what he was working on, and then the surprise would be ruined.

Arwin ambled over to the forge, sending a spark of [Soul Flame] into the hearth and pumping it with the bellows. Once the fire was roaring, he tossed some scales into it and waited for them to heat. If Reya was going to go out and fight monsters without a class, she needed a way to avoid getting killed by the first blow she took.

Anna seems like a good healer, but no healing magic is perfectly reliable. Fatal wounds can happen faster than anyone expects. Prevention is far superior to reaction.

And, with that thought in mind, Arwin got back to work. He worked the scales, piecing them together one by one within the crackle of the flames. He worked quickly, moving faster than he had when making the greaves.

A part of that was because he knew how to work the scales better, and a part of it was because he didn’t need to make perfect armor this time around. He could feel the pull of the scales as he worked, but it wasn’t as strong as they had been for the greaves. They were muted, and it wasn’t hard to guess why.

Right now, Arwin needed to complete a set of armor for Reya that would last her until she had her class. She already had a chest piece, so what she needed now was something for her lower body. There was no point to make it too specifically tuned, though – it would likely become irrelevant if her class ended up being something that couldn’t use it. Making magical plate armor for someone trying to move stealthily would be quite the waste.

What I need is a set of armor perfect for someone who hasn’t gotten their class yet. Something that protects them but doesn’t constrain them to a specific fighting style. Something fast, effective, and easy to move in.

Arwin didn’t know what Reya’s measurements were – a problem that the scales fortunately seemed to understand. He still wasn’t sure how much of it was their own desire and how much was his own magic, but as time slipped by, a set of greaves started to take shape in the forge. They were mostly made from scale mail, but he added curved plates to protect her knees and solid lines down the outside of the legs that would hopefully serve to deflect a glancing attack better.

Arwin didn’t work through the nights this time around, not wanting to be exhausted when it came time to set out with Reya. He stopped whenever it grew dark, retiring to his new bed and leaving the armor in a pile under it so Reya didn’t see what he was working on.

His work came to a close on the third day, just before the morning of when they’d set out with Rodrick and Anna to get Reya her class. Reya – at least as far as Arwin was aware – had no idea of what he’d been working on.

She’d spent the last few days out and had always come back late and weary, dropping into bed without much more than a muttered greeting. He could see the stress weighing on her shoulders, but there wasn’t much he could say to alleviate it.

Reya was already asleep by the time Arwin finished, which made it considerably easier for him to put everything away without her seeing it. He slipped all the pieces of the armor under his bed, then laid down on top of it and let himself drift off to sleep.

When the night came to a close and Arwin’s eyes drifted awake the following morning, he found Reya already awake and pacing in front of the door. Her eyes snapped over to him as soon as she noticed he was awake.

“Is it time?” Reya asked, wringing her hands together and shifting from foot to foot.

“You don’t have to be worried about it. If things don’t work out, we’ll just try again a different day,” Arwin said through a yawn. He rose to his feet and stretched his arms out, rolling his neck and wiping the sleep from his eyes.

“Not if I die,” Reya said.

“You’re not going to die. We’ve got two other adventurers with us, and they’re both pretty good at what they do. One is a healer.”

“But what if I slip while I’m fighting? I’ve only properly fought other people. We’re going to go fight some really powerful monster or something, aren’t we?”

“What makes you think that?” Arwin tilted his head to the side with an amused grin. “We could just be going after some weak ones.”

“If I haven’t gotten a class yet, then killing a bunch of pushover monsters isn’t going to change anything.”

“That’s likely true,” Arwin allowed. “Technically I think it would depend on exactly how you killed the monsters, but fighting something stronger is more likely to get you a good class. If we can get you an Achievement or Title in the process, even better.”

“Before I even get a class?” Reya shuddered. “Are you trying to get me killed? All the Achievements for that kind of thing always come from defeating something way stronger than you. I’ll get ripped in half!”

“No you won’t,” Arwin said. He knelt beside his bed and pulled out the greaves that he’d hidden beneath it the night before. Reya made her way over to him, looking curiously over his shoulder.

“What’s this?” Reya asked. “That looks a bit… small for you.”

“You would be correct.” Arwin’s voice was as dry as the desert. “It isn’t for me. It’s for you.”

Reya snickered and rolled her eyes. “Right, sure. Did you get commissioned by the other adventurers or something? I bet these would go for a good amount. They look great.”

Arwin just raised an eyebrow. Reya’s smile flickered and fell away. She looked from the armor to Arwin, then swallowed. “You weren’t joking?”

“Dead serious. It’s to keep the dead in the serious and not in you if you get hit by something nasty,” Arwin said. The joke had sounded considerably better in his head, but Reya was so engrossed with the armor that she didn’t even notice.

She hurriedly donned the greaves and fastened everything before rolling her shoulders and hopping from one foot to the other. The set he’d started some time ago was complete – at least for the time being. The greaves weren’t magical, but they were still more than enough to keep her safe.

I hope they are, at least.

As far as Arwin could tell, the armor fit her perfectly. A small smile flickered across Arwin’s face. He’d been more than a little worried that it would have been the wrong size, but his powers hadn’t failed him.

“I think this might be the nicest thing anyone has ever gotten for me, much less made,” Reya murmured, running her hands along the scales in delight. “This is incredible. It’s such a huge step up from what you were making just recently as well. Were you holding back on purpose? Wait. I can’t afford this, and you already gave me a magical chestpiece. I–”

“You aren’t buying it,” Arwin said through a laugh. “It’s a gift. Just keep yourself from getting killed and I’ll consider it a worthwhile investment.”

Reya blinked heavily. She bit her lower lip, then turned away from him and wiped her face with the back of her hand. When she looked back, all that remained on her features was a determined expression.

“I’ll make sure I live up to this,” Reya promised. “I don’t know what we’re doing, but I’ll do it.”

“Let’s just start by surviving,” Arwin suggested. He tried not to show how pleased he was that Reya liked the gift, but he was pretty sure his efforts failed. He clapped her on the shoulder, then nodded to the door. “Come on. Let’s put that new armor to use. You’ve got a class to claim.”

And I have some new abilities to test out.