Rise of the Living Forge

Arwin lowered himself into a chair back in the Devil’s Den, letting out a relieved sigh as he finally let himself relax. It had been a busy few days. Every few days seemed to have been busy, but these even more so than usual.

But there was finally nothing more that he had to urgently work on. He couldn’t make Kien’s weapon until the man returned with his Quest completed and new class obtained. Lillia was working on dinner, which meant she couldn’t work with him on the [Soul Guardian] for the Devil’s Den.

Everything was prepared on his end for the tournament. There were still projects that he had to attend to — finishing Anna’s armor, making himself armor given his last set had transformed itself into a [Soul Guardian], upgrading the equipment of just about everyone in the Menagerie — the list went on.

But all of that could wait for a little while. There was no benefit to rushing through important work, and most of the Menagerie was busy. Olive was practicing along with Phoenix Circle in preparation for the Tournament; Anna had gone off with Monica to get Raen and meet with Melissa and the Montibeau family in attempt to get backing for Art’s team.

Reya was off somewhere as she tended to be, and Madiv was with Esmerelda. Arwin didn’t know where Rodrick had gone off to, but the man tended to go missing just as often as he was present.

And that was just fine. Everything was in motion, and all Arwin had to do for the rest of the day was kick back and relax. Thoughts bubbled in the back of his mind. They tried to remind him of all the things he still had to do.

Of how there was a dwarf smith aiding Soulforge, and how he needed to talk with Wallace about what that meant. Of the Setting Sun guild. Of the Adventurer’s Guild and the Mesh and —

Arwin’s teeth clenched and he shook his head. It felt like his body was physically rejecting the idea of resting. The moment he stopped working, his mind went into overdrive in search of things to do.

Just do nothing for a little, damn it. There are two days until the tournament. One of those days will be set aside to make Kien his weapon. That leaves me with one day to do nothing, and I’m taking it, do you hear me?

His mind did not respond. That was definitely for the best. If it did, Arwin would have started to wonder if he was losing his mind.

An imp approached his table and hoisted a mug of beer nearly the size of its head up and onto the table with a small grunt. It hopped up to give the beer a push away from the edge before scurrying away into the shadows.

Arwin sent an appreciative nod in its direction before taking the mug and drawing a long swig from it. He let out a sigh and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, well aware that there was a napkin on the table but unable to be bothered to reach for it.

“It’s good, isn’t it?”

Arwin glanced up from the table.

A woman stood before him. Long black hair framed her face, obscuring large portions of her features and hanging all the way down to her hips in long, wet strands as if she’d just finished a long swim in the river. The only part of her features he could make out easily were her eyes, both a dull silver.

“The drink?” Arwin asked, watching her warily. He wasn’t particularly concerned about getting attacked. The Devil’s Den was probably the most defended place the Menagerie had. Even if Monica wasn’t around right now and he didn’t have any armor to summon, Arwin still had [Indomitable Bulwark].

“Everything,” The woman replied. “I kind of hate it.”

“What?” Arwin couldn’t stop the surprised word from slipping out from his lips.

Didn’t she just say she liked it?

“I’m pissed,” the woman continued. “And that’s another hassle. Seriously, this place is awful. Where am I going to get food like this anywhere else? I’m going to go home and be in a shit mood because the food there isn’t as good.”

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Arwin squinted at her.

Ah. It was a roundabout compliment. Weird way to do it. I really don’t want to deal with a crazy adventurer right now. Maybe she’s looking for Anna to get some damage to her head fixed. We’ve had a lot of people coming through for treatment recently.

“You’re distracted,” the woman said, pulling the chair across from Arwin out and sitting down.

He blinked, his gaze focusing on her. “It’s been a long day. I’m not in the best mood for a conversation right now. Sorry. If there’s something you’re looking for—”

“Me neither.”

Arwin frowned. “What?”

“Conversation,” the woman said through a sigh as she draped herself over her chair. She melted into it with a muttered groan. “Pain in the ass. I hate it.” ɽÅ𐌽ՕＢƐŚ

“Right,” Arwin said slowly. “So why are you talking to me? You’re welcome to any of the empty tables.”

“Because I’m interested in you.”

“I appreciate your approach, but I am in a relationship.”

The woman let out a snort of amusement. “Not like that. I’m interested in Ifrit the Smith, not Arwin the Guildmaster.”

The frown on Arwin’s face deepened. He hadn’t bothered keeping his true identity too secret as of late. There wasn’t as much need for it with the Iron Hounds being gone and the Menagerie’s strength getting the point where its members could defend themselves… but there still weren’t that many people that would bother to learn his real name.

“What do you want?” Arwin asked, his eyes narrowing as he pushed himself straighter in the chair.

“I want to know why you made this guild,” the woman said. “What purpose do you survive? What desire?”

“That’s an odd question.”

The woman leveled a flat stare at him. “Okay.”

Then she was silent. Arwin stared at her, but it was evident she did not plan to say anything else. She’d acknowledged his observation and simply chosen to ignore it. The sheer audacity of that pulled an incredulous chuckle from Arwin.

“Okay? Really?”

She nodded. “Yes. It’s okay. Are you going to answer me?”

Arwin shook his head and shrugged. “Because we wanted a place to belong, and I want to protect the people close to me. Our goal is to help people in the ways we can.”

“Running for mayor, are you?”

“What?” Arwin’s brow furrowed. “No. what are you talking about?”

“That answer is too perfect. You want to protect people and make the world a better place? Let me guess, you also want to deliver gifts to all the orphan children and un-kill their parents while you’re at it?”

“That would be nice, yes.”

It was the woman’s turn to let out a laugh. “You don’t want to be famous? To sell your equipment throughout the kingdom? Isn’t that why you’re entering the tournament?”

Arwin studied the woman closely. The Menagerie’s participation in the Proving Grounds wasn’t public knowledge. It was supposed to be something known only to the Secret Eye — though he had no doubts that, if Rodrick and Art had been able to figure out the people participating in the tournament, then others could too.

Is she a member of another team?

“I’m not stupid enough to think my goals can be accomplished just by hoping hard enough,” Arwin said with a shrug. “We will do what we need to in order to become strong enough to achieve them. Is that a better answer?”

“A more realistic one,” the woman replied. “I’ll be looking forward to seeing your performance, then. A smith fighting a bunch of combat classes… that might be one for the ages. I don’t think the Proving Grounds has ever seen something like that.”

Arwin tilted his head to the side. Whoever the woman was, it didn’t seem like her information was entirely accurate. She thought he was taking part in the actual fight.

Well, I’m not going to be the one correcting her.

“Expectations can be dangerous. Better to take things as they are,” Arwin suggested. He leaned forward, his gaze sharpening. “Is there something you wanted, or were you just poking around for information?”

“I’m just killing time, actually. I was just going to kill it napping after I ate, but there weren’t any rooms left,” the woman said with a defeated sigh. She pushed her chair back and rose to her feet. “You seem like the decent enough sort.”

“Thanks, I think. Are you going to be in the Proving Grounds yourself?”

A faint smile crossed the woman’s lips. She stepped away from the chair and pushed it back into the table. “No. That sounds like a massive hassle, and it would probably defeat the point. It’s meant to be a competition, after all. Thanks for the talk, Arwin. I’ll be seeing you around.”

“Defeat the point? What do you…”

Arwin trailed off.

The woman was gone.

You have to be kidding me. Seriously? I barely even got to fish for any information. Rodrick is going to be pissed.

He was still staring at the spot the woman had been standing when Lillia walked over to join him from within the kitchen.

“What are you staring at?” Lillia asked, following his gaze. “Is something wrong?”

“Did you happen to catch who was sitting at this table a few seconds ago? They just left.”

“What, here?” Lillia frowned. “Arwin, as far as I’ve been aware, you’ve been alone this whole time. The Devil’s Den didn’t feel anyone sitting next to you.”

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