by Demetri Grim
“Decorum, is always useful Miss Galten. It separates us, the higher races, from them.” He gestured out the door dismissively before continuing. “Even the lowest of humans can be seen in the eyes of his betters as above an animal with even the slightest display of decorum. Remember that young smith, and you will go far in life.” The elf lord then stood from his desk and shuffled the papers he was working on together. Pulling and folding a single sheet from the top before placing it in his side pouch. He came around the table and looked at her with a curious light in his eyes.
“I will keep that in mind my lord,” Beka said and instinctively took a step back as he approached her. Her back ran into the wall behind her and she flinched. “Wait…” She was standing in front of the doorway, that means the wall… She winced again and turned to look up at the towering red figure looming behind her. How is he so quiet when he's that big, it's not natural. His golden reptilian eyes stared down at her. Her will was crushed under his gaze as she froze in place, a prey animal caught in the sights of a predator.
“I call it Red. For obvious reasons,” came Kindredstar’s voice from beside her, and he actually snickered. “Enough of that Red. This is the smith and her weapon I spoke of. I want to know everything.” The elf touched the spear just above her hand and she blinked out of her stupor almost as if a spell had been lifted. Perhaps one had in fact had been lifted. This ‘Red’ was clearly not what he appeared. As her mind caught up to her situation and the elf’s hand near hers she quickly let go of the spear and snapped her hand to her side. She could not stand to be near him. Something about being close to him made her feel uneasy, even before she learned of his possibly murderous ways.
“As you command.” The red man’s voice rumbled out, deep and yet oddly melodic, despite being completely monotone. It was a sound that reminded her of the low rumble the forge makes when the fires are burning hot and the door is closed. Her attention turned from the man to the spear as he took it from the mage. Beka watched with a curiously raised eyebrow as the big man hefted it in his hands a few times, turned it over, sniffed the blade, and then... licked it?
“What the hell is he doing? You can't identify my family's enchantments. The Magisterium has been trying for years. And you sure as hell can't tell anything by licking it! “ She was cut off from saying any more by the harsh barking laugh of the elf lord. Beka gaped at him, his laugh was so obnoxious it had to be forced.
“Impossible to identify? Why? Because some scholar, at an organization fond of holding themselves up in their stony lecture halls and observing the world from their high towers, said it was impossible?” He grated out another unnerving chuckle. “ No my dear naive smith, if you’re going to explain how the world works, you have to actually live in it.” With that, he held out his open palm to the large red clothed man. “Observe.” He said, his too-wide grin now showing far to many teeth.
“I am finished,” Red announced and handed the spear back, but made no indication of doing anything more.
“Well go on,” Lord Kindredstar replied, a hint of annoyance that his climactic gesture was lost to the strange man's response, but made no move to take the spear.
“Etherium-infused metal. One of three variations. The three known types are Blood Iron, Arcane Steel, and Eternium. In this case, the latter. Mythril and Etherium, to form Eternium.” The golden inhuman eyes of the man turned to her and held out the spear to her instead. “Rune-inscribed forge. Heated with Arcadian Ironwood and imported coal from the west. Dwarven stock. Import Master Marcus’s wares. Silver flux clay. Used as a medium prior to heating. Enchanted with...” The man in red hesitated. His eyes seemed to flicker an inner light not reflected from any source as he looked down at her. Beka’s throat became dry instantly under his gaze and she slowly reached out for the spear. “An unknown magical source.” He finished. His gaze flickered again, his iris growing wider as he stared at her. An inner light deep within the black pit of his inuman eyes flashed, little more than a flicker, but she could see an ember of light dance within the darkness before it winked out and he turned his gaze back to Lord Kindredstar. Beka took a slow breath. Somehow he knew. He knew what made the enchantment on the weapon and yet he lied.
“Unknown! That is ridiculous.” Kindredstar’s outburst and sudden change in tone from his usual regal and controlled self made Beka back away from the men quickly. A sigil flashing to life in Kindredstars’ hand with a crisp blue light. The air in the room grew misty as the temperature dropped twenty degrees in only a heartbeat. Her breath coming out in small cloud as the elf lord clenched his fists, eyes alight with blue energy. He swept his hand over the sigil he held and a flurry of runes danced over his fingertips faster than she could make them out. “Do not lie to me creature!” His eyes flashed again and the big man in red flinched a little as the elf touched the strange center sigil, causing it to flash. The man in red heaved and gasped, his heavy puffs of breath coming hard and slow as the big man dropped to one knee.
“It is unknown. Unique. It is not of any taught school of magic. It is not arcane. It is not primal in nature.” The air of the room grew colder as a crisp blue light surrounded the elf. Beka’s teeth chattered and she backed into the freezing cold wall of the office. Clutching the spear to her chest. Kindredstar’s hand flashed as he pointed at the kneeling figure before him, another set of runes dancing over his fingertips. Even with her life clearly at risk from the mage’s temper she could not help but notice his array was so very different from her brother’s. He seemed to have so many more runes to call upon as well. Was this the power of a true mage?
“Then explain how the enchantment works.” Kindredstar hissed down at the big man. The golden-eyed monster was quickly becoming covered in a thin layer of frost and seemed locked into place, on his knees, head bowed, and eyes clenched in pain. The noble elf sneered as the man in red said nothing. His glowing eyes snapping up to Beka’s a moment later. She flinched away and clenched her eyes, expecting a wave for cold to blast over her any moment. Instead the elf lord sighed. “My apologies young Miss Galten, that was quite rude of me. This creature is skilled in many things, so many in fact I fear I have grown far too reliant on its abilities. This creature has to be disciplined however, when it fails, and when it lies.” She swallowed hard. How did Kindredstar know he had lied? What did the elf know about her family's abilities? It’s possible he knew more from her mother as one of her colleagues, but to lash out at the person, or monster, kneeling before them so suddenly had to be an overreaction. “I am terribly sorry you had to witness this display, but rest assured it was necessary.” The regal tones returned but his face remained the cold frown that it seemed most comfortable in.
“It is an artifact weapon.” Red suddenly spoke, his low rumbling voice came out winded and he groaned a deep long rumble as he stood. “I can identify and explain the properties of the artifact, not its enchantment process.” As he stood the frost on his body melted away in wisps of soft steam. He fixed his rumpled suit and brushed dirt from his pant legs.
“That will suffice for now. Proceed.” Kindredstar crossed his arms into the sleeves of his robes and looked down his nose at Red, despite being a good foot shorter.
“The Artifact’s weapon array is blood-bonded. Its array will work only for the kin of the ones who forged it. The array is powered by life energy. Supplied by the wielder’s aura. Its innate runes are designed to seek out life force in order to not tax its wielder. It does this in order to sustain and empower its primary spell array by consuming lifeforce from the slain. Or its wielder if used unfed. It has considerable space within its array. It can hold up to a hundred runes within. Any rune stored within the weapon can be used with the wielder’s own magical aura at will so long as they do not run out of mana. Heartseeker can use spells independently of the caster. Drawing from slain foes and its store of mana. Its current mana charge is visible within the ring at the base of the weapon. How much mana is used is based on what spell rune is triggered. If no rune
is triggered for the spear to use independently the wielder can supplement their own mana with that of the weapon’s. In essence the more one kills. The more mana one has.” Finishing his assessment Red bowed to the mage who nodded and waved his hand dismissively at the larger man. Beka just gaped at the big man, his assessment more than she could have ever asked for. He gave her everything she needed to know about her own weapon and more. As Red turned to exit, his eyes caught hers and the corner of his mouth twitched upwards ever so slightly as the red monster in a man’s suit left the office.
“ Fascinating. Is it not?” Kindredstar said and glanced over to her. Beka looked away and wanted nothing more than to follow Red out of the room but was unable to move, her knees trembling slightly. The noble pressed on. “It may not have been what I asked for but I think the creature gave us some valuable information, yes? Between what your brother discovered in his fight, and Red’s analysis I think we can safely put the weapon to its best possible use in the coming days.” Turning to her the magelord glided forward. Beka flinched despite herself as he neared. “You have nothing to fear from me young smith. A little frost is necessary to keep that creature in check, but I am no threat to you.” Reaching out to take the spear from her, he leaned down to meet her eyes.
As their eyes met the blue light within his flashed as he spoke. His words soft, almost kind. “I know why the etherium affects you the way it does.” He said and stood, taking the spear from her still slightly shaking grasp.
She was taken aback. Where did that come from? “How did you know about that? I never said anything about etherium having any effect on me.” Beka tried to recall when he asked her about the weapon. Her white lie should not have given anything away. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and broke the elf’s gaze, looking down at the floor. A snowflake pattern of frost was melting into the carpet, centered from where he had stood to interrogate Red. The chill in the room had faded but the chill in her core remained. At least now she knew why she felt this way around the magelord. He was a Cryomancer with a very powerful frost aura.
“Your condition is common to my kingdom.” he continued, scanning his eyes along the spear and carefully wiping the blade clean with the edge of his robe. “What you suffer from is known as an Ether Seizure, a debilitating condition that affects the human population of Arcadia. I have seen the after effects and warning signs of it hundreds of times.” He strode across the room, spear in hand and placed it upon his desk, turning back to her. “It normally only occurs in humans who have minor magical potential. The ones whose magic will never become strong enough to manifest a rune array. Ether Seizing can be quite serious at times considering the abundance of the etherium ore in the environment there.” Picking up the small box on his desk he returned and kneeled before her. “You see magic flows within the blood of any mage, it is a part of them right down to their core. And is empowered by even the slightest bit of etherium. A human's heart that is not strong enough to manifest an aura into an array can not handle the strain of their own magic when empowered. It would seem, young Miss Galten, that you have your father’s heart, and your mother's blood.” He smiled wide and opened the box, presenting it to her. Beka took a step back from him in a knee jerk reaction, clutching her hands over her mouth to stifle an outburst of panic.
He snickered. It seems he was enjoying causing her discomfort as he tilted the box forward. Instead of an ingot of etherium, this time the box contained a single gold bar the same size and shape as the ingot he presented weeks ago. She blinked and looked up at him, shaking her head slowly in confusion. She just witnessed him freeze a man, or at least a monster, in its place in a fit of annoyance. And now he was offering her gold bars and giving her a warning about a sickness from his homeland that she might possess? It was all a lot to handle, and she was very much at her limit for how much crazy she could take for one day.
Chapter 12: No Refusals
“Why are you telling me this? What's the gold bar for? What is that man, monster, Red, whatever? How did he, or it, know all that just from licking the damn spear? And what the bloody hell is that thing out in the hall that was laughing at me!” Beka jabbed her finger his direction. Her face flushing as she spat out her questions. Not even caring about what would be considered polite, she had enough of this place. Enough of this creepy elf and of his damn monsters.
He stood and barked out his terrible laugh once more. “So full of fire and impertinence aren't we. Very well, I will answer a few of your questions. Things that pertain to my private stock here at the Menagerie are none of your concern however. As for this gold bar.” He nodded and closed the box. “ It is payment for the job I have planned for you. Now that I have seen your work with filigree and your skill with weapons smithing.“ He gestured back to Heartseeker resting across his desk. “You have impressed me. Tell me, have you ever worked with horn before?”
Beka raised an eyebrow and turned her head, giving him a suspicious side eye, uncertain of where this was going. “Yes, I have, many swords have horn or ivory handles. The ones used for parades and gifted to new officers will add filigree to them. So yes, I have worked with horn once or twice. Why?”
“Good. What exactly will you require to perform such a task?” He asked, ignoring her question as he turned, striding to the door on the far right of the room.
“Well my tools, and workbench for placing it, the forge for heating and making the wire. I’m not sure we can work with any more etherium right now, our smelter is...” She paused and watched as he passed his hand over the door’s sigil and activated his array with a flash of blue light.
“No not etherium, just gold. This task must be done here at the Menagerie as well. I can provide you with a small portable camp forge that the garrison uses, and a table. Bring your own tools. Can this be done?” He asked. Though his tone made it clear what her answer needed to be.
She simply nodded. "Yea, I think I can work with that."
The door he stood before turned to mist a moment later. A flicker of torchlight was blocked on the other side as wood scraped against stone. Two guards stood and crossed their arms before banging gauntleted fists across their chest, coming to attention with the traditional salute of the kingdom.
“My lord!” they shouted in unison.
“You should be honored young smith. It is a rare few who get to see the inner workings of the Menagerie, much less the pits themselves,” he said, ignoring the guards as he strode past. “Now to answer another of your questions. I am telling you this information because it should be known. It is common knowledge in Arcadia, and I cannot abide ignorance. I was once a teacher much as your mother is now after all.”
So he was a teacher. Beka thought to herself as she followed him through the misty doorway. That did explain a few things she had been wondering, but not enough to make her any less uncomfortable around the strange and obviously powerful man.
As she passed into the next chamber she gagged and took in a sharp breath covering her nose with her sleeve and turning her burning, watery eyes up to the mage. The overwhelming stink of filth, animal waste, and what she could now tell was goblin assaulted her senses. This hallway was much more what she was expecting. A long dark passage lined with thick reinforced cells. The monsters and beasts in the cages hissed and snarled. The number of different species was amazing. She could not help but peer into each cell in turn. A tingle of excitement and adventure running through her as she walked past each cage with the completely disinterested elf. Goblins, a three-headed wolf, a four-armed gorilla, giant snakes, a group of tiny rat like lizards that walked around on their hind legs. They chittered at her as they clung to the bars watching her pass. Even a single massive armored beast three times larger than any horse with a pair of huge ivory horns coming from the center of its head grunted as it pressed against its cage door. She marveled at the craftsmanship of the cells and the work it would have taken to make them. Some of the bars were nearly as wide around as her leg. The vaulted ceiling of
the corridor was almost thirty feet high, meaning even larger creatures than she had already seen would easily fit in the impressively reinforced cells. The gradual curve of the long hall left her thinking this long run of cages must arc halfway around the outer length of the Colosseum. It certainly explained why she had to come down so deep to reach the first hallway.
“This is the Menagerie pits. I keep my stock of beasts and monsters here. Unlike my personal stock of handpicked savages, these creatures are gathered from all over Cross and Septa to serve as entertainment in the tournament. I warn you, do not stray from the path or the beasts will kill you.” He gestured to a damp-looking and well-worn carpet that ran down the center of the hallway. At some point in the past it must have been the same matching green as the other hall but now was stained brown with use and monster filth. Beka nodded and stepped in behind the magister. “This section wraps around all the way to the barracks” Kindredstar said, gesturing to the cages.” If an animal gets free, the barracks has the manpower to put it down, in addition should the barracks fall in a southern alignment ocursion, the beast pens can be opened and let out directly into the Colosseum.” They passed a huge corridor branching from the center of the hallway, the high walls were lined with scratched and pitted holes from claws, horns, and weapons. A flickering light at the end revealing a massive set of chains and wheels set about a huge iron and stone platform. The foundation she suspected of the lift that had deposited the goblins onto the surface earlier that day.
“How does the lift work?” Beka asked pointing down the corridor as they passed. Her fascination with gadgets and devices overpowering her caution about the elf and her current situation.