War Of The Wildlands(74)

The elves continued to cheer and sing songs of victory as they marched. The winter air could not chill their spirits as they celebrated. They had destroyed the homes of many humans and sent their army fleeing in fear. The tide of the war had finally turned in their favor, and the victory tasted ever so sweet.





Chapter 44




Yori pushed his chair away from the desk and rubbed the back of his neck. After hours of staring at the scrolls, he was no closer to learning how to set the gemstones without using magic. The bits and pieces he could make out suggested various spells, but he had no idea how to go about casting them. Clearly, these scrolls were not designed for his type of magic.

A knock came from his door, and one of Eldon’s apprentices called to him. “Master Eldon would like a word with you. He’s on the first floor. Don’t keep him waiting.”

Relieved to have an excuse to stop studying, Yori began the long walk down the spiral staircase. As he neared the bottom, the ground began to shake violently. He clutched at the handrail to stop himself from falling on his face. No other elf in the room seemed to notice the trembling, and they casually went about their business. Once the shaking subsided, Yori proceeded down the stairs to find Master Eldon.

“Ah, there you are,” Eldon said as Yori approached. “Have you had any luck with those scrolls?”

“Not really,” Yori admitted. “They all suggest spells, but I don’t think I could cast them.”

“I’ll just have to do a bit of research on my own, then,” Eldon replied, shaking his head. “Let’s head over to the shop, and I’ll show you how I forge a dagger.” Standing, he clapped his hands loudly, calling two of his apprentices to his side. Both of them wore red robes and hateful expressions. “Come along,” he said.

Yori followed a few steps behind the sorcerers. So far, the apprentices had not been kind, and he preferred to stay out of their way. Angering someone who could set you on fire just by looking at you didn’t seem like a good idea.

Master Eldon waved his hands in front of the shop, and the solid wall of stone dissolved once again. Strolling inside, he mumbled some instructions to the two apprentices and sent them away. “This way, Yori,” he said, as he approached his workbench.

Eldon placed a flat sheet of steel on the workbench and hovered both hands a few inches above it. Closing his eyes, he focused his energy into the metal, which took on an orange glow. As the color flickered, Yori could tell the steel was the right temperature for shaping. Master Eldon began to wiggle his fingers slightly, keeping his wrists and arms perfectly still. Yori stared in disbelief as the form of a blade took shape in the center of the glowing metal sheet.

“Unbelievable,” Yori whispered.

Having finished his work, Eldon dropped one hand to his side and began to move the other hand in a circular motion. A bluish tint came over the dagger to cool it, and tiny sparks flew from the edge as he sharpened it without the need of a grinding stone. Once he was satisfied, he lifted the blade and handed it to Yori.

“Try etching some runes into that,” Eldon said. “I’ll make a hilt for you.”

Yori accepted the blade and took out his chisels. He wasn’t sure which runes he should etch, so he chose a simple set of runes that would prevent the blade from becoming dull. By the time he had finished, Eldon had already crafted a simple hilt for the dagger.

Looking at the runes on the blade, Eldon smirked. “You couldn’t think of anything better than that?”

Yori shrugged apologetically. “I’ve never added fire to a blade before. I’ve added fire to arrow tips, but with blades I’ve only added runes to improve its function.”

“Don’t you think adding fire to it would improve its function?”

“I wouldn’t want it to explode in someone’s hand,” Yori commented.

“That’s not how it works.” Eldon thought for a moment and added, “Unless of course you etch something that will cause it to explode. You need to learn another word for fire.” He strode over to a shelf and took out a large blue volume on weapon crafting. Yori could not make out the full title, but the words “blade” and “enchantment” were clearly visible.

Thumbing through the dusty volume, Eldon found a suitable page and laid the book on the table. Pointing at a graphic of a partially crafted hilt, he said, “Examine this closely.”

Yori looked at the picture and tried to make out the words in the description. Clearly, a red gem was being added to the hilt of the sword. The pieces Yori could read stated: Fire strengthens steel, giving the wielder an advantage. The heat will radiate at various levels, burning one’s opponent, shooting sparks in an attacker’s eyes, melting the enemy’s weapon, and sometimes melting the opponent himself.