Rise of the Living Forge-Chapter 411: A sense of belonging

After letting Madiv in, the Menagerie spent the next hour or so brainstorming ideas for what the Dungeon Heart could be used for. Arwin didn’t bring up the potential of using it as a replacement heart for Vix — not because he didn’t think it would be possible, but because Vix would probably shoot the idea down on the spot.

Putting someone in the spot where they felt helping them would negatively impact others was never a great idea. If the heart could help her, he would use it quietly. If it couldn’t, then they’d find a different path to fixing Vix’s issue. There was no point to put her in an uncomfortable spot in the process.

And besides, a conversation like this was a smart one to have. They would get more Dungeon Hearts in the future. Having a plan of what to put them toward would make things flow a lot smoother when that happened.

The Menagerie managed to come up with a pretty solid list of options by the time their discussion had completed. There wasn’t any particular ranking to which one was the best, but there were a few that Arwin had taken particular note of.

Guild HallHealer’s HouseArenaAuction HouseSome building targeted specifically at a particular craftsman or type of craftsman for the purpose of recruiting them.An upgrade to one of the buildings they already hadAll of them had their own potential benefits and drawbacks. Arwin wasn’t fully ready to make a final decision yet. Rushing ahead to use such a valuable resource wasn’t a good idea — especially when they weren’t in a situation where they had to make split second decisions.

And so, once the discussion had worn down, everyone had broken off to handle their various tasks… and there were quite a number of those. Elias, Maeve, Art, Kien, and Vix were all planning on sticking around for quite some time. That meant they needed housing.

Fortunately, Lillia’s more recent expansions to the Devil’s Den meant she had room for them. The situation wasn’t exactly perfect. All of them would have to squeeze until Riker finished the even newer expansions that Lillia had requested, but it would work for the time being.

As tempted as Arwin was to spend more time speaking with Lillia, he knew the time would come when they went to bed — and she had preparations to do for the following morning’s food.

She wasn’t the only one that had tasks to handle. There was still work that Arwin could get started before nightfall was fully upon them, and so he made a beeline for the Infernal Armory with Reya on his tail.

The smell of the Infernal Armory hit Arwin the moment he stepped through the door. It was of ash and metal and heat — the last of which was rather odd, given that it had been days since he’d last been here.

A prickling sensation brushed across his mind as he stepped into the back room. The Armory knew he had returned. It didn’t seem like the building had anything to say quite yet, but he felt its attention drift across the bundled Dungeon Heart in his hands.

You can’t have it. Not yet, at least. Maybe later. We’ll see.

Arwin ran his hands over the anvil and drew in a deep breath. There was a dull ache in his gut. It had been a while since he’d last had a chance to eat anything magical. The tournament had gone on four days, and while Lillia’s drinks and cooking had helped stave the Hungering Maw off, it wouldn’t last forever.

He was going to need to make something tonight.

And even if the ache hadn’t been there… Arwin missed working with his hands. It had been too long since he’d had a chance to make something, and he planned to rectify that as soon as possible.

This wasn’t even just about survival or about creating a new set of armor for himself. Arwin simply missed creating. This new life had given him a chance to make rather than destroy, and he had no desire to ignore that blessing.

Reya cleared her throat behind him. Arwin turned to glance back at her, pulling himself from his thoughts.

“Sorry. I assume you want to talk about what happened with Eleven at the tournament?”

Reya nodded. “She didn’t say much, but I’ll let you decide. I was actually planning on just telling everyone earlier. This wasn’t as important as that discussion, though… and it was kind of personal. I didn’t want to share it without talking to you first.”

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Arwin nodded. “That’s smart. Part of me wonders if I’m meant to know myself, but if it’s got to do with the guild, then I probably need to. What did Eleven tell you?”

“Two main things. The first was about Elias. She basically said that Necrohammer kidnapped him and used the power that Hein gathered in his dagger to fix him. You remember when all those streams of energy escaped it, right?”

Arwin nodded, his expression growing dark. “I do. They all went into Elias?”

“Not all. Some of them returned to the people Hein stole from,” Reya said. “At least, according to Eleven. But a lot of it was used to create something called a Monster Core for Elias. It basically fully turned him into a monster instead of something trapped between life and death. Necrohammer thinks it should keep working indefinitely.”

“I see,” Arwin said slowly. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that. Helping Elias was obviously a good thing… but it had come at a steep cost. If Elias didn’t already know what that cost was, Arwin doubted that he would be happy about it.

In the end, I don’t think it’s my place to have an opinion on this. Elias will have to take it up with Necrohammer should they meet again. I’ll stand by whatever he wants. Necrohammer has a lot to answer for.

“The other thing Eleven mentioned was about Vix. I guess that bit kind of already got revealed by Esmerelda,” Reya said, scratching at the back of her head. “But Eleven said she recognized her own kind. I think that means she’s also a Warlock.”

“That’s… interesting. I wonder why she’d willingly reveal any information to you,” Arwin said with a thoughtful frown. “Did she say anything else? There was a time that I would have been very suspicious of a warlock. That class is almost always seen with monsters on the Monster Horde’s side. But now? I don’t think I care unless it has some deeper meaning.”

“It might,” Reya said. “Eleven also said that Vix wasn’t bound to a powerful monster to get her powers from.”

“Who is she bound to, then?”

“Art.”

Arwin blinked. “Art? Her brother?”

How can you get power from another person? I mean, I guess it’s no different than contracting with a monster… but how does that even happen? Art isn’t a higher level than Vix. They’re roughly equal in raw strength.

“Yeah,” Reya said with a nod. “I think Eleven was implying that might have something to do with a way to fix her heart, but I didn’t want to mention it in front of everyone. They might be keeping it secret for a reason.”

“That was wise.” Arwin clapped Reya on the shoulder. “Thank you. I’ll speak with them privately. Was there anything else she said?”

Reya shook her head. “No. That was all of it. I don’t know what to make of her. My instincts say she’s probably trustworthy, but I don’t know. Eleven is in Setting Sun. And they’re ultimately connected to the reason that…”

“I know,” Arwin said grimly. “Don’t worry. I haven’t forgotten. I appreciate your thoughts, though. Always will. Now get back to the others. I’m sure you’ve been dying to spend some time with Olive.”

Reya’s cheeks reddened. She gave him a hurried nod before darting out of the Infernal Armory on her way back to the Devil’s Den. Arwin suppressed a laugh. Teasing Reya was probably a bit childish, but it was nice to not be the dense one for once.

A coil of red mist twisted up from the ground to form into a hazy pillar beside Arwin. An invisible form shifted within it and a presence pressed against his mind.

“Finally,” the Armory whispered into Arwin’s ears. “It’s been too long, Arwin. Did you forget about me?”

“What are you, a lost child? I was at a tournament showing off the equipment we made.” Arwin asked with a chuckle. Another twang of pain shot through his stomach. It really had been too long since he’d eaten a proper metal meal.

“Did we win?” the Armory asked. “Will the people flock to our doors and fall to their knees to beg for the creations we release?”

“I don’t know if I’d go that far. Sounds a bit uncomfortable,” Arwin said, pressing a hand to his throbbing stomach. “But I think we can definitely start by making something to eat.”

“Uninteresting.”

“I am actively dying,” Arwin said flatly. “How is that uninteresting?”

“I want to make something good. That Soul Guardian you made. That was good.” A rolling laugh echoed through the Armory. “Make another. Make ten more — no. Make something better. A suit of armor for yourself. Your body is weak and squishy. It must be protected.”

“We can get started on that right after dinner. The plans for it, that is,” Arwin said through a grimace. “I need to determine what materials it’ll be made out of and what it’ll do. I don’t want to just stumble into the pieces one by one this time.”

“Acceptable,” the Infernal Armory said. Black tendrils twisted out from the walls to rise into the air like a nest of hypnotized snakes. “We have much to create and lost time to catch up on, Arwin. Let us begin.”

Arwin summoned Caldera to his hands. The tendrils slammed down, driving into his back and the hammer alike. He drew in a sharp breath as power buzzed to life between himself and the building.

Then Arwin smiled. He let energy flow out of his body and down the tendrils, igniting them with molten power. Glowing black lava bubbled through the grooves in the floor and oppressive heat coiled around his body.

“Sounds good to me,” Arwin said. “Show me what materials we still have to work with. I’m thinking we start old fashioned. A bracelet sounds good right about now.” frёewebnoѵēl.com

“As you will,” the Armory replied.

Arwin smiled.

Then they got to work. Even the throbbing pain in his stomach couldn’t wipe the grin from his lips.

He was back where he belonged, and it felt good.