Rise of the Living Forge - Chapters 296-297 (Patreon)

I messed up the scheduling. Sorry guys

—-

Arwin knew that it would have been rude to laugh, but the expression of disbelief on Elias’ features — so stark that it was apparent even through the wrappings covering his entire body — was doing its best to break him.

After all, he wasn’t about to reveal to Elias just why they didn’t care that he and Maeve weren’t human. Just because Elias seemed like he was worthy of helping didn’t mean the man could be completely trusted with every single one of their secrets. There was a difference between a working relationship and a friendship.

One can turn into the other, but there’s no point jumping the gun.

I’d still pay a lot of money to see the look on his real, unbandaged face if I were to reveal that our guild has the Demon Queen and a vampire in it, not to mention whatever the hell Esmerelda is.

Elias swallowed and interlaced his fingers, clearly trying to control his body to prevent from letting on just how simultaneously stressed and relieved he was. “Then we will gratefully take you up on your offer. I’m certain I don’t have to stress this, but please be cautious with our identities. Others are not so kind as—”

“We know,” Lillia said, a gentle note entering her voice. “Don’t worry. Not a single person in this room will ever reveal anything about who you are to anybody else. Your secret will be safe with us — but we still have some more business to deal with before the night is done.”

“We do?” Elias asked. “We… are working together, yes?”

“We are,” Lillia confirmed. “But you said that most teams worked in groups of 3 for the tournament, right?”

Maeve nodded. That seemed to be just about all she could actually do in the purposes of conversation. Arwin was tempted to ask exactly what kind of monster she was, but that felt like a remarkably rude question.

“We’ll have to find someone else,” Elias said. “I have no delusions as to how much good equipment can do. It can make a massive difference… but when we’re up against a group like the Starforge Guild — or really any of the powerful ranked guild teams, going two versus three is impossible. The problem is finding someone we can actually work with. Now that you know about our… peculiarity, I’m sure you can understand how hard it is to find a third member. Teams are built on trust. We could hire some mercenary, but we’d have to watch ourselves around them just as much as an enemy. Finding that last member will be difficult, but I promise we can do it. We won’t be a burden to your guild.”

I think you’d be surprised at just what items can really do, but I agree that there’s no point to limit ourselves to just three people. But I really don’t see a reason to go hunting for someone else to fill in the final spot on their team when we have a perfectly eligible warrior right here.

 It only took a glance at the other present members of the Menagerie to realize that they were all thinking the same thing. Reya, Lillia, and Rodrick had all already turned toward Olive, who was blinking at the sudden attention sent her way.

“What?” Olive asked.

“We’ve got a perfectly capable warrior right here,” Arwin said. “One who isn’t going to be revealing your secret to anyone.”

“But… aren’t you a crafting guild?” Elias swallowed and cleared his throat. “Not to be rude, of course. But this is a very difficult tournament. I know we might not look like much, but—”

“Olive is a very competent warrior,” Arwin said. “She isn’t a craftsman — at least, not yet. It’s never too late in life to pick up a new hobby. But I digress. She’s more than capable as a warrior. What Tier are the majority of the participants at the Proving Grounds?”

“Mid Adept,” Elias replied.

Arwin nodded thoughtfully. That was quite high — comparatively speaking, at least. The Menagerie hadn’t really been pushing to advance at max speed before. They’d had other things to deal with. Jessen. The Ardent Guild, and most recently, Twelve. There hadn’t been time for them to completely focus on growing their own strength… but now things were different.

“How long do we have until the tournament?” Lillia asked.

“I don’t know,” Elias replied with a shake of his head. “The Secret Eye hasn’t told us the exact date, but it should be at least a few weeks. That’s how long we had after they told us about it last year.”

Arwin and Lillia exchanged a glance. They’d both been through quite a few Tiers in their time. Rushing to advance was a huge mistake but advancing with purpose… that was different. The Menagerie was already drawing a lot of attention.

If Rodrick was right, there would be more eyes than ever before on Arwin after word of Olive’s new arm spread. If he started taking on more tasks and creating more powerful items for people, those would spread word of him as well.

The path to power was practically paving itself — and he would use that to advance his entire guild. Getting to Adept was just a stepping stone on the road to tearing down the corruption within the Adventurer’s guild.

“That’s more than enough time,” Arwin said. “A few weeks is enough time for you to get to know each other and start training — and that training can help me get materials that I can use to outfit all of you.”

Elias blinked. He exchanged a glance with Maeve, then looked to Olive. “Is this okay with you?”

“I…” Olive hesitated. She didn’t have the best history with working in teams. Arwin was more than aware of that. It was exactly how she’d lost her arm the first time around. She was silent for several long seconds. Then she swallowed heavily. “Can I think about it?”

“Of course,” Arwin said. “If you don’t want to do it, nobody will force you. We can find someone else. Maybe Rodrick wants to stretch out his old bones.”

Rodrick shuddered. “Please, no. I’m more than happy sitting on the sidelines. But we don’t have to figure this out now. We have time. Either way, I think we’ve all got a lot of work to do in the coming days. The Phoenix Circle will need the full strength of the Menagerie behind them, not just Arwin’s equipment.”

Elias started to nod. Then he paused. “What does that mean?”

“You’ll see.” Rodrick smiled, and a small shiver ran down Arwin’s back. Even though Rodrick was on his side, the man’s eyes could be positively sinister when they caught the light in just the right way.

“We can deal with more logistics tomorrow,” Lillia said, clapping her hands together to pull their attention back to her. “For the time being — Elias, Maeve, I believe both of our guilds would benefit from getting to know each other better… and the rooms at my inn are quite reasonably priced.”

Elias hesitated for several seconds. He glanced at Maeve, who nodded. The bandages on his face creased as his lips pulled into a small smile. “So long as I’m not paying a gold for each of us every day, I think we’ll be fine. Maeve and I know how important having a strong relationship is for fighting together effectively. If you think it’ll help, then we’ll stay.”

“Good,” Lillia said. Her eyes flashed, and it struck Arwin that the Menagerie might have had a few too many people that could look sinister in the right lighting. “I can assure you that you won’t regret it. Do you mind sharing a room?”

“Can you get two beds in it?” Elias asked.

Lillia nodded. “Already done. Then, unless anyone else has anything to say tonight, I think it might be time to wind the excitement down. I’ll show you both to the room.”

“Then that would be perfect. Thank you — all of you. I can speak for both myself and Maeve when I say we greatly look forward to what we hope to be a successful partnership.”

Maeve bowed her head, mirroring his thoughts if not his words. The two of them both rose from the table and Lillia led them upstairs toward their new lodgings.  

But, as they left, not every single member of the Menagerie was paying attention to them. Olive’s eyes were still transfixed in the air before her, and her face looked to have gone a shade paler.

“Olive?” Reya asked, noticing something was awry and reaching out to touch the other woman’s shoulder. “Are you okay?”

“If you’re really concerned about the tournament, you don’t have to do it,” Arwin said. “I didn’t mean to put you on the spot. I thought you might have liked the opportunity to test the arm out.”

“No,” Olive said, swallowing heavily. “It’s not that at all.”

“What is it?” Reya asked.

“My Challenge,” Olive said, her voice dropping to a stricken whisper as her left hand lifted to touch the seam where her new wooden arm met the flesh of her shoulder. “It’s back.”

Chapter 297

The rest of that night passed quickly. Olive hadn’t been in much of a mood to speak after her revelation that her Challenge had returned. She and Reya retired to their rooms shortly afterward to think. Nobody made any move to stop them — there would be more than enough time to think further in the morning, when Olive had time to process what was going on and all of their minds had a chance to refresh.

The day had been a long one, and the entirety of the Menagerie was long overdue a rest. Arwin only managed to stay awake for just long enough for Lillia to join him in bed before the two of them joined the others in rest.

When the following morning dawned, everyone gathered in the common room once more. Even in the dim orange light from the lanterns, something about the Devil’s Den felt lighter. A weight had been lifted from everyone’s shoulders, and it was palpable.

Elias and Maeve were among the last of them to rise, and arrived just as Lillia was handing out breakfast to everyone. She offered some to them, but the two politely declined. Elias didn’t eat anymore for obvious reasons, and it seemed that Maeve’s diet didn’t exactly line up with Lillia’s cooking.

The two members of the Phoenix Circle introduced themselves to the members of the Menagerie that they hadn’t met yet before they set out, promising to return early in the afternoon to hear out Olive’s answer on if she would join them. The other guests that had stayed the night cleared out of the common room as they finished their meals as well.

It wasn’t long before the Menagerie were the only ones within the tavern once again — at least, for a short while. Arwin suspected that would be increasingly frequent. It wouldn’t be long before the common room was never empty. They were going to have to look into building some private meeting rooms the next time they expanded the Devil’s Den.

I think we’re going to become Ridley’s favorite customers pretty soon between our efforts to rebuild the street and improve our existing buildings.

“I’ve… done some thinking,” Olive said once everyone had finished eating. They all turned in her direction. The topic of her Challenge was the one thing everyone had been avoiding through breakfast.

“Whatever you decide is fine with us,” Rodrick said as he wiped his face off with a napkin. He’d gotten a little bit too excited shoveling eggs into his mouth and a fair portion of food had attempted to take up residence on his lips. “Nobody’s going to force you, so don’t do something you don’t want to just because you feel pressured into it.”

“I know,” Olive said. She rubbed her wooden arm. “I thought about it for a while. Last night, I really wanted to say yes immediately. A tournament feels like the perfect way to prove myself. To prove I’m not the same person I was before. But then the Challenge showed up again, and it’s the same one that cost me my arm. The same rules and everything. It could ruin everything.”

“But it’s not the same one,” Arwin said. “Part of that Challenge was unspoken, Olive. You didn’t warn your team about it, but things are different this time. At least — they can be if you want them to.”

Olive nodded, a small smile crossing her features. “I know. And that’s why I want to do this… but if I do, I need to warn Elias and Maeve about the Challenge. I won’t make the same mistake again. They might want someone else. The Challenge could make us lose in the tournament.”

“It could,” Lillia said. “It’s a risk. Possibly not ideal, but I think you’ve made the right call. When people know what they’ve got to work with, they can account for it.”

“Exactly,” Olive said. “Which is why I want to ask them what they want. We’ve got one of their secrets, so I think I can give them one of mine. Then they can decide if they want me on the team or if they’d prefer someone who doesn’t have a Challenge waiting for them. And who knows — maybe I’ll be in a dungeon with you all when it activates.”

“Maybe,” Anna said. She stood up and made her way over to Olive to put a hand on the other woman’s shoulder. “But it won’t happen the same way it did last time. We’ve got your back.”

“I know.” Olive smiled. “And I’m not going to fail the Challenge this time around. The Mesh is giving me another shot, and I’m going to take it.”

Imps emerged from the kitchen to gather up everyone’s plates. There were definitely more of them than Arwin recalled there being. He was pretty sure he counted at least five, though it was a bit hard to tell. They were all wearing the same frilly black and white maid dresses.

Rodrick and Anna headed out shortly afterwards. Even though Twelve had been dealt with, there was still a lot more to be done — especially with regard to the Ardent Guild. If they were going to complete their promises to the Dawnseekers, they had to begin making some moves.

And, as if the mere thought of the matter had summoned it, Raen stepped through the door of the Devil’s Den no more than a few minutes after Rodrick had left.

The Guildmaster’s expression was unreadable as he strode into the room, his hands crossed behind his back. He made his way over to Arwin, who stood at the counter, and stood in silence across from him for nearly a second before speaking.

“Ifrit,” Raen said in a flat tone.

“Raen,” Arwin replied, inclining his head. “I was waiting for you to make your way back.”

“I find myself having difficulty determining what to think of you,” Raen said. He studied Arwin through narrowed eyes. “You confuse me.”

“Do I?” Arwin asked, tilting his head to the side. “Why is that?”

“Would it be a surprise to you that I recently heard news of Twelve’s death?” Raen asked. “All twelve of his clones. Dead, at the hands of some mysterious assassin. Assassin guilds everywhere are claiming credit for the death. I don’t suppose you’d know anything about that?”

Arwin fought to keep a grin from crossing his features. “I’m afraid not. That’s news to me. We were rather occupied yesterday.”

“So I had heard,” Raen drawled. He crossed his arms in front of his chest.  “A crafting guild defeating a demon. Quite the feat. They are not simple opponents. I would congratulate you, but unfortunately, I have come for other matters. We had a deal, Ifrit.”

 “Had?” Arwin arched an eyebrow. “I was unaware that anything had changed.”

Raen blew out a breath and shook his head. He gestured around at the common room, occupied only by the remaining members of the Menagerie.  “Come now. The only people here are your own guild, Ifrit. How is it you plan to complete your end of the deal when Twelve is gone?”

“We have alternative ways to fulfill our end of the agreement, and half of it is already done.”

Raen blinked and the wind left his sails. For an instant, something flashed through his trained eyes.

Hope.

Then it was gone, and his features were unreadable once more.

“The item?”

“Yes. Perhaps the rest of this conversation would be better conducted in my smithy,” Arwin suggested, starting for the door without waiting for a response. “There will need to be some final adjustments to ensure it works, but I have it prepared.”

Raen followed after him without another word. They headed into the Infernal Armory and Arwin pulled the bracelet out after he’d closed the door behind them.

“Is that it?” Raen asked. A tiny flicker of eagerness broke through his tone and his hands twitched. “It works as you said it would?”

Someone’s impatient. Why is this so important to him?

“It will,” Arwin replied. “A complete change of appearance… but I need to know what it is I’m changing. Until I do, I can’t finish the item.”

The eagerness fell away from Raen’s expression. “Can’t you just make it turn someone… plain? Remove any extra features that make them stand out?”

“Not unless I know what the features are. This isn’t for argument,” Arwin said. “I don’t know what you’re trying to hide, Raen, but I’m not trying to play games here. We aren’t backing out of our deal — either part of it. We have connections to the Montibeau family that we will be using to get you a foothold in the city. That’ll save you a huge amount of money that you would have spent Twelve’s reward on. We’ll pay you the rest of the gold ourselves… but if you want this item, then you need to give me what I need.”

Raen’s eyes widened. “Wait. What? You have—”

“The item,” Arwin ground out. “As I said. We’re not backing out. But I don’t have all day, Raen. You knew what I would need. Either work with me or don’t.”

Raen hesitated for several long seconds. Then his jaw clenched. “Is there truly no other way?”

“None.”

“You must agree not to say a word of what you see,” Raen said. “Swear yourself to secrecy.”

What kind of disfigurement is so bad that he needs me to swear that I’ll never reveal it? That seems a bit extreme.

“If I went around blabbering about what my customers bought from me, I’d never have customers,” Arwin said. “I swear to keep your information confidential.”

“No matter what you see?”

“You could be the Demon Queen herself and the only thing I would ask is if you wanted freckles or not.”

The corner of Raen’s lips quirked up. “Very well. I will hold you to this secrecy, then. Allow me a moment. The person is nearby.”

It’s not for Raen?

Arwin blinked, then nodded.

Raen headed out of the smithy at a brisk pace. Several seconds passed. It had nearly stretched to a minute by the time the door swung open again and Raen returned with a cloaked figure at his side.

The figure loomed nearly a head taller than Raen. Even beneath the loose robes and the thick gloves that covered their hands, Arwin could make out bulging muscles. Whoever this was, they were no stranger to combat.

Maybe they’ve got an embarassing battle wound they need me to cover?

“Here is the one I need you to help,” Raen said, reaching up to put a hand on the figure’s shoulder. “Please remain calm. I can assure you, there is nothing to fear.”

“Fear?” Arwin asked, blinking. “Why would I be scared?”

“Go on. It’s okay,” Raen said, his tone softening. “We have no choice.”

The figure hesitated for a long second. Then they reached up and pulled their hood back. Thick, woven hair hung behind their head. A mask covered the bottom half of their face, but the top was exposed — and their skin was a dull green.

Oh, you have got to be kidding me.

Hesitantly, the figure reached up to their face and pulled down their mask to reveal a mouth with two small fangs jutting up from her mouth.  

She was an orc. Her lips parted in what was likely meant to be a smile but looked far closer to a snarl.  

“This is Monica,” Raen said, raising his hands to forestall any reaction from Arwin. “My wife.”

And, at the sight of the orc, there was only a single thought that passed through Arwin’s head.

Is every other person in this town a monster?