Rise of the Living Forge - Chapters 139-140 (Patreon)

Arwin tucked a bracelet into his pocket. It was the fourth one he’d made today, bringing his total number of bracelets up to six – far too many to keep stacking onto his wrists unless he wanted to announce his presence everywhere he walked with an aggressive jingle.

Each one of them had taken nearly an hour to make and remaking his arrow had taken another two hours. Night had already crawled through the sky and started to banish the sun, but the day’s labor had been incredibly successful – and painfully tedious.

Arwin picked up his arrow. Its haft and fletching was made from Brightsteel, but he’d formed the head with Roughsteel and the Ripperfish tooth. There hadn’t been enough magic in any of the materials to trigger a vision, which Arwin was grateful for. He was pretty sure he wouldn’t have been able to finish the weapon if there had been. The results were almost exactly what he’d been aiming for.

Ripper’s Strike: Rare Quality

[Sharp]: This item is abnormally sharp. Its head will cut through many things – including the hands of whoever is holding it.

[Overweight]: This arrow is better meant for thrusting than shooting. It is considerably more difficult to fire or throw than it should have been due to imperfections in the forging of the fletching and balance issues.

The detrimental trait had come from a mixture of the Brightsteel and Arwin’s inexperience making arrows, but as far as everything went, he was pleased with it. His bow was powerful enough that he was fairly confident it would be able to fire the arrow accurately as long as he wasn’t shooting at a target that wasn’t too far away.

He was equally as pleased with his bracelets. Each of them had a specifically chosen trait – along with the extras that their metal had tossed in along with them. That seemed to be unavoidable at his current ability, but [The Hungering Maw] had a chance to consume detrimental traits, so he wasn’t overly concerned.

Things are coming along very nicely. I might be able to –

The door flew open behind Arwin and slammed into the wall with a bang. He spun, calling Verdant Blaze to his hands in preparation to face down an assailant, but found only Reya.

“Reya?” Arwin asked, blinking in surprise and dismissing Verdant Blaze. “What are you doing?”

“You need to come to the tavern,” Reya said between gasps for air. “Rodrick and Olive are behind me, but not by long.”

Arwin held a hand out to the [Soul Flame], drawing it from his hearth as he strode after Reya.  “What’s going on? What happened? Is anyone hurt?”

“No,” Reya said as they stepped into the biting winds and strode across the street toward the tavern. “But we saw Wyrms.”

If Arwin’s skin hadn’t already been covered in goosebumps by the sharp wind, it definitely would have prickled. They arrived at the tavern and headed inside, where Anna and Lillia were already waiting for them.

Judging by the armor glistening on Lillia’s body and the staff in Anna’s hand, Reya had dropped by the tavern before the smithy.

“How many Wyrms?” Arwin asked. “Are they after you?”

“No, and I’m not sure. At least five,” Reya said breathlessly as she braced her hands against her knees to catch her breath. “We were walking around the forest because it was a little warmer out there than in the city, and we spotted them a few hours ago. I ran most of the way back.”

“Were they already mobile?” Arwin asked, his stomach clenching. They’d been meant to have a few days left – but that had been a guess, and it really shouldn’t have been that much of a surprise that they were slightly off.

The fact that we managed to predict it this closely at all is good, but shit. I wish we had a few more days.

“They were moving around the forest,” Reya replied. She hesitated for a moment, then frowned. “I don’t know much about Wyrms, but they seemed a little bit off. Like they were waiting for something instead of just roaming around like they should have been.”

Arwin glanced at Lillia to see if she knew anything about the phenomena, but she just shrugged and shook her head.

“It’s beyond me. I’d have to see it with my own eyes, but at that point, we’ll be in the thick of things anyway,” Lillia said. “But if we want to take advantage of the Wyrms’ weakness, that means we have to strike now. We can’t delay.”

“Is it safe? It’ll be the middle of the night,” Anna said with a worried frown.

“It’ll be less safe when the monsters start getting their wits about them,” Arwin said. “Wyrms don’t have night vision that’s much better than that of humans. They aren’t nocturnal. It’s short notice, but if you’ve all got your energy, now is the time to strike. Reya, are you in shape to go back? If you aren’t–”

“I’m just out of breath.” Reya straightened up and wiped her brow with the back of a hand. “I can fight. Rodrick and Olive probably aren’t too far behind me, but if we leave now, we can save them the effort of coming back into the city.”

“Anna? Lillia?”

“I’m ready,” Lillia said.

“As am I,” Anna added. “I’ve just been sitting around and twiddling my thumbs today. Can’t say this is what I was planning on, but I can fight.”

And I should have all my magical energy recovered by the time we get there. It’s a several hour trip to the forest where the Wyrms have set up camp.

“Then let’s go. I just need to grab something from the smithy on the way out.”

***

As Reya had predicted, they ran into Olive and Rodrick just a short while after leaving the city. They both looked heavily winded, but neither was injured.

“I take it you already know what happened,” Rodrick asked as they fell in with the party and turned to head back to the forest.

“Reya filled us in,” Arwin confirmed as they continued at a brisk pace. He shifted the leather bundle he had under his arm. “Anything else we need to know?”

“She mentioned they seemed to be acting strange?”

Arwin nodded.

“Then that’s it. We headed back almost immediately. Reya’s just a whole lot faster than we are,” Rodrick said breathlessly.

“I’ve spent a lot of time running,” Reya said.

Rodrick coughed into his hand, then shook his head. “Damn. My throat’s dry.”

Anna pulled out a flask of water and wordlessly handed it to him. He drank a mouthful and gave her an appreciative nod as he handed it back. Anna offered it to Olive. “Do you want some?”

“I’m fine. Thank you, though,” Olive said.

“You sure you want to stick around for this, Olive?” Arwin asked. “It wasn’t exactly part of what you agreed to do. Fighting a Wyrm horde is a whole lot more dangerous than clearing out a dungeon.”

She let out a snort. “Are you kidding? And miss out on the Achievements and Titles we’re going to get for this? You don’t make it anywhere as an adventurer by playing it safe, and I’ll be damned if I go down as a coward.”

There was more than just confidence in Olive’s voice. There was a note of regret, buried deep beneath her forceful tone. Something told him that circumstances hadn’t always played out the way she’d wanted them to.

Now wasn’t the time to press further. Arwin just gave her a nod. If she was going to help them, he certainly wouldn’t say no. They needed all the strength they could get.

She’s definitely going to figure out most of us have magic gear, but so be it. She’s just about joined the guild anyway. I see no reason not to bring her fully onboard – especially if she performs well during this fight. If she doesn’t… well, it’s grim, but she probably won’t be alive.

Arwin’s jaw clenched. The idea of anyone else in his group dying sparked a fire deep in his heart. He wouldn’t let it happen again. He couldn’t.

They pressed on into the night in silence, the cold howl of the wind no longer a biting sting but a comforting chill that kept their bodies from overheating as they hurried across the plains.

The hours slipped by in what felt like minutes. It wasn’t long before they all arrived at the edge of the valley that housed the now Wyrm-infested forest within it. They slowed, creeping down the sloping path and trading haste for stealth.

It took them several minutes to make their way down. Arwin couldn’t see anything out of place yet, but he trusted Rodrick and Reya’s judgement – especially with Rodrick’s enhanced hearing.

They wound closer to the forest as quietly as they could, using large boulders for cover as they approached. The group came to a halt near a big outcropping of stones. Rodrick pulled the looking glass off its spot on his waist and held a hand up to forestall the others as he peered into the forest.

Arwin squinted. It was a cloudless night, and the moon shimmered like a giant silver eye overhead. Even without anything to improve his sight, he could make out the treeline in the night’s silvery glow.

“There,” Rodrick whispered. “Baby Wyrm. Apprentice 4.”

Arwin followed his gaze, but he couldn’t quite make out what Rodrick saw. It must have been at a poor angle.

“What in the Nine Underlands?” Rodrick muttered under his breath. He lowered the looking glass and held it out to Arwin. “Look over there. Next to the large tree with the weirdly shaped top.”

Arwin took the instrument and held it up to his eye, moving to stand where Rodrick had been. It took him a second to find the tree the other man had indicated.

“A bit to the left,” Rodrick whispered.

A Wyrmling sat at the base of a tree just beside the one that Arwin had located, its green scales blending in perfectly with the foliage. If Rodrick hadn’t pointed it out, he would have missed the monster completely.

[Forest Wyrmling – Apprentice 5]

The Wyrmling wasn’t what caught Arwin’s attention, though. It was the man standing beside it. The night was too dark to make out any detail about his form, but there was no denying the fact that there was someone next to the monster.

“What is it?” Reya whispered impatiently. “Did you see the Wyrms?”

“More than that,” Arwin said as he lowered the looking glass. “There’s someone there with them, and they aren’t fighting. I think they’re standing watch.”

“Standing watch? For what?” Anna asked.

“I don’t know,” Arwin said. “Rodrick?”

“No damn clue. But it’s there, clear as – well, night. The Wyrms aren’t the only things in that forest.”

“What do we do?” Anna asked. “I’m not sure if this makes things better or worse, but I’m leaning worse. Someone is controlling the Wyrms – and possibly breeding them. That’s almost certainly not going to be good news.”

“Nobody breeds a Wyrmling army if they don’t plan to use it,” Lillia said. “Wyrmlings are ravenous. They need to consume enormous amounts of magical energy and meat in order to survive, and they do everything in their power to do just that. If those Wyrmlings are going to mature, a lot of things are going to have to die.”

“Then nothing has changed,” Rodrick said. “We need to get into the forest – and that means taking out the Wyrmling and the guard without getting noticed. I don’t suppose anyone is particularly good at stealthily killing two things at once?”

“Olive, could I borrow your sword?” Lillia asked.

Olive blinked, then nodded. She took the magical blade from her waist and handed it to Lillia. “I thought you were a mage.”

“I’m a lot of things,” Lillia replied. The darkness enveloping her grew thicker. “Wait here. Make sure to move quickly once he goes down. They might have a rotation.”

Then she was gone, a blur in the night. Arwin’s hands tightened at his sides.

There was no going back now.

The opening moves had been played.

Chapter 140

Arwin kept the looking glass to his eye. His stomach was a nervous knot as he watched the guard, waiting for Lillia to strike. Her shadows were so thick that he couldn’t make out where she’d gone.

It had been nearly two minutes since she’d left. He knew – he’d counted every second. The guard stood beside the Wyrmling, swaying slightly. The man occasionally raised a hand to cover a yawn or stretched his arms over his head, but he didn’t seem to be any bit the wiser to Lillia’s approach.

How good is a Wyrmling’s sense of smell? I never really had a reason to worry about that. I hope it doesn’t notice her –

The shadows passed over the guard, momentarily blocking him from view. By the time they’d moved on, the guard was no longer there. It took Arwin a second to find him – not standing but lying a foot away from where he’d been, his head severed.

“What’s going on?” Reya whispered.

Before Arwin could reply, a cloak of night passed over the Wyrmling as well. It remained there for several seconds longer before pulling back. The monster was dead, crumpled in a heap on the ground.

“They’re dead,” Arwin whispered as he lowered the looking glass and handed it back to Rodrick. “Go. Quickly – and quietly.”

They crept out from their shelter and headed to join Lillia as quickly as they could. She’d certainly made short work of the two. She stood in the shade of a tree, having pulled her protective darkness back so they could see where they were going.

“You made short work of them,” Rodrick whispered. “Remind me not to anger you.”

“Wyrmlings aren’t dangerous when they don’t know you’re there or when they’re alone, and the guard was half asleep. If there’s a horde of them, it’ll be a very different scenario.” Lillia handed the sword back to Olive, then frowned. “Also, the Wyrmling seemed… off. Like it was drugged or had a concussion.”

“Effects of the control, maybe? If someone’s keeping the Wyrms there, they probably aren’t as aware as they would be if they were acting on their own.” Rodrick guessed.

“Only one way to find out,” Arwin said. He jerked his chin toward the center of the forest. “Let’s keep moving. Rodrick, take up the lead and let us know if we’re getting near anyone?”

Rodrick nodded and they all fell in behind him. They did their best to avoid the sticks on the ground, but their path was far from perfectly silent. Arwin winced with every creak of armor or crunch of dry leaves beneath their feet.

A distant yell rang out and they all froze in place. It was followed by several more yells, and then muted conversation. It didn’t seem like it was moving in their direction. After another few seconds, they started moving toward the noise.

The yells and conversation grew louder the closer they got. Arwin strained to make out the words, but the trees muffled them to the point where nothing sounded clear enough to make out. Rodrick held a hand up and they all slowed.

Wordlessly, Rodrick pointed into the trees. He tapped his ear, then started moving again, even slower than he had been before and crouching low to the ground. Everyone else did the same. They were close.

A muted flash of light lit the forest up for a brief instant from just a few trees ahead of them. Arwin could make out dozens of people murmuring nearby, and another yell rang out through the forest. It sounded like some kind of battle cry.

A battle cry that ended with a loud crunch, followed by even more murmuring and muted conversation. Arwin slowly crept forward, making sure not to move suddenly and draw any eyes toward the shadows, and poked his head above the leaves of a bush in his way.

His heart froze in his chest. There must have been easily thirty or forty people gathered in a torchlit clearing before him, encircling two fully grown Wyrms. One of them rested its head on the ground, is eyes closed. Arwin recognized it – it was the monster that had nearly killed him.

The other Wyrm was wide awake and chewing on something. Around two dozen Wyrmlings were gathered in the center of the clearing. There were easily as many of them as there were people.

And, standing between the two Wyrms with one hand placed on each of their sides was Jessen. His black armor was nearly invisible in the night, but Arwin would have recognized him anywhere.

“Next,” Jessen barked, his voice cold and tense.

The Wyrmlings pushed a man forward. He stumbled into the center of the clearing, clutching a sword and staring up at the Wyrm in terror.

“Guildmaster, I don’t think I want to–”

“You must fight to receive power,” Jessen snarled. “That was the agreement you made when you joined the Iron Hounds. I promised to give you power, should you be able to claim it.”

“But–”

“Fight!” Jessen ordered. “Or die. I can lead a parched man to water, but I cannot make him drink. You asked for the chance for greatness. I have delivered it to you. When will you ever find a better chance to strike down such a mighty monster? I have already delivered dozens of them to each and every one of you, trussed and prepared for the killing. You had no objection then. So now, when I bring you, a Journeyman, to fight a mere Apprentice ranked monster, why do you balk?”

The man looked around the clearing nervously.

“I’m fine with my current power, Guildmaster.”

“That is unfortunate. There is no complacency allowed in the Iron Hounds. We will grow powerful… or we will become fuel for those who do.”

A large Wyrmling stepped into the clearing, its lips pulling back to reveal rows of sharp teeth.

[Forest Wyrmling – Apprentice 9]

The man brought his sword up, but his stance was horrible. He held it out before him like a torch rather than a weapon – and it served about just as much use as one. The Wyrmling lunged forward and the man let out a terrified scream. He swung his blade wildly.

It bit deep into the Wyrmling’s body, carving through scale, but the monster’s jaws slammed shut on his neck and silenced him. The monster jerked its head back, swallowing him whole.

Arwin ducked back down.

“Godspit,” Lillia breathed. “He’s feeding his own guild to the Wyrmlings.”

“That’s why they were so high Tier but bad at fighting,” Arwin said, his skin prickling. “Jessen did the same thing to them that the Guild did to us. He’s pushing them up through the ranks, then putting them up against the Wyrmlings.”

“Killing something a higher Tier than you is definitely going to give you a lot of magical energy, even if they’re pretty incompetent at fighting. Not as much as if they were good, but with the amount of people he’s got here…” Rodrick swallowed heavily. “This is bad. He’s going to have a whole horde of boosted Wyrmlings.”

“Given the way he’s standing, he’s definitely the one controlling the monsters,” Arwin said, poking his head back up over the foliage just in time to see a mage shoot a bolt of flame into a new Wyrmling’s chest, shattering scales and leaving a deep wound – only to get consumed like the man before him. “And those idiots have power but no idea how to fight. Jessen has it set up perfectly.”

“For what, though?” Reya asked. “What’s he going to do with a giant horde of Wyrmlings?"

"And why isn’t anyone trying anything?” Olive added. “They could just run.”

A warrior let out a battle cry as he entered the clearing and charged the Wyrmling that had just killed the mage. He leapt into the air, fire gathering around his blade, and brought it down into the monster’s eye.

The Wyrmling bucked, throwing him to the side, but he hit the ground in a roll and sprinted at it again. He ducked the monster’s bite and slammed his sword through its other eye, killing it.

“Well done,” Jessen said, giving the man a terse smile. “Move to the side so another may get their chance.”

“Thank you, Guildmaster,” the man said, bowing his head before moving to join a very small crowd to Jessen’s left.

“That’s why,” Arwin said. “They’re either hopeful that they’ll do the same as that guy will – or they know that Jessen will kill them if they try to leave. Look at the other Wyrmlings. They aren’t just sitting around. They’re keeping people there.”

They all ducked back down and exchanged worried glances.

“Godspit,” Lillia said. “What do we do?”

Another scream and a crunch rang out, marking someone’s failed attempt to kill a Wyrmling. Arwin had to admit that Jessen’s plan was ingenious. He was getting rid of his weakest members, growing the power of his horde, and separating out all the people that could actually fight all in one fell swoop.

He wiped his ranks clean of the useless ones while making sure that he could count on the ones that survived to be competent. So long as someone was a heartless monster that was fine sacrificing their guild members, it was incredibly effective.

Now that I think about it, Jessen was always willing to sacrifice the members of his guild. He didn’t care at all that I’d killed Yul and Tix, and he was only mad that I killed Erik because I suspect he wanted to feed the asshole to his Wyrms.

“What do we do?” Anna asked. “If he manages to feed all those Wyrms, there’s no way we’re going to be able to take them out. Weakened from birth or not, they’re going to be terrifying – and that isn’t even counting the big ones.”

“If Jessen is actually controlling all of them, he’s got to be concentrating on it. They didn’t come from his class, which means they’ll return to their normal state if he loses concentration or dies.”

“How are we going to kill him from here?” Reya asked. “Didn’t you say he was too strong to fight?”

“He’s strong,” Arwin agreed, thinking furiously. They’d come a long way in the relatively short time since the fight with Jessen, but a fair head-on battle with him was still skewed against them.

Jessen was somewhere toward the end of Journeyman tier and he knew what he was doing. Even if they all attacked him at once, he was liable to win. That said…

“He’s weaker than last time,” Arwin said. “He’s controlling the entire horde. That’s got to be consuming an enormous amount of concentration and energy. He won’t be able to go all out against us without freeing the Wyrms from his control over them.”

“That’s true,” Rodrick mused. “But how are we going to put him at enough risk to make him lose concentration? He’s just going to sic all the Wyrms and the members of his guild on us the moment we make ourselves known.”

“That’s exactly what we need.” Lillia’s eyes lit up and she looked to Arwin. “Your bow. What are the chances it’s quiet?”

“Almost zero.”

“You’ve got a bow?” Olive asked.

“Haven’t had a chance to use it yet,” Arwin said. “It’ll definitely make a lot of noise or light – one of the two. There’s no way I’ll be able to draw it without people noticing.”

“That’s fine,” Lillia said, chewing her lower lip. “I have an idea.”

“What is it?” Anna asked.

She told them.