Diggy Diggy Hole Chapter 4 (Patreon)

My mother Kungina and my father Urzak... Had a very obvious reaction to seeing me carrying an enchanted rune hammer under my clothes as I came into our burrow.

"Boy! Youuu... Did you steal one of the Runesmith's hammers!?" My father thundered with fury and I realized I may have fucked up so I quickly shook my head and said as clearly as I could.

"Father no! Master Snorlot agreed to take me as his apprentice!"

Not only my father but my mother's blue face darkened as they staggered in place. They looked between me and the hammer and my father drew a hand across his face and walked over to me and kneeled down to look me right in the eyes as he held my shoulders in his strong grip.

"My son... This ain't no joking matter, I will need to go check with Snorlot either way. But do you swear on our shared blood that you did not steal from him?" 

I knew my father wouldn't believe that I made this rune hammer so I nodded firmly and said with direct eye contact being made with my father. "Go ahead and check with him, Father. He will say the same." 

To which my father squeezed my shoulder with his eyes closed and he nodded and stood up and looked at my mother and said. "Alright, I will be back in a few."

And I felt my father pat my shoulder one last time as he left our tunnel house with him clearly making his way to Snorlot's forging area that was a ways away from the house.

My mother sighed and shook her head with a weak smile coming across her face as she muttered. "Oh Grungni, why not wait till my boy is older for this." 

Hearing my mother's words I just walked in and gave her a tight hug around the waist to show my love before I pulled back and said. "I don't know... But at least I got the best teacher don't I?" 

I felt her hands land on my head with a chuckle before she said with a shake of her head. "Aye, that may be... Now let's put that hammer away on your bedside table, as I know you won't allow the blasted thing out of your sight."

I nodded allowing my mother to take my enchanted hammer away to go put it on my bedside table while I mused that I needed to keep it inside my system inventory tomorrow as I already used it for its natural purpose in letting my parents see proof of me becoming Snorlots apprentice.

Then my mother began making some food for everyone after she put the hammer on my table and not long after that, my father strode into our home with his eyes foggy with having drunk too much ale from his side flasks...

-

Urzak was a rather slow to become emotional dwarf. For good reason as making a good ale was even more of an art form than actual smithing a lot of times as most materials were often very different with each batch of ale made.

So seeing his boy coming home with an enchanted hammer after working in the forges of the clan Runesmith? He was this close to beating his ears into cauliflower, but he wouldn't lay his hands on his own flesh and blood without making sure to get the truth even if it would embarrass himself and his family.

If his boy stole from Snorlot... Hopefully, it was out of the desire to use the hammer to learn more smithing on his own, but if it was out of malice or anger at the old codger for not teaching him. Then there was little he could do but thrash his son for doing such a stupendously stupid act.

But Urzak's worries were quickly pushed down as he took a deep breath as he entered Snorlots forges and he laid eyes upon the old Runesmith who was studying an odd floating book that was seemingly magically attached to some gemstone encrusted obsidian. 

"Snorlot." Urzak started as calmly as he could and he saw the old Runesmith jolt in place with sharp eyes stabbing into him as he glared at him.

"What do you want Urzak? Your brat already told you, he is my apprentice, right? Why are you here and not celebrating?" Snorlot demanded.

And to the barrage of questions that hit his mind Urzak could only blink and mentally process through them one at a time before he realized that Kharn was telling the truth... This crotchety old Dwarf actually took him as his own apprentice!

So after a moment to accept that as fact Urzak could only smile wryly and say. "I made a mistake then Snorlot, my boy isn't even turning a decade old soon and... It is an amazing surprise, to say the least." 

Snorlot snorted with him pointing a finger at Urzak and saying with annoyance. "Yes yes it's an amazing thing. Now git! I have research to do and you need to go make sure your wife makes your son some dinner as he will need his strength tomorrow." 

Holding up a hand in surrender Urzak quickly made his way out of Snorlot's forge knowing all to well the runesmith's mercurial temper and he quickly made his way back home while he was thinking that the oddly shaped hammer he brought was assuredly Snorlot's work.

Or... Maybe the hammer itself was his boy's work and then at seeing his boy's talent. Snorlot engraved some runes onto the hammer to cement his apprenticeship. 

He was thinking too much. He just needed to drown out his thoughts with some extra strong ale.

-

And it was clear that he was beyond happy with how he was all but giggling through his beard as he slapped a drunken hand on my lower back as he missed in patting my shoulders.

"My boy! You did it haha!" My father cheered happily as he then picked me up... And then held me up in the air as he bellowed with ecstatic laughter.

While me? I felt the terror of a dwarf lifted off the ground without anything beneath his feet and my father was made aware of that as I bit the shit of his calloused hand with him just fucking laughing as he put me down with my mother giving him a dirty look.

As dwarves weren't supposed to fly without their feet touching something! Our feet needed to feel the roots of metal, stone or something hearty beneath our feet lest our stomachs fall out of our guts in fear!

My mother gave me a softer pat on the head as she said softly. "Good work Kharn, I am so proud of you."

And I felt all the lovely tingles in my stomach at my father and mother looking at me with such pride... Such stone bone dwarf joy at their only son landing the job to get fast-tracked to becoming a Fortune 500 CEO basically.

After a minute of my parents taking a breather, I tilted my head to the side and asked curiously. "So does anything change now?" 

To which my father shook his head with a small frown crossing his face as he said. "No Kharn, I have a good reputation with my ale keeping the clan flush with coin and well fed. Although the older smiths may get... Annoyed at you who doesn't even have a beard getting Snorlots acceptance." 

I slowly nodded in understanding.

As no matter how tight nit the clan was, and how we would generally support each other if we could. That didn't mean we wouldn't get jealous of one another's achievements especially if it seemed completely unfair and undeserving.

And a child not even ten winters old earning the apprenticeship with the clans sole Runesmith? Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if some of the adults didn't think I was actually his bastard child or something.

We then went to eat with a joyful mood filling us as we ate my mother's cooking and as a I was eating, my father poured me a small cup of some of his lighter ale for me to drink with him saying proudly. "My son, you are the apprentice of the clans runesmith... Although you have a good twenty-odd years until you present yourself as an adult to the clan to show off your accomplishments, I want you to know that I am proud of you and you are already on the path to becoming a worthy Dawi." 

I drank down the honey-tasting ale and my father patted me on the back while my mother rolled her eyes and we went back to talking about father's work in making Ale as we didn't exactly know what Snorlot was going to have me do as his official apprentice.

Once we finished dinner. I stretched out and said with some honest exhaustion as enchanting my hammer with three runes of power was still weighing on my childish body no matter even if I had a gamer system. "Goodnight, I am going to hit the hay early."

My mother smiled and said gently. "Go and rest Kharn. May Grungni and Thungni protect your dreams." 

With my mother's blessing, I left and went to bed and swiftly fell asleep filled with warm ale, hot stew, and the exhaustion that came from a hard day's work.

The next day I promptly ate some stone bread and drank some ale to fill my stomach before I left to Snorlot's forge and once I got there...

I saw the dwarf had a dark frown in his thick beard as he was inspecting my enchantment table.

"Sir, am I allowed to continue my forging?" I asked unsurely to which his eyes snapped to me with him looking at me with a slight frown before his beard twitched and he snapped out.

"Kharn, what does this contraption actually do? It seemingly absorbs the winds of magic and then using our vitality it does something." He demanded out of irritation out of seemingly failing to study it since yesterday.

To that I raised an eyebrow and actually sarcastically asked. "Old man, are you going to just hand over your research on Runes to me?" And as his thick eyebrow twitched at the reminder of how Runesmiths hoarded knowledge ever so jealously I continued.

"But you are correct in what it does. The book holds the runes I have knowledge of, and then in using the winds of magic the enchantment table has, and then a price of my own vitality the enchantment table will instantly enchant the rune of the object I desire with the runes I have in mind." 

Snorlot's face twitched and he gave me a dirty look before he said gruffly. "That is the wrong way boy... Where is the art? Where is the knowledge and materials needed to properly enchant an item?"

And he finished with a stern frown as he said with finality. "It's unnatural."

I absorbed his words... I gave it all due consideration and then I said flatly. "I dreamt of Thungni, he was a genius of a dwarf. More in tune with magic then any knife-eared git there may be. And he had a saying. 'A rock blessed to blast through a mountain.' 

What I was saying was complete goat shite but I was on a roll as I said frankly. "The art of a beautiful masterpiece is wonderful sir, but when an enchanted rock and an enchanted hammer can split the same mountain in two. What is the difference?"

Snorlot looked at me for a long moment and then a blur followed by my face hitting the ground as Snorlot spat on the ground saying. "Bah that engineering shite, if I see you making gyrocopters and going for pure efficency over the honest means of a good smith I will beat you upside the head!"

Feeling anger rising up within me at him just smacking me upside the head I stood up and after thinking... Really thinking about my life choices, I grabbed Snorlot by the beard and then using his beard as leverage I jump up and slammed my forward into his nose with the old dwarf.

"Gah you little brat!" Snorlot snarled as he held his bleeding nose as he glared down at me and in turn I said calmly.

"Only my mother and father have the right to smack me upside the head if I do something wrong sir. Now I am going to make some fire proof armor would you please teach me how to make size adjustable armor?" I asked respectfully.

And for a moment I saw Snorlot chew on his refusal, his anger at me giving him a bloody nose before I saw a hint of pride and understanding enter his eyes and he nodded saying bluntly. "Aye, now in armor that can be made for the masses. Its all in the chest plates and the straps."