---Minas Mar---
"Seth, I finished it," the dwarven master said after entering the workshop. Seth had come a little later today, after spending the Morning outside with Fin and Mina. The moment he returned, he found Tored already waiting for him in the corridor in front of the workshop. Since he wanted to talk, he had invited him in.
"What did you finish?" the blacksmith asked, a little puzzled, sitting down at a workbench. He was so preoccupied with the legendary sets that he had no proper overview of the items everyone else was currently working on.
As if to answer, Tored suddenly brought out a tall wooden staff. The polished wood looked like dark honey, frozen in time. The item was covered in beautiful carving of forest scenes, leading up to the tree carved at the tip, holding a crystal sphere. The moment he saw it, Seth remembered what this was about again.
"Ohh, Pip's staff! It turned out really beautiful," Seth praised his former master. It had been a hot moment since then, but the bard had asked Tored whether he could make a staff for Pip's birthday, using the core wood of the guardian tree.
Seth had been completely occupied with the armor planning and production in preparation for their expansion into the Voracious Cloud Continent. Knowing he would not be able to squeeze Pip's birthday present in between, he had asked the dwarf for help, so it could be ready in time.
"Yup, it is finished so far; all it lacks is a little soul juice from you to finish it up," the dwarf joked, proud of his work. Apart from using
"I never even heard of Forest Tourmaline before. Where did you get it?" Seth asked intrigued
The stone was semi-transparent and had dark inclusions that made it look like leaves with the sun shining through them. Apart from being very nice to look at, it had the power to strengthen the effect of earth, life, and nature magic.
There was even a synergistic effect between the disposition of the guardian tree and the tourmaline. The effect was called Forest Life and raised the effect of Buffs on plant life by 75%. It was practically perfect for a girl who learned the magic of a dryad.
"It's actually a stone very commonly used for the equipment of druids and shamans. However, druids and shamans aren't very common, so it is no wonder you never came across them," the experienced dwarven master explained to Seth.
"I thought since she learned a sort of plant magic from Karina and will probably receive a class fitting her already present skills, this would fit her quite nicely," he explained his choice professionally. Seth agreed. If he had known about this stone, he would have used it too.
"I understand, so all I have to do to finish it is give my two cents and infuse a soul, huh?" the blacksmith asked and gave the staff another appraising look. In addition to the material choices, Tored had enchanted the staff masterfully with support circuits, allowing the item itself to boost the attack power of spells by 150% and lowering the cost by 35%.
In addition, there was a mana gathering formation in the gem sphere that slightly raised max Mana by 1000 points and recovered every 60 seconds. Having checked what Tored already gave the Staff, Seth had an idea of how to improve it further with a soul.
"Seems like you are satisfied with my work," Tored concluded with a grin.
"You wouldn't have brought it here if you thought there was even a chance I could be dissatisfied. Thank you, Tored. I already have an idea where to go from here," Seth agreed with a nod, his eyes still glued to the staff in his hands.
For Monique's armor, he had refined 10 souls out of the 500 souls with a focus on physical combat. About half of the 300 remaining souls were mages and casters. Instead of visiting the goat again, he decided it was best to refine a new soul for the staff
The spirit blacksmith took his time, about an hour, to properly sort the souls, choosing about 50 he would refine with specific criteria. What the staff really lacked as a mage equipment was cast reduction.
Apart from that, he also kept skills to raise mana and magic damage. By adding a few priest souls, he also made sure to have a positive effect on life and healing magic. After feeding and adjusting the soul refinery, he was able to leave it alone and return to the workshop. The crafting station would take a while to do its job.
In the meantime, Seth could continue working on the silver armor. The next piece he wanted to make was the helmet. It was similar in design to his Helmet of Hades, except that this one also had a plume, as suggested by the usual depiction of Athena.
It was kind of funny, for Faenys' helmet, he had horse hair but made a knight-style plume, but here, when he did a more traditional Olympian helmet, he chose a feather for it. Spirit Owl feathers, to be exact. Feleth had mentioned them when Seth had looked for an owl leather, and the blacksmith had taken them along at that time.
However, the bard had also found one or two depictions where the helmet of Athena seemed to use bushy feathers instead of the more prevalent horse hair brush. The semi-corporeal feathers of the spirit owl were perfect for this.
He took a deep breath and lifted the hammer. Charon's Obol lifted high, Oz started playing his tune, and the infernal skald's voice filled the workshop.
"I'm roaring blaze, ashen rain, I'm coming on like a hurricane, My light is burning across the sky..."
It was distinctively not the damage reflection ballad, but one of the few works that Seth had created himself. The plan in mind, the blacksmith began forging what could technically be called a replica of the helmet he had found in the depictions of the goddess.
From the cheek guards to the nose guard, to decorations, and even the stylized owl, serving as the mount for the plume. All the while, he channeled the demonic power summoned by the song into the metal filled with divine blessing.
"I won't take no prisoner,s won't spare no lives... Nobody's putting up a fight. I got my spell, I'm gonna send you to hell, I'm gonna get ya, he's gonna get ya!" his voice kept bellowing in demonic language, as the helmet took shape.
His blueprint had only two small variances from the template he decided on. One difference would not have been seen from the outside. The blacksmith, together with the other masters, had made a big technological step forward during the making of the last armor, and he intended to use the new knowledge here.
The front of the helmet was forged from transparent dragon bone, seamlessly fused with the special silver. The original eye holes and slit in front of the mouth were only set back. Seth would not give them the mirror coating, so they would give the illusion that they were holes, when they were not.
"Hell Spells! I'm gonna split up the night!"
This way, Monique's field of vision was almost not obstructed, while enemies were open to make the mistake of aiming for her eyes. The second difference was that he left space in the decoration, where the Olympian enchantment was going to be.
"Hell Spells! There is no way to fight! Hell Spells!"
Once all parts were in place, Seth finally fell silent and "Hell Spells" came to an end, imbuing the so far finished helmet with the power of Flauros, to protect the wearer from mind effects and brainwashing. Contrary to how it usually went, the influence of the ballad on the silver could not be seen, despite him being able to feel the demon's power inside the material.
"Phew, next would be enchanting and mounting the feathers," Seth spoke to himself with a sigh, as he sat down to take a break and drink something. He had been singing for two, almost three hours, and his throat just started to feel a little sore.