Chapter 53: Forging the Holy Sword
The old dwarf's eyes went wide. He took the bag of gems with trembling hands and carefully examined the quality of each stone. His own treasury had only a few gems that could compare. Truly, the treasure of a dragon.
"Good, good, good!" he said, repeating the word three times in his excitement. "This payment is more than enough!"
With these gems, all the materials and effort he would put into this sword would be well worth it.
"But I have one more condition," Norne added. "I want to be able to choose some weapons and armor from your workshop."
The old dwarf hesitated. Seeing this, Norne continued, "This is enough to cover your material costs and labor, and much more. Am I not right?" Norne was well aware of the value these ornate gems held for the dwarves. He was not one to be taken advantage of, which was why he had given the dwarf a whole bag of gems instead of just a few. It had all been part of his plan.
His shrewdness made Rhodes nod in approval. Norne was truly beginning to walk the path of a king. For some reason, that phrase felt strangely familiar to him.
In the end, the old dwarf agreed to Norne's condition.
"The payment we've offered is more than generous," Serie added coldly, an invisible mana beginning to coalesce around her, creating an intense pressure. "I'd better not see you trying any tricks, like substituting the ore."
The old dwarf swallowed hard and quickly waved his hands. "Of course not! I swear on my honor as a dwarf, I will forge this holy sword with all my skill!" If the payment had been less, he might not have put his full effort into it. But they had not only provided the precious Eternal Ore and dragon scale, but also a bag full of magnificent gems. He would pour all of his energy into forging this sword for them.
He carefully put away the gems and the scale, then looked at Rhodes, hesitating for a moment. "But... to forge a holy sword that can store mana, I need one more key ingredient."
"What is it?" Rhodes asked.
"A crystal that can store mana."
"You don't have one?"
"Not at the moment. I only ever use them when making magical items, and I don't keep them in stock."
The dwarven forging techniques included the creation of magical items, but this old dwarf mostly forged weapons and armor. He rarely made magical items, so he had no reason to stock mana crystals. Besides, they were quite expensive. He couldn't afford to keep materials for something he might not even forge once a year. He only ever started forging when he had the necessary materials.
"Are you asking me to go find one?" After paying so much, they still had to find their own materials? He felt like some unfortunate schmuck from a fantasy novel, begging an alchemist to make a pill for him, not only having to provide all the ingredients and pay a hefty fee, but also having to accept that the process might fail. It was just unfair.
"Well, you could wait. A dwarven merchant caravan will be coming to this town in about a year. You can buy a mana crystal from them." The old dwarf looked a little embarrassed. He was just missing this one material. He hadn't expected the elven miss to request a sword that could store mana. He had never forged a weapon with such a feature before. "Or... we could just skip the mana-storing function? I can add some other special abilities."
"No," Serie said, refusing flatly. "That is the one thing I will not compromise on. It must be able to store mana."
The old dwarf wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. The cold, unyielding elf made him nervous. "I understand. Then how about we wait a year for the caravan to arrive, and I'll forge it for you then?"
Rhodes frowned. A year was too long. It might be nothing to Serie, but he wasn't willing to wait that long.
As the atmosphere grew tense, Somme suddenly poked his head out from the back of the workshop. "See if there's one in here!" he said, walking over and dumping a large bag of colorful ores onto the ground. He had taken them from the dragon's lair, and now the old dwarf could identify them.
The old dwarf was stunned once again. "Is... is that Sandgold? Its hardness far exceeds steel! The best material for a weapon! And such a large mana crystal! No, it's too pure, and that star-blue color... this is a top-grade crystal, capable of storing a massive amount of mana!"
Rhodes's expression finally relaxed. "So we have all the materials now?" In his heart, he wanted to thank that dragon. It had given them money, materials, and even its own blood and hide for their grimoire. It was truly a great dragon.
"Yes, yes!" the old dwarf nodded, but then a troubled look crossed his face. "But... to activate the mana in the crystal, a mage needs to infuse it."
A light arrow instantly materialized at Serie's fingertip. "Are you doing this on purpose?" First it was not enough materials, then it was a mage. He had just been boasting about his skills, and now he was saying he needed their help.
"No, no, no!" the old dwarf quickly backed away. "That's a requirement for forging a weapon that can store mana! The same goes for any magical item."
Rhodes looked at Serie thoughtfully. "So that means..."
"We do it together."
Seeing that the old dwarf wasn't lying, Serie dispelled the light arrow.
"Alright," Rhodes said. As one of the only two mages in their party, he couldn't very well refuse. "Looks like we'll be staying here for a while, and we've got some work to do."
That night, the group settled in the dwarven town. There were no inns to be found, so they ended up buying a house from a dwarf at a hefty price. Since they would be staying for at least a month, they needed a place to rest. This made Rhodes once again curse the greedy dwarves under his breath. Why couldn't they be more like Somme? He was a dwarf, but he lacked all of their typical flaws and was only driven by a desire for honor.
In their new house, Serie stood by the window, gazing at the brightly lit smithy in the distance, lost in thought.
"What's on your mind?" Rhodes asked, handing her a cup of hot tea. The dwarves' weaving skills were terrible, but at least they had proper houses, which was a nice change from camping in the wild.
Serie took the cup, the warmth of it relaxing her a little. "I was just thinking that once the holy sword is forged, you can use its mana-storing function to help improve your own mana."
Rhodes was surprised. "I see. So you think this holy sword is for me."
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