I slept in the residence of old dwarf blacksmith Thrain Ironvein that night as a guest of his invitation. His was the name of a hard-working but reliable man whose existence was the circle of hammer on metal. His house reeked of coal and iron powder, but safer than sleeping outdoors in woods or pubs with inebriated adventurers.
The next morning, before I'd even laid down the tea, Baldric had come back from the village headquarters with a summons.
"Lucifer," he muttered under his breath, stroking his beard, "the chief wants to see you. It seems your presence has not escaped attention."
I wasn't shocked. A hooded stranger arriving at a secluded dwarf village with the demeanor of a high-ranker? They'd be fools not to realize. I steadied my cloak and followed the man from the village chief down the cobbled streets until we arrived at the chief's hall.
The village leader, a stout but wide-eyed dwarf named Torim Greystone, greeted me with stiff politeness. His office was unadorned with ledgers, maps of the hills surrounding, and hunting reports pinned to the wall.
"Lucifer, was it?" His voice was forceful, though I sensed the weight behind it. "I'll be brief. We believe a dangerous beast wave is coming this year. The Verdant Deep Forest has been too quiet, and when the forest stays quiet, it means something's stirring. I need you to stay here, at least for another week." I sat back ever so slightly in the chair, remaining silent.
He furrowed his brow. "I've seen you in the adventurers' office. You have the card of a C-Rank Adventurer. But my gut. It's telling me that there is something you're not sharing with me. But I won't ask. I'll only ask this: will you give your power to defend Green Leaf?
I smiled kindly. A C-Ranker? Oh, if only he knew. But glory and renown were not what I had hoped for, and the village must be intact so that the blacksmith could work, so I acquiesced.
"I'll do it," I told him.
His relief was instant, though he attempted to cover it. "Good. That gives us time."
---
There is no ending.
The following days fell into routine. In the mornings, I would walk around the village. Afternoons were spent encountering the very same stubborn girl, Alenya Dawnsunder.
She stood with the same fire in her eyes that she stood with the last time I saw her flog those wolves into submission, but she moved with an arrogance that seemed to me a knife honed, a hair too fine, a hair too brittle.
I walked up to her at the adventurers' office, and she snarled.
"You again."
"Yes," I told her. "And I will tell you once again : become my disciple."
She tightened her hold on her sword hilt. "You hide your face, your name, and your past. Why should I trust you?"
"Because you'll be a better fighter with me for training than you will ever be hacking wildly at wolves."
She replied the same way she always did. "No."
I didn't push further. Chipping out favors never bred loyalty; it bred resentment. But I did catch her hesitation, and that was enough. One day she'd do as I'd wish her to do.
---
On the fourth day,
"Ironbark wood, where to find them?" I inquired.
He nodded. "There's a grove on the edge of the Stonecrag Hills nearby. A dangerous place; spiders nest in the roots, and worse things guard the trees. The villagers can't risk sending anyone."
Of course. Everything valuable was always wrapped in danger.
I stood and adjusted my cloak. "Then I'll go."
The blacksmith raised an eyebrow but did not interrupt me. "Beware, lad. Even the high-rankers are not untouched walking through Ironbark territories."
---
I remembered that evening, seated near the window of Ironvein's residence.
The headman feared a tide of monsters. Alenya rejected me, yet she nibbled at my mind like embers waiting for the fall of tinder. Ironvein needed Ironbark wood, and without this, even his skill could not forge the blade he needed.
I closed my eyes, and the thrum of my power ran through me. "Ironbark wood, beast wave, a woman… all lead me here," I panted.
The world never took a break from me, it just gave me another set of problems. And I would step into them willingly.
I will travel to the Stonecrag Hills tomorrow.