The fire reflected off our faces as we sat on wooden logs, the breeze of the night keeping us company along the light of the moon. I was focused on every word he said, Durvak, my dwarven saviour. It was important I learned and memorized this knowledge, of a world I have never heard before, Middle-Earth.
"Let's take it slow laddy. Maybe start from this forest we are in, my people had named it Durugath, stretching a great distance from the mountains all the way to the coast." Refilling his pipe, the dwarf explained.
The great green expanse that I had woken up in was called Durugath, a name given to it by the dwarfs. Quiet by the day, a haven for all forms of life but by night the terrors of the woods came to life. Wolves emerged from their dens and hunted for food, wild-cats which you could never hear until it was too late and goblins.
"Goblins?…" A word I have never heard before.
"Yes. Nasty little critters, they attack in large numbers, cowardly and cunning. They talk our tongue but never trust them!" Durvak wanted to make a point as he waved his finger at me. This was a warning.
He explained that they hid in the morning deep underground in caves and tunnels they had dug and by nightfall they emerged. Attacking unsuspecting travelers, not just for their gear and coin but to enact atrocious acts.
"Bah! Foul bastards!" He didn't elaborate further but I understood and made a mental note of the evil creatures.
The forest reached the coast, about a weeks travel from here, were major cities stood. He mentioned Forlond, a port city built on the Gulf of Lune. With a strong military presence and some trade activity.
"I should also mention that around these parts you will see folks with pointy ears and noses high up into the sky. These egomaniac pricks are called Elves." Elves, another inhabitant of this world. A people of beauty and grandeur. Durvak wasn't fond of them as they were self centered, thinking of themselves all high and mighty.
"Are these elves as bad as the goblins?" I asked. Should I be wary of them as well, was nothing safe in this world I wondered.
"Haha! No laddy, they aren't that bad. They are good folk, it's just their way of thinking I dislike." Durvak said.
They lived their lives in slow motion, having longevity and could live for thousands of years. This baffled me but I didn't interrupt him. The elven race were masters of all arts, be it smithing, building or more fine arts. They had excelled in all fields.
But their long years, made them also think in ages. Waiting for an elf to act was like expecting for a miracle to happen. And this place, Lindon, was full of them.
"And these right here...these are the Blue Mountains. The Ered Luin." With proud in his voice his pointed at the mountain range behind us, along with a hint of sadness.
Peaks as tall as the sky and stretching as far as the eye could see. The Ered Luin or The Blue Mountains was once the pride and joy of all dwarven people, major cities were build, carved into them. A beacon of wealth, trade and prosperity.
This all was in an age long gone, before a great war split the sea and skies, destroying this once majestic center of dwarven civilization and reducing it to ruin. Their people fled and only a few were left behind, in small, spread out halls.
"Aye, I am of proud people. Our maker Aule, sculpted us from stone, shaped us from fire. We are the embodiment of our craft." Durvak said with passion, his fist clenched.
Dwarves too were proud people, not focused on beauty but more so on their craft. Smithing, jewel-making and building their grand halls. They were all ways that honored their god and ancestors.
"So you see, this a vast world you found yourself in laddy. Lindon of-course isn't all that is, there is more out there, beyond our mountains." How vast was this world I wondered. He spoke of more civilizations, grand cities and wonders to behold. These couldn't be explained in just one night, he gave me only a brief summary so that I wouldn't feel so lost.
"This all feels...surreal. Lindon, goblins, elves...sounds like dream." I took some time to process the information. In reality it wasn't that hard to accept, having no memories of before, this was the only truth I could accept.
Durvak watched me as I was deep in though and gave me a moment of silence. I could sense it, he was unsure of what to think of me. I was a total stranger claiming I had lost my memory and my chance stumbled at his doorstep.
Not only that, I had this grim tattoo on my arm. A curse he said it was, he didn't elaborate on that any further and this wasn't the best time to ask. Some question were answered but even more surfaced. The main one being what was my goal.
---
The sun was rising in the horizon, the moon hiding behind the Blue Mountains. The forest once more came to life and the campfire had long extinguished. I was given plenty of time to think and put my mind in order, comprehend my situation.
"I have a proposition." Durvak looked at me straight in the eyes. His one-eyed gaze had turned serious.
"Please." I replied, any suggestion was welcome.
"You are lost laddy. I don't see you managing for yourself as is...so come and work for me." Saying this he stood up and motioned me to follow him and that I did.
This place that the dwarf lived, I felt that it used to be something more. I could see it in the ruble scattered on the ground as we walked together. An attempt was made to clear the debris, was he alone out here, working to bring this place back to life. What truly happened here I wondered.
"What kind of work are we talking about? I am grateful for the offer but all I can do is manual labor." I didn't want to be a burden by any means, I owned this man my life and the least I could was repay it back and become a leach.
We went back inside the hall, to his workstation, where the coals still burned brightly. He showed me to a corner, where a pile of old pieces of equipment laid. Be it rusty armor or chipped blades to old tools, these were of no use.
"I am a smith and a trader. What I want from you is to make use of this pile. Restore it, melt it or throw it away, you decide." Durvak said as I blankly stared at the junk laid out before me.
I truly had no idea how to reply and how to even start. I expected to be hauling stuff, like an apothecary of sorts, not restoring equipment.
"I am sorry...i don't know how." I replied half embarrassed.
"Well, I will show you!" The dwarf replied and gave me a slap on the back. His hand nearly leaving an imprint on my skin.
He proceeded to take a blade, full of rust and its edge dull. Walking towards his workbench he took a cloth and wiped the grim off its surface, carefully examining it for any defects or cracks.
There was this barrel next to him, filled to the brim with an unknown liquid. With the blade grabbed by the hilt he submerged it all the way in, the liquid bubbled and after a moment he removed it. Most of the rust was dissolved, living only some stubborn marks which too disappeared with the quick work of a file.
"See the lines here laddy? Always work along these lines, or else you might damage it further." I nodded at his remarks, every so often he would give me a tip, to follow the grain of the metal, how to file or the time needed to soak the blade.
Having removed the stains, we went to the forge. Durvak dipped the blade into the hot coals for a moment and after removing it was a dull red color, without a moment to waste he took his hammer in hand and gave it a few good strikes on the anvil.
I remember the sound all too well, the sparks that flew and the blade being reshaped back into its old self. He worked masterfully, his technique was precise and with only a few hits it was done. The blade had cooled down and it was time for the next step.
"The metal remembers its shape, don't think of it as an object. Feel it in your hands, how it reacts to each strike." The dwarven smith spoke of his art with passion, it felt like a ritual was taking place. It was as if he was giving life to the blade.
The whetstone was next, keeping the blade at the right angle was crucial and both sides had to be done. Pedaling on the rotating wheel he pushed its edge up against the stone and even more sparks started flying.
"Here feel the edge...careful." I touched it and almost cut myself, I would have never imagined that a blade found in that pile of junk would become such a sharp tool.
He wasn't done yet, back to the forge, he place the sharpened blade back into the coals and heat it for a longer time. Right out of the fire and into a barrel filled with a liquid, probably oil I thought. It sizzled and let out some fumes. Taking out, he placed it back into the coals for a moment and he was done.
"Now the blade is clean, sharpened and tempered. This is the basics of smithing...any questions?" Durvak asked me as he applied some oil to the surface of the blade, to prevent any further rusting.
"Can I try?" I felt a connection to this art. My hands were eager to start working, I wanted to learn how to smith.