Chapter 2 – Forging Ahead
The barracks were their usual hub of activity, and beings came and went. Several of the buildings, since the rebirth of Killic, had been altered, and an extension had been built at its rear. This new extension, which overlooked the training grounds, housed SJ’s office.
She shared pleasantries with the beings working diligently at their desks, attending to the everyday, mundane requirements of the town and a constant stream of residents that they received.
A large bugbear was currently complaining that his waste hadn’t been collected in over a week, while the clerk, a ratkin official, explained that with the recent bout of sickness, they had been short-staffed and would get to it as soon as possible.
SJ smiled at the everyday conversation.
As SJ approached her office, she saw Barry’s beaming face sitting patiently in a chair outside.
“Hi Barry, sorry I’m late,” SJ said.
“No problem,” Barry replied cheerily, swinging his legs like a child, his feet unable to reach the ground.
Barry was a character; he had a bushy moustache rather than a beard, and bright orange hair, like many male gnomes. He nearly always wore a smile, and nothing ever seemed to faze him, unless one of his projects didn’t go as expected; then, he would become as fierce as any beast. One thing he never did was give up; if his first ideas failed, he would try again until he had a solution. He had been the perfect choice to help solve the town’s problems with access to the valley to the west. However, it hadn’t been cheap.
The design and construction of the lift system to the valley floor were engineering wonders. Huge pullies and chains interlinked various stone and wooden structures that had been built, and then, with the support of the dwarven stonemasons and earth mages, embedded in the cliff face. It had taken considerable time and ‘beingpower’ to realise the final design, but it was perfectly fit for purpose.
Many had been sceptical at first of the strange contraption, but once they had been shown it in operation, the relief was enormous. Those villages that had been cut off to the west of Killic, across the valley, could now again access Killic as they needed.
Its construction also enabled the rebuilding of the valley defences, which had only recently been completed. Although the initial wall had remained for the most part untouched after the assault, the ease with which the draconian riders had crossed it meant it had undergone significant improvements.
SJ entered her office, which was spacious, with windows that allowed her to watch the training being undertaken if she wished, though usually when she was in the office, she was too busy doing the books or writing the innumerable amount of correspondence she had to complete for all the various financial tasks the town had.
She walked to the small hot plate, and a single hot coal sat in a small iron housing, which kept the coffee warm. It was a request she had made, and Zej had designed it perfectly. The office always smelled of bitter nectar, mixed with the floral scent from the vase, which was replenished every couple of days. It wasn’t ostentatious, but practical and comfortable.
“Come, take a seat. Would you like a coffee?” SJ asked.
“That would be nice,” Barry said as he hopped into one of the chairs by her desk.
SJ poured them both a mug before taking her seat.
Over the months since Barry had come to support the rebuild, this meeting had become a regular weekly occurrence.
“How is the new phase of work going?” SJ asked.
Since the valley repairs, Barry had been involved in several new projects across the town, the most recent being the design of a water and sewage system.
“It’s going well. The initial digs are complete, and the new channels are under construction. I can’t say enough about Shelly and her crew; their excavation skills are exceptional.”
Barry always praised the dwarves for their work. He may design the changes, but without dwarven intervention, very few of them could ever be realised. Shelly, whom SJ had first met months ago in the council chamber after her discovery of Mithril, had risen through the ranks and, after the unfortunate loss of Orik, was now the head of the dwarven operations in the town.
“That’s great to hear,” SJ smiled. “When do you think the first section will be completed?”
“If everything goes as planned, perhaps two weeks. The problem we still face is establishing the piping and meeting the requirements for the water supply. The mages are still being problematic.”
Ever since SJ had witnessed hot and cold running water in Asterfal, she had wanted to bring it to Killic. Fran and her apprentices were overseeing the mages’ needs with support from Asterfal’s mage academy. SJ wasn’t entirely up to speed on the exact requirements, but from the explanations given, it wasn’t just a case of using the lake water as a supply. Instead, it had to go through a magical process before it could be considered safe for beings to drink. It reminded her of the large water treatment plants that had dotted the UK, and a significant area by the lakeside to the north of town, above the docks, was being utilised for its construction.
“What do you mean by problematic?” SJ frowned.
“Oh, you know, mages; one second they need this, the next that. My design has changed a hundred times already,” Barry sighed.
“I would prefer that we take time and get everything right the first time,” SJ said.
“I know. I know. It just gets tedious,” as a smile returned to Barry’s face.
SJ smirked. “Well, I am sure you are being paid for your time!” SJ said sardonically.
Barry grinned. “I am indeed.”
“On to the important details, have you brought your ledger?” SJ asked.
Barry pulled a thick ledger from his inventory and dropped it on her desk, disturbing her inkwell.
“Sorry,” Barry said as he went to mop up the spilt ink with his sleeve.
“Don’t worry,” SJ said as she placed her sleeve over it. Her dress absorbed the liquid in moments. She knew the black stain would soon self-clean.
“Your dress?” Barry said.
SJ just smiled as she lifted her wrist, showing the stain was already fading.
“Oh. That’s an impressive dress.”
“It is,” SJ smiled. SJ had been continuing her tailoring development, and over the past few months, she had been excelling. The fact that she controlled so many auction houses now made material acquisitions for her tailoring a simple task. The ability to place orders at buy-now prices and not worry about the costs had meant she nearly always had what she needed.
There were several recipes she had purchased for specific items, which were more problematic due to the rare material needs. Especially since some of the materials were only available on other continents. SJ had learned that the auction houses only operated within the continent’s boundaries and didn’t cross the seas between them. Apparently, there were plans in place to extend the auction house network to allow this, but continual intercontinental politics always got in the way. It didn’t appear from the information SJ had received that anything would change anytime soon.
SJ picked up Barry’s ledger and flicked through the pages to the latest entries. The script was written entirely in Gnomish, which SJ could read fluently due to the language boost she had received. Barry had been thoroughly impressed when he had witnessed it for the first time, as Gnomish was a complex language that used a mixture of symbols and letters.
“Umm. It appears that the cost of labour has increased again. This is becoming almost a weekly occurrence.”
“Yes. With so many restructuring works being completed, even with the population increase, maintaining a skilled labour force is becoming increasingly costly. Never mind the mine.”
“Are the dwarves not finished now with the valley defensive wall construction?”
The dwarves had built angled parapets, preventing anything from coming straight up and over the wall; this added a further fifteen feet to the wall’s height. Much of the debris from the valley side collapse had been utilised, and everything else had been removed from inside the wall. The buildings that had been damaged or destroyed had been rebuilt. Yet, the most impressive sight of all was the massive metal-banded gates and wrought-iron portcullis that sat open throughout the day but were closed every evening. They had been missing the day of the invasion, and they offered the added security they hoped would never be needed after that fateful day.
“They are very close to yes; only minor adaptations are being made now.”
“That should free up the needed labour.”
“No, I doubt it will. I’ve heard many are moving to the pick. It’s apparently due to the mines’ changes and more dwarves wishing to strike their fortunes there.”
“I may have to speak to Shelly,” SJ mused.
“I doubt Shelly can do anything unless the construction salaries increase to match the miners.”
SJ winced at the extra cost that would bring. “I may have to contact Bert and his cousins.”
“The trolls,” Barry shuddered.
“Yes, the trolls.” SJ knew that Barry didn’t like trolls; apparently, in his youth, his town had suffered a troll raid, and he had held a grudge ever since. “We have spoken about this before. Bert and his cousins are exceedingly proficient builders, and you must have seen the work they have undertaken across the town?”
Barry mumbled. “I know, but trolls.”
SJ smiled. Bert still worked at the Hogling Arms in the evenings, but during the day, he helped his cousins.
“You mentioned a problem with the pipework?”
“Yes. The forge is doing its best, but it simply doesn’t have the capacity. I believe Zej was going to see you about getting approval for an expansion.”
SJ nodded in understanding as she scribbled a note reminding herself to speak to Zej.
“Anything else I need to know about?”
“Not today. I need the salary allowance for the workers, and I will get back to it.”
SJ opened the bottom drawer of her desk and removed the small chest it housed. It was magically sealed and would only open with the jewelled bracelet she wore being placed against it. After counting out the coins and neatly stacking them on her desk, SJ adjusted the ledger and updated the town interface. Barry then signed for the coins before dropping them in a pouch.
“That’s great; it’s a pleasure as always, SJ,” Barry grinned.
His grin was infectious, and she returned it. “Next week, if I don’t see you before.”
Barry nodded as he turned and left.
Kibble, the whole time SJ had been speaking to Barry, had remained quiet, listening from his plush cushion on the broad windowsill. He often spent his day lazing in the sun that filtered through.
“I’m hungry,” Kibble said, lifting his head.
SJ tutted. “You’re always hungry.”
“That’s not true,” Kibble complained.
“Why don’t you go and see Earleqious? He always gives you food.”
Kibble coughed. “Erm.”
“Erm, what?” SJ frowned. “What did you do this time?”
“Nothing,” Kibble replied sheepishly.
SJ turned fully to look at him, folding her arms.
“Kibble,” her voice held a warning tone.
“Look, it wasn’t my fault.”
“What wasn’t your fault?”
“I can’t help it if I sneeze,” Kibble said defensively.
“What happened?”
“I may have set Earleqious on fire. Who knew ents were so flammable?”
“Kibble!” SJ said in shock. “When did this happen?”
“Yesterday,” Kibble said forlornly, his head dropping back to the pillow.
“And you only just told me now. Damnit,” SJ cursed.
“It was an accident,” Kibble pleaded.
“An accident I wasn’t aware of. Come on, get up. We are going to apologise.”
“But...”
“No buts, get off that cushion now or else,” SJ said as she stood.
Kibble grumbled as he stood up before taking his position on her shoulder. Then, before Kibble could realise, SJ clipped his leash to his collar. “This is to stop you getting any ideas of flying off and hiding,” SJ said.
Kibble swore under his breath.
“And if I hear language like that again, you will be eating soap for a month.”
Kibble continued to grumble as they made their way to the butcher’s.
Earleqious was busy butchering some pheasants when SJ entered the shop.
He turned at the sound of the bell tinkling.
“SJ,” he smiled, then frowned, seeing the demonic wyvern on her shoulder. He rubbed his blackened arm subconsciously, the clear sign of burn damage across his wooden frame.
“I’ve brought the guilty party to offer my sincere apologies. I would have come sooner if I had known what had happened. I only just found out,” SJ said, embarrassed by her companion’s shameful behaviour.
Kibble chirped. “I sneezed, that’s all.”
“It’s okay. The bark will grow back in a day or two, but hopefully he learned his lesson that he shouldn’t stick his snout in the pepper barrel when I am spicing the meat.”
“Kibble!” SJ said. “I thought you sneezed accidentally, but it seems it was no accident.”
“It smelled so good,” Kibble groaned.
“What can I do for you as an apology?” SJ asked.
“No, it’s fine. That lightning that hit me definitely has a kick to it.”
“Yes. I have suffered it myself before. Be thankful it’s not one of his fully charged zaps.”
Kibble lifted his head almost proudly.
“That wasn’t a chance for you to show off,” SJ scolded him. His little chin dropped again.
“Did he damage anything else?”
“No. No, just me,” he chuckled.
“Are you at the inn tonight? If so, I will buy you a drink as a sign of apology.”
“I may just do that,” Earleqious smiled.
A dribble of drool landed on SJ’s shoulder as Kibble stared at all the haunches of meat hanging on the hooks in the shop and displayed on the counter.
She sighed as she took out some coins. “I’ll take five slices, please?”
Five thick slices of hogling were carefully placed on a sheet of waxed parchment and neatly tied into a bundle.
SJ paid for the meat and then turned to leave. “I’ll see you this evening.”
“I’ll be there.”
“We may as well go and see Zej, while we're over here,” SJ said as she turned in the direction of the forge, sighing. Her planned return to the barracks was delayed by one repentant wyvern and one expansion-hungry blacksmith. The life of a councillor, it seemed, was one of constant interruption.
The forge was busy as usual, with apprentices working the bellows, and thick smoke lazily floating in the sky above. The smell of the forge always gave her comfort, and the ringing of the hammer on the anvil.
“Of all the beings in Amathera, I’m surprised your mother let you out of the womb,” Zej growled as he grabbed the shaping tongues from a large orc, who stepped away, embarrassed. “How many times do I have to tell you? Strike while the iron’s hot.” As Zej thrust the tongs holding the iron back into the roaring fire.
SJ couldn’t help but smile at Zej’s usual flourish of torment; he used to encourage his apprentices. He may come across as gruff and abrupt, but he held each of them in high regard, regardless of how he spoke to them.
“Zej,” SJ called.
“If it isn’t my favourite fae,” Zej beamed on seeing SJ.
“And if it isn’t my favourite grumpy old dwarf,” SJ replied.
“Less of the old, I’ll have you know I’m in my prime. And I’m never grumpy!”
“You should possibly be on the receiving end of one of your own tirades that your apprentices suffer,” the large orc standing behind Zej nodded his head vigorously as SJ chuckled.
“Bah, it’s character building,” Zej waved off the comment. There was no way he would change after the length of time he had been doing his job, and his apprentices knew it wasn’t meant.
“Barry mentioned that you wanted to discuss something to do with the forge?”
“Aye, lass. Give me a minute, and I’ll come join you upstairs.”
SJ smiled as she left him to finish berating the apprentices and climbed the steps to Zej’s store that sat above the forge.
It always took SJ’s breath away every time she entered the store, the rows of brilliantly shining armour and perfectly crafted weapons neatly stacked or displayed.
The heavy stomping footsteps of Zej climbed the stairs.
“Come through,” Zej said as he walked through to the back room where he lived.
Betty stood proudly against the far wall as she had on the first day SJ had visited his home.
“Brandy?” Zej asked, grabbing the bottle off the side.
“No thanks. I still have a lot to do today.”
“Your loss,” Zej replied, pouring himself a large glass before plonking himself down on the large sofa with a sigh.
“Barry mentioned you might need to expand?”
Zej took a swig of the liquid. “Ahh, that hits the spot,” he said, wiping the back of his mouth with his sleeve. “Aye, with the increase in requirements for the town’s upgrades, we can’t accommodate all the work. When we were a smaller town, it never would have been a problem, but these days...”
“Yes, we have grown a little,” SJ smiled.
“A little! We’ll soon be a city at this rate.”
“I hope we don’t grow that large so soon.”
“With the wealth that the mine is now producing, I wouldn’t be surprised.”
SJ nodded in cautious understanding. She hoped not, but with Aletheia’s presence, so many things had changed. The Mithril mine was one of them. To their knowledge, there was now not a purer vein in existence anywhere on the continent, if not the whole of Amathera. SJ hadn’t even known she had visited the mine until a report from Shelly had reached her. Apparently, the mithril had been corrupted, so she had aligned its mana!
The ore was now so pure that a specialist smelter had been constructed on the old smelter’s site. The value of the mithril bars has almost quadrupled in price. This had again added even more funds to SJ’s already substantial wealth, considering the percentage she took, and the vein didn’t appear to be lessening either, according to recent reports. That was the main reason so many dwarves and other beings turned to the pick.
Zigferd had also promised that the town would pay back SJ every coin she had spent since the war. She had tried to refuse, but he had been adamant.
“So where do you wish to expand?”
“Well, I can’t go up, so the only option is going backwards. The problem is that it would mean buying the land that lies to the back.”
SJ’s face scrunched up in concern. Hubert was notoriously protective of his land and had a temper to match his stubbornness. Gladys and Hubert owned the land behind the forge, as the forge was situated on the northern edge of the town and bordered the fields they owned.
“I know, I know, what you’re thinking, but I’m sure if anyone can sweet-talk Hubert, it would be you,” Zej said.
“Are there no other options?”
“Not unless I went for a completely new forge, and I can’t afford that.”
SJ rubbed her forehead. “Let me think about it. It may be an easier option to move you than trying to persuade Hubert.”
“I said I can’t afford it.”
“I can if need be,” SJ said.
“No, you’ve already given enough to this town. I won’t take coin from you.”
“You wouldn’t be taking it from me. I would be giving it willingly. You know how much I have! I could never spend it anyway, and if it helps you and the town, then why not? You can always classify it as a loan if you wish and pay me back, or even a business partnership.”
Zej stroked his beard thoughtfully. “A partnership. I hadn’t even considered that, and if you did. I’d repay every advanced coin.”
“Don’t you start with that as well. Zigferd is bad enough to deal with. Right, I’d better get back,” SJ said as she stood.
Zej knocked back his brandy before following her back down the stairs. As SJ headed back towards the barracks, Zej once again continued his tyrannical oversight of his apprentices. SJ sighed. If solving the forge’s expansion meant dealing with Hubert, that was something she needed to mentally prepare for; hopefully, there might be an area that they could look at securing.
