Chapter 21

“Pathios, are you out of your mind?” Amenthia asked as we made our way to Brot’k’s, fear and irritation creeping into her voice.

I shook my head, “I asked Tyr to help come up with a solution, I didn’t expect this outcome, but it isn’t a surprise.”

“Why isn’t it a surprise?” Enti asked, a confused look on her face. “I am shocked you aren’t more worried.”

“Don’t get me wrong, Enti, I am worried plenty, but I can’t dwell on that right now. As for why it wasn’t a surprise, I was told after the incident with Jonta, that I would be put into similar circumstances, but that, this time, the Council and Tyr wouldn’t seek punishing me.”

“That is all fine and dandy,” Amenthia muttered, “but I don’t like that you are going to be in a fight to the death again.”

I stopped walking and pulled them both into a hug, “I don’t want this any more than you two do, but I have been put in an impossible situation, all I can do is try to survive.”

“You better survive,” Enti muttered into my chest, “otherwise Amenthia and I will kill you!”

I couldn’t help but laugh, as Amenthia had told me the same thing just before my fight with Jonta.

“I will do my best, my loves, that is all I can promise. The rest is up to skill, luck and the equipment that I get from Brot’k.”

We resumed our previous pace towards Brot’k, as I was eager to tell him of the development and find out the status of our armor. We went inside to find him in an animated discussion with a woman, while Cassandra stood off to the side, watching with amusement. The woman looked to be about my height, though I couldn’t tell her build due to the long cloak she wore. I could tell by the unique design that she had to be the cloth worker I suggested Brot’k find. She had long, flowing, blue hair, which was slightly unusual, but I could tell from her ears she was an Elf.

Enti leaned in and whispered, “She is an Arctic Elf. They are suited to colder climates but are true artisans with cloth. I am not surprised that she would be the person Brot’k got, but they tend to be very closed minded and don’t work well with others.” We began to approach, and Cassandra noticed us, smiling, but the other two were still distracted by their heated discussion.

“I don’t care,” stated the Arctic Elf. “I will not have my art dictated to by someone who knows nothing of this material or fashion.”

“You will have to, because you have been instructed by Tyr to do so, and should you ignore his request, you could find yourself without a Pact house.”

“My skills are far too valuable for him to even think of doing such a thing, especially for some human.”

I cleared my throat and said, “Well, since I am the human in question, why don’t you tell me your problem and we can see if we can work something out.”

I had startled the woman and she turned to glare at me, giving me a full body glance, her smug expression never leaving her features.

“So this is the whelp that has the audacity to tell me what to make? He doesn’t seem like very much.”

“Oh, I haven’t said you had to make anything. That was Tyr. I wanted someone with skill to make the clothing I needed for Entivala. If you can’t, I am sure that Tyr can find me someone who can, but I don’t think that will bode well for you.”

“You are arrogant for a simple human. There is nothing special about you, so why should I listen to you?”

“Let’s see,” I said, giving pause and tapped my chin in a mock gesture of thinking. “I have defeated a much stronger opponent that was a member of this Pact house, though I took no delight in it. Despite Tyr’s punishment, the Council themselves removed all the damage he caused and healed me fully. I, with the help of my two companions here, defeated Trethraz. I am sure that isn’t enough to impress you, so there is the fact that I am a rebirth, a person from a world other than this one. Your world here was built out of things that had their foundations in mine; that gives me the knowledge needed to be able to give input, as I have. The equipment that I have designed can give both freedom of movement as well as protection, if you are as good as you claim to be. Brot’k is right, though, you are here at my behest and should you decide that you don’t want to play well with others, then I have no use for you.”

She stood there with her mouth agape, shocked that anyone could speak of her this way. Ignoring her, I turned to Brot’k, who had a smile on his face, and I could see Cassandra was trying very hard not to laugh.

“Brot’k, we have had a slight change of plans, so I will have to ask you to adjust priorities on the sets.”

“What do you mean?” Brot’k asked, confused from the change in focus. “What happened to necessitate a change?”

“A fool much like Jonta - named Torvius. He seems to think that Entivala should be his, despite her Troth’ish’tal having my face and name on it. As per tradition it cracked and turned to dust in my hands once I read my name aloud, but he feels that it shouldn’t matter, as he wants her. The difference from Jonta, is that I asked Tyr to intervene and he decided that a fight to the death was in order. Therefore I will need my armor ready as soon as possible.”

Brot’k became lost in thought, “It is doable, Pathios, so long as I focus on only your weapons and armor, but that will mean more time needed on Amenthia’s so I will need another day.”

“That is fine,” I replied with a nod. “One more day out of the Dungeon will not kill us, but the issue I now have is a shield. The one I bought when I needed new armor was fine, but I need a new one fashioned soon. Cassandra, how long before you can possibly cast a runesmith enchantment of return on a shield?”

She gave me a curious look and said, “I would need to get to level five for a spell like that, but what do you need it for?”

“I have a design that comes from my world,” I answered with a smile, “based on a character from our media.”

I took the paper and quill Brot’k kept handy, drawing a replica of Captain America’s shield, though there were two major differences. First, the ring that was normally white would hold the twenty-four characters that make up Elder Futhark, while the center would have Tyr’s symbol. There would be four of them, one facing each direction, with the bottom of the symbols meeting in the center. For posterity’s sake, I also drew Captain America’s shield as well.

“On my world, the character of Captain America has this shield,” I said, pointing at the drawing of his shield. “It is made of the strongest metal known on the planet and he can throw it in such a way that it always returns to his hand. If it doesn’t, he has a magnet in his gauntlet that attracts that metal back. My plan is to do the same with mine but enchant the shield and my shield-arm scallop, with the return spell. Possibly a gem that I can only activate when touching it intentionally.”

Brot’k and Cassandra each had a gleam in their eye as I explained what I wanted made and how it would work.

“Would you want the edge of the shield to be keen enough to slice through most things? Or, we could hone the edge but leave it dull enough that no one got hurt accidentally.”

“The second option, please. I only plan to throw the shield if I am somehow disarmed, though a duller edge means I could use it to damage and confuse my targets. Do you have any metals that are light-weight, absurdly strong and that possibly reflect the force of an impact back onto the attacker? The shield back home, in the stories, was made of a mineral named vibranium. It is the second strongest metal known, but the strongest one found on earth in vast amounts. The shield could absorb most impacts causing no injury to the user and in other cases generate a concussive force. In fact, this metal could withstand a direct strike from Mjölnir, resulting in a shockwave that would injure groups of enemies if used correctly.”

Brot’k’s eyes lit up, “I remember now ... Tyr said that Thor and many of his family were used in comic books. Thor himself was called an ‘Avenger’ and worked to protect the earth and the universe. As for a comparable metal, only bloodsteel would work in that case. Smearing your blood over the newly formed shield, you can will your needs into it and possibly generate the shield you want, but bloodsteel is very rare, found only on the upper levels. If you were able to get some, I don’t think either of us would be able to forge it, as that is a master level technique.”

“Well then, I guess that we will need to supply you with lots of materials and requests so that you can make your way to master level. I am sure - between the duel and our further exploration of the Dungeon - many will come to you to get smithed objects, especially now that you can do so freely. Perhaps Tyr will have the armory adjusted so that you can make things more readily.”

“He will have to,” Brot’k said with a nod. “Everything I’ve made so far didn’t require a forge. Even the scallops were made without a real need of a full forge. I will need to get an extension added so that the forge is built along the outer wall, so the exhaust works effectively.”

“The shield can wait for now, but our primary focus is the armor. Can you have it ready by tomorrow so that any minor adjustments can be made with plenty of time to spare?”

“I believe so, but it will take all night to do so. Still, I am sure I could have it ready by lunch tomorrow.”

“You can, if you get my help,” Cassandra said, stepping towards us. “I may be back to level one, but the skills I learned are still there. I am sure if we worked together, we can make sure it is ready by then.”

I smiled at both and turned to see the Arctic Elf glaring at me. If looks could kill, then I would have been murdered slowly. Instead of wilting from her glare, I burst out laughing, which only irritated her further.

“Listen, princess, perhaps where you are from, you are used to getting your way. However, with me it will never be the case. You are going to be without a house if you don’t toe the line and I am not the only one who doesn’t care for your attitude. Losing the support of a Pact house would leave you without a means to get the materials you need to continue your craft unless you go into the Dungeon to get the money and materials yourself. Doing all that by yourself, while still trying to make armor and clothing, would be near impossible and you would see little to no profit. I also wouldn’t be surprised if your attitude would also limit or remove the possibility of patrons visiting your shop. I will be back tomorrow at lunch time. I suggest you make your decision by then, because if you aren’t ready to work with us, then there is no use for you.”

I didn’t wait for her to respond. I walked over to the girls and we made our way out of the armory, leaving the woman sputtering in confusion and anger. Both Amie and Enti had big grins on their faces as we left and headed back to my room.

“That was brilliant,” Enti exclaimed, a slight giggle in her voice. “I have always wanted to see an Arctic Elf taken down a peg, they are all like that, I am afraid.”

“I don’t have the time or patience to deal with such prima donna bullshit, so she better be ready to play ball, or else.”

“Um, our training covered a bunch of things,” Amenthia replied, “but what the hell is a prima donna?”

“They were the main female singer in an opera,” I replied with a laugh. “They were known to have outrageous demands, throwing tantrums and refusing to perform if they didn’t get their way. Even musicians of my modern age would show signs of those attitudes and it could ruin their careers, sometimes.”

Amenthia laughed, “Then that term is spot on, but I don’t think she will toe the line so easily. She will say she will but show defiance regularly until she thinks people will give up and give her what she wants.”

“I will deal with it when the time comes. I plan to talk to Tyr about it after the duel. Hopefully he will give me direction for how he will let me handle it. I don’t want to go too far and cause him any problems.”

Both nodded and we made the rest of the journey to my room in silence. Once there, I told the girls to dress in more comfortable clothing but stressed that it should be nowhere near the brazen display of the other day. They both blushed and smiled before giving me a soft kiss on the lips and heading to their rooms. I went inside and collected a change of clothes and fresh boxers before heading to the shower room. As I went, I tried to pay more attention, looking for faces that I might have seen the last time I went to shower. I figured that whoever took my previous pair of boxers was watching for when I was showering, but no one stood out to me.

I arrived and picked a bunk, wishing there were lockers of some kind, and went to shower. I was pleased to find that none of my things had been moved while I showered this time. When I got to the room, I found Enti and Amenthia waiting for me. Both were in conservative dresses that didn’t show too much skin, but they hugged their every curve, with a neckline that showed more than enough cleavage to be mouthwatering. Enti was wearing green with Amenthia wearing blue, colors they seemed to have decided as their primary palette for their clothing. I would need to make sure that their equipment matched, and I was confident it would happily surprise them.

“You two look absolutely breathtaking,” I said softly, as the impression of their attire had not dissipated yet. I had dressed before I had left the showers, so I was in a casual suit that had been provided along with the boxers. I had a feeling that the dresses had been provided in the same way and I needed to find out who did this, so that I could thank them.

“Why, thank you, good sir,” Amenthia replied. “You are looking rather dashing in your clothing as well.”

Enti smiled and added, “Agreed, Amie, he looks good enough to have for dinner and we know he will make sure we get lots of protein.”

I blushed slightly at that comment, causing them to giggle, before offering my arms to my dining companions. We left the room, making sure to lock the door behind us and the girls began to direct us towards the dining hall, but I had other plans. I guided them to the fast travel tubes, only further adding to the confusion on their faces.

As we stepped into a tube I uttered, “Dungeon Second floor Pact house!”

We disappeared in a flash of energy and found ourselves in the Pact house that was in the village on the second floor. I then worked from memory to guide us to the tavern we dined in just before leaving the village to deal with Trethraz. It took a few minutes before Amenthia understood where we were going. Unfortunately Enti was still in the dark as we weaved our way through the village to our destination. After ten minutes of walking, we arrived at the inn and I guided the girls inside, picking a table along the wall. A young woman, different than our previous server, approached the table and handed us menus.