Benvari Mountains (Emerilia Book 2)

by Michael Chatfield

  With her were also two summoned creations. They were nothing as complicated as what her core could create, but they were slowly draining her of Mana as Anna hadn’t allowed her to use her core or any soul gems to do anything but create their forms.

  Then, out of nowhere, Malsour climbed over a lip of the mountain. The others followed, with Suzy behind them.

  “I heard you lot were climbing the walls. Is it really that boring outside?” a Dwarven guard stood next to what looked like massive artillery tubes, the kind that Suzy expected to see on a naval warship back on Earth. Except these ones were much bigger.

  “Hi. Just came for the climb. We’ll be going back down soon enough,” Deia said, greeting the Dwarf.

  “No worries. As long as you’re staying outside, we’re fine with it.” The Dwarf grinned. “Got to say, it’s one of the strangest things I’ve ever heard of but have fun!” The Dwarf went back to his post, scanning the next area with a set of large binoculars.

  How paranoid are these Dwarves? At a time of peace and one of the major suppliers of metals and metal products in the country, yet they’re always looking for a threat. I would think that they were overdoing it if it wasn’t for what the others told me about the Earth Lord and Dark Lord. Always good to be wary.

  “All right, let’s break for lunch and then we’re going right back down,” Anna said. The others agreed.

  Suzy tried to not think about it. She was slowly getting to grips with her fear, understanding her limits and not over-thinking things, and it was still upping her Willpower stat nicely.

  If they’re going to give me more training, then I’m going to take it and ask for more. Dave needs me in this world; my skills as a secretary are going to be of little help. I need to be able to fight.

  ***

  Deia experimented with her fire again. She was still trying to stabilize her three-part cannon and the concentration she needed for the concussive wave created by burning up a large volume of air was still a pain in the ass.

  She saw Anna watching her, leaning against a post. Deia gave up on her failed attempt and looked to Anna.

  “So, you still want to have a fight?” Anna asked.

  “I’d be interested.” Deia checked the twin blades that lay along the top of her back.

  Anna grinned and pulled her great sword from her back with one hand.

  “Do you use any magic?” Deia asked.

  “Yes. My Affinity is with Air.”

  “Interesting.” Deia pulled her blades free as Anna came to join her in the sparring grounds. Malsour was teaching Suzy about different creations that she could make and forming them for the best effect. Induca was off somewhere, probably sleeping or in the town that surrounded the mouth of the Benvari Mountains.

  Deia spun her blades. The two of them sized the other up as they walked around, watching the other’s body and remembering the fights that they had been in: their reactions, the way that they feinted and connected with their attack.

  Deia moved in. Her blades moved quickly as Anna deflected the hits or turned them aside with her great sword. Deia’s fighting style led to more elegant twists and turns, using the additional power for the movements to get in close with her attacks.

  Anna’s attack was brutal and efficient. It took a lot of strength to keep it going but her defenses were like a stone wall. She might be using a great sword but it moved with the grace of a rapier, yet still hit like a damned mule.

  They traded attacks, moving faster, slower, feinting and crashing into each other. A whistling filled the air as Anna twirled her blade and brought it down on Deia’s. Deia moved to stab Anna, only to be greeted by Anna’s blade sliding down and turning the blade away.

  Deia grinned as she moved in closer, turning around Anna to try to get even closer and pin the big blade to Anna. Anna threw the blade, turning with Deia. She kicked out, catching Deia in the shoulder.

  If this was real, she would have kicked me in the head.

  Anna’s sword hit the ground.

  “Nice hit,” Deia said as Anna retrieved her blade.

  “Too many people think that weapons are the only way to fight a battle and don’t think of their actual body.”

  “What was that whistling sound?” Deia asked as they squared off again.

  “You heard that, huh? Well, usually that doesn’t come out nearly ever. If it does, it means that someone is about to have a very bad day.”

  Deia believed her as she lowered herself to the ground, one blade along her leg and the other pointed toward Anna.

  Anna moved in this time—no yelling or wild running, just swiftly pressing forward.

  Deia was there to greet her as the sound of metal on metal once again rang out. The two warbands that had been training in the square watched as the two clashed.

  ***

  “Have you used fire to augment your attacks?” Anna asked as she and Deia sat down at one of the benches in the square. A number of warbands were practicing in the training square. The sound of metal filled the air.

  “What do you mean?” Deia asked.

  “I’ll take that for a no.” Anna smiled and nibbled on some cheese. “A sword is a great weapon, but it limits you, especially when you have just one sword. It’s hard to defend against multiple attackers or get pesky archers who are far away. The first thing to do is get good with a blade to make sure that you can beat most of the people who come at you. Though you can also cheat a little bit. That whistling you heard was part of how my blade is made.” Anna pulled out her sword and showed Deia the fine holes that went through the ebony piece that went up the blade’s large fuller.

  “I use these holes to control the wind, so that I am able to make wind blades. With the aid of the wind, I can move my blade faster and I can hit people who are farther away. My blade cuts through the air and I propagate that cutting air to my target.” Anna flicked her blade quickly; her Mana responded on an instinctual level as a wooden training figure lost its head some ten meters away.

  “Wow. I’ve heard of Air dancing blade style but I thought it was just a rumor,” Deia said.

  “I don’t know if there are any around who know it anymore.” Anna ate her food numbly, memories of a time long past floating through her mind. “Though I think that you will be able to use the modified Fire blade dance.”

  “Fire blade dance?”

  “Combining your skills with weapons and your ability with Fire to meld the two into a form that complements each other and compounds the damage done by both. Do you know what Fire magic really is?”

  “The control of flame and heat.”

  “Someone has been reading the mages college’s works.” Anna smiled. “But it isn’t correct. See, Fire mages like yourself control the fuel of fire. Fire comes from three things: heat, oxygen, and fuel. When you make a fire, you are vibrating that fuel so fast that it generates the heat. As long as you have air around, then you’ve got a flame.”

  “So, wait, what is the fuel made of?”

  “Well, the compounds can vary by person. What you have is Dragon flame, the same stuff that Induca keeps in her gut.”

  “Lovely.” Deia rolled her eyes.

  “Dragon flame is the most powerful kind of fuel in known existence, though you can also create other types of fuels for low burning or high heat and so on,” Anna said.

  “How do you know all of this?”

  “Dear, I’ve been around this planet before the Elves were even a glimmer in my father’s eye. I’ve learned a few things.” Anna grinned.

  “Okay, so how can I use this Dragon flame to augment my melee fighting? Also, what does that make fire? Some kind of materialization class?”

  “Using the blade to cut through the wind, you can direct fire exactly. You can use it around your blade to control air currents, speeding up your movements. It is a materialization to a certain degree, yet once its effects are out in the real world, you can will the fire to respond to you. If you stick baleful fire on someone, then it wi
ll only go out if you command it or someone of a higher skill in Fire does so.”

  “All right, well, I’ve got some free time. I’m interested to learn more about this Fire blade dancing.” Deia grinned.

  “It would be a pleasure.” Anna smiled. Two daughters of gods—who would’ve thought that I would have gotten a cousin after all this time? Anna finished off their quick meal. When did I think there would be a time that not just one but two bleeders would be making waves in Emerilia?

  Anna shook her head thinking of the progress that Dave and Suzy were making in their respective fields. She couldn’t deny that a bit of their drive had rubbed off on her and the others.

  Chapter 23: Glass Blows

  Jesal showed Dave how malachite was treated and formed. They created warm forms for the mixture of silicate and malachite to go into and then cooled it slowly, creating thick and cloudy windows. Later they used cold metal tools to shape the glass compound.

  “All right, any questions?” Jesal looked to Dave.

  “Okay, so what about just silicate? Like for glass, will I learn that?” Dave asked.

  “Silicate?” Jesal asked, looking genuinely confused.

  “Uh, the sand that forms with the Malachite,” Dave said.

  “We call it all Malachite, when you find one aspect you find the other, though at different densities and purities,” Jesal said.

  “Okay, so Silicate can be used by itself to make glass, while Malchite can be added to silicate to make it a stronger and different colored compound. What you call Malachite are two very different substances,” Dave said.

  “Well the analyzing system tells us that they’re the same thing so we never really looked into it,” Jesal said, Dave could see that she was understanding what he was saying as she hit herself in the head.

  “Okay so since you know about these two compounds. Do you know if there’s anything that we can use them for, apart with one another?”

  “Well we could make much clearer glass as well as cups and other items like that. Though I’ll need some time with the material.”

  “Okay, well show me that you can make a few of these window forms and then I’ll let you experiment with it,”

  “Can do!” Dave smiled

  She left Dave with his materials, forms, and tools, muttering about how the damned Elves of Markolm probably made their glass with the silicate than both silicate and malachite.

  Dave heated up the forms, mixing in the malachite crystals that had been already harvested from magma chambers and deep mines. He had to work quickly, pouring the malachite into the forms and heating up the malachite in between to keep it in its viscous, pliable form.

  Two forms cooled too fast, making the malachite form oddly. He was about to return them to the melting bucket when Jesal called the work day. Dave checked the others, which seemed to be doing well, and followed Jesal to the classroom.

  “So, what did you learn?” Jesal asked.

  “I have to pour fast, but not rush it once it’s in liquid form. Malachite is thick and in the quantities used, it will quickly cool down and become less pliable. I did multiple forms in a go and realized that the third one had odd layers in it due to the glass cooling at different times—had to redo them all. Then the forms, once filled, need to cool at a slow rate or else the temperature differences can mess the glass up again.”

  “Good. You’re learning.” Jesal grinned. “Now, let’s go get something to eat. I’m interested to hear about that rune layering. I was reading your book on runes. Not really a rune nerd like some, but I have to say, it will make my enchantments a lot easier in the future!” Jesal clapped him on the back as they left.

  “I know you need those forms for something but I was wondering if I might be able to do some experimenting with a few ideas I’ve got from Earth.”

  “You get me thirty-five panes of glass and one malachite sculpture, then you can experiment as you desire. The sculpture has to be detailed, though!”

  “Deal.” Dave held his hand out to her. She nodded and shook it. “Never really been an artsy kind of person, though.” Dave scratched his head.

  “Ahh, when needs must, you’ll learn.” Jesal laughed.

  ***

  Dave watched as his sculpture solidified.

  “Impressive.” Jesal looked at it. “What is it?”

  “It’s Benvari Mountain.” Dave showed it in all its detailed glory before he turned it onto its side and ignited a flame near the peak of the mountain. On the dark wall, a picture appeared of Benvari Mountain from the Nadorf side.

  “Impressive. You carved an image in the bottom, using the glass’s ability to allow light through to make a projection. Okay, fine, you get to do your experimenting. Let me know when you have your final project in mind,” Jesal said.

  “Thanks, Jesal,” Dave said. He had a lot of work to do.

  ***

  It took him three days to get the supplies he needed, watch as many videos as possible, and start to attempt to work on blowing glass.

  “Oh, come on! Damn marble!” The marble Dave was working on was getting warped as he hadn’t turned the glass fast enough. He didn’t even want to try true glassblowing yet, so he was still trying to figure out how to roll things into shape.

  He took the malachite and went back to the furnace. His marble deformed under the heat as he returned it to a block. He rolled and turned it into a cylinder, pulling it back out and getting to work on it once again.

  “What the heck is he doing now?” Jasper, one of the other smiths who showed promise of becoming a Master Smith, asked.

  “I have no idea. I wonder why he needed that hollow piece of metal. Hasn’t even used it yet.” Gorrund stroked his beard in deep thought of the mysteries that Dave had created and brought into his and Jesal’s forge.

  “You sure he’s a Dwarf-Halfling? With all of his crazy ideas, he seems at least three-quarters to me.” Jasper grinned.

  Gorrund let out a rumbling laugh and slapped Jasper’s back. “Mighty tall three-quarter, and three-quarter just sounds weird. Now go and check out factory three. Check to make sure their rolled support beams are up for holding the new floor coming in.” Gorrund opened his interface, sending the information on the cable’s needs.

  “On it.” Jasper opened his interface and walked out of the shop.

  “I’ve been thinking about those cables. What if we were to put a thin cord of ebony through them and add in strengthening and anti-corrosion circuits?” Jesal asked, moving from where she had been standing, trying to get another view of Dave’s work.

  “Hmm, ebony would be a good conductor—would also make it stronger over time—though how are you going to power it? Get under the houses and put a soul gem to it every time?”

  “Well, maybe Dave has a fix for that. He’s the rune dude,” Jesal said.

  Gorrund stroked his beard. Replacing cabling was one hell of a chore. With time, metal fatigue and corrosion set in and the cabling fell apart. Having cables that would never fall apart would put a lot of people at ease and ease up on the mandatory checks that ran throughout the year to make sure that a housing district didn’t drop ten feet onto the floor below it.

  ***

  It was another six days until he finally went for his exam.

  Dave used tongs to turn the hot metal, spraying it with a blast of fire before blowing on the tube again. He checked his work, moving the glass once more. He moved to the end of the pipe. He pulled out a piece of hot malachite with his tongs, attaching it to the side of his creation.

  He pressed it into the rapidly cooling first part. He’d been rolling, using various tools to open it up and give it an edge. Finally, he took his cutting tool to cut the finished product free from the malachite still attached to the blowing rod.

  It dropped into a cushioned box, already pretty cool from all of his work.

  “So, what is it?” Jesal asked as Gorrund looked over her shoulder.

  Dave didn’t answer as he grabbed gloves and he
ld his creation.

  Gorrund laughed as they found themselves looking at a large tankard.

  “Pretty.” Jesal took off her goggles and looked over the tankard.

  “I colored different shards of malachite to add some color to the thing. It should keep your beer nice and cold without having to be made from wood.” Dave grinned, still wearing his goggles and covered in dirt.

  “It’s nowhere close to as beautiful as the things that the Ashal Islands can make, but damn if it ain’t functional!” Jesal grinned.

  “Well, I say that we go try it out!” Gorrund agreed.

  The other Dwarves looked over from their work, checking out the glass tankard Dave had formed with his odd techniques.

  “I’ll agree to that!” Dave said.

  His notifications were blinking at him once again.

  Active Skill: Builder

  Level: Expert Level 1

  Effect: 65% speed and efficiency.

  Required: Tools

  New Active Skill: Alchemy

  Level: Expert Level 5

  Effect: Combine multiple ingredients together. Creations gain a 73% boost in effectiveness

  Required: Alchemy tools

  Active Skill: Smithing

  Level: Master Level 2

  Effect: 87% improved quality of smithing creation. 10% Chance to imbue metal with skill. Able to analyze items made of Stone, Iron, Steel, Malachite and Silver.

  Active Skill: Soul Manipulation

  Level: Expert Level 7

  Effect: You understand Soul Manipulation 77% better. Tools you make to manipulate souls and their energy are 77% stronger.

  Cost: Dependent on creation.

  Active Skill: Magical Circuits

  Level: Master Level 5

  Effect: 93% chance of creating better Magical Circuits and understanding them. 20% Reduction of cost.

  Cost: Dependent

  Level 60

  You have reached Level 60; you have 285 stat points to use.