The First Legendary Beast Master

Chapter 1132: Choose A Forge

Sapphire gave a very undignified giggle as she read the short poem about handsomeness and virility that someone, most likely Loros, had written on the Commander Rank charm bracelet that she had seen.

The primary function was personal grooming, and cleaning clothes. But the little poem gave a small bonus to the wearer’s attractiveness and strength.

Read in Dwarven, it said [Only the most rugged and Manly know the value of cleanliness], but in Runic it was basically gibberish about strong arms and beards.

It had started as a joke by Karl, doublespeak that had a meaning in both Runic for function, and Ancient Dwarven for poetry, but the Dragon hadn’t realized that other than herself, Karl was the only one present who spoke the language fluently.

”Ah, I get it now. I wonder if it works in Draconic?” Sapphire pondered, then walked off to sit at another table and work on a bracelet.

The dwarves chuckled, and Karl shrugged. ”Blue Dragons get like that with new knowledge. Give her a chance to test her theory and she will come finish her conversation with you.

But on to important topics. I see that we have a Totem and a lot of Overlords. Are you all part of the same Guild or group? I don’t see a system tag for an organization.”

Hassan shook his head. ”No, we all research together, but we’re not part of any sort of formal organization.”

”That’s a good thing, I think. If you’re part of another group, it’s a separation level between the crafters and the sales of the products. If you were going to be learning here, and working here to make products, but there was someone in the middle looking for a cut of your income, we would have to adjust the deal so that you wouldn’t end up broke.” Karl explained.

The Blacksmiths nodded in understanding. ”Oh, yes, that would be an issue. I know that the Sculptors pay an annual fee to their association. The Blacksmiths do too. But it’s not a large one, it’s just enough for them to keep track of everyone and send out the certificates.”

The Sculptor’s Guild Leader finished his ale and rose to his feet. ”You’ve got new members to settle. I will go get the sculptors ready. They should be here in a day or two.”

Karl shook the Dwarf’s hand. ”I look forward to meeting your recommendations. The Darklight Host has plenty of work for those with the skills.”

Once the sculptor was gone, Hassan looked over the Dwarves from Drodh, who were all gathered in the Tavern now, preparing for the hardest part of the transition.

The bargaining for the best forge spots.

Ashbringer raised his hand to get everyone’s attention.

”As the lone Guild Member among the smiths, I will be the arbiter for the forge choices. The third level forge by the entrance is already taken, but you may choose any other.” He ordered.

”What if we were Guild Members?” Hassan asked.

”Then you would have gotten to choose first, as the Totem Ranked Smith. Then me, as the longest serving Overlord.” Ashbringer joked.

Hassan smiled. ”Well, I wanted the one at the back of the room anyhow. I don’t like apprentices walking back and forth in front of my door all day. So, that works out perfectly.

Now, should we do this by lottery?”

Ashbringer shrugged, and Sapphire looked up from her work.

”I have an idea. We used it to pick chairs when I was teaching school. Everyone, write your name on a piece of paper, and put it in the cup for the forge spot you want. Then, I will pick one name for each spot, and any spots that weren’t chosen will be available for the names that weren’t picked.

So, it’s up to luck whether you get your first choice or not.” The blue dragon suggested.

The Dwarves considered that, and then reluctantly nodded.

Sapphire smiled, and took out a cloth with holes cut in it, and a collection of cups.

”You can go in any order you like, I will be using magic to pick the slips, so it doesn’t matter who goes first.” She instructed, using her well-trained school teacher’s tone.

Karl laughed as the Dwarves had a silent slap fight over who would get to drop their names first, which ended when Sapphire gave them an unamused look.

”Form a single file line. One at a time, drop your name in the chosen cup.” She ordered, and the Dwarves all fell in line, well-trained by a childhood of Blue Dragon Clerics teaching basic school.

They did fight over the spots, but they followed her orders, taking their positions by internal hierarchy that Karl didn’t understand. While they were all Overlords, they were from two different cities and at least four different forges.

So, he hadn’t expected it to go so smoothly.

Such was the power of the Blue Dragons.

The line went through once, and then Sapphire lifted the curtain and removed six cups.

”There will be a second round.” She declared, then cast a spell that caused names to lift, and then fly to the various forges.

Karl smiled. ”Once everyone has chosen forges, I will upgrade them with Runes. Each forge can be slightly different, if you have preferences for your forge fire.”

The victorious Dwarves cheered, and Ashbringer patted Hassan on the back. ”You should have him do yours first. If you’ve got a favourite form of forge fire, or other conditions that work well with your skills, his Runes can do a wonderful job of recreating them.

I have gotten quite proficient at using Ghostfire in my forging process, and it adds an excellent chance at soul-based attack and defence bonuses to my items, even without targeting them.”

The elderly smith nodded. ”That’s not a bad idea. Soul defence is even more rare than soul attacks. But it’s not my style. Runemaster, might I ask you to accompany me to the forge? I know just what would be perfect for my next masterpiece.”

Karl followed him to the forge at the back of the new crafting area.

Not only would he upgrade the forge, but Karl believed that he had just the right combination of skills to give the old Dwarf a proper upgrade.

If he mixed the language proficiency for Ancient Dwarven, which wasn’t a skill, but was listed by the system, with Runecrafting it gave him the option to make a new type of skill book.

[Book of Dwarven Runeforging] Requires Master level or higher Blacksmithing or Runecrafting. Requires Bloodline {Dwarf}.