Master Of None

Chapter 3004. Crazy But Good

”I didn’t know you have some older friends who moved here that you met in your travels. I thought you were mostly alone when you explored?” Walker also knew that the wandering blacksmith would look in to different techniques so clearly he would meet people.

However, he often only tested those different forging techniques when he was alone or in the wilderness looking for the right materials. For the wandering blacksmith, it was the materials that kept him entranced, not necessarily just the forging methods used.

”Taught me to craft wood handles.” This raised Walker’s eyebrows since the wandering blacksmith must have met this crafter years and years ago. ”Stubborn old man then and now.”

This made Walker even more curious since the wandering blacksmith called the crafter a stubborn old man even when he had met him. Meaning it was a long lived race. Potentially an elf or a demon? He was curious.

And from the way they were walking, Walker also realized they had entered a smaller residential area that could easily be retirement homes or small family homes. It was even more peaceful than what he’d imagined a retired crafter might be living in.

Then again, Walker quickly heard the clicking of what could only be dwarven gears before noticing a line of small bird golems styled after small bird monsters on a fence.

”I take it this is the house?”

”If you want to call it that.” The long sigh from the wandering blacksmith said everything Walker needed to know.

This retired crafter clearly did not live like normal people.

And to prove that, the wandering blacksmith walked in without even knocking. Not that the sudden cacophony from within would have allowed a single soul to hear a knock at a door. Walker was more impressed that he could not hear a single bit of this outside due to the magical rune formations dampening the noises. It was a good addition to homes for certain.

Then again, he also wondered if there would be some troubles with doing so. Then again, magic runes could be added or subtracted and it was the home owners decisions after all.

The entire home, if anyone would describe it as that, was filled with half finished small golems. Armor sets for larger golems. There was even a box filled with small gears partially carved or forged from metal ingots. One of them was even carved from a granite slab that was only half way finished!

The older man that was in the middle of all of this clearly was older than time, or at least that was what someone could say.

”Crazy old man, look at this.” The wandering blacksmith tossed a small ball pin hammer at the man and before it hit the tiny gears being worked on the old man caught it.

This also revealed the smaller gears fixed on to the outside of the man’s hand to work as an enhancement almost. A moving and clicking gauntlet that helped his muscles.

”Brat! Why are you bothering me? I am retired. Leave me alone. Kids like you can go play in the wheat fields or whatever it is you do.” The grumble didn’t even come with a glance. And from the way the older man acted, he still imagined the wandering blacksmith as the younger craftsmen that came asking for information once upon a time.

The wandering blacksmith looked like he was reliving some sort of trauma. Walker couldn’t blame him. From the looks of things, this dwarf was old and had managed to keep hismelf alive by keeping stress off of his body using the armor he crafted. From there, the dwarf had managed to constantly craft things at higher quality but clearly in sporadic and unexpected ways.

”I need help making a set of golems that can handle my magic and act almost the same way as I do through my connection to them. It will involve a lot of magic and tough methods of forging. I was told that you might have the ability despite your retirement.” Walker spoke up and the older dwarf finally turned around.

He glanced at Walker through glasses made from different colored and clearly partially melted lenses. It seemed this was another randomly crafted item that he’d made to help himself continue forging despite his age.

”I have access to the best potions and healing magic that can help you along the way and keep you comfortable so you can craft more smoothly than ever.” seeing the situation, Walker didn’t try to tempt the man with payment or materials. Instead he offered the best of what he could give in terms of health.

With the magic skills he knew and the fact that he always carried many potions that Ramey made, he could easily ensure that an elderly person of just about any race was not in pain and was comfortable.

”You brought me work? I am crafting a lizard golem that can chase down the damn ants trying to steal my gears!” and now Walker realized who this might be.

Not an old dwarven crafter.

”The mad golem crafter?” He had heard this title before. A man thought to be absolutely out of his mind making golems out of just about any material and then just dropping the project like it never mattered.

The stories of trying to get this man to do anything were numerous. The stories of half done projects and even the random projects he made and left behind were also numerous. Besides this, Walker also recalled a story about the man making a golem that was entirely put in to work just to open and close a door that anyone could easily just walk by and open or close themselves.

This would have been fine and all but the dwarf had done with when supposedly hired to work on a golem that would guard a vault of materials!

”Of course I am mad! You bothered me and now I need to start all over or else the gears will start to laugh at us. You showed up with another brat trying to get me to teach you this and that. Any golems I make are perfect.” The grumpy and gravely tone was hard to keep track of until the dwarf caught sight of the eternal codex floating around Walker.

This hadn’t been accidental. He knew that many crafters were curious by nature.

’This is the eternal codex. A shifting item bound to me that I can store mana in, use in various forms, weapons and tools alike. It was made by the wandering blacksmith and myself as we worked hard to create a perfectly paired item for me. It will be the core that I attach my magic to and use to control the golems in mind with. Meaning I can extend my magic through and see or hear as well. The golems will be separate extended bodies for me to help more people and check in on more projects.”

”I will make you ten. Just bleed a little on that metal and start the fires in the fire place. Get a few dragon scales too. I also want the feathers of the angel race too. They should work well for the absorbent materials in your mana blood. Then get me a few sandwiches made from wild boar meat. I am hungry.”

Did any of that make sense? No, Walker couldn’t order the thoughts of this mad golem crafter.

He wasn’t here for order and perfection. Instead, he came for hope that someone with the right skills could help.

This also related a little to what he had learned.

The dungeon sculpture he had read about in their journal had been insane to the point of writing their own language. An illness that came with the hyper focus on one thing. For the dungeon sculptor who forged the first dungeons it was doing exactly that, to the point that they only lived and breathed to do that.

For this golem crafter, it was not necessarily as extreme. But the show of crazy that they saw was in their ways of thinking and change in focus toward things that caught his attention.

As the man stood up to look at Walker as a whole, the table he worked at rose too. Where he sat was an entire table made into workshop chair with golem legs and moving mechanical storage bins around him.

The level of effort to allow himself the ability to keep crafting was major. It would not be called anything by monumental to develop such things. The crafting guild one day would learn amazing things from all of this, but right now, Walker was only glad that he would be able to make progress on what he intended to do.

He just had to hope everything would come together.

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Repent now and go here,

Drop those golden tickets!