Chapter 181:

Immediately upon returning to Atros Anton was dragged away by the Dwarves. They were excited to tell him that their Master Smiths had already inspected the door and were waiting for further instructions. However, since the Dwarven Hold only had a single portal, it would take some time for them to reach the door, a long and surprisingly awkward journey, especially from Anton’s perspective. They hadn't placed a portal set there, simply in case something decided to slip through, so everything had to be taken the long way. This meant an exceedingly long and silent walk, where any topic of conversation had long been exhausted. Even Cetina and Rasha, escorting him through the dark tunnels, had run out of topics, even the most frivolous. The only thing of note were the Dwarves walking past, carrying empty containers.

"Equipment we bought from The Dwarven Isles," Umikgruid said cheerfully. "The pieces can be used elsewhere so it's not entirely wasted. But..."

"But?" Anton leant low.

"We are chewing through a lot of money." Umikgruid rolled his hand. "Your money, to be precise. Balefire mine will provide us with lots of silver but that's going to run out someday. I'd rather not have it all spent on us."

"Money exists to be spent," Anton said, returning to his normal posture. "A mountain of gold is utterly worthless. The metal only has value when it is spent. But we’ll have other sources of income by the time the silver runs out. Hopefully. And there are actual gold mines in the Kar Kingdom. One about sixty miles south of Surdon. Shame Nithroel's keeping us at bay. For now at least."

Bright lights illuminated the room before the giant sealed door. Light crystals, newer variants bought from the Dwarves Isles, lay spread out on large, heavy squat pedestals designed to be nearly impossible to knock over. At least from Dwarf height. Rasha took careful note of where she was stepping, holding her halberd tight as she walked just behind Anton. Ten Dwarves stood before the door, two the Dragongaurd Dwarven Elders, the others wore fine work clothes, heavily used and stained with soot and burns but unmistakably expensive and tough.

“This is incredible.” The male elder began. "I’ve never seen anything like this"

"Nothing like this back on the Isles?"

The elder shook his head, almost cracking a smile. "Absolutely not. Nothing like this. Not even in the oldest, deepest depths."

He gently tossed a small stone at the door. Sparks flew and the stone disintegrated upon contact.

"A very powerful defensive magic. Drawing copious amounts of Earth Mana…I've never seen something like this on a gate before."

"Any clue what might be inside?" Anton spared Umikgruid a smile. "Since you might be more knowledgeable about these things."

The Elders shared a brief whisper, so too did the other workers. Umikgruid did not appear to take any offence. At least on the surface.

"Not really." The female Elder began. "But it is possible to open." She looked to the piles of crates and equipment. "But it looks like you've already made that decision."

"I just don't want to open a vault of some nasty critters. Or something full of ancient Dwarven weapons that might just explode. Or rip us to pieces."

"No chance of that." The Male Elder smiled. "But if it does contain weapons you can be certain that they're very old."

"How long before it's opened?" Anton asked, folding his arms.

"Difficult to say." One of the workers said. He approached the door with a strange long bronze implement in his hands, like a cattle prod tipped with silver. "The work is both rushed and yet clearly made by a master craftsman."

He prodded the door. Sparks blew off the end but it remained intact. The worker giggled, relief rippled through his body, as he directed it to a small indentation. Something clicked yet nothing moved. He removed the brass cattle prod and stepped back.

"It can be done." The worker smiled. "It'll just take some time."

The other workers began to unpack many more bizarre implements, some gigantic and clearly part of something truly huge while others were no bigger than a finger. Anton was certain each had an intricate function, name and a story to match but he simply didn't have time or the memory to try and act like he understood any of it.

"Undo the magical locks but don't open the door unless we are here." Anton looked over the door again. "Who knows what's behind that door."

“Come on.” Umikgruid waved Anton away from the door. “We’ve got something else for you to see.”

---[]---

Waves of heat blasted Anton's face as they entered the giant forge. Once cold, dead furnaces now glowed with heat and flame, the sound of a hundred hammers and quenching metal filled the air. Dwarves, wearing thick leather aprons and special protectors for their beards and eyes, swarmed around the active forges like water around rocks in a stream. Anton hadn't seen any Dwarven forges in their Isles. It was quite an experience.

"We're doing well." Umikgruid was almost shouting, the ambient noise made it barely a whisper. "About a third of the forges are running again."

"And the ore and coal?" Anton asked as Umikgruid ushered them to a quieter area, devoid of heat and light. Cetina and Rasha weren’t doing well with the sound either. Both held their hands over their ears, even still it was still somewhat painful.

"We're burning, no pun intended, through all the stocks you had. Quite a bit too, for a small human mine. But we'll need to get more soon. We’ve sent out explorers to the lands above, not enough there for what we need, and we’ve consulted the old records we’ve found. The Blood Hammers used everything on their level. That’s why they were digging down, to where those insects are. Not sure how I feel about heading down there."

"Chelium?"

"Still haven't got Balefire running yet." Umikgruid slapped Anton's side. "Won't be much longer now. Oh, and the silver too."

"I'll be extremely upset if I find that any has gone missing." Anton found himself frowning. "After all of this..."

"There'll be a lot of people watching, just to make sure. But if you think there is then you can use that magic thing to make people tell the truth. Right?"

"Of course. I'd just prefer not to. What have your best smith's had to say about the special items we showed them?"

Umikgruid smiled. "They're quite intrigued. I haven't seen them this excited in a long, long time. They're buzzing around them like flies on a corpse...Forgive the comparison, but it's the best one."

Umikgruid led him back into the forge and to the far side. New construction work was already well underway, partly the source of the constant clamouring. A line of Dwarven warriors, at least wearing the best armour and weapons their impoverished clan could afford, stood in front of a breach in the otherwise smooth stone. Between them two lines of dwarves carried out wheelbarrow loads of stone. Anton followed the stream but didn't know where they were dumping it. At least it wasn't through the large door sealing off the dragon creature and the lava pit. Umikgruid picked up on his concern.

"We're taking it to one of the upper levels." Umikgruid began. "And we're building a pulley system so we can take it right up to the surface, using the stone to secure the walls on the tunnel up. Oh, and building a fortified entrance, so you, rather we, don't have to worry about someone just dropping in. It all saves us having to take it up the long way through the mountain. And the same for going back down."

Anton nodded, slowly smiling. "I almost feared you were just dumping that rubble into one of the lower rooms."

"Ha! We also need to dirt and stone for the construction of Atros up top. Especially stone. We've almost run out in the quarry and, apart from the mountain, there isn't much here. Lots of grass and some trees but..."

"Why not just take some of the loose boulders from the sides? I'm sure the mountain doesn't care."

"We are for the city walls." Umikgruid nodded to a passing cart. "But this is good stuff to work with, and there's no point in just dumping this in a pile."

"Fair enough."

The line of Dwarves allowed them to pass, Anton was grateful the entrance was high enough for him, Rasha had to crouch low, and into a secondary smaller forge under rapid construction. These pieces of equipment were far more modern, less angular and of a more ergonomic design, bought fresh from the Dwarven Isles.

"They didn't question these purchases?" Anton asked. "There's quite a bit here. How much is this costing me?"

"Probably best not to think about it." Umikgruid smiled. "But we bought each of the pieces from different sellers and used different Dwarves too. That way we minimize suspicion and keep them thinking everything is normal."

"We won't be welcome back after what we do to them."

"No. Better get everything we can before they find out. Ah, here they are."

Standing before a large table were eight Dwarven Smiths. Like everything else their equipment was new and a step up from what the other Dwarves wore. They barely noticed their approach, so engrossed with their work. Several items lay on the table; a copy of each Glyph infused weapon and, most importantly, a simple locked wooden box, one protected by a magical prayer.

"Oi!" Umikgruid yelled, startling all the Dwarves. "You lot need to keep alert. What happens if something goes wrong? Like an out of control fire?"

"Then someone like you can deal with it." A Smith retorted. "Of course you might just make the fire worse."

Both Dwarves laughed. At least it wasn't serious.

"This is the human? I thought he would be more..."

"Regal." Another Smith quickly said.

"Yes. That's right." Umikgruid studied Anton. Anton didn't know how he felt being scrutinized by the Dwarf. "You look like everyone else, except maybe your clothes are a little more expensive. And those two are following you everywhere."

"I don't ever intend to become an aloof leader. I've seen enough of those to, hopefully, ward me away."

"Well, enough pleasant small talk." The Dwarven Smith turned back to the table. He held the Flame Infused sword. "How did you come across something as rare as this? An actual Imbued blade. Did you find it in this hold?"

"We made it." Anton only received blank stares. "Not me but two of our young smiths did."

The dwarves scoffed at such a notion.

"It's true. I can assure you. If you want proof we can have them make one in front of you."

"I find that hard to believe." Another Smith said quietly, folding his strong squat arms.

"Are you talking about Shawn and Jocelyn?" Umikgruid asked. "Those two youngsters?"

"Yes."

"Their work is very good, especially for being so young, but..."

"They have the Glyphs of Esperit and Stratos."

"And that's all they need?" The Dwarves were honestly stunned.

"Seems to be. I don't know exactly how it's done but they say they pour their magic in as they forge the weapon or armour. And it's not just this. We have a small armoury full of these, Lightning ones too."

"Unbelievable." The Smith Dwarves stared in uncontrollable disbelief.

"So..." Anton trailed off, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"What?"

"Umikgruid. You received the message, vision, whatever you want to call it, to come here and find a haven for the Dragon Guard Dwarves. Correct?"

"Correct."

Anton didn't miss some of the master smith's holding back looks of pity towards Umikgruid. The side effects of receiving Esperit's message were rather severe, at least in the bowels department, but it only served to increase Anton's confusion.

"Can any Dwarf use magic? I know I should have asked sooner but you were extremely good with your axes and crossbows I...Come to think of it," Anton held his chin. "Normally Dwarves can't use magic like Humans or Elves."

"If you already knew that then why ask?" A smith looked very confused at Anton.

"Just some of my internal rambling. You'll soon get used to it. But you can't use magic, not directly at least?"

"No." Umikgruid waved to the giant contraptions. "But these do. In a sense."

"How rare are we talking?" Anton reached over the Dwarves for a Lightning Infused sword. "If I were to try and sell one of these in the Dwarven isles?"

"You'd be arrested before you could blink." The first smith huffed as he folded his arms. "They'd think you'd stolen it, especially if you're a human."

"I'm a little big to be sneaking through a Dwarven hold. But if I did?"

"Several thousand gold plates. Easy. These are...Were, ancient relics. The United Empire used them extensively but even then only in their elite forces." The Smith shuffled uncomfortably underneath everyone's stare. "My grandfather told me."

"Seems that Atros is, well and truly, gifted with...gifted people."

"Indeed." Umikgruid nodded.

"These are all very interesting." The smith waved over the collection of metal weapons and shields, all rippling with ethereal energy. "But what is in this box? We...One of us tried to open it."

The smiths looked to one at the back, surreptitiously holding his wrist.

"It still hurts..."

Umikgruid sighed. "When I said not to open it, I meant you don't open it."

All the smiths fell silent. Dwarves did have an insatiable curiosity, at least for certain things.

Anton reached out and touched the Dwarves shoulder. He gasped as his numbed hand returned to normal while many scratches and scars, alongside some of his greyed hairs, faded away.

"Should be better now."

Before the smith could ask any questions Anton returned to the table and laid his hand on the box.

"This...This is something far, far more valuable than that Infused equipment. Far more. In fact, I would prefer you to sell these, and pocket the gold, then steal this."

His words only brought confusion to the Dwarves but they remained silent, if only to hear more.

"This comes straight from the Shadow Isles, not that they understood what they had in their possession. I don't particularly blame them. Magic and this weapon would look rather similar."

Anton unlocked the box, gently placing the lid behind.

"It may look simple to you, deceptively and…perhaps even insultingly plain. But, it means the world to me."

Anton gently pulled out the bolt action rifle and held it before the Dwarves like a delicate, sacred artefact. To him it was. And when its power was shown everyone would wield these weapons would truly believe they held the power of a God in their hands. Doubly so for the victim.

"I want to know if you can make more of these." Anton passed it to the Dwarves. "And improve upon the design, larger and smaller, and some really, really big ones."

With the basic principles understood we could mass-produce bolt action rifles, assault rifles and submachine guns, alongside sniper rifles, pistols and even artillery. This alone will change the face of the world. But, I wonder if it will be this worlds undoing? I know Earth didn't exactly do great after creating these weapons, but then again humans were killing each other in prodigious quantities even if they were reduced to bludgeoning each other with rocks or a pointed stick.

"This seems rather..."

"Simple." A smith gently rubbed the barrel. "This is just steel, correct? With a hole down the middle...Hmm. There are a series of spiral grooves running along the inside."

"Unfortunately I don't know how to disassemble the weapon," Anton said. "So whoever takes it apart needs to take great care to make sure everything goes back the way it went it. Otherwise, it could explode.

Not really. Just put a bit of fear into them. Although, if it is damaged before they can start to replicate it properly, then we might have just lost Atros’ technological edge. We’re never going to have the numbers to compete with the others…

"Can we actually take this apart?" The first Smith barely took his eyes off the rifle. "You would trust such a thing with us?"

"My trust in you will be rewarded. If you can recreate this, understand how it functions, I will give you essentially unlimited funding and freedoms. You can go crazy with your stranger designs and ideas, so long as you listen to my orders first. And they don’t compromise the safety of Atros or its interests."

"Unlimited..." The Smiths looked around the room, focusing on the new forges. "We'll do our best."

Without further fanfare the master smiths turned their full attention to the rifle, their short fingers rummaging around the weapon to begin dismantling. Though none had seen such a thing before it took only a few minutes before the entire rifle was completely in pieces. Individually the pieces amounted to little but together, that was a different story entirely.

"Do you think they can do it?" Cetina asked softly. "It all seems like it has to be very precise."

"I have complete faith in them. Their weapons and armour are second to none. Those that we bought from The Dwarven Isles will be put to good use with our elites." Anton rolled his hand. "Those that would be called more than militia. We’ll get something for Eider’s new Cobra Retinue, when we’re done."

"Any chance of a better set for me?" Rasha tapped her metal chest plate. "This is good, I really like Jonathan's work, but it doesn't look as strong as Cetina's."

Cetina straightened her back, the interlocking pieces of metal clinked lightly, as attention fell on her. Her Qaiviel armour was indeed superior to anything that Atros had made, not that Anton was going to tell Jonathan that, but it was undeniably orders of magnitude more expensive than what they really needed. Then there was still the issue with Cetina's choice in colour scheme.

"We'll see what they say." Anton tapped Cetina's armoured shoulder. "They said it was made with Dwarven technology but made by human hands. Maybe they think it's a poor imitation of their work."

"They didn't say anything about the guard's armour." Rasha scratched the base of her horn. Pain flashed over her face as she lowered her arm.

"Again?" Anton asked, resting his hand on Rasha's arm. "Did you pull the same muscle again?"

Rasha hesitated in her answer. Her eyes fell to her chest, something moved through her mind. As she opened her mouth a Dwarven Smith shouted his name.

"When we get to the surface." Anton pointed a finger straight at her face. "You tell me exactly what's happening. No excuses. Understood?"

Rasha nodded twice as Anton moved to the table. He caught Cetina throwing quite an angry look at Rasha, that one of his bodyguards, and someone under her command, would keep something important from them. Rasha's presence shrunk as the Dwarves cleared a way for Anton.

"It seems simple enough..." The Smith looked to Umikgruid. "Lord Anton. But how is this motley collection of metal and wood supposed to be stronger than a Dwarven arbalest." He nodded to Rasha. "You have a few more of them and you won't need this."

"You'll be surprised when you see it in action." Anton tapped the box. "But what you hold is only part. The other thing is this."

Anton held the spent casing for all to see. "This is the other component, the other thing that I need you to replicate." Anton threw up his hand as the Dwarves faces contorted into frowns. "I know that you're thinking this is too simple. It's just a cylinder with a smaller top and a sealed bottom but it's not complete. None of them are, unfortunately."

Anton placed the casing down and grabbed the spare piece of paper. He drew what, at least in his mind, a complete bullet would look like.

"As you can see we are missing a few important pieces." Anton held a hand on his hip. "But they are pretty simple."

"This looks like a pointed piece of metal." The Dwarven Smith nodded. "But what is this part?"

"Explosive powder." Anton smiled. "Powerful and unstable enough that a simple spark will set it off. Have that explosion, and all the hot gasses it creates, inside a container." Anton held the casing up again. "And it will force the bullet, the metal piece at the end, out at tremendous speed. Fast enough to puncture skin, flesh, bone and even metal plate."

"And this powder?"

"We have it already. And we can make as much as we need. So?" Anton clapped his hands. "Can you make this?"

The Dwarves formed a huddle, one Anton clearly was not to be a part of, and whispered amongst themselves. Umikgruid shrugged but he seemed very hopeful.

The Dwarven Smiths parted with a determined expression. "Of course we can. It might take some time to replicate everything to a precise standard...But we can do it."

"Excellent. How-How many do you think you could make a day? If you have all the resources and manpower you need?"

The dwarves returned to their huddle.

"I believe ten a day, after another ten or so to work through the basic steps; building moulds and ensuring we can actually build the individual components, especially the smaller ones, with the option to go higher."

"Are they being built..." Anton raised his hand, buying him a few moments to gather his thoughts. "Will each of you be building a complete rifle? Or one person, Dwarf rather, builds the same piece over and over."

"The first..." The Dwarven Smiths shared a look. "Dwarven craftsmanship is a very fine art. We wouldn't just let anyone make these. It would be an insult to all the time and energy we'd spent to learn our craft if we simply let any upstart think they can work on our level."

"Perhaps. But we'll need a lot of these, thousands, tens of thousands and millions of bullets to fight the battles and wars to come. And it would destroy you if you had to try and meet those demands on your own."

The Dwarves grumbled but seemed open to the idea at least.

"I'm not saying to throw away your skill and training, absolutely not, but I'm sure your apprentices, and the human smiths above, will gain significant practice by creating these more simple components over and over again. While you, capable of far more delicate work, focus on the smaller and slower, well, more delicate components."

The Dwarves were far more relaxed now.

"Better than just making swords and axes all day." A different smith grumbled. "Give them something to do."

"Of course anyone that you bring in will be subject to the same rules as you are." Anton took a deep breath. "Perhaps even more so. A young apprentice babbling about what they're doing down here would end very badly for Atros and the Dragon Guard Dwarves."

The light threat was probably unnecessary but it had the intended effect. If it only meant they took a few seconds longer to think about the selection then Anton didn't mind.

"Firstly, we need to do it. But I don't see an inherent problem with that."

"Fantastic. And if we're ever short on workers we could get some humans or Beastkin down here to help." The Dwarves frowned lightly. "The ones without fur that could just ignite if they get too close to a forge."

“I won’t take up any more of your time,” Anton said. “Let me know how on the progress of these weapons. If you need anything let me know and we’ll sort it out.”

The Dwarven Smiths returned a curt nod and returned to the disassembled rifle. Almost immediately they had forgotten about their presence, implements emerged as they began to take measurements and bicker amongst themselves on the best way to recreate the weapon.

“Is there anything else you need down here?”

Umikgruid shook his head. “No. No, I think we’re going quite well. Not much more to be done other than to wait. Can’t take too many more Dwarves without the other clans noticing.”

“Not the skilled ones. But even a simple labourer can move stone.”

“True…”

“We’ll head back up top.” Anton looked to Rasha. “I need to find out what’s wrong with my bodyguard.”