The return trip passes uneventfully, but none of us are happy. Part of me is angry with Lauren for letting stupid shit get to her, and part of me just hurts because she was willing to say all those things. I get wanting independence and self-sufficiency, but for fucks sake, we’re surviving out here. I’m not going to let anyone die just because they want to prove something. If I can help, I will. She’s entertaining a dangerous outlook, like I am personally doing her a favor every time I help her out. Like she owes me. I’m not, and she doesn’t. If Dean had been in that same situation, even before things started to improve between us, I wouldn’t have hesitated either. It’s not about either of us, it’s about doing the optimal thing to survive. I don’t need to be the hero, but somebody has to be there to help whenever someone is in danger, because otherwise…

There aren’t enough of us left for heroics. Survival comes first. Not of the individual, but for humanity. Honestly, I think she knows that… so why?

Why did she willfully drive me away?

---

“Marie, I hope this is enough to keep you working for a while.”

=”Hey, yeah! This is perfect, thanks so much guys! But, uh, that chunk of wood on your sword looks pretty good too, can you take it off so I can use it?”

I glance back at the stump. “Yeah… no. To both. I think I’m going to have Tom look at it. It’s actually a monster’s body? A very dangerous ambush predator, anyway. I think it might make a good bow for Lynn, or at least some arrows.”

=”Roger roger. Let me know if you have any to spare, it looks so… dense… I’d love to weave defences out of it… or beautiful furniture…” She starts to trail off, staring intently at the block of wood while muttering to herself.

“Uhh… yeah, will do. Let me know if you need anything.”

She brightens up. =”Yeah, actually! Could you give me a hand with holding some of this stuff in place? It’ll be boring, but it’s really hard to shape this stuff when it’s all in seperate pieces without something holding them in place.”

Well, I was going to train more… “Yeah, I can help out for a bit.” Hopefully I can do something productive with the time. “Just let me drop this off with Tom. Are Rav and Dean back?”

=”Not yet! ...But neither is Nate… I’m getting really worried.”

“Dean and Rav said they’d find him, so leave it to them.”

=”Yeah!” Her face moves so fast, seemingly expressing everything she’s feeling in the moment she feels it. Excitement, intrigue, happiness, worry, excitement again…

What an odd person. Her relatively positive demeanor only serves to make me more aware of how negative I’m feeling. Damn idiot, adding emotional issues to this already precarious situation…

I turn away before Marie can see my sour expression. Lauren had dumped her wood without saying a word and is probably sitting by the underground lake, and Lynn seems to be waiting for me.

She fidgets slightly as I walk by, and I hear the slapping sound of her trying to catch up before falling in behind me.

Finding Tom is as easy as following the sound of metal on metal, along with a noticeably rising temperature gradient.

“Tom.” Of course, I choose the moment he slams his hammer onto a piece of molten metal to speak, so I don’t even hear myself.

“TOM.” I shout during the off beat, and he nearly fumbles his hammer in surprise.

>”Anthony! Lynn! Good to see you, yes, very good indeed. I’ve been working on reforging new blades from the ancient swords you found on the original denizens of this dungeon. Fine metal, fine indeed! Takes enough heat to burn a forest before you can mold them, singed off all the hair on my arms! Hah! But look, look at what I’ve managed!” The man radiates excitement as he bustles about, seemingly forgetting about the cooling chunk of metal on an anvil that I don’t remember seeing before. He fumbles around in the corner, before emerging with a simple looking sword, gleaming in the firelight. I drop my sword to the ground with a woody *thunk* and take the offered hilt.

[Dwarven Steel Longsword (Uncommon) - An early attempt from a talented blacksmith, forged from an ancient metal. +2 Strength]

It may look simple, but it’s light… far more so than one would think just by looking at it. The notification is also a new addition. Previously, trying to Examine any of the weaponry I came across was borderline pointless. I know enough about swords to maybe identify their type, but no more. It must be the fact that Tom created it that gives me the extra information. It’s no joke, either, I actually feel a lot stronger just by holding it.

“This…” I take a cautious swing, testing it. “-is incredible, Tom. Very nicely done. How many more can you make?”

Tom frowns, considering. >”There was one fractured blade, two intact swords, and an intact shortsword. The one you’re holding is the broken one, so it’s a bit… less, than the others will be. The intact blades are still fairly fragile due to age, but I should be able to remove a lot of the oxidation layer, smooth out the grain so they won’t break as easily, and sharpen them back up to nearly their original level! Of course, with the materials as aged as they are, I have only guesses as to how strong they were be- hey, that weapon on the ground? Could I…”

He doesn’t finish his thought as he moves quickly over to it.

>”What a remarkable weapon… did you find that here? May I- Ack! Why… why is it so cold? Is it magic? How can you even hold that?”

“Hold on a second Tom. Yes, it’s magic, but it’s also mine so it doesn’t like being touched by others without my permission. Feel free to examine it, just please remove the wood from the end, and make a bow out of it for Lynn.”

>”Yes, yes of course…”

Tom tentatively tries to grasp the handle again, quickly recoiling, only to put his hand on it again, tapping it lightly like it was going to burn him. >”Ahh, much better, yes, I’ll just get this off and save it for- make a bow?” Is he even listening to me?

“For Lynn, yes. You can handle that, right?”

>”I’m a blacksmith, man! You can’t hammer out wood!”

“Well we have an archer, and you have intimate knowledge of how to make equipment within the system, right?. Can’t you just forge some woodworking tools and carve it for her?”

>”I wouldn’t know where to begin!”

I look toward Lynn, who seems slightly less awkward and slightly more excited. ~’I-i *ahem* I mean, I can help. With what it looks like, I mean. It would… probably help me… a lot.” She keeps shifting her gaze between me, the log, and Tom.

~”Plus, this thing almost ate me, so the least it can do is keep me safe.”

Tom sighs, loudly. >”Anthony, you ask a lot, but by god, you gave me back a forge, and provided all this metal, so I’ll do it. You be on the lookout for more raw materials though, yeah? When this runs out, I don’t want to be carving wood swords! Ya hear?”

“Loud and clear, Tom.” A small chuckle escapes my lips. “Thank you for the work you put in, it’ll make the difference.”

He smiles before turning to Lynn and telling her to start prepping the log (getting it off my fucking sword) and I opt to leave them to it.

Marie seems deep in concentration as I approach. At first, it seems unclear what she’s actually doing, but I rapidly notice that the pile of stick she’s touching are all starting to flow together into a bundle of twisted wood. I watch with fascination as the pile slowly forms into one large, sharp spike.

She sighs in relief, opening her eyes as she grasps the newly created spike. The whole process only took a few minutes.

=”Anthony, you’re back! So soon, too! I like timeliness in a helper, it’s a good quality.” Enthusiastic as always, but frankly, I’m impressed enough by her ability that I’m not bothered.

“I feel like everyone is determined to take my breath away today. First Tom with his sword, and now this? I never actually took the time to watch you work, but that’s… incredible. Could you use it on my bag to fix it?” I detach the satchel and hand it to her.

=”Hah, should be no problem! But work first, mister, no freebies around here!”

“Fine, that’s fair. But, I also think you should consider using the grass in the fields or the skins of the Carnine to make backpacks for people. Inventory management is really hard with just pockets. Chords for carrying wood, Tents...”

=”Huh. Yeah! That would be really cool! But the defenses are more important. Much more. I don’t want anything breaking through, cause then I’ll have to fight, and nope, no, nah. Not about that. Now, let’s get to it! Just hold this bundle here, like this… a bit to the le- perfect! Yes! Just stay still.”