The trio left early in the morning and joined the already large crowd moving towards the tunnel that led out of the mountain. The tunnel was long and it took the trio the better part of an hour to reach the end. They exited the tunnel and Ren was astonished by the sight before him. Since the tunnel was several hundred feet up the side of one of the many mountains, the travelers were greeted by the view of the forest below them stretching off into the distance and the mountains around them towering thousands of feet above their heads before disappearing into the clouds. The sight took Ren’s breath away.

The scenery changed as they made their way down the mountain and entered the forest, but it was no less stunning. The road they walked on was paved stone that had been masterly place and was as wide as a four lane highway in the real world. The trees on the side of the path were obviously old and their trunks were at least 13 feet across and had moss and ivy growing on them. The boughs of the trees stretched across the path, forming an arched roof of woven branches that protected them from the harsh sunlight. All around them was the sounds of life, from the songs and calls of the birds and other beats to the buzzing of insects and other small creatures. Walking through the forest Ren swore that he could feel a strangely invigorating energy permeating the air.

The crowd walked through the forest for a few hours, conversing with their fellow travelers and enjoying the scenery. Several people approached their group and talked with Anurt and Yurbek. Ren assumed that they were trading news and talking about choosing a new king and the upcoming festivities but since they were talking in dwarvish Ren couldn’t understand a single word they said. Eventually the forest ended and transitioned to sprawling grasslands that stretched to the horizon. A little ways into the distance the crowd could see something massive jutting out of the gently swaying grass around them.

This was the Ancient city of Bofcral, capital of the dwarven kingdom of Morzakvirn, and last of the great dwarven strongholds.

It took almost another hour to reach the outer walls of the city. These walls were massive and imposing. Made out of large blocks of dark grey stone the walls towered over everybody at a height of 300 feet and gave everybody who looked at them the feeling that nothing that meant the city or its residents harm would ever make it past them. As they made their way into the city they passed through the large, thick, black gates that reminded Ren of the gates of Aukrokia, though they didn’t feel quite as sturdy as these gates. As they passed through the gates Ren noticed that the walls weren’t actually straight but went up at a slight angle instead.

“Why are the walls angled?” Ren asked

"It's to make the walls sturdier and greatly reduce the risk of collapse." Anurt said "You'll learn more once you start studying engineering."

They walked down the long tunnel through the outer walls and entered the city. Ren was blown away by what he saw. All of the buildings were made of stone and were at least three stories tall though there were some the reach five to six stories in height. The streets themselves were also a marvel of workmanship and engineering. They looked to be made of the same material as the walls and even had gutters and sidewalks, and were lined with lamp posts. Overall, Ren thought that it looked very… modern… when compared to Crale.

The sun was now high in the sky and it was getting very crowded by the gates. Yurbek led them down the first side street they found, which was also relatively crowded, then lead them through a maze of alleyways and side streets for almost two hours before they finally stopped in front of an old, single story, stone building. Yurbek knocked on the door but there was no answer. After a moment Yurbek tried to open the door but found it locked so like any sensible person would do, he kicked it in and stepped inside.

“Wait here.” He told the other two as they entered and walked deeper into the building.

After a few minutes they heard the distinct sound of water being thrown against something and heard someone yell in surprise followed by some loud cursing then more yelling then the sound of more water being thrown against something then silence. After a moment the sound of heavy steps could be heard and soon after Yurbek returned with a rather wet and grumpy looking dwarf in tow.

“This sorry excuse for a smith,” Yurbek said, “is Dolznik Glanmek, Grandmaster lower level and my former master.”

“Former? I’m still your master considering you just up and left and never took my graduation exam.” Dolznik said, turning to face Yurbek. "But that's not important right now. What is important right now is why you're here. I clearly remember you storming out after I refused to teach you anything else until you had gained a bit more experience and saying that you’d be better off if you just learned everything yourself.”

“I came here about that favor you owe me.” Yurbek said

“Fine,” Dolznik said, “But let’s not have this conversation here. Also I’m going to need a drink.”

Dolznik ushered the trio out of his house and closed the door, not seeming to care about the broken lock. They made their way through the maze of streets and arrived at one of the many taverns in the city. Fortunately this particular tavern was a bit out of the way so it wasn’t all that crowded. They managed to find a table at the back on the far side of the tavern from the bar, much to Dolznik’s annoyance.

After they all got food, and the three dwarves got drinks, they got down to business.

“So what’s this about wanting to use that favor I owe you?” Dolznik asked.

“Before we get to that I’d like to introduce you to my two companions here.” Yurbek said, “This dwarf here is my colleague from the Medonia Academy for Combat, Magic, and Adventuring arts; Anurt Ovzur, Master Engineer. The human is my student from the academy, Krono. He’s an extremely talented young smith, he managed to reach the point where he could work steel in only a few months.”

Dolznik, who had been taking a drink when Yurbek as talking, almost choked when when Yurbek mentioned he had a student and really did choke when he said how long it took Ren to learn how to work steel. After a few minutes of struggling from breath and Anurt pounding on his back a few times Dolznik finally managed to speak.

“I must have drank more than I thought because I swear I just heard you say you had a student and that it only took them a few months to be able to work steel.” Dolznik said

“You heard right the first time. As for the favor,” Yurbek said, “I want you to teach him, at least until the Battle of Blood and Iron. I’ve gotten to the limits of what I can teach him regarding the human style and I was only average with the dwarven style, as you should remember.”

“No.”

“Why won’t you do it?

“Because every single one of my apprentices have all turned out to be disappointments. My first one killed himself after losing during the last Battle for blood and iron. The next one preferred to spend his time with wine and women. Then there was you. You were so god damn arrogant. Thought you were Aleat’s gift to the world and when you thought you weren’t being treated with the respect you deserved you forsook your clan name and abandoned your family. If your mother were here, may her soul pass through the void swiftly, she would be very disappointed with you.” Dolznik took a large swig from his tankard when he finished.

The entire table was silent for several minutes after that, no one knowing what to say to break the uneasy silence. Finally Yurbek broke the silence.

“Look I’m sorry I left. I know it was wrong and I’ve regretted it ever since. I would’ve come back sooner but I just couldn’t work up the courage to come back and face you, not with all of the mistakes I’ve made but right now I would really appreciate your help. He’s the apprentice you’ve sought to have your whole life. You won’t regret it I swear.”

Silence reigned again as Dolznik thought about what his son had said. It took close to half an hour and two tankards of ale but Dolznik came to a decision.

“I won’t agree to help right now but if the boy shows as much promise as you say he does I’ll consider it. We’ll see what he’s capable of tomorrow. You all can rest back at my place for now.”

They finished up what drink or food they had left, and head back to Dolznik’s home to sleep

If you have an idea for Ren's second class post it Here and if you have an idea related to affinities or bloodlines post it Here.