Gash'zur's presence had one immediate beneficial effect beyond the small fortune in freshly minted coin she had brought. One moment I had worried about equipping the mounted archers in my service, the next the issue was pretty much taken care of. The giantess hadn't brought a whole forge of course but she had the essential tools with her as well as the knowledge needed. The forge itself was soon set up within the camp with the help of some of the Wall Breakers. It probably couldn't compare to the facilities she had at the capital but she didn't complain either. This had been her choice after all.

Coincidentally I learned that she was fine working with other materials than iron or bronze as well. I probably shouldn't have been surprised but seeing her turn boar tusks into helmets was a sight to behold. In a way they weren't all that different from my old leather scale mail. She focused on improving the archer's armor with leather scale mail as well, as it was easier to make than proper chain mail. Hardened leather was more plentiful and easily available as well. She was still busy in the forge though, making plenty of rivets though.

I had to admit that I was impressed by the results. The combination of these helmets, the scale mail and their short composite bows made the young women, who had seemed a little like lost lambs amidst the army's camp not long ago, look quite fierce. Now they only had to hone their skills to match the look. I left the training to Tora though as she was more familiar with mounted combat in general, despite her focus on lance charges and the following melee. That wasn't the only thing keeping the master smith busy though.

Curiously enough the other project to keep her busy had come from Tero on behalf of the crafters working on my new shield. Apparently the scale of the great wyvern from which they were shaping it was giving them more trouble than expected. Even their best tools were barely able to scratch the thing's surface. On one hand that did bode well for the shield, once it was finished. On the other hand it had slowed down progress to a crawl and it was driving the men and women working on it mad. To them it really was infuriating.

Thankfully Tero apparently had a solution for the problem. He had requested chisels, drills and carving knives from Gash'zur and he requested that they be made from the best steel she could get her hands on. That was not all though. Although these tools were already mighty fine he did not simply hand them over to the craftsmen and women. Instead he started carving runes into the handles or backs of the tools wherever appropriate. And even as I watched him work, together with Kaele, I could see a faint glow forming within the runes as he worked.

I could feel him draw in ambient Mana as well. He was not casting an active spell though. Instead he inscribed a simple spell matrix in each and every tool. He obviously wasn't doing it the first time either.

Kaele leaned against my shoulder to whisper into my ear, as if to not disturb my brother while he was working. “That is how you create permanent enchantments. Once he is done the tools themselves will keep drawing in ambient Mana to empower the spell and keep it going. You'll be able to properly feel it once he is done.”

I kept watching awestruck. “This is completely different from the inherent properties of my glaive.” Then another thought struck me. “Can you combine the two? Can you add an enchantment like that to a weapon that already has an inherent magical property?”

Kaele just shrugged and for a moment there was silence as Tero kept focusing on the task at hand. Only once he was done with the chisel he had been working on did he look up at us. “It is indeed possible. It is a little tricky though. With your weapon it probably would be easiest to place an enchantment on the shaft rather than the blade for an example. Maybe something to further increase its durability. I'll have to take a much closer look before I'd even consider trying it though.” With these words he handed the finished tools to the crafters who got back to work on the shield.

That sounded reasonable enough. Since you had to actually carve the runes into the object you probably would want to make sure beforehand that everything would work just right. Otherwise the carved runes would be a fancy ornament at best. At worst they might even be a hazard for the user.

I looked over at Kaele. “Earlier, just now, you sounded like you were taking lessons as well.”

She grinned sheepishly and nodded. “I am taking some lessons. I still have a long way to go though before I would come even just remotely close to the kind of enchantments your brother has been placing on these tools.”

Tero blushed a little at that praise. “Well, the enchantments I placed on these tools would be usually only found on the blades of enchanted weapons. They increase the hardness of the material and help keep the edge as well. The latter is important as just increasing hardness alone would make the enchanted object very brittle.”

He looked over at the crafters working on my new shield. Together we watched them in silence for a little while before he spoke up again. “They will probably go through more than one set of tools anyway. These scales are something else. We should try to recover a few more if we get the chance.”

I could understand why he would say that. I wasn't too sure if it was possible though. “We set the wyvern's carcass on fire to keep it from fouling up the place too bad. I'm not sure if anything usable is left.”

He sighed. “I guess it had to be done. Better to deny our enemies these resources as well.”

I blushed a little as he mentioned that. I hadn't even thought about that aspect but he was, beyond a doubt, right. I didn't even want to think about it, but a ghoul king or that damnable vampire equipped with wyvern scale armor, shields or even weapons would be bad news.

I had received wounds every time so far when fighting these monsters. If even one of them had been struck with a weapon carved from a wyvern's stinger instead … no, I didn't want to think about it. A wound like that probably would have had me rot from the inside before help could arrive. A cold shiver ran down my spine. That was no pleasant idea. At the same time I suddenly realized just what kind of terror my weapon made me on any battlefield.

At long last we left the crafters to their work. None of it would get done any faster or better if we kept breathing down their necks. Even with superior tools good work simply took some time. They would let me know once they were done. As we slowly made our way back to the tent I shared with Kaele my brother spoke up again. “I'd like to add an enchantment to the shield once they are done.”

I simply raised an eyebrow and motioned for him to keep talking.

“The thing will be near indestructible already as is. I suspect that nothing short of intense heat or powerful magic will be able to outright destroy it and even a bolt from a siege crossbow probably would barely scratch it.” He paused briefly, looking my way. “Which does not mean that you should try blocking a bolt like that though. The shield won't break but it won't negate any of the bolts momentum either.”

I started to see where this was going. “The shield would not suffer but at the same time the momentum of the hit alone would be enough to break my arm?”

He nodded. “At the very least. I saw a warrior attempting to block an angry troll's club with a shield once. I think I don't have to elaborate how that worked out for him.”

No, he really didn't have to elaborate. I had seen what trolls and giants could do with their clubs firsthand after all. Trying to block a club the size of a small tree had to be the pinnacle of folly. I shook my head in an attempt to get rid of the mental image. “And there are enchantment that can help with that?”

He nodded. “There are. At least to a degree. You still shouldn't ever try to block an angry troll's blows with it but with an enchantment like that the bolt of a siege cross bow probably would only break your arm instead of tearing it right off.” He paused briefly to let his statement sink in. “It will help. A little. Not against stupidity though.”

We all chuckled a little at that, then he continued. “I'd like to have a look at your armor as well. We probably don't have the time to enchant the scales individually but I probably could add an enchantment to the leather base. I know one that will make it fit more comfortably. Warriors, especially ones that tend to be stuck wearing their armor for days on end, swear by it.”

I stopped dead in my tracks and blinked once. I blinked again. “Is that really possible?” Disbelief was plain in my voice. “Enchanting all the scales individually?”

He flashed me a smug grin. “Well maybe not all of them, but at least several. Our father had a suit of armor like that when he was younger, you know? I was lucky enough to have a chance to study it in the past. But like I said, that would take time. A lot of time. Keep it in mind for the future.”