The Apprentice III [Crafting Solo: Blacksmith]

[Saber]

    The sun was high in the sky when the dusty street began to fill with an increasing number of whistling winds. It was at the same time that Saber had reached his long awaited destination. After walking from the populated city of London to the area which could only be called the abandoned zone of London, several hours were lost in time’s grasp and Saber had spent them enjoying his freedom as well as dealing with a strange woman of sorts. Now he stood outside of a building he didn’t particularly wish to enter due to its condition and could only help but have the urge to walk away. There was a large hole in the left side of the roof, the windows were covered by flapping pieces of fabric, the door was barely holding onto the rusted hinges, and there was absolutely no sign of any life coming from inside. He began to wonder if the Master Blacksmith, Salvestro, had sent him on a wild goose chase just to get the Adventurer out of his hair for a while. Then again, the Blacksmith had not steered Saber wrong so far during their time together. The man was true to his word and assisted Saber in his quest to become a force among the crafters of the world without asking too many questions. If that man had sent the player out this far, then there was only one route for Saber to take; forward.



    With his uneasiness put aside, barely, Saber walked up to the front door and placed his hand gently on the metal knocker. He tapped the metal handle twice against the lip before taking a step back. Silence followed after and Saber once again started to wonder if there was anyone inside the rundown place. He waited and counted to twenty, as was polite, and then made a move for the door when his timer ended. However the sudden sound of locks moving and a distant grumble made the assassin freeze. He eyed the window to his left and attempted to see inside from where it stood; it was a futile attempt because of the darkness. Although during the time it took for him to stare, the door fell ajar. From behind it, an aged and greyed blue eye looked out. It stared warily at the hunter whom stood before it, peering almost into the Adventurer’s soul. Saber made eye-contact with the organ and didn’t say a word, as he was ordered to. The Master Blacksmith had told him to remain silent until spoken to once the door opened and simply make eye contact. After twenty seconds of the contact, he was told to shut his eyes for five.

[Saber]

    Following the given instructions, Saber closed his eyelids after twenty seconds of staring at the other being’s eye. He counted in his mind from one to five, patiently doing so while making sure not to move from where he stood. When he opened his eyes, the door had been opened up completely. In front of him, and several feet away from the entry way, a stout old dwarf with a massive beard stood with his hands clutched together behind his back. He didn’t look extremely happy to see Saber, but at least he had opened the door. That told Saber he had done something right at least. Though, the urge to speak filled Saber’s stomach. Fighting it was difficult and as the Dwarf turned away, Saber could barely hold his tongue.



    “Enter, Apprentice. I have been waiting for you.” The Dwarf’s voice was deep and low, making it difficult to hear from the distance Saber was at. The player didn’t respond but simply entered the room as he had been told to. The player forced himself to walk on his heels, making his usually silent steps click so the other person could hear where he was. When Saber walked out of the path of the door, a light shimmered to his right and the object slid shut, automatically locking closed to deny anyone else entry.



    “Clever.” Saber thought as he eyed the auto-close and locking mechanism. From just looking at it, he could tell that making it could only be done by someone highly skilled.



    “Salvestro wrote me a letter a few days ago that he had taken an apprentice. After seeing you perform your actions, ones that I had only told Salvestro, I assume you are that apprentice. Am I correct?” The Dwarf spoke much louder now that the door was closed and made his way slowly across the house, taking his time with his steps as well as with his words. Saber followed, keeping a bit of distance between himself and the shorter but much bigger man. The Apprentice listened well and answered only when he was given a chance.



    “That is correct. I am Salvestro’s Apprentice, Saber.” With a calm and collected tone, Saber responded in accordance with the prompt. The Dwarf paused in his movement long enough to look at the player he listened intently to Saber’s voice. When Saber was finished introducing himself, the man wiggled his nose briefly before turning away.



    “Quite. Follow me.” He looked to his right and placed his hand against the stone wall beside him. The rock he pressed on gave way and slid inwards. A click echoed from behind it and suddenly the rocks in front of the Dwarf popped open. The stout man grumbled heartily and pulled the hidden door open with a hard tug. Dust and ground debris fell from the top of the door right into the pathway, but the Dwarf paid it no mind as he began to descend down the well-lit steps that had appeared. Saber complied and stepped inside, pulling the stone door closed behind him as the Dwarf pointed at it.

[Saber]

    The staircase spiraled around to the left and a candle was nestled into a holder every ten feet to light the way. Even though the staircase was cooler than outside, the candles made it seem much warmer and it helped Saber deal with the chilly air. The Dwarf was unbothered though so Saber kept his discomfort to himself. Dwarves were much heartier than Elves, which was Saber’s chosen race due to the potential racial bonuses he could get to his class and weapon. It might have been because of his race that the Dwarf didn’t talk to him very much as well, or it could have been because of something else. In some tales, Elves and Dwarves never really got along for some odd reason. If that was true here in Elder Tal, then Saber was going to have some issues. He prayed that the stories were only stories. Although, with every step he took, he couldn’t help but feel as if there was an invisible tension line that was on the verge of breaking. Oh did he pray.



    “What you are about to see must never be spoken of to anyone. Do you understand, Apprentice?” The Dwarf said aloud, most likely using Saber’s Blacksmith title as extra weight on his words. Saber immediately nodded his head in response, and then he grumbled.



    “I understand.” Due to the Dwarf not looking at him, Saber was forced to speak up. His voice echoed a little more in the stairwell than the Dwarf’s did. Because of that, he made a note that it would be best to lower his voice the next time he was asked to speak.



    “Good.” After a few more steps, the staircase finally came to an end, as if the Dwarf had timed his question perfectly. The Dwarf didn’t stop walking when he stepped off onto the straight walkway and strode right out into the center of the massive room. Saber on the other hand stopped in his tracks when he popped out of the stairwell. The walls stretched upwards into the abyss and rows of bookcases boldly chased after them. The ceiling could barely be seen due to the shadows that lingered around it, giving the room a near-endless feel. As Saber switched from looking vertically to looking horizontally, he could barely count the number of massive bookcases that were in sight. What made counting even more difficult to do was the fact that every single one of those bookcases was stuff full of books. Pages upon pages of books lined the walls and the bookcases making the place a treasure trove of information. If Saber had considered this place marvelous by his own standards, then it would probably be labeled a gold mine by a scholar. Its size simply begged the question; how had this place been hidden?

[Saber]

    “Don’t stray behind.” The Dwarf shouted almost as if he had been reading Saber’s mind. Whether he was or wasn’t didn’t exactly matter though, as the shout snapped the player from his trance and Saber quickly returned to following behind guide. They had to have walked almost a quarter of a mile before Saber realized where they were heading. His eyes were far too distracted with the countless number of books.



In the center of the massive walkway and underground library, there was a large circular stone table. It stretched nearly ten feet in diameter and was raised just high enough for the Dwarf to stand comfortably at it. The Elf, whom had been following the short creature, looked down at the table as if he was a giant from another world (he was, but that was beside the point). It would tough to use the table, but worth it if Saber would have to at some point. Even with the library looking as old as it was, the table was not vacant of life, as there were several books strewn across it. Some were opened with ancient text lining the pages, others were closed and either stacked or used as pillars for other opened ones. Someone had been busy but it didn’t seem to be the Dwarf as Saber watched the shorter male scan the books. Then again, Saber never knew about this place until a few minutes prior to arriving at the table. Saber was about to ask what the Dwarf was searching for, but the man moved away and began to circle the table. The player stepped up to the large stone structure, and a moment later the Dwarf looked over at him.



    “This is the Library of Hephaestus. It is full of books which speak of ancient magics, otherworldly creations, and unknown machines of various sizes and with many different uses. Many of the texts will not interest and Elf such as you. However, there is still a large collection that might.” The Dwarf stroked his long beard as he spoke and eyed the Elf who curiously looked back at him. The stout man took a long pause as he played with his well-maintained facial hair, then he took in another breath and continued to speak.

    “Alas, as much as I argued otherwise, your Master has convinced me to allow you to have access to the trove of information you see around you.” Saber grinned at the good news and look towards the table in front of him. The information around him was going to be his it seemed. Well, not his but he would have access to it.

“Be aware, Adventurer, the walls have eyes that have watched over this place for centuries. They also have very trained ears. Do not attempt to take one of these books out of this library. You may only take its knowledge with you. Is that clear?” The Dwarf’s ultimatum did not bother Saber. The Adventurer had no plans to remove any of the books around him. Now that it meant something terrible would occur, he pushed those thoughts even further out of his mind.



    “I have no qualms with that. I do have one question though.” Saber’s eyes shifted from the Dwarf as he began to search the room around him. There was something he wanted in here, but he could not see it.



    “Speak then.” The Dwarf stopped stroking his bread and crossed his arms firmly in front of his large, muscled chest.



“Is there a forge here?” At his question, the Dwarf seemed to grin. Though, due to all of his hair, Saber couldn’t tell. The short man simply turned around on his heels and pointed to a distant orange glow on the far left side of the room.



    “You will find something similar over there. The stores in the Library do not last forever like your Master’s will so you will have to gather any materials on your own. For anything else, I suggest searching this library on your own. I am simply the one who allows access for the time being. Is there anything else you need?” The Dwarf looked over his shoulder towards the taller Elf and began to stroke his bread again. At first, Saber considered asking him for a tour, but he decided to hold his tongue. With a shake of his head, the Dwarf nodded and began to make his way towards the door.

[Saber]

    “Don’t stay to long down here, Elf. You may find yourself growing a beard and losing some of your height!” The stout man began to laugh loudly, his voice bellowing into the library as he casually made his way to the staircase. Saber grinned at the thought of turning into a dwarf because of his presence here, but he knew full well that such a change would never occur. Rather than dwell on the possibilities, Saber turned his head to the books in front of him.



    The first thing Saber would need to do would be to actually circle the entire library and figure out the categorizing system of it. Once he did that, he would most likely create a small map of sorts so he could quickly navigate the large area and get to things quickly. Though, he also had something else he needed to deal with; the forge. Saber walked towards the dim glow that was burning in the distance towards his left, his mind running over the possibilities of what he could do with it. If he had the materials, Saber could easily stay down in the library for days and work without any distractions. If any of the books had blueprints inside of them, Saber would be able to use them to bring the theorized creations to life. He could practice what he already knew in silence like a hermit and enhance his skills. If he had any issues, he could refer to the ancient texts for hints if he found the correct books. If not, then he would be forced to return to Salvestro. Saber could guess that returning would be a sign of failure though so if he had any problems; he was on his own. The Master Blacksmith must have planned this. He had taught Saber only the basics and enough to survive. The Adventurer had done his best and had learned much in a short time, but the NPC was limited to what he could teach. Saber would have to learn everything from here on by reading the texts. If he couldn’t read them, he would have to learn.



    “Well played, Salvestro.” Saber could see him now; hands on his waist and a huge grin on the big man’s face. The Master Blacksmith was as crafty mentally as he was with his hammer and it made Saber feel like a puny person in comparison. Sure, he had schemes of his own but that blacksmith was another monster.

[Saber]

    When Saber arrived at the forge, he was delighted to see that he wouldn’t have to work from scratch. There was a huge furnace that was surviving off an extremely minute number of coal fragments. It was literally surviving off the heat of the burning ashes; that was it. It was probably warm enough to heat up his hands and fight away some cold weather. Other than the furnace, there was a long, empty trough. It showed signs of use, but it didn’t have any holes in its frame anywhere. Adjacent to the trough was a small table. On it, there were a handful of tools that could be used for basic crafts; two simple hammers, tongs, an old set of goggles, a wedge, a wide metal plate someone must’ve worn for protection, a chisel, two metal stakes, and a pickaxe. Then just to Saber’s right, the prized piece stood off on its own in the middle of everything; an anvil. It had some wear on it, but the slab of metal looked as if it was ready to be used at any minute.


    It seemed that everything tool wise was there but everything that he would need to actually put the tools to use wasn’t. He needed coal and he needed ore. Before he could get to reading, it seemed he would have to get to work. Just as his Master had taken care of the forge in his shop, Saber would now have to take care of this one. He would have to find a mine nearby and would have to start digging. So, rather than reading the entire library and divulging in the information it was stuffed with, Saber grabbed the pickaxe and began to make his way towards the staircase. He had his priorities, and maintaining the forge was always a blacksmith’s number one item on the list of things to do. Without a useable forge, Saber was nothing more than another random player.