There was no communication amulet in the room, just four chairs and Zekell was sitting on one of them.
“Dad? What are you doing here? It’s the middle of the night in the Kingdom and you should be resting.”
“Who cares about sleep when my son needs me?” The blacksmith walked in front of Senton, shaking his hand while patting his back.
“Why would I need you? Everything is fine, Dad.”
“Really? Then why is it that you leave the room whenever Leria shows me the latest spell she’s learned? How come you spend most of the time in Lutia and go back to your wife only late at night?” Zekell asked primly.
“Also, I’m not blind nor deaf. I can hear you two arguing all the time. I can see the anger that drives your hammer while we work and how cold you are toward your wife and daughter.
“If not for the fact that you are still a loving father to your triplets, I’d say you have been replaced by a Doppelganger. Because a Skinwalker would do a much better job at impersonating my son.”
“That’s none of your business.” Senton pursed his lips. “We are in a rough patch. Happens to all couples.”
“Indeed, but this one is lasting for weeks.” Raaz said. “I consider you a good man and father, Senton, but I don’t like how you are treating my daughter. I think it’s time we address the elephant in the room, or rather, the Tiamat.
“You never liked Lith very much and that’s fair since the feeling is mutual. Ever since the gala, however, you have extended your displeasure to Rena and Leria as well. That’s unacceptable.”
“Of course you say that!” Senton snarled. “It’s yours the family emblem hung over my house. It’s your name that my wife and children use first to introduce themselves. I am nothing. I am worth nothing.
“The clothes we wear come from Lith and so do all the magical appliances we use every day. Wherever I turn I see his shadow and the worst part is that even my own father loves him more than me!”
As he glared at Zekell, fury left Senton’s eyes and was replaced by hurt.
“How can you say that?” Zekell jumped on his feet. “You are my pride. My only and beloved son. Everything I’ve built is for you and your children to inherit.”
“Pretty words for someone who always flaunted his son-in-law instead of his real son during every village meeting!” Senton snarled. “You call Lith ‘son’ and always go out of your way to please him.
“You threw away the last name you’ve bought after many sacrifices and even built him a temple! I don’t remember you doing anything like that for me.”
“I flaunted Lith at the village meetings because mentioning him gave us priority for repairs and tax reductions!” Zekell retorted. “Because with the money we saved, we could keep running our smithy even when we didn’t get much work.
“I went out of my way to please Lith, as you say, because he brought me business. He paid for my craftsmanship and taught me things that a village blacksmith could only dream about. If it wasn’t for that, we would be still making horseshoes and plows.
“Instead, now I know how to purify Orichalcum. I handled enough silver to open a goldsmith. Where do you think I got the materials to practice? Back then, a single ingot of silver was worth more than our house and shop put together.
“And don’t get me started about the strollers, chessboards, and all that stuff that Lith invented. We’ve got a monopoly over many highly sought-after items because you married his sister and I worked my ass to become his to-go guy!
“Even if he wasn’t my son-in-law, I would have done the same if it meant making honest money. How many times have you seen me bow to a noble? Kiss their fucking ass and lick their shoes when asked?”
“Too many to count them.” Senton clenched his fists in anger at the memory of the past humiliations.
“And when that’s changed? When we hung that damn Verhen family crest on our door. When the woman answering the bell introduced herself as Rena Verhen. Then it was our turn to have our asses kissed and our shoes licked, yet I don’t remember you complaining about that.”
“That’s different!” Senton stared his father in the eyes, their noses almost touching.
“No, it’s not.” Zekell didn’t budge. “It’s just that you were too happy being respected to care for the reason of our customers suddenly being all smiles. Son, I want you to lift the veil of your wounded ego and look at the life we’ve built for ourselves.
“A life we wouldn’t have if not for our relationship with Lith. I did everything you accuse me of doing, yet I did it for our family. Even when he was still Nana’s assistant, Lith hated us villagers.
“Even after you married Rena, his attitude didn’t change so I had to make it change. I’ve never cared about what name any of us carries as long as we are safe. Lith’s presence protected us, brought us business, comfort, and made us more money than we had ever dreamed about.
“Sure, bad things happened from time to time because of him, but he always fixed his own mess. It’s thanks to him that Lutia isn’t a slimy little village anymore. We live in a medium-sized city that continues expanding.
“I had those nutjobs build him a temple because our city was dying and so were our friends. It wasn’t a matter of stroking Lith’s ego, but survival!”
Zekell took a break to catch his breath and let his words sink.
“Do you really miss living in our old house that was cold during winter and hot during summer? Do you miss our old smithy that was just a little more than a shack? Our house is now worthy of Derios and our smithy has a building of its own.
“We are not village blacksmiths anymore. We are respected businessmen and artisans. You have four beautiful children who’ll never want for anything and not because Lith is going to pay for it, but because we will.
“You should know better than anyone else that I spent countless hours at the furnace before and after you got married to Rena. Sure, I have exploited Lith’s name, but only to live in peace without noble scum hazing us.
“I have also exploited Lith’s fame to draw customers, but every copper coin we made came from our hard work. I am grateful to Lith because I considered him my patron who gave me an opportunity, but I was the one who seized it.
“Do you deny it?” The old blacksmith’s stare was as cold as steel and as hot as his forge.
“No.” Senton lowered his gaze, remembering how the family business had grown over the years through painstaking effort and sacrifice.
The Proudhammer house could have been worthy of a country noble if Zekell hadn’t reinvested every coin he made into his own business instead of squandering them into luxury items and enchanted clothes.
