“Master Barham was…” Tanat squinted his eyes in the mnemonic effort to recall details of that day. “Happy, which is quite unusual. He said something about a big job. He called it a potential game-changer. Jaya!”
A stunning woman with strawberry blonde hair and violet eyes answered his call. She wore an overall, working gloves, and a Forgemastering mask. Everything was made of golden Wyvern’s scales streaked red all over.
When Jaya took the mask off, her face was beaded with sweat and her hair sticky. Yet neither that nor her baggy clothes could hide her beauty more than a passing cloud can eclipse the sun.
“How can I serve you, senior?” She panted from her recent efforts, still holding what Solus recognized as a Forgemastering hammer of unknown design.
‘To Eyes or not to Eyes, that is the question.’ Solus bit her lower lip in hesitation. ‘On the one hand, I doubt it’s better than the Fury and I can spare myself a headache. On the other hand, that hammer seems to be a masterpiece.
‘It’s the first tasteful artifact I’ve seen here and maybe the proof I need this Barham was Mom’s apprentice or not. Oh, screw it!’ She activated the Eyes and regretted it instantly.
Solus had to quickly filter out the arrays and the various enchantments in the room. She could clench her teeth only for so long before her face deformed into a rictus of agony and everyone noticed that something was wrong with her.
“It’s Master Tanat for you!” The older Wyvern snarled. “Until our father returns, you are my apprentice.” He showed her his signet ring while also activating the arrays of the house to force his sister to kneel.
It was a petty way to take his frustration from being ordered around by strangers out on her, but it made wonders for his ego.
“Yes, Master. How can I serve you?” Jaya asked.
‘What an ass.’ She actually thought, and she wasn’t the only one.
“I need the most recent inventory of the vaults. My honored guests are looking for our father and need my help.” Tanat said.
“As you command.” She took a scroll of paper out of her dimensional amulet and handed it to him.
“Great Mother almighty!” Tanat’s eyes went wide in surprise reading the up-to-date list of the transactions. “No wonder the old- I mean, Master Barham was so happy. The mysterious client bought some of our best pieces and rarest materials.”
“And your father trusted them to pay on delivery?” Lith sneered with a contempt that the Wyvern matched in spades.
“Of course not. Master Barham was happy because he demanded the full payment upfront. The treasures have already been brought here and stored. The client had no reason to kill my father.
“They wouldn’t get anything more than what they have paid for and lose one of the best artisans on Garlen. It’s just a matter of centuries, no, decades before Master Bahram becomes the next Ruler of the Flames.”
“I know you can’t show us the list, but can you at least tell us what ingredients and artifacts Barham sold?” Strider asked. “Lord and Lady Verhen are skilled Forgemasters and they might be able to understand what your father has been hired to craft.”
“Lord and Lady Verhen?” Both Wyverns echoed but their tones couldn’t have been more different.
Tanat was filled with envy, hate, spite, and a tinge of revulsion. The thought that a dirty mongrel had awakened his Dragon blood while the Wyverns still rotted among the lesser species angered him.
The fact that Lith had spat on such a blessing by having offspring with a human, instead, sickened Tanat.
Jaya dusted her clothes, using a mix of darkness and water magic to clean herself from the soot and neutralize the stench of sulfur coming from her clothes.
“Is it true that you’ve received lessons from the Father of Fire?” She shifted her weight from one foot to the other in excitement.
“I’m still receiving them.” Lith nodded, making her gasp.
“Is it true that you’ve learned Creation Magic?”
“No.” The word doused her enthusiasm like a downpour on a campfire. “Gr- Salaark gave me a few lessons, but I’m still a beginner.” It was more than enough to rekindle the flame.
“And is it true that you’ve invented a new branch of magic called Void Magic?” Its existence was well-known but aside from those who took part in Lith’s lessons, very few had seen a Void Spell and lived to tell the tale.
“Yes.” Lith nodded, making the young Wyvern squeal like a teenager in front of her favored pop singer. “I’m working on tier five now. But what does this-”
Jaya took the inventory list off Tanat’s hands and gave it to Lith in a frenzy.
“Do you take apprentices?” Her amethyst eyes sparkled at the idea of getting out of the nightmare that Barham’s workshop was and learning from a real Master Forgemaster.
‘Father and big brother can brag all they want, but their contribution to the Forgemastering arts is irrelevant at best.’ She thought. ‘Verhen is a Light Master, a Magus, and at twenty he has already crafted wonders Awakened and fake mages are desperate to reproduce.
‘From his sister to his friends and even his mentor, every mage that worked with him got better for it. And he doesn’t treat any of them like slaves, not even after he ascended into a Divine Beast.’
Awakened had their version of Lith’s biography and it was a bestseller as well.
“I’m sorry, no.” Those three words took the light away from Mogar for Jaya and made her realize her blunder. “This is interesting, Strider. Look at the weapons list.”
“By the gods, this is a small arsenal!” The two men seemed to not care about her predicament. “Any idea what one can do with these materials?”
“It could be anything.” Lith shrugged. “It’s too generic to me. Solus?”
She took the piece of paper, putting the Eyes of Menadion to work. The artifact cross-referenced its own database, the Library, Soluspedia, and the scraps of data the tower had managed to retain from the synching with the Apprentice Eyes.
“Off the top of my head, I’d say permanent arrays and powerful ones at that.” She said. “That or several small but complex pieces of equipment. There is not enough metal to arm many people, let alone an Emperor Beast.
“There are a few ingredients restricted for Forbidden Magic hazard but with so much stuff it would be weird otherwise.”
“Thanks, Jaya. You have helped us greatly.” Lith returned the list to Strider. “If we can get the assistants of the other missing Forgemasters to tell us what their masters have taken with them, we have good chances to figure out the endgame of their contractor.”
“Indeed.” The Zouwu caught his drift. “Thank you, Lady Neth. The Council praises your collaboration and I will notify my superiors of your involvement in case there is a reward.” His words worked as a shield for Jaya and a warning for Tanat.
“I’m certain that Lord Neth was just about to do the same, am I right?”
“Of course.” Tanat’s words oozed literal venom that sizzled as droplets of his saliva hit the floor.
