A few days later, Synshlee emerged from the house, thankful to be out of the Old Tyrant Woman's care. She was monitored by the woman constantly, forced to eat foods that the old lady insisted were good for her but tasted less than appetizing. (The later effects on her stomach from the food were less than appetizing as well.) Her arm was healed, but still ached when she lifted her sword. She knew once she got out and began training again the ache would subside. She stayed in the inn for a few days, telling herself she was waiting for clues for her search, but found her heart jumping whenever an Orc entered the pub. This troubled her, so she packed up supplies and left Gludio to make her way to Gludin. Being a port town, surely there had to be something there that would strike familiarity in her and finally give her purpose for her search.
She discovered, while talking to holy warriors clearing out the Ruins of Agony, that the siege on Gludio had failed, and the bandit clan had scattered, the alliance that held the castle was a large one, and now they hunted those who dared to challenge their power. She hunted alongside them for a bit, honing in her skills on the undead that had taken up residence in the once prosperous town of olde.
Much to her dismay she found she could not wield her sword properly due to the pain that did not diminish, so she decided to become a Blade Dancer along the way. The extra blade would make up for the weakness in her primary sword arm. It was nearly a month before she arrived in the busy port town, and she bid goodbye to the holy warriors who agreed to escort her there. (Payments were made up nightly, as much as it disgusted her to give humans that much of her, she vowed that she would kill them later to regain her fallen pride.)
It was a week before her first clue finally made it to her. While in the warehouse one day, the freight men were talking with another traveler about the legend of a great Dwarven smith of ages old. Her heart suddenly began to thud in her chest, and she lingered near them to hear more.
"So it's said that sword still exists even today." The freight man said to the traveler, who nodded vigorously, their beard bobbing. "Some even think that it's within reach of any traveler that will brave that place, isn't that exciting?"
"Think of the money that would come if we Dwarves got a hold of it first! We could break down the construction and make a whole line of swords like that! Then WE could control who was the most powerful as we saw fit, no more exhausting paperwork when we go about switching sides." the other freight man said.
"What sword are you talking about?" she found herself asking excitedly. The dwarves turned to look at her, annoyed with her obvious eavesdropping.
"None of your business." one freight man said, turning away from her
"Nope, none of your business." the other said, turning his head in the same direction.
"The God-Slayer sword." the traveler dwarf said in a female voice. Synshlee's eyes twitched. She'd forgotten that aged dwarves all looked like men, even if they were female. The two freight man's jaws dropped as they stared bug-eyed at the traveler, shocked that she would speak so openly to a Dark Elf. "The name's Mama. Mama Pixie. You can call me Pixie because you're not even close to being able to call me 'Mama'." the dwarf laughed at her own joke and held out a hand to Synshlee, who didn't mask her disgust and lightly touched the large hand. "Come with me, I'll tell you what I know." she said, motioning towards the door.
It was evening; the afternoon ship had just arrived from Talking Island, young adventurers and merchants pouring off of it, eager to begin on the mainland. Synshlee stood with Mama Pixie on the hill outside of Gludin, watching the travelers make their way into town.
"The God-Slayer..." Pixie began, puffing on a delicate, feminine-looking pipe, "was created eons ago for the Giants by a Dwarven Smith whose name history has long since swallowed. Elmoreden Scholars believe that the sword was never intended to slay any god, it was just a fluke in design." She took a long drag on her pipe before continuing. "The Dwarf Smith smelted together a combination of metals that no one has ever successfully smelted since, so the smiths of now believe something else was in the mix. That sword has been highly sought-after for years, as we dwarves have the knowledge now to break it back down into it's components, and re-creating the sword from there. It would be a very prosperous move for us and benefit our race for years to come.."
"That's nice and all," Synshlee interjected in a sharp tone, "but how do you know that sword can kill gods? As far as I knew the gods were all alive and well in their own little hiding holes scattered about the world."
"Ah...that's the best part!" Pixie said, holding up a finger and shutting one eye in a move too girlish for her appearance, "Did you know Paagrio, in ancient texts, has been recorded to having one eye?" Synshlee responded with a blank stare. "Let's just say he got a little too eager to play with the Giants new toy, the silly boy. I always say if you wave a sharp object around, make sure you're blindfolded and wrapped in heavy sack cloth or you're going to put an eye out!" Synshlee's head began to throb, and a moment of silence passed between them as they watched the next shipload of passengers board the boat, now headed for Giran Harbor.
"Well...I suppose I should get back to my journey." Pixie said, tapping the tobacco ashes from her pipe and stowing it inside her armor. "I looked in the mirror before I left the mountains and I said 'Now Mama, you're going to head to the southern lands and find yourself the best man you can and have the biggest litter of babies Elmore and Aden has ever seen!'" Synshlee frowned and looked at the dwarf fully for the first time to see if she was just joking now or being serious. There was no mischief in Pixie's expression, just pure and honest determination.
"Uh...where have you been looking?" Synshlee asked awkwardly, bewildered.
"Warehouses of course! I want a rich man who will bring me and my babies lots of shinies you silly Dusky Lady! That's the best man there is! Forget if he's good looking or smart, so long as he can give me shinies and babies, I'll be a-ok!" Pixie waddled away from Synshlee, making her way back into town. "Oh...I hear there's going to be a group forming in Giran to search the Giant's legacy for treasure...there was talk about hunting down a certain sword...just thought you'd like to know!" Pixie said slyly, a large grin spreading under her beard. She turned away from Synshlee's surprised look and waved as she entered town. "Better hurry if you want to make the last boat!"
Pulling herself from her bewilderment, Synshlee hurriedly made her way to the harbor and got on the boat just as they were drawing the planks in. She found herself a spot towards the back of the boat and sat, watching the ocean. Things had just happened so fast, it took her a moment to grasp everything.
The knowledge of the sword struck some familiarity in her. She knew that was what she was searching for, but for what purpose? It was something important, something that would bring her a justified feeling, but what it was she could not place. Ah well.. she thought, at least I know what I'm looking for now. Satisfied by this, she propped her sword against the side of the boat and leaned her head on the hilt to doze for a few hours before the boat reached Giran.