Adam and Lilith now had one small sack of dragonium, their share of the dragonium that had been retrieved from the Graveyard of Dragons. This left the question of how to turn it into equipment. Fortunately, they were already familiar with one master blacksmith who should be up to the job.
The two of them lingered in Dragonia for a few more hours to see how the new country was faring and to say their goodbyes to those who knew them here. Then they took to the air and flew out from the country altogether.
-ooo-
It took roughly half a day of flight to reach the dwarf city of Vaseram. The sheer speed at which Lilith could now fly was astounding, and it raised an interesting possibility in Adam's mind.
"There must be more lands beyond the sea, lands unknown to the people of this continent," Adam said, while they were still travelling. "We already know about Zipangu, but there must be many more like it. And even on this continent, there are many places that have not been explored. What might we find there?"
"That's definitely an interesting idea," Lilith replied. "But we have a lot to deal with already. Maybe, once everything's settled down, we could just explore the world…"
It was a beautiful dream. However, the odds of the world settling down within their lifetime weren't high. Even with everything that Adam and Lilith had achieved, all of the advantages they had obtained, the world was still a long way from any kind of peace.
Eventually, they spotted Vaseram in the distance and landed nearby. Adam slipped on the demonic energy-suppressing bracelet, and Lilith checked that her disguise spells were still working on both of them. Then they walked towards the city.
On the surface, the entrance to the dwarf city looked the same as before: a cave at the base of a large mountain, with a dwarf guard standing on either side. But when Adam and Lilith approached the guards, they learned of something new.
"You here for new equipment as well?" one guard asked.
"Because if you are, you'd better have brought lots of coin with you," the other guard said. "Prices are sky-high lately."
"Why are prices so high lately?" Adam asked.
"There's hundreds coming from all over, wanting dwarf-made work," the first guard explained. "Apparently, it's because of some disturbance over in Lescatie."
"And a disturbance down in the south as well, along the coast," the second guard added. "From what we hear, they're planning some kind of… crusade against the sea monsters? Not too sure of the details. And there's also… well, you won't believe it until you see it yourselves."
Adam and Lilith maintained calm expressions at this information, but internally they were unnerved. While they originally came here just to have dragonium equipment made for them, now they needed to find out what was happening in the world.
After thanking the guards and entering the cave, they walked for several minutes through a tunnel illuminated by glowing red crystals. They arrived at the massive chamber where the city proper was located.
The first thing they noticed was that there were many more non-dwarves here than last time. Most were human, but there were a few elves as well: long-eared people dressed in lightweight green clothing.
I've only seen an elf once before, and now there's several in one place, Adam thought. They rarely ever leave their isolated forest villages, and in addition to that, they have a historical rivalry with dwarves. Why would there now be several in a dwarf city?
Even now, Adam could see signs of tension between the elves and the dwarves. Despite this, no fights seemed to have broken out yet.
Adam and Lilith continued walking through Vaseram, keeping a slight distance from any of the humans in case they happened to run into one of Adam's old acquaintances. As they walked, they continued to observe and listen.
"Can't you lower the price any more?" a soldier, Lescatian judging from his accent, asked. He was holding up a sword. "This is essential for the task of protecting the world from monsters."
"If monsters actually attack Vaseram, then I'll lower my prices for anyone who can take up my weapons," a dwarf merchant grumbled in response. "Until then, you pay up or leave!"
"What weapons and armour would be suitable for fighting underwater?" a male warrior in plate armour asked.
"How would I know?" a different dwarf merchant replied. "Wouldn't it be better to not fight there in the first place? If humans—or dwarves, or elves—were meant to do things underwater, you'd have fins and gills."
"This is all that I require," an elf said brusquely, while holding a bundle of daggers in one hand and passing over some coins with the other hand. "This will likely be our first and last transaction."
"Something lucky for both of us," a third dwarf merchant said, shooting a dirty look at the elf. "Hope you never have to leave your precious trees again."
When the elf finished her purchase of daggers and began walking away, Adam decided to try approaching her for information. He asked, "Excuse me, but may I ask why—"
"My affairs are none of your concern," the elf interrupted. "Do not harass me or any other elf again."
With that, the elf strode off, soon disappearing into the crowd.
"It's still not clear why there are even elves here, but they're clearly facing some sort of problem that requires weapons to fight," Adam said to his partner.
"And it looks like it's a problem for multiple tribes of elves," Lilith said. "These elves are all acting on their own, and their clothing seems to be in a range of different styles."
After that, the two of them started speaking to the humans and had much more success with this.
"I lost a brother in Lescatie," the Lescatian soldier said. "He was always better than me at fighting, with spears and axes and everything else, but he died while I lived. I… I can't let his death be in vain. I can't just wait in Lescatie and hope for monsters to come to me, I must seek them and destroy them."
"I won't stop you," Adam said, choosing his words carefully. "Still, before trying to upgrade your equipment, you should make sure to find companions you can trust."
"Got it… thank you."
The soldier walked off. He was still on a dangerous path, but hopefully he would be able to find companions who could keep him from growing consumed by revenge.
Next, Adam and Lilith found the warrior who'd been looking for equipment for underwater combat. He was now drinking dwarven ale in a bar, sharing his frustrations with two companions. The group of three was quick to offer up information about events in the south.
"The sea monsters were quiet for a while, but lately they've been much more active!" the warrior exclaimed, slamming his mug of ale down on the table. "It won't be long until they attack!"
"Where have they been seen lately?" Lilith asked. "What are they doing?"
"They've been seen near several of the villages along the south coast," said one of the warrior's companions, a female mage in a purple robe. "They haven't attacked yet, but the villagers are worried and have been calling in people to help."
"What's weird is that they haven't attacked any boats or ships lately," said the other companion, a female archer with a bow slung over her shoulder. "They used to do that all the time… They must be up to something lately!"
"That's for certain," Adam said. To better fit in, he picked up his mug of ale and took a sip from it. "Come to think of it, when was the last time they attacked humans, in any way?"
That caused the trio to hesitate. Eventually, the warrior said, "That actually hasn't happened for months now. One theory that's been going around is that the sea monsters have mostly withdrawn into the depths, waiting for their time to strike. But we mustn't let down our guard! We must prepare so that we can stop them, and hopefully crush them in their lairs."
After a few more minutes of conversation, Adam and Lilith had learned all that they could from this trio. They left the bar and continued exploring the city, now with doubts in their hearts.
The monsters of the south sea were clearly keeping their promise to not attack humans. However, the humans in the area wouldn't simply forget generations upon generations of hostility with monsters.
There's not much we can do at this point. Perhaps if there are no attacks for decades, then the new generations of humans will stop thinking of monsters as implacably hostile. But that's dependent on humans not attacking the monsters of their own accord.
Fortunately, there was no chance of the humans actually being able to attack the sea monsters in their homes. Adam and Lilith had faced great difficulty in finding out how to operate underwater, with Poseidon's charms being the only thing that allowed them to do so. With Poseidon favouring human-monster coexistence, any crusade against the sea monsters would be doomed to failure.
So for now, Adam and Lilith decided to leave this issue alone as a low priority.
While walking through one street, a middle-aged axeman approached the two of them. "Hey, you two look like you might know your way around here," he said. "See, I'm not here for dwarf products like everyone else is. I'm actually looking to recruit a dwarf warrior. You know where I might find any of those?"
During their previous visit to this city, Adam and Lilith had in fact been to a training yard used by dwarf warriors. They therefore agreed to guide the axeman.
"Thanks for this," the axeman said as they began walking. "I'd have asked the dwarves, but… as you can see… they're busy dealing with all the recent visitors. I figured that I'd have a better chance of recruiting a dwarf if I didn't annoy the dwarves here with more questions."
"That seems sensible," Adam said.
The three of them walked through Vaseram, engaged in light conversation. The axeman introduced himself as Vargan and revealed that he was from Valeria, the town near the forest where Adam and Lilith had first met. However, he'd left Valeria long before either of them arrived there. He was currently a mercenary who escorted travelling merchants, and had arrived at Vaseram escorting one such group. However, recent events like the assault on Lescatie were making everyone nervous, so Vargan's employers had asked him to find more mercenaries to guarantee their safety.
"It's a tricky situation right now," Vargan said. "In times of unrest, there's more work for mercenaries like me… but everything also gets more expensive and there's a foul mood wherever you look. I actually hope that things settle down soon."
"Definitely," Lilith said. "We faced a lot of trouble before coming here. It would be better for everyone if there was no more need to fight."
"And those elves are no different, they're having problems as well," Vargan continued. He pointed at one nearby elf, who was haggling with a dwarf merchant. "They don't tell anyone else about it, but I actually overheard a couple of elves talking before. They let slip that monsters are attacking their forest."
That was certainly what Adam and Lilith had been expecting. "Did they mention any further details?" Adam asked.
"They didn't talk for long, but they did mention 'vermin' and… 'kitinous beasts'?" Vargan replied. "Not sure what they meant…"
"They must have been talking about insect monsters," Lilith said. "Chitin is what insects are covered in."
"Then I definitely see why those elves need help," Vargan said, grimacing. "Insect monsters are always a pain to fight, they don't seem to care about pain and whenever you kill one, three more crawl out of the ground."
At this moment, they came to the training yard, so they parted with Vargan. The axeman approached some of the dwarves and began speaking to them.
Now, Adam and Lilith had learned what they wanted to know. They still needed to fulfil their original goal, so they headed for the deepest part of Vaseram. This place was still as they remembered it, with narrow streets and few dwarves out and about.
They arrived at the home of Kalk, the elderly dwarf blacksmith, and knocked on the door. A few moments later, the door opened.
"Hrmph, it's you two again," Kalk said. He eyed the sack of dragonium that was being held in Adam's hand. "Come inside."
Adam and Lilith stepped inside Kalk's dimly lit home. Like in their previous visit, Kalk lit up a crystal to make the place somewhat more hospitable.
"I've been getting too many visits lately," Kalk grumbled. "Not only have you come here twice, but she also came here a while ago."
"Who are you talking about?" Adam asked, setting down the sack of dragonium on a bench.
"You're a human hero, aren't you?" Kalk said, taking out a crystal of dragonium and inspecting it. "Then you've definitely heard of her before. But more importantly, just where did you find dragonium? I've only ever heard legends about dragonium equipment before…"
"We found it in the Dragai Empire to the north—though they've just gone through a revolution and are calling themselves 'Dragonia' now," Lilith explained. "But who were you talking about again?"
"Ah, the other person who's come here lately is one of those heroes that killed a Demon Lord," Kalk said, still paying more attention to the dragonium than to his visitors. "Justinia. Now, while I haven't worked with dragonium before—"
Adam froze on the spot and a chill ran down his spine. He shared a glance with Lilith, who had a similar reaction.
"—I should still be able to work it," Kalk said. "Just give me time and—wait, what's wrong?"
Adam took a deep breath. "Kalk, please listen carefully," he said. "We… have something important we must tell you."
"It sounds unbelievable, but we swear that we are telling the truth," Lilith said.
Over the next few minutes, Adam and Lilith explained everything that they knew of Lilith. The explanation caused Kalk to initially freeze in place, his mouth gaping open. Then he began asking question after question about what Justinia looked like, how she spoke, how she acted. Then he sat down and started trembling in place, but when Adam and Lilith asked if he needed to rest, he demanded that they continue until they tell him everything.
"We know this must be a terrible revelation for you," Adam said. "But we…"
"…think you have a right to know," Lilith finished.
Kalk stood up and slowly walked over to a nearby bench, where he picked up a flask that stunk of alcohol.
"Kalk—" Adam began.
"If you stop me, I'll punch you even if it breaks my fist," Kalk said. He took a long swig from the flask. "I need this in me if I'm to stay sane."
Kalk continued to drink until he'd completely emptied the flask. Then he tossed it aside and stared off into the distance.
"It was more than thirty years ago," he murmured slowly. "Back then… I was still working as a regular blacksmith. She came into Vaseram with her sword and armour, made from adamantite… and none of the other blacksmiths were able to repair it properly. Then it was my turn to try… and by some miracle, I did it. I succeeded where everyone else failed."
Kalk looked forlornly at his empty flask. He then looked at the back of his home, presumably where more alcohol was stored. But Adam positioned himself in between there and Kalk to prevent the dwarf from drinking himself senseless.
"What happened after that?" Adam asked.
"Then… Then she came back a few times," Kalk continued. "Not often, it was every five or ten years. She didn't tell me much about what she was doing, but it was obvious she was fighting tough enemies, otherwise she wouldn't be wearing down her… her gear like that. But I never realised… she was also slaughtering the weak as well."
"Kalk…" Lilith said quietly. "You couldn't have realised what she was doing. And even if you hadn't helped her at all, that wouldn't have stopped her from these massacres."
"But that doesn't change the fact that I've betrayed all blacksmiths!" Kalk shouted, his face crimson-red. "I was taught by my master, just as his master taught him, that a blacksmith must forge things that he can take pride in! And now I… I…"
"You've done nothing wrong whatsoever," Adam said. "In fact, I suspect that even Justinia would say the same thing, if she was here right now. The equipment you repaired for her was, in all likelihood, still used for a hero's original purpose. It would never have been worn down so much otherwise."
Kalk looked at both Adam and Lilith in turn. He then looked at the sack of dragonium, still lying on a nearby bench.
"Alright, stand still," Kalk said abruptly.
"What?"
"Huh?"
Kalk walked over to a cupboard and rummaged around in it. He pulled out a long stick with markings cut into it at regular intervals: a ruler.
"Stand still so I can measure you," Kalk said, already approaching Adam and holding up the ruler to measure the length of Adam's forearm. "You want me to make you armour, right?"
"Yes, but you've just… you've just learned of something traumatic," Adam protested.
Lilith was of a similar mind. "You need to rest first—"
"I need to make something new or I won't be able to live with myself," Kalk said. "So I'm going to take these crystals and make armour for you."
It was clear that the dwarf wouldn't budge on this. He spent several minutes taking measurements from Adam and Lilith, then forced them out of his home so they wouldn't "get in his way". The door slammed shut behind them.
"Is he… Will Kalk really be alright on his own?" Adam asked.
"From what I can sense, he's miserable—obviously—but he doesn't seem like he'll hurt himself," Lilith replied. "It seems like he's the type who channels his misery into his work."
"We'll have to trust that he can take care of himself," Adam said. "For the next three days, let's try to find out more about current events…"
-ooo-
On the first day, they found an entire group of soldiers from Lescatie. These explained that there was now a succession crisis due to the death of their Prince Noctis, with the prince's two younger siblings now jockeying for an attempt to become heir to the king. Many of the nobles and heroes were picking sides with one or the other, resulting in a chaotic mess that might potentially lead to open conflict.
On the second day, they tried approaching some of the elves for information, but were rebuffed by all. They therefore turned their attention to a new group of humans that arrived this day.
On the third day, one of the elves from before actually approached Adam and Lilith. He led them to an alley and while he didn't stay for long, he nevertheless revealed more important information.
"Right now, we are desperate," the elf said. "It is a painful thing to admit, but it cannot be hidden, not when many of my kind are leaving our home in search of assistance."
"Just how great is the scale of the threat?" Adam asked.
"Seven different villages within the Forest of Eldraine are under attack," the elf said. "And they are under attack by seemingly infinite numbers of vermin. Our weapons and spells are… insufficient to stop them. It's made trade among our villages all but impossible. Only experienced hunters and warriors, like myself, can sneak past the hordes to find assistance… even if it means considering the products of dwarves."
The Forest of Eldraine was a large expanse of dense forest near the centre of the continent. It was one of the few places where elves were known to reside, but that was practically all that was known about it, as the elves refused access to any outsiders. It wasn't surprising that they were now under attack from such a large horde of monsters and barely anyone else knew about it.
"Have you thought about asking for any help beyond just buying more weapons?" Lilith asked.
The elf hesitated for a few seconds, but then he shook his head firmly. "No," he said. "We will drive out this infestation on our own, otherwise we could not rightfully call ourselves the guardians of the forest. Even now, we will not permit any outsiders to enter."
"Then why did you tell us this in the first place?" Adam asked.
"I wished… I wished to let someone, anyone, know about our plight," the elf admitted while averting his gaze. "At the very least… if we should fall, then I hope that others will not be caught off guard by the vermin hordes."
The elf walked away at that point, not responding to any further questions.
Still, it seems like some elves, at least, care about the outside world, Adam thought. If only they weren't so stubbornly isolationist…
-ooo-
Eventually, they returned to Kalk's home to pick up their new armour. When they arrived, they could hear the sound of hammering even from out in the street. And when they knocked on the door, Kalk simply shouted "Come in, I'm almost done!"
Inside, Kalk was busy at an anvil, hammering a dragonium breastplate. Despite being made from a crystalline material, this breastplate now had a distinctive metallic sheen and was bending under the blows of Kalk's hammer. It still retained the golden colour of dragonium, however. On a bench were other pieces of dragonium equipment.
"And… done!" Kalk said, bringing his hammer down one more time. "Alright, here you go. Try 'em on now, these should fit you perfectly."
Adam and Lilith put on the new sets of armour, the former having to removing his existing armour first.
This orichalcum armour has served me very well, ever since I found it in that Pyramid… But now that I face foes like Justinia, it's no longer sufficient.
Adam outfitted himself in a set of plate armour styled much like his previous one. It left almost no gaps, with the biggest gap being around the face, but that would give him unrestricted vision, hearing and breathing. The rest of his body was enclosed in solid plates of dragonium that fit snugly. And when he flexed his limbs, he didn't feel any hindrance to his movement.
Meanwhile, Lilith was now wearing a lighter suit of plate armour that focused more on mobility and concealability. The back was left open entirely to allow room for Lilith's wings, and her horns in succubus form meant she couldn't wear a helm. Still, she would be much better protected than before, and Adam would definitely be able to sleep more easily thanks to that fact.
"This shouldn't interfere with any casting of magic, for both of you," Kalk said. "Now… go out there and put this armour to good use."
"Thank you," Adam said. He looked wordlessly at Lilith and she gave a small nod, so he reached into his coin-purse and took out a large handful of coins. "Here, your payment for this excellent work."
Kalk tried to push away the coins. "Hey, I told you this last time, I don't need—"
"If you can be stubborn and work when we tell you not to, then we can be stubborn as well," Lilith said. She took out her own handful of coins and set it down on a bench.
"Why not find Balin and treat him to a meal together?" Adam said. "We haven't seen him but he must be busy lately, with so many visitors to Vaseram."
"That'd only make both of us want to murder the other!" Kalk shouted. "Take your money and get out!"
Adam and Lilith followed the second instruction, but not the first. Before stepping out the door, Adam added, "Ignore the money if you wish, but please meet with Balin, or anyone else you know. You shouldn't stay alone here, not after what you've just learned."
"Get out," Kalk said, though with less bite in his voice than before.
With that, Adam and Lilith left Kalk's home. They took out travelling cloaks from a bag and put them on to cover their distinctive new armour, then they began heading toward the exit of Vaseram.
"Do you think he'll be alright?" Adam asked. "I'm not certain if channelling his misery into work will truly help, after that revelation we dropped on him."
"Hopefully he should be alright," Lilith said. "But just in case, let's find Balin and make sure he approaches Kalk on his own."
The two of them walked through the streets of Vaseram until they found Balin's stall in the market. Upon learning the situation, the dwarf merchant immediately swore that he'd talk to his old master and prevent the latter from doing something foolish.
After that, there was the question of where to go next. The south coast was currently the site of an attempted crusade against the sea monsters, but this was tremendously unlikely to succeed. Lescatie was suffering the consequences of the baphomet's previous assault, including a succession crisis. And then there were the insect monster attacks on the elves in the Forest of Eldraine.
It didn't take long for the two of them to decide on helping the elves. No matter how much they insisted on handling this problem themselves, if they were desperate enough to seek out dwarf weapons… they clearly needed help.
AN: The name 'Eldraine' comes from the Magic: The Gathering setting. I thought it would make a good name for a forest of elves. I also decided on using an original location for the next story arc since it reduces the need to be consistent with canon, compared to using a canon location.