The dwarf sat at her desk behind the counter admiring the
oblong piece of steel about the size of a tower shield. The mold had set the
metal perfectly and it was just the right size and shape to fit her needs.
Although the steel had the durability she would need – especially infused with
her magic – it still wasn’t quite ready to fulfil the customer’s requirements.
The second part of the process would have to start once the piece had a chance
to settle.
The old dwarf looked up as the bell to her shop rang out. A
young man – obviously an adventurer seeker – pushed into the small armory. Homgrid
studied him as he entered her shop. Looking at the confidence held by her
customer, she remembered her own days of adventuring. She had been away from
her birthplace in the Five Kings Mountains for quite some time when she went on
her first trek, although she was still wide-eyed as she explored the world.
Years of training with musty tomes and minor cantrips had nothing on using
magic to fight monsters. She was eager back then and she could see the
eagerness in the boy’s eyes. She wondered if he would last.
The would-be adventurer – a human by the rounded ears and
height – picked a breastplate and came to haggle over the price. It wasn’t her
best work, but he didn’t know that. She had managed to tie a few minor
enchantments into the armor which is always a major selling point to those who
seek adventure. He wasn’t very good at bargaining so she let the misconception
that all dwarves are stoic and straightforward aid her position. In the end the
boy – because that’s all he was – walked out spending probably a good hundred
gold pieces more than he intended. The snorting squeal said that Jorn
disapproved.
Jorn had been with Homgrid since her days in the Theumanexus
College. Many of the other students choose their familiars because they looked
cool, or made a statement. In Korvosa Imps were popular familiars for the older
students. Homgrid, however, had found herself drawn to the piglet from the
local farm. She probably saved him from becoming someone’s morning bacon but
his constant nagging made her wonder sometimes if he was worth it. He squealed
again, or at least that’s what anyone else would have heard. Homgrid however
understood him loud and clear as he reminded her she might very well be dead
without him. She may not have spoken her thoughts out loud, but he could sense
her general mood as she could his.
Jorn pulled a small basked across the floor that contained a
number of pieces of unrefined gold. He nuzzled against Homgrid’s leg and she
smiled. She could never stay mad at her friend for long. She sorted through the
nuggets of gold looking for just the right pieces. Like her father, and his
father before him Homgrid could substantially sense the purity of a piece of
ore just by its weight and feel. Her father had wanted a son to take on the
family business but Homgrid was his only child.
She and her father never saw eye to eye. Magic wasn’t
something dwarves did according to him. At least not the finger waggling kind
Homgrid had seemed to find an interest in. She wanted to enhance the family
smithy with arcane tools, and magical devices but he would have none of it.
Both of them were stubborn and when he threw her out of the family home, she swore
to never go back. After he died she regretted that decision but even after the
funeral she knew she could never truly return home.
Having picked the nuggets she wanted Homgrid flipped the
sign to “closed” and threw the latch on the front door. Picking up the molded steel
piece she shuffled into the forge room in the back of the store. Jorn pulled
along the other tools she’d need in the basket she designed for him to move
around the shop. He was no longer a piglet, at this point probably about as big
as a good sized dog. He was incredibly helpful to her work even if he didn’t
have hands of his own.
In the forge room she set up her work space and began her
incantations. Crafting had always been in her blood and much of the magic in
her spellbook was used to create or enhance weapons, armor and other objects.
Whereas other students had chosen specialties, forgoing one form of magic or
another to reach greater strength in their chosen field, Homgrid saw no point
in denying herself access to any type of spell. She may not have been the
smartest wizard at the College but she was often the most dedicated.
With her arcane power set into place she went about melting
the gold to a useable consistency. She needed to more than just coat the steel
piece in gold she needed to infuse it with the gold’s very essence. She was
looking for not just the metallic sheen, but a manner in which to grant the
gold the durability of the steel so it would not mar easily. At least not after
she got it into the design she wanted. So with the gold heated to a liquid she
used her unseen magic hand to dip the piece as she released the transmutation
spell she had placed earlier and began casting the protective spell to finish
the job.
During her childhood her parents had brought Homgrid up as a
worshiper of Torag. Her uncle Unthal was a priest of the smith god. The father
of the dwarves always seemed to look favorably on the Oregrinder family smithy
and even Homgrid herself. After years of being separated from her family and
her homelands she lost faith in Torag. She spent much of her time as an adventurer
seeking again the call to the divine. She always felt she had a connection to one
of Golarion’s divine beings, it just took her awhile to find out which.
Homgrid stared at the piece as it began to cool, hanging
from a strong wire like her mother used to hang clothing. The dwarf closed her
eyes a moment visualizing the finished product and then a set of claws popped
from the fingertips of her right hand. Using her talons, she dragged them across
the flat part of the piece that faced her. She drew the gold away from the
surface in place giving it a worn and natural look. When she was done she slid
her golden talons back beneath the weathered flesh of a smith’s hands.
The dwarf smiled and looked over to Jorn. The pig looked up
at the pieces and nodded his agreement. The commission was finished and ready
for installation. Now Homgrid just had to wait for the customer. She’d already
received half payment so it didn’t matter to her how long she waited. But she
told the man she’d have it ready today so she expected she’d see him soon.
Homgrid had been an oddity her whole life no matter where
she went. In her home in the Five Kings Mountains her desire to study the
arcane made her stand out. When she traveled to Korvosa to study at the Theumanexus
College she was the only dwarf to enroll. After a few years on the road when
her eyes turned that golden hue she stood out even amongst the other
treasure-seekers. She never minded being an oddity and that’s what made Kaer
Maga the most logical place to settle. The fact the city sat a top a massive
cliff face and was riddle with tunnels, that reminded her of the home she could
never return to was also a plus.
The bell over the door jingled again and Jorn gave Homgrid
an odd look. They both recalled her throwing the latch but the door opened
quite easily for the newcomer. She made her way to the front of the shop to see
who the intruder was. The man was tall, with pointed ears and slightly upturned
eyes. The elf made his way into the shop the door swinging closed behind him
and the latch being thrown again without him even touching it. When he faced
Homgrid and she saw his golden eyes she recognized her client.
The pale elf with the golden hued eyes walked straight up to
the counter. He grabbed his side and winced a moment before putting his hands
on the counter.
“Is it ready?”
Homgrid smiled, “Precisely as ordered. I think you’ll be
pleased.”
She nodded at Jorn who practically pranced off to the back
room. He may not have had hands but the pig could summon up a little of his own
magic. It would be enough to loosen the pin and catch the piece in his basket. It
wasn’t long before he returned dragging the piece along behind him. Homgrid and
the elf sat in silence waiting.
Even in just glimpsing it in the basket brought a smile to
the customer’s face. When Homgrid hefted it up and handed it to him the stoic
smile spread into a toothy grin. He admired its color and shape, and even
rapped his knuckles against it and nodded in approval of its density.
“I was told you did good work dwarf. Your name has spread
among my kind.”
She let out a pig like snort of her own, “Well I’m sure I
can add you to those who bring praise to my work. Would you like to make sure
it works as promised?”
Not taking his eyes from the golden object he held, the elf
nodded.
Homgrid opened up the flap on the counter allowing the
client to pass behind its sacred barrier. She then led him to the forge room
where she stopped in front of a half empty shelving unit. Jorn poked his little
snout to a space on the base of the shelf and it slid to the side revealing a
staircase that led down.
The stairs had no lights as Homgrid had no need of them
being a dwarf. The elf apparently had a manner of being able to see in the
darkness as well. Poor Jorn had to stick close to the legs of Homgrid, the
passage was pitch black to his eyes. All three managed to make it down the
stairs which opened up into a massive cavern.
“This should be enough space yes?” she asked the elf.
He again nodded.
The elf took the piece and set out to the center of the
arena sized open space. He held it close as if it was a long lost child. Once
in in the middle of the cavern he set down the golden object and held his side
once more. A few moments later his image began to shimmer and a transformation
began. The magic set the room aglow until finally a massive golden dragon took up
a large part of the cave. Homgrid looked over the creature and saw the space on
its left flank where a scale had gone missing.
“It doesn’t look too bad,” she pointed out.
“Maybe to you dwarf but to me it aches. Beyond that even if
it didn’t hurt one could not have its form marred. It just isn't done.”
She recalled the first time she met a dragon. A young copper
one up near the Stroval Plateau. He too was vain about his appearance, more
concerned with her appreciation of his scales than her companions rooting
through the old library in the ruins where he had taken up residence. The great
dragons of Golarion would always fascinate her from that day forward. She would
learn why much later.
“Well, we should get that set in for you then. And there are
still a few enchantments left to add.”
The dragon huffed, a little fire puffing from its nostrils,
“Be about it then dwarf. I trust you know your work better than I.”
Of course she did, and that would be about as close to a
compliment she’d be getting from the gold. Homgrid picked up the piece where it
lay and looked up to where the bare space on the dragon’s side disturbed the
integrity of his scales. She cracked her back and strained her muscles until a
set of large golden wings spread from her shoulder blades. She understood the
golds; their pride was well deserved. But of course she was much like them,
their blood was her blood.
Homgrid flew up until she was hovering where the scale was
missing. She placed the new scale in place feeling it slide into the empty
space perfectly. A gout of fire escaped her lips as she softened the piece just
a little to mold to the more natural shape of the other scales. Once set, she
let loose a final incantation before landing on the floor of the cavern.
“It should be set master dragon, but you should change forms
again to make sure.”
The giant gold’s form began to shimmer once more as it
shrunk back to the form of the pale elf with the golden eyes. He touched his
side and raised a lip in satisfaction.
“I was not led astray smith. It feels just like the
original.”
Homgrid huffed at him, “It should look just like the
original too.”
“Yes, yes. Here is the other half of your payment,” he
handed her a small bag containing a number of very expensive gems.
“I like a man, um dragon, who pays in full. Wouldn’t want to
have to repeat that mess with Jalandrix the Silver.”
“Of course not. We gold’s are always true to our word.”
“Well then master dragon. You can see yourself out.”
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