Rise of the Living Forge - Chapters 539-540

Arwin let Caldera lower as he looked upon the results of his work. It would be impossible to tell just how successful he’d been until he installed everything, but as far as he could tell, he’d been successful. The pieces to awaken the Auction House were complete.

He banished his hammer and wiped the sweat from his brow. As far as Arwin could tell, it hadn’t even taken more than an hour or two to complete his task. That wasn’t to say the quality had been impacted in the slightest.

The magical energy swirling within him in wait to be used was proof of that. The Mesh had given him a considerable amount of power for his efforts. It wasn’t quite enough to make him want to rush ahead to using it, but after a few more good creations, he got the feeling that he had another solid upgrade waiting for him.

I suppose we’ll need a name for the Auction House, now. It’ll have to fit the street’s theme.

“It is good. But worse than mine,” the Infernal Armory said.

“Oh?” Arwin asked. “I agree with the first part. But I’d say we did a pretty damn good job.”

“We did,” the Infernal Armory agreed. “But I am perfection. There can be no building greater than the original.”

Calling yourself the original building might be a bit of a stretch, bud. Maybe best to just let that slide, though.

Arwin just chuckled and shook his head. “Make sure to keep these bits out of the way, would you? I’m going to go check on the others. Make sure nothing happened.”

“It has been no more than a few hours,” the Armory said. “What do you possibly think could have happened in such a short amount of time?”

“Call me paranoid if you want,” Arwin said with a shrug. “But I’m going to check anyway. You never know. Besides, it’s good to take breaks between work. We’ve got time to be intentional with the rest of the projects on our plate.”

The Infernal Armory was silent for a moment. Then it made a sound that sounded remarkably similar to someone clearing their throat.

Arwin’s eyes narrowed.

“What are you doing?”

“Something happened,” the Armory admitted. “But there were no injuries. Not, at least, from the Menagerie’s side. The Devil’s Den just informed me.”

Arwin wasn’t sure if he wanted to sigh or laugh. Nobody was hurt. That was the important part. “What was it? Some idiot try to start something in the Den?”

“No,” the Armory replied. “Thane was attacked. Two of the attackers are dead. Thane slaughtered them. The other one is in our custody. In the room that Lillia is pretending is not a torture room.”

Arwin’s amusement drained away in an instant. “Alive?”

“For now,” the Armory replied. “Rodrick is seeing to him. He is… displeased.”

“As am I,” Arwin said, turning on his heel and striding for the door. “I’ll be back. Keep an eye on things.”

***

Arwin stepped into the not-torture room, closing the door behind him with a heavy thud. Esmerelda, Lillia, and Rodrick stood around the not-torture table. Thane hunched a few feet away from them, his features cast in shame.

There was no sign of the man that had attacked Thane.

For that matter, there wasn’t even a single scratch upon Thane. Perhaps Anna had already tended to him. It really didn’t matter. As long as he was safe, everything else was a secondary concern.

“What happened?” Arwin asked.

Rodrick pushed away from the table and turned toward Arwin. Unmistakable anger twisted across his features. It was a controlled rage, the kind that would never push him into making a move he would regret.

Arwin wasn’t actually certain Rodrick was capable of getting angry enough to make mistakes. The Secret Eye’s training had drilled just about all of the impulsiveness out of him.

“Thane was attacked because I wasn’t properly attending to my duties,” Rodrick said.

“That’s not true and you know it,” Esmerelda snapped, rapping Rodrick on the back of his head with her knuckles. “You only just got back. If anything, the rest of us should have picked up the slack when that old bag of a Lich left. But not even I knew how much he was doing. I wonder how many people he’s killed.”

Arwin blinked, his question dying a moment before it could reach his lips as he realized what the others were talking about. Koyu had left to get his class Sunsetted. And, almost immediately afterward, someone had shown up on the street to threaten them.

When we first met Koyu, he was defending the streets and protecting Melissa. Has he been doing that ever since? This whole time?

Arwin’s eyes narrowed. “It doesn’t matter how it happened, and blame certainly isn’t going to solve anything. The Armory told me nobody was hurt. Is that true?”

“Nobody other than the ones that attacked me,” Thane said. He swallowed. It looked like he was still a bit shaken. “Vireth dealt with them.”

“Beat them like a spoiled watermelon, she did,” Esmerelda said with a shake of her head. “That devil is trouble. Bloodthirsty beyond all belief. I’m not shy to admit she knows her way about slaughtering people even better than I do.”

“That really doesn’t mean much,” Thane said with a small laugh. “What do you know about slaughtering people, Esmerelda?”

They all turned to look at him.

Thane blinked. “What?”

“Nothing,” Esmerelda said, turning back to Arwin and giving him a sharp look. “Nothing at all.”

Arwin cleared his throat at the sudden awkward air. “No matter. Where’s the remaining guy? We need to figure out what he was after.”

“Already did,” Lillia replied.

Arwin blinked. “What?”

“The attack was a while ago,” Esmerelda said with a snort. “We dealt with it while you were banging away in your forge.”

“You didn’t get me?”

“Why would we?” Rodrick asked. “You aren’t needed for something at this scale, Arwin. There are better things for you to be doing. And — not to be rude — but do you really think your presence would have changed anything? Are you more adept at interrogating than anyone in this room?”

Arwin glanced from Rodrick to Esmerelda to Lillia.

Then he cleared his throat.

“Fair enough, actually,” Arwin said. “And? What was the result?”

“Inconclusive,” Rodrick said reluctantly. “He didn’t know nearly as much as we would have liked. Someone fiddled with his memories.”

“Fiddled is the wrong word,” Esmerelda said. “They carved the damn things out. Our little fool remembered how to fight and knew his task, but that was just about it. He didn’t remember who gave him his job. Didn’t even remember what he was meant to do after the job was done. All he knew was that he was meant to retrieve someone from the Menagerie.”

“Didn’t matter who, apparently,” Lillia said grimly. “Thane just happened to be the one that found them because they didn’t fit the pattern of the crowd outside.”

That does sound like the kind of thing that would get Thane’s attention.

“Memory magic?” Arwin asked. His brow darkened. “That’s… grim. Not the kind of thing someone uses casually. And probably not the kind that anyone consents to.”

“You’d be surprised with what people consent to,” Esmerelda said. “Especially in the heat of youth and after a few good drinks.”

It was Esmerelda’s turn for everyone to stare at her. She tilted her head to the side.

“What? Don’t look at me like that. I had a wild youth.”

“Thane was just attacked and someone’s memory got torn out of them,” Rodrick said. “Is it really the time?”

“It’s always the time,” Esmerelda replied. “Young folks are always going on about proper this and that. When you get to my age, you’ll realize it’s all a load of shit. Time is what you make of it. That idiot’s brain isn’t getting any less scrambled because I don’t pretend like I give a shit about him. And don’t act like you care yourself.”

Lillia frowned. “I—”

“Don’t you start on me.” Esmerelda jabbed a finger in Lillia’s direction. “You’d turn him into a hamburger. And you know damn well I’d eat that burger and like it. Because I know what I like. And I know who I care about. A fool willing to let his brain get scooped out for a few shiny coins isn’t one of them.”

With that, Esmerelda stormed past them and out the door, slamming it shut behind her.

Everyone stared at it in silence for a long moment.

“I was going to agree with her,” Lillia muttered.

“She’s mad,” Rodrick said. He glanced at Thane, but looked away before the boy could notice his attention. “Angrier than I’ve ever seen her. Not sure I can say I’m surprised. I’m going to look into this. Don’t worry. A complete lack of info is more to work with than you might expect. Nobody can escape my eye forever.”

“That, I don’t doubt,” Arwin said. He blew out a slow breath. Esmerelda’s anger wasn’t foreign to him. They’d come too close to losing another member. Well — he supposed they really hadn’t. Vireth was clearly a hell of a lot stronger than he’d initially thought. But it felt like they had.

And that was enough.

“I’m sorry for causing all of this,” Thane said. “I should have found someone.”

“Don’t apologize for getting attacked,” Arwin said. “Just find someone next time. You were the victim.”

“Actually, I’m pretty sure the dead guys were,” Thane said. The black blade at his side shuddered. It seemed Vireth agreed with him.

“Better them than you,” Arwin said. “But maybe be a bit careful for the time being. If someone was bold enough to try to kidnap you in broad daylight, there’s no guarantee it won’t happen again. At least until Koyu is back… we need to keep our eyes out.”

“Yeah,” Thane said with a nod. “I’ll be careful.”

Something tells me he might be at less risk than a number of the other members of the Menagerie. Anna needs someone keeping an eye on her.

“Good,” Arwin said. He glanced to Rodrick. “So there’s nothing we can do right now?”

“Nothing you can do,” Rodrick corrected. “This is the time to take advantage of our enemy’s confusion. And I will. You need to continue acting as normal. There is a high likelyhood this has something to do with the Auction House. Continuing our progress there will lure them out… but next time, we will be properly prepared.”

“When?” Lillia asked. “Do you need time to prepare?”

“No,” Rodrick replied. “I was unprepared the last time. That has already been rectified. I won’t be caught off guard again.”

“Then I think I can do just what you asked,” Arwin said. “The parts to awaken the Auction House are finished. I’m ready to begin.”

They all exchanged a glance.

Then Rodrick smiled. “Then do it. Let’s see if laying the cheese can draw out our rat.”

Chapter 540

The Menagerie waited until evening had fallen to act. As much as they wanted to keep things moving, awakening a building while their street was stuffed chock full of adventurers was just asking for something to go wrong. There were too many ways that a fight could accidentally go sideways and drag their customers into it.

That was the last thing any of them wanted, and the wait wasn’t all that long anyway. It only took a few more hours before day passed and night took its place. Arwin and Lillia headed out of the Devil’s Den and into the street.

There were still a few people milling around, but the Devil’s Den had closed its doors and there was little reason for most of them to remain. Nobody paid them any excess attention on their way over to the newly built Auction House.

Arwin had to admit that the building was pretty impressive. He’d never properly stopped to take a look at it, but Ridley had outdone himself. It was one of the largest on the street, built entirely from stone in a shape clearly inspired by an arena more than a typical house.

It was circular, two stories high, with looming carvings running all along the outsides of its walls. They framed a grand entrance with two huge wooden double doors trimmed in glossy silver metal.

Olive, who had accompanied them from the Devil’s Den, pushed the doors open. They swung inward without so much as a sound to reveal the interior of the building. It was every bit as impressive as its outside.

Ripley hadn’t just built upward. He’d dug down. The Auction House was actually closer to three stories, with the third being a hollowed out basement. The auction platform was centered in its middle upon a raised shelf that could be easily seen from the stone seats ringing every level of the large building.

The ceiling was largely open to the night sky above, though the top levels of the Auction House bore larger sections with raised walls that blocked anyone in the lower levels from seeing who sat above them. Even looking at the raised sections directly across the building proved fruitless — the walls prevented Arwin from seeing anyone but the tallest of individuals.

Rows ran throughout the seats to allow people to walk without stumbling over each other’s legs. Off to the side, there was an open doorway that led underground. It presumably led down to the lower sections of the auction house as well as provided a way for the auctioneer to make their way onto the stage.

It was clear that quite a bit of thought had gone into the design of the building. Arwin couldn’t help but be impressed. Ridley must have been exceptionally bored. He hadn’t gone anywhere near this hard on the other buildings he’d made for them.

“Whoa,” Olive muttered. “This is… a lot more than I was expecting.”

“I think we might need to give Ridley a raise,” Lillia agreed. She shook her head. “But now isn’t the time to think about that. Let’s get these installed. Down we go.”

Arwin nodded. The three of them made their way into the darkness, bearing the Dungeon Heart’s components that Arwin had finished creating in the Armory several hours ago.

The passageway wound off to the side almost immediately. It split into a fork, one section blocked with a barred door while the other turned toward the seats ringing the stage. Lillia’s tail slipped into her pocket and pulled out a small key, proffering it to Olive.

Olive took the key and slid it into the door, opening it with a soft click before handing the key back to Lillia.

“You can do that?” Arwin asked. “I didn’t realize your tail was that… appendage-y.”

Lillia arched an eyebrow at him. The corner of her lip twitched in amusement. Then she continued into the darkness without a word. After a moment, Arwin and Olive followed after her.

It didn’t take them long to arrive in a small room. A ladder in its center led up to the raised stage above, blocked off by a closed trapdoor. The three of them exchanged a glance.

“This seems as good a place as any,” Lillia said. “Unless you’ve got a better location for it?”

“No,” Arwin said. “This should be good. It’s out of the way, and the only other options would be making a whole new room or sticking it in one of the VIP platforms. I think this seems fine. Let’s set it up.”

The three of them set about arranging the pieces. It filled Arwin with an odd sense of familiarity. It really didn’t feel like it had been all that long since he’d been doing this for the Devil’s Den and the Infernal Armory.

“Do you think Madiv needs to be here for when it starts up?” Lillia asked.

“No,” Arwin replied. “I’ve got him built into the system. Shouldn’t be a problem at all. His hair is in there. He already knows what we’re doing and what this involves, so there’s no reason to spoil the surprise any further.”

Lillia nodded her understanding. She slotted the chewing mechanism into the storage vat that would reduce the materials they fed it into magical energy. The two pieces clicked together with a loud snap.

Arwin scanned over them once more, but there was little to find. Their status had already concealed itself — he’d taken a few extra measures to make sure nobody would be able to figure out how the Auciton House functioned. A lot more people would be passing close to this Dungeon Heart than the ones in the Devil’s Den and Infernal Armory.

All that remained was to put the Dungeon Heart’s housing into its proper position.

“Everyone ready?” Arwin asked.

Lillia and Olive nodded.

“Rodrick has everyone else looking out for interference,” Olive said. “Nobody’s going to get the jump on us.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about,” Arwin said with a dry chuckle. “Just be ready. The Infernal Armory definitely has an… attitude. I don’t know if the same will occur with the Auction House. Oh! We should definitely have a name for the building before we awaken it.”

“Housey?” Olive offered.

“No,” Lillia and Arwin said in unison.

“It wasn’t that bad,” Olive grumbled.

“Something that fits the theme,” Lillia said with a shake of her head. “Housey is not intimidating.”

Olive opened her mouth.

Arwin shot her a look. “If the next words out of your mouth are anything adjacent to ‘scary housey’, don’t say them.”

Olive cleared her throat. “No comment. If you want something so scary, why not call it a graveyard or something?”

“That doesn’t exactly inspire the idea of finding rare or expensive items,” Lillia drawled.

“It does if you rob the graves.”

Arwin scratched the side of his neck. “To be honest, it’s a pretty cool name. Not that I’m sure encouraging the idea of robbing us is the best.”

“It’s figuratively robbing,” Olive said, as her eyes lit up. “Anyone who shops here is practically robbing us because of the great deals we offer!”

Arwin blinked. He and Lillia exchanged a glance.

“That’s actually a pretty good slogan,” Lillia admitted.

“What about The Coffin?” Arwin offered. “Since Madiv is a vampire and all that. It’ll play into the joke and people will think he’s just dressing for the theme. Just like Lillia.”

“I like it,” Olive said with a grin.

“So do I,” Lillia said. She grinned. “And Madiv will love it as well. Then I suppose it’s settled. The Coffin it is.”

Arwin nodded. “The Coffin. I’m going to put the Dungeon Heart in, then. Nothing should happen until Lillia feeds it, though. You have the food?”

“Yeah,” Lillia said, pulling a large chicken drumstick wrapped in cloth. “Not really the most elegant way of bringing it over, but it’s leftovers. Should do the trick just right. I filled this with a lot of magical energy.”

Ariwn nodded. Then, without any more delay, he slotted the final piece of the mechanism into place. The housing holding the Dungeon Heart slid home with a final thunk. All three pieces shuddered as magic arced between them.

And then the building was silent once more.

“Now?” Lillia asked after a moment had passed.

“Now,” Arwin said.

She tossed the drumstick, cloth and all, into the mechanized mouth. The gears whirred to life in an instant, bearing down on the chunk of meat and tearing it to pieces in an instant. Loud cracks rang out as the bone snapped beneath the teeth of the mechanism.

Then it stopped moving.  

The chunks of meat vanished into the churning metal teeth. There was a long moment of silence. The three of them stood in anticipation, waiting for something to happen. Olive shifted from one foot to the other.

A faint tremor ran through the floor beneath them. It vanished as quickly as it had come, and the silence returned.

“Is… that it?” Olive asked hesitantly.

Arwin frowned. The Infernal Armory had definitely had much more of an… intense awakening than this. He was pretty sure he hadn’t made any mistakes while creating the Heart’s housing, though.

Everything should have worked. The maw had activated and consumed the power from Lillia’s food, after all.

“That’s odd,” Arwin said. “Maybe it needs a bit more energy? Are you sure there was enough in that?”

“Yeah,” Lillia said. “There should have been. I suppose I can go get—”

The floor bucked beneath them.

Arwin stumbled as a wave of brick rolled beneath his feet, passing thorugh the room and nearly knocking all three of them over before it carried up into the walls and throughout the rest of the Auction House.

A thick wave of magic slammed into Arwin with such force that it nearly choked the breath from his lungs.

And then, with a roar like a waking dragon, the Coffin rumbled to life.