Riftside - Chapter 58

I pushed open the door to Steel & Scale, my fingers intertwined with Eryn's. The familiar smells of hot metal, leather, and oil greeted us, mixed with the acrid smell from the fire. Ma and Pa sat by the counter, and her head snapped up at our entrance, eyes going wide and she practically vaulted over the counter.

“Ash!” She slammed into me, wrapping her arms around my back. After Roq's healing it didn't bother me anymore, and I was fine to be manhandled by anyone who missed me.

“They sent word you were injured! What happened? Are you all right? Why didn't you—”

“We sent word he was healed and awake, too,” Eryn said, a hint of amusement in her voice.

Ma shot Eryn an apologetic look, running her hands over my arms and chest as if checking for damage.

“Look at you! All pale! Have you eaten? Did they heal you properly? You need rest!”

“Ma, I'm fine.” I caught her hands, squeezing them gently. “Just a bit of a bump. If I'd had Roq in storage, he'd have healed me right up. I only fainted for a little while.” I grinned. “After I woke up I put Roq in my spatial, had a nice nap, and when I woke up again, I was good as new.”

Pa made his way over to us, his limp more pronounced than usual. Had he been working too hard at the forge? Maybe he had to keep his mind off the news. His eyes moved over me, assessing, before he stepped in and wrapped me in a tight embrace.

“Monster balls,” he muttered. “Still can't believe you got this damn big. Feels wrong having to look up at my own son.”

I laughed, squeezing him back as Ma fussed over Eryn next.

“Feels right to me!”

“Oh please,” Roq said from where he hung on my belt. “Can we skip the emotional reunions and get to the part where we tell them about our glorious battles? Maybe ask Ma if she has some pie or apple crumble laying around? Maybe some milk to pour over my glorious head?”

“At the Timberline,” I said. “Promise.”

We settled around the table and Ma brought out cups of water, though I noticed her eyeing the beer barrel.

“So,” Pa leaned forward, “How was it?”

Eryn and I shared a look, then launched into the story. We described the chambers, the twisting tunnels that ran on forever, and the battles. When we got to the Titanfang, Pa's eyes lit up with interest while Ma's face went pale.

“You should have seen it,” I said, gesturing with my hands. “Like a massive snake, but with armor thick as my arm—”

“Your hand,” Eryn interrupted. “Don’t oversell it. Pa will see it soon enough.”

“Fine. But when it moved—”

“Please,” Ma said, waving her hand, “Skip to the part where you killed it.”

We continued through the story, and when I got to the part with the hive mind, Ma stood and moved to the beer barrel, drawing four mugs. Even one for herself. Pa leaned to eye his 'secret' barrel, and its stronger contents, through the door to the smithy, but drank his beer. I figured we’d share a drink once Ma was doing something else.

“So,” Pa said. “We're not just fighting monsters anymore. We're fighting something that's destroyed other worlds, huh? Something intelligent enough to coordinate attacks across all of Noros.” He took a slow sip. “Something that creates monsters faster than we can kill them.”

“So what do we do?” Ma asked. “Against something like this?”

“We get stronger,” I said. “Strong enough to face that thing again. Strong enough to kill it next time we meet. Roq and I have a debt to settle.”

Ma stood suddenly.

“You need food. Real food, not whatever they fed you Riftside.” She moved to the kitchen area. “Can't fight world-eating monsters on an empty stomach. Both of you.”

I couldn't help but smile. Trust Ma to face cosmic horror with cooking.

“I'm glad you are safe,” Ma said as we finished our retelling about the dungeon run, though she had glared at me when Eryn told her of Garret and Finn carrying me out.

“And it sounds like you did good,” Pa added.

“We did. But—” I dropped my voice and told them about my conversation with Edwin, about how the fight was going across Noros.

“Are you supposed to be telling us this?” Ma asked.

I shrugged.

“Don't care. If the guild wants me, they get my family, too. That's not negotiable.”

Pa nodded firmly.

“Damn right.”

As I continued explaining about the coordinated monster attacks, Pa grew more and more agitated. His leg bounced under the table, and his eyes kept darting to my spatial storage tattoo. Eryn and I shared another look, barely containing our grins.

She touched my shoulder.

“Stop torturing your father.”

Pa's face split into a wide grin. 

“You've got to tell me! What did you get? What kind of materials are we going to work with next?”

“Finally!” Roq said. “I thought you'd never get to the good part! Though I notice you left out how amazing we fought the hive mind. Even if it throwing us out of its room is slightly embarrassing.”

“Roq,” I said, trying to get him to focus, “How many gems did we get in total? Between Knut, Eryn, and me?”

“Well, let's see. Out of your twenty slots, Knut's ten, and Eryn's ten, we brought back thirty-five carcasses total, with the rest used to hold equipment, including the completely USELESS mace. Seriously. You should drop it. It's inferior in every way—”

“Please,” I said out loud. Eryn and Pa fought to hide their smiles.

“Fine. Out of those,” Roq paused dramatically. “Twenty-two have mind gems.”

I repeated the numbers and Pa pretended to fall off his chair in shock, sliding to the ground, though I suspected he didn't have to pretend too hard. We were all floored.

“Oh, and don't forget,” Roq added, “Benedict owes us another six carcasses, two of which have gems if you can claim those specific ones.”

Pa lay on the floor, clutching his chest. 

“No more! My heart can't take it!”

“Tell the dramatic old rust bucket his heart is fine. Most likely,” Roq grumbled. “Though I do appreciate the theatrical response. Shows proper appreciation for our accomplishments. You can also add that I look forward to creating many things. Together.”

I relayed his words as Eryn's grin widened.

“And you know that Titanfang we mentioned?” Eryn said.

Pa froze mid-writhe.

“No! I can’t take any more!”

“Edwin claimed it for the guild,” she said, “And brought it back in his spatial storage. Half goes to Ash's party. With Ash and Knut's shares, that means twenty percent of a brand new monster the size of a big house.” Then she grinned. “Twenty-five if we take Benedict's share, which we really should.”

“Sweet mother of monsters,” Pa whispered, staring at the ceiling. “A quarter share of such a carcass. Just imagine all the sets of armor we can make.” Pa shook his head and pushed himself up from the floor, bracing against the table, the grin splitting his weathered face making him look years younger.

“I always knew you'd do well,” he said, voice thick with emotion. “The way you worked in the forge, the dedication you showed, all extraordinary. But this?” He gestured at my wrist. “A fortune in materials and enough gems to get our future daughter-in-law to her breakthrough!”

“Oh please,” Roq complained. “As if your training had anything to do with our success. Though I suppose you did teach him which end of the hammer to hold.”

Eryn's cheeks flushed red as Ma slapped Pa's arm.

“Thomas! Don't embarrass the kids!”

Pa just chuckled, and I couldn't help but laugh and shrug. The thought of Eryn as family felt right, even if we hadn't discussed it yet and it would likely be a while into the future.

The humor faded from Pa's face as he settled back into his chair. Ma's expression shifted to match his as she came to top off our drinks.

“In all seriousness,” Pa said, “This might be exactly what we need. Some breathing room financially.” He took a long drink of the beer and wiped foam on the back of his hand. “Maybe we can finally start putting aside enough coins to pay off House Domitius and get them off our backs before they find another way to try and take the smithy.”

“We'll need to grow faster,” I agreed, meeting Eryn's eyes. She nodded firmly. “Not just for that, but to deal with the monsters. The hive mind.”

Ma stopped stirring her mug, and glanced over at me.

“It's terrifying to think there's something out there actively trying to destroy us. As if mindless monsters weren't bad enough!” She shook her head. “And all on top of those rift rotting greedy nobles.”

“Hah!” Roq said. “Nobles, monsters, hive minds — they're all the same really. Hit them hard enough and they break just like everything else!”

“That's true, Ma,” I said, “But we've got an advantage now. With these materials, Pa can really establish the smithy's reputation. Show everyone what Steel & Scale is capable of. Maybe even rebuild bigger than before and hire a few extra hands. I won’t be able to stay as much home as before now that things have…happened.”

Pa nodded, his expression thoughtful.

“Right. Might need to find some help. Now that you're out hunting monsters all the time, bringing in this many carcasses,” he said, gesturing at my spatial storage. “That right there is more than I can process alone in a few weeks, even a month.”

“What? No! Absolutely not!” Roq protested. “We can't have some random smith touching MY materials! What if they ruin them? What if they waste the precious resources we fought so hard to obtain? What if—”

“Roq. Pa knows what he's doing.”

“But—”

“Are you a masterpiece?”

“Of course I am. What has that got to do with anything?”

“And who made you?”

“Oh.”

“So?”

“Fine.”

The thought of someone else working in our forge did feel strange, but we knew this was coming. While I wouldn't give up my forging, I'd need to split my time, and having help here would allow us to grow stronger faster.

“But they better be good. And they have to appreciate my contribution to their education!”

“We should keep our eyes open,” I said finally. “Look for the right opportunity. See if we can buy some land cheaply and a bunch of steelhusk. Set up properly. Eryn and I can’t keep sleeping with you guys in the same room, now can we?”

Eryn buried her face in her hands as Ma and Pa laughed.

“Very well, son,” Pa said and slapped the table with his open palm. “The moment we clear the debt is when we go big!”

“Speaking of going big. We should probably mention that little issue with my breakthrough.”

I relayed Roq's situation to the others as he kept insisting — how he'd reached one hundred percent experience but couldn't advance. Ma shook her head, focusing on the stew.

“That's rather frustrating,” Pa said, stroking his beard thoughtfully.

“Could it be—” Eryn started, but then shrugged. “No clue. If we need another soul gem, then yeah. Not going to happen.”

“I plan to ask Edwin for help,” I said. “He mentioned his old mentor had a soul weapon.”

Pa nodded and drained his mug.

“What's next? Back to hunting as a group with Knut?”

Eryn and I exchanged a look. We'd discussed this on the walk back from Sentinel Station, planning our next moves.

“We're meeting the group at the Timberline tonight for a celebration,” I said. “I'll see what everyone's thinking, and I have an idea. But we can only take two people with us. Eryn won't be working as a scavenger anymore.”

Eryn sat straighter, her chin lifting.

“I'll be fighting alongside Ash where I belong,” she said proudly, and had every right to be. She’d proven just how capable she was even when unclassed. “All I need is the class gem,” she continued, gesturing at my spatial storage. “And with what we've earned already, maybe that won't take as long as we feared.”

Ma and Pa nodded their approval, though Ma's eyes grew misty as she looked at me.

“I remember when you were just a boy,” she said softly. “Now look at you. All grown up, ready to get married, and even—” Pa laughed, the sound filling the shop.

“A boy? Wasn't long ago he was a level one scavenger! Now he's a big shot adventurer with a soul weapon that cracks anvils!”

I grinned and pulled Eryn closer, warmth spreading through my chest as she leaned her head on my shoulder.

“Couldn't have done it without you guys. This world isn’t kind to people who have no one to rely on, so yeah, this is all of us. Not just me.” 

“Oh, come on!” Roq protested. “What about ME? I helped! I did the actual anvil cracking! This is just—hmm, this is kind of nice. Not that I'm getting emotional or anything. I just appreciate the technical skill required to raise such a fine warrior. That's all. Really.”

Ma set the table and we sat together in comfortable silence, letting the magnitude of everything sink in. The wealth of materials we'd acquired, the revelation of the hive mind, the path ahead of us — it all felt a bit overwhelming, but with them at my side, I didn't worry. Everything felt normal and completely different all at once.

“You know,” Roq said thoughtfully, “I suppose if we must have another smith around, they should at least appreciate the proper application of violence to metalworking. And they absolutely must understand the importance of dramatic flair when—”

“Roq.”

“What? I'm just saying! If we're going to build an empire of the finest weapons and armor Noros has ever seen, we need to maintain certain standards! Speaking of which, when can we start working on those Titanfang plates? I have some ideas about spikes. Lots of spikes.”

Whatever challenges lay ahead, whatever threats we faced, we'd face them together. And maybe with a few more spikes than strictly necessary.