Rise of the Living Forge

Arwin and Lillia stared at Wallace in the very same disbelief that he was observing them with. The dwarf’s revelation was like a punch to the gut. Of everything he could have said, Arwin hadn’t expected him to reveal something with nearly as much weight as his and Lillia’s identities.

“You… sold to demons?” Lillia asked. “I thought dwarves were allied with humans!”

“You used demons as an example of all that’s evil in the world!” Arwin added, his eyes narrowing. “How could you do that when you’ve literally worked with them! You know what they are! They’re just like us!”

“Says the fucking Hero,” Wallace said through a bark of gruff laughter. “You killed more of them than anyone else, and you should be among the ranks of those dead. How in the Earth Father’s name are you alive? And with the Demon Queen at that! How did any of this come to be?”

“Our questions first,” Lillia said firmly. “You’ve got no more reason to suspect Arwin now, do you? After all, by your own words, you’ve fought against demons before. You’re no more innocent than he is.”

“Not every demon is innocent,” Wallace countered. “Just like not every human is. Your society is no better than any other.”

“I never claimed otherwise,” Lillia replied. “But if I was able to forgive Arwin for what he’s done, then it’s time to put your ego back in your pants and admit you were wrong. Nobody has any right to feel more wronged by Arwin than I, and I hold none of his actions against him. You. Weren’t. There.”

For several seconds, none of them spoke. Then Wallace’s shoulders sank.

He blew out a long breath and averted his gaze. “I was not. If there’s anyone who could justify the weight of blood they carry, it’s the Hero. You are correct, Lillia. I owe you both an apology. I was hasty in my judgement. In no world could I have predicted I would be training the Hero in Dwarven Smithing.”

“Former Hero,” Arwin corrected. “And you didn’t actually do anything, so I don’t think we can complain too much. We’d have had a bigger problem if you’d actually started swinging. Now, can we get back to the part where you were outfitting demons?”

“Earth Father, give me a break.” Wallace massaged his forehead. He flopped down on the ground, propping himself up with his arms as he stared at the ceiling. “Give me a damned second to process, would you? I’m standin’ before the damnable Demon Queen and the Hero in a cursed smithy that wants to rip me heart out. Do you understand how wrong this is?”

“You’ll get over it,” Lillia said.

“The Infernal Armory wants to kill you?” Arwin asked.

“Yes,” Wallace muttered.

“Whose question were you answering?” Lillia asked. “Because I don’t really care if you agreed with mine, but the second one—”

“Both,” Wallace said through a sigh. He squinted at Lillia. “You sure know how to hold a grudge, don’t you?”

“I know how to do a whole lot more than hold a grudge. Start talking if you ever want to step foot in my tavern again. You should be glad I value my cooking too much to do anything to it, or there’s a good chance you wouldn’t survive your next meal.”

“You really are the Demon Queen. Protective and loyal to her people like no other,” the dwarf said with a shake of his head. “Yes, I’ve sold to demons. I’ve had to hide it. If people found out, the Kingdom of Lian would have me killed. The Dwarven Council would too.”

“It isn’t all dwarves selling to the demons?” Lillia blinked. “It’s just you?”

“I’m sure there are more,” Wallace replied with a small shrug. “I’ve seen demons show up with gear of dwarven craftsmanship I didn’t make. Some of us know they’re no different than humans, but it’s precious few. Admitting it aloud is the same thing as strapping yerself down asking the Earth Father to plop a volcano beneath your arse.”

That didn’t surprise Arwin at all. If someone had openly admitted that they were working with demons, the Adventurer’s Guild would have put a bounty on their head on the spot. It was the same as signing your own death warrant.

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He wasn’t sure if he was relieved or disappointed to hear that the dwarves weren’t any different. If they’d been straddling the middle of the line and selling en masse to the demons, then that would have strong implied Wallace and every other dwarf in existence were collaborating with the Guild to keep the war going.

“Why did you sell to the demons?” Lillia asked, her voice flat as she came to the same conclusion as Arwin. If Wallace was selling to demons, there was a chance he was working together with the guild to profit from the war.

“Because I found out they ain’t any different from the lot of us. Few years ago, I got a bit overambitious in a battle,” Wallace said, rubbing the bridge of his nose and shaking his head. “Wasn’t even meant to be in battle in the first place. I was selling my goods out of a border town and supplying the Guild’s forces, but they got overwhelmed. The entire town was a battlefield in minutes. Got myself knocked out. Don’t even remember how. But, when I came to, there was a demon above me. We just looked at each other for a minute. He could tell I wasn’t a warrior. I didn’t have an Adventurer’s Guild crest on me. He pulled me to my feet and left. Guild rolled up a few hours later to retake the town. I was still starin’ off in the direction he’d gone. Couldn’t believe it. Ended up going on a trip into demon territory a few months later to figure shit out for myself. The rest is just the past.”

That felt like a bit of an oversimplification, but Arwin and Lillia exchanged a glance. A weight lifted off Arwin’s shoulders. The dwarf was gruff and without doubt an asshole, but he wasn’t evil. He was trying to do the best he could while covering his ass, and possibly more importantly, he wasn’t working with the guild.

“You’re summarizing a whole lot with ‘just the past’. That feels like it could be important information,” Lillia said, breaking the silence that had been their thoughts.

“It ain’t anywhere near as interesting as the story I suspect you lot have,” Wallace said, crossing his arms in front of his chest. It was a bit rude but given his height and that he was sitting on the ground, the dwarf strongly resembled a petulant child. Arwin was forced to bite back a laugh.

“I’m not so sure I trust you with it,” Lillia said. “You already got the part you needed to know, didn’t you? Arwin is the Hero. All the blood you claim to see on his hands doesn’t actually belong to him. He was just the sword, not the hand that held it. Why do we need to explain any more and put ourselves at risk?”

Wallace pushed up with a grunt. He rose to his feet and brushed himself off, then straightened his armor and pressed his lips thin. “You don’t. I’ll put my beer on the table. As of now, Arwin has passed my exam. When the Dwarven Council comes knocking, I’ll be telling them we have a new trainee. It’s up to Arwin on if he continues his tutelage under me or if he sets out to find that knowledge somewhere else — and I won’t be telling them a word about who he used to be. Something tells me you’ve been keeping that secret for a reason.”

“We both appreciate that,” Arwin said. “And there’s a very damn good reason for it. I don’t like being called a murderer, but I know how you could have come to the conclusion and I don’t hold it against you.”

Lillia inclined her head slightly. “That’s better. But I still haven’t heard a full proper apology.”

Wallace glared at her. Lillia held the dwarf’s gaze and he groaned, shifting his weight uncomfortably. “Damn it. We don’t like apologies much.”

“Good. They’re not meant to be comfortable. That’s how you know you mean it.”

“Earth Father — oh, fine.” Wallace ran his hands through his hair and looked over to Arwin. “I apologize for not trusting my instincts more and accusing you of… well, everything. And to Lillia, I apologize for threatening ‘yer friend and tricking you out of the final exam. Tradition it may be, but I could have handled it better.”

Lillia smiled. “Accepted. Also, Arwin’s more than just a friend, thank you very much.”

Wallace started to nod. Then he paused. He looked from Lillia to Arwin, then choked on his own saliva and doubled over, coughing into his fist. The dwarf gathered himself and stared in shock. “Wait. I thought you’d just gotten real close. You’re saying —”

“Yes. I trust you don’t have any issues with that? Not that I would particularly care if you did.”

“The Demon Queen and the Hero,” Wallace muttered to himself staring down at his hands and flexing his fingers as if to make sure he still had all ten of them. “Who would have thought. I can’t tell if that ain’t right or if it’s too right. All that animosity has to go somewhere. I wonder… no. You aren’t going to distract me like that.”

“Distract? I was not attempting to distract you from anything.” Lillia snorted. “If I was, I’d just mention that there’s still some food and drink left over from dinner that’s going cold.”

Wallace hesitated. Then his eyes narrowed. “That isn’t going to work.”

“Work for what? We don’t owe you anything. You just made that clear,” Lillia pointed out.

The dwarf inclined his head. “You’re right. You don’t need to do anything more. If you’ve accepted my apology, then we’ve balanced the scales, but I’m still going to ask for the rest of the story. Not because you need to tell me, but because I want to know.”

Lillia pursed her lips. She exchanged a look with Arwin, who inclined his head slightly.

“He already has the dangerous part. Might as well give him the rest so he knows why,” Arwin said with a small shrug. “At the very least, it’ll make sure he knows why we can’t have him going around and sharing the truth with everyone else he meets.”

“Fine. You might want to sit back down,” Lillia said, returning her attention to Wallace and crossing her arms in front of her chest. “Because if you’re still on good terms with the Adventurer’s Guild, you’re not going to like what you’re about to hear.”