Waking up in the morning, I note that Colt must have already woken up, as the bed we share is empty. Taking a few minutes to build up the motivation to leave the warm, comfortable bed, I get up and get dressed. Ilmarinen is up already as well, I can hear the clang of hammer on metal from the main room.

When I walk out, still half asleep, I notice that Colt isn’t in the main room. “Ilmarinen, do you know where Colt is?” He turns to me, clearly somewhat annoyed by the interruption of his work.

“Yer friend left earlier this mornin’, he said he’d be back later.”

Later, how helpful. “That’s fine then, I’ll just get something for breakfast myself.” He nods his head to the kitchen.

“He left yeh breakfast in the larder.” Smiling, my morning is just a little bit better. In the pantry I find some random, mixed fruits I don’t recognize in a small bowl as well as an omelet, still warm from Ilmarinen’s preservation glyphs.

After eating my breakfast, I’m much more awake. Ilmarinen looks at me. “Mind if I ask yeh for a favor, lad?”

Obligingly, I nod. “Of course! You’ve been so helpful already it’s the least I can do. What do you need?” He sets out an array of various weapons, they all look extremely impressive and powerful. There’s a sword with a slight blue tint to the metal, the table is frosting over where it lays. The dagger seems to be warping the space around it ever so slightly.

Each weapon on the table has its own unique look and special abilities as far as I can tell. Ilmarinen makes some quality stuff! “I need ye to attach these tags to each of these here weapons. Here’s the order list, match the names to the weapons.” The list is fairly long, there’s a lot of weapons on the table, beside each name is a description of the requested weapon.

“Sure, no problem I can do this!”

The next hour of my morning is spent figuring out what each weapon does and attaching the correct tag to it. Ilmarinen seems to be happy with the help, it’s letting him continue his forging.

After I’ve finished all of the organizing, I display the fruits of my labor to Ilmarinen. “Tadaa! All done!” He glances over, surprise in his eyes. “Ye completed this task quickly, lad. Impressive work. The tags are all correct. How could ye tell between the two poison maces?”

Puffing up with pride, those two maces had been the biggest challenge for me to sort out. “I have a perk called Shaper’s Mind, I could sort of tell what each of the enchantments did. One is a paralytic poison, I think, and the other causes flesh to melt?”

Ilmarinen seems incredibly impressed now. “Ye have a talent for this, lad. Come, I shall teach ye the ways of the anvil. This was a test, after all. I want ye to be my apprentice.”

I’m nearly knocked off my feet in surprise. “Me? Your apprentice? But why?” Ilmarinen glares at me now.

“Ye would be smart to simply accept, lad. I want ye to carry on my skills, both as an Anchorist and as a Blacksmith.”

Determination fills me. “I’ll do it! Teach me everything!” Ilmarinen laughs.

“What a change o’ heart so quickly! Oh to be young again…”

The rest of the morning and afternoon passes by in a flash. Ilmarinen showed me how to prepare an ingot of metal in the forge. His method involves bonding the ingot to a metal rod and using that to heat it in the forge.

Once the metal reaches the correct temperature, he instructed me to take it out and handed me a hammer. After several ugly hits, he uses several of his arms to guide my strikes, giving me a feel for how to handle the hammer.

The rest of the time is spent pounding the ingot into shape, reheating it when necessary, and working the metal further. In the end, I have a piece of metal that roughly resembles a dagger. Ilmarinen sets me up on his foot-pedal operated sanding wheel.

Using Knots and Construct enhanced strength, I’m able to bring the belt of sandpaper to an appropriate speed quite easily. With the help of Ilmarinen and my Shaper’s Mind, I form the rest of the dagger, grinding down the edges to form a sharp blade.

Testing it on myself, it cuts readily into my skin, which is impressive with my Endurance level. Inspecting the blade, I’m pleased to see that The Construct recognizes it.

Steel Dagger (Unfinished)

Quality: Medium

Creator: Lucas Creo

Traits:

Description: With the help of his master, this beginner Blacksmith created this dagger. Its blade is sharp, but the weighting is off. It is still a sturdy weapon overall, however, due to the guidance of a Grandmaster Blacksmith. This weapon still requires a hilt.

My eyes widen at the last part of the description. Before I can say anything to Ilmarinen, however, The Construct interrupts my train of thought.

Congratulations Lucas Creo! Due to the instructions of your master and forging your first weapon, you have acquired the Talent: Fledgling Blacksmith. Due to the instructions of a true grandmaster, you have gained 5 levels, bringing you to (6/50)!

For reaching your first Talent milestone in Fledgling Blacksmith, you have been awarded applicable stat points to Strength, Endurance, Dexterity, Insight, and +30 XP. In addition, you have been granted the Perk: Tempered Body.

The change is instant. I feel the rush of stats enhancing my body, but also a strange sensation creeping through my flesh. Interestingly, I feel far more solid than I was a minute ago.

“Ilmarinen, I got Tempered Body, is that good?” His eyes widen.

“That be a mid-level blacksmith perk! How did ye get it so early?!” Looking at him, I decide to reveal what I know now.

“Maybe it’s because you’re a Grandmaster Blacksmith.” Silence. Ilmarinen coughs awkwardly.

“It eh, told ye that? The Construct, I mean.” Despite being an octopus-man, I think Ilmarinen is beginning to sweat.

Attempting to change the subject, I regard my work once more. “Well, my dagger still needs a hilt, do you think you could help me with that?” Ilmarinen breaks out of his… Embarrassment? He walks over to a drawer and opens it, revealing a large selection of different blocks of wood.

“Pick yer handle, I shall teach ye the lathe.” Walking over to the drawer, I pick scan all the different woods before one catches my eye. It’s a deep, rich brown with small bands of red through the wood. Inspecting it catches me off guard.

“This is ironwood maple! This grows around my house outside the dungeon!” Ilmarinen seems happy with my selection.

“A fine wood to choose, I recently received this and had been wanting to test it myself.”

Moving over to the pedal-operated lathe, Ilmarinen shows me how to get it up to speed, it’s basically the same concept as his sanding wheel. He instructs me on an array of tools, giving me a hooked piece with a flat edge.

Starting up the lathe, I begin to shave off pieces of wood, following Ilmarinen’s guidance. A few times he has to take a more tentacles-on approach and guides my arms with his far more plentiful ones.

By the end, I have a wooden hilt cut to shape, it has a small spiral design running down it to give fingerholds for grip. We move onto a drilling area where he shows me how to size the hilt’s inside to fit the tang. We slowly cut the area to shape.

Afterward, we apply a lacquer to preserve the wood, it really brings out the rich colors of the ironwood. Ilmarinen then has me heat up the tang of the dagger and fit it into the hole I’ve cleared out in the hilt.

There’s a small burst of fire, but the heat causes the fit to become airtight. Something still feels unfinished about the dagger, I realize what it is and turn to Ilmarinen.

“This still needs a pommel!” He nods.

“Was hoping ye would notice that. Let’s make ye one.” The rest of the afternoon is spent instructing me on how to create a pommel. It involves a lot of the similar forging process to make it coin-shaped.

After some quick sanding to smooth out any mishaps, the pommel is ready. We attach it to the bottom of the dagger, it fits perfectly into the hole drilled in the hilt. With this complete, I gain one more level in Fledgling Blacksmith and The Construct appears with other good news.

Congratulations Lucas Creo! For shaping wood, giving it purpose and form, you have acquired the Talent: Fledgling Craftsman! Due to instructions by a master and making a working piece first time, you have gained 4 levels, bringing you to (5/50)!

For reaching your first Talent milestone in Fledgling Craftsman, you have been awarded applicable stat points to Strength, Endurance, Dexterity, Insight, and +30 XP. In addition, you have been granted the Perk: Shaper’s Instinct.

Looking around the room, if I focus on it I suddenly realize I instinctively know the measurements of things. The table I’m at is eight and a half feet long approximately, but I’m aware of even the smallest microscopic variances in the length if I focus even harder.

“I got Shaper’s Instinct!” Ilmarinen smiles at me.

“‘Tis a useful perk, I even found it a boon in combat. But, let us return to our next problem. Yer dagger remains unenchanted, lad.”

Gasping in excitement, I turn to Ilmarinen, practically vibrating. “I get to learn how to enchant things?!” He looks confused at me.

“But of course lad, a weapon unenchanted is barely a weapon at all for the creatures of The Construct.”

He steps over to a bookcase, somewhat covered in dust but filled with various tomes. After scanning for a moment, he pulls out a very large book with a silver cover. It lands on the table in front of me with a heavy thud.

“Enchanting is an artistry of her own. I shall teach ye the basics, but this book will serve ye well. It’s enchanted itself to be nigh-indestructible against most foes, so worry not about it in combat.” Ilmarinen opens the book with one of his arms and leafs through to the first section about Aspect runes.

After explanations from Ilmarinen and reading over the introduction chapter myself, I feel I have a general understanding of how Aspect runes work.

“Explain it back to me, lad. Show me the fruits of yer labor. But summarize, I don’t have all day.” Smiling, I clear my throat and stand up.

“Aspect runes come in many forms and indicate either the target of the enchantment, who the enchantment will work for, or in some cases how the enchantment operates. An enchantment rune must be attached to an aspect rune, it cannot exist on its own without guidance.”

“Very good lad, now what shall yer first enchantment be?” Studying through a list of common beginner enchantments in the book, I make my decision.

“I have an idea, may I have an Inscriber to use please?” Ilmarinen seems slightly annoyed at my secrecy but hands me a small, glowing stylus. A multitude of colors shift through the glass tool.

I whisper to him, just in case, explaining what I want the enchantment to do. He looks at me approvingly and begins to guide my work. Placing the tip to my dagger, I begin following the design of the aspect rune for “wielder”, making the rune only work for the individual holding the dagger.

Further challenging myself, however, I attach an auxiliary aspect rune to the bottom of the original main aspect rune. Ilmarinen assists, guiding my hand as I make the rune, helping to make the lines cleaner.

My Shaper’s Mind and Shaper’s Instinct both seem to be helping me understand the form that the runes should take and allow me to instinctively make the lines the perfect length.

Adding a third and final aspect rune, the first step is complete. Flipping to the section of the book on Intent runes, I scan for what I want. These are the runes that dictate the effect of the enchantment.

Slowly, I inscribe Intent runes, attaching them onto two arms of the main aspect rune. With some difficulty, I attach a third intent rune onto the bottom of the last aspect rune I added to the enchantment.

With the enchantment complete, I present it to Ilmarinen. He helped every step of the way in making this, but still closely inspects the final enchantment, picking out small flaws here and there.

“Overall, ye can take pride in this blade, ‘tis a fine first work, better than my first. Ye have a talent for this, lad.” Beaming with pride, I take back my dagger. The Construct approves of my efforts.

Congratulations Lucas Creo! For providing magic target and intent as well as binding it to your own creation, you have acquired the Talent: Fledgling Enchanter! Due to instructions by a grandmaster and creating a complex beginner enchantment, you have gained 7 levels, bringing you to (8/50)!

For reaching your first Talent milestone in Fledgling Enchanter, you have been awarded applicable stat points to Intelligence, Attunement, Willpower, Insight, and +30 XP. In addition, you have been granted the Perk: Inscriber’s Touch.

“Ilmarinen, what’s Inscriber’s Touch?” He explodes with anger for a second.

“Why do ye keep receiving perks beyond yer status!?” Breathing deeply, he calms himself down from the outburst.

“Ye have no need of an Inscriber anymore, yer body will work as such to draw runes.” Surprised, I touch the table and draw a line down it, focusing my mana through my finger. The telltale silvery line of an Inscriber appears where my finger moves.

“Woah.”

The whole process took the entire day, it’s “night” again in the dungeon when Colt steps through the door, looking extremely haggard. “What the hell happened to you?!”

His clothes are a mess, he’s covered in green blood in some places, and has multiple colors of stains on himself. He’s looking quite pale as well.

“I uh, spent the entire day training, guess I lost track of time.” He walks over to the larder and takes out a meal of pan-fried fish and vegetables that he must have made for himself this morning.

We already discovered that as a Fae he doesn’t need to eat anymore, he feeds off of the energy of nature now, but he still enjoys food as a concept and can taste it. He sits down at the table, in somewhat of a trance while he eats.

Unable to handle it anymore, I poke him in the side. “What?” Nervous but excited, I place the dagger in front of him. He inspects it.

“‘Windbreak’? You made me a dagger?!”

He stands up, as happy as a child on Christmas morning. “I enchanted it so that it basically only works for you. Turns out, there’s a Fae aspect rune so that the enchantment only activates for Fae! Give it a try!”

He runs to an open part of the room, as he swings the dagger in front of himself, there’s a gust of wind and he flies forward with the dagger, following the direction of the slash.

The aspect runes I ended up putting on the dagger were: wielder, fae, and direction. Then the intent runes were: wind, push, and speed.

“You don’t really have any mobility skills yet, so I thought you’d like something to increase your speed!” He pulls me into a bear hug, is he stronger than before?

“I love it! It’s perfect!”

Struggling out of the hug, he realizes he’s crushing me and lets go. Besides, he may be Fae but he still smells of sweat and effort. “Dude, you need a shower.” He gives himself a sniff, his face crumples.

“Damn, you’re right I stink. Food first though.”

After finishing his meal, Colt dashes to the bathroom, using his new dagger to do so. He giggles to himself with joy. He takes about an hour to clean himself, I don’t blame him, Ilmarinen has a nice shower.

Once he’s finished, he comes out and makes Ilmarinen and I dinner. This time it’s a white meat fish. He added a breadcrumb layer and cooked it to perfection. The meat is flaky, buttery, and delicious. The side of vegetables is perfectly prepared as well.

With a filling meal in my stomach, I realize Colt isn’t the only one who smells after a day of hard work. Taking a sniff at myself, I gag. “Okay, shower time for me too.” Moving to the bathroom, I spend a long time letting the hot water relax away my stresses and clean me.

With both of us clean and exhausted, we pass out almost instantly on the bed. Colt now sleeps with his dagger on the bedside table, Ilmarinen provided a fitting sheath for it. Morning comes too quickly, I wake up to find Colt still passed out on the bed, deep in sleep. Allowing him this reprieve, I quietly shift out of bed and move to the kitchen. Potions won’t brew themselves.

Fortunately, Colt came back with a plentiful bounty of potion-making ingredients. Just as I have water boiling, however, Colt walks in. “I wish you could be brewing coffee right now.” He joins me at the kitchen stove looking like a zombie, I smile at him.

“Mornin’ sunshine.” He grumbles as he begins helping me brew potions, we have an adventure to go on, after all.

When he adds his blood to the potion, a bright flash of light occurs. Inspecting the potion, it not only heals more health than the previous ones we made but has a much stronger additional effect to it. The effect this time is waterbreathing and lasts for 5 minutes.

We spend the rest of the morning brewing potions, Colt stocks up exclusively on mana potions, they work as health potions for him now anyway, and he says he likes the taste better. With our stock ready, we make breakfast and begin prep for the next step of our first grand adventure.