Harbingers of Change

Chapter 21

Kaijin's hands trembled as he slowly drove the cart towards the royal district. He needed to deliver one hundred steel spearheads and twenty special grade swords today. He had made enough spearheads, but out of the required twenty, he managed to make only six swords. There simply wasn't enough magisteel to finish the work.

Maybe Vesta would not be in today? Oh, who was he kidding? That petty asshole was probably waiting for him at the doors of the royal castle's craftsmanship wing. He should have taken Dord's offer and had a drink to calm his nerves before the delivery. There was no helping it now, he had to ask for an extension and hope it would be accepted. His track record as an artisan was too clean for his license to be revoked. Even someone like Vesta couldn't just pull that off openly.

The bustling city did nothing to calm him. The ever-busy streets of Dwargon's capital just increased his anxiety.

The castle gate was just up ahead. Getting in was easy, since most of the castle guards knew him. Some remembered his army days, others knew Kaijin for his high-quality armaments. Few could rival his craftsmanship, after all.

The first bit of respite came with Vesta not being around the delivery area, and he could help the ministry workers unload his goods. The clerk inspected the goods and then remarked,

"There are only six swords, but twenty were ordered."

"I am terribly sorry, but I couldn't fulfill the order in time. I would like to ask for an extension with the usual decreased pay for delay, of course."

"Kaijin was it? I wouldn't have expected someone with your reputation to not deliver on time. You will have to provide a reasonable excuse." the clerk said, looking at the order papers and fixing his small glasses which looked too small for the dwarf's blocky face.

"I couldn't procure enough magisteel on time. With the current shortages, there were not enough to be found even for the highest of prices."

"Ah yes, that was reported by others as well. I guess that is a reasonable excuse. Come with me. I will draw up the extension…"

"Did the famous Kajin fail a simple task?"

Vesta! The bastard had shown up out of thin air and looked at the goods with a smug expression.

"Yes, minister Vesta, but there was a magisteel short…" Kaijin said to the slim, tall dwarf in a noble's outfit.

It was easy to mistake him for a human as his body proportions more resembled an average looking human than his dwarven brethren.

"I don't care about your excuses. If a craftsman can so blatantly fail his task, then how can we hope to defend ourselves against the Eastern Empire?"

The clerk just gave Kaijin a sympathetic look and went back to his station. The minister's pompous attitude and vengeful nature was far too well known for anyone to intervene and come to Kaijin's defense.

"I am sorry, minister. I will finish the task with the reduced cut."

"Save your breath! We will commission competent craftsmen to complete the tasks."

"Vesta, you can't just…"

"Watch your tone, Kaijin."

Kaijin bit his tongue. He had to keep his temper in check. How much he wanted to punch the asshole in the face and wipe that arrogant smirk off his face. But to assault a minister would land him in prison for a long time, even with his highly accomplished background, and then his three friends would be left with anyone to help them. For them he would accept any humiliation.

"I apologize, but you can't do this to me. Please, minister, give me one more chance."

Vesta grinned smugly and then said,

"I am sorry, but you didn't deliver on time. I'm afraid I will have to take proper measures."

That's it! This is what he received for his service to his kingdom. The urge to punch the bastard grew, but his friends came first.

"Fine. You won." Kaijin said flatly and hopped back on his cart, driving away from the royal palace. His home, his kingdom, all his life he served, and for what? No matter how much he respected his beloved king and his beloved homeland, there was nothing left for him here.

With a heavy heart, he slowly drove the cart back to his workshop. He could technically still work purely as a merchant, but not being able to be a craftsman wasn't a compromise he was willing to take. He would probably have to sell all his inventory at dirt cheap prices and then he could leave the country for the human lands.

The familiar sign of his shop came into view too soon. He would have to tell his friends the decision he has made on his way home. Leaving the cart at the stable area, he trudged back to the living area to talk with his friends. There was no need to explain what happened to the trio awaiting him back to the shop. His face said it all.

Kaijin slumped down on the chair by the table silently.

Garm put a large cup in front of his friend and asked,

"So what now, boss?"

"I think… I think we will have to leave Dwargon…" Kaijin said and looked at his friend who, despite the grim situation, gave a cheerful smile.

The three brothers were used to being in tight situations and, for them, this wasn't anything new.

"Well, I always preferred tall women." Gram responded with a laugh.

Kaijin couldn't help but chuckle as well. He grabbed the mug and said,

"To hell with Vesta. If he wants me gone, I can leave."

"That's the spirit. To a better future!" Gram said, lifting his own mug.

"To a better future," Kaijin and Dord answered with Myrd just lifting his cup silently.

At least for the moment, he could forget about his troubles and share a drink. For better or worse, it was a fresh start once again. However, the ringing of a bell intruded upon their plans of getting hammered. A client had entered the shop.

Kaijin put down his mug and went to the entrance area at a quick pace. A familiar kobold waited for him.

"Koby, it is good to see you, but I'm afraid I can't buy your wares this time."

"Oh… Can you at least appraise a sword for me? I will pay for it, of course."

"Eh, sure, let's take a look." Kaijin responded as kobold took out a shining sword from a cloth and put it on the table.

"This is… this is a rare grade sword. Koby, where did you get this?" Kaijin asked, inspecting the weapon.

"I'm not sure if I should tell this, but a majin controlling a hobgoblin tribe wanted to sell it. How much could I ask for it?"

"For this? At least two hundred gold coins, if not more. The craftsmanship of this sword is impeccable."

Kobold let out an audible sigh of relief and then put another item on the table, a small chunk of a dark ore.

"He also wanted to know how much this ore would cost."

"Ore? What kind of ore is it?"

"I don't know."

"Hmm. Let's see." Kaijin said and grabbed the material appraisal set and tried to scratch the chunk of ore with various scrapers to see how hard it was. When even the orichalcum scraper failed to make the tiniest of marks, the dwarf scratched his head and said. "This can't be. How much did this majin expect to get for it?"

"He didn't tell me, so I assumed he didn't know how much to ask for it."

Although Kaijin needed all the money he could get at the moment, a craftsman like him could not pass up the opportunity, even if he had to pay for it. A new type of metallic ore was found and, by the looks of it, it was an extremely hard one at that.

"Can I do tests on it? If it becomes unusable, I will pay you a hundred for it and write a note taking the blame."

"I guess. If you don't know what it is, I don't know where else to turn."

His enthusiasm had returned and he warmed the smelter to a proper temperature as quickly as he safely could, warming up the chunk in a hardened clay bowl, hoping to melt and purify it. Minutes went by and the chunk got hotter and hotter, slowly glowing with a brownish tint, but it didn't change form. Not even the spots, which he presumed to be the impurities, showed any signs of melting off.

Twenty minutes later and the clay bowl was at its limit, forcing him to take it out. Very few materials could withstand such temperatures after all. He took out the bowl, grabbed the chunk with pliers, and put it on the anvil. If nothing else, he could see how hard it was at the highest temperature he could achieve.

The hammer left no marks at first. Kaijin hit the chunk harder and harder until a small, almost unnoticeable dent appeared when he struck the ore as hard as he could, leaving a much larger dent in the hammer itself.

"This thing is incredible. With proper work and a magisteel core, I could make a weapon beyond unique grade."

"Does it mean it is expensive?"

"Yes, very expensive. I need to know where this came from." Kaijin said, looking at three brothers to see what they have to say.

"We are with you, Kaijin, no matter where you go." Garm said.

"You plan to return to this majin soon?"

"Yes, I will travel back using the same route I came here," Koby said, not wanting to reveal that he was in a hurry and needed to sell it as fast as possible.

"How about I help you sell the ore and sword and you guide us to the place where you got it? I am out of work right now and plan to leave the city either way."

"Sure, but it is a hobgoblin village and their majin is powerful, so you will have to be careful."

A gamble, to be sure. He might end up enslaved and making weapons for some upstart demon lord for all he knew, but if the majin wanted to trade and even sell an unknown ore, he likely was civil enough to at least make some kind of reasonable deal.

"It's a deal then."

It took two days for Kaijin to sell off his own inventory and trade off the unknown ore to one of his major competitors, who was known to be rather unscrupulous. For his wares he, of course, got a subpar price, as expected, but for the sword the majin wanted to sell, Koby got two hundred seventy gold.

The ore was another deal entirely. After some similar testing, his competitor gave Koby a thousand gold coins for it. The small kobold couldn't be happier for a favorable deal, being unaware that such a discovery was likely worth a lot more.

With everything sold, Kaijin only needed to buy supplies for the long road and be on his way with his three friends, following Koby to the mysterious Tempest deep within the forest of Jura.

‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›

A tall dwarf stood in a magnificent throne room with plate-covered guards standing between rows of columns, ready to strike down anyone who would dare to threaten their ruler.

His King's face was as unreadable as always. Not once in his life had Vesta seen King Gazel's expression betray anything but calm confidence. This day was no different, but Vesta could sense that his beloved King was not happy.

Gazel Dwargo was even taller than Vesta and much more massively built, radiating unmatched power. His brown skin was in stark contrast to his minister's almost unhealthy paleness. Just below the jet black, slicked back hair sat a simple spiked gold crown. Clad in silver-colored plate armor, he leaned back on the throne looking down upon his minister, disappointed.

"Anything to tell me, Vesta?" He asked in a calm tone with a deep, powerful voice.

"Most of the craftsmen were behind schedule and the quota for weapons was fulfilled only to the forty-fifth percent mark."

"Is that all you want to say to me?"

"Yes, your majesty." Vesta said as the first drop of sweat appeared on his forehead.

"Today I lost a valuable servant."

The king knew about him taking Kaijin's license away. News always traveled fast between the chatty clerks after all. The king knew about their common past but back then accepted Vesta's side of the story.

"Your majesty, Kaijin fled the city. He held no loyalty…"

"I am not talking about Kaijin, Vesta."

"Your majesty, I… I…"

"I have waited long enough for you to realize your mistakes and own up to them, but I see my trust in you was in vain." Gazel said, switching his position on the throne. "You are hereby released from your position and banned from my court and the royal castle. Guards, remove him from my presence."

Vesta just stood there, shocked, and didn't even react when guards grabbed him and dragged out of the throne room as his King stood up from his throne and walked to the room behind the main throne room.

None of the guards noticed the shadow following the king as he walked off. Once the doors to a smaller private room closed, the shadow stopped and a short, petite, blonde elven woman emerged from it. A thin cloth mask covered her mouth and nose.

Gazel stopped before a table and picked up a sealed letter laying down beside a small chunk of dark ore. With an unnatural speed, he turned around to face the woman and handed her the letter, saying.

"Follow that kobold and see where he got the ore. Hand this letter of apology to Kaijin when you deem it most beneficial. Do not allow yourself to be discovered by whoever this majin is."

"As you command, your majesty," the woman replied, taking the letter and retreating into the shadows.

Edited by Edgy.