Rise of the Living Forge-Chapter 405: Reunion

Reya returned to Arwin’s room some time after Necrohammer left. Her expression spoke of surprise, but it only took her one glance at Arwin to realize that something had happened.

“Bad?” Reya asked.

“Not bad,” Arwin said. He paused for a moment. Perhaps it was bad. Hearing that the world may have been dying wasn’t a good thing. He just wasn’t sure what to think at the moment. There was so much to process that it was taking every scrap of mental energy that he had to sift through them. “Just… difficult.”

Reya nodded. Then she sat down beside him. Whatever Eleven had told her clearly hadn’t been urgent, and Arwin really didn’t need even more information right now.

And so the two were silent. Arwin offered up no words and Reya didn’t try to pry him with any of her own. It had been quite some time since the two of them had sat like this. In some ways, it reminded Arwin of how things had been when he’d first set up shop in the abandoned smithy.

In others, it couldn’t have been more different.

The silence wasn’t uncomfortable. There was no tension between the two of them, nor was there the sheen of distrust that had tinged their earliest interactions. They knew each other far too well to deal with such things anymore.

Then, it had been two strangers.

Now, it was just them.

It was comfortable. And that comfortable silence was just what Arwin needed. A few still moments to sift through all of his thoughts and process everything that he had learned. This tournament had, in a strange way, been more of a success than he ever could have imagined.

The meeting with Necrohammer was one of the most important ones that Arwin had ever had. It had told him so much about the Adventurer’s Guild. Of their purposes. Of what they were — and of how he and Lillia had come to be.

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Arwin had no idea how long it would have taken him to discover everything that the other smith had revealed to him… and if it hadn’t been for Necrohammer, he wouldn’t have even been alive today. Neither would Lillia.

They’d both have died on the battlefield after running each other through. Or, worse, perhaps the guild would have stopped the fight. Perhaps they would have been saved and continued to dance on their strings as unknowing puppets.

Necrohammer was the reason they’d gotten a chance to be more.

And Arwin wasn’t sure how he felt about that.

There was no doubt that the old dwarf was no saint. On the contrary. Necrohammer was a monster. He’d killed innocents, just as the guild had. He had created terrible weapons for some purpose that Arwin still didn’t know.

It was clear that Necrohammer couldn’t be constrained within just a single thought. The dwarf had almost felt fractured. He spoke of several things at once, and his understanding of time seemed to be simultaneously too fast and too slow.

The weather of years had worn Necrohammer down. Perhaps that was what had changed his mind. Perhaps not. It was impossible to say what was going on in the other smith’s mind.

Arwin knew better than most that simply changing your path did not magically solve all the wrongs that happened before it. It simply gave one a chance to begin atonement. The dead, in most cases, could never draw breath again.

And for all the bad that Necrohammer has done… he’s the one Lillia and I have to thank for saving us. Not for any true purpose to serve himself, but because he simply wanted to. Does that mean he’s redeemed? Have Lillia and I even redeemed ourselves for the damage that we did?

I don’t know. I don’t think we can be the judge of that.

All we can do is keep moving forward.

And it was in that comfortable silence that the tournament ended. Art and Olive’s teams made their way up into the room. They probably weren’t meant to be here since Selen had supposedly smuggled Arwin and Reya in, but the Secret Eye was probably aware of their presence anyway.

None of them said much. They could all sense the feeling in the air, and every single person in the room was occupied with thoughts of their own. It was impossible to tell exactly what any of them were thinking.

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Kien’s expression was distant. A mixture of sadness and relief lingered in his eyes like the clouds after a storm. Art looked thoughtful, while Vix seemed like her mind was a thousand miles away.

Olive’s lips occasionally twitched as if she was in some silent conversation with herself. Elias and Maeve both exchanged repeated quiet glances, speaking without so much as a word. Reya kept sneaking glances at both Art and Elias. While Arwin didn’t miss them, he didn’t quite want to address them yet either. Reya would have brought it up already if the issue was something urgent.

There was no sign of Esmerelda yet. That didn’t surprise Arwin. She seemed to come and go as she pleased. He wouldn’t have been surprised if she’d already headed back to Milten. Either way, she was fine. The old woman was more than capable of taking care of herself.

We’re all back. For our first attempt in the Proving Grounds, when the majority of our team members weren’t even near the peak of Adept, we did incredible. Word about the Menagerie will spread. Hein has been stopped and I’ve learned more than I ever dared hope.

This is a resounding victory.

And I suppose a victory deserves at least a bit of a speech. I can’t just sit here brooding over my thoughts forever. Life goes on whether you’re ready for it to move or not.

“You all did an incredible job,” Arwin said. “I’ve said it, but not directly to your faces. I’m proud of every single one of you.”

“Yeah. We did do pretty damn good, didn’t we?” A smile pulled across Olive’s features. “We came a lot farther than I was expecting to.”

A part of Arwin was surprised. Olive had always been one of her own harshest critics. It seemed she’d gotten a whole lot more than just a victory out of the tournament.

“What ended up happening with your Challenge?” Elias asked, glancing at her and tilting his head to the side. “You said it popped up, but then… nothing.”

Olive’s smile softened. “That’s pretty accurate as to what happened, actually.”

“Really?” Arwin blinked. “Did it work, then? You passed?”

“No clue.” Olive laughed and shook her head. There was a certain lightness to her movements that hadn’t been there before, like heavy weights had been lifted from her back and shoulders. “I kind of told it to kick rocks. Realized there was more to life than swinging a sword really hard. I guess the Mesh realized I wasn’t fitting what it wanted anymore, so the Challenge kind of just fizzled. I lost track of it during a fight and haven’t seen it since.”

Arwin snorted. “You certainly seemed like you were swinging your sword pretty hard.”

“Yeah, but not just my sword.” Olive waggled her eyebrows. “You planning to rent that hammer out again? I think I’m going to be expanding my arsenal in the near future.”

“Get your own.”

A small wave of laughter rippled through the room.

“I am pleased to be a member of this group,” Kien declared, hoisting his broom into the air.

“And I still don’t know what the hell your powers do,” Olive said.

Kien grinned. There was still sadness in his eyes, but now it wasn’t alone. Other emotions had begun to take root within him once more. “I am a mysterious man. Perhaps you will discover my talents in time. After all, I have no plans of leaving the Menagerie.”

“We’ll be around as well,” Art said with a nod. “I don’t think Thornhelm is going to be able to maintain its position without some allies. The best strategic move would be to form an alliance and continue our joint efforts to grow stronger.”

“What Art means to say is he enjoyed working with you and wants to remain friends,” Vix said, rolling her eyes. “Also, please fix my heart. It’s still screwed.”

Arwin smiled. “I’ll do what I can. Already thinking on a few options. As for Elias—”

“I’m fine,” Elias said.

They all turned to him in surprise. Well, almost all of them. Reya didn’t look surprised in the slightest. The look in her eyes told Arwin that she’d already known this was exactly what Elias was going to say, which could mean only one thing.

One more piece of the puzzle clicked into place.

Eleven showed up together with Necrohammer, and Elias got kidnapped right before the final fight. Then, during it, he used abilities that he’s never shown before. Necrohammer was working on magic that stole power… and Elias is an undead without way to get it himself.

So that’s what Necrohammer meant when he talked about finishing his creation. Bastard. People aren’t objects that you can finish. It seems Necrohammer would disagree.

“I see,” Arwin said. “I’d like to speak with you some more when we return. I have some questions about a mutual friend.”

Elias’ gaze darkened. “He met with you, didn’t he?”

Arwin simply nodded. “We’ll talk later.”

“We will,” Elias said.

There was a knock on the door before anyone could say anything else. All of them turned as Selen strode into the room, the veil covering her face doing nothing to conceal the amusement on her features.

“It seems letting the Menagerie into the Proving Grounds was the right move,” Selen said. “Who would have thought one of the lowest ranked teams in the history of the tournament would have such an upset? The higher-ups are thrilled.”

“We appreciate the invite,” Arwin said. “And the viewing room. It was very enlightening.”

“I’ll say,” Selen said, a knowing look passing through her eyes. “You’re sneakier than I thought, Ifrit. I didn’t know you had such advanced concealment abilities. It isn’t often that someone pulls a fast one on the Secret Eye.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Arwin deadpanned.

Selen rolled her eyes. “Well said. Let’s get things on with, shall we? The results of the tournament on your rankings will be distributed within a week. Until then… I trust you’re prepared leave? Or would you like to stay and watch the ending ceremony?”

Arwin glanced at his guildmembers and friends. Then he looked back to Selen. Without so much as a flicker of hesitation, he nodded.

“Now is good.”

Right now, there was only one thing that Arwin wanted to do.

It was time to reunite with Lillia and the rest of the Menagerie back in Milten.