The Ward of Moradin

[gbbishop]

Aidon’s arrival in Sundren:

Aidon looked across the campfire at his companion. Agata Silverhand; she was a buxom lass with a deft touch for healing. Aidon sometimes wondered if she could alter fate with her healing hands. He had taken a liking to the healer immediately and over the course of their long journey they had forged a deep and steadfast friendship.

The rain began again, oh how he had grown to hate rain. Wet and meddlesome it was. For the moment the valley’s weather was made tolerable by the tarp they had slung over their camp. It kept them dry for the most part, only a leak here or there and sometimes if the wind was up it was almost not worth setting up.

How he longed for the cold dry of the mountain air. They had further to go and they would need to find supplies in the valley to make the trip up the mountain. Rumors they had chanced upon listed the spine among the most treacherous places in this part of the world.

Agata hummed softly with her back to the fire; it was her turn for watch. Aidon had grown quite used to the humming and it lulled him ever so. Aidon's eyes began to drift closed. He found himself thinking of his old friend the church caretaker. It had been almost a year since he had sent Aidon away. Aidon still did not understand why he had been sent on this mission. “To answer the call of kin in need is an honor.” His old friends voice rang in his memory. “You are to report to General Stonewhisperer, They need healers and you will help protect the scion they are sending.”

Why him? It just didn’t make sense there were defenders or priests far more experienced and qualified. He grumbled and stirred his worry holding off sleep. Agata’s humming became a touch louder or was it just easier for him to hear… Sleep took him.

[gbbishop]

It had been a few weeks since their arrival in the Sundered valley. Their instructions from General Dryn told them to meet one Rurik Stonefist. They were to receive orders and instruction from him.

Well they found this Rurik by way of an inn called the four lanterns. The most notable thing about the inn being the fact that it sat in the shadow of a great city FLOATING in the sky!

After abrupt and truncated introductions Rurik began to ask a few question as to their travels and their needs, now that they were under the protection of Whurest. It was also revealed that Whurest was still a ways to the north. But that that trip would have to wait.

Aidon asked Rurik about smithing facilities; his armor had taken a beating on their journey and it was for lack of a better word unserviceable. Rurik was all to happy to set him up working in a smithy, in that floating city of all places!

Their rough spoken guide smiled as Aidon expressed his wish to craft his own armor giving him tools and even paying the forge fees, but as Aidon began his work Rurik cried out.

"What in tha hells are ya doin' lad?" Rurik said. "You can't just bang on tha metal like dat. Who taught ya how ta smith?"

Aidon was taken aback. He was about to say something. When Rurik grabbed his hammer away and set the shape in three expertly delivered blows. The anvil hummed as Rurik lifted the shaped ingot. Aidon's jaw dropped. He had never seen a smith do what this Rurik had just done. He knew now that he was in the presence of a master, certainly the best Aidon had ever seen.

Aidon stammered a reply as Rurik placed the working piece to fire to bring the heat back up. "I a.. am sorry smit.. master smith."

"Listen lad. If yer gonna work fer us you are gonna do it right. You'll make no arms until I give ya leave, understand?" said Rurik. "Do as I say an' that shouldn't be a problem."

"You're takin me on as yer apprentice?" asked Aidon.

"Ya best get quicker on tha uptake too lad; I don't have tha time fer time wasters."

Aidon stood dumbfounded. A master smith? Taking him, Aidon Whiteanvil, on as an apprentice. None of the smiths back home had ever given him much thought, likely none had been willing to give him a chance. With out a family, Aidon did not have the money to pay for such instruction, he hadn't then nor did he now.

"I don't have much ta pay ya with Master Rurik," Aidon began to say, but Rurik was already spouting off a list of thing for Aidon to fetch. Aidon did the only thing he could have done. He scrambled about for everything Rurik's heart desired.

That was two weeks ago now and Aidon's forge work had made a marked leap. The master smith was, as ever, unimpressed. It was tough for sure but now that he had been given a chance Aidon was taking to his lessons with vigor. He and Agata had been sent out to the forest to find this or that. To study the dangers that faced their kinsmen.

First they were sent to fight some goblins and then off to a great forest.

"If ya can't kill goblins yu'll never be able ta fight orcs and if ya can't fight them yu'll never be able ta survive orgen, and if ya can't handle the big fellas yu'll never make the journey ta Whurest in one piece," was what Rurik had told them.

Agata had asked him then, "Is the climb so terrible, Master Rurik?"

To this the smith had just roared with laughter.

That was perhaps the reason Agata had since chosen to be elsewhere during Aidon's smithing lessons. The other might have been the fact that Rurik was just plain hard to be around. He was short tempered and harsh with his criticism. Even his encouragements had a tinge of insult to them. And, for all of that Aidon cherished his time with Rurik. Sure seeing his hard work tossed into a smelting flame hurt but never once did Rurik look at him like he was some kinda freak, not did he treat Aidon as anything special. No, to Rurik, Aidon was just an apprentice, and not a very good one at that.

This time Rurik seemed to be overly critical of Aidon's breastplate. It had taken Aidon almost the entirety of the two weeks to complete. He had used Rurik's skematics and moulds even embellished the rune work with a patina technique that Aidon had learned back home.

Rurik told him to take it off. "No apprentice of mine will be seen running about the valley in this."

Aidon removed the plates feeling the sting, the plate had already seen combat and he was still alive. How bad could it be?

Rurik moved to his gathered materials. he took up a large bundle carefully wrapped in fine linen. "Here this is the armor of a master smith, which you are not."

Aidon winced at the bluntness but then nodded in resignation.

"Ya have a long way ta go, but perhaps if ya look tha part long enough and work hard enough tha distance 'tween what is an' what appears ta be will become one," Rurik said.

He then turned to the Dwarf running the shop and asked after a hammer high on the self. The amount of coin that changed hands made Aidon sweat.

"Here now," said Rurik. "A propa suit o' plate and a propa smith's weapon. Should be enough ta make sure I'm not wastin my time on a dead dwarf."

Aidon stared down at the fine hammer in his hands.

Rurik did not let him linger long. "Now! Take this and smelt me eight pounds of sundrite steel. Jes like I showed ye yesterday. When yer done wit that. Sell that sorry excuse fer a sheild and make a new one. If it ain't good enough you will make another. When the shield is done you can go find yer lil girlfriend and I need a few units of darksteel." Rurik took out a map marking where the darks steel was to be found. "Find yerselves a miner and get him in and get him out, with tha ore safe. Then bring the ore here and smelt it up. Then I suppose you can find a bunk."

"Agata is more of a sister..." Aidon said.

"That what I asked? Get ta work now, lots to do lad. Hop hop!"

It would take some time for all of this to sink in thought Aidon. But that forest had orcs in it and what ever frustrations were to be found here in the forge would be set straight with a few dead orcs. Aidon smiled as he set to smelting the sundrite.