Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

The group of five literally fled into the entrance of Minas Mar’s embassy. The rowdy followers were stopped by the guards and the building's own barrier. Seth sat down at his desk and waited for the staff to bring them in.

“Tower Master, the Envoys of Arget Nore have arrived and wish to speak with you immediately.”

“Sure, bring them in.”

Of the five cloaked figures he had seen outside, two stepped into his office, the other three were probably guards. The two figures that entered had put down the hood of their cloaks revealing faces with a healthy chocolate brown tone and long, pointed ears.

To his surprise, the envoys were not undead, but dark elves. Both of them were incredibly attractive, one being a handsome man, the other being a city-toppling beauty. Who would have thought that piles of bones and desiccated corpses knew about setting a honeytrap?

Using was unnecessary to recognize that these two were not just sent as eye candy. It was questionable whether anyone could even kill them if they tried. Maybe if it was one of the high-level chosen...

As he had learned from Mary, he stood up, shook their hands, and offered them seats. He had to admit that the lady’s hand felt quite warm and soft, even through the gauntlet. Obviously, Seth was meeting them in full equipment.

He was not the only one, the both of them were also wearing tight, black leather armor, that revealed their curves and trained bodies.

“I’m Larish, envoy of Arget Nore,” the lady introduced herself.

“I’m Larosh, her brother, also envoy of Arget Nore,” the man introduced himself.

“I’m Seth Smith, the Tower Master of Minas Mar. So, how can I help you?”

Once everyone was greeted and seated, they went to business.

“We were looking to sign an alliance, or at least a non-aggression treaty with Minas Mar and Delta,” Larish revealed the reason for their coming.

“An alliance?” Seth exclaimed surprised. Why were they suddenly looking to make allies or at least not enemies?

“We are not deaf. We know that there are signs of Spatia trying to take foot in this world. Spatia is an opponent nobody wishes to face alone or knowing that potential enemies are behind them.”

They had heard about Spatia's involvement in the incident surrounding Y-City and Delta. This brought up the question of how Ichabod, the current leader of Delta, had reacted to this sudden offer of an alliance.

Although Arget Nore was obviously not popular with the people, Seth could see that pig desperately hugging their leg for help. However, he didn’t voice his thoughts.

“What does Chrona think of this?” the blacksmith asked.

He knew that Chrona had an ambiguous relationship with the undead empire. There were times when they fought in other worlds, and there were times when they worked together. Leana had said that Chrona would probably stay out of this, as long as it had no considerably negative impact on Dela. The only reason the last representative let things slide was because he was bribed.

“Chrona will respect the decisions of the locals,” Larosh answered this time.

The male dark elves confirmed what Leana had said. Chrona wouldn’t interfere, so the decision was up to him. Well, although he technically owned Minas Mar, he was not some despotic dictator. He would have to ask his friends and tenants before making his decision.

“I see, I will have to speak with my people, but an Alliance will probably be out of the question.”

An alliance usually meant that they would have to help each other if they were under attack. Now Seth didn’t really want to send his people to a foreign battlefield but what he wanted even less was letting undead troops into his own territory.

The blacksmith doubted they would need their help. If they really faced an opponent that the trees and golems couldn’t face, then a horde of undead wouldn’t be helpful either. And if their opponent was a legend... it depended on the legend.

“However, there is something I can offer you if we come to a non-aggression treaty. If you get attacked, I'm willing to offer you mercenaries.”

Seth didn’t want to promise to send people who might be unwilling to help, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have troops he could send. There were those willing, but most importantly those without an Opinion.

Seth could always send golems to their aid. It was just an expansion of their service to allow adventurers to lend golems for dungeon exploration.

“Mercenaries?” Larish repeated after him.

“Yes, if you really need help, I can offer you mercenaries. You probably know the golems of Minas Mar, no? Depending on your price, I can offer you a range of troops.”

“You mean we could hire those golem knights?” Larosh asked, lifting an eyebrow.

“Of course, but those are expensive. I could also offer you golem troops to fill the ranks, although undead probably never lack numbers. I might even be willing to sell golem troops like stone and earth golems.”

And suddenly this serious conversation about the political future of Urth had turned into a sale pitch by a shady weapons dealer. The great thing about the Golems was that even if he gave control of them away, they wouldn’t be able to be turned against him, even if they decided to break the non-aggression treaty.

When Seth made his offer, he was not talking of golems with souls or the Faer. He was thinking of modifying the original golem formation with the Basic Automaton Core Circuit of Hephaestus. With that, the golems would be easily more intelligent than low-ranking undead.

“Of course, only if we have a non-aggression treaty, I assume?” Larosh asked

“That is the prerequisite, yes. I will have to call the leaders of the cities and the Lords before I make such an important decision,” Seth confirmed his assumption.

“The Lords and the City Leaders are not the same?” Larish asked surprised. Only now did Seth realize that their arbitrary distribution of titles might lead to misunderstanding with people of other cultures in other worlds.

“No. The Lords are my inner circle, and the City Leaders are the people elected by their respective communities. More or less,” he explained. This was no secret information, but common knowledge for most on Urth. Anyone could have found out about it with a little investigation. Whether she asked the question because she really didn’t know or to seem innocent, he didn’t really care.

Nothing they did would change his mind. The blacksmith already had his opinion regarding Arget Nore. Despite his bad experience with them, he was rather neutral, especially if he could make them pay for creating his own troops. As long as everyone agreed, of course.

“Could we see some of those golems you are offering? Since you will need some time to contact your people, we could use this time to convene with our superiors about the golems.”

Seth thought for a moment. He currently didn’t have ordinary golems without souls, since they usually needed a separate power source, but it didn’t mean he couldn’t whip up something. After all, there were a few blueprints that came with the golem forge.

However, if he left to get one, it would undermine his role as a leader and they might look down on him. At least that was what he thought based on his knowledge of fiction, his meager experience, and some lessons Leana had tried to teach him.

What could he do then? With a wave of his hand, a golden dwarf appeared in the hallway outside and Seth telepathically explained to her what to do. Shortly afterward she opened the door to the office.

“You called, Master?” the mechanical dwarf asked in a sweet voice.

“Sivri, could you go get one of the prototype rock golems?” he played along. What she actually was going to do was operate the golem forge and create one using the saved blueprints. Sivri like Cerberus, mirrored his skills, so she could operate the Golem Forge as well as he could. It wouldn't be comparable to a golem with the Basic Automaton Core Circuitm, but good enough to show off. After all, Forgebrand was a master of golem craft.

“Yes, Sir. I will be back in a moment.”