19 The Lightning Sword

The inside of the tent was dark, but it was obvious that it was some kind of workshop. There was a long wooden counter with metal tools on it, and a small fire was lit in a pit on the ground. Its bright embers were the only source of light in the forgery.

"This is Larrysel," Rayvad said.

Brightise searched around for the person he seemed to be introducing, but she couldn't see anyone. Was this some kind of practical joke?

Before she could get angry with Rayvad, she saw someone move behind the counter and jump on a short stool.

Brightise's eyes widened. The bearded man leaning against the wooden counter was even shorter than Clober. "Hello," he said with a slight accent.

"I thought dwarfs were extinct," Brightise blurted out.

Larrysel frowned deeply. "We are very rare, yes, but not extinct. There is a difference."

"I'm sorry, I... I'm Brightise," she said, suddenly remembering her manners.

"You are not very bright," the dwarf commented, shocking her with his rudeness. "Otherwise, you wouldn't be hanging around this barbarian," he added with a smile.

Rayvad smiled back, as if Larrysel had paid him a compliment. "Rest assured, she's not doing it willingly," he said.

"No one does," answered Larrysel.

"That's one thing we have in common," Rayvad retorted.

Brightise watched the two men's banter in fascination as they exchanged insults with each other.

Finally, Rayvad got to the reason of his visit. "This barbarian wants his weapon."

"Of course," Larrysel muttered as he jumped off his stool. "A good weapon is the only thing barbarians can appreciate."

"Stop talking to yourself, old man," Rayvad told him.

"I'm 35!" the dwarf said over his shoulder as he opened one of the cupboards in the corner of the tent.

He took out an item wrapped in a thick piece of cloth. It looked really heavy as he carried it over to the counter, but Rayvad didn't offer to help him and neither did Brightise. She instinctively knew that it would be a real insult to do so.

"Is this what you wanted?" Larrysel asked Rayvad before he pulled the cloth back.

A long sword with a wide shiny blade was revealed. The gray blade seemed to radiate in the dark tent. Rayvad bent over the hilt of the sword and studied the intricate runes carved on it in awe.

"Did I get it right?" Larrysel asked, clearly satisfied with his work.

The two of them looked like they were not going to explain anything, so Brightise had to ask, "What is it?"

"A sword," Rayvad told her distractedly.

"I could tell that much," Brightise said.

Larrysel was more eager to talk about his work. "This is a Lightning Sword," he said with pride.

"What's so special about it?" Brightise asked Rayvad. "You can use your spear to control lightning."

Rayvad wrapped his hand around the hilt of the sword and picked it up delicately. "This is much different," he explained. "This sword's blade can actually store lightning so it can be used as a weapon."

"You can save lightning and then unleash it on people?"

Rayvad nodded in answer as he moved the sword around in elegant movements. Brightise, who hadn't paid attention to the way he moved before, suddenly found herself captivated by the fluid motion of his arms. Maybe it was the Lightning Sword. Maybe its powers were not restricted to lightning storage.

"If you're quite done playing around, may I have my payment now?" Larrysel asked, breaking Rayvad's trance.

Rayvad pushed his hand into the pocket of his pants and pulled out a small brown pouch. "Midnight Sunflower Seeds," he said. "I handpicked them myself."

"I highly doubt that," Larrysel said, raising an eyebrow as he accepted the pouch.

"Syd might have helped," Rayvad admitted.

"That sounds more likely."

As the two of them talked back and forth, Brightise let her eyes wonder around the inside of the tent more carefully. This time, she noticed the small, child-like cot in the corner and the old ax that hung right above it. The ax was decorated with tiny rubies, and the embers inside the fire pit made it glow in the dim light like onyx.

"Did you make that?" Brightise asked Larrysel.

The dwarf turned to see what she was pointing at. "I wish," he said. "That's a family heirloom."

Brightise didn't ask anything further. All she had ever been told about dwarfs was that like, much like dragons, they had become extinct, and that hadn't turned out to be right either. She really didn't want to ask him any uncomfortable questions about his family, especially considering that he seemed to be the only dwarf in a camp full of humans.

After all, Brightise knew what losing family members felt like.