42 Norðri

The tall man looked at me intently. I can tell he was scanning me with mana for a moment. The guard next to me looked to be ready for anything.

He first sighed and then asked, "You are a human boy, why would you want to learn forgemastering when you have plenty of other things on your plate already?"

I was about to answer with a standard response of making my own weapons but something told me this man wasn't simple so I gave him my true thoughts on forgemastering.

"If I look around me, every street, every building, every door has runes on it. This entire city is filled with the products of forgemastering. The way we live our lives is tied to it. Without it, our tribe would not have the convences we have now. I would like to learn forgemastering because I want to see the art that drives the tribe". I said this so candidly that he went quiet for a moment.

"You are one interesting kid I'll tell you that. These aren't topics for a typical five year old. I also can't think of another person at rank 2 at your age besides the prince." He said while putting a hand up to the guard to show he was unarmed.

The guard looked to have a sword about to be drawn.

"Follow me to my forge and we will get you started on forging early," he said while looking around to ensure no one was looking at them.

Most of the people were minding their own business. It seemed busybodies were nonexistent here.

"I'm sorry I didn't get your name," I said basically figuring out this tall man's identity.

"My name is Nordri, I'm one of the foremost experts of forgemastering and inheritor of the northern dwarven inheritance. You my curious pupil are starting your training early. Tell your guard to let someone know your whereabouts while we quickly head over. I'll protect you in his stead", he said in an excited manner.

It seems like forging is a real passion.

[I haven't had the chance to do this but, this is a good time to warn you]

Not all sunshine and rainbows here?

[well yes and no. You've lived in the castle your whole life and this is one of your first outings. So far it's been smooth with no hiccups but I have to warn you, this is not normal. You are still sheltered in the mountain to an extent but the moment you exit, you enter a gritty world]

Im aware of that.

[you don't understand. This man is Nordri but if you had bumped into someone else outside, the result would not have been kind intentions. My point here is that you've been protected too much so don't mistake the privilege you have now for being the norm. You are in real danger. You may have gotten lucky by crashing into your new master early but this is not a normal event]

"Are you coming?" I heard Nordri say smacking me out of my stupor.

"Yes sir, I'll follow you," I said this while giving instructions to the guard to let the kids and Hilda know what happened.

"Hood lad, now let's rush over to the guild. We have plenty to look at before you officially begin learning under me."

_____

Walking into the blacksmith guild Nordri removed his mask and to my shock, I can tell he was still a dwarf just oversized. I thought dwarves were small. He's also pretty heavy for a tall man.

The attendant came and guided him to the stairs. That's some nice service. At this point Nordri removed his disguise.

He was taller than my father while looking stronger in a different aspect. He clearly drinks a bit to much and has some weight on him. He has the typical face of a dwarf with extremely long beards. His looks to be decorated with ice. His skin has a cold blue glow to it. He was wearing a long leather coat with embroidered runes of the lapels. Leather boots and leather gloves with open fingers. Fur accents the coat while his casual white tunic and soft leather pants.

Nordri walked us through until we entered the underground city. His Forge was located close to the entrance in a large building. There were only three others that held the same size but they all looked vacant.

At the front of the building I saw a figure already waiting there. It's my old friend Fafnir.

Here we go.

"Master Nordri, I'm beseeching you to reconsider and take me as an apprentice instead of the prince. There are plenty of master to teach the non dwarf. Your teachings are priceless", Fafnir said with a bow.

Wow, he actually tried to cut me out. Someones holding a grudge for some reason.

Nordri looked at him strictly, "Fafnir, you may be the king's son and lead his family on the council, but I can choose my own apprentices. You are not strong enough to wield my legacy."

"Sir if that is true, why would you take the Titan prince as your apprentice. He is not a dwarf and does not deserve to know our sacred arts." I could hear Fafnir grinding his teeth.

[Someone has some prejudice]

You got that right.

"Fafnir, I would have taken you as an apprentice if you had not mentioned anything about the prince, but since you have, I only feel disgust for you. Don't think that your offenses are always hidden. Even I know of them. Leave now, I must focus on my new dwarf apprentice here. He is strong enough to actually handle my legacy." He said in a extremely strict tone.

What is he saying. He's only gonna fill him with jealousy.

[I think that's the point. Your new master is kind but can be extremely vicious]

He looked me up and down gritted his teeth and walked away.

"I apologize for that, Fafnir is a special case of Dwarf", he said looking to me.

"I don't understand why he has something against me," I said to him confused.

"Greed and jealousy my young apprentice. Come we will talk more inside", he said while guiding me into the house. As he walked through, the runes in the house came alive turning on the lights and causing all kinds of contraptions to go of, it looked like a wonderland of engineering.

He walked us into the front hall and led me into the library. He first sat me down and took out a blue book and a brown book and put them in front of me.

"We will not start forging until tomorrow. Your goal in the market was to understand what it is. You were not born a dwarf so you aren't privy to that information." He then pointed to the blue book. "That book will bring you up to speed. The brown book is an explanation on the legacies of the dwarves. It'll explain the differences in forgemaster techniques and explain the schools of thought."

I looked at the books cover. They looked to be handed down a long time.

I then stood up and thanked Master Nordri.

"Read them here and if you have any questions we can talk after. They aren't that long and should only take you a few hours." He got up and said this with a smile.

Walking out the door I looked to the books as if they were a gate into another world.