The curse of spirits (4)

We returned to the blacksmith's shop in silence, with so many questions that we wanted to discuss, but I didn't know where to begin. As we entered the door, the displeased voice of the owner greeted us:

"Well, finally! Can't you handle even such a simple task?" The blacksmith glanced at Aileen. "Seems like you found more than just the lost item on your journey. I hope at least something useful will come out of you. What does Lady Serena want?"

"She wanted..." I didn't know what to say. The girl desired something that a simple blacksmith from Verania couldn't forge for her.

"I'll make the gift for her myself!" Aileen interrupted my tormented thoughts and received a contemptuous look from Brim, the blacksmith.

"Young lady, it seems you've been wandering around all day and now you've come to dictate terms to me?! You already have a task, and I won't trust such an important job to amateurs."

"But you won't be able to create what she's asking for!"

"I don't want to hear such talk from those who are so careless with their own duties!" The blacksmith loomed threateningly over the girl, but she remained steadfast.

"No matter what you're going to make for her, wouldn't it be easier for you to hand this task to us then?"

"Silence! Lady Serena has done more for our city than anyone else, and I won't entrust such an important gift to newcomers who abandon their own work for a lucrative offer!"

"You said that if we complete your task, we can choose our own work afterward, didn't you?"

The blacksmith frowned but nodded.

"Then, for now, you can set aside this contract and leave it to us," Aileen said.

"Have you gone mad?" Trim was furious. "You haven't fulfilled a single order in two days, and now you audaciously ask me to put aside important work just because of your whim?! I want to make a gift for Lady Serena as soon as possible, so it can delight her for as long as possible."

"Then we'll finish everything in two days, and until then, you won't do anything!" Aileen finally managed to relax.

"Hah, two days. You're too self-assured, little one!" The blacksmith loomed even more over the guardswoman. Though she was tall herself, compared to Trim, she was like a dwarf.

"So you don't object if we manage to do it in two days?"

"Well, fine, I'll give you a chance, but if you create something she doesn't like, I'll roast you myself in my furnace."

"Don't worry about that; she'll like it," Aileen replied confidently. "But tell me, why do you cherish this order so much? Do you really want to impress the wealthy merchant?"

"Simpleton," the blacksmith snapped at her, but then softened and turned away. "I just want to make a gift for this girl. You can see how our city has grown, but just ten years ago, we were just a small village. Mr. Everin was a simple owner of a local shop, and everyone knew that his daughter was seriously ill and that there was no cure for her condition. But she was the city's happy talisman. She could rarely leave her home, so she spent most of her time with books, and by the age of eleven, she knew more about trade and politics than any city resident. We had been in friendly relations with the neighboring cities of Nordrune, but by their country's law, they could only supply us with adamantium in the form of finished goods, although the closest cities had mines, and it would have been easier for them to supply us with ore or ingots. Serena managed to convince them to start trading in ore. To discuss the trade agreement, the king himself came to our meeting, and on our side, there were the mayor, me, Serena's father, and she herself. At first, the king thought it was a joke, but the girl stood before him with her head held high and boldly greeted him in the manner of barbarians: 'Siegfried, the High Jarl of the North and Lord of the Northern Winds, you speak on behalf of your tribe, and I shall speak on behalf of mine!' The king liked the girl's audacity, and without much thought, he allowed the trade, but with the condition that the ore wouldn't leave our city. That's how our city's prosperity began. Serena's father became the first merchant to deal with adamantium, and I became the first blacksmith. Our city grew so much in just five years, and it's all thanks to Serena."

"But she's dying, isn't she? And this will be a farewell gift?"

"Yes, because it's with this farewell that I want to give her a special gift, as she has already given our city a gift we won't forget. She found loopholes in the kingdom's laws that will soon allow us not to depend on the feudal lord, and she even came up with a bridge project. So, I don't want the gift to be something trivial."

"Don't worry about that; I'll make a gift that she'll love."

The blacksmith narrowed his eyes skeptically.

"I'll give you a chance, but in two days, I'll start making the jewelry regardless of your explanations."

"So, how are things going? Have you gotten used to the new work?" In the evening, we gathered again for dinner, and I decided to catch up on the latest news.

"Hehe, my plan is bearing fruit. Seleria's beauty and exotic treats attract many customers, and we managed to modify the old recipes to make them tastier than our competitors'," Vina proudly raised her nose.

"There haven't been any more problems with customers?" I recalled the incident from earlier in the day.

"Oh, that? Don't worry; Seli easily threw them out, and no one else dared to intrude. I can't understand where these rascals came from. The town's residents were former peasants, and they would resort to crime only in desperate situations, but these ones looked like hardened bandits."

"A big city attracts all kinds of riffraff," Seleria grumbled to herself, "Maybe some inexperienced trader hired them as guards, or they came here to prey on newcomers."

"Maybe you should have reported them to the authorities? After all, that guy attacked you with a knife," I was concerned about Seleria, but she sat there, head down, as if she couldn't remember something.

"Ah? Sorry, I just remembered the dagger of that bandit; I've seen similar ones before, but I can't recall where. Anyway, they probably won't come back, and even if they do, I can easily take care of them, so don't worry."

"I'm happy for you, but there's something else that bothers me," I leaned over the table and spoke in a low voice, evoking the sense of a serious conversation, "Could it be that your revealing outfit might provoke other visitors to misbehave?"

"Krito!" The princess angrily hurled a small fireball at me, and I easily dodged it, "It wasn't my idea! Vina said we needed it for business!"

"Oh, come on, you modesty queen, your everyday attire can be much more revealing than this, but here you suddenly blush," Vina rolled her eyes.

"It's one thing to dress for yourself and another to please strangers! Uuugh, you're so annoying!!"

"Ho-ho, nothing can be done about it. You'll work as I say; that's our assignment. By the way, does anyone else have any news?"

"We're still getting used to the children, but if they don't soften towards us, I might reconsider my desire to have kids in the future," Algo bowed his head in resignation.

"With Ragni and me, everything is going smoothly. The bridge will be finished soon; we just need to secure one more section, and it will be ready for the celebration. By the way, do you guys know what celebration will be happening here right when we leave, in two weeks?"

"Hmm, I've heard about it, but no one has told me any details. They say it will be a surprise."

"Well, never mind; if there's a lot of delicious food, let them celebrate whatever they want," Ragni, as always, only had one thing on her mind.

"But you spend the whole day sleeping and eating!" Grain tried to protest, but it didn't seem to impress the dryad.

"I help you guys whenever I can, and after that, I relax during my free time."

"Sometimes, your relaxation takes too long."

Grain and Ragni continued their verbal squabble, while I turned to Katrina.

"Princess, did anything interesting happen to you, and is it related to the lightning flashes I saw above the factory?"

"Uh-huh, was it that noticeable?" Katrina sighed.

"Katrina, what you were doing with the loom was hard to miss from the street. If I had arrived earlier, we could have avoided all that chaos!"

"Has our Guild Master caused a commotion at her new job on the second day already?"

"Ah, if only..." Kurone said thoughtfully, rolling her eyes, "She was alone in the room with the loom. We thought she would spend a long time figuring out how it worked, but by lunchtime, she appeared before me with a question."

"Well, I apologized!"

"Did she break it?"

"Nooo, she appeared with a question about where to get more threads since she ran out. Considering that her loom had enough supplies for three days of work, it seemed quite strange."

The tension grew, and Kurone knew how to build intrigue in her storytelling.

"Our princess got so engrossed in working with the loom that she forgot about the finished product. As a result, it began to pile up behind the loom and eventually filled the entire room. Not only did the fabric get dirty, but we also had to roll it into bundles together."

"Hmm, you had quite an eventful day, but I never knew you possessed such talent, Princess," I smirked mischievously at Katrina, "How did you manage that?"

"Hmm, well," the girl smiled shyly, "I decided to experiment with lightning magic and these gloves. The loom consists of two rows of threads stretched parallel to each other, and there's a shuttle with a thread that needs to be passed between them. So, I magnetized the longitudinal threads and their attachments with one hand, and with the other, I charged the shuttle, which began to be attracted to the threads in order. This way, it passed through a row in just a couple of seconds. Then, I changed the order of the threads with magnetism and sent the shuttle back. That's how I managed to wind several meters per hour. Great, isn't it? I'm helping at the factory and learning to control magic in small doses. Although the key is not to overdo it; I had to discard the first two shuttles... They melted in my hands. Hehe."

"What?! Kat, you even damaged the equipment? If the owner finds out, you're in trouble."

"Don't worry! I've learned more than just that; tomorrow, I'll attempt something new. If it works out, I'll be able to weave canvas with any pattern you desire for Rizel's play!"

"What else have you come up with?"

"I want to control several different colored threads at once. That way, I can weave the canvas with a pattern right away. Granted, it'll be challenging, but I'll do my best!"

Katrina struck a victorious pose, which didn't instill the same level of confidence in the others.

"I'm glad you like it. By the way, how's Rizel doing?"

"The students were thrilled with my idea and the fact that I know this guild. Although they weren't initially sure of their abilities, I promised that all of you would help, and they regained their spirits. You won't go back on your words, right?"

"Of course not. And see, Katrina will help us now too. We'll need to work on designing the stage for quick changes of scenery and also work on the costumes. But first, you must choose actors for all the roles."

"Well, there's no problem with that. I've already figured out who could play whom, and there's even a girl who looks like me."

"By the way, with the stage, I can help," Aileen intervened in the conversation.

"Will the proud imperial guard actually help us?"

"I'm not helping you; I'm helping the children. Besides, it won't be difficult even with your technology. We might have to move the stage with earth magic."

Everyone looked at Grain, and he reluctantly nodded.

"Well, then, we'll have to work with a live stage. But in that case, I hope Levris will replace me in earth magic."

"Of course, I'm always glad to help. And Grain, are you up for some training? I've learned a lot today, I don't know where Grivor gets so much knowledge, but with him, I learn something new every day."

"Hmm, alright, let's go. But aren't you a bit too admiring of this old man?" There seemed to be hints of jealousy in Grain's voice.

"Well, you just don't know him. He's an amazing person, although he can be a bit grumpy at times."

The earth mages went to the courtyard, and I took the opportunity to get closer to Ragni. I wanted to ask her about something that had been bothering me all day.

"Ragni, do you know what could give life?"

The dragoness paused for a second from her meal and without much thought, replied, "The breath of the blue god."

"What?!"

"What about you?"

"What you just said, what does it mean?"

"Mmm, well, my mother used to say that life is a gift from the blue dragon god, Sephris. The blue flame can grant life."

"That's also a type of flame, just like the black one? So, can you use it?"

"Don't talk nonsense; only blue dragons can use it. If you find them, then maybe you can."

"And I assume you know where to find them?"

"Yep." Ragni took a big bite, chewed her food a bit, and then recalled where she had seen them. "They seem to have a city at the bottom of the sea, but only they can reach it since it's several kilometers deep."

"Your words aren't very encouraging. You've met them before, right?"

"Well, yes, on occasion, but only because sometimes they come to the surface to live among humans. Of course, they don't report to their mother about who and where decided to live, so the only place that comes to mind is their underwater city."

"Then all this is pointless; we don't have time to search for them."

Upon hearing our conversation, Aileen decided to intervene.

"Krito! Are you asking Ragni to save this girl?" Aileen grabbed me by the collar and pulled me closer to her face. "Don't even think about it. I won't allow sacrificing one life for another."

"I wasn't planning on doing that, but I was hoping that Ragni knows another way to save her."

"How could she know? Even our best healers don't know how to cure the spirits' curse!"

"Hmm, I listened to your discussion," Ragni interjected into our argument, "and thought that you need something from me. What is this curse of the spirits?"

I exchanged glances with Aileen, but she clearly wanted me to say nothing.

"It's a disease caused by a person's mana depletion at birth. It can be..."

"You don't have to continue," Ragni interrupted me. "I know about this disease, and yes, I know how to cure it, but I won't do it."

"But how do you know?"

"My mother told me about it. There was once a person close to her who was destined to die earlier than his appointed time, and my mother wanted to share her life force with him. However, he couldn't agree to it because he knew it would significantly shorten her life. My mother shared this story with me, probably to prevent me from getting too attached to people. Even if we are somewhat similar, I will still live thousands of years after your death, and the pain of loss will be even stronger the closer I am to you."

"Krito, please don't talk about this anymore," Aileen's words reminded me of what the emperor sacrificed for her. "We won't be able to save her, so let's give her a gift that will brighten her farewell."

"Maybe, but I will still try to find a way. Ragni, if the breath of the blue god could bring life back, why didn't your mother use it?"

"Oh, I thought you were more perceptive. I already told you, none of the living dragons can use the power of our ancestor. My mother could invoke his power only if she shed the blood of a blue dragon, but she couldn't do that either."

"So, there's nothing we can do here either. Okay, sorry for distracting you." I turned to leave for my room, but Ragni called me out again.

"I don't know if this will help, but my mother once said that the moonlight is the radiance of the soul of the blue god. But I'm probably not smart enough to understand the meaning of this phrase."

"Thank you, and that's it." I left for my room, and the hope to save Serena was still alive within me.