Blade names

Leaving the two dark elves alone, I went down to the second floor, walking along it I met healers who tried to find out from me who I came to, trying to explain to them who I was looking for.

It was clear from the faces of some healers that they did not understand who I was talking about, while others led me along the corridor.

Walking past the rooms, I saw wounded guards who were recovering from injuries received during their work.

Approaching the far room near which stood two guards in armor and weapons in their hands, seeing our direction, one of them raised his hand ordering us to stop.

- The healer can come through, you're a half-elf, stay here. - The guard turned to me in a wary voice.

Looking at the healer accompanying me, who silently walked past the guards and left with the surprised Keirin. She was dressed in a blue dress that emphasized her figure and small daggers hung from her belt.

- Trey, what are you doing here? - The light elf asked in surprise, coming closer to me. - You were supposed to be with the baron, and why does the smell of blood come from you?

Smiling at her questions, I just shook my head; I didn't want to tell her what happened here. Observing my behavior, Keirin returned to the room and said goodbye to the girls, she returned to me. Guards accompanied us to the hotel where we stayed.

The major became even more wary of the possibility of dangerous incidents involving us and ordered the guards accompanying us not to leave the hotel even at night.

Keirin sometimes looked at me with an excited look, but did not dare to ask until we were in the room.

Returning and walking into the room where there was a bed, sitting down on it, the light elf did not take her eyes off me.

- Tell Trey what happened? - Keirin said anxiously, placing her hand on mine.

I was pleased to feel the warmth of her hand, sighing, I began to talk about how we arrived at the baron's castle and what happened then, Keirin's look and face changed with every word I said.

When I began to talk about how we returned to the city, the light elf and I felt a familiar fluctuation of magic.

- I think the head of the mercenary guild will not be captured alive. - I said thoughtfully, looking in the direction from where I felt the fluctuations of magic.

The light elf looked at me incomprehensibly, remembering that I did not have time to tell her about what happened in the major's room.

After listening to the rest of what happened to me and Professor, Keirin suddenly laughed and lay down on the bed looking at the ceiling.

- Oh Tray, where you appear, chaos begins everywhere. - Keirin turned to me with strange emotions in her voice. - This time you saved lives but also destroyed them.

It was clear to me what the girl meant, grinning at her, I also lay down next to her, looking at the ceiling.

I had a desire to get the rune stone and contact Cassandra, but remembering how I look now, it was better to wait until I returned back to the academy.

As the professor said, we had to stay in the city after the arrival of the king's emissary who was trying to figure out what had happened.

Because of what happened, the king sent as an emissary a court magician who was already aged and, based on his behavior, he was afraid of Professor Ni'Lim, and having received from us everything that he needed, he released me and Keirin.

As I feared, the head of the mercenary guild tried to resist Ni'Lim and the court magician saw only the deputy head of the mercenary guild alive.

The professor and major helped the emissary in every possible way, and Keirin often went to visit the girls who remained under the supervision of healers.

As the emissary managed to find out, one of the girls was the daughter of the head of the city guard Lenho, who confessed when he saw the condition she was in that he was transmitting a message about the caravans in the hope of returning his daughter.

I spent time understanding the darkness, I didn't know how much I began to understand it better, one day a messenger came to us and said that the dwarf Blafe was waiting for us.

Surprised that the gnome took less time than he said, no more than a week and a few days passed from the moment of visiting his house.

Having waited for the return of Keirin, who was surprised to see me not immersed in the knowledge of darkness, but having heard the reason, a smile flashed across her face.

 Having gathered, we left the hotel and, accompanied by guards, went to the dwarf's house; approaching it, the crowds that had stood at our first visit were nowhere to be found.

The guards, as before, stood along the street, not allowing anyone to approach the house where Blafe lived.

The door opened and a dwarf appeared in front of us, who turned his gloomy gaze from us, moving to the side and allowing us to go inside.

Taking us through the house to the same room where last time there was a large table and now instead of it there was a descent downstairs.

- Go downstairs, you both are needed to complete your weapons. - The dwarf turned to us. - Are you both involved in what happened in the city and the local baron?

Like any resident of the city, the dwarf heard about what happened to Baron Falo and his sons, as well as to the head of the mercenary guild.

The light elf glanced at me, causing Blafe to sigh and shake his head. Going down the narrow stairs, I felt it becoming more and more stuffy and the warmth rising.

When I went downstairs, I had to wipe away the sweat that was dripping from my hand. Having changed the harbinger to lighter clothes, waiting for Keirin and Blafe to come down, I began to look around.

There were lit torches hanging on the walls that illuminated a small tunnel that stretched to one side from where even more heat came.

I heard footsteps next to me, turning my head, I saw a light elf who was also suffering from stuffiness and the heat below became even stronger.

Having waited for the dwarf, who laughed at how we were both sweating, he led us to where the heat became even stronger.

Following the dwarf through the passage near which torches hung, we found ourselves in a small hall in which the heat and stuffiness became more and more unbearable.

Keirin and I no longer paid attention to the sweat that was dripping from our bodies, looking around, I now understood why the first time I didn't see the dwarf for the blacksmith.

Raising my head up, I saw a hole that was located above the forge and other strange devices. The dwarf walked with his usual step to a stand that stood not far from the forge on which three blades were located. One looked like a sword but had a more rounded blade and two small daggers.

- Will you stand and inspect my blacksmith for a long time? - We heard the voice of a dwarf who led us out of our reverie. - Come to me, both of you.

After exchanging glances with Keirin, we approached the dwarf, who was pointing with his hand at the blades on the racks.

Examining them closer, we could see that the blades were different from those we had seen before, their steel shimmered in different colors and inside there were strange dots that moved inside the blade.

- Have you seen enough?! Now take the blades and feel if the handle is comfortable in your hand. - Blafe turned to us, looking at the blades with loving eyes. - You half-elf, just don't try to strike, otherwise we'll remain here underground.

Understanding what the dwarf meant when he said not to try to strike, the light elf and I took the blades.

I didn't have the feeling that there was something in my hand, lowering my gaze and making sure that my hand was gripping the hilt of the blade, I turned my gaze to Keirin who was carefully trying to strike.

Looking at the dwarf who did not take his eyes off me, sighing in disbelief and heat and of the stuffiness that surrounded us, I made one swing.

I had a feeling that the blade had become part of my hand and having tried to strengthen it with my magic, I watched as darkness began to appear on the blade and the points inside it began to glow.

Canceling my magic, I returned to the dwarf, who chuckled contentedly as he watched Keirin strike in different ways and fill his blades with magic.

Because of the stuffiness and heat, the light elf had to stop returning to us; her gaze told me not to try to tell anyone about the state she was in now.

Her hair, like all her clothes, stuck to her skin and sweat flowed from her body, turning her gaze from me to the light elf. Blafe led us, as I understood, to the forge where a small hammer lay.

- Now comes the easy part, you need to name your blade. - The dwarf said pointing to the hammer and the forge. - And at this moment, seal it so that no one except you can take it in their hands.

Reflecting on the words, I remembered that in ancient times any weapon was given names which, as they believed in ancient times, endowed the weapon with a certain consciousness.

Sealing weapons was even less common in ancient times, but now it could only be read about in ancient treatises or legends.

Thinking about the name for the blade that I had in my hand, I tried to understand what awaited the blade in my hand.

- You know how to seal a blade, right? - With hope in his voice, the dwarf turned to us, observing our glances at each other.

The dwarf continued to look at us hopefully, seeing that we were both shaking our heads, a long sigh was heard from Blafe, he asked to raise the blades. Raising the blades, I tried to understand what the dwarf wanted from us.

- Look, do you see the line that runs down the middle of the blade from the handle itself? - The dwarf asked us, pointing his thick fingers at a small stripe on my blade. - You need to shed your blood on it and at that moment hit it with a hammer and pronounce the name of the blade loudly and clearly.

Picking up the dagger that lay next to the forge, the dwarf handed it to us, looking at the blade of the dagger, I saw how the fire from the blacksmith was reflected on the steel of the dagger and then a name appeared in my head.

Reaching out to the dagger that Blafe was holding out, I understood even better why the name that appeared in my head was suitable for the blade.

Having cut my hand and clenching it in my fist and returning the dagger to the dwarf, I walked up to the forge, putting the blade on it and taking the hammer in my whole hand, I felt its weight in my hand and the heat and stuffiness that became more and more unbearable.

- Your name is the Destroyer of my enemies. - I shouted, hitting the blade with a hammer and continuing to hit, pronouncing the name of the blade.

Having reached the hilt of the blade, I stopped and then saw how darkness began to appear from my armor, coming into contact with the sword and changing its color. It turned black and inside there were barely visible beard stripes that stretched from the tip to the hilt.

Surprised, I turned my gaze to the dwarf, whose face showed disbelief at what he just saw. Having put the blade in storage and handed the hammer to Keirin, who, like the dwarf, did not understand what happened to the blade.

The light elf turned her gaze to me and to the hammer, nodding and putting the daggers on the forge and taking the dagger from my hands and cutting her hand, she handed it to the dwarf who had not yet come to his senses.

Having spilled blood on the daggers, the light elf took the hammer in two hands and began swinging at one of the daggers.

- Your name is Hope for those close to me. - Keirin shouted, hitting the dagger blade with her hammer.

Like my sword, the color of the steel and the dagger itself began to change to a more icy color; it seemed as if a barely noticeable steam was emanating from the blade. The light elf did not pay attention to the change in the dagger; she moved on to the second.

- Your name is Faith in my judgments. - Keirin shouted, hitting the second dagger with her hammer.

Watching with interest the change in the second dagger, one could see how a burgundy color began to appear, which stretched from the steel to the hilt of the blade.

The dwarf, whose hand was outstretched and on which the dagger lay, looked from me to Keirin, who was examining her daggers.

- You are very strange, in my entire life I have never seen steel change its color. - Blafe said in an incredulous voice, looking from me to Keirin. - And I have no desire to know what you are hiding.

The dwarf, slowly coming to his senses, led us back upstairs, doubts were still visible in his gaze about what he saw below, but apparently he tried not to think about it.

 Having reached the door, Blafe looked at us and opened the door, going out into the street with us, the dwarf took a long sigh.

- If you need the services of a blacksmith, you know where to look for me. - Blafe turned to us. - And now it's time for me to get started on the orders that, by your grace, I have rescheduled, goodbye, I hope we'll see you again.

Speaking his last words, the dwarf first extended his hand to me and then to Keirin, saying goodbye to him, we returned back to the hotel where Ni'Lim was waiting for us.

Having learned that we had taken our blades, she couldn't wait to see them, showing them, we warned her that they were sealed, wincing when she heard about this, the dark elf examined with interest the unusual color of the steel of our blades.