Fellowship

Will and a rapidly aging Elder Thaddeus, sat eating breakfast at The Royal Ingot Inn eating corn beef, and cabbage, a favorite breakfast among dwarves. Nisha and Archimedes shared a rotisserie deer.

In the Dwarven capital of Dan Kolduhr, Will watched as some dwarves walked down the mine shafts to work, or others the mine shafts home.

From the inn's open window dining room, Will saw dwarfs opening jewelers, engravers, rune inscriptions, and other stores. The lives of dwarfs were as normal as humans.

"Oi, good choice lad!" Master Duncan said entering the inn.

"Oh, why?" Will asked curiously.

"That'll keep you from vomiting later," he laughed.

Okdrotir Goldbringer and Ralgar Gemmolder laughed as well.

"His majesty didn't say it last night, but there are a lot of similarities between you and our culture.

You should feel honored, you're the first human merchant, who did not turn down.

However, if you want to trade with us dwarfs you must first live our culture," Duncan said.

"I understand, I spent two months living in Rijilir, how can it be different for dwarves?" Will agreed.

This was a common practice even on Earth. Back on Earth, Will spent several days, even months in China, Japan, India, and Singapore to earn the trust of his business traders.

How could he not expect the same here, after all, business was about relationships. The greater the cultural respect, the easier it was to conduct business.

On Earth, Will used to laugh at American politicians and bureaucrats who wanted to respect other countries' cultures but still wanted advantage trade deals. Bullying other cultures was not a good way to approach trade deals. It might be profitable in the short term, but in the long term, those deals always led to resentment.

With the beastmen and dwarfs, Will wanted to ensure long-term trade deals.

"You're a good lad Will," said Master Duncan.

"Alright this today, Okdrotir Goldbringer and Ralgar Gemmolder are going to give you a tour of the mines, commercial and residential districts," he said.

After leaving the inn, Will cast [radar], and was stunned at the enormity of the Northman mountain range and Dwarven kingdom.

"Welcome to Stoughdwell Peaks, Baron," Ralgar smiled, as she felt him cast the spell. She gave Will some time to take it all in.

"You are lucky to have my wife and me as tour guides," Okdrotir said.

"We grew up around humans. We belonged to a smaller clan in the eastern hills, our clan was overrun by goblins and orcs.

A young blacksmith found us, he and his wife raised us as their children. When they died, we found our way here," he said.

"Even though that was 100 years ago, that memory still makes me a bit testy-eyed," Ralgar said sadly.

As they toured Will studied the architecture of homes, ships, and rail lines. Yes, the dwarves have used a rail system for thousands of years to transport the metal out from the bottom of the mine.

Dan Kolduhr was an engineering and artistic marvel. Besides rail lines, there were large suspension bridges and gondola lifts.

Dan Kolduhr was a maze with thousand of intricate tunnels. Will took the gondola lift down deep into the heart of the mountain.

The further down the descent the hotter it became. Outside the mountain it was winter, inside the mountain it was peak summer.

While the rest of the world lived in the medieval era, the dwarfs were in the industrial period. The difference was like heaven and earth. Immediately, Will felt more at home. Before Will reincarnated, Earth was in a post-industrial, modern era.

Will watched as various metals were put into trapezoid rail wagons, transported to refineries, and then moved to massive machines. The massive stamping machines pressed various metals into uniform ingots.

This operation was more efficient than those back on earth.

"Wait, how do these machines operate?" asked desperately for this type of knowledge.

"Rune inscription and thermal energy," Okdrotir said as if was a minor footnote.

"Thermal energy!" Will accidentally shouted in surprise.

"Oh, you know about thermal energy?" Ralgar said.

"Yes," Will said repressing his desire to investigate further.

"How come you haven't mined everything yet?" Will asked changing the subject.

The mountains are massive and the materials are spread out. We constantly surveyed the mountains, and continue to find new veins. Moreover, as our technology improves, we find we can also mine older veins.

As the gondola approached the bottom, the temperature went from hot to sweltering. Will thought it had to be over 40 degrees celsius.

At the bottom, Will saw the stamping machines up close. Rows of ingots rolled off the conveyer belt at about 20 per minute. If he had this type of machine Gadreel, imagine the profit he could earn.

Currently, Will was selling an ingot of iron for 40 silvers. Which was twice the going rate, that's how in-demand iron was in the economy. He could only imagine the riches of the dwarves who built a machine like this.

"In two days, you'll return here to practice your forging at these smithies," Ralgar said.

Will saw hundreds of Dwarves working on different projects, the sheer production power was astounding. Even more astonishing was the magma flow being routed through this floor. Also piled on the floor were heaps of coal.

After touring the smithies, residential, at commercials districts, Okdrotir and Ralgar led him to The Imperfect Axe Pub.

Behind, the bar a strong-looking lady with long red hair and brown was pouring beers and putting them onto a waiting tray before a server whisked them off to tables.

"Hilda! Three stouts," Okdrotir shouted.

The bartender nodded back.

Will looked at the two-storied tavern. Dwarves were everywhere and anywhere; waiters and waitresses moved through tables, picking up empties and dropping off food and new drinks.

After three tall tankards of stout, we're brought to the table. Okdrotir and Ralgars drank their tankards in almost one gulp.

Then Okdrotir ordered again by catching a waiter's eye and holding up two fingers, the waiter nodded and disappeared.

Will gulped the dark stout and placed his tankard back on the table. The Dwarven stout beer, by comparison, made Guinness taste like a light beer.

Truthfully, after Will finished the last of the stout, he paused, savoring the lingering taste in my mouth, feeling slightly tipsy.

"Your first test begins now. We'll have a drinking competition. Whoever drinks the most wins," Okdrotir said already on this fourth beer.

Will already wished for bed, but to win over the dwarves he was prepared to drink all night. Many years ago, in college Will had won a drinking game. Although he was older than, he was now, Will felt he was prepared to fight enough to win their race's respect.

From the outside, the pub looked looks lavish, cheerful, and affluent. Bricks and marble pillars made up most of the building's outer structure.

With large stained glass windows, the pub looks more like a temple than a drinking establishment. But the laughter and clinking of beer glasses from within left no doubt of its purpose.

Okdrotir and Ralgars had massive smiles on their face. The beer they were drinking was called 'Stone Raiders.'

The more Will, Okdrotir, and Ralgar drank, the more they played drinking games, sang along with some of the songs, and caused general chaos. According to Okdrotir and Ralgar, this was a normal day.

After work dwarves would unwind in a pub or tavern. Dwarves lived by the motto: Work hard, drink hard.

More beers, Hilda!" Ralgar shouted drunkenly.

"How many?" one of the waiters asked.

"Six!" Okdrotir chugged what remained of his beer.

"Having an easy night, huh?" Ralgar asked drinking from her mug.

"Ha-ha, dear we got to be responsible and guard this human," Okdrotir chuckled.

As the night pressed on the pub's hardwood floors were covered in beer. Yet, that did not stop customers from dancing, when a fiddling band set up after the first bell. As people danced, the beer on the floor would splash up.

As Will's eyes were barely staying open. To stay awake he forced himself to study paintings on the pub's walls.

For some reason, after the first bell, the already packed pub became even more crowded.

Several long tables were occupied by happy, drunk groups of dwarves. Some dwarves even danced on the table, while others cheer them on by clapping and yelling.

The other, smaller tables are also occupied by people who are having a good time. Even most of the stools at the bar are occupied, though nobody seems to mind more company.

Throughout the night, Will sampled twelve stout beers and seven liquors.

At the toll of the second bell, an old dwarf stood up and started to hum, and in a rich tenor voice he began to sing:

Verse 1:

Far over the cold Stoughdwell Peaks

To dungeons deep, in caverns we seek

To mine vines untold

Verse 2:

We must away,' ere break of day

To toil long to mine our riches away

To mine vines untold

Verse 3

With our torches blazed with light

With fire red, our forges we fight

To mine veins untold

Verse 4

For ancient kings and selves, we hoard

For Gaia's might, we brave with shield and sword

To mine veins untold

(A/N: modified from The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien)

The melancholic song brought tears of joy to dwarves.

Even Will felt his emotions stir.

"Okdrotir, Ralgar what was that song?" Will asked curiously.

"Many dwarves believe in an ancient text, that tells how dwarves came into existence. Once long ago demons from Tartarus wage war on this world.

The demons clawed their way from the bowels of hell up through the mountains, and onto Terra.

To protect the Gaia's creation, she sent her most devout warriors to guard the passage from Tartarus to Terra," Ralgar said her eyes misty.

"That has a wonderful story," Will said. He knew every tribe or race of people had its own creation story. Creations stories were powerful and gave purpose and morality to a race.

The dwarves' creation story was of God-appointed guardian warriors.

"Then how did the dwarves come to be such great smithies?" Will asked.

"I cannot say much. But, our ancestors became blacksmiths to seal the passages to the underworld," whispered Ralgar.

"You pass Baron William vont Ballard. Although you drink worse than dwarfish children. You've shared a meaningful night with our race. Now Will, pay Hilda the bar tab!" Okdrotir said before passing out drunk, his head hitting the table.

"I'll walk you home, he'll be fine tomorrow. But you, you have a busy afternoon in the arena. Tomorrow you train with the new Stalwart Shield Bearers.