Chapter 40, For a prince 6

(Reskeme)

Returning to the guild in the morning, Reskeme for once was smiling as they strolled through the sparse morning traffic.

Reskeme And Michael went to the cafeteria before they went to work. His stomach grumbling and rubbing his tired eyes, Reskeme yawned, stretching. If all went to plan, they could do most of the final work of the sword and the shield in the next two days. Reskeme was hesitant to add anything more than necessary to the weapons, but Michael had other ideas.

" I still think we should set gems into the sword and shield." Said Michael, his statement a repeat of their previous conversation.

" We don't have the crowns for that." Reply, Reskeme his good mood fading.

" You are just a greedy razz!" said Michael.

" I just don't want to waste all of our crowns."replied Reskeme crossing his arms defensively. They strode down the guild hallway only members could use toward the dining room.

" You are never going to let that go, are you? We still have fifty silver crowns. And we can take a loan from the guild master. After he sees our project, he will give us the loan for sure. Just trust me, if we don't make the sword and shield look expensive then the prince won't care about them." Said Michael. Reskeme furrowed his brow at Michael, not understanding why the man insisted they add something so pointless.

" Let me state it in a way that you can understand. Would you buy a loaf of bread that looked old and hard or would you buy the loaf that was steaming and oozing cheese from the center?" Asked Micheal seriously.

" Is that even a question? I would choose the loaf of bread that looked the best of course." Reply, Reskeme instantly. Reskeme scoffed, but then realized that he had just agreed with Michael. Michael smiled and patted him on the back.

" Don't worry my good friend, I will buy all the gems and silver wire." Replied Michael. Reskeme froze as the words flowed through his mind. He smiled. He had an actual friend? His heart raced and even though he had lost the argument, Reskeme couldn't help but smile like an idiot.

" lets go, I cannot wait to get started!" said Reskeme excitedly.

They opened the double doors and enter the mess hall to the angry stares of several well-dressed people.

" Can you keep it down! Its way too early in the morning to be shouting you peasant!" said a clearly angry noble.

Reskeme cocked his head as the four nobles sitting around a table with heaping plates of eggs, cheese and steaming mugs glare at them. Next to Reskeme, Michael's shoulders slumped as he shrunk in size. The wonderful smell of coffee drifted across the room, making Reskeme's mouth water. If only he could afford such things.

" Sorry," mumbled Michael, not meeting the eyes of the nobles.

" Its good you know your place peasant." scowled the tallest of the group, proudly displaying his silver medallion.

" They were just exited about something, Stan. Don't worry about those gutter trash, besides, I doubt they are making something more valuable than a butter knife." said the short mustached man sporting combed back black hair.

" You are right Ethan, these two are probably making horse shoes or a brush to clean the muck from our shoes." said Stan chuckling. Anger welled in his chest, and Reskeme felt a burning desire to rise to the challenge. Weary of the last time he provoked, a noble Reskeme took an alternative approach.

" Really? Then I suppose you think the things you are making are worth more than ours?" asked Reskeme, puffing out his chest as though in challenge. Reskeme decided his friends' meek attitude would help with his new plan, so he said nothing.

" Off course. Peasants like you don't stand a chance of making anything that could rival what a rune smith of pure blood can make." retorted Stan instantly. Reskeme grinned.

" Will you put your crowns where your mouth is?" asked Reskeme. Stan cocked his head in confusion.

" Do what? Put my crowns in my mouth?" asked Stan, clearly confused.

" He means do you want to make a bet on who will make more money by selling their weapons," said Michael quietly. Stan's face scrunched up in distaste.

" Ooh, I guess its too much to expect that a commoner will speak properly." Stan eyed their practical leather aprons up and down, sneering.

" I bet you five gold that my weapon will make more crowns at the auction than yours." said Stan casually.

Reskeme had to forcibly shut his jaw.

" Five gold crowns?" asked Reskeme, sure he had heard wrong.

" You are are right, maybe ten crowns would be a suitable bet?" said Stan.

" Five crowns sounds good." reply Michael coughing. Reskeme wanted to kick Michael shin for lowering the price but smiled at the noble.

" What are the rules of the challenge?" asked Reskeme.

" Two weapons. Whoever makes the most crowns off selling two weapons will win the five gold." said Stan, sneering as though they didn't stand a chance.

" Lets seal the deal like men, shake on it." said Reskeme offering his arm.

Scowling like he was petting an alley cat, Stan took Reskeme's outstretched hand and shook firmly.

" Five gold goes to the winner. And you better pay up after the auction commoner or you will regret it." Said Stan.

" I will pay nothing. You are going to be paying me five gold." retorted Reskeme.

Reskeme felt a ferm hand on his shoulder and was nearly carried towards the stall in which they could purchase their own food.

" You had to provoke them? What if we don't have five gold crowns left after the auction? You know that we have to pay the guild back right?" Hissed Michael, clearly upset.

"Don't be so uptight. And besides, now we will make a lot more gold than before. When we win and the prince buys our weapons." Said Reskeme. Reskeme, who was trying to avoid the conversation, stepped forwards to order food. Many of the items available were free because of their membership in the guild, but many had a price.

" What can I get for you?" Asked a young woman, smiling sweetly at both of them. In Reskemes opinion the cook in her overalls and her hair tied back with a bright yellow bandanna radiated sweetness and he felt himself smiling simply by looking at her.

" I would like some eggs and a loaf of bread, the one with the cheese oozing from the center please." said Reskeme, his mouth watering at the amazing smells assaulting him

" Of course, it will be one copper for the cheese bread, sir." replies the young woman. Reskeme didn't even argue as he passed her a copper crown for the luxury of the cheese in his bread. Ever since he had discovered the wonders of delicious food, Reskeme was willing to give all of his coins for food.

The young woman's smile brightened the room as she smiled, lighting the room.

" And what can i get for you?" she asked Michael.

" Can, I, I please, possible to get a loaf of cheese bread with some eggs." Asked Michael stuttering as he order his food.

" Of course, I'm Sara I just started working here. My father is the head cook for the guild so you will be seeing a lot more of me from now on." Said the young woman.

" My, my names Michael and this is Reskeme." Said Michael nervously.

" Nice to meet you, booth. What do you two do for the guild?" She asked, eyeing their scorched leather aprons.

" We are runesmith's. Well, Michael here does all the work. He is far more skilled than I am." Reply, Reskeme patting Michael's shoulder. Michael's face flushed a deep red as the woman eyed him up and down approvingly, a smile gracing her lips.

" Is that so? Then I shall look forward to seeing you again."said Sara.

Reskeme grinned as Micheal stammered, scratching his head in embarrassment. Reskeme was more interested in the food than the young lady behind the counter. They grabbed their food and sat down on the other side of the cafeteria from the nobles. Michael's cheeks were red all the way to his ears as his eyes examined the wood grain of the table.

" So Michael, what do you think of the new cook?" Ask Reskeme grinning evilly.

" She is sweet and kind I guess." Mumbled Michael, his face flushing as he ran his hand through the dark thick stubble on his cheeks.

" Uh huh, why don't you go talk to her." Teased Reskeme. Reskeme had no such interest. She was beautiful, true, but trust was more important than anything else.

" Lets go! We have a lot of work to do if we want to make our weapons good enough." said Micheal scarfing down his remaining food.

Reskeme, who had only taken a couple bites of his soft toasted bread, scowled and dug in as Micheal cleaned up every scrap off his plate.

Not wanting to work on an empty stomach, Reskeme devoured his food, sighing in contentment as he walked with Michael to the workroom.

Michael glared at Reskeme as he took off his amulet, and looking at Reskeme, touched the amulet to the doorknob. Reskeme stares innocently at Michael as the man opened the door to the dimly lit workroom. It's not like Reskeme would play a prank, sheesh why was Michael so tense?

Reskeme, already knowing what he should do, strode across the room to the forge and prepared the tinder to light a fire. He struck flint and the dry tinder caught flame. After the fire was burning hot enough, he added the coal and slowly pressed on the bellows. For minutes the heat grew until sweat began running down his back.

Michael crossed to Reskeme. He was carefully holding their recently created sword in thongs, like he was carrying a poisonous snake. The sword was an unfinished blade with a crossguard, without hilt or pommel. Runes cover both the crossguard and the blade, still not shimmering as they were dormant until the sword hit something.

" We can power the shield later. I want to heat the sword to soften the metal. I still need to ad a handle and pommel. Not to mention we need to figure out why the sword helps disguise people so well." said Michael as he placed the sword underneath the cherry red coals.

" I dont know how to add gems or other useless decoration to the sword." added Reskeme, slumping his shoulders.

" Thats fine, my father is an excellent gem setter. I have spent a lot of years learning his craft. If you pay attention, I will show you how to properly add decoration to your weapons." reply Michael.

" I remember something from that book you forced me to read-

" Thats impressive. I'm surprised you still remember the title." retorted Michael, cutting Reskeme off.

" As I was saying, I think the resonating rune is why my illusions on the sword make you blend in with your surroundings." said Reskeme, feeling like he had struck close to the truth. Michael's eyes went wide as realization dawned on his face. He struck his face hard with his palm and sighed.

" By the grace of the god of magic Darentar, I'm a moron. I can't believe you connected the dots before me. The resonating rune surrounding the monster's heart doesn't just connect it with the rest of the sword, but to its surrounding using your four layers of illusion magic to help the user blend in with his surroundings. If you look, I did not add a nullification around the resonating rune like I was supposed to." said Michael.

" Well, I guess. It makes more sense to just say the illusions make the sword and user disappear." reply Reskeme.

" That is the laymen's terms. But you have the right idea." said Michael.

" Do we have a hilt and pommel?" asked Reskeme, changing the topic.

" Yes, my dad had a spare one that will hold gems and brace the sword well." said Micheal as he reached inside the leather satchel looped through his belt and pulled out a handle with a circle pommel.

" Don't we need to add runes to the pommel so it won't get destroyed by the mana we already placed in the sword?" asked Reskeme.

Michael smiled at Reskeme and offered the leather wrapped handle and smooth silver pommel to Reskeme.

" Exactly. Do you know which runes you need to place on each side of the pommel to protect the handle?" asked Michael. Furrowing his brow, Reskeme thought about it.

If he used the sword, he would want to activate the runes in the monster's heart without touching the cross guard. He also didn't want the green fire he had placed in the weapon to kill him or whoever else used the weapon.

" A nullification rune on one side, and a resonating rune on the other?" asked Reskeme nervously.

" Close. Place two on each side of the pommel. A small resonating rune and a larger nullification rune." reply Micheal. Reskeme felt pride that he was at least close. He felt as though he was figuring this out.

It made sense now that Michael said it. If the resonating rune was inside the nullification runes, then the power of the sword wouldn't be able to affect the user. Unless the person was dumb enough to cut themselves.

Feeling nervous, Reskeme crossed the room with the detached pommel in hand and opened the book for journeymen runes.

After staring at the book until his head hurt, Reskeme channeled his mana and envisioned the winding pattern that made up the nullification rune. He focused on forcing his mana into thin lines that twisted like two snakes, wrapping around each other until they created a perfect circle. He then placed his creation on the flat of the pommel. Reskeme didn't power the rune just yet, as he needed to destroy and recreate the rune smaller. His veins burned as he adjusted the size of the rune to fit the pommel before creating a second resonating rune inside the nullification rune. He didn't power the first rune, as he wanted to create them both at the same time.

The runes together looked like an eight-pointed star resting inside of two coiled snakes. Breathing Reskeme focused his mana into the two newly created runes. The air filled with the smell of metal burning as his mana carved the runes into the flat of the steel. Excitement filled his chest as he shook off the metal dust, revealing the two runes carved into the flat of the metal.

He felt a distinct presence as boots scuffed the stone, and Michael peered over his shoulder at the pommel.

" That is an impressive feat. I would usually use a hammer and a chisel to carve the engravings, but I have to admit that is far more effective." said Michael.

" Really, this is how the book describes carving the runes into steel." reply Reskeme, why would someone spend so much time with a hammer and a chisel when they could use their mana? though Reskeme.

" You 're lying, the old book said nothing like that." said Micheal as he reached over Reskeme and took the book from in front of him. Micheal read for several minutes before he sighed.

" See I told you. Now give it back, I need to add two more runes and you need to buy the gems we need to make the sword look flashy so the prince will buy it." said Reskeme taking the book from Michael.

" Look at you. Only a few days ago you paled at the thought of me adding gems to the weapons." reply Michael.

" Well, there is something far more important. If I have to suffer another week of your torturous work, then it is going to at least be for a reason. Putting that ass to shame is what really counts." said Reskeme, anger welling in his chest. All he could think about in that moment was a sabre tearing through his left ear. He unconsciously reached for the mangled ear. It's not like it was hideous, but he definitely looked odd, with his ear appearing clipped.

Micheal raised his hands in defeat. He left the room as Reskeme pushed aside his unhelpful thoughts and returned to his work. Reskeme's veins burned as he focused intently and willed thin strands of mana to recreate his runes on the other side of the pommel in the same order. The resonating rune in the middle and the nullification rune on the outside.

Sweat beaded on his forehead as the sweltering heat of the forge washed over him. For some reason, Reskeme didn't trouble himself at the thought that someone he had only met over a week ago spent his money. He had known some people for years and trusted them less than he trusted Michael. Just something about the aspiring runesmith that made Reskeme want to trust the man completely.

To Reskeme's ever growing surprise, he wasn't even thinking about robbing Michael when it was time to leave. That was odd, as the only people he didn't want to rob were his friends, and he could count them on one hand. Reskeme sighed as he could remember his deadline. He had nearly forgotten about it when the man had approached him on the street the day before. The man helpfully reminded him that Reskeme was here for the high priest of the church for a distinct reason.

Reskeme almost threw the newly finished pommel as he remembers he had a deadline. Three days, all he had was three days before the priest would send one of his assassins to stick a knife in Reskeme's ribs. Well, that was if Reskeme didn't finish the mission. Reskeme shudder, anxiety welling in his chest.

Cool air washed over him. Reskeme replaced his scowl with a smile as he turned to see Michael. Michael placed a small pouch onto the desk next to Reskeme and another next to it. Each making a small thud. Wood ground on stone, Reskeme turn in the wooden chair, Reskeme opens the pouches.

" This is all I could get. Without a loan from the guild we cannot afford anything more." said Michael.

"I'm not sure that we need anymore." said Reskeme peering into the two pouches. He gently poured the small gems in one bag on the table. There were six smooth green gems that practically sparkled. While in the other bag was a roll of silver wire that glimmered in its own special way in the firelight.

" Lets add these to the sword. If we like the look of it, then we can discuss getting a loan from the guild." said Michael.

"We can place three emeralds on each side of the pommel and tightly wrap the handle with the silver wire. With the green and purple runes the green gems should match the colours. I'm not sure about purple gems but we may find some if we go to the jeweler's shop." said Michael.

" Those are emerald? Are they expensive?" asked Reskeme, admiring the deep green gems. Each was the size of the tip of his pinkie finger nail but sparkled as the flames of the forge glinted off their polished smooth edges.

" Yes, for these six and the silver wire it cost me 48 silver crowns even with the discount offered by the guild." reply Michael.

Reskeme felt woozy. The price of these rocks and the small amount of silver wire were astonishing.

Was the silver wire really so expensive?" asked Reskeme, thinking that the silver wire would definitely cost more.

" No, the wire was cheap in comparison. 95% of the cost was these six shiny green rocks. If not for their tiny size they would have been much more expensive." Said Michael confidently. Slowly Reskeme backed away from the tiny green stones, unwilling to let himself break something so small and valuable.

Michael took the pommel and placed it in a small vice next to the anvil. He used a hammer and a chisel and with small precise strike made indents into the flat of the pommel. He repeated the same on the opposite side. Reskeme wondered how the man was so precisely spacing the three holes. He strained his senses, just noticing the slight trickle of mana being channeled, and Michael used his mana to create a guide.

That was a good idea. Watching intently, Reskeme took mental note of the man's short pre-sice strokes. Michael walked over to Reskeme after he was done. Micheal placed three of the gems inside their fresh places on the pommel. Micheal made the indents slightly too large. Reskeme realized there was a purpose to that a minute late when Micheal walked back to the vice. Securing the grip firmly, Micheal used a small chisel and a hammer and push the sides of the steel so the metal itself overlapped the edges of the first gem.

Reskeme watched in excitement as Michael repeated the process five more times, setting each of the gems by pressing the edges of each of the small craters over the edges of the gems.

"Will it hold?" asked Reskeme.

To Reskeme's absolute horror, Michael grinned and without hesitation threw the newly created handle at the far wall. The pommel struck with a clang, falling to the ground.

Reskeme walked over nervously to see if the small stones had broken. He picked up the pommel, and, using his finger, touched each of the gems. Even after the throw, they didn't even budge. Reskeme grinned. They were far better secured than he thought they would be.

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