Chapter 56 – Gnome

We've ended up spending twelve hours on this godforsaken death-trap, I exaggerate a little but it definitely is slightly jankier than the trains on Earth, I can understand why Petra suggested we drink before going on it, just for nerves alone more than anything else.

The train is difficult to describe, mostly because you can actually only see the inside of it, the entrance in and out is basically only a doorway that opens up when the metro like train pulls into the station.

It's just like entering a metro or underground train, the interior even looks similar but there are quite the few bunkbeds around the place. Clearly, this must get used quite a bit, it does seem slightly empty right now though, there's only two dwarfs on this with us inside this carriage.

"We will be arriving ever so shortly, please remain seated and leave the carriage in an orderly fashion"

They even have an announcement system that a female dwarf is speaking out from, she's probably the driver for this metro train then.

Petra explained how that thing worked, vibrations. Yes, that's literally all she could say on it, I swear that's basically the same thing as how speakers and stuff work on Earth but I skipped learning all that boring crap, still don't regret bunking off school to do absolutely nothing.

"That's our stop Ikarus"

I may have fallen asleep on Petra's shoulder as well halfway through the journey, could've taken a bed but drifted off before having the chance, she was fine with it though. Her shoulder was surprisingly comfortable seeing that it's a freaking shoulder, then again, was it just because it's Petra? Who knows?

"Okay okay"

The train then slowly pulls up to the next station and once it has stopped, me and Petra get up of the metro chairs and head off the train.

Once we step outside the train doors, we're greeted to a massive cavern, so big in fact, it dwarfs my parents cave, pun intended. This cavern has multiple levels and with different carved buildings all scattered about as well as it seeming to be densely populated as the area we just came from.

"If we were to go outside now Ikarus, doubt we'd last an hour"

"Hang on, just how close are we to the volcano itself?"

"Hard to say, it definitely isn't liveable outside here, volcanic gasses and all that"

I've just gained some more appreciation for these dwarfs; they clearly know what they're doing if they're happy enough to live this close to a volcano. We should be alright, I think? The last time it erupted was down to Gods, it should be fine.

I know the lava and gasses can't affect us right now but still, a volcanic eruption I'm sure would rattle and shake everything around it especially caves that basically live next door to it, it can't be that safe I'm thinking.

Anyway, Petra starts walking ahead and I follow her.

__________

'Wow, that was a lot of stairs'

We've both just arrived at a blacksmith's shop carved into a subsection of this gigantic cavern having to travel up seven flights of stairs to get up here, yes, seven. My legs are aching now, the dwarfs really like things like stairs it seems.

This guy's shop is clearly a blacksmith's just clearly from the anvil painted on the sign, the door is closed for it though. Like most places down here, it's also carved into another section of the cave.

"Heh, just giving you a slight warning Ikarus, Garry is a little odd"

She's giving me another warning like she did with Zeki; she has a slight laugh so he probably isn't half as bad, hopefully.

"Okay okay, let's just go in"

We open the door and as we enter the smithy, I can't help but take a quick look around. There is a forge right close by to the entrance with a filtration system set up above it looking similar to something that gets placed above a stove but also similar to a modern AC unit, just stone in nature.

The store is stacked to the shelfs filled with weapons, armour and even stuff like clothing that maybe adventures might use. It's clear this guy is more than just a simple blacksmith from all this.

"Well well well, if isn't the blind demon Petra herself? Come to try and rob me even more?"

I really would like to know more reasons why Petra is so popular with the dwarfs but there's probably loads, from the sounds of it she spent a long amount of time here so it's possibly just something like helping loads of people out. I've basically thought that already though.

This guy once again looks just like a stereotypical dwarf, he does have a slight scar over one of his eyes though but still can see from it.

"Heh, you always have owed me gnome, how many times have I saved you from complete bankruptcy?"

"Urgh, always hated that fucking nickname, you do have a point though. I could work for another hundred years and still never pay you back for all the favours you've provided me with, who's your friend?"

"Her's names Ikarus and she's the reason why we're here, have some more enchanted gear once again"

"Seriously? Something like this again?..."

Petra's done something like this before? Maybe her robe was made by this guy then. He does seem to hold a slight amount of irritation, don't know if it's aimed at Petra or he's just a grumpy guy.

"... Look Petra, there's only so much these old bones can do, you must know how weak and frail I've become this past decade or so"

Ah crap, while those two are talking, I haven't checked something out yet. Need to know how dwarfs work.

'Oi, statusss'

[Name: Garry | Species: Dwarf | Level: 123]

[Health 5,000/5,000]

[Stamina 4,033/5,000]

[Magicka 2,300/2,300]

'Old and frail? He's not exactly OP but this guy looks like he's trying to scam Petra or something, his stats aren't that bad but it's a good thing she's having none of it. His stat distribution seems to be the same as a human as well, guess most humanish races have a one times multiplier then.'

"Garry the gnome... how much was it you owe me again? Could always pay the guard a visit"

"Urgh... fine then, show me the gear and I'll see what I can do with it..."

Their relationship is definitely odd but there is another issue right now though.

'Fuck, I forgot I'm already wearing the damn thing'

"... Hurry it up, I don't have all day woman"

Garry the gnome is really getting impatient with me, there's nowhere I can take my clothes off here in his shop, I need to think how to do this.

"Just give me a second, alright?

Petra immediately senses somethings up and accidently reveal's my secret.

"Ikarus, you're wearing it under your clothing already, right?"

"..."

My silence is a clear answer, the dwarf knows what's up as well know.

"*Sigh*, the room behind me is empty, go change in there"

I head into the room he just pointed at and take off this stupid bikini, can't believe I actually let Aesa convince me wearing it is a good idea. If this gnome guy can't do something with it, I'm throwing it away.

[<No you're not>]

'I hate you at times'

Once that's taken off and my clothes are put back on, I head back in to give the gnome my enchanted bikini but he blatantly refuses to even touch it.

"Place it on my anvil, I'm not laying a single finger on that thing"

(Petra) "Heh"

I would complain but fair play to him, I wouldn't touch something that looks this perverted either. Unless... no, I'm not perving over Petra, that's not how this works.

I put the thing on the anvil and then the dwarf goes to pick up a hammer off a shelf, then heads over to give it a test. He starts to strike the hammer against the black bikini and a reaction no one expected occurs.

"What... IN OBLIVION IS THAT!?! *Cough cough*"

The dwarf shouts tremendously loud after striking the enchanted piece of clothing, then has an extreme coughing fit.

"*Cough cough cough*"

It takes him a minute; this clearly has made him lose his breath. Once he regains himself, I ask him a question, I'm a bit unsure why he's reacting like this.

"What's wrong? Is it shitty or something?"

"WHAT'S WRONG!? *Couth cough* damn it, need to compose myself... What you have there little lady, is the most powerful piece of armour I have ever laid these ol'eyes upon. Despite its deceptive shell, this is a piece of armour that the Gods themselves would destroy worlds over, would've been crafted by one as well"

"Ikarus, just what does it do for Garry to be reacting like that?"

I never actually told her the effect it had, just that it can't be worn for everyday use obviously from its looks. She's teased me and has seen me in it already so she knows a little about that.

"It doubles my stats"

...

Both the gnome and Petra actually facepalm from my words, clearly for differing reasons though. The dwarf doesn't seem to understand why I called it shitty and Petra for something else.

"You should've told me it does that, would've taken you over here as soon as possible to get its form shaped. Garry, you think it's possible to do such a task?"

"It depends, I'll give it a try but if the God who crafted this denies me permission, then it's worthless"

The God needs to give him permission? Just who the hell made the perversion dungeon? Wait, wasn't it a guy called Daedalus who created the mythical labyrinth on Earth? I swear he was the father of the original Icarus as well...

I swear to any God, if dragon father is a secret God who crafted this stupid outfit for me to wear, I'm going to break his neck. That shouldn't be the case though, not all Greek myths translate perfectly in this world so there has to be some differences, that can't be a thing I've just accidently figured out, right? Wait, father spoke to me outside that dungeon as well, urgh. That old dinosaur better hope he isn't responsible for this...

"What are you looking to turn it into anyway?"

Garry the gnome now a fair amount calmer asks me this question, I'm not really all that fussed though. I like my current look at the moment, seems pointless to change it too much.

"Is there anyway of making it look like what I'm currently wearing?"

After I ask that, the dwarf strikes his hammer on the clothing once again.

"It says no"

"No!? What the hell do you mean it says no?"

"Enchanted items have a mind of their own Ikarus, dwarfs have a way of speaking to their egos through their work"

"Petra has the right idea but it's a little more complicated than that"

So my choker, vampiric dagger and that bikini all have their own egos? I'm unsure if that's a good or bad thing though. Feel a little sorry for my dagger, it barely gets any use except for training.

This still doesn't answer if father actually is a secret God and crafted all this crap but then again, I'm not going find out either way.

Petra then continues the conversation back on; she does seem to know nearly everything. I'd call her a know it all but I like her so that's not happening.

"Think I might have an idea what's it's doing. Anything that provides such power needs to have some drawbacks, its current drawback is its appearance..."

I guess that would make sense, I think? Everything is an exchange especially in this world, I can't get stronger without killing and my gambling ability that still hasn't been used is proof of that.

"... What if you make it look the same but uncomfortable to wear? Would it accept those type of conditions?"

'What type of weird suggestion is that?'

"Let me have a try"

He strikes it once more, this time a slight glow appears for a split second on the clothing, then fades.

"Yeah, it seems happy with that arrangement"

Okay, this is fucking dumb.

"So... in order for me to wear that stupid thing how I want it to look, it has to be purposely uncomfortable? How the hell do you go about doing that?"

...

Both of them fall silent, just as I'm about to start complaining once again, Petra comes up with a dumb idea that could work.

"Would something like a corset fitted inside it work?"

Petra has an odd mind at times and this is coming from me, aka the original odd minded bird brain.

"Eh, it might want a tiny bit more than just that"

"Guess you could make the entire thing tight and fitting all around, it could relax the ego and trick it into thinking it's a good idea"

I swear my face is looking absolutely confused right now, where is she getting this suggestion from?

"That's not a terrible idea, I'll try again..."

Another smack of the hammer, and then he continues on.

"... Yeah, it seems alright with that"

I've purposely been quiet listening to those two, now my annoyance is festering. Are these two purposely looking to cause me discomfort or something? And what is this stupid thing going on right now?

"Are you actually being serious!? I'm not wearing something extremely uncomfortable!"

"We're just talking, not actually making you wear anything Ikarus. Look on the brightside though, it'll make you look even cuter if you do wear it"

...

Damn it, that caught me off-guard. Who cares about comfort if Petra thinks something will make me look cuter? I can stomach that then, I guess it might make other body parts look bigger if everything else is being compressed, might crush my organs as well but who cares?

"Urgh... fine then"

"Give me a couple of days... ah, I'll need measurements though, my wife has just returned so that's perfect"

"Ah, you have visitors, should I come back later?"

The wife of the dwarf enters the little shop we're in, she definitely is as old as the Garry the gnome as well and looks similar just with no beard like every other dwarf.

"No honey, you're needed here"

Sighhh, let's just get this done, getting measured by a female dwarf, that's a weird and new experience.

__________

"How do you even know him anyway Petra?"

As we're walking away from the store after having my measurements done, I can't help but ask Petra some more questions. Ikarus do be curious a lot.

"Came to him to help Zeki and Ariza fit some enchanted clothing, they had the same problems as you when first switching form"

"Why only bring me now though?"

"Too much going on, would've brought it up when we had a chance to relax or was over here . Now the chance has come up"

Eh, guess she's a got a point, let's figure out what to do now though, we've got a week so let's find something to do. She'll know this place well so she'll be our suggestion box.

"So... what do we do now?"

We got told to come back and check every couple of days or so about the enchanted clothing, he'll do some more work if I don't like the finished product but it should be finished within a week apparently, lucky timing then. What should we do right now though?

"Actually... I'm a little unsure, never come here for recreational use, always been busy doing something else"

I'm guessing she's always been helping people out here and only drinks when she gets a second or two, would suggest a bar but that dwarven stuff isn't something that should be drunk every day, my liver only has one life, ya know?

What do we do? There are stuff we can do and places to see, temples are slightly boring but there does seems to be shows and theatres scattered about in large parts of some of the caves, at least one of the map boards says so.

Oh, there definitely are restaurants and cafes around here, even clothing shops. Thinking about it, this place is similar to a shopping mall, there actually is a surprising amount to do it seems.

(Ikarus) "I guess we could search around, get something to eat and maybe see a show or something?"

This is not like what Nathan suggested when we first met, there is no way a dwarven show is going to be like an opera, there's no chance these fun people would be into something like that, I think.

"Like a date?"

Why does she have to say it like that and smile as well? Fuck... I want to say yes but I'm struggling too, her teasing is good and all but it does make me want to try and give it back but I already know I can't win against her.

"Erm... maybe?"

"Heh Ikarus, it's not going to kill you to just say it"

She doesn't know me well enough yet, I might die of embarrassment admitting to it. If it does kill me, she's to blame, my tombstone will say she caused it.

"Fineeeee, it's a date, alright? This would be our first official date then I guess, where should we go then?"

Saying it like that makes it all too real...