Kenneth was in a bit of a dilemma. The old dwarf had introduced himself as Andvari. By the looks of it, he was a blacksmith. And a blacksmith he was. The reason as to why he was in the middle of an active volcano was that he was here to look for Hellnite.
"What a coincidence. We were also here to gather some Hellnite." (Kenneth)
"Why, you mackermans too? Tell you what, let Andvari here propose ye a deal." The dwarf known as Andvari looked to strike a deal. "Ye say you were here to gather the... Hellnite, eh? Why don't you yujans accompany Andvari here on a trip to gather some?"
"You know, I'm not exactly eager to accept this "deal" of yours, especially since you didn't even bother to explain about what we're getting from all this."
"You pollerwers will be receiving the help of Andvari himself! I told you I was the greatest blacksmith, and I have come to the human continent to test my skills against the humans' greatest smiths! And also because Andvari here is bad with directions."
"I can tell... Doesn't Andvari mean "the careful one"? How contradictory." Aurelia spoke up, intrigued by the dwarf.
"Oh, are you perhaps an elf, little girlie? Why I've never seen one in my whole life. Looks like you liredays do have someone worthy of my attention."
"You're losing me, Andvari. Anyway, let me confirm this. If we help you get some Hellnite, then you'll procure as equipment?"
"Of course! Andvari is the greatest blacksmith of all dwarven kind. After I win the Klolla Blacksmith Competition, I'll make as many weapons and armor as you little loperhalls need."
"Fair enough, Tell you what. We'll take you inside the mist and help you gather some Hellnite."
"I'm ashamed to say this, my lord, but I don't think I can handle another trip."
"That is a problem. Andvari? You got anything to help light the path?"
"Ye, I do. Here." Andvari tossed over an almost flashlight-like stick.
"What's this?" Kenneth stared at the object curiously.
"It's a flashlight, you jukin. Never seen one before?"
"Well, I figured as much... but what's a flashlight gonna do in this mist?"
"Ay, you underestimate us dwarves too much. Just turn it on and point it at the mist."
"Okay... whoa!" In the flick of a switch, Kenneth was surprised to find that the mist was retreating.
He moved his hand from left to right. The mist would recoil back, almost as if it was afraid of the light wherever he pointed the flashlight.
"This is... surprising. What's this flashlight made of?"
"That's a secret. I'm not telling you skit unless you get me my Hellnite."
"Ah, fine. Come on then, let's get going."
___________
"You look like you came alone, Andvari. Don't you have anbody to accompany you?"
"Nay. I left my own home to test my skill against the best blacksmiths."
'He doesn't seem very eager to talk about his hometown. Well, that's fine.' Kenneth thought to himself.
"By the way, this is a fine piece of tech. Do you mass-produce this?" Kenneth was eager to ask about the flashlight.
"I do not have the manpower to do it, you ikersman. Maybe if I get more helpers, I will."
"That's great. Because this is a neat piece of ingenuity. This must have some type of magic inside it."
"Heh. It's extremely condensed Light Magic. If you can manage to charge it with the mana required, it can keep going forever."
Looks like it all it took for him to spill some of the beans was a few praises.
But this was surprising. Something like this could be worthy to be called an artifact.
And Andvari said he could make this easily if he had people to help?
Kenneth asked the dwarf if the item had any other use besides lighting up the area, and was given a negative answer.
Even if this product had limited uses, being able to refuel the whole thing without charging the battery, made it all the better.
"Mist, be gone!" Kenneth was having fun, waving the flashlight around.
"He almost looks as happy as a kid opening his presents." Lucas shook his head at the sight, before turning to the dwarf.
Andvari always seemed to have a tight grip on his hammer. The one that he had used to whack the pangolin to death was now sheathed in his pocket.
Yet the dwarf would always hold onto the handle.
"You're too attached to that thing," Lucas said to the dwarf.
"Why, you iopersons wouldn't get it. A true blacksmith cherishes his tools and cares for them as if they were his family!" Andvari took out the hammer from his pocket, and began wiping the blunt steel down with a cloth.
The blood, presumably the pangolin's, had been stuck on it for a while now, and Andvari had stated that he did not want it to dry and dirty his trusty hammer.
"Are you sure this is where Hellnite is, you brat?"
"That's the first time you insulted me normally. And my name is Kenneth."
"Fine, Kenneth. Are you sure this is where the Hellnite can be found?"
"Yeah, we scavenged the place dry. So we'll probably need to go deeper, where the more potent and mana rich Hellnite are."
"You took it all? You greedy reverbands."
"There he goes again. You know, I can handle insults, but its somehow even more aggravating when I don't get what the fuck they actually mean."
Except it didn't seem like the dwarf heard him. He had gone back to wiping his hammer down, and was oblivious to the outside world.
"Shit. Hey, Andvari. Do you perhaps have a battery or something for this? We do have a Light Magic-user, but I sent her back to rest."
If Lena was here, she could probably power the flashlight, and they'd be able to keep going for a longer time.
That is if she was here.
"Ay. Here. Don't use it now, or some of the mana will go to waste. And it only fills up half."
"That should be enough. Thanks." Kenneth pocketed the battery and soon went back to focusing on the road ahead.
The area was still as hot as ever. Even if the mist would leave whenever the light was shined on it, it didn't mean the hot temperatures would magically be gone.
So the group had opted to stop a few times in safe areas. And a few quick showers in the rain was all it took for them to be ready to head out once again.
And the rest stops were never dull. Andvari had with him another one of his ingenious artifacts.
A container that was very cold inside. Refrigerator level cold. He had brought out several wines and had opted to share them with Lucas and Aurelia, since they were the only ones of legal age, much to Kenneth's dismay...
When they were talking, Kenneth had asked to take a peek inside the seemingly portable "fridge-bag."
He stuck his tiny hand inside and was indeed surprised to find it colder than expected.
He was unable to comprehend how these things worked and just decided to marvel at the creativity of Andvari, even if he didn't want to admit that he was great at making these.
The dwarf had chosen to challenge Lucas and Aurelia to a drinking bout, where the loser would have to take punishment.
Kenneth was confused at how they were exactly going to hold one here but was even more surprised to find out that the freeze-bag had a seemingly larger space inside of it.
Spatial Magic and Ice Magic? What an odd combination. And all for a bunch of alcohol.
"Raise your drinks, first one to drop loses! Three, two, one, drink!"
By now Andvari was a completely different person. He wasn't swearing, that was one thing.
But another thing was that his personality had managed to make a huge 180-degree turn.
The uncool, rude dwarf from earlier had turned into a rowdy alcoholic. Who was also noisy.
"Reminds me of a certain person." Kenneth thought of a certain god in the back of his mind.
And as soon as the drinking bout started, Kenneth decided to take the lead and become the commentator.
"Oh, alright, here comes the first drink! And we're off to a good start, with both Lucas and Andvari choosing to chug down the entirety of the bottle in one gulp!"
"Aurelia on the other hand decides to go for a slower tactic! She's slowly depleting the bottle's contents, and isn't looking too bad herself!"
"Back over here, Lucas and Andvari are engaged in a heated staredown! At the moment both have already finished two bottles, with neither looking even the slightest bit tipsy!"
"And here comes the third bottle! Lucas shoves the mouth of the bottle down his throat, and is pushing the alcohol's contents directly inside! His lightning-fast tactics are a trouble to deal with!"
"But here we have Andvari! This dwarf seems to be savoring every drop of the wine, even as he downs it in one sip! Who will win this battle?!"
"And there goes the first one! Lucas is down!"
Lucas was the first to collapse on the ground, his body unable to handle his strategy!
"Wahaha! You're no match for the greatest blacksmith of dwarven-kind, Andvari! *glug*"
"Yet as Andvari says this, he's looking a bit out of it himself! Will he fall!?"
The remaining two contestants were Andvari and Aurelia! Both were eagerly drinking their alcohol, with neither showing desire to pass out!
"Oh, Andvari is beginning to slur a little! Is this the sign of him finally losing it!"
Just as Kenneth finished saying his line, Andvari passed out on the ground, as if on cue.
"And, and... and the winner is Aurelia! What a battle!"
The reason why the elf won was that she wasn't drinking as much as the other two.
By the end, she had only finished one and a half bottles! Her slow and steady strategy got her the win!
"It wasn't a race to see who could drink the most, but rather who passed out the last, you know. I'm sure it would've been a tight battle between Lucas and Andvari if it was the latter. Anyway, Aurelia wins this one."
