"Since the first dwarven holds appeared in the mountain ranges of Edor, each of holds had developed unique cultures separate from other dwarven holds. With exceptions such as the universal dwarven love for a good drink or their subterranean nature, each hold developed a unique culture due to their isolation from each other from the tall stone halls of the Karr'Grant to the massive industrious foundries of Karr'Cal each hold develops such a fierce feeling of belonging that the system itself recognises their differences and separates the dwarven race."

-Extract from a diary of travelling Oririr scholar.

 

 

---

 

 

  Mira held a blue mug with both hands, inhaling the aromatic vapour rising from it, as Iris and Kia walked up to the reception counter.

 

"Hello again! How can I help." Mira waved, her face not lifting away from her mug.

 

"Hi. I was wondering, is there a bestiary book we-"  

 

"We do have training lessons about general disassembly of common monsters in a couple of bells if that's what were you wondering." The elf behind the counter interrupted Iris with a small smirk.

 

"Yes, how did you know what was I about to say?" A deep frown appeared on the other elf's forehead.

 

"You don't work for a quarter of a century in the same place without learning something,'' Mira spoke casually waving her one free hand.

 

"Fine, there are always people like you who go out there without any preparation and about one-fourth of them come back with the same request." She waves her one hand defensively seeing Iris's amethyst eyes narrow with suspicion.

 

"One-fourth?"

 

"Most don't see the silvery light of Leral after they got their first request, even of the ones who train." The chestnut hair elf lower her eyes slightly, tracing the edge of the mug with her finger.

 

 After an awkward moment of silence, Iris speaks. "...Soo on what bell are these lessons."

 

"Aa, yes sorry for that, I believe the training is on the sixth bell in the back. You have to go through the door left from the staircase to get there. Also, you don't have to pay for attending." Holding the hot mug the receptionist leaned to the side and pointed at the wooden door, blending perfectly with the surrounding wall.

 

"Thanks." Iris thanked Mira. Turning around she found Kia standing beside the quest board instead of her. The black hair elf silently walked over to stand right beside Kia who held a request sheet in her slim hands.

 

"Found something interesting?"

 

"I think.?" The hooded girl, uncertain of her choice turned around and held the paper sheet in front of her.

 

"Let's see what we got here." Iris took the request noticing brown paint on the upper left corner. "Material Foraging" was written in bold black letters dominating the top of the page with the rest of the letter written in a much smaller font. She read the rest of the request, casting a dubious gaze at Kia as the request was a simple delivery of materials to a blacksmith but elf guest it was something novel to her.

 

"How about we go to the blacksmith to see what he wants and then walk around Marinya until the sixth bell?" The elf said, receiving a nod from the girl.

 

  The two left the guild building through the front door entering the busy port district. Iris headed towards the blacksmith shop written on the quest sheet. They ended up walking through the docks where the ship crews hurriedly moved heavy wooden crates to and from the ships. On the masts of the ships, the flags of many nations, guilds and individuals fluttered in the sea breeze. The girls manage to manoeuvre their way through the docks finding themselves in front of a shop with a hammer and anvil painted on the sign mounted above the doors. A chime of a small bell rings in Iris's pointy ears as she pushes the front door open. 

The different armour and weapons stands were shining with vacancies causing the shop to look abandoned. When the girls delved deeper into the shop they saw a counter with glass cabinets with jewellery neatly displayed.

The elf walked over the counter and through a door, she saw a small bolding man with a long dark brown beard reaching his waist sitting in front of a table with his hand stretched towards the magical lantern hanging above him.

 

"What are you looking for?" The irritated dwarf shouted from the dark room.

 

"We are here for the quest posted at the adventures guild by the owner of Dwol'Fer." Iris said, "We are here to discuss it."

 

"Fine!" The dwarf groaned, putting whatever he held in his hands down on the table. He turned around showing a metal frame housing many different sizes of glass covering his left eye. He opened a drawer beside him and hid the instrument in a metal container, only then did he close the door to the room and approched the waiting girls. "Knife-ears. Why do I always get you for my ancestor's sake?" The dwarf lamented at Iris. "Go to the forest in the south and deep in it there is a bog, you follow? Then you collect a brownish rock with veins of colour running through it like these," The dwarf pulls a brown rock with a purplish line. "It's called a bog iron and for a kilo, I will pay you two silver and twelve copper, got it?"

 

"Yes, but why do you need iron from a swamp?" Iris asked finding it odd.

 

"You do spend all your life under a tree, there is a war going on and each side is buying all the weapons they can get, so some fucking big wig bought all the ore in the city and is selling it with ridiculous markup! I had to make jewellery to stay afloat!" The dwarf slammed his fist onto the sturdy wood countertop.

 

"I was wondered why a shop called dwarven-steel sold jewellery but don't dwarves love that?" Iris asked.

 

"I am a Granite Dwarf!" The jewellery-hating dwarf yelled causing the elf to uncomfortably grimace.

 

"Apologies," Iris said. She got the dwarf named Kroswad to give her more precise directions to the forest finding it to be the same forest where the merchant found them.

 

"K-Siri!?" She turned around finding the hooded girl gone.

 

"What happened?" Kroswad asked.

 

"Where had she gone to?" The now very worried undead started to look everywhere in the shop as she had not heard the small bell chiming.

 

She searched more franticly around as the time went passed.

 

"Boss! There is someone at your anvil!" A human opened a door leading into the workshop.

 

"What!"

"Where!" 

 

  As the dwarf and the elf followed the human apprentice they found Kia who had her hood down doing something with an anvil with runes glowing in many colours on its surface. The girl's tongue stuck out a little from her mouth as her hands tinkered with a weird bronze sphere with cogs inside, similar to one in the guild owned by Mark. "Hello, you finished?" Kia said not lifting her eyes from the sphere.

 

"Wha-" The dwarf's jaw dropped as he entered.

 

"Kia!" Iris ran passed the dwarf and grabbed the girl causing the startled girl to drop the metal sphere, elf apologised to the speechless dwarf and his assistant. Iris quickly left the shop with a pouting Kia held under her arms.

 

"I wanted it." The girl frowned at the crouched elf pulling her hood up.

 

"Kia, you have to tell me that you are going somewhere and you can't get the ball thing." The risen whispered softly.

 

"Why?" The girl's head tilled with a puzzled expression.

 

"You did not pay for it so it's not your's."

 

"Pay?" Kia asked.

 

"The metal discs you see me give people that what I mean," Iris said. "Just ask me when you want something." A small smile appeared on her face seeing the cluelessness still written on Kia's face.

 

"Oh," The necromancer put a finger to her chin. "C-can I get a kiss?" The fidgeting girl asked with a bashful glimpse.

 

Iris quickly pecked Kia on the lips. "Such a needy girl~"

 

  Iris stood up and offered her hand to the rosy cheek girl which she took. The duo headed towards the merchant district not far from the port. Throughout the city, the sound of a bell ringing four times could be heard, as the two walked on the paved road.

 

"Do you want to buy some food for tomorrow?" Iris shook Kia's arm as they passed the flea market.