The rest of the meeting was just a bunch of logistics discussion that Desmond was glad to tone out. He did catch Noel staring at him a few times across the table, though she made no effort to hide her gaze so ‘caught’ might not be the right phrase. After learning of her rank and Garrick’s warning, Desmond wasn’t quite sure what to make of this Cardinal.

After an hour and a half of mindless gibberish on who is taking over what responsibilities the meeting finally ended, with the promise to meet again tomorrow. Which Desmond was thankful he didn’t have to attend.

After leaving the meeting room, Desmond found himself walking down the hallways of the logistics building with Garrick.

“So, are you going to accept the Lodge’s request to join the war?” Garrick asked.

“Probably,” Desmond replied after some thought. “I feel like I bought this whole thing on. Also, the Lodge will pay well for a calamity class hunter like me to join.”

The Lodge had never been in a full-out war like this, even if it was only the Empire’s branch of the Lodge going to war, it was going to be something to see. They would probably handle this like an emergency event. This means they would send out a request to all available hunters and offer a generous amount of LP to join the war effort. And with so many bored hunters in the city right now, this was going to be one impressive army.

“Don’t give yourself so much credit,” Garrick said with a chuckle. “You were just the first one to bring in this information. The scouts will be back any day now with the same intel.”

“You really have a way of picking people up you know,” Desmond shot back.

“It’s my gift,” Garrick continued sounding all too proud of himself.

“What do you make of Richard’s statement?” Desmond asked. “That might be the first time I have heard the man compliment someone.” Desmond paused for a moment trying to come up with the right words. “It was weird.”

Garrick laughed at this. “You’re going to have to get used to that Sonny.”

“What, no,” Desmond replied. “I’d prefer to never be complimented in such a flat tone ever again. It makes it sound fake. I mean would it kill him to add a little emotion?”

“Well let me ask you this then. Who is your current backer?” Garrick asked. “You are calamity class now, so these things are important.”

Desmond thought about it for a moment. Most hunters associated themselves with one of the major families or factions within the Empire for a variety of reasons.

“The Lodge, I suppose?” Desmond said sounding unsure. He had never really thought about it until now because no one has ever seemed to care.

“So you are associated with the Lodge, right?” Garrick said. “But you’re not an executive, so that technically still makes you a free agent. And now here you are attending an important meeting with a core member of Academia, and standing behind the Headmistress herself no less.”

“I-I see,” Desmond replied with a thoughtful expression.

“He thinks you’re getting pouched,” Garrick spelled it out.

“Yeah, I got that,” Desmond said. “I just hate this politics stuff. I mean nobody cared what I did until now.”

“Well, now you’re strong enough that people care,” Garrick said. “But making the Lodge a little jealous is a good thing for you. It will get you a better contract. Or you could sigh with the Church. That Cardinal was eyeing you up hard. On second thought, don’t do that. Getting involved with people that high up will just get you in trouble.”

“I thought the Church only allows those with a light affinity to join?” Desmond asked.

“No, they will take anyone,” Garrick answered. “They just offer better contracts and actively seek out those with a light affinity. This is why not all priests or paladins can heal. So you got to be mindful of that if you have one in your group.”

“Speaking from experience?” Desmond asked.

“Yes, bad experience,” Garrick replied curtly.

There was a short pause in their conversation before Desmond continued. “So, you and the Headmistress huh? It sounds like there is a history there, Dick.”

“Don’t even start,” Garrick said but couldn’t hide a smile. “That was a lifetime ago.”

“Couldn’t have been all bad,” Desmond said as he opened the door to an absolute downpour. “Great, and now I’m going to get wet.”

“Sucks to suck,” Garrick remarked before a transparent shield surrounded him and he walked out into the pouring rain laughing.

Desmond walked out into the rain behind Garrick and picked up a large stone from the walkway. He got into a pitching position and lined up the shot. With a powerful throw, he hurled the rock. Desmond was not aiming at Garrick but just to his right.

There was a crack as Garrick’s rain shield broke. It was clearly not meant to stop anything more than rain. Quickly Garrick was drenched in the downpour.

Garrick looked back at Desmond with an angry expression but it was Desmond laughing this time.

***

Desmond quickly entered the building and closed the door behind him. It was still pouring outside and his plate armor did little to stop himself from getting wet. Also, Garrick had not taken kindly to Desmond’s joke. Despite being an arcane mage, Garrick had summoned a wall of water to strike back. So now Desmond was thoroughly soaked, but it had been worth it.

Desmond quickly looked around the massive blacksmith’s building he had just entered. There were several forges lit with maybe a dozen or so people moving about. Desmond could see Sue, Barco’s wife, working at an anvil with several people who looked like apprentices assisting her. Desmond was quickly approached by one of the staff.

“Ummm, sir this place is off limits.” The man spoke in a timid voice that didn’t match his massive build. “If you could please enter the shop around front they-”

Desmond cut the man off there. “I have a custom order with Barco, where can I find him?”

“Oh, then please follow me,” the bulky man said.

The man led Desmond through the workshop to a particular large forge in the back. The forge itself stood over two stories tall and was covered in enchantments. Even without any bellows it was producing a raging heat. There was an anvil that looked to be made of shimmering black crystal and over a dozen different large hammers with enchantments on them. It looked incredibly grandiose if you could ignore the disorganization state everything was in.

Barco was sitting at a large table eating what looked like a sandwich as he stared intensely at the forge. The table itself was covered in hundreds of different ores and ingots with only a small space left clear for Barco to eat.

“You trying to intimidate it or something?” Desmond asked as he approached and placed a quality bottle of Golden River Whiskey on the table.

“Oh Dez,” Barco said while still staring at the forge. “No, somethings been off about her recently and I can’t quite place it.”

“Her?” Desmond asked a little confused.

“Yeah, everyone knows all forges are female,” Barco answered casually.

Desmond certainly didn’t know that. Maybe it was just a blacksmith thing?

“Does your wife know you’re cheating?” Desmond joked.

Barco quickly turned around to face him and his eyes went wide when he gazed upon the whiskey. He then quickly looked around the building, like he was looking for someone. There was no one else nearby of course, as the staff gave Barco his space. Even Desmond’s chaperone had left at some point.

“That’s some nice stuff,” Barco said as he quickly stood up and grabbed the bottle of whiskey.

“What, the wife trying to stop your drinking habit now?” Desmond asked in a joking manner.

“No, of course not,” Barco said as he walked over to what looked like a solid wall. He tapped on a specific brick and a door opened in the wall revealing what Desmond could only see as a secret beer fridge, that was currently stacked full.

So maybe he did have a little bit of a problem.

Barco added the Golden River Whiskey to his collection before closing the secret alcohol compartment.

“So, what can I do for you Dez?” Barco said with a large smile. “Oh, of course, the sword. Come this way.”

Desmond was a little stunned. He kind of wanted to share the whiskey, but with it sealed behind what looked like a solid brick wall, that was clearly no longer an option.

Desmond followed Barco over to a storage area that was filled with all types of weapons and armors. Any one of these items would be considered a treasure by the Empire, and the room was packed full of them.

“Did you manage to get everything out?” Desmond asked.

“Not everything, but I got all the stuff of real value out, which does include your sword,” Barco answered. “It helps that I can make storage artifacts.”

“Wait, since when? Why didn’t you tell me?” Desmond asked back.

“Always, they are just outside your price range kid,” Barco said with a smug attitude.

“I will have you know,” Desmond replied. “That I’m now very rich.”

“Oh, so you no longer want the friends discount then?” Barco joked.

“Hold on, I never said that. I’m suddenly feeling very poor again.” Desmond joked back.

Barco laughed at this before coming to a stop before a large black sword. It had to be nearly eight feet tall and over three feet wide. The massive chunk of metal was so big Desmond would be able to use it as a shield if he wanted to. The gigantic sword had a metallic shine to it and gave off an intimidating presence. It was a thing of beauty.

“The whole thing is one large chunk of Dardacium,” Barco said as he admired his own work. “It was a bitch to shape, but you will be hard-pressed to even dent it much less break it. I would have added some gold detailing if you told me about your new look.” Barco looked Desmond up and down.

“Ahhh, it’s just summoned armor,” Desmond replied. “Does it have a name yet?”

“Pretty fucking nice summoned armor. When did you become a mage, Dez?” Barco asked rhetorically.
“I haven’t named it yet due to call the chaos. Any suggestions?”

Desmond put his current summoned sword down and released the summoning spell on it. The large silver sword quickly dulled as the magic left it. Soon the blade even cracked as it was now nothing but hardened earth and some iron in the shape of a sword.

Desmond moved over and picked up his new massive sword with one hand, giving it a light swing in the middle of the storage room. The force of the swing kicked up dust like a sudden breeze had come through the building.

It was heavy. Which was difficult to accomplish with Desmond’s strength. This would do him nicely.

“How about, The World Ender,” Desmond said as he fixated on his new weapon.

“Ha, as if,” Barco said. “No weapon I make is getting such a stupid name.”

“Apocalypse's Dawn,” Desmond joked.

“Better, but it’s too long,” Barco replied. “Also, it’s best to avoid tier titles in the name. How about, Dawn Bringer? That sounds better.”

“Yeah, but it makes me instantly think of the sun,” Desmond stated. “And this thing looks like the incarnation of darkness.”

“How about, Death’s Advance then?” Barco said as he rubbed his chin with a thoughtful expression.

“What, am I some kind of Demon?” Desmond asked back. “No, it’s got to be short but crude. The Ravager!”

“Ohhhh, that fits nicely,” Barco replied. “Goes right along with your whole bandit-like vibe.”

“Hey, I got rid of that vibe thank you,” Desmond said gesturing to his shiny new breastplate. “I have fancy armor now.”

“You can put makeup on a pig, but it’s still a pig,” Barco said with a laugh. “With your size, build, and face, there just no getting away from it Dez. I say you should just embrace it. Being a bandit is great!”

“I’m not sure I appreciate the comparison there,” Desmond replied with a flat look. “I would prefer if you went with Barbarian. It sounds more noble.”

“You say that until you get attacked by barbarians,” Barco replied. “Here, I got something that might help.” Barco walked over and took out a large black cloak that seemed to shimmer with black fire as it was pulled out of storage.

“You even managed to save that?” Desmond said in a surprised voice. He figured that Barco would still have the sword since Desmond knew how strong Barco was. But getting the cloak he had ordered was a pleasant surprise.

“Yeah, it was finished just before the attack,” Barco replied. “It even has some stealth enchantments when you run mana through it. Not that this would matter for you, but it’s there.”

Desmond lifted up the leather cloak and put it on around his armor. It was big enough that it just barely didn’t touch the ground. It also had dark black fur lining the collar. All in all, it wasn’t going to offer him much in the way of protection, but damn if it didn’t look fine. He would be a very good-looking bandit from here on.