Rise of the Living Forge Chapters 543 - 544

Lillia let out a slow, measured breath. She leaned back on her bed, pulling her knees up to her chest as she let the blanket of ever-present darkness in her room envelop her. It had been a few days since the Coffin had been completed.

Everyone was hard at work with their own projects. Arwin spent much of his time in the Infernal Armory, continuing his preparations for Anna’s armor. Vix and Wallace occasionally joined him. Madiv had emerged once or twice to confirm he was alive, but the rest of his time was spent ‘preparing the Coffin for the intruders that were sure to defile its pristine surfaces’.

Lillia let out a soft laugh.  

There were a thousand different things happening throughout the Devil’s Den all at once. She could feel her utensils hard at work in the kitchen. She could hear every single muted conversation rolling through the common room. She could sense the presence of each individual residing within her Hearth.

She was aware of the Menagerie. The adventurers that had been attending the Devil’s Den for weeks and those who had come for the first time today. She could feel the pulse of the tavern itself as it watched over everything at her side.

There were so many thoughts drifting through her mind that it was starting to get a little difficult to tell which ones were hers. This was the loudest the Devil’s Den had ever been and the quietest it would ever be again.

Every passing day came with faces, new and old. Their reach would expand. Their domain would stretch farther over Milten until the city was theirs in its entirety — and then their march would continue.

Already, Lillia’s domain had crept past the edges of the tavern. She’d yet to let anyone know about the full extent of her reach. If Lillia was honest with herself, she wasn’t actually entirely confident where it ended.

The more parts of the street Arwin awoke, the more the Devil’s Den’s mind grew. There was a connection. Somewhere, somehow, each expansion wove its way back to her. Perhaps it was because of her class.

For all the numerous beliefs, visions, and desires bouncing around in Lillia’s skull that belonged to others, there was one thing she knew to be hers beyond a doubt. The Menagerie was hers. Everyone without malice who took shelter under her roof, who stepped upon the Menagerie’s street, fell under her wings.

It was her duty to protect all those who warmed themselves by her Hearth. But in recent days, the others had been outpacing her. Olive had been getting stronger in leaps and bounds. Lillia had watched her sparring sessions with Reya and Kien. All three of them had advanced by so much that it was difficult to believe who they’d been just a short while ago.

Art and Rodrick had been hard at work ever since the latter’s return. Their changes were far more subtle, but there was no denying their growth. They were always working on some plan or another. Ones that even Lillia’s senses hadn’t quite managed to piece together.

Maeve and Elias hadn’t been around the Den for as long as the others. They were helping with some of the dungeon deliveries between their own dungeon runs. The two of them were a bit of an enigma, but Lillia could literally see their strength advancing with every trip they took. They very well might have been the most dangerous combatants the Menagerie had.

Esmerelda was — well, Esmerelda. The woman was an enigma. But she, too, had changed. Her heart had softened. Perhaps the honor of that change could be attributed to Thane. Esmerelda spent much of her time in her shop along with Vanessa, teaching the other woman the ways of her trade. What little time remained had been, up until recently, spent with Madiv.

Though Lillia knew Esmerelda would never admit it, she got on quite well with the vampire.

As for Madiv, he too had advanced. He would advance further still once his communications with the Coffin were complete. Lillia looked forward to seeing just how far he would come.

And then there was Arwin. She didn’t let her thoughts linger on him for long. He was a risky subject. One that would be far more liable to pull her mind to things entirely unrelated to what she needed to focus on right now. Things that could wait until the night.

Everyone else advanced.

Everyone but her.

Perhaps that was being too harsh. Lillia hadn’t been stagnant. She knew for a fact that her cooking had improved. The effects she could impart into her food had grown stronger. Those who slept under her roof found themselves stronger and stronger with every passing day.

But within Lillia swirled an ocean of power. So much that it was practically inconceivable. Ever since Arwin had advanced his body, she’d stored every single scrap of power that she’d gathered.

And she’d gathered quite a bit of power. The constant pushing of her limits, all the people staying within the Den… it had amounted to a significant reward indeed. Power that could have probably would have already advanced her an entire Tier had she not Sunsetted her class.

Lillia had seen firsthand just how significant the changes this power could wreak were. Arwin had shown her. When she’d told him that she had an idea of how she would spend her own power, she hadn’t been lying.

There was no doubt in her mind that she could have advanced some time ago. She certainly had more than enough strength stored up to take the next step. It was not potential or a lack of power that held her back.

The path before her was dark, and yet it couldn’t have been clearer.

She just wasn’t sure if it was the one she wanted to walk.

A small smile pulled at the corners of her lips. The Adventurer’s Guild had tried so hard to keep her and Arwin on the same, controlled path. They’d done it so well that she and Arwin had been walking side-by-side since they were children.

But saying that they’d walked the path wouldn’t have been accurate. They were not the same people. A knot twisted in Lillia’s stomach. Arwin loved to point out that she held superior tactics in battle. That he only charged forward into battle with no thought but that of victory.

He meant the words as a way to disparage himself and compliment her own skills. But every time he pointed that out, Lillia couldn’t help but wonder if he would ever realize that she respected his abilities just as much as he respected hers.

I would give a great deal to have courage like that. To charge ahead armed with nothing but the absolute confidence that I would find the way forward no matter what rose to stop me. Doesn’t he ever wonder how it was we were so perfectly matched?

For all the things I tried to defeat him back when we were enemies, never once did I get the upper hand. We were evenly matched. But right about now, I think I’d like some of that courage. Moving ahead when the future is so unknown… it scares me.

Lillia ran a hand through her hair. Then she let out a short huff of air that could have been mistaken for a laugh.

What if I change myself into something I don’t want to become? What if the changes are more than just physical? Or if they’re enough to make me into a real monster? What would Arwin…

Then Lillia paused.

He wouldn’t care.

She didn’t even have to ask him to know what his answer would be. Lillia could picture him introducing her new monstrous form to some new member of the Menagerie with a completely straight face.

Ah, yes. I’m Arwin. This is my towering 9 foot tall demon girlfriend with horns the length of her arms. She made dinner.

Lillia snickered. The rest of the Menagerie would probably react pretty much in the same way. Sunsetting wasn’t going to turn her into a monster. But, if it somehow did, nobody would change. Her guild wasn’t going anywhere. And it was her job to make sure they never had to.

She blew out a breath, shaking her head and letting her gaze rise up to the ceiling.

Sunsetting was freedom. The way to accomplish her goals was simply to go out and take what she wanted from the power that waited within her soul. There wasn’t some sort of plan she could come up with. She couldn’t strategize a way to win because there was no true enemy.

Freedom was a new concept to Lillia. From the very moment she’d began training to be the leader of the Horde, she had never known the meaning of the word. There were aways constraints. Limits and requirements on her shoulders. The lives of her soldiers and the orders of her advisors.

None of them were here anymore.

This was far more Arwin’s domain than hers.

Lillia was the Demon Queen. That hadn’t changed. She was who she was. But she wasn’t just the Queen. The Queen had been the Guild’s pawn. Just as the Hero had. Lillia wasn’t just anything. The bindings of her position no longer held her. And even if Arwin wasn’t here right now, she’d spent enough time with him for more than a little to rub off.

Not everything had to be carefully planned out. A general plan of where she was going and the knowledge that the Menagerie would be at her side, no matter where she ended up, was sometimes all that was needed.

Lillia’s eyes closed.

A faint smile still lingered on her lips as she let herself sink deep into her soul — and all the gathered energy churning deep within the Demon Queen rushed up to obey her command.

Chapter 544

Arwin set the sleek chestplate of black metal down. He referenced the blueprint hanging on the far end of the Infernal Armory’s walls once more, then nodded slightly to himself. Everything was on track.

“How is it?” Vix asked nervously from his side. “Did we make it correctly? I didn’t mess anything up?”

“You did perfectly fine,” Wallace said gruffly from Arwin’s other side. “Probably a fair bit better than that damned Lich. You should do this more often.”

Arwin’s lips twitched in the faintest of smiles. That wasn’t true in the slightest. Koyu was objectively better than Vix at crafting in just about every manner. It wasn’t like it was a fair comparison. Vix may as well have been a child with a hammer in comparison with the Lich.

But that wasn’t what she needed to hear right now. And for all the rough exterior that Wallace liked to keep erected around himself, the dwarf certainly knew when the right time to leave a complement was.

“You did well,” Arwin said with a nod. “You’re learning very quickly. This piece turned out perfectly. Once we complete the greaves, the whole set will be done. Anna is going to love it.”

“I hope so,” Vix said. “I still feel like you should have started me on something a little less… I don’t know. Important?”

“Everything we make is important,” Wallace said with a gruff laugh. He walked over to pat Vix on the upper back — which was just about the dwarf’s equivalent of clapping her on the shoulder. “Do you have this little confidence when you fight?”

“Of course not,” Vix said. “I know what I’m doing when I fight. This is a whole different realm. Even though I’m only helping a little, if I make a mistake, I’ll ruin Anna’s armor. I’ve probably already delayed it by a day or two.”

“And if you slip up during a fight, you’ll die,” Arwin pointed out. “Relatively speaking, the risks here are far lower.”

“Lower than they’ll be when we’re making you a heart, lass,” Wallace agreed with a nod. “Better to learn now. We can afford a few delays for Anna. But when we’re working on your new heart… there won’t be any room for confusion or slip ups. You’re only getting one chance at that.”

Vix fell silent for a moment. Then her features hardened and she nodded. “Yeah. I know. Thank you for involving me like this. It isn’t something I ever really saw myself doing. But, to be honest, I’d largely given up on my chances of ever being able to fix my heart in the first place. If this gives me a chance to pull it off, then I’ll take it.”

“Don’t get so serious. I mean, serious is good. But don’t get stressed. Crafting is just another kind of fight. Well, it’s more like a song. But you get the idea.” Arwin said.

Vix stared at him.

“No. I really don’t.”

“You can’t be stiff,” Arwin said. “The more you worry about messing up or taking the wrong step, the more likely that very thing will happen. Focus on your goal and on what you want to achieve. The rest will follow.”

“I somehow don’t think it’s that easy,” Vix said.

“It isn’t,” Wallace said with a snort. “But he’s right. That’s the start. You aren’t doing this yourself, girl. You’ve got me ‘an Arwin here as well. I figure the Lich will be back by the time we’re making you that heart. He’ll know a thing or two as well. Your job will just be to stay focused on what it is you’re lookin’ for. Just like you were doing today. But more important.”

“Yeah. Okay. I think I can do that,” Vix said. She swallowed. “But maybe not too soon?”

Arwin chuckled. “Whenever you’re ready, Vix. We brought you in to start watching our work to make sure that you’d be acclimated to the process before we went about making you your heart. The only reason we’ll be rushing to do anything is if you feel we need to.”

Vix inclined her head. “Thank you. For everything.”

“It really isn’t much trouble,” Arwin replied. He wiped sweat from his brow with the back of a hand and sent a mental command to the Infernal Armory. The bubbling black magma filling the pool before him slowly started to drain away. “You should get back to your practice. I don’t want to eat up your whole day.”

“Right,” Vix said. “Tomorrow, then?”

“Tomorrow,” Arwin said.

Vix inclined her head once more. Then she slipped out of the Infernal Armory. Neither Arwin nor Wallace spoke until she was gone.

“What do you think her chances are?” Wallace asked.

“One hundred percent,” Arwin replied without so much as an instant of hesitation.

Wallace snorted. “I figure I should have seen that one coming. You’re not much one for worry, are you?”

“Not anymore,” Arwin replied. “I’ve got other people who are a hell of a lot better at worrying than I am. That isn’t my role. I’m just here to hit shit with my hammer until everything turns out okay in the end.”

The dwarf let out a bark of laughter. “You’re sounding like a Dwarven Saint, now. Maybe you’ve got a bit ‘o our blood running in your veins after all. But we’ve called an end to the day earlier than I thought. It’s still bright outside. Why?”

“Vix needed a break,” Arwin replied. “And it’s not like she’s going to get all that much stronger by watching us craft. It prepares her for her heart, but that’s about it.”

“So what do we do?” Wallace asked. “I assume we’re not going to finish Anna’s armor without her.”

“Nah. I figured we could make a few toys to put up for sale in the upcoming auction,” Arwin replied with a wry smile. “Nothing too dangerous. I don’t want to arm our enemies… but I’m sure we could come up with something interesting and bang it out today.”

A coil of red smoke twisted across the ground between them.

“Can we make something that kills people?” the Infernal Armory asked. “In a glorious fashion?”

“Has anyone ever told you your building has a problem?” Wallace asked.

“Yes,” Arwin said. “So… shall we?”

“Oh, yes,” Wallace said. “Absolutely.”

***

Lillia’s eyes snapped open.

Her skin felt strange.

No. It wasn’t just her skin. It was everything. The bed beneath her was rougher than she recalled it. Scents hung in the air like memories — honey and meat and charred vegetables from the kitchen. But that wasn’t all. Even though it had been hours since Arwin had been in the room with her, his scent was present as well.

Her senses felt keener. Everything within the darkness surrounding Lillia was more vibrant. The shadows were no longer just a cloak. They were more like a new limb.

Lillia rose to her feet slowly. Even moving didn’t feel quite right. Her body reacted so fast to the commands of her mind that it almost felt like she was acting before she’d even figured out what task she wanted to accomplish.

She looked down at her hands. Then she flexed her fingers. They were the same hands that she’d always had. She ran her tongue along her lips, then raised her hands to her head. And there she paused.

Two horns curled up from her forehead. They were cold, almost like ice, and far from insignificant in size. Her stomach flipped over.

“Well,” Lillia muttered, letting her hands slowly lower. “That wasn’t exactly part of the plan.”

She didn’t recall asking for horns. It seemed the changes to her body had somehow grown them. Perhaps the new power had needed extra space to linger in. They were far too large to hide, even if she’d wanted to.

Lillia let her hands brush across her face, over her cheeks and down her nose. It still felt the same. That, at least, hadn’t changed.

 I guess I’ve got a slightly new look.

She swallowed. Nervous butterflies still danced up a frenzy in her stomach. But there was no time for her to hide from the day any longer. There were still tasks to do. It never felt like there was enough time to do everything she wanted to.

But that was the whole point of this, wasn’t it?

Lillia took a careful step forward. She could already feel herself adapting to the new speed of her body. It was her body, after all. After one or two more unsteady steps, she reached the door.

Then Lillia pulled it open and stepped out of the darkness of her room to start down the thin hallway leading to the kitchen. Dim light spilled out to greet her. It just barely managed to cast a shadow at her feet.

And, as it did, Lillia’s eyes lowered to the ground, to the oddly detailed shadow mirroring her every step.

It looked back up at her, eyes shimmering with faint purple energy.

A small smile crossed Lillia’s lips.

Then her eyes raised again and she stepped into the kitchen.

There was work to do.