Stronger Together chapter 174

Despite the overt threat in the words, I didn't actually feel any  danger from the ancient elf. That said, I was in the middle of their  extremely heavily enchanted underground city, and even I might have  trouble fighting my way out of here. I was pretty sure I could, since my  arm should be strong enough to crush most of their enchanted items, but  it would probably suck. So I decided to try diplomacy. "Because my arm  isn't a tree. Godsteel doesn't grow out of it, I can use it as a focus  to produce the stuff. The energy needed is very specific and has to  contain soulfire, more specifically MY soulfire."

The  ancient elf didn't seem surprised so much as thoughtful. He stroked  his, well, lower face area, male svartalves don't really have chins. "A  fair point, boy. Oh well, just asking." Then without another word he  leaned back and started staring off into the distance, completely  ignoring everyone else there. I...had no response to that. Everyone else  just seemed to take it in stride so I guessed he was just like that but  still, it was a pretty abrupt change in topic. I shook off my shock at  essentially having my death and lifetime of imprisonment posed as a  hypothetical and turned to regard the other elders.

The  council of svartalves seemed more interested now that the strange  ancient dark elf had dismissed me. It felt like I'd passed some sort of  test. I cleared my throat "In any case aside from the production of  godsteel it's quality has improved. I showed my arm, now gleaming darkly  with rainbow refractions like a soap bubble instead of shimmering  silver as it had before. "The density has increased and that durability  is higher." I didn't bother to mention that I had no idea how much  either of those things had changed or if anything else had, they would  figure it out.

Etri  was by my side in an instant staring intently at the arm and  occasionally poking it while muttering to himself about various facets  of the metal. I resisted the urge to point out that he was poking my  actual arm and that I could feel it because the pain threshold on that  thing was so high he could run over it with a car and it wouldn't be a  big deal, so I just let him have his fun. The other elders leaned  forward to see and some jumped down to come over and study my right limb  and they seemed fascinated.

This  particular gambit seemed to have backfired because I hadn't really  distinguished myself as much as I'd distracted them from the meeting.  These old bats were complete crafting nerds, and with a new material to  study none of them payed any attention at all to the original reason I  was down here. It took about fifteen minutes before I finally got fed up  enough to clear my throat loudly and announce "I believe we may be  getting off track here friends. You can study the material more when we  iron out the matter of my apprenticeship."

I  expected some embarrassment or wry chuckles but mostly all I got was  annoyance. The closest elder snapped "Yes,yes, fine. You're officially  apprenticing here, you can pick your master in a minute now shut up and  let me look at this metal." I blinked at that one but in the end I  stayed still and let them poke and prod me like a science experiment.  Someone went and retrieved the original sample I'd given them and that  resulted in another twenty minutes of them noting slight differences in  the texture and at one point actually slamming the orb of godsteel into  one of knuckles which really fucking hurt.

I  yelped a pulled back my hand before manifesting another golf ball sized  orb of godsteel, this one made with the darker metal and handed it to  them. "Here, study this, once it stops glowing it'll be inert, maybe you  guys can figure out the method for altering and working the stuff."  They ooed and ahhed and started trying to knead the orb, which to my  shock they were actually able to do, apparently before it set I wasn't  the only one able to work it, I was just the person who had the easiest  time doing so.

As  they fawned all over the metal I took the time to look around the room,  trying to pick out a master. I didn't know any of these svartalves from  Adam so I had no real way to tell who was the best, but from what Etri  mentioned this place was half a gerantocracy and the super old elf had  seemed to hold a lot of sway. Considering the rest of them were  squabbling over the orb like chickens and that old guy seemed to be  ignoring everything I decided to take a chance and trust my gut. I  cleared my throat "I choose him." I pointed at the ancient elf. Everyone  froze,no one moving a muscle for about a minute before turning slowly  to stare at me then back to the ancient dark elf.

The  svartalf who had yelled at me wheeled on me "You dare ask the grand  elder to teach an outsider? Boy, do you have any idea who that is?" He  seemed incensed by the mere thought of me learning from the old elf, but  I couldn't tell if it was a respect thing or an ability thing. I had a  pretty good feeling about my plan so far but who knew. Before he could  speak more though the ancient elf smacked the table to get everyone's  attention before turning slowly to address me directly, ignoring  everyone else in the room.

The grand elder's faded eyes fixed on me and a wheezing chuckle came  out, followed by that same ancient voice. "Well, don't we have a smart  one here. Most wouldn't have picked this old man, with my eyes clouded  by time and my wrinkled skin. I am Brokkr. I admit, I was curious to see  the type of being that could arouse the all father's interest as you  have. You have been...interesting so far. Very well. Kneel, and accept  me as your master, boy." He seemed more amused than impressed or  interested but I'd take what I could get and their reactions made it  clear I'd made the right choice.

His  approval seemed to have shut everyone else up so I just shrugged off  their bitching. I got down on one knee and bowed my head "Thank you for  agreeing to teach me, master." I got back to my feet to see the wizened  old elf standing right in my face, having somehow crossed the distance  to stand in front of me in the brief time I had been kneeling. He leaned  up to peer at me moving from side to side to study me before nodding  slightly and turning to walk away. I sat there for about thirty seconds  before realizing I was supposed to follow and bolting after him to catch  up as I followed him down the street.

The  old elf was pretty spry for guy who was probably in his second  millennia or something, and I actually had to lightly jog to keep up,  which was pretty damn shocking considering the condition of my body. I  was one third condensed godsteel and two thirds proto angel, being able  to make me rush was an accomplishment. After following behind him for a  few minutes we turned down a side street and ended up at a...well the  only word I could find for it was shack. The place was the size of a  large tool shed and was made out of what looked like planks of petrified  wood. It looked neat and tidy but not like anything special, at least  until I turned on my magic eye.

The  shack lit up so bright I almost couldn't see. If I focused hard I could  vaguely make out incredibly tiny and extremely complex runes etched  into the material, so densely packed that it was basically  indistinguishable from wood grain. The enchantments on this place were  better than the ones on the silken mailcoat, and the small shed was at  such a high level I vaguely felt like it was of a similar tier to the  cottage on demonreach. Maybe not exactly as powerful, but closer than  anything else I had ever seen.

The  old elf strolled up to the door and kicked it once near the base, and  the thing popped right open. Aside from a plain brown robe the old elf  wasn't wearing much, which included shoes, and his bare feet smacked  against the polished ground as he led me into the insane lair he had  brought me to. The inside looked as spartan as the outside after we  stepped in. A small forge in the corner, next to a work bench hanging  with worn but well cared for tools. An anvil on the other side of the  room from the bench, and a small but well made wooden bed in the corner.

My  new master turned slowly to face me, all the senility and blankness  gone and replaced with an aura of ancient gravitas, like I was looking  at a mountain from before the dawn of time. "I am Brokkr." I raised an  eyebrow, not sure why he was repeating his name again. The tiny old elf  flicked a hand and a stick appeared in it, which he proceeded to use to  smack me upside the head. "Fool! I am Brokkr, who forged the hammer  Mjolnir, the boar Gullinbursti, and the great ring Draupnir. Stupid  apprentice, do you know nothing of the lore of the craft you seek to  learn?"

I  winced and glared at him, cradling my head where the stick had hit me  because somehow it had really fucking hurt. It hurt so bad it took me a  second to register what Brokkr had just said, but when I did I froze.  "Wait. Mjolnir? Like the hammer? The one that fucking Thor uses?" He  whacked me again. "Ow fuck, what was that for?" Another whack. "Jesus,  stop what do you want from me? I'm listening." The old elf glared but  didn't hit me again. I waited for a minute before realizing what the  whacks had in common "Wait did you just smack me for bad language?"

The  stick came out of nowhere from the other side and smacked me on the  temple. I had no clue how was doing that but I yelped with pain. "Fool!  You will speak to your master with respect. You've come to me to learn  the ancient arts, and I will teach, but you will keep a civil and  obedient tongue in your head or you'll get the stick upside it until you  look like a pig. Now, make me something. I want to see your standard of  crafting." He walked over to the bench and reached under it to pull out  a stool he placed directly in front of the thing, then sat down facing  me. I summoned some godsteel and began to shape it, but my creation was  interrupted by a smack to my head.

The  old elf was glaring daggers at me "Fool! I said I wanted to see your  crafting standard not how well you can mold fancy clay. There's a bar of  iron over there in the chest in the corner. Make me something." He  pointed with the head whacking stick and I admit I may have flinched a  bit before following his gesture with my eyes. I climbed slowly off the  stool and walked over to the chest like a prisoner on death row marching  to the gallows, picking up a bar of iron (probably, it was the darkest  metal, I don't know metals) and bringing it over to the forge. I stared  down at the thing before swallowing heavily. I had absolutely no clue  how to forge this. This whole apprentice thing was going to be less fun  than I had  imagined.