Stronger Together chapter 173

I wasted no time heading over to the svartalf compound, and made my  way down to speak with Etri the very next day. I didn't need Gard to  make it through the gate this time, Etri must have mentioned I might be  coming because the svartalf at the gate in the human mask let me right  through. That seemed like a good sign to me. My biggest worry coming  here was that the svartalves would turn down my request for  apprenticeship, they were extremely insular, and if they decided their  honor was worth more than godsteel I would be shit out of luck.

The  decor was just as meticulous and finely wrought as last time I was  there, and with my senses enhanced by denser godsteel I could pick up  even more small flourishes and intriguing mystical alterations to the  materials. Everything the svartalves made had layers and layers of magic  on it, powerful enchantments made of smaller enchantments. Not at the  level of the silken mailshirt but subtler despite being a bit more  simplistic. Even the molding on the walls here was at a level that would  probably count as a powerful enchanted artifact. I'd definitely come to  the right place.

Etri was waiting for me outside, but he  was alone this time. His expression seemed remote but relatively  friendly so I was at least not getting kicked out immediately. "Ah,  young master Cameron. Greetings. I came up to speak to you as soon as I  heard you arrived. The council is still deliberating but I've gotten  permission to offer you a tour of the facilities in the deeper levels.  It's quite an honor I assure you, no outsider has ever stepped into the  halls of our forges save the gods themselves." His voice was mild, but  held a hint of smugness, as if he was prepared to see my mind blown.

Admittedly  that wasn't a crazy thing to assume, considering the level of  craftsmanship I'd seen so far I imagined their crafting workshops were  amazing themselves. If you could forge god tier equipment wouldn't you  make god tier tools to improve your work even more? He gestured for me  to follow and I trailed behind him voicing my curiosity about the  godsteel I gave them. "Lord Etri, what did you think of the material I  shared last time after some time to run tests on it, and how did the  council react to the new ore?"

Etri's large black eyes  seemed to light up at the question "It is a fascinating material! We've  been running extensive tests. It's hardness is a bit weaker than  Olympian Bronze or Asgardian Silver but it's magic receptivity is some  of the best we've ever seen and it's amplification property is  completely unique! Sadly we only had the one small sample, so we weren't  able to test any alloys, but we expect it to yield breathtaking  results." Etri's enthusiasm for forging was obvious in his tone, and I  smiled seeing someone love their work so much.

Etri kept  speaking, content to chatter on about his favorite topic as we walked  down a hallway that was seemingly much longer than expected. "Most  people assume that making every item out of your best material is the  optimal choice, but that is the thought process of an amateur, even  plain mortal steel can sometimes outstrip divine metal in certain  circumstances, the metal used should be tailored to the artifact being  forged. That said, having a new metal opens up so many combinations for  us in our work and would be a great leap forward in the quality of our  goods."

It was hard to contain my  wince at that, I was definitely one of those amateur's that he  mentioned. I'd been pretty much skating by on using god tier mats on  everything I made, but the way he said that made some sense. Just  because something was harder or easier to enchant didn't make it the  best for every single use. It was like how Tungsten was used to tip  bullets to allow armor penetration, but not usually for full rounds  because it was so hard it was brittle. Everything had it's place. Etri  led me around several bends and I realized as he did that we were  walking on a slight incline, the descent was so gradual I barely  noticed.

I  thought there might be an actual ramp system all the way down for a  moment but we finally came to a small alcove off a hallway and stopped.  Etri stepped forward and turned the head on a bust until it clicked and  the entire alcove actually turned in place, spinning to face out before  it began to descend. I didn't remember this being mentioned in the books  so clearly Harry hadn't gotten to come down to wherever I was going,  based on Etri's descriptions I was assuming this was the forge their  elders used and was forbidden to anyone else.

As  the alcove, or I suppose elevator (alavator?) continued to slowly lower  we passed several floors of the compound below the surface. The living  quarters of most of the clan including Etri I supposed. I turned to the  svartalf leader "So are the svartalves a gerantocracy like the white  council? It was mentioned that you led the clan, is crafting stuff just a  separate thing or do the elders just manage from behind the scenes?" I  hadn't even heard them mentioned in the series, which considering how  bad things got was shocking, there had to be some reason they hadn't  intervened.

The  look on Etri's face seemed...torn. "A bit of both. When the elders  reach a certain level of proficiency they withdraw from the clan. They  descend to the depths to focus on their art and leave the managing of  the clan to the younger generation. Because of that, there are certain  provisions in the svartalf bylaws that prevent them from getting  directly involved in clan business, but exceptions are made for matters  involving our ancestral teachings. Truthfully I doubt you would have  even warranted a response if not for your new material, they've left  basically all earthly attachment behind in pursuit of their craft."

Ah,  that would explain it. Svartalves were fairly rigid about rules, Harry  hadn't been a crafter of any skill so he wasn't invited to meet the  elders. Most likely they focused on making equipment in the battle  rather than coming out to fight in person. That line of thought was  completely abandoned however as we descended past the last compound  floor and entered...well the closest comparison I could make was the  fucking mines of Moria or something. A cavern, so wide and deep you  could fit a fucking skyscraper in it extended out around us in every  direction. The elevator platform descended smoothly along the wall with  no railing or anything to impede my view.

Below  me was what looked like a city, carved from marble and gold and bronze  and another dozen materials, all beautiful and no doubt enchanted by  masters, though I couldn't see any detail from here. Every inch of this  cavern close enough to spot was etched with runes and spell work and in  the distance, closer the ground I could see small shapes moving. The  cavern was so massive I was dizzy just standing on the platform. I  turned to Etri with shock "How could you possibly have made something  this big under a city the size of Chicago without anyone noticing? Hell  how has the entire city not dropped into a sinkhole?"

I'd  been shocked at Safehold, but no offense to Henry this place made his  earthen den look like a literal hole in the ground. The svartalf leader  laughed "We have been constructing cities and marvels in the depths of  the earth since time immemorial. We know how to shift the bedrock of a  place and create the proper structures to prevent weakness. As for being  noticed? Every single square inch of the depths are inscribed with  powerful enchantments that prevent scrying strengthen materials, and a  myriad of other things. The mortals cannot penetrate our glamours with  their technology, nor could they even observe the cavern if they somehow  saw it with their own eyes."

The  descent was fairly quick despite being very smooth and comfortable and  as we reached the ground I saw the the closest buildings were, as Etri  mentioned, enchanted out the ass. They all looked like they're been  laser engraved with runes by one of those diamond lasers the use to put  serial numbers on stones. Considering the size of the buildings all of  the enchantments mostly just looked like shading, it was mind boggling  how tiny the engravings were. I got the feeling using my magic eye down  here would be like turning on a night vision scope in front of a high  powered spot light.

The  trip through the subterranean city was fairly leisurely. We didn't  hurry, and Etri let me take my time to marvel at the craftsmanship, even  slowing to answer questions about individual buildings and the  craftsmen who made them. He seemed to enjoy the chance to show off and I  made a mental note to let Etri be the first one to study the new  condensed godsteel. I wasn't sure it was much different but if nothing  else it could definitely hold more enchantments than the original  recipe. We finally came to the end of the very well polished path  between buildings we'd been walking and stopped in front of a building  that seemed both smaller and higher quality than the rest.

Etri  gestured up at the amazing construction "This is the hall of elders.  The council spends most of its time in here when the individual elders  aren't pursuing their craft or doing research. I was actually down here  speaking with the council when you arrived, so they are already  convened. I brought you down to plead your case to them in person. I  know several of the council members are very interested in a steady  supply of your ore so it should not be a difficult conversation, merely a  few formalities that need to be observed." He ushered me up the steps  of the extremely elegant building and through an archway.

They  hadn't put a door on this place, probably because it was a communal  building in a huge and incredibly well protected underground city.  Stepping inside however I immediately noted a difference in the  temperature. I made a note to look into magic air conditioning for  Harry, if that was something that was so easily doable with svartalf  skills it would really take the pressure off for a birthday present.  Inside the walls were lined with tables with bench seating on the  opposite side and every single seat was filled with...elders.

The  svartalves themselves looked like aliens, at least the males, but the  old ones just looked weird. The grey skin was sagging and wrinkled, the  eyes more dark grey than the beetle black of the younger generation, but  they still shone with intelligence and creativity. These might have  been ancient beings but they weren't stagnant, there was a palpable  sense of learning and growth in this room. A sort of manic energy that  made it clear they would rather be improving than sitting in their seats  having a meeting. I immediately decided I liked them as a group, though  whether we got along individually remained to be seen.

At  the far back of the room was quite literally the oldest looking being I  had ever seen in my life. The mottled grey of the wrinkled skin was  pale and the eyes were faded to nearly the same off white, reminding me a  bit of cataracts. There was a palpable sense of history behind the  elder svartalf, like I was looking at a living testament to the past.  

The ancient dark elf opened his mouth and the voice that issued forth  was as weathered and implacable as the stone the cavern was made from.  "So. This is the child. Tell me boy, what gives you the right to learn  our ancestral teachings. Or to put it another way, why shouldn't we just  rip that metal arm off you and stick you in a hole to see if it grows  back?"