Bloodsworn

Chapter 4.23 Coldforged Iron

23.

Sammus’s wounds were bound with the remnants of his own shirt, a sling made to keep his arm propped up. While the prince’s stats weren’t geared toward durability, the wounds weren’t life threatening. Nevia had a few lesser wounds that didn’t take as long to dress, but she was more exhausted. Both of them lay slumped against walls as they tried to catch their breaths.

Erak worked his way over to the pile of metal that he had come down here for and started to figure out the logistics of hauling the ingots out of the low vaults and into the upper levels and back toward the Snowbeard. Each ingot was the length of his forearm and nearly as thick. Picking them up was not a strain but they were heavy enough that the pile of them would be a burden.

It took half an hour for him to work a rough pack out of the materials in the vault, using smaller pieces of stone and aging tapestries to create a pack train he could pull. The harness he built for himself wasn’t going to be comfortable, but it should survive long enough to drag up the small horde of coldforged iron. As he finally settled down from his labors, he took a look at the levels he had earned by slaying a large part of the horde who had tested them.

Erak Bloodsworn lvl. 34

Strength: 70

Vigor: 55

Durability: 55

Perception: 25

Intelligence: 23

The increase in points was hardly noticeable, just barely alieving his exhaustion. Erak sat down next to the other two and drank from a water flask as he rested, keeping an eye on the vault door in case there were more who waited for their guard to drop.

“Erak, you always take me to the nicest places. Creepy laboratories, boiling lakes, and now whatever this qualifies as. An ancient ruin or a crypt?” Sammus said, the prince struggling against the silence.

“Ancient crypt,” Nevia said succinctly. She had closed her eyes but kept her sword across her knees as she rested. Her chest rose and fell slowly in a pantomime of sleeping. Pomp stirred in Erak’s core, the dragon having dragged bits of Essence free from Erak over the last hour. The little dragon came out of his chest and pooled into Erak’s lap still in spirit form.

“Erak has a propensity for finding the worst places. The sewers under the city are still the worst. Couldn’t get the smell out of my scales for days,” Pomp complained.

“Pompous? What does it feel like to have your body broken like that?” Sammus said, turning and looking over at them. Pomp poked his head up and looked over at Sammus.

“That is incredibly rude. It hurts and is a very unpleasant experience. Similar to being around you,” Pomp said with a huff. Nevia snorted suddenly, jerking upright as she tried to strangle her laugh. The prince rolled his eyes but stopped his questioning.

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For several hours they all rested as Pomp reclaimed his physical body but was still thin and weak. Nevia and Sammus had earned levels, both of them now getting close to thirty. They split their gains between physical and Essence growth though, neither of them focusing on a single aspect like Erak did.

When it was finally time to leave, he pretended not to see the dubious looks to the train he had made and pulled. Stone grated on stone as he hauled his burden through the hall and then into the halls and toward the ladder. All three of his companions walked ahead of him but had to circle back frequently to help him deal with the knotted ropes and keeping the sleds moving in the right direction.

“Erak, I’m not going to climb that ladder with these sleds facing me. I’ll see you up there,” Sammus said and began to climb single handedly as he dragged his lame leg up after himself. The others sat there quietly waiting until they heard the prince shout back down that he was clear.

“After you.” Nevia waved a hand toward the ladder and Erak started his climb. The moment the first of the sleds came off of the ground his harness dug into his shoulders and he cursed in his mind. Then the second sled came off the ground and the weight grew even heavier.

I should have brought some spare bodies. Just to carry these.

Every rung brought more and more wait against his shoulders and back, the rusty ladder groaned with every movement as he finally reached the top. Sammus’s thing fingers wrapped around his wrist and he the slim prince helped steady him as Erak was forced to crawl. If he had stood upright even with his prodigious strength, the heft of the train of dwarven loot would have pulled him right back down.

“These are heavy!” Sammus complained as he helped lift a stone sled over the edge and onto the ground. Erak almost gasped in relief as some portion of the weight disappeared. It took another ten minutes of crawling to drag the rest of the sled up and by then his quads were on fire and shaking with strain. He collapsed as he heard Sammus call out that the train was clear and he lay there for a few moments on the cold stone just enjoying the feel of it as sweat pooled underneath him.

“I hope that dwarf delivers for Erak. He looks exhausted,” Sammus quipped, standing somewhere behind him. Pomp’s light weight settled on his back and the dragon’s cold breath washed over his neck, chilling the sweat there.

“I would like to be fully combat capable again. Need Erak in full armor to really showcase his talents,” Nevia said as her boots settled right in his peripheral vision. A half full canteen was shoved into his hand and Erak got to his knees and drank it dry before starting to pull again.

The trip was long and arduous and rather boring. Erak kept his head down and kept his legs shoving against the floor as they found their way back to the upper levels and crossed the first set of guards.

A half-dozen Imperial soldiers with their casters pointed at them looked rather startled as Erak emerged from the depths. For a moment, Erak thought they’d fire regardless of them not being abominations from the depths.

“Hold, soldier!” Sammus bellowed, his voice boomed across the men and they froze before they could release blasts from their casters.

“Damnit, it’s the Lord Bloodsworn.”

“Without his armor, he looks nearly human.”

“I’m a prince. I think I rate higher than some ring bearer.”

Erak ignored them and kept his legs pumping. If he stopped he didn’t think he could start again.The squad peeled away to let him pass by. Nevia stayed a second behind them and talked quietly to the soldiers before jumping on to the last sled and letting Erak pull her. Her weight was hardly noticeable but Erak still took a second to glare back at her before turning back and keep moving.

Buried under the mountain of exhaustion was the small flame of excitement. Soon he would have armor and a blade again. The rest of the world was waiting out there for him to see. Demons, monsters, and a missing Emperor.