Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 364 - 363 - The Rundown Shop

Cimmeria was sprawling chaos and a merchant haven as always.  Many believed it would never fall but that was an overall outlook.  The strong backing of the Stardust Emporium and its influx of excellent resources and Qi stones made it likely the backbone of Cimmeria would endure, but beyond that it was a storm.

Palaces of guilds rose to prominence for a few centuries only to be undermined and fall later.  Families and Clans found their opportunity to make a fortune for generations only to have it all lost in those very same later generations.

Over a century and a half ago, Lind had worked not far from the Heavenly Maiden Sect at 2 shops.  He made his way from the inn he was staying at to check in on them.  The Sunlit Forge had expanded.

Master Cain had barely advanced to the Sky Realm, but he would end there.  He could not push it any farther.  Lind had given all the resources he could.  He owed the man a great deal for introducing him to Delenn.

He was happy to see many apprentices in tan robes rushing around with smudges of soot and what looked like some metal slag in their hands.  The older members were hidden away but the sound of clanging metal was easily heard.

Master Cain always enjoyed letting the sound of metal echo around his shop.

The high wall did not hide that taller main forge area.  Smoke billowed up but formations kept it from spreading to neighbors.

"Does senior have an appointment?"  A young man called out from the gate but Lind simply slipped out a medal.  The moment the apprentice saw it, his pale blue eyes went round.  "I beg pardon!  Do you have a job to do here, Elder?"

Lind was about to shake his head when a smirk crossed his face.

"I do not have a particular job, but I have been gone for some time, may I use an open forge?"  The apprentice nodded before signaling a passing girl to take his post temporarily.  She saw Lind and her face smiled wide before taking over.

They quickly moved but before entering the main forge building, Lind saw something familiar.  He stopped in his tracks to see a fairly simple grade 2 sword but it was not refined.  It was Forged.

"Ah, Master Cain always likes to tell the story of how the blade here was made at our forge by the legendary Lind Frey."  Lind repressed his cringe at the excitement in the young man's voice.

He was a Sand Tier but after all Lind had been through, he was just a boy to him.

"Why out front?  I thought it was inside before?"  Lind was right.  When the Sunlit Forge was smaller, it had been in the presentation hall for examples of work made at the shop Master Cain was especially proud of.

Commissions were registered so they could be attributed but an entry in a jade slip versus seeing a real object were worlds apart.

"Ah, well we don't have any Forgers here, but since this was one of his earliest works, Master Cain still displays it but now as a conversation piece."  Lind nodded as it seemed wiser.

As Lind had spread teachings for Forging, there was no real guild for them aside from the Moebius Sect.  There was even a place set up in Cimmeria for that very purpose administered by the sect.  It was very close to Starfire House so only the insane would dare poach any item from there.

It also made a good journey for disciples to spread their wings in the wider cultivation world.

"Are you swooning over that piece of trash again, Eden?"  A voice interrupted their conversation and Lind turned to find an Elder of Sunlit Forge with a smug look on his face.  The man was larger than most cultivators.

It indicated either a technique effect or he had deviation and was going to be stuck at his current mid Iron Tier for the rest of his life.  The gray in his hair and wrinkles spoke volumes to Lind that he was looking at someone older than him but he did not recognize the man.

"Elder Galen, this Elder had recently returned and simply asked me a few questions."  Lind praised the quick thinking of the boy and his even temperament.  He would go far if he could maintain that.

A sneer spread on Galen's face but Lind had restrained his aura inside the shop as it was rude to let it flare like Galen was.  He was an Elder though so it was difficult to stop him.

"You think this vagabond was an elder of our shop?  He was likely sent away for being a failure!"  Lind smiled while Eden paled very quickly.  He knew Lind was stronger than Galen but he did not know what to do as some seniors were prickly at juniors speaking up for them.

"Why do you call the sword trash?  It was not successful in one sense but it revealed a gift that was hard to find before tests were made by Moebius Sect."  Lind spoke calmly but was enjoying laying the pit for the fool in front of him.

"What else to call such a spectacular failure?  He tried to force his way through and barely held it together.  Forging is just a mediocre art compared to our esteemed refining!"  Galen was flanked by 2 other apprentices who happily nodded to his every word.

Lind found they too were Stone Tiers that looked older than an apprentice normally would.  Lackeys were everywhere but he wondered how Galen stayed at the Sunlit Forge when nothing of quality was clear to Lind.

"Failure breeds discovery.  Cultivation is a story of failures uncounted to reach where we are now.  Perhaps Master Cain simply wants to show that such things can lead to great opportunities if one can grasp them?"  Lind was hardly ruffled as there was no one nearby that could harm him.

Galen sneered.

"You sound like that old fool of an artificer that went destitute trying to perfect a multi-elemental core at grade 5!"  The instant the words were spoken, the blood drained from all as high Diamond Tier pressure was exerted on them.

"E-elder!  Please calm yourself!"  Eden was bleeding from his ears but he was relatively fine compared to Galen and his cronies.  They collapsed on the stone path as if a fist had slammed into them.

They were pale and bleeding from their eyes, ears, and mouth from just a quick glance.

"Apologies for my rudeness."  The cold voice made all who heard it shiver.  It was a voice of a superior being that did not even blink in concern about their lives.  Eden swallowed his saliva as a vial was put in front of him.

It was a deep crimson color that he recognized but its quality was peak grade 3!

"Drink it, I should not have lost my temper."  Lind felt truly guilty for harming the young man.  He did not even glance at the 3 moaning fools.  "What happened to Master Harold?"

Eden felt infinitely better as the elixir not only repaired his body but cleaned it as well!  He could feel his 3 elemental cores of fire, air, and earth rising with his foundation!  Was that just a peak grade 3 elixir?

"Um, Master Harold really did focus on universal cores for grade 5 artifacts.  He could not seem to get it to work but my father felt it might have become a heart demon for him."  Lind frowned.  He had not heard anything about that.  Why?

He had often received correspondence from his friends but as time passed, things had pulled more of his attention.  Even so, he had not heard a single whisper of Master Harold running into issues.

Why had no one come to him?  The names of his friends and teachers were given with descriptions to all disciples.  It was so Moebius Sect could always relay messages for him.

"Thank you."  Lind turned and left.  He let his memory guide him but things had changed.

New shops had replaced a few of the stalls he had once enjoyed eating with his friends at.  Jewelers and some leather workers were displaying their wares but what Lind felt most jolted by where Myriad Treasures once stood proudly.

In its place was a broken gate with a cracked wall.  The once glowing arrays were dead and there was little to no movement that he could detect.  There was no one inside.

Lind gently moved aside the gate and walked down the once familiar paths.  Debris and collapsed walls were everywhere but that made little sense to him.  If Myriad Treasures collapsed, why was it not bought up by another business?

Still, he could see the work benches even under the dust and damage.

What had happened?  Why did no one help Master Harold?

The main building was just as damaged but there were signs of patchwork being done here or there.  The arrays were clearly reapplied with lower quality materials as time passed.  The strain showed they had been exposed to volatile elemental energies.

A small smile spread as Lind recalled his many failed attempts at making a core.

"Why didn't you reach out to me, Master Harold?"  Lind wondered where he was but even the slowest math student could realize he had exhausted his vitality.  No elixir he could whip up would lengthen that.  He could restore it if damaged, but simply creating it was impossible.

"Lad, you could have at least taken the trash when you left my shop."  A gravelly voice came from above as Lind smiled and moved back out into the sunlit day.  Master Cain had regained his robust body of youth but his hair was still balding from the top of his crowned head.

He floated down but Lind noted his robes were still dark gray and covered in soot.  Some things never changed but both men looked sad at the broken down shop around them.

"Is he gone?"  Cain nodded at Lind's question.

"Qi deviation sped up his fall.  He wanted to show you he could do it on his own.  I tried to get him to reach out but he made me swear on Heaven and Earth to not tell you nor let anyone get word to you."  Lind could remember the many arguments the 2 men had.

Both were stubborn and unwilling to bend but their friendship was in the love of their craft.  Lind felt misty eyed as he looked at the once warm shop.

"Why is it still empty?"  Lind was curious but Cain simply summoned out a scroll with the stamp of the Emporium on it.  It was a land ownership grant.

"I did not have the heart to let some upstart brat take this place while I still live.  The old farts let me have my way since I don't have long left myself."  Lind's Eyes confirmed the deterioration.  It was only a guess but Cain maybe had 2 centuries left.

"I think I would like a drink, Master Cain."  The wrinkled face split into a smile as an amber liquid appeared in a large bottle.  Two glasses quickly were set on a workbench as they drank and talked.

The 2 men reminisced about the past and drank to the memory of old friends.