Chereads / Descendants of Midgard - The Lost Dwarfs / Chapter 4 - Relax and Recreation Time

Chapter 4 - Relax and Recreation Time

-IronShell: Lower Shell District, Blacksmith residential zone

Orfal enters through a backdoor to Dundrid's shop. He closes the door quietly before he starts to yelling. "Dundrid you coal brain idiot get back here and... Oh your right there already."

A dwarf standing in front of a smelting furnace pumps the bellows lifting up a cloud of ash and sparks. Flames jump two feet high from the foundry as the ore inside begins to melt. The dwarf becomes overshadowed by the bright flames making him appear as a living chiaroscuro of a blacksmith at work.

The dwarf then turns around showing a face covered in a steel trimmed mask with a rectangular obsidian glass lense. He then lifts off his mask revealing a messy singed brown beard, two dark blue eyes and a round red nose with white toilet paper sticking out of the nostrels. This is Dundrid Cavetoe, a blacksmith journyman who recently opened up his own shop after completing his decade long apprenticeship.

"Haha why in the Shell do you have paper in your nose? Did it start to bleed after you see some pretty dwarf lady passing by your shop, not that one would actually enter to buy your crap which gets me to my point, Your..Junk..Goggles... made me get drenched in waste because they couldn't do the simple task of keeping my eyes safe!" Shouts Orfal while also pausing to take some deep breaths.

*Huuuh pfft, Huuuh pfft*

"And furthermore..." Orfal is prepared to really lay into Dundrid but his mind freezes. A tingling sensation is going off in his head. The kind that naturally warns oneself that something is wrong...very wrong.

"Dundrid, why is.. there paper in your nose?" Orfals voice starts to get hesitant.

Dundrid just grins back at Orfal and replies. "That's simple, to put a barrier between my nose and your stench."

Orfal's forehead begins to sweat and mind races. How did he know I was coming and smelled like this. Does anyone else know? Can't be I went straight from the tank to the air vent ladder and then to... oh sweet Sindri's beard the air vents!

"How long ago?" Orfal asks.

"Been about four hours and twelve minutes since it hit the Lower Shell District, not even a few minutes later it spread all the way into the Middle and Top Shell Districts. I reckon you managed to stink up the royal palace itself, which brings up a funny point you made I think a Lady from the palace acually did visit my shop today and..." Dundrid carries on to describe his day but Orfal really didn't catch anything past stinking up the royal palace.

'My public image ruined. I can forget ever showing my face around IronShell much less pursing my dream of swooning a barmaid.' Orfal starts to panic and begins pacing around in circles.

"...and thats when I noticed the tremendously horroble smell and remember selling you those...*Coughs* anyways its alright Orfal after putting my two thoughts together I realized I helped cause you some misfortune and figured the least I could do was offer you some help." Says Dundrid with a big devilish grin on his face.

Orfal finally stops pacing and turns to Dundrid when his ears heard the word help.

"You can help me out of this situation?" replies Orfal not paying the slightest attention to the same grinning smile that convinced him into buying the defective goggles in the first place.

"Well I can't undo whats already done, not even the great Sindri could change events like today, but I could help you hide from the fallout. I wont even charge you more than a few silver.." Dundrid throws out the bait and watches his reoccurring victum bite.

"You won't be charging me a single copper peice after what you put me through. Now hurry up and tell me your plan." Says Orfal who is already being reeled into Dundrid's next scam.

Dundrid holds out an red octagonal mineral plate with some dwaven runes carved in the middle for Orfal to take.

"Is that a docking pass for the Red Tooth Mercenary Companies exploration Sub?" Says Orfal in shock.

"Aye that it be. I saved up a lot to get this so I could enjoy a little relax and recreation time but to show you my sincerity in wronging you I will let you take my place. It departs in three hours and will return in a week, by the time you return things should have died down." Replies Dundrid.

Orfal smiles and swipes the boarding pass out of Dundrid's hand.

"Well its a start, but what about my house? I can't just throw my family under the hammer while I go hide from this." Orfal says with much worry.

"No need to worry, if things get too bad I will step in and help. Now get over to the rear docks before you miss your ride." Dundrid says with a confident tone.

"Your right off I go." Orfal gives his farewell but before he walks out the door he stops and looks at a pile of coal. Orfal remembers part two of his master plan and begins rubbing coal all over his body to hide the scent of filth before finally leaving.

After Dundrid watches Orfal leave he gives out a hearty laugh and says to himself, "Haha that poor lad needs to learn to relax his anxious mind and use it to start thinking. What use is there to cover up his smell up when the whole town stinks. Well if he started to think more I wouldn't have been able to get out of that labor contract for the Red Tooth Mercs, now I can begin some true relax and recreation time."