The capital of the gnome state was huge, it was divided into districts, and in each district a particular community or guild dominated. A guild specializing in a particular craft had a speaking name summarizing all members of its community.
So it was: Crafts and Forgemsatering Guild, the Common Runic Guild, the Guild of Inscriptions, Carpenters, the Merchant Guild, the Gunsmith Guild and many others less significant.
The invention of firearms was invented by the Dwarves and has long been in great demand. Instead of gunpowder, crystals crushed into powder were used to increase power.
But, it was very expensive, therefore, such weapons consisted only of specialized elite soldiers defending the border and central cities. Jill went to one of the districts of such a city in the early morning.
He decided to buy a cutting kit to start with and at the same time go to the crystal shop. To compare the result of his modifications, he did not need expensive crystals, and the way he was going to create an ordinary object, the cheapest crystals would be a great choice.
Plus, they are easier to compare and if something goes wrong, then the loss will not be so painful. In general, everything was logical and economical. Rejoicing in his inventiveness, the gnome cheerfully burst into the old refined shop dotted with tablets and scrolls of all stripes.
Behind the counter stood a low, even by gnomeish standards seller, with a huge gray beard and small round glasses without ears, they seemed completely useless to them, because they absolutely confidently felt on the owner's long hooked nose.
-Good afternoon! How can I help? - The old man slowly walked out from behind the counter to greet the new buyer.
- Hello!
-What do you need my boy? - slightly frowning gray eyebrows.
- Do you really want to buy a kit? I didn't notice the talent for the inscription or enchatment in you Jillius, when you still was my student.
"Hell you! This old rascal again took up his own! What kind of boy am I ?! Feeling right, as in his lessons - I want to quickly fade".
How quickly time flies, until recently, he was afraid of this old man to hell, an incredibly strict and meticulous teacher of writing. For him, his subject was akin to the Holy Grail which only a select few can touch. He was nicknamed at the university - the Grail Guardian. Then he left and began to teach the mark in the Higher Academy, by the way Jane studied there for some time, but decided to quit and live with me - a wonderful woman after all ...
"Sir Benjamin, you see," Jill answered after a short pause.
- When I was at university, I was always more interested in the Engineering part, graphics, design ...
"Yes, design," the professor quickly cut short.
"How's Jane doing?" Sweet talented girl ... still has a great future in the capital.
Tell her that if she decides, the teaching chair at the Academy will always be behind her. It's amazing how marriage can ruin a person's life ...
- I'm still here sir ...
"Sorry, Joyce."
"Jill," his former student corrected.
- Do not take it personally, fools, Ehm there are a lot of people like you in the world and it's not at all her fault that she chouse you. Still, Jane is still very young and inexperienced. At her age, it's easy to make the wrong choice, hmm ...
Jill has already begun to slowly inflate with resentment and anger,"- Hold on, damn old man, you had to slip a couple of rattlesnakes into your hat when you had a chance!"
"She could even help me open a second shop," Benjamin muttered.
- Jill my name is Jill! "And if you want to know, Jane is happy and everything is fine with us." The capital is not the whole world, happiness can be found anywhere, because happiness is a state of mind.
"Eh-eh-eh, poor girl," the old professor continued to stare at his beard. Like Jill never exists at all.
- It is useless ... spread his hands Jill ...
- In general, I would like to purchase a simple enchantment kit. And you have good prices despite the bad character, so here I come to you.
To the phrase "bad character" his small eyes narrowed even more, but the old man did not answer. And Jill continued:
- I don't see as many customers as I did when I was studying here.
- Yes, the ingredients and equipment for enchantment are not being sold as before ... Perhaps this is due to an increase in the number of lovers of practical engineering, weapons and other fools who do not understand anything in ancient art ... no offense to Jarvis.
"I'm Jill," the dwarf retorted without any significance to the mistake in his name.
- And I heard that due to the lack of proper management, the old elements of society cannot integrate into the new development system of the city and their businesses are slowly dying.
The professor's eyebrows thickened like clouds during a thunderstorm.
"A bad boy, I really didn't like this loafer! Look, there was a finance specialist ... Well, well ..." - quickly flashed through his bald head.
- Excuse me, how old is your professor for 700 years?
- Soon there will be an anniversary of 800...
- It's amazing how you still stand at that age? - With a compassionate voice, the former student asked.
- Do not worry about nothing, I'm still full of energy. - Shaking his shoulders, the professor remarked.
- Here you go, standard for household charm, how do you like it? And he handed over a shabby box with something unclear.
"Yes, there's just enough strength for causticity," the dwarf said to himself barely audibly.
- Daniel, you said something, speak louder son, otherwise I'm not so young anymore.
- Jiiill - literally moaning corrected him a dwarf.
-I say, if you have no heirs, I could take care of your shop, you always were like a father to me ...
Benjamin squinted and looked at Jill, as if he had already imagined how he was quartering it in his head.
"I think I'm still not so old."
- The worst does not suit me, twisting in my hands a box of an old yellowed walnut tree, the dwarf said, I would like something more or less better.
-Oh, and you are not completely hopeless, as I see, - Ben said with some joy in his voice.
"Interesting how badly he thinks of me." - Spun in Jill's head.
- Here, keep 17 aleas from you.
- And what can be so expensive a small discount for an old student?
- You yourself asked for a good set of and the price is appropriate? Hmm, ok so be it, from good memory 15. Say hello to your wife, a good looking girl, very talented that she did not understand in you ...
"The joke teacher again," Jill grunted.
- Yes, what jokes are there .... I sighed, barely shaking my beard, the old teacher and went to get the goods.
- Thank you sir. - Jill answered holding out the money and packing the goods in his backpack.
- Oh yes, and until I left, the professor completely forgot to ask you, and who will be the third on your anniversary?
- In the sense of the third? I don't seem to understand you completely baby ...
Benjamin answered, and looked up from the hand on which the money for the set was lying, and at the same time all his current profit.
- Well, the first guest and he is the hero of the occasion - this is of course you. The second guest is your bloated conceit, well, theoretically reasoning, according to the Bol formula, there is only one person left. So I was wondering who this unfortunate ...
Bam! Something heavy crashed into the closed door of the store. And the dwarf who had just managed to fly out into the street chuckled loudly while running.
"It is clear why Jane laughed so often while sitting with him at my lectures. A sense of humor - it seems the only merit of this villain. - Who is the third person? ... that's a bastard ..."
The old professor continued to mutter to himself, stroking his perfect white beard and smiling faintly.
Having bought crystals and wandered a little along the city streets, Gillius decided to go into the tavern, where a couple of his acquaintances were already sitting. He fell apart in a sturdy chair and relaxed, in a pleasant company time flies unnoticed. Of course, he did not talk about his findings, but people in the tavern had enough other topics for conversation.
"You're an old rascal," the red-bearded gnome growled hoarsely, rather imposingly.
- Hi Bean, how is it?
-Same shit, we are resting.
Bean put his hand around the table at which three more strong gnomes sat, Mo he knew, and the others obviously were his apprentices from the Blacksmiths Guild.
- You take it?
- Of course, what a question)
- Well! Hey waiter one more at a time! Right now, Winx will drag.
- Smiling, he winked conspiratorially.
A minute later, Winx - a fat tall gnome of a strong physique, really dragged a tray with five mugs of selected Ale. A divine drink that went perfectly at any time of the day. And in the evening, in good company, it disappeared faster than water in the sand.
Having sincerely sat and chatted with their old friends Bin and Mo, the other two called Luke and Bere, also turned out to be nice guys. Jill was always surprised at this couple. Bean, he was still an asshole, but a wonderful friend, and Mo was generally something with something.
The fair-haired young guy almost never and never worked, he managed to constantly spend all his free time in the bar, although in fact he was an excellent engineer and made fine guns.
Although when he did them, it was also unclear, because he did not appear at work in the guild, and the guns there on the contrary appeared and moreover with army precision. In general, a strange guy - he loved to drink, but he never got drunk, at least not to the extent that he began to do something indecent.
But the funniest thing, at the same time, he managed to study at the university and in some magical way, only he could pass exams in his guided manner. Do not be surprised that not one of his course mates is something that he could not recall a single time for Mo to attend a lecture or exam. Nobody at all knew who this Mo was and what he looked like.
But all the teachers unanimously reiterated that he was well done and had a great future. He was even given a scholarship ... For all these inexplicable things, Mo received the nickname - Ghost.
After sitting with his comrades for a couple of hours in the tavern, Jill decided to leave. Their friendship lasted for more than 30 years, which even by the standards of the dwarves was a serious deadline. Sometimes they drank or smoked pipes by the lake. When there was more free time, we worked on a common project, code-named "hill mess".
It was a pleasant hobby that took place 20-30 km from the city, away from the hustle and bustle. At about the same distance from the forest on the way to Gill's house, they decided to dig a network of tunnels. This winding web of excavations, in the end, was more and more like a warehouse in a maze.
Everywhere lay something useful and not very. Then the company decided to turn some of the paths into wider rooms and use them as storage. Huge storage.
It remains to find many interesting things and make a museum out of it. Perhaps this day, someday it will come, but for now the brave three liked sometimes to get together and work on a common project.
In the end, hobbies are different, and that was to their liking. But now Jill had slightly different plans, so he decided to warn his friends that he would temporarily not be able to participate in the "mess".
Hey buddy, something happened? - asked Mo.
- Speak as if. We will always help, if that so - Bean supported.
- Everything is fine, I just decided to leave for a while, a family trip, so to speak.
- Oh good idea! Well good luck then, come, come in - have a drink and chat! - the gnomes nodded in unison. If you disappear for a long time do not forget that fire mail always works
- Sure! I will not forget - Jill smiled and warmly said goodbye to his comrades and went home in the best mood.
... Going down into the tunnel, Jill surprisingly quickly got to his house. It turned out to be a wonderful day, and the night is likely to be no worse. It was spinning in his head when his gaze was fixed on the boundless sky.
There were no stars visible, only heaped crowds of clouds together sailed somewhere far away. Hugging his wife, sitting in his favorite chair, the discoverer-engineer enjoyed the great moments of little happiness.