Skorsug and his group lead us into The Great Forge and as the doors open a wave of heat passes over us. Going through the door leads us into a long hallway filled lines with many more thick doors. As we are guided through, I find that some of the doors are opened, all revealing a workshop for metallurgy.
Ever since the carriage stopped at The Great Forge, the feeling I previously had near the entrance of the City returned, although there was something different about it. As we eventually reach the end of the long hallway and arrive at the final room, the feeling I had got stronger as if it was telling me I had to keep moving forward. Leading us into the room Skorsug and the others take a seat at around a round table and has us do the same.
"I hope you don't mind the heat here, with all the workshops doing their thing it can get pretty hot in here. Anyway, let's get down to business. There are two types of Elementals that are trying to take the Root, Metal and Wood Elementals. Due to their shared weakness to fire we've been able to hold them back so far, but we can never truly finish them being a soulform. The most we can do is apply oil to our weapons and set them on fire, it's enough to fend them off but it takes a long time and the damage we deal like this is minimal since most of our damage comes from physical force."
"I have ways to kill Elementals and other soulforms so this shouldn't be too much of a problem, but how many are there in total? And other than fire do they have other weaknesses? And why are they even after the Root to begin with?"
"If I counted correctly, two Wood Elementals and two Metal Elementals, for a total of four. As for their weaknesses, I'm not sure, this isn't my area of expertise. I'm a metal worker, not a scholar."
Thinking that I can just find out when I see them, I try to move on, but Lia speaks up first. "In addition to fire, the Wood Element is weak to Ice and Lightning; the Metal Element however only has one weakness in addition to Fire, Air. As for why they are trying to obtain the Root, it is most likely that the Metal Elementals are at the Medium stage and are trying to advance to being a Greater Elemental. I've read that Elementals need to absorb the power of an Elemental Root that corresponds to them in order to become Greater Elementals. But I'm not sure why the Wood Elementals are involved."
With Lia's input, it dawns on me that this is actually an incredibly good matchup for me. Having control over the Elements of Fire, Ice, and Air gives me a huge advantage over these guys.
After some rounds of discussion, we settle on a plan. So as to avoid any collateral damage from the ensuing fight, I am supposed to stakeout near the entrance and just wait until the Elementals show up again. I can agree with this assessment, me trying to fight in an enclosed space probably won't end well for anyone, especially since I haven't had the chance to try that Dwarven Booze that Skorsug was bragging about. And in return for having to stay at the entrance until this ordeal is over, I get to have people wait on my every need, am I hungry, then someone will go fetch me the finest food around. The only thing I can't have is alcohol since the Elementals could return at any moment it was a near unanimous agreement, with the exception of me of course, that I was not allowed to have any alcohol delivered to me so as to prevent me from being drunk when they arrive. Little do they know, I stashed some away from the storage room before coming here, I just need to find a time and place where no one will see me drinking it. But for the actual battle plan, Milla and Lia are supposed to hold off an Elemental each, giving me some more breathing room during the fight.
Together with Skorsug and a few other Dwarves, we take the carriage back to the city gates and as we move further and further away from The Great Forge, that strange feeling I had gets weaker and weaker before eventually disappearing. After asking about it I find out that the Metal Root is kept in a hidden room beneath The Great Forge, giving me an idea on what exactly this feeling was. If My guess is correct, it is a kind of natural radar that tells me when an Elemental or Elemental Root is nearby as well as its general direction. But I'll know for certain once the Elementals arrive.
Soon enough we move past the city gates and arrive at a guardhouse. Skorsug and the other Dwarves guide us in and show us around the small place that we will be staying at for the time being. The Dwarves that came with Skorsug begin to unload some of the stuff they brought along and reveal it to be cooking utensils and some raw meat. Before leaving, Skorsug explains that these few Dwarves are to be in charge of our meals until the Elementals are dealt with.
After about an hour a lavish feast is prepared for us. The tender and juicy meat are great, although they can't compare to the old man's skewers in Draelgium. As the night drags on the Dwarves eventually head to their assigned rooms for the night, leaving the three of us to keep watch. My chance! Rules are made to be broken after all.
Standing up and dashing out the door I say, "I'm gonna head out and survey the area to see if the Elementals are around."
Without waiting for a response I leave the guardhouse and begin wandering around, trying to find an isolated area without any prying eyes. With a few minutes of looking around, I find a blind spot where no one can see me from the guardhouse or the city gates. Taking a small moment to double-check that no one is watching, I regurgitate the barrel I put in my stomach storage the night before we left and begin my solo drinking party.
"Its been a while since I've had a chance to pour myself a drink. A shame that Milla only stocks up on this cheap crap, but I guess I have to make do with what's around. Maybe I should make my own at some point, that way I can make the stuff as strong as I want. I should look for some good ingredients when I am in Lausiel."
"Nice drink you got there, mind if I have some?"
Too absorbed in my thoughts I blindly get a cup out from my storage and pour some. "Here you go."
"Thanks."
"... Wait! Why are you here, Lia!"
"I figured I'd accompany you in your little scouting adventure. You ran out in such a hurry though without even waiting for a response, so I assumed you were probably lying about trying to see if the Elementals were prowling about. I was right."
As if there is nothing wrong about the current situation, Lia just calmly takes a sip of her drink and sits down next to me. Before I can even get out a response, Lia grabs my tail and begins to stroke it.
"Why do your scales feel so soft and smooth, but when I apply force they suddenly become as hard as a rock?" Soon enough, Lia begins rubbing her face against my tail. "Ah, it feels so pleasant, as if I'm petting a cat."
Looking at her face, I see that it is slightly flushed. Now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever seen Lia drink any alcohol before... there's no way right? Just a single sip was enough to get her drunk like this? I've seen lightweights before, but Lia gives the word a whole new meaning.
After drinking a little more, Lia eventually falls asleep, but the only problem is that she is still hugging my tail and refusing to let go. Does it really feel that good? Unfortunately, I'm unwilling to wake her and deal with her while she is drunk, so I swallow the barrel and cups, returning them to my stomach storage and just lay on the ground. Although I don't really need to sleep, I bring myself to slumber as a way to pass the time.
Light shining on my eyes, waking me up. But I find it difficult to move and quickly realise that Lia laying on top of my stomach, still firmly hugging my tail. if it was anyone else I would have kicked them off or even eaten them for doing this to me, but I'm strangely content to just let Lia be and watch her sleep. But unfortunately, this doesn't last, as the feeling from yesterday reappears. Unlike the feeling I had when I was near the Root, this one feels as if something is approaching me, from the same direction I felt something leave from when we first arrived here.
Quickly waking Lia up and informing her of the situation, we rush back to the guardhouse to prepare to inform the others and prepare for battle.