"Kvalinn! What in the ancestors' name happened on the surface!?" Grondin, a classmate of mine from the engineering class, called out to me as soon as I got to school. "Zikruk has been telling us this astounding story about you protecting the surface town by defeating a horde of snow wraiths by yourself with a powerful runed weapon that you made minutes before the attack. Is all this true?"
I glared over at Zikruk, he was nonchalantly sitting at his desk, grinning as if he had successfully launched a million dollar marketing campaign. Evidently he had gotten the exaggerated story from Dak, and had added a few more details to boost future sales. After debating for a minute or two whether to come clean or stick with the story, I decided to go down the middle.
"It's mostly true. I did help defend Vesturhildrun from snow wraiths, and since they were immune to non magical weapons I was forced to add a rune of fire to a weapon only minutes before they attacked. But Bekhi was a lot braver than me in the fight. She had to defend her town and family without a runed weapon." Half the class raised their eyebrows skeptically. I had been making Bekhi magical runed weapons that she had enthusiastically fought with since we were small, so the idea of her being without a runed weapon was laughable to them. "That is, without a runed weapon that was effective against snow wraiths."
"What were the monsters like, Kvalinn? I've only read about them in records of trade expeditions to the surface." A student from the Scholar Clan had a quill and paper ready to take notes for posterity.
"What happens if you attack a snow wraith without a magic runed weapon?" A warrior clan student asked while gripping his hammer.
"What happened to your hands, Kvalinn? Are they injuries from the monsters? Or is that frostbite from touching snow?"
"Didn't you have frostbite from the rune of snow you crafted several years ago? I thought that you only got frostbite once in life?"
"That's goblin pox." A student whose father was in the physicians guild clarified before going off the rails. "Frostbite is a disease that causes fingers and toes to go black and fall off. It only occurs on the surface though and it's not contagious so you don't need to worry."
"Actually-" Bekhi tried to speak up but was ignored and interrupted by another student.
"Kvalinn! Zikruk says that you received personal thanks from the Thane of Vesturhildrun, is that true? Do you think you'll get better grades since another Thane complimented your work?"
The questions continued unabated for several minutes. I barely had a chance to answer anything since the conversations kept spiraling into new and weird directions before coming back to ask about another part of Zikruk's story. Bekhi tried to speak up a few more times, but she was either ignored or shut down by the other students. It only came to an end when Elder Rongrim entered the room.
Giving his usual glare to the students until they were all seated at their desks. Elder Rongrim sat down, filled his mug from the cask he kept under his desk, took a long quaff of beer until it was empty, and after giving a contented sigh, he began the lesson. "KVALINN EKGORSSON!" Came the thundering shout that shook the classroom. "Step forward and tell me why Thane Thredak of Vesturhildrun came down to Nurnwuhr to personally praise your actions over New Year's break! Do not spare a single detail!"
This was a big change to the regular yearly procedure. Normally, Elder Rongrim would start on one row and have the students come forward one by one and present their work. I, however, was nearly in the back of the classroom, and usually one of the last people who came forward.
With nervous steps, I made my way forward to the front of the classroom. Not wanting to anger Elder Rongrim any further, I bowed and gave the traditional greeting for the first day of the school year.
"Greetings, Elder Rongrim. I present my work to you, to prove that I am worthy of learning the wisdom of my ancestors." I laid a sword with the rune of wind on it. The effect of the rune was pretty weak, but useful. It would blow any blood, dirt, sweat, or other staining or dulling material off the blade, substantially lowering the amount of maintenance required for the blade.
Elder Rongrim gave the blade a quick look before returning his gaze to me. "Yes, yes, excellent work as always, you pass to the next year, congratulations. Now, tell me the full story of what happened in Vesturhildrun. Leave not a single fact omitted."
The glare of my teacher bore down on me like a hundred ton weight. There didn't seem to be anger or judgment, just a fierce desire to make sure the entire truth was told and that a lie did not appear in his classroom. So with cold sweat beading down my back from his gaze, I told the exact story of the snow wraiths. From Dak bringing me to the smithy, to messing up the rune crafting, and fighting the snow wraiths, to me collapsing in the snow.
"After that, I had my burns bandaged and came home yesterday. That's the entire story, and by my honor, that is the truth." Elder Rongrim probed me with his eyes for a few minutes before nodding in satisfaction.
"Thane Thredak appears to have taken a few liberties with the story he told to Thane Throdhengrun, but his decision to offer his daughter to you for your actions is still a wise one. Study hard so that he does not regret the decision. Next student, come forward."
I made my way back to my desk, more tired than if I had been cross examined by a veteran cop, a lawyer, and an angry superhero all at the same time. Was school always this difficult!? Back in my previous life it had been a breeze as long as I remembered the math formulas and used spell check.
The rest of class proceeded normally, with around ninety eight percent of students passing the rigorous inspection, and a few getting sent back a year to repeat the classes due to presenting shoddy work. This year no students came down from older years since this was the final year of classes, and the drive to graduate permeated the air of the classroom.
Elder Dworhick's Advanced Combat class came next. He received a one handed warhammer with the rune of earth on it. The effect of that rune was a bit more attack oriented, if you hit someone with a weapon endowed with that rune, it would cause them to feel like dirt had been thrown in their face. He took the weapon and gave it a few swings before putting it aside.
"Bekhi Mumbrimssdottir. I heard from your father that Kvalinn killed all the snow wraiths single handedly, how was his form and attack patterns? I would hate to hear that my honor as a teacher was besmirched by a student who relied on his weapons to win. A true warrior can win a battle with anything, even rocks from the ground."
"Kvalinn's form was a little sloppy." Bekhi said hesitantly. "But considering he just finished crafting a runed weapon and the handle of the weapon was hotter than an open flame, I'd say he brought honor to your teachings."
"Hmm, I see that I need to teach you all pain management. If you freeze and forget your lessons after just a few wounds, it could mean the end of you. On the opposite end of the spectrum, you need to learn to pay attention to your injuries so that you don't push yourselves to death. Kvalinn, when you see Elder Thrikrondromm later, ask him to teach you the rune of pain. I'll provide the armor pieces you will need to add it to."
The rest of the lesson occurred relatively normally. Since my hands were still bandaged with burn ointment, I was geared up in the heaviest armor and told to run laps. While paying close attention to Elder Dworhick take on the other two students in the class two on one. So while I didn't leave bruised and battered like I usually did, I left with absolutely zero energy reserves and I really craved a high powered energy drink from my past life.
Engineering class with Elder Voghigg was also uneventful. Since it was my final year, I would be presenting the steam powered rock drill that I had designed with Elder Voghigg's assistance. So the rest of the year would be spent running endless tests and upgrades. But even if it was perfect, neither myself nor Elder Voghigg expected it to come into use for a few decades due to the resistance of all dwarves to change, so we were just preparing for the distant future.
As I approached Elder Thrikrondromm's classroom, I hoped that the lecture I was walking into wouldn't be too long or loud. Unfortunately, my hopes were in vain.
"KVALINN EKGORSSON! GET IN HERE AND SIT DOWN!" Elder Thrikrondromm's shout shook the halls. I was pretty sure that the booming voice could be heard from the surface, and considering how angry Elder Thrikrondromm sounded, I doubted that even fleeing there could save me. Resigning myself to my fate, I rushed to my seat and prepared for the inevitable.
"Did you learn nothing from my lessons!? Were all my warnings in vain? Did everything I teach you just leak out of your ears? Do I need to follow Elder Dworhick's example and beat my instructions into your thick head with my hammer? Rushing a forge song, seriously!? It is fortunate that Thane Thredak didn't have to return you to your father in a dustbin! Your ancestors would have laughed you from their halls from the idiotic manner in which you should have died. The fact that you stand in front of me right now is only due to the whims of the gods! If I ever hear of you doing anything so foolish, moronic, bonheaded, imbecilic, and blockheaded ever again, then I will toss you into the forge fire myself and let the ancestors deal with you. Do I make myself clear!"
My ears were still ringing from the extremely loud reprimand, so I nodded emphatically to try and make it stop.
Satisfied with the expression on my face, and somewhat out of breath from his tirade, Elder Thrikrondromm sat down at his desk. "So, since we are unable to go to the rune forge to work due to your hands. We will go over some of the basics. Hopefully this time my lessons and warnings take root in your mind."
"Before we begin, I have a request from Elder Dworhick." I cut in before a repeat of the fifth year lessons could commence. "He said he wants you to teach me the rune of pain so that I can add it to armor for our lessons."
"Very well, we will begin tomorrow. But if I ever hear of you adding it to a weapon. Then I will send you to the ancestors myself!" Elder Thrikrondromm took a deep breath, and let it out as he realized that he had lost his train of thought and couldn't remember what lesson he was going to give me. As he pondered what to teach me, I asked about my failure with the rune of travel.
When Bekhi had used it in battle, the hammer with the rune inscribed on it had acted like a normal hammer. It still killed the goblins, but there was no flashy effect or overpowered kill streak that I had come to expect from my weapons. Elder Thrikrondromm had a simple answer for me though.
"The rune of travel does absolutely nothing when attached to a weapon!" Elder Thrikrondromm pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Either I skipped this lesson, or you forgot it. That will be our lessons until your hands recover, Kvalinn."
Elder Thrikrondromm then expounded in extensive detail what runes worked on weapons, and which ones did not. For instance, the rune of travel would have worked perfectly had I added it to a pair of boots. The rune would have made the wielder feel extremely light on their feet until the runes ran out of magic or the boots were taken off. There were many other runes that only worked on armor, instead of weapons, and several runes that could only work when attached to specific objects. So despite the pain in my hands, I had to take a lot of notes.
"That will be all for today, Kvalinn." Elder Thrikrondromm collected my notes and his rune book and locked them away in his desk. Due to the secretive nature of the rune smithing guild, I wasn't allowed to take my notes home with me, and I could only study the book of runes while at school.
Taking an experimental sniff of air, Elder Thrikrondromm looked at the door pointedly. "Bekhi Mubrimssdottir, you can come in now." To my surprise, Bekhi entered with a tray of food for us.
When I looked at Elder Thikrondromm to try and figure out how he knew Bekhi was waiting behind the solid wooden door, he just shrugged. "I've been in more campaigns and wars in my thousand years of life than I care to think about. You don't see that much bloodshed without developing a heightened awareness of your surroundings. I'll leave you two alone, I believe I saw a particularly large leg of mutton in the school storage room, but if any other teacher has taken it then they will have to answer to me."
After giving the classroom a once over to make sure everything was in place, Elder Thrikrondromm gave a nostalgic smile, as if remembering his own youth, and left for the staff room. Bekhi gave me a more friendly smile, and put the tray of food down on my desk.
"Thanks, Bekhi. I'm not sure what time it is, but I'm pretty sure it's past time for the evening meal." I started eating the food Bekhi had brought and relaxing after a long day of school. "So what are you still doing here? Shouldn't you be home by now?"
"The whole school could hear Elder Thrikrondromm raking you over the coals, and when it didn't stop when everyone else was sent home, I got permission from Elder Rongrim to make you something to eat. I'm also here to change out the bandages on your hands." Bekhi grabbed one of my hands and started taking off the old bandages, and inspecting the burns. Somehow though, the inspection turned into her gently holding my hand as she looked deep into my eyes.
"So, Kvalinn. Did your dad talk about what my dad discussed with him?" I slowly chewed my food and nodded. "What do you think?"
Bekhi had the face of a teenage girl trying to unsubtly determine if the guy she likes, likes her back. Looking at me questioningly through her eyelashes. I was not oblivious to what she was trying to do, and knew that I had to answer the question, but I also knew that just saying something simple like 'we make a good match' was a bad idea. So I had to think for a few minutes in a panic to prepare a good answer.
I had to swallow my food eventually though, so my time to think was limited. After swallowing the hardened bread, I took a sip of beer and did my best to recall my father's lessons from the night before on how to politely say that I liked her.
"I think that I will need to ask your father for a good place in Vesturhildrun for me to set up a house for a family, and rune forge." Bekhi picked up on what I was saying, and grinned in happiness as she resumed changing out the bandages on my hands. Her voice also went back to her normal informal and cheerful tone.
"A rune forge, huh? Are you going to make all sorts of awesome weapons for me and my family to use?"
"And a few experimental runes as well. Elder Thrikrondromm has taught me a lot today and I want to try it out as soon as possible. Once I can add runes to armor, I might make some steam powered armor as well." The image of power armor from a video game about dealing with fallout popped into my head. It would certainly be intimidating to anyone facing off against it in this world.
"If you're gonna be making experimental runes, then dad'll probably want you far away from town. There's a spot just a little down the mountain from my house with a rock cliff next to a small waterfall where you can dig your rune forge and build a wooden house for us nearby." Bekhi smiled in anticipation as she planned our future together.
"Just so long as we aren't too far from town to not have access to lot's of fresh meat and vegetables. I'll also need a lot of fuel for the fires to make the runes, is there a good logging clan or guild up there?"
"Of course, it's too expensive for use to get coal from the mines, so the town burns wood and charcoal. If you start ordering from them, then they'll get crazy rich from supplying the amounts you burn through."
Bekhi started chatting about the people in the logging clan, and since it was a small town up there, she knew each one of them, either personally or through her family's letters. I silently ate the meal she had cooked while half listening. Some of it was probably important information, but it would still be nearly a decade until I had to get started on building the house and forge before getting married. So I let most of it flow in one ear and out the other.
"Hey, Kvalinn." I took the last sip of beer and waited to see what Bekhi would say. "I just wanted to say thanks. Thanks for defending the town, thanks for being my friend, and thanks for being willing to move up to the surface for me.
Before I knew what was happening, Bekhi kissed me on the cheek and dashed out of the classroom with the empty tray. Leaving me to wonder, what the heck just happened.
I went home to find my father waiting for me at the forge like he normally did.
"You're home late again. Who did you get into trouble with this year?" Evidently the question was no longer, 'did you get in trouble?' and was now 'who was it this time?'"
"Elder Thrikrondromm." I said with a sigh. Father had replaced the forge cask with a full cask of beer so I poured myself a mug. "He was angered that I disregarded one of his many warnings when crafting the rune of fire. So he gave me an extensive, and loud, lecture on rune crafting."
"Hmph, from what Thane Thredak told me about what that hammer turned into, you deserved a longer lecture. According to him, no one is able to wield, or even touch, a masterpiece of a weapon because of your rune." Father and I both grimaced at the thought of that beautiful weapon sitting unused until the magic in the rune ran out. After a few minutes of silence, Father notices that I wasn't eating the gruel he had left out for me.
"Are you not hungry tonight, Kvalinn?" Father asked with a concerned look. "Were the lectures that intense today?"
"Nothing like that, Father. Bekhi brought me food she cooked in the school kitchen."
"I see that the surface girl is not wasting any time in making sure that the marriage negotiations are a success." Seeing that I didn't understand what a meal and marriage had to do with each other, father clarified a bit more. "For an unmarried girl to make a meal for someone outside her family is telling the other students that she has a claim on you, and that they need to wait for her to fail before they can attempt entering marriage negotiations with the clan. Although normal students would wait a century at least for you to have your business built up enough to support a family. These surface dwarves certainly move quickly. Too quickly for my tastes."
Father finished up his work and poured himself a beer before speaking again. "Did anything else happen at school? Do I need to prepare any apology gifts this year, or will this year be the first?"
"Hopefully this year will be the first that I remain out of trouble in school. Elder Thrikrondromm is going to have me focus on my presentation for the Thane at the end of the year, and helping me craft a powerful attack rune. Elder Voghigg will be doing the same, but with a steam powered rock breaker. And Elder Dworhick will likely train me too hard to leave me with any energy to make experimental runes. So it should be an uneventful year."
"Let the ancestors agree to that." Father raised his mug to toast an uneventful year ahead. "Although I'm still not sure why you are taking that engineering class. It has nothing to do with weapon crafting."
I glanced meaningfully at the steam powered trip hammer sitting at its station. But father just waved dismissively.
"That thing is useful sometimes. But it is an affront to the ancestors who gave us the best way of working. Besides, it will bring in neither honor, nor acclaim, and no one besides you will ever use it."
Father was probably right about that, if you were only talking about dwarven culture that is. The human feudal kingdoms out in this world would probably snap up the invention in an instant if they didn't already have something similar. It would allow more of their people to work the fields and bring more profit for their lords. But I was hesitant to get the industrial revolution started there since I didn't know if they'd ever become hostile to my home. So I was stuck playing the long game here.
"Even if I'm the only one who will use my inventions, father. They will still be useful to me and Bekhi, especially when I have access to more steel and coal." Father just grunted dismissively at my statement.
"If you say so. But for now, it's time for bed. Just one final year of school to go before you can work here full time like me. It should be a very productive time for us." Father smiled in anticipation of peaceful times, where the only apology he would have to give would be to Aundarord for overloading his wagon with product.
It struck me that I had never discussed my plans for travel to the outside world with my father, and that he expected me to work with him in the forge from the waking to sleeping hour. Not a bad life, but not the one I wanted to live for centuries. I had gadgets and technology to make!
"Um, father. After graduation, I was hoping to see the world a little." Father took the new surprisingly well.
"That won't be too hard to arrange with Aundarord. He makes regular trips around the mountain. Sometimes he even goes to the border city of Dhag Moldir which is partially above ground to trade with the humans. A year or so with him and you'll have gotten it out of your system like me."
"I was hoping to go a little further than that." Father looked at me over his beer mug in skepticism. So I elaborated on how far I wanted to go. When I finished, father just looked at me in disbelief.
"Ancestors beard! No! No! A thousand times no! I will not let my son traverse so far from home on the surface, where men and monsters rule supreme. My decision is final! As much as I hate to say it, the Weapon Clan will also not allow you to travel so far outside their jurisdiction! So go to bed, and forget your silly dreams of seeing the human world!" Father stormed off to his room, throwing his beer mug in a corner in rage. It was the first time I'd seen him get so angry over something not weapon related. I just hoped that I wouldn't have to run away from home after graduation, because I'd definitely be seeing the human world sooner or later, no matter what.