20 Chapter 20

Aerwyn awoke in the darkness, he could tell the sun still hadn't rose as there was no light coming from under the furs in the doorway. Taking a moment for his tired eyes to adjust, he saw that Sera and Ren were missing from the room. Not thinking anything of it he attempted to fall back asleep but his body refused to listen.

After a few minutes of tossing and turning he picked up Rin and left the hall quietly. A chilly breeze hit his bare chest as he stepped outside, causing him to shiver and hold Rin tighter in his arms. He had been without a shirt since he accidentally burnt it off practicing his flames a few days ago. The weather had been warm since he awoke in the grassy field and this was the first time he'd actually felt cold.

All his undead were standing in the city square outside the spire. Looking past them he saw Sera leaning over dangling a long string in front of Ren and in a very cat-like manner, Ren was chasing after the string. Aerwyn just watched Sera excitedly hop around with Ren for a while until she noticed him and froze.

The look on her face was as if she had been caught doing something wrong, causing Aerwyn to laugh and walk over to her.

"I've never seen any of my undead interact with anyone else before. How'd you get Ren to play with you? She doesn't even play with me."

"I.. I saw her playing with the string so i thought i'd join her-"

"Pfft!" Sera's embarrassed face caused Aerwyn to no longer be able to hold back his laughter.

"Don't laugh! Jerk!" Sera turned red, or as red as her light grey skin would allow and playfully hit Aerwyn's arm.

"Ok, ok. I'm sorry, you just looked so embarrassed over something so silly i couldn't help but laugh."

"Fine..." Sera pouted before asking.

"Are you really planning on living here? You're more than welcome to continue staying with us and if your leaving because my father is driving you crazy then i can talk some sense into him. It may be hard to tell with him, but i haven't seen him this happy since my mother passed away."

"Yeah... I need to get stronger and this is the best place for me to do it. About your mother... I'm sorry to hear that, i didn't know."

"It's ok, it was a long time ago. She got sick and father was unable to save her. He blamed himself and shut himself in his lab, doing the only thing he felt he could do right, research. He believes that if he can become a lich he can try and get my mothers soul back from the underworld. That's why he was so excited when i brought you home."

"Wow... I didn't know that either..." The conversation took a heavy turn and Aerwyn didn't know what to say in this situation.

"Ah, that's right! What does 'mil saeri' mean? I've heard Tylin call you by it a few times now and I've been curious."

"Do you know the story of the Fae'Laran?" She asked.

"Yeah, i didn't know why all the elves in Setrhyn had grey skin. So i asked Tylin and he told it to me." Sera chuckled at his innocent explanation before continuing.

"Well 'mil saeri' means 'my light' in old fae. It's a name the Fae'Laran give to the most important people in their lives. The god of light believes he took away our light when he cursed us so we call those we care for 'mil saeri' as defiant proof that we create our own light."

"I like that a lot."

"Me too, i think it shows our tenacity as a people. That we won't be bullied, not even by the gods. If only the old turtles behind Tyres Gate felt the same then we-"

"Come, come! Let's head out. The blacksmith isn't open all day dear boy, if you want to put in an order we must get there early!" Tylin walked out of the spire clapping his hands. Jeren was a step behind, looking at Tylin as if he was a demon for being so lively immediately after waking up.

Three elves, one human, and a horde of undead began their march to Setrhyn Village. Tylin and Aerwyn rode the horses while Sera and Jeren ran beside them on foot. The trip was uneventful and they reached their destination around midday leaving Sera and Jeren to say their goodbyes before heading to Master Ferlin's.

Aerwyn brought Bon and Teek inside the village, leaving the other undead outside except for his two brexil cat protectors. He figured the blacksmith would be able to make the better weapons if he could see the goblins different sizes. He wasn't sure about the value of mana cores but he had a lot of them so he hoped to be able to get enough weapons to arm most of his goblins.

They walked through the villages main street, catching stares and hearing a few surprised yelps. Probably due to the fact that a goblin was walking around the village but Tylin assured him it was fine. The blacksmiths shop was an open building almost like a garage and he could feel the heat from the forges as soon as he got close.

Inside he could see a young elven boy no older than thirteen pounding away at piece of glowing steel while an older elf in a leather apron sat with his back towards the street sharpening a long blade on a grindstone wheel.

"Marik, i come bringing you business. Now you better give us a good deal, Aerwyn here has a need for quite a large amount of steel." Marik turned and put on a merchants smile.

"Ai, Sage Tylin your words wound this poor old blacksmith. When have i ever not given you a good deal?"

"You demon, you charged me eighty silver for that dagger and you have the gall to say you gave me a good deal? And what about last year when you charged me forty silver for some cutlery!?"

"Ha! There was a shortage of steel last year and you know it. Even this poor old blacksmith was overcharged by those merchants from the capital." Tylin went quite as if silently admitting the elf was telling the truth but still refusing to say it out loud lest it damage his pride.

"Well the boy has seven hundred and twelve goblin cores along with a direwolf core. How many swords can you make for that price?" Marik went quite for a moment, doing the math in his head before speaking.

"I can do sixteen at most. That's the best i can do, I'm being more than generous already."

"Sixt-"

"What about spears? They don't have to be large, anywhere between a meter and a half to two meters would be fine. There for my goblins." Aerwyn interrupted Tylin, pointing to the goblin behind him. Marik seemed to have just now noticed the creatures standing behind them and was startled.

"Goblins huh? If it's spear i can do maybe fifty if i made the spear head smaller..."

"Ah, i also need three goblin sized lumbering axes, a battle axe, a short sword, and an enchanted staff. Ideally the lumbering axes first. I'll need those right away."

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"Oh, is that all boy?" Marik said sarcastically.

"You don't need a staff dear boy. I have half a dozen old ones collecting dust in my home." Tylin interjected.

"Without the staff i can do thirty short spears and i can have the lumbering axes done by tomorrow night but the rest will take a few weeks to finish."

"Ok, that works for me. I'll be needing many more in the future so if you make any extras i'll buy them the next time i'm in Setrhyn."

Aerwyn handed over the heavy sack of mana cores before saying goodbye and heading back to Tylin's home. Sera was already cooking by the time they got back but Tylin gave him no time to salivate over the aroma, dragging him into the lab and handing him a straight white staff with a clear crystal fixed atop it.

"You can give this to your hobgoblin mage. I'll pack you some of my old clothes and other necessities tomorrow. Don't think you've gotten rid of me so easily though, i plan to stop by the ruins often so make sure to set a place aside for me to sleep."

"...Thank you Tylin, i'll pay you back as soon as i can."

"No need, no need. I told you what you can do for me before. If i can't achieve lichdom in a few years, you will kill me. That's how you will pay me back."

Aerwyn thought back to what Sera had told him earlier about her mother and he felt a twinge in his heart. If it was possible for him to help Tylin recover his wife's soul he would do so in a heartbeat. The thought only added more fuel for him to get stronger and master his powers.