IN HIS WORKSHOP, HE WAITS

...hammer clanging. The sound echoed--had echoed--through Leo's forge for days, now--weeks. Almost incessant. Did he need sleep? Did he bother-?

Was this even useful; would the Gembound even provide the numbers to make use of the immense pile of steel bands and bronze jewelry gathering behind him? Or was it fear that drove him--a fear that she would come, claws snapping, and demand to know why he had ceased his work? Authority aside, she was maddened by what had happened to her. That much was clear. He couldn't stop--wouldn't--until the other one was secure.

Until the Black City was reclaimed.

The Blacksmith had begun, in recent days, to steal glances up at the entrance to his workshop. Would they come back to him-? Would they bring their magic, their enchantments, their volunteers? His heart sank for them when he thought of it; would they lose their lives..? They were so brave, all of them...

At the very least, he decided, he could tell them the truth. The truth that Hag-rteho had hinted at, in one of his black trials. The truth that the Masters--all of them--had kept silent.

They deserved that much.

_______________

This thread is a continuation of [Quest] The Black City - Part I. It is, and will remain for some time, open for characters to come and go and offer any successfully-enchanted Water Breathing items as requested in Part I.

The Blacksmith will then offer additional information to those who have offered aid of any form.

New characters may join this quest at any time.

@Talys (Leviathan, Tahi-shei) @Kaimana (Madhukar) @Pelt (Whale) @Dragon (Blight) @Forgraves @James (Carja) @Terror @Fahl @Beast @Comet

Talys was returning to the Blacksmith, mostly because he didn't have anything better to do. He knew the other had been working -- he'd stopped by once or twice just for a few fleeting moments to make sure the Blacksmith was alright before continuing on about his business, but now he was striding down with his rough-cut dagger on his hip and his walking stick in front of him. He was looking to finish it today, if he could, and get the piece he'd taken from the scrap pile properly affixed to the handle space.

He had his own goggles this time -- the gemstones around the edges were an opaque blue, likely turquoise of some kind, but the lenses themselves were clear. He had them around his neck for the moment, not properly wearing them just yet. "Hey Blacksmith," he greeted, heralded before he entered the forge proper by the click of his walking stick. He leaned on it, doing his best to be out of the way for the moment. "Do you want some help making jewelry for the divers?" He wanted to finish his knife, of course (and a glance at him would reveal that he was carrying the appropriate piece of scrap with him), but he wanted to offer his aid first.

He'd also brought a couple of fruits, which were balanced precariously between his abdomen and the old, mothbitten cloth he'd been wearing since he hatched. He really needed some proper clothes. "I brought you something to eat, if you've got a minute," he offered, stowing his lump of metal and holding one out. "I don't know if you eat plants, but I don't think you've eaten in a while."

More than a full cycle had passed since Whale had volunteered to aid the Blacksmith--but she wouldn't know. She didn't count the days. What she did know was that it had been a long while, and that she had almost doubled in size, but that the clanging that came from the Blacksmith's workshop had never stopped. Whenever she came near the volcano, there would, inevitably, be the sound of the crashing hammer.

But now it was over.

Its seemed almost strange, now, after so much time with its constant presence. She still did not feel ready to face the monsters the Blacksmith had described--and her imagination had gone wild in the past cycles, painting the quest as more and more perilous. But when she thought of the prisoner, Farina's leaf, and how she must feel being trapped in the depths, her fear seemed instead to steel her resolve. "...Blacksmith?" Whale called, her voice reverberating through the water by the volcano. "I am Whale. Has the time come?"

James approached with three beads. One enchanted by Tahi-shei, one by Comet, and the last by Attikias. He knew Carja had her ring, and would most likely come soon enough.

"Blacksmith?" he asked, "I've come with some beads. They're small and can be made into earrings, bracelets, necklaces..."

He rolled them off of his wing and onto the ground, gently nudging them towards the Blacksmith.

Carja approached merrily, one horn adorned with her new ring of water breathing, her tail waving back and forth happily.

”I've got an enchanted ring!”, she said with a grin, having gotten it from James.

”And,” she added, ”I've come to help. I have water magic and can swim very well. I'll try my best to help you.”

She barely even remembered what she was helping with, but it was the thought that counted, right?

The Blacksmith peered at the fruit, for a moment. And at last, he set down his tools.

Robe swished as he drew closer to the Gembounds. They were good creatures--kind-hearted creatures. "Thank you," he began. The fruit was delicately placed on the anvil, at the far end away from the steaming metal. The beads were taken, and inspected; there were only a very few, but he thought that with his own work, it should be just enough. And the ring--small, but perhaps it would fit one of them--ahh, but he could hang it on a chain or cord. It would do.

These he carefully transferred to the anvil, beside the fruit: and he spoke as he lifted a heavy wooden bucket full of metal. "Thank you... for the food. I do not need help... creating the steel. I have been working it... since last you saw me." Nimble hands picked out circlets and collars, chains and armbands, and more. "The beads... are a good idea. The cords will... need to be short," he reflected--losing a water-breathing necklace over one's head would be a terrible idea so deep. "Thank you... all of you."

When it was all laid out, for all to see, he turned back toward the few Gembound present. "Please, come with me... I can hear the other, out in the water. You will all... want to hear this."

____________

The Blacksmith moved out, out to Whale, out into the sparkle of Leo's lights and the glitter of their reflections on the sea. He bowed to Whale, where he could see her; and then he turned so that he was facing them all. Surely more would come; he waited a moment before he began his explanation.

"What I will ask of you... next, is not easy for me. But it is... necessary. It will be... a dangerous task. It will have... little reward, unless Master Farina has mercy... but maybe you will help... out of your kindness."

He took a breath.

"Long ago... there was rebellion. This nest... is one of chaos. The response, then... to the rebellion... was not unified." No; there were imps among them, dangerous troublemakers who would test the limits of their nest's abilities. If the nest wasn't strong enough to survive, then should it-? Plus, they were just plain mean. "There were... pairs, among the Masters... Farina. Artio. They created, for this nest... They worked together. They... cared for one another. Deeply," the Blacksmith added. He'd never been privy to the full details--he didn't know how close their relationship was, exactly. But he had seen what Artio's fate had done to Farina, and seen her rage, and that was enough. "They were... betrayed. Not only by the rebels... but by... Nemean." This name hung in the air, for the moment: dark, bitter, as though it held its own heft. "Artio... her aides... Artio's stone was taken. Brought into Farina's old haunts. The places she doesn't fit. The places she... cannot reach." The Blacksmith hesitated, looking to the Gembounds earnestly, hands clutched together. "Her stone, I think... was hidden away... in the Black City. And Farina was trapped... in the Eyes of Eridanus... to boil in the heat of its deepest vents... for many, many years."

He could not imagine the pain. All else she might be, he could not imagine the pain.

"There is a place... deep below Fornax. The Black City I have... made mention of. It was a place... where the creatures of the sea... were made, and tested. A place filled with strange lights... stranger creatures. It is deep... dark. It is dangerous. But Farina... has asked," demanded, "help... to find her Leaf again. To find the stone... of Artio. To retrieve it... We cannot undo this betrayal, but... perhaps we can try to make it right..." One hand gestured helplessly. The Blacksmith took a breath.

"I ask you... to prepare... and those willing, those brave... to delve into the depths. To breathe the water... to see the darkness. To fight, if it is needed... to seek the stone. We will... need to go together. We will... need to be very careful. This place has been abandoned for too long... I do not know what is down there, now," he warned, solemnly. "Who among you... would be willing?"

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Any characters are welcome to join and have overheard the Blacksmith explaining things. New characters may also join at any time.

@Talys (Leviathan, Tahi-shei) @Kaimana (Madhukar) @Pelt (Whale) @Dragon (Blight) @Forgraves @James (Carja) @Terror @Fahl @Beast @Comet

Dragon was idly sunning himself outside--he had been back and forth, though he spent far more time in Cetus. But the newfound beauty of Leo was appealing, he had to admit. The warmth, in particular, appealed to his base reptilian brain, and he enjoyed simply laying on Leo's shores with jaws agape.

The calls of the whale were what alerted him, mostly, and he made his way over the few dozen remaining yards with a shuffling limp of one hind leg. He settled in and caught most of what was being said. Nemean, he thought, sourly; STYLE="text-shadow: 0px 0px 8px #a1820e;color:#a7902a; font-size:14px; font-family: Garamond;">I shouldn't be surprised. And he wasn't, really. Was this why Aquarian had called her The Betrayer-?

Did Aquarian have a friendship with Farina, with Artio? He resolved to ask his 'father' about this, once he returend to Cetus.

"My magic will be useless down there," he rumbled, more thinking aloud than anything. His eyes flicked between those present; he recognized them, and again he had to admire the shape of the dragon there. There was some jealousy of size and wings, but it could wait. "But I can fight. I will come with you," he decided.

He was a damn good swimmer, at the very least.

Carja stepped forward, of course, flexing her wings and tucking her tail beneath her legs to keep it from accidentally bowling someone over as it twitched and wiggled in excitement.

”I'll go!”, she said valiantly, ”My magic is of water and ice, but even if that fails, I can fight, too.”

She'd won battles against not one, but two opponents in the Olympics, hadn't she? And that was when she was just a whelp! Now, with new experience under her belt, not limited to a meadow deer, one of the sea monsters in Fornax, and- wait.

”Blacksmith!”, she said quickly, ”I saw a massive creature in Fornax! It was huge, larger than me, and it nearly drowned me! But it wasn't the only one. Something so big that it was able to just... eat it. What were those creatures, and are they here?”

She'd been struggling too hard at the time to get a closer look, and though her vision was good normally, the lack of oxygen had nearly caused her to black out. She'd really only seen dark shapes, but that was enough to scare her.

James, on the other hand, shook his head, "I won't be coming. I have children I need to protect and I don't think I'd be very useful down there anyway."

He was a strong swimmer, but with his wings that wouldn't matter. They'd quickly become waterlogged and he'd sink like dead weight. He was best above or out of the water, not under. Not even the fact that his wings were slightly swan-like would help. But speaking of swans...

"I could lend you my familiar, she's somewhat aquatic," he said, and turned, "Darling!"

A swan appeared from where she'd been foraging for sea grasses and small crustaceans, waddling forward and standing beside her master, her temperament only slightly better than before.

"She's fierce," he said proudly, and a simple mental command had her yawning widely, her neck splitting open to reveal rows of sharp teeth, fully capable of rending even the greatest of gembound.

It was from the sea that Fahl emerged, having wrestled with the waves to build up his strength. Under the cave lights, mottled red and black scales glistened like polished stone, but in that moment magma would have been a better comparison as rage boiled inside him. While he'd not caught the very beginning of the Blacksmith's tale, what he had heard made his spine quiver and claws flex during his approach up the shore. After all, what other reaction could he have upon hearing the name of Nemean? And, unsurprisingly, in conjunction with betrayal.

If his mouth had matched his impulse, perhaps he would have spoken quick and pledged himself to aid without second thought, so blinded by fury that he'd throw away promised caution. Maybe he would have neglected to listen to any further word as a result. This not being the case, Fahl resigned himself to the patience given by a leaden tongue. He huffed softly and waited, letting words stream into his head through a haze of discontent.

And when all had finished, a throat cleared with a rumble prepared him to say his piece. "I'll go. Swimming and fighting is... no trouble for me. So long as I can breathe."

Yes, he'd been warned of Masters and their intentions, but for now he saw the situation as such: enemies of Nemean's meant dangerous allies. If they could hurt the deadly trickster, then the risk might be worth it. Never mind any future consequences.