Runic Domination

Chapter 14 || Tinky's Magical Pixie Dust

Tyler and I spent the next few days finalizing our plan. Kieran was back, which complicated things and also put me in a bit of a rush. I had hoped to have more time to sort this mess out. The problem was that I couldn't even contact him. We still didn't know if they were tracking us by some special magic or other means. Plus, there was still the suspected mole in the guild. That meant leaving messages or meeting in person was out of the question as long as we had a horde of bounty hunters ready to intervene.

Besides, including my brother of course meant handing over the reins and sitting back to watch as he stepped up to solve my problems. Wasn't this the exact reason I had left the guild? I was perfectly capable of taking care of myself.

Enough of this.

Taking a deep breath, I stopped my wandering thoughts and quickly washed up. After changing into a fresh set of clothes, I left my hair to dry and stepped back into the living area.

However, Ty was nowhere in sight. After probing around a bit, I found a staircase leading down to the basement, and a metallic clang rang out from below.

For a short second I contemplated to simply wait, but then again, he'd left the door wide open, hadn't he? Deciding to take it as an invitation, I made my way downstairs. After a few turns, a big room opened up in front of me. It looked like some sort of forge.

Tyler was on my right, leaning over a workbench inspecting a small object in his hands.

As soon as I entered the room, he turned around and met my curious gaze with a lopsided grin. His face was unreadable as held out a small, slightly curved dagger. I could tell at a glance that this wasn't just your ordinary dagger. Fine delicate runes were etched along the blade, two of them were brimming with energy while the other two lay dormant.

"I think I still owe you a weapon," he said.

I had completely forgotten his promise. I took the knife from his hand to inspect it more closely. It was easy to tell that the craftsmanship was exquisite. There was a small mark at the end of the handle. A mark that I was very familiar with but hadn't seen much of.

Vulcan's mark.

My mouth fell open before I looked up at him, and my eyes automatically narrowed in suspicion. I flicked the dagger around, its sharp end now pointing towards his chest accusingly. "This is Vulcan's mark."

"Mhm...yes" He agreed easily as if it was no big deal. A mischievous glint shone in his eyes as he watched me process this new tidbit of information.

Vulcan was the blacksmith in the eastern state. His items were of such high quality that only lucky, very rich, or very well-connected people had even seen any of his work. The reason his goods were regarded so highly was the quality of the runic inscription. Like all things, there was a limit to the amount and quality of runes that could be inscribed on any weapon. Only a handful of blacksmiths had the ability to procure anything that contained more than two runes without the object breaking. He inscribed four. On a knife.

My brother's spear was loaded with three runes. Three. And it was way bigger.

Ty leaned forward innocently as he pointed at the two runes that were still blank. "I was thinking it'd be best if you would charge these yourself. It usually produces a better result."

I just gaped at him incredulously. "You didn't say you were Vulcan!" To my embarrassment, my voice came out higher than intended.

"Well, technically, my master is. I simply adopted the name after he retired. Kinda presumptuous, don't you think?"