Chapter 70: Grent the blacksmith
Ren watched them for quite a bit but was not able to find out what they were planning or saying. From this distance, even he could not hear them.
"Tch, I wish I could get in close. I have a bad feeling about this."
"You could simply play dumb and lure them. If it has anything to do with you, I’m sure it does," Vel stated.
"Sure it does? What do you mean?" Ren asked.
"I sensed a similar presence to the hidden one here, but it was very subtle, and it was in your settlement. It was there for a moment, and then it vanished.
Either way, I’m off now. I’ll keep watching what’s going on through your eyes. Keep me posted," Vel said.
"Vel, wait."
He was already gone by then. Ren gritted his teeth.
"Shit, what was he trying to say? Is there an infiltration into my settlement?" He pondered it for a few minutes, but it did not make sense. There was no new person in the settlement aside from the humans, and if someone new had come, the system would notify him.
"Unless they managed to trick the system into seeing them as one of mine."
[That would be possible.]
"Oh, you’ve spoken today. It’s been a while." Ren replied to the system, but as usual, it vanished after that and did not respond again.
"If someone infiltrated, then they are one of us, and they have the energy of the being that Vel spoke about.
Luna’s eyes might just be able to check and see what needs to be seen. Maybe I can use her to find out if there is anyone and thwart their plan before it takes root."
He came to the best conclusion in his mind. This was what he would work with, and he would find whatever was done here, no matter what it took.
He took one last look at the group down there.
"Alliance, my scaly ass," he cursed and shot into the air, returning back to the settlement.
[....]
The next day was a day for major changes. The orcs had finally arrived in their massive numbers, carrying all that belonged to them as they came.
Ren flew above and watched them come in. His eyes scanned for one person, and that was none other than the dwarf. When he saw him, he flew down immediately.
"Heyyy," Ren waved as he reached the ground. The dwarf looked at him and bowed immediately.
"Greetings, Master."
"None of that. Uhm, what’s your name? Didn’t ask yesterday."
"Ah, my name is Grent, given to me by my father, a good ol’ man."
"Grent, that’s a good name. Alright, Grent, let’s head in. I took a mental image of your workplace back at the orcs’ place and made sure to have a far better one built for you."
Grent was immediately stunned when he heard that. He looked at Ren with glee in his eyes. Ren was quite pleased to see the old dwarf have a spark.
They moved through one crowd of orcs that were now settling into the place. He led Grent towards a singular house that had been built. It was the standard size, but it carried a lot more differences.
There was a chimney made of bricks that he had asked to be made specifically for this house. They walked into the building, and Grent was so stunned that his jaw dropped.
Ren had ensured that everything had been made to ensure convenience: racks, tables, anvils, and all the tools from the former smithy that belonged to the dwarf. They had all been brought here.
The chimney was connected to the furnace. All the metal that was left in the orcs’ home was also brought here and stacked.
"Aye, this is amazing," Grent said. He stepped in fully and began running his fingers through everything and getting a feel for it.
"You get it all, as long as you work here. You’ll also be fed fully and taken complete care of. You will be in charge of everything related to weapons and tools here," Ren said, then dug his hands into the pockets of his jacket.
He pulled out four large dragon scales that he had taken off himself.
"And here is something more. Aside from the armament that you’ll work on later, you can work with these."
Grent looked at his hands, and when his eyes landed on them, they widened.
"Dragon scales. Oi, those are dragon scales!"
He rushed over and grabbed them from Ren’s hands.
"These sell for so much coin. You could make a fortune from crafting a weapon with this." He bit onto one as if testing its strength.
"And with the level of these scales, I can use one to make five or more powerful magic blades." He looked at Ren.
"These scales will be a great addition to your army, but I am worried about working with materials of this level. They might end up spoiled and not become what is needed. I need to practice first, but these are far too precious to be used for practice."
"You don’t have to worry about that. I can get you more and more of these. You just have to do what you have to do."
Only when Grent heard that response did he realize that he had never asked what monster Ren was. He looked at the wings and then the horns. The other lizardmen were not like that, which meant Ren was not a lizardman.
"Yo-you are a dragon."
"Right on the ball," Ren said with a smile.
"Work on a sword or something. I’d love to see your skill up close as soon as possible. Whatever you need, ask any of the monsters you see around me. They’ll help."
He left soon after. Things were still going on. It would soon be time to start making arrangements for expansion.
"Tch, I’ll delegate that to Remu and Ezra. Too tired for that.
Also, where the hell is Silas? I sent him out yesterday, and he is not back yet."