Chapter 115: Blacksmiths of the New World
The great bonfires in the central yard creaked with strength, sending sparks into the night sky while the smell of roasted meat and grain brew filled the settlement’s air. The hunters and former captives celebrated shoulder to shoulder the fall of the Black Skull Tribe. However, in a secluded corner of Lennis’s workshop, the atmosphere was biting cold.
Kellar observed in silence the two burly men with calloused hands and arms marked by burn scars whom Krag kept pinned at spearpoint. Both wore the rags of the freed captives, but their upright posture and thick muscle density betrayed that they had never set foot in a slave cage.
"So you were not prisoners," said Kellar, resting a hand on his dagger’s hilt as he examined the golden skill screen still hovering in his mind.
The taller of the two, a bearded man with a long scar crossing his left cheek, swallowed hard and took a step forward, bowing his head with forced humility.
"We hid among the crowd when your warriors entered the camp," said Garik, keeping his hands visible. "I am Garik, master blacksmith of the Black Skull... and he is Vael, supervisor of the extraction tunnels."
"They lie," said Krag, tightening his grip on his great war mallet and frowning with fury. "They are saboteurs, Shaman. Allow me to slit their throats before they try anything."
"Wait, please!" shouted Garik quickly, dropping to his knees in the snow beside Vael. "We haven’t come to fight! Our shaman and his officers are dead; the Black Skull is no more. We are just men who know how to shape metal and dig the earth."
"And what do you expect to gain by offering yourselves to me?" said Kellar, fixing them with a cold gaze that turned their blood to ice. "Do you think I’ll let you into my home just because you know how to strike a lump of stone?"
"We want protection," said Vael, speaking for the first time in a deep, raspy voice. "And in return, we will give you the power of the mountain. We know the richest veins and the secret to operating the smelting furnaces without ruining the ore."
"No one in this valley knows iron like we do," said Garik, looking up in desperation. "If you spare our lives and let us live under your banner, we will put all our knowledge at your service. We will make your tribe arm a hundred men with iron in a matter of weeks."
"A hundred armed men sounds tempting," said Krag, looking at Kellar with skepticism, "but defeated snakes only wait for the right moment to bite again, Shaman."
Kellar remained silent for a few seconds. With Forge Knowledge, Expert Blacksmith, and Expert Miner freshly transferred into his mind by the Level 1 technology system, Kellar knew exactly how to construct high-performance furnaces and temper steel far better than they did. However, having two native men who already mastered the heavy labor and mine workforce was the perfect complement to avoid wearing out his own hunters.
"Brak" said Kellar, turning toward the craftsman who was observing the scene from the workbench.
"Yes, Great Shaman?" said Brak, taking a step forward and adjusting his tool belt.
"As of today, Garik and Vael will work under your direct supervision," said Kellar, staring intently at the two Black Skull blacksmiths. "They have the brute strength and practice, but you hold the command."
"Did you hear that, dogs?" said Brak , eyeing the two giants up and down with crossed arms. "You won’t be taking orders from a crazy shaman here. If you are telling the truth about your skills, we will work well together; if not, I’ll teach you how to be used as an anvil."
"If you deliver the iron you promise and obey every single one of Brak’s orders, you will have food, shelter, and the protection of the Overlord Tribe," said Kellar, taking a step toward them. "But if I detect a single attempt at sabotage or betrayal..."
Kellar paused, snapping a small friction match between his fingers.
"I won’t need spears to eradicate you," said Kellar. "Is that clear?"
"Yes, Great Shaman!" said Garik, striking his chest with his fist while letting out an indescribable sigh of relief. "We will work until our hands bleed!"
"We will not fail," said Vael, bowing his head against the frozen ground. "The mountain will speak for us."
"Brak, take them to eat and prepare them for tomorrow," said Kellar, turning his back on the group as the young hunter escorted them out of the workshop.
"Move along," said Brak, nudging Garik’s shoulder lightly with the barrel of his crossbow. "There is meat and brew to celebrate tonight, but tomorrow at dawn you start paying your debt."
Kellar stared out into the night through the workshop window before turning toward the veteran warrior.
"I plan to test Mark and his men," said Kellar, looking intently at Krag. "And you as well, Krag. Your time has come. Bring them all here."
Krag nodded in silence, an enigmatic glint in his eyes, and left the workshop, returning minutes later accompanied by Mark and the fourteen former nobles. The group stepped forward with uncertain strides, coming to a halt before their young leader in the center of the workshop.
"The time has come for us to expand," said Kellar, crossing his arms. "We will claim the Black Skull Tribe’s base as our second settlement. I want you to take your people, Mark, and settle there. I know many of you are still dissatisfied with my authority..."
"No, my lord!" said Mark dropping to one knee with a pale face. "We wouldn’t dare, Great Shaman!"
"There is nothing I hate more than people who act behind my back but don’t dare to stand by their words to my face," said Kellar, cutting him off with a icy tone that made the men shudder. "So let’s get straight to the point. The new mayor of that settlement will be Krag; he will be my voice and my mandate in the mountains. Your sole mission will be to protect him and do absolutely everything he says."
Upon hearing that the veteran hunter would be placed above him, Mark couldn’t help but clench his fists against the ground, feeling humiliation burn in his chest. However, upon hearing Kellar’s next sentence, an intense mix of hope and expectation bloomed within his heart.