I was then dragged out of the workshop by my collar to a temporary arena area that had been set up in the town square. An announcer was waiting at the center of the ring, and he yelled out excitedly to everyone in a loud voice once we were in the circle.
“And here comes the town's number one! Thredak Fieryrage! He appears to be wielding a new weapon today, a small hammer that doesn’t look too destructive. He must be going easy on his opponent today. Speaking of his opponent, we have a dark dweller who accompanied Thredak’s daughter here in search of fresh food, so we can’t fault him on good taste. Wielding his smith hammer, we have Kvalinn Ekgorsson! Place your bets everyone, how long will it take for Thredak to beat the ambitious young dwarf?”
“Wait, aren’t you going to bet on me winning?” I protested. The
Inside the tavern, pretty much the entire town was there partying. It was the very picture of a fantasy tavern, with a long bar with several huge casks of beer behind it, and long, sturdy tables that everyone was sitting and eating at. It was apparently the tradition to get a drink there after the yearly matches and games, before returning home for the last few days of the New Year’s celebration.“Welcome, Dak, and family! Welcome! Your victory out there was marvelous to behold! A true masterpiece of battle.” The bartender called out a friendly greeting to Dak, before noticing me standing next to Bekhi. “Well who’s this? Did young miss Bekhi bring home a sweetheart?”There were several laughs throughout the room, and even from Bekhi’s family, while Bekhi blushed at the joke. I was about to formally introduce
Waking up the next morning, I saw that the view out my windows was obscured by an opaque sea of pure white. With howling winds sending the snow in a life threatening blizzard of cold and snow.Oh the weather outside is frightful. But the fire is so delightful.“Good morning, Kvalinn.” One of Bekhi’s older brothers came into the room holding a bundle in his arms. “I brought a couple extra coats for you. It’s well below freezing outside and Bekhi told us you don’t do well in the cold.”“Has your dad shared every letter from Bekhi with everyone?” I asked in frustration. My head cold from the Rune of Snow was months ago! The brother just nodded with an amused grin.“Pretty much. Bekhi is the first kid
The next few days passed peaceably. The storm kept up unabated so we were prevented from doing much more than sitting around the fireplace and eating meals. It felt very odd for me to be inactive for so long, since my father and I worked pretty much non stop from dawn till dusk, but it did feel nice to take a vacation for the first time in this world. “Are your bags packed, Kvalinn?” Bekhi was waiting for me in the kitchen on our last day in Vesturhildrun. I nodded, expecting that we would be leaving momentarily since the trade caravan would be going back home soon. But Bekhi just told me to put my bag by the door. “We need to be ready to go the second there’s a lull in the storm.” “But won’t we be late to meet Kholgaik at the surface door? Is he going to wait for us?” Bekhi just shook her head. “Nope, but this i
“Goblins grog, Kvalinn. You look horrible!” Zikruk looked at me with shock and surprise as I slid into my desk chair with an exhausted thwump. “What happened on your trip to the surface?!”“It wasn’t my trip to the surface.” I sleepily started to unpack my school bag. “I forgot to prepare the gifts for the Elders until last night, so I was up all night working.”“Are you ok, Kvalinn? It’s not like you to not prepare for today weeks in advance.”“I’m fine, and more importantly, I had lots of delicious food while on winter break.”Fresh eggs, fresh meat, bacon, smoked ham. Mhmmmm.“Really?” Zikruk looked at
“That will be all for today. Next year will be your final year, so prepare your best work for our inspection. At the end of next year, you will be presenting your work to the Thane himself. Do not bring dishonor upon your teachers or this school by displaying inferior work.” Elder Rongrim sat down at his desk and began working on paperwork.“Yet another year over, and another year where you barely stay out of trouble.” Zikruk put away his school supplies with a sigh. “I was sure that you’d be exiled over that last rune you made. The Rune of Insomnia that kept everyone awake for three days straight had both the Elders, and the rest of the town calling for your blood.”“I don’t know. It may have been torture, but at least it was productive torture.” Bekhi weakly defended me. She had spent the three sleep
“Good morning, Kvalinn!” Bekhi waved to me cheerily from the wagon train. “Do you have any more fun weapons for me? Maybe something with a little more heft than last time.”I handed her the hammer with the Rune of Travel on it. “Not sure what it does, but it’s at least heavier than the hammer of strength.”Bekhi gave the hammer a few experimental swings before strapping it to her side. “It doesn’t explode or burst into fire, so that’s a point in its favor. Can’t wait to see what it does!”“Hopefully we will not find out on this trip.” Kholgaik, the boss of the expedition again, strode up with his usual dour face. “The goblins have been especially active lately, and several trade caravans have been attacked recently.”
On the second day of travel, when we were halfway to Vesturhildrun, we were attacked by goblins. If there had been any landmarks on the featureless gray walls, I would have suspected that it was the exact same place we had been attacked last time. “Goblin attack!” Came the loud cry from the guard who was tasked with listening for their scratching claws. “Goblin attack! Ready your weapons! Protect the mole-mules and Kholgaik, we don’t get paid if the cargo doesn’t make it!” There was a loud clattering as the twenty guards prepared their shields and weapons and got the wagons into a defensive position. I had a short sword this year, but this time there was no magical rune on it so I’d have to depend on my training. Bekhi expertly twirled the hammer I had given her and grinned in anticipation at the upcoming conflict. I was awoken the next morning at dawn by one of Bekhi’s brothers. I was expecting to be taken to the barn for chores, but instead, Dak met me by the front door. “Good morning, Kvalinn. I’ve arranged for you to use the local forge today. So go grab whatever you were writing yesterday and get ready to fill all the requests we made. And remember Bekhi’s warning. No making anything that’s not a weapon! Humbart doesn’t need any more help in the kitchen of The Halfling’s Haven.” For a minute, I wondered how he had arranged to use the town smith when it was still pre-dawn, but then I remembered that he had sent one of his kids on an errand yesterday after dinner and that’s probably when he sent the message. I went back upstairs to get my notes of everyone’s requests. Each member of the family seemed to want a different weapon with a different rune so it was going to be a long day. Just as I was putting on the several coats that were being lent to me, the door burst open with a bang thatReincarnated as a Dwarf Snow Wraiths