Gregor followed Howard into a large chamber comprised a complexed assortment of smithing tools and furnaces. It was hot, and humid, as if they'd entered a giant oven. Muscular Underlanders were busily working around the devices, poring small amounts of iron into molds, hammering the newly made swords and cooling them in cold water. A blacksmith came over and shook Gregor's hand. He introduced himself as Egan, and led both Gregor and Howard over to a table. There, Gregor saw his newly reforged sword, glinting in the fire light, it's cracked all but nonexistent, the blade as smooth and sharp as ever. Beside it, lay what used to be Solovet's but now was his dagger. He stared at them, with a mixture of longing and disgust, remembering how he'd killed the Bane with the sword, but also how many lives he'd destroyed. Howard must have seen the look of conflict on Gregor's face, for he said: "Gregor, it is your fate. You will not be the worrier without your sword."
"I know, Howard." Gregor said, turning to face him. "It's just that... that I thought I had escaped the violence and brutality, I thought I had gotten enough of fighting other creatures. But here I am again, preparing to ram my sword through another couple hundred ants this time." He sighed, and picked his blades up. "But I suppose there's no running from it." Howard gave him a sad smile. It felt odd, but familiar at the same time to be holding his own sword again, feeling the perfectly balanced weight in his hands, feeling the power of the blade reforged. The rubies and jewels encrusted upon the hilt glinted, as beautiful as ever.
They were about to leave, when Egan the smith called for Gregor to stop.
"Come, overlander," He said, leading Gregor to a door set to the far side of the room, "Eira bid me give you this." Opening the door, he revealed a room filled with row upon row of shining armor. These were made of a combination of metal and thick hide, difficult to penetrate, but not impossible since the softness of the fabric allowed for mobility. Howard followed up behind them. Together, the three walked to the end of the row, and Gregor gasped at what he saw. Hanging on the wall, separate from all the other armors, was the coolest protective gear Gregor had ever seen. It was black, with stripes of white painted onto the arms and wrists. The whole thing was smooth and sleek, with no obvious corners or edges, with strong thick steal wrappings around the main muscles, and thin strips of hide connecting each part. There was a helmet too, with angled horn-like structures at either side of the top. Compared with it, the other suits of armor looked like primitive works of kids, fragile and clunky.
"Try," Egan said with a smile, "let's see if the best armor Regalia has ever built suits you." Gregor took his shirt and pants off, and they all saw the bulletproof vest. He had all but forgotten about it until now, and the Underlanders seemed curious at what it was.
"What is this?" Said Howard, running a finger gently over the thick fabric, "I've never seen such clothing before."
"It's a bulletproof vest." Said Gregor. He could tell the Underlanders had no idea what he was talking about. "It's very strong, "He explained, "It can stop swords and daggers, probably rat claws too."
"It feels tough," Egan said, taking one corner of the vest and rubbing it between his fingers. Gregor took it off and hung it on a hook on the wall. He then slowly and carefully put on his new set of armor. It didn't feel that heavy, at least, not as heavy as he'd thought, and the hide that connected bulky parts of steel armor were in fact, quite flexible. He walked around in gingerly, making a stiff clunking sound.
"How does it feel?" Egan asked.
"It feels... it feels fine," Gregor said, then hesitated a second before saying, "I think the middle part is a bit too big."
Egan frowned. "Nerissa had me make the torso extra big, I tried to convince her that it wasn't necessary but she insisted." He looked worriedly at Gregor. "Do I need to reforge the chest peace?"
Gregor was about to agree, when he heard a weak voice come from the doorway.
"No, Egan." Nerissa said, as she walked unsteadily into the room, leaning on the wall for support.
YOU ARE READING
Gregor And The Prophecy Of Doom (Book VI)
AdventureIt is 2 and a half years after Gregor and Lizzie have returned from the underland, but their family is still in New York City. Dreams of giant rats and falling to his death still bothers Gregor from time to time, and he isn't improving as a student...
