"Bringing her to the smithy will be a problem," Ven said. "She's not a member."

"Blindfold her so she doesn't know the location," the dwarf said. "Lock her in the smithy. We'll bring food and provide her with everything she needs. She'll be let out once the deal is done."

"You want to treat her like a prisoner?" Ven asked.

"That's fine by me," Vivi said. "I just need a smithy to work in. I won't take long."

"If we bring you in, you'll be treated as a potential threat," Ven said. "Any move you make will be viewed as an attempt to gain information. You will enter on our terms."

"If you can provide me with tools and a silent place to work in, I don't mind," Vivi said. "I've locked myself in a smithy for weeks before."

"Very well," Ven said. "You will be blindfolded. Any attempts to see through will be perceived as betrayal. Understood?"

Vivi agreed. After some searching, the demons found blindfolds from outside.

Before the demons tied her down, she asked, "What about Eem? She's being hunted by other gangs. I'd like to keep her close and safe."

"She can't enter," Ven said. "But I can promise her safety. It wouldn't be the first time we've captured the fiend."

Vivi glanced at Eem. The fiend hugged Vivi tighter. Leaving her with unfamiliar demons would probably make her panic.

Eem is growing a little too attached to me, Vivi thought. It's a problem if we can't move without her. I also don't want her to distract me while I work.

"Eem, the demons will take care of you," Vivi said. "If they do something, report to me."

Eem paused, as if she'd been betrayed.

"Ven, feed her a lot of fish," Vivi said. "That will keep you happy, right?"

Eem looked ready to cry. She started making noises and clung tight around Vivi's neck.

Regardless, the demons grabbed Eem and blindfolded Vivi. Her heart stung a little, listening to Eem's protests.

"Treat her nicely," Vivi said. "If the fiend is hurt, I won't forgive you."

"Pleasing her might be difficult," Ven said, "but we won't hurt her."

That was good enough. Vivi let herself be tied down. The demons also placed some sort of ether-powered mufflers on her ears that completely blocked sound. Vivi could only see blackness, and the demons' voices became blank. Vivi could feel Eem clinging to her. Otherwise, she was locked in her head with Lucius.

Cold and metallic hands picked Vivi up, and the trip began. She smelled the musty air around her. With her two most important senses locked, her sixth sense felt a lot more clear. Vivi felt the dungeon's ambient ether in the air. She could make out vague walls by judging the concentration of ether. Every now and then, she could sense larger sources of ether. Monsters, she presumed. Passing a monster felt similar to passing a fire.

"We're entering the hidden dungeon," Lucius said. "Aang's hunting grounds have another secret entrance."

What? You can see what's happening.

"Yes, of course," Lucius said. "I'm a spirit. We're entering the tunnel now."

Vivi could feel it. She was in a tight crawl space, being dragged forward. The demons tried their best to slowly get her through without scraping her clothes, but Vivi still bumped to the walls a few times. She stayed still.

"We're in the mineshaft place with the gnolls," Lucius said.

The ominous feeling of ether was clear around her, as if something was watching. The feeling wasn't as strong now that Vivi had more ether, but with a blindfold on, Vivi certainly didn't feel safe. Something was hunting them.

Ahead, Vivi felt a slight surge of ether. A similar feeling to Andre's spirit blade being activated.

"That armored guy is fighting two gnolls," Lucius said. "I think he's maxed out. The gnolls don't stand a chance."

Does he have a runesword?

"Yes, a heavy greatsword with a dark blade," Lucius said. "Nothing special."

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The descent continued deeper into the mineshaft. Lucius narrated their surroundings with lackluster details as Ven and the armored man—Rohan, Vivi recalled was his name—fought more gnolls. The gnoll attacks grew more rampant down below, but the demons didn't seem to struggle.

"I think we're there," Lucius said. "They're climbing between a wall and a column. Ooooh, the column has a trapdoor. It's hollow!"

Vivi struggled to visualize whatever Lucius was talking about. She felt herself moving up in a tight space. Her shoulder bumped against a step of a rope ladder, until the demons arrived in what felt like a small room. The hostile ether was gone. They were outside the respawn zones now.

"We're in their base," Lucius said. "It's cramped. I can see some papers and blueprints. I think that's a map of the underground. There's some woman sleeping in her underwear on the couch. She's maxed out. Oh, and I think she's sleeping next to runic daggers."

Lucius, slow down! Vivi thought. What kind of place is it?

"The column led us to an opening above," Lucius said. "I think this space has been mined into the ceiling. It's cleverly hidden."

Does it look like a criminals' shack? Vivi asked. Are there torture devices? Or is it decorated?

"Well, they have a lot of stuff," Lucius said. "Containers. I don't know what's inside. And I think those things on the walls are decorations?"

Things?

"Those wooden things with scratch marks."

The what?

"Vivi, I don't know," Lucius said. "It's a base. It looks ordinary to me. But it's small. Almost like a house. The underwear woman woke up. She was excited to see you and the fiend captured. But Ven said that you're both guests, and now she's upset. She's complaining that you weren't supposed to be invited in."

This is a mess… Vivi thought. Lucius's descriptions weren't helping. What wooden things with scratch marks was he talking about? Did the gang have scratch boards for cats?

The woman knows who I am, then?

"It looks like we have a reputation," Lucius said. "We're not respected around here."

The demons dragged Vivi across the base into another room before, finally, the blindfolds came off. Vivi squinted and found herself in a small cave-like chamber. The smithy was dark, but it was a smithy. Vivi scanned her surroundings.

The area was even smaller than Einord's cell-like smithy. There was an anvil and a forge, but mostly, the place resembled an artisan's workstation. There was an L-shaped wooden table and a few drawers. Obsidian carving knives were cluttered on the table, as well as a bottle of conductive paste and a sharpening stone. The most interesting piece of equipment was a sword-vise, specifically designed to hold a sword in place while carving outside-veins.

This was a runesmith's workstation. A traditional outside-carving runesmith's.

"Alright, runesmith human," the dwarf said. He was a head taller than Vivi while she was sitting down. "Does anything around you look familiar?"

Vivi kept admiring the smithy. "You're a runesmith?"

"No," the dwarf said. "I used to carve runes into appliances before being thrown into Zand. I made that pen you used for the drawing. I also know a thing or two about runesmithing, but I can't carve veins into swords."

"All runeswords used by nimrods are stolen," Ven said. "I'm guessing all of this equipment is stolen as well. This is an old smithy. We found it on a whim a few years ago. It used to belong to someone who died long before any of us entered the facility. It hasn't been used for runesmithing in years."

Vivi studied her surroundings. Tools had been left lying around. There was no dust or any smells of abandonment. The obsidian carving knives looked sharp. And if Lucius had seen correctly, there was an active base right outside this smithy. The smithy was well taken care of.

It was a suitable location, whatever the truth about this smithy was. The demons had brought her to a private place to work.

"You're free to carve runeswords here," Ven said. "The Stewards won't bother you. They won't find you even if you skip collection day here."

Vivi lowered her head. "Thank you. This is perfect."

Ven wore a serious look. "The exit will be guarded at all times. If something hinders the process, or if you need something, pound on the door. It's thick; you'll need to hit hard for us to hear. We will check up on you twice a day for rations. Complaints?"

"As long as I can work in peace, I'm fine with anything," Vivi said.

She checked the tools she had to work with again. The smithy had everything an outside-carving runesmith would need. For inside-carving, however… Vivi was missing at least half of what she needed.

"Do you have a preference for base swords, or are we free to pick a base for you?" Ven asked.

"About that…" Vivi said. "I won't be needing a base sword. Grandpa and I do things differently. There are a lot of tools missing in the smithy."

The dwarf furrowed his brows. "Explain."

"I need ether roots, and a crucible furnace to melt metals with, and two crucibles."

The dwarf blinked at her. "Ether roots? Have you hit your head?"

"You don't have to worry about the process," Vivi said. "I'll be done before the next collection day. The swords I craft are stronger than the guards'—or the Stewards'—runeswords."

"Less than a week to carve a two-runed sword?" the dwarf asked. "The best runesmith I know took a week to carve even a single-runed sword."

"I've shown you proof of my knowledge, have I not?" Vivi said. "Oh, and if there's black aspen in Zand, I'd like a branch of that.

"Black aspen?" the dwarf asked. "A tree?"

"Yes," Vivi said. "It's good for making tools. I can shape much more precise veins."

"The word is carve veins," the dwarf said. "I'm starting to doubt your abilities, girl."

"If you don't trust me, I'll have to find another smithy," Vivi said. "I'm not here to play around. Nothing I asked for is expensive."

The two demons regarded her with doubtful expressions. Vivi could have explained the process more thoroughly, revealing Grandpa's method, but after the experience with Einord and Andre… Vivi wasn't so eager to show off the method to the wrong people.

She just needed to quickly forge a sword for herself, and to sell one for Ven to earn a profit.

Eventually, Ven let out a long breath. "I'll deliver the tools. Ether roots, a crucible furnace and crucibles, and a branch of…"

"Black aspen," Vivi said. "It's a tree, but it grows in caves. Maybe there's some in Zand. And I'll need metals, of course. Anything will do."

Ven nodded. "I admit, I don't trust you. If this is a trick, I admire your attempt. But know that this door is guarded in case you try to escape. I will deliver the materials, and I will trust you to perform."

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