Azazyel
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Diggy Diggy Hole Chapter 2
🕑 Added 2024-05-01 20:21:04 +0000 UTC[Kharn Lvl 1 Exp 70%]
[Skills- Levels Crafting/Archery-19. Small Arms-9, Leather Working-15,] [Statesmen Skills- Leadership-7 Mineral Inspection-4] [Mana Skills- Mana Enhancement-4 Mana Burst-7]
[Stats Strength-3
Endurance-6
Agility-2
Dexterity-3 The level of control you have over your body and how precise you are with your body.
Mind-2 ]
Over my five years of life after reincarnating I did train and practice a good deal. Not like a mad man but I couldn't be a dwarf child who was mindlessly throwing fireballs everywhere. No, I kept my cheats and powers on the more subtle side.
Enhancing my body to super levels? That was perfectly good as flaring my mana internally to augment my body gave no tells, other than making people think I just had a bright future as a warrior of Grungni.
I walked into the battlefield, of children aged four to ten with each armed with a stick of choice that they wielded to smash upon another child that got too close. Taking a breath I felt my leadership skill activate as my still childish voice even for a Dawi rang out. "Pillars stand forth!"
[Leadership. Makes the user more charismatic to encourage loyalty. Increases the user's follower base stats besides mind by a single percent per level of leadership.]
My friends in the younger kids who followed me around knew I was smarter and didn't harp on them to leave me alone and disengaged from their play. And ran over to me with them naturally taking their positions standing shoulder to shoulder in two stacks of four.
One stack of four with 'great axes' and the backline having even longer sticks that were being used as spears.
I stood as the fifth in between the front four members of our squad who used the logic of Spartans just without the shields as we couldn't get shields for our playtime with the four back dwarfs having stronger arms to use the long sticks as spears as they stabbed around our forms.
Bethial the mother of my poor victim yelled out. "Oi Krasis, you beat up Kharn and I will add some sugar to your rock bread tonight!"
The three years older beardling's eyes widened with glee and seeing my squad he managed to quickly wrangle up a matching eight others to match mine by promising to share some sugar with them as it was truly a luxury good in a dwarven hold seeing as our sugar was mostly distilled from syrup trees.
"Heh, we are older and bigger than you little rootless brats!" Krasis cheered trying to put us down and weaken his spirit.
But we stood fast as my soldiers stood the line as the disorganized group in front of us prepared to try to bull us over with pure numbers and larger size and without giving Krasis a word to let him try to make a rebuttal I said. "Forward march! Watch for enemies on our flank!" I added knowing it wasn't impossible for another beardling to go after us from behind as all the kids hadn't stopped playing even though most were watching the event going on.
We stepped forward with the back four's 'spears' coming in on our sides as they stayed behind us and I was right as Krasis held up his large stick before he roared and charged towards us.
"Front swing!" I yelled out over his friend's roars and in unison we hefted up our sticks and then powerfully smashed them downwards in a chopping motion that slammed down their own sticks with our 'axes' rebounding back up as I trained them too and we clipped two of the dwarves in front of us in the chin as we swung our sticks back upwards.
Cries of pain rang out as the dwarves we hit backed up and tripped up the people behind and around them. And without hesitation, I yelled out. "Forward! Crush their flames of ambition under our mountainous boots!"
My fellow dwarves cried out viciously as the backline of spears stabbed forward with their spear. While all the while the front line shoved forward with my blows being stronger than three other dwarves! My backlines spears were like red hot pokers of death as they slammed into the chests, legs and groins of the older dwarven foes!
I could hear the lamentations of their mothers as our charge did not stop. We bowled them over, ran them down with axe in hand and spears covering us from long and the shortest of distance.
I slammed my stick into Krasis's own stick and as our sticks met I jumped upwards with murder in my eye as I took my vengeance upon my taller foe as I slammed the bridge of my forehead into his nose breaking it with a soft crunching noise and as he fell to the ground dazed I didn't stop with just him I pushed forward with my dwarves stomping Krasis into the ground as we chased down the final two dwarves of his party that didn't get a proper beating!
"Alright Kharn! You won, no need to make a grudge out of their lesson haha." My mother cheered as although tired and dusty from my quick battle I walked over and greedily drank from the leather skin she offered while my eyes widened at a notification that popped up.
[Kharn Lvl 2 Exp 2%]
'So if it's an actual fight with something hanging over the battle's course that will give me EXP?' I thought that all the previous EXP I had managed to gather over the last five years of my life was just like the dozen-odd mice and rats I managed to kill with some homemade traps.
I stood proud with my mother as Bethial chuckled and threw her son a loving look who was holding his face as I might... Just might have stepped on his face as we charged over his form in going after the last members of their team.
"So Kharn, why did you chase after the last two when it was obvious that you won?" Mother asked me as she and Bethial were talking lightly about some extra threads that Bethial had that she couldn't use to make a whole product and she didn't mind losing as they were getting old anyway.
Taking a breath I shook my head and answered strongly. "I thought Krasis as being any Night Goblin or Greenskin, I knew I needed to put him and his party down one and all to make sure they didn't pop up in the future!"
Both my mother's and Bethial's faces twitched as Krasis yelled out. "Mhmm not a Greenskin!" He yelled out past his hands that were covering his bruising face.
And without a hint of hesitation, I smiled and said. "Those bruises may say otherwise."
Before Krasis could swing at me, Bethial gave a small chuckle and patted her son's shoulder and said. "Krasis you need to remember that even someone younger and smaller than you can bring you down if you get arrogant."
Krasis all but pouted as he looked at his mother and said. "But ma, they kicked me in da face."
Bethial's face twitched into a giggle as she said caringly patted her sons shoulder and said. "Then get stronger and smarter. Don't play to his strengths as Kharn actually made a somewhat decent military lineup. But you can think about your mistakes after dinner as you are going to be helping me make more threads to repay this bet I made."
Krasis's face twisted into despair at the thought of having to spend hours spooling more threads and I couldn't blame him, that was tiring and brain-rotting stuff.
My mother gave Bethial a nod with her pulling me away back to our house but not before I ran off to get my little crossbow body that got my mother's eye on it. "Haaa, can't you just be a good little Azul Dawi." She whispered as she patted my head.
I gave a little grin and said shamelessly. "I only did what you wanted me to ma! Also, can I get some of those threads, I want to try to make a bowstring to go to my crossbow."
My mother just rolled her eyes and said. "Fine fine. You can make your little crossbow, but you aren't allowed to fire it, or even pull back its string before you let your father check it."
She gave me a small hug as she said comfortingly. "Can't let my little Kharn cut a finger off when the string goes off wildly should it break."
I pouted hearing that but acknowledged that she was right. So for the rest of the day while my mother continued to make some stone bread using some of the yeast from my father's ale supplies I worked to incorporate some mountain goat horns into the crossbow which would have great tensile strength and when well oiled wouldn't be as prone to breaking like a normal wooden bow.
-
Time passed by. My father Uzrak was taking a small break as the Clan had found more Azril in the mines and was now not only reinforcing the clans weapons and armor with blessed silver to repel the undead and the night goblin hordes. And while on his break, Uzrak was teaching me how to become a better smith.
"Hmm, I am not much of a smith my son, my way lies in the deepest of tankards, unseeing of the bottom with a full belly stuffed with mead and ale. But every dwarf needs to know how to take care of his axe and I will teach you what I can." He spoke as he ruffled my head.
He helped me make a new better base of the crossbow so that instead of a little hand crossbow it was more of a war crossbow that I could brace on my shoulder and then by putting it on the ground I could use my whole bodies strength to cock the string behind the release mechanism.
And as we worked he said gruffly. "You seem to be walking the martial path boy. Your mother tells me you are talented in leading the other beardlings and you are even working to make yourself leather armor and a crossbow."
He gave me a long look before he said softly. "You are rushing to battle Kharn, you are not a Slayer who has a reason to rush towards the halls of Grimnir to atone for their sins. Enjoy your childhood when you can."
I gave my father who I loved and respected a good deal a small smile as I said proudly. "Father, I want to learn from the clans Rune-Smith . I want to become a great legend who will be venerated in millennia as our own ancestors as I become a Rune Lord!"
My father's face twitched with his mighty and handsome beard shivering before he lifted a hand to run a calloused hand through his dark brown beard. He finally shook his head and I saw his dark brown eyes staring at me judgingly as he spoke slowly. "My boy. The clan's Rune-Smith is old... He doesn't have the time or patience to teach a beardling with no experience in smithing."
Taking a deep breath I looked at my father and with a grin I said. "But dad... If you don't make his ale what else can he drink?"
My father chuckled but he still grabbed my shoulder and looked me in the eye seriously as he asked. "My son... Kharn, you are barely five winters old. Are you truly ready to devote yourself to being a Rune-Smith?"
Without a moment of hesitation, I nodded saying as seriously as I could. "I want to follow the path of Thungni and become a Rune Smith."
And to that declaration, my father exhaled heavily knowing I was wise beyond my years though I performed my childish actions in typically demanding materials in which for me to practice my crafting even though neither of my parents would answer my call to the mines to begin working out all the more.
Because dammit I wanted to make my Tinker's Construct forge!
But my father knowing I had always from the moment I showed that I could talk, wanted to be a Rune Smith nodded with him pulling on his beard slowly as he spoke quietly. "Well it is good that old craggy goat Snorlot owes me many a favor after all the drinks I gave him. It is time for him to pay his debts then. Kharn you be ready bright in the morning for me to take you to him. I will have him take you as his apprentice even if it makes me need to bring him a barrel of ale a day haha!"
I excitedly gave my father a hug in my excitement at hearing him agreeing with his large paws that was his hands gruffly patting my back as he kissed my head and said softly. "I am proud of you Kharn... Just don't give up even if this goal will be hard for you to reach my boy."
-
The very next day I was taken by my father to the clans deepest of forges dug into the mountain we had burrowed our way into. The surroundings were alreadly being cut and molded into stone tapestries to depict Clan Barruk's victories over the Greenskin and Undead hordes our clan regularly dealt with.
This was hallowed ground to the dwarves and the only reason the clans guards let us through to the smithing quarters was due to my father being one of the best alchole makers in the clan... And some argued he made some of the best ale for his generation of the Dawi.
I was quiet as father told me keep silent lest we get thrown out on our asses as the Rune Smith was old... And to be an old dwarf was to simply be such a stubborn ass that even other dwarves could hardly tolerate them...
We reached the smithy of Snorlot Barruk the clans single surviving Rune Smith and the door to his smithy was one of pure beauty... And defense, as the door itself was a work of art in a large dwarven face twice as tall as my father and made out of solid metal it looked like with the surrounding walls of the door frame also being of metal so that even if Skaven invaded they invaded would need to break through meters thick of dense stone before they could even hope to get into the runesmiths hold.
Not to mention the traps my father mention that were in the door as he told me how the door had compressed boiling water stored in it so should Skaven or Greenskins got in front of the door itself. The runes in the embossed dwarven face would shoot beams of high-pressure boiling water through the dwarf's eye holes that could be controlled by the Runesmith on the other side of the door.
He knocked upon one of the badges hanging in the beard of the dwarf embossed face and with a rumble the door pulled back with the ground shaking at the weight of the great seemingly solid metal door was pulled back before spinning off to the side allowing us entry into the Rune Smith's abode.
"Bah!" A loud voice roared with impatience and I looked seeing my father giving a wry smile before he sighed.
"Well, this is gonna be like driving a herd of goats through a cave." My father muttered as he held my shoulder with his free hand as he pulled me into the deepest parts of the Rune Smiths smithing facility.
A couple of minutes later of walking, we found Snorlot the Runesmith, he had the most glorious of beards that hung down to his feet bleached white like snow with age and his head was bald with his dark eyes staring away from a Warhammer that was he working on as he looked over at us.
"Ah Urzak, you have brought your whelp with ye. Haha, there be a good ale to put me in a better mood." Snorlot said as he strode over and with a single hand picked up the large barrel of ale that my father brought in with a dolly to carry it's weight steadily through the caves of our hold.
My father gave a loud chuckle saying. "Aye, my boy wants to be a smith and I thought it would be nice to have a set of extra hands to bring a whole barrel to ale for you, you old goat."
Snorlot snorted hearing that as he began draining the barrel of ale into a large tankard. "So you brought your lad to see the best in the clan? Heh, young little Dawi you have much to learn if you want to be a smith."
I nodded and looked at the amazing smithing systems here that had steam-powered tools in auto hammers, all kinds of blacksmithing hammers, a dozen different forges and smelteries and so much more. "I am going to be a great smith," I stated simply.
The way I said it made Snorlot give me a look over his tankard and my father walked over to Snorlot with his hands around my shoulders as my father spoke seriously. "Snorlot, I have a favor to ask you."
The Rune Smith gave my father a deadpan look and said without a fucking moment of hesitation. "Brat, I was old before you even grew a beard. A single barrel of Ale no matter how good isn't going to make me take your son as my apprentice."
And my father grinned and said shamelessly. "You old bastard you say that. But you are still drinking. Alright, I won't bully you, I will keep your barrels of ale filled to the brim and in return I just want you to teach my son how to smith, nothing else unless he earns your approval."
The rune smith had a visible grimace across his face as he looked between me and my father and he said. "Urzak, he ain't my blood and he is too young to learn from me. I won't steal from ya but this is a waste of our time."
But my father patted my head filled with dark hair as he said proudly. "My boy has the mountainous roots of greatness in em. Snorlot, just let him use the old forges that you don't even use after we got settled into this hold and just answer any questions he has to guide him. If he cannot learn from just your words then you can throw him out on his ass."
After a long while Snorlot began pulling at his beard before saying with annoyance. "Bah, fine I will take the runt under my hammers and teach him how to mold some metal. But you owe me for this Urzak!"
Comments
A Bellator
Those knife ears with their pretty blades and armor won't know what hit them when Jake starts pumping out masterworks. Thanks for the chapter!
Rauko the varment
This midget Jake is blending in well lol! And I love it!
Patryk Sikorski
You gonnna make jake a book of grudges
Hmm is it time
Thanks for the chapter.
Azazyel
Thank you kindly
Joshua Beard
I really love this story so far it's going to be amazing!
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