"Phew. That completes step one."
"Remarkable," Thrain breathed, wiping a bead of sweat from his brow as he admired their handiwork. "It is... a thing of elegance, Master Riku."
"Now for the heart of it," Riku said. "The master die. Elder Thrain, this will require your utmost skill. We need to engrave the negative of our talisman formation onto this block, perfectly."
"Understood, Master Riku. But doesn’t this need annealing? The process to make the forging easier that you ntioned before?"
"No. As this is the master die, it needs to be very hard and durable so it can repeatedly press its pattern into softer tals without deforming or wearing out quickly."
"In fact, this steel has already undergone a hardening process, like quenching and tempering, to achieve its desired strength and wear resistance. Annealing it would reverse this hardening, making it too soft to function effectively as a die." Riku said, as he had already confird the details for the system before.
"Quenching? Tempering? Master Riku, it looks like we dwarves will never reach your level. Your knowledge is out of this world." Borin said with Tharin nodding by his side.
"Ahaha..." Riku sweated bullets on hearing Elder Borin, stunned at the accuracy of his statent. "It is nothing, really. The techniques of dwarves incorporate all of the thods that I have ntioned, though it might be in a different form."
"In fact, I have heard that so of the strongest weapons of this world were forged by the dwarves. Would you happen to know a blacksmith by the na of Elias, Elder Borin?" Riku asked, rembering a na from his ti in the ga.
"Elias? The High Dwarf Lord King Elias II? Master RIku, you can’t call him a blacksmith. He is the king of all the dwarves, and the ruler of the dwarven kingdom of Ereth Dahr" Borin imdiately seed anxious after listening to RIku.
Elias II? When did that old guy have a kid? And was there a kingdom called Ereth Dahr before?
Riku shook his head. It looked like many things had changed. He could only focus on what was in front of him.
"Never mind. Elder Borin, Elder Tharin, should we get started on the master die?"
"Okay," Both of them replied simultaneously.
For the next hour, Elder Thrain, with Borin and two other master engravers assisting, hunched over the steel die. Using their finest chisels and tools, they ticulously carved the intricate runic patterns in reverse. It was painstaking work, requiring absolute concentration and generations of Dwarven skill. Every line had to be perfect, every groove the correct depth.
Finally, Thrain stepped back, his face tired but triumphant. "It is done, Master Riku. The die is as true as we could make it."
Riku inspected the master die. The negative image of his formation was perfectly rendered. "Excellent work, Elder Thrain. Truly the work of masters."
He then took a small, plain copper square – one of the blanks the apprentices had been preparing. "Now, for the test. This blank needs to be annealed."
Minor Inferno.
Riku cast a small fire spell, imdiately producing fire on his hands. He held the blank over the fire for so ti, allowing it to get heated.
That should be enough. Now to cool it
Minor Frost Nova
Riku cast a chilling breeze onto the heated blank, imdiately cooling it off. With that, the annealed blank was ready.
"The blank is ready," Riku announced. He carefully placed the master die into the upper housing of the press and the annealed copper blank onto the lower plate. "Elder Thrain, would you do the honors?"
Thrain stepped forward, his ancient eyes gleaming with anticipation. He gripped the large lever of the press. "With pleasure, Master." With a deep breath, he pulled the lever down. There was a powerful, almost silent hiss as the arcane accumulators discharged, and the heavy press descended with imnse, perfectly controlled force. A solid thunk echoed through the alcove.
Thrain released the lever, and the press smoothly retracted. All eyes were fixed on the copper blank. Riku reached in and carefully lifted it.
Engraved perfectly onto its surface, raised and clear, was his intricate runic formation. It was flawless, every line sharp, every curve precise.
Borin gasped. "By my ancestors... it worked! A perfect impression, in a single stroke! At this rate, we would be able to create 100s of talismans in a matter of hours."
"Well, I will depend on you then, elders." Riku smiled. With this, his imdiate problems of acquiring new talismans were solved.
Just when he was about to drop his healing spell on the newly engraved talisman, one of the communication stones in his satchel vibrated.
Without wasting a second, Riku imdiately took it out, afraid that sothing else might have happened.
"Riku, are you there?" Elara’s excited voice ca from the other side.
"I am here, Elara. What happened?" Riku asked, tensed.
"It is about Lila, she... she woke up!"
"What, really?!" Riku asked, all the worry disappearing from his face and getting replaced with visible excitent.
"Yes! She was asking about you when she woke up. I told her that you will co right back."
"I will be right there."
Riku was elated. After so many days, Lila had finally woken up. However, he was a bit apprehensive as well. After all, unlike the others, Lila had not forgotten the matters of that day when he had gone on a rampage. What if she was still scared of him?
No, I must face her. After all she has been, it is the least I can do for her.
"Elder Borin, Elder Tharin, Sothing ca up. I must leave for a mont. Please continue making the talismans, and also distribute the leftover healing talismans from earlier among your people if they show signs of relapse like Brina. "
"Understood, Master Riku. Leave the rest to us." Borin bowed politely.
"Thanks, I will be off then."
--------------------
Riku did not teleport directly into the inn, but to outside the back door instead. He was still a bit apprehensive. Taking a deep breath in, he finally steeled his nerves and entered the back room.
Inside the room, Elara was not there. However, another familiar face sat on the bed with a pillow behind her back. She was eating so fruits, but sensing soone coming inside the room, her head turned.
"Lila..."
Title - Lila wakes up
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