Curse and the Holy Land (5)
"Angels!"
Before Antonio and Demonic could stop her, the door swung open, and the scene inside the tavern gradually came into view.
Whoosh.
CRASH—!
Swoosh.
THUD—!
Chairs and mugs went flying across the tavern, shattering with a terrific racket.
"I told you to bring more beer!"
"You got a problem with that? Wanna go a round?!"
"Fine—let's settle this today!"
Drunks climbed onto tables and grappled with each other. Ruel's pupils began to tremble violently. The light in her eyes drained away, growing murky and dark.
"A-Angels...?"
"Who're you?"
A being so short that even Ruel could look down on him approached with a beer mug in one hand. At the sight of him, Ruel's pupils grew murkier still.
"How'd you get all the way here?"
His whole body was caked in sweat and stone dust, and the hand not holding the mug was thick with calluses. Foam clung to a beard so full and coarse it completely hid his mouth, and his arms and legs were packed with rock-hard muscle without an ounce of spare flesh.
Antonio and Demonic looked at the short figure and thought the same thing: whatever this creature was, it was certainly not the angel Ruel had been hoping for.
...Poor Priest Ruel.
Antonio quietly tucked the trembling Ruel behind his back and stepped forward. Her eyes had gone as dull as mud.
"May the grace of God be with you. Greetings. I am Antonio. This is Demonic, and the young lady behind me is Ruel."
"Oh, is that so! Nice to meet you! I'm Sedus Fallac, second of our dwarf brothers!"
The being who introduced himself as a dwarf greeted them warmly. There was no wariness toward outsiders at all. Then, hearing the word dwarf, Ruel hopped forward.
"Um! You said you're a dwarf?"
"That's right—we're dwarf brothers."
"Then... th-the angels, where are they?"
Ruel twisted shyly as she asked Sedus. Had she decided that dwarves and angels were two different things? Light sparkled once more in those pupils that had gone as murky as a swamp.
"Hmm? Angels...? What's that?"
"You know—the ones with wings on their backs, and glowing rings above their heads!! Do you know where they are?"
"Huh... wings on their backs? Well, I don't really know. Hang on—our big brother might."
Sedus Fallac gulped down the beer he was holding, then flung the empty mug deep into the tavern with a sharp whoosh—!
SMACK—!
A crisp impact. The mug traced a clean arc and cracked one dwarf square in the back of the head.
"What the hell—which bastard was that?!"
"It's me. Big brother, come over here a sec. The guests say they're looking for something."
"Guests?"
From further inside, a dwarf came lumbering toward the group. The one who approached was remarkably similar to Sedus Fallac—not merely twin-level similar, but mirror-image identical.
"This is our eldest brother, Opus Fallac. Big brother—these are Antonio, Demonic, and Ruel. They're looking for something called... angels?"
"What? Looking for what? Angels?"
Opus Fallac crossed his arms and began to ponder. When he folded them, his triceps and biceps bulged powerfully, and worm-like veins writhed beneath the skin. Ruel's expression grew a little worse.
"Angels, angels... Ah! You mean the ones with wings on their backs?"
"Yes, that's right! I knew it! The angels are here, aren't they?"
"Wait—how do you know about that, big brother?"
"I think I saw them on a temple mural once..."
Opus Fallac's tone as he tilted his head lacked any real certainty. It seemed to be a memory that had only briefly passed by, so he wasn't sure.
After pondering a moment longer, Opus Fallac spoke to Antonio.
"But how did you lot get all the way here? This isn't a place just anyone can come to."
"Ah—we received the call of the Sixth God and came to this land through a door."
"Ah! So that's it! I asked something obvious, didn't I! Ahaha—!"
Whatever was so funny, Opus Fallac laughed heartily and gulped down more beer. Then he scrubbed roughly at the foam that had thoroughly coated his beard.
"I'm Opus Fallac. The first servant and worker created by the Great One. Also the eldest brother of all the dwarf brothers here."
"Th-the first worker!"
Antonio's voice trembled finely. The first worker created directly by a god! Right before his eyes, something that was practically proof of divinity itself was moving.
"O-oh! I see... Excuse me for a moment..."
Antonio's hands trembled as he groped the dwarf's muscles here and there. At the thoroughly unpleasant sight, Ruel and Demonic's expressions soured.
"Wh-what?! Get off me!"
"Ugh! Ahem, ahem! My apologies. Hearing you were the first worker, my faith surged up before I knew it, and I..."
Startled by Antonio's hands groping his muscles, Opus Fallac swatted them away. In place of the huffing Opus, Sedus Fallac spoke to Demonic.
"You there, mister—are you a swordsman?"
"That is correct. How did you..."
"Ha! How many swords have I forged? Someone of my caliber can tell just by looking at the calluses on a person's hands."
"Impressive."
Demonic let out a light exclamation of admiration. How skilled a blacksmith must he be to identify a weapon from a person's calluses alone?
Suddenly, Demonic thought of the divine weapons that had spread across the surface world. Could it be that those weapons were made by the dwarves here?
"Master Sedus, may I ask one thing?"
"Just call me Sedus."
"Ah, yes. Sedus—do you craft weapons yourself?"
"Of course! All of us dwarf brothers are born blacksmiths and miners!"
Sedus shrugged as he spoke. It was the face of a craftsman with pride and confidence in his own skill.
"Since it came up, want to go take a look?"
"Would that be all right?"
"Should be fine! It's not like you're just anyone—you're people the Great One personally guided here. What couldn't we show you?"
"It would be a great honor if you would."
"Then let's go! The youngest should still be at the forge."
Sedus led Demonic, Antonio, and Ruel out of the tavern. Crossing the plains after they left, he told them this and that along the way.
"We're all beings created by the Great One. Molded, you could say? Anyway—His hand touched us directly."
"Indeed so."
"Look at these iron-like arms and legs! Work all day and they don't even flinch! This coarse beard keeps out the mine dust. And thanks to this build, how easy it is to go in and out of the mine tunnels!"
"You are magnificent, Sedus Fallac."
"Damn right! Especially this splendid beard—it's the pride of dwarves."
Sedus kept explaining the coolness of dwarves. Listening carefully, every single one of them truly deserved to be called a worker of the god.
Antonio listened eagerly to Sedus's words, then spoke.
"Sedus. Then was your name given to you directly by the god?"
"That's right! Big brother, me, and Trivius Palak—the three of us received our names directly from the Great One!"
"O-oh! To think the god personally named you! Truly magnificent!"
"Well, the rest of the guys we just named however was convenient. But only three of us, including me, received names directly from the Great One."
Sedus puffed up with pride.
As Antonio enthusiastically asked all sorts of questions and Sedus answered while they walked, they arrived at the forge before they knew it.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The rhythmic sound of hammering flowed from the forge. Even though there was still some distance left, an enormous heat washed over the group—like approaching a volcano where lava was surging.
"Ugh..."
Ruel scrunched up her face in pain. Sedus looked at her and laughed heartily.
"Haha—! Might be a bit tough for a little lady like you? Hang on."
Sedus pulled a small dagger from his waist and sliced off a bit of his beard with a swish. Having cut away a handkerchief-sized portion, he casually held the clump out to Ruel.
"Little lady, cover your nose and mouth with this. Then you'll be fine."
"Ah. Th-thank you..."
Ruel hesitantly took the beard and wrapped it around her face. At the sight of her looking as if a small beard had sprouted, everyone burst into laughter.
"Why? Why are you laughing?"
Only Ruel, who had no idea why, tilted her head in confusion.
Antonio looked at her fondly, then spoke while glancing at Sedus's slightly shortened beard.
"Sedus. Will your cut beard be all right?"
"This much grows back quick, so no problem. Plus, I didn't like seeing the little lady struggling."
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The rhythm of the hammering from the forge grew a bit faster. Sedus fretted and urged the group on.
"Oh no! Looks like it's almost the final stretch. Hurry inside! If we're late, there'll be nothing to see."
Sedus brought them up to the front of the forge.
Whoosh!
As they drew closer, an even more tremendous heat washed over them. The heated air made it hard to even breathe. Demonic quickly blocked the heat with holy power.
The Great Priest?
Glancing at Antonio, he saw him pull out a small handkerchief to cover his nose and mouth. Seemed he could manage.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
In the distance, before a massive flame, a dwarf could be seen hammering away diligently.
Sedus approached slowly and said,
"Take a good look. That's the very reason we dwarves exist."
As if answering those words, a hammer raised high came crashing down forcefully on the heated metal.
CLANG!!