Tools for the Future

The scraping of stone echoed throughout the black halls of the Librarum. Boya grabbed a torch from the wall and watched as the floor shifted back, revealing a staircase leading downwards.

“If you really are going after your dad, then you’re gonna need more than an army,” the troll said. He began walking down the stairs as Anna floated beside him. Fulcher looked at the others and shrugged, as one by one they joined the pair into the staircase.

After a sharp turn, the steps lead to a much smaller room. Boya rested his torch along the wall for a moment, lighting a canal of oil that had been carved into the room. The flames spread around the perimeter, lighting up the area enough for everyone to see.

“As an expression of good faith to someone who is likely to be the next king, I’d like to offer you something from my personal treasury. On loan, of course,” Boya said, motioning around the room. Numerous weapons were held within glass cases, displayed as if they were placed in a museum. Each held unique attributes with some having been carved with glowing runes, while others radiated energy. Others had no visual indication of power but instead were crafted of materials that flickered against the light of the fire.

“Oh, wow!” Fulcher said. “This is really cool, but I don’t… think I can really take any of these.” Boya looked at him with surprise, motioning to his hand.

“Are ya sure? Those are neat little trinkets, but you’re going into a war here. Your father will likely have some kind of similar card to play, it’s best you do too,” the troll said. Before Fulcher could respond, Schon stepped up and nudged him into the room.

“He’s right,” she began, “You can’t get out of this. If you think you’ve managed to get by without us noticing you don’t want to kill things, then you’re out of luck. But this is serious. We can’t have anyone holding back.” Though her words were stern, her face remained calm. Fulcher could tell she was not scolding him, though it still felt that way. He looked back at Vardia and Akaj, two people who likely would not hesitate. Fulcher doubted even Arrow would wait before killing if it meant saving Fulcher, the wolf had not stalled when Ravage first appeared despite the raptor’s immense size. Fulcher frowned as he stepped into the room, peering at the weaponry on display. Curiosity over the magical attributes of the weapons gave way to a nervous feeling in his stomach over what he may have to do with them. Sword, axe, spear, bow, each one gave the prince a level of unease as he rotated around the displays. Finally though, his eye caught one display case. It held two large black gauntlets, with holes around each of the knuckles.

“What’s this one?” he asked. Boya waddled over, peering at the gauntlets.

“Well, those aren’t really weapons,” Boya said, “They’re more like blacksmithing tools. A legendary artisan of the past used these to mine and forge other tools. I think a couple of these other weapons were his, actually.”

“And the holes?” Fulcher asked, pointing to the knuckles.

“Those are meant to allow magic from rings to escape the gauntlets. You know what? It might even work with ringcasters, even if they were designed recently,” Boya said. “How many do you have again?”

“Well, three,” Fulcher began, “But well, one of them is inside Arrow.”

“WHAT?” Schon yelled suddenly. Fulcher flinched as he turned to look back at her.

“You let Arrow eat one?!” she said.

“I didn’t let him eat one, he just ate it! He’s a dog!” Fulcher pleaded. Vardia smirked on the stairs as Akaj crouched down to rub Arrow’s head.

“Akaj would never feed you magical artifacts, fuzzy one,” the Flameweaver cooed softly. Arrow licked his face as Fulcher frowned.

“I didn’t feed it to him! He just grabbed it when I fell down,” Fulcher explained.

“Well, whatever,” Boya said, strolling over to the wall. He pressed a brick deeper into the structure, causing a stone drawer to slide out. “Here, I got two of these as well. If you keep two in each gauntlet, it should be about as good as an actual weapon.” The troll dug around in the drawer, the sound of clattering metal emphasizing just how many trinkets he had in it. Finally he pulled two items out, handing them over to Fulcher.

The first seemed to be made of bleached coral, warped into the shape of a ring. The gem on top was a white pearl, and the ring itself smelled like the beach. The second was a harsh metal band, twisted and warped during its forging. It reached higher than the other rings, with a sharp red diamond pointing upwards.

“That first one there is called Sea Gate. When activated, it will spray out a burst of seawater. I think I even saw a crab come out of it once,” Boya said, motioning to the rings in Fulcher’s hand. “And that other one is called Brittle Fracture. On contact it can shatter almost any material, so be careful.”

A water spray and some kind of shattering ability? Fulcher thought as he stared at the two ringcasters. I wonder if I can use these against the Sire.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Boya closing the display case containing the gauntlets. The troll wobbled over and held them out to Fulcher.

“If you’re sure, here you go,” he said. Fulcher nodded and took the gauntlets as he pocketed the two new ringcasters.

“I’m sure. I’ve always been more of a hand-to-hand fighter anyways,” Fulcher said with a smile.

The party returned to the ground floor of the Librarum, gathering at the entrance as Boya and Anna prepared to open the door. Akaj kept himself distracted with petting Arrow, as Vardia did his best to calm Schon down from her earlier outburst. Fulcher watched the group from the back as they walked, smiling. He had not anticipated gaining new friends in this world so quickly. The thought of returning to Earth had crossed his mind a couple of times, but he slowly was growing used to this place. This body felt more like his with each passing day, and the world had much to offer his curiosity.

“Well, we wish you the best of luck, Fulcher,” Boya said. “And don’t forget to bring those back! I expect them along with all the books Dilyniant hid from us.” The doors opened as light streamed into the Librarum. Anna cackled as she sailed out of the building, her ghostly form vanishing into the fog.

“Go, settle in your boat young prince! My magic will guide you to familiar shores,” she echoed from the sky. Akaj rolled his eyes as he and Arrow began walking to the docks. Vardia and Schon offered bows to Boya, before beginning their walk back. Last in the group, Fulcher reached a hand down to the rocky troll.

“Til next time,” he said with a smile. The troll grinned and shook his hand firmly.

“Oyeah. And next time you visit, tell me more of your stories.”