Overwhelming Firepower

While everyone was having fun drinking and chatting in the tavern, the door creaked open again. This time, the patrons only took a quick glance, and when they saw who it was, they quickly went back to drinking.

Lucen, on the other hand, stared at the newcomer. It was the person he came all the way here to meet.

The dwarf was only a little taller than human children. It was like seeing a child with the face of a man.

The dwarf’s arms looked to be thicker than the thighs of a normal adult male. His shoulders were quite broad, and his way of walking made it seem like he was an immovable object.

”You finally arrived, you old stump,” Bromdir spoke up.

”Enough niceties, just give me my bloody drink.” The dwarf sat in the seat that seemed to be reserved for him in front of Bromdir so that he could get his drink faster than anyone else.

”Aye, you grumpy old stump. Here’s your drink.” Bromdir handed the dwarf a mug of ale.

The dwarf grabbed hold of the mug of ale, took a whiff of it, and smiled. ”You humans might not be great miners or blacksmiths, but you do know how to make ale.”

The other patrons were already used to the dwarf speaking like that, so they weren’t that offended, but they still quipped back.

”At least we can look out a window without finding a stool to stand on.” A few chuckles rippled through the tavern.

”Aye, I might be shorter than you humans. But not only do I make better swords, I even have a longer one underneath my pants.” Hearing the dwarf’s reply, the entire tavern was filled with laughter.

The dwarf was then about to drink his ale when the noble son and his escorts stood behind him and spoke.

”So you’re a dwarf. I am the son of Count Jurhen, and I wish to hire you.”

Hearing the pompous voice of the young noble, the dwarf who was about to chug the ale in his hand stopped and placed it down with a thud.

”Bromdir, why did you allow flies into the Tavern?”

The laughter died almost instantly. Several mugs froze mid-air. A miner slowly turned in his seat, eyeing the noble and his escorts with open irritation.

Bromdir’s grin vanished as he scratched his head and sighed. ”I thought this one had a bit of manners since he paid properly, but I guess he’s just a slightly better brat than those before him.”

The noble son frowned, clearly unused to being spoken to that way. ”I have done my best to act cordially in front of you commoners, but I can only tolerate so much disrespect. Maybe a little punishment might help humble you people.”

The young noble son snapped his fingers, and his three escorts surrounded the dwarf while emitting their aura, two of which were at the second mantle, and one at the third mantle. They did not unsheathe their weapons and were planning to use their fists instead.

”You won’t mind if I swat away the flies, right, Bromdir?”

”Do as you wish,” Bromdir answered while shrugging his shoulders. Hearing Bromdir’s answer, the dwarf got off his chair and looked at the young noble.

”Human brat, remember this and remember it well. There are four things you must never do in front of a dwarf. One is to insult his craft, the second is to mock his stature, the third is to question his ability to drink, and lastly is to interrupt him while he’s drinking.”

The dwarf rolled his shoulders once, joints popping like stones grinding together. ”So are you coming or not? I want to get back to my drink.”

”Teach this dwarf some manners.” The young noble commanded. One of the three escorts who were wearing plate mail armor charged at the dwarf and punched.

The dwarf grabbed hold of the escort’s fist and twisted his wrist. The dwarf who was wearing gauntlets with rune engravings on them punched the escort’s plate mail.

The second the dwarf’s fist touched the plate mail, the escort was blown away as a shockwave pushed and shook a few of the empty chairs. The escort who hit the wall fainted from that single attack.

”Hmph, the quality of that plate mail is pitiful, so many impurities. It would have been better to just walk around without it and use your aura to protect yourself.”

The dwarf complained. Since in that single exchange, he was able to assess the quality of the plate mail.

The remaining two escorts froze. One glance at their unconscious companion, slumped against the wall like discarded scrap metal, was enough to shake their confidence.

Even though one of them was at the third mantle, in truth, the skills of the three of them weren’t that far from each other. Seeing one of them being easily dealt with meant they couldn’t hold back against the dwarf in front of them.

The two then drew out their weapon and got into fighting stances.

”Hmph, it would seem that you pups at least know more than just how to bark.” The dwarf then glanced at their swords and sighed.

”Tsk, it would seem that your weapons are as lousy as the young brat you serve.” The dwarf then took out a knife with rune engravings from his waist. ”I guess this is enough for you two.”

The two escorts tightened their grips. Aura flared around their bodies, one a dull crimson, the other a heavier, deeper hue that pressed against the air.

The third-mantle escort took a cautious step forward, blade angled low, clearly wary now. The two escorts attacked together.

The first escort lunged in a wide arc meant to force the dwarf back, while the third-mantle moved in from the side, sword aimed for the neck.

The dwarf stepped into the attack. His knife moved once. It was a simple move. There was no flourish, just a short, efficient motion.

The first escort’s sword shattered. It burst apart into fragments, the blade breaking along invisible fault lines that ran straight through the metal. The escort froze, staring at the useless hilt still in his hands.

Before he could react, the dwarf slammed his shoulder into the man’s chest. The escort flew backward, skidding across the tavern floor before slamming into a table hard enough to crack its legs.

The escort tried to stand up again, but failed and collapsed.

The final escort looked at his two companions and sighed as he sheathed his sword. The young noble, seeing what his escort was doing, grew furious.

”What are you doing?!”

”Young master, I cannot defeat this dwarf, and as your escort, my job is to protect you.” The escort responded to the embarrassed and fuming noble child.

”Hmph, at least one of you has some sense. Now get your companions and leave. Or do you wish for the others whom you disturbed join in the fun?”

After hearing the dwarf’s words, the young noble looked around and saw the other patrons glaring at them. The young noble gnashed his teeth in frustration, turned around, and left in a hurry out of embarrassment.

The escort followed after his young master after picking up his two fellow escorts. Once the group of them left, the dwarf went back to his seat. The dwarf picked up his mug and drank it in one gulp.

”Hey, Bromdir, give me another one. And you lot, what are you looking at, the show’s done, get back to drinking!”

Bromdir shrugged his shoulders as he refilled the mug, sliding it across the counter without a word.

The dwarf caught it one-handed and took a deep drink, foam clinging to his beard as the tavern slowly returned to life.

Laughter crept back in, quieter at first, then louder as mugs were raised again and conversations resumed.

A miner nearby whistled. ”Thanks for the show, old stump.”

”Hah,” the dwarf replied without looking. ”That wasn’t even enough for a warm-up. Those pups wouldn’t last a day in a mine.”

***

While the dwarf was enjoying his drink, Robert, who was sitting beside Lucen, had his eyes sparkling as he continued to stare at the dwarf’s gauntlets.

”Those are the true dwarven rune engravings. The structure of the runes is completely different from what we use. Oh, that’s interesting. I want to get a closer look.” Robert was about to stand up, but was stopped by Lucen.

”Didn’t you hear what he said? A dwarf doesn’t want to be disturbed while drinking. If you want to have a conversation, we’ll do it tomorrow when we visit him during business hours.”

”Tsk, that’s too long, I have so many questions, and I want an answer.”

Robert was about to force himself out of Lucen’s grip when Sir Thalos hit the crazed alchemist in the back of the neck with a bit of aura, making Robert faint.

”Thank you, Sir Thalos. That almost got out of hand.”

”No worries, young lord. So, shall we continue observing, or do we head to our rooms now?” Sir Thalos and Bram looked at Lucen, awaiting his answer.

Lucen glanced once more toward the counter. The dwarf had already leaned back, one boot hooked on the stool rung, mug in hand as if nothing of note had happened. The dwarf was happily chugging the ale in his hand.

”Yeah, let’s head up,” Lucen replied.

Sir Thalos nodded and lifted Robert with ease, slinging him over his shoulder. Bram also stood up and followed behind.

As they went up the stairs, Lucen was already thinking of how the conversation with the dwarf would go tomorrow.