"After that, my Runethane, we ran back down the tunnel. Some water flooded down after us but quickly dried up. Whatever power was left in that orb had exhausted itself."

"Yet you say its pieces may still be recoverable."

"The city did not fully collapse. Only a few parts of it, from what I could hear—had the whole place fallen in, I'm sure I'd have been part-deafened through my runic ears. Though I would not recommend swimming down, no matter what armor you choose to wear. I would not trust that water."

About a long-hour has passed since our expedition to the monsters' second city. We were lucky—none of our guild were knocked senseless by falling debris and left behind to drown in the rising waters, unlike happened to several of the Iron Shields. We escaped more or less without injury, bar a few scrapes to our armor as we were washed down the tunnel and back out in the stone forest.

We went straight to the castle and informed one of the elders of the discovery—our discovery. We were told to wait, then, to my surprise, were told that Runethane Halmak would discuss the findings once he was ready.

Now, after a long though none too restful sleep, I have returned to the curtained room outside his forge. We are speaking alone, and while I am dressed in my armor, he wears only his forging leathers. Yet he seems to feel no fear of Life-Ripper at all. Perhaps he believes that even his half-finished weapon, lying on the anvil past the dark curtains, is so powerful that he could crush me with it in a single blow.

Or maybe he just trusts that I wouldn't be so stupid as to attack him in the middle of his own castle.

"You believe the Runeking himself may be interested in it, however," he says.

"I do. He's always had a fascination with gems, has he not?"

"True. More than that, however, I am interested in it. In fact, we need it—I'll have it extracted by my dwarves."

"If that is so, then my guild—"

"You'll get your reward, Zathar, don't worry about that. I'm not looking to steal your find. I recognize it as yours and will pay you well for it. As for Guildmaster Rostok—between you and I, he was a trouble-maker. His guild can protest all they want. He fought you for the prize and lost. That's how I see it."

"Thank you, my Runethane. I did not expect you to be so forgiving."

He shrugs. "You have a guild of strong dwarves armed with the best weapons of light in the realm, and we are about to face the deep darkness. Probably you ought to be punished, for your recklessness, if nothing else, but we need you and your Runic League. Sometimes pragmatism comes before justice."

His message here is clear: an ordinary runeknight would not get off so freely for what I did. Throwing the orb like that! Reckless indeed. Then again, it started cracking as soon as I picked it up. Likely I'd have had to toss it back down anyway. Getting the grasping Rostok in the same blow was just good fortune.

"I thank you in any case, my Runethane."

"I would hear more about the orb before I send my dwarves to retrieve its remains. Describe it again to me."

"About the size of my head, and as blue as deep water. Cracked, and the crack started growing as soon as we shifted it."

"And it refused to be put inside the bag."

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"Yes."

"Have you ever encountered anything similar?"

"I don't know, my Runethane. Maybe."

"Maybe? What do you mean?"

"When we found the sorcerer at the bottom of his city, for a moment I thought he, or it, was holding something in his hand. Magic, I assumed at the time. But maybe the magic came from something physical."

"I see."

"But this orb contained water. It had nothing to do with darkness, or light, or anything similar. So maybe I was mistaken."

He shakes his head. "I don't think so. I assume the city Rostok found was defended by a similar sorcerer to that still alive in the greater one. There will be some connection between their powers, even if we can't yet see it."

"Maybe the Runeking might know, or one of the librarians of Allabrast. If there were two cities, there's likely to be more. At least a few. Perhaps similar gems have been found too. Maybe the Runeking owns one already."

"It's possible, I suppose. We might find out sooner than later."

"What do you mean, my Runethane?"

"Runeking Ulrike is sending an emissary from his own guild to observe our battle."

I start in shock. "An emissary? One of the Thanic Guard?"

"No. One of the runeknights he keeps guarding his palace. It's likely that he'll be carrying an Eye. In fact, it's certain."

"So the Runeking will be watching himself?"

"I believe so. Parts of it, at least. He may be watching many battles at once. All the realms have their fights to win to ready themselves for the war ahead."

"They work at such a distance?"

"His best ones can, yes."

"Have you—" I almost hesitate to ask, though I know the answer already. "You have told him of my presence here, surely. And about my new script."

"Yes. It's my duty to make such reports."

"And his reply? If I may be so bold as to ask."

"He expressed interest, though not as much as I'd been expecting. It's as you said—he believes he has enough runes already."

"I wonder if his opinion will change once he sees my guild in battle."

"I believe that is one of the reasons he is sending such an elite to join us."

"From his own guild—I didn't realize he had one."

"He does. Little is known about them, and certainly not to me. The more ancient of the Runethanes likely have some amount of knowledge. Those few who knew Ulrike before he became Runeking."

"They must be powerful indeed."

"They are. Far more than you. Far more than I."

My eyes wander to the curtains, behind which surely lies the most powerful craft in the realm. My thoughts begin to drift.

"Zathar?"

"I suppose they must use true metal in its purest form," I say, slowly.

"Purer than pure, yes."

I meet his gaze. "Then you can purify it further," I say sharply. "Destroy even true metal to mine out more power."

He scowls. "I do not like to use the term mining for our act."

"I apologize, my Runethane."

He gives me a dark look. "You will not spread the secret, I trust. Not even to your own guild."

"I don't intend to, even though—well, I've thought it might be advantageous, sometimes."

"It would not. The process is not as easy for most as I guess it was for you. Your skill with runes likely gave you a great advantage. A poor tool—mining tool, I suppose I ought to call it—can cause the metal to rebel against the smith."

"Yes, my Runethane," I say, nodding. "I understand."

This is no lie: I do understand. I can well imagine true metal attacking some unready smith attempting to extract it using an inferior craft. Even ordinary metal can tell when the runeknight doesn't respect it. I imagine sparks leaping up to burn and blind eyes. No dwarf unable to work out the secret for himself would have any chance against the material. Even if he had been so foolish as to purchase a mining tool, perhaps from one of those mad dwarves in Heldfast Hill, it would be able to tell his inadequacy from the way he held the blade, the way he hesitated.

And in any case, even if an unskilled enough runeknight were to succeed, he would not be able to work the true metal into anything of use.

"What exactly is it, my Runethane? True metal."

"I thought you called on me to deliver a report, Zathar," he says coldly. "Not to extract my secrets from me."

"I apologize, my Runethane. My curiosity got the better of me."

"Indeed. You keep your secrets within your guild, and I do the same with mine. We in the Red Anvil have an understanding of metal that goes beyond what most runeknights have, even those of equal ranks. That is why we use bronze. You keep your runes, and we'll keep our metal."

"Yes, my Runethane."

"Now, if you have no more to say, I am hard at work. I'll say this about true metal, although I'm sure you already know: the greater the ratio, the harder it is to work with, and the more time it takes. Pure true metal, and the stuff even truer—it can take a hundred years to forge a perfect blade."

My eyes widen. "I always thought that was an exaggeration."

"It is not. You will see soon."

I bow deeply. "Then I look forward to it, my Runethane. Goodbye, for now."

"Goodbye."

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