The Runesmith

“So… did you or did you not do it?”

“Well… uh…”

“I’ll take that as a no. You promised me you would tell your mother about what happened. This isn’t a game; your life could be in danger.”

“I know, I’ll bring it up soon…”

“Will you?”

Roland frowned at the young girl on the projection before him. He wasn’t using a crystal ball but one of his runic devices that used illusion magic to produce an image resembling a hologram. The projection was in shades of blue, similar to old grayscale television sets from his original world.

“Yes, I promise, I’ll do it this time… oh, and about Robert.”

“Hm…”

His sister Lucienne quickly changed the subject, as she was reluctant to contact their mother about the incident. Roland had anticipated this and called her as soon as he had some free time. It seemed she had started writing a letter but had only finished half of it. Nevertheless, she was taking steps in the right direction and had already asked their mother about Robert, though she hadn’t disclosed everything.

“Yeah, what about him?”

“I’m not sure. Mother said she would look into it and that I shouldn’t worry, but she was acting strange.”

“Strange? Do you think she was keeping something from you?”

“I… I don’t know…”

Roland's frown deepened as Robert might have been in trouble. Lucienne’s mother was quite fond of her children, so it wouldn’t be strange if she tried to shield them from any potential danger. This included sparing her daughter from worrying about any unfortunate situations her older brother might have encountered. Roland’s instincts told him that there was more to this situation than met the eye, but he was unable to act. His hands were tied here in Albrook.

“I see…”

“Could something bad have happened to Brother Robert? Maybe I should return home and ask Mother again…”

“I’m not sure if that’s a good idea. You’ll be safer at the institute. But if you want to hasten the process, maybe tell your mother about Viola Castellane. Your father might be able to do something about it.”

“I…”

Roland could see his sister’s eyes darting around. It was as if she didn’t want to involve their father, and he somewhat knew why. The man was very distant and involved in many political affairs, making him intimidating. Lucienne's reluctance was understandable, as she probably didn’t know their father too well. He was rarely home, and it was natural that she didn’t know how to talk to him. To her, the man called Wentworth might as well have been a stranger just like he was to Roland.

‘I’m not sure if that man would even act. I hope he doesn’t force Lucienne to apologize or remove her from the institute to appease that family…’

Roland's thoughts lingered on the complexities of his family situation as he concluded the conversation with his sister. Lucienne's reluctance to involve their father was troubling, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that something had happened to his older brother Robert. However, there was something in the way Francine was acting that gave him an idea about the situation. It seemed that she knew more than she let on, which might mean that Robert's situation was not as dire as it appeared.

"Lucienne, promise me that you’ll own up to your mother, the longer you try to postpone this issue, the worse it will get.”

“I know and I will!”

“Perhaps, if she isn’t willing to talk about Robert with you, try mentioning something to her.”

“Oh? What should I mention.”

“That you met a very responsible Institute Professor who might be willing to help with a few issues…”

Roland was talking about himself and Lucienne raised an eyebrow at the self-promotion. She responded with a resounding nod as if she made a decision and eventually the two said their farewells. The call ended and the holographic image fizzled out, leaving Roland deep in thought. The installation of the geothermal generator was well underway, but the concerns about his family weighed on his mind. The city’s progress and his inventions were important, but so was the welfare of his two siblings.

‘I bet Francine knows more than she would ever tell Lucienne. Given her character, she would do anything to help her children but will never make them worry.’

There was a reason he told his sister to mention the eccentric Institute Professor that was for some reason willing to help them. Perhaps once out of options, this little window of opportunity would prompt Francine to reach out to him directly. Mentioning his involvement in the recent issue with Viola could also prompt her to seek him out. She would probably wish to thank him in some way and perhaps offer some bribes for further protection. Then, he might be able to push for the answers that he was seeking.

‘Can’t do much now besides preparing for the future…’

Roland turned on the light and looked around his workshop. He was waiting for someone to arrive and right on time, he heard some footsteps in the distance. A lone man appeared, his height short and his beard long. It seemed to have grown a bit but this was not anything too eye-catching, the lack of a limb was.

“Hey boss, you wanted to see me?”

“Yeah, there is one question I want to ask you.”

“A question? Sure boss, what is it?”

“Do you want to have your arm back?”

“Hah, well, If you have a spare one then let me borrow it!”

Bernir chuckled under his breath, clearly trying to lighten the mood, but Roland could see the flicker of hope in his eyes. The loss of his arm had been a devastating blow, and despite Bernir's efforts to adapt, it was evident that he longed for his former capabilities. At this point in time, he only had a basic golemic arm that could not really replace his hammering hand too well.

The day before, he had asked Elodia about how he was faring, and it seemed he wasn’t doing too well. Without his right arm, he was stuck trying to restrain himself with his left one, which was progressing slowly. It wasn’t easy to switch dominant hands, especially when one had spent their entire life perfecting their craft with the other. Even with the aid of skills, this was not a task that could be easily completed.

“I do have something in mind, actually. Something that might be able to help you.”

Bernir’s eyes widened with surprise but he then quickly shook his head around as he knew what Roland was implying.

“Boss, please don’t do anything foolish, I know you signed some deal with those Solarian zealots but you don’t have to go that far for me. I’ll be fine, it might take a few more months but I’ve already been getting better with my left hand.”

“Think you are misunderstanding something, I wasn’t talking about asking for a tier 4 priest or even an elixir… But I guess, it’s better if I show it to you…”

“Show me what?”

“Your new arm… or well, a drawing of it that is, we still have to make it first.”

“We have to make it?”

Bernir was confused about the situation. He had heard that Roland was going to a magical academy for some research, but he wasn’t sure he believed that Roland could produce results in such a short amount of time. Even if Roland could help him, the expectations were for it to take a few years at least. It was never-before-seen magical technology, and Roland was still a young craftsman. However, when he saw a large board with an intricate diagram of a forearm, his mind went blank.

“This is…”

“Yes, this is it. While it’s still a rough sketch, I think as a prototype, it could no… it will serve as a full replacement for your missing arm. It’s not just any ordinary prosthetic; it’s a combination of magic and runic technology. With this, you'll be able to regain much if not all of the functionality you lost.”

“Wait… hold on boss, let me get this straight. You’re saying you’ve come up with a way to give me back my arm? And not just any golem arm, but one that works like the real thing?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. It’s not going to be easy, and it might take some time to perfect, but I believe it’s possible. I still haven’t decided on an attachment mechanism that would allow the arm to stay connected to the flesh but Rastix said that he could have a solution for that…”

Bernir was speechless, his eyes fixed on the detailed diagram in front of him. He traced his fingers over the lines and runes, trying to comprehend the complexity of what Roland was proposing.

“I… I don’t know what to say, boss. This is incredible. But are you sure it’s possible? I mean, magic and runic technology, that’s some serious stuff, it can’t be cheap…”

It seemed Bernir wasn’t sure if he deserved the investment. He knew, from a craftsman’s perspective, that such a runic prosthetic, if successful, would be literally worth an arm and a leg. In normal circumstances, only super-rich merchants and nobility could afford something like that, and he was just a simple blacksmith who had lost one of the main tools to earn money.

“Don’t worry, it’s going to be free of charge but well… you might be the very first person in the world to get such an arm, so in a way, you’re also helping me test my invention. In a way, it might be me who should be paying you instead but I guess, I already am.”

Bernir chuckled at the little joke but the gratitude on his face was showing. Roland couldn’t really force his assistant to go through with this and there were some dangers associated with untested magical technology. He did not know if there were any drawbacks of using such a runic prosthesis which used the soul to guide it. His friend here could be considered a guinea pig and if he declined, then he would understand.

“Haha, great, let's make that arm then!”

“I’ll understand if you’d like to rethink the…Huh? You’re okay with it, just like that?”

Roland paused for a moment as he wasn’t sure if Bernir comprehended the drawbacks of this deal.

“Aye Boss, what’s there to think about it?”

“But do you understand that this is going to be a prototype of magic that has never been tested before, right?”

“Sure? Not like my arm is going to explode again, right?”

Bernir chuckled as if he was proud of the joke that he made.

“I trust you boss, if something goes wrong, you’ll be the first one to stop it!”

“I see…”

A faint smile crept onto his face, though it quickly disappeared. For some reason, he felt happy that someone had so much trust in him, but it was also a burden. He was sure that even if Bernir lost another limb during the tests, he would still not blame him. This was a lot of trust that someone was putting into his skills, and he didn’t want to disappoint him.

“Well then... where do we start? First, we’ll need to prepare a basic prototype, nothing too fancy. Deep steel should be enough. The runes used for this are surprisingly gentle. Once we get the initial alpha tests out of the way, we can move on to the full prototype.”

“Aye, sounds good!”

They spent the next few hours discussing the specifics of the prosthetic, with Roland explaining each component and its function. Bernir listened intently, his eyes sparkling more and more as he listened to the way this new magical limb would function.

“First off, I decided to go with these puppet hands that mimic joints the best, we will make them a bit thicker to resemble your hands, you’ll be able to exert even more grip strength than before but that’s something that we can adjust later…”

There were many golems, and most did not focus on mimicking human hands and their dexterity. To alleviate this problem, Roland asked Arion for some help. To his surprise, there were certain shapely puppets used in the industry that mimicked human behavior. They were quite rare and costly, but some people were apparently willing to invest in them due to their remarkable precision and lifelike movement. He decided to hide this fact from his friend, as he wasn’t sure if he would appreciate knowing what his new hand was originally designed for.

“If it all works, then perhaps we’ll add some other adjustments later.”

“Oh? What other adjustments?”

“Well, it’s still a golem arm, so besides being flame-resistant, I was thinking about giving it the capability to magnetize tools for better grip. Perhaps it could even be used as a weapon, but I guess we should get the alpha prototype ready before we discuss that. I have already contacted Brylvia about some parts, and they should be ready soon.”

“Hah, finally those bastards are good for something, but then what will we be doing?”

“I just gave them a partial schematic for now, we still need to prepare the most crucial parts and make you a new harness.”

Bernir nodded as Roland continued to explain the plan. The dwarven union was their ally, but this didn’t mean he would give them the plans for his prototype. They would prepare the basic framework for the arm while he handled all the runesmithing himself. They would probably assume he was just preparing a new golem and think nothing of it.

Soon the two craftsmen were busy at work. Over the next few days, Roland and Bernir dove into the creation of the prosthetic arm. The workshop buzzed with activity as they meticulously crafted each component. First on their agenda was the harness for their testing arm.

The one he would create took inspiration from modern designs. It consisted mostly of adjustable leather straps with padded sections on Bernir’s right side. Its purpose was to distribute weight evenly and reduce strain on his body. Chafing was also a concern, but Bernir didn’t seem to mind, as this was intended to be just a temporary solution.

Next on the agenda were the runic batteries, which were the heart of the design. Luckily, thanks to his recent research, Roland became capable of creating even smaller runes than before. In the finished product, they would be directly inserted into the side portion of the forearm, which would mostly be empty inside. By his calculations, it would be feasible to get around a day's worth of functionality out of one enhanced battery before it needed to be replaced or recharged directly.

Soon the two started their tasks, Bernir’s job was to create the harness for himself while Roland would take care of the new batteries that also needed to be tested. Eventually, a box filled with the golemic hands arrived and their work was in full swing.

“The etherium proportions are barely adequate but this should be enough for now…”

He scrutinized the work of the dwarven union but he couldn’t complain. They had performed the task just as he asked for and kept the deadline he gave them. Roland couldn't shake off the feeling of excitement mixed with anxiety. This project was a leap into the unknown and he wasn’t sure what to expect. Each rune etched into the arm had to be precise, each magical conduit and trace perfectly aligned. One mistake could lead to catastrophic failure, not just for the arm but potentially for this underground workshop. He had already blown up one workshop in the Institute and he didn’t want to repeat the failure from that day.

With his debugging skills, he was able to identify and address all possible weak spots in the design, continuing to iron them out. The two men found themselves working overtime into the night, much to the dissatisfaction of both their wives. However, their spouses were understanding enough to allow them to continue, recognizing that the project was something truly special. After about a week, the alpha prototype was finally ready, and it was time to see if Bernir would regain the use of his arm...