111 – A Lead

Vivi suspected this meeting wouldn’t go as smoothly as the previous ones. Not all prior craftsmen of Vanguard had been shining beacons of social grace—Mae came to mind—but all of them were, if just by virtue of having existed in the time of Vanguard, old, wise, and experienced. That lent some ability to navigate a conversation by default.

Maybe not Ulden though. Assuming she could trust the backstory she remembered from Seven Cataclysms, the dwarf was even less of a people person than her—he would make her look like a chatterbox.

Hesitating a second longer, she mustered up the courage to knock on the door of the jewelcrafting workshop. Vivi received not so much as a spoken word in response. A muffled grunt was all she got through the slab of wood.

Which means… what, exactly?

Vivi sent off a silent prayer. A part of her considered waiting for Rafael or some other mediator, but she was a grown woman. She could handle a challenging conversation. She wasn’t hopeless.

“It’s me,” she called through the door. “Vivisari.”

Again: a grunt.

She would take that as permission.

Pushing the door open, she was met with the image of a dwarf hunched over a low-set table, a smattering of gems arrayed in front of him. His black hair was braided down to his waist, the same as his impressive beard. Ulden wasn’t especially old for a dwarf, but while dwarves were one of the long-lived races, they weren’t as immune to the flow of time as elves or demons. So Vivi caught a few gray hairs tucked in the otherwise glossy black mane. Besides that, he hadn’t changed much. Certainly not like Malach and Petra.

He was peering down through a loupe at a fat, sparkling ruby. That lasted for a second longer before he set the tool down and gave her his attention. “Vivisari.” His voice was gruff but held a hint of warmness. The stony expression could probably rival Vivi’s own, though. “Long time. Looking well.”

He nodded, then turned back and resumed his scrutiny of the gem.

“You’re… looking well too, Ulden,” she said, somewhat hesitantly. “I just got news of your arrival. Came straight here. I’m glad to see you inside Vanguard’s halls again.”

She received yet another grunt in response.

She knew he wasn’t intentionally being rude. He had projected fondness—if not of any gushing sort—in his sparse greeting, and coming from him, that was nothing short of Malach’s heartfelt insistence on a hug. The dwarf just wasn’t an emotional person.

Honestly, she felt some camaraderie toward him, like she did with most oddballs. Being around people like Rafael who never fumbled a word and always picked the right thing to say could make her feel more than a little insecure. Maybe she found it liberating, even, to be the more socially competent person for once.

…though perhaps Ulden’s scarcity of words couldn’t be called ‘social incompetence.’ Not like Vivi’s own. He just didn’t have much interest in talking.

She could hardly leave a century-long reunion at that, even if the dwarf himself didn’t seem inclined toward having a lengthy chat.

“I see you helped yourself to the vault,” she tried.

“Organizing. Yes.”

She heard no trace of shame in his enthusiastic raiding of Vanguard’s stockpile. Looking across the gems laid out on the tablecloth, Vivi noted that some of them would be difficult to obtain even by the Sorceress’s standards.

“I admire your work ethic,” she said, and even Vivisari’s cool voice leaked an amused dryness into the words. If nothing else, the interaction so far was entertaining her. “What’s Vanguard’s is yours, of course. You’ve heard what we’re dealing with?”

“Void.”

“Yes. The Void.” The man knew how to pack everything that needed saying into as few syllables as possible. “I have some of that material—voidglass—for you. Harvested from some of the stronger tiers of monsters. If you don’t mind, that’s what I need you experimenting with. See if you can make jewelry out of it, or whatever other ideas you might have.”

Ulden considered the request. She could only tell he was paying attention because of how he paused in his inspection for a moment.

Then he grunted.

Again, she assumed that meant an affirmative. He might not be a talkative sort, but he had served Vanguard faithfully. If for some bizarre reason he was denying her, he would say so clearly.

“I asked Miraelle to do the same thing,” Vivi went on. “Make me a list of how you need it shaped. It’s not in the most usable form. I assume you’ll want spheres to carve, and bands?” She paused. “It’s tough. Your tools probably won’t work—I’ll have to enchant them. Or help you through the process. We’ll find out.”

Another slight pause in his work as he mulled over her words.

“Will be interesting,” he said.

Three whole words? All for me? she thought wryly.

Levity hidden in her voice, she told the dwarf, “Vanguard is blessed to have you back, Ulden. It goes without saying that Rafael will get you signed on whenever you want. Thank you.” She had intended to wrap up the conversation, but she paused as she realized something. “Oh. I’ll need to do some co-crafting with you. I took an apprentice, and she’ll need gear going forward. I had some commissioned already, but…” She hesitated as she wondered how to phrase it. She didn’t like insulting other people’s work.

“Bad,” Ulden said, with no such compunction.

Vivi winced. “Not the greatest, but not bad. Anyway, she’s growing out of it fast. Every hunting trip is ten or more levels, so she’ll need a new set before long. Since you’re back, I obviously want the next one from you.” Jewelry was highly enchantable, so it was nearly as important for mages as primary gear.

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Ulden paused, signaling how ridiculous her words sounded to him. Ten levels every hunting trip was rather absurd, no matter one’s level. Then he set aside the ruby and plucked the next gem up to lay it on the cloth.

“Yes.”

Funnily enough, Vivi felt like the conversation had gone without problem. “Perfect. Just giving you a heads-up, shouldn’t happen any time too soon. Okay. I’ll leave you to it. Glad to have you back.”

She turned to leave, but Ulden had one more thing to say.

“Glad to be back, Guildmaster.”

A smile tugged at her lips, and she left.

When she arrived back in the common room, she found Rafael watching Jasper and Derrick play darts. By the way the demon caught her eye, he had clearly been waiting for her.

“Lady Vivisari. Might I steal a moment of your time?”

“Did something happen?” she asked warily. She couldn’t help but make that assumption. Rafael didn’t track her down about inconsequential matters. He didn’t have the time.

“In a manner of speaking.”

Vivi’s heart skipped a beat at the confirmation.

“My office, if you please?” he prompted.