Chapter 12: Chapter 12 – The Business of Traditions

 

"You guys wait here." Jarbuk said firmly as Baris lifted two barrels and he picked up the third. He stored the gear that Baris had wanted in the barrel and walked with him to his camp.

"Are you sure about this, Baris? Salt is an expensive commodity. This gear alone would only cover the costs of half a barrel, if that." Jarbuk said and heard a snort.

"Damned greedy people. Salt shouldn't be that expensive, Jarbuk. If there is a sea, salt can be gotten there just by filtering the water, and boiling it until there is nothing but salt. It's the hard way to do it, but with separation magic, salt is easy to get." He growled a bit, but emptied the barrel in camp, and walked to the deposit.

"Why didn't you want those guys to come with us?" Baris asked casually.

"Greed. They would figure out they could make a fortune, mine it secretly, or report it to someone who would come with an army. Salt is taxed heavily, and most of it comes from human lands to the north west. On the other side of Steepbell, the town of Fairgate is the fortress town that keeps the elvish hordes away from human lands." Jarbuk snorted.

"Elvish hordes? From what I see, as long as you respect them, they have no disdain for humans. I've only met one so far, but she seemed reasonable." Baris said quietly. "More like greed, and selling their leftovers. They can't process the salt properly, so they just sell the shell material at a steep price. You either take it, or you don't have salt." They stood in front of the small mountain.

"That sounds about right. We've not had great relations with the humans. They hate elves, and even though dwarves resemble humans a lot more, they still treat us with disdain. They lust after fairies, but don't treat them well at all." Jarbuk said, with only a bit of heat in his voice.

"Hm, this would have been easier with a shovel. Next time, load up a few tools, would ya, Jarbuk?" Baris went to a stone, picked it up and slammed it down on top of another stone. The stone split into multiple slabs.

"This should work, although it will take longer. I must learn crafting and shaping magic." Jarbuk's face twitched, just as Shaala's had earlier.

These casual statements of Baris' only made them burn with curiosity. Replenishing their magical source energy with pure source water was a technique not known to most people, and usually only known to the priestesses of the elvish clans, and the mermaids. Crafting magic was taught to the mastersmiths, but only once they learned how to forge or craft something by hand, and not before. Dwarves hated laziness, and crafting magic could make a potentially good smith lazy. They could spam out mediocre quality stuff until their magic skills increased, and the quality increased as a result.

It was the lazy route to take. A true mastersmith would craft items with their own two hands until they were of the highest quality they could make. Once they reached their best work, they would be permitted to make it with magic, as they knew what it took to make good quality gear. A mastersmith refused to spam out crap, so their precious magical skills were never abused, and the market didn't flood with mediocre goods that the apprentices should make in order to advance their skills, and make a living.

In other words, they designed their traditions around their business, and it all worked together.

"Baris, if you don't mind me saying, you don't seem like other humans I've met." Jarbuk said quietly. Baris smirked.

"Don't be fooled, Jarbuk." Baris said, but chuckled not long after. "I've had my moments as well. Prejudices due to the words of others. Thoughtless remarks, stories, tales, and even children's simple sayings held buried remarks that adults would often speak due to ignorance." Baris dug out the surrounding edge of the deposit by a foot, but only so that the dirt couldn't fall in. He moved a blueberry bush that was in the sod and replanted not far away.

"Think about yourself. Are you a dwarf, or a wood dwarf?" He asked. Jarbuk blinked.

"Forest Dwarf. Wood dwarf is the name we get called by the stone dwarves who mine in the mountains." His voice got lower and lower as he spoke.

"Your status was wood dwarf until you said Forest Dwarf, Jarbuk. It's become a part of your world, and though it's not as obvious, there are still prejudices among the races. Shaala is a Forest Elf, but are there other types of elves?" Baris looked over his shoulder.

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"Mountain, dark, and sea. The Mountain Elves are the elites, and said to be the original tribe while they are in the mountains. However, they would never say that to the dark elves, as Nuella has placed them as the central tribe. Forest Elves are lighter, with shades of blonde and red hair, while the mountain elves are shades of brown and grey. The Dark Elves are usually darker, with almost black hair, and the highest ranked elves have the blackest of hair, but the palest of skin." Jarbuk frowned.

"I think I see what you mean. Dwarves, elves, and even humans have some sort of prejudice towards others. Several hundred years ago, the humans had internal strife as the goddesses brought them here. They fought themselves, but a leader rose up and united them. Against everyone else. They grew stronger, and tried to expand forcefully, at the expense of all other races. They were beaten back like dogs, and without the compassion of the goddesses, they would have been eradicated. Today, they still hold disdain for us, but they also have the same prejudices among their own kinds. Dark skinned are the elites of the sea, while the pale ones are the elites of their hills and mountains. Some prefer colder areas, and some prefer hotter regions. They don't have enough people to form entire countries of those tribes, but they are not as united as they once were." Jarbuk fell silent as he considered his long held beliefs, and realized that he had refused to look at the obvious.

There were dwarves who thought they were better than others, but they learned to overlook it because they were dwarves.

"There. Hm, I don't like that there is a bit of clay in there too. 'Separate'." Three barrels of salt reduced to three quarters full, while the particulate landed on the top. "Breeze." A soft gentle wind blew away the dust.

"Breeze? What is that magic, Baris?"

"A low powered version of Wind gust, or wind shear." The explanation was concise, but Jarbuk frowned.

"Wind shear? Is that a higher powered magic?"

"Hm, how to explain. A wind shear is an opposing wind that comes across at you. If you're running north, the wind might come from the west and blow to the east. It's strong enough to affect your movement. The gust can often be strong enough to send birds tumbling, but normally, it's on open land. A wind shear sort of 'cuts' across your expected path. You can even liken it to a blade of wind that can do damage if properly sharpened." Baris explained the best he could without using airplanes in the explanation. It was surprisingly difficult to do so as he had only ever heard about wind shear applied to airplanes, and how the wind affects them while they try to land.

"Hm. I think I see what you mean." Jarbuk kept silent while Baris refilled the barrels with more salt. He cast the spell on each barrel again, and blew away the dust.

"What do you think, Jarbuk?" Baris asked with a smile.

"I think this will help Noobville out quite a bit. Pure filtered salt, and without the heavy taxes. You don't know how many people will tear up about this." Jarbuk said quietly.

"I can only imagine, Jarbuk. Come on. These barrels won't carry themselves." Once again, as Baris lifted two full barrels of salt, he missed the slight twitch in Jarbuk's cheek.

Even high level human elites were incapable of such feats of strength. When Jarbuk picked up the barrel, he knew that to carry even one barrel the entire way would be his limit.

Just how strong was this human he had only just met? Jarbuk silently mused, but slightly turned his head. He looked towards the forest, and growled.

"Wind shear!" Two human heads rolled off of two sets of shoulders. "Damned spies. Think we didn't notice how you damned fools would only do gathering and escort missions with low risk and low reward?"

As if he would allow those two guys to profit off of, or ruin the salt mine that Noobville and Steepbell desperately needed right now.

 

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