Memories Remain

[FunnyHulkBoy 22]

Erik sat in exhaustion in front of the forge of Hefrumm. Scraps of metal, wood and leather surrounded him, accompanied by an unnecessary amount of tools. Frustration, along with stowed away tears, clouded his eyes as he stared at the grass and dirt beneath him. Unwanted thoughts raced through his mind. He was silent. Far too silent. As if he was breathing breathless breaths. He sat idle for what seemed to be hours, wordlessly contemplating. 

 

Eventually, the dwarf stood. Brushing dust from himself, he gathered his things. Erik walked back and forth across the foot of the forge, tidying all that needed to be tidied, placing tools where they needed to be, placing his mistakes of scraps into their respective barrels, and clearing ash away that sat for far too long. 

 

After all was said and done, Erik left, walking slowly back to his home. There he dug through barrels and withdrew three items: the claw of a mist hound, a red pheasant feather adorning spear, and the eye of a danugol. The spoils of his clan trials. He then made his way back to the forge, placing all three items within it, along with handfuls of coal. He sparked a flame and watched the forge roar in front of him. After a few moments of waiting, Erik drew a single chunk of daemite from his satchel, casting it forward into the fires.

 

Those flames from within the forge roared more and more violently, heating expeditiously. Sweat trickled from Erik’s brow to his beard, his orange hair seemingly glowing from the light of the flames. He filled his lungs deeply with air, then let it out in a deep exhale. 

 

“To theh dwed who introduced meh to me new life, and to theh dwed who granted meh theh gift of famileh. Foreva tah be in me mind, and me heart, fer emerald nevah breaks.”

 

With that, Erik killed the flames. There was nothing left inside the forge but cinder and ash. He smiled a near invisible smile, turned, and left. His mind had grown quieter.