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[Unlive]: This item is not inert, but it does not live. It is composed with equal parts metal and flesh, creating a form that can only continue its existence through sustained magical input.

[The Heart of the Forge]: Pure magical energy that enters this item grants it life, allowing it to beat. Its purpose and actions are variable.

[Bodyless]: This item needs a body to function.

[The Soul of the Forge]: This is a set item of [3] pieces forged by Arwin Tyrr and Lillian Los. When the entire set is connected, it will gain the [Awoken] trait and become active.

Arwin and Lillia pulled their eyes away from the Mesh and exchanged a glance. Hearthome’s description was lacking at best. It didn’t seem like anything had failed, but it was so ambiguous that it was impossible to tell if anything had succeeded.

“Should… we connect it?” Lillia asked hesitantly. “There’s no way to know if it works without that, right?”

The heart thumped weakly in its ribcage. Arwin chewed his lower lip for a second before nodding. “I guess so? The set isn’t finished until everything gets put together. That’ll be the rest of its body, I suppose. We can feed it tonight and then get a proper bellows for it to work with tomorrow.”

“Okay. I’ll go get something ready. Give me a few minutes,” Lillia said, hurrying out of the smithy and over to the tavern.

Arwin connected the Millstone Maw to the Churning Stomach while he waited for Lillia. The large components were heavy enough to force him to use the scarce remains of his magical energy on [Scourge], but he managed to slot the two pieces together, relieved to find that everything went together flawlessly.

He wiped the sweat from his brow and tried not to think too long about the scent of salt, soot, and flame mixing in the air around him. That wasn’t an easy task. He’d been at work for quite some time.

Fortunately, he didn’t have to bear it alone for much longer. Slightly less fortunately, Lillia wasn’t in much better shape. She returned from the kitchen with a plate of Wyrmling meat chunks and a large tankard of water. She’d been cloaked by the smell of the forge but was somehow spared that of sweat and grime.

“What are you sniffing at?” Lillia asked with a suspicious squint as she handed him the plate. “It’s not the same food that I make for us. I skipped out on the seasoning. I don’t think the heart would appreciate it.”

“Uh, nothing,” Arwin said, clearing his throat and suddenly realizing this probably wasn’t a wise topic to bring up when they weren’t even that far away from being able to take a bath. He’d gotten used enough to the smell of soot and metal that he actually found he didn’t mind, but it was a bit too late to mention that.

It was too late. Lillia glanced down at herself and the mixture of oil, soot, and other miscellaneous smudges covering her. She sniffed at her armpit, then grimaced. “Oh, Nine Underlands. I walked into my kitchen smelling like death warmed over. I’m going to have to clean everything.”

“It’s not that bad,” Arwin said. “I don’t mind it. You just smell a little… metal-y.”

“Right. Thank you,” Lillia said dryly. She didn’t look too convinced, and Arwin got the feeling that trying to convince her of anything else would probably just be digging the hole deeper. She nodded to the heart. “Let’s just put this thing together, yeah? It’s a good thing we didn’t give it a nose.”

Arwin snorted and nodded his assent. He glanced at the plate of food in his hands, then handed it back to Lillia before pulling the Hearthome over to the pipes extending from the Churning Stomach.

He moved carefully as he brought the heart closer to the pipe and slid it in. Arwin wasn’t sure how delicate the heart was, and he didn’t want to destroy it at the last second. His fear proved unfounded. The two components connected without resistance, and he released the heart a second later with a relieved sigh.

“Looks like it worked,” Arwin said, straightening back up and doing his best to wipe his hands off on his pants. It didn’t do much of anything other than smear grime around. He was pretty sure this set of clothes was done for. His eyes drifted over to Lillia’s and her eyes narrowed.

“Don’t even think about it.”

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

“I’m thinking about it,” Arwin admitted. “And using a great force of will to avoid indulging those thoughts.”

“Some hero you are,” Lillia said with a snort. She followed his gaze, then let out a defeated sigh. “Oh, go ahead. These are ruined beyond saving, so if you can find a clean spot, might as well make use of it. I’m going to need to invest in some work clothes if I’m going to be doing this more often.”

Before Arwin could tell Lillia he’d been joking, a wall of prickles slammed into him like a wave. It stole the breath from his lungs as it raced down his entire body, not even sparing his eyes or mouth.

Lillia let out a surprised curse and they both jerked back as the Mesh swirled into the Hearthome, illuminating the ribs and pouring out into the rest of the contraption. The heart pulsated and sent a thumping vibration that shook Arwin’s teeth in his jaw.

A dull, keening groan rose up from the contraption as it started to shudder.

“Uh… I think we better feed it,” Arwin said.

Lillia gave him a hurried nod and he grabbed the tankard from her, pouring it into the open intake valve. She pushed the food off her plate and into the opening of the Millstone Maw. The sphere ground to life immediately, starting to crush the meat into paste.

The heart sent out another thundering pulse that was only slightly weaker than the first. Arwin and Lillia watched with trepidation as the entire machine shuddered to life. The heart thumped again. Then again.

It fell into a healthy beat, now only slightly louder than a normal heart would be. A grin pulled across Arwin’s lips and he took Lillia by the shoulders in delight. “It works!”

“It does something,” Lillia agreed with a relieved laugh. “What a weird—”

Lillia froze mid-sentence, her expression stiffening as she looked past him.

“What?” Arwin asked, spinning to her. “Are you okay?”

“What the fuck?” Lillia whispered, her eyes going wide. Arwin followed her gaze back to the Hearthome.

[Unlive]: This item is not inert, but it does not live. It is composed with equal parts metal and flesh, creating a form that can only continue its existence through sustained magical input.

[The Heart of the Forge]: Pure magical energy that enters this item grants it life, allowing it to beat. Its purpose and actions are variable.

[The Infernal Armory]: This item has taken on the Infernal Armory as its body.

[Awoken]: This item has taken on life of its own. It will grow stronger with age at a rate corresponding to the quality of food fed to it. It has bonded with Lillian Los and Arwin Tyrr.

[The Soul of the Forge]: This is a set item of [3] pieces forged by Arwin Tyrr and Lillian Los. When the entire set is connected, it will gain the [Awoken] trait and become active.

As Arwin stared, the ribs curled around the heart peeled back. They bent in ways that he most certainly hadn’t meant for them to, transforming into legs that jutted out from the bottom of the heart as it lifted itself — along with the rest of its body — into the air.

It jabbed its makeshift legs into the ground, ripping straight into the foundations. It burrowed into the ground until only the Millstone Maw and the water intake remained visible, and the stone beneath Arwin’s feet shuddered.

Golden swirls of light danced up the walls and flitted past him like specters. Arwin spun in an attempt to follow them, but it was impossible. They’d covered the entire building. Once more, the Mesh twisted itself into words before Arwin.

[The Infernal Armory: Epic Quality]

[The Body]: This building has been taken as the body of the Hearthome and obeys its commands.

[Heartbeat Shield]: For as long as this item has magical energy, its status is concealed from everyone other than those who have bonded to it.

The glowing words faded away, but Arwin’s indignation didn’t.

“It stole my armory!” Arwin exclaimed. “It was supposed to run the bellows, not the whole building!”

The stone beneath them bucked. Arwin’s arms spun as he stumbled back. The back door of the Infernal Armory flew open an instant before he hit it and he fell, landing on his backside in the main room.

Lillia was launched out a second later, landing on top of Arwin and drawing a grunt of pain from both of them. Then the door slammed closed. They stared at it in disbelief as loud crunches and the rattle of stone started to come from within the building.

“Did I just get kicked out of my own forge?” Arwin asked, aghast.

“I think we did,” Lillia muttered. She rubbed the back of her head and slipped off him, extending a hand. “Thanks for breaking my fall, though.”

“Always thrilled to be of service,” Arwin said, taking her hand and letting Lillia pull him back to his feet. They stared at the closed door before them.

The noise stopped for a second. A stone bumped Arwin’s foot again, but only enough to nudge him slightly. Then the noises started again.

“I’m pretty sure it’s telling us to get lost,” Lillia said, glancing down at the ground. “I can’t actually feel anything from the heart, even though we’re bonded. I would have thought I’d have some connection with it.”

“Me too,” Arwin said with a frown. “Is it… remodeling?”

“It does kind of sound like that,” Lillia said. “Should we stop it?”

“I’m not sure if we can without destroying the building.” Arwin looked back at the door, then rubbed his chin. “At this point, I think we might just have to sit back and see what happens. We’ve let the cat out of the bag — the heart out of the cage, I guess. It still needs us to feed it, so I doubt it’s going to destroy the place.”

“That’s true,” Lillia said slowly. They stared for a moment longer. Then they looked back to each other. “We’ll probably find out tomorrow. Bath and bed?”

“Bath and bed,” Arwin agreed with a nod.

Interfering with the heart now would just ruin all the effort they’d gone through making it. He had absolutely no idea what it would do his smithy, but it had kept the name Infernal Armory when it had taken the building on as a body.

The heart wasn’t destroying his smithy. It was upgrading it. As to how, only the morning sun could know — but despite his weariness, a spark of eager anticipation took root in Arwin’s stomach. He looked forward to finding out.