Arwin read the golden words even as they formed in the air, the air caught in his chest as he scanned to see if his and Lillia’s efforts had been successful. He felt Verdant Inferno thrumming at the back of his mind in satisfaction, which eased his fears slightly.
[Hearthome: Epic Quality]
[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.”
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.
[Hearthome: Epic Quality]
[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?”