Chapter 10 – The Trial of Iron Veins
The air in the Upper Chamber carried a strange tang of rust and dust that day. The towering cliffs bled streaks of orange into the horizon, and from somewhere deep within the canyons came the sound of metal grinding against metal.
Emberbond walked in a loose formation, each step measured. Levitine's presence cut a path through the heat, Withered Flame kept his gaze sharp as always, Lenara strolled with an infuriating lack of concern, and Koro—well—Koro was juggling three small stones in one hand while munching on a stick of dry root in the other.
"You look ridiculous," Aaren muttered.
"That's because I'm a visionary," Koro replied through a mouthful, tossing the stones higher. "Gotta keep the hands and the jaws busy. Improves reflexes. Also, I'm starving."
"You just ate," Lenara said, brushing sand from her skirt.
"I'm always just eating."
The team had been tasked with scouting the Iron Veins, a network of metallic tunnels said to house rogue forgemasters who melted stolen weapons into twisted war constructs. It wasn't a mission for rookies. Rumor was that even mid-tier chamber dwellers avoided this place unless they came in groups.
They reached the mouth of a tunnel, its arch lined with riveted iron plates. Inside, the light dimmed to a pale, reddish glow, flickering from unseen fires.
Koro leaned forward. "Smells like old coins in here. And blood. Mostly blood."
"That's because we're being watched," Levitine said without slowing.
The sound came then—a heavy dragging of chains, the thump of boots on metal, and from the shadows stepped their opponent. He wasn't a monster, but a man armored in tarnished steel, half his face hidden behind a dented visor. His right arm was a massive mechanical construct ending in a hammer head, while his left carried a jagged shield.
"You're in the wrong vein," the man's voice was gravel on stone. "This is my forge, my law."
Aaren stepped forward. "We don't answer to you."
The man chuckled, low and hollow. "Then you'll leave in pieces."
He swung the hammer-arm forward with startling speed. Aaren barely raised his sword before the impact threw him back against the wall. Sparks rained from the strike.
Lenara was already moving, flipping over the man's shoulder and slashing downward. The blow scraped his armor but didn't pierce it.
Levitine barked an order. "He's layered with heavy plating—find the seams!"
Withered Flame moved next, his blade tracing sharp arcs aimed for the gaps at the joints. The armored man blocked each strike with his shield, then slammed the hammer into the ground, sending a shockwave down the tunnel.
Koro had stayed out of the fray, still chewing his root and tossing his stones. He finally sighed. "Fine. Guess I'll do my thing."
He flicked one stone toward the enemy. It bounced harmlessly off the man's armor—except the man staggered.
"Weighted," Koro said with a smirk. "Compressed ore, denser than your skull."
Before the man could recover, Koro lunged with a speed that looked impossible for someone so casual. His foot hit the wall, rebounding him above the man's reach. He brought his elbow down on the hammer arm's joint, and with a groan of metal, the mechanism jammed.
"Move!" he called.
Aaren surged forward, slashing across the gap Koro had opened. Lenara slipped under the shield's arc and stabbed upward, forcing the man to drop to one knee. Withered Flame's blade glowed white-hot as he delivered the finishing strike to the visor, sending shards of metal clattering to the ground.
The armored man collapsed, breathing raggedly but alive. His hammer arm sparked and smoked.
Koro dusted his hands and bit back into his root. "That was fun. Who's next?"
Aaren stared at him. "You were holding back the entire time?"
"Me? Nooo," Koro said, his grin giving him away. "I just didn't want to make you all feel useless."
Lenara laughed. "Too late for that."
But their mission wasn't over. The deeper veins stretched ahead, and from within came more grinding noises—multiple sources.
Levitine's gaze swept over the group. "This was only the gatekeeper. The true forge waits ahead."
As they moved forward, something unspoken passed between them. This wasn't just another mission. Every step they took here was another step toward what they'd decided together: Emberbond wasn't just a team, it was a force meant to tear down the rot eating at the Upper Chamber.
The path narrowed, forcing them into tight formation. The tunnels opened into a vast chamber where molten streams of metal poured through channels carved into the floor. Above, iron walkways crisscrossed the space, patrolled by more armored figures.
"Five guards," Withered Flame murmured. "No element of surprise."
"That's fine," Lenara said, twirling her blade. "We'll just have to be louder than the metal."
And so they were.
The fight was chaos given form—Levitine carving a path with deliberate, devastating strikes, Aaren guarding his flanks while testing new combinations he'd learned in training, Lenara darting between enemies with taunting grins, and Koro… somehow managing to fight while juggling two molten ingots like toys, using them to burn and blind anyone who got too close.
They moved like they'd been fighting together for years. When Aaren was cornered, Koro would trip the enemy from behind. When Lenara drew too much heat, Withered Flame cut in, his blade intercepting a killing blow. And Levitine, ever the anchor, made sure no one fell.
By the end, the forge was silent except for the slow cooling of metal. The last guard fell, his armor splitting as molten lines faded from his chestplate.
Aaren wiped sweat from his brow. "We're really doing this… aren't we?"
"Yes," Levitine said. "This is what Emberbond was made for."
Koro tossed one of the molten ingots into the air and caught it barehanded, unharmed. "Then let's keep going. This place won't fix itself."
They left the forge behind, their steps heavier but their resolve sharper. Ahead lay more corruption, more enemies, and more fights where their lives would hang by a thread. But for the first time, they all felt the same thing.
They weren't just surviving anymore.
They were building something worth bleeding fo