With collection day out of the way, Vivi headed into the public dungeon. The entrance was crowded with shouts and conflict. Nimrods were fighting for whoever would gain access to hunting grounds for the next week. Gangs protected their entrances from attacks. A few smaller men were already knocked out on the ground, unconscious.

Vivi weaved past traffic, into the Union's tunnel. Gangs squabbled around her, but nobody was fighting for access into the Union's territory. The Union was established well enough that trying to claim it as one's own was stupid.

The entrance was guarded a lot more thoroughly today. Ten nimrods in forest jackets were stationed beside the curtains leading to Aang's hub. Vivi approached them and said, "I need to meet Ven or Aang. They said I'm supposed to have free access into the hub."

The guards regarded her with suspicion. The newcomers glanced at the two that had been there when Vivi first entered. Those two seemed to be the most experienced guards.

"I'll take her there," one of them said. "Follow me."

The guard took her straight to the hub silently and swiftly. Vivi couldn't have guessed what orders he had received on how to deal with her, but he didn't seem happy to have her as his customer.

Down in Aang's hub, the guard told Vivi to sit down on a quiet bench in the corner while he fetched an official. He disappeared into the back, and Vivi was left with another guard.

Five minutes later, her escort came back. "You're free to enter. Ven said you should follow me with your head down, as if you were a prisoner. It'll be suspicious if you walk into the back nonchalantly. This will control the rumors."

"Sure," Vivi said.

She kept her eyes on the guard's feet while she followed him into the wide cavern known as Aang's private hunting ground. Inside, Ven was leaning beside the wall near the entrance.

The guardsman bowed, then turned around, leaving Ven and Vivi alone in the cavern.

"Vivi, Eem," Ven said. "Welcome back. I assume you've brought new trouble."

"I haven't done anything this time," Vivi said. Except kill a few guards… "I just need to use your smithy."

"That's going to be a problem," Ven said. He walked deeper into the dungeon. "Our base, including Rensfig's smithy, was captured."

Right, Vivi thought. She followed Ven and asked, "Can we retake the base?"

"Going to be difficult," Ven said. "The only entry to our base is through a narrow ladder. You can't just climb up and attack. The position is too defensible. You'll need something more clever. The Reapers attacked with a smoke bomb, catching us off guard. We decided to abandon our old base. There's nothing in the base anyway, and it's no longer hidden. We'll need to build a new one."

"A shame," Vivi said. "What's the most private smithy you still have?"

"We only have the Union's smithies," Ven said. "Which are all on the public side of Zand. Runesmithing here is reckless. If a guard walks in, it's all over."

"As long as you can keep nimrods out, I can use any smithy," Vivi said. "My runesmithing method doesn't look like runesmithing. If a guard walks in, they won't know what I'm doing. Not to mention, I can hide my projects into thin air. You've seen me use the trick with my swords."

Ven walked in silence, thinking. They passed the private respawn zones. Demons were lounging around, waiting for monsters to spawn. They were the same demons that Vivi saw drinking in the tavern. None of them were fighting for respawns—they just looked bored and stressed at the same time.

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"Essentially, you want me to arrange a workstation for you," Ven said. "Is that what you're saying? For free?"

"I'll give you a discount on my works," Vivi said. "Five thousand ether for a quick two-runed sword?"

"That's insane," Ven said. "Ten thousand is already below the price."

"We're locked in a prison," Vivi said. "I need to do something insane if I want to get out of here. Selling you a sword is not all that insane."

"And what have you been doing for the last few days?"

"Nothing," Vivi said. "Except hunting in the zones you marked as green."

Ven studied her look. The lies were probably visible through her demeanor. Vivi never considered herself a good liar. She rarely had much to lie for.

"I guess I'm obliged to help you," Ven said. "Five thousand ether for a two-runed sword. The same katana you showed earlier?"

"Sure," Vivi said. "I'll make a better one for myself."

Ven gave her a funny smile. "I'll get you a smithy. Wait in the tent. I'll get someone to tend to you."

*

The demons treated Vivi with food. This time, she received a more proper meal, delivered to her on a wooden plate by the same dark-skinned woman that had tended to Vivi while she was passed out from venerium poisoning. Vivi had to ask for her name again. The woman, Feni, responded with an awkward laugh, but she didn't seem to take offense.

The wooden plate wasn't quite fit for a noble, but the steak and root potatoes were far tastier than what she usually ate back on the surface. The steak was tenderly cooked, seasoned with the demons' weird spices.

A steak of this size cost around five ether in Zand. The only times Vivi saw demons eating meat was when they had excess ether they had to spend to avoid going over the limit. Vivi hadn't seen any animals in the dungeon that could be killed for meat.

Feni also brought a raw fish for Eem. Eem frowned at it as usual, as if the fish was poisoned. Only after staring at it for a minute and watching Vivi eat did Eem give in.

Ven came back half an hour later along with a suspicious brown sack. "Alright," he said. "I rented a smithy from one of our blacksmiths for the next two days. If you need more time, let me know. The smithy is inside the Union. I'll have to carry you in inside a sack, if that's okay. We don't want nimrods to see you enter."

"Uhm, sure," Vivi said.

"A sack!" Lucius said. "He wants to carry us in a freaking sack!"

That's fine, Vivi thought. If it means we can sneak into a smithy, I'll gladly get in.

Ven opened the sack. Vivi and Eem entered. The fiend was squeezed against her chest in the darkness of the sack. "Ow, your horns, Eem," Vivi whispered with a smile.

"Vivi, why are we doing this?" Lucius asked. "You just willingly trapped yourself in a sack. Don't we have any better options?"

We don't need princess treatment, Vivi thought. We just need a smithy. I trust Ven well enough. And what's wrong with traveling inside a sack? It's not too different from a palanquin if you think about it.

"We can't move," Lucius complained. "If something happens, we're helpless."

As if your claws wouldn't rip right through the sack. Vivi sighed inside her head. As long as I can forge weapons in peace, I don't care if I have to throw myself into an ether storm. Moving in a sack is nothing.

Ven carried the sack into Aang's hub. Lucius sulked throughout the short ride. Something about the situation placed him in a bad mood. If Vivi had to guess, he was upset to see Vivi at another person's mercy, especially if that other person was weaker than her. Lucius wanted control. And by moving into a sack, Vivi gave control to someone else, even if only for a moment.

The ride barely lasted for two minutes. Ven opened the sack, letting Vivi into her new smithy.

The workshop was built directly into a cavern. The walls and ceiling were uneven, made of monotone stone. The floor was thankfully flattened, and the workshops were well organized. The place resembled a real smithy used by commercial blacksmiths. Tools were all in their correct places on the shelves. Anvils and workstations were in order, and nothing was lying around on the floor.

"I arranged crucibles and a few ether roots," Ven said. "I hope we have everything you need."

"Yes, this is perfect," Vivi said. "I can get to work. Just make sure nobody comes in."

"Nobody will bother you," Ven said. "You see that lamp above the doors? If that shines yellow, it means someone is about to enter the smithy. I'd recommend pausing your work just in case. If it shines red, it means guards are in the hub and possibly coming. At that point, hide anything to do with runesmithing immediately. The smithy is guarded by Union members. They're loyal, but they've only been told we've hired a secret blacksmith. It's bad if they spot you."

"Got it," Vivi said. She stretched her fingers and told Lucius to heat up the forge to get some heat in the needlessly large smithy.

"Ah, and I should mention, this cavern is technically a respawn zone," Ven said. "Most of what's here is coated with lacquer, and we try our best to direct ether outside the cavern, but it's not unheard of for monsters to spawn here. So keep your weapons ready in case something happens. Good luck." He exited the smithy.

Vivi blinked. A respawn zone? Great…

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