Chapter 81: The Ring Registry
Morning sunlight touched the rooftops as Caelen walked into the forge, a small sack slung over his shoulder. Inside, Dorgrim was already hammering away, sweat glistening on his brow. Sparks danced around his boots.
"You're early," Dorgrim grunted, not looking up.
"I've got something for you," Caelen said, setting the sack on the table. He untied it and let the contents spill out—silver rings. Hundreds of them.
Dorgrim blinked. "You been up all night again?"
"Yeah. These are all copies of the Ring of Reflection," Caelen said. "I made over a thousand."
Dorgrim raised an eyebrow. "That's... excessive."
"No," Caelen said, sitting down with a sigh. "It's necessary. We're going to have a lot of people coming in the next few months. I want every single one of them to have a ring."
Dorgrim studied the pile of rings and scratched his beard. "So how are we handing them out?"
Caelen smiled. "That's where you come in."
Later that day, a new building opened next to the blacksmith. It wasn't flashy—just a sturdy wooden shop with a sign that read "Status Rings – 30 Coins". Inside, Dorgrim stood proudly behind a counter. On the wall behind him was a massive board filled with names and numbers—handwritten in neat rows.
An elf girl with short silver hair stood beside him, holding a feather pen and a thick book.