The Celestial Vow 2 (Patreon)

The Celestial Vow

Chapter 2

-VB-

No road connected the western Hinterlands to its east, and everyone in the Hinterlands had a good reason not to make one. 

The Wildhammer dwarves dominated the west. It was where the majority of the Wildhammer dwarves lived, and the mountains adjacent to the Aerie Peak was a swiss cheese (or was that Alterac Cheese now?) of dwarven forts, houses (which may as well be forts to other races), and tunnels. Wildhammer dwarves could hold out in these mountain homes for decades if needs must like dwarves in Ironforge had done during the Second Great War. 

The trolls in the east did not want to open up that can of worms. Or at least, their leaders didn’t want to. They knew that fighting dwarves in their natural habitat was just a long winded suicide attempt, not a glorious battle or hunt. 

Likewise, the Wildhammer dwarves didn’t want to connect their clan’s capital to the east Hinterlands where trolls bred like cockroaches. The only reason the trolls haven’t overwhelmed the dwarves into only staying inside the Aerie Peaks was because the trolls of Hinterlands weren't a unified group like the Wildhammer Clan and were, in fact, multiple tribes that fought with each other more than they did the dwarves. 

The Vilebranch was the biggest of the tribes, and the one most opposed to the Wildhammer Clan simply due to proximity. They were also the most cannibalistic and ritual sacrificing of the troll tribes. 

The Revantusk was the other troll tribe native to the Hinterlands. They lived by the coast, and thus Wildhammer dwarves rarely encountered them, even during mountain range patrols. They used to be the big troll of the Hinterlands, eclipsing even the Vilebranch who had lived here for thousands of years. But then, well, they threw their lot in with the Old Horde and lost so many members so badly and so quickly that the Vilebranch and the last of the three tribes, a Witherbark splinter, managed to kick them completely out of the forests and to the coasts. 

The Witherbark held Shadra’Alor, the troll settlement closest to Aerie Peak but ultimately, due to roaming Vilebranch raids, they kept to their settlement pretty closely. 

Speaking of whom, the trolls that Krazam, the former owner of this body, fought to the death were Vilebranch raiders. 

And why had Krazam been out here? 

Well, he had been going to visit the Quel’Danil Lodge, local high elf hub, before heading to one of the nearby ruins. Despite taking the safest way to Quel’Danil Lodge, he had been ambushed and killed. 

And now, I had turned around and made my way back toward Aerie Peak, which I could now see through the pine canopies.

Without even thinking about it, I spoke with a sort of familiarity.

“Home sweet home,” I muttered, though it almost didn’t feel like me. After all, Aerie Peak wasn’t my home. It was Krazam’s. Was it the last vestiges of his soul speaking one final time before it let go of the world or was it his memories simply having that much of an impact on me? 

Who knows?

And just as my feet found purchase on an actual road, something inside of me flashed. 

Was it the Celestial Grimoire again? 

Ding.

I blinked as I looked at the result in my mind. 

[Celestial Forge: Warehouse Key].

[Celestial Foundry: Mundane Supply World].

I stood there, bummed out by the shock.

“Wut?” 

Celestial Forge? Celestial Foundry? But I have a spell from the Grimoire. 

.. Did I have access to all of the Celestials? If I did, then … damn. 

I mentally set the possible aside and considered what I just got. 

The Warehouse Key was the thing that every Celestial Forge agents got. It led to a pocket dimension that only they could access with the key, which could be used on any door that had a key hole. The warehouse grew infinitely as I gained more perks. It was infinite, yes, but only infinite as needs arose to house my creation and perks. 

The Mundane Supply World, if I was getting this right, was like the warehouse, except it led to an infinite world. It would never be dangerous as long as I didn’t seek out danger, which meant that I could access any and all types of materials safely…. But they would need to be exploited and harvested manually, either by me or anyone else I let into the world. 

Good to have! 

Not exactly helpful right now. 

I shook my head just a little before continuing my walk back to Aerie Peak. 

And, according to Krazam’s memories, I had to prepare myself because -.

-VB-

“What the frack happened to you, boy?!” Krazam’s mother, Shoria Graysteel, barked out as her hands poked, prodded, and patted me down. 

I supposed that Krazam was still a boy in the eyes of his mother. Or dwarven society in general. 

“Ah, I ran into a couple of trolls,” I laughed before giving her a grin and a hearty swing of my arms. “But I beat them up real good! Put them right back into the ground where they belong!” 

Mother scowled - how else was I supposed to refer to her when Krazam part of me was crying inside of me at seeing his mom and when I didn’t have memories of my own or the possibility that I might be Krazam and my head was just messed up from getting hit too hard? 

She clearly didn’t believe me, but when I reached into packs and pulled out the bloodied weapons from my pack, she visibly hesitated.

“Y-you were never a fighter…” 

“Didn’t exactly get the chance, mum,” I mumbled. “They jumped me. It was either they died or I did. I think I nearly did die, though.” I gestured to my clothes. Bloodied, torn, and worn. 

She looked … stricken. The thought of me getting hurt and coming close to dying was not what she wanted to hear. 

Unfortunately, ma, both Krazam and whoever I was may be a lil’ bit too honest for our sake.

“Then something happened. I woke up all healed after falling asleep after too much blood leaving me. All of the wounds were gone and I was … good. See?” I said as I gestured to one particular hole that should have killed me. 

And it did kill Krazam. 

Mother’s eyes watered.

And as if summoned by her tears, pops slammed into the scene, panting and sweating. 

It was also here that I noticed the crowd that had formed around us, and showed me just how tall I was. I thought I was just a little taller, but apparently, I had underestimated? Like I was a head taller than some of the shorter dwarven men and half still taller than the taller ones among them, and most dwarven women were shorter than the shorter dwarven men.

“Where’s ma boy?!” 

“Here!” I shouted as if I was in class. 

Pops - father, as Krazam usually said - took one look at me and paled. 

And I understood. 

Too much blood. Too many gashes. 

“What happened?!” 

Here we go again, I sighed. 

I opened my mouth to speak when I got it again. 

A ring from the Celestial Grimoire. 

Except it wasn’t the Grimoire? 

[Celestial Forge: Grafting | Gourmet Cells (Toriko)].

Eh? 

Toriko? 

Muscle bound food madness Toriko? The guys who can give Dragonball a good run for their money? 

Eh?

Grafting? 

What grafting?! 

Then I felt it. 

Three injections shoved into my body. 

And they worked on me immediately. 

I fell to my knees as I felt pain. Raw pain rampaging throughout my body like I’ve been dropped into lava. 

I couldn’t even choke out a scream before I collapsed face first. 

People were screaming and shouting around me.

Well, I guessed there went my attempt to calm my parents down. 

-VB-

Word Count: 1.31k

Current Point Bank: 0 point

Perks Gained This Chapter:

Grafting | Gourmet Cells

Origin: Celestial Forge, Crafting BioTech (27.015)

Cost: 200 points

-VB-VB-VB-

List of Perks Acquired So Far

Shooting-Type Spells

Origin: Celestial Grimoire, Chapter 2: Destruction  

Grafting | Gourmet Cells

Origin: Celestial Forge, Crafting BioTech (27.015)