Danmachi- Hell’s Forge

Art

"That reminds me now that you've completed this statue are you going to update your falna now?" Hestia asked curiously.

"I actually have one last thing to do before I do that and if it works I'll have a nice surprise waiting when I update." I said with a grin.

"Something tells me I don't want to know what you have planned so i'm not gonna ask." she said dryly.

"Your loss I guess, now who wants to go with me to find Ptah tomorrow?" I asked with a smile.

Nobody wanted to come much to my disappointment so I could only shrug and lock up for the night. The next morning I woke up, pried my goddess off me and headed to the bathroom to get dressed. I wasn't going to be delving today though as I needed to have Ptah come collect his statue and pay for it. I also had other plans that hopefully panned out as it would prove VERY useful later when the size of the monster rex's and a floors in the dungeon start getting very very large. I'll explain more on that later when I get to working on it.-

Leaving the church I headed over to the spot I knew that I'd be more than likely to find the art god in, The artist hut. A not so accurate name as it was by no means a hut but rather a large gallery that was collectively run by Ptah, Bragi and Calliope who were all gods with a domain related to either creativity or art in some form. It was a huge marble building that they used to show off any art they found in the city that caught their eyes. It also was open to the public for a small fee of three hundred valis and after being open for a few years had paid for itself practically and was all profit after that.-

I paid the fee to enter the place and was not surprised to find that there was a small area that had no less than twenty of my figurines set behind a glass display case. My work was not the only art here though, far from it in fact as there were paintings, sheets of music and even weapons and armor that were decorative in nature rather than functional.-

I found Ptah in the area with the sheet music humming a tune that I was fairly certain was the music on the sheet with a smile.

"Good morning." I said politely and he turned to look at me in surprise.

"Ah! Mr. Drake how wonderful to see you! Are you by chance here to peruse the rest of the fine art my compatriots and I discovered?" He asked with a happy smile.

"Can't say I won't in the future but today I am here for your commission, it's finished." I said with a smile of my own.

His face lit up in excitement "Marvelous! Come come I simply must see what masterpiece you've prepared for me posthaste!" he said eagerly trying to drag me out the gallery.

"Now theres and expression I recognize, commissioned some over the top piece yet again and learned it's finished?" a deep voice asked humorously.

Turning to look I saw a muscular god with long brown hair and a thick beard walking towards us.

"You know me well Bragi, I commissioned Mr. Drake here to create a life-sized Sphinx statue out of dungeon crystal and he's just informed me of it's completion. Would you care to join me in taking a look?" Ptah offered, clearly on good terms with this god.

"Drake? As in the creator of the bone statues?" Bragi asked surprised.

"One and the same old friend." Ptah said with a nod.

"Bragi, god of poetry and the arts. Your works with bone have been quite a popular topic for a while now." Bragi said holding out a hand with a smile.

I shook the hand and was surprised by the strength in the grip "Alexander Drake, nice to meet you." I said honestly.

"Now that we have gotten introductions out of the way will you be joining me in seeing the work I commissioned?" Ptah asked still friendly but rather impatient.

Bragi chuckled "Always so filled with energy eh old friend? I have no prior appointments to attend so if you'd have me I'd love to witness this spectacle." the god said with a smile.

"Wonderful! Come, come and see!" Ptah said leading the eagerly.

"Before we get there I should warn both of you not to try and open the door if you value your fingers." I said seriously on the way.

"That's an unusual warning, some sort of reason behind it?" Bragi asked curiously.

"The locking mechanism is designed to unlock only when it's registered users place their finger in it. If anyone else tries the door will devour the offending finger. The best part about it is that it's impossible to pick your way in thanks to this." I said with a proud smile.

"Such an inventive idea! I imagine it must have taken you quite the amount of valis to commission?" Ptah asked curiously.

"Not at all, I was the one who created it after all." I said honestly.

"Truly a man of many talents it seems Mr. Drake. Perhaps I might commission a piece of yours myself should I have want for such a thing." Bragi said impressed.

We idly chatted about my bone figures and what other things I did. They were both surprised to find that I made weapons and armors as well as "magic" items beyond just the none magical items like paper I created. Eventually we got to the church and Hestia waved at us as I led the two gods over to my building. 

"Oh now theres something you don't see everyday! Is this entire building made of bone?" Ptah asked in amazement as he ran his finger over the outer walls.

"Good eye, I colored and textured the whole thing to look like stone but you still figured out that it was made of bone." I said genuinely impressed that he figured it out at a glance but that's a god of art for you I guess.

I led the way over to the large metal door and unlocked it with my finger while the two gods watched in interest as the bolts holding it firmly shut all retracted into the door like a vault before the door smoothly swung open.

"Stunning, simply breathtaking! Look how the light seems to make the whole thing shine like diamond and yet this detail and precision makes it seem like it will start moving at any moment! You've out done yourself Mr. Drake, I could not be happier!" Ptah said with the eagerness of a child set loose in a candy store with no restrictions.

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