Greyskin

Chapter 13. Plans and preparation.

After the slaves were freed and the men that captured them were all dead, Sel decided to settle down for a length of time. Firstly he would learn the fel magic and control over scourge, making himself adept at using it to suit his needs. Sabrina also learned with him. After some back and forth between him and the hag, he added few symbols to their marks, making the fel energy obey them the way it obeyed him, although they won't be able to overpower his control. His four women were now one of the strongest witches in existence, however small their number was. Hag was the strongest, as she not only had the capacity for magic, but the experience and knowledge, and thankfully she couldn't lie and teach the others wrong things as per Sel's command.

He also took up blacksmithing, remembering how he enjoyed it back in the den. Since he saved the town and got rid of a serious threat, the local blacksmith was glad to teach him his trade. The half-orc, half-dwarf, a stout and strong man showed the ins and outs of his trade, teaching Sel forging of the weapons and armors.

And it was better than he remembered, not having simple rocks and logs for heating, now there were proper bellows and a forge, an anvil and hammers. He couldn't just tamper with existing blades, he could make them from scratch, melting and purifying the ore and tinkering to his heart's content.

Sel discovered after a conversation with hag that his blood was a precious resource, being a liquid enriched with pure fel energy, it could be used in many crafts. The hag took some of his blood to try using in potions, brewing curses, truth serums and compulsion potions. Sel tried using his blood to tamper the blades, infusing them with scourge. He discovered a number of metals resistant to it and some that readily took it in and were enhanced greatly. He used his knowledge to make the previously shabby claw blades into proper swords, infusing each part with his blood. They became formidable weapons, inflicting powerful curses with each strike and being extremely durable. The scourge in the blade could be manipulated to empower the strikes to be deadlier. The strength of his swings no longer relied on his pure physical strength, adding his ability to manipulate the corrupting power, they could cleave straight through weaker metals.

Furthermore, Sel began to learn to read. The hag had a sizable library, which contained plenty of knowledge on different topics. From there Sel learned how the world looked, the different races living on it, the pantheon that overlooked the mortal races and other interesting knowledge. He also learned that after demon lord was killed twenty years ago, his title has been drifting from one person to another, until it got stuck with a powerful demon, who was as cunning as he was strong. Currently there was a tournament being prepared amongst the most powerful demons to determine the strongest. This was done to find a suitable suitor for his daughter to produce powerful offspring. That man would also be the next in line for the title.

Sel pondered over this. He was somewhat powerful, his mastery over scourge made him more powerful than any demon, as he could simply rip it out of them and kill them. With the training from the hag, his power only increased exponentially.

What the greyskin lacked was fame, recognition and status. Having a demon lord's daughter as his woman would provide him with that. He talked about it with Regios and the old man agreed. Although he didn't realize why Sel asked him the question, not at first. So, Sel began brooding over the plan to make a name for himself.

Being around people, learning and reading, Sel also began to talk more. His speech sounded more sophisticated and intelligent than that of a den demon. So, it was easy for him to talk with adventurers and travelers to learn a few things about the upcoming tournament. One, Sel wouldn't be able to become a contender because he was of no noble birth. In fact, he was the lowest of the low, a wild demon born in some cave from a wild demonkin and a whore, as somebody said.