Chapter 799 - Goblin Master Crafter Wulm

Deep within the caverns of Gringotts, there is a warm workshop lit with roaring warm flames. An elderly female goblin even older than the King of the Goblins, Grok Gringotts peers pensively through a magnifying glass to inspect the finished masterpiece before her. Wulm was one of the goblin councilmembers in addition to being one of the most experienced Goblin Master Crafters within the entire goblin nation. She rarely if ever crafted nowadays and her crafting fees were truly exorbitant that many approached her for her services which suited her just fine. She had quite enough of dealing with arrogant, cheap wizards who knew nothing of her work nor appropriately appreciated it. They simply did not deserve her precious works of art!

Glittering faint in front of Wulm is an elegant pair of round gold-rimmed spectacles. The spectacles were thin enough as to be flexible nor be heavy, but nor soft enough that a fall would break them. In fact, anything short of goblin silver would not even leave a dent nor much less a mark on the frame of the spectacles nor the lenses. The lenses appeared to be clear, but closer inspection would reveal rune marks on the inner inside of the lenses all around the rim of the lenses, and the inside of the golden frame itself. Both the lens and frames would be impervious to theft, destruction, damage, etc.

The right lens had been the easiest to forge as it was merely changed to change according to the deterioration of the user's vision over the passing of time and be impervious to breakage. On the other hand, the left lens had been the trickiest to forge. It would not only require the same basic functions of the right lens but several crucial details. The first being to maintain a permanent enchantment on the left lens to reflect the prior natural eye color of the eye without causing damage to the left eye and maintaining said illusion without any ŀȧpse even when the left eyes' ability is in use. The final enchantment would be to activate the viewing lens function permitting the use of the ability and in the same manner to seal way the ability naturally without damaging the left eye.

The forging of the artifact itself, the frame had been the easiest material to craft. The spectacle frames were a combination of goblin gold and useless scraps of goblin silver to reinforce the frames and ensure enchantments be firmly conducted through the artifact. However, the frames could not be purely made of metal as gems were needed as magical conductors as well. Not visible to the eye were tiny gems of opal, amethyst, and amber encased within the golden thin frames to be used as conductors connecting the various enchantments much like a spider web.

That was not the most difficult part as the material for the lens had not been as easy to acquire as previously thought. They were a rare volcanic crystal that remained clear under high pressure rather than turning dark and black like obsidian. Ironically, that had been the easiest part when it came to the lens. The crystals once acquired for the artifact, then needed to be polished and formed all at the same time be specialized enchanted with glass. Lastly, the delicate lens would need to be inscribed with runes but not break or chip the lens in any form.

Originally, Wulm despite all her tongue-in-cheek had planned to complete the artifact by late October to early November. The artifact proved to be much more difficult considering the requirements of the patron. Pushing the time frame out she had jokingly answered that the artifact would not be completed until December. Well, the joke had been on her.

Wulm scratches the back of her rather pointed ears and frowns. She did not frown because she found an imperfection in her work, but rather at recalling the first and only dealing she had with the Prince's until the present commission. The former head of the Prince family, Terance Prince had forced her hand and made her forge a similar artifact for his only child, his son, Rancor.

Wulm sneered in memory of the vicious brute, and father of the current head of the Prince family, Reginald Prince. She would have happily refused the request, but she was bound by the owed contract to the Prince's. She had done her duty to the letter of the contract but had refused any crafting for the Prince's until now.

Wulm lets out a loud sniff, before proudly stepping away from the magnifying glass. The final product was perfect, and ready for the client to pick up. With a skip in her step, she pulls out her ledger and calculates the cost of the artifact one last time. This was her favorite part of the entire process, payment. (And well, she was a goblin after all).

The retainer fee alone during the past months of work totaled to 18,500 galleons. A small fortune to many and as to the reason why her services were seldom ever requested nowadays. For the dėsɨrėd artifact could certainly be forged much cheaper by someone else than her, and which suited Wulm just fine.

Licking her lips in concentration, Wulm carefully totaled the cost of the various forging materials with the clear volcanic crystal coming up as the most expensive. The final total including the retainer fee is 28,750 galleons. It was a shame that the final cost was just shy of thirty thousand only then she would have had something to truly boast about.

Putting the ledger away in her inner pocket, Wulm carefully lifts the artifact from its stand, and moves to a prepared, small locked box. The box could only be opened by one of two people, herself and the patron. Placing the folded spectacles within, she closed the box lid shut. A loud snap is heard followed by a small flash of light as the box becomes unopenable to all.

Wulm shuffles towards a shelf filled with shut boxes. Some of the boxes house artifacts that were never completed nor paid for. Others house her best creations that she could never part with. She carefully placed the sealed box on the bottom of the shelves on a lonely, slightly dusty shelf. It signaled that the artifact that had been completed and was ready for the client.

Wulm wrinkles her nose at the dust but does not bother dusting the bottom shelf. She had no intention of completing another project much less for the Prince's. She would wager her pointed goblin hat and eat it otherwise!