I raised my hands. Hi. I was just looking around.
I know what you are, he said in a shaky voice. You people co here, take what you want, kill for fun. His voice gradually got higher-pitched until it squeaked. Just leave. The knife trembled in his hand.
Er I dont kill for fun. Ive never killed anything, not even the stuff I eat.
He looked confused.
Where I co from, violence is considered a cri. People get locked up for hitting each other.
His confusion turned into disbelief. You lie. Your kind loves blood and death. You-you-you love it!
He looked about my age, maybe a little older. He could easily take in a fight, for sure. His arms were all puffed up with muscles. And no, Im not gay, so stop thinking it.
He was probably the blacksmiths son or his apprentice (maybe both), which gave an idea.
Listen, I dont want to be here. I dont know how to fight and I dont want to kill anything, but I dont want to be eaten by monsters either. Nobodys explained anything to us and I cant even read or write your language. That sign over there. I pointed at the board in front of the leather place. Those pictures of animals with numbers next to them, does that an if I bring dead animals, the guy over there will give money for them?
He nodded. The tanner will pay you for skins.
One bit for a rabbit?
A smile broke out on his face. The kind of smile reserved for when you hear sothing really stupid. One bit? No, one chob.
Whats a chob? Is it less than a bit?
Ten chobs, one bit.
Damn. A five bit dagger would take fifty rabbit skins. Were there even that many rabbits in this place? Still, that ant only ten pig or five dogs. That didnt seem so bad, assuming they were the kinds of pigs and dogs we had back ho.
What about the triangle for fifty chobs. What animal is that?
Any beast.
Rabbit, pigs and dogs arent beasts?
He shook his head. Theyre vermin. They ruin crops and worry cattle.
So beasts are
Wolves, bears, elk
Right. Stuff that could actually kill you.
He still had his knife out, but not in such a threatening manner as before.
The only weapon I have is this. I took out my stick. So I dont think you need to be scared of .
Im not scared! he squeaked.
I dont have any money, so I cant afford to buy anything yet. But when I do get so money, do you think I could buy stuff directly from you?
The question seed to confuse him. What do you an?
The stuff the blacksmith makes is good, but its expensive. Youre his assistant, right? I thought if I buy the weapons you make, it might be cheaper.
He lowered the knife and shook his head. I do not have hamr. You cant forge iron without a hamr.
Cant you use the blacksmiths?
He looked at like Id suggested he use a dead baby to make a hat. A blacksmiths hamr cannot be touched without his permission. Master trains once a day in the use of the hamr, if hes in a good mood. I only make what he allows.
Sounded like a bullshit system to , but I was getting good information out of this guy and didnt want it to stop.
So how do you get your own hamr. You have to pass a test or sothing?
There are only two ways. He sounded quite bitter, maybe even sorry for himself. Either you inherit your masters when he passes on, or a weapon you created is used to kill a superior beast.
A superior beast?
One that is able to speak.
You an like people?
His eyed suspiciously. People are not beasts.
No, of course not, I just ant I dont know what I ant so I changed the subject. Wait, if you need a hamr to make a weapon, but you need a weapon to kill a superior beast in order to get a hamr how does that work?
The bitter look returned to his face. Its not ant to be easy. Otherwise there would be too many smithies and not enough work to go around.
I started to understand. It was clearly in a blacksmiths interest not to let his apprentice get too good too quick. If the guy you trained sets up shop nearby, youre going to end up losing business to him.
Look, I dont know if Im ever going to be any good at monster hunting. Probably, Ill be one of the first to get myself killed. But if you make a simple weapon, sothing that doesnt require a hamr to make, Ill use it. And if I manage to kill a superior beast, Ill co back and youll be able to claim your hamr.
My suggestion took him aback. Why would you do that for ?
Because youll owe , and sell weapons for half-price for the rest of your life.
He grinned. Finally, I was speaking a language he understood.
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