The bustling of the streets brought a sense of comfort to Erin. It had been quite so ti since she could just let everything go and simply enjoy a day without worries. This was not such a day, but it was close. She sensed no eyes on her. She wasn’t stalked or followed. While it didn’t alleviate all of her worries, it did give her so repose.
“I have done everything His Grace had asked for. Therefore, I’m all yours for today, milady,” said Amyra as she walked beside Erin. “So, what do you need for?”
Erin eyed Amyra with a vexed gaze. “I have no need for you at the mont. I didn’t even invite you along. You followed on your own accord.”
“A contingency, milady. That’s what I am. Please, feel free to ask anything of . I’m sure you have an itinerary for the day.”
Erin rolled her eyes.
“How long will the enchanting take?” Lyra asked, sticking close to Erin’s other side.
“Two days at least.”
“I thought enchanting takes only a few hours at best.”
“This one’s different. The enchanter had never worked with a creature before. His subjects have always been people. He will need so ti. Aedan will be with him to watch over his work.”
“I sure don’t miss his jibes and remarks,” Lyra scoffed flippantly.
“I do…” Aera retorted, but she did so in a tone that was lower than a whisper. She was tagging along but trailed behind them as if she was afraid to put herself too much into others’ gazes.
As usual, Erin and her companions were receiving a lot of gazes. It was a common occurrence given their party composition and their beauty.
“Anyway, it sure has been a long ti since we got the chance to take a leisurely walk together, hasn’t it?” Lyra was in a jovial mood. It was obvious as to why she was. “I know a good diner just down the street here. They serve lted cheese on a steak with mashed potatoes on the side.”
“Breakfast was two hours ago. And you ate two portions.”
“Two portions of oatal porridge. I can eat ten and it won’t even fill half of my belly. We are adventurers, fighters. Barley and wheat will not give us the strength we need.”
“She is correct, milady. Our brawn will fail us if we don’t give the appropriate sustenance.”
“Alright, alright. We can go there once it’s midday.” Erin then glanced behind her. “And what about you, Siv? Do you have an itinerary?”
“I don’t, Mistress,” answered Siv. “Master simply told to watch over you, Mistress.”
“Oh… well… how about we go visit the flea market in the city square?”
“Which one?”
“The one in the northeast.”
“That’s near the noble district. They let people set up a flea market so close to the gold district?”
“Apparently, this flea market is a little special. The rchants hail from different kingdoms and even different continents entirely.”
“Hmm… That does sound very interesting. How far is it?”
“It will be an hour’s ride on a carriage. We can run but… I don’t think the guards will let us.”
“They will not,” said Siv. “If we run at our full speed, we will damage the pavents and roads. Destruction of public properties is a cri in cities and towns.”
“The carriage it is, then.”
“Wait, milady.”
“Hmm? What is it, Amyra?”
“I just rembered sothing that His Grace had told .”
“...What did he tell you?”
“You need to buy yourself armour and a weapon.”
“I have a weapon and armour.”
“You have a spell, a Unique Talent, that allows you to conjure weapons and armour. What if there cos a ti or circumstance that doesn't allow you to use that spell of yours? You would be vulnerable. We’re in the capital now, milady. Our enemies here have the ans to neutralise your advantages. You need sothing solid and reliable for contingency.”
“And where will you have buy them?”
“Worry not, milady. I know just the place.”
Amyra then led the group to a secluded part of the city, away from the crowded districts. The buildings beca sparse, and the roads turned wide. Pavents beca less and less until the paths were just dirt and rocks that ford into roads from travellers’ steps. It was as if they had left the walls and entered the wilderness. There were no trees, only plants and grasses that had been left to their undisturbed growth.
“W-what is this place?” Aera muttered. Her eyes showed fear but her clenched fists showed her prepared ferocity.
“A relief of taxes,” Amyra answered.
They passed by other people along the way. They exchanged nods. So even stole a few extra glances but none dared to overstep their bounds. They were all fighters, Erin noticed. They were all seasoned and strong.
“Do you know those people?” Erin asked.
“I know so of them. They are all adventurers.”
“What do you an by relief of taxes?” Lyra inquired.
“One has to pay their dues to live in a city or a town,” Siv answered. “The tax amount depends on the place’s… integrity and reputation. In a place as dilapidated as this, the tax will be as low as it can be.”
“Then why aren’t there any more people here? Opening up stores? Setting their roots?”
“More people will only increase the integrity and reputation of this place. Therefore, rendering the original purpose a moot point.”
“Is there so sort of old master of a smith hiding in these parts?” Erin questioned.
“A master, to be sure, but not old,” Amyra answered and made a turn into a narrow alley between two battered buildings that seed to have been temples or shrines. At the end of the alley, there was an opening and an arch, leading into a courtyard of what seed to be one’s residence.
From this distance, Erin could hear the crackling of burning coal and wood, along with the faint clangour of tal against tal.
“Is this soone’s ho?” Lyra asked.
“Yes, the smith’s ho,” Amyra answered and stepped through the arch. There were no doors nor a low fence. There were walls, however, surrounding the compound that was the smith’s ho and abode. “Oh. Let do the talking. Torin ain’t the most amicable of people.”
Erin and the others nodded in silence.
“Torin!” Amyra shouted. “I’m here! I brought so friends!”
The clangour stopped. Footsteps followed. There were three buildings within the surrounding walls. They were all equal in size. The one on the left had more dirt and gri than the rest. The windows and doors were barely hanging on to their hinges.
The smith stepped out from the building on the right as the doors creaked open. Smoke ca out with the smith, a seven-foot long of an individual with skin as red as a burnt coal nearing the end of its burning span. He had a horn sticking out from his head. He had two horns, Erin noticed. One was broken off. He was an Augur, much like Amyra. As large as the smith was, Erin reckoned Amyra had more thews than the smith.
The Augur smith wore only trousers. His upper body was bare with only a towel slung over his shoulders that covered nothing.. His body was covered in soot and burnt marks. There were creases in his brows when he glanced over. “Amyra…” It sounded like a growl. “What brings you here?”
“Well, need so weapons and armour for milady here”
Torin raised an eyebrow. “Milady? What happened to Aedan? Did you change your master?”
“No such thing, Torin. Milady here is the consort of His Grace.”
Erin refrained from retorting. It seed trivial and juvenile to keep retorting over that harmless misconception.
Torin’s gaze went behind Amyra, to Erin and the others. “Which one?”
“The Fox-kin.”
“...There’s a Fae Embassy here, lest you forget. She can get better gear from there. Now, make yourself scarce. I have enough trouble as it is.”
Amyra scowled. “Trouble? I bring trouble no more than your other clients do. And milady is different. The Fae Embassy does not acknowledge her.”
“You brought a Fae, repelled by the embassy, to my ho? And you have the gall to deny bringing trouble to my doorstep?”
Amyra sighed and took out a fat pouch of gold. “Ti isn't short but it ain’t long either. So, can we get down to business already?”
“Fine…” Torin said, snatching away the gold pouch in an instant. “What would you like? Please don’t tell it’s sothing as absurd as your giant cleaver of a sword.”
“You continuously wound , Torin. And here I thought we were friends.”
“Just na your order before I change my mind,” Torin grumbled. “And just so we are on the sa page. We are not friends. You are a client. Now, what will you have of ?”
Amyra passed the question to Erin with a glance.
“A simple long sword will do. As for armour, I’ll take leather and chainmail.”
“A long sword? A rapier will do you better, or a cutlass. Fae don’t have the best of stamina, I heard.”
“You heard wrong, then. I work better with a longsword than a rapier or a cutlass. I can work with a cutlass but only if it spans the length of a longsword.”
“You are insane, Fae,” Torin scoffed. He turned to Amyra with an incredulous gaze. “What’s with your friend here? Does she know nothing about the sword?”
“Know nothing?” Amyra laughed. “Torin, she knows the sword better than anyone I've ever known.”
“Better than Aedan?”
“Yes.”
His gaze went back to Erin. “You don’t look like much. You have muscles but not enough to suggest your proficiency with the sword.”
“Looks can be deceiving,” Erin retorted.
Torin clicked his tongue. “If you say so…” he grunted. “But let be clear. There’s no refund. If the sword does not fit your stance, you will have to pay for another one.”
“I understand,” Erin said.
Without another word, Torin headed back into the building he ca out of, presumably his forge.
“A jolly fellow, he is,” Lyra remarked.
“Rude,” Siv mused.
Amyra shrugged. “We caught him at a bad ti, I say.”
“How is it going to take?” Erin asked.
“A few hours.”
“Why do we have to co all the way here?” Lyra grumbled as she found an overturned crate to sit on. “What’s so special about him? Won’t any other smithy do?”
Amyra smirked. “He may not look like much nor does he boast about it, he’s actually quite the accomplished blacksmith. In this kingdom, no one can forge a sword better than he can.”
“Then he must be overflowing with clients from the upper caste, isn’t he?”
“Actually, he doesn’t. He doesn't take commissions from most nobles. He doesn’t take commissions from people who don’t respect his craft. He makes weapons for warriors, not for decorative officers.”
“He just rejects the nobles every ti a noble asks for him?”
“Yes, pretty much.”
“How has he not faced any retaliation?”
“He doesn’t take commissions from most nobles but from the few that he does, they are nobles with high standings in the military or in court. The Grand Marshal is one of them, or so I have heard. He has protection from his clients.”
Erin glanced around. Nothing about the place suggested his incredible reputation. Looks were truly deceiving.
“Say, it’s been a long ti since we have sparred, isn’t it, Milady?”
Erin frowned. “Now?”
“It’s as good of a ti as any.”
“We’re in soone’s ho.”
“He wouldn’t mind. It’s not the first ti I have done this.”
“It’s not the first ti?”
At that mont, Torin ca yelling from within the building. “If you are gonna fight, you are going to pay for all the damages! Three fold!”
“...I can see why he doesn’t consider you a friend.”
“You wound , milady,” Amyra said with a crestfallen look but her hand was already drawing her sword.
Erin sighed and brandished her own sword. “Fine. I’m feeling rusty already. A spar would help.”
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