บท 24: 24. Heat of the forge

Garret ran out the door faster than the rest since he needed to report to his job. Lisa tried to sneak out to follow Walker and Midnight but with a quick grab from Hilda, that plan failed quickly.

"Don't worry we'll be back later, maybe I'll even bring something nice back!" Walker's voice could barely be heard by Lisa as Hilda scolded her but Lisa would make sure her brother held up his promise.

The walk wasn't that long for the party since the forge was near the adventurers guild. The location made it easier for adventures to do business and since they were also near the alchemists building it was easy to understand why this was the main market street.

"So, I guess our leader will be needing wake up calls." Gil's tone was serious but by the looks of his face, he was only teasing.

"He can wake himself up, I'll only be heading there to see Miss Hilda. Her bread will last long enough so we won't throw any out at home. I don't know how you could have kept this secret for so long." Remey gave a slight glare at Walker before looking away but Walker felt she was actually happy to have come this morning.

"I'm just glad Lisa didn't latch on to our legs so we couldn't leave, I'm going to see if I can pick her up a new set of needles. She has the seamstress system so one day she might be able to provide us with some nice clothing for more important quests. I might even get an older brother discount!" Walker laughed as he said the last part but Su was quick to cut in "don't take advantage of your adorable little sister but to be fair it does sound useful knowing someone with such a system...maybe the scraps from our gear can make high quality needles for her. I'm sure as she grows she will easily wear out the tools quickly ." Su hit on some important meanings , one of which was one the party would always have to remember, gear maintenance. A hunter without a bow is weaker, a mage without a staff is stunted, and a tank without a shield is without skills. Remembering to be prepared could be life or death.

"Well in the practice of preparation maybe I should buy some basic weapons in case something happens. I should be able to use any of them as long as they aren't master grade weapons. I should also take time one day to unlock a few more skills for attack and defense." Walker thought out loud prompting the others to go silent for a minute.

"You know you'll think yourself in to insanity if you don't put it all aside. We don't need you wearing yourself out since we just got here." Gil made a good point Walker had become lost in thought and didn't even notice the large two story building. The forge had offices for those in charge on the second floor and a very large first floor with multiple forging rooms. The large grey smoke stacks carried mixtures of black and white smoke in to the sky. From what Walker understood the basement was mostly their storage for ores, monster parts and other crafting items along with fuel for the endless fires. The entrance was almost always open to release the heat that built up inside so seeing right to the front counter was easy.

The inside greeting room was simple, no chairs just an open space full of well worn woodwork lightly dusted in coal. Many people visited and often carried heavy weight with them causing a rugged look on the floors. It was not an uncommon sight to see someone covered in soot behind the counter since the lower level blacksmiths would take turns training and watching the front throughout the day.

Currently, a smaller but well muscled boy was behind the counter, he was cleaner than what was expected showing off slightly pale skin, dirty blond hair, and a face that showed welcoming features. He wore the usual leather apron and boots along with a tool belt giving the impression he was ready to jump to a project any moment.

"Hello, hello there. The names Rodney and this is the forge...well I'm sure you could tell that but ya never know. So whatcha need? Armor? Swords? Magic stones?" This boy was a bit energetic but that's not a bad thing.

" Actually we're hoping to have three or four items crafted plus we would also like to help out while we are here." Walker spoke up quickly after accepting the high energy Rodney.

" Sounds like a plan, I'll need to know what you wish to craft and what materials so I can escort you to the proper blacksmith. The prices will vary depending on what you need so I hope you're prepared." Rodney spoke as if he was very accustomed to the process.

"We are looking to have a great shield made, modify some iron knuckles, have a staff created, and if possible a set of needles made from the scraps. All will be made out of black crystal dragon scales and darkness crystals. The only item that really requires a crystal though is the staff the other crystals we have we will most likely save for future use." Walker had already planned out his order so he readily listed the necessary details.

"Alright so a great shield, knuckles upgrade, magic staff with a darkness crystal, and needles. Sounds good and all crafted out of dragon scal...DRAGON SCALES!!! Are you serious you have dragon scales!? Holy lord! You even brought a baby dragon with you!!" Rodney had been going through the motions and it dawned on him that dragon scales had been brought to the forge let alone a baby dragon. This was incredible, he had been waiting for just this opportunity, he knew many in the forge that would try and steal this opportunity. He also knew two others who would fight tooth and nail for a single scale.

"Shhhh shhh you can't tell anyone. I need you to come with me, I'll give you a really good deal to craft with those scales so don't worry." Rodney gathered himself and practically jumped the counter trying to whisper to Walker and his party to follow. The shocked and quizzical looks from everyone were quite funny, although Midnight just seemed to be feeding off the energy and slightly bouncing around.