"Mister Mortimer !"
Livra ? What is she doing here ? Despite Crafting's effectiveness, it still took me all day to prepare the house. It's almost night now. Let me just unlock the door and...
"Mister Mortimer, I'm sorry to disturb you but, since you were interested in the library and just settled down, I thought you might like this little welcoming gift."
Isn't that a...
(NO|BOOK|RARE|DIAMOND|WYVERN|HIDE)
"It... The cover is made of Diamond Wyvern Hide ?! I never knew... I thought it was just Cyan Cobra like the rest of my aunt's books... But still ! I wanted to give you this book and I don't care if it holds more value than I thought, this is a gift !"
(ONLY|BORROWING)
"If it's what it takes to make you accept my welcoming gift, then fine."
Let's see... It's an history book. How convenient.
"By the way, Buck asked me to give you this. It's a mark that indicates that you are allowed inside the forest and may go wherever you want once inside."
Hey, it's Jack's shield-tree-badge thing. Except this one has a heart in the middle of the shield. Cool.
"I won't disturb you anymore. Good night, mister Mortimer."
Good night to you too, Livra. Ah, if only she knew that I'm not going to sleep tonight nor any other night for that matter. To the forest I go !
And what I expected happened. I am currently burrowed beneath a pile of worried wolves. Yes, yes, I'm fine, stop whining. Hey, be cautious, those spikes are real you know ! No, no, don't take off the mask ! Argh ! No licking the eye sockets ! Udan, save me ! Argh ! You traitor ! Okay, that was fun, but we need to seriously discuss what we're going to do now. Obviously I can't bring you guys to Merryplace, and I mean no offense but I'm not going to live in the forest forever. I already have a home at the village and I like it there. No, don't cry... Listen, I'll try to visit every night, ok ? Besides, you know how to find food better than I do. Just try not to overhunt, ok ? With your bone armors you could do some serious damage... And I see that the bone and hide pile is twice higher than before. Let me just put that in my inventory and voilà ! I've done everything that I needed to tonight and I still have some more time before sunrise. What to do... Hey Udan, would you like to spar for a bit ?
Well this was unexpected. I thought that Udan would play around for a while and then knock me out with a single attack, but nope. He actually had a hard time fighting me. So did Geva. They still won our first fights, but after a few ties I'm actually the one constantly winning now. Hum. Being of a higher rank has more impact than I thought. Annnd I guess swaping weapons in the blink of an eye helped, as well as the range of weapons. I'm definitely becoming better and better at handling Spinebreak and the Forest's Hades weapons. Throwing in some bone kunaïs and a few magic vines didn't help them. Oh, don't worry ! Nobody got hurt. A few scratches at most. Don't forget they have bone armor. In fact, so do I ! I made a light bone armor to wear over my coat, just in case. It weights almost nothing and yet it's hard enough to resist Udan enhanced claws and fangs.
I even experimented a bit and made an entirely new outfit, I named it The Ankalydon - you can guess why. It's made of hide, like my coat, but has way more bone plates and parts. The coat is longer and ends in multiple tails, it doesn't have buttons but instead a ribcage keeps everything attached at the torso. It also serves as an armor ! Instead of leather gloves it has bone gauntlets that end in long claws. I put a lot of long bone spikes in the back, long enough that you can see them even from the front. It doesn't have a hood, instead I made a helmet. I morphed the bones to look like a carnivorous deer skull and jaw, with a perfectly neutral face. The sides of the skull have hide attached that goes down to the collar in such a way that the wearer's skin - or in my case bones - cannot be seen. I even put antlers on it, because why not. Even when no one is wearing it, it looks alive and unsettling. I actually put in some lifethief materials to give it that effect.
I made it to have a "Lord of the Merrywoods" outfit. Sure, the Forest's Hades set is nice, but that's the thing I wear in my "human" life. If people learn about the forest's lord, I would prefer that him and I are seen as two different entities. It would make my life a lot easier. Truth be told I actually made two of those, the actual outfit and a fake. Why ? Well, I decided to pick a tree in the wolves' territory and turn it into a throne. It looks like the tree grew into that shape rather than carved, giving the idea that the forest bends to whoever sits on it's will. And, you guessed it, that's where I put the fake. Again, a few lifethief parts so that it gives off an unsettling aura and done. That way, it'll look like the thing is silently watching when in truth it's just an empty husk, that way anyone who comes here will see the lord in his forest and won't think that it's actually one of the local villagers.
And back to Merryplace I go ! Ah, what a beautiful morning... Let's sneak in and... Tada ! The shop is open ! Mortimer's Crafting Service ! Need something made ? Ask the creepy masked guy ! A few more signs with how things work and a few prices and It's ready ! I even made an "Open/Closed" sign you know ! Just have to wait...
And wait...
...
If I wasn't an undead I would be sleeping by this point. I should have known, it's a small village, people don't need new stuff everyday. At least it gives me some time to read Livra's book.
...
Huh ? Is that a customer I hear ?
"So there really is a new face in town ! And here I thought Buck had just drunk too much."
Who do we have here ? Guessing by the old hoe over the shoulder, I'd say Jim. Looks thinner than I thought he would but still strong enough to lead a farming family.
"Name's Jim, your local farmers' family chief. You see, this hoe is starting to get old and I'm quite attached to it. I know you specialize in wood and leather, but do you have anything to replace it until I can get a brand new from Mossheart's smithy ?"
Of course. Let me just pretend to get something from my backroom, craft a wood and bone hoe and here, take this thing.
"What's that ? Doesn't look like metal... Bone ? You don't see that everyday. Not gonna complain, one of my sons broke one of Jack's axes by trying to cut a bone he got from who knows where. It's actually very easy to handle and definitely looks more sturdy than my old one. I don't think I'll need to get something from Mossheart actually. Here's what I would have payed for one of those. Thanks mute guy, if I need anhything else I'll know where to go !"
He looks happy. But that much money for a hoe ? Here, take that silver coin back. I guess it's usually used to pay the travel cost. But hey, a customer ! That was nice ! Just have to wait for the next one...
Livra needs new bookshelves ? Sure. I even installed them in the library for free. Jack broke one of his spoons ? I have a few already prepared. Harvey wants a little wooden statue of a fox and a couple of wolves around a tree ? That's specific, I'll only give it to him tomorrow. It may have started slow but in the end, I think I'll be busy here. Between managing the shop, meeting the rest of the villagers and my nightly trainings with the wolves... Yep, I'm definitely going to be busy.