It has been a few days now since I moved in and I'm quite pleased so far. Sure, I've only been dealing with Jim, Jack, Buck, Livra and Harvey so far but I'm sure other townfolks will show up sooner or later. Okay, I lied a little there : Someone else showed up, Marx. You know, the guy who comes from a big merchant family ? He came here to chat a little. He was mesmerised by my working efficienty and low prices. We actually signed a business partnership : he sells me materials at a lower price and I give him some of my works for free so that he can sell them in other villages and to the rest of his family. Sure, it may seem like he's the one benefiting from this situation but remember : I have absolutely no idea on how to obtain materials that do not come from the forest AND I have no way to sell my goods anywhere else than Merryplace. Besides, it's not like I actually worked hard or spent a lot of money : I have Crafting and I'm an undead.
By the way, I was kinda worried that the priest would feel my presence or something but nope, guess this is not that kind of holy priest. Which reminds me that I did some more research at the library about the gods that blessed me. Why ? To know what they looked like. I made small wooden statues of them and placed them on one the shop's shelves - not because I want to sell them but to show that I have their blessing. Apparently it's something that most craftsmen do : show which god's blessing you have so that your customer know what kind of item they can get. So yeah, I now have a small boar and a hooded man on one of my shelves. Infused with their respective god's blessing, of course. I even carved their name under each one.
This whole god thing also brought another matter : branding. I needed something to put on my work so that people could instantly know who made it. Sure, it doesn't matter in Merryplace but with Marx's network ? I definitely needed it. So, I designed a little something : my mask in the middle of a circle, composed of Spinebreak on the right side and vines on the left one. Too much ? Maybe, but showing that I can carve such a complex drawing on every item that I make is a good proof that I'm a good craftsman. I also put it on the sign above the shop and on the wall behind the counter. This place seriously needs more decorations. Which is the reason why I took up painting. Sure, carving is fun and easy thanks to Crafting but paintings would have brought colors to this place. It's going well so far. I made a painting of the forest, one the wolves and one of The Ankalydon sitting on the tree-throne. Ok, I may or may have not made these thanks to Crafting but still, I made them and it's what matters. I curious about how the villagers will react...
Ah, here comes Marx with my delivery. You know, for such a short guy - even when compared to a regular sized person like Jim - and despite his roundish shape, he's quite good at transporting goods, like three cases full of metal ingots and pilled on top of each other.
"And here is your metal delivery ! Half copper and half iron ! Another one of Marx Cash's customers is satisfied !"
Yeah, his family name litteraly is Cash. But hey, thanks ! Here's the money.
"You know, when I told my family that a talented craftsman came to Merryplace, none of them believed me. They think it's ridiculous that I get all these materials for you. Ha ha, we'll show them. Everyone already loves your spoons and bowls ! I can't wait to see what you'll do with all of this stuff. By the way, do you have any leather armor ? The guy I pay to protect the chariot is concerned about some new bandit gang that settled near Mossheart."
Yeah, I get it : guilt trip then compliments for a tip - or in this case sales, here have this leather armor 10% off.
"Ha ha, thanks partner. By the way, the Cobras really want to meet you but don't have the time as of now. Sonnette would really like some new tools and Serpent feels like you could understand his "art". I don't want to hurt his feelings, but, his drawings look incredibly weird whereas your statues and carvings are... Wait, those are new. Paintings ?"
(MADE|SELF)
"They're stunning... It really feels like I'm in the middle of the forest... And this ? Wolves ? The big black one has some kind of mutated bones... And yet, it looks so peaceful, just a family spending time together... My word, Belfas, only you can make wolves, the biggest threat of the Merrywoods, this cute. Another one ? What... What is that thing ? Is it some kind of forest spirit ? I've never seen one like that in my books... Oh well, guess I need to spend more time at the library. Have a good day Belfas !"
Seems he liked the paintings. But yeah, I like the guy. He's nice and, so far, is the only one to just call me Belfas. As for the doctors, I guess I could go to their house later today but if they're as busy as Marx implied then perhaps I souldn't. I don't want to disturb them. Oh well, it's not like it's urgent or anything. I have all the time in the world. Ah, is it a customer I hear ?
"Whoa, so this is the place uncle Buck has been going on about ? Everything looks awesome !"
"Now now, stay calm Nicholas. We wouldn't want to annoy the owner now, would we ?"
"Of course not mister Brian sir ! I'm sorry sir !"
And who could you two be ? This Brian must be the local priest but I haven't heard anything about a teen named Nicholas, futhermore about Buck having a nephew.
"Excuse me my good sir, my name is Brian Otherside and this young man is Nicholas Everfrost. You may know his uncle, Arbackus Everwood, most commonly called Buck. He wanted to become a paladin and so asked me, the local priest, to get a place for him at Mossheart's School For The Holy. He assed his first year and is now currently training under an experienced priest, myself. I heard about your talents and wondered if you could make a few items for us ?"
(NO|PROBLEM)
"First and foremost, we would need a holy weapon of some kind. Although Nicholas is more suited to use the ice attribute the school mostly teach about the life one. Would you have a weapon of either attributes ? Maybe both ?"
(PLANT|LIFE|DEATH)
"Three different attributes ?"
(LOOK|SHELF)
"Ankou and Calydon ? Does it mean that you have these gods' blessing ? Fantastic. What kind of weapons do you have ?"
(WHAT|KIND|WANT|?)
"A spear ! No, an axe ! No, a hammer ! Oh, better, all three at once !"
"Nicholas, don't you think you are asking for too much ?"
"Sorry..."
(HALBERD)
"You have one ? With the life attribute ? It would be perfect."
And now, the good old go-to-the-storage-room-to-craft-in-secret and done ! An iron halberd, enhanced with wood and plants ! Why the wood and plants ? To it easier to connect with the life attribute. In fact, with a wooden staff of the plant attribute at the core of the metal staff, the plants are still alive and therefore it's a litteraly living weapon ! Perfect for the life attribute ! Here, take it.
"Incredible... The materials are not out of the extraordinary, and yet, I can feel it is much better than some of my superiors' weapons... I may get a little upgrade to my staff later on... But here, take this Nicholas. It may not have the ice attribute but nothing stops you from getting a new weapon in the future, although with the quality of this one it may be better to rather get an ice infused necklace or glove."
"Thank you mister Mortimer ! I promise I'll be the greatest paladin there ever was with your weapon and I'll make sure everyone knows your name !"
How cute. The rest of the day is nothing but gearing up the little man, be it with a backpack, life infused leather and iron armor enhanced with wood and plants, a few pouches, spoons and a bowl... At the end of the day my shop is half empty but my money has quadrupled. I guess I'll have to order even more metal very shortly. But hey, Buck's nephew looked so happy and Brian promised he would come back to get a little upgrade to his staff as well as a few decorations for the church. No god statue, for he knows how troublesome their relationships are and how badly it could affect my business.
So yeah, in the end, another peaceful day spent making new things and new friends. It's a really nice life and you know what ? I'm going to take up Buck on his offer and have a little friendly spar with him tomorrow. It'll be a nice chance to test how good of a fighter I am agaisnt humans. Now that I can take on the entire wolf pack at once, I probably won't get beaten up too much, right ?