"I am sorry, I am very content here."
Meena's look spoke volumes. She had been present since the start of this conversation, and she understood that her father was not in a very good position. However, the old man refused to budge no matter what.
The 2 men had walked in demanding for her father. Soon as she was able to find him, the 3 got into a heated conversation, which made her father extremely mad. This was Markell's usual expression most times, but this time he did look peeved. Having been there, Meena couldn't blame him.
However, she knew that they were not in a good place. However much her father was a nutcase, he couldn't just run around doing whatever, he was still quite small in their world. The men before them had status, power and wealth, something they were lacking. They also had a big grudge with her father.
It all began when the Feilin family had a falling out with the Crane family. It wasn't something so big, and such falling out was bound to happen from time to time. The Feilin family was renown for their craftsmanship in the Crane city-state. They were the ones that supplied the city with all their wares, including the weapons and equipment.
After the falling out, the Crane shifted their craft business to outsiders. Of course, Merkall's smithy could not meet the Crane family craft needs, so they only got a sword consignment. The advantage was that they were at peace, and armament wasn't on demand.
Nevertheless, the Feilin family were playing dirty. They wanted to show their value to the city and the Crane family. As such, they couldn't have these lowlifes replacing them in their trade, especially for such an important client as the Crane family. Thus they were trying underhanded means to undermine and intimidate the contractors hired by the Crane family.
Of course, the Crane family knew all this, but they wouldn't lift a finger to aid their contractors. It was not the job of the client to fight for the contractors. If they couldn't handle the pressure, then they were proving their uselessness. Anyone willing to take such a client was showing their value, and if they could handle the pressure and the demand, then they would receive more such jobs in the future.
It was a gambit that Markell had taken. He knew that the Feilin sh*ts in his store could not do anything aggressively overboard, but he also had to show them face since they were still nobilities. He had been showing off his new acquisition, the dagger. Coming from a craftsman background themselves, the feilin goons appreciated the make and design of the weapon, so much so that they wanted to buy it there and then.
Markell felt regret when he realized that he had underestimated how much leeway the family had in terms of intimidation games. His supplies had dwindled. No miners were willing to provide him ore. There had been very few applicants despite his advertisement, part of the reason why he didn't outrightly throw Soft Hands off the moment he saw him.
It was his desperation that had drawn Barda to him in the first place. For what he wanted to achieve, he needed someone to take the limelight, manage and govern while he was off doing his thing. While Markell thought he had hired Barda, what he didn't know was that Barda considered him one of his main assets. A tool to be used. It sounds bad but this is what his training demanded.
An asset that was in desperation and one that he could solve his problems for was ideal. Under Markell, he might not get all the materials he needed when he needed them, but he was in no hurry. The choice between going with the Feilin and staying with Markell may have been difficult for most, but it was a no-brainer for him. He'd rather grow steadily than shoot to the peak all of a sudden. At least with Markell, there was freedom to do whatever, not to mention the love-ins.
Markell didn't know all this, but he still trusted his employee. He had been bragging about him, and when the guests asked to see him work, he happily obliged. He did not expect their shamelessness, to offer him a position in their family, and such benefits that even he would be tempted. It blew his mind, even more, to hear the boy so quickly refused. Was his loyalty so unwavering that he didn't even hesitate? What luck did he have to garner such a good employee?
"I can understand that," the gentler Feilin said. His counterpart didn't even bother to hide his shock and utter disdain. "How much are you willing to sell me this for?" He continued, as he indicated the dagger, all the while addressing Barda.
"I may have made it, but the tools and the material used did not belong to me. Since I got paid for my services, then ..."
The message was clear, the knife was not his to sell. Barda understood the underlying test. Markell nodded and said, "I am sorry, the dagger is not for sale."
The entitled Feilin Brat turned to Barda and said, "I will not forget this," before walking off. The other Feiling quickly followed.
"Tough enemy to make," Markell commented. Barda shrugged before pointing the direction of the shed.
"Yeah sure, but first." Markell, holding the dagger as though it was some trophy, stood before Barda and presented it to him, "It is yours."
Barda smiled with a quizzical look but didn't say a thing. He then walked back to the forgery room. 2 sets of eyes followed him until he disappeared from eyesight. Barda, the professional spy that he was, wouldn't break character at such a critical hour by grinning, but his heart was. That was some excellent cultivation of assets.
There was one other reason Barda had done what he had done. He was not planning on remaining a "nobody" forever. With his power and talent, he wanted to rise to the highest possible level. Only then could he guarantee whatever happened in his previous life didn't happen to him in this life. However, rising a ladder needs rungs, and if the Feilin family wanted to be his stepping stone, he was not one to complain.
***
"That f*cking nobody dared to mock me like that?" Sir Everlie was furious. He was too highly placed to be involved in intimidation work, but the feud with the Cranes was because of something he did, for the most part. The rest is supplied by ego and bad blood.
"Worry not sir, we will get them." Justus consoled his master. While he held a very prominent position as a scribe, he was still some pet that could be yanked around. In this case, he understood his role, to provide his master with his desire, or get replaced by someone who could.
Word of Barda's performance spread in the city, especially in the outside where they despised and feared the nobilities. To have so casually stood up to them, many of the commoners were impressed. They all agreed that the new kid had been quite stupid to draw the Feilin family ire. However, they couldn't deny that the kid did what they had been dreaming of doing but was too fearful to do it.
As the story spread, so did its variations. Some said that he insulted the Feilin family to their face, while others claimed he punched them. As for his description, the name Markell had given him was beginning to spread.
Whatever the case, the name of Soft Hands became a legend. Barda knew that many of his newfound fans were waiting to see how the Feilin family would deal with him, and the smithy.
At dinner, Anna cooked one of her finger-licking meals. She too had heard of Barda's actions, and she wanted to celebrate him. Theirs was a small smithy, but a proud one. They may have had fewer employees, that is, just the one, but he was loyal. The family joined together to have a celebration that night.
Despite the joy in the air, many were worried. The might and reach of the nobles could not be undone. Even Markell had been careful in his dealings, yet he couldn't blame the boy, after all, the boy did all this for him. Whatever the case, there was a storm coming for him, and he would rather have the boy with him when it did that stand alone.