"Well...time to head back to the others." thought Alex to himself. He tore his gaze away from the sky and it fell on a person coming towards him. It took him a second to process the young girl walking by and he almost doubled over in shock. At most seventeen, she was a bit skimpily dressed in all blue. A skirt that came up just above her knees and a top that left all of her thin, finely sculpted abdomen open. Her fair skin and flowing black hair looked mesmerizing in the sun as she walked, with an unusual elegance, along the road. But the thing that had shocked Alex was not her undeniable beauty, but the fact that she had cat ears.
The girl had now stopped along the road and was looking up at a house. Alex continued to stare. It took him a few seconds to process what he was seeing; on top of her head, unmistakably, were two fluffy cat ears. As Alex stared, they twitched just like a cat's would when listening for some sound. Her face looked perfectly human except for a slight resemblance of her nose to a cat's. Or was it just his imagination? Suddenly, something twirled at her back and Alex almost gasped with shock again; she had a tail! The girl got impatient, and started walking again and Alex noticed her gait was remarkably like a cat too.
Alex realized what he was seeing. This was unquestionably a demi-human; a cross between one of the cat people, the Pantherians, and a human. He'd read about other races in Herm's books and even seen some drawings. The Pantherians almost completely resembled cats, replete with fur, whiskers, cat eyes, etc. But, since this girl also resembled a human, she had to have been a cross between the two. Alex had also read about demi-humans but had never seen their drawings or any sort of depiction. Witnessing something so alien, he couldn't help but gawk at her.
All of a sudden, the girl turned and shot a piercing glare at Alex. Apparently, she had noticed him staring at her. For a few, short moments both of them held eye contact, and then the girl spun around, her head held aloof as if Alex was some kind of lowlife, and she started walking away.
Alex watched her go, staring at her back and the long black tail elegantly twirling in the air; again he noticed her cat-like gait. Suddenly, seized by a sudden sense of curiosity and guilt, he took off after her. As Alex ran to catch up to her, he saw her ears swivel backwards and register a man chasing after her, and he thought he saw her quicken her pace a bit but before she could react more than that, Alex had caught her. She turned around, angrily, to face her pursuer.
"I'm sorry." said Alex, taking a few big gasps of air. "I didn't mean to stare. I apologize." Faintly, anger disappeared from her face to be replaced with curiosity. Alex noticed, her pupils were like a cat's too. "I'm sorry." he repeated. The girl slightly twisted her head to the right as if a cat spotting a bird.
"Well...er...urm." said Alex, shifting a bit uncomfortably at her lack of communication. "Well, I just wanted to let you know. Farewell." Saying so, he took off along the city wall. The girl continued to stare at his disappearing figure. Maybe all humans weren't so bad after all...
* * *
Alex reached the city wall; a towering structure made of giant blocks that surrounded the entire town, and started on the long route ahead to reach the South Gate. His thoughts came in waves now. It was apparent the five were stuck here...badly stuck. He grinned a mirthless smile to himself; just a few months ago he was worrying about starting a job in the corporate sector. It would've given him money, cars, recognition, respect...but would he have been happy? Truly happy? Ever since he'd been dropped in Decimandria, he had been the happiest he had been in a long time. Everything felt more...satisfying...here. The air here was pure, the people polite, the work felt rewarding...what had happened to him? Was he...was he glad about being stuck here?
This was a worrying thought. Alex forced himself to reflect deeply on it. Was he happy? He missed his family, sure, but he knew they'd be fine; Val would take care of them. He had been living alone for quite a few years back home anyway. What was happening? Had he fallen in love with Decimandria more than he thought? He focused on his feeling right now. Was this some kind of spell?
Alex let out a sigh. He realized that, deep down, some part of him was glad about being able to be in Decimandria for a while longer. "I guess that's just me wanting to resist the change that would come with going back to Earth." he thought to himself. But Earth wasn't the change. This was. Or had been....
He shook his head and looked at his passing surroundings. He spotted a tall elf in a green shirt with a sword around his waist walking hurriedly somewhere. There was a group of four dwarves sitting by the road laughing with some human sitting in between them as he cracked jokes. He looked in the alleys, and he spotted some other demi-humans enjoying some sort of board game by the side of the road in the shade of a building. He smiled in spite of himself; this place was overflowing with color.
Soon, Alex was out of the main city and in the suburbs of Barfoss. As he was walking on the main road, whistling lightly as he trotted along the sand path, he heard some commotion coming from the inner roads. He paused and looked around and spotted the source. He could just make out a crowd gathered around some house and shouting of authoritative voices coming from within. "Always help those in need." came Herm's voice in Alex's head. He groaned inwardly as he realized his feet were carrying him over.
"There's no trial necessary for this." came a deep voice as Alex got near. "Just a strong rope and a tree! Grab him, tie him, and let's have a hanging!" Alex pushed himself in front of the crowd and observed the scene unfolding in front of him. In front of a big-ish house, a group of men were gathered. One man, in a black cotton shirt and some brown trousers was on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. There were a few guards in the signature white gambesons with golden qilins emblazoned across their chests holding swords, halberds, and crossbows. But there was one man, standing above the sobbing man, who was...different. There was an air of authority around him. He had a short two inch beard. His hair was neatly combed but it still looked like they had seen better days. His armor was also different. He wasn't wearing a gambeson like the foot-soldiers; instead, he had full plate armor on. The white metal was glistening in the sun, his golden qilin shining brightly. A well maintained sword hung from his hip. "Have you any last words?" he asked. His voice was gruff and commanding.
"Please...no...please." sobbed the man on the ground.
"What's going on?" whispered Alex to the man standing beside him in the crowd. The man looked sideways at his new companion and blinked. "This fellow here has been caught as the murderer of ol' Torrley, our local blacksmith. The Captain's pretty pissed. Looks like we're gonna have a hanging today."
"Oh." No need for me to uselessly get involved then, thought Alex to himself. He was about to turn around and leave but the Captain's next words made him stop. "Do you know how few swordsmiths there are in Barfoss?" demanded the Captain of the murderer. "Two. Or there were two till you murdered one in cold-blood. And all that for what? Because he was a dwarf!?"
"A gang of dwarven bandits killed his mother and wife." explained the man beside Alex. "So, he got drunk last night...and angry. Too angry. He broke into Torrley's place last night and slit his throat while he slept. The entire town knew he'd done it because, at the pub, he'd been shouting he'd kill every last dwarf he could lay his hands on."
"They killed...they killed her." sobbed the man. The Captain looked even more furious a those words. "Bandits killed your wife! You killed Torrley just out of spite!" shouted the Captain. "And of all the people you could've killed, you had to kill a swordsmith. That's what pisses me off most." The man broke into even louder sobs and the Captain gave an exasperated sigh. "Enough. Guards, grab this scum and let's get this hanging over with."
The soldiers came forward, roughly picked up the murderer, and bound a rope around his wrists so tightly that his hands went white. The Captain lifted the sobbing man's head to make him look at him. "I'm doing you a favor, Carm. Do you know how hard it is to find blacksmiths around here? How hard it is to convince them to stay in this wretched town instead of some big city? When his Lordship finds out about this murder, he's gonna be furious. It's best you're not around to face his wrath when that happens."
"I'm a swordsmith." announced Alex, suddenly. He'd been seized with an inspiration, and this opportunity looked too good to pass up. Everyone turned to look at him; even the murderer forgot his sobbing for a second. There was a few seconds of silence as everyone just stared at Alex.
"You, boy?" asked the Captain, finally. Alex nodded. The Captain raised his eyebrows in skepticism. "Come forward then." he said.
Alex stepped forth from the circle of crowd; he'd realized that since the five were stuck here, it was absolutely essential he find some way of earning money. Seeing this fiasco had been a stroke of luck. He thought if he'd made his move too soon and too publicly. Or if he should've consulted with Felicia and the others. Well, no point in thinking about all that now, he had taken the dive.
"You're a blacksmith?" asked the Captain again.
"Swordsmith, really, but I can also smith other everyday stuff."
"You look a bit young to be a 'swordsmith'." said the Captain, suspiciously.
"Nothing I can do about that." said Alex, staring the Captain dead in the eye.
"If you're pulling my leg, boy, I'm gonna have you whipped." the Captain threatened.
"Does it look like I am?" asked Alex, coolly.
The Captain looked lost in thought for a second. Despite himself, this calm, well-built, composed young man impressed him. "Heh." the Captain almost grinned. "Well, fine, I trust you. What's your name?"
"Wright. Alex Wright."
"And where's your father, boy?" asked the Captain as if this was the most logical thing Alex should've included.
"I'm an orphan." said Alex, simply. "I'm travelling with a group of orphans. Our...caretaker...died and we've been on the move trying to earn whatever coin we can."
The Captain stared into Alex's eyes, x-raying them. It didn't look like the boy was lying. "And who taught you smithing, boy?" the Captain asked.
"Our caretaker. He taught me all his craft before he died." said Alex. He rattled his brain to think of a city and some random name to give the Captain. "Master Zerm of Yendelberg."
"Master Zerm of Yendelberg, huh?" repeated the Captain thoughtfully.
"Yes." said Alex. Inwardly, he was praying that the Captain would buy his story, but he made sure no emotion leaked outside.
"Never heard of him. But I have no reason to doubt your word." said the Captain, finally. "What do you want, kid?"
"Well...you just said that it was hard to find swordsmiths in this area. And...er...since I am here, I was wondering if I could get that job." said Alex, a bit tentatively.
"Ha! It's not gonna be that easy, boy!" the Captain guffawed. "Tell you what, you forge me a sword by the time I go and hang this wretch, and if it's up to standard, I'll call you Master Wright and then we can talk business."
"But that's not nearly enough time!" exclaimed Alex.
The Captain winked. "You'd be surprised how long it takes to hang a man." Alex racked his brain again. Might as well try, he thought. "Fine." he said out loud. The Captain nodded. "Paers, take this man to Master Torrley's workshop and stand guard while he forges a blade for me. If he tries to steal anything, slice his balls off. You lot, go about your business. Nothing to see here. Go along!" The crowd started dispersing with excited whispers; Alex guessed these people didn't get much drama in the suburbs. Without a second look at Alex, the Captain led his squad away, the soldiers dragging the sobbing murderer along.
"Come on." said a foot-soldier, coming up to Alex. He had a thin mustache and bit flabby face. Carrying his crossbow on his shoulders, he looked friendly enough to Alex. "Right." said Alex, and started following the soldier. To Alex's surprise, they didn't go inside the house in front of which all this commotion had been taking place. Instead, Paers took him on the main road and they started following that.
"That wasn't Torrley's workshop?" asked Alex, running up to walk beside the short soldier. Paers grinned. "No, no. That was Carm's house. Or his mother's rather." the soldier paused for a second. "He didn't have any offsprings...huh, seems like the Lord will take his house too, now."
Alex thought better of asking why Paers sounded bitter, so he focused on what concerned him immediately. "So, where is the workshop?"
"It's quite a walk away. Master Torrely, being a dwarf, preferred his solitude. Said the calmness made him work better." said Paers. "Apparently, even the suburbs were too loud for his tastes." The soldier giggled as if this was the funniest joke he'd heard in a long time.
The duo continued walking for a few minutes, and then turned into a path lead off the main road. They were so far away from the suburbs now, it almost could've counted as not being in Barfoss at all. "On the very outskirts of town, isn't it?" grinned Paers, leading Alex up to a modestly sized wooden house. The soldier paused in front of it.
The house looked quite big for a single dwarf, Alex thought. "Master Torrley used to have five apprentices." explained Paers. "Good kids, the bunch of them. He built this house just for them."
"So, where are they now?" asked Alex.
"They got waylaid by some bandits on the way to a delivery a few years ago. Every last one got killed." said Paers, a tone of sadness coming over his cheerful voice. "And to think that fucker Carm had the nerve to slice Master Torrley's throat over those same bandits..."
Alex was amazed. Life really had twisted ways to fuck you up, didn't it? "That's...sad." he said.
"Yeah..." nodded Paers. "It really is..."
The two stood in silence for a few moments. "Anyway, let's get you inside and started on this blade." said Paers, perking up. Alex was led to the left door of the two front doors the house had; he noticed this one had a metal sign hanging on it simply stating "Blacksmith" in bold letters. He assumed this door led to the shop while the other one to the other parts of the house. Alex walked into the dark room, and Paers started opening up all the windows. "We cleaned up the mess and shut the house down. We didn't figure we were gonna find a replacement this soon." he explained.
"It isn't decided just yet." said Alex, observing his surroundings. There was big wooden counter on the far end of the room. There were pegs hanging from the walls and a few wooden shelves filled the emptiness. Alex figured this was were the stock was displayed. There was a door on the right wall leading into the house and another behind the counter.
"We took all the swords, obviously. They're no use rotting here." said Paers, coming up beside Alex and looking around too. "But our business isn't here. It's inside there." he said, pointing at the door in the far right corner of the room, behind the counter. "Come on."
Alex followed obediently, and found himself in a workshop. There was a furnace to the side and a forge on the far end of the wall. The tools had been neatly packed up on the shelves lining the walls. There was big anvil, sitting in the middle of the workshop. Paers went around again opening the windows the workshop had; they were long and thin, covering the upper most reaches of the wall.
"Well." said the soldier, taking a deep breath. "Get to work." Alex nodded, grabbed the tools, some iron, and prepared himself for a few long hours of hard, grueling work.
* * *
As soon as Alex had picked up the tools, it had been like magic; all his worries about uncertainty, the Feggs' deaths, the explanations he'd have to give, the future, etc. had been washed away. Within seconds he had fallen into a rhythm and had started to give the metal shape. He didn't realize if hours passed or minutes, but as he was hammering some last touches on the blade before he'd have to start polishing it, the door burst open and the Captain walked in. Paers clumsily jumped off his stool, knocking it over, to stand in attention, giving his superior a salute. "I see you're hard at work." said the Captain, walking up to Alex. "How's it coming along?"
"I'm guessing you wanna be the judge of that." said Alex, straitening up and handing his unfinished sword to the Captain. He wordlessly took the sword from Alex, and then proceeded to examine it in the minutest of ways. He brought it up to his eyes to see how well the metal had been forged, if the blade was straight. He even swung it around a bit to see the balance it had. The results were beyond his expectations. Yet again, this young man had surprised him. He grinned inwardly.
"Zerm of Yendelberg, did you say?" murmured the Captain, slowly. Alex nodded.
"Well, well, well, Master Wright," said the Captain, beaming. "It appears you have not lied about your trade. Even in this raw form, I can see this blade was made with skill and care. I don't doubt for a second you could've made something really special if given more time."
Alex grinned. "Well, I had a great teacher."
"Indeed, you did." said the Captain, smiling and extending his hand to Alex. "Captain Zorran Nriab of Barfoss, at your service." The two men warmly shook hands with each other. "Let's talk business outside, shall we?" offered Zorran. "This place is too crowded for me." Alex nodded and the two walked out, followed closely by Paers.
Evening would soon start approaching as the men walked out of the house. The soldiers outside instantly jumped to their feet upon seeing the Captain, but he waved his hand to order them to be at ease. "Well, let's get straight to it." said Zorran, turning to face Alex. "What do you want?"
Alex blinked. What did he want, exactly? A job, a proper bed he could sleep in, and a place big enough for the five to stay. In short, this. "I'd like a job." said Alex. "A steady source of coin."
"That's it?"
"Well, I have four other companions, orphans like me, who I have to put a roof over too." said Alex.
"This place would suit them fine." said Zorran, nodding. "And you also get a workshop to ply your trade."
There was silence for a few seconds between the two. "After Master Torrley died, since he had no offsprings, the workshop and the house went to the Lord of Barfoss by default. You, however, can buy it from him.
"Okay..."
"Five thousand crowns and it's yours." said Zorran.
Alex recoiled. "Five thousand crowns!?" he exclaimed. "Five thousand for a wooden house that's pretty much not even in the rundown, small town's territory?"
"It's five thousand precisely why because of that. You also get the workshop, the tools, and whatever material that's left over." said Zorran, a bit annoyed. "That's the cheapest I'm willing to go in his Lordship's name."
"Well, I suppose then we'll have to try our luck in another town." said Alex, feigning resignation. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Captain. Have that sword polished by the next swordsmith your town hires. Farewell." Saying so, he started walking away.
He hadn't even taken ten steps away, when a voice called out "Wait!" Alex grinned to himself; business school had done a good job teaching him bargaining. "Yes?" he asked, turning around.
"Four thousand." offered the Captain.
"Still too much, Cap'n." said Alex. "Your town has had it's sword production cut in half and you're still trying to get an arm and a leg for this...sorry shack."
"Three thousand five hundred."
"Two thousand five hundred." said Alex, determinedly.
"Half? You've gotta be joking?" said the Captain, incredulously. "No way."
"Well, as I said, your town desperately needs a swordsmith. There's no shortage of towns for me though." said Alex.
"Three thousand. And that's my final offer." Zorran said, resolutely.
"Two thousand eight hundred crowns." said Alex. "And I'll throw in a free sword for his Lordship's Captain."
Zorran fell silent. This price was way too little. The Lord's steward would not be pleased he let it go at such a low rate. But then again, having a swordsmith was more important. And having a replacement pretty much as soon as they'd lost one seemed better than having the shack rot away for who knows how long just to save the Lord a few thousand coins. "You drive a hard bargain, Master Wright." sighed Zorran. "But fine. It's yours."
Alex grinned. "Deal." he said, shaking hands with the Captain. "I don't have that much crowns on me right now, so I'll have to go and fetch them from my friends." He did have the money on him, but he didn't want to pull out all of it and appear like he could throw around thousands without flinching. "It'd be pretty much all the money our caretaker left us." Again a lie. "But hopefully, I can earn it all back."
"Fine, I'll have the Lord's steward send the papers along with a scribe so that you can sign it and get the house lawfully in your name, under Her Majesty's law." said the Captain. "Don't be too long."
Alex nodded, and set off on his long way back to the four, positively bursting to tell them of all the things that had unfolded since he had last left them.