The robot wakes up, finding himself just outside the forest laying on a hill. On the opposite side of the forest sits a rather small village. It's night now, but the burning torches makes it easy to spot. He begins to crawl toward it hoping they're kind enough to give him protection until he can repair himself. Once he's closer to the village he can take a closer look at the houses. They are mostly made of wood, but they seem to be solidly built. All of the buildings are dark except for one, a dim light can be seen flickering out from under the door. The sound of metal striking against metal rings out from within. He crawls to the front door, pushes it open and drags his rusted metal body inside.
The sound of sharp metal screeching against wood alerts the blacksmith. He turns to find the front door wide open, a robot made of scrap metal using it's only good arm and leg to crawl inside. The man stands up revealing his muscular arms honed through his many years as the village blacksmith. He's over six feet tall, with unkempt black hair that hangs down to his chin.
Seeing someone barge into his workshop unannounced, the burly man was initially upset, but after realizing what it was, he quickly became more amiable.
"Little one, can you speak?"
Startled that he could actually understand him the robot replied, "Yes."
"Quickly come in and I'll shut the door behind you." The man says while smiling and signaling for him to move further inside.
The man closes the door behind him and asks, "So how did you get here? You got a group or what?" He says while narrowing his eyes.
"No. I was in the forest alone when I blacked out and then suddenly I woke up on a hill right outside the village."
After hearing that, the mans smile grows wider as he says, "You're lucky no one else saw you. Robots are hated around here, I mean, if anyone else saw you they would definitely attack on sight. Luckily you ran into me."
Pondering on this, the robot nods his head in understanding. This burly guy might look intimidating but at least he won't attack me like the other humans here. Wanting to leave the village as soon as possible he asks, " I saw you working some metal when I came in, could you spare some so I can repair my body and leave before they wake up?"
Hearing this, the burly man puts on a small frown and says, " Sadly no, the metal costs a lot so I can't just give it to you for free." After thinking for a while he continues, "But I have an offer for 'ya. I got a large order for arrowheads from the elves and I'm falling behind schedule trying to do it all myself. So how about you stay here for a few weeks and help?"
"Elves?"
"Elves are the ones responsible for kicking you out of the forest I reckon. They live in the forest just south of the village and often order a lot of metal arrowheads in exchange for animal pelts, which I can then sell for a profit."
"Why would they kick me out?" I ask curiously.
"Because they don't want anything in the forest that isn't natural. That's enough questions for now, so how about the deal? I can offer you one ingot a week."
One ingot a week isn't going to be fast. To repair his body he would have to stay for at least two months, but left with no alternative he can only agree. "What will we do about the other villagers? If they see me in here working that would cause problems for both of us wouldn't it?"
Seeing the robot agree so easily the blacksmith couldn't contain his happiness. "Don't worry about that I have an empty room in the back. Since you don't need a forge to make the arrowheads like I do, it should be fine if you stay in there."
"How did you know I don't need a forge?"
Not expecting him to ask that question a streak of nervousness flashes through the man's face as he quickly replies, "I knew about it because all robots have the ability, they have to fill their own body with mana to move around in the first place."
Ending the conversation, the man ushers him into a small empty room in the back. There's nothing inside except one small window with a curtain blocking it. A thick layer of dust covers the floor, but the robot doesn't mind because he doesn't need to breath anyway. He crawls inside and sits up, leaning his back against the wall.
The burly blacksmith goes to close the door, "My name is Belthor by the way. The elves'll be expecting the first batch tomorrow so you better power off, or whatever you do, because I'm going to get my ingot's worth out of you, and you'll need the rest."