Riox got a bottle of water, a little meat he can eat later and a goodbye kiss by Ayla.
For his first visit, he decided to not wear robes or cloaks and masks. He would seem to be an average boy now.
With the farewell, he aimed for the city that lay not too far from them.
Lok told a lot about Carnag, however he didn't have a great knowledge about the others. Carnag was a big city with its 3000 population.
Carnag was a small city compared to the average size of the kingdom's settlements. It was a normal one, but it was more corrupt. Many villages suffered in starvation in the last few years because of the greed of the higher ups.
The city what were Riox aim is a much different one. It's location was in the northwest side of the kingdom, can it be said the heart of those regions. Many mines and merchants built there. The population were the 5th highest in the human lands, about 60 thousands.
The city's name was Taya. Riox arrived in 2 days to the edge of the city. A huge, well built metropolis with aqueducts and canals appeared before him, like a modern one.
*WOW! This is amazing! How many people can live here? I can't believe a city like this is not sieged by diseases ... the roads are clear, nowhere can be seen garbage like I learnt in history class ...*
Riox was amazed by the view of the city of Taya. On the outskirts there were many houses, living places, shops, and so on. And as Riox walked more and more inside, the picture became more luxurious.
The wealthy people lived in the centre of the city, nobles, aristocrats and officers and richer merchants, while in the outskirts lived the poorer folk and the workers of miners and workshops.
The first building that aroused Riox attention was a blacksmith.
*Oh, a blacksmith not too far from the city border. I will pay a visit here since we need some more usable weapons to hunt and fight in the forest. Let's ask the smith at first, but where is it?*
- Good afternoon! - he greeted as he opened the cracking wood door.
- Hey, what can I ... help ... you ... ? - the smith turned his face towards Riox and his enthusiasm reduced to the ground in a moment.
- I'm new here and I would like to ask for information. - Riox tried to be as polite as he could, but the face of the smith showed a little expression of boredom.
- Ye, why don't you go to the Adventurer's Guild with these questions of yours?
- Because I want to ask something more that the guild can't possibly do! - Riox answered with mystery.
The smith raised his eyebrows a little and put down his glasses.
- And what should that be, kid?
- How much does a pair of swords cost? - Riox asked straightforwardly.
- You wanna buy some swords? If it's a requested one, at least 80 silver coins each piece. Based on the materials, the price is increasing too, but if you wanna buy a finished product, its average cost is 50 silver coins. - told while he sat down on his wooden chair and crossed his hands, as he would scare the kid before his eyes.
- And how much does it cost to use your tools for smithing?
The eyes of the smith are opened a little wider. He has never imagined a random kid who just stepped in his workshop would ask something like this.
- Haha! Are you kidding!? To ask this, hahaha!! - he laughed hard.
- What's the price? - Riox's face turned serious with this matter.
- Hoh? - the smith raised his voice with interest.
Somehow he felt the atmosphere around him became different and strange.
- Using my stuff? Hm ... I'll give you a chance! - the smith answered while he rubbed his beard.
- A chance? - Riox looked at him suspiciously.
- I let you use anything, and if you can make a proper item in one day, everything will be free! But ... if you fail, you must pay twice the original price! - the smith thought with these conditions the boy will step back.
- Deal!
Riox answered quickly and took off his bag. He walked next to the smith with self-confidence.
- Can I get a little iron ore? About 700 gram will be enough, and a hammer and a plier too.
Riox just held his hands to get into work immediately. The smith chin dropped on the floor after the reactions of the kid before him. He cleaned the little drool from the corner of his mouth and walked for the tools. He chose the worst quality ones and threw them to the kid one by one.
- I give you 1 day, no more! For that time, I will take a look around to get some materials you will waste ... - the smith grabbed his backpack and left without a goodbye.
Riox just smiled when the door was closed. He felt the hammer between his hands were worn-down and used at least for a century. The little cracks could be seen with bare eyes.
*Do you think this will be a hard challenge? I learnt from the best smiths in both worlds! Dreng ... I won't let your legacy be wasted ...*
He smiled but the expression on his face was sad. The picture of the old geezer still remained in his memory and heard his rough but teaching words as he just stood next to him. Riox ignited the furnace and looked at the hammer once more.
- Dreng ... without your guidance, can I do this alone after those times?
*Look at this old hammer, geezer. This will be my test as to how much I learnt from you. Please look at your disciple to let him show you there is something you should be proud of!*
Riox looked back as he heard some noise from the front door.
- Ah, is it closed? Why?
- It's bad, I wanted to order a dagger.
- Darag has never closed his workshop at this period of time! Maybe he got some urgent work?
- We should come back tomorrow, I don1t think he will come back soon.
- Yeah, you're right, let's go.
Riox heard the group of people speaking and a little smile formed on his face.
*Now I know what I should try to create!*
Riox searched through the place to find a mold for a dagger blade. A bit later he found a one-sided one. He didn't want to waste more time with searching so he chose that balde type for his weapon.
*Hm, the iron will be a bit much for this ... maybe a twin dagger? Let's do this!*
And with his self-confidence, he started the procedure of smithing. A long night waited for Riox to finish these daggers in time. The only thing he was annoyed by was the smith whereabouts.
*Where the hell did that guy go for this long? Nah, I should focus on what I'm doing right now!*
Riox ignored everything around him and focused his heart and mind on the task before his eyes what he created for himself.
The night has gone really fast. When the sun rose on the west, Darag opened the door and looked for Riox. He noticed the sleeping kid on a chair.
- Heh, I know it ... he gave up. I should just chase him away and not think about my loss ... - slowly walked inside the workshop.
In the corner of his eyes, the light reflected on something. He picked his hand before his face in the moment, and carefully observed what was that.
Two daggers laid on each other on the desk with a broken half hammer. His eyes opened wide as he looked at it in more detail.
- What an amazing pair of weapons! How the hell ... ? - his eyes turned to the direction of the kid.
The smith worked since his youth but he has never seen this kind of work in his life before.
- Hm, it seems the second one's blade is a bit slanted. Because of the hammer? Arh, I underestimated this kid. You can never judge a person by its age or looks ... What a simple lesson for an old fox like me, hahaha! - Darag just laughed at himself how blind he was.
- Hm, I think I should let the kid rest a bit longer. I'll take a visit in the Guild, maybe there are some requests for blacksmiths too. - he made his decision and left his workshop in silence, but before that he left a letter next to the daggers.