The sound of a bell announced our arrival. The walls were covered with a variety of armor and weapons of different shapes and sizes. An adult male was looking at us from the counter. His grumpy face and the gray of his hair gave me a pretty clear idea of his character.
"You are free to see whatever catches your eye, but if you break it you pay for it"
"Understood, thank you"
With that short exchange of words, I went to the wall with fire guns. Mine was still in good shape, but it was a regular pistol that the troopers of Master Herion receive when they start their duties. The same goes for my sword. They are both of good quality, but I´d like to have something more personal and powerful.
"Is there anything that you like, master?"
"Mmm... Everything looks good but... I don´t see anything especially outstanding"
"Is that so? We could ask at the counter for special products"
"I guess we are doing that"
Right when we were about to walk toward the counter a deep voice called me.
"If you don´t like anything from the walls I can make you something"
For a moment my legs stopped due to the staring of that man, however, I overcame his cold eyes and continued with my walk.
"Oh really? And how much will it cost?"
"It depends on the material and the date of delivery, but don´t expect it to be cheap in any case"
I wouldn´t say he was a nice host, but at least I was expecting that from his pure appearance. Still, I´m not giving him the chance to drag me around as he pleases.
"All right, now tell me why should I make such a request for you?"
His dry lips let go of a sigh as his heavy hands landed in unison on the piece of wood in front of him.
"Hmph, brats nowadays can´t appreciate quality even when it´s right in front of your dumb faces. Wait in here"
The man rose from his seat and went to the door behind him. He left it open so once we got closer we were able to hear his oven puking fire and hot metal. It wasn´t long before the blacksmith returned with a piece of leather in his hands.
He placed the dry skin on the counter and proceeded to unfold it so that we could see its insides.
"This is one of my finest jobs. I call it, the pacifier"
What was now before us was a black pistol with silver and golden traits. It was finely decorated with multiple marks that resembled the shape of a rose.
"Now we are talking... Care to explain the specs?"
The man grabbed the pistol and showed us each part of it with the proudness of a father exposing his daughter´s first drawing.
"An 8 rounds magazine. The chamber was enchanted with armor-piercing properties and it can boost the explosion where the hammer kicks the bullet. They fly and strike like lightning. Easy to carry around and forget about the weather, this beauty can take it all without a problem. It will never betray you as long as you take care of her"
When he was done, he returned it to the piece of leather. His hands went under his counter for a second and when they showed again a pair of colorful bullets were now standing before us.
"It can also shoot elemental bullets, but you have to load each one manually in the chamber"
The size was not the only remarkable thing about the ammo, but the colors and strange glow that each of them had.
"Elemental bullets? How is this possible?" Said Verónica while staring at the white and red bullets.
"The shells are easy to make, the hard part is filling them with an element" The blacksmith answered with a confident expression on his old face.
The existence of this ammunition shouldn´t be possible yet, the original story introduced them at the final stage, where the heroine had to prepare to face Verónica and her army of mutants.
Like Jasmine, the author didn´t give much details about it. It was just an addition that Nicholas managed to obtain while making preparations. The only explanation was that he had received them from a strange old drunkard living near a trash depot.
Is this grumpy blacksmith that man in the original story?
Well, it´s not that impossible if I assume all of that happened while following the original plot.
The regimen of Verónica and her family provoked the bankruptcy of many businesses, not to mention the extortions and blackmailing that the people had to face as the story progressed.
"Do you mind if I take a closer look?"
"Be my guest"
With his permission, I held the huge pistol with my left hand. It was surprisingly light considering its size and length. Here I got around 25 centimeters of pure firepower. Not only that, but the bullets were of an intimidating size. All of that is imprisoned in a magazine with 8 rounds in the handle.
This is way unexpected... To think I would be able to find the mysterious blacksmith right here...
Unconsciously, my eyes landed on Jasmine.
"How did you know of this place?"
"..."
She smiled silently and took a step forward.
"You can be at ease, old Paul, they know it"
"... I see..."
With that, the man abandoned his counter and walked toward Jasmine. Once they were in front of each other, my maid opened her arms, and the blacksmith without thinking it twice rushed forward to embrace her.
"I couldn´t believe it when I saw the newspapers... I was sure you would have died that night..."
"I was about to, but that man had other plans" She said while looking at me.
They both looked relieved and happy. It was evident they had some sort of connection, it´s just that we didn´t know the type.
"It´s obvious they are close... Did you know about this?"
"No... I didn´t..."
I knew Jasmine had bruises and a story of her own, but I never got to ask about her past, the moments were just not correct to do so. She seemed grateful about it, so I just let it go until she felt confident enough to bring it up herself.
I don´t think I made a mistake when I look at this.
"Jasmine, care to explain?"
When they stepped away from each other I asked my maid for an explanation.
"This man here is what you could call my benefactor. He took care of me when I was in need, and he´s also the person who made my flute"
"My name is Paul Rocks Deviant. I´m a magical blacksmith and an irregular"
Paul quickly nodded as his palm was offered to me. I had no reason to not take his invitation, so I grabbed his rugged hand with a polite smile.
"Nice to meet you, I´m-"
"I know who you are, Dominique. People say that you were once known as the black panther when you worked for the Fotiadis"
Both Verónica and I looked at each other before returning our attention to the blacksmith.
"... I see you are well informed..."
"It´s hard to not know your face after that beating to the nobles. I must admit that it was nice to see one of us put those bastards in their place"
Paul let go of my hand and returned to the counter as he spoke, he let go of a groan once his hips landed on his chair.
"And I can only assume that the lady next to you is..."
Verónica nodded, reassuring the mind of the blacksmith.
"Then the rumors were true... I guess I´m old enough to see when the world starts moving once again huh..."
He then pulled out a pack of cigarettes and put one of them in his mouth.
"Do you care, missy?"
Verónica clicked her fingers bursting a tiny flame on top of them that allowed the cigarette to be lightened.
"Haaah... Thank you... Now, enough with the chitchat. Are you gonna take the gun or not?"
The sudden change of attitude took me by surprise, but looking at Jasmine I knew that doing anything besides business would only land on deaf ears.
"... How much?"
Paul stared at Jasmine for a second before answering. She flashed him a bright smile in response.
"... You can take the gun, I´ll also give you some ammo, but anything else is non-negotiable!"
"What? Really?"
A vein appeared on his forehead.
"Just accept before I fucking change my mind"
My body froze for a second, but the next thing I knew was that my hand was already grabbing the gun.
"I´ll take good care of her"
"You better, it is one of my finest works, wait here while I pack your ammo"
"Sure thing"
Paul disappeared again in the depths of his workshop. Now that we were alone I wanted to ask many things to Jasmine, but that had to wait.
The bell rang again, new customers had arrived.
"In the name of the elements and the saint spirits that grant our power, this cursed establishment must be shut at once!"
The hell?...
The people who entered had armor and weapons out. It was a group of 5, with a guy in the center holding a book in his right hand and a banner on his left.
The banner said: "THE SPIRITS BLESSED OUR RACE WITH THEIR MAGIC, TURNING US INTO THEIR PARTNERS AND PROTECTORS. THE CREATURES OUT OF THIS PACT ARE MONSTERS"
The letters were sewn in gold thread on a piece of shiny fabric with the colors of the elements. In the center was an image of a mountain with a river and blowing winds under the sun.
"Who are these freaks?"
"They are a new religion that´s been arising for a couple of months... They are Puritans who believe in the 4 elements as sacred gifts given to humans by the world... They are dangerous"
The group began to spit their beliefs to us with noticeable might. The first impression they gave me was that of a group of zealots. We didn´t pay them much attention.
"Hey! What is all that noise?! Who the fuck are you?!"
It wasn´t long before an enraged Paul arrived with a shotgun in his hands.
"Are you the one who owns this place? Then hear my command you disgraceful monster! This establishment is cursed by the touch of irregulars! It must be destroyed!"
"The only thing that will be destroyed is your shit-looking face if you don´t get the hell out of here!"
Tensions were rising, and both parties seemed ready for combat.
I almost grabbed my sword and gun, but a new idea suddenly appeared in my mind. Instead, I used magic and from the shadows pulled out the flute of Jasmine.
"Here, you can take this back"
Her eyes widened when her instrument was now offered to her without resistance.
"Do you want your benefactor to be arrested? If not, grab this and do as I say"
For a moment she doubted, but a determined face landed where doubts once were and she quickly grabbed her instrument. Before any of them could make a move, the song of Jasmine filled the shop. Funny enough, this time the sound was calm and tender, like a lullaby. I turned to see how was Verónica and I found her nice and up for the fight.
So she can choose who gets hypnotized...
The group of zealots was silenced in an instant and were now staring at the void with expressionless faces.
I didn´t know how her magic worked in detail, but for now, this was enough.
"Humph. I was about to send them with their gods"
"I can see that, but murdering them here would only cause trouble for the shop and us. So do Jasmine a favor and let us take care of this"
He turned to look at me still pissed by the unpleasant guest, but he just scuffed before returning to his counter to pack my ammo.
My attention returned to Jasmine and I told her my plan for the group of freaks. When she heard everything she showed me a wide grin and blushing cheeks.
This is gonna be fun...