"Are you the local blacksmith?" Connor asked the burly man. He wore a heavy-weight, full-grain leather apron, clearly made from some kind of beast as some fur could still be seen here and there. It covered his shoulders, chest and extended past the abdomen to about the knees. Under it he wore a white T-shirt with a godly beard. He was muscular and seemed like he could carry himself well in a fight.
"Blacksmith? Do i look like i spend my days making fucking horseshoes?" The man spoke with a deep voice. "I'm a Pewterer, a Gilder, a Worker of fine metal and I'm not looking for an apprentice! Particularly one that doesn't know the difference between a metal worker and a smith!" The man seemed annoyed, looking at Connor with slight aggression.
"If I did want to learn about metal working. How do I persuade you to teach me?" Connor asked. If he could learn something, he might not need to just sell the metal garbage he finds. For example, the plates and goblets he has would make fine rings and accessories. If melted and properly handled, Connor would make a lot more from selling them. And if his Skills improve he could easily make his own weapons and armor.. But that is something for the future Connor to think about.
Unfortunately though, everything went down the drain as Oscar, the metal worker, spoke. "You not listening? Someone spit in your ear? Or steal your brain? I don't want an apprentice! So why don't you just fuck off?"
With his dream squashed, Connor tried to change the subject. Maybe he can persuade the man after proving himself somehow. "Do you need help? I'm looking for work!"
"No one here looks for work. The only thing people here look for is Gold! Like what they did to that poor Worker. And you don't look like you're any different"
"Do you have a need for these?" Connor asked. He pulled his Crystal and showed him the junk.
"Oh.. Interesting! I wonder where you got your hands on those"
"Does it matter?"
"Nope! I'll give you 400 GC for all of it, including the accessories, so hand it over"
And just like that Connor's wealth increased to 549 GC. He now had enough to purchase a Bow with some Arrows. But he wasn't leaving just yet.
"Do you have a way to see the Don?" Connor asked. He still wanted to speak to the man. If someone knew some secrets about this place and the resurface of the Ruins, it'd be him. He also wished to know more about the other faction.. The Inquisition.
"What do you wanna see the Don for?" Oscar asked. "Heh.. Try standing on a tree outside the Temple. You're not going to get closer than that!"
"There must be something the Don wants, something that'll get me in?"
"If it doesn't glitter, he doesn't give a toss. I wouldn't be surprised if one day he had his wife Gold plated!"
"Is there something he wants then?" Connor asked. "Something in Gold that he doesn't have!"
"Hmm.." Oscor thought for a bit before his eyes brightened. "We found a Sword pommel, beautiful bit of work, supposed to belong to some garrison commander.. Well, before he pissed off an Ogre that is!" Oscar continued. "You find the Blade for that pommel, the Don'd kiss your hairy ass.. Fuck it i would too!"
"I'll find the Blade the Don wants then" Connor said.
"You want to look for it, be my guest" Oscar said. "But you take one piece of that blade for yourself, one bit of glittering Gold.. I'll hear about it!"
"I wouldn't dream of it!" Connor continued. "Where can I find the Sword blade the Don wants?"
"If you believe the stories. The Ogre dragged the garrison commander off where those Temple Ruins were. If anyone has found anything there, they're bound to shoot their mouth off. Particularly due to those Blade pieces being covered in Gold! There's a pisshead called Luis, reckoned he'd seen something, but he's a sack of shit"
With somewhere to start, Connor was prepared to find this Blade. But he had other things to do right now. "What have you got to trade?"
Oscor pulled his Crystal and showed him his Inventory. There were many things in there and Connor started browsing.
There was a one handed shield that got Connor's interest, with a blade that seemed a lot stronger than his own. Although he wasn't sure.
The Shield was being sold for 100 GC so Connor grabbed it with a Bastard Sword that cost him 200 GC. He also bought some Arrows and a quiver for 99 GC.
49 GC for 49 Arrows with the quiver worth 50 GC.
Connor then sold him his old Sword, Leaving him with 150 GC plus the 25 GC he got for the Sword. The Bow he saw Doug selling was for 200 GC, but he would try to lower it to 175 GC.. Hopefully.
"Have you got any Sword blanks?" Connor asked. He knew that to make a Sword, a Sword blank was a necessity. He wanted to see if he could watch Oscor work and copy him later on.
"Just the ones that I got here. My stock of ore is empty" Oscor said, pointing at 3 Sword blanks at the table near his house. "If you bring me some iron ore, i'll make you some blanks, of course you have to bring extra for me"
"Where can I find some iron ore?" Connor asked.
"If you had to ask, it means you know nothing about mining and the iron veins around.. Go find the Worker's representative.. He'll probably teach you"
Connor thanked the man and left. His new shield and sword equipped, he felt confident. Whenever he grabbed it his body knew exactly how to move.. His attacks smooth and dodging became more masterful. He walked to the campfire with the workers around it and spoke to one of them.
"Hey" Connor greeted. "Why are all the Workers still here? Doesn't anyone do anything in this camp!"
The man turned, about to say something, but noticing the bloody Leather Armor, the Sword on Connor's waist with the shield on his back he held himself from saying it. "There's nothing fancy about moving soil around, but that is what we do best" the man continued. "But work is what we're avoiding.. Don't get us wrong. We'd like to be working, only we can't" He sighed. "You see, these huge Monsters turned up at the excavation site. We're not going back to work while they're still there.. We've had enough deaths already. I like my job, but i'm not going to die for it"
"Which Fighter is responsible for protecting the excavation site?" Connor asked.
"It's Ricardo, But we've not seen him there for a while. Don't think he cares much about us Workers"
"He'll care when the work doesn't get done and he ends up doing it!" Connor continued "Tell me about your work exactly"
"About digging? Well, like I say, it may be dirty work, but someone's gotta do it" The Worker continued. "You fancy trying? Just look for a sandy spot on one of the excavation sites and then you stick your shovel in the ground.. And dig.. Who knows, you might find something"
"Whatever! I'll take care of the Monsters" Connor said. He needed to give the rep a reason to actually teach him how to mine.
"Why not let the Fighters do it?" The Worker asked. "I mean, that's what they're there for!"
"Do you see any running to take care of the problem? I'll take care of it!" Connor said. He had a plan to get this done and hog all the credit himself, but for now, he needed to move on. It's not like he's going to go look for iron ore right now.