"Who's the new guy?" Alcott asked.
Arad looked back at Jack and then at Alcott, "Jack, a rogue."
"He wants to join the party. We want your advice." Aella said with a smile.
Alcott scratched his head, "I don't have a say in this matter. It's all about if you can trust him."
Ginger stared at Jack, "I don't trust him. Rogues are both powerful allies and dangerous backstabbers," With a single glare from her, Jack took a step back, sweating, "What are you?" He gasped.
"Nothing, just a wizard." Her eyes flashed as she pointed a small wand toward Jack, "Want me to blast you with a fireball?"
"Enough," Alcott grabbed her hand and looked at Arad, "You let him join the party. But don't trust him too much."
Arad nodded.
{Don't show your nature to Jack. Keep it a secret.}
^I know,^
Arad then opened his pocket and handed the letter to Alcott, "Read this. Jack brought it this morning,"
Alcott grabbed the letter and started reading, and Ginger looked from the side.
"I see. This news is troubling." Alcott nodded, "You can trust Jack a bit more." He said.
"Why?" Arad asked with a confused face.
Ginger stared at Arad with a worried face, "Being chased by the church is one thing. But stealing this letter and showing it to Alcott can lead him to be sentenced to prison or even enslaved."
"It's like telling an advisor that the king has been taking bribes. Who said the advisor isn't the one bribing him?" Alcott stared at Jack, "You're lucky I'm not with them in this because if I was. You would be dead by now." Alcott growled
"This is a rogue's job," Jack flung his hands, "What do you say?"
"I will deal with them when they arrive. Thanks for bringing this to my attention." Alcott tucked the letter in his pocket, "I will keep this with me,"
"Are you sure?" Aella asked,
Ginger stared at her, "This letter is classified information from the central church and the kingdom. You don't want to keep such a thing," She sighed.
"I see. Tell us if something happened," Arad said.
"As I said, I will deal with it. For now, let's head to the blacksmith." Alcott smiled, "You can't just go to battle with that stick."
"What's the problem with it? It's decent." Arad looked at his staff. It wasn't the best in the world.
Ginger stared at him with a smile, "You can't challenge metal weapons with a wooden staff."
"It's too thick to be sliced that easily." Arad looked at his staff, "It's thick," Aella said, staring at him.
"For the average person, that is. Any decent fighter will find it easy." Alcott replied, "That thing is no better than a starting tool."
Ginger approached Arad, showing him the shortsword on her waist and the dagger she kept strapped on the hilt. "Even if we mages carry weapons like this, you can never be sure when you will get rushed."
After that, they all headed toward the blacksmith, but he was still locked. "Should we return later?" Arad asked.
"No, this man should be awake inside." Alcott replied, pushing the door, "It's tightly locked," He said, "Open up!"
Alcott sighed and looked at Jack, "Can you open this?"
Jack smiled, "Is the door locked?" He approached it and poked a small metal rod in it.
"Click on one, click on three, and nothing on four." Jack smiled, "And we're in!" He pushed the door open.
"Are you going to break in like this?" Arad sighed.
Ginger looked at him, "Alcott usually kicks the door open. Luckily, he could enter with less damage this time." She smiled.
Alcott walked in first and then turned, "Come inside. You can enter." He looked toward Ginger, who walked in behind him and then did the rest.
{Vampires shouldn't be able to enter houses without permission. But remember, that only work for the families that believe in god.}
^Someone has to protect you. That makes sense.^
"You bastard, can't you wait a bit for me to wake up?" A short man walked downstairs. "A dwarf like you sleeping this long?" Alcott replied.
The man snorted, "You're right. I sleep a lot." He grabbed his hammer, "There is a reason I left those drunkards." He sighed and started to light the forge.
"This might take a while," He said.
Arad walked toward him, "Can I help with fire magic?"
The dwarf stared at Arad, scanning him from head to toe, "And who are you, bean sprout?" noting how thin Arad looked compared to Alcott behind him.
"I don't want to hear that from a talking barrel." Arad glared at the dwarf.
The dwarf burst laughing, "I like you. My name is Delmear Morahammer, a dwarven blacksmith." Delmear extended his hand to Arad.
"Arad Orion, a fire sorcoerer." He shaked Delmear's hand.
With a smile, Delmear started tightening his grip. Arad did the same while glaring at him.
"I see. You have a bit of strength in you. You can handle a longsword or a greatsword with adequate training." Delmear said, pulling his hand out.
Alcott approached him, "What do you suggest?"
Delmear combed his long beard while thinking.
"A standard longsword will do the trick, but a zweihander will do the trick for greatswords. It all depends on how Arad intends to fight." Delmear looked toward Arad, "But he's a sorcerer. Can you teach him swordwork? Isn't he better with a simple dagger?"
Alcott laughed, "You saw his strength. He can handle a bigger weapon."
"I would like to take the greatsword. Bigger is always better, right?" Arad walked toward the weapon rack.
"Size doesn't matter," Aella replied, swinging her fist, "Speed is what matters,"
"She is right. Three stabs with a kitchen knife are better than one swing from a big long sword," Ginger added, swinging her dagger at an extreme speed.
Alcott stared at them, "No!" he grabbed a zweihander. CRACK! CLAP!
Alcott swung the sword at a blinding speed, causing a boom that shook the whole shop.
"Only big swords can sever a dragon's neck," Alcott said with a smile, CRACK! The sword crumbled in his hand, and Delmear sighed.
"That sword is for normal people. Don't swing my blades like that."
"Sorry, I will pay for it." Alcott laughed, and Ginger sighed.
Jack looked at Arad, "In the end, the choice is yours, Chief,"
Delmear smiled, "He's right. Pick what suits you the best."
^Mom, what weapon do you think is the best?^
{All of them, your mother never focused on one weapon. But if I suggest, the longsword is a good middle ground.}
"I will take the longsword. It's not too big or too small. When I get stronger, I will switch to bigger swords." Arad said, grabbing a longsword and swinging it, "Yes, this feels nice." He said.
Alcott stared at him with a smile, "You say that, but you swung that thing like a stick. No edge alignment or technique."
Delmear took the swords from Arad's hand, "I will finish tying the handle then. Can you light my forge?"
"Of course," Arad replied, sticking his hand inside the forge [Firefist]
After a few moments, the forge was all red, and Delmear went to work, "Chose some for the ladies if you want. I have some cooking utensils around." Delmear smiled, glaring at Aella and Ginger.
Ginger pointed her wand at him. CRACKLE! She zapped him with a lightning bolt, "Want more?" She glared at him.
"Nah, thank you," Delmear growled, barely standing up. "Hey, Alcott, can you hold your wife?"
Alcott grabbed a great axe from the side and smiled, "I wonder what sound this will make?" He stared at Delmear.
"Sorry, I won't stick my nose again. Let the girls pick what they want." Delmear sighed, scratching his burned hair, "I have some nice bows for the elf lady, and for your wife, there is a new dagger that I got." He pointed toward the bows and then at his counter, "You can find the dagger below the counter."
Aella went to check the bows while Alcott stared underneath the counter and pulled the dagger.
Ginger approached him to have a look and smiled, "This one is nice,"
"How much is it?"
"Fifty platinum coins, including the discount," Delmear said nonchalantly.
^That's FIVE THOUSAND gold coins!^ Arad, struggling to collect silver coins, found that number too high.
"How much will you give me for this one?" Ginger pulled her dagger out and threw it at Delmear.
After a short glance, "I sold this one two years ago, didn't I?" He combed his beard. "I will give you forty platinum coins, the same price I sold it to you at."
"Fair enough. I will give you another ten platinum coins. We will be taking the dagger." Alcott smiled, pulling a pouch from his side.
"One, two, three, here ten, platinum coins." He threw the pouch toward Delmear, who caught it, "You have a deal. Take care of that one."