Night fell on the creekside as the forge illuminated the shop in amber tones. Shadows of tools hanging from rafters and barrels brimming with lengths of jagged steel stretched across the ground. The silhouette of a fierce unyielding hammer was starkly contrasted by the raging inferno.
As pleasant as Treya was, Ramsey was glad he had approached in the daytime.
Before nightfall, a bit tired of sitting, Ramsey took the opportunity to look around the shop. While mostly filled with random bits of metal scrap intended for future projects, Ramsey noticed a pile of abandoned rusty swords of varying style and length. They weren't bent or broken and were separate from the other scrap.
Ramsey had yet to learn much about life on Elorr, but Treya had mentioned carrying weapons earlier. Perhaps she would be willing to part with one of these. He certainly couldn't commission one, he had no money, which was another problem in need of solving.
'What skills do I have that will translate to medieval life? I probably should've gone straight to the town to look for work, shelter, and food.'
"WHEW! I think that's enough for today," Treya placed her tongs on a workbench and walked over to Ramsey. "Are you hungry? I've had a pot of stew cooking all day and there's plenty of it."
"Thank you, that would be great," Ramsey accepted. "I was just thinking I should make my way to the town to try to find some food and shelter for the night."
"Food I can do. Shelter, I'm not sure we know each other well enough for that," she joked.
"Oh no," Ramsey held up his hands. "Just food and conversation sounds great."
Treya smiled, grabbed a lantern hanging from one of the large posts and gestured for him to follow.
She set the lantern on the table next to Myra's Muse. "Have a seat, I'll be right back."
Looking at the book, Ramsey thought about what the father in the story said. "Magic comes from nature." 'If it's like I thought, my attributes are similar to a newborn. Maybe it's not Mana I need to increase, but Nature.
He thought about adding 1 to Nature right now to see what happened, but if he bloomed here at Treya's table during their conversation, that would be quite the coincidence.
Treya walked out holding the handle of a small cauldron with two bowls on top and two foaming mugs of what Ramsey assumed was beer. Her bandana was gone and she had changed into a comfortable blouse and a green calf-length skirt. Ramsey was reminded briefly of Oktoberfest.
"Help yourself," she said, placing down the steaming cauldron, "All I have to drink is ale - or water," she nodded back at the creek.
"Ale sounds perfect," Ramsey said, accepting the frothy tankard. "What kind of stew?"
"Nothing special, just brammel meat with some tabots and flors."
Unsure what any of that was, Ramsey leaned in to get a closer look as he filled his bowl. The aroma instantly made his mouth water and Ramsey hurriedly took two heaping spoonfuls of what resembled beef stew. He didn't recognize the vegetables, but that didn't matter, he hadn't eaten anything since arriving on Elorr - or ever in this body.
"Ha! You really are hungry," Treya said as she sat opposite him.
"Yes, thank you," Ramsey said, covering his mouth as he chewed the first delectable bite.
Sensing that he was about to be asked questions that would be difficult to answer, he quickly took control of the conversation. "So, what would you want your muse to be? Sun, right?
"Everyone always thinks that," she sighed. "It certainly would make my job a lot easier.
In the capital, there are mage smiths who can make masterpiece weapons with no forge at all. And I've even heard of sun battle mages who can make weapons mid-battle.
But I learned my craft from my father in case I never bloom. He died a few years ago and I took over the business so I can keep food on the table. I'm nowhere near as talented as he was, but I'm always getting better.
"I'm sorry, about your father."
"Thank you. But to answer your question, I've ironically always wanted my muse to be the Moon. I'd be happy with anything, don't get me wrong, but controlling water…" Treya swirled the beer in her mug with her fingertip, "how amazing would that be?"
She wanted to bloom so badly, Ramsey almost felt bad for making her talk about it. "I saw the pile of rusty swords in your shop, mind if I ask what's wrong with them?"
"Failed commissions. My father's customers still came to the shop after he passed, and they expected the same level of work. I tried - but I wasn't him - and they let me know."
Treya gritted her teeth. "Refusing to pay, being overly cruel in their criticism, because I'm young, because I'm a girl. That pile of failures is my motivation, may it never get any taller."
"Really? I didn't see anything wrong with them," Ramsey said honestly.
Treya didn't respond, but her brow relaxed as she took a healthy drink of her ale.
"What about you Ramsey, why do you want to learn magic, considering you know so little about it?
Ramsey paused, and recommitted himself to telling the truth, "Well, my parents were non-magic folk, and for whatever reason they never taught me about magic. And believe it or not, I've never attended a single day of school on Elorr. It wasn't until after my parents passed away that I ventured out on my own and heard about magic. I was shocked and excited, it's like I was living in an all new world."
"Home taught, huh? Well, I guess I can understand your parents for not teaching you about magic. You can't be let down if you never know."
Conversation continued as the cauldron of stew and tankards of ale slowly emptied. Treya shared stories of schoolmates who had bloomed and moved on, and about her other books on magic. Two in particular caught Ramsey's attention, one was a book on the history of magic, the other on the application of magic in society. 'Maybe in the future I'll ask to borrow them.'
"You've been a generous host, Treya. I can't thank you enough. But, it's getting late and I still have an hour walk ahead of me to find a place to sleep for the night."
"You're leaving? Wow, you're braver than I thought if you're traveling at night."
Ramsey had a relaxed smile, but his thoughts were in a panic. 'Why? What's there to be afraid of? Bandits? Animals? Monsters?!'
"Well, I can't possibly ask you to put me up for the night. Would you be willing…" Treya raised an eyebrow as Ramsey searched for the right words. "…to part with one of those rusty swords? Those customers may not have appreciated them, but I surely would."
She thought for an uncomfortable amount of time before answering, "Sure, why not?
I don't want to be responsible if anything happens to you. And besides, they're just rusty trash.
Take the lantern. Go pick what you like."
Treya stood and extended her hand, "It's been an unexpected pleasure."
Ramsey followed suit and grasped her hand, "The pleasure is mine.
After I get settled, could I come back and continue our conversation?"
"I'd like that." Treya smiled, grabbed the dishes and started toward the cabin.
Ramsey grabbed the lantern and headed back to the shop. The pile of rusty weapons stood about 12-16", with rustier ones on the bottom. '3 years worth of failures. Although… there's nothing particularly new on top. I guess she has been getting better. Too bad there's no new work here to see.'
Ramsey knelt down and carefully looked through the pile. On top there were basic short swords, a scimitar, a pair of bowies, even a kris. They likely had different names here but he knew them well. What boy his age didn't draw swords in school when he should've been working?
Further down and in a far less usable status there was a longsword, a mace, and a couple spears with their shafts snapped in half. 'I wonder if that was the customers doing or hers.'
"This is a decision my teen self would've killed to have." Ramsey almost didn't see the rust looking at this treasure trove.
He grabbed the kris first, it was the most unconventional but also the most eye-catching. Its curved handle was comfortable and its wavy blade was a thing of beauty. Ramsey swung around the eccentric sword. 'Too flashy? Maybe.'
Ramsey set down the kris and picked up the bowies. They were a matching pair with recurve blades that sloped forward. 'Dual wielding these would look pretty cool,' not that Ramsey had training for such things.
While pretending to know what he was doing, something in the pile caught Ramsey's attention. He hadn't noticed it beyond the rust before, but one of the short swords had a blade that looked.. strange. Moving aside other pieces he got a closer look. It was an etching, resembling a vine climbing the blade. "What could someone not have liked about you?"
'None of the other pieces had this level of detail,' Ramsey thought as he admired the rusty blade.
"I think you'll do just fine." Ramsey said as he stood. He gave the sword a quick flourishing any choreographer would be proud of and inserted it through a belt loop on his side.
[Inventory added to Menu]
[Item added to Inventory]
"Inventory?"