After about five minutes of intense hammering, the dwarf nods in satisfaction before he puts down his hammer and brings his attention to the beautiful woman sitting in-front of him, unaffected by her looks.
"So, wadya want, bargin into me forge like this."
Shaking her head, Astaria crosses her arms.
"It's been a while, Vordrun."
"Don't ye know its rude ter barge into someone's forge like this. An we aint met, I ave a good memory, and ye aint in it."
Softly chuckling, Astaria started to explain.
"Well, I guess we have not technically met this time around. Well, for a year and a half you taught me how to smith. But it seems time was turned back, and well… here we are."
Narrowing his eyes in scepticism at hearing such an absurd explanation, Vordrun crosses his bulky arms.
"Well now lass, that's one weird story ye tellin. If ye know me, then ye'll know I want some proof."
Without realising, Astaria naturally crosses her legs while thinking of how to respond.
"Well now, let's see… I think the easiest thing would be that black bead at the end of your braid. Its meaning is known by only to those who are taught directly by an arcane blacksmith, and the bead represents your skill.
Upon hearing her words, Vordrun opens his eyes in surprise.
"The black metal, an alloy between adamantine and meteoric iron, one of the hardest alloys to produce due to the affinities of the metals, indicates your level of blacksmithing, while the intricate patterns made from mithril indicate your proficiency with magical enhancement and runesmithing."
Finishing her explanation, Vordrun is now fully aware that Astaria was most likely telling the truth, and pays more attention to her words.
"Then there is the reason why you don't accept apprentices. While I believe you have not yet explained your reasons to other people so it would otherwise be hard for me to know, you are looking for someone with enough talent at manipulating mana and nobody yet has met your standards. You had told me previously when you asked me to study under you."
Now in shock by the words that were pouring out of Astaria's mouth, Vordrun holds his head in his hand thinking about what was being said.
Now leaning forward slightly with a cheeky smile, Astaria gives her last piece of proof.
"Previously I met you around 6 months from now, so I'm not sure if it has occurred yet but you secretly used to feed a little black and white cat some of the chicken from within the meat pie you usually get for lunch. You were QUITE flustered when I found out."
Hearing this last comment, the dwarf who had been trying to keep his cool and aloof attitude has a streak of red appear on his cheeks as he exclaims.
"Damn, nobody should ave seen me. Wait, how did you- oh, bollocks, guess it makes sense."
Heaving a deep sigh, Vordrun shakes his head deep in thought before speaking.
"So lass, guess ye the one who tol all them people showin up ere recently to come?"
Astaria returns her posture and nods.
"Yes, I was. They are my companions, and I recommend them to buy from here. After all, you do produce the best quality equipment in this country."
Eyeing Astaria up and down, Vordrun questions.
"So, ye here for the same reason? Or ye ere to become me prentice again?"
Happy that Vordrun was still as accepting of unusual and bizarre occurrences as if they were only a minor headache, Astaria elegantly lays her hands in her lap.
"Well, both to be honest. I am in dire need of better equipment, after I am finished up here, I'm going to hunt down the goblin leader Square Jaw. But I would also like to continue learning from you. I was not able to master everything you taught me and wish to perfect my craft."
Seeing Vordrun's eyebrow raise at her sincerity, she continues.
"However, I at this time I will not be able to do any runesmithing. As I'm sure you have heard about us by now, I am one of the Immortal Warriors who have just arrived in this world, and at the current time, our ability to manipulate mana is restricted. After about 3 months, that restriction will be removed, and I will be able to properly smith again."
Resting his fist on his chin, Vordrun hums in thought.
"Guess that splains a lot. Lass, im willin to believe ye story, but i wan ye to show me ye skills. Prove ye learned from me."
[ {New} Unique Quest: Arcane Blacksmith]
[Quest Description: Grandmaster Arcane Blacksmith Vordrun has invited you to become his apprentice. You need to first prove your abilities before he accepts you]
[Rewards: Profession: Beginner Arcane Blacksmith, Apprenticeship under Grandmaster Arcane Blacksmith Vordrun, Title: Beginner Arcane Blacksmith, Title: Apprentice of Grandmaster Vordrun, Blacksmithing tool set, 100 Personal Fame, 1000 Blacksmiths Guild Fame]
[Accept quest? Yes/No]
Instantly accepting the quest that popped up, Astaria replies to Vordrun.
"Of course, I will be more than willing. I must say however that I will be incredibly busy in the coming few months so won't have much time to come by. Is that alright?"
After a short moment of thought, Vordrun replies.
"If what ye sayin bout ye restrictions is true, then there's no point in wastin metals on poor quality works."
Giving Astaria an appraising eye he continues.
"Besides, ye mana pool is quite small, ye need to do some training to improve it."
With a smile in agreement, Astaria quips.
"Yeah, if I were to smith at the moment, I would be drowning in mana potion."
After letting out an amused snort, Vordrun stands up and walks out the back door of the forge to a small, enclosed courtyard.
Astaria follows him, drawing her sword and summoning her staff as she leaves the forge.
"Glad I don't need to splain why we're ere."
After speaking Vordrun pulls a sword from a rack at the edge of the courtyard.
"Oh, ye a mage huh? Intrestin."
After getting into a basic stance, he launches a strike from above towards Astaria who deftly deflects the strike with a flourish of her blade, parring it to the side before twirling around and spinning her staff in an arc to sweep the dwarf's leg.
Vordrun stepps back avoiding the sweep, responding with a quick upwards slash with his sword. Quickly sidestepping his slash with her previous momentum, Astaria then brings her sword around for a slash as Vordrun raises his sword up to block.
Vordrun continues by following up with a number of slashes and thrusts which Astaria deftly dodges and blocks with her sword and staff in practiced movements.
Following the brief exchange Vordrun steps back with a sigh.
"The more time I spend with ye, the more I believe ye."
Shaking his head, he returns the sword to the rack and walks over to Astaria who has just sheathed her weapons.
"Square Jaw as' got it comin to him, eh."
With a confident smile, Astaria replies.
"He has no idea."
Clearing his throat, Vordrun directs the conversation back onto topic.
"Anyway, what do ye need? Clearly a new sword an staff, those things of yers are both crap. Ye probably want metal bracers an boots. As fer ye clothes, ye already know what id say, rite?"
Letting out a chuckle, Astaria impersonates Vordrun as she spoke.
"3 streets ter the arbour on the right, the shop with the dandy shopkeeper."
Letting out a scoff of laughter, Vordrun nods.
"What's ye budget?"
Thinking for a moment, Astaria quickly estimates the costs of what else she has to buy.
"I have around 6 gold to spend, saving some for the rest of my equipment."
With a nod of approval, Vordrun speaks as he gestures.
"Not bad, ye certainly got yerself some money. Come."
Leading Astaria into the warehouse on the other side of the courtyard, she is left once again impressed by the stock of materials, armours, and weapons. The warehouse was quite large compared to the shop, with weapons lining the walls from floor to ceiling. One corner is filled with crates of materials, while the middle of the room is filled with rows of tables and weapon racks holding equipment.
With a face showing that she had just remembered something, Astaria calls out to Vordrun.
"Oh, I am also looking for a pair of metal bracers for my friend, he was the tall, black-haired archer who came by yesterday."
Pausing in thought, Vordrun replies.
"Oh, him, yer, I can pick ye something out for him."
After a few minutes of ambling about while humming in thought and inspecting equipment, Vordrun returns with a selection of items.
"So given ye a mage and ye fightin style, I picked out these boots that'll improve ye agility and ye intelligence. These ere bracers will improve ye wisdom and ye strength."
Handing over the items for her to try on, Vordrun continues his explanation.
"This ere is a steel staff. Its ollow on the inside, so it won't be too heavy. And this ere sword has been enchanted with runes to cut better and improve ye wisdom as well."
After equipping her new gear, Astaria checks her stats.