He looked out from the door of his workshop, into the peaceful village that had the warmth of the sun upon it. For years he had dwelt here, hammering steel in his little, humble forge, but to him it seemed oddly alien today—as though it no longer belonged to him.
The latest project of the System lingered in his mind always, reminding him that his time here was running out.
New Assignment Move to the city of Velira.
[Time Remaining: 7 Days.]
Reward: 10 System Points.
Velira was a city of opportunities, and it seemed like his future there would be based on duty. A very important decision lay before him, and it would soon turn all the cards he was about to play. Seven days left for packing and leaving this very village where he had spent so many years. Seven days at the beginning of his new life.
Yet he still had work to do before he could go.
Rivyn stepped back into his workshop, his eyes moving to and fro amongst the myriad of tools and materials that littered the tables. Behind him, the forge cracked softly, filling the air with the pungent smell of burnt coal and heated steel. This place had been so much more than a shop—it was Rivyn's haven.
The idea of abandoning it all was weirdly sad, but he just had to go; his skills in the village were underdeveloped anyway. The System had clearly confirmed that the future way led through Velira.
Still, it wouldn't be easy to do. To leave meant more than packing a suitcase of belongings. Debts to be settled first, tools to be collected, customers informed. The village had fed him, but Rivyn knew he would never reach his potential here. Velira, for her part, promised commissions galore, reams of materials and also more variety regarding System quests that would bring him closer to the level of mastery he was striving for.
He started packing up the stuff: necessities carefully set in the heavy wood trunk. Hammers, tongs, chisels—their very place reminded him of countless hours producing weapons and armor. His hands moved purposefully while his mind was elsewhere.
The village had been deathly quiet of late. Few customers ever graced the streets but Toren, and the usual hum of adventurers making their way through had faded to muted quietude. It was almost like the village itself wanted him to be gone. Yet, beneath that serene surface, a feeling of unease dug in, persistent just beneath his skin.
[Threat Detected: Warning.]
The System had left the message resting—unaccommodating and insistent for days, an ever-persistent warning of threat on the horizon. Rivyn didn't know how to interpret this vague omen, but it was impossible to ignore. Safety seemed far gone in this place now, as what the System only spelled out more clearly: Time to leave for Velira.
Rivyn was packing; the silence was broken only by a knock on the door.
A second he tensed, his hand hovering over a half-packed hammer; but in another second he relaxed again as recognition came to him with the voice.
"Rivyn, it's me."
That was Toren.
Rivyn's door creaked open to admit the imposing figure of the adventurer, nonchalantly hanging his sword off the side, with an inquisitive look stretched across his face. "You busy?"
Just packing, Rivyn replied and he step-aside to admit him.
Toren glanced around the workshop-at the scattered tools, the chest near the forge. "Packing? Are you leaving me or something?
"Yeah." Rivyn hesitated, then sighed. "I'm leaving for Velira."
Toren raised an eyebrow. "Velira? Big move. Didn't think you'd leave this place behind."
Rivyn shrugged. It would seem even now the weight of that choice weighed upon him. "I don't have much of a choice. There's more work in Velira, more opportunities. I've done all I can here."
"That would be a good city for someone like you, Velira," Toren nodded, thoughtful. "Adventurers there always need your kind of craftsmanship, but." Here, he looked at her rather quizzically and narrowed his eyes a bit more.
Rivyn's eyes darted with the still softly flashing warning in his vision from the System. That was his secret, his advantage, which Rivyn kept to himself, but Toren had always had a sharp insight into occasions, and it was easy to imagine something more was at play.
"There's something else," Rivyn conceded, trying to choose his words carefully. "I've had a sort of feeling lately, like something's wrong. I don't know with what, but it made me think that staying here isn't safe anymore."
Toren's face clouded as he crossed his arms. Rumours have reached me too—more and more bandit activity in the eastern hills. People coming back from Velira said the air around that city is getting tense fast. You could be onto something.
Rivyn frowned. "Bandits?"
"Aye. It is more structured than normal," Toren said. "Almost like they prepare for something bigger. They start small, burning villages and cutting trade routes in several places. Nothing too large-scale, but that is just a matter of time."
It was beginning to make sense now. The System's warning was more than a vague threat—it was a heading, an indication of the rising unrest in the region. Where bandit activity was growing, a village like this couldn't hope to avoid the danger, and Rivyn had no wish to find herself in the middle.
"Maybe that's it," Rivyn muttered more to himself than to Toren. "I must away, ere it get any worse."
Toren nodded. "Velira's got its dangers, but it's better fortified than this place. You'll be safer there."
Rivyn felt a strange sense of relief when Toren finally said the words. Leaving hadn't been lightly decided, and yet, now, as things began to fall into place, it all seemed fated. Velira was not so much opportunity, but now a necessity.
"Thanks," Rivyn said, nodding at Toren gratefully. "For all of it.
Toren clapped him on the shoulder. "You'll be fine, Rivyn. Velira's going to be good for you. Just don't forget about us when you become the best smith in the city."
Rivyn laughed, though he was still very apprehensive about starting fresh in Velira. "I won't."
With this, Toren turned around to leave and stopped at the door. "You leaving soon?"
"Two days," Rivyn replied. "I've got to pack and settle a few things, but after that, I'm gone."
Toeren nodded, once, finally, and then disappeared with the failing light. Rivyn watched him go, the door drifting shut behind. Throughout the next day, he was hard at work selling excess scrap and tools that he could not take with him, paying off a few debts, and letting his relatively small group of customers know what was happening. Most were kind and wished him well; some grumbled at being inconvenienced by losing their blacksmith. The forge was still now, no longer alive with the vibrant heat of daily toil. Rivyn had carefully stowed what he would need into the chest: his tools, materials, and a handful of personal belongings. It was not much perhaps, but enough with which to begin again in Velira. As the sun set below the horizon of his last day in the village, Rivyn found himself standing right in the middle of his workshop, soaking in everything for the very last time. The hours he had so often spent crafting inside these walls—learning and fumbling—resounded within him like never before. It was a crucible to struggle, he thought; it was a sanctuary for growth. Now, it was time to say goodbye. The System chimed softly within his eyes.
[Task Progress: Move to Velira – 50% Completed.]
He was halfway, yet the real journey still lay ahead of him. And now only one day of travel away, this city seemed a whole other place where he needed to prove himself all over again. It was now going to be totally different, seeing as he did not have the fallback of a safe village in which he could hide. Rivyn slammed the workshop door shut and withdrew the key, tucking it into his pocket. He'd already struck a deal with the village elder for the sale of the place upon his departure. The feeling of finality lay heavy upon him, though pushed aside by an adrenaline rush of the adventures that lay beyond. And Velira waited.