A huge, wooden sign hung down from a small pole, attached to the wall just by the smithy's entrance. The sign itself was covered with simplistic pictures outlining the general prices within the store, with each picture of an item accompanied by a picture of red, blue, or empty circles.
'A knife for two silvers, sword for seven silvers, axe for five, and an arrowhead for two bronzes apiece, huh?' Theo took note as he scanned and then committed the sign to his memory.
Now that he finally waited for what he was due and was just a few customers away from reaching the smithy's entrance, the speed at which the queue moved appeared to slow down even further.
'Is it just my perception, or are people really starting to take their time inside?' Theo thought, watching how a lucky fellow just left the smithy through the side door, happily carrying away two clattering pouches and two sheathed swords.
For him, the watch was over.
For Theo, however, it had yet to conclude. And the few patrons before him were clearly of the more troublesome kind, given just how long each of them would take inside!
'This is really getting on my nerves,' Theo thought, clenching his hands as he forced himself to calm down and patiently wait his turn.
One.
Two.
Three.
Finally, the adventurer Theo talked with before finally reached his own turn, happily stepping into the smithy only for its doors to close right in Theo's face, forcing him to wait for the man to leave before he could enter himself.
'Assuming they won't mind my small favor, I should be done in an hour or less, leaving me…' Theo turned to the side and looked at the sky, measuring the position of the sun relative to the path it took in the sky since morning, 'just enough time for a quick hunt, huh?'
For the very first time in Theo's second—third?—life, he could see the tangible benefits of waking up extremely early to have something done. Just like his original parents taught him, way before he somehow merged with the novel's extra, by dragging his flu-ridden ass over to the doctor hours before the clinic would even open, all to claim a better spot in the queue—preferably before it would even form!
Sure, waking up early to go stand in the queue didn't pay off as much this time, given how Theo had already lost a better part of the day, but it left him with just enough time to turn around and forcefully make the day somewhat productive.
"Next!"
Finally, the doors to the smithy opened up for Theo, allowing him to step into its smoky, heavy-aired bellows outfitted with nothing but a simple yet massive stone counter and a huge, sweaty man—a picture-perfect example of a fantasy-born smith—behind it.
"What do you need?" the man asked while wiping his forehead with his huge, fatty, and gloved hand. "A sword? A knife? A spear maybe?"
Theo smiled lightly before reaching for his money pouch, safely tucked inside his pants and then secured with two stretches of thin steel wire.
"I need two swords, three spears, three knives, and arm braces," the young man said without hesitation, not even caring enough to peer over the counter into the depths of the smithy or at the weapon display rack hanging on the wall behind the blacksmith manning the counter.
"A-any models in particular?" Theo's rather huge request only threw a tiny hint of surprise into the smith's voice.
"Just whatever that's most popular. But this order will also come with a request," Theo added before the man could turn away to grab the wares. "While I'm here, would it be possible for me to borrow a table to modify those weapons to my liking?" he asked before pulling out a gold coin, worth more than thrice the price of all that he ordered. "That, and I would like a few answers."
The smith's eyes instantly locked in on the gold coin, forcing him to reassess Theo as a customer.
In the end, this sweaty bulk of a man stood up from the stool he was half-sitting on before leaning on the counter and tapping down on it with his stubby thumb.
Chuckling a little, Theo flung the coin up, aiming it so that it fell down right by the smith's hand… Only to vanish into thin air as the man swiped his hand and grabbed the golden piece.
"Ask away."
"Do you guys buy raw materials? If not, where best am I to go to sell off the spoils of my hunt? And, would you offer a proper discount if I were to make orders big enough to keep paying with those?" Theo asked, only to fish out and flash a sister to the gold coin he just spent.
"Raw materials… That depends," the smith shook his shoulders. "If it's something we can use and if you have it in yourself to stand in the queue all day, sure," he said while waving his hand, dismissing the topic as something below his station to even address. "For stuff like meat, furs, and the like, your best bet is to seek out the carver's guild, smack-dab by the city's outer gate. As for your last question…" the smith suddenly grew silent, his eyes tracking every tiniest move of the golden piece in Theo's hand. "We are already selling for cheap, but…"
The smith shook his head, as if he was about to refuse Theo's request.
"But I will see what can be done. And if you really want to order enough to pay with gold, there might be some wiggle room left. As for a workshop," the smith shook his shoulders again, "there's more than enough space for you, just as long as you don't bother anyone."
Theo's smile grew wider as he threw the second coin to the smith before jumping over the counter and moving behind the man and then past the narrow passage that connected the shop to the smithy proper.
"One last thing," having spent two entire gold coins so far, Theo called out to the shopkeeper yet again, "could you bring my weapons over to my station rather than to the counter?" he asked while keeping his small, courteous smile. "I don't see a point in you bringing them out, only for me to bring them right back to the shop."