The next few days did little to restore my memory, but were a big step in helping me find my feet within the guild once more. For all Kete’s intimidating appearance and gruff demeanour, the veteran adventurer clearly had a caring personality. Where Eimer showed her care through copious quantities of exceptional food, Kete showed his through blunt comments and his willingness to give of his time - not that many of the greenhorn adventurers he led through weapon drills appreciated that. Ironically, he’d be the first to call me out if I was overdoing things. It seemed the requirement of the rental equipment to be of decent quality versus my perfectionist nature was an old argument of ours. Frankly he had a point, painful though it was to admit. This became easier when while dropping off some of the gear, I overheard him lambasting an adventurer, pointing out if they didn’t take care of their equipment, they couldn’t rely on it to take care of them. Though his explanation of the precept involved a lot more swearing.
With Kete busy between instructing new adventurers and appraising dungeon loot, I only saw him briefly at meals in the few days after losing my memories. He did however ensure I had plenty of company. Taffy frequently joined me, though he wasn’t a fan of the loud grinding or cascade of sparks thrown when some of the better steel was put to the grindstone. Eimer confided that Kete had been the one to find me when I had collapsed, thanks in no small part to Taffy, and I think they were concerned it might happen again. I was even reintroduced to the proudest of Kete’s animal companions, Xiu. To say Xiu appeared to be an ordinary black cat, while in some ways accurate, would do her a grave disservice. The only thing average about her was her size. Her coat flowed, silky and black as the finest ink, always immaculately groomed without a hair out of place. Cats walk or trot, Xiu glided on four paws. People joke that cats think they are the pet owners; as that tiny ball of elegance looked around and sniffed upon entering my workshop, selected her perch atop a workbench, and gracefully curled up before meeting my gaze and giving a nod as if to permit me to continue, I understood. Xiu believes the world hers by right, she simply deigns to allow others to live in it. She’s also fluffy and adorable.
As I worked my way through the barrel of equipment over a few days I didn’t see the guildmaster again, though that wasn’t really a surprise. I assumed her work and whatever politics the Liu clan stuff entailed would keep her plenty busy, but as Argat filled me in on some of the ‘fundamental resources’ I discovered cultivating qi requires a lot of time spent in meditation. I fervently hoped that qi wouldn’t be something I had to deal with for that reason, sure it may extend your lifespan, but what’s the point if you spend most of your time meditating? I got pretty in the zone when making things, so if that could count as meditation I’d be totally down for it, but I doubted it was that convenient.
Surprisingly, I didn’t see too much of Argat after the first day. He made time to fit me in where he could, but between adventurers and the construction crew finishing the rest of the outpost, there were plenty of injuries for him to treat, as well as many seeking advice regarding classes and skills. The guildmaster only stepped in to heal injuries that were both recent and major - which were thankfully uncommon. However, while there were plenty of people who could bandage a wound, Argat got a visit for anything that might take more than a day or two to heal. Apparently having a skill that made those who had been under your care heal faster, made you popular – who could have guessed? More seriously, Argat told me one of the duties of sages was to help limit the spread of plague and infection. While I didn’t really get how all that stuff worked – nor did I really want to – I was all for stopping it spreading near me. So, when a session got cancelled just as it was about to start by a kid rushing in saying something about a burn and a dropped punty, I left him to it. Though I did wonder what a punty was and why it sounded so damn familiar.
This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.
My memories seemed to be staying stubbornly absent for the most part, though now and then something like the metal ingots would spark a recollection of how things were different here, presumably to the dwarven hold I grew up in. Apparently older memories sticking better wasn’t uncommon, and frankly at this point I’d take whatever I could get. At least I was gaining some confidence as I worked with the weapons that a lot of my muscle memories and knowledge were still present, I just had to rediscover them. It might just be my crafting skill putting in a lot of work, but either way the effect was the same. Argat had mostly agreed with the guildmaster that I was unlikely to overdraw anything while just using my passive skills, and tomorrow I’d have the all-clear to join Kete evaluating the spoils from the dungeon and testing the limits of my appraisal skill.
Returning to the workshop I passed by a young builder running back outside, clutching a box of nails. He didn’t even pause as he rushed past jabbering breathlessly,
“Hey sorry Vaul had to borrow some nails payyoubacklaterbye!”
He was gone before I could even fully process what was said, and I mentally added forging more nails to my to-do list. It would probably be a good reintroduction to the forge, though I’d have to work out exactly how to make them. Maybe casting? If so I’d definitely need to be making more than one at a time.
Sticking my head through behind the counter in the main hall I managed to catch Sarala’s eye just as she looked up from a document, letting a pair of finely wrought spectacles hang from a chain around her neck. While what just happened was probably fine, I figured I should double check and get a gauge on how common it was likely to be. While I hadn’t had much occasion to talk to the older woman yet, she was happy to help.
“The workers are in the employ of the Lei clan, so lending some nails should be no issue. However, them wandering unaccompanied into the storeroom sets a poor precedent.” The thoughtful purse to her lips disappeared, “Leave this to me. I’ll have a few discreet words to ensure future requests are made to you directly, and that nails were all that was procured.”
She set off at a surprisingly brisk pace despite leaning heavily on her cane, offering a quick apology to the other gentleman behind the desk before heading further into the staff only area of the guild to my surprise. I’d offer to help the man but without any idea what to do I’d be more of a hinderance. Thankfully most adventurers were actively out completing quests or delving into the dungeon at this time of the afternoon, with only a few trickling back in to report completion. Deciding the best thing I could do would be to get back to work, I returned to the workshop.