After a short time walking Artanis had reached Wystan’s store, however to her surprise its doors were locked, having no keys Artanis had no other choice but to knock at the door. At such early time in the morning, most NPC’s would be sleeping and that seemed to be the case with Wystan.
When she left his store she had forgot to ask for a spare key, thought either way he would had not given it to her. Trusting her with the shop while he were awake was one thing, but letting a stranger have control over who enters while he were asleep was another matter.
“He must be sleeping, sigh. I guess I will have to buy the tools.” Said Artanis mumbling to herself, ready to leave and go to one of the few stores on the city which were not closed so early in the morning. That is, till the door opened and old man with a sleepy face came from it wearing a white pajama, similar to the ones you would see in old movies.
“Back so soon?” Asked Wystan yawing having just woken up. Normally having his sleep disturbed being early in the morning would had made him furious, but the fact his apprentice had come back so early had made him happy, proud of how dedicated she was to blacksmithing, coming back so early from her work break.
“Sorry for waking you up” Said Artanis, embarrassed she had made a elderly man woke up so early, and to make things worse, she had did so, to ask him for a favor.
“Bwahaha! Don’t worry lass, your dedication to your work, is admirable.” Said Wystan, expressing what he thought, the reason for her early return were.
“I… wanted to ask for a favor.” She said, timidly.
“Just ask it then, though I can’t guarantee anything.” He was slighty disappointed that she had waked him up, only to ask him for a favor. Although he was curious, as what exactly she wanted.
“I need a hammer, a whetstone, a tong, and a polishing cloth, could you lend them for me?” Asked Artanis, hopeful he would lend one of the many high quality tools he had in his shop. It was not a difficult request, so the chance of him accepting was rather high. Although he might not to give them since she had bothered him during the morning.
“I don’t mind doing so, but why you need them?” He asked, the fact she wanted to take the tools outside the shop, meant she wanted to do something with them, something unrelated with his shop.
“I need rabbit leather, so I thought to trade it for my services at the city square.” She explained, hearing her answer, Wystan smiled, although he did not know what she needed the leather for, he knew Just how absurd it’s price had become thanks to the traveler’s greed.
“I see, it’s not a bad plan, lass. Very well, I will lend you some tools.” Said Wystan, entering his shop, inside he picked up a hammer, the smallest in the pile, then one of the smallest tongs as well. After he had done so, he took a small whetstone and a piece of white cloth. She watched him do so, in silence, as she knew better that to ask for this or that specify hammer, as he were, after all doing her a favor.
“You will also need this portable forge, and take this coal bag and fire stones, just break then with the hammer to start a small fire. I wish you the best of luck, lass. Oh and take this money as well, use it to buy some milk and eggs, before you return here, ok?” Said Wystan, giving her the tools and two silver coins. She packed the tools on her large backpack, and put the Money on her pouch, having thanked Wystan for the tools, and promising to deliver the Milk and eggs when she returned. Back at the city square’s bench, she took the tools off and started yelling.
“I am repairing, any equipment! Sharpening weapons and polishing armor! One rabbit leather for each service!” She yelled as loud as she could, her beautiful voice setting her aside from the others merchants in the square, attracted much attention and soon a short Young man approached.
“How high are your skills?” He asked, as the skill level played a big part in the results of a repair.
“Level Five, and both polishing and sharpening are at level three, what can I do for you, young sir?” Asked Artanis, with a smile that simply could melt a man’s heart, well not literally, or she would already have the blood red Mark of a PK, from melting the hearts of many players at the square.
“Please repair and sharpen my iron sword, do it well and I won’t mind giving you an extra leather.” The young man, said. handing her a short sword, made of low quality copper, dented and with its blade almost blunt. Normally, a blacksmith player would just tell the Young man to throw it away and get a decent sword, and they cost less to make, than what one normally asked for repair fees.
Filling the portable stove with coal and a fire Stone, with a light blow it cracked, forming a small flame, which shortly started to burn the high quality coal near it. After the stove had heated enough, she dismantled the sword and held it’s blade with the tong borrowed from Wystan. Her work had by now became a sideshow, she thought that perhaps she should ask for tickets to the blacksmithing circus, but decided it was good publicity.
“I never saw a Blacksmith work before, it seems hard” Commented a young blond boy, one of the many observers.
“True, I wonder if she is skilled?” Commented another man; in fact, most of the observers were male, coming both because of their curiosity and for the excuse to look at her closely.
Each time her hammer clashed against the sword a loud ringing sound could be heard. Each strike brought the blazing metal sword closer to its original form. Having reshaped the sword Artanis brought it towards the fountain using its water to cool it, done so she carefully ground the blade against her whetstone, in almost no time the short sword’s blade had been sharpened. Finishing her work, Artanis reassembled the blade into the sword, in front of the crowd’s eyes. Her job completed, Artanis returned the now repaired sword to the young man hands who now inspected it.
Bent Copper Short SwordType:Short SwordQuality:PoorDurability:7/15Artistic Value:13Creator:Marcus VernoldDamage:3~6Description:Cheap sword made from low quality materials, having been made by an unskilled smith; this is far from being a good weapon. Bends easily, and does not cut well; but at least is affordable.Restriction:Strength 10+Effect(s)Bends Easily.
Capable Of Both Piercing And Slashing Damage.
Causes Minor Bleeding Damage.
“Thank you, here is the three pieces of leather I had promised you.” Said the sword’s owner, giving them to Artanis, who now smiled, not out of courtesy to the client, but for being genuinely happy her plan were working. The young man had said he would give her an extra piece of leather if he found her work to be satisfactory, but that were a lie, as long she manage to repair it, he wanted to give such gift to the beautiful elf.
“Excuse me, can you also repair armor?” Asked a girl, an aspiring knight in training, she wore the basic iron armor gave to anyone who completed the basic knight training, becoming a squire. Hearing her question Artanis once again smiled, she had done her a favor, as most were not sure about her skills. Not all blacksmith knew how to repair everything, as each kind of equipment demanded a different technique, but Artanis had trained long enough on such a varied pile of metal wares, that she could repair almost anything.
“Yes I can!” she said, taking the light, thin, iron breastplate. And so she started repairing it, one of the many repairs she did that day, a smile on her for the success of her plan, the merchants who were looking to buy leather as well, eyed her with envy, as she hammered her way into success.
A scraping, metallic sound was heard, as a broad iron axe Artanis were currently sharpening, was ground against the whetstone borrowed from Wystan, her plan had been going well. She had repaired a total of thirty-eight armors, as well as polishing twenty-six of them. As for weapons, she had repaired forty-two of them, varying from axes to swords, as well daggers, and hammers. And sharpened thirty of them, that is, all of the bladed weapons she received to repair. Even if her attack increase was almost insignificant at her current level, although it would be greater, if not for the fact most of the weapons she had to sharpen, had their damage only at the single digits.
“Here it is Sir; it will be two leathers, for the repair and sharpening.” Said Artanis, having finished sharpening the axe, she showed it to its owner for inspection. The man, who were bald, full of scars and looked as if even his muscles had muscles, were smiling, one of the rare customers to have a weapon with a two digits attack power, the increase were still small, but even the smallest increase can be helpful and most, if not all her customers thought the same.
‘It’s going so well.’ She thought, as in six hours of work, she had received one hundred-thirty-six pieces of rabbit leathers, plus thirty-four, as gift from admirers. Some feminists would complain she were using, her good looks to get what she wanted, degrading women everywhere. But to Artanis they were just envious or her appearance and too stupid to use their natural talents. Why would it matter the reason she received a gift, if she wanted it and received it, why would she give it back?
Because of her pride as a woman, some would say. But to her sounded more like arrogance, she learned to be grateful for any gifts received, even the ones she did not really like, as good manners dictated, and both her parents considered good manners to be very important, although their views on what were good manners, was slightly different.
“Excuse me, my dear, but how much would you charge to make a weapon?” Asked an old woman, her wrinkles and snow-white hair, vouched for Royal Road’s popularity, which trespassed the barriers of gender and age.
“I am sorry, madam. Right now I am not offering such service.” She answered, while not a lie, not even once, she stated, that she were not able to create things yet. Rather than saying so, she talked in a way that led them to believe she could do so, and perhaps they would have come another day, to request her services.
“That’s a pity dear, but if not today. How much would you ask?” The reason for her question was obvious, experience. As an old homemaker, she knew to always hunt for the best prices and never spend her money before being sure there were no better offers, that spirit, carried over even into this virtual world.
“If you were to provide the materials, I would charge more or less than 80 coppers.” Answered Artanis, it was a great offer, in fact, the best the woman had heard today. And hearing so caused the old woman smile.
“I will not be able to leave here anytime soon. My dear, will you still be here in two weeks?” Asked the granny, who had only started to play recently, receiving the capsule from her granddaughter, who lived in another country, her intentions were to see her beloved granny and to distract the lonely lady, who now lived alone. Her husband who had died years ago, leaving her alone, she never remarried, although there were a few love interests in her live.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Yes, and I can give you a twenty percent discount, if you promise, to come to me for repairs. Said Artanis, who could see the granny’s eyes light up, having heard the magic word, the very word, which often made people buy things, they often did not need. Because, after all. Who can resist a good discount? The granny, called Gabby agreed to her terms, registering her in the friend list. And so Artanis got one captive client.
Having earned sixty-eight silver coins, worth of rabbit leathers, all the aspiring merchants envied her. Needing to gather twelve gold coins worth of leather for the class test, one Artanis had avoided thanks to the recommendation letter. She had more than enough money to buy that amount, thanks to the gold she earned from overpricing Wystan’s products. But to your average player, the first gold coin they ever managed to get was the one given for the test.
“Excuse me madam. But is it true, that you charge only a leather piece for each repaired object?” Asked, the young kind looking man, who looked to be a priest, wearing white robes, and the amulet she had seen before, on the priest who advised her about the leather price, it was a small iron plate with an arrow pointing upward. Wearing her business smile, she answered the young man’s question.
“Yes, what can I help you with?” She asked, curious. As the only metal object on the young priest were the amulet on his neck, and it looked to be in pristine condition. Neither he carried a bag, or in fact anything. Having just the amulet and the clothes, he wore.
“I am not a traveler, would that change anything?” The priest asked, causing Artanis to wonder why he asked such question. She decided to ask him.
“No, why would it?” She asked, looking at the young priest’s honey colored eyes. Both her question and her action surprised him.
“That’s… Well, some travelers treat us natives as if we were not human.” He said, sadness filling his eyes.
“I sorry to hear that, but what you need repaired?” Having her doubts cleared, she decided to continue her business with him.
“I represent the church of Tyr, there are many things we need repaired. As we have means of easily acquiring such leather, I can promise you at least apiece for each object repaired. That is depending about the quality of your work.” He said, looking at her waiting for an answer.
The Sacred Church's Iron
The sacred church of Tyr, the god of light and war, asked by a young priest restore the many iron objects inside his church, who had heard about your low prices, he decided to hire you, deciding to accept his offer will improve your relation with both the church and him.Quest Rank: ERequisites:Repair skill. Agreeing to the priest terms. Treating NPCs well.Reward:A piece of rabbit leather for each object repaired. Increased familiarity with the young priest. Contribution points for the church of Tyr. Other rewards may be given based on your performance.
"Okay, just let me arrange my belongings." Said Artanis smiling, it was a chance to gather a large amount of leather in one go.
Quest accepted
Having received a quest from a young priest from the church of Tyr, Artanis filled her canteen with water from the nearby fountain, and extinguished the portable furnace’s fire. Having extinguished the fire, she gathered all of her tools, with the help of the young priest and packed them away on her large backpack. The young priest, who had offered her the quest, seeing she had finished packing her things, spoke.
“Please follow me, madam.” He said, walking towards the western exit of the city square, looking back once, to see if she were following him. Not far from there a humble looking carriage, waited. On it were a rather old man, his face, filled with scars, that and his muscular body, hinted towards his profession.
“Your, Ho… Horses are ready to go, Hovannes.” The man sitting at the front of the carriage, said. After he had noticed the priest’s arrival, Artanis was suspicious about how he stuttered during the word horse, that and how the priest looked at him angrily as he said so.
“Madam, let me introduce you. This man is brother Alasdair, An old friend.” Said Hovannes, as he, arrived near the carriage. Hearing so, Alasdair started to introduce himself.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, milady… ?” Only then, the priest noticed he had never asked for her name, the embarrassment was clear on his face.
“Artanis, but please don’t call me milady.” She answered, having heard that word too many times today, she did not want to be called so, anymore, today.
“I am sorry, for my lack of manners. I should have asked, so before.” Said Hovannes, trying to apologize for what he did. He was well educated, so having forgotten to do something so basic shocked him.
“Gahahaha! Do not worry, Sir. I am sure she’s not offended.” Said Alasdair, laughing at the embarrassed young priest, who were now looking at Artanis, as I he wanted confirmation; she nodded, as she was not bothered by that, as she too, did not ask for his name.
Alasdair, offered to carry her backpack into the carriage, which she glad accept. After all had entered into it, the trip started, the church, which was on the west side of the city, were still far away, so Artanis used the trip, as a mean to acquire information.
“Please don’t be offended, but I never heard, about the church of Tyr. Would you mind, explaining about it to me?” She asked, worried the priest would be offended by her lack of knowledge. Well, at least in game, as she had already studied about Nordic myths before and knew who Tyr were.
“I am not; it is not uncommon for travelers, to ask such questions. And it will be a pleasure to enlighten you on the grandness of Tyr.” Hovannes said, smiling. He then started to explain in detail about his religion, the acts of his god, the concepts of his faith, he also mentioned about other gods, such as Freya and Odin. Artanis listened with attention, as if she were a child hearing their grandfather speak about a fantastic adventure.
A new attribute has been generated: Faith
Faith
Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. The trust in someone, or something; no matter what happens. Through it, one can move mountains; split apart rivers and continue even after all hope is gone. Among other things, it affects the use of holy magic; along with wisdom.
“It makes me happy, to see such interest in our faith.” He said, noticing how attentively she listened to his preaching. Most travelers showed no interest in faith, unless they had classes related to faith, but even so, few showed as much interest and respect for the words he said.
“We have arrived.” Said Alasdair, after stopping the carriage, he and Hovannes left the carriage, soon to be followed by Artanis.
You have witnessed Rockheim’s Cathedral Of Tyr
Rockheim’s Cathedral Of Tyr
This grand cathedral, built almost entirely in white marble, watches over the city of Rockheim, being the pillar of the faith in Tyr, the god of justice. Sculpted on its exterior are images depicting the feats Tyr, engraved by a master sculptor.
One of the six wonders of Rockheim.
Art has permanently been increased by 5
Wisdom has permanently been increased by 5
Faith has permanently been increased by 5
‘Amazing’ Was the only word that came to her mind, as she saw the grand cathedral, she had seen many beautiful buildings in her life, but this one ranked among the top five. Seeing Artanis eyes full of wonder, both men smiled.
“Wonderful, don’t you think? Some say it is more beautiful than Rockheim’s Castle.” Said Alasdair, boasting, as if he was the one who had made it, but he did not look like an artist.
“You can boast about it later, Alasdair. She is here for a reason.” Said Hovannes, reminding both him and Artanis, this was not a tourism trip. Alasdair nodded and started speaking.
“Please follow me, Artanis.” He said, walking towards the cathedral’s gate. But before Artanis followed him, she asked.
“You’re not going with us?” She asked, looking a Hovannes, who were climbing back into the carriage, hearing her question he turned his body as to face her.
“I will come back later; there still things I must do today.” Was all he said, before climbing into the carriage and leaving the cathedral’s premises. But she did not wait to see him leave her view, as she ran towards the cathedral’s gate. Seeing it, a transparent message window appeared.
You have witnessed Cathedral’s Gate Valgrind
Cathedral’s Gate Valgrind
This beautiful Iron Gate get its name from an ancient gate in Asgard, the land of the gods. On it are engraved images depicting the halls of Valhalla, the home of gods. The engraving is well done, showing the skill of its creator.
Art has permanently been increased by 2
Faith has permanently been increased by 2
“As nice as it is, you can stare at it later.” Said Alasdair, beckoning her to enter, seeing its interior she smiled.
‘Thank you, Tyr’ Thought Artanis, seeing that most of the objects inside were made of metal, her quest for leather was going to go well.
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