Jaeger gauged the man before him before taking his hand.

“The name’s Jaeger and I am the best Bounty Hunter in the guild.”

Jin laughed at that and pumped Jaeger's hand.

“You are also the only Bounty Hunter in the guild. Now that I've met our newest guild member, let's get down to business.” Letting go of his hand, Jin turned back to Lisette. “You needed a healer, and here I am. How can I help you?”

“This actually has to do with our newest guild member.” Lisette gestured lazily at the bounty hunter. “He's got a new magic item, but its requirements are violent and almost lethal.”

“Interesting. As you know, this isn't the first time I've been asked to help with magical items, so before I agree, let's talk about my fee.”

“If it's your normal fee, don't worry, Jaeger will be able to cover it.”

“Yes, yes, yes. I'll just charge guild member rates, and since it's not an emergency, it'll be a tad more expensive. The last thing I need is a description of what the item does and what kind of damage it does. I ask for the description because I refuse to work with nefarious items, you can get one of the other healers in that case.”

“And the damage type?”

“If I know what kind of damage you're going to take, I can prepare better. For some types, a matter of seconds can make the difference between being healed and fully healed.”

Jaeger looked at Lisette with a raised eyebrow.

“I can't make this decision for you, or at least not for the description. It's a personal decision, but I will say that it's not too much to ask. The guild also guarantees safety in exchanges between members.”

Jin held a hand to his heart, his expression one of intense pain and hurt.

“Manager Lisette, you wound me. What have I done to make you feel that you need to make such assurances to our newest member?”

Lisette rolled her eyes as the blue-eyed man burst out laughing.

“Don't worry Jaeger, I know Jin, if you tell him about your item, he'll keep it a secret. He's only talked about items that are disasters waiting to happen.”

“Well, Jin, if Lisette says you can be trusted, I'm willing to give you a chance. The item is called the Armory of the Armiger. I've still got the analysis card, so you can read about it here.”

He handed the card to Jin and waited for the man to read it.

Armory of the Armiger

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[cursed]

A bracelet that once belonged to a royal family. The royal family died defending their lands from apocalyptic destruction, but this bracelet survived. Having developed a low consciousness, it curses anyone who wears it to never wield a weapon it has not consumed, believing that only it can protect its wearer.

Cursebound, once on, it won't come off until the wearer dies.

The Armory can hold a number of weapons equal to the number of beads on it. Once placed inside, the weapons become unbreakable and linked to the bracelet, and has a resummon ability.

Weapons not placed inside the bracelet cannot be wielded.

Requirement for placement: Bearer must be fatally wounded by the weapon.

Jin quickly read the card before handing it back to Jaeger.

“That's a lot of trust you've shown me. Most people just read the background and curse relevant details to me; rarely do I get the full article. After reading it, I'm happy to help you, I've seen a few curses like this, so as a thank you for your trust, I'll give you some insight. These curses usually resolve themselves and become beneficial after a certain amount of use. I would guess that this one is related to the number of pearls, or perhaps the quality of the weapons used.”

“I appreciate the information, Jin. Since you're willing to help, I'd like to get this done soon. Although, now that I think about it, I'll have to replace my axe.”

Lisette points to the spare axe he took from the raider on his belt.

“You have a unique piece, even if it doesn't look like the one you came in with.”

“It's not. My original axe started to break during the fight with Crusher and was completely broken when he fell. All I have is the handle.” He pulled it out and showed them. “I was thinking of finding a blacksmith to reuse it, maybe just get a new axe head.”

Lisette nodded, scribbled quickly on some papers and stood up.

“The Blacksmith Guild lends us a single Grand Master, a number of Masters, and their apprentices and journeymen. In return, we take orders from them at a discount; for the use of their smiths I’ve always thought we came out ahead. Come on, I'll introduce you to them and we'll see what they can do. Jin, are you coming or do you have something else to do?”

“I don't have any jobs scheduled, and since I wasn't sure what you needed, I had planned for this to take up most of my day. Since it sounds like this new weapon will be added to your armory, I'm willing to come along. I needed to talk to Master Juanna about my own equipment anyway.”

With that, the trio left the guild and headed outside. Behind the guild, in the opposite direction of the training area, was an open building from which came the sounds of clanging metal and loud shouts.

Inside were numerous forges, anvils, tools, and blacksmithing equipment that Jaeger barely recognized. Next to them were clearly magical tools and materials, such as green glowing pillars and what could only be a dragon skull. Humans, dwarves, and some harder-to-identify creatures were at work, the sounds of clanging and banging filling the air. From where the trio stood, however, the sounds were muffled.

When they reached a black line drawn in the ground, the group stopped and waited. Jaeger wasn't sure why, but soon a dwarf in an armored apron approached them.

“Whadda’ya want?”

“Charming. I need to speak with one of your masters about work.” Lisette replied.

“Tis on you if’n you’re messing around, but I’ll grab one for ya.”

“Also is Master Juanna around?” Jin asked, stopping the dwarf.

“Aye, she’s out by forge seven.”

“I have business with her I will see myself over. Good luck to you both.”

With that, Jin walked away, heading to the left. The dwarf watched him for a moment before shrugging and walking away himself, deeper into the building where Jaeger lost sight of him.