“Oh, and this. Absolutely this. Do you know what this is? It’s a whole lizard made of stone.”
“Why not just use an actual stone, then?” Matt asked, completely lost for the fifth time in the last ten minutes.
“Because stones can’t walk, you idiot. This could.”
The old man was going crazy, jumping from piles of hide to piles of bone, stacks of metal to stacks of wood, and bolts of cloth to bolts of demon-tendon string like a kid on a timed shopping spree in a toy store. He was efficient in gathering as much as he could, and everything he set on was something he swore he needed. Derek vouched for him. Apparently, making a single set of armor required about five or ten times the mass in ingredients of the finished armor itself, sometimes more.
Only once did the old man light on something he didn’t end up saying they needed to take, a big lump of dull-colored metal that he gazed at for a few moments before moving on.
“No good for armor?” Matt asked.
“No, it’s good, just not for what ya need. Good material, though, for heavier use.” The smith went back into action, pulling out several bones and a few rolls of tendon and cloth he said would help finish the product, and then they were done.
“Alright, Boy. Buy these things, and we’ll be off. I’m sure they have a bag or a tarp to carry them in, somewhere.”
“There’s a little problem with that,” Matt said, pulling out his payment token. “I’m not exactly sure how this thing works.”
“Can I see it again?” The smith asked. Matt handed it over, and he regarded it for a few moments. “I’m pretty sure it works off intent. Focus on the stuff ya want, think about buying it, and it should be yours when you’re done.”
Matt caught the token out of the air as the smith threw it back, then poured his intent into it. Suddenly, he was flooded with dozens of information screens, apparently describing everything he had bought. It was all his now.
“Wow I think I got it. Should be good.” Matt said.
“Can I see that again? The credit token, or whatever ya call it,” the old man asked. Matt tossed it over again, and he huffed. “Not even a tenth spent, and that’s raiding the best stuff in here without holding back even a little. Not bad, boy. Not bad.”
“Should I feel guilty about this? Spending this much on the treasures for just a single suit of armor, I mean.”
“Absolutely not, boy. This stuff’s been in here for years. They hoard it. Believe me, they are probably relieved ya are spending it on this and not anything else. Doesn’t mess up the local economy that way.”
As they turned to go ask for shopping bags, Matt had one last thought. Willing a bit more into the token, he made one last purchase, then followed the others out.
—
It had turned out the guards had something a bit better than a bag to give. They had a delivery service. Rather than carry everything back, Matt, Derek, and the old man decided to wait a little bit longer to have the guards cart everything back to the smith’s house, which meant they had some time to burn.
That was fine because Matt had some money to burn. He had taken a bath that day, but he could already tell he was hooked on it. There was nothing stopping him and he had no desire to deprive himself of unlimited baths. After treating everyone to another bath and impromptu clothes washing, he treated everyone to dinner.
Derek and the old man were really able to pack away soup. They ordered a cauldron of it, which Matt thought was a joke until two large, cast iron pots filled with steaming soup showed up at their table, accompanied by several good-sized loaves of bread. No one else batted an eye at the pots sticking out like an eyesore.
Matt also ordered a steak, which showed up on-the-bone, huge, and very rare. He wasn’t trying to be gluttonous, but the soup still made him lightheaded when he ate it, while the steak was merely very, very good. He downed the entire steak, a loaf of the perfect, fresh bread, and a small cup of soup before they headed back to the smith’s home to sort their booty.
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—
“Put the skins over there. No, not the hides, ya idiots, the skins. The hides go over there. Sort them by weight. Not thickness. Weight. Use yar PER, and at least some brains. Good. Now…”
It was past dark when they got back to the smith’s house, but he wasn’t in the mood to wait around with all the material they now had. When Matt asked him if he would rather hold off until the morning, the smith mumbled something about how Matt would probably wait until the next morning to kiss a pretty girl.
“I don’t understand what you just said, old man.”
“And that’s why yar still single.”
The old man talked constantly while he worked, not only for the purpose of managing the work but also, Matt sensed, to get rid of the sheer nervous energy of being around so many crafting materials. It seemed like caffeine for him. Soon enough, they were down to the few metals they had purchased for the project, and one of them immediately caught his eye.
“What’s that?” he asked, eyes stuck on it. “That wasn’t on the list.”
“Oh, that,” Matt replied. “I just figured I owed you something for this. It seems like it’s going to be a lot of work, and I did steal your title. It seemed like you wanted it, anyway.”
“That, boy, is… I don’t even know if there’s a proper name for it. We only have a single block of it, stolen from a demon convoy when I was young. We called it demonic platinum. I’ve had my eye on it for… hell, for decades, at least. Let me see that token.”
Matt tossed it to him, and he tossed it back after checking it for only a moment.
“Boy, this cost twice as much as the rest of this stuff combined. And they aren’t gonna be happy ya took it, even if you did pay for it.”
“You said it’s been sitting around for decades, when it could have been used, right?”
The smith nodded.
“Then I don’t care. And I bet they don’t even notice until after I’m gone.”
The blacksmith roared with laughter. “That they probably won’t. But ya still can’t do this. It’s too much.”
“It’s not. You are taking it. If you want to pay me back, I bought a couple of metals that Derek thought were cool, too. Make him a sword, or something.”
“Ya… Listen, boy, you know that restaurant we ate at? And the bathhouse? You could buy both those two stores ten times for what this block costs. Hell, ya could probably buy the laundress herself too, soaps and all. I can’t take this.”
“Then I’m going to chuck it into the sewer. I swear I will, old man. I’ll bury it down there, under the muck, and it will never get used. For anything.”
The old man considered this for a moment, before wordlessly walking over and taking the metal brick off the floor. He caressed it with his hand for a moment, before walking over and firing up the forge.
“Getting started already?” Matt said. It was getting pretty late, and he’d feel bad if the old man worked all night on his account. “I don’t need the armor that bad, old man.”
“Armor?” The old man said, while gazing lovingly at the metal. “Screw that, ya idiot. I’m getting started on my new hammer. Come back in the morning. I’ll feed ya. We can get started on the work then.” He hummed a little, pumping the forge up to its maximum heat and, for once, had the barest hint of a smile. It was the first time that Derek saw that face without being accompanied by either him hitting someone or laughing very hard at one of his own jokes.
The boys shuffled out as he continued mumbling sweet nothings about the proper wood for the shaft of the hammer, and generally not noticing they were leaving at all. Derek and Matt stood there for a little while discussing lodging options for Matt, before deciding he’d just go get a room above a local tavern with a good reputation.
“Well, Derek, thanks for the day. It was nice. Couldn’t tell you how much I needed the full anime experience. I mean, you’ve seen where I’m from.”
“Yeah, I have. Not a lot of barmaids there, I guess.”
“Not exactly, but yeah. I’ll tell you about it sometime.”
As they turned to part ways, there was a sudden bang on the forge, coupled with loud, audible singing from the smith. Whatever that metal was, it was putting him in a very good mood.
“Hey, Matt?” Derek said, laughing. “You know how you wanted a good set of armor?”
“Yeah?”
“I think you’re gonna get it. I’m almost afraid of what he’s gonna do with that new hammer. Good move.”
—
The tavern room ended up being clean, beautiful, and furnished with the biggest bed Matt had ever seen in real life. He was pretty sure that this wasn’t the room you got if you were a random traveler. As Derek said, word of his accomplishments seemed to be getting around.
But none of that was important. He would have been nearly as happy sleeping on the ground. What was important was that the room was private, with heavy stone walls and a heavy, well-fitting stone door. Nobody would hear anything said in the room, which was good. Earlier that day, Matt had gotten a bit of a fright from Lucy, and there hadn’t been a good moment to work it out yet. He had enjoyed his time in town, but a little less knowing that Lucy was keeping quiet, especially because something was clearly nagging her.
“Lucy.” Matt just jumped into it. He had learned that was the best way to have a hard conversation, or at least the best way he knew how to. “What was bothering you earlier today? And don’t tell me it was nothing. I saw your face.”
“It’s not a big deal, Matt. You can just go to bed.”
“Bullshit. Tell me. If I did something, I’m sorry. I know I’ve been ignoring you. I know that can’t be fun. Is that it?”
“No. It’s not that.”
“Then what?” Matt wasn’t quite shouting, but he was a little louder than usual, a little more forceful. Something told him not to let this one go.
“It’s just…” Lucy gave up on holding back the truth, which Matt sensed with relief. “It’s just that, after your haircut and shave, you looked a lot like you did when I first met you. Back on Gaia, on that log.”
She sighed.
“And I hated that guy.”