Nana shooed the two away, telling them not to take long and asked Luna to buy some apple pie from the market on the way back. Exill held up his clay tablet for Luna to inspect while she let loose her golden hair, picking stray strands from her lips as she leaned over to study his shopping list.
“Let’s head to the Blacksmith first, then the Enchanters.”
Exill followed Luna through the afternoon rush, struggling to keep up with the elf who slipped effortlessly through the crowd. They eventually arrived at a smithy, belching black smoke from a tall chimney in a quiet corner of the market. The doors and windows were open, and a wall of hazy heat poured visibly out into the street. A heavyset man with curly mutton chops could be seen behind the counter, wiping sweat from his brows with a sandwich in hand.
“If it isn’t precious Luna my girl, how is that grumpy hag holding up?” The Blacksmith greeted her as they entered the sweltering heat, his eyes twinkling in genuine fondness.
“Master Savta is fine, how are you faring Master Beyrn? Are you drinking enough water?”
The frazzled giant of a man held up a tankard of beer laced with condensation; his lips pursed in glee “I splurged and had this little mug enchanted with ice, so aye, I’m staying hydrated. Now, how can I help you this fine day?”
Luna crossed her arms angrily. “Beer is not water Master Beyrn… I don’t know why I even bother! I’m here to make a request, we need to make a rush order for this knife.”
Master Beyrn studied the parchment.
“Is this to scale? This says mithril... hmm… should be simple enough. Come back in three hours for the blade, I’ll waive the cost of the rush job for brightening up my day with your gorgeous smile.”
Luna quickly exited the smithy, her face red from the heat and embarrassment. She collected herself and pointed down the street. “You can come collect the blade later, and the Enchanter is that building next door. Let’s go to the Carpenter next.”
Exill kept a straight face as he nodded and tried to keep up as she huffed away. Master Beyrn teasing Luna, and her embarrassed response awakened something strange deep within him. ‘Is this what it feels like for veterans in the Guild when they tease newbies for blushing in front of Iris?’
***
Exill and Luna stood to the side of the workbench while a beastfolk man held up a wood saw for the two of them to inspect. His moist ridged nose was plastered with sawdust, and one tufted ear flickered with obvious passion.
“Well, this here is the one I use for cutting the boughs of elder Ironwood Treants. You can see the mithril teeth are far finer than your standard wood saw.” The Carpenter explained.
Exill inspected the bluish blade, but his eyes were attracted to a similar model hung on the wall, but with faintly glowing runes. The Carpenter noticed his curious gaze, laughing while shaking his finger.
“I saw you eyeing up Martha, she is my personal saw and not for sale. Dual enchanted for speed and damage, slices through like butter my beauty.”
He tapped the saw held in Exill’s hand, “This will be plenty good for cutting bone if you don’t mind it being second hand. Crafted by a [Master Blacksmith] if I remember rightly. Give her a try, you can always return it if you ain’t happy.”
Exill thanked the Carpenter then put the mithril bonesaw and set of files into the rucksack. His eyes sparkled as he watched Luna pay the Carpenter eight silver coins (800 Denars) for the goods.
When the two exited the store, Luna tucked her hair behind her ear and gestured to a tavern further down the road, “You should be able to get Dwarven Spirit there, tell them it will be payment on delivery. I need to head back to get that apple pie and check on Nana. Come back once you drop the blade off at the Enchanter!”
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With a quick smile, she melted off into the crowd.
Exill was surprised to find he was sad to let her go. Her lively inquisitive nature was infectious, and he genuinely had fun shopping with her. The sight of her dropping hundreds of denars on his equipment without hesitation made Exill’s heart beat faster than usual.
‘Is this love?’
‘Ah, what am I thinking, the sight of her spending all that money must have blinded me…’ he sighed. The time spent in abject poverty at the refugee camp had twisted him beyond recognition. He hadn’t been like this back on Earth.
Exill sombrely asked for the delivery of a small cask of Dwarven Spirit, emphasizing payment on delivery. He then wandered around the market and eventually settled on a bench overlooking the central fountain with two skewers of mystery meat in hand. After the full three hours had passed, he found himself back in front of the Smithy.
“Ah, you are that lad from earlier. Where is Luna?” Master Beyrn looked behind Exill, visibly disappointed.
“She had to return early to help Master Savta, but promised to drop by on a surprise inspection to ensure you are taking your fluids.”
Master Beyrn grinned widely as he handed a wrapped bundle containing the scalpel. “She is a cute lass, very easy to tease that one. Please check the goods and if you’re happy.”
Exill inspected the well-balanced scalpel. The bluish tinge of mithril reflecting the light of the forge, it felt sleek and deadly in his hand.
“Now, you can purchase this whetstone for when you need to sharpen it, or you can drop it off for my apprentice to handle. Speaking of apprentices, I overheard one of them talking about a Spirit blessed [Witchdoctor] starting at Savta’s clinic. Might that be you?”
Exill nodded in reply.
“Well, take care of that old hag and her precious apprentice. They’re good folks, I’ll see you around healer.”
Exill bowed and exited the Smithy, He didn’t need Master Beyrn telling him to know that Luna and Old Savta were good people. Shaking his head, he entered the Enchanter’s next door.
The indoors were dimly lit in spite of the bright afternoon sun and the air reeked of sulphur and reagents. Behind the counter was a young man with his back turned, organizing a display of jars spanning the entire span of one wall. He turned around in surprise at the sound of Exill entering the store and greeted him in a low voice.
“How can I help you? My master is in the back applying the finishing touches to a project. He should be out shortly.”
Exill unwrapped the freshly forged scalpel and placed it on the counter for the Apprentice to examine. “Hi, I would like to enchant this blade to weakly paralyze a patient and cauterize cuts at the same time. I need this delivered to Savta’s Clinic as soon as possible.”
The Apprentice reacted to Savta’s name and glanced at Exill while inspecting the scalpel. “This is Master Beyrn’s handiwork am I correct? Then we can fit two enchantments on the blade if we use Rock Serpent bile to etch the runes.”
“I actually had a question about that, how does dual enchantment work?
The Apprentice raised a finger while kneeling behind the counter to bring up a velvet lined box containing the most exquisite dagger. It was engraved with a complex pattern of runes interconnected to each other like a circuit.
“If you are not familiar with dual enchantments, I instead recommend you go with two blades with single enchantments each. Dual enchanted items requires fine manipulation to channel mana down one or both pathways, it is not an easy skill to master. Take this dagger for example, it has water and fire enchantments, please try activating just a single enchantment.” The Apprentice handed the knife to Exill and gave a crash course on how to channel mana down one of the two pathways terminating near the grip.
Till now, Exill had never used his mana before but with some concentration and the Apprentice’s gentle coaching, felt a sluggish flowing sensation within his arm. Narrowing his eyes in focus, he directed that flow down the uppermost circuit of the grip. Heat began to emanate from the blade.
“I did it!”
“Indeed, and if you activated the water enchantment simultaneously, the blade would release a pressurised burst of steam out the tip, but please don’t do that inside. Would you still like to go with the dual enchantment?” the apprentice gingerly took the dagger back, and placed it to the side to cool down.
“Yes please.”
“Thank you for your patronage. I’ll have it delivered to you tomorrow morning.”
Exiting the Enchanter’s to the late afternoon sun, he reflected on what he had learnt over their brief exchange. Enchantment was an… enchanting profession and he was incredibly curious about the process. Exill only held himself back from begging the Apprentice to observe the process because there was still a lot to do.
He returned to the Clinic to find Old Savta leaning against the counter of the waiting room, a sly smile curving up the edges of her mouth.
“Good, you’re back. Did you enjoy your date with my precious granddaughter?”