The journey to the smith was uneventful. Mr. Li had brought one of the caravan guards with him which was normal for a merchant of the caravan, and he gossiped with his guard about the relationship between Mark and Anabel as they trailed behind the couple that was still walking hand in hand.

"I am telling you Mr. Li, those two are a couple and the boy doesn't even know it!"

The two grown men had to gossip in whispers since they might be close enough for the youth to hear them, but they were addicted to gossip just like any other person who had to take long boring trips through the country and they couldn't help themselves.

"Look here Matt, you were not there when we were agreeing on this little trip to the smithy but I was. I am telling you it was the boy who grabbed the girl's hand and insisted that she come along which is normally not acceptable unless she is his betrothed or they are already married! And even if they aren't, you can still see how they are looking into each other's eyes while they giggle and talk like two young lovers! They MUST be madly in love and you must be a blind man! Ah! Young love! You know I can't resist a good love story!"

Obviously, Mr. Li was one of the main gossipers of the caravan, with a soft spot in his heart for young adults who were finding love for the first time. He was known amongst the caravan crew for going easy on those young couples that were beginning to start, which is surprising to outsiders given his serious business-like attitude that he usually fronts.

Matt was younger than the old caravan merchant, and he could see plainly what was going on so he tried to get Mr. Li to see what was happening between the young adults.

"Mr. Li, come on! look at how the boy is acting. . .he is obviously not courting her and it seems he is barely paying attention to her subtle advances. No, he is just going with the flow! Anyone could see the girl has feelings for him but he is lost in his own little world!"

Mr. Li took some time to closely observe the two in question but noticed they were quickly approaching near the smithy since he had been there a couple of times before, so he ended the gossiping quarrel with a final quiet sentence.

"I guess we will see after this interaction at the forge."

Matt just nodded at the comment from his boss and kept his eyes forward, taking upon himself the look of a serious guard to keep up appearances. He glanced around at his surroundings, noticing how there was much more open space in this part of the village which was in stark contrast to the more densely packed village area they had come from.

He casually thought about what he was observing: 'It seems like the villagers don't like hearing the blacksmith at work. It makes it seem like the blacksmith area in the village is a small estate.'

Mr. Li silently thought on his own musings of young love as he could see the forge in the distance, but more than that he was able to identify the distinct smell of smoldering coals before he could clearly tell that the work area ahead of them was the forge.

Mark and Anabel made it to the forge first and Mark began getting some of his latest work together, putting in order the reinforced weapons and armor from the least complicated stuff and ending with his better pieces. At the end of his best normal work were the weapons that utilized the bonding of metal and bone together.

As Anabel went to grab a smaller weapon, Mark made sure to warn her, "They are excessively sharp, make sure you are very careful with them Anabel."

Anabel was not a dainty woman, but she was still unable to safely pick up most of the weapons that Mark had created. Instead of helping him move those weapons, she just picked up things that he dropped or knocked off of tabletops. Then she tidied up here and there to make the spread as presentable as possible in an active forge.

As Mr. Li and Matt approached, Mr. Li looked over to Matt with a smile to convey his thoughts on the observations he made as he watched the young couple work together. Matt just scoffed and shook his head as he maintained his composure and Mr. Li chuckled a bit as he composed himself before the blacksmith or the girl noticed him.

By the time Mr. Li and Matt made it to the shop, the relevant weapons and armor that Mark wanted to show them were spread out for inspection. Matt looked impressed but Mr. Li had that typical look of a merchant that was critiquing the goods. They both started at the objects closest to them, with Matt moving up the line of goods more quickly than Mr. Li considering his interest in the make of the tools rather than the look of them which Mr. Li had to consider for selling purposes.

While Mr. Li was walking along he kept his eyes on the items as he looked them over and he ended up walking onto Matt who had stopped to stare at a weapon. Without raising a fuss, Mr. Li looked over as Matt slowly picked up a weapon and quickly realized why the item had caused such a reaction in his bodyguard.

Matt held the sword in his hands with ease, yet he was shaking with the knowledge of what he was looking at.

'Is this bone bonded to metal!?'

He looked over at Mr. Li with an incredulous expression on his face, unable to express his feelings over the discovery of such a weapon. His mouth just hung open as he stared at his employer.

Mr. Li was shocked, but far from stunned. He knew when his trusty eyes spotted a hefty profit waiting to be taken by his honed ability in negotiations.

"Hopefully this kid just thinks these special weapons and armor are only worth double the regular items."

He addressed his stupefied worker as he pushed past to observe the rest of the specially bonded items.

"If you like the weapon so much, maybe you should just buy it, Matt."

Matt understood that Mr. Li was trying to downplay their reactions and give him a way out in order to protect his profit margins. He quickly composed himself and took a quick step backward with the weapon in hand to let his employer by. He played off his earlier display of stupidity as him just taking a closer look at the weapon with interest as he thought 'if I have to purchase this weapon with my own money to keep the kids in the dark then I will do what I have to do' and readied his coin pouch just in case.

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Mark and Anabel just watched the two men look over the weapons without noticing anything too strange. Mark assumed they just liked the weapons and Anabel didn't have a reference for how people normally browsed such items as her true expertise lay in different types of baked goods.

Once Mr. Li had finished looking, and Matt had nonchalantly placed the sword back, they reconvened to discuss the amount that Mr. Li was willing to pay and if that was acceptable to Mark. However, on the way to meet up with Mark and Anabel, a certain pile of colored stones caught the eye of Mr. Li.

Mr. Li looked over at the pile and Mark followed his gaze as the old merchant had suddenly swiveled his head in the direction of Mark's work area.

"Mark, why do you have a pile of those worthless mountain stones by your forge?"

Mark looked over at his unrefined pile of ores and thought about it for a few seconds. Seeing no harm in telling Mr. Li about his hobby stones that help in some of his weapon creations, he explained.

"Mr. Li, those stones are unrefined ores that have special metals that I can use to make allows so the weapons you have looked at function as I intend them to. For example, the big weapons are lighter because they are partly fused with bones from the mountain beasts but also because I use an alloy that makes them stronger with fewer metals."

Mr. Li just nodded his head at the explanation given by Mark but thought about it in his own mind concurrently. 'This little genius not only can bond bone to metal in a way where I can't even tell where the bone ends and the metal begins but he also figured out a way to make an alloy out of these cursed magic metals. . .'

Of course, Mr. Li knew about the metals that Mark was playing around with, it was just unexpected that the young smith was capable of creating a workable alloy with the metals. He had met many old and experienced smiths, many of whom were regarded as geniuses themselves in their craft.

All of them had tried their hand at creating workable alloys and very few had found any uses for the alloys they had figured out how to create. The only people that had any use for the magic metals were the actual wizards that he had met in and around the large cities of the empire and even those elusive people were uninterested in some stones they could create artificially, and for cheap at that.

Mr. Li had learned long ago that he could not provide the metals for a reasonable price to the only people that would have any use for a metal they would only have to refine rather than create. The price that he would have to charge just to carry it with him in his travels was more than the wizards were willing to spend just to save some time.

Many had told him if he could provide the metal rocks in bulk that it might be worth the price since it would last a while, but the amount they considered bulk was basically impossible for the logistics of his caravan. They would have to use their spatial chests to carry the stuff which would leave them susceptible to rot and bugs ruining their food supplies which could be deadly.

Looking back at the weapons crafted by Mark, Mr. Li knew if he could get the material composition of the weapons verified by an experienced smith then he could make a fortune on the weapons, even if Mark wanted to increase the price Mr. Li had to by by 500%.

'Whatever he wants for these unique weapons, I will only talk him down a little even if it is a significantly large amount.'

Mr. Li looked back to Mark who was observing the old man after explaining his uses for the magical metals, and Mr. Li finally responded.

"Well Mark, it seems you do have a very well-crafted supply of weapons and armor. I can personally verify that these works are much better than anything your father ever presented so I would like to seriously discuss the pricing as you are expecting it at this point."

Before Mark could say anything, Anabel leaned into his ear to whisper something to him. Mr. Li couldn't hear, but he knew it was some advice on how to make more money based on the reactions of himself and Matt.

Mr. Li knew that he couldn't blame Matt for his reactions, and he knew that he himself had had a visibly surprised reaction to the new weapons and armors that the young man had created. He just found it so unexpected to find such talent in a backwater mountain village.

He also wouldn't get upset at the blatant breach of proper protocol that had been established in the village with the young girl whispering advice to Mark at the negotiation table. Mostly, Mr. Li just thought the sight before him was quite adorable and he didn't want to embarrass the young couple as he feared it could cause dark seed to be planted in the relationship early. He had already shipped the two young adults and was too invested in seeing their relationship bloom over the coming years.

Meanwhile, Anabel was just giving some basic advice based on the few things she had picked up during their exchange.

"Ask for even higher of a price than what your father was getting. The reaction of the old man was not so obvious, but that guard was utterly surprised. I would ask for double or more for those weapons you made with bones."

Mark didn't verbally reply, but he took her suggestion into account and nodded his head to her while he kept his eyes on the merchant.

"Mr. Li, my asking price for the normal materials that are well crafted out of only refined iron is the same as the price my father was asking for the past year. For those weapons and armors I have crafted with beast bones, I will have to ask if you are willing to pay one gold piece and 30 silver per weapon and one gold 40 silver for the armors since they are more intricate."

Mr. Li immediately frowned at the asking price.

Inwardly he yelled in his own mind since even he had a conscious, 'GAH! ITS TOO CHEAP!!!'.

Outwardly, he kept his normal expression that he used for a first offer in negotiations.

Of course, he would capitalize on a profit and he had already promised himself to haggle.

"Mark, you have a reasonable suggestion for the normal materials. There is no reason to pay any less for your current work which I have been paying for already. However, these new weapons are untested by anyone that would be buying them. While it will be easy to sell them simply due to their novelty, I do not believe it would be so simple to ask for a high price right off the bat."

Mark nodded as this made sense to him, but waited on Mr. Li to continue to see if he was just blowing smoke.

Mr. Li continued after a short pause to make sure Mark was following.

"I think it would be best if I purchased the new weapons at one gold 10 silver a piece and the armor at one gold 15 silver a piece. But to make up for the difference in your ask and what I am willing to pay I will have my men go out every day we are here in the mountains to bring you these colorful rocks for your use."

Mark was stunned at first, but had the sense to not let it show. He had little use for gold and silvers, when he normally spent coppers on his personal supplies that he purchased int he village and the little he purchased from caravans. He quickly thought to clarify a matter before he agreed though.

"Mr. Li, when you say that you will have your men go out to collect the rocks every day you are in these mountains I would ask you to clarify your exact intentions. Do you mean you will have them do it while you are here this trip, or for every trip you come to the village?"

Mr. Li inwardly smiled at the clarification that the young blacksmith brought up. It was a good thing the kid was thinking a bit, thought he never intended to screw the young man over.

"Of course I intend to have my men to gather theses stones every time we come to the village. We will also be bringing what we find as we make our way up the mountain from the village below to ensure that our trade in goods and weapons are equal in your eyes."

With this explanation, Mark was quite satisfied. He nodded his head and took a second to seem like he was considering the proposal as he thought about how much fun he was about to have making some more weapons and probably a couple of pieces of armor after they were done with the negotiations. The he responded to finalize the deal.

"Then Mr. Li, I believe we have an agreement on the price of the goods we will be trading."

Then Mark looked over at Anabel with a big smile which caused her heart to leap into her throat and her blushing did not go unnoticed between Mr. Li and Matt who shared another knowing look.