“Look, all I’m saying is we really should get you a bad ass eye-patch.” The sound of my voice through fields of healthy green grass and scattered trees as Felith and I walked towards the village of Croast Mark. Cythia paced ahead of us, clearly frustrated by our lack of haste. Not like we were in a particular hurry anyway, it’s not like the place was going to go anywhere. And judging by the sun, it was a little after one or so in the afternoon. “Probably a veil as well to cover the worst of your wounds on that face of yours too.”

“Is my visage truly so disagreeable, Sir Richard?” She asked with upturned eyes mixed with a tone of false sorrow. Sorry lady, but I ain’t taking the bait.

“Yeah, its pretty horrifying. Try not to feel bad when we get to town and everyone decides to scream and hide in their homes. You’ve got ‘slasher victim’ written all over you.” The sight of something slimy crawling beneath her skin sent my bones rattling. “We should also get you fumigated and sewn up while we’re at it. You’re pretty much a walking breeding ground for creepy-crawlies.”

“You truly have no tact.” Felly sighed. What could I say? The truth hurts, but it needs to be said. “But you are honest, though I am unsure if that is a virtue or a vice in your case.”

“Oh, I’ve got tact. Plenty in fact. Though saying so to Cythia would get you thwacked. And I don’t know about you but I prefer my bones un-cracked and intact.” She flashed what would have been a warm smile towards me were it not for the torn flesh exposing a good amount of her lower jaw.

“If nothing else, you’d make an excellent fool in a King’s court.” She stated with a friendly chuckle.

“Really? Ah, but I don’t like being under another person’s beck and call. I’m a free spirit after all.” Besides, I’m pretty sure Kings killed those people left and right. A grimace crossed Felly’s face at my words,

“Says someone who is bound to do a Necromancer’s bidding for the rest of their existence.”

“Not true, watch this.” I cupped my hands to my jaws and yelled. “Hey Cythia, order me to do something!”

“No!” Came her frustrated response.

“Why not?” I called back.

“Because you won’t do it anyway! Now the both of you, hurry up!” As if in response to her command, Felith’s pace quickened. Much to her dismay.

I smiled at Felly who was beginning to leave me behind, “See?”

“Teach me! I beg of you!” she cried out as the distance between us increased. I kept my relaxed pace with my arms behind my head and stared up at the sun. What a beautiful day.

A flash of white in the corner of my sockets made me clench my fists reflexively. My surroundings whipped by as I turned my head towards the source of my distraction. Sitting in the grassy field was a white rabbit with a rather sharp-looking horn jutting from it’s forehead. The two of us locked eyes, judging one another’s strength. The aptly named Horned Rabbit, who was also level five, sniffed at the air in my direction. Obviously, the beast was tasting the air to see if it could catch a whiff of my fear. Though I was sure I could take the level five horned rabbit, the slight chill in my bones made me think it would be a tough battle. Thankfully, neither of us were in the mood to test our mettle. It scampered away a few moments after we sized one another up. Probably for the best.

I didn’t want to get my ass kicked by a rabbit. I don’t think my psyche could handle it. Giant Rats were one thing, but cute bunnies were quite another.

The rest of the way to Croast Mark proved uneventful fortunately. The closer I got to the town however, I realized just how haphazard the log walls looked. There were gaps aplenty between many, a few of which looked as if I could fit through! I’m no carpenter, I don’t even know if a carpenter would build walls like this, but even I’m sure I could do better! These frontier yokels weren’t even trying to guard against whatever creatures lurked in this world.

But again, it wasn’t my problem at the moment, so I kept my mouth shut even as I nodded to the level forty-five Thug guarding the entrance to the town. Dude looked positively bored as he leaned against the ramshackle wall with crossed arms. He wore an assortment of leather gear that protected him from neck to toe with a short sword sheathed at his hip. Like Jirard, he had a big bushy beard, but black instead of red. As for hair, this man wore it shaved short. Probably to clearly display the leaf tattoo circling his forehead.

“You the other?” the man asked with a yawn.

“Probably.” I responded with a shrug. “Seen a girl about yea high, always in a hurry and acts like she’s the boss followed closely by another shambling corpse around here?” Of course he did. I saw him greet my fellows off in the distance long before I arrived. He grinned, displaying a mouth full of teeth that, while still terrible, looked far better than Felith’s.

“Whats it like bein’ dead an all? The ladies pranced off afore I could ask. Always wondered about it an’ all an’ them religious types never give a direct answer.” He shrugged, “figure you’d all be experts on it an all, so what the hells eh?”

“I know exactly what you mean. Those types are always so skilled at deflecting the question.” The two of us shared a grin. “Same as living I suppose. Aimless. Really dark too. Until someone brings you back and tries to boss you around constantly.” The man barked a laugh at that.

“Name’s Klett, though you already know it. Folks think it polite when ya introduce yerself instead of readin’ them floatin’ names.” He proffered his hand which I quickly shook. Never imagined I’d be shaking someone’s hand as a skeleton before. First time for everything I guess.

“Richard.” I responded in kind. “Got a question of my own, what’s with the Thug class?”

“Eh, you know how it is.” He rubbed his head in a self-conscious manner, “Sometimes life takes a shit on ya right from the get go. Grow up in places no child ought and end up doin’ things ya never wanted to.” He shrugged. “Ain’t so bad out here though. Could be worse. Least as a guard I get paid and don’t have to do much other than kill a random beastie that shows up every now and again.”

“Now thats the good life, getting paid for not working too hard. And here I am risking bone and molar and I haven’t even seen a single cent. I’ve even died twice!” I wonder if this world had life insurance policies. I’d wring them out of business within a week if there were. Nothing like a client that can collect on his own policy after his death.

Wait, maybe that would count as fraud. I’d rather not go to jail again. Once was enough.

Klett grinned, “Like I said. Sometimes life takes a shit on ya. Least you can come back after each one, eh? Anyway your two pals should be at the tannery by now. Can’t miss it on account of being the biggest building in this place. For now that is.”

“Right. Thanks pal, see you around.”

“Yup.”

With a nod, I stepped into the town. What a nice down to earth fellow that man was. Strange that he knew where Cythia and Felith were going since they didn’t look like they said more than a single word in greeting. It was a small town though, where else would they go? Certainly not any of the homes I was looking at, though they did look cozy as hell. Every home was finely crafted from large wooden logs and stone bricks. I’d have loved to own a home like one of these in life, theres just something so appealing about the rustic nature of a log cabin.

Not that I knew anything of rustic living, being a boy from the city and all.

My curiosity took hold of me as I wandered about the ten house town. Directly in the center of all the buildings was a bulletin board full of papers. Requests for assistance in one form or other like the Pelts we had acquired. Other than the bunch of homes and request board, there were two out of place buildings within the rickety walls. One, a large stone complex with a set of chimneys, and the other, well…it was a long log cabin. More than likely that was the tannery as it was the largest building in town. There was also a large clearing made within the walls where the foundations were being placed for another two large establishments. Most assuredly those would one day become the Adventurer’s Guild and Tavern Jirard had spoken of earlier. Only a handful of people at each site, but I suppose it was a small town so it was to be expected.

Though the majority stood by and watched a single person work. I guess some things never change despite what time period or planet you’re on.

What struck me as odd though was that, other than the occasional glance, nobody looked at me twice. No screaming, no horrified pointing, no thrown rocks, nothing! Maybe I was wrong about people being afraid of the undead. Maybe people were used to zombies and skeletons and what ever else wandering about. I mean, it was a fantasy world after all with Horned Rabbits and Cave Rats the size of rabid dogs. As I watched the construction workers go about their business, a rotted hand grabbed my arm.

“Forgive me, I was ordered to retrieve and escort you to the Tannery. Your presence was requested.” Felith mumbled as she began to pull me towards the long wooden building.

“I got it, I got it.” I attempted to pull my arm from her grasp. Alas, no dice.

“She said to make sure you couldn’t get away as well.” She smirked at me, “Said you have a habit of running away.”

“And where exactly would I run to? Its not like I have anywhere to run to.” Besides, I had to stick close to Cythia to help her get stronger so I could get my buddy back. I wasn’t about to tell Felly that however. I learned early on in life that women do not like it when you talk about your dick to them. Unless they’re your physician, then you gotta tell them when it burns.

“My apologies, but I cannot defy her orders.” Felith sighed. “How is it that you are able to do so?”

“I’ve had my head so far up my own ass since I was a kid that I learned to ignore everything anyone tells me to do.” A skill that took many years to achieve. Many, many painful years.

“An unruly child then.” She snorted, “I can plainly see that. Though that still doesn’t explain how you ignore her so well.”

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“Well, I guess this world decided to reward me on my rebellious nature.” I flicked open my status screen and showed her my Headstrong trait. “It gave me this puppy.”

“Hmmmm…then I fear it may be too late for me to acquire such a mindset.” She smiled sadly.

“Nah, you just gotta say ‘fuck no!’ every time she orders you to do something. You’ll get there eventually.” I winced at a few particularly painful memories. “Though she may wash your mouth out with soap and whack you with a belt on the bottom a few times.”

“It sounds like you’ve been reprimanded quite harshly in life. Alas, vulgarity is an area where I am sorely lacking.” She chuckled, “I believe the worst I ever said was calling a rather…raucous suitor an insipid man of little standing.” Her eye took on a faraway look. “My but how the maids tittered about for weeks on end after that little affair.”

“Maids? Dang, I love maids. Were you royalty or something in life?” I wonder what Cythia would look like as a maid…

“No, no. Nothing of the sort. I was the fifth daughter of a Baron, so I was allowed to pursue my interest in martial matters. Though I was still required to take a suitor despite my reluctance.”

I shrugged, “Sounds like royalty to me. But don’t worry Felly, I’ll see if I can help fix that vulgarity issue of yours.”

“I shall look forward to our lessons together then.” Her horrendous face quickly turned from jovial to serious. “I do have something I wish to speak to you with privately however.”

“Oh? Sounds serious.”

“Later tonight if you would. Preferably when the others are asleep.”

“Oh Felly, this is so sudden! I don’t know…we’ve only just met and I don’t think I’m quite ready to take our relationship to the next level…” I don’t know what was worse, that she didn’t bat an eye at my comments, or that she replied with a smile and wink of her only eye. Either way, something was crawling on my hand and I did not like it. Something with many, many legs.

Without even knocking, Felly pushed her way through the door and pulled me along behind her. I would have at least knocked, its only proper manners. My feet touched something soft within the building proper, and a glance down revealed a rather dead animal resembling a bear in the form of a rug. I say resembling a bear because it had three heads. Did Cerberus ever fuck a bear in Greek mythology? What would you even call this thing? Cerberbear?

“I see you eyein’ up ole Thrigurn there. Deadliest Gnarler ever to walk Diana’s Forest.” An elderly voice cackled from the side.

I turned to see an old woman hunched over a counter filled with Cave Rat pelts. Her face far more wrinkle than face, though her green eyes still stared at me sharply. What was most telling about her however was that she was level sixty five with the class of Tailor. Judging by Cythia sitting at a stool near the counter, the Pelts were the ones I ‘acquired’ for her.

“That so? Interesting.” Yeah I had no fucking clue what she just said. Best to let sleeping dogs lie else I’ll get the old bat going on a story that never ends. She seemed the grandmotherly type that likes to ramble on and on. “So why was I pulled here exactly?”

“Because I ordered Felith to get you.” Cythia smiled pleasantly, “Mrs. Litans here wanted to meet you personally.”

“Aye, that I did.” The old woman nodded and beckoned me over. “Come, have a seat and tell me how exactly you acquired so many fine pelts in such a short while!”

“I mean…I punched the rats till they died.” Did I really have to be brought here to explain that? “Cythia could have told you that.”

“Aye she did…but I didn’t believe her.” The old woman looked apologetically towards Cythia who shrugged as if it didn’t mean much to her. “No offense miss. Its just that not many adventurers would fight Dungeon Spawn without a weapon.” The old woman closed her eyes and nodded in thought, “Yes, a fist wouldn’t ruin the pelts would they? Not like a sword or a spear anyhow.” Her chuckling filled the room. “Well then I s’pose I should give you all a good price on these here pelts before my husband turns em into something I can work with. How’s two silver per pelt sound? I’ll even throw in a free set of clothing for the two of them. They’ll serve better than them robes as protection, thats for sure.”

“I thank you for your kindness and humbly accept.” Cythia spoke meekly and bowed her head.

“Bah, no skin off my knuckles girlie.” The old woman grinned. “I’ll be making more than this meager offering, I can assure you. In fact, I may have something for that dead girl’s missing eye around here…”

In a flurry of activity, Felly and I became a pair of undead mannequins as measurement after measurement was taken. Like a true professional, Mrs. Litans’ face only scrunched a little bit when she had to measure Felith. Old woman was a total hardass worthy of respect for that alone. What a hero. As each article of clothing was handed off to me, I gave them a quick inspection.

[Tanned Fur Overcoat]

[Armor Rating: 4]

[A coat worn over typical clothing made by skilled hands. The fur is thick enough to not only stave off the cold of night, but to also provide some protection from attacks.]

[Tanned Leather Shirt]

[Armor Rating: 1]

[A leather shirt crafted by skilled hands. Flexible enough to move about in easily, while sturdy enough to take a hard day’s work without tearing.]

[Tanned Leather Leggings]

[Armor Rating: 2]

[Leather leggings crafted by skilled hands. A common sight upon those along the frontiers, these leggings can take a beating and still be perfectly fine.]

[Crude Leather Boots]

[Armor Rating: 0]

[An unfortunate result of an amateur’s work. They’ll provide some comfort while walking, but that’s about it.]

Oh hell yeah! Much better than the robes by leaps and bounds. Without a second thought, I whipped off my robe, which brought a quick flash of red to Cythia’s face and a grin to Feliths. I then handed the black clothing over to Cythia who grumbled something about dirtying her clothes. Without a care in the world, I put my new threads on in a flash. Unlike me, Felly was uncomfortable with public nudity, so she followed the old bat to a back room. What a prude, its not like it wasn’t anything I hadn’t seen already anyway. When she returned from donning her threads and new leather eye-patch, she handed over her robe to Cythia as well.

Laughing out loud got that very same robe thrown at me. Bugs and all. I held onto it though since Felith looked rather uncomfortable about the whole exchange. She gave me a grateful look, which was horribly misplaced. I had already planned on putting the robe under Cythia’s head tonight while she was sleeping. I rolled the robe to the shape of a cloth cylinder and firmly placed it between two ribs. The two of them gave me weird looks.

“What? I ain’t throwing away a good robe.” I couldn’t wait to see Cythia’s reaction the next morning.

“Sorry about the footwear, but I ain’t much of a cobbler.” The old woman interrupted before Cythia could yell at me.

“Its all good. Far better than the nothing we get summoned in.” I responded which made Cythia grumble. “Thanks Mrs. L!”

“Yes, you have our gratitude.” Felith bowed.

“Good luck with your adventurin’ youngins. Bring me back more of them Pelts when you can!” With a wave, the three of us parted from the Tannery looking like a pair of furries escorting a goth chick. Everyone wore these fuzzy clothes though, so we were among friends here. Cythia was the odd one out with her black robes that screamed ‘no mom its not a phase, this is who I am’.

“I shall now make good on my promise to reward you, Minion. Follow me.” Cythia announced as she paced towards the large stone building. Felly and I shared a look as she was forced to follow after our intrepid mistress. With a shrug, I fell into step alongside her. Not like I had anything better to do anyway.

The jingle of a bell rung out as Cythia pushed open the door to the building proper. The room we entered was square and bare. There were a few crates along the sides of the room filled with unknown contents. On the far side of the room was a counter like the Tannery had. Behind said counter was a muscular man wearing clothes that seemed to struggle against the muscle contained underneath. As for his face…he was clean-shaven. Completely. No beard, no hair, no mustache, no eyebrows, nothing. It was freaky to look at, like he was some sort of alien. In his hands was a sword that looked like it was made of copper. I’m no master of minerals though, so it could have been bronze. Either way, it looked sharp and I wanted it.

Swords are cool.

“What can I do for ya folks?” The bulky man asked as he inspected the blade in his hands before pulling out a rag and scrubbing a specific point along the blade. “Edgar Voset, level forty-five blacksmith at yer service.”

“I need a pair of blades, Mr. Voset.” Cythia announced as she strode up to the counter.

“What kinda metal ya lookin’ fer? I got copper, bronze, and iron at the ready.” The man quickly turned into business mode as he set his blade down upon the counter and locked eyes with the mistress. “Course each metal bein’ more expensive than the last.”

“Bronze please.” Cythia answered succinctly, yet with a hint of embarrassment. I had no idea how money worked around here, so

“Alright. I’ll be right back with a selection.” Without another word, the man turned from the counter and entered the back room. Before long, he returned with a small hand-crate filled with blades made of the brownish metal. The clanging of blades resounded through the sparse room as he set the crate down upon the counter, “Take yer pick.”

“Allow me.” Felith announced as she approached the crate with an appraising eye. Thank goodness we had a pro with us, as I’m sure Cythia knew as much as I when it came to weaponry; not a damn thing. With a quick hand, Felith picked the first blade and held it at the ready before taking a quick swing at empty air. A frown clear on her face as she set it off to the side and picked another. The smith’s once happy grin quickly diminished as Felly placed blade after blade off to the side.

“I…I’ll get some others.” He chuckled as he eyed the ever-growing pile of rejects. With great haste, he rushed into the backroom once more.

“What exactly are you doing Felith?” Cythia whispered harshly as she watched the backroom door nervously. “You are being disrespectful!”

“Not as disrespectful as this man has done by crafting these blades.” She scoffed as she immediately placed a sword she had just picked up from the crate to the side. Talk about perfectionist. “A true craftsman would never offer such rubbish to their customers unless they wished to ruin their own business. We are putting our lives in the hands of these blades, a single imperfection can mean the difference between life and death.”

“I…see…” Cythia muttered as she glanced at me. I shrugged, the hell was I supposed to know? Closest thing I’ve used to a sword was when a group of friends and myself started beating each other up with sticks we found in the park. Hardly the professional we had at our side now. The backroom door opened, revealing a quite nervous Mr. Voset carrying in a new crate of bronze swords.

“Perhaps these will be more to your liking miss.” The smith chuckled nervously as he placed a new box upon the counter.

“I certainly hope so.” Felith sighed as she placed the last sword from the original box onto the counter. Without a moment’s hesitation, she reached to the new crate and began the process once more. Though this time she clearly smiled which made the smith sigh in relief. “Here Sir Richard, this blade shall be yours.”

“Kay.”

“Allow me!” the smith grinned as he reached under the counter and pulled out a leather sheath. Nodding, Felly handed the blade over to the man who quickly sheathed the blade and held it out it towards me. “May it serve you well sir.”

“Thanks.” I nodded to the man and inspected my first weapon.

[Superior Bronze Short-Sword]

[Damage Rating: 35]

[A bronze sword crafted carefully by a journeyman blacksmith. The blade’s edge has been enhanced, granting additional Damage Rating.]

Compared to the Damage Rating on this thing, my clothing was feeling rather lacking in the numbers department. But then again, my clothes were just clothes and not full-fledged armor. Not like armor would matter much against the giant rats from the dungeon, since they died easily to my fists. With blade in hand, I couldn’t help but want to run straight to the dungeon to test it out. Not that I wanted to kill animals mind, but if I was going to kill I was glad it would be rats instead of something else.

“This one will do as well.” Felly stated firmly as she handed over her own blade to the smith who took out a sheath for her as well.

“That’ll be 20 silver.” The blacksmith smiled pleasantly at Cythia who raised a brow towards him. She had given me a look like that before. She was pissed.

“20 silver? After the lacking equipment you tried to hand over to us? I’ll offer no more than 15 for such an affront.” Her words immediately silenced the room as Felith and Mr. Voset stared at her with wide eyes. Eye in Felith’s case of course. As for me, I just grinned and watched. I loved watching customers argue with store owners.

“But I-” Edgar began but was quickly cut off by the fuming Cythia.

“You were what? Going to pawn off sub-par goods to valued customers and charge the same amount as a high quality piece?” Though she didn’t raise her voice in the least, every word was a slap to the smith’s face. “You should be happy that I’m willing to pay that much at all.”

“I…” the man sighed, “fifteen then.” With a sweet smile, Cythia handed over the offered amount.

“Thank you for your business.” She huffed and turned away from the man who smiled as she walked off. Strange. “Lets go.”

Immediately, Felith sighed and began walking after our mistress. I couldn’t help but grin at her lack of self control as I followed close behind.

“So where are we going?” I asked our leader.

“The request board of course.” She beamed, “The day is still young after all!”