Jenny wiped the sweat from her face, straightening her back with a satisfying pop. The grinding wheel was one of those which moved with a hand lever. As opposed to the one she was used to using back at the manor; this one was a monster of a thing. Worse yet, Jenny couldn’t take her time with the process. She was on a time limit. She scraped the gold from the grinding wheel, placing the ground metal in a small container the blacksmith had provided.
A second container rested by the side of the grinding wheel with the ground silver. Her arm muscles stung from the repetitive movement required to operate the wheel. The silver had been harder to ground than the gold.
Jenny placed the second container near the first and then picked up the earrings. Tear-shaped sapphires, held with filaments of steel-covered gold, were her favorite—and only—piece of jewelry, a gift from Gizelda.
With care, Jenny placed the earrings on the stone. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. If she ever wanted to see Gizelda again, she needed to hide. To hide, she needed Biscuit’s magic. And Biscuit needed the powder to make the magic last. Jenny clenched her fists and bit her lips. She didn’t want to do this.
Jenny opened her eyes and took the hammer she’d gotten earlier. With one last look at the earrings, she swung the tool. The sapphire broke into small bits with a clang louder than she expected. Another blow and the pretty metal deformed. She reached out and placed the metal bits inside a pocket. Jenny swung the hammer again. At least she didn’t need to use the wheel with gems; she could just pound her precious gift into dust. The water leaking from her eyes was just sweat.
————————
Jenny entered the forge room, the three types of powder secured into containers hidden in her pockets. Theo was doubled over a table, eyes moving from something he drew on a piece of coarse paper and her spear.
The weapon looked nothing like before. The blacksmith had cleaned, filled, and oiled the metal piece. The cloth straps had been replaced with leather. The nicks on the speartip had been ground out and polished with zeal. The weapon didn’t look new; it still had several spots where rust had done its work, but at least now, it looked like a cared-for weapon instead of a piece of rusty junk.
“Ya done, lass?” The man asked, his eyes not moving away from his drawings.
Now closer, Jenny saw the numerous yet faint details in the weapon’s shaft. She couldn’t make heads or tails of it. It didn’t look like a language, nor like decoration. “You polished it?” Jenny asked instead of an answer.
“Right, ya, I did,” the man said, straightening his back. He turned to Jenny. “Interested in selling? Ye can have your choice of spear,” the man said, pointing at the many spear tips nearby.
This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Jenny looked over the drawings. The man had sketched four miniature versions of the spear and the many intersecting squiggly lines. Some lines were broken, and others ended without rhyme or reason. She guessed it was the damage done by the rust.
“Not right now.” She answered. “It takes time to get used to a new weapon, time which I don’t have to spare.” She told a misleading truth.
“Aye,” the blacksmith said, looking at the weapon again. “It was worth trying.” He muttered, “Where did you find this one?”
“I don’t quite know,” Jenny answered. “I got separated from my group and was pretty much lost.” She admitted. “It was some sort of ruins. I had to fight a monster, and my weapon broke in the battle. This one was lying around there, lucky.”
Theo shuddered. “Damn monsters.” He cursed, going silent after.
Jenny paused in the conversation to pick up the silver coins from her purse and hand them to the man. “Thank you for your help, Theo.”
The man wrenched his eyes from the spear to look at Jenny again. He gave her another calculating look, then just shrugged. He pocketed the coins and hefted the spear. “If ya change ya mind, bring this lassy to me.” He said, handing the spear to Jenny, butt first.
Jenny took the weapon and turned away from the man, settling on a stance. It was still the same weapon, but the change in grip and the maintenance made it feel like an entirely different spear. She tensed her muscles, about to stab, but stopped and relaxed. Jenny rested the spear on the ground and turned to the blacksmith again.
“Can I buy the tools to maintain this baby in the field? And where can I find a woodworker to repair a crossbow?”
Theo, who had taken a few steps away from Jenny, smiled, and his shoulders dropped. Was that relief? “I got what you need, lass.”
----------------------------------------
Jenny stepped out of the Smith’s workshop with a new name and a direction to find the woodworker; though she didn’t head there immediately. She had spent too much time here and wasn’t sure if the magic would last enough to visit yet another workshop. Jenny shook her head and started walking toward the city square. It would be best to return to the inn and avoid any issues.
Nothing happened until Jenny reached the town square. A crowd blocked most of the view. She wasn’t sure what she expected to see after the attack. Maybe more town guards patrolling, or the town’s people running from one location to another, still not trusting in their safety. The darker side of her mind even considered that maybe she’d see the aftermath of the battle with the monster—a corpse, a pool of blood.
Jenny pushed past the many people around her until she could see the commotion.
A priest stood in front of the church. He was dressed in red and gold robes used by the high clergy, with a conical hood included. The man held a book, voice raised high, preaching to the crowd. By his side stood junior members, dressed in simple gray robes and hoods covering their faces, but judging by their height, barely out of their teen years. Each held a link of chains from which an incense burner hung. Faint red smoke wafted from the burners.
A group of holy warriors stood in front of the church, dressed in heavy metal armor, helmets, shields, and swords. But more than that, cut, slashed, bludgeoned, and carved open, hung spread eagle on some sort of wooden structure was the Shadow Stalker on display. It didn’t take long to understand what the commotion was. The guards hadn’t killed the lurker. No, it had been the church inquisitor and his holy warriors to do the deed.
Jenny turned around and toward the inn. She had hoped to leave this place before the inquisitor arrived, but this only made things more dangerous. She couldn’t stay here, not with her almost failing magic. Jenny’s hurried footsteps guided her toward the inn. Suddenly, this didn’t seem like a good idea anymore.