The walk into the village was as usual. Snow had built up on the tilted roofs, all of them being swept up by the children who worked for a little pocket money. As Shizu watched, she couldn’t help but notice the reactions of her partner beside her. While usual was how she’d describe the going ons of the villagers, that didn’t apply for Azi. The mood between them was as awkward as it was when they were in Kajima’s house. The tightness in her chest wouldn’t let up, though she hoped the dignified face she was putting up made for a good cover. It always did with the village folk. Let’s just hope they don’t see the tension in the air.
She glimpsed the oddly bashful smile on Azi’s face, something was bothering him. How often he clenched her hand was a dead giveaway. He was overly managing his emotions and was probably wording his next action or planning his next words. Shizu sighed at how emotionally troublesome he was.
He doesn’t have to be so tense, lighten up, you’re the one who invited me out. You dummy, get a grip.
Shizu hamfisted the thought down and tugged Azi along. That got him to stumble a few steps, he got his bearings a couple steps later. The villagers they passed greeted Shizu, some bowing or offering a formal greeting.
“Oh Lady Shizu, thank you again for helping the Village Chief.” Said one of them. She was an older grandmother who was just a tad shorter than Shizu. Her eyes went to Azi, lips softening into a motherly smile. “And I see you’ve gone along with your Uncle’s apprentice. Hello Azi, glad to see you are as energetic as ever.”
Azi gave a small tilt of the head in response. He rarely spoke to the villagers unless they were merchants or he had business to do with them. There was a kind of timidity from that. The motherly woman reached her hand out to him, and Azi reluctantly let her pat his head.
“Oh you are so adorable.” The woman chirped. “I’m sure that when you grow up to be big and strong, you’ll be a hit with the ladies.” She eyed Shizu, then chuckled. “But be sure to behave around Lady Shizu, and don’t cause too much trouble for our fair lady.”
Azi didn’t reply, his only response was a smile as the kind grandmother went on her way. It had become common knowledge that Azi had moved in with Kajima, which had made him the de facto apprentice of the village's most well known blacksmith. And while that was all well and good, Shizu knew Azi wished that his real age was of common knowledge. But it would be difficult to convince people to think he was older than he looked. His everyday appearance wasn’t convincing. He only seemed like an adolescent boy because of his height, and the lack of facial hair didn’t give that older or rugged experienced look.
Shizu, hiddenly amused, let off a little snicker that made Azi glower at her for a moment. As they made their way into the inner part of the village, Azi’s visible discomfort continued as more and more of the villagers recognized him and treated him.. Well.. like a kid. He shot Shizu with a knowing look. She was mid-giggle as she feigned ignorance.
“What?” She asked coyly, “Something to matter?”
Azi rolled his eyes away from her, he was careful to not show his displeasure openly. “I just wished the people here didn’t see me as a kid. And that goes the same for you.” He mumbled.
“Oh cheer up.” Shizu saddled up closer and hooked her left arm around his. “At least the important people know your real age. I’ve heard that Manu and Touma believe your story, Saki and Elder Sung too.”
Azi gave a slight nod. “Yeah.” He seemed to pause, then asked. “Hey? Are.. Aren’t you and Manu the same age?”
“Yeah, what of it?”
“Well.. I just.. Um..” Azi paused again. A few seconds later he heaved a heavy breath, “You know what, nevermind.” He pulled ahead in his steps.
Shizu kept close, overly close, and somewhat clingier than before. She wondered where he had been going with his question. There was a level of unease she could sense under his words. It was like he was.. Preparing himself for something, steeling himself so to say. But for what?
A few minutes later, after perusing the market for a few snacks and a couple books that caught Azi’s eye, they arrived at the fenced gate of an establishment. The sign out front read B and B Workshop. It was obvious that this was Azi’s first time here by how his eyes went wide. This one was not the small walled establishment he had expected from his experience in Kajima’s abode.
No, this workshop was big. Past the fence stood a wide open area and a pair of tall two story establishments. From the gated front was a stone path marking what seemed like a property line between the two buildings. The establishment on the right had a couple additions added near it. Wooden store houses and homes were neatly lined within walking distance of the main building, which was entirely made of smoothed and bricked stone.
On the left was more the same, though the largest of the buildings didn’t have a door. Instead it had an open store front. The setup was similar to a small scale bazaar. At a guess, the place on the left was where they sold what they made in the building on the right. You’d want a sturdy place to manufacture goods such as weapons and armor, so stone was the best option in lieu of wood which could catch fire with a burning forge around.
Even after surmising that, Azi gulped. He didn’t know what to expect from this place, it was intimidating, both in stature and in how fierce the staff looked. Working around the place were warrior-like men who were lifting and moving crates a size bigger than Azi around. Taking a breath to refocus, Azi strode past them. The men got out of their way, mostly in part to how they noticed Shizu and distanced themselves. Azi suddenly felt Shizu let go of his hand. He turned and she beckoned him to go on since she didn’t want to get involved when he browsed.
Azi nodded. “Thanks, I’ll be done as soon as I can.”
Shizu waved him off and he then walked into the shop. He was greeted by rows of shelves, displayed items on long tables, and toiling clerks who bustled with customers. He counted maybe 50 people in here, a good turn out. Turning his head around the place he scrutinized a few pieces of work hung or shelved. Following the sound of voices deeper inside, Azi was soon met with a pair of short men who were standing behind a counter. To his surprise, they were about the same height as him, at about 5 feet tall. For some odd reason the word dwarf came up in his head. He didn’t know why, but their trunk-like arms and long bearded faces evoked the word. He had to take back his thoughts as their fluffy ears and tails said otherwise.
Unlike Shizu’s long and bushy tail, these men had a sort of stout and prickly brown look to them. As for how they dressed, they wore tanned leather aprons, thick leather gloves, and equipped at their waists were an assortment of tools that a common blacksmith and craftsman would use. One was reading through a book while the other was examining a broken sword.
"Excuse me!” Azi called out, waving as he approached to get their attention. “Are you Ben and Bail?"
"Yeah whatcha need kid?" Said the man on the right. He set the broken sword he was looking at on the table with a heavy thump and scrutinized Azi, “Aren’t you a little young to come to a place like this?
The man on the left smacked him in the back of the head all of a sudden. "Don’t be rude brother.” He hissed, then put on a smile for Azi.
Azi knew that kind of smile all too well and understood he was a merchant. The man set his book away and he found the man’s eyes wandering to his waist, likely the money pouch strapped there. “You wanna weapon from me shop?" Said the merchant-like man, “Because we do have a deal going on? I’m sure we can..”
"Oi.” The other man piped up, and smacked the merchant-like man back. “Bail! Don't sell to my customer!"
"Whacha talking about you old fart, he came to my weapon shop so he be my customer, not yours Ben!"
"Oh no you don’t!” The man, who Azi now knew was Ben, clasped a hand over his waist belt and was poised to draw his forging hammer. “That's not how it works, I will be the one asking him the questions first, so he’s my customer!"
"Why you little damn moron!" Squawked Bail, butting heads with Ben. “Don’t think you can boss me around.”
"Hey! You called me short!” Ben pressed back. “I'm the taller one you pipsqueak. Get that through your head already!"
They looked ready to throw down. But before things could escalate, Azi interrupted them with an audible cough. Kajima had warned about how special these two were and how to get them to cooperate if things got.. Worrisome.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
"Excuse me.” Azi said, showing a hint of fake irritation, “If you keep bickering, I won't give you what Kajima told me to hand you."
The two men went immediately silent. They turned to him with a questioning gaze.
“Kajima?” Bail asked, “How do you know Kajima?”
“I’m his apprentice!” Azi said, almost wanting to hold his head high.
He didn’t, it was clear that these two weren’t the type to like prideful idiots. Reaching for his pack, Azi brought out the liquor he had picked up along the way here. The market had a great selection of drinks and Kajima’s advice helped. The pair began to eagerly smile as Azi set the proffered bottle onto the table. They bit back their wide smiles before calming down and accepting it with some grace.
Ben leered at the drink greedily, ready to uncork and down it right then and there. He straightened up, taking a second to put on a professional air. "What do you need?” He asked, “Since you’ve brought a good drink like this one, that means you have something to bring to the table.”
“And not the usual table.” Bail said, continuing for Ben without pause, “If Kajima told you about our weakness to alcohol, and this specific brand, then you’ve made an impression on the old man. So tell us? What do you want? And what will you give?”
Azi wondered why these two seemed so deferential now. They almost looked scared of Kajima, or in awe of him. He put a pin on that thought for now and slapped his money pouch on the table.
“To buy from you of course, but to also ask a simple question,” Azi took out his notebook to be at the ready.
“Go ahead then.” Bail said, scratching his chin. “I’m not sure if I have the right answer, but I’ll give you what I know. It's the least I can do for the drink you gave us.”
Azi nodded. “Well then, what I want to know is if there is a substitute for refined steel?”
“Sorry little lad.” Said Ben, ”But unfortunately there isn’t, there’s nothing else that could stand up to refined steel.”
"Agreed." Added Bail. "When the emperor gave us the knowledge on how to make it from the fables of the Divine Age of Strife, we thought it to be a god sent material."
"Lighter than iron and stronger than bronze." Ben praised, “It’s done wonders for weapons, armor, and even buildings.”
“Is that so?” Azi rubbed his head in a hidden frustration.
I knew this was going to be difficult. Kajima already told me that there were no substitutes, but I was somewhat hoping that what he said wasn’t the whole truth. I needed a second source. And now I’ve got it.
Disappointing as this news was, Azi chose to quickly move on. A second before he did, the book Bail had been reading caught his attention. Notably, the cover was in a mix of languages written all over it. There was Kujurian, Yamaton, a mix of dialects and foreign special characters, and then.. What made him blink.. Was that there were the odd scribblings only he could read, that were unique to his knowledge.. His past. The characters read.. Authored by Monty.
Monty? Now why does that sound familiar? And why are those characters here? Did whoever wrote it come from where I’m from?
“Kid?” Bail called out to him. “Something up with this book?” He pushed it over, “I can sell it to you if you like.”
Beside him Ben sighed. “Can you not push your merchandise on him, give the boy some time, he was thinking.”
“I know, but I know when I see a buyer.” Ben replied, side eyeing Azi, “Am I right?”
Azi gulped. “Yeah, it seems your instincts were right.. but” He put his attention back on the book. Reaching for it a little, he asked before touching it. “May I?”
Bail nodded, letting Azi peruse the pages. Each one was filled edge to edge with words of all kinds of dialects and languages. The characters were a jumbled mess, sometimes written left to right, or top to bottom, or even diagonal. He recognized a few words from the personal scribblings of language he initially knew by heart. Cursive came to mind. Yes.. that’s what it was called. Though why or how he knew, he didn’t know. The knowledge just fit for what he saw on the pages.
“It’s a mess, isn’t it.” Ben must’ve noticed his confusion. He gave the book a weary smile. “This thing is unreadable. I picked it up from some traveling merchants who were trying to lighten their loads. Thought I’d give this weird book a chance and sell it if I could. That, or waste my time in reading the damn gibberish for the hell of it. You can take it off my hand if you want, though at a price.”
Azi closed the book, hiding a smile behind his sharpening eyes. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. First, I need to ask but what do you have on hand right now? I'm short on materials for a project I’m starting, so what can you get delivered to Kajima's place by today or tomorrow? I’ll pay a premium."
Ben pulled out a book from the shelf behind him and laid it out on the counter. "Well, we got a lot a scrap weapons, some leftover copper, nickel, tin, and plenty of iron ore since we got a new shipment of that from Yamato. How about you, Bail?"
"I got some Kengiri carapaces, beowolf claws, a few corpses of beowolves, and plenty of gengiri that need butchering. Was there anything in particular you needed?”
Yes, But you don’t have it. Azi internally went down the list in Ben’s book. He mentally sighed. This’ll work though, If there is no replacement material, then I’ll have to start on a different path.
Initially, Azi wanted to try his hand at making the refined steel needed to repair Shizu’s weapon, but Kajima had pressed the point that the process to make it required a coal called coke. Since Ben and Bail didn't have any in stock, he was again out of luck and was already sure there was nowhere else to find what he needed. So for now, he’d have to try his hand at making a replacement weapon for Shizu using subpar metal.
Iron was a good choice, except he was thinking of utilizing different materials to create a stronger frame for the weapon. This was when his mind suddenly popped the topic of metallurgy into his line of thinking. This had been happening a lot recently, memories kept coming back, small pieces, yet never the whole picture. The knowledge came slowly, though enough that he got the feel of what it meant. He flipped through the strange book again. Phrases of words he recognized flared up a few more memories. Some technical terms were mixed into the scribblings and the once random diagrams began to make sense. The book seemed like an engineering thesis, like the ones he did back in college.
Right.. Yeah.. I.. I was an engineer? Right, that’s what it was, I fix things and I can.. Make things.. Make new things. Metallurgy.. Right? Some new metal or.. Manufacturing process?
The word metallurgy repeated in his head and he sank into deeper contemplation. The topic was basically the combination of materials at certain temperatures and the use of certain processes to manipulate the material composition. Through trial and error, the properties of a metal or material could be twisted into the needed purpose.
I could do it.. I think?
He had the knowledge, but could he apply it? In his case he needed a suitable metal to be strong, light, and easy to produce for a beginner like him. He thought about how to apply his presently amassed knowledge about monster materials. How gengiri and beowolves have magical properties to their bones and other parts. Or how Kajima’s lessons in monster butchering had its applications, like the high tensile strength of a gengiri’s insides, or the hardness of their scales.
Potentially, with the knowledge he was recalling, he was thinking about how he could incorporate magical traits and other properties into a metal. This was all starting to sound far-fetched, yet he knew from experience that you never knew what would happen unless you tried and the mystery of what would happen brought a smile to his face.
I have to try, and this already sounds like fun.
Ben and Bail visibly recoiled, stepping back from the counter. For them, they saw a ferocious desire or like a bottomless hunger in Azi.
“Ben?”
Ben almost jumped when Azi spoke up.
“Y-yes?” Ben said hurriedly, “Have you made your decision?”
Azi’s head went down to both Ben and Bail’s list of items. "I'll take all I can with what I have. I need a bit of everything but the bulk of it will be the scrap weapons and iron ore. How much can you spare with this amount?” He opened his money pouch and handed a fist full of coins to Ben.
Ben counted, mumbling a few figures as he added everything up. "Hmm, I think about 1/10 of our stock should be what you can buy with this. Looks like you have yourself a deal."
"Now hold on.” Bail interrupted. “The boy knows Kajima and he is his apprentice. We can't go giving him so little after giving us such good liquor. How about we give him 1/5 of our back stock? We ain't got much use for all the scrap weapons and monster corpses."
"You sure brother? We could make a killing with all that material.”
“I know we could.” Bail said. He let his eyes wander across Azi, who was so deeply engaged with the book’s scribblings. He got a feeling this kid could read the gibberish, and that was intriguing. There was more to this boy, and Bail could sense it in his gut. “Let’s be generous on this occasion.”
“Generous?” Ben asked in exasperation. He knew for a fact Bail only had his eyes on profit,
But Bail only smiled back at him. “Yes, do you have an issue?”
Ben had to take a second, in the end he sighed. “Alright you don’t gotta word me to agree. So, there you have it boy, does 1/5 of the stock sound good to you."
"Yes, Thank you.” Azi said, “I'll be sure to put in a good word with Kajima for this. If you can, please deliver it to Kajima's house sometime tomorrow afternoon. Just give him my name, it’s Azi by the way."
"Sure thing." Affirmed Ben.
"Azi huh, sounds foreign." Bail wryly commented, “It's surprising, I thought you were local.”
Ben huffed. “Are you kidding me! No shit sherlock! The kid looks and talks differently from us. Course he's not from around here. You must be going dull in the head with yer age."
"Don't be calling me an idiot.” Bail snapped back. “You and your pot belly need to....*******$%%#%$#%$#"
"##&&#&#%%#!"
Azi had to cover his ears at this point, the words they were using had changed to ones he couldn’t recognize, and preferred not to. Walking away he disappeared amongst the rows of shelves.