I put a large and hopefully disarming smile on my face and spin around on my back heel. Seeing a stunning woman exiting the building, I quickly say, holding out my hand to shake, “Hello, it's great to meet you. My name is Hephaestus, but my friends call me Heph.”

The woman looks blankly at me, confused by the abrupt conversation. During this, I use the brief moment to assess the person before me.

Delphne was definitely a good looker; the lady in front of me had long black hair pulled into a ponytail and skin like the others I met today. What stood out the most to me, however, was her large muscles. She has definitely spent a great deal of effort on building muscles that don’t grow from sitting around and letting everyone else do all the work. Plus, she is quite pretty, not as good as Aphrodite, but that’s a high standard to beat.

Demitros lightly coughed from behind Delphne, startling her out of her thoughts. Looking at me, she says slightly embarrassed, “Ah yes, sorry about that.” Quickly adjusting to the situation, she calms down, grabs my hand, and shakes it. “I am the chief of this town, Delphne, and my advisor here told me about your situation. However, I do have a few questions to ask.”

Holding my hands in a ‘wait a sec’ gesture, I say, “Apologise for cutting you off, but may we do this over some food? I am famished.” Let’s ignore how I can last several weeks without eating. Sometimes, just eating food is nice, even if it’s not that important to my survival.

“Ah… yes, we have food from last night’s meal if that is acceptable.”

I nodded. “That would be great. Thank you”

A few minutes later, I ended up sitting at a huge feast table where a few villagers were eating breakfast, with a large bowl of pasta and a few small strips of meat with some cheese on the side. Delphne and Demitros sat across from me with their own smaller bowls. They must have given me a lot more.

Using a trident-like utensil made of bronze, I took a bite of the cheese and immediately loved it. Seeing my expression, Delphne explained, “Ah, that would be the Melichloro. It’s made of fresh goat and sheep milk. We don’t have many animals, but enough to make it.” I nodded in acknowledgment but didn’t stop eating.

I forgot how great the cheese was here on Lemnos. It might sound silly that a piece of cheese was one of the things I remember the best, but it definitely was something that stuck.

Quickly finishing my meal, I used a spare cloth to wipe my mouth. Leaning back in the chair, I pat my stomach, looking at Delphne, “Alright, what questions do you have?”

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She swallowed a bite of pasta. “Well, first, you mentioned that your family left you here. But where are you from?”

Hm. Where do I want this persona of mine? I always loved Scicly, so let's do that.

I say aloud, “I am from Sicily. My family, however, stranded me here.” Delphne looks a bit sceptical but also curious. “You are from such a large city? Why did your family leave you here, so far away from Scicly?”

Chuckling, I reply, “Trust me, my mom wants nothing to do with me, and the rest couldn’t care less.”

Sighing, Delphne looks me in the eye, “Look, I know that you aren’t telling the truth, maybe some of it, but not all of it… but as long as you have no mal intentions and can be useful to the village. I don’t care about your background.”

Suddenly piping up, Demitros says, “Speaking of useful, what can you do?” Glancing down at the snake pelt I had draped over my shoulder, he continues, “Obviously, you can fight, but anything else.”

Smiling, I rub my hands together. “Say friends… do you have a smithy?”

***

To say the least, I was not impressed. Standing in front of an old, dilapidated building with a rusty anvil, a hearth built into the corner that had seen much better days, and a few rusty tools. The building had a large opening in the front with a small splintered door, presumably leading to a bedroom.

Yeahhh… this place hasn’t been used in years. It will take some time for me to repair all of this.

Walking up to the large anvil, I pat it. “Well. It’s certainly not in the best shape, but that's no matter. The hearth at least looks in decent shape.”

Rubbing the back of his head, Demitros sheepishly says, “Due to some unfortunate circumstances, our blacksmith was killed during a beast wave.”

“Beast wave?”

He nods, “Yes, occasionally, when the wildlife grows in numbers, large herds and groups are attracted because of the life force in the village. A venomous snake killed the blacksmith while she slept.”

The people of this village must think their divinity is this ‘lifeforce.’ It is unlikely that they know much about it.

Speaking aloud, “Alright, I don’t mind living here for a while. Give me some time and some metal and I will begin after cleaning this up.” Grabbing one of the tools off the rack, I brush it off, sending a large wave of dust across the open area.

Sneezing, Demitros backed up, stepping outside. “I guess that’s my cue to leave. Just return to the Chief’s house if you need anything.”

Watching him walk off, I mirthfully call after him, “I need help moving something!”

Demitros, not looking back, shrugged, yelling over his shoulder, “I think you’ll live!”

Chuckling I turn back to the mess in front of me. As if it was waiting for me to look, a chunk of the wall collapsed inward, covering everything in another layer of dust.

Yeaaahhhh, this is gonna take some time.

*** Sometime later ***

Returning to the smithy from the village’s dining table after successfully retrieving dinner, I sighed.

It took all day to get the building back to a somewhat livable condition, thanks to a civilian who lent me a broom, I had managed to free the smithy off the dust infestation, and the smaller bits of rubble. Unfortunately the larger debris would take some more time to move but the smithy looked substantially better than it did early today, now the metal tools and anvil were wiped down with a wet rag, ridding it of the grime built up.

Walking into my new home for the foreseeable future, I grabbed some empty linen sacks and walked to the door in the back (which indeed led to a small room that unfortunately lacked a bed,) laying the bags out as something to sleep on.

Laying back, looking through a hole in the roof; I saw the night sky above and combination of the bright stars and night insects chirping, lulled me to the realm of Hypnos.