"Is there a reason you two are bowing?" I asked, looking at the solemn faces of the two felkins.

Daergo spoke first, lifting his head to stare almost wonderstruck, at Zharia. "My apologies, Cyrus. I should have realized it when Sereza mentioned you. I meant no disrespect, sir."

"Master. He smells tasty."

"Like tasty flames? Don't eat him."

She pretended to pout, but despite all the teasing she directed at Sturmrorex about his pride, the little phoenix seemed to enjoy how the felkins looked at her.

Alright. Enough of that.

"Okay. I think there might be some confusion here. Again, why exactly are you bowing?" I asked.

Ernor raised his head. "Even I recognize a phoenix when it's before me. You... my apologies, Cyrus. I meant no disrespect with my comments earlier."

Zharia turned her head, and her tail feathers lit up with bright golden flames. "It's good that you recognize my master's presence."

Ernor's eyes widened, and I resisted the urge to facepalm.

Behind the two, Sereza had her mouth covered, and I could see her pointy fangs peeking out from the grin she failed to keep hidden.

"Okay." I sighed and uncrossed my arms. "I'm not a noble if that's what you guys think. Just call me Cyrus, and stop bowing. It's weird."

The father and son looked at each other hesitantly, and I sighed even louder until they stood up. The expressions of wonder and joy didn't disappear from their faces, but at least they stood instead of knelt like knights to their king.

"Nonetheless, it's an honor to meet such a spirit," Daergo said while combing over Zharia's feathers. "Thank you. As one who is well connected to fire, it's a pleasure to be in the presence of your mana."

I could feel Zharia's head swell, and her emotions openly bled through the soul link.

"This is probably the mana you smelled earlier. She's the only thing around me that would have fire mana. I didn't know about the light. I don't think I ever made that connection before."

He blinked and looked at me incredulously. "You can practically taste it. It feels like the warm sun on your skin, and her flame is so pure... It's rather surprising that you didn't notice it before."

I lifted Zharia's wing, and she rubbed against my finger. "I mean, maybe? Honestly, I always treated her fire just like, well, fire. Guess it's kind of cool that you have some light mana mixed in."

"I would hope we would be able to recognize the mana type. It's special; she's a phoenix, after all. And Solar mana is super common in our kingdom."

Solar? Oh, right. Solunaria.

"Did you know, Zharia?"

She sent over the mental equivalent of a shrug. "My fire is my fire."

"Right. Well, there you have it. Just don't go revealing that I have this skill, and especially her. If people find out, it's not the end of the world, but I'd rather avoid any complications right now."

I could almost see Daergo getting ready to kneel again, and I tensed, but instead, he crossed his arms and looked at me as if I had slapped him.

"Never! I'd eat my fingers before revealing such a thing," he declared emphatically.

"I like them," Zharia commented.

"Impressive praise. Good to know."

Wanting to move things along, I pointed to the aprons they both wore. "Blacksmiths? Sereza didn't really prep me on who I was meeting."

She stuck out her tongue. "You didn't need it. This has been the most fun I've had since returning to the city."

"That's sad. I won a skillstone from playing a game of magic marbles."

"Magic Marbles? You mean the kid game?" Sereza asked.

"Yep."

"Show it, what did you win?"

Aaaah.

"Maybe later, but it's pretty cool."

"Saving up already for that one kid's offer then?"

I shrugged and turned away, smirking playfully as Sereza narrowed her eyes.

"Right," Daergo started. He too, glanced Sereza's way before motioning around the corner from where he originally came. "We specialize in metalwork, yes. My wife helps run the store and handle inventory, but Ernor takes after me. Lezka, my youngest, is learning some simple leatherworking from his mother. We do everything from weapons to armor to specialized tools."

"Anything enchanted?"

Daergo winced. "Ah, yes, but the list of available enchantments is not as extensive as other shops. Runework is a delicate process, and enchanters guard their secrets zealously."

Ernor stopped admiring Zharia long enough to smile my way. "How about we show you the shop? I'm curious to see what an adventurer thinks."

The two nearly rushed out of the room, and I stepped up beside Sereza and softly whistled. "I feel like I'm suffering whiplash from the emotional roller coaster."

She cocked her head. "Roller coaster? What's that, and why does it sound so weird?"

I shook my head. "Never mind. Are they okay?"

"Oh, they are. Sorry about the extreme reaction from Daergo. I should have known Zharia's mana would make them react that way. They're crazy about fire; most of their enchantments involve it in some way."

"Is that normal?"

"No, probably not. But they're craftsmen, and that's their chosen element. If you could avoid killing them, that'd be great."

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"I'll try."

I waited for a half-second before channeling mana into my dimensional storage skill. Chomperz appeared quickly enough to engulf my spear before he rushed back into my chest.

"Is he still hurting?"

"Yeah. It'll be a while till he's okay."

"Sereza! Cyrus! You coming?" Ernor called out.

I chuckled and followed Sereza around the corner and up the stairs. When we arrived, Daergo stopped and stared at my arms.

He didn't say anything; instead, he pulled back a chain curtain made of tiny, black links. On the other side was a large forge and a pair of anvils. Around the room were large, metal stone tables stacked high with either materials or half-made projects.

I admired the array of weaponry on the walls. Swords, axes, and even intricate shields were displayed on hooks or racks.

But it wasn't just weaponry; three suits of finely made armor stood on metal stands. One was a full plate made of light blue metal, the kind I'd expect to see on a knight.

The second stand held fewer pieces, but the artwork was more intricate, especially the shoulders, which were nearly an art piece with their detailed design on golden metal.

And the third stand had the sparsest amount of armor pieces, but the gauntlets featured strange black gems embedded into the back of the hand, pulsing with mana that I could feel from across the room.

"We are not the finest craftsmen in the land, but we do well," Daergo said.

Of all the projects and finished pieces, my eyes honed in on a strange gilded stick no wider than my thumb.

"So, what's this? Because you have it positioned between a dagger, an axe, and something that looks like a shovel."

"A shovel?"

Daergo walked over, hands on his hips, then suddenly whipped around and stalked toward his son.

Ernor's eyes widened, and he took a step back before standing straight and crossing his arms.

"Ernor... why is there a rusty shovel on the wall?"

"I have no idea, Father," Ernor replied, dead serious. "I thought it was one of those pieces you cherished from your apprentice days."

"Ernor, boy. I'll shove you into that furnace and make you fire it up for a week if I must. Where. Is. The. Sword."

Ernor inhaled deeply, then exhaled. "Lezka took it!"

"Took it where?" Daergo's voice was low and menacing.

"I don't know," Ernor replied quickly. "I just know he took it despite me telling him not to."

Daergo took a deep breath and then exhaled actual flames like a dragon. They licked at Ernor's taller chest before Daergo backed off.

"I'll murder the boy once he's home. It had to be done."

I chuckled at the display and noticed Zharia staring at the forge. "Interested in something?"

She didn't reply.

"Zharia?"

"Master. The crystals. Could he do something with them?"

Crystals?

It took a second, my brain chugging through my memories to understand what she wanted, but it finally hit me, and I pulled out the crystals I had looted inside the Burning Lake dungeon so long ago.

"These?"

"Yes! Look over there!" She didn't have to physically point out where she meant; I knew from the link she was staring at the black gems embedded into the arms.

"I don't know," I shrugged, holding up the largest sliver of crystal, still warm and emitting a faint orange light. "I looted them in a dungeon called the Burning Lake. The second floor was this massive underground lake cavern covered with these giant warm crystals. I took a few because Zharia liked them and then forgot all about them."

Tossing one over, Daergo caught it and moved to a nearby bench. He shuffled some items aside and signaled to his son, who was already rummaging through a crate. After a moment, Ernor found what he was looking for and handed his father a brass tool with two lenses on the end, resembling a telescope.

Daergo spent some time examining the crystal, occasionally motioning silently for another tool, which Ernor always had ready.

After three minutes, I glanced at Sereza, who shook her head and tapped me with her tail.

"You don't understand what you just did," she whispered.

"What?"

"You brought an unknown material to a craftsman. Of course, they're going to lose focus."

"I should stop doing that, huh? Oh well. Zharia? What do you have in mind?"

"A throne!"

I laughed, and Sereza stifled her chuckle.

"Well, I guess I'll ask for a throne. Are you sure you're not Sturmrorex?"

The surge of anger that came through the link was palpable. I grabbed Zharia off my shoulder and hugged her to my chest until her golden flames began to subside.

"You're so lucky these shirts are flame-resistant."

Eventually, Daergo set the instruments down and held up the crystals with a smile. "These are incredible. Tier one materials, but nearly tier two. They have an eternal mana battery that converts ambient mana into light and warmth."

Ernor held up one of the chunks and channeled mana into the crystal. "It accepts fire mana well, with good conversion efficiency."

The crystal lit up as if it were on fire, glowing brightly like a lamp. I held up my hands and felt the air warm up even more beyond the already warm temperature of the room.

"That's pretty strong," I noted.

"It doesn't convert mana as well if it's not fire-aspected, but it still performs surprisingly well. It's impressive that this hasn't been discovered yet."

"I don't know how much longer that'll be true," I said.

"Before I left the village, the dungeon tiered up and expanded, so more people should be heading there. I'm guessing you guys will start seeing materials from the dungeon sometime soon."

Daergo looked contemplative. "We'll have to get your mother to look into that. These crystals are amazing. They'll be a hot commodity once they hit the market."

It was interesting to think how a small, spur-of-the-moment decision could become significant a few months later. At least Zharia had good taste.

"Think you can do anything with them?" I asked.

"Probably a lot, but what do you have in mind?" Daergo responded.

I presented Zharia, who strutted to the edge of my hand.

"I want a throne!"

Instead of smirking or finding my familiar's request amusing, the father and son duo became deathly serious and started nodding.

"What about a nest?"

Zharia looked back at me, and I nodded. "Go ahead. This is all you."

For the next several minutes, Sereza and I relaxed while Zharia was on a nearby table, where Daergo and Ernor listened to her request and began sketching a design.

From what I could see, she was going to get an enchanted nest made of metal, a cotton-like metal, and some fire-aspect stones, all decorated and powered by the crystals.

"So," I whispered, nudging Sereza. "Successful first meeting?"

"Yeah. To be honest, I was hoping for something like this. You told me how you kept the guildmaster and the alchemist busy, so I figured a good relationship with you would bring good things for them," she replied.

"Well, now I feel used."

She elbowed me back. "Wait until you loot some interesting things from the local dungeons, then you can complain. I can vouch for these two, the whole family, really. They'll do well; they just haven't had the opportunity to be successful yet."

I watched Zharia torch a design that actually offended her, her emotions traveling through the link. Daergo looked surprised, but he nodded so seriously that I smiled.

"I'm not made of money, you know."

"Not yet. Nobody with your kind of skill will stay poor. Not for long."

"Yeah, yeah."

By the time they finished, there was noise coming from the stairs leading up, and I turned to watch as a female elf came down. She had beautiful brown hair and soft green eyes. Her high cheekbones and pointed ears made her look similar to Celanae, but she lacked the fierceness the barrier mage held.

Her face lit up when she saw me, and she quickly took in the room, pausing as she noticed Zharia being measured by Ernor.

"My love! This is Cyrus, the one Sereza talked about," Daergo exclaimed happily.

"Well, hello! And who is the pretty fire spirit beside you, Ernor?" she asked as she kissed her husband.

"I am Zharia!" Zharia chirped.

"Nice to meet you, Zharia. I am Melza," she said, bowing lightly. "Have they been treating you right?"

Zharia lit up with golden flames, and Melza's smile widened a few notches. "Yes, they have. They have treated me and my master well."

"I'm glad to hear it."

Daergo grinned brightly until his eyes drifted over to the spot on the wall that held up the shovel. "Love, have you seen Lezka today?"

Melza looked down suspiciously. She turned around and followed his gaze to where the shovel was and scanned the area. After a dozen seconds, she sighed and turned back around.

"Unfortunately, no. Should I have?"

"No worries. He'll be home eventually," Daergo ground out.

I pointed again to the wall. "You never answered, but what's with the stick-looking thing? I don't recognize it."

"Stick?" He looked around and examined where I pointed. "Oh, you mean the caster. It's barely more than a firestarter, but it was Ernor's first attempt."

Huh.

"So you can make casters too?"

Daergo shook his head and jerked his thumb at Ernor, who was busy rolling up the scroll with the nest design. "Not my expertise. Never had a fascination with them, and they require delicate work that's hard on my hands. He can, though. Obsessed with them for a few years."

"I can make them, yes. Took a lot of practice," Ernor replied as he gave his mother a hug.

A caster...

I glanced at the scroll in his hand and then waited as Zharia flew over to my shoulder. I poked her belly, and she responded by clawing my finger.

"Did you like working with them?"

Zharia nodded.

I turned to the family. "Think I can make an order?"