Constellations mirror in my oceans, their light a guide and ancient lore,
Seeking truths of existence, yearning to know forevermore.
-Thoubose
THEO
The entrance to the town presented an undesirable scene, clearly having experienced better days in the past. Vines and weeds now dominated the surroundings. Neglected stretches of road revealed troublesome divots that could pose hazards for passing horses, unless caution was exercised. From a distance, pockmarked windows and decaying edges on doors and barns hinted at years of unaddressed hail damage, the scene was evidence of neglect.
The protective battlements encircling the town's core showed signs of weathering and subpar maintenance, which was clear from their battered appearance. While they seemed ill-suited for resisting an organized army, their condition might deter bandits or similar threats. The likelihood of a military force choosing Riverside as a strategic location seemed low. In the face of conflict, these villages and towns appeared more inclined to surrender rather than put up a resistance. Each observation served to underscore the town's overall disarray, magnifying the extent of its dilapidation.
I looked to the sky; the weather had taken a turn for the worse as we took the time to gather our horses. Luckily, Gerald must have been bye because everything was properly ready once we trekked back, after disposing of the worg bodies. Breezy took to exploring the vicinity, tending to stay clear of me when it’s stormy, since our mishap. Grandfather and I were getting pelted with rain and thunder just started to call out in the distance. My body lightly vibrating with an overflow of natural air essence. The atmosphere became raw with air affinity essence during these types of storms.
“Oh yeah, who doesn’t love a good soaking before being hailed as a hero.” I sarcastically moaned.
“On the contrary Theo, I feel like it eases the first impression. We assisted them and because of that were caught in the rain. We might get some extra boon as they see us as miserable and might feel bad for us. It can’t hurt with us acclimating here to have some quick easy friends!” Grandfather trying to spin the situation in a positive light was always appreciated. With so much to bring you down, it is important to not let negativity run your life is what he tries to preach most the time. That’s all good at time of reflection but say that to the miserable rain right now.
“Are you going to be ok Theo? Should we make up some excuses to get you to a room?” Grandfather pointed at my hair that began standing straight up in every direction.
“I am ok. It’s not a large storm, but I might need the bobble.” My body shivered as a blast roared in the distance, my skin becoming ripe with goose bumps.
Grandfather threw me a solid metal ball with a simple air rune he passively activated. As soon as my hand touched the ball, the excess static electricity left my body, leaving my hair to flop back to its normal state. It was a simple grounding rune that normally is used to keep lightning from hitting mills and higher up buildings, or for grounding lightning as a defense in battle.
“You might need to eat some food, start off on a good note with whoever the cook is.” Grandfather expressed some sympathy in his knowing look.
“I figured as much.” I grumbled.
It’s not that I couldn’t eat food, it just caused an uncomfortable feeling in my stomach. Gerald thinks it’s severe indigestion, but I feel like that might be his typical go to on most things. Grandfather thinks it might be because what I am eating must not be pure of air essence, which yeah that would make total sense thinking about it in that way. I tended to just avoid food and water all together.
“Are there not many guards?” I questioned.
“I believe they have less than eight. Riverside is protected by a lord and his retainer, but that is about it. I believe the local lord got in some trouble and was sent here to clean the place up, as his punishment if Sloan got the details correct.” He paused before putting a smile on his face. “Well, here we go it seems.”
Grandfather lead the way as we headed towards the inn tavern combination that was located just outside the crumbling walls of the small village. Nestled across the street from the inn was a blacksmith sign, with the typical anvil and hammer adorning the shops front sign. The inn and blacksmith seemed to be more well maintained, without the sign of mold along the wood exteriors.
Glass might not be present along the windows of the two, but a light paper seemed to be used to allow some light in, but trap temperature inside, even if limited. That at least showed some sign of upkeep unlike some of the neighboring outer-wall buildings. Glass was expensive, and these people probably had to wait for traveling merchants that wouldn’t be enticed to visit a small town more than every so many years. The other buildings we passed before getting to the inn were the most weather-beaten buildings of the town, and closer to being decrepit than occupied from the looks.
Grandfather hitched his horse at the front railing of the inn and walked inside, a sign on the door saying Kitchen Sink Inn – Goods Too. I followed in close pursuit. As soon as he stepped in, we were greeted by Sloan and a loud bell chime as the door opened.
“How great it is to see some new faces!” We were greeted as we opened the door. “Terrible day to come into town with the weather and all acting up. What brings you lot all the way out here to Riverside!” Sloan said with a thick layer of over enthusiasm.
A stout gray-haired Venti woman with glasses that magnified her eyes rushed in from the back kitchen pulling a slightly balding, tall, gangly man along with her. “Oh! These must be the two saviors we are to be expecting! We can’t express how thankful we are!” the woman began to sob in joy as she smiled at Grandfather, handing us some towels she must have had prepared for us. “Our son Jyle said without you two, the whole hunting party would have been killed! Some kind of beasts.” Hardly gargling out her sentence between her excited sobbing.
“Dinners on the house for a month! That’s my only boy!” The man said from behind his sobbing wife, handing the woman his handkerchief.
“Where are my manors. I apologize.” The woman wiped her eyes and tried her best to compose herself. “I am Milly, and this is Todd, we are the Hammonds. We run this little inn here.” She smiled as she gestured through the place with her hands. “This here is Sloan, we just hired the wonderfully overqualified young lady last week.” Sloan blushed at the complement.
“Nice to meet you maim. I am Roman Smith, and this is Theo.” Grandfather slightly bowed as I gave a wave followed by a smile. Smith being an easy surname to use that followed many blacksmiths, an attempt to misguide any census trail that might ever come along. “No need to mention the assistance we provided; I am sure they would have done the same for us if we were in need. They seem like virtuous lads. Thank you for the towels!”
“I hope my boy Jyle would never hesitate! He still has some growing to do but at least he’s a few years into his profession now. That reminds me, the lot said they should be in later this afternoon to properly thank you.” Todd replied.
“We can’t wait.” Roman politely smiled.
“What brings you folk to Riverside?” Todd questioned.
“We actually were hoping to find some work and have been traveling a good bit in search. Things dried up where we were living, so we packed up and started heading west.”
“Guessing you lot were near the front then?” Todd asked.
“That’s right, we are coming from Tuttle. People started to leave as the military arrived, first in small numbers, later in droves. Then with that, there was less honest work if you didn’t want to just be grinding swords all day. We are blacksmiths by trade.” Grandfather smiled proudly at his current profession. Was he living out some kind of childhood fantasy on this one? I almost chuckled at my thought before catching myself.
“Glad you weren’t going to say you were cooks, I would have felt awful if we wouldn’t have been able to accommodate you lot here in town.” Milly said with an honest smile. “We are seeing a good bit of influx in the past month alone! Sloan here is one of the newbies, and two brothers she ended up meeting along the road. They all even rented rooms for long term here.”
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
“You wouldn’t happen to have any additional rooms here, would you?” Grandfather inquired of Milly. “We just need something till we can have time to figure out some arrangements.”
“We have two rooms left and you are most definitely welcome to either or both, on the house the first month as well, we can’t thank you enough for what you did today. We owe you a debt larger than rooms can pay back.” Milly replied, wide smiled, tucking the kerchief in her pocket.
“There aren’t any for sale places here in town, but I am sure if you got the right coin the carpenter in town could get something set up.” Todd interjected. “The brothers already put a request in. Buying up land like you wouldn’t know too! They might know something we don’t!”
“Their farmers dear, they need land to farm.” Milly said flatly before turning her attention back to her guests. “Of course! We would love to have you lot. You seem like honest folk. I can tell already.” She shrieked in excitement.
I am not sure if it was for some long-term room and board, or genuinely she thought we looked like honest folks. Nonetheless it was reassuring, not that we ran around with scowls on our faces ready to stab the closest person in a bar fight, but it was nice to feel welcomed already. I tried to push the thoughts of it only being temporary into the back of my mind. It’s going to be home for now.
The sound of the bell chimed as a tall elegantly dressed man with slicked back black hair stepped into the inn. A thick aroma of cedarwood following the man. “Ah Milly, I sure hope there is some delectable specials today with such poor weather.” The man met gaze with Grandfather as he shifted from a sour expression to one of overexcitement. Is that forced?
I can already tell this one’s type from most of the places we have been. There was always the main landowner, tax collector, businessman. Guess this is perfect for us getting the run of the town quickest.
“Ah do we have some travelers or new prospects! This has been a great month for our budding town already. I am Lord Richard Altrose, I oversee this town for the Dundalk Barony.” A slightly condescending tone in the way he emphasized lord.
Bingo
“Nice to meet you! I am Roman Smith.” Grandfather said with a smile. “We actually have been looking for the right fit. We are traveling from Tuttle and have made a few stops along the way. Tuttle is turning into a war depot we don’t really want to be around for. It’s one thing to defend your home, it’s another to get conscripted by an army.” Grandfather reached out and shook his hand. “As for if we are going to settle here, I guess that can only happen if there is some blacksmithing work to tend to, as Theo my boy here and I are blacksmiths by trade.” He gestured towards me as I shook the man’s hand.
The mile smile widened; it was an odd thing because I didn’t think it could extend any further. But this was an almost hook and fish moment for Grandfather who kept his poker face. “Ah well I took over this town not too long ago and it can use some significant work. I am not sure if you have seen the battlements, but I would like to get those in working shape in case our home becomes the next Tuttle. There simply hasn’t been enough hands to do all the work.”
Something tells me this guy has all the available work tied up on pet projects instead of a rebuilding effort.
“I appreciate a forward-thinking man and if time comes to pick up a sword, it’s better to know if there is an honest man behind us, looking out for our well-being.” Grandfather giving the man exactly the loyalty opening a man like this loves to hear.
“With the town in flux, there is plenty of work. The Blacksmith right now is overrun with backorders. Cliff has too many orders that are piling up especially with the harsh winter last year. It’s a great problem to have if you are the only blacksmith in town, but not great for those in a rush for commissions. The blacksmith operates my forge so I am sure he would have no problem taking you on to keep you from competing in a separate shop. I can arrange for a meeting, first I would love to hear more about you and Theo, was it?” The man making an honest attempt at flattery, earning bonus points on the smaller details. I was impressed the man took the effort to remember my name.
“Milly, if you don’t mind two full house messes on my tab, want to make sure we start Roman off with a good impression.” The man smiled as the inn returned to its working fashion.
I noticed that they didn’t argue with who was paying for our meals, which gave me a smile. I wasn’t sure why this guy rubbed me the wrong way, but he oozed of self-importance upon first impression. Milly and Todd came by every few minutes as they overheard something new about landscapes that Grandfather described and news of Tuttle. Grandfather being careful and Sloan ever so subtly steering the conversations from Roman and more about Lord Altrose and the Hammonds. Already working great at simple counter espionage.
As the meal went on, the man wasn’t as pompous as he started off. Maybe it was his charm after knowing Grandfather had a skill he could benefit from if we ended up staying for the long term. We found out he was essence attuned as was his son, the blacksmith, the blacksmiths son, and his first in command of the militia; but those were the only ones in the town. We would have to scope out if they had the training or skill enough to detect essence usage, or if it wasn’t something as important to them out here. Gerald sure would find out scouting rather quickly if they used wards or defensive runes around the town. They were about to have a lot more if they had any before.
…
After lunch, Lord Richard showed us next door to meet the blacksmith and his son, Cliff and Clyde Aldridge, before requesting his leave. Our arrival seeming to cause him to adjust his schedule, ending up in him missing a few of his appointments he needed to make up.
“Tuttle’s quite the distance, I can tell you I have never been that far east myself.” Cliff said, us giving a brief overview of the similar backstory yet again.
“Yeah, it took us quite a time to get here, we had a few stops along the way, but there wasn’t a whole lot of work it seemed. I mean no offense when I say this and I hope you won’t inform your boss, but the town looked like it needed some help, and the front gates and walls need a lot of blacksmithing.” Grandfather looked at the man sincerely. Hoping to gain some trust while further propositioning our position.
“Yeah, he came on and has been working on recruit more tradesmen which this town needs for it to really thrive, but they can be hard to get into a town so remote. Not a whole lot enticing people, especially when you are relatively new to the whole lord role and this place has failed to prosper in a prior generation. Back to this, don’t think you can keep distracting me! Where did you say you got this hammer and chisel?” Cliff said in awe as he inspected Grandfathers tools, barely able to fit in the man’s massive hands. “These runes are nothing I have ever seen in my life!”
The Aldridge’s were large-stocked men, similar to Thomas’s build each with milk chocolate colored skin, but no pointed ears common to the Valerians. Cliff had a good seventy more kilos in accumulated gut over his son. They were certainly a few generations of mixed heritages. It was nice to see comradery out here crossed races, the bordering baronies next to the Montu Empire are a vast difference than the discrimination we faced inside that land just passing. Most there have bigotries towards those who aren’t Montu. They typically are more closed off and lightly rude, but during our various journeys in their land, we often saw open hostility displayed towards people who weren’t visibly pure of blood to any race. It was a bad reminder of how closeminded some can be.
We were getting more acquainted now that Lord Richard left and there was no more slight tension one always feels by being in the presence of their overall employer. Grandfather giving a quick demonstration of removing impurities from a block of iron and molding it into a thin rod with his tools. The runes themselves didn’t lose much of their natural charge during the demonstration, showing reverence to their purpose of minimizing essence bleed during use. The thing that peaked Cliff’s attention most was the tools didn’t require a forge.
“Passed down from a few generations. My grandmother said my great grandfather won it in a drinking game with some Montu runemasters, but my grandfather would never confirm that and always said the family made it over the years, adding knowledge as we accumulated it. Stubborn man he was, but I believe her a bit more.” Grandfather said with a deep chuckle, followed by a deep laugh from Cliff. The rotund man slapping his belly for effect.
It wasn’t the actual instruments themselves as the runes that were inscribed on them. Some runes were hard to come by and the really good ones could often be highly held state secrets. Only the highest craftsmen could design runes with their essence intentions specifically guided. Most essence users take the quick route and just buy them instead of learning the art.
Grandfather, and most Gemini that cared to craft, luckily had a map within each gem that contained the rune structures that had been used by each individually over time. Their sentience stores and catalogs essence they encounter and deconstruct them into their codex when they become familiar enough. For Grandfather, this provides him a cheat that thrusts him into the status of a master artesian rune crafter, especially since runes can be stamped at will on anything with his gem. He is able to create an artifact and engrave it with the historical knowledge of his gem’s past users, and even make the items worn looking all without picking up a single tool. Other gem types don’t excel in crafting like peridot for that reason. That being said, the tools were still something to marvel over themselves, and something Cliff might quickly hire us for. Knowledge of many forgotten or unknown runes embedded in the two tools that allow the user to shift and mold ore, purify it, all without any heat and minimal effort.
“I never thought of a blacksmith using really only earthen runes, most mine are used to keep the heat from chewing through too much fuel, others for ore to not cool down too rapidly.” He paused, peering down his slightly reddened nose at the rod that lay in front of him. “I wouldn’t believe that if I didn’t see it.”
“Yeah, we aren’t the most conventional blacksmiths because of that fact, but it works!” Grandfather gave Cliff a nod in satisfaction as he handed him his final trump card, my simple unadorned blade.
The man’s eyes almost bugged out of its sockets when he took a look at the simple marvel, unsheathed. “We’re going to save my weight in gold on fuel alone within a few months I reckon.” Clyde remarked, brushing his shaggy black hair out of his face trying to peer over his father’s shoulder to get a good look at the items.
“You don’t think you could teach me this method? Over time of course! If you two are willing to come work with us that is. I promise to be fifty-fifty fair! We got plenty to do and I think we might be quadrupling our workforce!” A glint in the man’s eyes that was not malicious, but a craftsman starting to daydream the possibilities.
Without hesitation from Roman, the two shook hands.
“How about we cement this with a drink!” Cliff roared happily.
“Sounds perfect! We are expecting some people at the inn if you would like to join?” Roman extended the invite.
“Already a local celebrity?” Cliff laughed raucously as he got himself ready with a quick comb of his hair.