— Aleka —

By the time Keir finished going over the details of the proposed payment It was well into the window in which Aleka's ax head would be a workable temperature. As Keir and Marsaili were getting ready to leave, Aleka turned to Emrik and said “I need to finish the ax I was working on. We can talk about the job When we are both finished. That work for you?”

She waited for a moment before Emrik nodded and walked towards the small kitchen area, likely planning on making a cup of deep root tea. The powerfully caffeinated and bitter drink was one of their favorites, especially while they were working.

Aleka walked the pair back out to her forge and confirmed a time and place to meet up with Keir to give their answer about the job. By the time she was taking the ax head out of the fire the only thing she remembered clearly from the short conversation was the meeting place.

Even as she applied the finishing touch to the stone ax, her mind was mostly turning over the job offer. Fortunately while the metal of the ax was finicky the remaining work was basic.

After using a small stamping tool to place her maker’s mark she stepped away from the anvil. Using her foot she slid the cover off one of the quenching tanks and dunked the hot ax head into the mixture of oil and alchemical solutions. The solution would fuse and stabilize the orichalcum powder.

Even in her distracted state Aleka took a moment to appreciate the faint gold tint of the metal and its red sheen when it caught the light. The alloy was troublesome to work but the results were striking when done right. Her client had said he planned to acquire a blood oak handle and Aleka could easily picture how the almost black red wood would complement her work.

As much as she wanted to just head right in to talk about the job, she wouldn’t just leave her forge a mess. As always when closing her forge, she was a bit annoyed by the many small inconveniences. Her anvil and tools fit her well but they were the only part of the forge that did. All of the fixed features were built with dwarven statures in mind.

When she got everything stowed away Aleka went to find Emrik.

Emrik, as it turned out, had finished machining the part for her crossbow not long before and was waiting in the living room area. They’d also clearly known Aleka would be finishing soon as there were two steaming cups sitting on the small coffee table. The cup in front of Emrik clearly held deep root tea and the other was filled with Aleka’s own drink of choice for winding down.

With a contented sigh Aleka sat on the couch beside Emrik and took a big sip of the rich dark green tea. As a blacksmith the scalding tea was merely pleasantly warm and she savored the salty and somewhat savory flavor of the seaweed tea. For a moment she let her mind wander to her family and home. She stopped short of actually mentally charting out where The Walking Sea would be at that moment.

After a few seconds Emrik said “So, what are you thinking about the job offer?” in her nearly perfect orcish.

Aleka took another sip before saying “It’s a big risk but it is tempting. From the sound of it the job will take long enough we would need to move there and let go of this place.”

“Would that be so bad? At worst we decide to move back once the job is done with a decent amount saved up to find a better place to rent. If things go well, however, we will have a place that actually fits our needs instead of making due.”

A small part of Aleka felt like leaving the city would mean they were giving up. Most of her was just excited at the prospect of not only getting to actually design their potential home and work space, but actually own it. As renters they had virtually no ability to access the shop’s system to make changes. Not only did they have to make due with a storage area for Emrik’s workshop, since they couldn’t alter the system the system didn’t support it. Without the passive maintenance the system could provide, Emrik had to do all of the maintenance themself. Also neither of them could set up their preferred utilities.

The chance for Emrik to have a proper workspace and how excited she seemed was plenty of reason for Aleka to take a chance on the job. They spent a while longer going over the pros and cons they’d each thought of but it was clear they had both decided to take the chance.

— Keira —

Between the walk from the castle to Aleka’s and Emrik’s shop and the time Keir and Marsaili spent there it was nearly noon when they left the alley.

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If asked Keir might have said she noticed the time because the crystals that lit the city were almost pure white with only an almost imperceptible blue tint. If the person asking knew that those crystals were mostly obscured in the tight warren of back streets and alleys they passed through, she might instead have claimed some undead sense like so many sun sensitive undead possessed. Either would have been less embarrassing for both Keir and Marsaili.

In truth she only noticed when the dwarf’s stomach growled so loud it was clear even over the sounds of industry all around them. Marsaili didn’t exactly seem mortified but she clearly wasn’t thrilled when a dozen or so others on the street tensed and scanned the shadows for the source of the growl.

As for Keir she was a bit embarrassed that after centuries of life it hadn’t even taken a month of undeath to start forgetting the living needed food. She was also a little guilty. Sure, Marsaili was an adult who’d likely also lived centuries and could have just said she wanted to grab a bite to eat. She was also going out of her way to help Keir and Keir hadn’t even considered that the dwarf had only eaten a small meal in the saddle in the middle of the night before.

After a moment of awkward silence Keir said “Do you want to find some lunch?”

Apparently Marsaili was committed to pretending her stomach hadn’t just sounded like an angry drake when she said “Aye, It’s ‘bout tha’ time a day. Ya mind if I pick? I know a good place ‘round about ‘ere.”

Keir wasn’t sure if she even could eat, but even if she had still been alive she still would have had the same answer. “Lead the way.”

Marsaili hadn’t been exaggerating when she said the place was close and not more than fifteen minutes later they were walking through a plain steel door. Only a small sign hanging above it that depicted an anvil with a fork stabbed into the top with a few words in dwarven carved into the side gave any indication what lay beyond.

Beyond the door were a couple of small steps leading into an interior that had all the hallmarks of a well loved local favorite. The slightly mismatched tables and chairs filled every available bit of floor space in the smallish room. Despite it being a bit early for lunch, over half of the tables were filled with people dressed in the sturdy work clothes of smith’s, masons, and porters.

The door closing behind them cut off most of the noise from outside leaving only the sounds of conversations that often seemed to bridge tables.

Marsaili immediately led her over to a slightly odd sized stone table. It was a bit too big to be a table for two but there would be no personal space if you tried to fit four people there. Keir recognized the intent when she saw the design of the pair of chairs at the table.

They were sturdy, wear resistant, and clearly meant to accommodate those wearing heavy armor. Outside of military districts and the adventurers guild such accommodations weren’t common, but they were welcome. Even in her comparably light armor the design and simple enchantments of the chair made it as comfortable as wearing simple traveling clothes.

After they were both settled into their chairs, weapons propped against the table, Marsaili said “If ya have no preference, I’d say ya should get the special. Ya can’t go wrong wit’ that.”

Keir almost said she didn’t actually seem to need to eat but decided she might as well take the opportunity to try. When she actually paused to think about it she realized she was a tiny bit hungry.

“Yeah, I think that’s what I’ll do.” Keir said.

Marsaili grinned but before she could answer a young dwarven woman, barely into adulthood, dropped off a few mugs a few tables away and approached them. She had a wide beaming smile when she saw Marsaili and said “Aunt Sai, yer back’n the city ah’ready. Ye’ll be want’n yer usual?” She paused for a second when she noticed Keir, especially when she met her eyes, but her smile didn’t waver and she soon continued “Oh, yer new. Do ya want me ta go over tha menu fer tha day?”

Before Keir could do more than shake her head, Marsaili said “So ya are workin' today, Siv. This ‘ere is Keira, I met her on the road. Keir meet my niece, Siv.”

Keir gave a friendly smile and said “You can just call me Keir. As for food, I’ll take the special.”

Siv turned her wide smile back towards Keir and said “It’s mighty nice ta meet ya Keir. Now tha’ comes with a with a small loaf a oat bread an a mug a cold, sweet deep root tea, tha work fer ya?”

Keir confirmed and Marsaili ordered the same thing. Siv looked like she wanted to spend more time chatting but even in the short time since they’d arrived the restaurant had already gotten even busier. Instead she hurried off to a door that Keir suspected must lead to the kitchen.

Keir turned her full attention back to Marsaili and after a moment of internal debate said “Do you think Aleka and Emrik are likely to take the job?”

Mairsaili took a moment, clearly giving it some real thought before answering “Aye, I think yer offer was fair, if a bit sparse on details, an I think they’ll welcome the opportunity. If their lucky they may even end up with an achievement fer their time. May even get a bit blessing from tha’ goddess a yer’s, though whether the attention of the goddess of death’d be a boon fer the living is a another matter.”

The service was remarkably quick and after only a few more minutes of light conversation, Siv returned to their table with a tray holding a pair of mugs, bowls, and plates. The plates each held a small brown loaf of bread and a hash containing potatoes, ham, mushrooms, and sausage. The bowls held a porridge-like dish with chunks of sausage and cheese. The deep root tea turned out to be an almost black liquid with a single large chunk of ice floating in it.

Once again Siv didn’t really have time to stop and talk so after making it clear neither was to try to pay for their meal she flitted off to serve other customers. Keir decided she would leave some coins on the table but Marsaili apparently guessed her intentions and said “She means wha’ she said about not takin’ coin fer this. If I know tha’ girl, and I do, she’ll follow ya back ta yer village ta get ya ta take it back. Hell, she’d probably follow ye back ta yer island if need be.”

Somehow Keir could easily believe that so she said “I think I’ll take your word for that, at least pass on my appreciation the next time you see her.” and dug into her food.

It turned out she could eat normal food but even though it was delicious it didn’t even touch the slight hunger within her.