Alden woke up the next morning and prepared breakfast. After waiting a while for Vincen, he decided to check his room, but Vincen wasn’t there. Alden knew exactly where he would be. “He must have fallen asleep in the stables again,” he muttered to himself, grabbing a plate of eggs and heading out to the stables.
Vincen woke to the soft knocking of wood. He opened his eyes to see Bella standing above him and Alden leaning against the stall. “Sleep well, did ya?” Alden asked with a light chuckle. “You spend enough nights out here, I might have to build you a bed in her stall soon,” he added with a smirk.
“Well, get up. I’ve got some eggs for ya,” Alden said, handing over the plate. “Thanks, Alden,” Vincen replied, taking the plate gratefully.
“I need you to run to town this morning. Take Bella with you,” Alden instructed. “Stop by Ethier’s shop; my orders should be ready by now,” he added.
Alden stayed and chatted with Vincen before heading off to start the morning's chores, leaving Vincen to get ready.
Vincen finished his eggs and threw Bella’s saddle on. Tightening her saddle, he patted her side. “You ready, girl? Maybe you’ll get to see Gallar.” “Maybe he’s back in town,” Vincen thought to himself, a bit excited.
As they were leaving the farm, Vincen caught a glimpse of Alden walking the fence. He waved as they left, disappearing into the distance.
The nearest town was Faewick, a small town on the northeastern side of the great continent Elaria. Faewick only held around 100 citizens, and Alden provided most of the food for the townsfolk.
Half an hour later, Vincen and Bella strode into town. Faewick was a quaint town, from its wooden houses to dirt streets. It wasn’t much compared to some of the bigger cities like Belden, with stone blocks paving their roads and houses molded from stone. But Vincen liked this town; he’d been brought here after being found in the ruins of his village.
Vincen rode through the small fence around the town, waving at the villager standing guard at the gate. “Morning, Vincen. No Alden today?” the man greeted with a slight nod. “Alden had some work to finish around the farm today,” Vincen replied, riding past the guard with a slight wave.
As Vincen rode through town, he greeted many of the townsfolk, but he kept his eye out for that solid black horse that marked the presence of Crae, an older adventurer who stopped in town often and an acquaintance of Alden. Vincen didn’t see Crae as he made his way to Ethier’s.
Tying Bella to a post, Vincen made his way into the blacksmith’s shop. He could hear the sizzling of oil from a fresh quench as he entered. “Ethier?” Vincen said with a slightly raised voice. After a moment, a muffled reply came from the back of the shop. “Ish tat yu, boy?” A stocky man with deep brown hair and a scruffy beard cut off at the neck came around the corner. Ethier only stood around 4’6”. He was a dwarf, and Vincen wasn’t sure of his age, as dwarfs lived longer than humans, but he looked old—at least 70 if he were a human. His face was hard and heavily tanned from the forge. His eyes were gentle, though, a light green color; they always seemed to betray his real feelings even if his face was stone cold.
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“Ma boy, long time ner see,” Ethier said in a deep gritty voice. “Wat can I do fer ya?” he added.
“Alden sent me to pick up supplies,” Vincen replied.
“I’ve goh em right eer,” Ethier said, heading towards the back of the shop. “Eh batch of nails, horse shoes, en a sharpenin' stone.” With a pack over his shoulder, Ethier emerged from the back. “Heer ya go, Vincen,” Ethier said, laying the pack on the counter. “Thank you, Ethier,” Vincen said. “Do you mind if I stay awhile?” he added.
Vincen had done this many times over the years; he’d taken an interest in blacksmithing, staying for hours at a time watching and helping Ethier in the forge.
“Uf course, grab eh hamma,” Ethier said as he walked back to the forge.
Ethier was currently working on a batch of grounding stakes for the new tents in the market square. Without saying a word, Vincin grabbed a hammer and got to work. He heated a small bar of iron and began forging it into a spike with minimal difficulty. Having practiced for years on and off, he was starting to get the hang of it. He’d even been honing his swing at the farm using an extra smithing hammer that Alden kept for minor repairs.
Now, as he put his practice to use, he began to see results. His swings became more fluid, and he moved metal with increasing ease, almost as if it was his to command. He began shaping more metal with each swing, working faster and more efficiently until he was producing three stakes in the time it used to take him to make two. Everything clicked as Vincin worked, his mind finally grasping the fundamental concepts of smithing. It became almost instinctual as he hammered away. He’d felt this before while working with Alden on the farm, making repairs in the barn. Back then, it had felt like he could make anything out of wood, as if he was one with the lumber he worked with.
As Vincin worked, almost lost in his own world, Ethier watched him with a rough smile and a glint in his eyes. It was a beautiful sight to see someone fully grasp the concepts they had been striving to master.
After a few more minutes, Vincin finished his work in the smithy and turned to Ethier with a big smile. Ethier had been watching him for some time now. Excitedly, Vincin opened his stat screen.
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Name: Vincin Albernaz
Age: 13
Class: None
Specialization: None
————————————
Stats - 46
Strength: 9
Constitution: 8
Dexterity: 7
Intelligence: 7
Wisdom: 7
Charisma: 8
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Skills
Herbalism - Level 1
Carpentry - Level 1
Swordplay - Level 1
Smithing - Level 1
————————————
Abilities:
None
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Everything looked the same until Vincin reached his skills list. There it was, a new entry: "Smithing - Level 1." He’d known this would happen eventually and had felt he was close the last couple of times he was in the smithy with Ethier.
Skills were common across Igdris. They formed when one reached an instinctual understanding of what they were doing. It was as if the body and mind formed a connection with the world, and the skill became engraved into one's very being.