*Date: 33,480 Third Quarter — Kingdom of Satar, Capital City Parthanon*
Demir, Marco, and Marven were all covered in dirt and sweat, digging into their food at the inn. The old elven woman hadn't even brought them food for their trouble.
Marco chewed mechanically, his eyes distant. "Are we really going back there?"
They had walked back to the inn since inside-city travel with carriages was pricey for them. When they arrived, before even getting cleaned, all they could think about was eating.
Demir drank a huge glass of water to hold down the bread. "Heck yeah. Otherwise, we worked the whole day for nothing."
Marven tore off another piece of bread. "Marco, you worked so hard to fix the gate and even started on the forge's broken pieces. You want all that to go to waste?"
Marco shrugged. "I mean, we're in this huge and vast game, but I feel like we're getting scammed."
Alef and Lysara finally entered the inn and stopped dead when they saw the trio. "What happened to you three? Were you mugged or what?" Alef asked.
Demir laughed weakly. "No, we found a job."
Lysara raised an eyebrow. "In the coal mines?"
Marven shook her head. "Nope. Just an old woman's workshop. When her husband died, she couldn't manage alone, so she's constantly hiring outside help. But every other person kind of ruined the workshop further."
Alef sat down, looking skeptical. "Seems like a scam storyline. But I'm not sure those are still in play, though."
Lysara smiled. "Anyway, I rented a top floor of a player's house near the north gate. This way you can leave to the forest whenever and take care of Asena."
Demir brightened. "Really? Thanks, Ly. I mean, Asena mainly takes care of herself, but it will be good not to lose our bond."
The innkeeper shouted when he came back to give food for Alef and Lysara. "We have a bathhouse in the basement! Take care of yourselves. You're disturbing other customers! This city is not for garbage people!"
They spent their night in the inn's bathhouse, trying to get off the dirt. Even all those roads walking through the city, they hadn't gotten this dirty or tired.
---
After cleaning and sleeping, the next morning Marven gathered Marco's and Demir's belongings and prepared to move them.
"I'll place them at the new house and come join you at the workshop," she said.
Demir nodded. "Thanks. We're heading to Velori's shop."
Getting busy with work and constant changes were keeping Demir's and Marco's minds occupied. That way, their mental state was improving. Marco even suggested getting sweets on the way to the workshop, which was progress.
When they reached the workshop, Velori had put a stool in front of the shop and was sitting there, looking angry.
"You're late. Where were you?"
Demir held up his hands. "Miss Velori, please. We're not working on the clock. Relax."
Marco nodded. "Yeah, it's not like you're paying by the hour."
Velori rolled her eyes. "Fine. I put some coals at the forge and lit it. Get in and start. Where is the pretty girl?"
"She's moving our belongings to a rented house. She'll come this afternoon."
Velori murmured something about slacking and laziness, but she handed them a flax bag full of boiled eggs. "I don't have much, but Freckles and Spot laid some eggs. This is your lunch. Now get to work."
Demir looked at the bag, then at the thin old elven lady. Her clothes were worn, and her cheekbones stood out too sharply. "Did you eat anything?"
"I'm fine. Stop slacking."
Demir gestured for Marco to enter, and after he went inside, Demir removed two eggs and gave them back to Velori. "This much is enough for us. You can take these back."
Velori's mouth opened to protest, but something in Demir's expression stopped her. She took the eggs without a word.
Inside, the forge was roaring. The broken pieces Marco had repaired with clay had solidified with fire. Demir waved his hand near the flames. It looked like a good temperature.
Velori entered behind them. "The junk metal. Pick them and melt them. Nail molds are behind the counter."
Demir frowned. "What do you mean? You want us to forge from rusted junk? You're not going to buy iron billets?"
"No. If you heat it enough and beat it, the rust will fall off."
"I know that, but..."
Marco put his hand on Demir's arm, signaling him to give up arguing. At that second, Demir noticed the old woman eating the two eggs between a couple of seconds since they'd entered.
Understanding dawned on him. After the master of the forge died, she had lost all her income and was slowly starving without any money coming in. She had given them what might be her only food source, and there was no money to buy billets.
Demir smiled, though his heart ached. "Okay, okay. We can do it. You sit and relax. I'll turn every piece of junk into nails and finish those orders. How many orders do you have?"
Velori's voice was tired. "As many as you can make."
Marco started to ask, "How is that..." but Demir cut him off with a look.
They finally gave up arguing and got to work. They had a forge and a hammer, and for Demir, it was a good enough challenge. He had overcome so much. This was a cakewalk by comparison.
They gathered every piece of junk metal and started melting, holding the pieces with pliers, heating them until they glowed orange, then hitting them again and again to shave off the rust. After a couple of hours, Demir's head transcended into that familiar state. He was a hammer-beating machine. Ding... Ding... Marco was holding the metal to the fire, softening it enough for Demir to beat. They fell into a rhythm, wordless and efficient.
They woke up from their working trance when Marven called their names.
"Hey! Hello! Demir, Marco, wake up!"
When Demir's senses came back to him, he realized the sun had way passed noon and was going down. Soon after, he felt the hunger gnawing at his stomach and his swinging arm aching. Velori had left her watching post.
Marven looked at them with concern. "You guys were like hypnotized."
Demir wiped sweat from his brow. "Yeah, we were so focused."
Marco stretched his back, wincing. "I... I don't even feel exhausted."
"I bought two pieces of bread for the remaining coppers. Did she bring any food?"
Demir pointed to the table. "Yeah, she boiled some eggs."
He placed them on the table, and the trio ate the food together.
Marven chewed thoughtfully. "The new house seems nice, but the host seems weird."
Marco groaned. "Oh boy, another problem."
"I mean, she's not really a problem, but she seems like she gave up on life. I think getting stuck in an NPC city took a toll on her."
Demir shrugged. "As long as I'm close to Asena, it will be okay."
When they were eating and making jokes, Velori entered her shop again.
"Slacking again?"
Demir gestured to the food. "Come on, we're just eating lunch. Do you want to join us?"
But she went to the tool table and started counting the billets they had made, her lips moving silently.
Demir continued, "One silver's worth of work should have taken a day, but we can only finish tomorrow."
Velori didn't look up. "Yeah, yeah. You better finish tomorrow." And she left again.
Marven frowned. "She's ungrateful for someone in her situation."
Demir shook his head. "I think she doesn't have anyone. And no money."
Marco shrugged. "It doesn't concern us."
"It bothers me. I have to make sure she doesn't starve."
Marco laughed, a sound that was almost healthy. "You have a savior complex. How are you going to do that?"
"After selling the nails, I'll buy steel ingots. Maybe take a loan from Alef or Lysara and craft some swords."
Marven raised an eyebrow. "Will she give you permission to craft whatever you want?"
"I'll convince her. After we finish the nails, I'll also hang a sign for repairing equipment. That ought to pull some money, right?" He wasn't sure, but he had to try.
Demir picked up the hammer again, and in unison with Marco, continued to finish every piece of junk metal. After several more hours, Marco finally called it quits, and Demir agreed to stop. He had nearly crafted one hundred billets with Marco's help.
At night, Velori confirmed their work and tried to give them a stale piece of bread, but Demir turned her down.
"We can manage, Miss," he said gently.
The road to the new house was considerably far from their inn and the workshop.
Marco complained as they walked. "What the hell? These two places are so far apart."
Demir nodded. "Yeah, it will be tough every day. We should take Thunder starting tomorrow."
Marven shook her head. "One horse for three of us. Seems unfair to Thunder."
Marco grumbled. "Our working conditions also aren't fair."
When they arrived at the house, it was a three-story building with a small garden and a stable. Demir dreamed of living in a place like this with his family someday. But he instantly came to his senses when he heard Asena's howl through the city walls. Lonely. Questioning.
Marven smiled. "She smelled you, I'm assuming."
Demir was already moving toward the door. "Yeah. I'm going to check on her. See you guys later."
He ran toward the north gate, toward the forest, toward the silver wolf who had chosen him.
Some bonds couldn't be measured in coins or contracts.
They were written in blood and loyalty.