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Chapter 8: Journeyman

“Then that doesn’t seem particularly interesting. Who were they?”

“A member of the thieves’ guild.”

That got Arwin’s attention. His eyes narrowed and he turned his full attention to Reya. “A large one?”

“No, nothing like that,” Reya said hurriedly. She held her hands up defensively. “A tiny one, and they aren’t even from this area. They control the territory a few streets down, and they were poking around to see what had happened after the Brothers Six got gutted.”

Arwin pursed his lips. “I’m not seeing the part where this ended with you stabbing someone.”

“Well, one of them tried to sneak into the smithy. I knew you were sleeping in it, and I didn’t think you’d want to be bothered. I told him to turn around, but he ignored me, so I stabbed him.”

“Huh. Pragmatic,” Arwin said. He shrugged. “Sounds like he had it coming. I appreciate it. Where’d you put the corpse?”

“In the pile with the others.”

“We should probably avoid making that a habit,” Arwin mused. He stretched his arms over his head and yawned. “Did he have anything on him?”

“About ten gold.” Reya pulled a pouch out and tossed it to Arwin. He caught it with a surprised blink.

“Why are you giving it to me? You’re the one that killed him.”

Reya give Arwin a sheepish grin and shuffled her feet. “Ten gold is what was left after I took my cut. You’re the boss, so you get a split.”

Arwin tilted his head to the side, studying Reya for a few seconds. Then he gave her a slow nod, sliding the pouch into a pocket. He needed gold if he was going to get better materials to work with.

“In that case, I’ll take it. I suppose it’s about time I went shopping for some supplies,” Arwin said. He headed out of the smithy and Reya followed him. Arwin glanced at her over his shoulder. “Say, how did that dagger work out? Did it change from the kill?”

“No,” Reya said. “I think I have to use it more.”

Arwin grunted.

That’s a disappointment. Oh well. I gave it to her for free, so it’s not a big deal. No matter what happens, I’m making a sword that I can use myself today. A good one. It doesn’t have to be great, but it’s going to be good.

Reya came to a stop as they reached the edge of the street. Arwin took several steps before he realized she wasn’t following behind him. “Are you not coming?”

“I’ve got some more to take care of back home,” Reya said with a shake of her head. “I’m still trying to establish relationships with the other people on the street.”

Arwin shrugged. “Suit yourself. Try to make sure nobody gets their hands on the sword I left in the smithy. It’s liable to blow up the moment someone starts swinging it, and I have no idea how big the explosion will be. It would be unfortunate if my smithy got damaged any further.”

Reya’s face paled. She looked back at the crumbling building, then gave Arwin a hurried nod. “I’ll make sure nobody touches it.”

“Good,” Arwin said. He set back off, leaving Reya behind him.

***

Arwin walked in as straight of a line as he could so it would be easy to retrace his steps. The alleyways weren’t the easiest to traverse, but by the time he returned to the city proper, he was pretty sure he’d memorized the way back.

It took a little under half an hour of aimlessly wandering around Milten until Arwin’s nose led him to a market. The scent of freshly baked bread, greasy meat, and about a dozen other flavors he couldn’t place hung low in the air.

A small crowd bustled around the street. There weren’t too many people, especially compared to the capitol, but there were still more than enough to make the city feel alive. Arwin couldn’t remember the last time he’d been in a city without an escort from the Adventurer’s Guild.

For that matter, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d been anywhere in the Kingdom of Lian without a guard of some sort.

The smells were tempting, but Arwin only had a single thing on his mind at the moment. His eyes scanned the roofline of the shops near the market, and it wasn’t long before he found what he was looking for.

Smoke rose up from a small stone chimney near the end of the market. Arwin made his way over to it, and the crowd gave him a wide berth on his way over. He sniffed at his arms, but he didn’t smell that bad.

Weird.

Arwin arrived at the smithy and stepped inside. A large man with a bushy black beard and muscles large from years of work sat at the counter, staring off at the wall in complete boredom.

The smith nearly leapt out of his chair when he spotted Arwin. The man’s eyes narrowed and he rose to his feet, brushing himself off.

“What do you want?” the smith asked in a brusque tone. “I don’t give handouts.”

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“Handouts?” Arwin squinted at the man. “Why would I need handouts? I’m here to buy some materials.”

The blacksmith blinked. “You are? You should have said so. My name is Taylor. Please feel free to take a look around. You just didn’t look much like the ‘buyin sort.”

“What’s that meant to mean?” Arwin looked down at his clothes. They were dirty, sure, but it didn’t look like they were that out of place. He looked back to the blacksmith. “Do I have dirt on my face?”

“Well, it looks like you slept in a pile of soot.”

Arwin reached up and touched his cheek. His fingers came away gritty and he grimaced. “Ah. Yes, that would do it. No matter. Do you have metal rods?”

“Rods? You don’t want a weapon?”

“Just rods,” Arwin said firmly. “Or any sort of metal scrap that isn’t complete trash, now that we’re at it. I’m trying to learn forging.”

The smith’s eyes narrowed, and Arwin realized he might have made a mistake. Telling someone that you were going to start up a business in competition with them wasn’t really the greatest idea.

“You want me to sell to competition?” Taylor asked.

Arwin scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah. Your work should speak for itself, right? No shame in competition if they’re worse than you.”

“You’re a shameless one, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I am. I’ve also got ten gold here, and I’m willing to spend as much of it as I need to for some rods. Save us both the trouble of dancing around and tell me if you’re willing to sell or not. If you aren’t, I’ll just find someone else to give them to me.”

Taylor’s frown split into a mildly amused grin and turned, heading into the back of his store. A few minutes later, he came back out with four metal rods and a small tarp bag bulging at the seams. He thumped everything down on the counter.

“If you’re going to get your hands on it regardless, I might as well make some profit in the meantime,” Taylor said with a shake of his head. “I’m not giving you the best price, though. You want a better one, go find someone else.”

“I respect the honesty.” Arwin tossed Taylor the bag of coins, and the smith counted everything before giving Arwin a curt nod.

“And I respect the balls. Next time, find someone else to buy from. I’m not outfitting my competition.”

“Noted,” Arwin said, gathering up everything he’d bought. “Thanks.”

Taylor just shook his head. As Arwin headed out the door, the other smith called out to him.

“Say, where are you opening up shop? It better not be too close to me.”

“I’m not exactly sure,” Arwin replied. “It’s somewhere in an alley. I’ll let you know once I rebuild it.”

He headed back out onto the street, leaving Taylor gawking at his back. He had what he needed, and now all he had to do was head back and get back to work. A grin crossed Arwin’s lips and he increased his pace, striding back into the dark alleys and toward his smithy.

Fortunately for his dwindling patience, Arwin didn’t have to walk long. He’d memorized the way back pretty accurately, and he soon found himself back on the alleyway that wasn’t quite home yet.

But, as he approached his smithy, a frown crossed over Arwin’s face. There were noises coming from inside it that definitely weren’t meant to be there – in particular, voices that he didn’t recognize.

I suppose I should have expected this.

Arwin ducked through the crumbling doorway and stepped into his building. Reya stood with her back to the wall and her dagger in her hands, facing off against two men wearing loose green clothes.

As soon as Arwin entered, one of them spun toward him.

“We’re not open for business yet,” Arwin said, setting the materials he’d purchased from Taylor down on the ground. “Get out.”

“Who’re you?” one of the men asked.

“When asking a name, it is polite to introduce yourself first.”

“Jin,” the man said, putting a hand on the hilt of a short sword at his waist. “Your turn.”

“Arwin. Pleasure to meet you, Jin. Now get the hell out of my smithy.”

“This is your smithy?” Jin’s head tilted to the side. Arwin was more focused on Reya, who looked like she was about half a step away from stabbing Jin or his compatriot. Normally, he wouldn’t have particularly minded, but that would mean he’d get even more blood on his floors.

“Yes,” Arwin said. “Is there a problem with that?”

“Not at all. We’d be pleased to leave,” Jin said, inclining his head and giving Arwin a slight bow. “Rex and I don’t have any interest in bothering you. We’re just after the little rat.”

Arwin’s eyes flicked to Reya, who swallowed. Her grip tightened on the dagger.

“There seems to be a misunderstanding here,” Arwin said.

“Oh? What is it?” Jin tilted his head to the side, shifting his stance. It was a subtle move, but Arwin had been in enough fights to recognize it. Jin knew how to fight – at least, he knew more than the Brothers Six had.

“Anything that happens to be inside my smithy is part of my smithy,” Arwin said. He jerked his chin in Reya’s direction. “And she is inside my smithy.”

Just leave so I don’t have to get blood on my floor, would you?

“Are you sure about that?” Jin asked, his eyes narrowing. He drummed his fingers on his sword. “You’re a big guy, and you clearly know how to carry yourself. But you’re sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong. This is guild business.”

“Not my guild,” Arwin said. “And not my problem. You want to start shit, then do it outside. I’m going to be pissed if I get more blood on my floors.”

Jin’s gaze flicked down to the dry splotches near the forge. His lips pressed thin and he snapped his fingers. Rex took a step back, sheathing his blade. Arwin was actually somewhat impressed – he’d fully expected the men to attack.

“Very well,” Jin said. He didn’t say another word as he swept past Arwin. Rex trailed after him, giving Arwin a glare before stepping out the front door. Arwin waited until he heard their footsteps fade down the street before he turned to Reya.

“Huh. I’m surprised they had the brains not to attack,” Arwin said. “Lucky me. The floors are spared.”

“That wasn’t brains,” Reya said, biting her lower lip and staring out the door. “Jin\'s one of the thieves’ guild enforcers. He has a bit of a grudge against me, but he’s not stupid. He knows you killed the Brothers Six, so he doesn’t want to get into a fight with you.”

Arwin grunted. “Clever thieves. Lovely. At least he left.”

“He didn’t leave,” Reya said, swallowing heavily. “But we probably should. Jin is going to show back up with more people. He hates losing. The only reason he backed off is because he felt like he was outnumbered.”

“More people? I thought you said this was a small guild.”

“I may have over-exaggerated their small-ness,” Reya said, clearing her throat. “They have thirty members.”

“Thirty members?” Arwin exclaimed. “What the hell did you get me wrapped up in? And what is it with you and getting into trouble? Every time I leave, you manage to get into something new.”

“It’s not new!” Reya protested. “I just have a bunch of old things that kind of keep stacking up on each other. I haven’t done anything that bad recently!”

“You stabbed someone.”

“They had it coming.”

“Okay, fair. You aren’t avoiding this, though. Answer the question. Why is a thieves’ guild pissed at you?” Arwin asked. “And don’t tell me it’s because of the smithy. I’m getting the feeling it isn’t the shitty old building they care about. They followed you here.”

Reya’s shoulders slumped and her eyes fell to her feet. “I’m sorry. They did.”

“I gathered as much. I want to know why.”

“Well, long story short, I may have stolen something from them.”

“What did you steal, Reya?” Arwin demanded. “Stop hedging around it and tell me!”

Reya bit her lower lip, then walked up to Arwin and leaned in close to whisper into his ear. “The only key to a Journeyman Tier Dungeon.”