Rise of the Living Forge

Chapter 51: Cart

“That… is terrifying,” Reya said. “And kind of ugly.”

It was the following morning, and Arwin had completely missed his previously imposed deadline of the previous day to get to the market and sell his armor. He’d spent the rest of the day making a metal mask that matched the design on his newly-made stamp, but he was proud of the results.

The mask apparently didn’t count as headgear because the Mesh hadn’t recognized it. That came as a relief, as it wouldn’t have been particularly useful if it was clearly magical, and he had no way to know if the mask would have been able to hide itself like some of his other items.

Perhaps the delay had been a blessing in disguise because it had given him time to bind Verdant Blaze to himself with [Arsenal]. He’d also dismissed his armor, so he was just walking around in his normal clothes.

Arwin lowered the mask from his face. “Right? It looks memorable.”

“It’s definitely something,” Lillia said, her features unreadable. “Is there a reason you went with a monster design rather than a human or a symbolic one?”

“Nothing wrong with being a monster, is there?”

Lillia tilted her head to the side. A small smile traced across her lips and she shrugged one shoulder. “I suppose not.”

“Anyway, the mask isn’t all I made. Take a look at this,” Arwin said. He held a hand out and summoned Verdant Blaze. Lillia’s eyebrows lifted in surprise at the appearance of the weapon.

“Flashy. Did you make that?”

“No. I found it on the side of the road.”

Lillia snorted. “Very funny. What can it–”

Arwin dismissed the magic hiding the weapon’s stats. Lillia’s eyes glazed over as she read over Verdant Blaze’s lengthy description. Her lips parted in surprise until she finished and snapped her mouth closed.

“Godspit,” Lillia breathed. “You made this? At this rank?”

“It’s not bad, eh?”

“Are you kidding?” Lillia asked as Arwin concealed the stats once more. “This is ridiculous. You’re an Apprentice Tier! For anyone at our level, that weapon is beyond bullshit.”

She sent him a pointed look, likely trying to remind him of what weapons he’d used when he was an Apprentice Tier Hero. Arwin’s brow furrowed in thought, but all he could do was shake his head helplessly.

He couldn’t remember much of that time, but he’d always used more gear than Lillia had. Her class had been a magic focused swordsman whilst he was a swordsman that happened to have magic. A subtle difference, but an important one, nonetheless.

“I just want to know what happens when it wakes up,” Arwin said. “You think it’ll start speaking?”

“I hope not,” Lillia said. “That would be creepy.”

“And cool,” Reya added in, her eyes sparkling with delight and awe. “That was the strongest weapon I’ve ever seen in my entire life. You should make more.”

“No promises, but I can do my best,” Arwin said with a laugh. “It just might take a bit to get around to. Did you want one?”

"No. I want my dagger back," Reya said adamantly.

Arwin snorted. "Figures. Well, we need to handle some other stuff first.

“Like getting some money?” Reya asked.

“Yeah, that might be a good idea.”

“Then we’re going to go try and sell the stuff now?” Reya asked, hopping down from her chair eagerly. “You said we were doing it yesterday, but–”

“Yeah, yeah,” Arwin grumbled. He dismissed Verdant Blaze. “I got distracted. We’re doing it today.”

He slipped the mask back over his face. The eye and nose holes weren’t quite in the spots where he would have liked them, but he could still see and breathe, which was all that mattered. “I just have to do this first.”

Arwin knelt beside the sets of armor and took out the disk bearing his mark. He let [Soul Flame] rise up from his palm and heat the mark until it was glowing red. He then pressed it into each piece of armor, just enough to burn the impression of the Ifrit onto them.

“Perfect,” Arwin said, drawing his [Soul Flame] back out of the disk so he could return it to his pocket. “Now we’re ready. We just need to go get ourselves a cart and we can make some money.”

“I might know a place that could have a cart,” Reya said. “I’ve been keeping an eye out.”

“Not a stolen one.”

“It isn’t stolen.” It was Reya’s turn to be defensive, though Arwin strongly suspected that she’d left off a yet somewhere in her sentence. “It’s just not getting used much. I’m sure nobody would miss it.”

“So maybe we could buy it,” Arwin said with a grin. He then realized Reya couldn’t see his face behind the mask and cleared his throat. “Well, shall we? I’m eager to do this already.”

Stolen story; please report.

And I also should try to make some edible items again. I had a snack in the dungeon, but I should make sure to keep ahead of the Mesh so I don’t have to panic and rush the next time a stomachache comes on. I’ll get materials and make something right after this is done.

“Do you want to come, Lillia?” Reya asked as she headed over to the entrance.

“Who, me?” Lillia started.

“I didn’t think there were any other Lillia’s here.”

“I have to stay at the tavern,” Lillia said, putting a hand on the counter. “What if someone shows up while I’m out?”

“You left when we were doing the dungeon.”

“That was a special circumstance.”

And she didn’t have to go into the town, dragging the cloud of darkness along with her. Someone would figure out something was off pretty quickly if she was just standing around on the street.

“Maybe next time?” Arwin offered, giving Lillia a way out.

“Yeah, maybe that,” Lillia said with a grateful nod. “Good luck, though. If you happen to find anyone looking for a good meal, send them my way. No inn-goers, though. I don’t have enough rooms for more people right now.”

Reya shrugged and scooped up half the armor on the ground. Arwin picked up the other half.

“Noted.” Arwin raised a hand in farewell, then followed Reya as she headed out onto the street.

He followed her down the streets of Milten, still getting used to looking out of his new mask and barely keeping up with her brisk pace. After a few minutes of walking and weaving through the alleys, Reya brought them out onto a small street.

There were a few storefronts and buildings along it, but it looked like a relatively quiet area. Reya walked over to a run-down, two-story building directly across from the alleyway they’d stepped out of.

“This place,” Reya said. “They’ve got a cart in the back, and it’s never moved. I’ve seen it from the rooftops.”

“What were you doing on the rooftops?”

“Don’t ask questions you don’t want answers to. I don’t like it up there.” Reya rapped on the door with her knuckles. “I think this place is a really small inn, but nobody ever uses it. I have no idea how it’s still in business.”

No sooner than she had finished speaking did the door creak open. An elderly man with an underbite and a thinning bed of white hair stood on the other side, his face already pinched in distaste.

“What do you want?” He stared at Arwin suspiciously, keeping a hand on the door to slam it shut at a moment’s notice.

“We’re looking to buy a cart.” Arwin held his hands out in what he hoped was a placating manner. It was a little difficult to do with all the armor he was clutching to his chest. “Something I could sell these out of. I’m a smith.”

“You’re a freak in a mask,” the old man said curtly.

“A freak in a mask that wants a cart,” Arwin said. “Do you happen to be in possession of one that you don’t want to be in possession of?”

“What?” he squinted at Arwin. “Speak louder. I can’t see you.”

You can’t what now?

“A cart!” Arwin said, nearly yelling. “Do you have one? I want to buy it!”

“Oh, a cart. I’ve got an old piece of shit in the back, yeah. It rolls just fine, but I’m not giving you a donkey to drag it with you.”

I don’t recall ever asking for a donkey.

“That would be perfect,” Arwin said, keeping his raised tone. “How much for the cart?”

“You don’t have to yell,” the old man said with a grunt. “Twenty gold.”

“Twenty?” Reya exclaimed. “No! Five!”

“Five? It’s not made of gold; it’s made of wood!”

They both stared at him.

“That’s why we don’t to pay twenty gold for it,” Reya said with a baffled frown. “If it was made out of gold, we’d pay more. It’s not made out of gold, though.”

“Are you sure?”

“Pretty sure, yeah,” Reya said. “Five gold.”

“Fifteen.”

“Seven.”

“Ten?” the old man offered. “Last offer.”

“It’s literally just sitting back there!” Reya protested. “You aren’t even using it!”

“How do you know that?”

“Ten is fine,” Arwin said hurriedly, fishing five gold out of his pocket and handing the coins to the man. “Other five once we take the cart out.”

Shrugging, the man nodded over to a fence beside his building. “It’s open. Feel free to drag the cart out, but don’t think about trying to take a step away from the street with it before you pay up, or I’ll beat you for an inch of your life.”

Arwin was pretty sure the man wasn’t capable of beating a common cold, much less another person, but he didn’t say anything. There was no reason to antagonize him and, while ten gold felt like it was more than a bit steep, he really didn’t need people poking further into Reya’s dealings.

Reya ran over to the gate and pulled it open before heading through it. Arwin followed her in to find an old wooden cart wedged between the walls of the old man’s house and the house next door.

The wood was cracked and dry, covered with a layer of dust that spoke tales of the last time it had been used. But, in spite of that, the wheels looked to be in decent condition. They weren’t great, but they weren’t trash either.

The wagon itself was a little on the small side, with just enough counter space on either side to support his arms if he wanted to lean on it. Old metal hooks hung along the ceiling, giving spots to hang merchandise from.

“This is perfect. Step out of the way, Reya,” Arwin said. He dumped his pile of armor down at the bottom of the cart. Reya did the same.

Arwin then grabbed the handles at the front of the cart. He straightened and gritted his teeth, his muscles bulging as he pulled.

The cart was stuck fast, buried in a layer of mud. Arwin activated [Scourge], letting power course through his body and empower his movements. With a snarl, he pulled the cart free of the ground with a lurch.

He dragged it out onto the street, moving slowly at first to make sure nothing fell apart. When it became clear that it would stay in one piece, Arwin lowered the cart again. He walked over to the old man in the doorway and handed him the last five pieces of gold.

“Pleasure,” Arwin said, ignoring the wide-eyed look he was getting.

“You an Adventurer or something?” the old man asked. “I didn’t peg you for one.”

“I’m just a smith,” Arwin said with a chuckle. “You can call me Ifrit.”

“Hey, can I ride in the cart?” Reya asked, climbing in before waiting for Arwin to answer. She held one of the beams and grinned down at him. “To make sure it can bear the weight of the armor and stuff.”

“I suppose it would be a good workout.” Arwin raised a hand in farewell to the stunned old man, then grabbed the cart and drew on [Scourge] once more, trotting off down the street with the cart rumbling behind him.

Excitement swirled in Arwin’s stomach. Even if he was only selling mundane gear, he was confident that he’d be able to impress people with the quality of his work. He hadn’t seen anything like the scale armor in the other blacksmith’s shop.

And, once I start to get a steady flow of money, I’ll be able to start doing magical weapons and armor on commission for people that I think deserve them. Then I’ll be able to upgrade the smithy even more.

It was time for Ifrit to make his name known.