Rise of the Living Forge

Reya’s heart raced in her chest. She could feel the dagger in its sheath at her side like a hot coal. Even though nobody could tell what it was while it was hidden, she couldn’t help but feel like every single eye in the darkness was watching her every move.

This is the most incredible weapon I’ve ever seen in my life, and he just… gave it to me? For free? Who in the Nine Underlands did I find?

A shiver ran down Reya’s back. Arwin terrified her, but for all the wrong reasons. She would have taken him to be an adventurer if she’d run into him on the street, but his eyes burned with an intensity that Reya had never seen before.

Whenever he locked eyes with her, it felt like she was trying to stare down a volcano that was just waiting to erupt. The casual ease he’d handled the Brothers Six made it absolutely clear that Arwin didn’t belong in Milten.

Reya didn’t know where he’d come from or what his goals were – and she didn’t care. She’d lived on the streets for long enough to know that attaching herself to someone strong was the best way to stay alive.

Unfortunately, she’d had pretty poor luck with that in the past. Her lips pressed thin and she shook her head. Arwin cared so little about her that she didn’t suspect she even properly registered in his eyes, and that was just fine with her.

So long as he keeps his space and I keep mine, I might be able to actually sit around and gather a little wealth for myself. I’m fed up with getting robbed every single time I gather up enough coin to get out of this shithole.

The thought of coin sent a tiny sliver of guilt through Reya. Distributed across her body in a dozen small pouches was well over a hundred gold – all the savings she’d managed to keep over the years.

It was a pittance in comparison to all the gold that had been stolen from her, but it was still everything she had. Arwin had been under the impression that she was broke, which was exactly what she expected. The less interesting she was to his eyes, the better.

What she hadn’t expected was for Arwin to offer to pay for her meal. Nine gold was far too much for two portions, but he’d tossed it to her like it was nothing. Reya squished the guilt down.

The way he treats money and magical items means he’s got to be pretty damn rich. I’m not going to steal from him, but there’s obviously no need for me to waste my coin when he’s offering to feed me.

That didn’t make the guilt sting any less. Reya’s stomach rumbled again, the dull, gnawing pain in it reminding her that it had been far too long since she’d last eaten. Her eyes flitted around the street.

There really wasn’t much in the way of food in the area. Nothing that wasn’t dead rats, anyway. Reya grimaced. She would have loved nothing more than to head into the city proper and get a real meal, but that was a fantastic way to get herself killed. This street might have been haunted, but at least that meant it was abandoned.

She’d made a few too many enemies among the guards and criminal underground alike. The Brothers Six had been assholes, but everyone had hated them and they’d been strong enough to maintain control over their territory.

Oh well. No use crying over spilled milk. I’ll just head to one of the taverns at the edge of the slums. They’re dangerous, but no more dangerous than pissing Arwin off. If I’m in and out fast enough, I doubt anyone will recognize me.

Reya set off, but she barely managed to make it more than ten feet before a woman called out to her.

“Hey! You there!”

Reya turned toward the voice. A tall woman with dark, bordering on purple skin waved to her. A ropey scar ran down one of the woman’s eyes and her dark hair stuck out against the splattered apron she wore. She might have been attractive if she wasn’t covered with dirt and grime. Her hands dripped with a dark red substance, and the stains on her apron were a matching color.

It was the woman who had insisted she was starting a tavern.

“Yes?” Reya asked, putting a hand on the hilt of her dagger and turning her back to a wall. She wasn’t about to get ambushed by some madwoman trying to stuff her into a stew.

“You look hungry,” the woman said, coming to a stop on the other side of the street.

“How does someone look hungry?” Reya asked. “I’m just wandering around.”

“Right,” the woman said, her voice so dry that it could have grated wood. “Sure you are. I smell the hunger on your breath.”

“Look, I don’t know what you’re selling, but I’m not interested,” Reya said with a shake of her head. “And I’m not–”

Reya’s stomach rumbled, and the woman sent her a pointed glance.

“Just one gold. Come on,” the woman offered. “It’ll be good.”

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Who in the Nine Underlands charges an entire gold for a plate of food? That better be something fit for nobles at that price, and I’m pretty sure there aren’t any nobles around here.

“I’m not buying it,” Reya said. “Literally and figuratively. One gold? Are you insane?”

If anything, the woman just looked confused. Her brow furrowed and she pursed her lips. “Oh. Is that too much?”

“Yes, it’s too much!”

“What about a silver?”

“You aren’t supposed to be guessing about this kind of thing. Why are you asking me?” Reya asked. She scanned the road, but it didn’t look like anyone else was there. It was just the two of them.

If this is a robbery, it’s the strangest robbery I’ve ever seen.

“I don’t know. I’m new to this,” the woman said with a shrug. “I’m Lillia. You are?”

Reya heaved a sigh and, against her better judgement, she answered. “Reya. Look, you really shouldn’t be doing this. You could get hurt.”

For some reason, Lillia seemed to find that amusing. The corner of her mouth quirked up in amusement and she let out a small snort. “Sure. Whatever. You want some food or not?”

“Depends,” Reya said suspiciously. “Are you going to try to convince me to follow you into a dark alleyway and strip first? Because I’m getting that kind of feeling from you.”

“What? No,” Lillia said, drawing the last word out and clearing her throat. She glanced over her shoulder, nodding to a small stone building that looked like it had once been a restaurant or storefront. It was directly in the shadow of a larger building, and Reya couldn’t see more than a foot into the darkness. “Just in there.”

“That is no better than a dark alleyway. If you think I’m following you in there, you’re delusional.”

“What if I bring the food out?” Lillia asked, almost desperately. “It’s going to go bad if nobody eats it, and everyone keeps ignoring me when I approach them on the street. Please?”

Against Reya’s better judgement, she let out a heavy sigh and inclined her head. The pleading expression on Lillia’s face finally managed to chip away at her. “Fine. One silver, and you’re bringing it out here. Deal?”

Lillia nodded, then quickly started backing away, not taking her eyes from Reya. She reached the edge of the door. “Stay right there! I’ll be right back!”

Reya gave Lillia a fake smile and nodded. The other woman disappeared into he darkness, and the urge to turn and sprint in the other direction gripped Reya. She wasn’t sure what stopped her.

Perhaps it was the remnants of manners that she really had no place in keeping, or perhaps it was sheer curiosity. Today – though it was nearly tomorrow, if she was going by the position of the moon in the sky – had been interesting.

A few minutes passed before Lillia came out carrying a large plate covered with a silver bowl. Reya’s eyes widened at the sight. It wasn’t the fanciest bowl she’d ever seen, but it definitely resembled the plates that she’d occasionally seen served in fancy restaurants.

Only when Lillia got closer and properly stepped into the moonlight did Reya realize what the bowl was. Rather than a smooth, glossy sheen, it was rough and bumpy. It looked like someone had hammered several sheets of trashy metal together. Nails jutted out of it at odd angles, and the whole thing was so roughly formed that she had to suspect it had been formed by hand rather than with tools.

“Here!” Lillia exclaimed, thrusting the bowl in Reya’s direction. “All yours.”

“Uh… thanks,” Reya said hesitantly. She eyed the handle, which was a random stone that had been stabbed into the top of the bowl. “Should I open it?”

“I’ll charge you extra if you try to eat the metal as well.” Lillia didn’t sound like she was joking.

She’s definitely off her rocker. Or really, really drunk. I don’t smell any alcohol on her breath, though.

“Right. Logically,” Reya said with a small laugh. She grabbed the bowl by its makeshift handle and lifted it back.

Her eyes widened. Sitting on the plate were several drumsticks. From what bird, Reya wasn’t sure. They were pretty large, and while they barely looked seasoned, they had salt and pepper on them.

She licked her lips. As far as food here went, she was practically staring down a feast. Reya pulled out the coins that Arwin had given her and handed Lillia a gold coin, taking the tray from her. “You have change for that?”

Lillia took the coin, eyeing it hungrily. She glanced back to her, then reddened. “Uh… no. You’re my first customer.”

Figures.

Reya scrunched her nose and took one of the drumsticks, taking a bite out of it. Juice dripped down her chin as she chewed and swallowed, her eyes widening. It wasn’t the greatest meal she’d ever had in her life, but it wasn’t bad at all.

“Whoa. This isn’t bad.”

“Thanks.” Lillia beamed. “It’s my fourth serving today. The others didn’t go nearly as well.”

“Why not?” Reya asked through a mouthful of meat.

“Well, the feathers were really scratchy on the first one,” Lillia said, ticking a finger off on her hand. “I removed them on the second bird, but its beak was kind of sharp. Also, I burnt that one black. Burnt the third one too. This one turned out great, though!”

“So it did. What was the secret?”

“I killed it before putting it in the oven.”

Reya nearly choked, but she managed to keep the food in her mouth. She’d gone hungry too many times to waste it over anything like that. It was impossible to tell if Lillia was joking, but the woman looked dead serious.

“Oh. Well… uh, congratulations,” Reya said. She took the other drumsticks from the plate and handed it back to Lillia. “How about this? You give me five more meals like this, and you can keep the gold.”

Lillia’s mouth split into a wide, hungry smile. A chill ran down Reya’s spine as an ill feeling gripped her. It felt like a shadow had fallen over her shoulders. She spun, but there was nobody behind her.

When Reya turned back, the feeling was gone.

“It sounds like we’ve got a deal,” Lillia said with a nod. “Could you tell anyone else you meet about my tavern as well? I’m trying to build up some business.”

Reya did her best not to send a pointed glance around the abandoned street. She just nodded. “Okay. I will.”

“Great,” Lillia said. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

With that, she turned and strode back into the darkness of her tavern. Reya squinted at it, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t see into the darkness covering the windows.

Tavern my ass. More like a dungeon.

Shaking her head, Reya turned and headed back toward Arwin’s smithy. At least she’d managed to get them food for a fairly decent price, assuming Lillia hadn’t scammed her. Another shiver ran down her spine and she glanced over her shoulder.

I just got a pretty good deal. Why does it feel like I just made a huge mistake?