The Legendary Junkmaster

Over the next week, Jason rushed around trying to get everything in order. The most infuriating part was trying to explain the creative process of certain items to Harry. In the end, Jason decided to enlist some help. Luckily, Raymond was more than willing to keep an eye on the geezer and take care of the things that required a little more brainpower.

Although Jason was unhappy that he had to teach certain things to someone outside of his close circle, he still felt relieved knowing that Raymond would be around. So long as he did not abandon Harry overnight, then Jason should be able to return to his store performing reasonably well.

"Now, you remember and come back soon! You hear me, boy? I'm not getting any younger, and we still have plenty of credits to make!" Harry grumbled with reddened eyes as he let out a subtle sob.

"Sure, Gramps, when I come back, I'll be able to make whole new items that will make you into a rich man!" Jason chuckled. 

Even though Jason complained about his Gramps a lot, right now, he found himself missing the old coot before they had even separated! Before Jason realised what he was doing, he had moved in front of Harry and thrown his arms around him. It only lasted for a moment before they both became too embarrassed and split apart.

"Right… Well… You better get moving then." Harry coughed a few times as he stared at Jason. Memories of him being a toddler suddenly flooded his mind, almost making him choke in the process.

"See you soon, Gramps…." Jason waved his final farewell before turning his back on his grandfather.

'I just hope he doesn't get himself into too much trouble while I'm gone.' Jason sighed as he joined Dani and Adam at the entrance to the gigantic jellyfish-like structure. Both of them appeared rather excited to get on their way, and now that the time had finally arrived, Jason realised that he felt the same way.

"I wonder what they have in the capital? Do you think they'll have any nice clothes?" Dani chirped. It was hard to believe that she had lost her father only recently. Maybe it was just because something was going right in her life right now that there was no room left for her to feel miserable.

"I just want to see what kind of junk is available there, to be honest." Jason mused. "A lot of the stuff from Highrise makes its way over there, so I'm sure it would be the same for the other towns. There could be a lot of hidden treasures."

Jason's eyes practically sparkled as he thought about it. Adam and Dani shared one of those smiles with each other that said that neither of them could really relate to Jason's idea of treasure. Both of them had to stifle a laugh as they rolled their eyes behind his back.

"What's up?" Jason asked with a somewhat confused expression on his face as he turned to face them.

"Oh… Nothing. It's just how excited you are over some random crap that most people wouldn't even look at twice." Dani chuckled as she made light of the situation.

"So you find that funny? What about the gear and weapons I made for the two of you?" Jason smirked as their smiles froze on their faces. "The stuff used to make them were just junk to other people. It all depends on what you do with it!"

"Spoken like a true craftsman! Good. You'll need that kind of thinking once we get to Bridgend!" Rust's voice echoed out to greet them.

The trio turned to look behind them, they had just turned right at a junction, and Rust was casually approaching them from the other side. Her armour clinked as she walked down the hallway to stand before them.

"Ms Rust, thank you for the compliment." Jason bowed his head as Rust chuckled.

"Don't worry about it, kid. There'll be plenty to see the capital. I can assure you that it is nothing like Highrise. The greatest people in our domain have always been gathered there, so I'm sure you can't even begin to imagine what can be achieved when great minds and powerful individuals work together!"

Jason pondered over her words for a while as he tried to imagine it, but of course, he could not. He did not even know how the capital, Bridgend, even looked like! Jason was excited just to see it and experience new things.

"Don't forget that we actually have to find out if they have anything useful for our situation." Syssie chuckled. It always made her smile whenever Jason began to get curious and develop an itch to invent new things.

Syssie's reality check made Jason drop his excited expression, which the others noticed. Rust frowned behind her helmet as she studied the sudden change in his demeanour. However, Rust kept her thoughts to herself for now. She was confident that the Lord would be interested in him.

"Ah, Ms Rust!" Dani suddenly exclaimed as her hands twitched. "I was wondering if you had any new information on Black Arrow…."

Jason noticeably flinched when Dani asked that question. It seemed to come out of nowhere! However, Rust seemed to be thinking of something before she answered.

"There's very little new information, I'm afraid." Rust shook her head with a heavy sigh. "As we spoke about before, he seems to have come out of nowhere. We can't find any traces of him, which makes us believe that he lives in the Wilds. The craftsmen in Bridgend are almost certain that the weapon he used must have been made in the capital. However, the sketch we have of it is not complete, but our people are working on replicating it."

Jason raised an eyebrow at those words while Dani ground her teeth in frustration. "So, you're saying someone in the capital made the weapon that killed my father?"