Zeke was a hard worker, and he made clearing out the smithy considerably faster than it would have been if Arwin was working on his own. Between the two of them, in just a few hours, they’d removed the majority of the worst damage in the building. After they'd finished, Zeke headed out to get some fresh air. Arwin took the opportunity to do a little more smithing. He hadn’t forgotten just how useful the bracelet he’d made had been against the golem – and he never knew when [The Hungering Maw] would demand another sacrifice. He took a piece of scrap Brightsteel and brought it to the hearth, heating it and working it into a band. The metal was receptive enough to his work, and it only took around an hour of work to hammer it out and reshape it with the Mesh’s guidance. Arwin tried a few times before he got everything shaped the way he’d envisioned. Energy sparked at his fingertips as the Mesh recognized his work. [Metal Bracelet: average Quality] has been forged. Metal Bracelet: Average Quality [Happy Feet]: This item was forged faster than it should have been, resulting in some imperfection in an otherwise decent band. It can provide increased movement speed at the cost of magical energy. [Greedy]: This item draws more magical energy than it needs, causing its wielder to lose strength while its ability is active. Arwin nodded to himself. It was a good item. Nothing incredible, but it would serve as a snack if nothing else – and he could see a number of situations where speed would be considerably more important than strength. He slipped it onto his wrist, heading out to find Zeke - if the boy hadn't run off already. He found the kid standing outside the tavern, squinting inside. Zeke turned as Arwin approached. “It’s meant to be a little creepy. For fun,” Arwin explained. "Come on. I know it looks suspicious, but it's just a bit odd. The innkeeper makes some great food." Zeke shot him a suspicious look, but he followed Arwin inside. All the suspicion vanished the moment Lillia stepped out of the kitchen with a large plate of fried rice. “I’m surprised you’re eating real food today,” Lillia said. “What ch–” She froze as she spotted Zeke standing beside Arwin. “You brought someone new?” “He broke into the smithy,” Arwin said with a chuckle. “And he’s been helping me do some renovations. Can I get him lunch?” “Obviously,” Lillia replied, setting the plate down on the counter and snapping her fingers. “Come. Eat.” Zeke sprung to obey, shoveling food from the plate into his mouth without even waiting for Lillia to set out any utensils for him. Arwin and Lillia exchanged a glance, but both chose to say nothing. It only took the boy a few minutes to completely mow through the entire meal. Once he’d polished off the last scraps and licked the plate clean, he leaned back in his stool and let out a satisfied sigh. “Was it good?” Lillia asked. “Best food I’ve had in years,” Zeke replied without a second of hesitation. “Thank you, ma’am.” “Just call her Lillia,” Arwin said with a chuckle. “If you’re up to it, let’s get back to working, shall we? I’d like to get the shop built up a bit more before tomorrow.” “You’re not gonna eat?” “I’ll be fine,” Arwin replied. Zeke nodded empathetically and hopped to his feet. “Thanks for the food. It was really good.” He zipped out of the tavern, heading back for the smithy. Arwin shook his head as he watched the boy go. “Interesting kid. Seems more than willing to work for his money.” “Polite, too,” Lillia said. “I kind of like the sound of Ma’am. It feels really official, like I’m a real tavern keeper.” “What are you, an old woman?” Lillia glared at him. “Oh, stuff it. Go follow the brat.” Arwin chuckled and headed after Zeke. In the time it took him to catch up, the boy had already picked the lock to the smithy back open. Arwin stared at the lock, then looked over to the boy, who had started bringing bricks over to the gaps in the walls. “Is this lock really that easy to break through?” Arwin asked as he joined Zeke. “Nah. I’m just good at it.” “Well, I suppose that’s a good thing,” Arwin said dryly. The two of them got to sliding the stone into the gaps and applying the mortar to them with a flat plate of metal. They worked quickly, soon running out of easy fixes. Arwin set about using a small spike to carve the rest of the stones to fit into the oddly shaped gaps in the walls. Zeke continued supplying him with stones as he slid them into the gaps. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. A few more hours of hard work passed, but it came with reward. By the time the sun started to dip in the sky, the cracks had been filled. Arwin’s smithy was actually a proper building, without any holes in it that didn’t belong. It was a bit darker than it had been before, with the only light coming in through the holes that had been windows, but Arwin couldn’t have been more thrilled. The two of them spent a few minutes bringing all the extra materials over to a corner so they wouldn’t be in the way. “You did a pretty damn good job,” Arwin said, counting out 5 gold coins and handing them to Zeke. Zeke barely seemed to hear him. He stared at the gold in his hands, his eyes twinkling in disbelief. “I can really have all this?” “I promised it, didn’t I?” “Yeah, but I kinda figured you’d stiff me after the meal,” Zeke said. “If you thought I’d do that, why’d you stick around?” “The things I have that are most worth stealing are impossible to steal,” Arwin said, even more grateful for [Arsenal] than he had been before. “Let me know if you have any trouble with him, though.” “A human brat isn’t going to give me any issues, but I’ll take note of that. In any case, I’m going to start cleaning up the kitchen and getting ready for tomorrow morning. You never know when people will show up.” Arwin nodded, thinking much along the same lines. His equipment was out on the market now, which meant that it wouldn’t be long before his name started to build. He had a lot of smithing to do if he wanted to properly establish himself. But that would come. For today, Arwin had done more than enough work on his smithy to be satisfied. Right now, the only other thing he wanted to do was get some rest and prepare for what tomorrow held.