Chapter 6 (11): Market and Forging

I smile as the song began to end humming along softly, Razé's eyes found mine in the chaos of hands and feet, he pushed through the crowded square and stood beside me.

"How did you know?" He asks me.

"I didn't. I simply dodged and jumped, plus the fountain was an accident, I wanted to get this, stinky crap off of me.....wait! Ha! It's gone!" I say after taking a sniff of my skin, grinning I took his hand and dragged him to the rest of the squad. They asked the same question,but I answered the same way. ' Why did you do that?' Lily asks.

' Cause the competition tomorrow needs to feel relaxed tonight, so that tomorrow they can be at their peaks. I want a challenge after all. And also because that was fun.' I reply.

"Can we go to the market now? The square is kinda full." I jerked my finger behind me, pointing to the mass of people who watched the fading lights.

"Sure,kiddo." William threw his arm around my shoulder winking playfully at Nadia who gave him a raised eyebrow, before she threw her arm around Razé. Heru and Kina sighed.

"I don't know, I'm kind of tired after all the throwing and getting thrown at. " Kina says. I pout.

"Please? Let's just pass through it to find an inn? I promise it won't take up much of your time." I pleaded batting my eyelashes and leaning forward. Kina made a face of frustration before his shoulders sagged and he turned around.

"Fine." He grumbled.

"Thank you!" I say cheerfully. Kristina rolled her eyes at her brother and poked him.

"Give her more information if it would make you feel better." She encouraged. Heru turned and walked with Yuki on his heals, William and Nadia dragged Razé and I down a different stair case, with normal white light providing a safe path for us.

"Well the market is the market as you know. This one sells stationary, communication pieces, translation devices that we call Atoûipon. But whatever you do,don't buy it." Kina warned me.

"Ah....I don't really need it. Why would I buy it? And secondly why shouldn't I? Not that I would buy it I don't have any money on me in any ways." I say. William blinked.

"You don't? Doesn't your planet have money?" He asks me.

"We do. But we usually do trading. For instance if you had a silver iron nutt than I would trade a hundred chicken for it if you wanted chicken. Only the capital has a need for money. It's usually categorised in five categories.

1 Gold coin= 1000 000 000 silver coins.

1 Silver coin= 1000 copper coins

1 Copper coin= 100 crystals.

1 Crystal= 10 stacks of Kin fur." I explain.

"What fur?" Yuki asks.

"Kin, not your family members, what Kin means is a small fast little rabbit with nasty foam bubbling out of its mouth, which is poisonous. It's fur coat helps to keep food warm and sometimes we use it to keep our homes warm." We had by now came upon the market, a long winding street that climbed up higher towards a flat area with a circle of buildings surrounded by a taller wall than the gate walls. Stalls were pushed against all kinds of shop buildings, some of them already having people bartering for the lowest prices they could get. A vendor near by had weapons scattered on an ornamental rug and hung up on thin wires held by the roof of his stall. I walked over, bending down.

"Ah,an interest for weapons do we young lady?" Asks a scarred old man who sat with his legs crossed on the rug, his right eye had been carved out with claws that seem to stretch pass his neck and down his throat all the way to the lines of his shirt. I nodded slowly before scanning the weaponry.

"I'm a black Smith, and like to see other Smith's designs and works." I say,lifting a bronze hilt sword up, studying it's scabbard.

"Oh? Do you have any work you wish to sell? I'm willing to buy?" The man asks. I blanched, I forgot my bag, suddenly it stood beside me, Razé gave me a smug smile. I made a face, crap I'm so much older than him and I still forget such simple things.

"Hn, I have one piece I'd like to sell." I say, opening my bag and pulling out a long great sword, placing it on the rug, I carefully unsheathed it and held it up for inspection. It had golden veins running through the blade, the hilt was made of silver wood and green summer vines that kept it in place, engraved with runes that helped increase the dexterity of the sword itself. The vendor picked the sword up as if it was made of glass, carefully studying my designs and slight markings of my hammer still embedded in the blades point meant to curve the direction the sword swung in and increase its speed. The vendor nodded.

"This is some nice word, lass. How long have you been in the black smithing business?" The man asks.

"Uuh,about 15 years. I've been smithing since I was a kit." I say. The man nodded.

"That makes sense. 60 Ryio, no more no less." The vendor bartered. My eyes lit up, that was a huge sum. There was three kinds of coins in this world, 1 Ryio coin being equal to 100 Sju coins and 1000 000 Ryio coins equal to 1 Zai coin. Which basically means I just earned myself 60 000 Sju

"That isn't so good you know. All though the smithing looks masterful it's clumsy and the materials used are unorthodox." A woman with short brown and red curls say, she had eight swords strapped to her back, probably for selling.

"Unorthodox? Sure. These meterials are rare where I come from, we usually use the fires of our bridge to help forge the runes you see here. And the silver wood tree is hard to find since it only grows on the barren mountains of the Possessed,not to mention the green summer vines that grow only on the first day of summer. Lady I don't know who you are but if you want to insult another black Smith's work than you better stay quiet and figure out what and where the meterials were found before running your mouth out, deal? Unless you want the samething to happen to you and jinxing your own fate,be my guest." I say smirking. Before sheeting the great sword and unsheething Lily's fox sword. I held it up.

"You say my work is clumsy? Than this sword,which I had made when I was five is probably nothing but scrap right?" I ask rising to my feet, I took a normal sword from my back and held it up. Before cutting the steel blade of the normal sword like butter with a loud clang, the sword clattered to the ground, I sheethed the fox sword and threw the broken pieces of the plain sword at her.

"That's a plain sword,made of normal steel,not iron. Hit with my hammer a hundred times,try cutting it with one of your own swords, lady. And if your sword brakes,I want you to apologize for insulting my work. If mine brakes, I won't bother selling my swords and weaponry to this vendor or in this world." I say crossing my arms.

"Ah,Asher,are you sure about this?" Asks a concerned Nadia, Kristina and Yuki exchanged looks of worry as well. Razé, Heru and Kina nodded at me. I smirk.

"Have some faith in me. I know what I'm doing, I've dealt with people like this lady before and know how to handle this situation." I say with a soft smile of reassurance. They nodded and held their breaths,at least Nadia and Kristina did. The woman smirked and took out a short sword with a heavy looking hilt made of iron. I narrowed my eyes frowning. She raised her sword and plunged it down. *Hss.*

"What the hell?!" She shouts backing away, her sword had shattered upon contact.

"Didn't you hear? I hit my hammer in it a hundred times, in each re-forge I did. You know we are supposed to re-forge the sword at least two times before it's perfect, I did that a hundred times, with a hundred hits from my sword each and every time. To brake my plain sword you would need a sword that had been reinforced with marble aginite. To brake one of my speciality swords, you would have to have a sword that is made up of nothing but iron and magic, which unfortunately is impossible for you, you can't purify the steel to the point that it's nothing but iron and magic yet. Can you? You can't write in runes and you can't forge a sword a hundred times over with a hundred hits from your hammer, now can you? When you call someone else's work clumsy make sure your own isn't pathetic. Actually, don't insult someone ever again,you never know if your dealing with a grand master forger or a magistrate forger, lady. Now, sir,would you mind buying my great sword?" I ask turning to the man on the rug,who looked thoroughly excited. He nodded rapidly. The woman looked like her bones were about to crawl out of her skin, she backed away as people began to stare at her and ran. I scratched the back of my head.

"Er,I over did it a little." I took the money from the man and closed my bag.

"A little? Kid you humiliated that girl completely, I bet she won't show her face for a while!" William says, I deepened my frown.

"But I didn't mean for that to happen, I just wanted to teach her a lesson not to be so unkind to other forgers since some of them can do pretty horrible things to a person if they feel insulted by them." I reply. Yuki patted my back.

"You did fine, I'm sure she learned her lesson,if she hasn't then she'll have to suffer the consequences of her actions,after all you did warn her." She comforted me, I nod. Suddenly a red glittering ball on a stick was thrusted out in front of me. Kristina grinned.

"Candy apple?" She offered. Huh, never had this before. I took the stick and bit in to the red sticky substance around the apple only to recoil.

"Sweet! And sticky. What's it made off?" I ask curiously.

" Sugar and wait did you take the red one?!" Kristina shouts looking down on the green candy apple in her hand playing she said:" That ones made off.....nevermind." Kristina says looking away guiltily. I smile and bite in to the apple core, knowing full well what she meant. It's made up of ribbit sugar. A sugar usually gained from a Bátpox, which usually gives you a nasty case of the sneezes after you've eaten about two spoons. I'm pretty sure I ate five by now. Heru and Yuki who walked besides me backed away slowly. Razé looked around at them in confusion until realisation sank in.

"You mean-!" *Achoo* It also gives you this weird feeling when you get to six,by eight spoons you'll start to hallucinate and by 10 you are knocked out by the high doze of frog slime, which is basically sugar.

I began to see shifting images, mermaids swimming in the air instead of the water. Fairy's still with their wings and then a kraken reaching out towards me, grasping my waist and squeezing until I popped in half. Well that was fun. My head smacked the stones of the floor as the darkness dragged me down.