C26 the love behind the mask

I sit up and look around, wondering if I blacked out again. I don't remember what happened after the dancing, though I remember meeting someone last night who showed me to a hotel, I don't remember the trip, or the shower that I smell. I stand up and look around for my clothes, apparently I was awake enough to put them on the chair, and I quickly pull them on. My jackets there so I must've either gotten it back or Celestes here. "Celeste?" I haven't heard any movement but I call anyway. After I search the room the door opens, Celeste comes in, dress on as usual in public, and hands me something. "Robert has a proposition for you, but he won't tell me what it is." Robert must be the man I met last night, "can you tell if it's a contract or personal?" I pull my jacket off and and check the threads, they're still holding but I'll need to get them changed soon. "Do you want to learn smithing? I can also enchant, though only low level abilities." I had heard that her equipment was self made. "Honestly I've always been more interested in magic circles. I liked magic as a kid, and have a good aptitude for fire. My mother managed to get a starter magic book off her clients, and she gave it to me. There was a chapter about magic circles and the effect they produce. There was a sentence on the last paragraph that said one a true magic circle, one that could be called a domain, the only chain that binds your magic, is you" she raises an eyebrow and "Let me teach you how to be my assistant and I'll teach you everything I know about enchanting. You can have the books that I've collected on magic as well." I remember the cellar that my sword is in, and the demon feels amused 'that is a very good proposition. Right now my main job is to make you stronger so I can take over later. The books in here would help a lot in terms of understanding human magic.' The books in there are enchanted themselves. Those are artifacts, most of them are weak but the demon tells me that one is an attacking grimoire. It can boost my power at the cost of limiting my spell. "You know there is a grimoire in there right? If I get my hands on it I could write down every magic I know. It will only work for attacking spells but I have my choice of the magic." If I can let the spirit eat others I can unlock spells from other masters. "That's fine. I tire of doing everything myself and the preparation takes most of my time. Since you do t want to be a smith I won't force you, but you can still help." She tells me to go meet Robert so we can return home, she seems almost as excited as I feel.

"Do you remember the conversation from last night? There is friction between my master and yours. It is over a Betrayal neither of them participated in. Ave Iron has few friends, I would like to return this one to her." I don't like this guy, he keeps a professional face on at all times. If his tone didn't soften when he spoke her name I wouldn't know that he cared for her at all. "You love her? Why not tell her?" He ignores my question completely, and continues waiting for my answer. "Alright, how were you intending to do this?" He has to have had a plan to come to me.

"Read this in your room tonight, Celeste can hear us, while I've blocked her for a time I can't do it any longer. In return for your help I will tell you about a shortcoming of the rising sun scripture. There are quite a few, people have after all been trying to defeat it for years. There are many ways to surpass the sunlight scripture, that's why Celeste wants you to learn the shadow scripture. With the Rising if the sun, all shadows must scatter. However, for every light a shadow must exist." With that doesn't he snaps and I feel a bubble pop, he stands up and walks out, I return to the room and Celeste looks over at me, she's packing the clothes I bought last night in some bags, which she's throw. Into a bigger bag. "I can't move large spaces." But wouldn't the fire break the bag? I shake my head and help her, "what did he want?" I raise an eyebrow and remember his comment about blocking her. "You didn't hear, good, this is more interesting now." She looks at me for a moment and I smile at her.

I step out of the fire and debate telling her that the shirt that I wore last night wasn't in there. "Nicta, when do you want to start learning? I suggest you give your students a few lessons on fighting and give them a long mission. It'll be a while before you fully get the hang of being an assistant. I have a lot of orders but my clients know that I only actually work one day of the year. They can place orders until I have enough, but I only work today. My clients don't know who I am, they only know I'm an older blacksmith, female, and married to someone. The money I make usually goes to orphanages, you'll find many rising sun orphanages across the land, they belong to me. Since I'm training you I will change my schedule this year, in that anyone who wants a weapon can buy one for the next two months. By that time I will have taught you everything I know about enchanting." I nod and and ask where she wanted my clothes, and where I would be sleeping. "we'll be going to Rens city to give your students the next task, I have to drop something off with Ataraxes anyway, we'll put the clothes in my house there. From there we will go to a meeting ground for smiths. No one will be there at this time of year, but it's my duty to clean up and get ready for the coming festival."