The Blacksmith’s Village

The straps came off one at a time, cautiously worked by the shepherds. Most of the men were still unsure of The Operator. To them he was a stranger with even stranger things. His clothes were foreign in design, his weapons so futuristic they seemed magical. Most of the men had felt uncomfortable when The Operator hadn't given them his name. His explanation only covered where he came from, not who. This fact bred suspicion in some of the less trusting men, which could be felt by all. Soon The Operator was freed and the men all left quickly at the command of the elder.

"If you would follow me, I'll show you the way." Said The Elder while motioning to The Operator. The Operator stood and began following The Elder out of the makeshift medical area. Looking down at his wrists he could see the material from the straps had rubbed off onto his wrists from sweat and movement. "How long was I laying there?" He wondered to himself while rubbing the marks away. He examined the gem that had been implanted in a wound and found it was indeed growing since he last checked. "I sure hope that stops!" he worried, but shook the fear out of his head. "Losing an arm to a magical gem is the least of my fucking worries." He took a deep breath and opened the door, following The Elder out into the village.

"Holy shit"The Operator said. The village looked as rough as its residents."Holy...Shit?" The Elder repeated looking at The Operator with confusion. "Ahem.. I'm sorry...is this all that's left?" The Operator said with concern. "Yes, we have very few who have survived this nightmare. Only through their kindness and courage have I even survived this long." The Elder said with remorse. "I don't see any children, or women?" Said The Operator. The silence of the village was staggering to him. When he first walked out he had held out hope for these people, but now he wasn't so sure. "We have them hidden, but there is only one woman left. My wife, and the village doula. She helped birth most of these men, and the last few children left. I believe that alone is the reason they saved our lives, and kept us protected from the horrors." The Elder said, his face and body sinking with the weight of what he has been through. "Please, follow me." said The Elder, turning and walking away from The Operator. The Operator knew that meant the conversation was over, and hoped he hadn't made the man depressed. "Of course," he said following The Elder through the village.

Clang. In the distance The Operator could hear the ringing of a blacksmiths hammer. As they approached it got steadily louder, and as it did the heat did with it. Soon The Operator was sweating and wondered how anyone could be inside the building they approached. Much nicer than most of the other buildings in the area, the blacksmiths home was adorned with spikes and weapons. "One wrong move around this place and you're dead." The Operator thought to himself as he looked over the spikes sticking out of the side of the home. "This blacksmith, how come his home looks like this when the rest of the village is so worn?" Asked The Operator. "He was once the blacksmith for the kings guards." Replied The Elder before knocking on the door. The constant clang of metal on metal stopped, with thudding footsteps replacing it. When the door opened the heat was intense, like standing next to a furnace. "How can anyone survive in there?!" Thought The Operator.

Soon he saw the man inside, and was surprised by how large he was. The Operator couldn't tell if the man's face was darkened by shadow, or coated with ash. After examining the man's arms and legs The Operator determined it was likely ash. "Falen." The Elder greeted the man in the doorway. " I'm sorry to intrude on your work, but the scouts found this stranger and his odd weapon. He claims he can make more. If he cannot convince you of this we will have to exile, or execute him as he has made contact with The Blind One." Upon hearing this both Falen and The Operator shifted uncomfortably. "What is that on his arm?" Asked Falen upon noticing the fragmented gem in The Operators arm.

"I don't know, I don't believe he does either." Said The Elder. "I understand if you want to turn him away, but this weapon of his may give us a fighting chance. It injured the creatures, but I do not know how. It is so small." He continued as he pulled the gun from the bag and handed it to Falen. "What? What is this a toy?" Falen laughed looking at the object in his hand. "No. It's a weapon of mass destruction, if it had ammo, I could kill you with one bullet. Where I come from, things like that have killed more than you can even imagine.." Said The Operator, speaking up and confronting Falen. "So you say, stranger, but how could I make more of these?" Scoffed Falen. "Well, as I said, things like them. The first guns were primitive, and that's where we will be starting." Replied The Operator.

The Elder turned to him in anger. "You said you could make more of those!" The Operator stepped back, "Woah, I did! However that gun is useless against these things, whatever your man told you didn't happen to include how it was still eating me did it?" Falen grabbed a blade from beside the door frame and raised it to The Operators neck questioning The Elder with anger, "He was touched by the blood?! You brought him here after that?" "Enough! I'm sorry, I know!" Shouted the elder loud enough to cause Falen to lower his blade. "I know.." he continued softer," but we are wearing thin and running out of options. Hear him out, decide his fate."

Falen placed the blade back in its place behind the edge of the door frame. "Convince me." He said demandingly as he moved out of the way and turned into the home. inside was a large forge, the venting system was unique, which allowed him to forge inside. The vents were made of what appeared to be copper to The Operator. The further he entered the more amazed he was, to him the whole place looked like an armory. Weapons lined the walls, and around the forge sat spikes of different types. The Operator had never seen such unique weapons before. From swords with jagged edges, to massive hammer he was sure only the creator himself could wield. The walls were filled with all kinds of dangerous equipment, though he was sure he could make something much better with the help of Falen. "These weapons are so fucking cool!" Said The Operator like a kid in a candy store. He began reaching for a sword the had an interesting pattern engraved down the length of the blade. "Don't touch anything!" Shouted Falen. "Fine, but you have got let me try those some time." Replied the Operator. Deciding it was best to worry about the weapons later The Operator walked over to a table and turned to Falen. "Shall we get started?"