The Best Kept Secret Slips Out

Once Zain returned to the shop, he hurriedly readied ammunition and a few more alchemy-based weapons. These alchemical weapons consisted of five vials of acid, two more vials of Hell Fire, a few pouches of sulfur, two pieces of flint, and a special compound that he had been working on containing Night Lillies that had been dehydrated and mixed in with Marine acid air, which he knew as the gaseous form of hydrochloric acid. Zain took time to separate a few silver tipped bullets into a separate pouch as a just in case, he even put a few wooden stakes and a crossbow into his inventory that were also precautionary measures. He did not know what awaited in this unknown dungeon, but he wanted to be prepared.

Zain looked at the preparations that he had done and thought it looked as good as possible with the amount of prep time he had. Then he laid down for the first time in a while.

When he awoke next it was morning again. This made sense to him as he had been going on minimal sleep for a little over a week at this point. He went around and opened his shop checking on all of his current supplies and his half-finished smithing projects. Zain took a deep breath not knowing what to do at this moment as a young-looking male walked in in regular adventuring gear though he was clearly not a guild member Zain had seen before.

The male stood a head higher than Zain with more built and defined muscles and a well-kept head of black hair. "Hello, welcome to my shop. If you are looking for anything alchemical or weapon wise you've come to the right place." Zain spoke with his best foot forward with a gentle smile on his face.

"Nice shop you got here, by the way I do know who you are, so I figured it's only right I introduce myself. I am Gabbriel, Captain in the Magic Knights. I heard about you from Sophia and General Stargrave. I do not think they gave you enough credit though. I came with the flood suppressors but to think that a shop out here would bear such a resemblance to that of someone who had access to all the supplies of the country." Gabbriel was talking in amazement and seemed to ramble out of a nervous tick of sorts and continued to do so. "I mean no disrespect, but my father was also an alchemist, but he dedicated his life to the trade and here is someone almost on par with him also running a smithy by himself. I am jealous of how talented you are in actuality, I'm only good in combat but not even battle tactics are my strong suit."

Zain pondered on Gabbriel's words for a moment then responded. "The secret to most tactician's success is actually taking the path least expected. I once heard a story of a man who lead an army of just three hundred men onto the battlefield of thousands of enemies. While they did lose in the end, they were still able to kill the leader causing chaos. In the end knowing the proper form and way for battle and taking an alternate route may prove to be the most effective." Zain walked to the back door and led Gabbriel outside to his mock fighting arena. "Now pick something here closest to you weapon of choice and I can show you what I mean."

Gabbriel looked around and carefully picked up a broad sword with one flat side that was a solid flat surface leaning into a bladed side that was never sharpened on purpose. Zain went and picked up a dulled rapier intentionally and turned to face him. "Now we have never fought but I do have a vast repertoire of fighting styles. So just keep that in mind, I prefer the rapier as it is easier for me to wield but I do test out every weapon I make." Gabbriel's eyes went wide at this and started to circle Zain slowly with Zain tracing his steps almost perfectly.

Gabbriel went in first with a reckless swing which zain jumped over and put his foot on the blade driving it into the ground. Gabbriel went and returned to a readied position that showed he was unfazed by the sudden movements of Zain. They continued this for a while until Gabbriel put the sword down and spoke. "How were you able to confidently move like that?" Zain stopped him there and spoke first. "Why were you looking for a standard movement from me? I fight monsters and explore the wilderness. That means I fight more like a monster or animal than your average opponent. Monsters and animals are both unpredictable. If you take on a couple of adventuring quests you might grasp what I am talking about. Also, unlike everyone else, I cannot use magic. You always use your whole body to attack. If you were to ready a spell of some sort with an off hand by using a lighter weapon you might be a little more successful."

Gabbriel was shocked at how much Zain had gathered from their single bout in which Zain didn't even attack once. He nodded in acknowledgement to Zain's eye for improvement then asked, "So, what would you say might be a better suit for me?"

Zain pondered the man's question for a moment then handed him an axe with an extended handle and a counterweight on the hilt. "This should do you well. Try it out for a bit and let me know how it feels. I will head back to the shop." Zain then turned and started walking.

Upon entering his shop, he saw all three of the people who had raised him. He gingerly smiled then asked a simple question with a huge grin on his face. "Is there anything I can help you guys with or is this social?"

His father looked almost confused as he answered. "Well now that you mention it, I do feel like I need a new cross bow. I still prefer heavy sets with hard draw backs and heavy ammunition." Zain smirked at this and pulled out a solid oak cross bow and several iron looking spikes and laid them on the counter and motioned out back and just said, "There's a range for target practice but aim at the stone wall with the faded target so it doesn't disturb anyone please."

Zain's mother just ran up and gave him a hug and couldn't contain herself in such a private place as she was just happy to see her son again. Damascus then walked up and put a hand on Zain's shoulder and asked, "Do you mind if I use your forge for a bit to sharpen my blade?"

"Go ahead I'm a little indispensable at the moment." Was all Zain said before Gabbriel entered the shop looking a little disappointed.

"Not quite what you wanted?" Zain asked with his mother still clinging to him.

"Not fully I still miss the versatility of a sword." Gabbriel iterated.

Zain moved over to a small wooden case with his mother hanging onto him and opened it. When he reached in and pulled out a Katana everyone was in shock as recurved blades were not that common. Zain handed it over and then spoke again. "Tell me how that feels after a bit."

Just then, his father busted trough the door and looked pale as a ghost then said to Zain, "You sure do have a knack for making all of these weapons don't you son?"

Everyone stopped what they were doing, and Gabbriel turned to a shade of white akin to that of the rumored vampires as Zain laughed hard before speaking. "I guess you must not have known that much." As that was said Sophia softly entered the shop to check on Zain and try to have a private conversation and he continued speaking without noticing. "I am in fact Zain Zellars and these three here raised me."

"What?!" Sophia shouted being taken aback as everyone noticed her for the first time.