Relia walked at a relaxed pace through the alleys of Neoras. Her damaged breastplate tucked under her arm, she could still feel the gash from the last fight. Fortunately, the innkeeper had told her where to find the village's blacksmith.
After a few minutes, she arrived in front of a low, wide stone building from which heat and rhythmic hammering escaped. A wrought iron sign hung above the door, depicting an anvil crossed by a sword.
She pushed the door open.
A wave of heat enveloped her immediately. The interior smelled of metal, coal, and sweat. A man in his twenties was hammering a blade on the anvil behind the counter, shirtless under a black pair of overalls. His short, emerald-green hair glistened with sweat under the light of the flames. All around, the walls were covered with blades, armor, rune-marked pauldrons, and ornate gauntlets. It was clear that this man forged as much as he armed.
On a wooden bench not far from the entrance, an adventurer waited patiently. Relia sat beside him, placing her breastplate on her lap. The silence was soon broken by a figure emerging from the back room.
a young woman, clearly the apprentice, dressed in a black tank top and round glasses perched on her nose, which contrasted with her brown hair tied in a bun. She approached the adventurer and handed him a sword still sheathed.
"Sorry for the delay... I just couldn't get my hands back on it", she said with an apologetic smile.
The man took the weapon and drew the blade from its sheath.
The blade was stunning. Thin, slightly curved, its metal seemed to pulse with a bluish glow as if it were breathing softly. Engraved patterns ran along the edge, and a subtle light emanated from the runes embedded in the guard. The balance of the weapon was so perfect it seemed to dance in the hand.
The adventurer then called out to the blacksmith, still absorbed in his work:
"And did you put the runes I asked for?"
The blacksmith stopped for a moment. He put down his hammer, removed his burning gloves, and replied in a calm, almost weary tone:
"Wind Rune. Absorption Rune. And lastly, aWatchful-Eye Rune."
He grabbed a flask from a stool beside him and drank a long gulp, before sitting down to rest.
Satisfied, the adventurer nodded, handed a pouch to the apprentice, then carefully sheathed his weapon.
"Thank you for ordering with us", said the young woman with a slight bow of the head. "A pleasure to have served you."
The adventurer left the forge without another word.
It was at that moment that the apprentice noticed Relia. Her gaze slid over the damaged breastplate, then she motioned for her to approach the counter with a small wave of her finger, tucking a brown strand of hair behind her ear.
Relia walked up to the counter.The young apprentice looked up, smiled politely, and said:
"Hello and welcome, how can I help you, miss ?"
Relia placed the breastplate on the aged wooden counter.
"Well… my armor was damaged in a fight. I came to see if you could repair it."
The apprentice quickly inspected the piece, then ran her hand over the deep gash on the back of the breastplate. She signaled to the emerald-haired blacksmith sitting on a stool.
He approached silently, took the breastplate in his rough hands, turned it over, tapped it, then declared in a deep voice:
"No wonder it gave out. This part here is made of gold."
"No, the whole armor is gold… or at least that's what I was told", replied Relia, surprised. She clearly remembered the day her adoptive father had given it to her.
The blacksmith scratched his chin, raised an eyebrow, and corrected her:
"What you were told is partially true. Some parts, yes… but the rest is tempered steel. A fully gold armor would be a very bad idea."
"Why ?" asked Relia, intrigued.
"Gold's pretty, it shines… but it's also soft. It deforms at the slightest blow, absorbs impacts poorly, and it's unnecessarily heavy. It's fine for castle decorations, not for the battlefield. In fact, as you can see, the gold part is what gave out first."
He gently tapped the gash to illustrate his point. Relia frowned.
"So… there's nothing to be done ?"
"For this one ? I can buy it off you. It still contains gold, not of the very best quality, but gold nonetheless. But if you want real battle armor, I can forge one for you, custom-made. It'll take some time, but it'll hold strong."
Relia looked down at the breastplate, silent.Part of her hesitated to part with it.But the other part knew it was time to move forward.