âYouâve got to be joking, surely.â
âNope,â the blacksmith shakes his head. âNothing but battle mages around here, and Iâm the only artificer in forty miles.â
The traveller tugs on her grimy hair in frustration. âYou donât sell potions or amulets or sigils?â
âWouldnât know how to make âem,â he shrugs, looking at her with some concern. She looks in desperate need of a meal and a good nightâs sleep.
âThis place is spoken of as a bastion of magic! A font of innovation and power!â
âWell, I donât like to toot my own horn, but Iâve got more magic in here than one person could possibly need. Provided you need it forged into a blade,â he replies.
Itâs getting rather hard not to take her dismissal personally. He would never have expected someone like her not to value the crafting of magical weaponry; he has never seen anyone look more like a sellsword.
âYou have nothing else?â she presses and this time there is desperation at the edge of her voice.
âSorryâŠâ
All the light seems to leave her eyes. Her head drops and the blacksmith can just make out a frantic stream of muttered words.
âTwo months on the road,â she breathes, âdragging him from pillar to post as he wastes away, and thereâs not a drop of healing magic in this damned placeââ
âHeyday! I never said that!â he protests, urgently stepping forward. âYou came here with someone in need of healing?â
Her eyes dart instantly up to his. âYes. Myâ My charge. He is affected by some curse or illness⊠Something my skill could not protect him from.â
âWell, thatâs where youâre wrong,â the blacksmith grins. He looks at her, sizing up the width of her shoulders. âKnow how to handle a broadsword?â
âOf course I do.â
He takes one from its case, the flawless blade almost black, the glint of the steel almost warm as he offers it to her.
âYou take that out to your young man and swing it thrice above his head and see if he doesnât perk right up. Best healing blade Iâve ever forged. And when youâre done, you can both join the family for dinner and a chat. Seems like you could do with some information about the kind of battle mages we raise around here.â












