Limits

I worked like this for couple of days, and accumulated enough Black Steel Ingots, to create about 100 daggers. Besides the Black Steel Ingots, I also learn more about smithing. The old Lizard, showed me how to create new ingots, such as Bronzite Ingot, which was very good for making shields, as it absorbed the impacts very well. There was also a disadvantage, when using equipment created from Bronzite, it would slow the wielder down, as the metal was very heavy.

I also learned how to create Flexium Ingots, and as the name suggested, the metal was very flexible. It could be used for bow making, as well as lashing weapons, such as whips. The Flexium had many more applications, not only in weaponry. He also described to me very rare ingots, that not only costed a lot, but were very difficult to get a hold of. One of such ingots, was Quicksilver Ingot. It was made using Mithril, a magical ore that was very hard to find. Another such rare ingot, was Lunar Ingot. It could be created only with the use of special materials, that rarely popped up in our world.

He didn't know much about those ingots, as they were treated almost as legends. They were that rare. I also got lesson from him about making weapons. He said that starting from swords, was the best idea, and we did just that. He showed me how to make a sword out of simple Steel. The process was much more complicated, than I previously thought. First, I had to go through the shaping process, where I would give the sword it's shape. Then I would need to temper it using, by cooling it down, and reheating it again. And then grind it at the grindstone, to give it an edge.

It required a great knowledge of swords, to be able to create one, that was at least useful. One had to know, where to strike and with what strength, in order to make a good sword. He said that casting, was for novices and it required molds. A lot of smiths, were not very well versed at making more intricate molds, that was why, he was so impressed by my daggers.

I tried creating a sword, but it wasn't easy. Even though I could create a shape, it was all out of balance, and not very useful. It could be used to kill something, but a proper swordsman, would throw it away, as a garbage. Nevertheless, it was my first attempt, and the old Lizard said himself, that I would get better at it, the more I practiced.

When I did another 3 Azurite Ingots, I went back to the room, and gave the ingots to the old Lizard. I said to the him "I don't need the materials anymore. I already have enough, to create a lot of daggers. I also stored some materials for later, if I need them". He asked a bit worried "Do you want to quit the job?". I shook my head and said "I still need to make my daggers, but I don't want the materials anymore. You can now pay me with money". He seemed to relax a bit, and said "That is fine. I will give you the equal amount of money, to what the materials were worth. That will be 1 Black Hal and 26 Red Hals. Is that alright?".

I was a bit stunned and asked "How much does a Grondon earn in one day?". He said "They earn from 15 to 30 Red Hals, that is because they are making Azurite, and we need that done as much as possible, hence the pay". I understood, why he was willing to pay that much for me. Not only could I create 3 ingots a day, I also made good quality ingots. This made me wonder 'Why would that Lazar be willing to pay 2 Black Hals, for the medicine? Was it really that good? Better than someone creating 3 Azurite Ingots a day?'. I didn't know how much Azurite costed, so I decided to ask.

"Can you tell me, how much does one Azurite Ingot costs?". The old Lizard said "A Middle Grade Quality, would cost something like 6 Black Hals. As for the High Grade Quality, It would cost in excess of 10 Black Hals. The Top Grade Quality… In excess of 25 Black Hals". I was stunned to be honest, my work was worth that much, yet I earn a lot more, with just one vial of my medicine. 'Something is broken here, is my medicine that much more expensive?' I thought, and decided to ask about that as well. "Say, is the medicine very expensive here?".

The old Lizard thought about it, then replied "That depends on how strong it is, and how well it works". I took out a vial from my bag, and said "How much would this cost?", then passed the vial with Healing Essence to him. He opened it, smelled it and asked the same question, as the Lazar guy. "Can I have a taste?" He asked. I nodded my head, and awaited his response.

The old Lizard took a sip, and immediately exclaimed "Is this real? Where did you get it from?". He reluctantly passed the vial back to me. I asked instead "How much is it worth?". He said "I never seen such a strong medicine, it must be worth at least 20 Black Hals". 'That bastard, and he only gave me 2 Black Hals. That is 10 times less! No wonder that guy wanted me to come over again, to sell my medicine. It was a daylight robbery!' I thought.

The old Lizard asked, if I wanted to sell it, so I said "I will sell you that one. Only because you were honest with me, I will sell it for 10 Black Hals. How about that?". He nodded his head, and paid me the whole price immediately. I then said "I will be back tomorrow, to make some of my daggers. Then I will take care of your ingots". He didn't seem to care, and simply nodded his head. I left the room, and went back to the tavern.

After renting the room, I went upstairs and sat down on the chair. "Frosty, come out for a moment" I said, but Frosty didn't respond. 'Hmm? This is weird. Why isn't Frosty responding?' I thought, and called out again. "Frosty?" but nothing happened. I had no idea, why it wouldn't come out, but I could do nothing about it. 'I have to leave this place soon. When I learn more about smithing, I will try to acquire a better map of the North, then I will leave. Before that, I should contact that Lazar guy' I thought.

The Lazar guy, was the only creature in this place that I knew, who had contacts with that military leader. I wanted to inquire about my situation. I also needed to find some kind of food source, if I wanted to continue staying in the North. There was also the issue of my new strings, for the skill. 'I should visit Crow as well, and check out what he managed to find. Maybe he will know much more, than the Lizards' I thought, and went to sleep.