I woke up to my fairy alarm clock's favorite method of alerting me that it was time to get up, a firm slap in the face.

I didn't care today. Today I was too excited to run down to the blacksmith and watch the magic happen.

As I approached the workshop I heard the pounding of a hammer. At this, I quickened my pace. Soon I could see Smith and he waved me over excitedly.

"I can feel it with every strike. Something is different!" Smith exclaimed. He was as excited as a kid with a new toy. "I'll have the first piece done soon."

He was forming what appeared to be a forearm out of a piece of metal from one of the sets of heavy plate mail armor that I had given him last night. He masterfully hammered out the last edge and set the piece on the table in front of us.

"It's time," he said with awed reverence. He touched the seal on his ring to the armor piece and a brilliant light appeared around the seal. After a few seconds, he lifted his hand and the seal was set into it perfectly.

"May I?" I asked motioning to pick up the piece of armor.

He nodded proudly. I grabbed it and I looked at its description.

Vambrace of the Northblood (Rare)

This well-crafted vambrace protects the wearer's forearms against all forms of weapon damage.

Magical attacks that hit this armor have a 50% chance to deflect.

Defense: +5

I read the description to Smith and he looked astonished.

Our excitement was driven even further by the revelation of the powerful magical quality. We continued working all day, slept, and repeated the process again. Towards the end of the second day, I received a notification.

New Special Ability Unlocked!

I opened up my menu to see that my crafting skill had reached level seven. I read the description of the new ability.

Nimble Fingers

Your ability to quickly and accurately craft items is greatly improved and your fingers are able to manipulate smaller objects with precision.

That would come in handy for my dream of building trick arrows. I wasn't sure if that was even a possibility, but I put it on my wishlist anyway.

We continue working until the final evening. Jen and Barry joined us for the unveiling of our, but mostly Smith's, handiwork.

Jen was outfitted with a nearly full set of light plate armor. Each piece had the chance to deflect magical attacks. She had what once was one of the heavy crossbows, but had been modified into a light crossbow. The Northblood seal gave it an easier draw weight which Smith took full advantage of and added an assisted reload mechanism. This made it so Jen could fire and have another bolt ready to shoot again in just a few seconds. Smith had also taken one of the common quality shortswords and ground it down until it was a light, quick weapon that Jen could wield comfortably. The Northblood seal on this weapon gave it an enhanced razor-sharp edge.

I was quite a bit less worried about Jen's safety with her being outfitted like this.

Barry had a heavier version of the plate armor with the same effects as Jen's. His weapons were a little scarier though and I was happy to be on the same side as him. Smith has taken the two large axes that I had returned to him and modified them into one greataxe that could be separated into two single-edged axes which were weighted for throwing. The Northblood seal had given it the ability to return to the thrower after it came to a rest. He tried it out by throwing the whole greataxe having it return once it settled on the ground and then throwing the two separated axes which both came back as well.

It was a thing of beauty and his creativity and craftsmanship were amazing.

Jen and Barry were so happy with their new gear and they couldn't thank the blacksmith enough. He got big hugs from both of them and the whole thing was hilarious to watch. I don't think he was normally much of a hugger.

I already had my cloak, the chain mail shirt, leather pants and boots, my special daggers, and an incredible bow so I felt like I was well-kitted currently. Smith had made me a simple set of crafting tools and I thought that was enough. Apparently, he didn't agree nor did he need as much sleep and had gotten up early enough the last two mornings to make a couple of secret items for me.

"These are for you," he said as he handed me a rolled-up blanket.

I gave him an 'aw you' face and sat the blanket on the bench nearest me. I unrolled the blanket and saw a set of the same vambraces, a throwing axe, and small leather bag. I pulled it all into my inventory besides the blanket and read their descriptions.

Vambrace of the Northblood (Rare) x2

This well-crafted vambrace protects the wearer's forearms against all forms of weapon damage.

Magical attacks that hit this armor have a 50% chance to deflect.

Defense: +5

Equipped

Northblood Throwing Axe (Rare)

This well-crafted axe is perfectly weighted for throwing.

Whether dropped or thrown, this axe will return to the thrower's hand a second after forward momentum is halted.

Bag of Caltrops (Uncommon)

This is an area denial weapon.

Each caltrop has four spikes arranged so that when dropped at least one spike is facing upward. Will damage and slow enemies that step on them.

"Thank you so much, Smith," I said extending my now vambraced arm. "These are all so amazing. You really are the best blacksmith I will ever meet."

After some time checking out our gear, we met up with the whole town in the square and shared a celebratory meal. We finished eating and Jen pulled me to the side to talk. We walk over to the front of the town hall building where there were a few steps to sit on.

"We are leaving tomorrow morning. Can you please tell me what is going on with the awkward smiles and sadness?" She was being direct and straightforward and I didn't want to skirt the issue so I just opened up. I chose my words to try and balance not lying with not sounding crazy.

"There was a death and it separated me from my wife. The death was a direct result of a choice I made and I am feeling guilty for being the cause of so much pain. As far as I know, I will never see her again and she was left all alone. What doesn't help the situation, which I don't blame you for at all, is the fact that you remind me of her. When I see your smile it is like a punch to the gut for me," I explained somberly.

She didn't respond for a few seconds as she collected her thoughts. "I don't think that is fair to me." Her face flashed a few different emotions. "What am I supposed to do? This is supposed to be about finding my parents and saving the town. Isn't it?"

"I'm sorry. It wasn't fair to you. You aren't Paige and I need to focus on our mission." I set my hand on her arm. "I'm sorry."

"Can we have fun together without all of the added undertones and baggage? I've never been on an adventure before. I want it to be fun, don't you?" She asked with a big smile as she seemed to think of all the fun we could have.

I told myself that she wasn't Paige and it was okay for me to have fun on this adventure. The smile didn't hurt as much this time.

"Let's have fun. You are absolutely right." I stood up from the stairs and reached out to help Jen up. "Let's have some fun." She smiled again and took my hand pulling herself to her feet as well.

We went back to chatting and laughing with the other residents some of them were the shop owners and they told us that they had plans to get the supply chains running again. Our job would be to make sure traders in Wolfhill knew that Bettyford was open for business again. Once the party died down we headed to our rooms for the last sleep before we would head out.

In the morning the four of us, three humans and a squirrel set out into the wilds. We headed Southwest on a direct course for Wolfhill. While we walked Pips scouted out ahead with Mae and the first hour of the trip was fairly uneventful.

Mae flew out of the trees in front of us. "Stop. There is an enemy camp up ahead." I needed to practice with the messaging so I sent one to Jen and Barry.

Theodore: Enemy camp ahead. Let me try and scout it out and I'll message you again.

Jen: We will hold here and wait for you.

Barry: Sure thing, buddy. Oops. Should I say buddy or is this supposed to be more serious? Oh, it is writing everything I think. Can I erase it? Nope. Sorry.

Theodore: No worries, buddy. This is new to all of us, but you can have fun with it. As long as it is safe fun.

I scouted out the enemy camp and saw something I never thought I would see. The camp was occupied by pintsized bipedal lizards. There must've been dozens of them. I couldn't seem to get an exact count as they kept moving and looked exactly alike. They were akin to three-foot-tall walking crocodiles. Then I saw the big one. It looked exactly like the others except for being about fifteen feet tall.

Theodore: Would you rather fight dozens of small, sharp-toothed lizards or one giant sharp-toothed lizard?

Jen: Is neither an option?

Theodore: Nope, but both is an option.