Several hours ago

With a sigh, Kin stepped out into the rain as he headed for the shop where his new armor came from. The wind attempted to bite at him but he had bundled up in an oil-cloth cloak. He’d feel sad when he was out in this weather, but the warmth of his morning with Nami kept the sadness at bay. Some droplets hit his hand as he closed the door to the inn and the chill in the water shocked him. Luckily, it was only a short walk to the shop, but it was so dark and foggy that visibility was low. The shopkeeper had lit a lantern outside the shop, which Kin was thankful for. The light was warm and inviting. He picked up his pace as he neared. He grabbed the handle and pulled the door open, the warmth of a fire hitting his face.

The inside of the shop was bright from the lamps, and there were rugs on the floor. The rugs were woven from cloth instead of the skin rugs others used. The next thing that caught Kin’s notice was the openness of the shop floor. No racks dominated the area, wares were on shelves along the walls instead. As a result, the place seemed much more spacious than the general store on the other side of the bridge. He had to stop and marvel at this for a moment before he could focus on the counter at the back of the store.

The maple wood counter held a couple of display cases for some of the more expensive wares. Behind it, there was a selection of bows and quivers as well as a door leading into the shop owner's home. Above this door was a wooden shield with two swords crossed behind it; he was sure that it was the shop’s logo. As he began to walk toward the counter, he noticed several shields on one of the shelves with the same emblem. All the shields were wooden though, there were no metal shields.

While lost in his reverie, Kin didn’t notice someone had come out from the door and was now standing at the counter. He jumped at the sound of the man making a polite cough to get his attention. He turned to find the shopkeeper, who was a tall and muscular man with blazing eyes and a pronounced jaw. He had shaved all his hair off and the combination was a very striking one. He wore a simple leather jerkin and pants, his belt had a dagger strapped to it. As intimidating as the man looked, there was kindness in his eyes.

“I see you're admiring the goods. You have good taste, sir,” the man’s voice was gentle as he spoke.

Kin could not help but return the smile with his warm grin and a wave at the goods. “You have good stock here. You get a lot of business?”

The man shrugged. “Not a whole lot yet but one day I hope for that to change."

“You have made such a nice place. I could see myself spending a lot of time here.”

“Success.” The man let loose a hearty laugh. “I’m glad to hear that. My name is Jakob, the owner of the shop and the smith as well. Is there anything you need, brother?”

Kin took off the cloak and folded it over his arm, revealing his leathers and the sword strapped to his waist. “My name is Kin Hearthstone. A pleasure to meet you, Jakob. I wanted to stop in and thank you for the chain shirt. I also meet the smith that made such beauty, as a matter of professionalism.”

Jakob’s expression grew brighter. “Heath’s son? Well, well, you look nothing like your old man but the pleasure is all mine.” He offered his hand and Kim didn’t hesitate to clasp his wrist in the standard fashion. “We have a few pieces of yours on sale and your father gave you high praise. I’m very pleased you liked the shirt, my friend,” as he spoke, he gestured to a shelf on the west wall of the store.

Kin approached the shelf and took down a short sword. Sure enough, the hilt was one of Nami’s makes and the blade was one of his. Both bore the logo of the Hearthstone Smithy, a fireplace with an open flame. There was a slight imperfection in the blade. It wouldn't affect performance, but still irked Kin. He put it back and then returned to the counter. “I like this place more and more. I hope you will continue to support our smithy in the future, Jakob.”

Jakob's voice was grave as he agreed, “Of course. When it comes to metal, armor is my only real talent. I was very pleased when I moved into this place, Alastor and your father approached me. I knew this setup was only going to work if I had the support of the locals. Wish I could get the goods from the Rootford blacksmith too, but…” He trailed off and Kin grimaced out of sympathy.

“Oh yeah, that family has been close with the owners of the general store for generations, so that would be tough.”

“I can understand that. Why then, is the man unmarried and childless if the tradition is so important?”

Kin winced, he had hoped this conversation would not go this way. “Well, that’s not my story to tell exactly, but if you are going to live here I suppose it will come out anyway. You didn’t hear this from me if anyone asks, got it?”

Jakob covered his heart with his hand. “I swear on my mother’s family, your secret is safe with me.”

Satisfied, Kin continued, “He did have a family once. There was a tornado that raced through this area about five years ago. His wife and his two daughters were out picking berries that day when it touched down not far from them.”

Jakob’s face fell into a grimace of horror. “That’s horrible. Does this area get tornadoes often?”

Kin shook his head. “Not at all. They tend to appear further north in the forests. Which makes this even more of a freak occurrence. He came to live with us for a while after it happened. He still doesn’t like to talk about it though.”

“I can understand. But it makes me feel better about the community I moved to. This place seems so much more united than Crater City.”

Kin felt a rush of excitement at the man’s words. “Oh, you're from the capital? Can you tell me about it? My partner and I are actually on our way there to see it for ourselves now.”

The shop owner’s face returned to a pleased expression as the topic changed to his home. “Sure, but I would like something in return. I’ve heard you’re good with a sword. Mind if we spar for a bit?”

Kin blinked at the invitation but found no reason to decline. They stepped out into the main floor and Jakob handed him a wooden training sword. They took their poses and started dueling.

Kin started off the fight with a two-handed strike at the man’s leg. He sidestepped the blow and countered with one of his own. The shop owner was fast, but he had nothing on Gami so he was able to move his body out of the way at the last possible moment.

“You're good, Kin. Let’s see how long you can last.”

The youth grimaced as the battle continued. Neither of them was able to get an advantage of their other and so it went back and forth for some time. Jakob finally held up a hand to stop their battle.

“Alright, that’s enough sparring for now. Care to step into the back and have a drink with me?”

Kin was all too eager to agree and followed the man into the backroom. It was cozy with more of the woven rugs on the floor. Jakob motioned Kin to a large table dominating the room and tossed him a cloth to wipe away the sweat. Crafted from logs lashed together with care and then sanded. Kin slid down onto a stool with a grateful sigh. His host headed over to the fireplace and poured out two steaming mugs of hot liquid. When Kin held his mug, he noticed it was apple cider.

“Thanks.” He took a sip of the heated drink, the taste made him long for home.

“You’re welcome. This was actually from a keg your father sent me recently. It’s even better with some extra spices added. Something cold would have been better but I prefer a hot drink after a fight.”

“Oh? May I try?” Kin asked. Jakob took out a small bottle of spices and shook some into the mug. Mixing it in, Kin took another gulp. “Wow, this does expand the taste. Wonder why we never tried this at home.”

“Exactly. We don’t have cider often in Crater City, our drink of choice is mead.”

“Well, I’ve had mead before but it’s been a few years. There is a chance I’ll like it better now,” Kin reasoned. His first experience with mead had not left a good impression on him.

“I recommend stopping by the local inn and tavern, the Fallen Star. They have the best mead in the city and the best part is they take money, barter, or you can exchange chores for the board. The innkeeper is my cousin, so make sure you tell her I sent you and she will set you up.”

Kin felt a surge of gratitude at the offer. “While I appreciate the offer, part of this journey is to learn what life will be like as an adventurer. I’ve got to learn how to use money, and how to earn more of it too.”

The older man scratched his chin and winked. “Well, that will be a useful skill to learn. You will get plenty of practice in Heartsville though.”

“That’s what I heard,” Kin looked at the man in the eye. “Still, never can get too much practice.”

“Oh, yeah. I understand that sentiment. Anyways, you wanted to know about Crater City?”

“Yes. What’s the city like?” Kin asked, his lips curling in anticipation.

“Well… it’s two cities. The Upper City and the Lower City. I take it you know its origins?” Jakob gave Kin an expectant look.

Kin nodded. “Aye, they built the city when a star fell from the sky and landed near the southern mountains, right?”

“Correct. It was a lake for a long time and the Upper City was the only one, but it drained away and left the crater empty. Our ancestors had to explore the area and found odd ore they were not used to. They decided to build in the crater as well and transformed the capital of the Dale to as it is today.”

“I kind of wish I could have seen the lake,” Kin admitted as he finished his cider, “it sounds lovely.”

“Aye, I have seen some paintings of it from traveling Blue Phoenix artists made. The Lower City is occupied by artisans and other businesses. The homes are all in the Upper City, you use stairs cut into the earth and laid out with stone to climb up or down.”

Kin crossed his arms at the thought. “Sounds dangerous in the winter or a bad storm.”

Jakob let out a hearty chuckle. “Aye, it is. But we all helped lay down sawdust on the steps before the winter to help keep the path from freezing over. We only need to worry about it during freezing rain. The city is not as communal but everyone does help pitch in with the important things. Be aware, some of the older families are a little more set in their ways. Though need not tell you that, after all. You are a Hearthstone.” Kin steeped his fingers and pressed his forehead to them as he took a moment to marshal his thoughts.

“I did need to know that. My father chose to estrange his parents, same with my partner's father. We have never met our grandparents. Not looking forward to that meeting, if I'm being honest.”

“Because of your partner being a Forgewood, right?” Jakob cocked an eyebrow. “It shocked me when I found out Heath and Alastor were the runaway boys from those feuding families. I wish I could tell you it’s gonna be alright… But your families have a long history of disliking each other. Your family head offered me the hand of their second granddaughter, Arnbjorg, as my wife. I declined because I didn’t want to get caught in the feud,” Jakob rubbed his temples as if clearing out bad memories. “No offense to you or your father, but I didn’t want to take a side in that argument. I could tell Arnbjorg was not agreeable to the idea of the match either. I did try to not offer insult but I’m sure your grandmother took offense anyway. That was part of the reason I left and came here, where I’m not considered a threat or easy target.”

Heat prick at the corner of his eyes at the man’s words. Why did his family have to be so horrible? The more he learned about his blood kin, the more he did not want anything to do with them. He wanted to grab Nami and go home, back to their private clearing together, as far from this dumb feud as possible. He forced himself to dispel these thoughts. He had made a promise to his love, and he would keep it.

“I am sorry, Jakob,” Kin said, “There is no excuse for the way my kin acted towards you. It sounds like a reasonable way to handle things.”

“I appreciate you saying that, your father said the same,” Jakob refilled their mugs again. “This is not either of your faults, so no need to apologize. When you do arrive, I do recommend speaking to your aunt, Astrid, first. She tried to help soothe the anger of your grandmother at my refusal, so she might be a more reasonable person.”

“Thank you.” Kin felt like a bit of the weight lifted from his heart and his expression lightened. “I will do that, my friend.”

“Make sure that you do. Now, have you ever used a shield before?” Jakob changed topics. “I have seen you use the sword in one or both hands, so you prefer to change up your grip. You could use a shield for some extra defense when needed.”

Kin looked embarrassed as he responded. “I’ve never used a shield before if I’m being honest. I tried out a few passes holding one Nami made but my teacher didn’t use one either.”

Jakob walked back into the main room and he followed. He took down a shield with the emblem of the white dove, the Lady, and passed it to him. “Here, let me correct that. You will not master the art in one day but I can show you the basics so you can get started at least. I’d like for you to survive to come back to the shop again, after all.” The shaven man tried to give a serious look but then burst into laughter, which Kin joined in on.

“Alright, alright. In that case, I promise that, if I become an adventurer, I will spend the first coin I earn here as thanks for the lesson.”

“Oh? That is what I like to hear,” the older man was triumphant before turning grave once more. “But this could save your life, so let’s get serious.”

Kin had thought Jakob was a good swordsman before, but that was nothing compared to him with a shield and sword. He tried to copy the moves as best he could, but Jakob disarmed him so many times during the next hour. He was not sure if everything had sunk in. He was able to block and push back one blow in three.

“Alright, that’s enough for now,” Jakob finally called, “You got the point. Keep practicing those basics, and on your way back from Crater City, we can do a refresher.”

“Thanks, Jakob.” Kin reached out and the two of them clasped wrists. As they let go, the door of the shop burst open. Kin whirled and found two men standing in the doorway, wrapped in cloaks. The door was hanging on one hinge, broken from the violent kick that opened it.

“Excuse me,” Jakob’s voice dripped with outrage, “there was a perfect handle on that door.”

The two men stepped in, rain pooling on the floor from their cloaks. They pushed back their hoods to reveal long and unkempt hair, their faces shaggy with beards. Both had brown eyes and unlike Kin’s own; they were not the glowing eyes he always saw. Both of them pulled out curved swords, ones that he had learned were scimitars. Both swords were in terrible shape, having suffered some abuse. Kin felt his heartbreak for the two weapons but cast those thoughts aside. These men were not here for repairs.

“Nice place you got here,” The man on the left said. He was missing a front tooth and his hair was black. His nose looked like someone had broken it with a hammer. “We will be commandeering your weapons, armor, and other goods. You’ll load them into our wagon waiting on the outskirts, or we will slit both of your throats.”

His fear confirmed, Kin felt as if cold rainwater ran down his body. He had never faced men threatening to kill him before and he could feel the ice leaking into his very blood. Then, a hand grabbed his arm, grounding him. He looked over and saw the serious look Jakob was giving him. Kin felt the ice melt and clarity return. There was no judgment or disappointment in Jakob’s eyes at the momentary freeze. He only saw support and kindness. Kin gulped down his fear and cleared his mind.

“Yeah?” Kin asked with a scowl, drawing the sword from his hip. “With those blades?” The sight of the poor condition of the blades gave him confidence.

Jakob must have picked up on Kin’s line of thought as he grabbed an ax from behind the counter, taking up his shield again. “Aye, what have you boys been doing with those blades? Cutting rocks?”

The man on the right had a scar over one eye, and his hair was blonde. He looked a lot less beat up than his partner, but his cheeks were gaunt. “Of course with these blades. We have killed plenty of people with them. We work for the Bandit King Bjorg, and denying him will result in us destroying this tiny village.”

“I have a better idea,” Jakob declared as he stepped even with Kin, “we take you hostage and turn you over to the Doves.”

The men blanched, but they steeled their nerves with snarls and charged at Kin and Jakob. Kin moved to the man on the left, leaving his new friend to deal with the one on the right. He gripped his sword in his right hand and held it loose and mid-height, while his foe raised the blade high. The man jumped forward at Kin but to his eyes, he was moving so slow it was almost comical. Kin brought his blade around and blocked the incoming slash with a practiced twist of his wrist.

The recoil of the full-powered swing caused the bandit’s guard to open. Kin aimed his sword at Toothless’ torso, trying to make the man block. The bandit obliged and the two swords clashed again. Kin snapped his free hand onto the hilt and pushed as hard as he could on his foe’s weapon. There was a terrible cracking sound. The brigand looked down in disbelief at the remains of the sword in his hands, the end stabbing into the rug below. There was another snap to his right but Kin did not look over that way yet where Scar had been fighting Jakob. Toothless might still be a threat.

“Wh… what the darkness is this?” The men both wailed as they stepped back and towards the door. Kin kept advancing, his lips twisted into a confident smirk.

“We told you, those blades were in terrible shape. You should have listened.” The bandits dropped their broken swords and turned, rushing out into the rain. Kin began to run after them, the minor victory elating him but felt Jakob grab his shoulder.

“Wait. We need to go warn Ingrid Apple-Beer and alert the men in town that know how to fight. There could be more of them at this cart and we could be rushing into an ambush.”

Kin, who felt like his blood was on fire, paused at these words of wisdom. “I… you’re right, sorry Jakob. Let’s go and alert the town first, that’s the most important thing right now.”

Kin grabbed his cloak and donned it. When ready, he saw Jakob had also put on a cloak and both of them headed off into the rain.

***

They had searched for hours for the bandits. Kin asked Nami to wait at the house and keep Ingrid and her siblings safe in case the bandits tried to attack there. She hadn’t liked it but she agreed. They had followed the trail of the bandits to where a wagon had been waiting but there was no further trace of them. A strange dark stone was sitting on the ground near where the wagon sat. They had almost missed it until Jakob had tripped over it. Kin rushed over to check on the fallen man, to find the stone he had tripped on.

“What in the shadows did I trip on?” Jakob asked as he rubbed his leg.

The offending stone shattered to pieces by the impact. As the youth watched, it began to lose its color and soon was completely white.

“Some weird stone. You think the bandits left it here?”

“Must have, though I can’t think why they would bother.”

They returned to the others with as much of the crystal as they could gather. Geir Applebeer called the hunt off and invited everyone back to the Applebeer home. Nami had grabbed Kin in a big hug when they came back and took him off to fuss over his soaking clothes. Jakob gave him a wink that he was not sure the meaning of, but he decided to ignore it as Nami dried his hair with a towel.

“So, no sign at all?” She asked as she removed the towel.

“Well, we can see they got onto the road, but we cannot hope to keep up with a cart. If they ride fast, they will be in Heartsville in three days. We did find an odd crystal they left behind but it got broken during the search.”

Nami pursed her lips. “Well, while I wish I’d gone with you, I would not have been able to get a shot off in this rain, even if I had my bow with me. Also… only you could get into a fight at a weapon store,” she smacked Kin on the head; a gentle tap, but he got the point. “But I’m proud of you, that was your first real fight and you not only came out unscathed but broke their weapon as well.”

Kin tried to pull Nami in closer, but she resisted her wet partner's cuddles, pushing him back. Kin pouted in defeat and settled for having her close.

“Yeah, though I likely would have knocked him out if the fight had continued. I wish we had gotten some more information on this Bjorg guy. The fact he calls himself something as gaudy as ‘Bandit King’ is worrying for sure.”

Nami’s expression softened at the obvious stress in his voice. “Well, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. I have a feeling this will not be the last we hear about him.”

Kin sighed as he agreed, “You’re right. We will need to be careful on the road to Heartsville. Since there aren’t inns every day along the way, we will need to take turns standing watch.”

“Aww.” Nami pouted again. Kin nudged her knee with his own and gave her a knowing wink.

“Until we get to town, anyways. We won’t have to worry about it at the inn. Plus, we can make up for the lost time.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Nami leaned in and kissed his cheek.

Their little bubble broke as footsteps came over and Kin jumped away from Nami even as she did the same from him.

“Sorry to interrupt, love birds.” Ingrid smirked at the couple, “but I have a favor to ask of you both since you're leaving in the morning. Well, I was going to ask you about this anyways Nami, before the crisis started.”

Nami rose and took the other girl’s hands. It shocked him to see her make a friendly gesture to another girl. Seeing them together though, Kin realized her making a new friend was quite pleasant.

“Of course, Ingrid. It would be our pleasure to help you.”

Ingrid clasped Nami’s hands in return. “Thank you, Nami. I have family living in Shore Village. You need to take the turn in the road two days from here and head north for a day. My Aunt Tove and her family are there and with the bandits coming into town today, I’m worried about them. I know it’s a little out of the way, but I will prepare a letter for you to give to Tove, as an introduction. She will see to your needs while you're in the village. Also, I will have packs with rations waiting for you at the inn in the morning, as thanks for your help today.”

Kin stood from the seat he was on and stood beside Nami. “Thank you, Ingrid, we appreciate that. Be on your guard here, the bandits did threaten to wipe the town off the map.”

Jakob scoffed. “Yeah, that won’t happen. I sent a runner to Orchidville, the Dove there should be on her way here by morning. We will be fine.”

Kin exchanged a knowing glance with Nami. He pitied any bandit that dared to think they could go toe to toe with Gami. Kin turned as something caught his eye. He smiled as he noticed both Ingrid and Jakob trying to sneak peeks at each other all casual-like. Kin was not an expert in the ways of the heart, but he saw Nami cooed in silence as she also took note. If Nami approved, he liked their chances.

The couple finally made their excuses and returned to the inn, exhausted. Marcia took one look at them, canceled their dinner plans, and sent the couple to their room so they could rest. Nami made Kin take a hot soak in the big iron tub before she would allow him into the bed beside her. They cuddled in, but after the excitement of the day, both were soon sleeping.