Bones supposed the people in these parts just had that kind of "carefree" attitude. He shrugged and turned to the shelves, mounting a wide wall and holding numerous vials and jars filled with substances designed for all sorts of purposes. He found a jar labeled "Lightweight Face Ointment" and picked it up for a closer look. On the lid he read "An amazing water resistant temporary face concealing protective ointment for light to brown skin tones", and on the bottom "For external use only" and was left confused and in need of an answer. He turned to the kid and coughed, drawing his attention.

"Sam, right? I may need your assistance here."

"Sure pops, what's up?"

[...]

Ignoring what Sam called him, he asked to explain the description of a few different concealment ointments and picked the one he deemed most suitable to him. He then pointed toward a giant bowl sitting atop a shop counter, filled with circular objects very much resembling human eyes.

"Those are glass eyes." Sam replied, but sensed he needed more of an explanation so he quickly added that they are false eyes made of glass mostly used by those missing an eye.

"Ah, I see…" Bones said and paused, but Sam didn't bat an eye. "Kids these days don't appreciate humor. What do you mean mostly used by those missing an eye?"

"Well some uh, kids use it to play marbles."

Bones glanced at the bowl, then back at the kid, and back at the glass eyes and asked pointing, "You use these eyes to play?"

Sam started to panic but Bones reassured him he didn't care what he did with his friends, just to point out the unused ones and pack two sets for him. While Sam happily obliged and started packing three jars of concealment ointment and two sets of glass eyes, Bones continued browsing the shop and found interest in a small section on the shelf on the opposite wall filled with books. Few were fiction novels, one was a romance, an odd cookbook and the rest were manuals, giving practical instructions on how to do or use something.

Bones listed through a few manuals, but found them to be far too advanced for him. One stood out among them, however.

"Now what's this? Locksmithing for dummies?" Bones read the title of the book in his hands with surprise. While he didn't particularly plan to delve further into making keys and picking locks, he had to admit, now that he was given an opportunity to learn more, he was intrigued.

Bones picked the book, along with the romantic novel and ignored the rest. After adding books to the list of things he intended to buy, Bones couldn't help but turn to the kid and ask if this was the best shop in the area. Sam eyeballed him for a few seconds and asked if he had premium access to the Thief's Guild assets. Bones didn't know what premium access entailed so he decided not to say anything and instead show the kid the plaque.

"That's a no to the premium access." Sam said after taking a look at the plaque and adding, "And yes, this is the best shop there is."

"I see, can you add these two books and pack everything up for me Sam?" Sam nodded and while Bones was handing him the books, he asked him if he knew a place he could learn the locksmithing profession. Sam puffed out and said as a matter-of-factly that this is the Thief's Guild district and that the plaque will provide him with what he needs as long as he knows how and who to ask for it. As vague as Sam was, Bones understood what he meant. With everything packed, he left to the front of the shop and paid for the items before leaving.

Bones continued to stroll down the main alley, stopping every now and then and looking at the items displayed in the shop windows. Occasionally, he would glance toward the side alley and observe the members of the Guild. Once he had seen enough, Bones started harassing them with questions about the guild, about the limited access he had and finally, about the locksmithing profession.

There was no way to receive instructions on picking locks directly from the members of the Guild without becoming a member himself, as Bones learned the information not as politely. He was directed to one of the smiths in the district to try his luck there. Bones found the rundown building without a sign on the outskirts of town. The variety of weapons displayed in a barely see-through and cracked window hinted at the weapon store. He entered and asked a middle-aged man behind the counter about the smith and was led outback into the workshop where another man, similar in features to the shop clerk, hammered a metal piece against the anvil and shaped it into a form of a dagger.

Bones stood quietly by side, observing the smith and let him work on the piece until an hour later, the man finally finished and took a break.

"Heard from my brother Elroy, the clerk running the shop, you came looking to practice locksmithing?" The man spoke while wiping his face with a towel. The scorching forge caused the surrounding air in the smithy to heat up and caused lungs to burn with every breath. The smith was used to it but wondered how Bones was able to endure and keep his composure under the heat. Most couldn't.

"Name's Jones and you've heard right. I'm looking for a place to practice locksmithing and I've heard you're the person to talk to."

"You heard right. Come with me. Name's Glenn by the way."

"A pleasure." Bones said and followed Glenn through the door on the opposite side of the forge, and down the stairs into the basement. The basement wasn't as spacious and served mostly as a storage for materials and unused crafted items, and conveniently had a worktable Glenn explained Bones could freely use for practice. The worktable was already packed with numerous tools, schematics and what Bones recognized were lock picks. Glenn didn't stay for long nor bother Bones, just said to find him if he needed anything else.

Bones snooped around the basement for a bit before taking a seat at the worktable and taking out the newly bought book, "Locksmithing for dummies". An hour later and after finishing the book, he returned to the forge and waited until Glenn was finished with whatever he was doing.

"Do you need anything else?" Glenn put down his tools and asked. Bones approached the man and showed him the illustrations he found in the book of a practice lock cylinder and asked him if he could practice on one of these. Glenn listed through a few pages of the book, then returned it to Bones and said he could rent out the practice tools for him from the Guild, but unlike the basement and the worktable, he was going to have to charge the renting fee. Bones was fine with paying for both the practice locks and the space to work with as long as he had everything he needed.

Glenn didn't correct Bones, just nodded and gladly said that he will charge him for the both then, leaving Bones quite speechless. The practice locks would await Bones on the worktable first thing in the morning the next day, so he left the forge and found a place to stay for the next few days.

Day turned to night and the alleys became lively with merry people drinking their troubles away, or maybe it's just the way the people are now. Bones couldn't tell, but he liked to observe this unknown world around him. He spent the majority of the night watching from the window of his room. The people drank, danced, fought and were altogether loud, everything he wasn't - not anymore.

Useless thoughts… but sometimes, I do miss sharing my thoughts and feelings with people close to me. I don't mind being unable to smell, taste, hear or see as I did before, it is what it is and I adapt quickly but the aroma of a freshly made coffee, the burning sensation of the alcohol, the smell of the morning dew - I will most likely never experience them again, not as I did before.

Darsumi wrote a lot in the booklet he gave me. Of the beautiful but treacherous beaches of The Crescent Shores, to the Magnificent Swamplands and Elven sacred forest of Talladega. And the last and most significant, according to him at least, are the unscaled jagged mountains of Dunsborough, that span the area between two dwarven kingdoms!

Goliaths, Chimeras, Lurchers and Gnolls. Basilisk, Spriggan, Ogres and Weavers. Darsumi! You really know how to keep this old man intrigued! I lived my whole life like a bird in a cage. Without ever knowing what lies beyond the boundaries of my kingdom. I plan to change that in this lifetime! Like my disciple Sailas once said, I wanna visit other places, see different cultures and develop and learn new abilities!

With a new light and new day approaching, Bones left his room and headed toward the smithy. Like a machine he practiced from dawn till sunset, every day for three days until he received the notification he was waiting for.

Would you like to learn a new profession: Keymaker

Yes/No

There wasn't much to think over about the prompt and Bones accepted immediately. Afterall, this is what he came here for. He stored his tools and packed the rented ones, then headed upstairs to inform the smith that his days of practice were over. Glenn was surprised to hear Bones learned the Keymaker profession instead of locksmithing. With fake cylinders for practice, he assumed that was what Bones was aiming for, as did most others that came to his basement for practice.

If it wasn't for the book, Bones wouldn't even think about pursuing another profession. At least not so soon, but the opportunity presented itself and he did make an Incomplete Skeleton Key. He hoped one day, he would even be able to make a complete key. For now, his goal was to be more efficient at using the incomplete one. Glenn was true to his words and charged Bones for both the renting tools and the use of the worktable. Bones took some of the tools he had on the worktable with him, with Glenn's permission, in order to keep practicing on his journey.

Over the time he spent practicing, Bones also used his access to the Thief's Guild information network to make two inquiries. One was about the bandit's stronghold and Iam Broke, and the other about Silva, who he hadn't seen in over two months. The detailed information about the bandit stronghold was beyond what Bones' access entailed but he did learn its location as it wasn't a guarded secret, and he learned the estimated whereabouts and movements of Iam.

Now, Bones interest in Iam was lost the moment he left the bandit hideout, but the significance of the content of the chest wasn't lost on him. Whatever was in that chest was still with Iam, Bones was sure of it, and he learned that Iam had left the Mapleton Kingdom and funnily enough, was heading toward the small town of Arbington in Remore Kingdom. Exactly the same town Bones was traveling to. Was it really a coincidence or was there something about the small town of Arbington?

After leaving Glenn's place, Bones headed towards a small pub, a meeting place for the Thief's Guild members and a place he previously acquired the information from. He entered the dark and quiet pub, and counted at least ten more figures with the same set of clothing he had. After the initial interest, no one paid him any mind. Bones liked the place but that wasn't what he came here for. He approached the bar and ordered an "Arbington to go". The barkeep nodded, reached with his hand beneath the bar and took out a yellow envelope he then handed to Bones. Bones took the envelope, stashed it inside his coat, very secret-like, and left the pub. It was time he continued his journey. What was expected to be a two month long journey to his destination, Bones was glad he would shorten it by roughly two weeks even with all the stops he made.

After passing the sign saying leaving Ascot, Bones took out the envelope and ripped it open. Inside were two sheets of paper containing the information about Arbington he additionally requested the Guild to find.

Now let's see. What kind of place is Arbington and why is Iam heading there…