After the pub, we walked towards the place the bartender was referring to. It didn't take long for the small paper in my pocket to vibrate. The further I walked, the harder the vibrations.
And as soon as we arrived in front of a house, the vibration peaked. So, I knocked on the door of the house.
No answer. I repeated the knock. "Hello?"
"Wait a minute!" A woman's voice came from inside the house.
Ayre and I had to wait for a few minutes until the householder opened the door.
"Can I help you?" The woman with thick glasses and messy light green hair yawned.
I showed Kevin the paper, and the woman scratched her hair but said nothing.
"So, how about it, lady?" I asked, confused by her gesture.
"Name's Faye. Please don't use any honorifics. Just Faye." She glanced around for a moment. "Come in."
"Thanks." I gave a smile and followed the woman into the house. The first thing I felt was dust and cobwebs everywhere.
She moved her hands, like drawing a number eight in the air. The dust and cobwebs were instantly gone. "Sorry, I haven't had a customer for a long time, so I'm lazy to clean this place."
You just have to move your hand, lady.
"So..." Faye pointed to two chairs, then sat down on another. "Who do you want to raise from the dead? I have to warn you first. The chances of that person's consciousness being intact were very slim. And I want to be paid upfront."
A necromancer like Emily, huh?
"Sorry, but we didn't come for that." I sat down and smiled again.
Faye raised an eyebrow and stuffed a large cigar into her mouth. "What business did you come here for, then?"
Ayre took a paper roll from her robes, then showed it to Faye. The necromancer froze, and before long, the cigar in her mouth fell.
"Holy shit." She brought her face closer to the magic circle on the paper. With trembling hands, she adjusted her glasses. "W-what are you going to do with this…. I've never seen runes with this combination…. What the…."
As far as I know, runes in magic are formulas for executing something. I don't really understand the details, but it looks like the runes that Zhoal uses are pretty extraordinary.
"This is for time travel," Ayre explained. "First, we need something that can attract great energy."
"Something important from high-creatures, whatever their alignment, evil or good." Faye was still observing the runes. "Then that energy is converted into magic energy, and channeled using an object…. Mythril is the best conductor of magical energy."
I exchanged glances with Ayre. Looks like we've met the right person again.
"And lastly, we must get the extract of the giganpoppy plant," Ayre added.
"Giganpoppy? The freaking plant that can bend reality?" Faye pulled her face away from the paper, then closed her eyes and shook her head. "I know this thing is impressive, but what is your reason for showing it to me? You're not going to use this magic, are you?"
I just gave a meaningful smile, and Faye widened her eyes.
"No." She shook her head again. "This shit is basically impossible."
"How about we say we're going to do it no matter what?" I leaned slightly towards the woman. "With or without you."
"We just need your help in applying this magic." Ayre chimed in. "Regarding the materials to be used, let that be our business."
Faye was very interested in this. I know it. Just need the right words to persuade her.
"Maybe while waiting for your decision, we'll find another sorcerer." I got up from the chair. "Goodbye."
Faye hastily stood up as well. "No, no! I will help you!"
"Thanks." I put on a smile again. "It would be best if you had clues about the locations of the materials we need. Maybe Mythril first?"
Faye took a deep breath. "You know, don't you? That Mythril is extremely rare. Even if you find it in a mine, you won't necessarily find others around that place…. If I remember correctly, Darren discussed that with me once."
Everything lined up perfectly. Faye just blurted out the name of someone who could help us again. I was afraid that we would find ourselves in big trouble after this.
"Who's Darren?" I asked.
"The only weapon and armor blacksmith in this city." Faye shrugged. "Darren Morgan. You can find his shop in the south. He once boasted about forging Mythril for a rich merchant."
Morgan? Why did I hear that familiar surname in this era? Could this be just a coincidence?
"Thanks for the information." I shook Faye's hand. "I'm going to the shop. We happen to have been there before."
***
We got to the blacksmith in the afternoon. Darren limped, then sat down in a chair behind the counter.
"Yeah, I once made something out of Mythril for a rich man." He looked up at the ceiling. "Instead of using the metal as a weapon, he asked me to make that thing into a fucking flower."
I could hear the disgust in his voice. "Is that something wrong?"
"Of course." He massaged the point between his eyebrows. "And he asked me not to activate the magical potential in that thing. Basically, that shit flower is just a useless decoration."
Why do I have a bad feeling about this? "How about we take that thing back from him, then you shape it again according to your wishes?"
Darren shook his head. "I don't know your goals, and I don't care. If you want to take that thing, go ahead. However, I will not help you. I don't want to get into trouble."
"But, we will…."
"Even if I wanted to help you, I wouldn't be able to." A look of frustration began to appear on Darren's face. "My illness prevents me from holding the hammer properly, let alone doing the smithing."
She stood using her wooden cane, walking over to the painting of a person on the wall. The face in the picture is very similar to Darren's, but with different hair.
"I don't mean to be arrogant, but I'm one of the few who can forge Mythril. Anyone can learn the art, but forging that rare metal requires gentleness, precision, and other things people don't always have." The blacksmith continued his story. "I acquired the expertise from my late father, but my opportunity to do so has run out. It's because of this evil disease that I suffer from."
"How about you teach me about it, sir?" Ayre suggested.
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