Varin chuckled with a nod. “Do you want me to go grab it all from my room?”

  Jake was about to nod when Alma came back into the room with a pair of plates. Seeing Varin half out of his chair she gave the gaunt crafter a pointed look and he sank back down sheepishly.

  “That’s better, here, eat this. Both of you need to eat more,” Alma said, sliding a plate in front of each of them before pouring out the rest of the jug into their cups and taking it with her.

  Varin’s question was left unanswered as they both eagerly tucked into the food Alma had brought them. Aspen’s cooking was good, but the thick steak sandwich that Alma had made was on another level.

  From how delicious and energising it was, Jake was fairly sure it was made from the fiery lizards in the Dungeon. They wouldn’t be harvesting much during their delve, but perhaps once Jake had bound the Dungeon, they could focus on harvesting.

  Their plans for what to do next were still quite vague, but Jake knew that Aspen had used up a lot of his stored ingredients. An opportunity to replenish those stores and secure a good source of delicious steaks would be worth a delve or two.

  Jake’s mind drifted off into a daydream about the sort of foods they’d be able to harvest from higher tier Dungeons. There was so much to try, and it all tasted so good.

  Abruptly, he realised that he’d finished the thick sandwich Alma had made him, and Varin was on the last few bites of his own.

  The innkeeper had even brought them more juice, which Jake eagerly poured out and sipped at while Varin finished his meal.

  “So,” Jake said, leaning forward with a wide smile. “What was it you said about equipment?”

  -**-

  “Beautiful,” Jake said softly, turning the blade over in his hands.

  Varin had taken Jake up to his room, or more precisely, his second room that was being used for storage. Several large bags of supplies were clumped off to one side, and a selection of impressive items were laid out across the bed.

  The sword in Jake’s hands was a medium-length blade with a heavy guard and a handle just large enough for it to be used with two hands for heavy blows. It wasn’t his normal style, but he liked how viciously it cut through the air, and it being slightly shorter than his normal sword was no issue.

  These days, Jake had a weapon for every range, and this one would fit nicely between his daggers and his spear.

  “What are these patterns down the side?” Jake asked, running a finger along the length of the blade, which almost shimmered in the light. Long, tapering designs ran down the length, their pointed ends looking almost familiar in some way.

  “Those are the Raptor feathers that I was able to use to infuse the blade,” Varin said proudly. “This is a blade I’m proud of. The infusion will enhance your attacks more the faster the blade moves, as well as the usual increase to speed and durability.”

  “Fantastic, I love it,” Jake said, sliding the sword back into its sheath with only a little regret. “What’s next?”

  “This is also for you,” Varin said, passing Jake a wand that looked remarkably similar to his own. “It is a thorn wand, as you have now, but I was able to give it an alternative attack. When you channel your Wyrd into it, you can choose between a single piercing thorn, or a cluster of smaller ones.”

  Jake grinned broadly as he examined the wand, eventually placing it next to the sword. “Very nice indeed. I shall put it to good use.”

  “These are next, I made them in the style of Nepthy’s current weapons. They are the same as the one I made for you, but the infusion didn’t take as well. They are still infused weapons, but they lack some of the strength of yours.”

  “A shame,” Jake said, examining the two blades and noticing that they lacked as clear a feathered design on their sides.

  “Indeed, if I’d had more time, I could have done better. I was rushing to be done in time, however, and wasn’t able to maintain the same level of quality.”

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  “Why were you rushing?”

  “I knew that if I wanted any new equipment to be of use, it needed to be done quickly. Especially after the news of what happened to Felix.”

  “I see,” Jake said, his enthusiasm fading as he placed the two blades down onto the bed. Taking a breath, Jake did his best to shake it off and turned back to Varin with a somewhat forced smile. “So, what’s next?”

  “I made this for Alan,” Varin said, unwrapping an unstrung shortbow. “It has been made from the arm of a Woadite, and the infusion will grant his arrows much greater speed and impact.”

  “Excellent, that will definitely be of use,” Jake said, admiring the bow. “How did you manage to get some Woadite remains?”

  “I was able to get a large quantity of Rootling fragments and shaped them into dozens of arrows. In fact, I have a dozen here for Alan. I then traded those arrows for more impressive harvests. Fortunately, there aren’t many crafters active at the moment, so the demand was high enough that I got some good deals.”

  “You’ve done well, Varin, thank you,” Jake said, clapping the other man on the shoulder. “All of this will make the Dungeon much more manageable.”

  “Are you going to attempt it soon?”

  “Tomorrow, I think. I want to do a few other things first. Before I go take care of that, is there anything else I should see?”

  “I’m afraid I focused on the three of you,” Varin said, looking somewhat guilty. “There wasn’t time for everyone. Even this took a lot of work. If you’d left a few days earlier, then Alan would have received nothing.”

  “Well, thank you for what you’ve managed,” Jake said, feeling some of his cheer return as he looked over the assembled equipment. “I’ll pick this up on the way back to the others. I’m afraid I don’t have anything for you other than Wyrdgeld at the moment.”

  Jake took out what spare Wyrdgeld he had and passed it over to the crafter. They both knew it was far less than what the weapons were truly worth, but Jake refused to not give Varin something for his efforts.

  All being well, they’d return from their delve with some exciting materials that he could pass over. That would at least make him feel less like he was taking advantage of Varin.

  Varin took the Wyrdgeld with murmured thanks and promised to have everything ready for Jake to carry back with him when he returned.

  Thanking Varin again, Jake left him to his work and slipped out of the inn, being careful to move carefully and stealthily as he worked his way through the town.

  It was time for his second confrontation of the evening.

  -**-

  “Jake Khesh, be welcome in my domain,” Ivaldi said, stepping out from the darkness as Jake entered the store. “I see you are back in Casthorpe.”

  “Yes, I am,” Jake said shortly, not quite sure what to say.

  Suspicion, fear and anger had brought him here, but now that he faced down the huge shopkeeper, he wasn’t sure what to say.

  “Please, be seated as my guest,” Ivaldi said, reaching off out of Jake’s view to retrieve a stool for Jake and a bottle with two cups.

  Nodding, Jake walked over and joined Ivaldi, taking the cup that was passed to him once it was filled. Sipping the contents, Jake’s eyes went wide as he realised it was some sort of sweet and slightly tart wine.

  Very different to the usual golden nectar that Ivaldi served, but stronger and more relaxing.

  “You seem ill at ease,” Ivaldi said, his dark, fathomless gaze resting calmly on Jake.

  “Yeah, I am,” Jake said, sipping at his wine again before putting the cup down. “I want to know about the deal that Felix made.”

  “I see,” Ivaldi said, sipping his own drink before placing it down. “Why?”

  “Because it got him killed,” Jake said hotly, anger surging through his veins. Biting his tongue before he could say more, Jake wrestled down his anger. He knew losing his temper with Ivaldi was stupid, dangerous even.

  If he wanted answers, he needed to be calm.

  “We both know that isn’t true,” Ivaldi said, his deep voice placid as he stared into Jake’s eyes. “The Fatesworne killed Felix.”

  “The Fatesworne killed him because he was forced into some sort of confrontation,” Jake said through gritted teeth. “I saw enough to know that he focused entirely on the Fatesworne leader, and he knew he was going to die before that fight began.”

  “So you believe this deal forced him to fight that classer?” Ivaldi asked, waiting a beat for Jake to nod before continuing. “Then why didn’t he take Ari with him? The two of them could have fought on a far more even footing.”

  “Because Ari was with us,” Jake said, his eyes narrowing. “Are you trying to say that this is my fault, that if we’d been stronger, Ari could have helped and Felix would have lived? That’s bullshit and you know it. There’s no way we could have faced down all those higher tier classers alone.”

  “Then is it Felix’s fault for using his Abilities in a previous fight?” Ivaldi asked in a voice of deadly calm. “If he hadn’t, then he would have been far more likely to survive that final fight.”

  “But he needed to use them to drive off the Corrupters,” Jake said, his anger fading to be replaced with confusion and frustration. “You’re not making sense!”

  “Am I not?”

  “No! He acted as he had to in each situation. How could he have known what was coming?”

  “Yet you think that this deal was responsible?”

  “Whoever he made it with was more than just a classer, we both know that,” Jake said firmly. “I don’t know if it was with you, or if you simply facilitated the deal. Whoever it was, they put him in that situation.”

  “Did they, or did Felix simply act as he had to in that situation?”

  “Don’t twist my words!” Jake shot up from his stool, his anger roaring back as he glared at Ivaldi.

  “Sit. Down.” Ivaldi’s expression stayed as calm as ever, but Jake saw a flicker of anger in the big man’s eyes. “I understand that you are grieving and angry, but you will behave with decorum while you are my guest. Do you understand?”

  A brief burst of petulance made Jake want to push things further, but instead he took a firm hold of his emotions and did as he was told.

  “Thank you,” Ivaldi said as he reached out to pour them both another drink. “Now, shall we continue?”