Ch 16. Branching out

It was another cold morning, perhaps colder due to the fact we were sleeping on the floor. The fire had gone out during night, leaving the room chilly, but not cold enough to freeze water, as was apparent from the still-wet ground outside. 

My left-hand didn't hurt anymore, despite the wounds only being a day old the broken skin was already starting to scab, although the hand itself was bruising terribly. I decided to rub a few drops of potion onto it to help somewhat with the healing, which caused a pleasant tingling sensation over the wounds but no other noticeable effects.  Rewrapping my hand once that was done. 

I had plans this week, thanks part of my arrangement with Cal. I would be visiting some craftsmen to study under for a brief time. Supposedly he had introduced me as an acquaintance struggling to choose a career path. Allowing me to observe the daily life of each to see if I could find some spark of inspiration. Normally apprenticeships weren't treated so casually, and doing something like what I intended was considered somewhat rude, and only through Cal's influence as the lord's son was such a thing possible. 

First off was the tailor. Ameliah, a middle-aged blonde unmarried woman in her fourties with large breasts and a kind demeanor. She was a very unassuming woman, but I knew from speaking with Cal that he had bedded her several times. I didn't get that impression from her, but maybe that's because he was the lord's son and I was a nobody for all she knew. To some women, social status was the best aphrodisiac.

The shop was full of spindles, wool and linen cloth of various colors wrapped around them, along with large sheets of cloth. There were other employees, mostly women, but some elderly looking men as well. This was Ameliah's shop, but given that it was the only tailoring shop in the city, she alone could never be enough to supply the textiles for a city of 50,000 souls like Tromwell. Everyone seemed busy, some were twining raw fibers into string, while others were at work sewing cloth into clothes. 

Ameliah had me observe their activity for a while, before having another woman take over to show me how to make stitches on a practice cloth. It took me a while to understand what she was doing, but once I knew what to do my hands moved flawlessly with superhuman dexterity like I had been doing it for years. 

I kept checking the mirrors situated in the shop to see if I had acquired a new class, somewhat disappointed that I hadn't gotten it yet. It wasn't until they let me work on actual clothes, repairing tears with the stitch she had just taught me, that I was able to acquire [Tailor]. 

The associating skill looked to be [Tailoring], which by the name seemed to just be a passive enhancement ability related to crafting skill. I wasn't disappointed though, my main purpose was just to create fodder classes that I could level for skill points. Even if the skills generated were junk it didn't matter much. I finished up the rest of the day at the shop, just putting on airs, but no where near as interested as I had been earlier. 

Next up on my list was blacksmithing. I had my doubts at first but when I showed up the next day at Vel's smithy, he showed me everything I needed to know and didn't say a word of complaint. It seemed status really did make a world of difference, as I marveled at how effective name dropping had been. 

I slaved away at the furnace for hours, smelting ingots down into liquid metal. Helping to pour into casts. Watching the men hammer away at molten iron, I tried to learn what they did as diligently as I could manage. In part because the sooner I learned, the sooner I would be able to leave. It might be a rotten way of thinking, but it was the most efficient one. I had no interest in their profession, but this experience would serve to make me more powerful. Perhaps sensing my rotten attiude, Vel gave me the most grueling tasks available and worked me to the bone. Had this not been exactly what I wanted, I would have resented him for this. Being around hardened men I was too self-conscious to bring out my mirror while working, but at the end of the day I was pleased to see the [Blacksmith] class and [Blacksmithing] skill showing up in my status list.

I had many other similar days during my week off, spending time at the tannery learning to cure hides and sew leather got me the [Leatherworker] and [Leatherworking] traits, working the fields near my home earned me [Farmer] and [Farming], learning clay-making from the local pottery got me [Potter] and [Sculpting], and time in the kitchens of Cal's father's manor got me [Cook] and [Cooking]. 

By the end my hand had completely healed, looking as pristine as it had ever been before. This whole experience had been a great lesson to me. Had I not blocked those rocks with my hand, I could have lost an eye or worse. My vitality helped prevent a worst case scenario by making my bones more resilient to breaking, but even with that the damage still put me out of commission for a week. I needed more protection out there, and for that I would need to visit Vel's again. 

I was somewhat hesitant, given Vel's increasing suspicion and dislike of me. It was only natural I suppose, given that I had basically disrespected his profession by trying it out for one day before leaving. Blacksmithing apprenticeships were usually treated as quite valuable here, and the job payed quite well compared to most. It was usually a selective process, but I had skipped that entirely with Cal's influence and proceeded to leave just as easily as I came into it. 

And as I thought, Vel was glowering at me while I browsed his goods. Bringing him my selection of goods, a small metal round-shield, and a helm, I tried to inquire how much it would be. 

"Don't wanna be a blacksmith, e' boy? Not good enough for you?" He said while towering over me, intimidatingly. 

It seems like he was taking it harder than expected. I thought to myself while grimacing. 

"Hello, Vel. Lovely weather isn't it? Just looking for these two today." I said while gesturing to the items in my hand. 

Vel leaned down to my height, even though I wasn't particularly short the man was basically a giant. 

"I don't like that little stunt you pulled earlier. This here's a proper profession, and I know when I'm being disrespected."

The blood drained from my face somewhat. The man actually thought I was mocking him. This was even worse than people thinking I was crazy. 

"Yer friend might be the lord's family, but you ain't. If you think we're goin' ta bow and scrape to yer every whim you got another thing coming." He said, quite angrily. 

"T-that's... I'm sorry Vel. There's been something of a misunderstanding here. I didn't mean any disrespect earlier. " Somewhat flustered by the unexpectedly brunt confrontation. "I just want to purchase these..."

He seemed suspicious of me, but still took my money. Charging me five silver for the two, which seemed a bit overly expensive but I didn't think haggling was much of an option right now. I just wanted to get out of there for the time being. 

It seems like some of the craftsmen weren't too pleased with me trying out and rejecting every profession I went to, a good thing to keep in mind for next time. I thought to myself wryly, although I didn't entirely regret it given what I had gained.