280 7.8 Refined Steel Plates

I employed my Cruising Along technique with the two Refined Steel plates tucked safely inside my storage bag with the bow and quiver behind my back and the shawl over my head. That damn red name hadn't dissipated much even after nearly 24 hours or so. Nevertheless, I take it as part of my disguise as I deactivate my Cruising Along when I'm about to reach the outskirts of town.

I walked along with the throngs of other adventurers with their white names above their heads, oblivious that I had none above mine. I stopped near the blacksmith as he was busy buying and trading goods from an adventure, most likely to be a swordsman like me too. He had a fairly large two-handed broadsword on his left side and it looked rather good looking...the sword I mean.

"Excuse, Blacksmith...do you sell arrows? I've only left a few pieces and once I'm done with these, I got nowhere to turn to in purchasing more arrows." I asked as he had finished entertaining the adventurer that had wished to trade for a better broadsword that he has in his possession.

"Aye...a shilling for 4 dozens of blunt-tipped arrowheads. What are you looking for, laddie? We have flint tipped arrowheads, glass tipped arrowheads and metal-tipped arrowheads. 3 dozens for flint, 2 dozens for glass and 1 dozen for metal-tipped. All for 1 shilling, lad. Pick your choice..." He recommended the arrowheads based on the type and prices and a shilling means it is 1 silver piece.

"I would like the blunt ones please...a shilling for those." He smiled and went back to his workshop to get 4 dozens of blunt arrowheads for my practice later. The good thing about the blunt tip is that you could fashion any kind of arrowhead we like. At the meantime, its time to put my archery to practice.

"Here you go, laddie...a shilling for 4 dozens of these blunt arrows. For training isn't it? I heard there's a competition soon at the King's castle to determine who is the best archer in the region. Are you entering the competition laddie?" He handed me the 4 dozens of blunt tip arrows and I quickly inserted them in the quiver. I paid him a silver and I answered his questions.

"Aye... it is for my training. I won't be entering any competition as I've just picked up the skills in archery. The rabbits would be making fun at me even if I shoot 3 feet from them."

"Hahahahaha...youre funny, laddie. So what else can I do for you?" he asked while glancing at my short sword that was dangling at my waist that had just been blade washed the night before.

"Ah...this. I wanted to ask your personal evaluation on these fine pieces of high-quality iron pieces. It was from a friend of mine and he wanted me to ask for your fine opinion. Could I enter your workshop to discuss, kind sir?"

"Oh sure...come on in. It must be some prized item you got there, laddie. Come..." he ushered me into his blacksmithing workshop and it was filled with a lot of weapons of all sorts with pieces of armour too. Only deserving clients would be able to enter such premises to view the collection.

I settled down on a stool opposite the workbench and took out a piece of Refined Steel and presented it to him. The plate still bore the trademark of FJKRS97% on it. The blacksmith took the piece and weighed it in his hands and turned it around and saw the trademark logo. He then used a knife and scraped at it and it made a slight mark on it.

"This is a fine piece of Damascus Steel. I would give you 2 gold coins for this. What does FJKRS97% mean?"

"Oh...some people call it Damascus Steel, while others call it as other names as well. The first initials were his name, RS stands for Refined Steel and the symbol means its 97% steel content. 2 gold for a piece of this, I've got 2 pieces here. could I have them in shillings please?" I asked as I handed another food coin to be converted as shillings.

"Sure laddie, here's 100 shillings for an exchange of 5 gold pieces. Be careful laddie, with that kind of cash that you have. There's a known bandit along the path and a bounty for his head. I heard he had killed 15 folks with just his bow and arrows and the sheriff and his men are out looking for him."

"How much is the bounty for his head?" I asked in curiosity on how much my head was worth if I am caught by anyone.

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"100 shillings lad. 100 shillings that could make one live comfortably for at least a few months.100 shillings are like what you had just earned from me lad. Well, you shouldn't think too much since you had started to learn archery. You would have no match for him. I heard he could shoot the middle of a penny from 500 feet."

"Wow...is he that great...?!? I would sure want to learn from him. 500 feet in the middle of a penny. Terrific...Do let me know if you need more of these pieces, I will inform my dear friend about it."

"That's all right lad. These 2 pieces could make a short sword like yours perfectly along with its scabbard. I just need to make then later and promote it to those adventurers who have a lot of gold pieces they could spare."

By then a tinkle was heard indicating that a customer was outside and waiting for services from the blacksmith.

"That would be all, laddie. I would be in touch with you whenever you come to this town to settle your businesses, alright?"

The blacksmith ushered me out and he entertained an adventurer that had a huge longbow and inquiring to buy some metal-tipped arrowhead for the archery competition at the Castle Grounds.

I walked with the crowd, clutching my coin pouch as I squeezed through them and disappeared into the throngs of people. I had tugged my shawl over my head tightly and saw the tavern right ahead and stopped a while for some refreshments.

"Hello, child...nice to see you here again. Would you like something to eat and drink? How about some meat dumplings? 2 pieces for 1 shilling with free flow of sky juice."

"Yes, please...please bring me 2 dumplings and a jug of your sky juice." the moment the steam dumplings came, it was steaming hot and I paid a shilling for the food. The filling was plenty and the dumplings were the size of my extended palm. "Yummy...not bad. I could observe the people here while I enjoy my meal. It's kind of expensive for cooked food around here. This trading district mainly deals with shillings and gold. It sure will burn a hole through ny pouch soon."

I took a blunt arrow tip and looked at the craftmanship. It was very straight and it might be done on an arrow shaping machine to get a very straight and smooth shaft. The fletchings were well made from some coloured feather, unlike my original ones that were made from goose and were fluted in such a way to give a personal signature to the owner.

After I had my meal, I decided to head back and practice some archery and some sword skills to test on the blade's new performance. I walked to the edge of town and activated ny Cruising Along technique and I soon arrived at the forested area where I had dealt with the dull foxes.