The Rogue Lady

Chapter Three

Again, any mistakes, let me know =) Map in the external link. Enjoy.

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     “And this is Yancey. He’s our main blacksmith. He can make basically every kind of weapon, repair it, and of course, make armor, which is why we are here,” Eric explained.

     For the past hour or so, he had been showing me around camp, introducing me to more people than I cared to count or remember. The camp was even bigger than I had first thought it to be, and I wondered how I had managed not to find it on my own; it seemed too ridiculous for words. I had met some of the men on guard duty, who had been given the order not to attack me if they saw me walking about, which made them laugh. I, however, was not amused. Darrick had joined us when we were talking to the guards, and he told them jokingly that they could always attack me from behind if I ever caused any serious trouble. One look at Eric was enough for him to nod in response to my silent question; in the blink of an eye, I kicked Darrick’s legs out from under him, causing him to fall on his back, and I put a blade at his throat before he could even understand what had happened. It made the guards and the magician laugh but I was sure the point had gotten across to Darrick.

     But now we were standing in front of the blacksmith, who was very imposing to say the least. He towered over me like a giant and it took all my willpower not to hide behind Eric. To make matters worse, his beard and thick eyebrows made his face seem really dark and threatening. It was even harder not to flinch when he bent down so that he was at eye-level with me. He looked me over before smiling and offering his hand. Hesitantly, I placed my considerable smaller one in his big one and immediately found myself being pulled into a bear hug.

     After a while, he let go of me and I inhaled deeply, finally filling my lungs with the air they had been screaming for. He was still laughing and even Eric had an amused look on his face. “Word travels fast around camp; I’ve heard all about you and was wondering when you would stop by,” Yancey laughed, his voice deep but warm.

     “All about me?” I asked suspiciously. What could have possibly gone around camp? Nothing good, that was for sure.

     “How you nearly cut those four guards to pieces, and Darrick, let’s not forget about him. That ought to put a dent in that ego of his. I’m honored to meet you, Svana, not many girls could have stood their ground like that.” He paused for a moment and watched me closely before adding, “But you’re not just any girl, are you? You’re a double-blader, aren’t you?”

     “Yes,” I mumbled, taken by surprise by it all. Yancey nodded like it was the most obvious thing in the world, which it might have been with those two blades hanging from my belt.

     Without a second look my way, he turned to Eric, “So, what is it she needs? Clearly no blades; those look like a fine piece of work. I would love a closer look at them. If you would let me, of course,” he added to me, his eyes gliding over to my blades. Unconsciously, my hands went to my blades and I took a step back. I didn’t like handing then over. Yancey nodded, the corners of his mouth turning up just a little.

     I wasn’t entirely surprised to find that he was interested in my blades. They were a fine piece of work, specially made for me to last me a life time. I had gotten them for my tenth birthday, though their size had been a bit of a problem back then. Now, they were the length of my forearm, longer than any dagger I might sometimes carry around, but also shorter than any sword I might come across. The blades curved up slightly at the end, forming a rather dangerous pointy tip. The entire edge of the blade was extremely sharp, I made sure of that, and the spells I had overlapped on them for years had provided them with what a blacksmith could not give them.