Moving Mountains

5

.^^ Ranger Willam ^^

— Josef —

Without even talking to any of us, the little fat man attempted to shove past me casually, then bounced off my muscled thigh.

I slowly looked at him, then the tall man behind him. "Good day." I said calmly, and looked back at the elf behind the counter. "So, Lord Makanin, have you considered my offer?"

He hummed. "I will perhaps consider it. Come back tomorrow, and we will discuss more. Having a C+ Mage Smith skill, and an A+ smithing skill, those alone definitely qualify you to work for me, however, Alchemy SS is most impressive. Here, that's... 640 Silver Pieces, all told." He slid the money to me.

I nodded and handed the three bags to Karen, who happily shoved them into her satchel, even though Mara glared at her. Then I stepped to the side calmly, and let the little man past me.

He glared at me, and opened his mouth, but my calm, steady gaze made him rethink being overly rude. He quickly turned to lord Makanin. "Ahh, Yes, Lord Makanin, I have a bit of an issue, and the Ranger here has decided that while I am not owed an amount of compensation money, I am owed a replacement weapon." He tossed a broken sword onto the counter Rudely.

"That is not what I said. I said that you should request a replacement. You are owed nothing. Do not ever misquote me again, Lord Beau, or I will cease to assist you." The 'Ranger' frowned at him severely.

The little lord frowned back at him, but I ignored them, examining the broken sword. It was an easy fix, and he clearly had only broken it because he didn't take proper care of his blade, and he'd chopped at something incredibly tough, likely stone, until the sword had broken.

"He broke it on purpose, but I could fix it in a minute or so?" I asked Kieran quietly.

He gazed down at the man. "What I have understood is that you would like to purchase a new blade?"

He smirked. "Not at all! Your Blade was clearly of inferior make, and I demand-"

The ranger cleared his throat, narrowing his eyes.

The fat man growled. "I would like the money I spent on that piece of-"

"Women and children present." I interrupted him, and the Ranger smirked.

The little man gritted his teeth. "Silence!!! Now, elf, I require-"

"So you're a Ranger, huh? A Lawman?" I asked the taller man casually.

He shrugged. "Just a mediator, really. I'm Ranger Willam, the head of the Guild here... I don't know you." He held a hand out to shake.

"Josef Von Eisenberg. I've been here almost two months, working with the Arcbrands as a Smithing Apprentice for now." I gripped his hand gently, and shook.

Even my gentle grip was apparently a little rough, as his knuckles cracked. "Hmm... Alright. You thought of joining the Guild?" He asked, flexing his hand behind his back.

"Didn't even know it existed. I'm entirely new to this country. Or kingdom, whatever." I shook my head.

"From where?" He eyed me curiously.

"Well, I died, about two months ago, and woke up here, then met Karen." I shrugged, pointing at the dwarf still balancing on my shoulder.

He blinked slowly. "Oh. One of those... that's rough, friend..."