Forging on ahead

[Beastie]

The road was dusty, the taste filling his snout. Head turning to and fro as forked tongue escapes scaly lips. The air tasted sweet but there was also the dust. It seemed to fill everything.

There, on the horizon. There was what he was looking for. A slight smile crossing his lips as he saw a place he enjoyed more then any Tavern. He knew if that building was there then the Inn was nearby. He stopped and considered his options. He should go and check in, but memories stopped him from doing that.

He chuckled as he thought of the many ways he could announce himself; but the road was a long one and he needed to work. He had a fire in him and it needed fueling.

So like that he turned towards one of the few places he felt safe and alive. Soon smoke would be seen rising from a long unused building. The sweet music of metal on metal, the bellows giving an accompaniment to the harmony of the strikings.

Yes the Fires of Hades burned brightly, for the Beast was back.

[Alicia "Ali" Masterson]

Maybe an hour after Dreconis had those fires stoked again, a large white horse rode up out in front of the building. The horse was caked in mud and his leg hair was matted.  He was in his battle saddle, which was a good thing, because his dress saddle was expensive to keep up.

A long right leg swung over the back of the horse to meet with the ground below.  The left foot was pulled from the stirrup to come to rest beside the right.  Waist length blonde hair blew in the wind as bare arms reached for the saddle bags from behind the saddle.  The saddle bags were gently rested upon the right shoulder clad only in the thin strap of the purple tank top worn by the woman.

Armor clad legs and feet carried the blonde haired woman into the front door of the armory.  The weight of the door causing muscles to work that were supposed to be resting.  This was cause for a sharp inhale of breath and a wince.  Her left hand coming to the bandage on her left side, a spot of crimson starting to show.

Brushing off the pain, and subsequent blood, armored boots clanked along the floor as the woman approached what looked like a counter.  "Hello, is anyone here?  I need some help."  Shouted as loud as she could muster.  As she was waiting, she set the saddle bags upon the counter.  She would wait to pull things from the bags though, after all, what if no one was actually here?

[Beastie]

It was the clanking her heard first. So out of rhythm with was he was working on. So un...un...unmusical....he supposed would be the right word. Then he heard the yelling. Of course someone was here. Any Smith worth their salt would not leave forge fires unattended. Not even to a journeyman.

He grumbled as he set the piece he was working aside. Sweat glistening off black scales like stars in the night sky. Red orbs burning as bright as any fire, yet hiding the twin sides of himself- the softie and the Beast.

His talon tipped feet padding against the stone floors sending the sound of knife points hitting the floor up the stairs. Then he came thudding, like the story of the giant in that one fable he heard about.

"Iffen ye see vithing smoke in the vithing sky from a forge then aye that means someone be vithin here. E'en that daft Stormbringer knows this. So iffen all ye vithing well intend to do is be askin daft questions, then I shalt have the fun of showin ye back the vithin way ye came in."

With this last growled word, he stepped out into main area of the forge. His head tilting as his tongue tasted iron, but not metal iron.

He shook his head. "Ech! Another would be vithing Dancer I suppose. Who hurt yer honour lass? Some suitor come a callin that ye did nae like? Or mayhap it be a vithing pair that tried to Dance for yer hand?"

He looked at her, but yet did not. It was easy to tell he did not like being called away from the fires. Just as it was easy to tell he was one hell of a haunted soul.

[Alicia "Ali" Masterson]

Ali heard the words spewing from the mouth of the beast as he approached from the fires.  Despite the pain she was in, she was ready to fire in response.  "Hey, you kiss your mother with that mouth?"  She didn't take any shit off of males on the battle field and she wasn't about to take it from him either.

She pulled the top pieces of her armor from one side of her saddle bags.  "Number one, I just came from a forge where the fires were lit, but the only one in attendance was a young man who knew nothin' more than to stoke the fires.  His reason for bein' there was, and I quote, he was under orders to never let the fires go out."  Armor was set upon the counter.

She looked up at him and managed to not wince from the pain that shot through her at that moment.  "And, number two, I assure you, my honor is well in tact.  Which is more than I can say for those who oppose my army on the battle field.  A fact that I'm sure you're aware of oh Great God of War."  She reached into her saddle bag, the other side this time, and pulled out the hilt of a claymore.  "That's right, I know who you are."  She set the hilt on the counter.

While she wasn't looking at him, she could get away with wincing.  She reached in to get the other two pieces of the great sword out of her bag.  "And, number three, it was your forge in your mother's keep that I just left.  That was why I headed here.  In hopes of findin' you.  I was told to look for you here because apparently no one is allowed to use your forge at the keep."  

She reached down to her side and unclipped her shield from her leg.  She set that upon the counter as well.  "Now, if you don't want to help a lady knight, I'll just take my business to a lesser smith.  Though, I would prefer to not do so."  She wasn't sure he was willing to help her by making the repairs she needed.  His mother and her sister had both told her that he was the best smith in the land.  So it was only natural for her to come to him.

[Beastie]

He listened to her, watched her movements and the pieces she brought out, and chuckled. She had fire and spunk that was sure. Maybe not a ton of common sense, but fire and spunk.

If she knew who he was though; he was surprised she carried on as she did. He thought to himself for a moment that it should be no surprise that she knew who he was. For as much as he fought keeping it quiet, seemed more people knew who he was as far as the Dance. But if she did know him, why would she poke a dragon with a stick.

He shrugged and decided since she liked her lists he would give her one.

"First, lass, I do kiss my mother with this snout. As well as my Da when he was walking this plane of existence, and those few I call family. So iffen ye nae like my tongue......Vith Off."

He watched her closely as his hands roamed the armor, hilt, and shield. "Secondly, iffen ye won a Dance then rejoice a bit. Nae be such a vithing staunch arse Venture. 'Specially iffen it seems you have gotten the favor of a few of those on High."

He reached for the hit. Wrapping his hand around it. "Third, ye definitely need to make offerings iffen ye went to a Dance with such junk." He threw the hilt away and pushed off the armor. Leaving the shield there as it might be a crest.

"Fourth, those fires burn for one reason. Atonement. That tis all ye need to know. Now iffen ye wish to do business, so mote it be. Yer armor tis junk. Fit for a girl that nae knows the way 'round the Dance. Yer blade was made of inferior metals and I shall nae place a new blade anywhere near the rubbish of that hilt. Tis worth nae more then a servin knife now. Shield," he pushed it back at her. "Iffen I just repaired it then it shalt be weakened in those areas. More likely to fail ye when ye need it most and I shalt nae have my family's name on anything that will fail when needed.

"So ye hast two options lass. Put up with my mouth, get yerself healed, make yer offerings, and pay me to make all these anew. Or..." he pointed beyond her to the door.....

((Mun notes:
1) thread will continue in the Fires of Hades sub thread
2) I ask that patience be given as have been away from this for a long while
3) font and color issues may arise as again been away to long.
Thank you))

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