Chương 133: Chapter 132 [M&L Enchantments]

Marcus's workshop sat on a side street two turns off the main square, identifiable by the sign above the door: a simple image of a chisel and a stylus crossed over each other, with M&L Enchantments above it. Shai knocked twice and pushed the door open without waiting. The workshop was one large room with wooden desks arranged along three walls, each covered in work at various stages. Scrolls of rough parchment were stacked in open cases built specifically for them, nothing out of place despite looking well used.

Tools lined a rack above the nearest desk: engraving styluses in different sizes, small hammers, and chisels with coloured metal tips. Stone and metal sat in sorted piles on a shelf along the back wall, raw materials waiting their turn. At the centre desk, a man in his early thirties looked up. Black hair cut short, clean-shaved, sleeves rolled to the elbow, and a work apron over a plain shirt. He smiled when he saw who it was.

"Shai. Rika. Torren." His eyes moved to the five lads behind them.

"And you must be the ones from Monkhaven. I've been hearing about you all day."

"Hopefully the good version of whatever's going around," Leo said.

"Depends which story you mean." He came around the desk and offered his hand.

"Marcus." They introduced themselves. When he got to Leo, his expression shifted slightly, though Leo wasn't sure why.

"Congratulations on the win," he said.

"And the rest of you: semi-final, final, quarter-final." He shook his head.

"First tournament and you lot nearly swept it."

"Sam got closer than the score suggests," Phil said.

"I think any of us could have taken it on a different day."

"I agree. The competition was pretty stiff, though. You have a lot of talented fighters here," said Leo.

"I bumped into Nessa earlier. She mentioned you managed to chip one of my training dummies." Phil grinned.

"I did. It was a tiny chip, though. I hit it with a pretty powerful spell, so I wouldn't worry; they're good dummies." Marcus nodded.

"That's generous. It just means I have more work to do on the next batch." He glanced at Luka.

"I heard little Growlie's taken a liking to you. My son will be jealous."

"Is he a fan of dragons? I can't blame him; they're amazing. I've never seen anything like them before." Marcus smiled.

"He is. The boy's always trying to get him to eat out of his hand. Poor lad's been missing him since he's been away." He looked over at Shai.

"Anyway, enough of that. Is this a social visit or do you need something, Shai?" He nodded toward the nearest desk where a piece of fabric and one of his strange pens were sat.

"I was about to take a break, so now's as good a time as any." Leo, Phil, and Sam took their items out of storage, much to the shock of Marcus, whose eyes went wide at the sight of the items materialising into thin air. Marcus quickly got over the shock before a second wave hit him as he looked closer at what was now in front of him. He shook his head and pulled up a stool before he picked up Phil's first sword and got to work. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

The workshop went quiet while he worked. Rika perched on a stool near the door. Torren leaned against the wall. The lads found places to stand or sit while Marcus examined the blade, turning it slowly, holding it toward the light, and running a finger along the inscription without touching it.

"Return enchant," he said, half to himself.

"I've read about these. Never seen one in person, though. The craftsmanship is excellent." He set it down and picked up the second. He examined it for longer.

"This one, I have no idea. I thought it might be the same as the other blade, but it's different. My best guess is something that works in combination with the other enchantment, but what pairs with a return enchant, I couldn't say." He placed the blade down beside its twin, then looked at Leo's sword. He was noticeably more careful as he lifted it.

"Is this mythril?"

"We think so," Leo said.

"We tested it on a shield spell earlier. Cut straight through, and the blade glowed a little after." Marcus turned it slowly in his hands.

"I've never seen it in person. The colour is exactly as described, though." He held the blade up, the silver-blue catching a beam of light streaming in from outside.

"What a marvellous sword. Whoever made these," he gestured at the collection, "is a master of the craft. Far beyond anything I'm capable of." He was still examining the blade when the door at the back of the workshop opened.

"Shai, I've been hearing stories about you all day. Who is this man you've been—" The person stopped as they entered. Blonde, blue-eyed, with a long ponytail and cat ears to match, her tail moving slowly behind her. She looked at the five strangers in her husband's workshop and the sentence died completely.

"I... sorry, I didn't realise you had—""It's fine," Shai said, not quite hiding her smile. The woman straightened up.

"Sorry. Hello. I'm Lyra." Shai introduced them one by one.

"Lovely to meet you all," she said, though her eyes stayed on Leo half a second longer than the others. I guess they've heard the rumours. Word travels quick in a village this size. He'd barely finished the thought when he made a mental note of something else entirely. Either it was a coincidence, or cat beast-kin women all just had massive— Man, stop staring, Leo. It's not a crime to notice, but let's not get labelled a perv or anything. He glanced sideways.

Sam was very deliberately looking at the tools on the wall. Parmo was just staring. Rika was giving him a look that could have stripped paint. Weirdly, Phil was paying the least attention, his eyes on his own swords. It didn't take long before Leo was being interrogated. The questions started casually enough. How were they finding Stonehall, were they enjoying the festival, did they enjoy the food. Leo answered easily, starting to relax. Then—"So how did you get her to finally open up?

She's not exactly the most forthcoming person." Leo blinked.

"And have you kissed her yet? Are you getting enough time together? That's important, you know. You have to actually make time for each—""How have you been, Lyra? How's Lucas?" Shai said, cutting her friend off, her face turning red at the sudden bombardment of questions. Lyra opened her mouth to continue. From across the workshop, without looking up, Marcus spoke.

"Leave the man be, dear. Come and look at this." Marcus held up the blade. Lyra's eyes went to it and her expression changed entirely.

"Is that actually mythril? I've only ever heard Marcus go on about it, I've never..." She leaned in.

"Oh. That's beautiful." Leo let out a slow breath. When he looked at Shai, she was still blushing but smiled at him. He gave her a sheepish grin back. He noticed then what had been happening on the other side of the workshop. A small face was peering around the doorframe: blonde ears and a tail peeking out at ankle height. Luka was already crouched down, at eye level.

"Hey, little guy." The face disappeared behind the frame. Torren smiled.

"His name is Lucas. He's been trying to lure Growlie over with food for months. If he doesn't have any," Torren made a small pspsps sound, "he tries that. Growlie ignores him completely."

"That's a great name," Luka said to the doorframe.

"Mine's Luka. I love dragons too." He looked over at the people in the workshop, then at the closed door before he pulled out the dragon egg.

"Wanna see something cool?" There was a pause. Then Lucas appeared fully, eyes wide, tail going. He stared at Luka for a long moment. Lucas stared at it, then at Luka, then back at the egg.

"Can I hold it?" Luka looked at Lyra, who was shocked at the sight of the egg. She realised Luka was seeking her approval and nodded.

"Be very careful, dear."