The Smith and the Steward returned to the Knight's Order Headquarters, and the next morning James woke to a knock on his door.

"Smith, wake up."

James' pounding heart calmed as he recognized the Steward's voice, and they walked together out of the barracks and to the edge of the grounds, where a medium-sized building sat under the early dawn sky next to a large, empty field of packed earth, perfectly level. Even this early, a few men were scattered about, running laps around the outer edge.

Inside the building there was a large room containing all manner of contraptions and hundreds of differently sized metal plates. The Aspirant Knight was already there, waiting for them.

"Good morning, m'lord," the Steward greeted, and James hurried to copy him.

Suero nodded. "Good morning, Sebastian, James." He looked at the Steward. "It's been a few weeks of travel so I'll ease into the routine today." Then he turned to James. "Come, let us discuss how to protect you."

As they talked, Suero performed a wide variety of movements, attached and detached a number of the metal plates, and used various contraptions while the Steward took notes and occasionally commented on Suero's performance. 'Lower' was heard more than once.

James explained his concerns and experiences, and that he had felt most secure while armored and within a ward.

Suero grunted. "I understand. However, the Steward is right. I can't have you walking around wearing armor less than Medium quality. Even that is a displayed vulnerability that will be all the worse once it's more widely known that you're a Smith."

"But," James exclaimed, "how is that worse than me getting assaulted, possibly abducted?!"

Suero was patient. "Unfortunately, time is short, and I can't explain the entire political situation. In summary, my position is uncertain because of my seniority in the Knight's Order, and my poor performance in the annual Tournaments so far. In truth, I'm barely hanging on due to a number of benefactors who are counting on me to rise through the ranks, to make good on their investment, and so they protect me. But while I can defend myself, and Sebastian can also protect himself, you represent a weak point. My enemies, if they could, would harm you; and harm you in such a way that it reflected poorly on me and my ability to protect you."

Suero paused to focus on a particularly heavy weight, finished his exercise, and then resumed while catching his breath.

"If you were not a Smith, cladding my retainer in junk armor would signify that I am poor, or that I'm intentionally disrespecting you. That you are a Smith signifies that, and that you are so unskilled that you can't produce your own, better armor. And, regrettably, money is tight for me right now. Even my credit is strained under the weight of various obligations."

"Would that you could have received Pacifica's Blessing," the Steward added.

Suero nodded. "Yes. I would say the coin spent last night would be sorely missed, however—" He gave the Steward a look. "—receiving a boon, even a minor boon from Pacifica, is worth far more than the silver spent. I profited immensely last night. Understood?"

The Steward nodded meekly.

"Good." Suero continued. "So, James, I will tell you my ideas, and you tell me if something won't work, and we'll figure this out."

The Aspirant Knight spoke, and the Smith listened. The Smith spoke, and the Aspirant Knight listened.

In the end, they decided that James would continue working at the Smithing Guild, earning coin to pay for his own training. This would be a great relief to the Knight's finances. Suero would also write a note relinquishing his right of first refusal for work done at the request of the Smithing Guild, so long as the money earned was spent on more training or on raw materials for James' own equipment: smithing tools, armor, warhammers, and so on.

It was also decided that James would be escorted to and from the Smithing Guild daily, either by the Steward or, when the Steward was unavailable, by a junior Knight or a city guardsman. The Knight's escort would be framed as a training exercise, and the escort by a guardsman as repayment towards the favor the Aspirant Knight had done for them the previous night.

"A favor?" James asked.

"Yes. Captain Flores, the father of the man you fought with last night, has been abusing his authority as a precinct captain for over a year now. I'm fairly certain I understand who his backers are, but, Sebastian: look into it this morning. I'll be meeting with him at noon today, so there's little time, but I trust you to be thorough as well as quick.

Sebastian bowed his head. "Of course, m'lord."

"James, I will also have you wear an armband, signifying that you are on Knight's Order business, whenever you leave Headquarters. Your actions will reflect upon the honor of the Knight's Order, so keep that in mind."

James nodded.

"Finally, I will draft a letter to the Smithing Guild asking that they permit the financing of a warhammer for you. A proper one, of no more or less than Medium Quality, so that at least you have a weapon in hand as you go about the city."

"Wouldn't armor be better?" James asked.

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Suero shook his head. "No. You lack any kind of [Danger Sense] Skill, but most of those kinds of Skills react based on how much of a threat you are to others. Unarmed, you seem… incredibly nonthreatening," he said judiciously. "With a hammer, I suspect that you will seem far more dangerous, given your [Hammer Strike] technique. A hammer is also far cheaper than a full set of armor. There are other Skill interactions, but your plan to never carry money or anything valuable is sound; wise, even. It will make you less of a target for Thieves, certainly.

"But, my hope is that as long as you are escorted, and wearing the symbol of the Knight's Order, that you can avoid any fighting at all. Now then."

Suero finished up his stretching and stood. At that moment, a cock crowed, and the faint sound of metal crashing on metal rang out from the smithies at the other end of the Headquarters grounds. "We have little time, Sebastian. I'll skip the run today. A quick breakfast, and we all have places to be."

"Yes, m'lord."

James was shocked to see just how fast a man could eat. He hastened to match the Knight's pace before the Steward stopped him. "We have more time, James, you can slow down. Eat your fill, and I'll request a takeaway lunch for you so that you need not leave the Smithing Guild until I come to escort you back."

James cocked an eyebrow. "And will you actually show up this time?" he asked snarkily.

Suero raised an eyebrow as well, though he continued eating. James felt a twinge of embarrassment, at how petty that had sounded, but the Steward merely nodded. "Yes, I will. I deeply regret not arriving on time yesterday, and you have my apologies. I now have a better understanding of our Lord's will, and your security is my top priority."

"Well, uh, good. Thank you," James stammered and then resumed eating.

Suero nodded. "Good. I would see you both work together. And James, go easy on Sebastian. He truly is incredibly busy. He does the work of four men. I would hire more, to ease his burden, if not for…"

James tilted his head, but the Steward answered the question before he could ask.

"Our Lord has thrice been betrayed by retainers taken into his service. Loyalty is incredibly hard to come by."

James' eyes widened and he swallowed thickly.

Suero stood, having finished his meal entirely. "It's nothing for you to concern yourself over, Smith. I trust you; I only hope that you can trust me, as well. I would greatly prefer to spend more time discussing things, but I'm afraid I am nearly late. Sebastian, ensure the Smith is secure to and from the Guild today, top priority."

"Yes, m'lord." The Steward bowed his head.

And with that, Suero was gone.

The two men, one older and one younger, finished their breakfast and with a quick stop to grab an armband for James, they departed. The armband was crimson, with a weird cat-shaped thing holding a shield and a lance.

"That's a stylized lion. It is the animal of the Royal Family here in Iberteria."

"What's a lion?"

"It's, well… a large, fearsome… cat. Cousin to the house cats with which you're surely familiar."

James thought back to the Holy Tiger he had once fought.

"Like a tiger?"

"I'm afraid I don't know. Is that an animal from your homeland?"

"Uh, no, never mind." James hurried to change the subject, given that last night had confirmed that at least one goddess took a dim view to his killing the Holy Beasts in the Dungeon. "Our lord mentioned that you were busy today?"

They were walking incredibly quickly though the streets, but not so fast that it was outright running.

"Yes, indeed, but fear not, I will ensure I'm present to escort you back this afternoon."

"No, I mean, I believe you, it's just, are you alright?"

The arrived at the corner of the main street and the road to the Knight's Order Headquarters, near a store selling a dozen different kinds of fruit, and the Steward peered into the Smith's eyes.

He shook his head. "You don't need to worry about me, boy. Yes, I'm busy, but it's nothing I cannot handle. You merely focus on your training." He paused a moment. "Although, it would help our Lord if you could get a good deal on a warhammer that still meets the required quality."

James nodded. "Okay."

They arrived at the Smithing Guild, the Steward left to gather information about the fourth precinct Guard Captain, and James was greeted enthusiastically by Marlie.

"James! You're back!"

She noticed his bruises as he approached the desk.

"Ah! What happened?! You go picking fights in a bar last night?"

"Oh, this?" James had forgotten his wounds, given how minor they were in comparison to the wounds he had carried in the Dungeon. He shrugged. "You should have seen the other guy."

Marlie burst into laughter that filled the Guildhall.

"Ahahahahah, you got spunk, kid! I like it!" laughed the girl still three years shy of her Choosing Day. Then her eye caught his armband. "Whoa, you weren't kidding about working for the Knights, huh?"

James handed her the notes from the Aspirant Knight, about relinquishing the right of refusal and the request to finance a warhammer.

"That's nice, but if you need basic training, we really don't need you making stuff for us anyway," she dismissed the note about the right of refusal, but she was more interested in the other note.

"Now, a warhammer of Medium Quality?" She looked James up and down, her eyes lingering on the armband. "I suppose it's just to hold you over until you can make one yourself, eh? I gotta run it by Iago, but we can probably do that. If not, we can recommend you to another Smithy that will have one. More importantly!" She swiftly changed gears. "Are you ready to keep smelting? That pile of ore is seriously in the way…"

James nodded. "Yep, I'm here all day."

Marlie beamed at him and he walked out, but as soon as he started tossing ore into the hopper—

[Ore Identification]: Red Iron Ore

[Ore Identification]: Red Iron Ore

[Ore Identification]: ???

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