“So what’s with all of the skulls?” asks Rhine, looking at the frozen skull that Sockel has placed beneath a glass bowl from the kitchen for now, since they don’t really have anything better to secure it with until the vault is done.

“What’s the matter twerp?” asks Sockel. “Don’t you like skulls?” she asks.

Rhine blinks, looking at her and then back to the skull. “I don’t know,” says Rhine. “I mean, I like the way it looks,” he explains, looking at the frozen over skull with small horns protruding out of itself. “But, I mean, isn’t it kind of edgy?”

Sockel sighs, rolling her eyes. “You’re so lame. I actually don’t know what to think about it,” says the elf, wiping a strand of dusty, blond hair out of her face. “Okay then. What’s cooler than a skull?” she asks.

“Uh…” Rhine turns back to look at the skull. “- Ice?”

The room is quiet.

“Good try, but work on your delivery,” says Sockel, leaning back against the table and shaking her head, resting it on her fist. “Smart ass.”

Rhine shrugs. “Okay, so…” He's quiet for a moment, staring intently at the skull, before lifting his gaze to the rest of them. “- Why is it on the dinner table?” he asks, looking at the booth they’re sitting at. The four of them are sitting at a table and Seltsam and Eilig are sitting at another booth, out of sight. The table is set and they’re in the middle of eating.

Honestly, it’s a very nice ambiance. The guild is fairly full, with the other tables mostly used, despite the restaurant being closed for the day and there only being leftovers left for everybody. But the air is soft and warm in a home-like, wholesome way. The food that there is, is good and the room, full to the brim now with flowers and plants along all of the windows has an almost serene atmosphere.

— Only the frozen, harrowed, horrifying skull, covered in enchanted ice, is out of place in the room, being set as a centerpiece in the middle of their dinner table.

“- Because it really brings the room together,” replies Hineni. Sockel snorts, holding in a laugh. Rhine rolls his eyes. Hineni takes another bite of his food and then takes a drink. “I wanna keep this one in sight until we get it off to Avarice,” he says. Hineni looks around the table, considering something for a moment. “I guess this time we should send a letter.”

“Why? So he can charge us for it again?” asks Sockel. “Let’s just send him the skull as is.”

“Won’t he wonder if we’re threatening him again?” asks Rhine.

Sockel points at him with her knife, a piece of meat stuck to the end of it. “We should. It’s called having a dominating presence in the market.”

“We’re not intimidating the literal god of wealth,” says Hineni. “He’s our most important business partner.”

“Exactly,” says Sockel. “All the more reason to set some clear business terms.”

Something hoots from next to him. “Foolish sock-elf,” says the owl-god. “Obscura had hoped that staying in her presence would cause her to feel a touch of her incredible wisdom!” hoots Obscura. “- But it seems that I was mistaken,” she sighs.

Sockel lifts an eyebrow. “I’ve seen you eat a rat.”

“WHO~!” hoots the owl-god angrily, leaning in across the table. “A secret! The sock-elf betrayed their secret!”

The elf indifferently eats her dinner, staring down the owl-god.

“Settle down you two,” says Hineni, placing a hand on Obscura’s shoulder to pull her back down to the seat.

The owl-god lowers her head. “Now the Hineni-man knows the horrible truth,” she hoots sadly. “Obscura was on the shopping adventure with the traitor-elf,” she says. “It was irresistible.”

Hineni squeezes her shoulder. “It’s okay,” he says, returning to his meal. “We all have moments of weakness.” He looks over at Sockel. “Sockel, no betraying other employees.”

“- Not in the contract,” she replies, her mouth still full.

Hineni takes his turn to roll his eyes. “Rhine. Eat your dinner,” he says. “You need your energy for tomorrow.”

Rhine nods, returning to his food.

The construction for the vault should begin tomorrow, so, with a dangerous, high value item like this, he wants to keep tabs on it.

This one feels a bit more dangerous than the last skulls were.

Hineni lays in bed with his fiancée. Her head is on his shoulder and a talon runs along his chest.

“He still cares for his darling Obscura, yes?” she asks. “Even if she ate a rat?”

“I think we’re past that at this point,” says Hineni, looking at the wide eyes staring at him from next to himself. He turns his head to the side, towards the skull that is sitting on the nightstand with a wide, terrified, screaming maw.

He turns it to face the other way, before returning his focus back where it belongs.

— And he doesn’t even think about the eating of rats or babies even once the whole time.

It is what it is.

Rhine looks at the order sheet. “Uh…”

“What?” asks Hineni, looking his way from the anvil.

“The next order is for throwing knives,” he says.

Hineni blinks. “So… knives?”

Rhine shrugs. “I mean… I guess? You can throw every knife, technically speaking, right?”

“Makes sense to me,” says Hineni, thinking about it for a moment. “I’ll get Sockel.”

The elf sits on the workbench, her legs hanging down. She wipes a strand of hair out of her face. “I really should be at the desk.”

“It’s fine. Eilig can handle it,” says Hineni.

“…I really doubt that,” replies Sockel, leaning back and looking towards the corridor.

- Rhine shuts the door.

“Throwing knives, Sockel. Focus,” says Hineni.

She waves him off. “I don’t know what to tell you. She lifts a hand, making a rectangular frame with her fingers. “Double this size at most,” she explains. “Make them out of a single piece of metal,” she explains.

“No handle?” asks Hineni.

“No, it’ll throw off the balance,” she explains. “You can throw a normal knife, but it’s like shooting a branch out of a crossbow. “You could. But it’s not really a great plan for the long term.”

Hineni nods, thinking about it. That makes sense. “Material? Something light, right?” he asks, looking towards the aluminum.

Sockel shakes her head. “No. Actually, you want something a little heavier,” she notes.

“Really?” asks Rhine.

The elf nods. “Think about it. With a light, flimsy knife, it doesn’t have any ‘umpf’ when you throw it,” she explains. “A more meaty knife flies straighter and more accurately. Floaters aren’t great when you need to get some work done.”

Hineni nods. “Rhine. Steel and adamant. We’re making a blend.”

“Sure thing,” replies Rhine.

“Wait, no,” says Hineni. “Make that steel and cobalt,” he says. “It’ll look better.”

Rhine nods, grabbing the materials.

“Anyway, what about the form?” asks Hineni. “Curved or straight?”

Rhine snorts.

“Personal preference,” says Sockel.

“Noted,” replies Hineni. “Anything else?”

Sockel nods. “If you really want to be professional, put a small hole in the handles,” she says.

“A hole?” asks Hineni.

The elf nods, leaning to the side and pointing towards her hip. “It’s really useful if you can just put a string through them and keep a whole stack bundled neatly together,” she explains. “Nothing worse than having twenty knives just flying around your bag and pockets.”

“Good idea,” says Hineni. “Thanks, Sockel. This has been helpful.”

“Yeah, sure,” says Sockel, jumping down from the table. “I’m gonna get back now, before Eilig kills the customers.” She walks to the door, pulling it open.

- A freezing cold gust shoots into the forge, ice crackles along the halls of the stone corridor, growing out all the way from the restaurant. Someone is screaming from the other room.

She sighs, stepping out into it and closing the door behind herself.

Rhine and Hineni stand there, looking at the door and then at each other. “…Should we…?” starts Rhine, holding two ingots in his hands.

Hineni shakes his head. “Not our problem. We work the forge,” he says. “The customers are Sockel’s problem.” He nods his head to the crucible. “Come on. Let’s get those melted down.”

“Sure thing!” replies Rhine and the two of them get to work.

- [Cobalt-Steel Bar] -

- Quality -

Normal

- Composition -

Nickel: 34%

Chromium: 14

Cobalt: 20%

Iron: 21.61%

Molybdenum: 2.5%

Cobalt: 2.5%

Tungsten: 2.5%

Manganese, 2%

Silicon: 0.75%

Carbon: 0.08%

Sulfur: 0.03%

Phosphorous: 0.03%

- Quality Effects -

None

Cobalt Steel: All bladed weapons can apply stacking status [Bleeding{1}]

Cobalt Steel: All weapons gain +1 DARK damage

Cobalt Steel is a dark blend of steel and cobalt. Known for its particular ability to be extremely keenly refined, it produces exceptionally sharp edges for tools and weapons. The metal retains the hardness of steel, but the dark-applying properties of cobalt.

Weight: 5.0kg Value: 367 Obols

“Nice,” says Hineni, running a gloved hand along the sleek, dark-tinged and very reflective bar of metal. “This is good metal,” he says.

“Should we make molds for the knives?” asks Rhine. “If we follow Sockel’s design and make them flat, they’ll be great for it.”

“How many do we need for the order?” asks Hineni.

Rhine thinks, rubbing his lip with the back of his thumb. “A few hundred, I think?”

Hineni nods. Making a series of molds out of metal is going to take them a full day. But it will save them time in the long run on an order this size. Plus they can be used in the future too. If it had only been a few, it wouldn’t have been worth the effort. But in this case…

“Let’s get started,” says Hineni, pushing the ingot to the side, towards the frozen skull.

By the time the day comes to an end, the molds are ready.

The next day comes and they begin filling them with melted cobalt-steel.

- [Cobalt-Steel Throwing Knife]{Talon of the owl-god} -

- Quality -

High

- Composition - [Cobalt-Steel Throwing Knife]{XL}(Normal) [Leather Wrap](Normal) [Black Cloth Wrap](Normal) [Black Cord](Normal)

- Quality Effects -

High: Durability +25%

“Chosen of the owl-god”

Adds additional attributes to the attached weapon - Title Effect - “Gift of the owl-god” +3 OBSCURANTISM +3 WIND DMG +3 LIGHTNING DMG 4 PHYSICAL DMG +1 DARK DMG A well balanced throwing knife made out of cobalt-steel. Its blade is razor sharp. Applies stacking status [Bleeding{1}] on hit ‘Made by weaponsmith Hineni - Chosen of the Owl God’ No pommel attached Weight: 0.2kg Durability: 37/37 Value: 147 Obols

Sockel nods, looking over the knife. “Not bad,” she says. “How many health-points do you have?” she asks, looking up his way.

“Me?” asks Hineni, thinking about it. “Thirty-nine. I haven’t leveled up in a long time. Anyways, that's a really suspicious question to ask when looking at a knife.”

Sockel nods. “So it only takes four of these to kill you,” she notes.

Hineni lifts an eyebrow. “A very odd thing to say to your employer.”

“You should come to the dungeon with us!” says Rhine. “We could all power-level together!”

“The dungeon?” asks Hineni. “…I don’t know. I’m not really an adventurer. I just make stuff.”

Sockel points at the frozen skull. “If I turned that thing on and blew a handful of flour your way, you’d probably die.”

“I feel like one of those is more of a factor than the other,” notes Hineni. He thinks about it. They aren’t wrong though. He really should get stronger as a whole person too. He can’t just rely on being a craftsman to get him through life. “Fine,” says Hineni. “We’ll go to the dungeon.”