The moment Faye step foot inside the Guild, a voice called out to her.

“Adventurer Faye!”

A young man, thin and sporting a white bandage around his left hand that travelled up under his loose robe sleeve, came marching up to her.

“Yes?”

“We got word of your return, I’m glad you came straight here,” he said, “the Guild Leader has requested you see him at your earliest opportunity.”

Faye’s eyes lit up, and she felt her mood lift immediately. “Has he finished my sword?” she asked.

The attendant shook his head, “I am afraid I do not know, Adventurer. Please, this way.”

Gavan gestured. “Go on, I’ll see you later.”

“See you, Gavan! Make sure not to disappear.”

He did not reply, but then the attendant had turned already and was moving away quickly. Faye followed the overeager Guild employee.

“I apologise for my haste,” the man said, “but there is a lot to do and not much time to do it in.”

She shrugged. “Not a problem, friend. Where is the Guild Leader? I’m not sure I’ve been this way before.”

It always amazed Faye that she could have spent as much time as she had in this building and still not explored it all. There were clearly full sections of the Guild that were separate from the public-facing side. The rooms here were filled with the sounds of manufacturing — or what she would associate with that, at least. Sawing, hammering, the ting of metal on metal, even the deep hum of some kind of machine.

“These are the Workshops,” her guide said. “Our crafters spend most of their time in here. Self-contained, for the most part, there are separate dorms, kitchens, and entrances. There never used to be, of course, but if someone gets it into their head that they would lose less time on a project if they could sleep near their workshop, there’s very little we can do to stop them creating their own sets of beds in a former workshop space. Then, when they decide the regular kitchen is too far away, and they craft their own version in another room… we didn’t even realise they had done it until they trooped into the storerooms for food.”

Faye grinned. The attendant was not angry, despite his words, but sounded exasperated with the crafters. Essential to not only the Guild, but the town, the crafters knew they would ultimately be protected, rather than thrown out on their backsides.

“My apologies, Adventurer, it is not every day that I complain… I just—”

“No need, really,” Faye interrupted. “I understand.”

The man nodded, clearly relieved. Then, he held out a hand as they walked. “The doorway here is the Guild Leader’s shop.”

They emerged into a large room that had somehow been stuffed so full of work benches, machinery, equipment or tools, and random materials that Faye felt claustrophobic.

“Oh, wow,” she said.

“I know,” the man muttered, before clearing his throat. “Guild Leader! I brought Adventurer Faye to see you, as requested!”

He did not wait for a response but turned and nodded smartly at Faye before sweeping out of the door.

There were some clanging sounds from the back of the workshop, so Faye moved towards them.

“Hello, sir?” she called out. “You wanted to see me?”

She was not sure if the Guild Leader was ignoring her or could not hear. Either way, she had no choice but to try and navigate through the maze of boxes, machinery, and materials. There, a stack of ingots up to her hip, there a stand filled with spears of various, strange, designs. Mannequins covered in various half-finished pieces of armour littered one pathway.

But, soon enough, Faye emerged from the mess into an open space. It was around a dozen paces from side to side, but there was nothing in the way underfoot, the workspaces were clean and tidy, and the only tools not on their racks were the ones Eanraigh was holding.

He was standing tall over a large anvil, its wide base pinned to a large stone block that lifted it from the ground by a half-metre or so. He was glaring at the piece of metal he held against the anvil with tongs for a long moment, then, his right hand rose and paused. The hammer twitched and then came down in a swift blow.

The ring of metal on metal sounded and with that, Eanraigh straightened and took the piece he was working on from the anvil. He inspected it once more, then, happy with what he saw, shoved it in amongst the red-hot coals of his furnace.

“Adventurer,” he said, without looking her way.

“Guild Leader,” she said, with a nod. “You wanted me?”

“Aye, that I did.”

Before he said anything more, he took the piece from amongst the coals. The coals must have been much, much hotter than she expected because the metal was already up to temperature.

Using his tongs, the Guild Leader took the red-hot metal and waved it back and forth a moment before taking a step and plunging it down into a trough of liquid. The hot metal hissed as it hit the surface and bubbled when it was submerged.

A few seconds later, he pulled it out. The piece was smoking, but it had been reduced down to a dark metal.

He lifted a metal file and scraped it along the edge of the metal, nodding as he did so. Only once he had carefully placed the piece he was working on his bench and placed the tools in the right place on the racks did he turn and give Faye a grin.

“Thanks for being patient,” he said. “Most people try to interrupt or think I’m not listening.”

She held up a hand, “Not a problem.”

He nodded. “Good. Now, your sword…”

Her heart sped up. She had been looking forward to this. It would have been wonderful to have had it for the spectre she had vanquished, but beggars cannot be choosers.

“Yes?” she said, rising it to a question.

“I wanted to know what type of finish you wanted on the handle.”

Feeling giddy inside, she almost let out a sound of glee when the smith turned and lifted a cloth that had been folded over the unfinished sword. He picked it up with a gentleness that moved her.

When he handed it to her, hilt first, she paused before touching it.

“Go ahead,” he murmured. “It is ready but for the handle.”

She wrapped her hand around the hilt and took it from him. At first, she had been worried it might be too different to what she was used to. She need not have worried. The Guild Leader clearly had a keen sense of length and shape. Though there were clearly tweaks to the design that she had given him, they were subtle changes that probably made a difference Faye could not see just by looking.

She stepped away from the Guild Leader, testing the balance of the blade. It was a long blade, almost a full metre in length. With the handle, it stretched over the metre mark easily. A diamond-structured blade, it started around two inches thick at the hilt, then tapered down to a fine point in a straight line on either side of the blade, creating a triangle when viewed from above. No fuller marred the surface of the blade, but despite that it was not too heavy.

The cross guard itself had a gentle arc up away from her hand.

And the handle itself was where the biggest change was from her previous weapon — if she ignored the fact that she had arrived on this world with a blunt one. Instead of the long, one-piece handle of a longsword or Federschwert, she had asked for a hand-and-a-half sword. Also called a bastard sword, these were weapons designed to work just as well in one hand as in two.

With the sword she was used to using, the handle was designed for both hands on it at all times and when she took one off to throw out a [Fire Dart] or [Scorching Lance], she found herself feeling like she was making a mistake. Only a minor twinge, each time, but enough that she would put herself off.

Then, recently with the one-handed arming swords and sabres she had used, there was no space on the short handle to use it with two hands at all. This was the best of both worlds. For the usual length of a one-handed sword, the handle was an oval of a single piece of carefully wrapped leather. Where the pommel would have resided on a smaller handle was a ridge, which then tapered into a small additional handle.

The pommel in this case was a simple circular weight of silver steel, though it was dark and unfinished. Overall, she was incredibly happy with the design.

“Well?” he asked.

She looked up with a grin. “I love it. It’s better than what I asked for.”

He grunted. “What about the handle?”

She tested it out with one, then two hands. It felt right, natural to swing and manipulate as if she were using her longsword, but well-balanced enough to use in one hand too.

“I can’t find fault with it,” she said.

“Aye, that’s good,” he said, as he cast a critical eye on her handling of the weapon. “What about the texture of the lower handle? I can do a half-wire grip, if ye like?”

Curious, she asked to see an example. He lifted a smaller blade, the handle on this one was wrapped in a dark grey wire, studded at the top and bottom to prevent it from moving.

“Oh, I see,” she said. “And you’ll wrap only the bottom portion?”

“Aye,” he said. “I’ve found that with longer handles, the wire is exposed and can be damaged, coming loose. This way, we keep the wired portion smaller to provide texture on the bottom half, it’s protected from blows because of the shape and position, and it also looks damn good, if I do say so.”

Faye grinned. “I like that idea, master smith.”

He waved a hand, quickly, “I’m no master yet, girl. Any more than you’re an adept.”

Faye filed that away and just nodded. “But yes, that wire grip sounds excellent.”

He nodded and gestured for the sword back. “I’ll bring it to you later. Should not take long.”

Smiling, Faye left the workshop. The sword was exactly what she had been looking for and would complement the fighting style she was starting to develop with the addition of her magic. She sighed a little. It would be good to have a sword that she felt was hers, rather than something she was simply borrowing for a time.

The jian that she had picked up from the quartermaster had served its purpose well. It was a blade suited to the fighting style she was used to. But without that feeling of ownership, she was somewhat reluctant to keep using it. She let her hand rest on the hilt of it as it hung by her waist.

No, not a terrible sword, just not something I will carry for much longer.

Thinking ahead, Faye knew that she needed something of high quality that would take her through many situations. She was about to embark on what was essentially a quest to save the town. A reliable weapon was a must.

She turned a corner and found herself face to face with Arran and Ailith.

“Oh, hello!” she said. The pair greeted her with cheers and hugs.

“Well done!” Arran said with a grin. “Gavan told us about your successful journey into the mountains. We wanted to congratulate you before you depart.”

“Aye, the little girl is no longer so little, eh?” Ailith added, with a smile. She placed a hand on Faye’s shoulder to reduce the sting of the epithet. Faye scowled at her friend regardless.

“One of these days, Ailith, I’ll get you for all of this undignified name-calling.”

Ailith snorted. “I doubt it, little girl. You will never outrun your elders, eh?”

She gave the other woman a flat stare. “I’ll get Arran to outrun you.”

They spent an hour talking, as well as finding something to eat from the kitchens. The workers were more than happy to give the adventurers some food, even if the guilders that came by asking for the same got nothing.

“Rules are rules!” the kitchen staff called when people got irate. It was enough to make Faye lose her appetite, but she did not waste the food they had been given.

“Don’t worry about it,” Arran said, noticing Faye’s expression. “Really. Adventurers are more likely to need the extra food, and it’s only a single meal. You’ll be on the road soon and you’ll be sorry you passed up any real meals.”

Faye nodded. “Sure, but for a moment, I almost forgot the problems the town is facing. I think it’s about time I helped out. I’m going to go see the Administrator and see what else I need before setting out.”

Waving goodbye, she left the other adventurers in the food hall and made her way through the corridors to the Administrator’s office. Along the way, she nodded and greeted the various guilders that she passed. She would have been lying to suggest that she was getting to recognise more than a handful, but she knew that they recognised her.

In the hallway just outside the Administrator’s office, there was a jumble of people waiting for access. She heard voices inside the office, including the Administrator’s own giving orders. A second later, the woman herself followed the sound of her voice out into the corridor and, seeing Faye, she strode down the hallway, her boots tapping out a quick rhythm on the floor.

“Adventurer, good, we needed you. I am happy to see you back safely.”

The Administrator’s eyes crossed, slightly, as if she were looking at something in mid-air. Her eyebrow rose and she smiled.

“Congratulations, Adventurer, on removing your bane.”

Faye nodded. “Thank you, Administrator. Tell me something, though. Isn’t the ability to sense others’ status blocked inside the Guild?”

The Administrator tsked. “Only for non-administrators, Adventurer. I have access still, to do my job. Now. I have chosen a companion for your journey. He’s getting ready. In the meantime, I am told that your supplies are prepared. We cannot offer you a mount. We do, however, have a suitable storage solution…”

Following the Administrator, Faye was hustled from place to place, told a thousand pieces of information, and was given multiple new items to take with her.

The whole time, a lightness danced in her core, a sense of rightness, of something good happening for once that she could not help but smile.