Restart Again: Volume 1 by Adam Scott (pocket ebook reader TXT) 📕

a hand. “Rastor Ashedown, pleased to make your acquaintance. I’ve heard great things about your establishment, Mr…?”

The man’s face lit up at the mention of commission work and he shook my hand eagerly. “The pleasure is all mine Mr. Ashedown. You can call me Hark. I do hope that our work can live up to our reputation.” Hark examined me closely, intrigued. “I can work with you to design anything your heart desires, but I must say, you seem to be quite well equipped already.”

I smiled graciously. “Oh, the work wouldn’t be for me.” Taking a step to the side, I gestured to Lia. “It’s for her. A full set of leather armor, in the same style as my own. Also, weapons to replace these.” I pulled the shortsword and dagger from my belt and presented them to Hark. “Around the same size and weight, but less...poorly made.”

The man’s eyes gleamed with excitement as he looked over Lia and the offered weapons. In contrast, Lia looked more like a startled deer as she stared at me with her mouth agape. “Of course, sir, of course! We can take her measurements today, and then I’ll meet with my men to begin planning—”

“Unfortunately, I have to also request that the work is finished by tomorrow morning,” I said, cutting off his train of thought. Hark’s expression changed to one very similar to Lia’s.

“Mr. Ashedown, that just isn’t possible. The amount of work that goes into making custom armor can’t be rushed, especially at the level of quality we produce.” He rubbed his hands together nervously. “We can accelerate the process, of course, if you’re willing to pay the fees, but that deadline, it just, well, we can’t…” Hark trailed off as I fished through the coin pouch at my belt. My fingers fished for a distinctive item as we both stood in silence.

With a self-satisfied grin I pulled out a brilliant ruby about the diameter of a silver coin. Rolling the royal cut gem between my fingers, I looked back to Hark. “I’m well acquainted with the process of making leather armor, Hark. If you’re as highly regarded as I’ve heard, I’m sure my deadline won’t be an issue...for the right price, of course.”

Hark eyed the gem hungrily, looking from my face to the ruby several times. “Could I…?” He reached out timidly. I nodded silently and handed over the stone. Hark produced a small jeweler’s lens from one of the pouches on his belt and inspected the gem closely, turning it delicately in his stubby fingers. After a thorough investigation, he returned the lens to his belt and held out the ruby to me with a defeated look on his face. “Sir, this is too valuable for me to accept as payment for your request.”

I held up a hand dismissively. “No, I feel that it’s an even trade. A rush job for a custom set of armor along with two high quality weapons. And, of course, your discretion.” I leaned in and spoke more quietly. “I’m a man who values his privacy, you see. If you could keep this order just between us, I think we’ll have a settled deal.”

Hark took my hand and shook it vigorously. “Of course, sir! I’ll get to work right away. We’ll need measurement from the lady, and also from your armor, for reference. My men will start preparing the materials now, and then I’ll—” He stopped short, interrupting his frenetic train of thought. “Will you be coming by tomorrow to pick up your gear? What time should we expect you?”

“Have it delivered to the Ivory Halls, care of Ms. Lia. They’ll be expecting you,” I said casually. Out of the corner of my eye I saw that Lia’s expression had hardly changed over the course of the exchange, still frozen in disbelief.

“I’ll deliver it myself as soon as the work is finished!” Hark said, nodding his head excitedly. “Thank you for choosing the Marble Forge, Mr. Ashedown. I promise you won’t be disappointed!” He took off quickly back through the door he had arrived from, shouting and banging around quite loudly from somewhere inside.

I turned back to Lia with a cheeky smile. “Surprise!” I said, barely containing a laugh.

She looked up at me, blinking quietly for a moment. “Why?” Lia eventually managed to say, her voice sounding genuinely confused. “How?”

“Well, you’ve been doing such a great job with all your training that I thought you deserved some proper gear. You work so hard and never complain, and I just wanted to show you my appreciation for that.” I gave her a pat on the head. “As for the how, I’ll just say that I have quite an assortment of trinkets and coins in this pouch. Remind me to tell you about it later.” Before she had a chance to respond Hark came bustling back through the door, now adorned with a multitude of measuring tapes that streamed out behind him as he moved.

The fitting process went by quickly with Hark taking precise measurements and accurate notes at a practiced pace. After many profuse thanks we exited back out to the main street, having spent only a half hour total within the shop. I clapped my hands together excitedly. “Okay Lia, where to? The day is yours.” She responded with a tight hug, burying her face in my chest. I tousled her hair gently as a smile spread wide across my face. After a moment she withdrew, beaming happily up at me before she took my hand and led me down the busy street.

Lia made good on her promise from the night before over the course of the day, taking us to over a half dozen interesting locations within the city. We explored the gardens that she had mentioned before, marveling at how massive it was; from certain angles it would have been easy to forget we were inside city walls with how dense the foliage was. At one point, an entrepreneuring cart owner pegged us