The Problem with Haven Falls

Zero raised his eyebrow at the woman's words.

"Why would we need to leave?" He apparently spoke those words louder than he should have, since every surrounding civilian stopped what they were doing and stared at them as if he had just uttered a curse. 

The woman they were talking to quickly turned away from them. "Forget I said anything!" She said frantically in a hushed voice before rushing off in a different direction. The other civilians quickly went back to their business as well.

Zero and Kai exchanged confused glances at what just occurred. 

"Well...that was weird." Kai muttered.

"Is it because of Grimm maybe?" Zero asked. Grimm responded with what could only be described as a cat scoffing. 

"Who knows." said Kai. "In either case, if all the players are at the forge there might be a bit of a wait on our order. So we should go ahead and get there as soon as possible." Zero nodded in agreement and Grimm continued the trek upwards to the top of the town where the smoke was billowing up into the sky. 

As they traversed through the town and passed by the various homes and shops, they could feel that all eyes were on them as people would look at them through hurried glances out the side of their eye. Zero saw someone in a hooded cloak briefly look at them before disappearing in an alley by a food shop.

What's the deal here? Zero thought. Players coming into town shouldn't be anything new here...

It wasn't long before they now sat in front of Haven's Fall largest forge that had renown throughout this world; and scattered around outside the entrance were at least half a dozen players. Zero clenched in hesitation as he saw them all turn toward them - some with wide eyes as they saw Grimm.

"Whoa, is that a mount?" One with a tank top and bits of steel armor on said.

"How did you manage to snag a lynx?? Last one I saw almost clawed my head off." Another spoke.

Zero felt Kai reposition himself behind him. "Let's dismount closer to the entrance." He said softly.

Grimm made a pathway for them as the players who were gathered outside the entrance quickly moved to one side to let them pass. Any who seemed stubborn to yield to them was met with a nasty glare from Grimm. 

They hopped off by the entrance which was covered by a hanging black cloth in the doorway. 

"Pfft." A female player who was leaning up against a post near the door said. She wore a fitting red robe with a tunic underneath that bore an interesting checkered pattern. "Good luck if you think you're just gonna waltz in there and get what you want."

Kai clearly took that as a threat as he nudged Zero toward the door. 

"Go ahead in." He said with no reply to the other player. "I'll wait out here with Grimm." Zero could see that Kai was already in battle mode. After all, they bore no seal of trust like when they were in Capital City - was there anything stopping someone from breaking any rules?

Grimm growled a little as Kai positioned himself closer to him. Which caused Kai to slide over half a step to give him some space.

"Right." Zero turned his back on the players outside and entered the forge.

Stepping into the large dimly lit chamber, Zero was immediately enveloped in a cocoon of warmth and the heady aroma of smoldering coals. The forge itself is a symphony of flame and metal, with molten steel flowing like liquid fire and hammers could be heard as they struck with precision against the anvils worn smooth by centuries of use.

Around the forge, shelves are lined with an array of tools and materials, each meticulously organized and imbued with a sense of purpose. Blades in various stages of completion adorned the walls; their sleek forms glinted in the flickering light of the forge. 

There were a few smiths scattered around the large area at work, but at the center of the chamber stood the master weapon smith - he was shirtless with black pants and his brown hair was tied into a bun. An array of scars decorated his bare torso that ran along his defined muscles that would bulge with each strike of his hammer against the blade in front of him. With hands weathered by time and eyes that gleam with the intensity of a thousand suns, the master smith's aura alone demanded respect - even from a player such as Zero.

There was someone else however who sat comfortably in a chair against the wall, not far behind the master smith as he worked. This person had a hooded robe similar to the one he saw one of the people in town wear before they hurried off.

"Excuse me." Zero said while he walked closer to where the master smith was. However no one responded to him.

Maybe they can't hear me over all the noise? He thought.

"Excuse me!" He tried louder this time. However no one made any note of recognizing him even being there. As Zero looked around at their faces he noticed something. "Why do they all look as defeated as the townspeople?..." He muttered to himself. 

"I'm sorry, do you have an appointment?"

As a single voice rose over the noise, everything seemed to stop. Even the master smith's hammer came to a halt mid-strike. 

Zero felt a chill suddenly run down his spine.

The hooded person behind the master smith rose out of his chair and walked closer to Zero. As he passed the master smith, Zero swore he saw a brief look of sadness flash over his face.

"Are you deaf?" The hooded person asked again as he now stood across from Zero. "I asked you: do you have an appointment?"

Zero couldn't see the person's face as it was shrouded in darkness. "We just got into town so we didn't know we had to make an appointment." He didn't like the vibe he was getting from this person. "Can we just place an order and grab it later?"

A snicker could be heard from the hooded person. 

"Of course, of course. As long as you have money and time."

Zero raised an eyebrow. "How much time exactly?"

The hooded person paced from side to side as they began calculating imaginary numbers. "Hmm..let's see. There's that..and this...ohhh, how does about a week sound?"

"A week?!" Zero said louder than he intended. He couldn't help but notice almost everyone else in the room flinched. He couldn't see what expression the hooded person was making, but based on their brief silence he could guess they weren't happy.

"Or how about a month since you wanna be a little shit! Does that sound better?!" They barked.

What the? Zero thought. Is a civilian suppose to be this hostile? Even Mr. Zanzabar wasn't this...erratic. 

"F-fine." Zero backed down. "A week works. We just want to get a dagger made. We have some valuables we can trade."

"Ohhh you do? Lemme see how much."

Zero took his small bag out of his clothes. Before he could react, the hooded figure lunged forward and swiped it out of his hand.

"Hey!" Zero said.

The hooded figure opened the small bag and marveled at the gold coins nestled inside. "Hmmm, this will do I suppose. Now, get out. I'm afraid our smiths are too busy with other pressing matters."

"Huh?! But you just took all my money!"

They placed Zero's bag of coins inside their robe. They then held up two of their fingers pressed together as if they were about to snap them. A tendril of electricity coursed up their pressed fingers and cracked up into the air with a *pop*.

"What money?" They said in an arrogant tone.

Zero took a step back as the truth was now clear.

This was a player.