The Uncanny Mask

The night arrived, and with it my question to Nick. "Hehe, so he made you work more in the smithy after all. Do you know how much purified steel costs?", he asked instead, albeit it was clear he had something to do with Rand's decision. "I've no idea. To be honest, I'm not sure if the blacksmith in my village made purified steel or not. Honestly, I wasn't that familiar with them, or what goes on in the smithy", I replied.

"They sell a good quality ingot for about one gold to one gold and fifty silver coins. Yours would be considered good quality ones, therefore they make about three gold on you, if you make two. Of course before deducting the material costs. Though purified iron ore is more expensive, it costs them about forty silvers per kilogram", Nick said.

"Moreover, Rand granddaughter's marriage isn't without its benefits. Why do you think they didn't tell you to make purified steel ingots before? They didn't know the method, nor had the materials. These materials are provided by the Grasshill Village. The price for materials isn't bad, and the hard work is carried out by someone else. The blacksmiths at Grasshill Village probably make weapons or armour out of these ingots, and those sell for much bigger prices. We're talking five or six gold", he added.

That made sense. The more ingots were created, the bigger the profit. The Grasshill Village would always come out on top with that deal. They didn't lose anything, and even gained a lot. "Hehe, they are quite crafty. Disguise some profit behind the hardest work. I'm sure these blacksmiths at Grasshill Village don't want to spend a whole day on making a few ingots", I said. "Precisely. As for you working with me, it's simple. You need experience, and Rand doesn't really pay me. If I were to ask for my services, it'd dry out his purse in no time", Nick confirmed my suspicions.

"Anyway, back to your training. Winter's coming, and it will get harder during cold weather. Though that might be an opportunity in itself", he added with a smile. 'That old bag of bones. He wants me to suffer for sure', I figured before stuffing my ears with the cotton balls.

The season of winter arrived, and brought with it a pure white blanket of snow. Though the practice became more difficult, I persevered, and managed to complete the exercise without falling. The thought of doing that without my sight scared me though. Thankfully, Nick wasn't a mad man, and had something else in mind.

"With this stage completed, you'll slowly learn how to move about without your sight. Here, take this", he said and handed me some sort of mask. The mask looked like the head of a skeleton, which made me think he was toying with me. "Really? Skeleton? I'm already skinny enough, you don't need to remind me", I said. "Hehe... Hehahahaha... To be honest, it does suit you, but this mask is probably older than you. Therefore, no, this design has nothing to do with you... Though the resemblance is uncanny", Nick joked.

I grabbed the damned mask, and placed it on my face. "Huh? I can't see shit", I said. "Wasn't that obvious? You are supposed to train your other senses. This will focus on your hearing and touch the most. The mask is a bit special as well, since it contorts to the shape of your face. No matter how you move, not a single ray of light can be seen. Try walking around a bit, and get a feel of your environment", he explained.

With my arms in front of me, I tried walking forwards, but then, *Bam*. "Ow, what was that?", I asked out loud before taking the mask off. There was nothing in front of me, except Nick and his stupid grin. 'He's up to something', I thought. Before placing the mask on, I made sure there's no stuff in front of me. A few steps later, *Pak*, I walked into something again.

"What the fuck, man? There was nothing in front of me. You did something!", I exclaimed angrily. "Did you think it would be that easy? Come on, stumbling around would be no fun. Besides, this is still considered your exercise. Did you forget about the poles?", he replied. "You know full well there's no way I'll be able to keep my balance on top of those, less so jump from one to another", but that wasn't what Nick implied. "Of course not, you'll be avoiding them while you walk. Moreover, you need sound, don't you? Hence I'll be moving the poles around. You just have to listen".

That was easier said than done. With my arms extended, I tried moving around, but hit a pole after only a few steps. 'You bastard, let's see how you hit me now', I thought and crossed my arms in front of me. One step, two steps, three... Everything seemed fine, but on my sixth step, a pole hit my head. "Bullshit!", I exclaimed and took the mask off. "That's literally cheating. I crossed my arms, even if you moved it, there's no way I'd walk into it with my head first", "Not unless the pole was in between your arms and head, hehehe", Nick replied with a laugh.

"Do you have any clues, tips, hints, anything?", "Hmmm, I can give you one hint", his words made me excited. 'Finally, something worthwhile', I thought but got quickly disappointed. "Make sure not to hit the poles! Hahahaha... Hehehe". "Whatever, let's continue. I'll figure this out myself", I said and placed the mask back on.

Besides a slight headache, there was no other improvements. Moving about without my sight was difficult on it's own. Nick made it a nightmare by adding the moving poles into the mix. "You'll get used to it. Here, rub this on your head, it will help", Nick gave me some ointment. "You mean banging my head into a wooden pole, or moving without my sight?", "Hehe, both. Anyway, you've been doing great so far. You pretty much memorized the Encyclopaedia Herbis. Make sure to revise it, especially the parts you can't remember well. The best idea is to quiz yourself. With that out of the way, I can finally give you this book", Nick said while handing me another book. The book wasn't thick thankfully, and didn't seem to have a name either.

"This one doesn't have a name", I pointed out. "Yes, you are right. I never thought about giving it one. Encyclopaedia Herbis isn't a name I came up with. That book existed, albeit in a completely different form. I simply compiled the knowledge, drew the herbs and added concoctions into the mix. Something that the originals lacked. The Encyclopaedia you hold is the only one in existence. The Medical Journal on the other hand, was years of my experience. I used to work as a doctor in a city. Sometimes there was a corpse or two to experiment. This book is my beginner recipes. Some of them aren't mine, but a lot of them are. Again a lot of trial and error", Nick commented.

"These recipes will help you familiarise yourself with quantities. Also, what herbs can be used in which concoctions. That's why it was imperative for you to memorize the Encyclopaedia first, otherwise your knowledge would be lacking", he added. "Don't you think you're throwing too much my way? I'm not as free as you are", "Nah, you'll manage. After all, you did so far. Besides, we don't have much time. I'm not going to live forever", he replied. His words made me sad a bit. Perhaps our initial relationship wasn't that great, but with time, I came to like that old man. He seemed certain that time was of the essence, as if he knew his end wasn't far.