Utna

"I'll give you 100 gold pieces for the Snake King skin, 50 for the fangs and venom sacs and another 20 for those from the small Frost Snakes."

"Terrific." Kothar unsung the rolled up Cave Lion pelt from his back, setting it down on the counter of the merchant's little store. The merchant wasn't affiliated with one of the large conglomerates, but Fred had recommended him, as he always gave fair prices, not trying to cheat naive students.

"Now that's something! What a beast that must've been, and the pelt is in fine condition, how did you manage that." The merchant exclaimed loudly, he was a pot bellied man, with chestnut colored skin, and a jeweled monocle sat on his right eye.

"How much will it go for?" Kothar watched as the merchant polished his monocle and peered at the pelt closely.

"I can give you 500 gold now, but if you let me negotiate with a noble buyer, you could be looking at a lot more than that, maybe even 1000. There will be a 10% commission of course."

"The thing is, there are a few things I want to buy, so I'd prefer it now." Kothar explained.

"If I have what you need, you can purchase all you need on credit, just be sure to bring any more fine materials my way."

"Of course, here's a list of what I'm looking for." Kothar passed the merchant the sheet, on which he had listed the fine polishing tools required for creating the mana sensing lens, as well as the crystal itself and the Magesteel he required.

"This amount… You'll need many, many more pelts for this amount of Magesteel. I'll be able to purchase it for you in increments, but there's no way you can get this amount immediately, even your teachers at the Academy would struggle to procure this amount."

"Of course, and the crystal and tools?"

"No problem, I have a set of jeweler's tools here and a few crystals you can choose from. Making a monocle of your own, are you?'

"Something like that." Kothar said with a faint smile. The merchant brought out a few polished wooden cases, opening one to reveal faintly glowing Mana Sensing Crystals, and opening the other to show various tools.

"I can give you a crystal and all the tools you need for 200 gold, seeing as we'll be doing business in the future I'm willing to overlook the 20 gold, how does that sound?"

"Perfect." Kothar picked up one of the crystals, and placed it aside. The merchant deftly bundled everything, securely wrapping the crystal in a piece of velvet.

"The name is Lester, we'll do business again soon." The merchant smiled at Kothar, flashing many silver teeth.

"Kothar, I'll be back for the money from the pelt." Now unburdened, Kothar headed out of the merchant's little store, heading to Jotun's local branch.

Kothar entered the small stone building nestled in between bulky warehouses, the walls were covered in soot, and a blazing forge dominated the interior.

A tall, lithe woman with scarlet hair was quenching a newly forged sword in oil. Like Jotun, she was covered in intricately tattooed runes, and they glowed as she set the blade to the spinning whetstone. Setting the blade aside she came towards Kothar, looking him up and down and crossing her muscled arms.

"You must be Kothar, Simon's nephew. He said I might be seeing you. Sorry kid, but I'm not telling you where your parents are, or what the business is that they're involved in. Strict orders from old Simon." She said brusquely. Contradictory to her rough appearance, she gave Kothar a soft smile.

"No problem, that's not what I'm here for. Think you could help me with this?" Kothar handed her the blueprint for his new arm.

"My uncle said you might have some strange things for me to craft, I heard all about that sword of yours. The name's Utna." She offered Kothar a strong hand.

"Well, what do you say?"

"Yeah, I can do this, but you'll have to bring me the materials, this design won't work without Magesteel. And I'm not forking out thousands out of my own pocket." Utna tapped her foot impatiently, obviously eager to get back to her forge.

"I'm working on that."

"Alright, see you around. Come by if you need anything." Utna returned to her forge, picking up a piece of armor that had been heating inside. Evidently she had the same love for smithing that Jotun did.

[Kothar, I may be able to improve some of your runic designs. My analysis rate has greatly improved, and I should be completing some soon.]

[I trust your judgment Silane. Let me know how it goes.]

Kothar made his way back to the Academy, eager for a hot bath and meal. He had always enjoyed creature comforts, and had made sure even when he was fighting for the Galactic Alliance, that his upgrades wouldn't stop him from enjoying them.

"You're back!" Fred yelled exuberantly as he spotted Kothar trudging into the dormitory.

"Kothar's back guys!" Fred gestured to Luis, Rudy and Janus.

"Tell us all about it, you've inspired Janus, he's been talking about going on a little trip of his own." Rudy piped up. Janus' usual gloom had even brightened somewhat, and even usually aloof Luis had come over to listen.

"Alright, settle down boys, I'll tell you guys all about it. Just let me wash up and I'll meet you guys in the dining room." Kothar hurried away from the group, before any of them could think of an excuse to drag him away to the dining room immediately. Kothar sighed with relief as he shook off his pack and travel worn clothing, immediately heading to the bath to soak away his weariness.

[Shall we craft the lens tomorrow then, Kothar?]

[That sounds good, I should be well rested.]

[Of course, tomorrow it is.]