Tower City

"HOLD THOSE DAMN REIGNS TIGHT!" A fierce looking middle aged man ordered as he and three other men tried to handle a wild stallion. A little further away, another scene could be witnessed.

"I was really thinking about sending Jacob to the Imperial Academy, but gods, it costs so much and it's all the way in the Northern Tundra…" A young woman spoke with a dejected expression to her friend.

"Fresh water buffalo meat from the Black Sands region for only 12 coppers! High quality water buffalo meat, come and try it out! If you're not satisfied, I'll give you your money back!" A rather plump merchant kept bellowing, advertising his special product of the day.

In another scene, a skinny looking child bumped into three other children who wore black, exquisite clothes with gold lining.

The child quickly apologized and started running off, as if he was in a hurry.

In a split second, however, he realized he was in the air, being held up by a half masked man cloaked in black.

"Little thief, shouldn't you return what you took?"

"I didn't steal anything!" The child cried out as he flailed his arms, soon, however, John found a small purse in the child's pocket. It was the purse Mike had given to Nessie for allowance so she could buy the group whatever they wanted in case Mike or John were not there.

"What's this, then?" John asked while laughing.

"Ugh, fine, just let me go! You already have it back! I'm not stealing for fun or anything!"

John turned his head to Cassius as he asked: "What shall we do with him, Your Highness?"

The child who was being held in the air heard these words and quickly looked at Cassius as well in bewilderment. 'Your Highness? Oh.. gods… I'm finished…'

"Hm. What is your name?"

"I-I'm… I'm Anna."

"Anna? You're a girl?"

"Yes… well… I dress like a boy to avoid any creeps and stuff like that…"

"Well, whatever. I'll let you off if you guide me to the best blacksmith in Tower City."

Truthfully, Cassius didn't need this poor girl who had to resort to petty theft to guide him anywhere. After all, Mike knew Tower City like the back of his hand.

Mike, however, had momentarily gone to the Imperial Coven to report his arrival, progress and the state of things. He also had to take care of administrative tasks that had popped up when he was absent, so, Mike wasn't available right now.

Still, Cassius had John and the four agents loyally following behind them, so it was no worry.

John let the skinny girl down on the ground as she patted her clothes. "Alright, I'll take you to the best blacksmith I know, and don't worry, I know Tower City like the back of my hand!"

Anna boasted, then she quickly gestured for them to follow as the group made their way deep into the Eastern part of Tower City.

Soon, after fifteen minutes or so of walking, the group arrived to a rather small building, with two stories and a chimney.

Anna led them inside as they noticed the shabby furniture, however Cassius didn't spare the furniture a single glance.

Instead, he looked at the countless fine pieces of weaponry lining the walls. The sturdy, polished shields, the majestic tall halberds, hammers, axes, swords, daggers.

There was everything to be found in this shop. A little after the group had made their way in, an extremely short middle aged man, who was the same height as Cassius, made his way to them.

"Welcome to my humble shop, customers, how may I help you today?" The middle aged man with a beard that made him look gruff and rude, actually said very respectful words while somehow maintaining a harsh expression.

"I'm looking for weapons for myself and my friends, so we can practice."

"Certainly, I can help with that. Come, let's go down." The man said as he led the group downstairs into the basement of the building. Smoldering heat suffocated everyone's senses as they arrived to the basement, which was rather spacious. Off in a corner, a furnace burned bright as a young man kept fanning the flame. Then, he took out a piece of metal that had been melted and poured into a cast.

Following the middle aged man, the group finally stopped as they saw three large and wide weapons' racks filled with all kinds of weapons. Most of them, however, did not seem as high quality as those above and were not polished. They were rough, fierce and weapons that looked like they had seen countless wars.

"Alright, each of you pick your weapon of preference."

Baron stepped forward first as he took a greatsword from the rack, holding it tightly with two hands as it appeared rather heavy.

Cassius went forward and chose two daggers, while Nessie after a bit of contemplation chose a wooden bow.

"Now, you there; the tall one, come forward and swing it." The man told Baron.

Baron stepped forward and in a clear area, and swung his greatsword diagonally.

The man frowned for a bit before telling him to swing vertically.

Baron performed an overhead swing. The man frowned again before going forward, taking the greatsword out of Baron's hand. Soon, he returned to Baron with a black, large coffin shield and a double-edged sword of standard length.

"Hold the shield in your right arm and the sword in your left." The man said to Baron.

"Now, hold the shield up, but do not cover your eyes, and do not expose your neck, keep it at the appropriate height. Put your left foot a bit behind you, focus your weight on your right foot. Now hold the shield with all your strength. The sword isn't important, the shield is. Consider the sword an extension of your forearm, treat it as you would treat a limb." The man explained patiently as Baron absorbed knowledge like a sponge, soon, he had the most basic shield and sword stance performed as he held the coffin shield strongly.

"Now, time to test your aptitude." The man said as he picked up a spear and readied it.

Abruptly, he thrust right at Baron's chest as Baron instinctually adjusted his angle and- *BOOM*

The ringing of metal hitting metal sounded out. The group, however, was not surprised by the sound, but by the scene in front of them.

Baron hadn't budged an inch from his spot, his shield perfectly intact. The wooden shaft of the spear that the man had used to attack though, was anything but intact. It had splintered and broken in multiple parts without leaving even the slightest dent.

"Seems like you have a bit ot talent in the shield, lad. You don't need a greatsword. I'll prepare an exact replica of what you're using right now, but higher quality."

Baron himself was stunned. He had always thought that with his tall and large stature, something like a greatsword would fit him. Who would have thought this short man had seen exactly what Baron needed in order to fully utilize his large body.

Next, it was Cassius' turn to come forward.

"I don't even need to see you do anything, go pick up a rapier." The man said indifferently.

"Alright…" Cassius said as he went forward and picked up a rapier.

"Stab." The man said as Cassius quickly performed a stab, but the man only frowned.

"I was wrong…? It's not bad.. in fact you seem to have good potential with it… but something's off.. too short, too light. Wait here." The man mumbled on and on before finally leaving the group of five in the basement, going to another, deeper floor.

After a few minutes, he came out with a sword -if you could even call it that- that reached up to the man's chest, which wasn't that much length considering this man was extremely short, at most 150 centimeters.

Then, he handed the long and thin sword that was covered with dust and grime to the boy and said:

"This is a replica of Ankeylon the First's weapon. He called it the Nail, although nowadays the official name is the estoc. It's a very rarely used blade due to its weight and difficulty to master but… you seem perfect for it, kid. Now, why don't you try stabbing with it? Your target is… that chestplate over there." He pointed to a suit of armor being displayed on an armor stand, it had collected dirt and the like but, its toughness could be felt.

Cassius held the estoc upright as he examined it. 'No edge… very thin.. and extremely, extremely sharp at the tip.' The blade was quite a masterpiece, even if it was a replica.

Then, he went forward and under the man's instructions, he readied his stance.

Taking a deep breath… he pulled back his arm and in a split second, struck.

Silence.

The only thing that could be heard in the basement of the smithy was silence.

Cassius let the hilt go, but the weapon didn't drop to the ground, no, it had pierced straight through the front of the chestplate, all the way through the back and had firmly embedded itself inside.

Even John could not hide his astonishment, let alone the children.

'How? That sword is clearly heavy, and.. it shouldn't be so easy to handle… how…' John thought to himself in bewilderment as if he had discovered another side to the beauty of battle.

"Woah… how'd you do that?" Baron asked in shock.

"I.. don't know, this one feels really, really nice on my hands." Cassius said.

The short man couldn't hide his excitement and prideful smirk.

"Told you, I found the perfect weapon."

"How do you do it? How can you just guess what weapon would work best?" Nessie asked from the side.

"Hahahaha! That's because I'm a Depthfolk, my young lady. We depthfolk know ores, metals, weapons, armors and building like the back of our hands. Guessing what weapon a person has talent for is nothing to be surprised about." The short man, who said he belonged to the Depthfolk, could not disguise his pride and glee as he raised his head high.

"But this child here really threw me off, he has unnatural strength for his build and age." The depthfolk man said as he stared at the estoc that was still embedded in the tough armor. "Well, the result was to be expected, that weapon is by far the best hand-held armor piercer in the Empire. "

"Thank you, mister, I really like it." Cassius said in gratitude, the weapon felt like it had always been part of him.

"Don't thank me yet, kid. This is the only replica I have, so you're gonna have to use this until I finish forging a new, better one. I'll tell ya what, you keep this one free of charge, and you can pay for the new one when I finish making it."

"But, I don't think I'm going to stay in Tower City for more than a week."

"Hah, who do you think I am, kid? I'll get your weapon finished in just four days."

The short man smirked as he laughed boisterously.

"Alright then, now for the final weapon, come on little girl, show me how you pull the bowstring." The man said as Nessie stepped forward and pulled back the bowstring, with no arrow nocked.

"Hmm.. hm… there's no real room for improvements, for now, you'll have to do with the shortbow, in the future you can switch to a Heavy Crossbow or a Longbow, or maybe if you're feeling more daring, a Hunter's Bow."

Nessie smiled in glee at the thought of having chosen the right weapon at first try.

"Alright, I believe this is enough. Come, these weapons are only for practice and showcasing." He said as he led Cassius, Baron, Nessie, Anna and John to the first floor again.

The depthfolk man quickly went to a glass case and retrieved a pair of sword and shield and put it on the counter. This pair, however, was much better and modern looking than the pair Baron had used for practice.

The standard length sword, used for quick striking from behind the shield, was carefully detailed with circular engravings, erratic symbols and a hilt that put most historical pieces in Cassius' old world to shame. It was wonderfully crafted, and could both slash and stab with its sharp edges and thin tip.

The shield, on the other hand, was the same coffin shield that Baron had used in the basement, but instead of the plain details, this shield was lined with black steel, had a wooden middle that was reinforced with iron plates, and in the front of the shield was a silver lion engraving, baring its fierce fangs towards any who dared to go against this shield. The bottom side of the shield, was extremely sharpened, it could comfortably break any wooden spear or bend any steel weapon.

If push came to shove, it could also firmly chop off someone's foot. All in all, the focal point of this pair of sword and shield was undoubtedly the shield.

The man, who had left for a second, came back with a black, wooden shortbow that he had picked up off the wall and set it down on the counter.

The bow had the same iconic engravings as the sword, and was extremely detailed. A very thin, golden string attached to the two ends of the bow was very eye-catching.

"Golden Arachnia Web, best quality you'll ever find in Tower City." John explained, seeing the children's astonished gazes. 'Which madman would make a bow out of golden thread? Of course it's a web.' They thought, but they didn't know that this singular strand of woven web was a hundred times more expensive than a kilogram of gold.

"You're right, it's Golden Arachnia Web, of the highest quality, too. It will serve as an excellent shortbow. I will give you a quiver and a hundred black steel arrows in a bit. As for you, kid, ya estoc is going to be ready in four days, come back then." The depthfolk man said to Cassius as he quickly started doing calculations in his mind about the price.

"Alright, then, it will be… 120 Gold for the sword and shield, 170 Gold for the shortbow, and 250 Gold for the estoc, however you can pay the gold for the estoc when it is ready."

Cassius, who was familiar with the value of money in this world, widened his eyes. If he had to compare the worth of Gold to the worth of the dollar in his old life, then a single gold coin would be worth about ten thousand dollars, a silver coin about one hundred dollars, and a copper coin was worth about one dollar.

Each Gold coin was equivalent to one hundred silvers, and each silver coin was equivalent to one hundred coppers. So, what exactly was the amount this man was asking for-for these weapons?

It was, according to Cassius' calculations, 540 Gold coins. This was equivalent to five million and four hundred thousand dollars. So, it was no surprise that he widened his eyes.

"This-this much?" Cassius whispered to John, who only smiled mysteriously.

"Your Highness, you may not be aware, but these weapons are all enchanted by the Imperial Coven. Not to mention that the craftsmanship could be one of the best in the northern divide of Astaries. Considering the factors… such a price is most definitely appropriate, I dare say that if you had been any normal looking person, the price would've been higher." John explained in a calm manner.

"But- but we don't have that kind of money on us… I thought, I didn't think just weapons could cost this much." Cassius said, he clearly hadn't expected four simple pieces of equipment to be worth this much.

John, on the other hand, only smiled and extended a black card to the shopkeeper.

"Put it on our tab." John said as he smiled, but the shopkeeper's eyes only widened as he broke out in a cold sweat upon seeing the card.

On the card was the image of a single eye, adorned with lines of silver and gold, reflecting a black abyss. It was the symbol of the Imperial Intelligence, but Cassius did not yet know it.

"A-ah… it's fine… we, we'll only charge for the material costs, it will just be 230 Gold… I will put it on your tab, sir, please forgive my rudeness." The shopkeeper said anxiously as he looked at John and a spark of realization flashed across his eyes.

'Fuck… a half masked man.. how did I not notice? Fuck, fuck, fuck. I screwed up, I screwed up, I can't have the damn pigs snooping around this area.'

"Actually, no, forget the material costs, this one's on the house, sir, thank you for your patronage!" The shopkeeper said humbly as he bowed.

"Please, there's no need for that. Even we, must pay the appropriate costs. We will wire you 230 Gold, please collect it tomorrow at the Banking Office." John said with a kind tone as he took the weapons, including the estoc replica Cassius had used, and gestured with his fingers, as three of the agents following them through the shadows emerged. They quickly held the weapons and then disintegrated back into the shadows.

"Thank you, Arrista Valor, we will definitely return in four days for the estoc." John said as he smiled innocently. Arrista Valor, the shopkeeper, had frozen all over to the point he forgot to greet them as the group left.

He remained still as if time was paused. He no longer perspired, but now only a grim expression rested on his visage. He had not been called Arrista Valor in over 20 years. When he came to Tower City, his identity was a simple refugee seeking a better life, under the name of Todar Kross. He had also named his now very famous and wide-spread business, the Kross Smithy.

The truth, however, was that his real name was Arrista Valor. He had been a prominent chieftain of a depthfolk union, until the union finally fell apart in internal strife and civil war. His side had been the losing one, which is why he was forced to leave his home, go above ground and adopt a new identity called Todar Kross. No-one should've known about him. Even his own family in Tower City did not know about his old identity.

Yet, this man who carried the insignia of the Imperial Intelligence did. 'So they always knew about me…'

In fact, the Imperial Intelligence knew of many people like Arrista Valor, having come to the Black Empire in search of a new life, away from danger, away from their enemies. And they did not really mind, in fact they tacitly allowed it by not going after them. That was because these people were skilled, notable people. Their expertise, manpower, skill and talents could be used to infinitely strengthen the foundations of the Black Empire.

However this also had its own downsides, because even the Imperial Intelligence could not hide or discover everything. So what happened when those said enemies found out about these refugees staying in the Black Empire? They sought answers, and compensation.

In any case, Arrista Valor had learnt an important lesson that day.

Never underestimate the Imperial Intelligence.