Jack was halfway back to Gavhin when he noticed that his shovel head was ruined, and that his sword was missing.

He backtracked to the field again. It would be difficult to find his sword as the sun was low in the sky. He hoped the girl was not still there, it would have made it extremely awkward.

Thankfully she wasn’t there. Unfortunately, neither was his sword. He looked for a few minutes, then gave up, about to head back east. That was until he saw a sparkle, just a small speck in the distance. He ran toward it.

When he got to it, he realized it wasn’t his sword, It was a silver necklace with a skull on it. He picked it up, looking left and right to make sure he wouldn’t be attacked again. The lower the sun got the more, and stronger the monsters. He spent only a few moments inspecting the necklace, then he bolted back to Gavhin. He occasionally looked over his shoulder to make sure nothing was chasing him. He wasn’t sure what he would do if he was, in fact, being chased.

He would keep running, probably.

As he sprinted, he thought about the necklace. It could have been the girl’s, but he didn’t remember seeing her wearing anything, not that that would mean it wasn’t hers, but it seemed unlikely in the first place for her to leave it behind. Aldarians were very materialistic, they cared about items more than anything else.

The moon was now rising, Jack arrived at the gate, which was wide open. Two soldiers stood at the entrance, and two patrolled the top of the wall. But they were just there to solidify the town's image, the real guardian being the hero, sitting on a chair.

The guy was sharpening his sword, he didn’t seem to notice Jack rapidly approaching the gate.

The sword was massive, the thing could be used as a fan.

Something in the distance screeched, one of the soldiers straightened his back in response. The Hero stopped sharpening for a moment then resumed.

Jack slowed down as he came close to the gate, so as not to alarm the guards. One of the guards slowed him. “Halt! You can no longer enter at this time. Please stay at a safe distance, thank you.”

“Access granted.” The hero grunted, without even looking up from his occupation.

The guard cleared his throat. “You-”

The guy moved his sword across the ground. “Jeez, just let the guy pass so I can go home.”

The guard grunted. “Fine, you may enter. Proceed.”

As Jack went through the gate, he took one last look at the hero, who hadn’t looked up a single time. What a great guard. Jack thought.

The next morning went smoother than the last. He slept in another inn. The only reason he had been able to afford it, being that Bel had stuffed his bags with coins.

He skipped breakfast, which in hindsight he regretted as he would run on an empty stomach until lunch, but he saved time in the process. He headed to a nearby blacksmith shop, maybe they could fix his shovel.

He was hit with a warm, no, hot, blast of air as he entered the shop, the ringing of the bell attached to the door drowned out by the sound of clanging hammer against metal.

“Excuse me?” Jack asked.

The hammering continued.

Jack raised his voice. “Excuse me?”

Hammering still.

“EXCUSE ME!” shouted Jack.

Finally the clanging stopped, small footsteps rapidly from the left. He peered over the counter. A dwarf waddled toward the counter, he lifted himself onto a stool that increased his height to higher than that of Jack, but not by very much. A metal name tag on his apron read: Hoover.

“Ya, ya! I heard you the first time!” Hoover grunted. “I was finishing the metal, when you barged in!” He seemed to calm down for a moment. “What do ya want?”

“I need you to fix my shovel.” Jack presented it.

“Lemme see it.”

Hoover inspected the shovel for a bit, then grunted. “Bud, this shovel is beyond repair. I’m frankly confused on how you managed to ruin it this badly. Anyways, like I said, this shovel is beyond repair, unless I guild the head with Crimson steel, Osvivum, or Magvolt.”

“Can I buy a weapon?”

“Sure, which one?”

“Custom, please,” Jack replied.

“What weapon do you want?” asked Hoover.

“A fire sword… no- a fire knife.”

Hoover blinked. “What, you want to cook meat as you cut it.”

“For combat.”

Hoover stopped and stared at Jack. He chuckled.

“There ain’t no way…” Hoover said. “You busted your shovel on a monster didn’t you? How many?”

Jack shrugged. He didn’t keep count.

“Alrighty then, one bronze knife comin up.”

Jack watched Hoover grab a bar from one of the tables, then disappear into the other room.

At first, things were a bit quiet, then Hoover came back. “It’s cookin in there. What else do you need?”

Jack shrugged again. He didn’t need anything else really.

“I’ll work on the sheath for you, just gimme a sec.”

Hoover turned to the table behind him. He grabbed a metal wire and a piece of leather out of the bin. Jack watched in awe as Hoover weaved the wire in and out of the leather, wrapping it around to form a sheath. He grabbed another piece of leather and did the same thing, making a belt.

Finally he was finished. He presented it to Jack, then he returned to the other room.

Then the clanging commenced.

Ring of metal filled the room. Clang, clang, clang.

After what seemed like only a few moments, it was over.

After a few more moments Hoover strided back, grinning proudly.

He held a beautiful bronze knife in his hands. He handed it to Jack.

“Quality assurance. Give it a go.”

Jack swung the knife cautiously, the blade lit up with fire, the blade fitted by a flame. He felt the room heat up, more so than even before.

Hoover handed him the pouch. “Put it back in.”

“It’s going to burn-”

“Just put it back, trust me.”

Jack slipped the knife into the sheath. It extinguished immediately.

“Whoa, that's amazing.”

Hoover didn’t respond, however. He was instead fixated on something in Jack’s satchel.

“W-where on earth did you get that?” He said, shocked.

Jack looked down, the necklace was sticking out.

“What, the necklace?” Jack asked, intrigued.

“Yes, where did you get it?” Hoover asked, impatiently.

Jack jerked his thumb. “The plains.”

Hoover raised his monobrow. “The plains?”

Jack waved his hands. “What does it matter to you?”

Hoover scoffed. “Listen close here, I know that to you, and anyone else, that may look like a normal necklace, but that’s Osvivum alloy.” It’s made from the bones of dead gods.”

Jack stood for a moment, not knowing what to say. Finally he opened his mouth.

“Living Marrow?”

Hoover leaned forward, “If anyone sees you with that necklace, they will rob you or kill you for it. You have to melt it down, it’s the only way.”

Jack gulped. “What does it do?”

Hoover grunted. It can let you summon the dead, supposedly. But it can most definitely heal itself and bond with other metals. It can be flexible or rigid depending on how you control it.

“So if it bonds with anything, it will heal it.”

Hoover looked red as a tomato. “Yes, and it can do so much more than that. It's one of the most resistant and strong metals out there. I’ve run this business for almost two centuries, and not once did a customer have that necklace on them.”

“Alright- Wait, there's more than one necklace?”

Hoover waved his hands frantically as if they were on the verge of death. “I can’t explain right now… A hero could walk in at any moment.” He leaned in closer, his body practically resting on the counter. “I can melt it for ya free of charge, promise.”

“Can you fix the shovel?” Jack asked.

The dwarf clicked his tongue. “I can do more than fix it, son. I can make it better.” A confused expression grew on his face. “Why the shovel? Just curious.”

“Oh, I don’t know. I've grown quite fond of it recently. It has… the right feel to it.”

Hoover grinned, giddy with excitement. “Shovel it is then.” Jack handed the necklace and the broken shovel. “Don’t worry, this’ll be a piece of cake,” he beamed.

It had almost been four hours before Hoover returned. He re-entered the room, wiping the soot off his face and hands with a cloth. “Sorry I took so long, but I’ve never worked with Osvivum before. I read quite a lot about it, and even held just a few towqs of it back when I was into archaeology…” He trailed off. “But anyways, I never actually used the stuff… Not that that would mean I didn’t do my very best!” He smiled. “Come, take a gander will ya?” He motioned to the other room.

Jack followed. A small cramped corridor led to a round ball-shaped room, fitted with various furni, tools, incomplete, or perhaps failed, projects. A bin of different metals in one corner.

Leaning against a bin was the shovel, it seemed to be slightly more lustrous than before.

Jack picked up the shovel and felt its weight. Noticeably lighter.

“Be careful, that thing almost took my toes off when I dropped it. Matter of fact, it cut into the floor.” Hoover pointed at a crack in the floor.

“I’ll be careful, promise.” Jack said. “Thanks, again for the shovel.” He began to leave.

“Wait.” Hoover called, he grabbed Jack’s shirt. “You need to listen to this. It’s about the Aldarians . When they see that thing-”

“Yes, I know. It’s valuable, I get it.”

“Yes- No, listen. It's not just that. Not all Aldarians will recognize what it is, of course, but some of the older Aldarians will. But that is not what I meant…”

Hoover gritted his teeth, “This was made from the bones of dead gods.”

Jack sat down on a nearby chair.

“Once, there were many gods. Unfortunately, most of them were malevolent ones. They would demand food, sacrifices, everything from the people. Then eventually, they went too far, so a group of people banded together and killed Morghul, one of Mal’s sons. The news of his death spread across the land. Striking fear into the heart of any deity that roamed. Necklaces were forged from the bones of Morghul.” Hoover locked eyes with Jack.

“The Aldarians are Gods to us, deities, something divine, we can't understand. I’ve been alive for one hundred and eighty nine years. I’ve seen how they act, most thankfully are nothing more than rude and prideful, but there are some that are violent and unpredictable. “They can do whatever they want.”

Jack nodded. It was something that he knew already, but Hoover telling him somehow felt even more unsettling.

“That metal right there, is proof that gods can bleed. Pray you never have to use it against them.”

Jack nodded grimly, he began to exit, when Hoover stopped him again.

“Wait, here's a coupon, come back soon.”

Jack waved at him as he walked down the road, finally disappearing behind a building.