Lessa

"I can do some much better," Lessa muttered, shaking her head. Her blonde hair fell into her eyes, and she brushed it back as she grabbed for another material. That's when she noticed there were only to left. She hesitated, biting her lower lip. Then, she picked one up anyway. She had a job to do, and if it used up the last of Claim's materials, so be it. She prepped her material, and brought it back to her anvil. The Hammer of Dawn struck it repeatedly, but the quality of this craft was not much better. She let out a frustrated cry, dropping the hammer back onto her work bench. {[864] Cra

Lessa stepped into the front of her shop, and glanced over Rebekah's order. "I'll look into it for you," she told her, nodding. "May be a while, but I'll see what I can do." Then, she disappeared back into the depths of her forge. The warmth of the fire kissed her cheeks as she picked up another of Claim's materials. When it was warm enough for crafting, she moved back to her anvil and began to work. The craft was an absolute nightmare. This was possibly the worst thing she had ever made, the material simply oozing off the edges of her anvil. "Terrible," she muttered, tossing what was left

The woman scooped up another material, and went to work prepping it for molding. "Only four left," she commented to herself. Then she sighed. Having a limited amount of materials made things difficult sometimes. It would be so much easier if she could simply craft without a care in the world. Her Hammer of Dawn worked to mold the piece into Claim's gauntlets. The final product was passable, but not anything close to the quality she was looking for. Lessa frowned. "Better than nothing," she said. {[831] Craft: 9 + 1 (Hammer of Dawn) = 10. Good item crafted. 3/5 materials for Claim.}

"And now, gauntlets for Claim," the woman mused, moving back to her shop. She dropped all of the materials from Rebekah onto her work table. Then, she moved to another pile, and selected a single material. She would use what Claim gave her for this piece. Moving to the flames in the corner of her shop, Lessa shoved the material deep inside. When it was finally ready to be worked, she moved to the anvil. Even with the help of the Hammer of Dawn, the final product was a pitiful one. Lessa shivered, then tossed the material onto the wrecked pile. "No good," she muttered. {[786] Craft: 3 + 1 (

At the sound of the bell, Lessa emerged from the depths of her shop. Upon spotting Rebekah, the blonde's face lit up with a grin. "Hi, Rebekah!" The shopkeeper greeted warmly. "So glad you made it back! Your sword has been waiting for you." Lessa brought up her menu, and pulled the sword from her inventory to the trade box. Then, she pressed confirm. "These materials will be great, thank you." She flashed the other woman a smile, and concluded with, "let me know if you need anything else. I'd be happy to help."

"Five materials left," Lessa commented, her hands on her hips, her gaze on the small pile. She had had impossibly good luck crafting for Tristan, and there was only one more item on his list. Hopefully, she would knock it out quickly, and she could move on to other projects. Besides, the sooner Tristan was all situated, the better. He was her guild mate, and it was her responsibility to ensure he was geared up. She prepared another material. Tristan had asked her to make adjustments to his old gauntlets, and she figured it would be a good use of his remaining ore. As she struck the material

It was a new day. Lessa stood in front of the fire, warming a new piece of material. The flames danced in her blue eyes, and the heat of warmed her cheeks. When she deemed the ore was ready, she pulled it from the fire and rest it on her anvil. Her fingers crawled across the tools that hung on the wall, and she plucked the Hammer of Dawn. As soon as she began work on Tristan's breastplate, she knew it was going to be of high quality. The material seemed to shape itself. The final product that rest before her was beautiful, and she could not help but smile. "Tristan will love this." {[

At Alkor's warning, Lessa crouched into a ready position. She held her claymore before her, its faint pink glow slightly dulled by the dust that hung in the air. Alkor had performed flawlessly, and his new weapon had dealt out a massive amount of damage. The girl smiled. Nothing but the best from him. That was the way it had always been. Of course he should have the best weapon as well. Suddenly, the ground beneath her began to shake. For a brief moment, she regretted choosing such a heavy weapon, as she could not hold out her arms to steady herself. Gaze desperately scanning the ground, she

Of course, he had to ruin the moment by making another boss jab. The corners of her lips dipped, her smile disappearing, but she would not comment. That was a discussion for another time. And if Alkor had his way, it would be a sooner than later. At least he had Nightbringer now. That brought her some relief. If he was to carry any weapon into battle, she felt better knowing it was one of hers. It was the strongest weapon she was able to craft, and she hoped it would keep him safe. Not that she would ever be able to express that though. Snapping back to the present, Lessa listened to A

Before her eyes, Alkor transformed into a different person. She could pin-point the exact moment when his fingertips first grazed the sword's ornate hilt, and his walls came crumbling down around him. His display of emotion, so foreign to her, was enough to bring forth tears of her own. She felt them pushing at the back of her eyes, but she would not let them fall. This was his moment, not hers. She would not spoil it. So instead, Lessa stood there, her blush still raging on her cheeks, a crooked smile on her pink lips. She opened her mouth to ask him if he liked it, but closed it immediat

Still a bit shaken from the previous craft, Lessa plucked a material off of Tristan's stack. "Back to work," she commented, brushing her hair back from her hair with her free hand. Once again, she held the material in the flames until it grew hot. Her mentor had taught her what to look for, and how to tell that the material was ready to be crafted. When she determined it was, the blonde dropped the material onto the anvil and began to work it. Of course, not every craft could be a success. This material simply would not work with her, no matter how she struck it. Even the Hammer of Dawn di

"You can come out now, you baby," she called to Orion, laughing. She accepted the rewards when she was prompted to do so, then sheathed her weapon. The blonde stretched her arms out above her head, working out the kinks that combat had caused. Then she yawned, and rubbed at her eyes. "Crazy how much more relaxed I'm getting when it comes to fighting, huh?" On cue, Orion scurried out of the grass. He clawed his way up her pants, skirting her armor, and came to rest on her shoulder. The creature chirped into her ear, as if scolding her for engaging at all. "I need the materials!" Lessa cried bac

"Wait!" The swordswoman called out suddenly, reaching a hand out toward Alkor. Her face was flushed, the blush extending down her neck and under her armor. Something had her pretty worked up. He said not to worry about the sword. Maybe he really doesn't want it? Well, it was too late now. There was no turning back. "Before you go, Alkor, I-" her voice trailed, and she dropped her gaze. "I'm sorry I asked you about the sword. Because, well-" again, she struggled to find the words. Finally, she heaved a sigh and brought up her inventory. She scrolled through the items, doing her best not to

"I have three more items to craft," Lessa said aloud, reminding herself of her jam-packed queue. "I need to buckle down and get this done." She went to pick up another item from Tristan's pile, then hesitated. Did she want a repeat of last time? To just chop away at all of the customer's materials? "Maybe I'll use my last material, and work on something personal," she told herself. Might as well take a breath, and work on something else for bit. Then she nodded. It was decided. Picking up her last material, she went about the preparation process. She felt that she had done this same thing

The young woman set aside Tristan's gauntlets. She had not required any further payment than the materials, so he was free to pick it up whenever he liked. Then, she wandered back to the warmest corner of her shop. Slipping another one of Tristan's materials into the fire, she wondered while she might craft this time. She still had seven materials work with, and she hoped she would not have to use all of them. Again, her mind drifted back to Rebekah's craft. She had spent too many materials on it. You're still new, her conscience reminded her. But it did not raise her spirits. The ite

His words were cold, but she understood. Lessa knew that Alkor believed in what he said wholeheartedly. He recognized that some individuals simply could not be reached, despite his best efforts. He used this as an excuse to let some people slip through his fingers. Lessa simply did not agree with his thought process. You can't shoulder their pain? Lessa repeated silently. She bit down on the inside of her cheek and inhaled slowly though her noes. So some people aren't worth saving? Was her own retort. Who's job is it to decide who can and can't be saved? Every person is inherently good, so at

She studied her companion for a moment, still trying to pick out any hints as to his thoughts. He had always been difficult to read. She had noticed that the first time they met, and experienced it again that day they met on the hill. She still remembered the way he had sat beside her in the grass, his mind a million miles away, his face completely bereft of emotion. It had bothered her then. And while she was growing used to it, it still got to her occasionally. Understanding people had always been her greatest strength. Alkor, it seemed, was her kryptonite. "No," she said, finally shatteri

"You know," Lessa began, sliding her own weapon back into its sheath, "I could craft you a new sword. I am a blacksmith, after all." Though her words could be misconstrued as being such, her tone revealed that she was not being the least bit sarcastic. She ran a hand through her long hair, and let it fall loosely over one shoulder. "I'd be happy to do it, especially if we pick up a decent amount of materials out here." Was she coming on too strong? She was just a guild master, working to provide her guild members with the best equipment possible. Right? Back to the matter at hand, Lessa resp

She was always so impressed, and a little bit intimidated, by the way he remained calm during battle. Lessa spent so much time worrying about others, and it made her sick to watch them take damage. She was so concerned that someone might take a little too much, and slip away from her forever. But that did not seem to bother Alkor, as he made yet another joke in the face of real danger. He was allowing her to finish the creature off. But just as she had predicted, the salamander grew more unpredictable as it was weakened. As she rushed toward it, it attempted to rake its claws across her just

The girl clasped her hand over her mouth, smothering the cry that had tried to spill out. The salamander had dealt a lot of damage, but Alkor had acted as if it did not affect him at all. That doesn't matter, a voice in the back of her mind chided. 0 HP is 0 HP, regardless of how well you take it. You're still dead. She frowned, but gave her companion a small nod when he tried to make light of the situation. "Focus," she growled softly, tightening her hold on the hilt, and looking over the salamander. Its health was dwindling, but that was often the most dangerous time to attack. Monsters gr

Lessa read over the message, and shot back a quick message. She assured Rebekah not to worry about it, and to take her time getting the materials together. Her sword would be waiting for her here. Now, she had eight materials to make Tristan's requests. There were three of them, and the truth was, she was a bit nervous. It had taken her six materials to craft Rebekah's perfect weapon. How would she craft three items using only two more materials? Thankfully, Tristan had given her a lot of wiggle room when it came to how the equipment turned out. She selected one of his eight materials, an