Chapter 354 - 300: Where to Find a Magic Artisan (Part 2)

"I think you might have a... well, a peculiar idea about my boss's strength," Little John hemmed and hawed, trying to be tactful.

"Peculiar?" Sofia chuckled, gesturing to the giant Fish Bones. "I'd say those prove I'm not far off."

"Alright, let's not talk about that," Little John sighed under his breath. 'He had no idea how this Druid maiden could look at a Goblin Race struggling for survival and see a 'Future Forest Ruler'.' "I've already been to those two shops, but they rejected my commission."

"So you wanted to see if any artisans in the Church would be willing to take the commission. After all, you can pay them enough, right?"

Little John gave an apologetic smile.

"I'm not high up in the Church hierarchy. I'm just a Druid who takes on external assignments. At my level, I can't order those artisans to take on this... this private affair for you." Sofia paused, raising her teacup to take a sip.

Hearing her reply, Little John couldn't help but sigh. He had only approached Sofia on a whim; frankly, he hadn't been very optimistic, and it seemed he was right. "Well, I'm sorry to have bothered you. If you don't mind, I can buy you lunch as an apology."

"For lunch, I'd like to try the spiced grilled fish from that old shop in eastern Torch City," Sofia said with a calm nod. "A lot of officials from city hall like to eat there. The price isn't so low these days."

Just as Little John was about to nod in agreement, Sofia continued, "And besides, I didn't say I wouldn't help. I just said finding an artisan from the Church would be troublesome."

"Huh?" Little John blinked a few times. "If not an artisan from the Church, then who?"

"We can find an artisan in the marketplace."

"I've already tried those two shops..."

"Forget it. Just come with me." Sofia put down her teacup, then stood up and walked to the warehouse entrance. "We need to be quick. Where he lives is a bit out of the way, and if we take too long, we might not get any grilled fish."

"Oh, right." Little John followed her, completely bewildered. He had no clue where she was taking him.

...

They were in the southeastern part of Torch City. You could hardly see any two-story houses in this entire district; it was almost exclusively one-story bungalows. A small river, giving off a nauseating stench, wound through the area before emptying directly into the sea to the south.

Many children in tattered clothes ran around the neighborhood. Seeing Sofia in her Church attire and Little John in his clean clothes, they immediately swarmed the pair.

They showed no shyness, instead shouting desperately, "Please, miss, have a heart!" "You're so pretty, miss!" "May the Gods bless you!" Then they thrust out their cupped hands in front of Little John and Sofia.

Little John pursed his lips, reaching back with one hand to guard the leather pouch at his hip; that Beastman had given him a masterful demonstration of pickpocketing earlier. With his other hand, he fumbled for a copper plate.

"No, don't give them money," Sofia said softly, then turned to the children. "I'm here to see Marshall. You know the rules."

As Sofia finished speaking, the children took the hint, lowered their heads, and walked away. Little John stopped what he was doing. "Who's Marshall?"

"Come with me." Sofia continued to lead the way.

Soon, they had passed through this district, which was filled with filth and garbage. Many people hid behind their doors, watching the pair with a gaze that was both greedy and timid. Little John, for his part, was constantly observing his surroundings. That look was not at all unfamiliar to him. He had seen it in the eyes of many people when that damned tax collector came to his old village; he had seen it in Yangjiao Town, in the cages where slave traders kept goblins, after he'd left the Adventurer Association to get his weapon repaired; he had seen it on the faces of the goblins standing beside Shire, those who were newly captured or had joined the tribe just a few days before.

"This whole district is where the dockworkers live," Sofia said slowly from ahead. "A year ago, it wasn't like this."

"A year ago?"

"Yes. Back then," Sofia sighed softly, "Torch City was still Baron Merlot's demesne. You could often hear laughter drifting from these dockworkers' homes, and this district wasn't so dirty and chaotic."

"It's a shame things have changed." She trailed off into silence. The city had changed hands, and the new officials possessed none of the Baron's administrative skill. They were constantly infighting and exploiting the workers, which is how this place ended up in such a state in just one short year.

After a few seconds of silence, Sofia continued, "The person we're going to visit is also a Magic Artisan. He's just a bit... special."

"Special?" Little John glanced at their surroundings. "How special can he be? Is he stranger than Fulu?"

"That's a good point," Sofia chuckled. "He's human. It's just that one of his hands and one of his feet aren't made of flesh."

As soon as she finished speaking, Little John saw the Druid maiden in front of him stop. He looked past her and saw a very plain-looking adobe bungalow. Its main door was tightly shut, and a lock hung from the weathered wood, suggesting the owner wasn't home.

Sofia, however, walked right up to it and, with a loud BANG, kicked the wooden door into the house. "Old man, I'm here!"

"Dammit, I heard you! Do you have any idea how much a wooden door costs?" a curse rang out from inside the house, followed by a CLANK, CLANK, CLANK from within.

"Let's go in." Completely ignoring the neighbors' whispers, Sofia stepped into the dilapidated bungalow.

After Little John entered the house, he saw an old man with a goatee leaning against a battered cabinet. The man's head was bald on top, but the messy hair ringing it seemed to have a mind of its own. He was pointing at the door on the floor, glaring at Sofia. "One wooden door, made of fine material... you'll have to compensate me at least One Gold Coin."

"Alright, old man, I've brought you some business." Sofia ignored him and said to Little John, "This is Marshall, a Magic Artifact Artisan of Torch City."

"That's not right. The *best* Magic Artifact Artisan in Torch City," the goateed old man opposite them corrected huffily. "If it weren't for..."

"'...if you hadn't insisted on making that full set of Beast Bone Armor, you wouldn't have had your credentials revoked by the Kingdom and been banned from the Magic Artifacts industry for life, right?'" Sofia finished his sentence, shaking her head slightly. "He used to be an artisan in Plantagenet City. Unfortunately, he got greedy and created some Magic Items for a client, was reported by a noble, and ended up washing ashore here."

"Then how did you meet him?" Little John raised an eyebrow. 'There's definitely a story there,' he thought.

"It's nothing special. This guy is cheap," Sofia said with a small smile. "Sometimes my Magic Items get damaged in a fight and need to be repaired, and I'd rather save my money for food. I happened to run into him by chance. He was squatting in front of those two Magic Artifact shops, trying to solicit his own customers."

"For food?" Little John thought for a moment. "Doesn't the Church provide food?"

"Mhm, I have a big appetite," Sofia said casually, then turned to the fuming old Marshall. "I brought you a major client, so don't say I never take care of you. A full set of Beast Bones from an Intermediate Magical Beast, plus the entire hide of a Magical Beast. Money is no object."

After saying this, she glanced at Little John. "Right?"

"Yes," Little John nodded quickly. "Money is no issue, as long as your craftsmanship is good."

"Really?" Old Marshall immediately started stroking his goatee. The movement gave Little John a clear view, and he saw that the strange old man's right hand and left foot were actually iron Prosthetic Limbs. 'No wonder I heard that CLANK, CLANK sound earlier,' he realized.

Noticing Little John's scrutinizing gaze, Marshall let out a dry chuckle. He then bent over, moved the broken door aside, and revealed a tattered, rag-like rug on the floor beneath it.

He yanked the rug aside, revealing a square wooden panel underneath.

CLICK. Marshall lifted the panel and headed toward the stairs leading down. "Welcome to my workshop."