In between hammer blows, Cash heard the telltale sound of a light knock at her door. “The door’s open, I’ll be right there!” she bellowed, over her shoulder before putting the ingot back into the furnace and wiping some of the grime off of her face. As she made her way to the counter, she saw her visitor was not what she had been expecting: a tiny, bright purple dragon was sitting on the counter before her, giving her a slight nod.
Her thoughts went back to the first time she had been visited by the creature some weeks ago. She had found it on a window sill near the forge, the sight of it nearly resulted in her losing her grip on the hammer at the time. She had thought it lost, or like some mythical great hawk out hunting, until it noticed her staring and, rather casually, hopped over to her.
It was carrying a small satchel, just as it was sporting now on the counter. It had given her a sort of sniff and, seemingly satisfied, reached into its bag and produced a note. In a thick, blocky hand writing, the note made clear that the creature before her was named Lucius – the familiar of the wizard Alarius whose Crystal Keep had been a part of the town’s skyline for quite some time.
The note made an offer of a commission. He required a dagger be made: encrusted with a great many jewels and fashioned of a particular alloy, and an illustration of the finished piece. Cash had expressed her delight in the offer and loved to accept, but she had none of the materials at hand. Before she could begin to say anything about a timeline or receiving shipments from back east for the materials, Lucius began to pour out the remaining contents of his pouch.
Tumbling into her hands were a dazzling assortment of rubies, sapphires, amethysts, and emeralds along with an ingot of metal. It was everything she would need to get started.
She marveled at how quickly the commission went: the metal alloy was a dream to work with, and in a mere week she had completed the work on the dagger and its matching sheath.
“Well, it is a delight to see you once more, Lucius. You have exceptional timing! After finishing my work, I had it sent to the jeweler in town to set the collection of stones into it. It only just arrived back yesterday.”
As she spoke, she disappeared in to the back of the shop, emerging with a leather wrapped parcel. Unwrapping it to reveal the piece, Lucius inches closer. As he does so, his eyes take on an unearthly glow as its master begins to share its gaze; examining the dagger before it.
It was an exquisite site to behold: A single edged blade with a light curve; a very old design. Along the handle were rows of each type of jewel; ruby, sapphire, yellow diamond, in separate lines spiraling up to meet at a cluster of emerald, amber, and amethyst at the pummel. The metal sheath matching it perfectly, its own set in reverse, ending in a teardrop of one of the larger rubies.
Lucius looks it over, finally clasping his hands together in delight, reaching for Cash’s hand to plant a thankful kiss upon it, causing her to blush slightly. He then reaches into his pouch.
Lucius produces a diamond from his satchel as payment. A stone beautifully cut and nearly the length of Cash’s thumb is set before her and Lucius looks to her expectantly. It takes a moment for her to catch her breath.
“Oh.. by the gods! Well, YES! Of course that is enough!” Cash says, breaking into a laugh. “Now then, do you require anything else, my dear creature?”
Lucius gives a polite shake if his head and a nod of thanks before gathering the dagger into the leather wrapping and securing it in his satchel. With that the little dragon takes off and out the door, fading to transparancy as he speeds his way home