Derek had led Kar to a room where he could shower and change into fresh clothes.

  Kar was excited to see they utilized many of the advancements here that Morrow had shown him back in the Ruins. Melisdra had talked about this place and others like it being connected once to Dara. Had that been before the Cataclysm? If so, it was strange to see everything here in working condition. It was such a stark contrast to the Ruined state of Iridess.

  From the focal lamps that provided even and on-demand lighting to heated showers for every guest; these were conveniences the fortress dungeons certainly lacked. But here in Darby, all of this seemed to be the norm. Was this what life had been like for everyone back on Dara too? Before the Cataclysm?

  Derek rapped on the door, his voice muffled through the thick wood, “You about ready? Lore’s waiting for us.”

  “Sorry, I haven’t felt clean in months.” Kar said, examining himself once more in the mirror. The hair on his head had grown in—it was still short but looked normal now. He’d trimmed his facial hair short to match. He wasn’t used to having a beard, but it had grown on him these past weeks.

  Derek had given him clothes in the local style that fit well too. Despite Ennis the innkeeper’s remarks about Kar looking scrawny, he couldn’t help but admire his new physique. He was lean, and fit. Not words he would have ever used to describe himself before.

  “Ok, I’m ready!” Kar called as he turned toward the door.

  Downstairs, Lore was drinking and playing cards with her older sister and the others. She smiled brightly on seeing he and Derek. “Hey! What did I tell you,” she said, elbowing Kiya, “he cleaned up pretty nice.”

  Kiya snorted, then took another swig of her drink. How much more could she handle? “Get, out-ta here.” Kiya stuttered.

  Lore leapt up laughing, “Make sure she gets up to her room soon?” Jon—who was sitting to the other side of Kiya—just tipped his head, laughing.

  When they stepped outside, it appeared to be around mid-afternoon. Derek and Lore took Kar to the market district first. There were no stalls or tents here, but rather well-built storefronts where artisans and craftsmen plied their trades next to food seller’s and shops. They ate some kind of meat-pie, then followed it up with pastries and sweet-treats the likes of which Kar had never tasted before.

  Derek next insisted they go across the street to a metal-worker’s shop and forge. As soon as they entered, the shop owner and her workers welcomed them warmly. Derek and Lore seemed to already be familiar to them.

  Kar noticed almost immediately that much of the items on display here were made of that strange metal the Valorcryst’s weapons were made of.

  “What kind of metal is this?” He asked the woman behind the counter. The back of the shop was a large and open smithy and workshop where new tools and implements were being worked and forged.

  She smiled, not answering him straight away, “Welcome to my shop. My name is Sharien, I’m the Mistress of this forge. You must be the Marked. Kar, is that right?”

  He nodded.

  “Derek here has told me about you. To answer your question, though, everything here is Focus-Forged using traditional techniques passed down from masters to apprentices. All of my craftsmen here are both artisans and Adepts. I’ve heard you are all Focusers as well? Any of you Imbuers?”

  Kar’s eyes widened in excitement, “I am. I only know a handful of techniques, but would like to learn more.”

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  “Well, it takes multiple Adepts with different abilities to properly Focus-Forge something, but your ability is one of the key steps. You forge the metal traditionally and work it into its near finished form, then Imbue it.”

  Kar sensed Focusing then, and turned to watch a young man in the back of the workshop. He sat at a bench, the head of a shovel in front of him. He Imbued it, pouring Energía into the metal. Once done, he handed it off to another, older man, who performed a different kind of Focusing Kar didn’t recognize.

  “What kind of ability is he using?” Kar asked the woman.

  “Ah, you noticed that? That’s the final touch. Arvin there is Refining it, utilizing the Energía that was just Imbued to harden and change the metal. It depends on the technique, but the best Focus-Forged metals will last millennia.”

  Kar nudged Derek, “That’s what the Valorcryst’s weapons are made of. When I fought Melisdra, her blade sliced right through this,” he rapped on his shadow arm for emphasis, “like it was nothing.”

  Sharien perked up at the mention of the Guardian’s name, “We’ve had the pleasure of working with the Valorcryst of the fortress for generations. Are any of you three in need of weaponry or other items? It would be an honor for us to supply one of the Marked and his companions. At no charge, of course.”

  Kar, Derek, and Lore all shared a look, and Lore immediately spoke up, “We would love that.”

  Sharien led them through a side door into a back room where instead of more common tools and utensils, there were weapons of all types. Swords, spears, axes, hammers— and a set of strange, half crystal, half metal cylinders hanging on special racks all along one wall.

  “What are those?” Derek asked.

  “Are either of you Blasters?” She asked Derek and Lore.

  Derek and Kar both raised their hands. Sharien looked at Kar with a confused expression, “I thought you said you were an Imbuer?”

  “He’s a bit of everything.” Derek supplied nonchalantly.

  The forge owner frowned, “How… unusual. Well. These are focal cylinders. Have you really never seen these before, back on Dara?”

  The three of them could only shake their heads.

  “They’re weapons, used by hunters now. But back in the old days these were one of the best ways to fight the Shadowcryst. Blasters can Focus through the mechanism here by the handle,” she pulled one of the Cylinders down to demonstrate, “and the Blast will drive one of these bearings,” now she palmed and displayed a metal ball to them, “out of the far end of the cylinder here.”

  She held the contraption with both hands, the handle squared against one shoulder, the long cylinder pointed away from her, while she squinted one eye shut.

  Derek stared at it reverentially. “So, how far does it drive that ball?”

  “Oh, a long, long ways. And it hits hard enough to crack crystal like a hammer blow. A group of Blasters armed with these could stop a Shadowcryst charge in its tracks. If you believe the stories anyway. Now, I’d be happy to send you out of here with one of our more normal weapons. I’d need to check with the Fortress before handing one of these off to you, though.”

  “Oh.” Derek said, disappointed.

  “Bummer,” Lore said, “show us what else you have.”

  Sharien led them over to the wall of conventional arms. Derek kept looking back longingly at the wall of cylinders. Lore immediately noticed a sleek looking hammer and picked it up.

  “Believe it or not, that’s over seven hundred years old.” Sharien said. “It saw fighting in the Bores before the Causeways were all shut.”

  “Wow…” Lore said excitedly. She picked it up, admiring it as she turned it over in her hands.

  Sharien smiled, “Please, take it. Consider it a gift. I’m sure its maker would rather it be used for its purpose, fighting the Shadow, than sitting here collecting dust.”

  Lore grinned, bowing to the forge mistress.

  Kar, meanwhile, had migrated to a slight pair of what looked like narrow spikes with handles. “What are these?”

  Sharien stepped over to him, “Those are stilettos. Designed for cracking Shadowcryst shard-hearts.”

  Kar wasn’t sure how well he could hang on to a larger weapon, but felt like he could make use of something like this. He raised them questioningly.

  “Of course.” Sharien said, with a small bow.

  “What about you, Derek?” Kar asked his friend.

  Derek looked everything over, seemingly unimpressed. Finally, he shrugged, and said, “I don’t really use weapons normally. Gets in the way when I need to Focus.”

  Sharien hesitated, looking from Derek to the wall of Focal Cylinders. “If I let you take one, you have to promise not to use it around other people. Can you do that for me? These can be dangerous if you’re not careful.”

  Derek nodded eagerly, “I promise, I’ll be careful.”

  She sighed, “Alright then. I have a feeling you can make good use of it.”

  The three thanked her profusely, and she had all of their picks wrapped for them to take with them when they left.

  “What’s next?” Kar said out on the street, laughing in disbelief.