...The morning sunlight shone brightly through the window, covering his face in light and waking him up.

  He rubbed his eyelids and yawned. “Fuck.. Have I overslept ?” he got up quickly and dressed himself in black pants and a black shirt that had a crest, which resembled a horse just under the left shoulder.

  “Shit.. okay. I hope he didn't forget about the meeting,” he whispered to himself as he opened the bedroom door, going to the living room where his wife and kids greeted him.

  “Daddy! You finally woke up,” the kids shouted and rushed to hug him.

  “Oh! Morning everyone,” he wrapped his arms around them and lifted them into the air, making them giggle.

  “Morning, Julius,” his wife said while smiling at him from across the room.

  She stood near the window with a small bucket in her hands, watering the plants below. He gently set the kids down and walked over to the bathroom. “Daddy, can you play with us?” the two shouted from the other room.

  “Sorry you two, I am already late for a meeting…” he responded and splashed his face with water, washing it and rubbing it.

  Before leaving the bathroom, he observed his reflection in the mirror.

  “Dolores, can you pass me my cape?” he asked while taking the sword that was on a chair in the dining room. He slid it into the sheath that he was wearing on his left side.

  “Sure-” she brought it to him, and handed it over. “Here.”

  “Thank you” he kissed her forehead.

  “Ew, mom and dad are kissing!” they shouted.

  “Oh shush you two!” Julius and Dolores laughed, her face blushed softly.

  “Okay, I am heading out now. Be good and don’t make trouble while I'm gone, alright?”

  “Okay! See you daddy.” “Bye daddy!” Closing the door behind him, he paused to breathe in the morning breeze as the sound of birds chirping calmed his mind.

  He walked through the village. Occasionally passing by houses that were reduced to rubble, overgrown with moss.

  Only a couple of village residents stood on the bridge he walked over, directly in the middle of the village. Underneath, a river flowed.

  “Ya think they are coming back soon?” one said.

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  “Shit… I hope not. Whenever they come it is never good for us.” the other responded.

  He walked past them for a while, before arriving at his destination. A small smithy, and a short but bulky man standing inside, with a hammer in his right hand. The sound of heavy metal clangs resonated from inside.

  “Faber!” he called.

  “Haha! Julius” the blacksmith responded.

  “Took you long enough, my friend!” he placed the hammer down on the anvil, next to an old longsword. And turned to face Julius.

  “I started thinking you won't come today, lad.”

  “Yeah, I kind of… overslept.” he raised his arm and scratched his head.

  “Well then, you brought it huh?” Faber pointed at the sheath.

  “Ahem, yes.” he took his scabbard out of the sword belt, handing it over to Faber. He unsheathed the sword and inspected it closely. The flames behind him were reflecting on the blade that glowed under the shade of the smithy.

  “Hmm… I see. Very well.” He put the sword back into the scabbard.

  “So you’ve got yourself a sword which visually resembles a long, thin estoc, built for thrusting.” he said as he looked at Julius.

  “But- it appears that you can also use it for cutting, adding a hint of the longsword.”

  “Yeah, I typically use both. Depending on the circumstances.” he crossed his arms, shifting his weight on his left leg.

  “No doubt…” he scoffed.

  “Well, how long do you need to get it done?”

  “A couple of days, at most. By the way, swords like such are a rare breed. Especially your sword.”

  Julius looked at him, without replying.

  “What I mean is… Swords are typically not made out of gold.”

  He lifted the scabbard and laid it down on the shelf among a couple others, then raised his eyebrow when he looked back.

  “Where did you get it anyway?” he asked.

  “Uhm… it was a gift, yes.” Julius responded nervously.

  “Really, huh? Well no matter. Come by in a couple days and if it’s ready I will hand it to you.”

  “Alright, thanks Faber.” Julius turned around but Faber stopped him before he took a step.

  “Wait. Just wanted to say, watch out for a group of bandits. Saw them early this morning, just down the river stream. They might be passing through but it looked to me like they were up to no good.”

  “Really now? Alright, thank you for letting me know. See you my friend.”

  “See ya, lad.” he said as Julius walked away, down the old path.