The smithy was not in good shape. That really shouldn’t have been much of a surprise, but it hurt Arwin more than he cared to admit to see the building in smoldering shambles. All the materials that he’d bought to repair it had been completely ruined.
Cracked remains of pots littered the ground on top of burnt stone. The wolf pelt was nothing more than a scorch mark on the ground and the hearth had crumbled to bits. Even his tools hadn’t been spared. The heat of the flame had been so intense that their metal had warped and bent, becoming unusable.
Lillia walked beside Arwin as he waded through the soot, trying to see if he could find anything salvageable in the ruins. The Iron Hounds had taken care to make sure nothing within the smithy would survive.
Several melted chunks of metal marked the sets of armor that he’d forged to sell at the market. They’d bent in on themselves and had been buried under a layer of brick that had collapsed on top of the hot metal.
Arwin still collected them, handing the dirtied chunks to Lillia who set them on the street, safely out of the wreckage. Unfortunately, his hearth had been completely destroyed. The bellows had gone with it, though the anvil had survived.
It was too heavy to lift easily with his normal strength, so Arwin used [Scourge] to pry the huge chunk of metal out of the wreckage and lug it over to the street himself. He set it down with a clang, then straightened with a grimace. His hands and legs had been stained pitch black by all the soot.
“There should be more pieces of metal somewhere here,” Arwin said as he waded back into the smithy’s remains. “Let me know if you see anything.”
Lillia nodded, and the two of them got back to searching. Nearly an hour passed before they’d gone through everything about as well as they were going to be able to without literally diving through the soot.
They managed to rescue several sheets of the ivory metal and Brightsteel as well as a warped ingot of Brightsteel that Arwin had bought to make the suits of armor he’d planned to sell on the market. Everything else had been lost to the flames.
“Like who?” Arwin asked. “Everyone is–”
“Right here,” Reya finished.
Arwin spun toward the door. He’d been so distracted with his work that he hadn’t noticed not just Reya, but also Anna and Rodrick walking up on the street behind them.
Damn it. I can’t afford to be this damn distracted. I’m going to get us killed at this rate.
“Ah,” Arwin said intelligently. He glanced over his shoulder at the soot-smeared metal behind him, then back over to the rest of his guild. “How long were you there?”
“I’ll get the grout,” Rodrick volunteered. “Anna can come with me.”
“Then I’ll make something for everyone to eat,” Lillia said, looking from Reya to Arwin. “Let me know when I can help again.”
Arwin nodded absently and tossed a bag of gold to Rodrick. “There.”
“I’ll bring back the change,” Rodrick said, tucking the bag into his waistband and heading off with Anna at his side. Lillia slipped past Arwin and out of the building, leaving him alone within it.
Reya stood on the street across from him. For several seconds, neither of them spoke. Then Arwin sighed and stepped back, gesturing for her to follow him. “Come on. Let’s talk.”
After a moment of hesitation, Reya walked inside. Arwin sat down on the anvil, leaning forward and bracing his arms against his knees.
“Go on, then,” Arwin said wearily. “Ask.”
“You wanted to know my secrets,” Arwin said, rocking back to catch Reya’s gaze. “I’ll tell them to you, if you want me to. I’ve just been trying to protect you, but that didn’t work out so well for Zeke.”
“I’m sorry.” Reya’s hands tightened at her sides and her eyes dropped to the floor. “It was wrong of me to say you got him killed. It wasn’t your fault. I – I’m just so mad. Why did he have to die?”
“It’s okay, Reya. You weren’t entirely wrong. Zeke died because I was arrogant.” Arwin gritted his teeth. “I didn’t think that the Iron Hounds would try to kill me. I kept thinking that there was no way humans would do that to themselves, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. If I’d treated them the way I treat monsters, then I never would have dismissed the threat.”
“Nobody would assume that they’re going to get killed just because they didn’t join a guild,” Reya said, looking back up at Arwin. “You can’t blame yourself.”
“I don’t blame myself, but he did die because of me,” Arwin said. “That was an attack meant to kill me, not him. My secrets have nothing to do with why we were attacked, but you’ve been with me longer than any of the others. If you want to know who I really am, then I’ll tell you.”
Reya shook her head, her eyes watering. “I’m sorry, Arwin. I really am. I was speaking without thinking earlier. I don’t care about the secrets. I–”
“I’m not angry at you,” Arwin said, raising a hand to cut Reya off before she could continue. “You’re right, Reya. Even though my secrets aren’t the reason he died, I’ve been treating you like a child, and I apologize for it. I thought I could protect everyone.”
Reya wiped her face with the back of a sleeve, but Arwin continued speaking before she could say anything else.
“I was strong enough – at one point. And, at one point, I will be again. But, right now, I’m not,” Arwin said. “I can’t protect you like I could. So, right now, all I can offer is knowledge. I’m not giving this to you because you hurt my feelings, Reya. I’m offering it because knowledge is all I can offer. Well, that and armor.”
“How could knowledge protect me?” Reya asked with a sniffle.
“Knowledge is a tool, just like everything else. Now think, Reya – and tell me if you really want to know. You can’t unlearn anything. But, if you want to know who I really am, I’ll tell you.”