Kent stood at the forge, hammering away at a project the forgemaster gave him. Kent usually did as asked, and as compensation was allowed to use the forge for personal use after closing. He was making very simple iron nails, but even though they were so tedious to make, the common household items were needed, especially with how often Truce got into trouble.

"Ahh! Ze smell of steel and sulfur! Surely zees place will offer service for our arms, non?" said a voice from outside as an unlikely trio entered the smithy. The first was a humanoid frog with a rapier sheathed on his hip. The second was a muscular native from Cosmo Canyon holding a thick and heavy spear. The third figure to enter was a massive blue demihuman with bulging orange lips carrying an enormous mace. The demihuman responded to the frog's question as the trio looked around.
"Let's hope so. I'd hate to walk to Mandala or Brei, since the Gitmidur is still missing." After noting the surroundings, the frog began to approach the only other person they could see: the man working on nails. "Excuze me, sir. Are you zee blacksmith for zis establishment? Moi friends and I need our weapons sharpened."

"I'm not the blacksmith, this is more of me working odd jobs." If he was a blacksmith, he was certainly poorly dressed for it. He wore no apron, nor did he have any gloves. He simply let the fires wisk away at his hands, and hopefully his singed clothing wouldn't catch on fire. Kent turned to see the three, eyeing the purple one harshly. "...Yeah I can get you what you need, just... keep that guy away from my tools." Kent was always a very suspicious person, and has rarely showed a desire to hide it.

The native from Cosmo Canyon simply stood in place, holding his spear and making no sound. The blue demihuman cocked his head at the man's response, unsure if he was referring to him or Sutan. The frog gave a respectful nod as he beckoned the others to place their weapons nearby. "Wonderful, mon ami! You have zaved us from a long trip! We are based in Shrike, you zee. Dezpite itz robustuous industry, zervices zuch as yourz are not present! I will be needing theez rapier sharpened, and.."
Sutan held out his spear and made a simple grunt. "..Zutan here haz heez spear." The demihuman then stepped forward and held out his enormous mace. "The spikes have gotten dull; I haven't had the luxury of visiting a smith since the Paranormal Deliverance Force let me join up. We'll pay well and thanks in advance. I really do appreciate it."

Kent put down his hammer and was able to take the spear and rapier and place them by the wetstone. He pushed the pedal a few times to make sure it was working properly. "The PDF...? Oh. I've heard of you people. Good to see some of you are using weapons instead of that damn magic that that one guy was using awhile back." He took a seat and began sharpening the rapier first. He also motioned for the... purple monster to place he mace down as well. "What did he say his name was? Jinsaka?"

"Oh, you've met him? Yes, it's Oboyo Jinsaka. We each have our own stories, but we choose to believe in his warning and have volunteered to fight. I've seen the Spirit Rune work; it's amazing that it allows guys like us to fight ghosts." The frog then nodded and began to chime in. "And zuch vile ghosts we've seen! Why, one pozzezzed a knight and zingle handedly killed hundreds of people, including hiz butler and--"

Steve interrupted the frog. "C'mon Jean, you know he doesn't like to have that story talked about. What Jean here means to say is..there are a lot of bad ghosts out there and a lot more are coming. So we're greatful that, between the PDF, the Spirit Rune, and your service here..that we can make a difference."

Kent scowled. "You speak with massive ignorance, the lot of you. You honestly believe that anything magical is going to help you?" He placed the rapier on the ground and began work on the speare, somewhat reluctantly. "Anything that has that kind of power isn't meant to help. Its primary purpose is only to better those that have it, and not to help anyone else. I wouldn't be surprised if this 'spirit rune' is the very reason that ghosts exist in the first place!"
Kent sighed. "But I'm sure I'm not going to get through to you guys. You don't strike me as the sort that'll believe a word I say..." Kent Finished up the spear, as it was rather a small job compared to the others, and with both hands began working on the flangs. "Name's Kent, by the way. Demon hunter by trade."

Jean and Steve glanced at each other, surprised by the sudden outburst. Sutan showed no change in facial expression, merely observing the man restore life to his sacred weapon. Jean looked as if he was about to argue with Kent, but Steve spoke up first. "You..probably have your own reasons for believing that. I largely agree with you; a man bent on expanding his magical prowess used my village in a sick and twisted experiment. I'm the result..I was once human, like you."
"But at the same time, we are all dependant on magic in some form or another. The wind, the sun, the moon..it's all governed by the spirits of mana and their magic. Magical healers have saved countless lives with it. And I..I might soon die without it. Not a night goes by when I don't think about what that man did. To me, to my village..to all the others I may never even heard of. But when I see the light of the Spirit Rune..I know that there's hope. Even for one as possessed as he was."

"...You should be dead. I hope that the man who did this to you IS dead, and if not, you're going to kill him. There's no redemption for that." He snickered. "Hell, name a price and I'll go kill him for you." He was almost done with sharpening the points on the mace when he started. "But me? Dependant on magic in any way? I work my best to get away from the damned stuff! I have my god to guide me, and through his wisdom I carry on. I don't need any wizard to tell me otherwise."

"Why, you..that man was innocent! A true knight! It was the ghost controlling him that--" started Steve before Sutan let out a fierce grunt, loud and unexpected enough to stop the demihuman. Steve glanced towards Sutan then back to Kent and just shook his head while Jean began to break the silence. "..Zees..Enough of zees, it haz all happened in the past. Good sir, simply know that we are preventing such tragedies from occuring again, and it is the..or perhaps A power of light that guidez us.

Kent looked at Jean for a moment, allowed himself to calm down, and responded. "If it's all the same to you, I don't enjoy responding to 'good sir.' It's a title that was taken from me, and I respect it greatly. I'm not a knight anymore." Kent let them take their weapons and waited peacfully as if they had something else to say.

"Very well, Mr. Kent. I meant no dizrespect." said Jean as he reached for his coin pouch, generously provided by Oboyo in the past. "How much do we owe you?" At the same time, Sutan and Steve picked up their weapons and waited by the door. Steve spoke towards the native, but not in a quiet enough manner that Jean and Kent couldn't overhear.
"We should ask Oboyo to open up a forge in the manor and rent it out. There's plenty of space, he's surely got the money, and I bet it would it would attract a lot of business. There's a lot of demand for metal in Shrike." Sutan simply grunted and waited for Jean to finish his business.

"Ehh, it was a fast job, and I usually don't get payed anyway. I'd say... what, 120 silver to call it even? That's fetch me a good few meals while I look for more work." Kent wasn't really worried about money as he was about keeping the people happy. He'd gotten in enough trouble for causing violence in the streets, and the last thing he needed was more community service.

Jean nodded and began to fish out the requested amount of silver coins from his pouch as he turned his head to comment on Steve's idea. "Zat zounds like a splendid idea! But we would need a blacksmith to work it. And with the dangers that we face..well, we would need one who could both fight and smith." Steve then glanced down and scratched his head. "Oh, yeah..good point. That's a shame, having one around would really help."

Kent's ear perked up a bit. Not that he wanted to work for those who saw magic as such a good thing, but the ability to have his own forge to work with seemed like a decent way to finally make some consistant income. Not to mention he'd get to pick his own hours without negotiating. "Where did you say you guys were at? Shrike? I wouldn't mind having a forge of my own," Kent commented offhandedly. He went to gather his armor, strapped it on quickly, and picked up his new kiteshield. He was done with his work here anyway.

"Eh? You would run it? That's thoughtful of you, but.." started Steve until Jean cut him off. These two seem to enjoy interrupting each other. "Mon ami! Zat is wonderful! You heard ze man, non? He waz once a knight! If he wishes run it, I zay he should!" Steve shrugged and began to head out the door, "That's assuming we even manage to open it! Ah well, it'll be great to have you around, Mr. Kent. A lot of folks would feel better having a smith like you around."

"Well, you'd be in charge of keeping our weapons prepared. But, we do go out from time to time to take care of malicious ghosts. Oboyo is always looking for volunteers to help out since we're not a real military force..as much as Cray would like us to be." replied Steve.

"Well good! If you were a real military force, I'd have more rules to follow. Sounds like a deal to me..." Kent elaborated on his question though. "And should you send a letter if this happens or...? I might need to gather a few things. The innkeeper here has a room deal with me. Not used to settling down, y'know?"

"I'll come down to Truce and visit you, I like to get out of the manor when I can. Oboyo's been gone for a while though..but we'll shoot the idea to him the instant he gets back." said Steve, holding his newly sharpened mace proudly.

Kent nodded. "Aye. Good luck with your journey then. Hopefully you can solve your magic problem while you're at it." Kent smiled respectfully to them and was off, satisfied with the response he got, and only a little tired from the monotinous work he had done for hours beforehand.