Forge A Bond

It wasnt an easy job, but it was one I had to do. For her. What a dame. She came into my life at a
bad time, but things were changing now. Seems like everyone has it rough though. o sense in
going into too much detail there.
I sat at my desk, !a!ers strewn about like leaves in autumn. "ard to find anything in this mess for
anyone e#ce!t for me. It was my mess, my little island away from the rest of the world. Wasn$t a
ha!!y island, but at least it was mine. I leafed through a few !ages, a murder here, a hunt for an
artifact there, !oisoned man...no, none of these were the right lead. I have a lot of contacts, and a lot
of !eo!le that owe me a favor or two. %ust needed to find the right one.
I stood u! and went to my filing cabinet, !ulling a few folders. &riest...no, merceanries could have
a lead or two but !robably not likely. "ere$s one on a tailor, on the right sort of track but still wrong.
o smiths, and that$s what I need right now. ot just someone who can hammer at a !iece of steel
until it can !ass as a wea!on. 'idn$t want some hack job.
(his !iece of steel was going to mean something, something that would last. )ike a good chair or
sturdy hat...
(hen it fell into my la!, literally. (hat !icture of home crashed off my wall and I had an idea. Who
said !unching the wall in frustration wasn$t a good tactic*
Strangely I usually avoid looking at this one but it reminded me of someone I knew. A smith...good
at his job, dedicated and not the kind of guy you e#!ect shoddy work from. +#!ensive but I was a
friend. Sort of. I grabbed my hat, fi#ed my tie and went out the door.
(ri! wasn$t too eventful, I decided I would use a !ortal to get out to &andaria ,uick. -eal love hate
relationshi!s with those things, never feel to good after I show u! on the other side. Still it does beat
sitting on a boat with a bunch of fishy smelling sailors. Fishy...hah.
So I got to work !retty ,uick, talked to some locals, found !eo!le I used to know. ever easy going
home, I stick out like a sore thumb. I stick out no matter where I go. ot saying that I$m s!ecial, it$s
just got to do with the clothes. .an$t say I like being stared at or asked a million ,uestions, not when
I$m in a hurry. Anyways I eventually find out where this smith is.
/f course. "e$s at the to! of a mountain, kee!s to himself and well...not much I can do but set out. I
bring the usual !rovisions, make sure my water is to!!ed off and off I go. I bet there is going to be a
bunch more hoo!s to jum! through when I get to this !lace. (hese kind of guys always have some
sort of test or lesson for you. 0ou might think this would get me all angry, but honestly....I might
need a lesson now and then. I$m not always right. Would be more than a !rivate investigator if I
was....maybe.
(he !ath is long and winding, a few rough bits to the climb. (his guy has to be !retty old, I wonder
how he makes it u! here. 1aybe he just doesn$t come down much. 2ee!s him away from the bad
things below. Wish I could sort of do that. 0ou find yourself thinking a lot of weird things when
you$re all alone and just inching your way u! a mountain.
1aybe my dress shirt and tie wasn$t the best choice of attire...it$s getting !retty uncomfortable. I
rolled u! my sleeves, took a nice swig of water and !ushed on. It was for her afterall. Suki. 3irl lost
something im!ortant to her, I doubt I$ll be able to re!lace it but I got to try something.
Sun$s going to set soon, but I find myself at the to! of this !lace and see a !retty serious looking
forge. It$s really nice u! here, a well tended garden. I snoo! around, I$ve gotten !retty used to doing
that. 3ets me a lot of answers and a lot of ,uestions. I can tell this &andaren is meticulous, as I
remember. "is forge has all of his tools uniformly !laces and taken care of. "is garden though is
more natural looking...so he$s not overly controlling of everything around him. (here are a few
training targets near the side of his home...so he even tests his !roducts out. (rue mark of ,uality
there. (his is all stuff I know though.
It$s a bit rude to just stick my nose all over the !lace so I walk u! to his door !retty ,uick and give it
a few knocks.
$Feng, it$s been a while$ are what comes out of my mouth. A bit brash, I can tell he doesn$t
immediately recgoni4e me. I catch myself, a bit too late, and bow and like a switch I$m talking more
like how I used to. 5A!ologies 1aster Feng5 I$m sli!!ing here 50ou may not remember me, I know
I a!!ear to look ,uite odd. 0ou may remember my father, Sun65 I$m cut off as the &andaren makes a
large smile, looks like he does recogni4e me. "e o!ens his arms u!, like he$s telling some fish story,
and it$s too late. I$m caught. "e joyfully rocks me from side to side, he$s a !retty beefy guy
51anagan South!aw...my my, you have grown. I have heard what had ha!!ened to your father and
of your disa!!earance5.
Was a bit of an awkward hello, but I kind of liked it. I found myself sitting with Feng and drinking
one of the best cu!s of tea I$ve had in my life. &retty im!ressive. 3ot to ask for the reci!e.
5So...that is why you left. I su!!ose I can understand. (he need to travel, the need for answers5he
concludes after I talk to him for a few hours. Feng seems to be ha!!y with my e#!lanations. We talk
a little more and I cut to the chase.
5Feng...I have a favor to ask of you5 I start out, remember to talk more like...who I am, or who I
was...something like that 5I need three swords, three s!ecial ones too. (hey need to be identical and
of high ,uality, but more than that. I want these to sort of be....well family blades* Something you
can !ass down, something that will mean someething5 I knew it was a lot to ask, I mean three
swords aren$t chea!, but I wasn$t asking for your run of the mill deal here.
Feng regarded me for a few moments 5'o you still have the one from your mother*5. (hat hit me a
bit hard, memories I never got to have !elted at my head. I managed out a nod. I did still have it,
was a great sword. ot that I ever used it. Feng could !robably see my reaction, I could hide most
of my !ain but out here...a bit tougher. "e knew how to get me talking. 1aybe I learned some tricks
from him as a cub.
"e smiled warmly again 5I see, so are you starting something new*5 he knew too much already it
seemed, I wasn$t ready to s!ill all of this information but I talked. "e was almost family afterall. 5I
am...5 I stammered out 5In a way, this is more of an a!ology. I can tell you more about it soon. I
!romise5 I felt like a little cub again, but it wasn$t the worst feeling in the world. Feng didn$t ask
much more, he seemed to actually light u! a bit 5(here is something...something I have been
working on. .ome5 he motioned for me to follow him to his forge.
"e showed me a blade he had started 5(his is a blade I have been !utting together for some time, I
have enough materials for one. If you !rovide me enough for two more...I will ha!!ily !rovide you
with these blades5 he chuckled lightly 5I have something you must take a look at though, when the
wea!ons are com!lete5 I wasn$t sure what he could mean, but I agreed. (he materials were a bit
e#!ensive to get but I had enough to get them. A long trek back down the mountain, around a few
towns and a small venture into a mine later.....I had what I needed.
Feng got to work and s!oke of what he was doing 5I named the blade 1uranhejie, with all of these
materials it takes on a red and blue color. 7uite a uni,ue style if I do say so myself. With the !ro!er
folding of living steel, the right mi# of ghost iron and a few other materials this blade has a s!ecial
!ro!erty...it will not recoil the same way most blades do. It will absorb im!act and barely shake.
(he edge is also ,uite a s!ecial one...it will be very difficult to make a knick in this blade. (hough
you should still take care of the blade....5 he carried on for ,uite a while, obsessed with his art
which is just what I wanted to hear.
"e looked over the blades when they were done 5(he blade is !olished and will kee! a mirror
sheen, the guard is reinforced with ghost iron and will !rotect from stray strkes from anything of a
reasonable si4e. (he scabard mouth has been tightened and treated to aid in s!eed of draw, the blade
is entirely original...not from a mold I can re!licate for most blades, lighter and stronger than a !ure
ghost iron blade, the handle has been wra!!ed and crafted with non sli! grooves. ot only that but
nearly every !arty of this sword has been e#!ertly crafted and customi4ed5 he grinned broadly 5If
that is not too boastful to say5
I took the blades and bowed when they were all finally done. It took a little while, a few days of
work, cooling and more. I thanked him close to a thousand times and bought him a meal every day.
We s!ent a lot of time talking and I hel!ed out where I could. ot really e#!erienced but I could
move things around, and we both tested the blades out. I have to say Feng is sur!risingly fast,
obviously strong. Big thick arms...what you e#!ect from a good smith. I should visit him more.
Before I left he sto!!ed me 5Ah 1anagan, before you leave...5 he walked inside and brought out a
bo# and a letter 5/!en the bo# later...but do look at the letter5.
I o!ened u! the letter curiously 5(o my daughter...5 it began. 1y eyes watered u!. Finally...a lead to
the case that started this all....