Edge’s next stop was one of his favorite places in town—the crafting collective known as the Forge.

  The Forge was a sprawling cluster of buildings where the craftmasters and their apprentices lived and plied their trade. It included a series of adjoining workshops and a spacious storefront where people could place custom orders and browse the wares on display.

  The establishment was expensive, but it provided some of the best equipment the settlement had to offer. Edge didn’t have anything that needed to be completed before the stampede arrived, but he had a few items he wanted to commission whenever Ander’s people had time to spare.

  He also needed to have his towering pile of resources appraised so he could decide what to keep and what to donate to free up some room in his vault. His was flush with Credits from the bounties he’d received from killing the Claws and was happy to help the settlement grow stronger, although he was more than willing to accept the Contribution Points Dialla had offered as compensation.

  The potion bandolier the System gave me is pretty durable, but I need to grab a new backpack and toolbelt while I’m here to hold the rest of my consumables. I should buy replacements that are resistant to punctures, fire, acid, and any other elements I’m likely to face during the days ahead.

  While these thoughts crossed his mind, Edge made his way into the Crafters’ quarter, heading for the buildings a few blocks further down the road. When he arrived at the Forge, their store was busier than ever. The battle with the Claws and the impending stampede had driven home the reality that everyone in the settlement needed to grow stronger as fast as they could, and everyone was eager to improve their gear.

  He was stopped several times as he walked past the line when people called out his name. Edge was still getting used to the idea that he had become the town’s newest celebrity, thanks to his role in conquering the Savage Garden and defeating the elite jailbirds. He eventually made it into the building, waved to the apprentice on duty, and took a seat inside a preferred-members waiting area until Ander had time to assist him.

  The smith was still recovering from his stint of rough living, but with the undead horde on the way, he’d returned to work sooner than he’d intended, helping the town’s residents upgrade their weapons and armor before the next battle began.

  The grizzled crafter broke into a broad grin on sighting Edge and waved him over to a conference room where they could talk without having to compete with the chatter filling the storefront and the clanging chimes echoing in from the workshops. After spending a few minutes making small talk, the men got down to business.

  “So, Edge. What brings you into the Forge today? Looking for some new weapons and armor, or perhaps upgrades for what you already have?”

  “A bit of both actually—although nothing that needs to be finished right away. On that note, I never got a chance to show you what I found in the Deep-Gill Grottos, Savage Garden, and Sweltering Green. I need you to appraise the lot and get your take on the best uses for these high-grade resources. After that, I have a few ideas I wanted to run by you before I donate the rest.”

  “I can’t wait, lad. Show me what you’ve got to work with.”

  “Actually.” Edge considered the size of the table, then asked, “Do you mind if we head into the courtyard? This will be a lot easier if we have more room to work with.”

  “Sure. I forgot how much you can fit into that vault of yours. Don’t worry. No one who came on the expedition will breathe a word, and I’ll activate a privacy device while we’re working.” As Ander spoke, he led Edge out of the consultation room and through the Forge.

  After turning down a narrow series of hallways, they stepped into the courtyard where Edge had evaluated his naginata and Ander had shown him how to fling his chakram. The smith ducked out for a few minutes to grab some tools that would help in the appraisal. He returned with a pair of wooden cases and activated a magitech device that would ensure no one listened in on their conversation.

  They moved some dummies out of the way, then the smith sat on a stool and gestured for Edge to get on with it. “Since it sounds like you have a lot to show me, why don’t we begin with a refresher on how materials are graded? I don’t think we’ve had this discussion before.”

  He nodded his agreement. He already understood the basics of the classification system, but with the massive mound of resources filling his spatial storage, it was a perfect time to learn more details—not to mention a rare opportunity to get mentored by one of the most accomplished crafters in Puppet Town.

  “Now then, the short of it is that all crafting materials are assigned a letter grade starting with E and ending with A. A-grade resources are so rare that I’ve only seen them a few times while touring the frontier and have never worked with them myself.

  “E grade are what you can find lying around any low-threat biome on Ord. All the regular rocks, wood, and other natural resources in the Ivory Plains are E grade, along with the parts harvested from stage-zero animals. Within each grade, items are divided into low, middle, and high quality, which is in part a reflection of their condition and in part the innate properties of the materials themselves. For example, a pristine mudpuppy hide might be categorized as middle E-grade, while one that was inexpertly skinned would be low.

  “Bear in mind, none of this is an official rating by the System—just a shorthand for determining the relative value and quality of a given crafting material. Moving on, D-grade mats are formed when resources absorb the planet’s magic. They are found in places where the concentration of magicytes is unusually high and from beasts who have evolved to stage one and beyond.

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  “Stage-two beasts usually produce high D-grade or low C-grade materials, like that garax leather we used to make your hat and armor. Materials of a similar quality can be found in high-threat biomes, such as the jungle we passed through on our way to the Savage Garden.

  “Stage-three creatures can produce mid-and-high-quality C-grade parts, or even low B-grade in rare cases. Anything higher than that is either incredibly rare or extracted from beasts that could kill you with a single blow—even someone as tough as you. With my skills, I can only handle up to high C-grade mats. While a few of our people can work with certain low B-grade materials, if you have anything higher, you would be best served by holding onto them and having them crafted by a true master, assuming any are still alive after the disaster.

  “We’re doing everything we can to advance our powers enough to handle superior resources, but training crafting skill requires considerable time and energy. Do you have any questions so far?” The smith took a swig from his canteen.

  “No, that makes perfect sense. Thanks for spelling it out.”

  “It’s the least I can do for one of my best customers. Now, let’s get on with the fun part, evaluating your materials and deciding what to make.”

  Edge grinned as he got ready to unload all the resources he’d picked up over his recent adventures. He had already let Trapper’s crew take their pick from whatever they wanted, along with Lilly and Mel, but he had a few ideas for pieces he wanted to have commissioned to give as gifts.

  The first item he pulled out was the cluster of flame rubies he’d found in the grottos. He handed the gemstones over and waited while Ander took a closer look using a jeweler’s lens supplemented by some manner of appraisal skill.

  “Very nice. Highly concentrated magicytes are worked into the mineral, and most of this mass is unflawed. I can use this to create a flame augmentation for your naginata, or your chakram if you prefer. You can decide once we’re done poking through the rest.”

  Edge continued unloading his vault, piling up monster and beast parts beside the resources he’d harvested with Sense Treasure. When he pulled out his deposit of living iron, Ander’s eyes went wide with surprise.

  “It’s been years since I’ve had a chance to work with this material. I can use it to create a weapon that can assume several preset shapes, among other things. For example, I could modify the blade of your chakram to form a serrated edge when cutting something soft or a series of spikes that will help it punch through armor—although I doubt you can use Elemental Blade in that configuration.”

  He nodded along with the explanation, waiting to discuss the matter until everything was on the table. When he retrieved the fossilized bone, Ander let out a bark of delight. “I’ve never seen something like this before, but it might be low B-grade. Let me run a few tests to find out. I’ll be back in a minute, but this might well be the most valuable part of the lot.”

  With that, the smith left Edge sitting in the courtyard while he used a magitech machine that couldn’t be moved out here. The man returned with a beaming grin plastered on his face. “It’s B grade all right, and there’s so much of it. Best of all, it’s a material our people can work with. This will let us craft some gear worthy of the town’s elites, including you, of course.”

  Edge went on to unveil a collection of mycanoid parts, pieces he’d harvested from monsters and beasts, and a few other odds and ends. The pile included the purple crystals he had extracted in the swamp, the lump of truesteel he’d found with Mel, the goat monster’s jet-black pelt, and the knuckle spikes he’d claimed from the gorilla general. An hour later, Ander was done appraising the lot.

  “That’s everything that I collected since the last time we met,” Edge said.

  “I must say that I’m deeply impressed,” Ander replied. “Should we move onto discussing what you want me to make?”

  “Before we get to that, there are three items I wanted you to take a look at. I picked them up from the boss of Savage Garden.” While he spoke, Edge visualized his vault and retrieved the gemstone that had been embedded in the Gardener’s chest, which had nearly killed him after Setna cracked it in the Vengeance-fueled onslaught that had consumed her core.

  “Intriguing. I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s badly damaged, but it’s far too old to be magitech, which means it must be runic in nature. I can tell that it held an incredible amount of energy, but if you want to learn more or restore it, you’ll have to find someone who specializes in runic gear.”

  After putting the gem away, Edge removed the ivory scythe and scapula shield he’d claimed from the Gardener. “These seem powerful, but they aren’t the right shape for someone my size.”

  Ander didn’t seem particularly impressed by the shield, but he was astonished when he took a closer look at the scythe. “This weapon has already been crafted, although the work wasn’t done using any skill I’ve seen before.”

  “That’s because a monster made it.” Edge told Ander about the Gardener and her unusual capabilities.

  “That is truly fucking bizarre.” The smith rubbed his chin. “While that limits the extent to which I can modify it further, I can resize the weapon so it’s a good fit for your frame. I might be able to work in a few tweaks, but I’ll have to experiment as I go and find out what the materials are willing to take. I’ll craft this one free of charge, since I have a feeling it will teach me something interesting.”

  “That sounds good. Use your judgment and do whatever you think is best. But if you can figure out what modifications are already on the weapon, please let me know.” Ander agreed, and Edge asked him to turn the shield into something both he and Foebinder would have an easier time handling.

  With that out of the way, they moved onto discussing the rest of his order. Edge wound up leaving his weapons and armor with Ander, since the smith had suggested several upgrades to each that sounded amazing. He put in a few more requests, including some gifts for his friends. After that, he bought a new backpack and toolbelt and sold his old ones for the apprentices to use for scrap.

  Before they called it a day, Ander had him take off his boots. “One of our people came up with something new I think you will appreciate. If you leave them with me, I’ll add a coating to the bottom that will keep the soles from slipping in oil or binding to webbing and the like, letting you walk through both slick and sticky substances without being impaired.”

  Edge agreed, and they negotiated a price for the work. He decided to keep all the minerals and metals he’d found, along with half the fossil, and some catfish bones and scales. Dialla had already given him CP for the materials he didn’t need, but Ander threw in a considerable discount for the B-grade fossil, since it was unusually valuable. A few of the items were better suited for alchemy, but the smith promised to take them over to Melchior after sorting through the rest, so Edge didn’t have to worry about the details.

  After introducing Rue and letting the pup play with the apprentices, they shook hands to seal the deal and initiated a Credit exchange. Barefoot and armorless, Edge walked over to the peacekeepers’ HQ to borrow some gear, then met up with Trapper’s crew to prepare for the arrival of the unliving horde.