New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

The blacksmiths were producing arrowheads for those who specialized in fletching. These arrows were all going up the tree through a system of pulleys that they had hastily built and installed.

The wild elves were burning through arrows at a quick pace, their accuracy through thick foliage frightening. This belied their experience at repelling monsters from a safe distance.

Astaroth walked to a blacksmith hut, where an enormous pile of wooden shafts was bundled outside the door. He gave two rapid knocks on the side of the door frame before entering.

"Hello? Anyone home?"

Astaroth heard some hubbub from the back of the blacksmith's hut, behind a closed wooden door. As the hubbub got closer, the door slammed open.

"Who in tarn–" the Elven woman started screaming as she scanned the intruder in her shop.

Astaroth smiled at her, Like a parent waiting for their child to finish their sentence.

"Oh, it's you, sir. I'm sorry. We are in the middle of a siege and I wasn't expecting anyone to visit me, you see?"

"It's ok. I assumed as much."

"What can I do for you, guild leader?"

I assumed by the pile of arrow shafts outside your shop that you are the fletcher. I'm going towards the tree palace, and since I already was next to here, I thought I might as well bring a batch of arrows there. Do you have some ready?"

The woman looked at him weirdly. She somehow assumed that her guild leader wouldn't waste his time on menial tasks like these, since he was one of the most powerful players in New Eden.

But as Astaroth kept waiting for her response, she snapped back to reality.

"Ahh! Yes, I have a few bundles ready. They are in the back. But are you sure you want to carry them? We have some players acting as couriers already. No need to go out of your way, sir."

Astaroth chuckled.

'What kind of image do they have of me?' he wondered.

He scanned her to get a name.

*Status*

Name: Elaina Reed

Race: Elf

Grade: Common

Class: Blacksmith (Specialty: Fletching) / Enchanter (Specialty: Projectiles)

Level: 9

Crafting Level: 1/5 Apprentice / 1/5 Apprentice

"It is no trouble at all, Elaina. Please give me what you have ready, and I shall deliver them to the tree palace on my way there."

The Elven woman nodded her head, dazed at the friendliness of the guild leader. She took a mental note to tell the other crafters about his nonchalance.

All the crafters had limited their interactions to each other and the players on the lower rungs, having one of them act as a medium with the officers. But they were reluctant to talk to the leader or vice leader.

Knowing that the guild leader was much less imposing than they originally thought would go a long way toward the future. After all, what crafter didn't have projects that required funding?

Elaina walked him to the back part of her shop, where she applied the fletching to the arrows that came from the other blacksmiths. A pile of finished arrows was waiting in a corner.

Astaroth looked around while Elaina gathered the arrows into a bundle. There were many tools and products he didn't recognize, and it piqued his interest.

"Elaina, tell me something."

She spun around, the bundle of arrows in her arms.

"Yes, sir?"

"I saw in your info that you were also an enchanter. Are these tools for that?"

As he asked, he waved his arm at the panoply of brushes, sharp-tipped pens, and small burins on a worktable. All of which were lying down next to different glass pots, with powders and liquids unknown to him.

Seeing his interest in her work, Elaina became excited.

"Ahh, those. Yes, they are indeed tools for my second profession. I wanted to specialize in making the best projectiles in New Eden, so I started as a blacksmith. But when I heard enchanters could apply wonderful effects on practically anything, it enthralled me!"

Astaroth looked at her sudden enthusiasm and smiled. He let her keep talking.

"Since enchanter was better suited to make powerful projectiles, I took it up too. But making arrows myself, which can become these works of magic and art, was so attractive to me, I never dropped the blacksmith profession."

Astaroth took a seat next to her worktable, leaning on his hand.

"I have yet to produce a work that gets me my Journeyman rank, but I feel I'm on the cusp of it. I hoped that joining Paragons would give me access to materials that could lead me further on this path"

Elaina had been talking for about three minutes before she realized there was no answer back to her. She spun to face Astaroth; her face red in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry I took up your time, sir! I got carried away!"

Astaroth laughed.

"Don't worry about it. Passion will be a great drive for what you want to accomplish. There is no reason to feel embarrassed."

"But I'm sure you need to head back out to the battlefield, sir. I shouldn't have taken so much of your time. I apologize!"

Astaroth rose from his seat, walking up to the woman. He put a hand on her shoulder, smiling warmly.

"I've been looking at the reports all this time. My presence is not yet a necessity. There is nothing to worry about. But I am curious about one thing."

Keeping silent, Elaina looked at him.

"Do you have any of those finished enchanted arrows? I am sure Athena would appreciate them, even if you think they don't have a use."

Elaina looked befuddled. She hadn't expected the guild leader to ask for her unrefined products, which might be utterly useless in this crucial battle.

But she wouldn't dare hide them from him.

Walking to a corner of her shop, Elaina pushed aside a heavy work table before kneeling down. She pulled a plank out of the floor and extracted a box from beneath the floor.

She got up and presented the box to Astaroth. When he opened it, he smiled widely.

"She is going to love these," he stated.