Foster sweeped over the floor to get rid of the last splinters of wood that were laying there. Now that they were forced to clear out the store like this, it was actually quite spacious. The layout was pretty nice as well.

"You know, since we need to get new stuff for the shop anyway, we can change things around here a bit. What'd you think, Zhaine?

" He asked loudly so that the dwarf could hear him while he was rummaging in the back,

"We're not gonna change nothin' around here! All's gonna be as it's supposed to be, ya hear?!

"

With a deep frown, Zhaine stepped up to the front part of the shop again, glaring at Foster angrily,

"Also, if ya come back with yer armor lookin' like this again, ya can be sure I'm never lettin' ya set foot in here again!

"

"Oh come on now, you don't mean that.

"

"Fuck off!

" With that, Zhaine returned to the actual smithy of this shop to fix up Foster's armor. Once he was gone, and the room became silent again, it didn't take long until Foster turned toward his friends,

"By the way, why am I the only one cleaning up anymore?

"

Octer, Lynol and Kyla all stared at Foster with practically blank expressions, while he just stood there returning those stares.

"Alright, good point, good point. I'll just let that sink in for a bit, then.

" Foster said jokingly, as he finished sweeping the floor for now. He turned his head toward the window-front, seeing those five teens standing out there, just talking to each other.

While he was looking out, Kyla said,

"At least something good came out of that. Helping those kids was nice of you.

"

"Well yeah, I couldn't just let them stand around there.

" Foster said bluntly, before slightly nudging his chin toward the wrapped-up object leaning against the wall next to Lynol,

"Zhaine say something about that while I was gone? Can he do something with it?

"

Lynol turned his head toward the bone,

"I didn't show him yet. There were more imminent things to take care of. And then when you came back... well, you know the rest.

"

Foster looked around the shop at the different items laying around,

"Do you guys think we should all upgrade a bit? Your armor also got pretty scuffed up in the dungeon, Octer. And Lynol and Kyla aren't even wearing any armor at all.

"

"I'm a cleric, I don't wear armor...

"

"Oh, bull**.

" Lynol scoffed in response while looking at Kyla,

"Plenty of clerics wear armor, especially the adventuring kind. Maybe not all casters do, but being a cleric definitely isn't an excuse.

"

"I'm not a battle cleric, though! Armor is just going to make it harder for me to play my music!

" Kyla pointed out, but Foster couldn't help himself but laugh at that,

"Why would it stop you from playing?

"

"It... it... it just would! And first of all, armor is just so... ugly, and clunky, and not stylish at all!

"

Octer, Lynol and Foster all looked at Kyla, quite confused, before Octer replied to her,

"You're worried about being stylish? Seriously?

"

Kyla looked down at the ground awkwardly and nodded her head,

"That's not a bad thing, is it?

"

Foster rolled his eyes and leaned against the counter next to him,

"You can be stylish and wear armor at the same time. Like... there's gotta be some weird fantasy materials that are super strong that you can use, right?

"

"What? Fantasy materials? What are you talking ab-

" Kyla asked, while Foster could feel Lynol's death-stare on his skin,

"He's just talking nonsense. But he does have a point. You can have something that is protective and looks nice at the same time, if that's so important to you.

"

"...What excuse do you have then?

"

"The kid's a.... what was it? Lorgran? They've got skin as tough as rock. Natural armor.

" Zhaine pointed out, stepping into the front of the shop while placing the armor down on the counter next to Foster. Lynol frowned and looked at the dwarf,

"How do you know that?

"

Zhaine scoffed as he sat down on his stool,

"I'm much older than all of y'all combined, I've seen things none of ya can even imagine. Anyway, red Lorgrans like him? Warrior folk. Just how it works.

" He pointed out,

"Although the 'stone' could still be a bit thicker in yer business, so some more armor than the little bit ya've got would be better.

"

"Fine, it's not like I wasn't planning on it anyway.

" Lynol pointed out, as he finally picked up the cloth-wrapped bone standing next to him, carrying it over toward Zhaine,

"But first, I will commission you for something else. My sword broke in the dungeon, so I need a new one. And that sword could barely scratch the surface of this thing, and that was before it was enhanced even further by the dungeon.

" He explained, pulling the cloth off of the bone, before the dwarf jumped up from his stool.

"Wh-What kinda monster'd you get this thing from?

" Zhaine asked surprised, and Foster quickly replied,

"It's a giant frog's femur.

", and everyone slowly turned toward him.

"...you know what the bone is called?

" Confused, Octer looked at his friend, who shrugged,

"You gotta know some anatomy when your job is to break people's bones.

"

"You seriously need some help.

"

"Yeah.

" Foster replied without hesitation,

"Anyway, the femur is the thigh bone, the largest bone in the body, even for frogs.

"

"No matter what it's called, I sure can make somethin' nice out of this. Ya got any other materials you want me to add into 'er? I'll probably need a bit of metal anyway, so if ye've got the pieces of yer sword with ya, then I could use 'em.

" Zhaine explained, clearly already planning out exactly what to do with this bone, as Lynol quickly grabbed the bag that he had tied to his back, pouring the contents onto the counter in front of him.

Different to what Zhaine expected, instead of being pieces of cracked and shattered metal, it looked more like the parts of some sort of mechanical creation. He didn't question it, though, and instead looked at the metal without a moment's hesitation,

"Hm, this should work nicely? Ya mind if I were to use all of it? Probably won't, but I gotta know how much I could use.

"

"It's broken. I don't need it anymore.

" Lynol replied,

"Anyway, the kind of sword I want is-

"

"Aye, I can tell, don't worry. Might need to change the shape slightly, but I'll make it as close to what its predecessor was as I can.

" With a somewhat excited grin, the first time any of these four customers had seen this expression on this drunkard's face, Zhaine picked up the bone with ease, although even Lynol had struggled to even pick it up.

Zhaine placed the bone down in the back, and then hurried back to the front,

"I'll have it done in a few days. Now, ya want anythin' else?

"

"Oh, yeah, could you maybe repair this shield? Maybe reinforce it a bit?

" Octer asked, casually pulling the huge tower shield from his back before handing it to Zhaine, who nodded his head without hesitation,

"Sure I can. Should be done by tonight. If not, tomorrow. Just pick it up when ya can.

" Zhaine explained, before looking at the group in front of him,

"Since half of ya are still on the fence about what sorta armor ya want, and I already got some new projects, just figure stuff out for now and then tell me when ya pick the shield up. Ya just cleared a dungeon apparently, so I doubt ye're gonna do much crazy stuff for a couple days anyway.

"