The crowds were light today in the blacksmith's quarter of Radasanth. To be sure, there were more than enough people that William had to maneuver around them to keep his prize safe. And more than once he'd been forced to give a warning look to an urchin that had strayed too close while looking for fat coin purses. But these weren't the pressing crowds that could be found in at the morning market and William was glad for that.
A large burlap sack hung heavy over the revenant's shoulder. Since his objective today was to have a blacksmith take a look at the titanium breastplate that he'd had fixed up for himself, William had simp=ly dumped it into a sack this morning instead of strapping it on. Not that he was worried for his safety. The streets of Radasanth were well patrolled, and as long as a traveller kept to the main, well-travelled merchant streets, there was little chance of catching a knife in the back.
That was always a possibility that William had to worry about when he walked the streets in his human form. Not that a knife in the back would do more than annoy him, but he hated to have to deal with the fallout over tearing a man apart with his bare hands and wanted to avoid it if at all possible. Even in a city as complicated and diverse as Radasanth, being out in the open and covered in blood was still anathema.
William grunted and shook his head to clear his thoughts. It was one of the side effects of having so many souls bouncing around inside his head. It made it easy to get distracted. His inquiries had told him that there was a small blacksmith in the quarter that had the skills he needed. Soon enough he found it, sheltered between two massive forges that churned out mundane supplies by the crafteful every day to ship out to the farm provinces.
The small, sturdy building was set back from the main road and would have been easy to mistake for a supply warehouse for the larger smiths. A polished wood nameplate over the door announced the shop simply as Shoda's. William pursed his lips and nodded, walking up to the small shop. This was definitely the right place.
William was surprised to find that the front of the shop was limited to a small open space with a plain wooden counter. In other blacksmith's shops that he'd visited, the store owner had various wares on display, revealing their talent and hopefully enticing prospective customers to stay for business. Shoda's held none of these. One didn't come to Shoda's simply to browse. Those who came to this shop did so for one reason, and it was because they knew that Shoda was the best magical blacksmith in Radasanth.
