Opposites: The Staff of Light [Book One]

37. I Forgot to Mention I'd be Seeing Combust, too!

Colton

"Yes, well," the blacksmith cupped his chin. "Apparently, a sword like this cannot just be paid by any kind of money." I shot him a nervous look. I knew I never had the dough to pay the man. I grasped the magical skirt that produced coins from its pockets inside my satchel. "To pay for this, my boy—" I gulped. "—I demand a rock."

I cocked a brow. "Wait," I said, "so you mean to tell me, I can never pay you a thousand coins although I have them here and all you need is one plain rock—"

"It's not just any rock I'm talking about, young lad," the blacksmith cut me off. "It's a rock—a black one, nothing different from charcoal except from its smooth rock like texture. They say it can provide a lifetime of fire without even turning to ashes or nothingness."

That's some rock, I thought, I bet Annabeth could do better. "Alright," I agreed. "Where's the thing located?"

"At the edge of the village," the blacksmith replied. "It's guarded by these said trolls but I know you won't be killed. I'll know you're worth my sword if you come back alive. I know a lad. He works here in the shop. And he can definitely lead you to the rock. All you have to do is protect him and my precious gem." The blacksmith approached one of the anvils where a golden bell in the light sat. He shook it, and knocking noises came from a distance—mostly, it sounded like someone tumbling down the stairs.

"Yes, Sir!" Mitch came running into the room. He locked eyes with mine which immediately widened at the sight of him. "You're buying something?" I ran out of words. I nodded once.

"Mitchell, that is not how to greet a customer," the blacksmith warned.

"My apologies, Sir," he told him then faced me, winking. "I'm sorry as well, Sir. What services may I offer?"

"Make sure this lad finds the rock at the edge of the village. Come back alive. I still need you around here."

Mitch nodded as he escorted me outside. Once the door closed behind us, Mitch began yelling and punched me the hardest he's ever had—but as always, in delight. "Dude," I complained, rubbing him forearm, "what is it with you and punching?" I turned around to check if the blacksmith heard anything. "I hope your boss right in there receives a feedback from me regarding his apprentice who happens to freaking punch customers."

Villagers whispered with each other, and took nervous glances at us as if we were criminals, but Mitch and I decided to ignore that. "It's nothing important," Mitch assured.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Combust ruffled his feathers, which I admit was a little ticklish to my counterpart.

On the way to the edge, Mitch had told me about his wake up call. He had only woken up inside the blacksmith's shop and the owner recognized him as an assistant blacksmith. Of course, the man had to know about Mitch's powers (I told him it was a stupid move to show him how he could make mountains grow taller but apparently, it came out wrong when I had tried to inform him). I then told my stories while Combust silently perched on my shoulder. I told Mitch about my wake up call, the busy market and my way to the blacksmith's. I didn't tell him about the skirt. It would be too much for me to handle.

"Dude," Mitch said, "I'm just so happy to finally find someone from the cohort. I thought everyone else died."

The edge of the village was nothing but a flank of oak trees. The sky was blue and I could say it was around nine when we arrived. It turned out that there were a lot of rocks around. And when I say a lot, I mean a lot. Everywhere I turned, there sat a rock. "The rock won't be too hard to find," Mitch told me. "I'm sure. The blacksmith told me so."