The Petite Dungeon Explorer 41 Finding Treasure In A Dump!

I chuckle to myself; it seems that no matter the world boys will always hate shopping. While women are born to shop till they drop! However, I did feel a little bad that I was dragging them all around.

We'd quickly bought all the supplies that we'd need for the test. But after that, I wanted to look around for more stuff, since we finished our goal so quickly.

If one was patient, they could possibly find some treasure hidden in a shop. We'd been through all the major chain stores that had a large supply and selection of weapons and armors. Yet, nothing had stuck out to me at all.

I wanted something that would call to me, and none of the weapons had done that for me….

It wasn't that the equipment was bad or anything either, it was simply just plain. Without fail, I'd continued the search for someone that would speak to me and had exhausted both the attendants at the store and my friends.

Cecily had gotten so tired, that she was getting a piggyback ride from her brother.

We'd arrived on the edge of the shopping district and were nearing the smiting district, where all the local blacksmiths and forges were located. We hadn't headed there first because Silvyr had insisted that we tried to find a deal in one of the major chain stores.

Smiling to myself, I turn to my friends. "Let's head that way," I say pointing towards a street that leads into the smiting area. Without waiting for their reply, I took off making my way out of the slightly crowded street that we're on and to the other side.

Skipping past the few shops, I head deeper into the blacksmithing district of town. At first, there were still shops that looked decently big and had a lot of wares, but I didn't even feel like bothering with them.

I felt like an adventurer in one of those books that I read back in my last world. This was something that anyone who knew anything should know. You should look into the tiny stores, the more obscure the better and you were likely to find a lot of treasure.

Even though the prices might be more affordable in the bigger shops, they couldn't always compete with the quality that you could find in the smaller shops.

Continuing my stroll down the street the smell of steel, fire and sweat entered my nose. We'd gotten closer to the forges at this point, the temperature had also gone up since the place was full of blacksmithing stores and production facilities.

Sniffing the air, I inhale deeply. This is where I should have gone in the first place. I could probably find a treasure buried in here, somewhere!

"Are you sure you want to go looking in here?" Silvyr asks.

"Of course," I tell him merrily as we continue walking.

We'd neared the heart of the smiting district that was home to a few small independent storefronts that were generally run by older adventurers. If you listen, you could hear the great roars of the infernos that they used to craft and smelt the metal. The sound of a hammer striking steel was ringing throughout the whole of the area.

Heading around the street, I notice that the selection in the shops had died down and was generally either an armor shop or a weapon shop. There were a few people within the shops talking to one another and looking over their equipment.

The weapons in the shops varied and were all different sizes and shapes, not to mention style-wise. Some of them are easily recognizable to the eye, while others were not.

My attention was finally caught when I saw a sign for a store that read [Steel Blood], and underneath the sign was the image of a hammer and a drop of blood, that was the sigil of the store.

With a name like that it had to have an interesting Master that looked after the shop!

Stopping in front of the small storefront, I peer in through the slightly dirty gla.s.s. The interior of the store was arranged very neatly. All of the weapons were together, and the same could be said for the armor. In the center of the store, there were other knick-knacks that were laying around on stands.

Looking deeper into the store, I saw a man sitting in a chair with his head down on the counter. He had a great long beard that was salt and pepper colored.

It was a dwarf!

This was right out of a novel, I had to go into this shop immediately. I felt my blood boil in excitement!

"It's a bit shabby isn't it?" Ekon says before I can even wrap my hand around the handle of the door. I felt a twinge of annoyance.

"Isn't that the charming part about it? If we wanted to go somewhere that was elegant, we should have stayed on the main street," Silvyr says with a roll of his eyes.

"Even so, do you think you'll really find something good in here?" Ekon continues, not letting go of his opinion.

"You don't know the first thing about looking for treasure, do you? You should always look where you least expect it, and then you're almost guaranteed to pull out a diamond!" I tell him seriously.

"Idiot Brother!" Cecily says sharply from Ekon's back. She was wrapped around him tightly; her little eyes were half-closed.

"I don't get it, no need to name call. Why are you always cold to me! Look Brother even carried you on his back," Ekon says trying to reason with the half-awake Cecily.

"Let's head in," Silvyr says stepping forward and pus.h.i.+ng the door open for me. I nod my head and leave the two bicker siblings outside for now.

Now that the window wasn't obstructing part of my view, I could see that most of the products in the store are covered in a thick film of dust. The stale stench of dust and iron invades my nose, as we walk completely in.

Glancing towards the dwarf that was at the back end of the shop, he doesn't even raise his head at use entering. But I didn't let that bother me at all, instead, I began to look around the shop.

"Could it be any dustier? Someone should clean it up," Silvyr says wrinkling his nose.

He looks completely uncomfortable in the dusty shop that had stale air. I didn't blame him at all, my nose was itchy from all the dust too. I wanted to go and prop the door open and let in some clean air.

This shop could do with some airflow and a good cleaning woman.

Trying not to let the stench of the air bother me, I walk towards the section that houses a few sets of armor. They're all sorts of chainmail and other styles of metal plating, but all of the sets are designed for adults, not many of them could be fitted for children.

I sigh but keep looking through them anyways. I wasn't bound to stay this size; I'd grow up tall just like my parents. With that thought comforting me, I quickly made my way through the whole section that housed the armor.

Although everything was made of good material, nothing fit or caught my eye, I'd been spoiled with great armor from my brother though. Not letting that stop me, I head to the wall that's full of weapons.

They're all hung neatly but covered in dust. The weapons range from swords, hammers, scimitars to other weapons I'd never seen, you name it and it was on the wall.

Reaching my hand up, I rub my fingers along a relatively dust-free claymore. I'd become a habit to be drawn to swords. But I blame the influence of my family on that, they're all sword lovers!

I could see why, it was a universal weapon that was one of the oldest and in terms of style it could take many shapes, and flavors.

Running my finger along the blade, I wince as it easily cuts into my skin.

[-1 HP]

I smile, and bring my finger to my mouth, gently sucking on the drop of blood that welled on the tip of my finger.

Moving on from the blade, I saw that there are even weapons that look like guns that are displayed within a chest. Besides the gun in the case, I find wands. Rubbing a hand over the gla.s.s of the case, I scrub more dust off.

The wands within the case, ranging from wands that are crafted from wood to metal, and all sorts of one's in between. I was starting to get surprised by the vast number of weapons that are housed in this small shop.

After giving the store a complete once over, I look towards the dwarf sleeping on the counter. He hadn't moved since we'd gotten in the store. It made me think that this dwarf wasn't as simple as he seemed.

Steeling myself, I walk towards the counter where he's sleeping.

"Ahem," I clear my throat, rather, loudly to draw him from his stupor.

He peels back one of his eyes that was framed by a thick grey eyebrow. After his eye focus on me, he closes and then reopens both of his eyes to look at me.

"What do ya want lil la.s.s?" He asks rather gruffly as he glares at me. Well that wasn't what I expected.