He grumbled to himself under his breath. I thought he was going to knock me off his back for real. Dalmar instead wrapped his arms under my knees and shifted me in a slightly more manageable position. "I will take you to the inn. Then we are done. The debt will be over. Got it?" he said. I nodded and thanked him. "This is nothing to me with all the weight I lug around daily. In fact, if anyone asks me, I'll tell them that you're so weak you need to be carried around." I shrugged and allowed him to carry me out the workshop. There were, of course, lots of eyes on us. When they asked, Dalmar told them what he said he would. They looked at me and I just nodded lamely. All my acting would come to the fore. The people wanted answers. I was going to give them one. "Dalmar is just really strong and I couldn't do it myself. I am grateful he was there to help me when I needed. My feet hurt after a while." Demons with both red and orange eyes were stunned from the turn of events. Even Dalmar was pretty shocked when he heard me. They just looked at Dalmar and scurried off to gossip about this.
Every time it came up or someone asked us what was going on, I further embellished the tale. By the time we got to the inn, Dalmar was a hero that saved me from a life threating condition. Being that we were firmly in a town in the Demon Country, it was pretty plausible happening. It was especially true if any demons were only recently gaining powers. That could lead to collateral damage and injuries easily. I could see Dalmar being pretty popular in town going forward. That would be fine with me. If the other demons respected him, they might come to the workshop to buy things. That could only be good for us. My comrades came to see me when they heard that I was in a state on the brink of life and death. I told them the truth and they looked at me in surprise. "You must be joking. You marked a snow-skin, and you want to hide it? A submissive slave is wasted on you- you are much too passive for your own good. What is the matter with you!? If it were me, I'd lord it over this town from days." Thalox said. Dulgron, Phirlax and Helelin shook their heads at me. Dulgron and Helelin were smiling.
When the guys questioned them for not taking things seriously, Helelin looked at me. "What scheme are you planning this time!?" she asked. I smirked and said "I guess that you guys will just have to wait and see. If things go well, it will be great for me going forward." They then left me alone. I was looking forward to things to come. I was totally correct. People began coming to our workshop to see the local hero. This led to a boon to Dalmar's things being sold to those that did not even need it. They just wanted to support him. Obviously, be was just one Novice. The rest of the work trickled down to the rest of us. Azgath had to keep his neck wrapped in bandages. The very worst thing that could happen is people finding out who he was bonded to with the mark. I kept my side of the deal and did not speak with him when in the forge or workshop. It was not like he wanted to be around me either. As time went on, we made enough sales to rank up. We were all Journeyman Blacksmiths now. That meant that we could join the merchant caravans, establish our own smith shops, and craft new things.
