"Get out of here!"
Once again having his business interrupted, even though it wouldn't have worked out anyway, the blacksmith, nearly furious enough to explode, shoved Bill clear out of the street.
Garrett had no choice but to follow helplessly.
"Whew... whew... Sir, I heard you! You're looking for gold, right?"
Panting heavily after being chased for a whole block, Bill still didn't forget to pitch his wares.
"That's right, I want gold. But tell me, do you just squat in front of people's shops every day waiting to steal their customers? If I were the blacksmith, I'd want to beat you up too."
"Ha ha, no, no, not every day. I just happened to be around today."
Garrett's mouth twitched.
Not every day? So... often, then?
"All right, just tell me about your goods. How are you selling your gold?"
"As an old customer, I'll give you a deal, eighty percent of market price."
"So generous?"
"We small-time traders are always generous," Bill said with a face full of sincerity.
But remembering the crumbling, corroded equipment Bill sold him last time, Garrett couldn't help but doubt that statement.
You're not about to bring me a bunch of gold-plated brass, are you?
Still, he wasn't too worried about being cheated, anything that entered his inventory would be automatically labeled with proper identification. The materials would be clearly listed.
Despite his skepticism, he followed Bill to his small warehouse.
This out-of-the-way back street hadn't changed at all, still dark and quiet. If anything, a few buildings looked even dustier, as if no one had been active there for over a month.
"Here it is."
Bill rummaged around and pulled out a box from deep within the warehouse.
Garrett opened it and was immediately taken aback. Inside was a pile of tarnished, rusted, and heavily spotted jewelry.
"Look, this is pure gold!" Bill picked up a bracelet and patted his chest as he vouched for it.
"Seriously? This thing..."
Garrett's eyelid twitched as he accepted the bracelet, so spotted and tarnished that its original color was barely visible, and placed it in his inventory.
[Tarnished Gold Bracelet]
[Estimated recovery: 2–3 gold ingots]
Ah, that explained it.
He understood now.
The bracelet really was gold, but perhaps due to poor storage or simply the passage of time, it had become grimy. Gold was stable by nature, but that didn't prevent other substances from adhering to the surface and ruining its appearance.
"All right, I'll take it all."
To him, the condition didn't matter. It would all go into the smelting furnace anyway.
As soon as Garrett said that, Bill rubbed his hands together and held up a figure.
Garrett, short on silver coins, had to dig out a pile of antique jewelry again, this trade emptied out half his stockpile. Still, he acquired a substantial amount of gold items in exchange.
Most of the antique jewelry he had looted from the Barrow-wight was silver, yet here with Bill, he traded it for over twice the volume in gold. In fact, silver was quite valuable in Middle-earth, especially among Elves, who were said to prefer silver over gold.
Looking at the smirk on Bill's face, he knew the man definitely made a profit. But it didn't matter, his objective was achieved.
He had to admit, Bill did have some skill. His warehouse was full of refuse, yet he somehow managed to keep business going. As long as something even remotely matched a customer's needs, he'd try to sell it.
No way this fellow is as poor as he looks, he definitely has some serious capital.
With everything settled, he didn't linger and headed straight back to the inn.
Left behind, Bill watched Garrett leave and wiped the sweat from his brow.
"How did the deal go?"
From a run-down house nearby, a scruffy, darkly dressed man suddenly stepped out.
"Barely broke even," Bill said, pulling a face.
"Did he notice anything?"
"So far, no."
"My advice, whatever you're involved in, don't let him discover it." The bearded man spoke slowly, "That night, I heard sounds like thunder on the main road. A great fire broke out in the forest, then was doused by water falling from the sky... I couldn't resist my curiosity and went to investigate. What I found was a series of massive craters and the remains of orcs. Not a single body was intact."
Bill's legs grew somewhat weak.
"I told those cutthroats not to mess with him."
"But you're the one who supplied their weapons."
"And didn't you also deal with those orcs?" Bill shot back in a low voice.
"That was in the past. My advice? Back off, leave this place. If he finds out, we might not live to regret it."
"..."
Bill fell silent, deep in thought.
---
Garrett, meanwhile, had no idea what had transpired. But oddly enough, a notification appeared.
[Bree Reputation +10]
Looked like he'd accidentally done something beneficial.
Back at the inn, with time to spare, he began examining his latest acquisitions. All that gold jewelry could probably be smelted down into two or three gold ingots. Not much, but enough to craft two golden carrots.
---
The next two days passed quietly.
He spent his time resting at the inn, dining, and wandering around to experience the local culture of Bree. During his free time, he bought two chickens from a local farmer, planning to raise them back home. As for pigs, cattle, and sheep, honestly, a bit too much for one person to manage, especially with two horses already to handle.
He was starting to realize there were definite inconveniences to traveling alone. Still, it wasn't impossible. The forests and plains near Wayfort actually had plenty of wild animals, like boars and wild cattle. Before, he hadn't considered animal husbandry and just hunted them for meat. But this time, he could try capturing and raising some.
Speaking of Bree, the region was mostly populated by Men and Hobbits. But occasionally, members of other races passed through, like Dwarves.
"Every time a dwarven caravan comes through, my silver purse gets stuffed full, and then they clean out my wine cellar."
So said a local brewer.
Garrett had decent luck and just happened to encounter one such dwarven caravan. Curious, he went to investigate. Turned out they were selling nothing but ale and metal tools. The craftsmanship looked excellent, but he didn't need any of it. Still, it was his first time seeing Dwarves in person.
These short, bearded folk were quite entertaining, talking in booming voices, practically like performers doing comic dialogue. And they were incredibly robust.
[25/25]
Same max HP as the Dúnedain.
While chatting with one dwarf trader, who asked him every few sentences whether he was buying anything, Garrett ended up purchasing nothing at all. He returned to the inn under the dwarf's comically indignant glare, beard bristling.
As soon as he stepped inside, the innkeeper approached him.
"Sir, your horses are ready."
"Great, I'll go have a look."
Heading to the stable, he found two horses that looked fairly healthy and spirited.
Garrett glanced at them, and their statistics appeared immediately:
[26/26]
[Max speed: 11 m/s]
[24/24]
[Max speed: 10 m/s]
"..."
Honestly, these horses were just ordinary. But for transportation, they'd suffice.
Everything was now prepared, it was finally time to return home.
Only, the moment he took the reins in hand, he suddenly remembered one crucial detail: He didn't know how to ride a horse.