Jarg had been in the town for about two weeks or so. The inn was okay, but the rooms were rather cramped for someone of his size.

He continued to do the occasional deliveries to folks around the town or outside of it, earning coins that kept him fed and housed.

One day, while he was relaxing in his usual spot not far from the main hearth, a rather large man wandered into the main area of the tavern and spent a moment looking around at the few people sitting there, then spotted Jarg relaxing as he often did when he had no work to do.

The man standing in the inn's doorway was Vansel Carth, the town's main blacksmith. As soon as his eyes lit on Jarg, he grinned and made his way over toward Jarg's table, waving to the innkeeper to bring a mug of ale for both of them.

Vansel sat down across from Jarg, gave him another scan that led to a smile, then chuckled as the ale mugs were set down on the table.

"I hear you've been helping out Madame Benrime here with odd tasks, deliveries, stuff like that, and removing nasty critters for the town."

Jarg nodded, shrugging his shoulders, "Better to do what work one can, yes? As for the monsters, the town is safer with them dead."

"Aye," Vansel replied, "But there are folks who started off here by calling you a monster, hmmm? Well, until they knew you, that is."

Jarg nodded again, "There are still a few that call me such, but I do my best to ignore them and do whatever work comes to hand."

"Well, Jarg, is it?" When Jarg confirmed his name, Vansel continued, "I could use someone like you in my smithy right now, there's all kinds of work that needs to be done and it requires a strong and steady hand. Would you be willing to give some of your time to help?"

"You're willing to train someone you barely know? Sure, I've been here a while, but I mostly stay to myself unless I'm needed."

Vansel chuckled, "You have enough sense to listen rather than just charge ahead, training you won't be too difficult. I have an order from another town along the river for a large number of longswords and pikes, it will be easier to do with two of us working."

Jarg smiled a toothy grin, "If you're willing to take the time, then I can make an honest effort to learn."

Both of the large men stood from the table, downing the last of their ales, then waved to the innkeeper as they left the building.

That was how Jarg found himself in the smithy across the wide lane from the inn, learning about the tools there and how to use them. The first day or two was spent mostly watching the smith as he worked, pumping the bellows as needed and doing other minor tasks.

On those days when the innkeeper needed him to do a delivery, Vansel would work alone; otherwise, the two worked together in the smithy. It took about a week of training before Jarg felt confident in using the hammer and anvils to try to make his first tool. It wasn't perfect by a long shot, being bent midway down the length of the blade, but the smith nodded and showed him how to fix it while the metal was hot.

A week or two passed, then Jarg tried making his first sword. Once again, it wasn't perfect, but it was reasonably straight and had a fair edge on the blade. The smith showed him the bits where he hadn't quite kept things true and Jarg managed to fix them all on his own.

The big order the smith had mentioned was due to be delivered in about two more weeks. Jarg and Vansel settled down to the work at hand, turning out a few pieces each day. Jarg's efforts were improving as he grew more familiar with the tools and the skills needed.

They worked late into the night on the last day to finish the order, which consisted of 35 longswords and 50 pikes.

Jarg and the smith headed off to their beds after a quick meal of cold meat pies and ale. They would be on the road shortly after dawn.

Vansel borrowed a wagon from his younger brother Argen's carpentry business the next morning to haul the shipment of weapons.

They had eaten more of the meat pies and carried a bag with close to two dozen more in it, along with a small keg of ale to drink. After setting the two heavy bags, one with the swords, the other with the pikes, in the wagon bed, both men climbed on the seat and were on their way.

They left the town by the north gate, then continued up the north road. An hour or two after they started up that road, they were attacked by a couple of rather stupid thieves who thought that they might be carrying something valuable in the back of the wagon.

It only took a moment for Vansel and Jarg to change the minds of the two thieves. Perhaps it was seeing Jarg's rather homely face that caused them to flee? In any case, the two of them were able to continue on their way, reaching their destination in the late morning.

Camris Jenzo was waiting in the front section of the other town's barracks when Vansel and Jarg arrived with the weapons. Camris took a quick look at the two bags of weapons, pronounced them suitable and handed Vansel seventeen silver coins in payment.

A brief stop in the barracks to share an ale with the soldiers and Camris was a nice break before the return journey.

Jarg and Vansel had no problems on the way home, other than a mangy dog chasing the wagon at one point.

When they were home, Vansel smiled, passing Jarg seven of the silver coins they had earned, "You've worked hard for it, lad."

Life settled down after that. Jarg was usually to be found in the smithy, although Vansel's younger brother Argen, the carpenter, sometimes had Jarg helping him out with work in his shop. Jarg didn't mind, he was learning useful skills and earning money in the process.

Then there were the times where Jarg, and sometimes Vansel, were sent out to deal with monsters in or around the town. For instance, a minotaur had found the town and was attacking people near one of the gates. Jarg and Vansel soon ended that bit of nastiness.

Another time, a siren was discovered in the waters not far from the docks. Two sailors went to their dooms in the harbour before Jarg found out about it. He talked with Vansel, Argen and the innkeeper, then obtained some wax and small bits of cloth to use to plug his ears.

As with the octopus several months before, the siren was sometimes seen lounging on the large rock in the outer harbour. Perhaps luck favoured Jarg that day, but the siren was sleeping until just after he pulled the boat up on the small bit of shore surrounding the big rock.

She did wake as he climbed the rock toward her, and she promptly started singing, figuring he would be entranced like everyone else. She was quite surprised, then, when he appeared to have no reaction to her song and it only took a moment before she was defeated by him.

Another time involved Jarg, Vansel and a couple of other men from the town going out and clearing a pack of giant cats that were attacking cattle and other animals owned by the farmers and townsfolk. That one took most of two full days before they killed the last one.

Other times, Jarg would be sent by the innkeeper to make a delivery to folks outside of the town. He enjoyed those days, as he could wander along on his own two feet in his own good time, which he found more enjoyable than being stuck sitting on a wagon seat.

The townsfolk soon grew accustomed to seeing him working mostly in the smithy, sometimes in the carpenter's. He was just another citizen.