Blacksmithing guild (2)

"Gigi Dufour herself came here to tell us that the king is coming here personally, I don't know what may be bringing the king to our lowly guild?" Blacksmithing guild master, Nataschenka Melnikoff who was standing in front of the guild building as she awaited the arrival of the king asked her assistant curiously. She was wearing a white robe over her garment and beside her, it was her assistant but behind her, many blacksmiths and warriors could be seen. The blacksmiths were chattering between themselves about what Virtya might be coming to do in the blacksmithing guild. After all, no king had ever stepped in this guild because they would always give an order of what they wanted the blacksmiths to create for them without showing their faces.

One should know that before even the king arrived at the blacksmithing guild, Gigi Dufour and some of the warriors had arrived at the place first so as to create room, make arrangements and inspect the area for the arrival of the king.

"I think the king wants us to create even more weapons and armors, so he is coming here himself just to show us the gravity of the matter. I overheard from some nobles that king Virtya is preparing for a huge war with our neighboring kingdoms thus, he needed our support in fabricating the needed weapons but do you think we can win the war..." A middle-aged man who was Nataschenka Melnikoff's assistant asked in a low voice.

"Shhh! Don't speak about the war that his Majesty is planning, if any warrior heard what you have just said, your head will roll." Nataschenka Melnikoff hushed the middle-aged man after interjecting him. She swept a glance around them and after she found out that the warriors had not yet locked their eyes on them, she heaved a sigh.

"There he comes..."

Virtya came down from his carriage and his minions who had followed him did the same thing.

"My king, we are humbled to have you here with us today, it is our pleasure." Nataschenka Melnikoff said with a smile as she clasped her hands in front of the king, the other blacksmith's higher-ups also did the same.

"I have never been to this place and I can see that it needs a makeover. I will set aside the money to transform this place to be better than how it used to be. Anyway, I am in a hurry because my time is limited. I will be using your blacksmith guild for several weeks. So, I can't wait for longer or engage in much pleasantries. Please show me what usually goes on in this guild, I also want you to assemble the best blacksmiths who will help me to create several items." Virtya said all in a hurry which left the blacksmith higher-ups in panic. The blacksmiths mouths were agape, they couldn't believe that the king would be staying in their guild for weeks. They had prepared some gifts for the king but it seemed that the king would not even be interested in them as they could see that he was certainly in a hurry.

"Did you hear that? King Virtya is going to refurbish our lowly guild building..."

"He is lying. King Markov said the same thing don't you remember?"

"I wish our place was set anew, it would have been a better place for working." 

"Let's put our trust in king Virtya. Maybe he would do what he has promised." 

The blacksmiths continued with the chatter after they overheard what Virtya said to their master Nataschenka. They couldn't believe it while it was only a few who believed in this promise.

"My king, if you don't mind me asking, what are the items that you are going to create? You can simply tell us if it is a sword that you want us to make and we can make it. You don't have to waste your precious time to come here personally." Nataschenka Melnikoff said to Virtya as they walked into the blacksmithing guild. She was a bit curious about what the king was planning to fabricate that it would need him to be here himself with this being his first time to come to their guild.

As they trespassed in the building, Virtya could see that there were scorch marks on the wall and even if the walls of this guild were not black, the soot from the burning furnaces had made these walls to turn black. There were several types of metal ingots here and there, armours and weapons on display here and there. However, what Virtya noted was that the blacksmithing guild building was too old and almost desolate as not all rooms in the building were being used because of their poor condition. It was too risky to work in such environments, thus, Virtya vowed to refurbish this building and in the future, he would make a completely new structure here with a modern feel.