70 The Iron Forge's Backer and The Merchant Building

The knights at the gates had thoroughly searched them before their group was allowed into the city. The two knights of House Snow had concealed their auras to the peak of Man-at-arms (Tier 1) and continued to carefully tread the busy streets of the magnificent city.

They had walked all the way, almost to the easternmost point of the city, where a rather large building came into view. This building was what the merchants had bought for the trading headquarters.

It was plain, with no decorations or anything, a blank slate. It had two floors, which was rare for a building in this part of the city. The only reason it had yet to be bought was its location. It was rather remote, and only a few merchants fancied their chances of being able to attract customers so far from the market square. 

"Unload quickly, take the stock to the back rooms, and make haste with it!" one of the knight leaders called out. He was one of the two Squires (Tier 2) the House of Snow had sent to ensure the merchant's safety.

The group of knights and civilians quickly dismounted and helped unload. The merchants in the carriage had also dismounted, but they were already busy in the building itself, busy directing the knights where what should come, and they started planning the layout of the whole building.

The back room was quickly filled with the different products and neatly organized. The meat and beast products were piled together, while the weapons and armor were also neatly arranged together. Bags of crops, ores, and salt were also arranged in another corner.

Caspian, Ronan, and Atlas did not help with the unloading as Eldric had given them a different objective—they needed to build a forge for themselves. He had given them the coins he could spare, and Eldric hoped it was enough for them to at least create a decent forge for the time being.

They could only expand and increase the quality in time. 

All the buildings around the merchant shop were not for sale and had residents in them. That presented a problem for them: They needed to buy a dormitory for the workers, build the forge, buy a warehouse, and, lastly, create a shelter where their mounts could be left.

At the moment, the back room of the building is used for storage. The knights and people needed to use the Griffin Inn as their accommodation while the beasts slept in the tavern stables. 

The expenditure was immense, but the money was enough for them to buy the necessary decorations and furniture for the building and a few days' accommodation. Once the money started coming in, according to Eldric's wishes, all of it would be used to make more supplies and build or buy the remaining buildings needed.

As the group of knights and civilians slowly unloaded, the trio of blacksmiths could be seen walking around town. They wore clothes made for the Northern Star Commerce: a doublet and hose in a deep blue color. Their robes were beautifully combined with streaks of white, and the symbol of a northern star in silver was embroidered on the left side of the fabric.

The clothing was especially eye-catching, even in a city such as Silverpeaks, where there was a substantial increase in clothing luxury. The city of white was also a nickname it was given, and just like the beautiful name, the people in the city, well, at least the higher classes of people, wore exquisite clothing as a symbol.

Caspian walked in front while both Atlas and Ronan followed behind. Caspian had ordered the two to follow him even though he did not say where they were going. Most of the walking was done in silence when Atlas could not contain his curiosity further and asked, "Master, where is it that we are going to?"

They were heading straight for the center of the city. Caspian smiled and scolded with a smile, "You sure are impatient aren't you. If you do not learn to be patient, then you will not become a master blacksmith." he chuckled at the end, seeing his disciple's distraught expression.

"Haha, but I guess I can forgive you this time," Caspian started laughing harder. "You may be aware of the big three shops in Silverpeak thanks to Elder Garen. And one of them is called the Iron Forge, this shop is undoubtedly a peak tier existence, something the other two could hope to never be compared to" 

"How master, Elder Garen spoke of it as if it was only a rather large shop? Is there something interesting there?" Ronan spoke with bright eyes as he quietly awaited his master's answer.

"Haha, that is because Elder Garen is not a blacksmith. He is not aware of the significance behind the shop. In fact most people aren't aware of their real identity. The Iron forge is indeed a normal looking shop but it's backer is quite powerful." Caspian slowly explained to his disciples.

"The Iron Forge is a place where aspiring blacksmiths would come to get tested. If one advances to the next rank of mastery, the backer behind the Iron Forge would witness the blacksmith's skill and if he indeed does get their acknowledgement they are given a medallion. This medallion comes in with 9 stars representing the blacksmith's skills."

'A star corresponds to the rank of weapon a blacksmith is capable of making. This is extremely important as it gives the public a way of recognizing a superior blacksmith. They are essentially the backbone of all blacksmiths. ' Caspian spoke with a smile full of yearning.

"Why have we not heard of such things master? And if that is true, what is the reason for giving the medallion, other than recognition? I mean can't a blacksmith forge a weapon to showcase his skill without the medallion?" Atlas asked a series of questions in succession.