"I wonder if this is the place," I said. We had sailed south of Dhama Shrine and landed here, looking for this town of Longadeseo.
I parked the wagon just before the gate into the town. A guard stood at the entrance.
"Do you have a pass?" asked the guard.
"Here," I replied, presenting the Longadeseo pass.
"You may enter. Be careful, plenry of thieves are here trying to find a mark."
We all went in.
"Welcome to Longadeseo, the town of freedom," said this woman.
We took a look around the town. The streets were narrow and there were gaps in some of the paving stones. The centerpiece of this town was a strip club.
I started to ask the people of the town for information about any blacksmiths.
"I heard that this informant, Hawk, fled to this town," said a man. "But no one has seen him."
It appeared that this Hawk character could help us.
We continued to walk around town, asking for the legendary blacksmith. None of them remember him being here. Other people mentioned that Hawk had arrived in town, but no one knows where he is now.
"Maybe the legendary blacksmith is dead," said Barbara.
"Why would you think that?" asked Muriel.
"That priest back in Mt. Snow was frozen for fifty years! His information could very well be outdated."
"Where else could we start looking?" asked Chamoro.
"Maybe the legendary blacksmith had an apprentice or two," said Hassan. "Sort of like how I helped my dad with the carpentry stuff."
We walked around town, asking where Hawk is.
We finally found a lead. This lady lived inside a house which was underneath a well.
"You want to know where Hawk is?" she asked. "Try the bar."
"Thanks, madam," I replied.
And so we went to the bar next to the strip club. There were just a couple of people drinking there. I decided to have a drink.
"Yeah, Hawk was in here," said the bartender. "Might be upstairs."
"Thanks," I replied.
And so I went upstairs to the roof. a man was standing on top.
"Do you have need of the informant Hawk?" he asked.
"Yes, I need his information to find the legendary blacksmith," I replied.
"I am Hawk," he replied. "Hawk will find a way to make people talk. Just give me some time."
I went downstairs. Hawk was already sitting at the bar.
"My services are not free," said Hawk. "I will have to askl for fifty thousand gold."
"That's too much!" I protested.
"I'm very good at what I do, kid. Still, I'll give you a chance. I will wear three disguises. If you can find me in each disguise, I will give you my info for only two thousand gold."
"It's a deal," I said.
"You sure we can find him?" asked Hassan. "He wouldn't have made such an offer unless he was very good at disguises."
"We'd better get on with it," I said.
And so we looked around the town, hoping to find out which person from the crowd was Hawk. We kept looking and looking for hours, but we could not find him.
"He's very good," said Muriel.
"How do you know he hasn't skipped town?" asked Chamoro.
"If he skips out, he loses out on thousands of gold coins," replied Barbara.
Searching around Longadeseo, we came across this church.
The church inside was small, and mostly empty. I guess religion is not very popular in this town of thieves. I saw a priest talking to this other person.
"Poor Sally," he said.
The other man just left. I looked at the priest. He looked real familiar.
"Hawk!" I yelled.
"So you found me," he said. "Next time it won't be easy."
Hawk left the church. I immediately tried following him from a distance, hoping to find out where he is hiding.
But then I lost him in the crowd.
"Looks like we've gotta find him all over again," said Hassan.
And so we looked for him, all over again. We basically went through the entire town. Some of the people were giving us stares. Fortunately, I had a Sword of Miracles which would deter common robbers.
"We've been searching for so long," said Barbara after we walked all over town for so many hours."
"I think we need some recreation," I said, clearly weary of searching all over Longadeseo.
"I've got an idea," said Chamoro.
oooooooooooooo
His idea was for us to spend time at the strip club, looking at the strippers as they danced on stage, jiggling as they did. No one bothered to ask how old we were.
After a short break we decided to go over to where the dressing room is.
"You know," said one of the dancers"I couldn't convince Sally to work here at this theater." she then leaves.
"Would you like a kiss?" asked a lady.
"Sure," I replied.
As she leaned forward, I could feel that her face was rough. I immediately backed away.
"Curses," said the lady. "I forgot to shave."
"Hawk!" I yelled.
"Got to go now," replied Hawk as he left dressed like a woman stripper.
"Maybe you should have let him kiss you," said Muriel. "He might be pretty good at it."
oooooooooooo
Once again, we looked all over town for Hawk. No matter whom we talked to, we could not find the guy.
"Maybe I should go back to Reidock and borrow fifty thousand gold," I said.
"Maybe we should have a drink," suggested Chamoro. "They don't care how old we are here, you know."
And so we did. I sat at the bar at the west end of town, having a few drinks. The others talked about their lives and stuff. I soon started feeling a familiar buzz.
We spoke at length about our past adventures.
"Can you imagine what that's like?" asked Chamoro. "Being split into two people and coming back together."
"It's all good," I replied. "I remember both of my lives, you know."
"I have no memories of being a statue," said Hassan.
"What about you, Barbara?" asked Muriel, gulping a beer. "you have a real-world self out here somewhere."
"I don't know," she said. "I still can't remember where I'm from."
"You weren't with us when we first went to Mudo's castle," I said. "How did you get split?"
"I'll just order 'nother drink," she replied. "Wait a minute."
Barbara then went behind the bar.
"What are you doing here?" asked the bartender. "Do you want something to drink?"
"No," she replied.
"Are you looking for someone?"
"No."
"You want anything with me?"
"Yes, we do."
"You beat me," said the man.
"Hawk!" I yelled, recognizing him.
"You guys listen in to the conversation those two are having," said Hawk. "Get back to me after you hear them. I live in the house at the bottom of the well."
And so I did, keeping my ears open.
"There was this balcksmith here, Colbe," said a customer sitting near us. "He even worked on the legendary sword. He left ten years ago to find it. I'd love to see the lengendary sword and all."
"I understand," replied another customer, a man.
"But he left Mary and Sally behind, leaving them without a husband and father!"
We all decided to leave, heading to the well in Longadeseo. We climbed down, meeting with Hawk inside the living room of his house.
"Pay me the two thousand," said Hawk, standing on the wooden floor.
And so I did. "What did you find out?" I asked curiously.
"Colbe the blacksmith trained his daughter Sally in the blacksmith arts," said Hawk. "People say she's even better than her father was. She lives in a house in the north side of town, and sometimes visits the temple to the north."
"Thanks, dude," replied Hassan.
We left Hawk's house, climbed up the well, and went to the north end of town.
We found a smithery inside one of the houses. While it looked lived in, the owner was not there.
It was time for us to go north to the temple.
It was only a short ride in the wagon. The temple was in a cave in the hills north of Longadeseo.
A red-haired woman was inside the temple, looking at one of the graves.
"What legendary blacksmith!" she yelled. "What sword of legend."
"Excuse me, Miss," I said, interrupting her tirade. "Are you Sally?"
"Yes, I am," she replied. "Is that the sword of legend?"
"Yes," I said, presenting the rusted sword.
"You must be the demon king!"
"No, no," I protested. "I defeated and killed the demon king Mudo!"
"I suppose you want me to remove the rust," she said.
"Please, Miss," I said. "We can make it worth your while."
"No, I can't."
Sally abruptly left the temple.
I hopped into the wagon and headed back to Sally's house in Longadeseo.
"What are you doing here with that sword?" she asked.
"I just want it reforged," I said. "We will recompense you."
"If you promise to use it for good, I might reforge it for you."
"I promise," I said confidently.
"Let me look into your eyes."
I stood still.
"I trust you," said Sally. "I'll reforge it for you. Let me have the sword."
And so I gave the rusted sword to her. I met up with the others just outside the house.
"So she'll fix the sword?" asked Chamoro.
"Yes," I said. "It'll take time. I suggest we follow up on the legendary Shield of Sufida."
And so we did, sailing south of Longadeseo.