Lumova was a quite place at night. Occasionally, the port facing the expansive sand sea would bustle for a bit as Guild Hunters would arrive from their hunts on duneships. Exhausted from the hunts, the battle weary hunters would crowd a nearby inn or tavern long enough to drink a few drinks in celebration and then stumble to their homes drunk. Lumova was famous for it's strong drinks, so it wouldn't break the bank to get the stupor the hunters wanted. Tonight, though no hunters came in. Sandstorms had shut down the port, so the citizens who might have been light sleepers got a chance to get the long-awaited perfect sleep. Sinika, oblivious to the passing of day and night, sat hunched over the bar. The tavern maid had been awakened by the loud rapping of Sinika's shield on the bar. In spite of the sudden interruption to her slumber, she greeted the tired hunter with a smile, which was unfortunately lost on the blind smith-turned-hunter.
"Welcome to the Crested Kirin!" she greeted Sinika cheerily. "What might I do for you? Care for some of our imported Moga Stout?" She asked, but only then recognized the Hunter. "Oh! Miss Sinika! What has you up this late?" she asked, though after asking, she put the image before her together. "So you finally did it? How was the hunt?"
Sinika patiently churned the stacked questions over in her head, letting the barmaid speak. "Yes... Thank you. A small pack of Genprey. Not quite glorious as hunts go, but at least it should garner me some respect in the Guild. Thank you, Dewnia." She graciously answered the cheery maid.
"Genprey! Goodness... I don't know how you do it. Considering your... affliction..." she spoke, hesitant to refer to Sinika's blindness. Sinika offered a smile and shook her head in amusement.
"Genprey are not stealth hunters. If I can hear it, I can 'see' it," she explained. "I'm just fortunate that my employer didn't know I was blind until later."
"So it wasn't a Guild hunt?" the friendly Dewnia asked, though didn't wait for the answer before adding to the question, "So it was freelance then?" Sinika nodded, though didn't offer more. At that point, she had heard the barmaid place her drink on the counter. She hadn't specified what she wanted, but Dewnia knew Sinika as a regular. It was always the same drink: Pokke's speciality, 'Tenten Lager'. It was by far the weakest drink Lumova taverns served, and for that reason, few sold it at all. Sinika drank it for its flavor.
"I'm going to give my employer some time to spread word about me, which I'm sure he will. Once the story is old, I'm sure a liaison should be easy to acquire," Sinika said after taking a sip of her foamy drink. "I gave my services cheap, which should loosen his lips more."
The barmaid shook her head, knowing her regular customer wouldn't see it. She then poured herself a drink. It may have been unprofessional for a barmaid to drink on the job, but Sinika was like family, and nobody else would likely come in with the sandstorm going on. As she sipped at her frothy brew, she suddenly perked up. "I don't know how this didn't occur to me sooner, but I could actually use a Hunter. I need some Popo hides. A few of our regulars have been clamoring for drink sacks to bring drinks on their hunts. If you can get me some, I'd pay you in full!" she said, not lacking any excitement to do a favor for a dear friend. Sinika took a moment to think, downing a good sized gulp of her drink while she churned it over. It wasn't a hard decision to make, though. In all honesty, she struggled not to show outward excitement.
"Of course. I'll need an airship ride out to the hills, though. Can you cover the round trip?" she asked, but she knew the answer to that as well.
"Absolutely! Whatever you need! I'll even send some hot drinks along with you. It'll be no different than a Guild Quest!" Dewnia stated. "There's no rush, though. The men who are wanting the sacks are not the most likable fellows, if you catch my meaning. I'd be delighted to make them wait a few days." Sinika chuckled at that.
"Convenient. Yes. I need a few days to get all the useful hides and scales from the genprey I took down. I was careful to preserve their integrity." she said, and then downed the rest of her drink, pushing the mug back across the counter to Dewnia. "Well... I'm off. Sleep is calling my name..."
Dewnia smiled and bid her customer a good night, and it felt like the moment Sinika's feet had hit the ground, she was asleep in her bed. She was too tired to even remember walking home. It was the best sleep she'd had in years. It wasn't until late in the morning that she finally pulled herself from sleep. What awoke her was the sound of the Elder Dragon gong. She stretched as she let her body adjust to the sitting position, and soon she was standing up beside her bed. She didn't bother to make her bed, but instead walked to her kitchen area. Normally, hunters would be rushing to the dune ships to deal with the elder dragon. She wondered if it was a Jhen Mohran, or maybe Kushala Daora. Either would be exciting for her as a blacksmith. It would mean an influx of orders for special weapons made from parts of the hunt. She was practically salivating over the thought of working with Kushala Daora parts. It was then that she was reminded that she had some Genprey and drome parts to work with today, if her employer had done his part of the bargain. She thought over what she would do with her carves while she opened a sealed box containing a loaf of bread. She gave the marvelous sourdough a sniff and sighed. Reaching into her knife block, she extracted a serrated knife and sliced off a thick piece and began munching on it, slipping the rest back into its box. It had just started to harden. Not stale... but just barely starting to turn that way, which only intensified the flavor of the sourdough. Dry sourdough was the best sourdough. Satisfied with her light breakfast, she headed out the side door to her humble living quarters directly into the smithy that was built into her house.
She couldn't have been any more pleased with what she discovered. Apparently, the herbalist had hired someone to extract the parts from the gens. There were neat stacks of scraped pelts with a series of small fangs and bones atop. The bones would need to be bleached and baked, but all in all, every part she would need was there. Feeling over the smooth scales on the perfectly preserved pelts, she shook her head. "I have plans for you..." she spoke, as if talking to the heap of parts. "Many good plans..."