It was days of grueling work dealing with the influx of orders. As it turned out, it had been a Lao-Shan Lung. Plenty of scales, heavy leathers, fangs, bone, and every variety of useful parts. She had just managed to make herself a greatsword from the gendrome parts she'd gotten before the first order came in. After that was one order after another. Switchaxes, greatswords, dual blades, and even one gunlance. She had a lot on her plate. She'd even recruited the help of one of her fellow students from the wyverian academy to keep up with the orders. She didn't like to share her secrets, but the young lad worked hard.
"Yu-Yian! How's the work on the firing chamber for the gunlance?" she yelled as she paused in hammering out a hinge of machalite and iron. The young smith answered with plenty of enthusiasm.
"Completely finished! I'm already working on the grip now!" he spoke cheerily. Yu-Yian was a human, which was uncommon for a blacksmith. Wyverians did not like to share their secrets with anybody but their own, but Yu-Yian was a prodigy in his own rights, and quite easy to control. They no more feared him blabbing their secret methods than they feared he would sprout wings and start breathing fire.
"Good... don't forget to fill the pores with machalite as you heat it. Lao-Shan bones are sturdy, but it'll do no good without some rigidity," she pointed out just before going back to hammering out the hinge. She'd already completed the lance component and barrel neatly tucked into it. The two worked together for a few more hours and when they finished, she sat down with a heavy sigh, and soon heard Yu-Yian plop down next to her.
"That was the last one, right?" he asked and pulled out a hide sack of some drink as he waited her answer, taking a swig. Sinika's forge ran several hundred degrees hotter than most smiths dared work with. The result was a constant risk of dehydration. It was the only way to properly work with bone, though. No bone could be worked by itself, and they would have just burnt to dust if it weren't for her secrets. Now they were secrets between Yu-Yian and herself.
"Yep. If I didn't know better, I'd say three quarters of that Lao-Shan landed in our laps. Too bad I'm retiring my forge soon. This level of activity sure is addictive," Sinika sighed. Yu-Yian frowned and wiped sweat from his forehead.
"Retiring? You're the best bonesmith on this side of the afterlife! Why would..." he began to ask, but then paused. "Wait... you don't plan on switching to Hunting full-time, seriously?"
"Why not? Rogishen did more than enough bragging on my part. There's no way the Guild will hold out on me and my new liaison," she pointed out. This part surprised Yu-Yian.
"Liaison? Who took you on?" he asked, suddenly spiking his enthusiasm.
"He called himself Noran. Sound familiar?" she said with a smirk. She felt quite satisfied when Yu whistled in appreciation.
"Noran 'The Garuga Rider'?" he asked and then took another sip from his sack.
"None other. He commands plenty of respect in the Guild. That's not to say he's going to plunge me straight into a Najarala or Rathian hunt right off. I've got to prove to him that it's not just a happy fluke," she added. Yu wiped a drip of his drink from his chin and shook his head.
"There's no way it's a fluke. He should know that. Four perfect kills. That doesn't happen to just anybody."
"No.. I suppose not. But even then Gendrome is easy pickings. Sure, I delivered perfect kills, but he has to know that I can hold my own against creatures that don't just drop from one stab. He promised me a Royal Ludroth for starters," she stated, not without some degree of satisfaction. Royal Ludroth parts were difficult to work, but made excellent elemental weapons. She had a few special plans for hers already. It would put her herbalist friend to good work as well. Yu-Yian whistled.
"Royal Ludroth? You're lost if it goes in the water, are you not?" he asked. Sinika snorted in reply.
"I suppose. But I think I can keep it on land. Don't underestimate me," she said sternly. Yu-Yian nodded, and then remembered himself and spoke it out.
"Of course. I'm interested in how you'll do that, though," he trailed off, looking out the front door of the shop. Standing outside it was a tall man, wrapped in a heavy cloak that appeared to be made of Iodrome hide, judging from it's vibrant red color. His face was hidden in the shadows of a large wide-brimmed hat. Sinika perked as she heard the man outside clear his throat, and soon he walked in from the sun, taking off his hat and putting it to his chest in a gesture of respect, though the gesture was lost on Sinika.
"Ah! Noran! Perfect timing!" she spoke, recognizing him from his scent. He was a lean man, but had an unfortunate condition that made him doomed to carry around a scent of exercise musk. Most people didn't notice it, but it was easily picked up by Sinika's keen nose. Noran seemed surprised by the ease with which she recognized him before he even spoke, but shook his head, dismissing the worry from his mind.
"I've got disappointing news," he said bluntly to start things off. Sinika's smile didn't decrease any. She had expected something would come up. "I couldn't get you your Royal Ludroth yet. But a farmer on the outskirts is having some issues with Jaggia nesting up in his farm. It's only a matter of time before their pheromones attract a Great Jaggi, so he wants them dealt with as soon as possible." Sinika nodded.
"Not the end of the world. Jaggi and jaggia parts are useful. What's the fee and pay?" she asked, getting to the point.
"Fifty zenny fee up front, which I've handled for you, and reward is seven hundred fifty zenny," he answered. Yu-Yian frowned at this.
"Come on. That's less than the price of a iron longsword," he grumbled. Sinika held up a hand to prevent him from saying anything further.
"That's Hunter pay. The good money comes from big game hunts. But seven fifty is only the money side of things. The Hunter Guild pays for transportation of the monster parts and that alone is worth five hundred. All in all, that's a worthwhile quest," she explained. Yu-Yian continued to grumble under his breath, but didn't say more. Noran chuckled at the apprentices naivety, but didn't add anything more to the conversation. At that, Sinika shooed him away with her hands. "You have more work to do, Noran. Don't let us tie you up." Noran nodded and again took his hat to his chest and then turned on his heel and walked on out without further word.