"I hate waiting." Wynn suddenly said, throwing the knife he'd been scrutinizing across the room. Serrah jumped in her seat as it stuck in the wall.<br/>"What?" she said, wiping her eyes.<br/>"I. Hate. Waiting." she frowned.<br/>"Right, and what exactly are you waiting for?"<br/>"Tehn. He said he would be here today. His letter said he had exciting news." he puffed his chest out and lowered his voice. "'Something that will interest you very much'. It's today, and he's not here yet." she glanced out the window.<br/>"It's not even noon yet."<br/>"So?"<br/>"So, it's a little early to be getting impatient."<br/>"It's never too early to be impatient."<br/>"Of course." she stood and stretched. "Well, I'm going to go to the back and reorganize the metal, let me know if you need me." he grunted noncommittally, walking over the the knife and pulling it out, returning to it's inspection. As if staring at it long enough would give him the answers he wanted. What kept it's razor edge for all these years? What metals could it possibly be made from? What gave it it's strength? He'd had it for almost seven years, and according to Tehn his father had used it for decades before that. And yet, despite his best efforts, he couldn't crack, bend, or dull the damn thing. He'd let it sit in molten iron and lead with no results. He even left it in water for over three months and not a single speck of corrosion had developed. Hell it even seemed to get stronger after that. It was infuriating beyond words. And trying to recreate it had somehow managed to be even more maddening. He'd almost driven his business into the ground buying up exotic metals and no matter how many combinations of alloys, ores, or forging methods he tried, he had nothing to show for it but a depressing pile of metal in the back room. The bell above the door suddenly dinged, pulling him from his thought. Wynn looked up and found himself staring at perhaps the the most hulking man he'd ever seen duck into his store, a large oak chest slung over his back. He lumbered over to the counter and stared down at Wynn.<br/>"Can I help you?" Wynn said warily.<br/>"You Macgowynn?" the words rumbled from his mouth like a landslide.<br/>"Yes."<br/>"Package for you." Wynn glanced up at the chest.<br/>"It would seem so."<br/>"Where do you want it?"<br/>"Uh, just set it down anywhere I guess." he bent his knees until the chest touched the ground and unhooked it, gently laying it down in front of the counter. He stood, nodded at Wynn, and ducked beneath door frame, the door swinging shut behind him.<br/>"Serrah!" Wynn called out, walking around the counter to the front of the chest.<br/>"Why are you ye- What is that?"<br/>"A chest, clearly." he gently ran his fingers across the rusted iron lock. "The real question is what are they feeding the mail boys these days."<br/>"What?"<br/>"Fetch something to pry this open with." she turned and disappeared into the back room, coming back with a long crowbar.<br/>"It didn't come with a key?"<br/>"It did, I just enjoy displaying my manliness." he jammed the flat end in the crack above the keyhole and leaned his weight against it.<br/>"Nope." he grunted after a moment. "Yeah that's not opening without the key."<br/>"Remarkable."<br/>"You could help me you know."<br/>"The key's probably on it's way."<br/>"Excellent." he tossed the crowbar on the ground. "More waiting." he trudged over to the counter, laying across it like a board and folding his arms, staring at the roof angrily.<br/>"If it's not here by noon, I'm cracking the damn thing open with an axe."<br/>Serrah sighed and walked over to his side, lifting his head and sitting beside him, laying his head on her lap.<br/>"We could go for a walk somewhere to pass the time." she ran her fingers through his hair, loosing the tangles in it.<br/>"Where? There is nowhere interesting to go, there is nothing interesting to do, there are no interesting people, interesting things don't happen, interesting is a word without meaning in this forsaken cesspit." he fished a small wood dragon he'd been carving and a knife out of his satchel.<br/>"We could have hot sex in the back room."<br/>"Don't tease me," he blew wood shavings off as he began carving. "I'm not in the mood."<br/>"We could go by uncle's. He needs help fixing the roof and I know he won't ask anyone."<br/>"Your uncle hates me in case you've forgotten."<br/>"He doesn't hate you. You know you two could get along if you tried. You're a lot alike."<br/>"Practically brothers separated at birth." she stopped and plucked the dragon out of his hands.<br/>"Hey!" she pointed the dragon at him.<br/>"Wood and steel are not proper substitutes for people."<br/>"Of course not, they're better. Wood and steel can be carved and forged into whatever I like. People," he darted his hand up and snatched the block, waving it in front of her. "not so much."<br/>"Oh poor baby, how hard it must be to not have the world revolve around you." he began carving again.<br/>"I know. But I put one foot in front of the other and push on." she combed the fingers of both hands through the length of his hair, smoothing it as the tangles began to loose.<br/>"You know Kalera was asking about you."<br/>"Was she?" Serrah frowned at his disinterest.<br/>"I think she really likes you."<br/>"I think she's really boring."<br/>"You barely know her." Wynn sighed and Serrah rolled her eyes as she braced for a tirade.<br/>"Kalera Byhrne, twenty years old, slight frame, average height, long auburn hair, fair skin, slightly crooked nose, to the left I think. A kind girl, that's what they always say about her type. Wants to believe the best of people. Naive would probably fit better. Respects traditions and laws, tends to believe that existing systems are there because they work, therefore, not likely to buy into doing things in a new way." he took in a deep dramatic breath, still working on his carving. "No talent for the abstract either, can't see things beyond their practical application and doesn't see any reason to. Keenly aware of others emotions and her own, but keeps them bottled up because she tends to place other people's needs above her own, in addition to an intense fear of conflict. Has a desperate need for positive feedback, can become discouraged, and even depressed without it, low self esteem and self worth, overly self critical, ordinary, boring."<br/>"You really can't help yourself can you?"<br/>"Such is my curse."<br/>"Why are you so hell-bent on being unhappy?"<br/>"Who says I'm unhappy?"<br/>"You do nothing but whine all day and you don't have any friends."<br/>"I whine because I have nothing else to do and I don't need friends, I have you." she blushed and smiled, slapping him lightly on the forehead.<br/>"Despite my better judgement."<br/>"Wynn ma boy!" a gruff, booming voice called out as the door swung open.<br/>"Tehn!" Wynn said as he sat up, turning to the tall burly man. "Damn it old man, I've been waiting all day." he hopped off the counter and they embraced. Tehn held Wynn out at arms length and patted his shoulders, turning to Serrah and giving her a hug as well.<br/>"Serrah my dear, looking beautiful as ever."<br/>"Am I to assume this is yours?" Wynn gestured to the chest.<br/>"Ah, yes. Figured I'd get here before it, but we got caught up on the road."<br/>"And what exactly is it?"<br/>"Give me a hand and I'll show you." Tehn stepped around the chest and pulled a thick iron key from his pocket, putting it in the lock and turning it. A loud series of clicks echoed inside the thick oak. Wynn stepped in front of it and he and Tehn hooked their fingers under the lid and pulled.<br/>"There we go." Tehn grunted as the lid creaked open, a cloud of dust erupting from within. Wynn stepped back and let the air clear before peering inside. Inside it was with a small pile of leather bound journals on it's right side and a pile of metals, tools, and boxes on it's left.<br/>"What is this?"<br/>"It was your father's." Wynn perked up. "I called it his tinkering chest. This is where he kept metals and blades he was working on. Me and some of the boys we used to run with were cleaning out this old haunt we'd hunker down in when things got too hot. Found it in the back."<br/>"And the journals?" Tehn smiled.<br/>"His notes." Wynn smiled back and laughed.<br/>"Yes! You are a dragon amongst men!" Tehn tipped an imaginary hat.<br/>"I do my best. Now there's no guarantee what you're looking for is in there, but there's plenty to fill your time till you do. However..."<br/>"Oh no."<br/>"... It seems to be written in some sort of cipher. You'll have to decode it before you get any use out of it."<br/>"And you have no idea how to decode it?"<br/>"No. And unfortunately I can't stick around to help. Caravan's leaving in an hour." Wynn stuck out his hand. Tehn took it and they embraced.<br/>"Next time you pass this way, I'll throw you a feast." Tehn smiled and turned, nodding at Serrah as he stepped out. Wynn turned back to the chest and stared at it's contents a long moment. He looked over to Serrah.<br/>"Know anything about ciphers?" she shook her head.<br/>"You?" He looked back into the chest.<br/>"Not even a little."