LOOT DROP Chapter 10: First Step

  “Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this leg supposed to fit the person it's meant to be used by?” Sam asked, gliding her hand over the metal object that faintly hummed with a slight blueish glow.

  Fisk sat up, attempting to reach up for the leg only for Sam to grab it and step away.

  “Sam?” Faith asked, a concerned look on her face as she helped Fisk up to a chair and watch the blacksmith mumbling incoherently to herself. “Sam? What are you doing with the leg? Sam?”

  “Hey lady, can you give me back my leg?” Fisk asked, “I'm quite tired of being a cripple.”

  “You have the powers of an immortal!” Sam shouted, pointing at Fisk before running towards a metal closet and opening it, resulting in dozens of miscellaneous items falling to the floor.

  “Do you know how many immortals give me blueprints I can't use?!” Sam exclaimed, rummaging through the junk as her guests eyed her.

  “Can I have my leg?” Fisk asked.

  “Dozens! Almost a hundred blueprints I can't make because I'm not an immortal!”

  “My leg.”

  “All my wasted work! All those scamming scum and clutter! You can help me finish my projects!”

  “My leg.”

  “I try to get those cretins to craft the items but in the end they won't work unless I'm paying them and that makes me lose even more profit!”

  “Lady, give me my leg.”

  “You'll get it! But first you're going to do something for me!” Sam said, turning around and releasing a maniac laugh as Fisk took out his shotgun from his inventory.

  “Fisk… just help her okay?” Faith said, curbing Fisk's desire for violence. He was so close, so close to being able to walk again and this woman!

  He sighed, his entire life at stake on the item held by the blacksmith.

  “Fine,” Fisk said to Faith who offered a faint smile, “Hey! If I finish your projects, you'll give me my leg right?”

  “Hm? Yeah, sure,” Sam said, although it was faint, Fisk saw something insidious in her gaze, a look that made him slightly uncomfortable. But with Faith's assurance, and his ability to walk again so close, Fisk soldiered on.

  ***

  Fortunately, working on Sam's projects proved to be one of the easiest things Fisk had ever been talked to do.

  Instead of the strenuous work that were required by the NPCs like Sam, all Fisk had to do was obtain the blueprint and combine the necessary items over a workbench or anvil.

  Sam had the blueprints, and anvil, all Fisk needed was to hit confirm.

  There were a few items he couldn't make, given that his blacksmith knowledge was so low, but with each item he fused together for Sam, the higher his knowledge level rose.

  “In…credible!” Sam yelled, letting out joyous laughter as she inspected all her newly acquired goods. “I'm rich! Rich! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

  “So… my leg?” Fisk asked, noticing the light peeking into the forge through the crevices of the windows.

  “Yeah yeah, in a bit. I have a few things-”

  “Samantha,” Faith said, the woman standing in the corner with a look of disapproval. “Fisk has done more than enough. Give him what he's owed.”

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  The blacksmith's mood immediately soured, her eyes darting between the stacks of weapons, armor, and accessories and the man who had helped complete her unfinished works.

  Fisk stared at the two, his hand reaching for his shotgun. If there were something easy to piss him off, it was someone taking that which belonged to him.

  “...Fine,” Sam groaned, unaware of how close she was to disappearing as she set the metal appendage on the table that Fisk cast observe on.

  {Air-Trekker Forge Leg MK1}

  [Skill: Airburst LvL 1, Air Kick LvL 1,]

  -Requirements:

  [14 Strength]

  [15 Dexterity]

  Finally, after so many years… after all his pain, suffering, and so much therapy… Fisk would finally regain his life.

  He glided his hand across the item's surface, his jaw clenching and unclenching at the prosthetic that was a far cry from the plastic and metal crap the doctors had tried to give him.

  “So… how does it work?” Faith asked, standing over Fisk's shoulder, the latter transfixed on the too large appendage connected by two joints, a full on leg that even had metallic toes.

  “We're about to find out,” Fisk replied as he held the burnish silver leg aloft in his hands and guided it to his inventory interface.

  Then, he stopped, dry gulping as he hesitated.

  “What's wrong?” Faith asked, noticing his distress.

  “Nothing, let's just hope I'm not being screwed,” Fisk said, his words lost of Faith.

  Fisk jolted as the item disappeared, only to suddenly reappear, this time attached to his left knee and lower calf with the cool touch of metal on skin causing him to wince.

  “Nh!…” Fisk let out, his breathing stopping, eyes focused on the metal prosthetic connected to his leg and the toes that were… wiggling.

  Fisk licked his lips, his metal leg now bouncing violently as sensations he hadn't felt in years assaulted his mind. Burning, cramping, itching, throbbing, squeezing, tingling, a hundred sensations that had at one point been only a symptom of phantom pain.

  But this… this was real. He could feel. The toes touching the hot floor sending a painful shiver down his spine that was... exquisite.

  “Mr. Fisk? Fisk are you okay?” Faith asked as Fisk closed his eyes, his jaw clenching so hard an audible crack could be heard.

  Then, Fisk exhaled, releasing along with the air that left his lungs a chuckle that borderline disbelief as a tear fell from his eye.

  “I can feel my leg,” Fisk said, attempting to stand only to fall with Faith catching him.

  “Hey! Are you-”

  “I'm okay! Just…” Fisk smiled, his world view slowly rising until he stood on both feet with his view towering over Faith or stood looking up at him with bright blue eyes. “I'm good. I'm more than good. I'm great. I can walk! I CAN WALK!”

  Faith flinched at the sudden outburst before smiling as Fisk grabbed her with a laugh and hugged her tightly, his beating heart thumping her chest as Sam looked on at the pair.

  Sam smirked, making lewd gestures while Faith scowled, only to put a smile on her face as Fisk finally broke away in an attempt to compose himself.

  Then, he stumbled, knocking over several tools and nearly falling again if not for Faith holding on.

  “Thanks…” Fisk said as a loud thump at the door was heard followed by a player shouting. “We should go.”

  “Not while you're still wobbling about, the last thing I need is my cash cow getting killed before I can capitalize,” Sam said, helping Faith guide Fisk to a nearby chair.

  “Cash cow?” Fisk replied, brow raised.

  “Yeah, you help me finish my unfinished blueprints and I'll give you a discount and maybe, possibly, occasionally pay you,” Sam said as she leaned in close to corner Fisk to the nearby wall.

  “Occasionally?” Fisk replied.

  “What? I could turn you in. Way I see it, this is my opportunity to invest. You can hide out in my workshop, make a few coins, and in return, you'll finished my unfinishables,” Sam said, leaning in closer with her blue eyes locking onto Fisk.

  “Hey!” Faith said, pushing the blacksmith back. “Don't try and take advantage of my friend okay? I brought him here to get help, not be used.”

  “Please, I've always wanted an apprentice, and a good looking one aint-”

  “Fine,” Fisk said, his eyes focused on his wiggling metal toes. “I'll do it.”

  "What?" Faith said.

  "I need the coin, I need food, and I need to repay you."

  "But I-"

  “Good,” Sam cut in as the banging on her workshop door intensified, the players on the verge of breaking down the door with their impatience. “Come on, I'll get you two settled in the basement, you can keep my storage company until you get your leg working.”

  The blacksmith strolled to the side of her workshop, near a shelf that revealed itself to be a false door as the woman pushed on it and revealed a set of stairs.

  Fisk frowned at the sight of the set of secret stairs, his mind recalling the sweatshop factory scene in a cartoon he once watched.

  “Go on, get, you're cutting into my work hours!”

  Sensing his apprehension, Faith stepped first, the woman holding his hand as he finally put all his weight on his new leg and stood up for the first time in three years.

  ***