VRMMO: World's First Glyphborne

Lucy glanced at Valerie nervously, who simply gave her a reassuring nod. With that, Lucy set down the duffel bag they had brought with them, and removed a helmet from it. It was one of the many pieces that they had retrieved from the Siege of Infernus.

They had sold half of what they collected, and what was left was mostly used to arm Ren’s undead army. However that arming was limited as most of the equipment was damaged and decayed.

Lucy placed the helmet on the counter under the curious eye of Smith, before backing off nervously.

The Russian didn’t care about her as his eyes never left the helmet in front of him. He lifted it with care and curiosity as he began to turn it over in his hands.

The design of the helmet fully enclosed around the head, covering the face with an intimidating plate of a twisted, demonic face. It was nothing that hadn’t been seen in human history, even if this particular piece had been created by forcing demons to wear molten metal until it settled into this mask.

Smith ran his thick, calloused fingers over the moulded face, and for some reason lifted the helmet close to his face before sniffing the metal a few times.

"Where did you get this?" He asked, not taking his eyes off of it.

"Ancient Family Relic." Valerie stated flatly.

Smith’s eyes immediately flickered to her, as they narrowed into an unconvinced glare. However Valerie remained steadfast and firm, her face showing no emotions whatsoever.

She could always hypnotise him into helping them, but that was hardly the basis of a good working relationship, now was it? Just ignore the fact that she had previously done exactly that to use his as a juice box.

Despite her desires, Valerie put absolutely no effort into trying to sound convincing in her lie. She knew she was lying, and it was clear that he knew it too, yet he didn’t question it. In his business, Questions were what got you killed.

"You want me to restore it?"

"Yes, that would be ideal. Although... We don’t want it to be some little show piece. The wearer of that item would like to use it for... intended purposes. In re-enactments and so forth. In fact, we have a whole set for you to fix, if you are up to the task."

Valerie flashed him a half smile, making sure to prod at his ego, the one thing that any craftsman was incredibly defensive of, before she gestured to Lucy. More items were pulled from the duffel bag, one after the other, until an entire set of armour was laying on the counter alongside a round shield and a curved sword with a jagged, serrated edge.

Smith eyed all of it with a heavy dose of suspicion, as well as a hint of something else that Valerie couldn’t quite put her finger on.

Eventually after a moment of silence, Smith nodded and placed the helmet down onto the pile of scrap.

"I get the feeling this is not the only piece in your unique collection."

Valerie flashed another smile, this one toothless and slightly predatory like a spider enjoying a fly squirming in its web.

"Perhaps. Would you be interested in doing similar work to such pieces? Steady employment is never a bad thing, after all. Even if we are not as... robust as your usual clientele."

That final comment gained another suspicious glare, as if he didn’t quite believe Valerie’s innocent and vulnerable act and could see the wolf hiding behind the mask of a sheep.

He didn’t answer for a few more seconds, before raising his hand and dismissively waving them away.

"You go, I repair. Come back tomorrow, Payment on delivery. Price not negotiable."

Valerie nodded her head softly, before turning on her heels and walking out the door. Lucy glanced between them, a hint of confusion on her face as she tried to ask questions, but Valerie simply shushed her and ushered her out of the door.

Before she could leave entirely, Smith spoke again.

"I see you added accessory to my design." He said, almost annoyed, as he gestured to the cane in Valerie’s hand.

"Yes, I did. Do you not like it?" She asked, brushing her fingers over the magical gem in the cat’s forehead.

Once again, Smith didn’t answer. He simply glared at her for a few seconds, glancing between her and the cane, before dismissively waving her away.

Valerie simply chuckled at the gesture, before finally leaving.

Outside and away from the doors cameras, Valerie let out a deep sigh of relief.

"Well, that was easier than I thought."

"Are you sure that was a good idea? What makes you sure he won’t just sell them to whatever crook comes in here next? And weren’t we trying to recruit him? You barely said anything about him joining us." Lucy asked, her face a mask of anxious worry.

"It’s fine. With a guy like him, you need to give him time to come to the conclusion on his own, make him think it was his decision rather than what you want.

Push too much, He’ll push back. Besides, did you see the look on his face? He’s a big fish on the hook, just gotta give him some line before we reel him in."

"Fish on the.. What are you talking about?"

"I don’t know, just something from this nature sim I once played. I didn’t really get it either. Anyways, what do we do now?

I know he said give it a day, but I really don’t want to fly all the way back home then come all the way back here tomorrow. We can get a hotel room for the night or something... but what do we do for the rest of the day?

We could always hit up a gaming cafe and log some Dawd time so that we don’t... What? What is that face for?" Valerie asked, her face creasing into a mix of worry and a hint of fear as she glanced at Lucy.

Her soon-to-be sister-in-law was practically vibrating with joy, completely shedding her previous anxiety, as she bounced up and down with a wide, manic smile on her face.

She lunged towards Valerie, latching her hands around her shoulders.

"Let’s go shopping! We can start by getting you a nice new dress!"

"W-what? What do I need a dress fo-" Valerie started to ask, before Lucy dragged her off her feet and out of the alley way that Smith’s shop resided in. All the way, Lucy chattered excitedly in Valerie’s ear about dresses and all the other things they could buy with their new money.

As they did so, a large shadow loomed from the same alleyway, waited until they grew a considerable distance away from it, before leaving the alley and strolling the same path as the two girls.