Small-Town Crafter 3: The Initiate Artificer (A Low-Stakes Cozy LitRPG) (Small Town Crafter) by Tom Watts

Author:Tom Watts [Watts, Tom]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-10-14T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

With the sting gone from my anger, I relented on my refusal to make him a cup of tea. Over a couple of mugs of hot brews, we caught up a little. I told him all about my travels over Easterly, how I got an apprenticeship with Master Cooper, and everything that had happened since then.

It felt right, talking to Toby like this. Like finding an old, favorite sweater hidden in the back of your wardrobe and slipping it on. When I was finished, Toby explained about the Fiends’ struggle to find a new leading lady, their ups and downs as they traveled the country, and their decision to come to Sunhampton.

“We were in a small town called Perentee stocking up on goods,” said Toby, blowing on his tea before taking a sip. “When we heard a town crier delivering the news. This lad had a voice like a rumbling mountain, once he got going. I was in awe. I told Cobby, ‘We need to sign that lad up, Cossy. Get him on the road with us.’”

“Was his name Chris, by any chance?”

“Chris Crier, I believe. Too good to act with the Fiends, as it turned out,” said Toby. “I believe you know him?”

“Chris comes from a long line of town criers. It’s all he’s ever wanted to do. He certainly wouldn’t think he’s too good for you.”

“Such a shame, with a voice like that. A voice that carries like thunder.”

“Did Chris tell me about you?”

“He was good enough to have a beer with us in a tavern. The Shepherd’s Rest, I believe it was called. Lovely pies. He told us a little about the place where he lived and the two artificers he shared his home with. Little details began to stick out. It was Mel who caught on first.”

Mel Goodyear had the fewest acting responsibilities among the Fiends. She wrote scripts, designed sets, organized cues, and everything else. She used to amaze us with her ability to completely memorize a script in one reading, using mnemonic techniques that the rest of us couldn’t do half as well. If an actor shouted ‘Line!,’ it was Mel who prompted them about where they were in the script. It was no surprise to me that she was the one to connect Chris’s little breadcrumbs about his life to me, someone whom the Fiends hadn’t seen in a while.

“So that’s why you chose to perform your Yulthor play here in Sunhampton?” I said.

“There are more lucrative places, as you’ll know. But when we heard you lived in this town, could Lisabeth’s Five Fiends really have performed anywhere else?”

I felt touched. Not just because Toby had changed the name of the troupe in honor of my mother, but that they’d even altered their performance schedule just to seek me out. It made me feel foolish that I’d spent all this time being angry at them and thinking they didn’t care about me at all.

I felt like I needed a little time to let these revelations settle in my mind.

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