It happened a week ago. The day had started like usual, with Senton and Rena opening the front shop while Zekell heated the forge to take care of the repair jobs. Because of the plague panic, most villagers and farmers were already armed to the teeth, making his business slow.

Except for travellers and local hunters no one bought his weapons, leaving him with only menial jobs to do. Zekell wasn’t a greedy man, so that kind of quiet life didn’t bother him much.

Repairing farming and kitchen tools was an easy and quick job that allowed him to cover for the daily expenses. It also left him a lot of time to hone his skills and teach Senton all the secrets of their trade.

After getting married the boy had bloomed into a man, taking his responsibilities much more seriously than before.

While in the past Senton would try to complete his tasks with the minimum effort to go out and goof off with his friends, now he put his utmost dedication in every piece he worked on, never being satisfied with the result and often asking his father for advice.

Such change of attitude had made Zekell really proud of his son. All the yelling at him for his laziness and the whacks upside his head were just a bad memory, now he didn’t have to worry anymore about what would happen in case he died.

The shop had remained empty most of the day, so when the closing time neared, Zekell sent Rena and Senton back home while he finished cleaning the floor. He gave them all the free time he could afford.