Lessa

"I'm almost out of materials," Lessa whispered, her blue eyes just slits beneath drooping eyelids. She was so tired of this. "I can't believe I've had such terrible luck." As she struck the material with her hammer, she realized it still was not the quality that she desired. She needed an item that was perfect, and this was far from it. She stared at the good item that rest on the anvil. It was useless. Claim would never want this. {[1218] 5 + 1 (Hammer of Dawn) = 6. Good item crafted. One additional material for Claim.}

"I'm running out of time," the young woman muttered, picking up another material and hurrying to the fire. The moment it was warm enough, she yanked it out. Then, she carried it to the anvil. The final product was an absolute nightmare. The material refused to bend to her hammer, and there was no way at all that she could improve it. She threw it into the trash pile without a second thought. {[1206] 1 + 1 (Hammer of Dawn) = 2. Epic fail. One additional material for Claim.}

It was the morning of the boss battle. Lessa knew she was short on time. "I might be able to squeeze in," she glanced at her clock, "five crafts before I have to head out there." She fell silent. That was not nearly enough time. Grabbing one of her materials from the pile, she went to work warming it up, and moving it to her anvil. As she molded the material with her hammer, she realized this craft was still not the perfect quality that she was looking for. It was, however, much better than what she had been crafting. {[1201] 9 + 1 (Hammer of Dawn) = 10. Uncommon item crafted. One additi

"One more for tonight," Lessa whimpered, standing alone in the middle of her shop. Already, the fight was gone from her. It was another day wasted, another countless attempt failed. How much longer would she go on doing this? Just like every other time, she warmed her material, brought it to her anvil, and began to work it with her hammer. But this material refused to cooperate, and she threw it aside with a disgusted grunt. "I'm done." {[1138] 3 + 1 (Hammer of Dawn) = 4. Bad item crafted. One additional material for Claim.}

Lessa was already burning through what materials she had left. "I cannot believe this," she muttered, shaking her head. She had never wasted so many materials before, on her own project, or someone elses. "This is incredible." Her face was flushed with anger as she struck the material with her hammer. As it began to take shape, she could already tell that this was not the perfect item that she needed. {[1137] 8 + 1 = 9. Uncommon item crafted. One additional material for Claim.}

"Third time's the charm," Lessa growled through gritted teeth. She was already getting annoyed by the poor luck she'd been having. I just cannot catch a break, can I? The material looked promising as she struck it with her hammer, but the final product was not anything close to what she had hoped for. "Another good item," the blonde admitted with a soft sigh. "But not good enough." {[1136] 7 + 1 (Hammer of Dawn) = 8. Good item crafted. One additional material for Claim.}

"Let's go again," Lessa said to her empty store, grabbing another material and shoving it deep into the flames. She stood before the fire, her hands on her hips, watching the reds and oranges lick at the iron. "Why is this one giving me such a hard time?" The young blacksmith whispered. It was another good item. "Come on," Lessa cried. "This just is not good enough. {[1133] 7 + 1 (Hammer of Dawn) = 8. Good item crafted. One additional material for Claim.}

"New day," Lessa told herself, entering the shop. She knew that the boss fight was quickly approaching, and she needed to finish a few more perfect items before that happened. Thankfully, her material pile had been replenished; she had taken the morning to run out and do some mining. But she would need to be careful to ration it. The final product was alright, but not perfect. And her customers wanted perfect, so she would settle for nothing less. {[1132] 5 + 1 (Hammer of Dawn) = 6. Good item crafted. One additional material for Claim.}

So many cuties! Here's my new Firefly shirt! (Sorry it's sideways. I'll resize it when I'm back on my computer.)

"One more," she mumbled to herself, picking up one of her two remaining materials. "One more, and then I have to stop. One more, and I'll go to bed." She put the material in the fire and watched it turn red. One hand wiped the creeping sleep from her eyes. She was exhausted, and she could not keep pushing herself like this. She needed sleep. There was a big fight in a few days, and tiring herself out like this was a terrible idea. Her hammer clattered to the ground, and she gave a soft cry. Another failure. "That's it. I'm done." {[1016] Craft: 3 + 1 (Hammer of Dawn) = 4. Bad item

The woman squeezed the handle of the Hammer of Dawn tightly. Now she was nearly to the bottom of the pile of her own materials. She'd exhausted what Claim had given her, and there was not much left to go around. This is getting ridiculous, Lessa thought to herself, shaking her head. Her face was flushed with anger, and the persperation that clung to her brow was not entirely due to the crackling fire. She was getting worked up over this. Grabbing another material, she shoved it forcefully into the flames. This time, the finished product was better. But it was nothing special. "Just a good

She could hear people speaking from the front of her shop, but she needed to get this craft finished. Lessa would try a few more times, then give up for the evening. She could not keep throwing materials at this project. Rubbing her temples with her middle and pointer fingers, the girl heaved a great sigh. "Keep trying," she muttered to herself. "Don't give up. You have to outfit these guys for the boss fight." It was another dud, this one just as bad as the last. "What is it with this project?" Lessa growled. Alkor's sword, and Tristan's projects had come easy for her. But Claim and Rebek

"Again," Lessa growled, her blue eyes burning with the same fierceness as the fire in the corner of the room. She selected another material, and thrust it into the fire. When she deemed it was ready, she strode strait to the waiting anvil. "This needs to be better." But the material would not listen. Again, she was disappointed. {[995] Craft: 3 + 1 (Hammer of Dawn) = 4. Bad item crafted. One additional material for Claim.}

"I'll be with you in just a moment!" Lessa called out. She could hear voices from the front of the shop, but she did not have the time to talk. She already had a full queue, and the boss fight was quickly approaching. It was vital she finished up her current projects. This time, Lessa grabbed one of her own materials. She would have to make due, and just charge Claim a bit more than they had anticipated. Warming the material, she hoped it would turn out better than previous crafts. She was running out of time. But the item was not any better. In fact, the final product was only good qualit

"Last one," Lessa murmured. She picked up the last of Claim's materials, then made her way back to the fire. She stared into the flames, a hard, determined look on her face. She had one more shot. She could not have a repeat of Rebekah's craft. Drawing the material from the fire, she made her way to the middle of her shop. Armed with her Hammer of Dawn, she was ready for one last go. The final product was terrible. The woman had to fight back tears as she pitched the materials into her pile. She would have to figure something else out. {[866] Craft: 2. Craft failed. 0/5 materials for Claim

"I can do some much better," Lessa muttered, shaking her head. Her blonde hair fell into her eyes, and she brushed it back as she grabbed for another material. That's when she noticed there were only to left. She hesitated, biting her lower lip. Then, she picked one up anyway. She had a job to do, and if it used up the last of Claim's materials, so be it. She prepped her material, and brought it back to her anvil. The Hammer of Dawn struck it repeatedly, but the quality of this craft was not much better. She let out a frustrated cry, dropping the hammer back onto her work bench. {[864] Cra

Lessa stepped into the front of her shop, and glanced over Rebekah's order. "I'll look into it for you," she told her, nodding. "May be a while, but I'll see what I can do." Then, she disappeared back into the depths of her forge. The warmth of the fire kissed her cheeks as she picked up another of Claim's materials. When it was warm enough for crafting, she moved back to her anvil and began to work. The craft was an absolute nightmare. This was possibly the worst thing she had ever made, the material simply oozing off the edges of her anvil. "Terrible," she muttered, tossing what was left

The woman scooped up another material, and went to work prepping it for molding. "Only four left," she commented to herself. Then she sighed. Having a limited amount of materials made things difficult sometimes. It would be so much easier if she could simply craft without a care in the world. Her Hammer of Dawn worked to mold the piece into Claim's gauntlets. The final product was passable, but not anything close to the quality she was looking for. Lessa frowned. "Better than nothing," she said. {[831] Craft: 9 + 1 (Hammer of Dawn) = 10. Good item crafted. 3/5 materials for Claim.}

"And now, gauntlets for Claim," the woman mused, moving back to her shop. She dropped all of the materials from Rebekah onto her work table. Then, she moved to another pile, and selected a single material. She would use what Claim gave her for this piece. Moving to the flames in the corner of her shop, Lessa shoved the material deep inside. When it was finally ready to be worked, she moved to the anvil. Even with the help of the Hammer of Dawn, the final product was a pitiful one. Lessa shivered, then tossed the material onto the wrecked pile. "No good," she muttered. {[786] Craft: 3 + 1 (

At the sound of the bell, Lessa emerged from the depths of her shop. Upon spotting Rebekah, the blonde's face lit up with a grin. "Hi, Rebekah!" The shopkeeper greeted warmly. "So glad you made it back! Your sword has been waiting for you." Lessa brought up her menu, and pulled the sword from her inventory to the trade box. Then, she pressed confirm. "These materials will be great, thank you." She flashed the other woman a smile, and concluded with, "let me know if you need anything else. I'd be happy to help."

"Five materials left," Lessa commented, her hands on her hips, her gaze on the small pile. She had had impossibly good luck crafting for Tristan, and there was only one more item on his list. Hopefully, she would knock it out quickly, and she could move on to other projects. Besides, the sooner Tristan was all situated, the better. He was her guild mate, and it was her responsibility to ensure he was geared up. She prepared another material. Tristan had asked her to make adjustments to his old gauntlets, and she figured it would be a good use of his remaining ore. As she struck the material