“THIS AMULET…” The Forger shuffled the small clay circle between its grey humanoid hands. “IT IS INTERESTING.”

“It’s useless.” Jayne snorted, her voice dry. “I had mental attacks the night after I bought it and have had several after that. Even the attacks of your guardians outside slipped through.”

“WELL, THEY ARE ABOVE MORTAL.”

Jayne blinked rapidly as her mind analyzed his words, picking out the meaning. “You mean whatever hunts me is… immortal.” She swallowed back a disbelieving laugh.

“AT LEAST.” The Forger handed her back the amulet. “IMMORTAL OR DIVINE. THE AMULET IS EFFECTIVE FOR ANY MENTAL ATTACKS BY MORTALS.”

“Godsbane.” Jayne swore under her breath as she began to reevaluate the danger she was mired in. If the voice that regularly invaded her mind was immortal, was it the one sending men after her? Or did it act on its own? What did it want with her? How had she caught its attention?

“I CAN FORGE YOU A MORE EFFECTIVE AMULET,” The Forger interrupted her thoughts. “BUT THAT WOULD TAKE LONG MONTHS. IT IS NOT COMPLICATED TO MAKE, BUT SIMPLY REQUIRES RESOURCES I HAVE NOT ON HAND.”

Jayne gritted her teeth, taking deep calming breaths. There was nothing she could do to change it, and she had other questions anyhow.

“I’m…” She hesitated, licking dry lips. “I have a memory problem.”

“OH?” The forger tilted its head in curiosity.

“I have a missing chunk of memory from about a year ago.” She added, glancing at the others to make sure they could hear nothing. She’d told them to stand at the other side of the room, keeping her conversation private.

“HOW BIG OF A CHUNK?

“Everything.” She murmured. “I have nothing from before that.”

“INTERESTING.” The Forger drew back, examining her in new light. “DID YOU HAVE ANYTHING ON YOU WHEN YOU CAME… AWAKE? A MARKING ON YOUR SKIN, OR PERHAPS AN ORNAMENT?”

“No.” She shook her head, then froze. “Actually…"

She stretched a hand into the backpack on her back, pulling out a mess of flesh that was both flaccid and firm, fielding a single oversized white orb that served as an eye and a tiny toothed maw.
“Hello.” Pludor chirped, waving the tiny tentacular limbs at his sides.

“This guy was with me as far as I can remember.” Jayne answered, watching the Forger closely. She found it hard to judge expression from something so inhuman, but she couldn’t help but note how the majority of its limbs stilled, and it stiffened, drawing slightly away.

It swiped a tentacle and tore Pludor out of her grasp, tossing him into a metal box on the table nearby before slamming the lid shut. Pludor didn’t even have time to let out a gasp of shock.

“What are you doing?” Jayne yelled, grabbing the blade on her side. The others immediately began approaching, sensing her sudden tension.

“What I am about to say, it is best no one but you hears.” The Forger answered, its voice suddenly lacking the resonance that once dominated it.

“I am the greatest of all immortal forgers, but even I was made by the gods. And I can recognize their handiwork when I see it. No matter how crude it may be, their work always carries a hint of their divinity.

“I suspect your loss of memory is tied to this flesh-construct. As long as it exists, your memories will remain out of reach. I have no Idea how it relates to the being attacking your mind, but whatever chained your memories is a god.”

Jayne gaped as the Forger stared at her for several long moments to ensure she understood the gravity of her situation before uncovering the box and yanking Pludor back out, handing him back to her. The others arrived a moment later, weapons bared as they surrounded her.

They would die if they tried to defend her against the Forger, as their oaths dictated. She let herself believe for a moment that it was real care that brought them racing.

“I BELIEVE OUR BUSSINESS IS CONCLUDED.” The Forger stretched upward, grabbing some objects on a shelf out of reach and sight. It revealed them to be several weapons, made of metal that seemed to be living, organic metal.

Twin massive hammers with intricate designs etched into the handles. A small dagger with a bloodred ruby in it that radiated pure malevolence as they stared at it. A curved blade that pulled in all the light around it, and a crown of woven metal. A straight longsword with stylized wings as the hand guard.

All made from godsteel.

“I asked for none of these.” Jayne said, looking up into one of the Forger’s eyes.

“YOU WILL HAVE NEED OF THEM. TRUST ME.” It answered. “YOU ARE ONLY AS STRONG AS THOSE SURROUNDING YOU. AND ONE DAY, YOU WILL RELY ON THEM FOR MORE THAN THEIR BLADES.”

The team took the offered gifts, Jayne ending up with the longsword she had no idea how to wield. She looked up at the Forger as she grabbed the cold steel in her hand, feeling something familiar about it.

She considered all he had told her. The meager price it had demanded, one she had payed without wondering why. The Forger seemed eager to help her. Why?

She began to thank him, freezing when new words bubbled out from within her.

“ASKANETH ARAN.”

“ALWAYS, ELDER ONE.” The forger bowed low, tilting its whole cavernous body. “ALWAYS.”