Rylee had returned home to charge her phone and research swordsmiths in Frankston, with very little luck. The best she’d found was a steel supplier that had technically been around since the middle ages, so it had once been a blacksmith, she supposed.
The steel manufacturer’s website had a detailed history of the business. Jon of Sale Lane had been a famous blacksmith in the 1200s. The business had passed down through his descendants until eventually in the late 1800s, Jon Saleson the Twentieth had moved from London to Melbourne. There, he had changed the business to a manufacturer and fabricator of quality steel supplies.
Given there wasn’t another steel fabricator near Melbourne that had such strong ties to the long-forgotten art of making swords, Rylee figured that was her best shot. The next morning, she’d make up some excuse to head toward Melbourne while Cole was doing his own thing.
Occasionally, Rylee snuck back into the attic to look for more clues. She hadn’t seen Gust the goblin at all since his first mysterious appearance. Although Rylee had been searching for a receipt relating to sword making or steel supplies close to Melbourne, she’d only found more for auto shop works.
What was she going to discover at this ancient steel manufacturer? What ties did they have to the Francis couple, who had once lived in the house Rylee and Cole were rebuilding?
She hoped this whole thing could wrap itself up soon. It wouldn’t be long before they had professional builders around to restore this house, and then the works would be completely underway. If she kept disappearing then, Cole might get suspicious.
An idea came to Rylee. She looked across the room to Cole, whose attention was solely on a novel by his favourite author. “Hey,” she said, drawing his attention. “Would it be worth upgrading the frames of this house to steel?”
He pursed his lips. “I suppose.”
“Great. I’ll go to a steel supplier tomorrow and see if we can get a good quote.”
Cole nodded, then returned back to his book.
That would make things a bit easier.