• PM To Join • Beginning the Dance

[Kaladis Anar]

Beginning the Dance.

10th of Cylus
Unnamed Smithy, Hewnan Street, Nashaki.
The Scrolls of Anar Verse One, Nashaki, #5 Knowing when to drop the Hammer, or a quiet word.

W

aves of heat, today he felt it, the windows were closed due to strong winds. Not an unwelcome feeling, the first bead of sweat rolling down his cheek, his first time with just a single layer of clothes on since he had left Viden. Gusts rattled against the window shutters, but nothing rattled his concentration today. The smithy looked tidy, clean, the walls were still cracked in places and the stock was still piling up with no buyer, not that it stopped his employer making more and more endlessly.

Several days of sweeping up, shovelling dung, learning the different grades of local iron, their temperature, and seeing the first mixes of steel, which was his next step up from Iron, and took much more work to be ready. He still hadn’t been allowed to make a sword. Kaladis was beginning to understand that discipline was important to being a blacksmith. Alinan had explained routine was important to create discipline, but “respecting the steel, ” was what Alinan was talking about now.

“When the steel doesn’t become what you want, work with it. Respect what it wants to be.”

As Kaladis watched and learned, he didn’t look like he believed Alinan. The Eidisi apprentice reserved comment for now.

W

hat had begun as a small tool, was slowly being reshaped to a small knife while Kaladis watched. Folding the metal, then reheating it, then hammering it to remove any impurities in the seel. As the smith was half way to finishing, he allowed Kaladis to take over. This was what he’d been waiting for. Taking his time, in no rush to fail, he picked a hammer. The end of the blade was already thick and upset, the apprentice began working on evening it out. Kaladis then went to work the metal finely at the end, but the smith soon corrected him, telling him to leave the point till last.

“Hotter,” Alinan again corrected, letting the metal reach a lighter amber. He demonstrated half hits to make the handle of the metal smaller, using the edge of anvil to mold it, then glancing hits on the edge of the knife to sharpen it, evenly on each side to not imbalance the blade. As the metal was upset again by a mistake, he reminded Kaladis to slowly work it out. This wouldn't be a perfect knife, far from it. Kaladis was loving every bit, ever trill working on the metal no matter how it looked, it reminded him of happier times.

There was a knock at the door. Both doors this time. Which caused Kaladis and Alinan to look up. There would be no running from their visitors this time.

“Hotter. Carry on as I showed you.” Alinan remarked and walked to the front door, Kaladis managed a smile. Some of his icy demeanor was softening in this place, finding his feet in the desert lands, beginning to feel some measure of respect for the Qi'ora smith. Despite being engaged with his work he found himself looking up, to see the first customer he'd met in his ten trals here making weapons, hoping to understand more of this puzzling smithy.

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~

[Kaladis Anar]

B

efore Alinan could reach the front door, both doors were opened, and four black armored, hooded men walked in. Four from the front, and a single female at the rear door, to cut off any hasty retreat today. The leader of which, removed his hood to show a weather beaten face, he was a huge Lotharro, that had been in the deep desert too long by the looks of him.

“You are early.” Alinan remarked, stepping aside to let them in. Most of the men began gathering up swords by the bundle, tying them together and lifting them up.

“In Cylus, time has no meaning.” The large leader of the group stated, taking strides forward to where Kaladis was working. The man’s weathered face tensed up, “You violate our agreement again Alinan. No apprentices, and no third parties.”

“That live inside the city.” Alinan spoke with something of a half grin, having found his loophole.

Kaladis worked away diligently, trying to not let it distract him. The knife was nearing completion, and he looked at it proudly. If any of this situation was disturbing Kaladis’s concentration, he certainly didn’t let it show, or make eye contact once. If anything he slowed down his speed, so he would appear busy on the knife.

Until another knife was drawn from the female at the back door, as quick as he could blink, he felt it around his throat. Again in this city, he found himself with steel placed against his neck, but when she looked down, he had half expected it. She would feel his own knife pressing against her stomach leather. “It is becoming tiresome to have my neck marked by every passing stranger in this city.” Remembering his brush with the Makers just five trials ago, it was about time he started pushing back.

“Be quiet Kaladis!” Alinan hushed him.

T

he leader of the group didn’t say a word at first, staring at the Eidisi instead, eventually breaking into a wide, wicked grin. “I can see it might. Alaya release him.” At the order, the hooded female slid her knife away somewhere, giving Kaladis a wink. The Eidisi had the distinct idea she had more than one packed away in her bodice.

“You are walking a fine line Alinan, be sure you don’t fall off.” The leader of the group pulled his hood back about himself and exited. In no less than ten bits, most of the smithy shelves were bare, with hardly anything left, no blades, axes, tools, shields or armor. No coin was left either, all that was dumped in place of the stock, was heaps of iron and other metal, some scrap, some ore, and a few broken or cast off weapons.

Kaladis had a few questions, and he was going to get his answers.

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~

[Kaladis Anar]

“This is why I am staying outside the city, at your convenience.” Kaladis remarked, looking Alinan over disgruntled. “And why you don’t fear thieves.” It was all coming together, almost all.

“I wish someone would steal the blades,” Alinan turned back to him, beginning to bring the ore to the storage below, “I should have told you, it was a risk.” He admitted, hauling his ore buckets, something Kaladis would usually do, perhaps as a penance the smith was taking the chore today.

“A risk with my life.” Kaladis’s hammering on the knife struggled to remain disciplined. Other people seemed to be risking his life a lot lately. “Who were they?”

“I don’t know. They have a friend here, high up, the guards don’t ask too many questions and the people stay out of their way. Wish I could.” Alinan laid the truth bare.

“An agreement?” Kaladis drew his eyes from his work for a moment.

“A contract.” Alinan forced a smile, a smile that was fooling nobody. “You are my way to eating well again, for both of us.” He did relax as he spoke that sentence . Whatever contract Alinan had, it was certainly binding and restricting.

Everything was laid out, no more surprises, Kaladis very much preferred it that way. “Very well.” He stated, seeing the game in front of him he could plan accordingly. The Eidisi got back to his task, working toward the point of the knife, making the edge thinner again, and spine thicker.

Here Alinan flipped Kaladis’s hammer over, and showed him to work with the small back head of the hammer, to better compact the steel. Once he demonstrated, Kaladis took over again. Towards the end, he switched to a smaller hammer entirely, for finer adjustments. One last time the steel was put into the fire to bring it to temperature, and then put in sand to cool off, to remove any stress from the blade.

“Next, we polish and sharpen the blade.” The first of many to come.

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~

[Kaladis Anar]

W

ith the forge heat present but dying down, he needed his full layering of clothes to withstand Cylus’s freezing temperatures. Though they were not freezing in a small smithy packed with two furnaces, another reason perhaps that Alinan had two furnaces, if he was getting the dung and ore for free more was the better. Kaladis idly wondered how much some of those outside would like to take shelter here, or have access to the fuel. The group that owned Alinan’s contract must have inspired great fear or the need to protect for their dung heap to remain untouched while others froze alive.

There were no wheel sharpeners here to spin, Kaladis had to make do with a flat sharpening stone, and his knife, just the basics here. Passing Kaladis a pair of thick gloves to put on, Alinan continued their lesson. “Grip the knife in both hands,” the Eidisi hesitated at the instruction. “There will be no cutting if you grip it firmly, and release it cleanly.” Alinan assured him.

Demonstrating moving the blade across the stone diagonally, Alinan applied oil to the face of the stone. Oil was more plentiful than water out in the desert, he explained, but even so “do not waste any,” the amount of swords the smith made meant it was in short supply. He explained it gave a better finish, and allowed for faster work. The smith turned over the steel blade to show Kaladis where the sharpened edge of the knife would be, the markings from the stone beginning to show themselves on the blade. After that he let him get on with it, and they continued until Kaladis had stopped twice to see if he was done, remembering the very first lesson, if you are not sure, ask. It was a long process without a whetstone or oiled rotating stone of any kind, something he remembered being useful back home in Viden.

When he’d finished Alinan looked pleased, Kaladis’s dented pride was re-establishing itself, shown in how he stood, confident like the first time he’d entered the city. “Polish the blade, and we will work on the handle,” he looked around for the traditional supplies of polish and Alinan smiled. “The grey powder,” mixing the smallest spray of precious water and powder together into a small bowl, Alinan began polishing the steel with a rag, letting his apprentice take over midway. Now Kaladis realised why these weapons looked so good here, the care that went into each of them, Alinan could be making a fortune.

"What's in the powder?" Not only was it aromatic to mask the smell of burning dry dung, but it had this duel use of creating a gleaming finish.

"Some secrets I keep," Alinan replied quietly.

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~

[Kaladis Anar]

N

ot knowing what to expect, given how much wood cost out here, Kaladis was presented with something of familiar sight, a bag of animal bones. Some weapons here were made with cobalt handles, but the more common blades were fitted with bone. “Another resource you will need to collect yourself.” Alinan reminded him.

Kaladis couldn’t resist a small smile. Fate was strange sometimes, chance and trickery, Audrae's hand showed itself when you least expected it. Hauling bone for legitimate purposes now. The smile faded but the irony for the necromancer remained. “Will I be doing all the work?”

“With my tools and forge.” Alinan reminded him sternly. “We can’t risk using much of what they supply me, they are used to collecting a certain amount of blades and armor.”

“What do they do with them all?” Information Kaladis could make use of, if he could find out.

Alinan shrugged, “I don’t ask.” The hiss of Alinan cooling hot metal quickly for some purpose drowned out any further questions, probably on purpose.

M

easuring lengths of bones that would fit, a bone was cut into two with a saw, this took a long time as you might expect, with Kaladis trimming off any excess when he was done. His mentor came over to show him to file down the bone across the length, leaving a flat face and a rounded side when it was filed all the way down, and to leave small overhang on the handle's end. When finished he did the same to the other half, until the knife blade was supported on both sides. The tip was pushed into a very small square of leather, then thick circular bone, and a final piece of leather to add support, these were pushed down it like a kebab to get to the bone handle. Every piece had been coated with some kind of adhesive substance, which Alinan demonstrated tying up firmly with string, both around it and to the end, forcing the different materials to be pressed together.

“We will leave it for two breaks and then file it down to a smoother rounded finish. Optional how much you do, like the polishing, it will mean the knife sells for more.” It dawned on Kaladis he’d finally get some coin, likely a pittance, though the learning was invaluable.

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~

[Kaladis Anar]

“This could make a full blade.” Kaladis observed the nature of some of the bones, and how sturdy they were, never having looked at them in this light before.

A

linan looked at him, shrugged and got back to work. “If you were out of steel or iron, and have excess yes.” Kaladis realised he should keep such thoughts to himself for later. Weapons of bone might offer his mentor Ralari some enjoyment, but they were not things a necromancer ought to be speaking of in public.

While the glue was setting, Alinan had made the materials ready for a second blade. “You will need to learn the art of having more than one going at once.” Kaladis didn’t understand him at first, taking a moment, so engrossed in his work. The smith explained he wanted him to have several blades, each in different stages of development. “You have iron ore to bloom into steel, steel to fold and cool, there is the blade to shape, the handle to glue and polish. Each stage takes time waiting, where you can be working on another.” Alinan himself was demonstrating he had three blades on the go at once, as well as preparing the ore for Kaladis's next weapon, and the apprentice began to realise what a Master smith was capable of.

A

bout to put some more ore on ready for heating, Alinan corrected him. “It is time you used the ore I sent you for.” It would only be base iron to start with, he’d need to use the bloom to create basic bloom steel, and manually fold it or hammer out the impurities in each blade himself. All extra work, instead of the dedicated furnaces they probably had in the city center, which created the easier to use crucible steel. Kaladis didn’t know that for sure of course, but did swear to himself when he had his own forge, the tools themselves would be a work of art.

Throwing more iron into the messy, ash bloom, which was the main source of him having to clean up every 30 bits, he got to work on buffing the bone handle. Alinan explained to either use dry leather with glued sand for most surfaces, or for bone, cloth with sifted ashes for a better finish. After at least another break buffing bone, and three inspection by the Smith, the small bone knife was ready and done.

The young Eidisi apprentice’s first knife, Alinan picked it up to the torch and critically went over how he’d improve the next one, turned it backwards and passed it to Kaladis, telling him to “let me know how much it sells for.” A lot of trust Kaladis thought, was Alinan really going to trust him to be truthful? It planted a further doubt in his mind, given who Alinan was seemingly associated with, that Kaladis should try crossing him, in public at least.

“Certainly.” Despite all that suspicion, he showed none of it.

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~

[Kaladis Anar]

R

epeating the same process six more times, Kaladis slowly improved, bit by bit, from awful to actually making a half decent knife at the end. He was further instructed how to refine the bloom, to compact it when it was brought, removing out slag by tapping it with a large hammer and holding it with long iron bolt tongs to change where it was facing. Afterward, moving back to a second knife, Kaladis was shown when and how to better fold the steel, chiselling halfway into the glowing metal, then bending the metal over the end side the anvil, hammering it to push it back together. Making bloom steel was a long, involved, and taxing process this way, he was feeling every hammer hit by the end.

Alinan gave the seventh knife a polish, seemingly satisfied with the work. Having a total of seven bone knives, one blade to be given to Ralari, one Kaladis would keep, the other five to be sold. He was absolutely shattered, exhausted, and smithing was testing his endurance as much as it was his ability to follow Alinan’s instructions.

Shoulders sagging on the apprentice, the smith wouldn’t let him go until he’d swept, stocked the forges with dung, and cleaned up, reminding him to “always leave enough energy to clean up ready for tomorrow.” Taking his knives with him, he went to haggle with passersby, finding the poor area of the city a bad place to try to sell anything worthwhile. Thankfully not all his knives were worthwhile, so he sold the two worst quality ones for a poor old woman’s kitchen set. Reaching the white solace inn where he slept, a third knife he haggled with a passing Lotharro, and at the risk of seeing a lotharro temper reach boiling point, took a lower offer than he wanted.

Someone was watching him from the wall, “Alaya,” he recognized her as one of the people invading the smithy earlier, were they spying on him? She just tilted her head without a word, took the last two knives off him, and dropped a pouch of coins in his hands, sliding them somewhere. She really liked her knives, and she was seeming to get a kick out of playing with him.

Dismissing it as unimportant, everyone watched everyone in this city, all he cared about was tonight he would eat.

Loot Note

I left the amount of coin gained for 5 knives from poor to average quality up to the reviewer. Kaladis gets 30% Alinan 70%

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Fin

[Nymph]

REWARDS

KALADIS

• Knowledge:
  • Smithing: Iron before Steel
  • Smithing: The Various Hammer Blows to Make a Weapon
  • Smithing: Making Daggers/Knives
  • Smithing: Blooming Steel
  • Smithing: Running Different Steps at Once
  • Smithing: Practice Makes Permanent, not Perfect
  • Strength: Working over a Anvil
  • Endurance: A Long Day's Work
  • Teaching: Being Taught by First Being Shown
  • Alinan Alcander: Permitted you to Practice Smithing
  • Alinan Alcander: In Some Sort of Contract
  Loot:
  • A total of 10gn was made off the 5 knives. Alaya took pity on your and paid full price (3gn x2). The old woman appreciated the poor quality knives and paid 1gn5sn (x2). The Lotharro was scary and only gave you 1gn for a poor quality knife. What a brute. Alinan was given 7gn for the use of his smith. You have successfully walked away with 3gn.
  • Bone Knife (Poor Quality): Only to be used in a pinch, this knife was your first knife smithed. You could not seem to part with it and sold the better quality knives.
  Injuries: None
  Fame: +2 (An Honest Days Work)
  
  Story: 5/5
  Collaboration: 0/5
  Structure: 5/5

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Comments: This was an interesting thread. I understand it was more a knowledge/skill build, but having that underlying plot to pique the interest of the reader was worthwhile. There are a few stylistic changes I would make in sentence structure (; instead of ,) as some of the sentences are run-on in my opinion. Maybe read your post out loud just before you post it. If you have to pause, place a period, comma, or colon. If there are already a ton of commas, might be best to end the sentence and begin a new one. Well done. I look forward to the next one.

Last minute thought: I also appreciated that you went and sold the knives and gave the reviewer the stipulations (30/70) that was the agreement at the bottom. Made it far easier for me. You did not get any knowledge in negotiation/trade/bartering because it was a small chunk of this thread. Next time I'd love to see how he haggles with a Lotharro.

If you feel I've missed anything or if you have questions about your review, please don't hesitate to send me a quick PM. Thank you!