Chapter 16,Blacksmithing

(Reskeme)

After walking for nearly an hour in the fading light, Micheal finally turned off the main road. They turned to the right, up a side street lined with two-story houses. Reskeme admired the houses. The houses were all painted in uniform colours that matched and didn't hurt his eyes to look at in the torchlight. The lighter colours made all the merchants and businesses much more appealing than the plain buildings in Drent.

" I thought you said you were poor?" said Reskeme turning to Micheal, who was carrying a slumped over Alex on his shoulders.

" No, I did not say that. Those nobles said I was a poor commoner. My family is actually well off, we live in one of the nicer districts of the lower quarter." replied Micheal gesturing to a two story building that was bigger than the surrounding buildings but not by much.

" This is our house, Its far from those nobles mansions, but I love it here. Close to the forge, and the countryside if I want a change of scenery." said Micheal, the young man's smile shown like one of the many torches glinting in the low light.

" You are rich!" said Reskeme, gaping at the large house. Micheal walked up the front stairs shaking his head. The one thing Reskeme did notice was that none of these buildings had grass out front, but were merely separated by a wide clean alley.

" Where are the weapons, I want to try swinging a sword?" asked Rory, holding her hands together and waving them around wildly as though swinging at a fly. Reskeme sighed and followed Micheal as the young man placed Alex on the ground and opened the door.

" The forge is down the street, we close at night because its much to loud and we do not want to keep all the neighbors awake at night." said Micheal opening the single wooden door with a metal key.

" Mom, I'm home!" said Micheal leading Reskeme and kids inside closing the door.

"How did your search at the guild go?" asked a high feminine voice from another room.

" It went good! I brought someone who I want you to meet!" replied Micheal.

" Take off your shoes and come join us for dinner." said a deep masculine voice.

In the front room was a wooden bench on the left wall with stairs on the right and a door on the main floor straight ahead. Micheal sat on the bench and pulled off his boots, the boy's bright green wool socks settling on wooden floorboards. Reskeme mouth water, the scent of bread and meat drifting to his nose.

" Take off your shoes."said Micheal eying the two children.

Reskeme pulled off his boots, his thin socks more holes than cloth. He grimaced at the icy floor on his feet but moved towards the kitchen, following Micheal.

Micheal walked into the candlelit room and gestured towards the empty cloth lined seats.

" Mom, Dad, the guild master gave me a test!" said Micheal, excitedly pointing towards Reskeme.

" Nice to meet you, young man. Please accept our hospitality. I am Ned, and this is my wife, Clair. May I ask your names?" said the bulky man. The man leaned back into his chair, wrapping one arm around an athletic woman next to him. The mans large thick fingers stroked his waxed brown beard.

Reskeme mouth water as he focused on the steaming pot on the table, eying the loaf of bread next to it. He realized the man had asked a question and straightened himself up.

" Thank you, I am Reskeme and this is Rory and Alex." said Reskeme.

" You seem like a responsible young man, taking care of two young ones for the day." said Ned. Reskeme scratched the side of his head looking over the two as they appeared to be falling asleep in their chairs. The man stood, his clothes straining to hold together over his muscled frame. Ned placed bowls in front of all four of them. Reskeme waited, salivating as the man poured them soup filled with meat and vegetables, a filmy thick broth filling the bowl.

Reskeme devoured the food, even going so far as to lick the bowl and his fingers after he was finished.

" So what is the next step?" asked the woman Clair, sitting straight-backed in her chair.

" That breast plate I finished this week, I want to place runes on it." replied Micheal swallowing a mouthful of soup.

" Do you think you can do it?" asked Ned. Micheal shrugged his shoulders as he chewed on a bite of bread.

" Dont worry, I will help him get into the guild." said Reskeme happily. Ned eyed him up and down.

" A twig like you couldn't even swing a hammer for more than a minute." replied Ned Dubiously.

" I just need to help with the magic, not the forging." said Reskeme. Cough! Cough!. Micheal choked on his soup droplets flying onto the clean tablecloth.

"You didn't tell him? He should know that you need to engrave the runes in the steel." said Ned.

" I think you will need to recreate a new piece of armour. Micheal, don't you remember all the mana you poured into the breastplate as you made it?" asked Micheal mother twirling her fingers through her straight brown hair.

Reskeme watched as realization dawned on Micheal's face. His face turned from happy to pale as his shoulders slumped.

" You are right, Clair. Do not worry Micheal we can help you with the process." replied Ned.

" I won't have time to finish." said Micheal slumping in defeat.

" Dont worry, dear, we can start bright and early. How long do you have to finish the project?" asked the Clair, smiling reassuringly.

" Only a week. I need to finish by the end of the week or we both won't be allowed to enter the guild." replied Micheal.

" Well, there are a few options. You can make something small? But that might affect your sponsors in the guild." said Ned.

" What about a short sword, or a spear?" asked Micheal perking up.

" I would suggest a spear." said Ned stretching.

" Good idea, father. Can I use one of your oak staves? Asked Micheal.

" Of course, Micheal take them to the spare bedroom. Get some sleep, we can start the process tomorrow." said Ned.

" For now, these three can take the spare bedroom." said Ned.

Blurry eyed, Reskeme carried Rory on his back, following Micheal to their room. He placed her on a woolen blanket that was provided by Micheal. Before he collapsed beside her and Alex.

Reskeme sighed and let himself fall asleep, exited for the next day.

Reskeme awoke suddenly, raising his head and rubbing the gunk from his eyes. Eyeing the offending foot of Micheal with disdain.

" Its time to get to work." said Micheal, smiling down at him. Reskeme grumbled, stumbling to his feet. He rolled away from Rory and Alex, who had somehow rolled next to him.

Reskeme staggered out the door, following Micheal down the stairs and out the front door. Slamming his toe on the door as he slipped on his leather boots. He shivered, yawning as he walked down the mostly empty street. After several minutes of following Micheal he stopped in front of a single story building. It brought Reskeme to his senses as the clang of metal on metal filled the air. The sounded enhanced as Micheal strode up and opened the door.

Reskeme stagger as a wall of heat and noise bombarded his senses. The primary room of the forge reverberating as Michael's mother slammed a hammer on to a bar of red hot metal. While Ned held the metal with long tongs, rotating it as she swung the hammer.

Reskeme winced, plugging his ears as Micheal held up two cloth balls to him. Micheal placed two of his own cotton balls in his ears, showing their use. Reskeme released his ears and inserted the balls of what could only be wool into his ears. Almost immediately, the sound of clanging cut to a much more manageable level.

Micheal waved him forwards as they walked to Clair and Ned. Micheal halted in front of them, watching and waiting. Reskeme watched as the bar of metal that resembled a small cobblestone was smashed against an anvil. Ned whirled around, placing the metal under red-hot coals and then pumping bellows, the coals flaring.

"We are about ready for the first infusion!" said Clair, wiping sweat with the back of her hand.

Already drenched in sweat and breathing in hot and dry air, Reskeme walked forwards next to Micheal.

" Get ready to channel soul mana and your life mana!" said Micheal.

Reskeme swallowed. How did he do that?

" How do I do that? I have never used it before." asked Reskeme, his voice much too quiet. Micheal palmed his face, sighing.

" I will help you, just hold my hand and I will channel soul mana." replied Micheal holding out his left hand. Reskeme hesitantly took the offered hand.

" Get ready!." said Ned, pulling the red hot metal from the coals.

Reskeme swallowed as Micheal held his free right hand above the red hot metal.

" Place one of your life runes on the metal next to mine!" said Micheal a rune of purple forming in an inverted diamond pattern. Reskeme felt the burn as he channeled mana feeling the pull of Micheal as he two channeled power the runes forming.

Reskeme created the familiar rune in the shape of a leaf or a flame. He could never quite tell which.

He gasped at the pull of his mana funneling into the bar of steel. Reskeme nearly stumbled, the steel bright with heat seemed to cool rapidly fading to a regular black of burned metal.

Reskeme watched as Ned grasped the steel with tongs and placed it back into the fire.

" Why did it change colour?" asked Reskeme, wheezing.

"That always happens whenever we engrave a rune, then the metal cools." said Micheal breathing lightly. The deep thrum of the bellows filled the room as the fire roared its heat, a near physical thing.

Micheal walked to the back of the forge pulling where he pulled out a book and read it protectively. Reskeme wonders what in Laurentia was he hiding in those pages? Reskeme walked to the door the while he waited what felt like thirty minutes of waiting and resting. Before Ned drew the bar of metal from the fire again. This time Clair raised her hammer gesturing Reskeme and Micheal to step back. The block of metal with two mana formed runes was hammered flat with precise blows of Clair's hammer.

The drum of hammer on steel filled the air. Reskeme watched in fascination as Ned placed a wedge halfway down the metal. Clair slammed the hammer into the wedge, the white hot metal folding in the shape of a V. Micheal Gestured Reskeme forwards. Reskeme channel his mana, his head swimming as he felt an immense pull on his own mana. On the inside of the V shaped Metal were two flat surfaces. One side already had two brightly glowing runes, one green and one purple. While the other was untouched.

Reskeme watched as another purple rune formed on the empty side before he placed his own leaf shaped rune beside the inverted purple triangle. The metal went from a bright white to dark, cooling in just seconds. Clair slammed the metal a few times with her hammer, but the metal didn't budge. So Ned used his tongs and returned the metal to the coals. Reskeme gasped for breath, his veins burning. He held up one trembling hand, reaching for his mana gauge. The small circle on the necklace only held forty percent of his mana after two runes?.