She Came From The Sea

Maximus Thorn Tyrannous

^^ The Knife Max Makes ^^

When I turned to ask him if we were ready to Leave, he was gone, and I laughed as I saw him running with his cart. I followed at a walking pace.

---

I giggled as I ran away, leaving mama at the docks. She never let me into the forge without Grumpy, so I needed to get there before her.

I opened the door, and grinned. "Grumpy!! I have a project! The Jarl commissioned a knife from me! Can you open the forge?" I asked.

He hummed and nodded, unlocking it and opening the furs for me.

I hauled my cart in, watching the steps, and set the iron and coal into the cauldron to melt.

I re-started the fire from the embers, and pumped the bellows, jumping on them to get enough air into the fire to get it hot.

Soon enough, I had the metals melting into each other, and so I started stirring, after pulling on the apron and gloves that Gramma Sadie had made for me.

After they had melted completely, and the useless rocks drifted to the top, melted, I scooped them out, and dumped them into the second vat, made specifically for the scraps of useless metals or stones.

I pumped air into the molten iron and carbon, and kept mixing it, squinting to see past the glow of the metals.

After a short while, it reached the color I wanted, so I snuffed the fire under the cauldron, to let it cool down enough that I could pull it out.

I sat down at the back of the forge, and hugged my knees, slowly falling asleep.

---

I woke up to a bowl of fish and potatoes next to me, and a small rabbit pelt rolled up behind my head.

I ate the fish and potatoes quickly, smiling, and checked on my metals. They were cooled down now to the consistency of tree sap, so I pulled it out and placed it on the anvil.

I picked up the biggest hammer I could swing comfortably, and the tongs, and folded the metal slowly.

Then I started hammering it flat, grinning in exhilaration.

"Tighten your left hand. The tongs are just as important as the hammer." Grumpy rumbled, sitting down on the steps and watching me.

I nodded and tightened my grip, hammering again. The metal cooled, so I pushed it into the forge, burying it in the coals.

I pumped the bellows attached to the main forge, and the coals turned white, heating up my metal quickly.

I pulled it out, and folded it, hammering, then repeating it until the metal cooled again. I stuck the metal into the forge coals, and shoveled more coals into it, layering them evenly.

I pumped the bellows again, settling into a rhythm, hammering, Folding, hammering flat, folding, heating, shoveling coals, and repeat, over and over, until the metal was folded to the basic shape of a long Dagger, big enough for Grumpy or Mama to use.

I leaned back, and pushed it into the sand trap, then pulled it out and pushed it into the oil. It steamed, and quickly cooled.