Chapter 1 Part 3

Two weeks later word started to get around that a Master Mage from the Academy was working manual labor at a smithy. The number of people showing up for no other reason than to gawk at a mage doing manual labor was beginning to truly irritate Bindar until Ultrecht suggested a sign proclaiming an admission fee for onlookers.
One day in his second month as an apprentice smith, Ultrecht and Bindar were both stripped to the waist working on a bar of alloy when a loud, irritating, and all to familiar voice rang out with derisive laughter. Slowly he turned to see Armegon standing in the entrance laughing heartily.
“If ye’ve no business for a smithy, then haul yer popinjay arse out of here,” Bindar roared.
Armegon ceased laughing and appraised the smith. “Why my dear Master Smith, of course I have business here. I just happened to have several brass chamber pots in need of mending.”
Bindar continued shaping the metal in his tongs and spoke loudly to his youngest apprentice. “Eric leave off and go attend to the fop with no pot to piss in.”
Ultrecht winced. As much as he enjoyed seeing Armegon lose a battle of wits, egging him on would only prolong the misery. Bindar noticed the expression and leaned close. “Is that jackass a friend of yours?” he asked quietly.
With a nod, Ultrecht said, “Yes a very old friend and rival," he confided. "And he's a very powerful mage with a sense of humor that doesn’t match up to his ego.”
“Well then be rid of him and let’s be back to it,” the dwarf growled.
“Yes Master Bindar.”
Handing his bellows to Eric, Ultrecht went to the front. “What do you want?”
With a nasty grin Armegon said “When I arrived at the guild, twelve people nearly collided to try and tell me you’d given up being a mage to work a forge. So I thought I should help out my friend in his new career, and see to it he gets plenty of business. ”
“Well then Sir,” said Ultrecht in a professional manner. “If you’ll bring in your wares we’ll set a price. And after, if you’d like to remain and watch, you may enjoy the comforts of our forge for a silver coin per hour.”
Armegon’s eyes narrowed. “What are you up to?”
“Just trying to get ahead in the world sir,” Ultrecht replied politely. “Now, about the work, do you have a spare chamber pot or will this need to be a rush job?”
“All right, you win,” Armegon growled. “But when you’re done with your little side job here, you’d better tell me what’s in the works or I’ll chase you down and drag it out of you.”
“Not to worry, old friend. I’m busy now, but I’ll fill you in when I can.”
Armegon pulled himself upright. “Ok I’ll see you later.” Then louder for all to hear as he ducked out of the shop, “I believe I’ll take my business to a place that has better taught apprentices.”
With flashing eyes Bindar grabbed up a hammer and started for the door. Ultrecht stepped in front of him and said urgently, “He’ll taunt you all day, but if you actually hit him he’ll turn you inside out and leave you alive.”
With a startled look Bindar said, “That’s impossible!”
“Oh no,” Ultrecht informed him. “It’s really quite easy. All it takes is a thorough study in anatomy first.”
The dwarf blinked. Then shook himself and said, “Well, he’s gone. Now get your arse back to work!”
“Yes Master Bindar.” Ultrecht said with a smile.

He was nearing his ninth month of working with Master Bindar and he was in better shape than he’d seen in many years. Dawn was just breaking as he arrived at the smithy. The other two apprentices, Eric and Theo, were already stoking the fires and preparing for the days work.
“Good morning Ultrecht,” Eric said brightly.
“Good morning Eric,Theo,” Ultrecht replied cheerfully. “What did Master Bindar leave for us today?”
“It’s odd,” said Theo from near the forge. “He said last night to just bank the fires and wait for him.”
“Yeah,” piped in Eric. “We have no work this morning. Maybe it’s a Dwarven holiday or something.”
Ultrecht frowned. “Not that I’ve ever heard of. Are we open for business?”
“Not until Master Bindar gets here.”
“Then I guess we wait.”
The three made themselves busy with small chores around the shop for nearly two hours before the Dwarven smith finally arrived. He seemed to be in a somber, kind of distracted mood. “Theo, Eric, take some coin and go get some extra coal.”
The two looked at each other then said in chorus, “Yes, Master.”
After the boys had left Bindar looked at Ultrecht and said, “You know mage, I’ve never met a man or dwarf who learns as fast as you. I’ve taught you and I’ve tested you. You’ve never missed anything.”
“You’ve been a fine teacher."
“Oh shut up for a moment. What I’m trying to say is that unless you want to continue on as a student per our agreement, I don’t believe I can teach you anything more. Your physical skills are some of the worst I’ve seen, but then you’ve not been swingin’ a hammer as long as even my boys.”
Ultrecht smiled ruefully.
“What I’m sayin’ is I think I’ve completed part of my half the bargain.”
“So tell me Master Bindar, what has you so quiet today.”
The dwarf frowned distractedly, “Does it show that bad?”
“Yes.”
“Well today marks the one hundred and fifth year of my Fathers death.” He pulled a cloth-wrapped bundle from his cloak and handed it to Ultrecht.
The mage gently unwrapped the object. It was a beautifully crafted handle made of what appeared to be some unknown wood. He gasped as it suddenly dawned on him that it wasn’t wood at all, but Dwarven steel. The detail was amazing; it really looked and felt like polished wood.
Ultrecht reverently rewrapped the handle in its cloth and said, “Master Bindar, I believe we have work to do.”
The dwarf let out an explosive breath. “After all these years…”
“Well then, get your arse moving,” Ultrecht laughed in a mocking voice.
A giant grin burst across Bindar’s face. “By all means mage, let’s. I have one more part of my legacy to show you.” He brought out an eight gallon covered bucket. The outside was inscribed with runes. “This is a gift from the only other honorable mage my family ever met.”
Unable to help himself, Ultrecht was mentally deciphering the meaning of the runes. Together they would create a strong and enduring spell of preservation. “What's in it?”
“Blood of the dragon that attacked my ancestors, mixed with the blood of all the dwarves who died defeating it," the dwarf answered, "including the blood of the last king under the Orkon Mountains.”
Ultrecht looked at him quizzically, “You haven’t had a king since?”
“Nor will we," Bindar confirmed, "until a new hammer is created. The old king's family has refused the crown until we have our honor back. And the family who wards the position of clan smiths doesn’t have the skill of the runes.”

For three days they remodeled the inside of the smithy. The forge had been dismantled and rebuilt as a ten foot circle of firebrick about three feet high, with master Bindar’s heaviest anvil at the center.
“Now explain it again mage. How am I going to work the anvil when it’s in the center of the forge?”
Ultrecht smiled. “As I said before, I’m going to protect you from the heat, while you work the metal from the center of the fire.”
Bindar looked a bit dubious. “Ok. Damn. Tell me about the heat again.”
“Well, the star metal is so tough it survived the heat generated by entering the atmosphere, as well as the impact of striking the ground,” Ultrecht began. He paused for a moment then went on. “We will not be able to create enough heat to melt it without magic. Actually though, I don’t believe we need to melt it.”
Shaking his head the dwarf said, “If we don’t melt it we’ll not get the impurities out.”
“I thought the same until this morning when I looked at it again with a stronger type of Mage-Sight. The outer layers are mostly aggregated material from the impact. The core of the fragment is pure metal.”
“Why didn’t you use this Mage-Sight earlier?” Bindar asked.
“Because the spell has very unpleasant side effects," the mage answered. "It changes your vision to a different view of the world and I find the effect distressing; similar to vertigo.”
“Yer sure? ‘Cause if we ruin this chance, we won’t get another.”
“Yes, Master Bindar, I’m sure.”
The smith ran his thick dirty fingers through his hair. He stood looking at the floor for a moment before he said quietly, “One thing mage. If this doesn’t work, and the metal spoils, I don’t want to survive this.”
“I don’t think it will come to that.”
Bindar grabbed Ultrecht’s arm in a desperate grip. “Swear it!” the dwarf cried.
Ultrecht stared at him long and hard, the dwarf returned the gaze unflinchingly. Finally, Ultrecht relented. “I swear it.”
“Thank you,” Bindar whispered.
“You should know, this is going to be very dangerous for you. If my concentration is broken you will be killed.”
“If we fail I don’t care. It’s all or nothing.”
“Fair enough,” said Ultrecht as he looked around the shop. Every spare nook and cranny was crammed with coal and wood. Bindar’s small office had been ripped out to make room for fuel. His apprentices had lodged in Ultrecht’s apartments at the college to make even more room. Even the small yard in back was piled with coal. “But you should know that if they are in here and something goes wrong, the boys will die with you.”
Bindar stopped dead in his tracks. He stood there for a moment then went to his strongbox. He took out his key and laid it on top. “Theo, Eric. As of this moment you are no longer bonded to me. You may take the gold remaining and begin anew.”
The two boys looked at each other. The gold left in Bindar’s strongbox would set them both up with their own smithies if they wanted. Together they reached their decision.
Theo spoke. “No Master. We will stay here with you. If you fail, we fail.”
Eric nodded his agreement.
The dwarf tried to speak, but his voice choked. He tried to cover with a cough, but then just gave up and bellowed, “All right then you lazy dogs! We have work to do!”
Ultrecht laughed then cast a spell. A sulfurous smell assaulted the room and a ten-foot flame leapt into being in the forge. He addressed the newly summoned elemental, “Can you heat this metal to its softening point?”
With a tendril of solid flame, the elemental caressed the lump of star metal lying on the anvil. It flared for a moment, then stopped, and looked hungrily at the piles of coal all around. A moment later a second, similar flame joined it.
“The two of you then," Ultrecht understood. "What I want is for you two to heat this metal so that this dwarf can forge it. In exchange you may name a price.”
The elementals gave their price in the crackling language of their realm.
Turning to the dwarf, Ultrecht called out, “Master Bindar, their price is three fold. One; they each want a wooden carving of the finest woods and workmanship. ”
“Done!”
“Two; they require a crystal wine cup of blood from each of us.”
“I agree to my blood!” yelled the smith.
“Three; they want your beard as a gesture of your commitment to the flames.”
The dwarf looked stunned. Then with slow deliberate dignity, he pulled his belt knife and cut his magnificent beard from his face.
Slightly shaken, Ultrecht turned back to the elementals and said, “Your price is met. Join me here at sunrise tomorrow.”
Bindar stared at the severed beard in his hand. Slowly he closed his grip until his knuckles were white. With a voice that might have been carved from sheer granite, he said, “Boys, take the strongbox and procure the finest carvings available. Get some crystal cups as well.”
Gently, Ultrecht said to the dwarf, “You must take tonight and rest. Drink as much water as you can, and eat a couple of handfuls of salt.”
His voice deep with emotion, the smith said, “I’ll see you in the morning mage.”