Chương 20: A Forge: Part 2

Pace yourself. It is far better to be properly prepared than to jump into a project without the correct materials. There is no greater contributor to quality than careful planning. —The Artificer's Guide to the Apocalypse I awoke with a shiver. The fire beside me had died out during the night, allowing the autumn chill to soak into my bones. The skies had barely begun to take on their orange morning glow.

It would be a couple of hours still before the sun made its cheery appearance over the high mountain peaks that surrounded us. The sweater from my pack still lay on the ground where I'd dumped it the day before, and I slid it over my tunic. The fabric was cold and chilled my skin, like all the times that I'd forgotten my winter coat in the car the night before a snowstorm. Memories of home came with the passing thought, and I sat for several moments, just staring at the empty fire.

I'd bottled up and delayed dealing with my emotions and thoughts of my family, of my friends, all those that I didn't know if I would ever see again. Being in that in-between place for so long had healed the raw feelings that should have been tearing me apart, as if the pain had been suppressed by an emotional Advil whose effects were slowly fading, weaning me into reality.

If I, estranged from my family as I was, as comfortable being alone as I was, were feeling this way, I could only imagine how the others separated from children, parents, or siblings were feeling. I sighed and scrubbed at my face. There was nothing to do for it now; no answers to be had. If anything, it was incentive to get up and moving, to do what I could to help the others acclimate to our new reality. Pulling myself out of the somber reflection, I noticed a small notification and focused on it.

> General skill unlocked: Pottery > You gain proficiency in the art of pottery. Higher levels may result in higher quality products, a reduction of used materials, or other benefits. Oh, wow! The fire must have lasted long enough to dry it out. It should have taken longer though… A gingerly tap at the basin above the fire confirmed that I wasn't going to burn myself, and I picked it up, casting [Inspect]. > Forge basin > Created from clay and fireleaf wood.

> Quality: Uncommon > Grade: Low > Component The exposed fibers had slowly cooked away, leaving their charred remains. I blew on the bowl, and ash floated away, revealing tiny holes where the fibers had been. It looked like they had done their job, keeping the integrity of the basin, then slowly cooked themselves off. It would most likely be less structurally sound than the air-drying basin now, but at least it would allow me to get started almost immediately.

Hoping that the finished statistics meant it was fully complete and ready to be used, I carefully placed it on the top of the furnace, lining up the hole in the basin with the stick angling up through the stack of stones. Twisting the stick, I was able to retract it without collapsing the small tunnel. The clay bits amongst the rock had done a good job at keeping them from sliding around. My stomach growled, distracting me. Missing dinner the night before wasn't the best idea, not after as long a day as I'd had.

It made me thankful for Tabitha, and all the work she did for our group. There were so many people that I wanted to create things for, and so many projects that needed work, that I had no idea how I'd keep up with the demand. I needed some help, or an apprentice. Something. Breakfast would have to wait, though. Judging by the very few people moving around below, most were still asleep or reluctant to move from the warmth of their blankets. I didn't blame them. Fur blankets. Another one to add to the list. Damn!

I'm never getting caught up… I got back to work, cutting a line down the branch so I could unsheathe the bark. It peeled off easily when I pried at it with my knife, and curled up on itself once freed. Originally, I had planned on making a clay tuyère to carry oxygen to the fire, but what was the point when I had a perfectly working inflammable tube right here? I didn't even need to dry the thing. It slid easily up the tunnel, and fit close against the hole in the basin. I stood back and assessed my work.

> Simple Forge > A small charcoal forge for blacksmithing. > Quality: Uncommon Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. > Grade: Low Interestingly, it was the first time I'd seen an empty value for a completed project. I had expected to gain a new skill, or a level, but no other notification accompanied the first. Either way, I expected a blacksmithing or other similar skill would come shortly. All I needed now was some kindling. And a bellows. And some skill slots.

I was down to only three open spaces for skills, and it was really starting to worry me. A call went out, signaling the start of breakfast, and I took a short break. While dining on the surprisingly varied and new meal of… fish—I made a request for some quarter-inch sheets of wood, and Darby volunteered to take it on. My new bellows design would require little leather, and ultimately, be much more efficient than the accordion design I had seen in the city.

While he got to work, I began preparations for the final piece of my plan.

In no time at all, Darby had returned with my requested materials. I was surprised at what little effort went into cutting them to shape, but then remembered he had the strength of nearly four grown men, after all.

"What do you need all these for? I had to re-cut like ten of these things." He dropped the pile of wood next to me while I prepared the nails and blacksmithing hammer I'd found at the expedition camp.

"Bellows, for the forge." I gave a quick wave in the forge's direction, not taking my eyes off my work.

"Got a new design that should do really well. At least, I hope it does." He continued to watch me work. The final design would be a rectangular box with a plunger on one side. It would allow airflow when pushed in and out. It added a lot of complexity to the build, multiple valves and seals, but would have continuous airflow rather than intermittent pumping. I used a rectangular panel that would become the front of the bellows. A smaller box, six inches wide, ran the full length along the bottom of the panel.

I cut two mini valves on each side of the smaller box, and another in the middle of the outside for the main air output. I cut a section out from the plunger that would wrap around this smaller box and force air through each of the mini valves. When the plunger was pushed in, it would seal the first valve and force the air out the second and into the main funnel. When pulled back, the reverse would happen—the first valve would open and push the air through the tunnel, and again, out the main funnel.

It was a tricky piece of woodworking, and I was pretty proud of the fact that I hadn't even needed to use [Recall] on this one. I assembled the main box around the smaller tunnel and tacked it tightly into place, leaving the top panel off. My scrap leather sheet provided the leather flaps for the valves, and a small amount of melted beeswax dripped into the edges of the box, sealing any spots that might have had air gaps. I cut a branch into a dowel, making up the plunger handle.

My old shirt made the sacrifice and was used as the material for the edge of the plunger, soaked in the melted beeswax to ensure a snug fit. Once these were complete, two final valves were placed on each end of the main box for the air intake. I sealed the bellows, lining the top with several small nails. > Woodworking Leveled Up! > Box Bellows > Bellows built for continuous airflow. > Quality: Common > Grade: Medium Again, the finished product had no value. I wasn't sure why, but I didn't care to dwell on it long.

Much more exciting things were on my mind—unlocking blacksmithing. I placed the exterior funnel about an inch from the tuyère so it would suck in outside air along with the bellows.

"Well done!" Darby's loud voice startled me.

"Ah! Damn Darb!" I had become so engrossed in the project that I'd forgotten he was there. He laughed and pointed to a large pile of lumber.

"You ready to get to work?" He understood me too well.

"I gotta get more wood! Pump it a little faster!" I frantically grabbed more of the lumber and chopped it into smaller sections to fit on the basin around my small chunk of metal.

"I pump it any harder, and it's gonna break!" Darby was sweating in the heat of the forge and coughing from the thick smoke that poured from the basin.

"This shit's not dry enough! Fuck!" I shoved the kindling over the fire with the tongs, desperately wishing I had gloves, the hairs on my knuckles long since singed away.

"I thought firewood was just firewood." Darby groaned as he continued blasting the furnace with the bellows.

"That's because it IS firewood! We need charcoal. This is never going to last. The whole damn valley's gonna go to feeding this damn thing!" Finally, I checked the clump of iron and saw its faint glow. It would have to be good enough. Using the remnants of my shirt wrapped over my hand, I quickly pulled it out with the rusty tongs and placed it on the anvil. I smashed at it with the blacksmith hammer, turning it between strikes. The small piece of metal slowly took form with each strike.

I had specifically selected the piece because of its shape, and it only needed a little help to achieve its final form. I hammered it into a point and continued to turn it until it grew too cold to shape. I fell back, gasping from exhaustion, the moment I received the notification. Darby scrambled away from the fire and fell next to me, his chest heaving with the effort of keeping the fire hot enough.

"Never… Again," he choked out.

"You owe me…" I didn't respond. My eyes were locked on the new notification that filled my vision. > Iron Nail > A simple nail. > Quality: Common > Grade: Trash > General skill unlocked: Blacksmithing > You gain proficiency in the art of forging metals. Higher levels may result in higher quality products, a reduction of used materials, or other benefits. > Craftsman Leveled Up! > You have reached level 10. > New Class and Upgrade Available!