Ash 2nd
Fetching coal was not a complicated task. It was actually quite simple: take a bucket, fill it with the black rock, and bring it back. Very simple, the hard part was carrying the rock filled buckets back into the forge. As it took strength. Strength that kids had more of than her. This was okay though because she had more knowledge and had already talked with the head Smith. So as the others gathered coal she placed 3 iron rods in the fire and grabbed a hammer, tongs, a nail header and a Hardie tool. She added another iron rod to the fire then put the Hardie tool in a slot at the back of the anvil. The wedge shape would be useful when cutting later. She then tossed in a final piece of iron in the fire before putting on a thick apron.
She was expected to be able to make 5 nails a minute or that's what the old man had said which made her smile as she could make between 10 and 15 in that span of time. She used the tongs to grab a glowing red piece of iron out of the forge and held it against the anvil and used her other hand to control the hammer. She banged hitting it with a sliding motion to draw out the body of the nail. Turning the piece side to side with every strike. Once satisfied she put the nail in the hole of the header to gauge its size then put it on the hardie. A good strike and the rod is cut almost in half to stand at a slight angle. She would place the metal in the fire and grab the next rod to repeat the process with the other 4. Once all four of the others were to that step she would take the first one out, thread it into the nail header and snap off the tip. The iron rod would then go back in the fire as she placed the nail holder on the anvil where the nail went into a hole and struck it with the hammer. The thin spike now had a head and could be called a nail. She then dipped it in the water. The now cooled nail was then dropped into a bucket. She repeated the process with the remaining nails before she started all the way over again. After a few minutes she stopped using the nail header as a gauge as she got to the point she could tell the size. After a few rounds she had to put more rods in the fire. After an hour the head Smith came in.
He would grade her work to see if she actually knew what she was doing or if everything she had said was a lie. Vinsue however did not break from her work. Not even to look up at the Smith. She had no question about the quality of what she made. The head Smith gave a snort chuckle. Vinsue smiled a little in response. He walked off to do other work since he did not need to fire or reprimand the pore gnome. Soon the rhythm she had made changed as the wood cover at the front of the shop was lifted to show a window for people to place an order or pick up.
Not long after, the head Smith joined in with his own hammer as he worked on other projects. This included taking orders and crafting tools. Though the kids also took orders and kept the forge hot and water clean. After another hour or so there was a rushed conversation between the head Smith and a thin person wearing safety goggles and a lab coat. Their mood was an excited, impatient kind.
"I have had a breakthrough with my research and need parts crafted for it. I want a cheap set made if possible. Than if it works i'll bring the material for the final attempt next time I see you." He placed paper on the table with various parts drawn out.
"If I do this for you, you will fix the grinder to spin on its own." The head Smith said, trying to negotiate a price. The man nodded. "If this works I'll animate your entire shop."
"I'll see what we can do." The head Smith said, and took the papers inside. He laid them out on an empty counter and proceeded to scratch his head. "I have no clue how any of this will work together." He shook his head. "Gnome, come here."
Vinsue stopped what she was doing and walked over to see what was happening. "You're from Dagrun right?" She nodded. "They make golems and stuff over there. Think you could go to the scrap yard and get me materials so I could make these parts" He said.
She looked over the papers and thought about the materials they would need. Carefully considering the question. She nodded. "I believe so, yes"
"Good, take two of the boys and a wagon to the scrap yard. If anyone tries to cause trouble let them know I sent you." He said.
Immediately Vinsue chose the strongest boy and the shortest boy. She did not know their names but they had a nice walk ahead that could be used to fix that. Unfortunately the boys kept quiet the entire time to show their displeasure at a new person being given the higher job. If she was to guess they had been aprintaceing under the metal smith for some time. So she took the silence to find a way to make friends with her coworkers and to rethink what materials they would need. Once they were at the scrap yard she decided to have the boys use their minds.
"So the boss wants us to find stuff to make the drawings from a crazy man. Either of you think you can find something that looks like this?" She said holding up the picture of balls. Then she held up the picture that looked like the armor of a centipede. One of the boys nodded and ran off into the scrap yard while the other sat thinking. "We will also need gears and rods" She said then went to see what she could find. Seemed the scrap yard was well organized though everything seemed rushed. Seeing a crate full of gears she went and picked it up and took it to the wagon.
Back at the wagon the strong kid was dragging over a flat sheet of metal. "That should work, was there more?" He nodded his head and led her to them. There were at least 5 other sheets; they only took 3. Once they got to the sheets back to the wagon she noticed that the short kid was playing rather than working. He had some of the gears on his arms with a look of mischief.
"Kye, Chakram attack.!" He exclaimed as he swung his arm in a wide circle then tossed the gear at the stronger kid. Kye dunked, dropping his load just in time for the gear to pass through the spot he was just at. Most adults would have immediately informed the kid of the stupidity of this action. She was not other adults, she was at first curious about the word the kid used. Then immediately aware of the rage in Kye who was just a target. "Wait, Kye, it's not worth it. We can forget this happened. You two return with fight marks and we'll all be fired." He stared at the other kid for a moment before he picked up the load he dropped and put it in the wagon. The other boy got the gear and put it back in the crate. She looked over the parts and then at the paper to make sure they had all the parts they would need. On the way back she had the kids tell her what a chakram was. Than decided she would try to make a set of her own. Finally finding something to talk about, they actually talked on the way back. It was a relief and by time they got back one may have thought they were best of friends.
She walked into the shop and handed the Blacksmith the papers back. "We retrieved what we could, would you like me to help craft the pieces." She would ask.
"No, the inventor is an odd fellow. He would be furious if I let an apprentice help. Besides you would get the blame when his project fails." He said.
"Then can me and some of the boys use the forge for a project of my own? Promise we'll stay out of the way" She asked
"What is this project?" He inquired.
"Want to craft a chakrun. Just to see if I can." He considered her words. Then gave a nod. "Craft me a set and I'll agree to the use. Do a good job and I'll pay you for it. But do it on your off days you still have nails to craft"
She would nod. Turning to the boys with a smile.
Fetching coal was not a complicated task. It was actually quite simple: take a bucket, fill it with the black rock, and bring it back. Very simple, the hard part was carrying the rock filled buckets back into the forge. As it took strength. Strength that kids had more of than her. This was okay though because she had more knowledge and had already talked with the head Smith. So as the others gathered coal she placed 3 iron rods in the fire and grabbed a hammer, tongs, a nail header and a Hardie tool. She added another iron rod to the fire then put the Hardie tool in a slot at the back of the anvil. The wedge shape would be useful when cutting later. She then tossed in a final piece of iron in the fire before putting on a thick apron.
She was expected to be able to make 5 nails a minute or that's what the old man had said which made her smile as she could make between 10 and 15 in that span of time. She used the tongs to grab a glowing red piece of iron out of the forge and held it against the anvil and used her other hand to control the hammer. She banged hitting it with a sliding motion to draw out the body of the nail. Turning the piece side to side with every strike. Once satisfied she put the nail in the hole of the header to gauge its size then put it on the hardie. A good strike and the rod is cut almost in half to stand at a slight angle. She would place the metal in the fire and grab the next rod to repeat the process with the other 4. Once all four of the others were to that step she would take the first one out, thread it into the nail header and snap off the tip. The iron rod would then go back in the fire as she placed the nail holder on the anvil where the nail went into a hole and struck it with the hammer. The thin spike now had a head and could be called a nail. She then dipped it in the water. The now cooled nail was then dropped into a bucket. She repeated the process with the remaining nails before she started all the way over again. After a few minutes she stopped using the nail header as a gauge as she got to the point she could tell the size. After a few rounds she had to put more rods in the fire. After an hour the head Smith came in.
He would grade her work to see if she actually knew what she was doing or if everything she had said was a lie. Vinsue however did not break from her work. Not even to look up at the Smith. She had no question about the quality of what she made. The head Smith gave a snort chuckle. Vinsue smiled a little in response. He walked off to do other work since he did not need to fire or reprimand the pore gnome. Soon the rhythm she had made changed as the wood cover at the front of the shop was lifted to show a window for people to place an order or pick up.
Not long after, the head Smith joined in with his own hammer as he worked on other projects. This included taking orders and crafting tools. Though the kids also took orders and kept the forge hot and water clean. After another hour or so there was a rushed conversation between the head Smith and a thin person wearing safety goggles and a lab coat. Their mood was an excited, impatient kind.
"I have had a breakthrough with my research and need parts crafted for it. I want a cheap set made if possible. Than if it works i'll bring the material for the final attempt next time I see you." He placed paper on the table with various parts drawn out.
"If I do this for you, you will fix the grinder to spin on its own." The head Smith said, trying to negotiate a price. The man nodded. "If this works I'll animate your entire shop."
"I'll see what we can do." The head Smith said, and took the papers inside. He laid them out on an empty counter and proceeded to scratch his head. "I have no clue how any of this will work together." He shook his head. "Gnome, come here."
Vinsue stopped what she was doing and walked over to see what was happening. "You're from Dagrun right?" She nodded. "They make golems and stuff over there. Think you could go to the scrap yard and get me materials so I could make these parts" He said.
She looked over the papers and thought about the materials they would need. Carefully considering the question. She nodded. "I believe so, yes"
"Good, take two of the boys and a wagon to the scrap yard. If anyone tries to cause trouble let them know I sent you." He said.
Immediately Vinsue chose the strongest boy and the shortest boy. She did not know their names but they had a nice walk ahead that could be used to fix that. Unfortunately the boys kept quiet the entire time to show their displeasure at a new person being given the higher job. If she was to guess they had been aprintaceing under the metal smith for some time. So she took the silence to find a way to make friends with her coworkers and to rethink what materials they would need. Once they were at the scrap yard she decided to have the boys use their minds.
"So the boss wants us to find stuff to make the drawings from a crazy man. Either of you think you can find something that looks like this?" She said holding up the picture of balls. Then she held up the picture that looked like the armor of a centipede. One of the boys nodded and ran off into the scrap yard while the other sat thinking. "We will also need gears and rods" She said then went to see what she could find. Seemed the scrap yard was well organized though everything seemed rushed. Seeing a crate full of gears she went and picked it up and took it to the wagon.
Back at the wagon the strong kid was dragging over a flat sheet of metal. "That should work, was there more?" He nodded his head and led her to them. There were at least 5 other sheets; they only took 3. Once they got to the sheets back to the wagon she noticed that the short kid was playing rather than working. He had some of the gears on his arms with a look of mischief.
"Kye, Chakram attack.!" He exclaimed as he swung his arm in a wide circle then tossed the gear at the stronger kid. Kye dunked, dropping his load just in time for the gear to pass through the spot he was just at. Most adults would have immediately informed the kid of the stupidity of this action. She was not other adults, she was at first curious about the word the kid used. Then immediately aware of the rage in Kye who was just a target. "Wait, Kye, it's not worth it. We can forget this happened. You two return with fight marks and we'll all be fired." He stared at the other kid for a moment before he picked up the load he dropped and put it in the wagon. The other boy got the gear and put it back in the crate. She looked over the parts and then at the paper to make sure they had all the parts they would need. On the way back she had the kids tell her what a chakram was. Than decided she would try to make a set of her own. Finally finding something to talk about, they actually talked on the way back. It was a relief and by time they got back one may have thought they were best of friends.
She walked into the shop and handed the Blacksmith the papers back. "We retrieved what we could, would you like me to help craft the pieces." She would ask.
"No, the inventor is an odd fellow. He would be furious if I let an apprentice help. Besides you would get the blame when his project fails." He said.
"Then can me and some of the boys use the forge for a project of my own? Promise we'll stay out of the way" She asked
"What is this project?" He inquired.
"Want to craft a chakrun. Just to see if I can." He considered her words. Then gave a nod. "Craft me a set and I'll agree to the use. Do a good job and I'll pay you for it. But do it on your off days you still have nails to craft"
She would nod. Turning to the boys with a smile.
