“If I could make enough amulets…”
“You did that in silver and I’m not really set up for that sort of thing, not if you plan to make dozens,” he responded.
“It doesn’t have to be silver; we could do them in iron.”
“That makes it easier, still it will take quite a bit of time, and the shape of it was very intricate. Could you change the shape?” Royce asked.
“Only if we engraved it instead, the symbols are the important part. When I made Penny’s I made the entire pendant from the symbols before I infused it,” I replied. I knew my father didn’t have the right tools to do intricate engraving.
“Hah! I have it,” he exclaimed. My hopes went up, for when my father set his mind to something he always found a way.
“What?” I asked.
“If you can borrow Penny’s amulet, we’ll make a mold, then we can cast as many as we need. How long does it take for you to do your magicking?” Royce waved his hands around comically while swaying side to side as he said this.
I gave him a hard stare, but inwardly he had me smiling, “Not long, maybe half an hour each if they’re already formed.” After that we got busy, though I had to do some talking to get Penny’s necklace away from her, she seemed to think I planned to take advantage of her. I had no clue where she would have gotten an idea like that.
Dad set things up and assured me he would have the molds ready in another day or two, after that he would be able to make them faster than I could enchant them. I worried it might not be soon enough.
I left after that, he didn’t need me so I got out of his way. I spent the morning helping the carpenters again but I was interrupted in mid-afternoon when Dorian arrived. “Ho! Mordecai!” he called up to me. At that moment I was standing on some scaffolding on the exterior of the keep.
I was relieved to see him but I hadn’t expected him to arrive so soon. I yelled down to him, “How did you get here so quickly?” I began climbing down so we could speak more easily.
“I left as soon as I got your message this morning.” Dorian was the most reliable of friends, the sort of man who would walk through fire if he thought it would help someone. He had already saved my life at least once before. “The description in your letter was a bit vague, but I got the impression you’re dealing with some sort of monster?”
I hadn’t known what to write so I hadn’t been very specific, “Yeah, let’s not talk about it out here. I haven’t figured out what to tell the people yet and I don’t want to start a panic.”
He blinked at me, “Seriously, a monster?” I could see the gears in his head turning, conjuring up creatures from childhood fairy tales. I also noted that he had come geared for war. He wore chainmail, not just the hauberk… but the leggings as well, complete with a steel cap and aventail. He had also brought both his sword and a long spear.
“I see you took me at my word. Did you really need the barding though? That must be a real pain for your horse.” Barding was the term for the armor that partially covered his steed, a great black destrier.
“How should I know? I’d rather come to the party overdressed than arrive and find out later that I should have worn my chainmail knickers!” he answered. As usual his joke wasn’t that funny, but I felt a bit less burdened seeing him in full armor. Dorian was the deadliest man I had ever known, and I was glad he was my friend.
Since his horse was tired (wouldn’t you be after carrying all that?), we walked him over to the makeshift stables and I helped him clean and groom the massive beast. It wasn’t a chore for me as I loved horses almost as much as people. While we combed him down I had a thought, “Take your armor off too, if you’re going to help there are some things I can do to improve your chances.”
“I’m afraid to ask,” he replied, but he started shucking the armor. Once it was off he handed me a very heavy pile of mail. Luckily I was still in good shape from helping Dad now and then at the smithy. As big a man as Dorian Thornbear was the armor probably weighed around eighty pounds or more.
“Bring your sword and spear too,” I added.
“I wasn’t planning on leaving them behind.” He gave me a look that indicated I was crazy to think he would walk about unarmed. “What are you planning to do to my armor? It’s very expensive you know.” He eyed me suspiciously. I never understood why he didn’t trust me.
“I won’t hurt your precious mail, never fear. I’m just going to improve it.” I tried to give him my best ‘wise and mysterious wizard’ look, but he merely shook his head.
We had reached my house at this point, although according to Penny it barely deserves the name. I took him around to the back where a small shed served as my workshop. It didn’t have all the neat toys Dad kept around his smithy, but I didn’t need most of them for my work. My skill with magic allowed me to do a lot of things without recourse to tools. I stretched his hauberk out flat on the table.
“Just be careful, Dad gave me that,” Dorian said. His father had died the year before, a fact neither of us liked to remember. I had loved Gram Thornbear too.
“When I’m done I doubt you’ll ever have to worry about anyone damaging it again,” I assured him. “Would you mind fetching some water? This will take a while and I’m thirsty already.” He set off to find a pitcher and I got to work. My request was half to get him out of the way so I could get started. I wasn’t sure how he would react.
I took down the papers I had my notes written on, though I had done a lot of enchanting lately the designs were complicated and I didn’t want to make a mistake. This one I had tested once before so I was fairly confident that it would perform as intended. Leaning over the mail I extended a finger and began tracing it along the metal rings; as it went the metal changed color, from dull grey to gold.
Dorian returned with the water, but he didn’t interrupt me since he knew I was concentrating. A long while later I looked up from my work, “Still got that water?”
“Sure. For a thirsty man you took long enough to stop for a drink,” he handed me a cup.
“How long has it been?” I asked.
“You’ve been talking to yourself and stroking my armor for about three hours now. It’ll be getting dark soon,” he replied.
“Damn! I didn’t even realize. I’m sorry Dorian I’ve been poor company.”
“Don’t worry about it, whatever you’re doing must be important. I just hope my mail still works properly.” He was looking at it over my shoulder.
“Well I’m done with the hauberk now, take a look,” I gestured to the table. The mail coat was gleaming. I had removed the gold coloring, which had been a temporary measure to keep from losing track of where I was in the process. The entire coat glimmered now, as though each ring had just been polished while to my eyes patterns of symbols and words still covered it. Dorian wouldn’t be able to see those.
“Well it’s really pretty, but battle isn’t about beauty. Will it still stop a sword?”
“My friend, it will stop everything short of a ballista. It won’t rust and you’ll never need to oil it again,” mentally I hoped that it would improve the smell as well. If you’ve ever been around men wearing chain armor you know what I mean, rust and sweat are not a good combination. “More importantly, it should also prevent the thing I ran into last night from sucking the life out of you.”
A voice came from the doorway, “Aren’t you boys getting hungry?” Penny had returned and she carried a basket. I was pretty sure it held food of some sort.
“In a little while, I still have to finish here.” I motioned toward Dorian’s weapons, his steel cap, and the chain leggings.
“I’m certainly hungry… I haven’t eaten since lunch,” Dorian answered. It was rare for him to miss a meal.
“At least one of you has some sense then. How much longer are you going to be Mort?” She looked at me questioningly. Lately she had been a bit overbearing when it came to making sure I took breaks and ate food.
“Not long, an hour or two.”
“Alright… Dorian if you would be so kind?” She held her arm out and he took it, escorting her into the house like some noble lady. I supposed she soon would be.
I went back to work, starting on the steel cap first. I didn’t think it would take too long and soon I was wrapped up in my task as I lost track of time. I finished the cap and leggings and began working on the sword
