15 Standing Still

The rains had come early this year. Xin had traded some meat for an oil skin in one of the towns we passed and she had managed to find a discarded hatchet amongst the rubbish pit, which I cleaned in the fire and sharpened for use. It had been a useful addition to our bundles.

The oil skin hung off a bamboo pole I had hacked out of the surrounding woodland and the skin was held in place with vines lashed onto standing bamboos. We were dry underneath our makeshift tent, but the oil skin wasn't really big enough to cover the whole camp.

We positioned it so as to keep us dry as we slept, and bringing our belongings under the cover, we were relatively dry.

"We need a bigger oil skin, don't we?" Xin said as she patted the rain off her furs.

I nodded.

"I'll go exploring in the morning and see what I can find. I'm good at scavanging from rubbish. People often throw away good stuff. If I find any knives shall I bring them back and see if they can be sharpened and used for bargaining?" She looked at me as she extended her arm towards Alpha, who slept soundly between us. She smiled and stroked the old lady. "Really fallen for this animal. It'll be a sad day when she dies."

I looked at Alpha too. Yes, she was getting old and finding it tough moving on all the time. I suspected we would be staying here a while; she could rest her bones and perhaps enjoy her last years or months with us.

"I'll miss her too, but I've already decided we will keep her pelt. She has kept us warm all this time, it seems only right she should continue after she has left."

Xin nodded. "Ok, so I'll go and explore the town and see what there is. It seems friendly here so I will have a scout around. You never know there might be something we can use. I might get a few hours workserving at tables, that'd help too."

"Ok,' I replied, " and I'll head in search of the smithy, I might be able to get some work in exchange for some new metal and time at the hearth."

With plans arranged we settled back for a few more hours rest and as the sun rose in the sky, we too rose to make a porridge and then set out to explore the neighbourhood.

I knew the smithy would be some distance from the village or town, so I started skirting around the edge until I came across man-worn  paths. I  followed them listening for the tell tail rhythm of the hammers. It wasn't until the afternoon I found the right path and heard the sounds I was looking for.

On reaching the smithy, I squatted down and watched.

It was larger than the one I had watched all that time ago. There were two Masters working and the hearth was positioned between them. It was a large hearth too; deep and hot. 

Looking around I could see they produced a wide range of metal objects, from shoes for horses, rims for carts, to swords for men in battle. The forge's fire was long enough to heat the length of the blade and four young men surrounded the hearth, operating bellows, feeding the fire, getting equipment when needed.

They watched the masters intently. I presumed by their attention to detail, they were apprenticed to these men.

A dog saw me and growled in my direction. I was on his territory and he was making it plain I wasn't welcome. Thank goodness Alpha had chosen to stay under the furs this morning. I chuckled to myself, 'even if she wanted to follow me she'd have had a pretty rough time tracking me, all those paths I've walked up and down.'

One of the masters looked up and saw me almost immediately.

"What do you want?" he bellowed, "this is no place for you. Go away! Bloody vagrants, they think we owe them a living. Go away, shoo, or I'll set the dog on you!"

I grinned. I could kill that mutt in two steps and it wouldn't even know it was dead before it landed. I held my hands up, " I'm not after anything except perhaps a job at the fire and payment in clean metal and time at the anvil."

"What do you want with clean metal! Get away with you! Don't want your sort round here."

"Then at least let me operate the bellows and show I can," I retorted. I had come this far and invested half a day, I wasn't leaving until I had started to achieve my goal. "Let me prove I am capable. If you think I am worthless after that, then send me away. You will have lost nothing and I may gain face."

The other master looked up from his work, inspected it, pushed it back into the fire and called over. "Ok, I'll take you on my part of the hearth. Show me you can pump these bellows and I'll think about your request."

I bowed in respect and walked down to the smithy. The smells, the heat, the tools brought floods of memory back. I was back in my father's smithy, watching him work.

I went to the second master's siide of the forge and bowing once more, introduced myself.

"I am called Niao. I would like to pump the bellows for you if you would allow." once more I bowed in respect and waited for instruction.

"Ok, young lady let's see what those arms can do. The sword is in the fire and needs to reach white hot for me to work it to the next stage." With that, he moved to one side, jestured to his two young men to step aside and let me walk to the side of the hearth. 

"There you are, a twin bellowed hearth. Off you go, get the blade metal hot."

Once more I bowed out of respect and took up my position. Taking the levers in my hands I started to work them; steady, measured, creating an even heat across the hearth so the blade didn't have hot spots.  I brought up the speed as I watched the blade change colour through the reds and into the orange, then yellow and then with a flick of the wrist,  I took the fire to the next stage and the blade took on its most maliable colour.

"The blade is ready for working Master," I said over the roar of the hearth.

Both Masters were surprised by my strength and skill.

Second Master, smiled, "you've done this before."

"Yes, Master, my father was a blacksmith and he taught me from a very young age," I replied holding the fireat its temperature.

"So can you work metal?" Second Master asked.

"I made this when I was eleven years of age," I said as I took out the small knife which had been with me from the start. "It is very worn now because I use it every day and sharpening has thined the blade. This is why I want some fresh metal, to make myself another one."

He rolled it around in his hand and felt the balance and the weighting. I carried on holding the fire's temperature "Nice knife. You were eleven when you made this? Are you sure?"

"Yes Master. I left home at twelve years and have been traveling ever since. I am now seventeen years so I have used the knife for five years." I stayed at the bellows, " your blade Master, it is awaiting your attention. "

"Ok, if this is what you say then I will let you work with me, but first I must get to the blade as you say, and finish hammering so I can quench it off," and with that he turned to the fire and drew out the white hot metal and proceeded to hammer it along its length. Twin bladed, straight and true, this was going to be a magnificent blade.

So this is how it went for the next few weeks. I would work with Second Master and he would tell me about things to do with the forge and the House of Chen. I watched his actions and added it to my skills. He started letting me work the primary forming stages and I continued to operate the bellows.

His two apprentices had begun to produce their own blades so I was the lacky who worked for all three of them. It was fine, I was learning and getting closer to the day when I would be able to relace my old knife with a new blade.

Alpha started to follow me and sat a respectful distance away so as not to upset those in the smithy.  They were surprised by my companion to start with but soon she was as accepted as I was and they would chuck her pieces of meat at lunchtime.

It was during one of these times a messanger came and everything changed.