Sebastian was awestruck by the workshops Jake took him to. Massive gears turned along the walls, providing power to strange contraptions dwarves were using to create masterpieces of every shape and size. He watched with barely concealed wonder and excitement as one dwarf used some sort of automatic hammer thing, rotating a sheet of metal around underneath it as it pounded up and down with machine-like regularity and precision. When the dwarf was done he tugged on a lever that disconnected the gear powering the hammer from the main system and it slowed to a halt. Another was using a similar machine that appeared to be significantly more complex to simultaneously punch holes in leather and stitch it to other pieces.
Jake started to explain various things as they made their way through. “All the machinery is powered by steam turbines. We tapped into a volcanic chamber accidentally, but the king decided to take advantage of it and we plugged the tunnels in that direction with giant boilers, the steam is piped through the turbines, which turn the gears that power our city. Farther along the line the steam cools and condenses, then runs through pipes that feed into our homes and work areas, providing us with fresh drinking water. Waste water is piped through filters and fed back into the boilers and an underground spring allows us to maintain a consistent level of pressure and compensate for water loss.
“Ah, here we are! Welcome my friend, to the Heart Forge!”
Sebastian couldn’t believe what he was seeing, alcoves lined one of the walls, each one containing molten metal. Dwarves climbed up scaffolding to scoop the debris and slag from the surface of the metals or to add ore, while others used taps set into the base of the containers to pour the molten metal into molds. Some of them were incredibly intricate molds, while others were simply bars. Yet more dwarves were using the bars for more traditional forging, although their forges seemed to be empty spaces that heated the metal without any visible fuel, flames, or input from the dwarves at all. The air in the room was sweltering, and practically vibrating with the cacophony of dwarven shouts, clanging of metal on metal, and strange hissing shrieks that Jake had said were caused by steam release valves that were used to reduce the pressure in the system.
It was just him and Jake now, Sarah had spun off to the side shortly before they entered the Forge, mumbling something about visiting a jewelry stand she had seen and avoiding the racket, while Kyle and Legs begged off, claiming to have seen it already and insisting that Sarah should have an escort to help keep her safe. Jake led him towards a work area off to one side where it was significantly cooler. “I started work on it as soon as we arrived, but I wanted to wait for you to wake up before finishing it. Do you mind explaining how your magic works? Does size or material matter? Shape? I had an idea to put studs through the arm in places that wouldn’t affect the arm’s range of motion that could each be magicked to do different things, but I need to know if it’s something I should bother doing.”
Sebastian’s eyes widened as he took in the blue-ish silver components that were laid out neatly in the general shape of an arm. “That… that’s actually a really good idea. Some materials are better than others, but the difference so far is usually pretty small. Size will dictate the amount of energy the item can hold and how much can flow in or out of it at once, shape could end up being a problem though. Sometimes the magic changes the shape of the item a bit, and depending on how you want to have the studs attach to the arm they might get too warped to fit. I might be able to control that a bit, but I’m not sure. I suppose there isn’t any harm in trying.”
Jake nodded and slapped his palms together, “Excellent! Let’s get started then, shall we? First is this, It’s lined with soft material to keep the arm from chafing against your skin.” He slid a metal cup like thing up the pole sticking out of Sebastian’s stump until it clicked into place somehow. The pressure made Sebastian wince, whatever they had given him to dull the pain wasn’t enough to stop it from hurting when it was touched. Jake pointed out a couple spots on it, “When you need to clean your arm press here and here to release the catch. Now, for the fun part!” He casually tossed the silvery rods that were intended to be the bones of the forearm and pulled a few new ones out to replace them that had a set of five holes punched through them. Then he started to snap all the parts together until he got the whole skeleton of it finished. It was missing the cables that would simulate muscles, and as such would be a lot more power hungry to use if he were to enchant it now, but Jake wasn’t finished with it yet.
“Alright, let’s make sure I got your measurements right before I do the hard part, I got them right of course, but it’s best to check anyways. After all, your right arm may have been two inches longer than your left one for all I know, hard to measure that one since you went and got it melted.” He grinned at Sebastian as he slid the skeletal arm home in the socket and twisted it, earning himself another wince as something latched into place deep in his arm. He took a few measurements before nodding. “This part is a bit different to get back out, you will have to push in a bit then twist to disengage the latch, like so.” He demonstrated as he explained it. “Once it is all put together it will also clasp onto the padded cup to make sure it can’t rotate and disengage itself while being used. So when you need to take it off, you will have to undo those clasps, then remove the arm, then remove the protective pad. Clean your arm and the pad regularly or it can cause all kinds of problems.
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“Now does everything look right? Length, size and everything? Keep in mind that it will end up close to the same size around as your other arm once we finish the last bit. It’s mostly the hand that won’t change much, and I want to be sure it’s the way you want it.”
It was more than a little strange all in all, but Sebastian didn’t mind Jake being a perfectionist. Particularly when they were in the process of replacing a missing limb. Also strange. He tried to hold the back of his left hand against the metal hand, but it was awkward since he couldn’t let go of the orb he was holding. Jake saw the problem instantly and grabbed hold of the prosthetic and placed it so he could get a decent comparison before letting go again. “That seems fine, are you going to cover the hand itself somehow? Having a skeletal metal hand would probably get old pretty fast. Is it just me or am I taking this a lot better than I should? I feel like it should really bother me that I’m missing an arm, but everything seems kind of… detached.” He winced. “Poor choice of words considering,” he waggled his partially assembled arm, making the loosely hanging fingers rattle a bit, “but, well, maybe gloves? Just to have some padding so I don’t go around breaking half the things I touch?”
Jake nodded. “I planned on some metal plating, similar to what you would see on scale armor. I can make it so that it ends up closer to an actual flesh and blood hand in shape, while protecting the parts that make it work. Gloves are probably the only way to get any kind of padding though, and I can get the plating smooth enough to keep from shredding the inside too badly. The softer metals that could come closest to simulating flesh are either not really stable enough for long term use in something like this, or would cost an arm and a leg,” he smirked as he said that, “and would attract no end of trouble. It would still be metal too, and far harder than flesh, so you would still have the same problem only with the added difficulty of people trying to steal your shiny gold or silver hand. Which would constantly need to be repaired because it is a soft metal that is easily damaged.
“Anyways, I think we can start working on the finishing touches. This may take a bit, the cables all need a bit of tension on them, and they have to pull in opposite directions, so I will need to work at this for a while.” He grabbed Sebastian’s shoulder and deftly popped the prosthetic out of its socket and put it back on the table before waving at an enclosed workspace nearby. “Your statue is being worked on over there if you want to take a look at it while I finish this. They should be nearly done with the skeleton of the thing, I think one of the daft fools wanted to add wings though, so you may want to go give them some direction before they do something stupid.”
Sebastian wanted to stay and watch him finish the work on the arm, but the mention of the statue caused a pulse of excitement to course up his arm, with the briefest burst of color swirling across his vision as whatever was living in his orb lost its focus for a moment. Please, Father? I want to see it! Can they really add wings? Will I be able to fly? I want the wings Father!
Sebastian snorted. “Alright, alright, I’m going, you don’t have to beg.” Jake gave him a strange look and it took him a moment to realize why. “Ah, sorry, was talking to the voice in my head. It wants to see the statue, and it likes the idea of wings. Don’t worry, it should make more sense later, and hopefully make me sound a bit less crazy. I’ll be back in a bit I guess.” He made his escape before Jake could respond, hoping that he would forget that he mentioned a voice in his head.
It was considerably quieter inside the workspace Jake had pointed him to. He was about to sigh in relief as all the noise was reduced to a dull roar, when someone started shouting. “I told you not to fiddle with the damned blueprints you arse wart! The king hisself ordered it made, and we was given the blueprints by one of the princes! Wings? What the devil do you want to put wings on the bloody thing for anyways? The damned thing is going to be made outa metal! As if it weren’t bad enough they insisted it have actual joints that move, and that there actually be tension on the cables, you want to make it even more bloody difficult!”
There was two dwarves standing over a workbench arguing about the stacks of paper scattered across its surface. The one that hadn’t just been shouting spoke up. “But that’s the reason I want to add the wings! The joints all bend and move, which means it won’t stand up without some sort of support! If we add a pair of wings, we can have it balance back on them! Come on, Jasper! At least run it past them!”
“Gerand, I have told you a thousand times not to call me Jasper! When we are back here working you call me Boss! Do I have to beat that through your thick skull too?” They finally noticed Sebastian, and Jasper jumped when he saw him. “Who the devil are you? What are you doing in my workshop? We are doing work for the king himself and you are trespassing!”
Sebastian started to take a closer look at the partially assembled skeleton as he reponded. “I’m the one that asked them to make it. Jake said I should take a look at it while I was here.” It was made out of the same blue-silver metal that Jake was using on his arm and he had to ask. “What is this made out of? I’ve never seen metal like it before.”
Jasper looked startled by Sebastian’s response, while Gerand just seemed excited. Jasper was the one that answered though, his tone suspicious. “It is a complex alloy that we call mithril, and no I won’t tell you how it’s made or what is in it. Now, I don’t know or trust you, and I don’t believe that the prince would allow an outsider cripple to wander about his private workshop without a minder to keep you out of trouble, so you can either leave, or I can call for the guard to throw you out.”