After a few more hours, I finish the sketches, and Silvra somehow manages to make blueprint quality drawings of them.

“Well, that’s done, now we just need to get these parts made,” Silvra remarks, placing the pencil down. “Let’s go to Eldrin’s place and get these made. I’ll foot the bill. It should be fairly small as these are not massive components, but just fairly intricate. I’ll bring some of the wire so he just has to stretch it out. We’ll have to protect it though, as he won’t have the material to do that.

Silvra and Lena quickly head over to where our outerwear is hanging and start getting ready. Thallion, on the other hand, is a little hesitant, but eventually follows.

Suiting back up to go outside, we quickly get ready with a brim of excitement and hope as we step back out into the frigid weather. After a couple minutes walking, we come to a larger house near the gate that is shooting sparks up into the clear sky through its chimney. We enter and are immediately hit by the intense heat of the forge and smell of sweat and hot iron. Shedding our outer layers, we wait by the counter as a rather muscular, built elf is pounding away at what looks to be a railway spike.

“Be with ya in jus’ a momen’! He barks, as he plunges the spike back into the coals of the forge, and leaning on the blower lever.

“Ter’ w’go. Nao wha’ cannae do fer ya?” He says, as he turns around. As soon as he sees our group he pauses mid turn.

“Sorry ta keep ya waitin master. Tis been a busy dae mendin tools. Liora’s awl was dull an roun’d oer so aye be fixin it now. Jus’ hardenin’ ‘t off and be done in a few. Wel’ome ladies as well ta mine humble abode. An’ who’s the new un? I have nae se’n before?”

Thallion is just about to speak, but Lena steps in. “Good afternoon Eldrin. This here is Ethan, who has travelled a long way to learn about us, and give us some ideas from his area. He has graciously given us a drawing of one of his simple tools and we need some parts made.”

“Yes!” Silvra steps in, picking up what Lena is putting down, “I here have plans for a turning machine which requires the creation of 2 curved pieces of metal, as well as a tube, and a rod.”

“Oh? New plans eh? Fro’ far ‘way. Wel’ let’s tae a look”, He replies, reaching for the rolled up paper that Silvra has been carrying. Laying them out, he scans over them, then looks at me, and scans again.

Turning serious, he looks at Lena and Silvra. “Now, now. I mae soun’ a bi’ odd, bu my masta taugh me one thin well, and tha’ is how ta spotta lie. This, this here is no mere simple tool, nor from this place. An’ Lena, if this can do half o wha’ is on this shee’, we woulda been conquered by em! No, let’s try this again.”

At hearing this, Lena and Silvra wince, and Thallion facepalms.

“Hello E’an, Wel’ome ta me forge. I am Eldrin. You be clear no’ from ‘ere. My guess’s one of the summons tha’ got out when th’tower fell.”

My eyes bug out. The tower fell?!

“I guess ya did ne’er hear bout that, the summoner ‘ower fell down. Tha’ was the large boom few ‘ays ago was. Also means tha you ‘scaped ‘fore i’ fell. Ya got sum brains kid, I give ya tha’.”

He reaches over and clasps my hand in bro grip.

“Oh ho! Srong ‘un ‘ere too! Migh’ ‘ave even brough’ t’ower down ‘imself. May even be a bit orc in ‘im, like me!”

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“Anyways, no lies, no half ‘ruths, give the dope.”

I start speaking: “Well, you cut through that pretty quick, and read me like a book. No point lying now. I am a summon, not sure why. I jumped out of a window, and ran away from there, as it sounded too much like plot. I like being here, don’t turn me in! I have many things that could help around here, and I don’t want to be taken to be a ward of the state!

“I can see ‘he passion brewin’ inside ya, bu’ I go’ no’ a wor’ ya said. I gotta translator in ‘he des’ wired through the floor.”

Looking over the desk, I see that the floor is covered in little insulated bumps, and he is barefoot.

“Helps with those s’umblin’ in’o ‘ere so I can calm ‘em down and aler’ ‘he guards ‘bout more los’ ‘venturers. Bu’ is doesna wor’ t’other way.”

Silvra pipes up, “ you nailed it in one Eldrin. And you really made a translation floor and work barefoot so you can talk to any one, just in case someone comes in? How did you even make that?!”

“Yeah I di’. Qui’e simple really, jus’ use wire an’ weave i’o each bump in ‘he floor. Pro’ec’ ‘em from ‘he main pla’e with some leatha, an’ ‘en wire ‘he bumps to the tap, an’ ‘he pla’e t’a body and it works. Did i’ because I scare some of the young’uns with mae accent and build afta se’n a monsta”

“Fascinating! And how did you tune it to translate so well even after such a distance?”

“Tha’ was a job an’ a ‘alf! S’ill ‘ave some por’s not working righ’! All I ‘ad ta do was ‘wist a live and a pla’e wire ‘ogetha and “

“That’s all very well and good.” Lena interjects, “but we need your help. Ethan here made it very clear he does not want to be sucked into the summon job, we want to protect him, he is giving ideas from his world to us. Do you want to help or do you want to claim the bounty on him? Cause if you do, we are going to have some problems right now.”

“Now tha’s more like it! I like some spice! I’ll help. Bounty was ne’er igh enuf for tha’ anyway. An’ ‘e coul’ probly throw me cross the room!” He looks to study the plans again, and sees the use of copper.

“I donna have ‘e coppa, bu I do have ‘e wire pla’es. Ya can borrow em ‘o make the wire. Never ‘ouch ‘e s’uff. Hur’s way too much.”

“Fair enough” Silvra says sighing, “I do have copper, but I hate working with it as well.”

“Res’ o’it is simple, save for the curve chunks. I do have some pure iron ‘o ma’e i’ from, but i’ ill be a bi’ ‘o make it. Complicated shape, especially tha’ circular”

“I’m footing the bill, and you are the best we have. Especially without ordering in and answering a bunch of questions”

“Fair ‘nough. I’ll ge’ ya the pla’e now, and le’y’all know when tis ready.”

“Thank you very much. This piece will be a master work when done, and may even revolutionize how we do everything, and not just because it rotates” Thallion chimes in, with a little glint in his eye, and some other emotion underneath that I cannot place.

Suiting back up, we head back to the schoolhouse and debrief.

“Well that went better than expected.” Lena starts.

“I still don’t like how we had to tell him what Ethan is. Now there are 4 that know what he is, besides him.”

“I know him well, he is a man of his word and work. He’s been working here as the main smith for over 5 years now, he knows how to keep business going, and trained well” Thallion specifies.

“Anyways, sorry Ethan, but I’m tired from translating, we will pick up the device if we need to, but hot potato is tiring”

As they start to talk amongst themselves. I still see the communication barrier as the big thing I need to conquer now. Turning to my box of supplies that Silvra gave me, I look at one of the tremorsenses, and start drawing what it looks like. Eventually, I draw the outside and note the little holes within the front plate. Turning back towards Silvra, I wave her over and point at the tremorsense and my drawing. She catches on and starts drawing the inside.

“I guess you wouldn’t have this as it is pretty useless without being able to read it,” she remarks. “It can take years to get one of these to work for you. But inside it is just 2 pieces of metal, with a piece of quartz in between. I don’t know how it works, but when touched, you can feel the sound around you.”

My eyes light up. Wait. Quartz! They know about quartz and its properties! This is not a tremorsense, this is a piezoelectric microphone!