"Do you remember how sound-cancelling formations work?" Len asked.

Rick tilted his hand in a so-so motion.

"Well, you've got the two methods. You've got the air disruption and then the vibration."

"Oh," came Rick’s response, accompanied by a glance back. “The air disruption creates odd winds that distort the voices and the vibration one creates a field that draws in the vibration channelling them into the ground right?”

“Yes, so instead of diverting the vibration away, we’re going to be capturing it within the cone inside the hammer," Len said. “Think of it like a mana gathering formation or cultivation pad, but we’re capturing vibrations instead of mana.”

“And like cultivation pads and mana gathering formations you can use that to augment your spells to make them stronger.” Rick nodded. “One sec.” Rick picked up his tongs, grabbing an ingot out of the hearth, shaking the coals off of it, before bringing it over to the anvil.

Len handed him his forging hammer, Rick giving him a nod of thanks, before tapping it on the anvil to set himself. His strikes made the ingot hum as Rick shaped it before Len's very eyes.

It was like a cheat as he hammered the ingot transforming it from a rugged blob into a shaped block in just a few blows. "That'll do nicely.”

He put his hammer to the side, turning with the red iron towards Len.

"Coming in hot," Rick said, tossing the half-finished hammerhead over to Len. With his free hand, he drew all the heat from the steel, before Len caught it.

Len gave Rick a nonplussed look, still holding the half-finished hammerhead. This was not the first time he’d done that particular trick.

"Still got it," Rick said, half-dancing over to the hearth. He injected the heat he'd captured back into the steel. Humming an unknown song to himself, he used his tongs to grab the second piece.

Len shook his head and carried the hammerhead over to the plans Rick had drawn out.

Having the hammer split in two certainly made it easier to hide his enchantment. Len checked his positioning, occasionally closing his eyes to visualize the enchantment in three dimensions as the two halves would be joined together. He couldn't simply replicate one side onto the other; it had to be a singular, seamless whole.

He took out two pieces of paper from his messenger bag, laying them side by side, and drew two pencils - one regular and one red.

He put his mana blade enchanted chisel and knife to the side.

Len picked up the pencils with his will, running his eye over the first plan. They blurred across the paper, replicating the hammer’s dimensions now filled with the reinforcement and vibration gathering enchantments.

The cone changed shape and size in his plans, then the final groove channel that would run through the hammer’s head.

His pencils drew away from the pages, a blueprint infront of him.

It ought to work nicely.

Holding up the red blueprint, he created a mana blueprint that lifted seemingly away from the page. He pushed the page to the side, grabbing the hammer head and putting it in his workspace.

Len’s blueprint laid down ontop of it, he drew away the metal underneath, ingraining the blueprint.

With a flicker of will, he picked up his knife and chisel, moving his mana blueprint to the side. The chisel and knife dug into the hammerhead, carving away steel.

Len’s cuts were exact creating a near mirror smooth finish behind.

Rick finished the second head quickly.

Len passed him the second blueprint without looking away from his hammer head.

Rick took it with a grunt, studying it before he moved further down the workbench, taking a few minutes.

He held the blueprint on the hammer’s interior face, taking out his own forging hammer and tapping it against the metal.

He hit the hammerhead several times before removing the page, disturbing dust underneath.

He blew on the hammerhead, revealing the half-finished runes and lines beneath. He grabbed another un-enchanted chisel and started his work, utilizing the power of his tempered body to cut into the steel.

Len drew his chisel and knife to either side, grabbing his hammer head and tapping it on the bench, clearing out the steel shavings before laying the blueprint over it once more.

A few parts were uneven the blueprint showing through in places and not in others.

He smoothed out the last parts of the blueprint, adding in the runes, lines and further hidden parts of enchantment throughout the head.

Len picked up his drawn blueprint, checked the mana created version and glanced between them and the hammer. "Perfect."

The knife and chisel made their last cuts and moved over to Rick, dropping next to his work space.

“Thanks,” Rick put his un-enchanted chisel to the side, his will grabbing the two enchanted tools and bringing them down upon the hammer.

Rick might not be as skilled in enchantments but he was more than capable of carving up a piece of metal. His speed was even greater than Len’s.

"Finished with this one," Rick said, pushing the second half over to Len before turning for the hearth. "I'll leave that for you to check and make sure," Rick said, moving over to the hearth. “While I hammer out the handle.”

"Alright," Len said, focused on his work.

Rick drew out another ingot with his tongs to start hammering it into shape as Len checked the plans against the hammer heads a couple of times, adding the final touches.

Rick had even added in the hidden channels and runes deep within the metal.

“Looking good to me,” Len said, moving down the workbench to where Rick’s chisels were laid out, he picked out the most used one and started sharpening it.

“Just nearly done with this, then we can meld it all together,” Rick said.

Len put down the newly sharpened chisel, drawing a blueprint up from his own chisel, moving some parts around before laying it down on Rick’s.

He etched it, and used his knife’s mana blade to carve out the required enchantments.

“You ready?” Rick asked.

“Just a minute,” Len said, his knife finishing off the last few carvings running a thread of mana through the enchantments and lines.

Rick moved the knurled rod he’d created that would be the hammer’s grip over to the hearth, burying it in the hot coals.

He dropped the knife back down, checking the chisel by sending mana through it. A new mana blade flare to life.

“There, now you’ve got one,” Len said.

“Been wondering what to do with the extra gear,” Rick said.

“What extra gear?”

“Steel and tools that we don’t use. Won’t be worth taking them on the expedition, more weight and more space taken up.”

“Bury them out in the forest. Doubt there’s many that want to head out that way by the rumors. A mana beast isn’t going to dig up a bunch of wood and metal either.”

“Some of them will,” Rick said. “Though that’s a good idea actually.” He waved at the two hammer head sections. "Can you push those two together?”

Len grabbed the two halves of the hammerhead, placing them together on the workbench. They fit together near perfectly.

"Keep pinching them together while I put this on there.” Rick drew the grip out of the hearth, picking up his hammer.

It radiated heat, making sweat spread out on Len’s face as he moved as far back as possible, holding the head together with his forefingers and thumbs.

Rick brought the still, red-hot, knurled grip, in the middle of the hammerhead, right along their near invisible seam.

Holding it in place with his tongs, Rick hammered the base of the grip.

Heat drained through the grip into the hammerheads as all three parts fused together. The grip sunk down on the first two hits, the space between grip and hammer disappearing.

"All right, that should do it." Rick released his tongs and stepped back. There was no heat coming from the newly made hammer.

Len ran a thumb over the face of it. The thin grooves made on either side had now become cylindrical holes running through the cone at its heart. He ran his fingernail over where the two parts of the hammer head had pressed together.

There wasn’t a single break between them now. He stepped back, admiring it.

Rick placed down his tools to the side, reaching out for the hammer's shaft. Gripping it, he picked it up, turning it over. He held the hammer up to his ear, flicking the head, slowly a smile spread over his face. He glanced over to Len, a small gust of wind hitting Len through the rear hole of the hammer.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"So I'm guessing it works," Len said.

"That she does, nicely," Rick grinned.

"Okay, perfect." Len pressed his hands to his lower back, stretching it. "I guess all we got left to do now are the alarm formations.

“Fair enough. If you could add Mana blade to these chisels as well, then I won't have to steal yours." Rick, pushed two out of his collection as he slipped the handle of the hammer into a loop on his belt.

"Hey, lads," Darnell said, gathering their attention as he rapped on the side of the workbench.

He glanced around the forge looked confused. After all, it had barely reached midday and they had already hammered their way through the remaining two sets of armor as well as a brand-new hammer. No small task.

"What's up?" Rick asked.

"Got that leather you were talking about the other day. Timothy has it up front."

"Ah, thanks. Cheers, dude," Rick said. Darnell gave him a nod and headed back to his smith, to his forge.

"Len, you want to grab the leather and start putting that on the armor? I'll get started on making up more of the enchantment blanks," Rick said.

“Easy enough,” Len agreed.

"Nice." Rick drew out his new hammer, swinging it in his hand.

Len shook his head. It was always nice being able to work with a new tool.

Rick grabbed up more steel ingots, introducing them into the hearth's coals. “When you're up at the front, make sure you get a scabbard for your sword as well," Rick said.

"Oh, true, good idea." Len grabbed his sword, holding it pointed down towards the floor, making sure he wouldn't catch anyone on his way to the front.

He opened the door to the store, finding Timothy serving another customer, selling several nails. He packaged them up, trading cash, and sent him on his way.

"What can I help you with, sir?" Timothy asked Len.

"Looking for leather straps, if you got them?" Len asked.

"We've got several different kinds, depends on your needs. Looking for hard, soft, waterproof?" Timothy moved to the side, picking out a box. Upon opening it, he showed several different lengths, colors, and types of leather inside.

Len gestured to it. "May I?"

"Certainly, go right ahead," Timothy said, stepping away from the box. Len put the sword to the side, picking up the different pieces of leather, rubbing them between his fingers and thumb. "Looking for something strong, waterproof if possible. Also with good strength."

He found a leather, pressing it between his fingers, pinching it to test. That'll do. He picked out a length, about two centimeters wide and stained black.

Using his wingspan as a measurement, he pulled the leather out, checking the distance before doing it another two times.

Should be more than enough for what we need, as well as extras for repairs. Good, treated leather hide was never something to be found on the move.

“How much would this cost?” Len held up the section he wanted to have.

“Let me just check," Timothy drew out a measuring tape, going from where Len pinched the leather to the very end. "That will be thirty-seven coppers," Timothy said.

"All right, that works with me." Timothy nodded, grabbing a pair of shears and cutting where Len was still holding the leather.

"And your scabbards?" Len asked, rolling it away.

"Just over here, sir.” Timothy moved down the counter. “This one right here." He pulled out a rack holding scabbards.

"Let's see." Timothy squinted at the sword. Len picked it up and held it out, making it easier to see.

"Thank you," Timothy said, rifling through the scabbards before picking out three different kinds and putting them on the counter.

Len put the sword against the outside of the scabbard, making sure that it would fit. One of them didn't. The other two looked good.

One was simple and basic, made of simple wood and hide. The other was too, but it had been treated. Len slipped it into the treated version.

It was a snug fit, but over time it would start opening up with repetitive draws. He drew the blade out and slid it back in a few more times.

"Yeah, this one will do," he said.

"Alright, that'll be 65 coppers," Timothy said.

"Alright, I'll add that to the leather as well then." Len dug into his coin purse and brought out the cash, dropping it on the counter.

"Thank you, sir," Timothy said, sweeping the cash towards him and opening up the cash box. Len wrapped the leather around his hand and elbow before heading back into the smithy. Rick was still pounding on his steel ingots, having used magic to speed up the heating process.

He was like a machine, taking the ingots straight from the hearth and placing them on the anvil. Within just a few strikes, he flattened them down into perfectly formed sheets. He would then draw the heat from them, throwing them onto the workbench, and injecting the heat into his next ingot to repeat the process. Len put the leather strap to the side, instead taking out his mana blade to cut the sheets into enchantment blanks.

As he caught up, Rick finished first, placing the last sheet on the workbench. "Alright, I'll get started on adding the straps to the armor," Rick said.

"Gotcha," Len replied.

Rick stored his gear and collected up the leather straps, taking it to the other workbench where they stacked the armor.

Len continued to cut the steel sheets into shape. He finished up quickly, stacking all but one of the blanks, leaving it on the bench infront of himself.

“Alarm formation," Len said. He created a blueprint, checked it and laid it over the blank, etching out the plan.

Alarm enchantments came in two main varieties. Singular enchantments or a linked formation.

Most preferred to do alarm formations over alarm enchantments for the simple fact that alarm formations could be placed in different positions, compared to an alarm enchantment that would radiate outwards from a single point.

With the formation there was also usually a master alarm enchantment and then the alarm markers. One could carry this with them, having it make a noise, vibrate, change temperature in alert.

One could do this with a regular alarm enchantment though it was best to have an audible signal.

Alarm formations were one of the most purchased products of Len’s after cultivation pads and growing formations.

Len took out his knife again, cutting off two small pieces no longer than his finger from the enchantment blank. Using a spell, he compressed the steel to create eyelets at one end of each.

"Hey, can you cut me two leather pieces for a necklace?" Len asked over his shoulder.

"Master alarm enchantment necklaces?"

"That's what I'm thinking." Len said as he formed a blueprint and used it to etch one then the other finger length blanks.

"Can do," Rick affirmed.

Len’s chisel and blade ran across the surface of the first blank, carving in the enchantment.

He checked it and then repeated the process on the second.

"There you are," Rick said, handing him two thin strips of leather. Len accepted them, threading them through the eyelets of the two master alarm enchantments, turning them into necklaces.

A blueprint for the alarm markers etched its way into the metal and Len carved it deeper with his tools.

The alarm markers would linked to one another, like the mana gathering markers had. The difference was that anything passing between the markers would then trigger the master alarm enchantment.

He sunk into his work, stealing the chisel he’d added a mana blade to, the three enchanted tools worked in concert. He’d put down a blank, pick up the last and stack it to put down a third and repeated till he was left with two sets of alarm formations.

Each had one master alarm enchantment and four secondaries. Len stacked them together and tucked them into his messenger bag.

He turned his attention on the remaining blanks, creating stacks of ten and adding them to his bag till it was bulging.

Rick grabbed up a couple more pieces of armor from Len's workbench.

Len did up the straps checking the bag’s weight, leaning it against the back of the workbench.

He moved down to Rick’s tools, checking the different chisels. First, he sharpened them to a razor's edge, before copying his own enchantments from his chisel to theirs.

He used the three tools, carving through the chisels faster than he could sharpen the next.

Once complete, he sent a thread of mana into each, conjuring a mana blade and putting them to the side.

“You done?” Rick asked.

“Yeah,” Len turned over.

Rick had leg and arm bracers on, the helmets and body armor infront of him. Rick stopped threading leather through a breast and backplate, picking up a bracer and tossing it over. “Give that a go.”

Rick had threaded leather through the eyelets. Slipping his arm into the bracer, Len tightened the straps. He twisted his arm, testing the fit. It was good - not loose, but not so tight as to cut off circulation. He moved it around on his arm. It had some give, but it would work well.

I can feel the mana regeneration kicking in. The faint fatigue from enchanting washed away.

Rick passed him the second, Len pulled it on quickly as Rick turned around, grabbing leg bracers and holding them out.

Len pulled on one then the second. "It's not much, but it's starting to fill up my core already."

“Good thing we tempered our bodies before.” Rick held out a length of leather, backplate and chestplate.

“Got the capacity.” Len agreed, taking it all.

They worked quickly and efficiently, adding the last straps.

Two went through the eyelets on the shoulders. Another down the side along the ribs, holding the plates together.

Rick finished first, they got looks as people walked down the path to the rear of the smithy. Snickering and laughter following.

They were too damn old to care what someone thought about the way he looked. Not even the craziest thing I’ve done. Barely touched the c-list.

“Gimme a hand will you?” Rick asked. “Right shoulder is too tight.”

Len undid the strap, releasing it slightly.

Rick moved about. “Lil more?”

Len did so to more movement.

“Right on the silver,” Rick said.

Len cut the excess of the strap off and used a healing spell on the leather, the skin fused together as one whole. He hit Rick on the shoulder with his fist. “Good to go.”

“Thanks, lets get yours fitted.” Rick said.

Len pulled his on, they adjusted his shoulders. The sides were done up with ties. He left one side loose and undone, the other with the leather healed together.

Making it quicker to don and remove the armor. All he'd need to do was slip his arms up through the plates into the shoulder holes, then tug down the straps along his right side, drawing them up and tucking them back in to keep them secure, ready for a fight.

I doubt there will be much time I'm out of this thing for the next couple of days. Len thought, shifting around in it, testing and adjusting where the weight fell. He considered all the possible ways it could chafe, rub, and create issues on a long march and with prolonged usage.

“I was going to enchant the blankets, two waterproof one temperature regulating. Could cut a hole in it and use it as an underlayer.”

“Extra padding and not sweating my balls off, count me in,” Rick gave him thumbs up, walking over to his helmet, threading straps through it.

Len turned his attention to his own simple helmet, checking it over. Cutting and healing the leather together he fashioned a chin strap that went under his ear, tracing along his jaw to his chin, adding extra padding to his chin area to ensure it would cause less rubbing and irritation throughout their expedition.

He checked his handiwork before donning the helmet, twisting his head around and tightening the straps a few more times.

"Okay, well, what do we have left to do?" Rick asked, looking around the forge. There were the tools, a few steel ingots. The rest they were wearing, was in his messenger bag or were the swords on the side.

"I don't think anything," Len said.

"Okay, well," Rick tapped on the workbench in a staccato rhythm and leaned over to pick up a crate that had held the steel. "Guess we get some food and then temper until, cultivate and temper for tomorrow?"

Rick put it on the counter and started putting tools inside.

"Yeah, I think it should be about mid-afternoon now," Len said, taking his chest and backplate off.

"What are you taking your armor off for?" Rick asked, adding in the last of the steel ingots.

"Have you seen anyone else wearing armor like this, wandering around the street?"

"Ah, no, not really," Rick scratched his head. "It's kind of weird, actually, seeing people in regular clothes, I guess."

"I know, but unfortunately, it might be all too soon that they need something like this." Len rapped his knuckle on the armor.

Rick grunted undoing his armor.

"How's the hammer treating you?" Len asked.

"Oh, she's a dream," Rick said, patting the weapon on his right hip, his saber on the left. "Stores up vibration really easily, can juice it right into the items I'm crafting. I swear, it's probably made my crafting two times faster, at least. Can't wait to see how it is in a fight. Hey, do you want to throw the rest of this strap into your bag as well?" Rick gestured at the remaining leather.

"Yeah, it should be good to fit it in.” Len grabbed it, the bag was packed near to the brim, he was barely able to get the leather inside underneath the flap and strap the bag closed.

"Alrighty then," Rick said, taking one last look around.

Len added his sword to his left hip to draw with his right hand. A quick tug to check he picked up his messenger bag, looping it over his shoulder.

He put the helmet inside the breastplate and backplate, holding it like a package under his arm.

"Okay, good to go," he said, looking over to Rick, who'd done much the same with his own gear, extra armor under one arm and crate of gear in the other.

“Great, I’m hungry.” Rick led the way towards the shop.

"Hey Darnell, thank you for letting us use your forge there. Appreciate it," Rick said as they passed his forge.

"No worries, lad. If you ever have any questions, just let me know. I was impressed with how fast you were able to turn that steel into sheets," Darnell said.

"See you around," Rick said.

"You too, Rick." He waved before turning back to his work.

Rick and Len headed out of the Coiled Serpent, stepping out onto the street. "Well, should we go drop this off? Hit the baths, then find some food?" Rick asked.

"Sounds like a plan to me," Len replied. He knew that all too soon they'd be amongst the wilds where creature comforts would become a thing of daydream and imagination.