A month before my second birthday mom and dad started to prepare to go somewhere. Dad just looked at me and said.
"Get ready Sal were going to the village to see an old friend of mine">Jonathan
I quickly changed from my pajamas into something more appropriate and and went after my them. Outside dad was preparing a handcart and mom was loading most of our broken tools. And off we go. It didn't take long to start seeing the village it was about one kilometer from our house. We didn't enter the village we just went around it and went off to a dirt road. Son in front of was a watermill of sorts, with a big chimney with a lot of smoke and metal hitting sounds. It didn't take an interdimentional genius to figure it out. It was the village smith located right next to a 5 meeter wide and about i don't know meeter deep. As we moved around the smithy to the left i saw that it was an open section where the smithing was done. As soon as my family got close the smithy some uneasiness came over mom and dad.
Over next to a stout looking big long bearded 2 heads bellow dad smith of about 50 years was a tall blond with better looking clothes than my parents and air of dignity around her.
I'm guessing money. Sadly i don't win a first rate cart with a thoroughbred donkey. Juts a mental pat on the back. As we got closer they stopped their conversation and looked in our direction. The smith looked happy to see us but the moment he glanced at the blond a bit of worry came over his face.This is one of those moments where i have a bad feeling. As i looked at her i saw disgust in her expression for a moment and then it changed to a slight frown, thoufh she still has contempt in her eyes no idea why. Well i found out soon enough.
"Jack why are these thi..people here?">blond
I guess the smith is jack. And I'm pretty sure she almost said 'things' which i don't like. Terrible first impression lady. Now that a look at her i would say six out of ten and mom is a nine by the by. And she looks about mhmmm late twenties? anyway im bad at judging womens age.
"Sarah!!Behave at my home, here all who want to do trade are welcome.">Jack
"So be it. I have work elsewhere and will be back at a later date">Sarah
Her high and mighty attitude got bigger that my dads muscles and thats quite something. As she went passed us she took a glance at me filled with hatred. The fu..? Was my only thought as mom pulled me towards herself and dad stepped between the blond and mom. I could feel dad getting angry, so i took the pinky on one of his hands to get his attention and when he looked at me all i did was shake my head in disapproval. That woman wasn't worth wasting your emotions for. As soon she was out of sight every one calmed down and the smith smiled brightly kinda like dad and said...
"John nice to see you old coot">Jack
As he said those words he got out of the forge and went to give dad a manly hug. I guess they are good friends.Then he took a look at my mom and noded.
"Clair I'm sorry for Sarahs behavior just now. Don't worry she won't do anything to you as long as you are here. And I'm guessing you are junior huh?">Jack
My mom relaxed smiled at his reassuring words, then pushed me in front of her for him to get a better look. He looked at me for a bit smiled and made my hair a mess with his dirty hands. Though it felt weird but nice. I just smiled back at him.
"So whats your name rascal?">Jack
"Salion!">I replied with dignity and confidence which i guess caught him of guard but he recovered quickly laughed and went to the cart to inspect it.
"Damn it John don't break the tools so thoroughly. Who do you think has to fix them? Every year you do the same. I fix them and you wreck them. I guess you at least got all the job done?">Jack.
"buhaha..Don't sweat the small details. And I planted the crops for this year. And since we had time we decided to come. All of us!!">Jonathan
"Good. Come inside for a chat I'll introduce you to my son.'He said to me and screamed from the bottom of his lungs at someone' OI DONT SLACK OFF, AND WE HAVE GUEST SO YOU BETTER IMPRESS!!!">Jack
As went closer hidden behind the curve of the forge was a small anvil with a boy of about 12-13 years old making nails or something.
"Salion meet ma boy Sam he is currently my apprentice so expect some of the instruments will be a bit shoddier than usual...hahaha.">Jack teased his son
"Dad of course i will. All you make me do is nails day in and day out 'He told his father and put down his tools taking his thick gloves off and giving me his hand for a handshake' Nice to meet you Salion">Sam said with a smile
The only thing i did was respond happily with a cheerful "hum"
"Miss Bloodsteel its a pleasure to see you again." Sam said turning towards my mother with a smile and kissed her hand.....i feel like dropping a hammer on someone.
And why i never heard that my family name till now? Gotta be a reason bloodsteel so bad-ass and ominous and superstitious. That explains a bit of hate but not to the level of blondy. Gotta be more that that. Speaking of hammering a few minutes passed and now Jack and dad were enjoying a talk while Sam was trying to act cool and mature in front of mom with a bit of carnal passion in his eyes. Well quite understandable. My mom is a beauty with no match so far, and he is in his early teens all those hormones and stuff. So I better cool his head off before dad decides to go on a man hunt and the boy wont even know what hit him. Though for a teen he got courage to flirt with a mans wife 3 meters in front him.
Though he hides behind his dads back quite well my dad is a hunter and that doesn't work. I look at dad and give him a wink and he and Jack switch to a more simple conversation in order to watch what I'm about to do. I look around and right next to Sam is his worktable with poorly place hammers placed on their heads. Some will topple with a slight push but the others might be problematic i guess ill play domino for now. I look around and spot a nail nearby a bit big but will work.
At home when i was bored i would throw stones to increase my eye-hand coordination. When dad found out he made me trow at a target and depending on the result he would make the rest of training lighter or harsher. So yeah got quite a bit of exp for trowing stuff.
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I pick the nail and toss it at the handle of the biggest hammer. Thankfully Romeo is too busy to notice but my mom does and smiles with a spark of mischief in her eyes which is rare. All of us except for Sam watch as the hammers one by one fall sideways knocking each other off balance and at the edge of the table a small hammer topples over falling head first on Sams foot.
"Ahhh..ouch..why the hell did the hammer fell on my foot">Sam murmured to himself after the scream of pain.
He looked around and saw me with my back turned to him moving my feet from the toes to the heel making me move up and down in rhythm, and whistling the sond that dad does. I am the reincarnation if innocence and purity.
Sam wasn't an idiot so he connected the dots and managed to say...
"You little...">Sam
Before everyone bursts into laughter making Sam realize his mistake and blushes. I hope he wont repeat it. Dad is quite a nice guy understanding I'm guessing it isn't the first time Sam tries to flirt with mom. But its the first time I'm here and i aint so nice. Jack walked over to the table and picked the nail up, its head was bent in a odd way....either its a very flimsy nail or I'm stronger than i look.
"Boy do you know that that nail is a memento from when Sam made his first batch of nails. I hope you can fix it">Jack
He had a playful glint. I guess people who want to be read like an open book do so, while others hide it well. And i really wanna try blacksmithing it one of my back up plans if the whole spellblade plan doesn't plan out well.I took the nail from his hand went over to Sam. Looked up at him and pointed the hammer next to his sore foot. He moved aside and picked it up before giving it to me when i tried to pick take it he didn't let go and when our gazes met i saw a challenge in his eyes. All i did was smile accepting it. The hammer was about the size of my middle and index finger put together so it was just about right I'm guessing it is used for decorations or delicate work. I also took his pair of gloves and a pair of tongs and went to work. I don't know much about smithing but other than the metal must be at thee right temperature and that it takes a lot of time and effort to master.
Luckily this nail is from iron judging by the color of the rust. ALL HAIL CHEMISTRY CLASS. Now i need a bit of aluminum powder and ill have my favorite concoction....focus don't go to cloud seven again. I walked to the forge which was still burning hot and placed the nail waited till it turned slightly white and took it out. Placing the nail sideways on the Sam's anvil i slowly hammered the rust one the head away since it isn't pure iron anymore it peeled of quickly and i began hammering the head into a circular shape and i overshot it a bit it looked like an egg.
So i reheated it and checked for rust on the top. I saw none so i folded the protrusion shortening the pointy side and hammered the head it back in to a somewhat proper circle. Judging from the sun it took about and hour and a half? Dunno but it was fun. I cooled the nail in the water basin and gave it to Jack. And boy did he have a big smile on his face.
"Boy where did you learn to do that. I expected you to ruin the nail. And even when you fixed it when you didn't like it so you remade half of the head. Not bad for a two year old">Jack
Sam stepped forward and messed my hair up in a friendly manner
"Not bad brat once you grow up ill let you be my apprentice">Sam
I have the really big urge to tease him so i rolled my eyes, and everyone just laughed including Sam. It was mid day so we had plenty of time left i went with same to his anvil where he showed me some stuff i could do better after all he is the self proclaimed "NAIL Expert" Once i heard that I laughed like crazy as the lesson continued it was quite interesting since I'm only two i can only use the smalled hammer used for fine work but it was enough to make some small nails. Dad mom and Jack kept babbling the whole day. The only disturbance were some villagers who obviously came for the smith but the moment they saw mom and dad the made a disgusted face and went on their fucking way. Damn whats wrong with these people. They are rude for no reason. And I'm guessing my family name has something to do with it. Probably Sam and Rick don't give a damn. As it was getting late Sam was packing his tools away and others conversation seemed to come to and end so a came to them and heard just the last bit of it.
"So is he a ... you know">Jack
"Yup">Jonathan
"Does he actually know?">Jack
"Dunno, its like sometimes he acts his age, others he shows great knowlidge and wisdom with his actions. You saw it too right?">Jonathan
"When will you tell him?">Jack
"In about a month on his birthday">Jonathan
"Oh hes birthday is coming soon, why didn't you tell me!!">Jack
As i came closer they noticed me and Jack smiled and said..
"Boy i heard your birthday is up soon so how about a gift from me? Just don't ask for a mini forge cuz i ain't giving you one, Your dad is a valuable customer and ill lose my smithy without him...hahahaha">Jack
Not a bad idea but not yet. Besides if i want to study blacksmithing i can do it here, its like a 20 min walk from home no biggie. And i need something to keep my hands busy. A weapon is a no no, i can craft simple things but it will be bad to train in a martial art before puberty especially under dad and i barely handle the current regiment i need something to help me relax something zen....hmmmm...oh i got it.
"A wood carving knife!!">Salion
"Buahaha what will you do with it my boy?">Jonathan
I looked him with my most 'Are you and idiot expression i could pull off' which earned the group another chuckle.
"Ok boy ill make you one that will last a lifetime. For you ill make it to the best of my ability">Jack
With that we said our goodbyes and went home i was getting exited about my second birthday.
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Here you go for the technical geeks the previous one was 6k sumbols and this one is 12.5k