Dell put more effort in than before, trying to hoist Reece up as fast as possible. Von worked steadily, not wanting to lose his grip, working hand over hand again, bringing Reece up little by little. Reece finally appeared, gripping the top of the ledge. With a little effort Von and Dell pulled him up and over.
“What do you got?” Dell demanded.
Reece grinned at his friends then carefully removed four silvery rods from his pouch. Despite years at the bottom of the hole, they still shone in the lamplight, glimmering with an even, perfect sheen.
“Silver?” Dell asked hopefully.
“I don’t think so,” answered Reece. “Silver tarnishes.”
“Well what is it?” he asked grabbing one of the thick rods from Reece, turning it over in his hands.
Once again Von had the answer. “They’re billets.”
“Billet’s?” Dell’s disappointment came back as fast as his excitement had. “Stock iron for making more useless tools.”
“No,” Von corrected, “not iron, fine steel.” He ran his hands over one of the rods. It was smooth and surprisingly lightweight. “From what I can tell, very high quality. There’s no blemished or rust on them at all. I’ve never seen anything like them. After years in that hole they should have had at least some rust. They’re probably fairly valuable.”
“Maybe for you,” Dell said. “I’m not a blacksmith. You can have them. The rusty old tools too. They’re worthless to Reece and me.”
“If you think that’s fair,” Von said. He knew this find wasn’t exactly a treasure chest of gold, but it was valuable none the less. He could use this material to make some quality pieces and sell them for a nice profit. Even the rusty tools could be melted down, the metal reused.
“Hang on,” Reece piped in. “These aren’t exactly worthless. Obviously they will be worth more once Von has forged them into something, but that doesn’t mean I want to come away from this empty handed.”
“What do you have in mind?” Von asked.
“How many daggers do you think you could make from this much material.”
Von shrugged. “I don’t know for sure. At least five per billet maybe six.”
“Okay, here’s an idea. You are going to be doing most of the work , so you can have the material, but you have to forge Dell and me one of those famous daggers of yours.”
Dell’s face lit up with excitement again. “Do you think you could do that? I hear Baiden get’s a pretty price for those. They say you’re one of the best.”
“I wouldn’t say the best,” Von said modestly.
“That’s not what I hear,” Reece argued, “but I wasn’t done yet. You’re still getting the better part of the deal, so I say you have to come help us with the dishes during the Harvest Celebration.”
Von chuckled. “Sounds more than fair. That is if Dell agrees to it.”
“I say two daggers each,” Dell offered. “One we can keep, one we can sell. You can do what you want with what’s left.”
Von nodded. “Sounds fair.”
“It’s agreed then,” Reece said. “A week and a half from now we’ll see you in the kitchen’s”
“Sounds good.”
“I still wish it would have been gold,” Dell mumbled.
“Me too,” Von offered, slapping his friend on the back. “Let’s go. I have some stables to clean and some horses to shoe.
Chapter Two
Von waited in a wagon near the docks for Flenn to finish conducting his business with the trade council representative. The fishing boats were out on the fjord, plying their trade, leaving just three ships moored at the pier. They were trading vessels, a pair of large triple masted schooners from the south and one longboat hailing from the Fire Islands. That was two more ships than usual, but at this time of year, so close to Harvest Celebration, additional traders were not uncommon.
Von waved to Reece and Dell, who were busy working along side the other
“What do you got?” Dell demanded.
Reece grinned at his friends then carefully removed four silvery rods from his pouch. Despite years at the bottom of the hole, they still shone in the lamplight, glimmering with an even, perfect sheen.
“Silver?” Dell asked hopefully.
“I don’t think so,” answered Reece. “Silver tarnishes.”
“Well what is it?” he asked grabbing one of the thick rods from Reece, turning it over in his hands.
Once again Von had the answer. “They’re billets.”
“Billet’s?” Dell’s disappointment came back as fast as his excitement had. “Stock iron for making more useless tools.”
“No,” Von corrected, “not iron, fine steel.” He ran his hands over one of the rods. It was smooth and surprisingly lightweight. “From what I can tell, very high quality. There’s no blemished or rust on them at all. I’ve never seen anything like them. After years in that hole they should have had at least some rust. They’re probably fairly valuable.”
“Maybe for you,” Dell said. “I’m not a blacksmith. You can have them. The rusty old tools too. They’re worthless to Reece and me.”
“If you think that’s fair,” Von said. He knew this find wasn’t exactly a treasure chest of gold, but it was valuable none the less. He could use this material to make some quality pieces and sell them for a nice profit. Even the rusty tools could be melted down, the metal reused.
“Hang on,” Reece piped in. “These aren’t exactly worthless. Obviously they will be worth more once Von has forged them into something, but that doesn’t mean I want to come away from this empty handed.”
“What do you have in mind?” Von asked.
“How many daggers do you think you could make from this much material.”
Von shrugged. “I don’t know for sure. At least five per billet maybe six.”
“Okay, here’s an idea. You are going to be doing most of the work , so you can have the material, but you have to forge Dell and me one of those famous daggers of yours.”
Dell’s face lit up with excitement again. “Do you think you could do that? I hear Baiden get’s a pretty price for those. They say you’re one of the best.”
“I wouldn’t say the best,” Von said modestly.
“That’s not what I hear,” Reece argued, “but I wasn’t done yet. You’re still getting the better part of the deal, so I say you have to come help us with the dishes during the Harvest Celebration.”
Von chuckled. “Sounds more than fair. That is if Dell agrees to it.”
“I say two daggers each,” Dell offered. “One we can keep, one we can sell. You can do what you want with what’s left.”
Von nodded. “Sounds fair.”
“It’s agreed then,” Reece said. “A week and a half from now we’ll see you in the kitchen’s”
“Sounds good.”
“I still wish it would have been gold,” Dell mumbled.
“Me too,” Von offered, slapping his friend on the back. “Let’s go. I have some stables to clean and some horses to shoe.
Chapter Two
Von waited in a wagon near the docks for Flenn to finish conducting his business with the trade council representative. The fishing boats were out on the fjord, plying their trade, leaving just three ships moored at the pier. They were trading vessels, a pair of large triple masted schooners from the south and one longboat hailing from the Fire Islands. That was two more ships than usual, but at this time of year, so close to Harvest Celebration, additional traders were not uncommon.
Von waved to Reece and Dell, who were busy working along side the other
Similar Books
Best Australian Short Stories
Douglas Stewart, Beatrice Davis
After We Fell
Anna Todd
Storykiller
Kelly Thompson
The Courtship
Catherine Coulter
The Uncrowned Queen
Posie Graeme-evans
Seven Brief Lessons on Physics
Carlo Rovelli
Rescuing Rose
Isabel Wolff
Salvatore: a Dark Mafia Romance
Natasha Knight
The Poisonous Seed
Linda Stratmann