The Dark Ability by Holmberg D.K

Author:Holmberg, D.K. [Holmberg, D.K.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ASH Publishing
Published: 2016-01-03T18:30:00+00:00

* * *

The air in the smithy felt cold compared to the mine. The light from the lanterns nearly blinded him. Rsiran’s arms shook as he clung to the lorcith, and his heart pounded, blood rushing through his ears. Nausea rolled through his stomach.

He staggered toward the forge, dropped the lorcith next to the other nugget, and leaned against the crumbling stone to steady himself, his mind racing with what he encountered.

Someone else mined at night.

That meant Sighted or someone who could sense the lorcith within the walls.

How many nights had he stayed awake, lying and listening to the steady tapping? Even when he went down into the mines on his own, walking through the darkness at night, he hadn’t been certain what it was that he had been hearing.

There was no doubt now.

Rsiran looked at the two nuggets he had. Enough to get started. More than enough to forge a knife or longer blade. But he would need more if he was going to make Brusus’s goal worthwhile, much more if he was going to actually help Brusus pay off his debt.

How could he return to the mines now? Whoever was there had to have noticed him; had stopped hammering when he pulled the lorcith from the stone. What if it was the same person who had attacked him?

To settle his mind, he set to working. The coals had already been aligned, and he used the flint and steel that Brusus had provided to build the flames. His hands shook as he started, the trembling making his work difficult, but he somehow managed to strike a fire, only injuring his hands a few times in the process.

Stoking the flames helped calm him. This was familiar. Even though the smithy was different, the forge and bellows not the same as he knew, the work was the same. Once the coals were glowing comfortably, he briefly Slid outside to ensure it vented. Only after he was convinced that smoke rose freely from the chimney did he set to work.

He had a hammer; though it was not ideal, the small mining hammer could be used to shape the lorcith. Setting the smaller lorcith nugget atop the coals—the one reclaimed from the forest—he let the heat consume it. He stared at the glowing coals, letting his mind wander as the lorcith heated. When it began glowing red, he reached for tongs… but realized he didn’t have any.

In his need for familiarity, the need for something to calm him, he had forgotten he didn’t have any other tools. Now that the lorcith was already glowing, he had no choice but to shape it, otherwise it would cool and become useless, no more changeable than the bowl Brusus had in the tavern.

He looked around the open smithy for anything that could be used for tongs.

The forge and bellows consumed one wall. Piles of debris—cracked and crumbling stone from the walls and the forge—scattered along the others. He considered somehow using the lanterns, perhaps pulling off the handles to twist into makeshift tongs, but they would not be thick enough to support the weight.

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