Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

Shaun hurriedly brought the paper and pen to his father-in-law, Winters. On his desk lay a thick stack of parchment, covered with handwriting. There were also many sketches and crumpled draft papers.

"You go to Forging Village and call Gangchalov over for me," the old man scrawled messily on the paper. "He led the crew that dug the slanted shaft back then, he knows the workings of the mine vein best!"

Shaun's body trembled, and he swallowed before saying in a low voice, "Old Gangchalov is dead. He died the year before last."

Old Poltan's pen paused, and he asked blankly, "How did he die?"

"Of old age," Shaun ventured. "The year before last, Mary and I told you, it was the day before Ascension Day. At that time, you were writing your book and didn't want us to disturb you..."

"What about Paulo? Paulo Vinius?" Old Poltan's lips trembled as he asked, "Is he still alive?"

"Old Mr. Vinius also died, drunk to death," Shaun answered. "His Forge is now run by his youngest son."

"They're all dead! We're all of age!" Old Poltan first cried and then laughed, "I'm going to die soon too! So I can't waste any more time!"

Struggling at his desk, old Poltan eventually found a map and handed it to the new lord of Iron Peak County, "Your Excellency, this is a map from twenty-eight years ago. I don't know if it's accurate anymore. You go to Forging Village and just find any old blacksmith. With this map, have him lead you to the mine."

"Rest assured," Winters smiled as he took the map. "As long as there's a map, I can find the way."

Old Poltan said regretfully, "It's a pity I'm crippled, or I would certainly go with you! Being stuck in this broken bed, I'll just stay in Revodan and recruit soldiers and buy horses for you. Cough, I dream of the day when the furnaces of Iron Peak Mine are smoking again! Please, let me see that day before I die! With that, I'll die with no regrets."

"Speaking of furnaces," Winters laughed out loud. "I've brought something new to Iron Peak County, something that can completely change the Iron Peak Mine, and it's also my ace in the hole!"

Shaun's eyes widened, while old Poltan was also tantalized.

"It's him," Winters patted Carlos's shoulder.

"Him?" Shaun was puzzled.

Winters said emphatically, "This lad—he knows how to smelt iron with a blast furnace!"

"Him? He knows?" Shaun was astounded, having thought the young boy beside the bailiff was just an attendant: "Such a young master craftsman?"

"Having a blast furnace would of course be best." Old Poltan was somewhat disappointed, clearly not believing that a boy, not yet fully grown, knew about blast furnaces: "But it's okay if we don't have one."

The old man sighed, reminiscing about the old days, "Back then we all used the traditional bloomery to smelt iron. It's also why the iron from Iron Peak County couldn't beat the steel bars from the Steel Fortress—the iron from the Fortress is smelted with blast furnaces, saving time and effort. I've also tried to construct a blast furnace, but didn't succeed."

"It's okay." Winters was all smiles. "We'll just have to try, right?"

Carlos was on the verge of tears.

As they were parting, Winters asked old Poltan, "I heard you mention earlier that you've tried to smelt iron with coal?"

"The coal is toxic, smelting iron with coal, good iron ore was all ruined," Poltan sighed again. "So I've always wanted to remove the toxicity of the coal, but I didn't succeed."

"Where did the coal come from?" Winters asked with a slight lift of his eyebrow: "Does coal come from the neighboring county?"

"Iron Peak County has coal," Poltan replied as if it were obvious. "It's in Shizhen. Shizhen is really Coal Town, but it's wet coal, we need to drain it, and mining is a bit difficult."

With a soft gasp, Winters bowed in farewell to the old man.

Shaun escorted the bailiff all the way to the door. Winters casually asked Shaun, "Mr. Poltan is writing a book?"

"Mhm, he's writing a book about the life of a blacksmith," Shaun nodded.

"When I return, I'll make a stand for Mr. Poltan so he can write more easily," Winters thought for a moment and smiled. "I'll also need to make a recliner, so the old man can lie down more comfortably."

"I dare not, I dare not." Shaun hastily declined.

"When it's done, I'll bring it over to you." Winters instructed further, "Hire a servant to massage the elder's limbs every day. I too once lay in bed for a long time due to an injury, and it was only because someone massaged my limbs that my muscles did not atrophy."

"Massaging the limbs is useful?" Shaun heard of this therapy for the first time.

"It is."

"I will arrange it right away." Shaun said with gratitude, bowing his head, "Thank you."

Winters patted Shaun on the arm and left with Carlos.

While riding on the road, Winters suddenly spoke up, "Carlos!"

"Here!" Carlos jerked to attention, "Yes!"

"I've talked you up quite a bit," Winters said with a benevolent smile, "Don't let me down."

Carlos also smiled, an even uglier smile than if he had cried.

"Alright, I'm just teasing you. I know what you're made of without weighing you," Winters tapped the young blacksmith's shoulder with his riding crop, "Just do your best."

Carlos nodded furiously, then suddenly remembered something and hurriedly said, "To make a high furnace, clay kilns won't do, we need fire-resistant bricks. You have to find me a brickmaker too."

"Another brickmaker? Revodan only has stone masons, where am I supposed to find you a brickmaker? If there's no brickmaker, you'll have to make the bricks yourself!"

"I don't know how..."

"It's settled then."

"Yes." Carlos had just climbed out of a deep valley, only to fall back in.

Memories seemed linked by threads of silk, drawing Winters's thoughts back to several months ago.

Contemplating, Winters said to the young blacksmith, "I do actually have a pair of brickmakers."

"Where?" Carlos was immediately excited.

"You know them."

"Who?"

"The kiln worker Shaun, and his brother Shaun Ping," Winters chuckled softly, "The brothers who helped old Misha and you back in Wolf Town."

"They're brickmakers?" Carlos exclaimed in surprise, "Weren't they just bellows-pullers?"

"I'll send for them right away!"

Seeing that the last obstacle to building the high furnace was removed, Carlos looked glum again.

"No." Winters laughed heartily, "I want to go back to Wolf Town myself!"

"You don't need to go just to fetch a brickmaker," Carlos said frankly, "I'll go fetch them."

"I'm not only going to fetch the Shaun brothers." The smile on Winters's face grew wider, "I am also going to fetch a priest!"