by Jamie Davis
She had to put a stop to this. “Sterling, does it really matter who I am. Even if I were some princess out of a fairy tale, it doesn’t change anything about how much I enjoyed staying with you and your family.”
“That sounds like you’re admitting to being the Lost Princess. Are you really her?”
Cari sighed. This was getting to be a routine thing it seemed. Despite her best efforts to deny it even to herself, the truth still found its way to the surface.
“Yes, Sterling. It’s all true. My father is Hal Dix. My mother is Mona. But to you, I’m still the same Cari you knew before. I don’t want any of that other stuff to change anything between your family and me.”
“Change what?” Heath asked, entering the shop, wiping his hands on a dirty white towel he had draped over his shoulder.”
Maisy pointed at Cari. “She just admitted to being the Lost Princess, Master Heath. Sterling didn’t believe me until I proved it to him.”
Heath smiled. “Sterling, you needed her to convince you after all you’ve seen Cari do with your own eyes?”
Sterling stared at his father, his mouth hanging open.
“Close your mouth, boy. You’ll catch flies. Your grandmother put it together first, soon after the first story-teller came to Morton Creek with the tales of the way she rescued the prince. Your mother and I thought about it and decided we agreed with Granny’s theory. The three of us also decided, Granny along with your mother and I, that since Cari didn’t want to make a big deal about it, we wouldn’t either. Everyone needs a place to call home. We decided to be that sort of place for Cari. We owe her that much, right?”
“I don’t suppose I can swear you all to secrecy, can I?” Cari asked.
“It’s not really a secret anymore, is it?” Heath remarked.
“No, I suppose not. I just don’t like all the attention.”
Heath threw his head back and laughed aloud. “You should stop saving princes and rescuing people from raiders and slavers, then. Come on into my office. We’ll talk about the new sword you need. I have some ideas, too, now that you’re here. Sterling, you and Maisy close up the shop and then you can walk her home.”
Sterling nodded, then blushed when he saw the smile on Maisy’s face.
Cari got up to follow Heath and walked into a room off to the side of the shop. It was small, but there was space enough for a desk and two chairs.
Heath sat down behind the desk; Cari in front of it. He pulled out a piece of chalk and leaned over the desk. The wooden planks on the top had been painted black and he started sketching right on the desktop.
“I assume you want something like the modified rapier you used before.”
“Yes, it’s the blade I’m most used to.”
“I agree. Given your size and quickness, it’s the right blade for you. It just suits you somehow. Now, tell me about the modifications you were thinking about and how you think we can make them work without weakening the blade or adding to its weight.”
The two of them settled into a lengthy discussion about the design of her blade. An hour and a half later they’d come up with a prototype drawing of the sword she’d envisioned.
There were a few modifications suggested by Heath based on his experience with some new alloys he’d developed and the way the blade should be tempered. Overall, if they could pull it off, it was going to be a blade better than any she’d ever used before.
As they left the smithy, having agreed on the design, it was already dark out.
“Are you sure I cannot convince you to come by and join us for dinner tonight? Becca will be so disappointed she missed you.”
“Tell her I’ll come tomorrow night for sure. I have to get back to my ship and check on the schedule and progress of the repairs.”
“I’ll hold you to that. If you don’t show up, Becca’s likely to come down and drag you back to dinner herself.”
“Sounds like she is taking after her mother,” Cari laughed.
“You have no idea,” Heath said, laughing along with her.
The two clasped wrists and Cari headed back down the hill, back to the harbor and her duties as captain.
Chapter 34
The following morning, Cari stood on the dock with Merk, Stefan, and Rodrigo. On one side of the wooden pier floated the Freeman and opposite it, on the other side, was the Vengeance.
“Merk, good luck and Godspeed on your journey.”
“Thank you, Cari. Don’t worry, I’ll get the Lieutenant here to Tandon in one piece.”
“Good. Stefan, do you have everything you need to pass along my concerns to the Duke and my plans about what is going to happen next?”
“I do.” Stefan patted his belt pouch. “You explained everything very clearly, and I’ll be sure to add my own assessment of everything based on what I’ve seen.”
“Good. You both should be on your way. The tide waits for no one.”
Captain Merk nodded and turned to board the Freeman, calling out orders as he went.
Rodrigo and Stefan clasped wrists.
“Be careful on the journey, Stefan.”
“Don’t worry about me, Rod. I’m just traveling a week by boat. The raiders have mostly been tamed. It should be an easy trip. You’re the one who should watch your back.”
Rodrigo shrugged. “I’ve got a cross-country journey with plenty of inns and farmsteads in which to rest my weary bones. I’ll be fine.”
“Stefan is right, Rodrigo,” Cari added. “If the Duke of Charon gets word of your trip to find Liam and the others, or if any of his henchmen find out who you are and get word back to him, he’ll stop at nothing to track you down and stop you any way he can.”
“I’ll watch my back, Cari. I’m more concerned about you.”
“I am, too,” Stefan added. “Who’s going to watch your back?”
“Helen will keep me straight, I’m sure. Plus, I’ve got the whole crew of the Vengeance to back me up.”
Captain Merk called from the Freeman to the group. “Lieutenant, if you’re traveling with us, you’d better get on board.”
Stefan saw the last of the hawsers dropping into the harbor, having been untied from the pier. A few crewmen on the former slave ship hastened to pull the thick mooring ropes back on board as the ship started to drift away from its position at the dock.
With a final wave to Cari and Rodrigo, he ran across to the side of the dock and leaped across the widening gap to land safely on the deck of the Freeman. He turned and waved back at them.
Above him, the Freeman’s sails unfurled and caught the breeze, carrying the former slave ship out into the harbor.
Cari and Rodrigo returned the wave and then walked down the dock to a horse tied up to a hitching post at the end of the pier. Rodrigo checked the saddle and girth one more time while Cari waited.
In a single sweeping motion, he pulled himself up into the saddle and settled on his mount.
“Like Stefan said, be careful.”
“I’ll be back before you know it, our friends in tow. Then we can get the princess to her great-grandmother where she’ll be safe.”
“I’ll be waiting. If I have to leave Morton Creek for any reason, I’ll leave word at the smithy owned by Heath Fletcher up near the old castle on the hill.”
Rodrigo leaned down and clasped wrists with Cari then wheeled his mount around, trotting up into town towards the north gate.
Cari glanced up at the sky. The sun was already climbing higher than she’d expected. Heath was going to wonder where she was. Cari turned and started up the hill towards the castle. It was time to start working on her blade.
* * *
———
* * *
The elongated bar of glowing metal stretched out even farther as Heath pounded on it with powerful, yet precise blows from his hammer. He had folded the metal back on itself nearly a hundred times, working different trace materials into each succeeding layer, creating a unique alloy of steel just for Cari.
&nb
sp; As he pounded on this final layer, laminating the steel alloy to the layer beneath, a purple aura began to appear around the bar. It wasn’t an effect of the glow from the extreme heat of the forge. This was something else.
“Heath, can you see anything different about the steel right now.”
The smith squinted through the heat as he leaned over the glowing metal. He stared at it for a few long seconds before he turned and shot Cari a broad grin.
“If you’re referring the purplish haze I now see around the outline of the steel, then yes, yes I do. What is it?”
“I think it’s a guide, sort of like what I showed you with the sharpening wheel before. Let me try something.”
Cari focused on the aura while activating her bladesmith skill. As soon as she did, the aura intensified and shifted until she saw areas on the bar of yellow glowing metal where the purple aura was stronger than others.
“There, at the end,” she said. “Can you see the area that looks a little brighter than the others? That is where you start shaping the point of the blade.”
Heath shoved the bar back into the coals and Cari reached over and worked the massive forge bellows, pumping oxygenated air into the base of the forge until the coals glowed white-hot.
Heath left the bar in the coals a few seconds longer then pulled it out and began hammering on one end, following the pulsing purple glow around, using it as a template until he’d formed a tapered point to the blade. He returned the blade to the forge before starting on the next part of the template the glowing aura showed them.
Cari and the big smith worked all day until darkness settled in. The final shape of the long, thin blade resembled her old sword, but this one had been crafted of layered steel with a unique alloy combination that left a beautiful patina of gray swirls on the surface of the metal.
“We can return to this tomorrow. I need a break,” Heath said, wiping his brow with the back of his hand. “Using the magic, or whatever it is you’ve shown me, is more exhausting than normal metal work.”
“I think it’s because we’re infusing something from ourselves into the metalwork as we go.”
Heath nodded. “That would explain what I’m feeling. It’s as if I’m pouring part of my life into the crafting. This blade is going to be unlike anything seen here in Fantasma since the last of the great arch mages died.”
“It will be if we finish it. That’s going to take energy. Is that dinner invitation at your place still open?”
“Of course, Becca will be so happy to see you.”
Heath called out to his son, dozing on a stool in the corner, his work and chores long done. “Sterling, run along ahead to home and tell your mother we’re on our way. Cari is coming for dinner.”
“Yes, sir,” Sterling replied. He smiled and raced off down the hill towards their home.
“After you, ma’am.” Heath gestured to the gate out to the street.
Together, the two of them went to get a much-needed meal, replenishing the energy spent on the forging of the blade.
It ended up taking four days of hard work before the forging of the blade was finished. At the end of the fourth day, it was tempered and hardened and ready for the final stage on the sharpening wheel.
This was where Cari was to take over the lead, putting an edge on the blade and doing the final work to shape the capabilities infused into the sword.
It was Heath’s turn to look over her shoulder, offering tips and encouragement to her as she took her time working on the spinning stone with the sword.
As she’d seen before when working in the forge on her old blade, several colors showed in the blade’s core. Each represented a potential possibility for where she could go with the blade.
Cari didn’t want to settle for just one aspect of the sword’s capabilities, though. In the past, she’d focused on speed. Now she also wanted to access the endurance and strength enhancing the edge could achieve. She thought about using some of the other alternative grinding patterns she could see highlighted by the glowing colors.
As she worked the foot pedal, turning the stone beneath the blade, Cari leaned forward and peered at a point on the blade where the different colors of the blade’s core intersected. The blue, yellow, and red lines crossed at a position that glowed with a white nimbus.
Sliding the sword with smooth precision across the grinding wheel, Cari focused on the white nexus and as she worked it, the white glow expanded, guiding her hands as she followed it.
“Cari, I’ve never seen that before,” Heath whispered from beside her. “What are you doing?”
“I’m not sure…” Cari trailed off. She was lost in the work.
Cari worked for what felt like ages, sweat beading on her brow, dripping down her face. She followed the guides she saw in the white overlay on the blade. Finally, the white glow flashed and faded out. Cari lifted the sword from the stone, turning it in her hand as she gazed at the gleaming metal.
“It is finished.”
Cari stood and slid a wooden hilt blank over the metal tang, then threading the steel ball over the end to secure the handle in place. It still needed a leather or cord wrap to improve the grip, but the sword was essentially complete.
Swinging the blade in a graceful arc, she marveled at the exceptional balance. It was as if it were an extension of her left arm. That was something her instructors had always told her to seek out when selecting a weapon. In this case, it was as if she could feel the air passing over the blade’s tip like it was the tip of her finger.
Swinging the sword in more complex patterns, Cari truly felt a link between her hand and the blade, extending her body’s sense of self out to the end of the blade’s tip.
She focused inward and pulled up her weapons menu. The blade showed there at the top of the list.
* * *
Enchanted blade — the Duelist
+5 defense
+3 to hit/damage
20% chance for critical hit during riposte attacks
* * *
Heath held out his hand. “May I?”
Cari reluctantly handed the blade to the smith. Heath swept it through his own combination of moves, a childish grin on his face.
“I thought I had reached the pinnacle of my smithing ability the last time you came to visit. I was wrong. You should come back and visit Morton Creek more often.”
He offered her the blade, hilt first.
“Cari, this is cause for celebration, plus Becca has a surprise for you. Let’s head to the house and eat dinner on time for a change.”
“I’d like that. It’s been a pleasure being here this week. It reminds me of home and my parents.”
“It’s been our pleasure to open our home up to you once again, even if it is only for an occasional meal.”
The two of them set out for Heath’s home, arriving to find a full meal set and waiting for them. Becca stood by the hearth, stirring a large black pot suspended over the flames in the fireplace.
The meal filled Cari to the brim and left no room for even a sliver of dessert. As the children readied themselves for bed, Cari, Becca, and Heath sat by the hearth.
The smith’s wife had a huge grin on her face as she reached into the needlework basket by her chair and pulled out a small bundle, wrapped in a white cloth. She handed the bundle to Cari.
Cari took the bundle and looked from Heath to Becca. “What’s this?”
“It’s a small thank you from us,” Becca said. “You have done so much to improve our lives with all the special crafting tricks you’ve taught Heath.”
Cari smiled and unwrapped the bundle to reveal a six-inch tube fashioned from strange pebbled leather. She was confused and looked up at her hosts, a puzzled look on her face.
“It’s from a trader from the far east. There are great reptiles in the rivers there. This is crafted from a piece of leather I purchased for Heath to use in the crafting of grips for the swords he creates. I used it to create a special grip for you. The hide will no
t slip in your grip, even when wet.”
“This is wonderful, Becca, thank you. I’ll work on adding it to the blade tonight before I sleep. I’ll be sure to show it to you tomorrow on my way to the smithy.”
“Why come back to the smithy?” Heath asked. “Your sword is done.”
“I know, but I’d like to work on a few enhancements for my officers. My first mate, in particular, could use a proper blade instead of a standard cutlass.”
“You have the pick of my stock, Cari. With what I’ve learned from you this week, I’ll take the best in show again this coming season in the capital, and no one wins two years in a row.”
“Cari, why don’t you stay here, tonight? It’s late to be wandering back to the docks and we have a spare room for you. You’ll be that much closer to the smithy and can get an early start when Heath leaves to open up in the morning.”
“I’d like that very much. I would like to get to work on this hilt, though. I hate to leave this unfinished.”
Becca smiled. “I have some spider silk thread. It’s nearly unbreakable and would be perfect to help you wrap that hide around the hilt.”
Heath stood and stretched his arms wide while he yawned. “If you ladies are going to work on that before bed, I’ll be off to sleep. I’m tired from all the energy spent today and I’d like to be at the shop early to get started on some new project ideas sparked by Cari’s improved crafting methods.”
“Sleep well, Heath and thank you for your continued hospitality. See you in the morning.”
Cari turned her attention to the sword hilt in her hand and wrapped the pebbled hide around the wooden grip to test the fit. It would take a little trimming and thread work, but she was sure when they were done, it would be the perfect way to complete the blade.
Becca returned with a small, tightly wrapped ball of thick thread.
“This spider silk has been spun into a thread tougher than any I’ve seen. Hold up your sword and let me see it. We both can work on this together.”
Cari leaned forward and started in on the final part of the project to create herself a new sword. It took them almost two hours to get the fit just right and to stitch the hide around the hilt in such a way that the stitching was hidden from view.
