Forged Bonds (Binding Words Book 4)

by Daniel Schinhofen

  Fredrick chuckled, then began to laugh, “You’re going to give me that much?”

  “Anyone object?” Sean asked the table. No one disagreed and Sean nodded, “Seems so.”

  Fredrick stopped laughing, looking at each of them in turn. “A scant few tendays ago, I would have said it was madness to even be having this conversation. Yet here we are, trusting each other to do what is right and good for all of us. Smith and Shaper united by apprenticeships and business.”

  “To Sean,” Eva said softly, her hand lightly stroking Fredrick’s injured one. Lifting her mug, she waited for the others to do so. “He brought us together and helped us break past self-imposed barriers.”

  “Sean!” The cheer was loud and got the attention of everyone in the bar.

  “Damn you all,” Sean sighed as he raised his mug back to them. “Let’s just enjoy tonight.”

  Ryann snickered lightly and patted his back, “You truly do hate being the center of attention.”

  “Bemin?” Sean called out, wanting to distract the others, “Another round, please.”

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  The next morning, Sean snuck out of the bedroom before anyone else was awake. He went downstairs and out to the bathroom, sitting on the bench next to the pipes he had been working with.

  “Am I making this too complicated?” Sean asked the air as he picked up the first pipe. “I just want hot water on demand, but in a way that doesn’t require constant contact. This one is useless because of pressure issues... it keeps triggering the cut-off enchantment.”

  Deconstructing the pipe, Sean set the gem aside. “The kettles work, and a couple of these ideas work. The always-on enchantment would work, but would rupture the pipe given time because the pressure keeps building... I just need an enchantment that can be triggered when the knobs are turned to let the water out.”

  He sat in the gloomy predawn light, holding the pipe and wondering what he had not tried yet. Turning the pipe around in his hands, he looked at the showers across the room from him.

  I don’t want tanks, or a gem that has to be touched for it to work. I want the knobs to open the valve by increments so hot and cold water can be mixed to each person’s preference. Grimacing as he thought about what he wanted and was failing to do, Sean closed his eyes. What if the knob was the enchantment rune and the valve?

  Lips pursed, Sean put the water summoning rune on the inside of the pipe next to the valve. Sinking a long thin amber rod into the center of the wheel and filling it with energy, Sean wondered if it would work.

  The pipe began to creak quickly, and Sean had to pull the energy from the gem. “Fucking hell,” he sighed. “That was the wrong way... if I had turned the knob for water it would have broken the connection and…” Trailing off, Sean almost slapped himself. “You dumb fucker.”

  Hurriedly moving parts around, Sean let out a deep breath as he held the next prototype out. Okay, it’s not producing yet... turn the knob and see what happens. Holding his breath, Sean touched the gem in the middle of the knob before he turned it slowly. The sound of water and the feeling of increased weight made Sean grin like an idiot. A moment later, water began to cascade from the shower head.

  “Yes!” Sean shouted before he began laughing.

  Turning the knob the other way, he felt the energy ebb back into the gem. He set it down and quickly copied the design on another pipe, setting it to produce hot water. Sean soon had hot water flowing from that pipe, as well.

  Chuckling the entire time, he connected the two so the water would come from a single shower head. Going over to the wall, he removed an old set of pipes and replaced them with the new ones.

  “Now to see how long the enchantment lasts for,” Sean laughed as he turned the two knobs and walked away with the old pipes.

  Steaming water poured from the showerhead while Sean worked on the next set of pipes. Minutes later, the stream was still going as he sank the second set of pipes into the wall. Reaching out with his energy, he felt the two filled gems still holding the charge.

  “Well, looks like it’ll work. Time to crank out as many as I can, and then I can let the others know what I need to finish this,” Sean laughed, starting to produce more sets of pipes for the day.

  ~*~*~

  “Sean?” Fiona asked when she entered the bathroom, the sound of running water making her curious as to what he was doing.

  “Fiona!” Sean cried out happily, looking up from the latest set of pipes on his lap. “I need more long, thin gems. Any of them will do.”

  “What?”

  “I got it to work just like I wanted to,” Sean said with a grin, pointing to the shower which was still running. “Works perfectly, but I need a few dozen more gems to finish these pipes for the bathhouse.”

  “I see,” Fiona replied slowly. “Can it wait until after breakfast?”

  “Oh, right,” Sean said and put down the pipes he had been holding. “Let me turn that off and get the smaller set.”

  Fiona eyed the short pipes Sean picked up. “That doesn’t look like the other ones.”

  “It’s similar, but meant for the kitchen,” Sean said as he crossed the room and turned the shower off. “See? It works just like I wanted it to. Turn the knob and water comes out, turn them off and no more water.”

  “Oh. May I see them?” Fiona asked since he was already walking toward her.

  “Of course,” Sean said, handing her the smaller set. “Careful, though; the amber is hot, the quartz is cold. Turn each one until you get the temperature you want.”

  Fiona held the small set of pipes over one of the tubs and turned the knob for the cold side. Cold water began to trickle out, and she turned the knob more, allowing a greater stream to flow. Lips pursed, she did the same to the hot water knob, and soon, lightly steaming water drifted up from the pipes. “Goodness. Are you planning on mounting these to the tubs?”

  “Yup, plus extras for everyone to have at home. No more need to go fetch water from the well.”

  Shaking her head, Fiona turned both knobs until the water stopped flowing. “You do some of the most innovative things.”

  “These are common back on my world,” Sean said. “I’m not innovating; I’m recreating.”

  “It’s new here,” Fiona said. “Now come on, Andrea is waiting to serve breakfast.”

  During breakfast, everyone had questions about the pipes, which Sean did his best to answer. After they had all finished eating, he installed a set above the water barrel in the kitchen. Sean smiled at Ven when they asked if their showers and tubs had also been equipped with the new pipes.

  “They will be before the day is over,” Sean told them. “I need to get the gems and go over to the bathhouse to finish off the pipes there.”

  “When do you think we’ll open?” Ida asked.

  “Depends on when everything can be arranged,” Sean said. “We’ll have to ask the others tonight. I’d just as soon open tomorrow, but it’ll more likely be Fourday or Fiveday because we still need soaps and other items.”

  “Eva has been getting all of that together,” Ryann said. “Maybe we can open on Threeday.”

  “We’ll talk to the others tonight and find out,” Sean reiterated. “Today, we finish this up, then make some more for the inn and the Den. Might as well get them ready and out of the way.”

  “I’ll make sure to send MacLenn to Fredrick when he shows up to ask about them. You might want to get a consensus on that. You know he’ll be eager for them.”

  “Work, work, work,” Sean chuckled. “That’s all tonight. Now that breakfast is over, we have stuff to manage today.”

  “Master can do anything he puts his mind to,” Myna said with complete sincerity.

  “That’s not—” Sean began to disagree, but fell silent as the others spoke over him.

  “Does seem that way,” Ryann said.

  “I wouldn’t expect anything else from him,” Ida smiled.

  “He is wondrous,” Chastity said wi
th bright eyes.

  “Sean does manage to break conventions with astonishing ease,” Andrea nodded.

  “It’s true, Sean,” Fiona was the last to speak and she touched his cheek gently. “You are routinely breaking everything we know. Just accept what you can do. If you do, maybe you won’t struggle as much.”

  “Just believe I’m infallible?” Sean asked with a raised eyebrow.

  “Not infallible, but more powerful than you’ll accept,” Fiona corrected him. “Belief is at least half of what it takes to make magic and enchantments work. Our belief in you allows us to do things we shouldn’t be able to.”

  Holding up his hands in surrender, Sean shook his head. “I doubt it will work like that, but I’ll try for you. For all of you.”

  “Sir, there is a crowd gathering outside again,” Omin said, coming back into the room.

  “Chastity, looks like a busy day for you again,” Sean said.

  “I’ll handle it, sir,” Chastity said quickly and rushed out of the room.

  “I’ll go help her,” Myna said, following her.

  “Andrea, when you finish the cleaning, come over and help, okay?” Sean said.

  “Yes, sir. Gladly,” Andrea beamed as she began to move faster.

  “Ry, Ida, Fiona, ready to put the finishing touches on the bathhouse?”

  “I’ll go get our gems,” Fiona said, leaving the room.

  “I’m ready,” Ryann said and touched the hilts of her blades.

  “Do I need to grab anything from downstairs?” Ida asked.

  “Yeah, there’s a partial set of pipes down there,” Sean nodded. “We’ll wait, so go ahead.”

  “Be right back,” Ida said as she left the room.

  ~*~*~

  “So, these are the new additions?” Ryan’s voice asked from behind Sean.

  “Yup, the big ones are for the showers, and the smaller ones for the tubs,” Sean replied, not looking over his shoulder.

  “How do they work?” Italice asked.

  “Turn the knob and water comes out. Amber gems are for hot water, quartz for cold. I want to mark them better, but it’s what I have right now.”

  “Can we try them?” Joseph asked, his interest evident.

  “What the hell?” Sean asked, looking back as he finished setting the pipe in place. “All of you?”

  “Fiona sent messages to each of us,” Fredrick said, coming into the room. “Said you had another breakthrough.”

  “If he’s right, it’ll be breathtaking,” Italice said as she went over to the nearest tub.

  “It was hard to get away from the shop,” Eva said when she entered. “What’s the big news?”

  Before anyone could answer her, Italice turned both knobs on the tub and water began pouring out of the faucet. Steam wafted gently up from the water as the smiths and Shapers gathered around to watch. Sean left them to it as he went to install the next shower. He was just finishing when Fredrick appeared next to him.

  “These work similarly?” Fredrick asked.

  “Yeah, same set up, just with longer pipes so everyone can stand under the showerhead no matter their height.”

  “How interesting,” Fredrick said, looking at them intently. “There will be a demand for these. The shorter ones, at least. Hot and cold water on demand, and by anyone? Even those without energy can use them, can’t they?”

  “That’s the point,” Sean said.

  “We have a big question to answer on how we want these to be handled, then. The nobility in the city and abroad will want them, without question.”

  “Make a deal with MacLenn,” Sean said. “He’s done well by me, and if we make him the sole supplier outside of the city, it will increase the price and tie him firmly to our side.”

  “I’m fine with that,” Joseph said, coming over to look at the shower.

  The others agreed as well, but Ryan asked the next question. “What about locally, though? Everyone will want them. How do we limit who gets them?”

  “I’ll handle it if you all trust me to,” Fredrick said. “I’ll set up to make them out of mithril for the nobles, which will slow production and greatly increase the price.”

  “The patent will be open to all of us, and all sales will give cost plus twenty percent to the maker. The rest goes into the association to keep the bathhouse running, and to expand what we want to do,” Sean said.

  “I’ll take care of registering us as such when I leave here,” Fredrick said. “I’ll also arrange for proceeds to be deposited into an account with the guild. That way, MacLenn can handle it no matter where he takes them to sell.”

  “You know that these won’t be cheap enough for most of the city to afford them,” Sam said.

  “We can work around that,” Sean disagreed gently. “Copper and quartz aren’t expensive. If I make them to sell to anyone, they won’t make a great profit, but it’ll endear us to the people who do the everyday work.”

  “That it will,” Joseph agreed. “Maybe we offer to let them make payments so more people can afford them?”

  “Might be the only way,” Knox agreed. “I’d make payments for one.”

  “I’ll make everyone here one for their kitchen,” Sean said, “if you can supply the gems and metal, and give me a few days. We also need to have some ready for the Den and the Oaken Glen. Fredrick, if you’ll work out the money, I’ll get working on production tonight or tomorrow.”

  “This is going to shift the balance of power much more than the kettles,” Italice said. “This might be enough to bring us even with Denmur and his crowd.”

  “The current bathhouses will want these more than most,” Eva said, nodding slowly. “Luckily, it is a crime to resell an item unless you are an approved merchant. Even then, some of them might find their way to the bathhouses.”

  “We can ask for inspections and penalties if they are found to have them,” Fredrick said. “I’ll make sure MacLenn understands. He’ll be allowed to sell them to inns and other such places outside of Hearthglen, though.”

  “That’s fine,” Sean said. “We just want to keep a tight hold here in the city.”

  “Well, this day is busy,” Fiona said, coming into the room. “Sean, you should go register the patent for these. We’ll finish up here.”

  “We all need to get back to work,” Fredrick said. “I’ll see about getting one of the private rooms tonight at the Oaken Glen. We can celebrate and discuss more then.”

  “You have a good point,” Eva said, going to Fredrick and taking his previously injured hand. “I’m glad you are better now.”

  “Ryann was right. It was a broken knuckle,” Fredrick smiled at Eva. “It’s all fixed.”

  “See you tonight,” Sam said.

  Everyone said goodbye, then left to take care of their work for the day. Sean let them go, and snagged a short and long pipe set. Heading out himself, he was stopped by Fiona and Ida, who got kisses from him.

  Ryann was waiting for him by the door. “Andrea has been working hard,” she mentioned as they left.

  “I’ll make sure to thank her later,” Sean said. “She makes it easy to focus, since we don’t have to think about the housework.”

  “Agreed,” Ryann nodded.

  ~*~*~

  Sean gave Agatha a smile as they advanced to her desk. “Afternoon, Agatha. I need to patent a couple of new items.”

  Agatha looked at the pipes he had on his shoulder and nodded. “Of course, MacDougal. Gertihs is currently with another crafter. If you’d like to have a seat, I’ll let you know when he’s free.”

  “No problem,” Sean said as he walked toward a pair of chairs off to the side.

  Taking his seat, Sean caught sight of Carver speaking with Heingerd. “There’s a pairing I didn’t think I’d see,” Sean muttered to Ryann.

  “Neither one likes you. They must be roping what smiths they can into their group,” Ryann said.

  “I wonder what they’re planning?”

  “No way of knowing,” Ry
ann replied.

  “Maybe,” Sean muttered. “I’m going to close my eyes for a bit.”

  “I’ll keep an eye out for you, Sean.”

  Closing his eyes, Sean tried to focus on what Heingerd and Carver were saying, but they were too far away and kept their voices pitched low. A hand on his shoulder after a few minutes caused Sean to open his eyes again.

  “Agatha is coming,” Ryann said softly.

  Getting to his feet, Sean gave her a pleasant smile that widened when he caught sight of the bronze hair clip she wore. “He’s ready?”