“Yeah,” Sean said, not wincing at the name, “Fredrick Gertihs is the head of it.”
“Sure he is,” Angus snickered. “Fine, pour the drinks and let us celebrate this new beginning.”
Sean poured drinks for everyone. Once everyone had a cup, he held it out to Angus. “Deeper friendships.”
“Aye, deeper friendships,” Angus replied and tapped his cup to Sean’s before everyone else did.
Taking a drink, Sean raised an eyebrow at the bite of it. Ida, Ryann, Myna, and Fiona each began to cough, but Angus grinned. “Now that is a man’s drink.”
“I’ll send the rest of this home with you. I don’t think my wives enjoy it,” Sean said.
“Gladly, MacDougal.”
“Sean. Just call me Sean.”
“Fine by me, Sean,” Angus laughed as he drained the last of what he had in his cup.
“You could do one more thing,” Sean grinned. “Spread the word about the bathhouse. It opens tomorrow.”
Angus grimaced, “I can’t be there tomorrow. I’ve already agreed to some deliveries.”
“Have Rebecca there by noon, and once you’re done with the deliveries, come over, too.”
“Aye. That I can do.”
~*~*~
Sparring was canceled because of the weather, so everyone got some extra Shaping time in. Dinner that night was salad with bits of fruit and a light vinaigrette dressing. Andrea served up a mixture of diced meat on the side, so they could add it as they chose. After dinner, Sean, Ida, and Ryann went off to the inn while the others stayed home.
“You think the bathhouse will cause that big of a stir?” Ida asked as they walked.
“Yeah,” Sean chuckled. “I remember you getting excited for the showers. Everyone else will be the same.”
“The rune at the Den, did you learn anything from it?” Ryann asked, walking beside him tonight.
“I need to try replicating it, but I think so,” Sean chuckled. “If I do, things will get even more exciting. This world doesn’t use their magic in the ways I think it should and could be applied.”
Ryann and Ida shook their heads. They each wondered at what he was going to try to do next. Neither wanted to distract him, because he was obviously lost in thought as they walked along.
Entering the inn, Sean smiled when he spotted the table where their friends sat. Joseph called out his name, and most of the people in the inn looked their way before having hushed conversations.
“That’s him! They say he’s a smith and a Shaper—”
“Fought off thirty men and a pack of dogs—”
“I heard he subjugates his women into Life Bonds and—”
“Denmur and MacDougal are going to clash—”
“I’d have tried, but you have to Life—”
“Welcome back, MacDougal,” Lilly smiled broadly, meeting them at the table as she handed drinks off to everyone else. “What would you like?”
“Surprise me, please.”
“Mulled wine,” Ryann said.
“Done, and done,” Lilly grinned as she finished serving drinks and headed for the bar again.
“How did your day go, Sean?” Knox asked.
“Busy. The Den and Flamehair’s place have been taken care of on my end, but Italice and Ryan still have their work to do. Let me know when you’re ready to sink the pipes.”
“Works like he doesn’t care about the rest of us,” Italice said blandly.
“The rest of us can only do so much in a day,” Ryan nodded.
“I understand. MacLenn came by to inquire about how he could acquire some showers and faucets today,” Fredrick added. “Wants to know if they can be done in a metal other than copper.”
“Copper is best,” Sean said. “We can put an overlaying metal on it so it doesn’t look like copper, but the pipes themselves should be, since copper is hard to corrode.”
“Your drink,” Lilly said, placing the mulled wine before Ryann. “And for you sir, I have this wonderful vintage.”
Sean looked at the purple liquid with a raised eyebrow. “What is it, Lilly?”
“It’s not on the menu, sir,” Lilly replied. “I’m not sure of the exact name for it. I asked Allonen to give you something special.”
Sean glanced at the bar to find Allonen looking his way. Picking up the mug, he saluted Allonen and took a sip. The strong berry flavor was the first thing he tasted, but the second thing he noticed was a warmth in his ear. Frowning, he put a finger in his ear and wiggled it. “What the hell?”
“Is something the matter?” Lilly asked, clearly worried.
“My inner ear is warm,” Sean muttered. “Never had that happen before.”
“That’s normal for that beverage, sir. It’s not harmful,” Lilly smiled. “Do you like it?”
“It’s very berry tasting, and the ear warming thing is odd, but overall, yeah, it’s not bad.”
“I’ll be back to check on you all shortly,” Lilly said, leaving the table with a happy bounce in her step.
“Figures, she’s friends with Felora,” Ryann muttered.
“What did you tell MacLenn?” Eva asked Fredrick.
“That I’d get back to him in a few days once I had a better understanding of what it would take to produce what he was asking for.”
“How many?” Sean asked.
“A hundred of both, with another twenty made in silver and ten more made in mithril. He also requested better gems for the higher-grade metals.”
“If you have the gems and metals, I can get them done in a tenday,” Sean said. “I was wondering if I could get ahold of some mithril, anyway. I wanted to try some things out.”
“Eva and I will be delivering our percentage of metals on Oneday. I can see about sending over a bit of mithril ahead of time, if you’d like, when I send the stuff for the showers.”
“That’d be great,” Sean grinned. “Oh, Angus and his wife Rebecca are on board.”
“Isn’t his wife sickly?” Callon asked.
“Not anymore,” Ryann said. “According to Angus, she’s been fully healed.”
“Must have found a better healer,” Sam said, not looking at Sean, though she had a damn good idea he might have something to do with it. “I remember years back when he caused a ruckus because someone said the wrong thing about it.”
“Ruckus,” Joseph laughed. “He broke arms and legs. That’s one of the reasons they’re so bad off now. The magistrate drove them into the poorhouse.”
“At least we know he can do the job,” Avery added. “Not many are willing to cross him because of that brawl.”
“Sean, you’re sure his wife is up to being on the counter all day?” Eva asked.
“She’ll split it with Marjorie, so it should be fine.”
“And we open tomorrow,” Knox said, the worry easy to hear.
“Angus is spreading the word tonight for us,” Sean said. “He’ll be late tomorrow because he had already set up to do some deliveries, but after those, he’s full time.”
“This is the first step,” Fredrick said. “This will either put us firmly in the crosshairs of Denmur and his ilk, or we’ll fail miserably.” Chuckling, he sipped his ale, “I’ll sleep like a babe tonight. I have faith in our new association.”
“The name still makes me wince,” Sean muttered, earning laughter from the smiths.
Joseph got to his feet and turned to face the majority of the room. “Attention! Attention, please.” When the inn quieted and everyone looked their way, Joseph continued, “Tomorrow at midday, a new bathhouse will be opening for business; ‘Forged Bonds.’ It is located near the smiths, but before you go dismissing it, you should know it features several new innovations. There is no need to draw cold water, nor to wait for kettles to heat. A special invention of our association makes it quick, easy, and pleasant. We welcome everyone at Forged Bonds, from haulers to Shapers, from Fae to Moonbound. The price is cheaper than you think, and you’ll enjoy it a hell of a lot more than any other bathh
ouse in the city.”
The room exploded with conversation when Joseph sat back down. Lilly came hurrying over to them, “It’s true, then? Even the cooks are allowed to come?”
“Yes,” Sean said. “Anyone who causes problems will be tossed out the first time and banned the second. The private rooms can be booked by anyone, including the cooks if they are leery about the main room.”
“Can I book them a private room, right now, for tomorrow at midday?” Lilly asked.
Fredrick looked at the table, then nodded, “Yes. Just have them bring the coin with them. Chester, if you’ll let Marjorie know.”
“I can do that.”
“Thank you. I’ll let them know.” Lilly left the table in a hurry.
“Do you have a moment?” the leatherworker Jefferson asked as he approached them.
“Jefferson,” Sean smiled, “what can we do for you?”
“This bathhouse, is it the one where Knox Senior used to be?”
“Yeah,” Knox nodded.
“How late is it open?”
“Midday to two hours past sunset,” Fredrick replied. “We want to give everyone a chance to use it, but still need to make sure it’s upkept properly.”
“I’ll be by to try it tomorrow, MacDougal,” Jefferson said. “I hate that pompous ass Denmur, and I’m glad to hear someone is taking him on. It’s about time you all got off your asses,” he finished with a look at the Shapers. “Seeing you sitting with the smiths for the last few tendays has made me think that you might not be that bad. I’m glad to see I was right. Goodnight to you all.” Jefferson turned and walked off, leaving them all staring after him.
“I like him,” Ryann said.
“He’s blunt, I appreciate that,” Sean agreed.
A few more people came over to ask about the bathhouse, most of them promising to stop by and try it at least once. When the group finally split up for the night, everyone was excited for what tomorrow was going to bring.
Chapter Thirty-two
Breakfast was done; the simple frumenty had been augmented to each person’s taste with berries, honey, or both. Sean had been mostly quiet, outside of complimenting Andrea’s cooking. The others had kept their conversations muted, as well.
“Chastity, we’ll give you a break after midday,” Sean said suddenly, “so you can go check on your mom. I’m sure the rest of us will end up over there at some point today to check how everything is going.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Fredrick should be sending metals and gems over sometime today, too,” Sean added. “I’ll be doing a lot of work on getting showers and faucets done for trade with MacLenn. Ida, you can start on them if they come while I’m out.”
“Understood, Sean.”
“Myna, I’d like you to hang around the bathhouse today, at least until Angus gets there. Stay as unobserved as possible, but be ready to step in if needed, please.”
“I’ll make sure everything is fine, Master.”
“Fiona—”
“I’ll be fine, dear,” Fiona cut him off. “I’m planning on helping Chastity at the counter today. Andrea will join us once she completes her work. I’m calling off midday sparring today since that is when the bathhouse opens, and we do want to know how it is going to be received.”
“Okay,” Sean gave her a soft smile, “and tonight, we’ll help you.”
Fiona’s smile cracked a little, “Thank you.”
“No thanks needed, love,” Sean said, covering her hand with his.
“I need to get going,” Chastity said, getting up from the table.
“I’ll see you in a bit,” Andrea called after her friend.
“Until we leave, Ry, Ida, why don’t you two work on more kettles and hair clips? I’m going to play in the smithy for a bit.”
“If that’s what you want,” Ryann said.
~*~*~
Sean went into the smithy and examined the forge. I could probably inscribe that rune onto the coal bed. Push enough energy into it, and it should do the same thing coal would. But… maybe we should temper that idea. It’s not like I use the smithy a lot. The sound of hammers falling onto metal from the home next door filtered into the room. What if we tried to do something else first? I could make the tub in the main bathhouse room a heated tub, with the fire rune and purified with Ryan’s. A real Roman bath with the showers lining the walls. I should split the private rooms into male and female only rooms so people have a choice if they don’t want to use the mixed bath. I need to see about permission to use the rune, Sean sighed. “As if that’s likely,” he muttered out loud.
Sean got the forge heating and picked out some bronze. When the coal was ready, he began to heat the metal, the idea of what he wanted sitting in his mind, just waiting for him to make it happen.
The sound of the back gate’s bell made him look up from the forge. Setting the metal aside, he left the smithy and stepped into the bright light of day. Sean squinted as his eyes adjusted and went to the gate. “Can I help you?”
“We have a delivery of metals for MacDougal,” a voice called back.
Unbarring the gate, Sean swung it open. A cart with a horse stood there, along with two men. “From Gertihs?”
“Yes. Where would you like it?” The words were slow as the speaker eyed him dubiously.
“Forge,” Sean said.
“Of course,” the man said and got the horse moving.
“Thought this was going to a Shaper,” the second man said quietly to the first.
“It is. That man is supposed to be him.”
“What? That guy?”
“Apparently, he does smithing and loves Moonbound. He’s the odd one people talk about.”
“You two don’t work for Gertihs, do you?” Sean asked with fake friendliness.
“We make deliveries for the Shapers,” the first man said, “when others are busy.”
“Angusson did say he was busy this morning,” Sean chuckled. “Oh well, stack it with the other stock. Did you have the gems, as well?”
“Yeah, right here,” the second man said, slowing to hand them to Sean.
“Thanks. Let me know when you’re done,” Sean said, going back into the smithy.
Picking up the tongs, he slid the metal back onto the coals and got it heating again. He pulled it once it was ready and hammered the metal with firm, sure falls. Putting it back into the fire, he looked up to see the second man waiting for him.
“Yeah?”
“We’re done, sir.”
“I’ll walk you out,” Sean said. Looking at the supplies as he went by, Sean smiled at the silver and mithril that were now present. Stepping quickly for a few paces, he was right behind them when they cleared the gate. “Thank you. I’ll keep you in mind if I need work done in the future.”
“Thank you, sir,” the second man said, bowing his head.
“Thank you,” the first echoed as he got the cart moving.
“Pleasant guys,” Sean chuckled under his breath as he shut and barred the gate.
“Was there someone here?” Ida asked as she stepped into the yard.
“Delivery. Is it time?”
“Not yet. I thought I heard something and came to check.”
“We have supplies for the pipes if you want to grab some and get started.”
“Gladly,” Ida beamed as she headed for the smithy.
Sean followed her in, going back to the forge, “I’ll be out in a bit.”
“You could just Shape it,” Ida commented.
“I needed to hammer something,” Sean shrugged. “I wanted to give it a rough shape before Shaping.”
“If that’s what you want,” Ida snickered. “I’d gladly have let you work on me, instead.”
Sean had just pulled the metal from the coals and missed the strike of the hammer at her comment. When she saw his lost expression, Ida giggled and gathered up the metal ingots she wanted.
“I’ll be with Ryann if you change your mind.”
Watching her go, Sean shook his head. “Damn it, Ida,” he mumbled. “Now I’ve got more problems.”
Finishing off the rough, Sean set it aside and went about banking the forge, then headed for the bath to rinse off the scent of coal and work. He was not expecting to see Andrea bent over a wash tub.
Forged Bonds (Binding Words Book 4) Page 32
