Chapter 1:
Guild Business
Sunlight streamed through the dusty window, doing little to light the dim forge. Copos Larelli wiped sweat from his brow and pushed up his shirtsleeves. He picked up the tongs and selected a piece of iron from the pile next to the wall. Carrying it to the forge, he laid it down and began to work the bellows. As the metal heated, it turned from a dull gray to a burnt orange, a fiery red, and then a bright white. Copos picked it up and placed it on the anvil, hammering quickly with short, strong strokes of the hammer. When the metal had returned to the burnt orange color, he replaced it in the forge and heated it again.
After a few more repetitions of this cycle, a horseshoe began to form. When it was complete, Copos dunked it in the barrel of water next to the anvil. The water steamed and hissed, billowing upwards in thick, gray curls. The metal cooled quickly and Copos tossed it onto the pile of horseshoes he had already made. He stopped to wipe away more sweat before continuing.
The door to the forge opened and his master, Markus Brutus, walked in. “How far along are you?” he inquired, standing in the middle of the floor.
Copos looked at the bearish man with his thick, black beard and dark eyes. “Just a few more, master. I’ve almost finished the lot of them.”
“Good,” grunted Brutus. “When you’re done, clean this place up; we aren’t taking any more orders today. One of the guild members is coming over for dinner to discuss business. Make sure everything is put away.”
“Yes, master,” Copos replied to Brutus’s back as he went into the back room.
Copos returned to his work, thinking about the guild member. Who would it be? Since the member was coming over, it would mean a junior member, which could be nearly anyone in the guild since all but a few were junior to Markus Brutus. But Brutus wanted everything put away neatly, so it would be an influential junior member. To discuss business.
Copos wondered if he would be allowed to sit in on the discussion. Since he was not a member of the guild, he rarely was, but he was sure that they would allow him to test for membership soon. Brutus had been dropping hints for the past month, praising his work a little more than normal. It had to be soon. It had to be.
The horseshoes were done quickly and Copos put away his tools. He banked the coals in the forge to be ready for the next day. Then he organized the hammers and other tools on their shelves and restacked the iron bars in the corner. He carefully swept out the forge, sweeping the dirt into the gutter next to the street. This done, he hung his apron on its peg and looked around to be sure that he hadn’t missed anything.
He hadn’t, so he proceeded outside to the back and washed off his face and hands with water drawn from the well that the smithy was fortunate to have. The day was hot, but was nothing compared to the sweltering heat of the forge.
A loud knocking sound from around the front drew his attention. He ran inside and into the main room. Brutus was walking down the stairs as Copos opened the door. On the steps stood a short man with wiry brown hair and light eyes. He was wearing clothes similar to Copos’s and his hands were gnarled and blackened, probably from burning himself too many times.
“I’m here to see Markus Brutus,” he announced. “I am from the guild.”
“Fedyr,” said Brutus as he walked up to the door. The two men shook hands. Copos stepped back as Fedyr walked inside.
Brutus flipped Copos a coin. “Go buy some bread and cheese at the corner market,” he said. “Bring it back here and we will eat.” Copos left as the two men walked into the back room.
Getting the food did not take long and Copos was back soon. He walked into the back room and set the bread and cheese on the table. Brutus and Fedyr did not look up but continued conversing in low tones. Copos pulled a knife out of a drawer and set it on the table. He took his seat and was reaching for the knife when Fedyr picked it up first.
Fedyr turned the knife over in his hands, examining it. It was not long but had a sharp edge which he tested with his finger. The iron had been hammered to an almost paper thinness and was attached with three nails to a carved hickory handle. “You made this?” asked Fedyr as he continued to look at the knife.
“Yes, sir,” replied Copos. He remembered how long it had taken him to hammer out the blade, and then to carve the hickory. Hickory was called a hardwood for a very good reason.
“This is excellent work,” remarked Fedyr, handing the knife to Copos.
Copos sliced the bread and cheese and the three ate in silence. When they were done, Copos wiped the knife off and replaced it in the drawer. He wiped the crumbs into his hand and flung them out the door. He was about to leave when Brutus said, “Take a seat, Copos.” He said it diffidently, as if it were nothing. But to Copos, it meant a lot, and both men knew it.
Copos resumed his seat, saying nothing and trying not to let his eagerness show. He listened while the two smiths talked.
“Lusys has completed the order from Duprosx,” Fedyr said, “but he cannot spare any of his apprentices to deliver it for him. He has asked the guild for help.”
“I see,” replied Brutus. “Lusys always did take more work than he could handle at one time. But he does do good work.”
“As do you,” pointed out Fedyr.
“I do,” admitted Brutus, “but I prefer to keep my business small. What was it an order of?”
“Nails and fittings for a shipbuilding company in Duprosx. It came in about two months ago.”
“Two months?”
“It was only one wagon load but the parts had to be made to exacting specifications. You know how shipbuilders are.” Both men shared a knowing look. “Lusys could have declined it, but the money was too good, so he took it. I don’t blame him. Three thousand gold pieces is a lot of coin.”
Copos’s eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. Three thousand gold pieces for one wagon load? That was incredible! The order must have been very complex indeed. Copos knew that the money would have been good for Brutus, but he wasn’t sure if they could have completed the order in time. Lusys had thirty apprentices and good ones too.
“…and the guild is really at a loss,” Fedyr was saying. “You see, the shipment is due in a week and we have no one to transport it. If we don’t deliver on time, it will be a black mark upon the record of the Loira guild.” Fedyr looked at Copos. “Perhaps your apprentice could make the delivery?” The tone he asked the question in implied that it was more of a command than a request.
Brutus leaned back heavily in his chair. “How long would it take?” he asked, as his chair creaked.
“It is about two weeks to get there and two weeks back. We have all the necessary information and the wagon ready. Your apprentice would have to deliver the items, collect the money and come back. It would be relatively simple for his first piece of guild business.”
All Copos heard was “guild business”. It seemed that the guild was going to let him do some work. A test couldn’t be far off!
“He could do it,” allowed Brutus, “but he would be away during the Festival of the Hundred Kingdoms. You know how festivals are in the Trade Belt.”
“I’m sure that your apprentice would be fine. He seems to be a fine young man who minds his manners quite well. He hasn’t said a word, even while we’ve been discussing him.” Fedyr turned to look at Copos again. “Would you do it?” he asked.
“Yes,” replied Copos instantly. He looked at Brutus. “May I, master?”
Brutus seemed to think for a few seconds, but inwardly he was smiling at the eagerness and naïveté of his apprentice. Guild business, especially shipments he had found, was not as much as it seemed. “It is fine with me,” he said, “but, you must be careful.”
“I will be, master,” said Copos.
“I will have a member relay the necessary papers to you later on,” said Fedyr as he stood up. “You will have to start tomorrow so as to insure that the delivery is made on time.” The three began to walk to the door. Fedyr opened the door and turned around.
“Thank you for the meal, Brutus,” he said. “It has been nice talking with you.” He looked at Copos. “Don’t be surprised if there is a letter waiting for you when you return, young man.” Then he turned and walked away.
Brutus sighed and shut the door. He turned to look at Copos and said, “You had best pack what you’ll need. I expect you will have to start early.”
* * *
Dawn came early during the summer months but Copos was up before the sun. Gathering the things he had packed the previous night, he walked to the guild house through the quiet streets. During the day, the streets of Loira were filled with people going about their business in one big blur of color and noise. Not so in the early morning.
In the pre-dawn darkness, no one moved about the streets except for a few men who had spent too much time at the taverns. They staggered by Copos, holding their heads and mumbling. The faint outlines of the soot-darkened shops and houses loomed around Copos like a spectral parade of ghosts. There was a slight chill to the air, which smelled damp, almost as if there would be rain. Copos looked up to the sky but could not see if there were any clouds because it was too dark.
As he walked, the city was slowly flooded with light from the rising sun. More people could be seen walking about. There were store owners going to open their stores, blacksmiths’ apprentices going to start forge fires, and guards going home after a long night on watch. Copos reached the guild house just as the sun broke over the horizon, suffusing the gray city with a pale, pink light.
At the guild house there was a member waiting, young and probably very junior, Copos imagined. The man let him in and led him to the wagon that was already packed and loaded.
“You have your instructions,” he said, “and know where you are going. Good luck to you, and don’t have too much fun at the festival.” He smiled and Copos saw the gleam in his eyes of a young man, still holding on to some of his mischievousness from his younger days. With a final nod, Copos snapped the reins and the horses began to move.
He drove out onto the street and headed west for the Trading Road which would take him directly to Duprosx. The guards at the gate waved him through. Outside the city the road turned to dirt and he guided the horses around several large ruts that had certainly been made during the last storm and hadn’t been patched up.
The day dawned bleak and colorless. As the sun rose higher in the sky, it was covered with thicker and thicker clouds that loomed menacing and black from the east. Copos snapped the reins again trying to get a little more speed from the horses. The shipment was covered with a tarp, but he did not want to take any chances, least of all get wet himself.
As he drove, he passed farms and cottages, with several leagues of space between the former, and almost none between the latter. In the fields he could see the farmers and their sons working, attempting to plant the last seeds before the rains came.
The land around Loira was a large plain and there were few trees. Around midday Copos found a pleasant copse of trees and stopped to eat there. He did not unhitch the horses as he planned to stay for a short time. He quickly ate, and then continued on his way, trying to outrun the rains which had not yet come, but threatened.
Shortly after his stop, the clouds let loose their heavy burden and the rain poured down. Copos took a spare tarp from under the wagon seat and covered himself with it. He was relieved to see that it was not a thunderstorm, just a rain shower. But the rain came down steadily and did not stop.
Copos soon realized why the tarp was a spare. There was hole that happened to be right over his neck so that rain water dripped down and slowly soaked his shirt. He shivered as the cold water slid down his back and accidentally dislodged the tarp which slid to the side. Hurriedly he pulled it back onto himself.
The sun began to go down and while he could not see the sun, Copos knew that it was setting because the light slowly dimmed. He peered ahead, straining his eyes to see through the gathering twilight, looking for a village.
The sun was halfway set when he reached a little village with a single inn. He drove up to it, tied up the horses and walked in. The sign above the door proclaimed it to be the Red Bird Inn. Inside, the innkeeper, a short, stout woman with gray hair pulled back in a tight bun, bustled up to him.
“Good evening,” she said warily.
“Good evening to you,” replied Copos. “I am looking for a room, might you have one?”
“Yes, I do,” replied the innkeeper. “It is two silver coins for a room and a meal.” Copos paid the high price and watched as the innkeeper slid the coins into one of the many pouches on her apron. “This way,” she said turning around and heading for a rickety staircase at the back of the common room.
Copos followed her up to the second floor. She led him down a dimly lit hallway and opened a door at the end.
“Here you are,” she said. “I will go down and tell the cook to get you a plate. Come on down when you are ready. If you need anything ask me. My name is Mistress Kera.” With that Mistress Kera turned and walked away.
Copos stepped into his room. He had to duck under the doorframe, and could just barely walk about without stooping inside the room itself. It was dark inside and he lit the candle. In one corner of the small room was a wooden-frame bed with a thin mattress and a thin pillow. In another corner stood a table upon which was a bowl and pitcher of water. There was single chair which had been placed at the foot of the bed and no window. Copos set down his bundle and blew out the candle. He shut the door behind him and walked back to the common room.
As he walked into the room, he was assaulted by a wave of smells that made his mouth water and reminded him that he was very hungry. The cook stuck her head out of the kitchen and said, “You would be the one. Here’s your food.” She handed out a plate with some corn, a piece of bread, and a slice of what smelled like pork. Copos took it and sat down at a small table in the back of the room.
He ate slowly, scanning the various faces. Most of the people were dressed in rustic garb similar to what he was used to seeing. He figured that it wasn’t strange because he wasn’t far from Loira anyway. Several of the conversations stopped as the participants stopped to look in Copos’s general direction. The noise was quite low, something that surprised Copos. He had expected that common rooms were noisy.
He had just finished eating when a man came and sat down across from him. The man was short but appeared to be muscular. He had thinning brown hair and brown eyes. He said, “Welcome to Four Fires, master traveler. I am Vincis Norit, master of the local blacksmiths’ guild.”
“I am Copos Larelli,” said Copos. “I, too, am a blacksmith. I am passing through on my way to Duprosx.”
“You are from there?”
“No, I am from Loira,” said Copos. “I am only making a delivery and then returning.”
“Perhaps you would join our guild? Maybe stay here?” asked Vincis. “We are in need of good blacksmiths. The guild is quite small, not large enough for all the work.”
“I’m sorry,” said Copos, “but I’m due to test into the Loira guild soon after my return.”
Vincis looked hurt. “Perhaps on your way back you could teach us something that you know?”
“I’m sorry,” replied Copos, “but I do not have the time.” He stood up and delivered his plate to the kitchen. He walked outside to take care of the horses. When he walked back in, Vincis stood up and motioned for him to come over. Walking over, Copos took a seat at the table around which were already three other men who he assumed were blacksmiths.
“Vincis has told us about you,” said one. “We could really use some help.”
“Yes, we are undermanned and do not have enough training to do what we must do,” said another.
“We could really use some assistance,” chimed in the third.
“I’m sorry, but I cannot,” began Copos. “I have work to—”
“But so do we,” cut in Vincis, “and we do not have the resources to do it.”
“I’m sorry—”
“You must help us,” said the first man. “Our guild is—”
“Rubbish!” said Mistress Kera coming up behind them. “You all know full well that you are capable and have the manpower to do the work. You’re just too lazy to do it.”
“Now see here,” began Vincis.
“Don’t you talk to me like that Vincis Norit! I’ll have you thrown out of here, I will.” She looked at Copos. “You might want to go to your room now, or they’ll be after you all night.” She turned back to the men and began to upbraid them loudly to their chagrin and to the amusement of the other people in the room.
Copos withdrew up the staircase, his ears burning with shame at being rescued by the innkeeper. But, he reasoned, it was better than fending off Vincis and his cronies for the rest of the night.
Reaching his room, Copos went in and threw himself on the bed, not even bothering to light the candle. He soon fell into a deep sleep.
