pipe that rose from the furnace to the ceiling. The furnace was made of some sort of clay, but it was impossible to distinguish from the black soot that covered it. Brack was working a billow with one hand and holding a metal rod in the other. The rod was deep in the fire; red was creeping up the rod toward Brack’s glove. He was also wearing soot-black pants and what had once been a white shirt with sleeves rolled up past his elbows. As he worked the billows, sparks and flame roared out from the opening of the furnace like some monster from a children’s story. Benches and anvils were scattered throughout the room. It was lit only by the furnace’s glow which cast the room in a sharp contrast of dark and bloody hues of red and orange. In the center of the room was Kovos. Both he and his father were wearing thick aprons made in the fashion of leather armor. They were scorched and cut in places, signs of the hot iron’s angry touch. Kovos was wearing a thick pair of gloves and pounding on a piece of red-hot iron. Each time the hammer hit, sparks flew from it in protest. Kovos and his father were amazing to watch. They brought their hammers high in the air and then down with incredible force and precision. * * * * * Sasha was having a hard time hearing over the roar of the furnace. Legon had to shout over it. “Kovos! Kovos, pay attention to me you great buffoon!” At this Kovos looked up, made a rude hand gesture at Legon, and continued to work. Legon and Sasha laughed. “Good to see you too.” Kovos nodded to them, telling them to wait a minute. He raised the hammer high and brought it down with force on the rod, showering the floor with sparks. Sasha noticed the muscles on his bare arms ripple when the hammer reached its target. His stocky build was made for this work. Kovos was wearing the same black pants and blackened shirt as his father. He put down the hammer and walked over to them with the rod still in his hands. “Let me give this back to dad and we can go out back.” They nodded and walked to the back of the shop. It felt good to get out of the heat and into the alleyway behind the shop. The spring air was cool and inviting. A moment later Kovos came walking out with a large cleaver of the type Legon had used the previous day to split a cow. He wasn’t wearing the apron anymore and looked happy to be out of the shop. He handed the cleaver to Legon, who began to inspect it. “Looks good, Kovos. Thanks.” Kovos and his father were amazing smiths, or at least they were in Legon’s opinion. He hadn’t seen much of the work of other blacksmith’s since Salmont only needed one. Kovos was not as good as his dad, but despite his insistence that he was not very good, everyone in the town trusted him with any project. Kovos was a hard worker and a perfectionist. He was also incredibly loyal. Legon knew that Kovos would stand next to him no matter what. He also knew that Kovos feared Sasha but would still defend her with his life just because she was Legon’s sister. This was not a fact lost on Sasha, and though she knew that Kovos, like most of the town, feared her, she was grateful for him. He was nice to her, and if she was on her own and saw Kovos, he would talk to her and escort her wherever she was going. Barnin had been that way too. Both Kovos and Barnin, while flawed men, had incredible character. “No problem. Thanks for killing and butchering that deer for me. It was great.” He looked at Sasha. “Hey Sash, how are you feeling today?” “How… how did you know I had an episode?” she asked, amazed. “Easy. Legon didn’t come by yesterday, and he would only miss out on a new cleaver if you weren’t well.” “Oh. Thank you, Kovos. I’m feeling fine now.” As she said this she looked at Legon and smiled inwardly. She was so grateful to have him in her life, and she was sad to think about him leaving. Kovos looked at the buckskin tubes that Legon was holding and frowned. “I