Solo On Guard

[Tourmal Firemane]

Tourmal, Fall 24, 512 AV When Tourmal arrived the day after he made punches he found another note simply saying "Chisels." He set up his station as he had done so many times before. Grabbing some iron around the size he needed, placing them by his work area and began to heat up the forge. He then added coal and manned the bellows. When the fire was hot enough he grabbed a piece with his tongs wearing his gloves and plunged it into the fire until it was ready to be worked. The color of the metal was a luminous yellow glowing from the internal heat that rested within. He pulled it from the fire and placed the iron on his anvil and began working the length of the metal shortening it making it much thicker. The chisel would be used to cut hot metal so he needed to ensure that it was thick enough to take a beating and not break under the pressure. As he continued upsetting the metal his mind wandered to the project he had made the day before and he thought about what he should make the hilt out of. He thought to himself and decided that for now iron with a leather grip would do fine. After coming to his conclusion the piece of metal had been shortened and thickened to the desired dimensions and needed re-heating.

[Tourmal Firemane]

Tourmal, Fall 24, 512 AV After a few chimes in the fire he withdrew it and placed it back on the anvil. Then on one end of the metal ingot he started hammering away until it started to form a wedge then turned it over and continued on the other side furthering its wedge shape. Doing so ensured that one side was not more flat than the other keeping it even was key. After a few chimes of hammering away he had the piece to where it would need to be sharpened in order to cut the hot metal it was made for. Tourmal repeated the process he had done earlier, heating the metal in the fire, and working the bellows, then setting the ingot onto the anvil. There he would again upset the metal to its proper length and thickness. As he did so he thought more about the hilt. He could make it fancy however he had not the time for such trivialities at this point. For now he would make a fundamental hilt that would do the job it was intended for. Keeping the users hand off the blade, on the grip, and away from harm. The metal needed reheating so he did so and returned the metal to the anvil and started working the wedge. Clang clang clang. The process of making such menial tools was tiresome however he knew it was necessary. The works needed these tools for each and every smith in the place and it was simply much faster to have someone with his lack of skill in smithing taking care of these jobs. However Tourmal would not stay here for long. He knew that he was close to being at the point where he could sell his works and make decent pay doing so. His creations became ever closer to those that sat on the shelves. When that chisel was finished he placed it on the side of his workbench with the other. Then grabbed a third ingot and heated it up prepping it to be worked on. The fire needed more coal so he added some and went back to work. As the metal heated Tourmal grew excited about being able to work as a weaponsmith full time and thought to himself about the momentous occasion. He would no longer have to stay late to work on his skills rather he would be able to work his skills every day during normal work hours.

[Tourmal Firemane]

Tourmal, Fall 24, 512 AV When it reached temperature he pulled it out and upset it like the other two. Banging away at the metal until it was short and stout as the others. Then he placed it back in the fire for another heating and worked the bellows to increase the speed at which it did. After only two chisels he had grown impatient and hoped to have the day over soon however he knew that he had many bells to go. When the metal glowed a bright yellow he pulled out the ingot and placed a wedge on the leading edge slowly with his trusty hammer. As he did so he reminded himself how his weapons would sit on the shelves waiting for someone to come along and buy them as the ones that did so now. Thinking back to all the details of the weapons on the racks, he thought of the point of one blade he had seen recently and followed it down the central ridge. The ridge then continued to the fuller dipping into the blade providing it more strength against incoming attacks. He finished the wedge and the chisel was done. He then picked up another ingot and repeated his procedure. As he did so he thought back to the weapons. Then the fuller continued for a while down until the base of the guard called the ricasso. The ricasso was not sharpened about an inch long just before the blade met the guard. That was where most smiths put their marks. “Shyke!” The man had forgotten to come up with a mark for himself to identify his works from others. A way for people to know where their works came from and who made the weapons that their lives depended on. He would need to mark his previous works too like the flametongue he made after a crazy night. The blade was inspired by the woman who'd bed he found himself in that morning. Her curves were amazing.

[Tourmal Firemane]

Tourmal, Fall 24, 512 AV Tourmal continued on his work heating, upsetting, heating, and creating a wedge on one end. Over and over again The day was long and the work tiring. As the end of the work day neared a grin came over his face and replaced his furrowed brows and the expression of determination to make it through the day with one of pleasure. The anticipation of working on his tulwar excited him knowing that he soon lay his hammer on a piece of iron molding it to fit around the tang and resting on the shoulder of the blade. Ultimately it would provide the blade with a handle enabling it to be wielded for ones self-defense. But even after the hilt is finished the blade would need a scabbard. Which would be finished another day. The day had ended and he had just finished another chisel. He then placed the chisel on the pile that had grown throughout the day. Again like the day before he had finished a couple dozen chisels and like before slid them into his apron and moved them to where they would later be collected. After emptying his apron the man grabbed a few pieces of iron that were the appropriate size for the job and brought them back to the work place.

[Tourmal Firemane]

Tourmal, Fall 24, 512 AV He held two pieces of iron in his hand. One would be the cross guard and the other a pommel. The piece that would be the pommel was short and fat while the other was a little longer and each needed to be melted down and cast into their proper shapes. This was going to take a while. Thankfully his station was equipped for what was to come. First he scoured the place for some casts for Tulwar crossguard casts, he had seen them on the shelves plenty of times in the last few years. There had to be one somewhere. The pommel however was easy he had a regular disk cast that would fit over the tang since most blades he made were the same shape of metal, well before he hammered one end into its final form. Once he had found a cross guard that fit the weapons type he took not of where he got it and walked back to where he worked. And with that he brought back the pommel cast from where it was normally kept. With the casts in hand he placed them on his workbench and too the two pieces of iron and placed them in a crucible of appropriate size and grabbed his tongs and his gloves and sat the crucible in the fire. While he waited for the metal to melt he worked the bellows increasing the temperature of the fire. As he did so sweat poured down his forehead as it had before while he was working on the chisels. The man had a tendency to get impatient for slow processes so to speed up the process he did whatever was necessary. This was the same in his love life. He had no patience for prospects who would not bite. He was not a fisherman and preferred abrupt, forward women compared to those who played coy. Often leading him to be the prey of older women who knew what the want and when they wanted it. He laughed at himself recalling a previous encounter with one such cougar.

[Tourmal Firemane]

Tourmal, Fall 24, 512 AV It happened a few years earlier while he was at the Stallion. He had recently gotten over his awkwardness he had with women and was sitting at the bar. He already approached quite a few women who had not given him the time of day. When a few older ladies maybe fifteen to twenty years older than he. At the time he was twenty four placing them in their forties. He looked at one and saw that she once had everything he looked for in a woman. Though some of those assets had began to fade. Her eyes looked as young as any woman's, the fire inside them was burning full force. As he finished his drink he approached her passed her a few complements and surprisingly she bit, and bit hard. He would have been taken aback at this had he not been inebriated. Instead he kept shoveling fuel for the fire. The woman had been widowed a few years before when her friends coaxed her to go out with them. They had worked on her for quite some time. They often tantalized her with details reminding her of the passionate lust filled nights she could have. The night he had included many more drinks between the two. An awkward moment involving her saying how he reminded her of her sons friends. And the two going back to her place for a night cap. He had to admit that she gave him the best night he had ever had. The two spent a few nights together sporadically through out the next year and suddenly she left without saying anything. Evidently he was not her first encounter of such kind in fact without her friends knowledge she had been sleeping with some of her sons friends which had gotten old and dangerous when it lead them to want more from her. Whatever the reason that she left he understood. You can only live a life like that so long till you are found out. And going home with someone different every night can leave you with a nasty name. The man looked at the crucible and saw that the metal had melted glowing pure white it was not a puddle in the bottom of the ceramic cup. With his gloves on he grabbed his tongs and lifted the crucible out of the fire. Then he poured it into the casts on his workbench that were held together with a few clamps. Once the casts were full there was a little Iron left over in the crucible that he discarded in his water barrel. Instantly it hardened and sank to the bottom as slag. He let the metal cool and sat reminiscing of the old vixen from years past. Maybe he had made a mistake in trying for young girls They often seemed much too shy or stubborn to take seriously. He didn't want anything serious anyways. For now he needed only a woman who wanted the same as he. A body to keep them warm at night. Well after a bit of fun of course.

[Tourmal Firemane]

Tourmal, Fall 24, 512 AV As he sat pondering about his predicament the cast cooled and when it was finished he released the pressure and removed the clamps. Once opened he looked at the final products and they fit his plans perfectly. He wasn't looking for perfection, he would not attain that for a long time. All he wanted was a weapon that looked its part. And that was what he would get. Both of the pieces needed grinding to get rid of the ridges where the two pieces of the cast met and after that was gone they needed some polishing. However they would do just fine. The man took the two pieces and plunged them in water to speed up the cooling process. Just to make sure that the inside was not still molten. The metal was still warm after a few minutes. However, he felt safe grinding down the edges and polishing them. With the pieces in hand he took them to a finishing station where a few grinding stones were. The stones were pedal powered and round and ground through the problem areas in no time. Tourmal went slowly to ensure that he didn't make any mistakes while he did so. As he smoothed out the pieces placing ridges where they needed to be and smoothing out others. He watched the transformation happen in front of his eyes. Just like many times before he smoothed out the pommel and gave it a slight curve on either end. Over all it was a round disc that would sit on the bottom of the hilt. The cross guard was a bit more tricky. He had to place curves in the metal evenly It wasn't perfect but it worked and only on closer inspection would someone see the imperfections in his work. The center of the cross guard would extend over the blade about and inch and a half and in the center of it was a ridge about a quarter of an inch thick. The cross guard would slide over the scabbard once the scabbard was made. And the ends of the cross guard extended just as far from either side of the blade. Once finished he looked at his work on the two pieces and was happy with the results.

[Tourmal Firemane]

Tourmal, Fall 24, 512 AV As he sat pondering about his predicament the cast cooled and when it was finished he released the pressure and removed the clamps. Once opened he looked at the final products and they fit his plans perfectly. He wasn't looking for perfection, he would not attain that for a long time. All he wanted was a weapon that looked its part. And that was what he would get. Both of the pieces needed grinding to get rid of the ridges where the two pieces of the cast met and after that was gone they needed some polishing. However they would do just fine. The man took the two pieces and plunged them in water to speed up the cooling process. Just to make sure that the inside was not still molten. The metal was still warm after a few minutes. However, he felt safe grinding down the edges and polishing them. With the pieces in hand he took them to a finishing station where a few grinding stones were. The stones were pedal powered and round and ground through the problem areas in no time. Tourmal went slowly to ensure that he didn't make any mistakes while he did so. As he smoothed out the pieces placing ridges where they needed to be and smoothing out others. He watched the transformation happen in front of his eyes. Just like many times before he smoothed out the pommel and gave it a slight curve on either end. Over all it was a round disc that would sit on the bottom of the hilt. The cross guard was a bit more tricky. He had to place curves in the metal evenly It wasn't perfect but it worked and only on closer inspection would someone see the imperfections in his work. The center of the cross guard would extend over the blade about and inch and a half and in the center of it was a ridge about a quarter of an inch thick. The cross guard would slide over the scabbard once the scabbard was made. And the ends of the cross guard extended just as far from either side of the blade. Once finished he looked at his work on the two pieces and was happy with the results.

[Tourmal Firemane]

Tourmal, Fall 24, 512 AV He then attached the cross guard to the blade and tamped it into place with a wooden mallet. Then he attached the pommel placing it over the tip of the tang where it fit just right leaving only a small length of the tang exposed. He removed the pommel and placed the tang into the fire until the tip was bright yellow and then replaced the pommel. Once in the vice he hammered it down with the mallet till it was snug then used his hammer to flatten out the tip of the tang over the pommel creating a perfect seal. The weapon was meant to be one handed and after fitting the two pieces on the tang he measured the length from where the grip started to where it ended. Then he walked over to the place where some wooden dowels lay. Many different sizes were there, he needed one that would fit most peoples hands. Once he found a medium sized dowel that would work. He grabbed a saw and using his measurement he cut it to the proper length and left the remaining piece there. Then he took that same dowel and placed it in his vice with a two pieces of leather padding each side so that the dowel was not indented. At that time he cut the piece in half making sure that neither side was lopsided. He had done this plenty of times before with other swords. After the piece was cut he would need to carve indentations on each side of the wood to fit around the tang. This was the tricky part. He would have to do it slowly, continually checking to see if the piece fit in its intended place. The man carved slowly with a wood chisel cutting out a rectangular indention in the wood. Checking regularly to see if the indentation was deep enough for it to cover one half of the metal. The shavings lay scattered on the floor around where he stood. Once one side was done there was only a small mess that he would have to clean. And the other side would not make it much bigger. He grabbed the other piece and slowly shaved the wood away until it fit around the other side of the tang.

[Tourmal Firemane]

Tourmal, Fall 24, 512 AV With both pieces ready he needed an adhesive to bond both pieces to the metal tang and to each other. His regular work on these types of projects he had some in his chest and applied it to both sides of the wood generously to ensure that it stick. Once he had done so he positioned them on either side of the tang and pressed them together using some small spring clamps to keep the pressure even. While he waited for that to finish he walked over to where some leather scraps were kept and grabbed one such piece. The leather was a strip that was long enough to wrap around the grip spiraling from the cross guard to the pommel. While he was there he grabbed some black dye and brought it back to his station. He then applied the dye to one side of the leather on a large scrap piece of canvas he used for such tasks. Then turned the piece over and applied the adhesive. Once done he took the leather and wrapped it down the grip from top to bottom, ending at the pommel. Keeping pressure on it with his hands to ensure the grip was tight and would not come loose in the middle of use. Once he was finished with the project he looked at it satisfied with what he had done. He was proud of his accomplishment It looked like a tulwar and being his first he would cherish it forever. “Your name will be Jasper.”