Borgarsandr, day 10

Crucible Steel

It's nice to see Alith and Bodil try their new everyday dresses as they spar and try to move in them. Obviously not like pants but less of a problem than a normal dress, and atleast Alith like that its airier, and that it shows her nice legs is a bonus. They use wooden sticks to simulate spears, and not unexpectedly have Alith a wooden practice sword. It's pretty sexy when they practice, and maybe I should watch their workouts more, and Alith is a bit of a show off. Almost feels like they're dueling for me even though I know they're not. Crap. I need to start exercising and running. Just forgotten it. Well, best to wait until after the King has made his decision. Has absolutely nothing to do with it being damn hot and sweaty.

Ask Bodil to carve a couple of small elongated rounded wooden bowls, and make a wooden bow frame that holds them, but only if she really wants. I again sketch on the slate board and show that they are meant to sit over the ears and muffle sound. Just a bit different shape due to their slightly longer and pointed ears. She just shrugs a little, and says 'yes'. Hope she's not bored with my assignments. Check up on the job Ciara does with copying the maps. Good job and she might finish them today, and I reward her with a little kiss on the cheek and thank her for helping me so I can do other important stuff.

The furnace for the crucibles have dried, so I lower the crucibles, and fill it with charcoal and seal the top with bricks and clay. Charcoal costs more than wood, but it burns hotter and with much less smoke and sparks. In this case I only need that coal burns hotter, since the main difference with Crucible steel vs normal iron in a forge is basically three things. A normal forge won't be hot enough, and a furnace is needed. A normal forge doesn't contain the heat and stay hot enough for enought time. And the final thing which makes it crucible steel is the crucible, and its main purpose is to contain the molten steel and control its content so whats inside mixes and floats correctly. When the crucible is seal, nothing will contaminate the inside. This is important and I want to keep this process secret, which is the reason Kari isn't allow into the garden, and that the furnace can't be see from the windows. Sure she probably looked at it during the night or morning, but then its top wasn't sealed, and she don't know about the crucibles. It wouldn't look that different from a forge. But I need help, and having no other choice I let Iselin, Ciara and Bodil help with the bellows after lighting the fire, and we all alternate, while Alith plays chess with Kari out front. Soon the intense flames emerge from the low open channel into the middle, and we patch up a few holes in the top where smoke escaped, although a few tiny tendrils remain.

I stay there, just working the bellows and watching and prepared to act if something happens. Ciara comes out with food for us, and she even make sure we have stools to sit on, and I reward her with another kiss on the cheek before she takes over the bellows.

Its so damn exciting to do something like this even though it's hard work and waiting right now. Its satisfying to just build and test something, even if it doesn't work I will know it doesn't work, and I can improve it or decide to drop it and move on. I hope I never get too busy with boring stuff in the future. I can probably count on having two really capable wives to do administrative work and taking care of the household.

Two wives. It just feels so very wrong, and even more wrong that one of them will be a planned marriage that I didn't really choose. Will be 'forced to it', but it will be good for me, and she's a competent, intelligent, nice and beautiful woman. I should feel honored to call her my wife. I just don't have any feelings for her. Do I really find it so easy to accept that future?

Of course its not something I can directly go against without it having bigger consequences, and would rather have Kari as an ally than an opponent - but still. No matter her title, I will go for a friend that I respect first, possibly sex later, and wife when I in trust her in a couple of years. I might have had sex with several women, but it just feels wrong now that I'm starting to really love Iselin, and I'm afraid that if we start to have sex, it will be harder to stop. Then there's the fact that by law, the first marriage night require sex between the husband and wife. With witnesses. Kari will probably be patient, as long as our relationship slowly progress. Hope Iselin can accept Kari in our lives, but she seem to expect that it won't be just us two, and it's probably easier for her who grew up in this world, and where powerful men have several wives and concubines. The more powerful - the more women, although marrige alliances and customs usually limit it.

It's afternoon before the furnace goes out and we're all quite happy as our muscles are sore, and it's time to knock down the furnace walls. My relief is palpable when I see the yellow shining crucibles. No one cracked and they seems good. I carefully use a pair of borrowed tongs to lift the crucibles out, and place them one by one on the remaining bricks. The crucibles are radiating a lot of heat. Let them cool down a bit while I disassemble the furnace and pile the bricks. I will crush the crucibles too before Kari is let out in the garden. When the crucibles are dimly red, I knock apart the first and see an almost yellow-shining piece of iron, and the others are the same. I have three fine lumps of steel.

It's one thing to see or read about something, but when does it work? Endorphins. 'I feeeel good, da da da'. James Brown sings it with feeling in my head, and I almost want to sing loud and dance. I'm so damn happy right now, and I kiss Iselin on the mouth and Ciara on her cheeks. They don't know why I'm happy, but they know its important, and they like that they could help with something important and 'sejdish', and all three seem to think is been 'fun'.

The smithy's hearth is already lit, and the free man usually working it have been forewarned, and he is waiting with a slave as we carry the still hot lumps over on an iron grill. Roll the hearing plugs between my fingers and push them in while I watch the lump turn hotter, and I gently hammer the first blow on the steel. No large sparks flying from the orange-red lump. It really is steel.

The free man, as well as a slave, take over to hammer the material for the first shaping. I tell them it will take the rest of the day to heat that lump and gently hammer it into a more elongated flat shape, but when it gets too dull red they have to start heating it again. It will be strenuous for a long time, but they seem accustomed. However, they are amazed at how hard and different it is from normal iron. I warn them to do it slow and do it right, since I don't want it to crack.

The rest of the day the hammering is heard more or less constantly, but its not to loud, due to the walls and the location. They actually start hammering out another lump of steel fairly quickly because it takes such a long time to reheat one of them, that they can hammer on the other in the meantime. I don't want to disturb their hammering with bangs from my little cannon, so I decide to delay those experiments to another day. The fact that it starts to rain and the wind have picked up has nothing to do with my decision.

Meanwhile I study with Kari; vocabulary, language, reading and more, and I refresh math for them. Repetition, repetition and repetition. Iselin understands that something has happened between me and Kari, but seems unsure of what, but both she and Ciara also take lessons in posture, etiquette etc. Kari advises them that during the next few days they should try to practice it against each other, to help each other, so it becomes more natural and easier.

I tell Ciara to make a small personal symbol in the corner of all the maps she made. As a small signature to mark and indicate that she thinks they're worth it. Ask her to think of something personal but special. She tells me the pointed square its a sun, and I see the R in the middle with a C around in it. When she has drawn it on each, I whisper to her; the copies she just made? These are the ones I will give to the King. The king will admire her craft, proudly show it to others and paid dearly for it. Yes, she copied my maps but it is her skill that makes it hard to see a difference without her little symbol in the bottom corner. So be proud, in the future she will get more important jobs. Ciara really shines with happiness, and gives me a little kiss on the cheek that makes her happier, and I thank her again for her hard work helping me with the bellows. I tell her that if she wants, she can start making another set of map copies at her own pace.

Check on the progress in the smithy at regular intervals. They've got the feeling now, and while I'm still there, I make a simple little vessel to scoop up the lead and pour it into the ball mold and I do test castings. Takes time for the lead to solidify before I can open the mold and pick out the ball. But it gives me time to remove the pouring channel and smooth the balls edges. So happy that I have a dozen hearing plugs in my backpack in this damn noise, and I really want those earmuffs too. Usually sleep with hearing plugs when hiking, or in the car. Its especially nice if I'm in a cabin or similar and others are moving around. I have a set of nice surefires, but they're not nice to sleep with, and all I brought here are the cheap kind in long yellow foam rubber. Sleeps so much better with hearing plugs.

Finally, at maybe eight o'clock in the evening, they are finished and I reward them with 2 coins each. Doesn't sound like much but is a very good daily wage and they're very happy and pleased. I have two oblong pieces of steel that can become two swords. I take in the steel lumps in to my room during the night.

Ciara is lying in bed, and her breasts are so sore. She hadn't expected it to be this painful. Not enjoyable yet. Just pain. Alith warned her, but she still didn't expect it. But the pain will decrease, and they will become less sensitive over the comming days even if the fabric now feels rough. The soft fabric of the bra doesn't move, and its better than the blanket when it rubbs against her nipples, but it will take many weeks before its completely healed. But the pain is nothing as long as it helps her feel anything in the future - anything at all. And she do like the look of her thin gold pieces. Ciara can't help smiling when she thinks that her breasts really are worth gold, and in the future they will get gold rings just like Alith's, so Robert appreciates them. Ciara saved the rest of the silver instead of buying something else, and she will continue saving so her rings will be bigger. She hopes that her breasts grow back to their old size now that she eats properly and doesn't work. She misses her old body with bigger breasts and wider hips. Ciara's body. A curvy body more like Alith's. A body that Robert can like and be proud of.

Kari have somehow nestled into their group and Robert have accepted her. The way Kari just walked over and gave Robert such a kiss, and how they enjoyed eachothers lips. She wishes she could do that, but she dared to give him a kiss on the cheek, and Robert smiled when she did. He liked it! She has even given him more! It's obvious that such a smart and educated woman as Kari, would quickly realize Roberts greatness and see his light. It makes her own part of Robert smaller, but his light is strong.

If Robert thinks she's worth it, she will be allowed to share his bed, and she hope that he will be able to enjoy her well enough to continue sharing it from time to time, just like Iselin. He will then enjoy her at other places instead of Alith, and she will do it more often so he doesn't need Alith. Alith is kind, smart and Ciara's friend - but Alith doesn't need Robert.