23
With every clap of the hammer, the metallic thud echoed through the workshop. It was after hours, but Professor Eireen encouraged us to work on our keys whenever the inspiration struck us.
Pearls of sweat funnelled down my eyebrows where I wiped them away with my sleeve. My hands were tough and hot from handling the zinc ores and smelting them into a small bar. Together with the copper I extracted in the last class, I should have the materials to make a basic brass and see where that got me.
The bar of zinc was thin and there wasn’t a whole lot of it despite the hours of work I put into it. It was so light, I could bend it.
“Shrrrrrk.”.
What a weird sound, almost like the brass was crying. I shouldn’t do that again.
I dried my forehead and placed the zinc bar next to the copper on
