Balthazar brought his iron hammer down against the hot steel. The ringing impact echoed down Coppervein Street and signaled the changing shift. He wiped sweat from his eyes and gestured for his apprentices to pump the leather bellows faster. The coal fire roared but the flames remained a stubborn orange. They could not reach the white hot temperature required to forge the dense metal Leo demanded.
Leo stepped into the open courtyard of the forge. He held a thick book bound in dark iron. The metal clasps pulsed with a faint golden light.
"Stop the bellows," Leo ordered quietly.
Balthazar lowered his hammer. The master blacksmith looked at the glowing tome and felt a strange vibration deep in his teeth.
Leo walked past the resting apprentices. He stopped in front of Balthazar and pressed
