Limits.

Back inside the room . The old Lizard sat down on his chair, and said "I misjudged you badly . For that, I apologise . Have a sit, and let us talk about your employment" . I sat down and said "It"s fine . Also, don"t worry too much about the Grondon . I gave him some medicine, and he should be fine very quickly" .

He nodded his head and said "I understand what you did . You knew I would employ you, when I saw you strength . You would give the medicine to that Grondon anyway, right?" . I nodded and said "Of course, he didn"t do anything wrong . I had no reason to harm him, I just wanted to make a point" . He nodded this time, and said "Good, you are an honest person . You told me how much you knew about smithing, and didn"t hide anything . I sincerely apologise . Now, what type of conditions do you propose?" .

I said "I"m not after money, as much as I am after the materials, and the workplace . I need to create more daggers for myself . If you can provide some good grade materials, and the workplace for me to create them, I can do any job you want" . The old Lizard nodded, and asked a bit excited "Can I have a look at your dagger?" .

I retrieved one of my daggers, and pa.s.sed it onto him . He looked at it, and exclaimed "This has a perfect balance! It was made from a mold, but still, the quality is very good . Did you design that?" . I nodded my head and said "Yes, I designed that dagger to suit myself perfectly" . He nodded a few times, then said "The details are really great . I would be even tempted to buy it" . I said "They are not for sale" .

He didn"t seem surprised and said "I figured as much . Alright, I can provide some materials for you, but it will not be Azurite . We are required to make a specific amount of it, and the materials don"t belong to us . I can give you other materials, that are better than the current ones in your dagger" .

I said "As long as they are better, I have no reason to decline" . He nodded and said "Great! I will give you Black Iron, but don"t be fooled . Black Iron, is twice as resilient as Purified Steel, but it"s a bit heavier" . I thought about it and said "That is fine . I can just get accustomed, to the new weight of my daggers" .

I then asked "What type of amount are we talking about?" . He said "I will give you enough materials, to create 3 daggers every day . The Black Iron is much more expensive, compared to the Purified Steel . That is as high as I can go" . I nodded my head and said "That is acceptable . Can someone also teach me, how to make ingots from the Black Iron?" .

He said "I will teach you myself, when you are done with your task each day . As for the length of your employment, stay as long as you want . I"m sure there will be work for you here" . I nodded my head and said "Alright, then what am I supposed to do?" . He said "Let"s go to the workshop, and I will show you" . I nodded, and we went outside . When I had a look at the workshop again, I noticed that the Grondon I damaged a bit earlier, was now working away . "It seems that he drank the medicine" I thought, then followed after the old Lizard .

We came up to an empty workbench, then he said "I will teach you have to make Azurite Ingots . I hope you can make couple of them in a day, where Grondons can only make one . It is a lengthy and exhausting process, but not much can go wrong with it" . I kind of expected that much, but I had no problems with it .

He took some light blue ore and said "This is Azur Ore, very rare and expensive" . He then added some other white powder, and said "This is Moonlight Dust, It is in a form of powder now, but that"s because it was processed . Normally, it forms underground, under special conditions . It"s also quite rare" . I nodded my head, while he placed them both in a furnace and melted them . He said, while we waited for the stuff to melt "Use the scales provided here, to measure the exact amount of materials needed . Did you use the scales before?" .

I shook my head, and said "No, I didn"t have a chance to" . He nodded, and explained "This tool is very easy to use . On one side, you have a plate where you put weights, and the other side, is where you place the materials . For example, you will need 1 kilogram of Azur Ore and 300 grams of Moonlight Dust, for the mix . Use the weights, that indicate specific quant.i.ty on one side, then place the ore on the other side . When the scale is level, then that means you have the exact amount" . I nodded my head, and said "I understand, it is simple to use indeed" .

When the ore inside the furnace melted, he said "We now need to strike it, until we receive a uniform ma.s.s of metal . It should be of one colour, with no impurities . It takes quite some time for Grondons to do this step, as we cannot melt the metal again . We can only heat it up a bit . If we tried to melt it, more impurities would enter the metal, and so our work would be pointless" .

He then continued, while pounding the piece of metal "It will take some time for me to do this, so I"m just going to explain, what to do further . When most the impurities are gone, you will have to melt the metal and add another ore . This time we need to add Blurite Ore . Blurite, is an ore that will add flexibility to the Azur Ore . While the Moonlight Dust, is there to give it a shine, but also strengthen the metal . This gives the Azurite more flexibility, strength and it doesn"t become brittle . Again, you will use the scales, in order to measure how much Blurite Ore you will need . For one ingot, you will need 650 grams of Blurite" .

I nodded my head and said "Then I pound out the impurities, that were produced due to the melting?" . He nodded and said "That is correct . Besides that, you also have to thoroughly mix the Blurite, with the Azur-Moonlight mix . When it is thoroughly mixed, you don"t melt it anymore, instead, heat it up and use this tool, to shape it into the ingot" . He pointed at a metallic mold, that would be used to accomplish that . "In the end, it needs to look like this" he said, and he showed me a completed Azurite Ingot .

I nodded my head, then said "It"s not that difficult indeed . I will give it a try, and then tell you how many ingots, I can create in a day" . He nodded his head and said "Sure . Well then, I will leave you to it . All the tools you need are here . When you want to take a break, do so, you don"t have to ask anyone for permission here . When you finish your first ingot, come by and show it to me . I will need to check the quality" .

I nodded my head and said "No problem" . He then waved goodbye and left me to my own work . "Right, the process is a bit more lengthy and a bit more complicated, compared with Purified Steel Ingots, but I have much more strength and stamina, compared to the past . There should be no problems" I thought .Back inside the room . The old Lizard sat down on his chair, and said I misjudged you badly . For that, I apologise . Have a sit, and let us talk about your employment . I sat down and said Its fine . Also, dont worry too much about the Grondon . I gave him some medicine, and he should be fine very quickly . He nodded his head and said I understand what you did . You knew I would employ you, when I saw you strength . You would give the medicine to that Grondon anyway, right? . I nodded and said Of course, he didnt do anything wrong . I had no reason to harm him, I just wanted to make a point . He nodded this time, and said Good, you are an honest person . You told me how much you knew about smithing, and didnt hide anything . I sincerely apologise . Now, what type of conditions do you propose? . I said Im not after money, as much as I am after the materials, and the workplace . I need to create more daggers for myself . If you can provide some good grade materials, and the workplace for me to create them, I can do any job you want . The old Lizard nodded, and asked a bit excited Can I have a look at your dagger? . I retrieved one of my daggers, and pa.s.sed it onto him . He looked at it, and exclaimed This has a perfect balance! It was made from a mold, but still, the quality is very good . Did you design that? . I nodded my head and said Yes, I designed that dagger to suit myself perfectly . He nodded a few times, then said The details are really great . I would be even tempted to buy it . I said They are not for sale . He didnt seem surprised and said I figured as much . Alright, I can provide some materials for you, but it will not be Azurite . We are required to make a specific amount of it, and the materials dont belong to us . I can give you other materials, that are better than the current ones in your dagger . I said As long as they are better, I have no reason to decline . He nodded and said Great! I will give you Black Iron, but dont be fooled . Black Iron, is twice as resilient as Purified Steel, but its a bit heavier . I thought about it and said That is fine . I can just get accustomed, to the new weight of my daggers . I then asked What type of amount are we talking about? . He said I will give you enough materials, to create 3 daggers every day . The Black Iron is much more expensive, compared to the Purified Steel . That is as high as I can go . I nodded my head and said That is acceptable . Can someone also teach me, how to make ingots from the Black Iron? . He said I will teach you myself, when you are done with your task each day . As for the length of your employment, stay as long as you want . Im sure there will be work for you here . I nodded my head and said Alright, then what am I supposed to do? . He said Lets go to the workshop, and I will show you . I nodded, and we went outside . When I had a look at the workshop again, I noticed that the Grondon I damaged a bit earlier, was now working away . It seems that he drank the medicine I thought, then followed after the old Lizard We came up to an empty workbench, then he said I will teach you have to make Azurite Ingots . I hope you can make couple of them in a day, where Grondons can only make one . It is a lengthy and exhausting process, but not much can go wrong with it . I kind of expected that much, but I had no problems with it . He took some light blue ore and said This is Azur Ore, very rare and expensive . He then added some other white powder, and said This is Moonlight Dust, It is in a form of powder now, but thats because it was processed . Normally, it forms underground, under special conditions . Its also quite rare . I nodded my head, while he placed them both in a furnace and melted them . He said, while we waited for the stuff to melt Use the scales provided here, to measure the exact amount of materials needed . Did you use the scales before? . I shook my head, and said No, I didnt have a chance to . He nodded, and explained This tool is very easy to use . On one side, you have a plate where you put weights, and the other side, is where you place the materials . For example, you will need 1 kilogram of Azur Ore and 300 grams of Moonlight Dust, for the mix . Use the weights, that indicate specific quant.i.ty on one side, then place the ore on the other side . When the scale is level, then that means you have the exact amount . I nodded my head, and said I understand, it is simple to use indeed . When the ore inside the furnace melted, he said We now need to strike it, until we receive a uniform ma.s.s of metal . It should be of one colour, with no impurities . It takes quite some time for Grondons to do this step, as we cannot melt the metal again . We can only heat it up a bit . If we tried to melt it, more impurities would enter the metal, and so our work would be pointless . He then continued, while pounding the piece of metal It will take some time for me to do this, so Im just going to explain, what to do further . When most the impurities are gone, you will have to melt the metal and add another ore . This time we need to add Blurite Ore . Blurite, is an ore that will add flexibility to the Azur Ore . While the Moonlight Dust, is there to give it a shine, but also strengthen the metal . This gives the Azurite more flexibility, strength and it doesnt become brittle . Again, you will use the scales, in order to measure how much Blurite Ore you will need . For one ingot, you will need 650 grams of Blurite . I nodded my head and said Then I pound out the impurities, that were produced due to the melting? . He nodded and said That is correct . Besides that, you also have to thoroughly mix the Blurite, with the Azur-Moonlight mix . When it is thoroughly mixed, you dont melt it anymore, instead, heat it up and use this tool, to shape it into the ingot . He pointed at a metallic mold, that would be used to accomplish that . In the end, it needs to look like this he said, and he showed me a completed Azurite Ingot . I nodded my head, then said Its not that difficult indeed . I will give it a try, and then tell you how many ingots, I can create in a day . He nodded his head and said Sure . Well then, I will leave you to it . All the tools you need are here . When you want to take a break, do so, you dont have to ask anyone for permission here . When you finish your first ingot, come by and show it to me . I will need to check the quality . I nodded my head and said No problem . He then waved goodbye and left me to my own work . Right, the process is a bit more lengthy and a bit more complicated, compared with Purified Steel Ingots, but I have much more strength and stamina, compared to the past . There should be no problems I thought .