Born in the Flame

Chapter Three

Heading down the stairs to the forge, I saw my father standing over an anvil. His head turned when I feigned a cough. Since my footsteps were often too light for his ears to hear, I had to let him know where I was before I ended up startling him.

"Train well?" He asked, looking back down at the weapon sitting on the anvil before him.

"Yeah, we both knocked each other down a few times." I laughed, "I'm going to change. I'll take over for you when I'm done."

"Don't worry too much about that. I'm going to be in the office doin' paperwork. The elder council is continuin' to beg me to join. Maybe a letter damnin' them all will convince them against it."

"You should join." I replied casually.  "You deserve to have a say in how Forge City operates."

"It would take me outta the shop. That would be too annoyin' for me." He sighed.

"Maybe think about it more before you curse them." I chided. All he responded with in return was an annoyed grunt.

When I returned from changing into the normal blade-smithing uniform, my father was already in his office. In the small window fitted into the stone wall, I could see the old man working on the paperwork, reading glasses fixed to his face. Since there was no reason for me to hang around in the forge, I headed into the shop. I reorganized a few of the racks of weapons that had been crudely placed on the wall, by my father no doubt, and opened the window to let the autumn breeze into the hot room.

As I stood, leaning against the window, I watched the travelers passed by. My ear twitched at the sound of the bell jingle. Swiveling my head toward the door, I saw a tall man standing at the entrance. He looked absolutely bewildered just by simply being here. The more I looked, the more I found the sight of him to be odd. Yes, being tall by human standards is not too uncommon. Human's that stood a head taller than me though, that was strange. Not only did the height difference set off alarm bells, but the fact that there seemed to be a haze around his head was even more odd.  Was he using magic? Were my dusk elven eyes just sensitive to the light? I wasn't all too sure.

The hooded cloak he wore shifted as he fidgeted where he stood. Gradually, he moved the hood off his head. Long copper hair tumbled out from beneath the hood and fell to his upper back. I could more clearly make out the features of his face. While his body was the one that could not hide his emotions, his face told a different story. The man's face, while stoic and cold, was handsome. Light red freckles danced across his nose and across his high cheek bones. Jade colored eyes sat above those high cheekbones in a way that looked down on anyone who dare be targeted by them.

Not bothering to be the least bit intimidated, I walked over to the man the same way I would with any customer.

"You looking to have a weapon in your hands?" I casually said, internally wincing as those jade eyes fell on me.

"I'm looking to speak with Iron Philli." His smooth voice said in a blunt manner. An unfamiliar lilt danced in his voice that I couldn't quite place.

"He's indisposed at the moment, but if you're looking to have a weapon made I can help with that as well." I replied, ignoring the daggers his eyes were throwing in my direction.

"No, thank you." The words were polite, but the tone that was woven into them was anything but that.

"Well, if you insist, I'll grab my father." I narrowed my eyes on him but still gave the man a smile.

"Good." The man replied curtly. If he weren't a prospective customer, I probably would have blasted him out of the shop. Keeping my cool, I moved toward the forge and knocked on my father's office door before opening it.