Chapter 16: A Day At the Forge

"Well," he began cautiously, "have you ever thought about making tools instead of just weapons?"

Kaeli frowned, her hammer pausing mid-swing. "Tools? What kind of tools?"

"Things that could make your work easier," Lance said, gesturing toward the piles of scrap. "Like a bellows to keep the fire hotter, or molds for shaping metal faster. Even simple stuff like clamps to hold things in place would go a long way."

Kaeli tilted her head, her expression thoughtful. "And how exactly would we make these 'tools' of yours?"

Lance scratched the back of his neck. "Uh… trial and error?"

Kaeli snorted, shaking her head. "Figures. Still, it's not the worst idea I've heard. Mira mentioned something about creating tools for you and the tribe. What exactly do you have in mind, we can talk about the different tools while we're at it." She said.

The rest of the morning was spent brainstorming. Kaeli had grasped immediately the concept of the simple farming tools Lance proposed, but found these other 'tools' he mentioned to be quite fascinating.

Lance sketched crude diagrams in the dirt, trying to explain concepts like lever systems and molds. Kaeli listened with surprising patience, her sharp mind quickly picking up on his ideas.

"So, this thing," she said, pointing to a rough sketch of a clamp. "It holds the metal steady while I work on it?"

"Exactly," Lance said, nodding. "It's simple, but it'll save you a lot of effort. And if we can make a set of molds, you won't have to shape every piece by hand. You can just pour the melted metal in and go from there, cutting your workload in half."

Kaeli tapped her chin, her eyes narrowing in thought. "Pouring molten metal into molds… It's risky, but it could work. And it would speed things up."

"That's the idea," Lance said with a grin.

Kaeli smirked. "Not bad. Maybe you're more useful in the forge than I thought."

Their partnership quickly turned into a whirlwind of activity as Lance found himself being drawn into her work. Kaeli set to work, building a prototype clamp using scrap wood and metal, while Lance scavenged the camp for materials that could be repurposed.

At one point, Lance returned to the forge carrying an armful of mismatched items, an old pot, a broken spear shaft, and what looked like the remains of a shield.

"Are you raiding dirt?" Kaeli asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Resourceful scavenging," Lance corrected, dropping the items onto the ground. "You'd be surprised what you can do with junk."

Kaeli snorted. "I should be telling you that."

Their work continued, and by midday, after a few errors, the first clamp was completed, a crude but functional tool that Kaeli immediately put to use.

"Not bad," she admitted as she secured a piece of metal in the clamp. "Still ugly, though."

"Well, as they say, form follows function," Lance said with a grin.

"Did you just make that up?"

"Nope. It's a thing we say back on my world… more like they say actually." Lance said the last part under his breath.

Catching on to every word, Kaeli couldn't help it as she rolled her eyes, but she didn't argue.

The breakthrough came later that afternoon when Kaeli successfully cast her first spearhead using a makeshift mold she crafted from tougher materials. The process was far from perfect, but the resulting weapon was sharper and more uniform than anything she'd made before.

Kaeli held up the finished product, her golden eyes gleaming with pride. "This… This is good."

"It's better than good," Lance said. "You're onto something here."

Kaeli glanced at him, her expression softening. "You're not half bad. Are you sure you've never worked a hammer before? It's quite difficult to believe."

Lance shrugged. "I just throw ideas out there. You're the one making it happen. Back in my world, there are ways to get your hands on information, if not, I wouldn't know so much."

"Are you really from another world? I thought it was just a lie you made up?" Kaeli asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course it not a lie. I'm really from another world."

With a suspicious look, Kaeli didn't argue further. Lance questioned himself, appreciating how lucky he had been so far. These goblins really didn't believe him being from a different world, which meant that when he used that excuse after being captured, they didn't let him live because they believed him at all.

Even though he had an idea it might have been so, he couldn't help but imagine what an alternate version of the events that played out would have been.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, Lance and Kaeli sat by the forge, sharing a rare moment of quiet. The tools and weapons they'd made were laid out before them, a tangible testament to their combined efforts.

"Thanks for helping me today," Kaeli said, her voice uncharacteristically soft.

"Anytime," Lance replied.

She glanced at him, her smirk replaced by a small, genuine smile. "You know, you might not be as useless as I thought."

"All I have are my ideas, you are the strong one," Lance said, chuckling.

Kaeli growled, shooting Lance a fierce look, though he could tell it was only a mock exhibition, "and what do you mean by that?"

Lance chuckled lightly, surrendering "nothing, nothing. You are amazing, is what I meant." He might have spoken about Kaeli being more muscular than some men, maybe that was it.

Kaeli snorted softly, "of course I am, I am me after all."

CREATORS' THOUGHTS
ZombieMann

Hey guys! Christmas is a few days away, we will all be busy with celebration and everything that comes with it, so I will bring an early gift! Two more chapters today!

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