The thunderous howl from the hammer awoke Ning Que, but the next moment, it knocked him out again. Buried in his dream, Ning Que could hear thunder, rain and laughter.
After a while, he woke up and rubbed his eyes. He found himself leaning on the wall of the smithy the blaze in the furnace was put out by dirt, leaving the room no longer warm. No one else was in the room.
He rubbed his sore shoulders, rose on his foot and came to the window. A wooden box was lying on the table next to the window. Ning Que was surprised because there was no such a thing yesterday.
The box was oblong, with a length of an arm. Ning Que opened the box and saw about six strangely shaped metal pieces. These metal things were dark on the surface, but when he had a good look, he found countless seams on the surface. These things were woven in countless thin metal lines. Its great tenacity was clear even at one look.