Aye, it’s been a long haul from dawn to dusk, and I’m sitting here in the Minoc tavern with a tankard of ale that tastes like wet leather, but I’ll take it. My arms still hum from the pickaxe work up near the old iron veins just outside the town—same spot I’ve been gnawing at for three days now. The rock up there’s stubborn, like it’s got a grudge. Every swing sent a jolt up my wrists, and more than once I missed clean, my pick skittering off the stone with a shriek that set my teeth on edge. I lost count how many times I had to step back, wipe the sweat from my brow, and curse the gods for placing rich ore in the one patch of ground that fights you for every flake. Still, I pulled nearly fifty ingots out of that cursed rock by midday, my pack sagging heavy with the weight of it, each step toward the mine forge a slow trudge.
But it wasn’t the mining that nearly broke me—it was the forge. Half my tongs snapped clean in the fire, just cracked like dry kindling when I was pulling a fresh bar of iron. I stared at the broken ends, blackened and useless, wondering if I’d have to walk all the way back to the blacksmith near the stables just to buy new ones. Instead, I rigged a pair from an old shovel handle and some scrap wire, clumsy things, but they held. The heat off the coals blistered my forearms, and the smell of scorched leather from my gloves mixed with the sharp tang of molten metal. I worked fast, shaping what I could before the fire died again. Nine decent daggers came out, not pretty, but serviceable. Enough to sell.
I hauled them into town, passing the tanner’s yard twice—my legs knew the way better than my head—and finally sold the lot to Elira at the armorer’s stand. She didn’t haggle much, just nodded and handed over a small pouch. Not much gold, but it’ll cover new tongs and a night’s rest without worrying about dinner.
Tomorrow, I’m heading deeper—past the old mine shaft toward the hills. Heard whispers of silver in the stone there. Might be a fool’s errand. But then again, so was today. And look—I’m still here.
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