Chapter 2

The next eventful day was one that would change my life forever. It started one morning as I was, as usual, manning the forge for Master Cohn. As luck would have it, I was standing directly between him and the door. The first thing that warned me something was amiss, was a double picture of someone approaching the door. If both the twins were warning me, then trouble surely beckoned.

Sure enough, a black wizard barged in. A black wizard is my name for those that had an offensive skill and an aggressive demeanour. This one had the latter in spades. He had been coming to visit Master Cohn for around a month, trying to buy Atom, the swordsmith’s greatest creation. It could cut through just about anything. Master Cohn had politely declined all offers from the stranger. I say politely, but that was only when the other wizard was there. Once he’d left, Master Cohn continued my education by using some choice words that I’d never heard before. It boiled down to Hell would freeze over before he sold Atom to that egotistical maniac.

As I had already turned, due to the cat’s warning, I was waiting to see what he wanted, as he seemed far more aggressive than ever. He stormed in, his obese body wobbling beneath a dark gown. It would have been humorous if it wasn’t for the look on his face.

“Out of my way boy,” he screamed. “I shall have that sword if I have to kill you both for it.”

Without waiting for me to move, he unleashed a fireball of energy at me. Even in the split second that it took him to do it, I thought that I’d soon know if my shields actually worked. They did. They absorbed everything, with not even a slight glow to show for it. Instinctively, I formed another shield, this one I placed around the black wizard. There was one significant difference in the shields though. The one around my attacker was air tight, which as the name suggests permits nothing, including air, to penetrate. That should hold him until Master Cohn tells me what to do, I thought.

What I hadn’t allowed for, was the second ball of fire that left his fingertips. Any smith will tell you that you can’t have fire without air, and this latest fireball used up all that was trapped in his bubble. It was only moments before he collapsed, unable to breathe.

“What did you do to him, Powell?” Asked my mentor, looking worried for the first time since I’d been with him. “Whatever it was, well done.”

For him to call me by my first name rather than surname, Smith, was rare. In fact it was usually Boy or even just You. That meant he was really impressed or very nervous at the turn of events.

“When he blasted me, my first thought was ‘would my shield protect me’. I had an instant to decide whether to protect you or try to disarm him. I did the latter because of the damage he could cause to the smithy. I didn’t have time to tweak the shield, so it just blocked everything, including air. He collapsed when he’d used up whatever was trapped inside the shield. His second fireball just quickened that loss.”

“That makes sense, though I didn’t realise you were that powerful.”

“Neither did I, it’s not something I’ve been able to test properly.”

As we were talking Master Cohn had walked over to check on the prone body of the black wizard. As he approached I removed the shield around him but was fully prepared to reinstate it swiftly if that proved necessary.

“Well, he won’t be causing anyone any trouble again, he’s dead.”

“I won’t get into any trouble, will I?” I asked worriedly.

“No, he’s not local, so no family thinking about revenge. The Reeve will need to be informed, but he will accept my word on events.”

I sighed in relief. I hadn’t intended to kill him, just to prevent him from harming us or the forge. As the adrenaline wore off, I was starting to feel a bit queasy. I had killed a man, and it was just starting to register.

“Come Powell, sit down, you look very pale.” I was told.

I did as I was told and the next few hours passed in a daze. The Reeve arrived, fetched by one of the young lads that were always around. He listened to Master Cohn’s explanation and asked me a few questions. He seemed more concerned about who would pay for the burial than anything else and left as soon as Master Cohn offered to cover the cost of the most basic burial if needed.

The black wizard was searched before his body was removed. Enough coin was found to cover the burial and the Reeve’s time. The balance was given to me before I was sent to my cot and told that we would discuss events in the morning. As my cot was in the forge building, as close to the actual forge as the weather dictated, Master Cohn headed for his own house next door where he lived with the widow Cutler. It was she who kept us well fed. I had no idea if she provided Master Cohn with any further services.

The following morning, after a night of contemplation, I was still not happy with having to take a life, but accepted that I had done the right thing given the circumstances. Master Cohn began the day by breaking his fast, as he did every day. Mealtime was the only time I ever entered his house, and then it was only the kitchen that I saw. The difference was that eating was normally done in silence, where as, on that day, he explained the ‘why’ of yesterday’s events.

Grand Wizard Bahn was the dead man. Grand Wizard being a self appointed title, that matched his incredible ego. He had heard about the famous sword Atom and immediately decided that only he warranted wielding it. He knew that it would only serve the just, but in his mind, that meant him. He had no comprehension that he was selfish and greedy, just that he was superior to everyone else. Having failed to purchase the sword that he just knew should be his by right, he decided to just take it. If he had to kill Master Cohn in the process, that was just the smith’s fault for not selling it to him. It also had the advantage in that another similar sword could never be produced. As a mere apprentice, my death would be of little consequence.

“Are there many like him?” I asked at the end of Master Cohn’s explanation.

“Fortunately not. You will come across many with the same sense of entitlement, but few, if any, with his power. Most will covet anything of value that you possess, a few will try to swindle you out of them and some will try to just take everything by force, especially if they perceive you as weaker than they are. I shouldn’t worry too much though, for if Bahn’s powerful shots can’t get past your defence then I don’t know what will.”

“Didn’t he know that Atom wouldn’t respond to his demeanour?”

“No, he was far too arrogant.”

“Anyway, back to work I suppose,” I commented with a sigh.

Over the next couple of weeks, I noticed that Master Cohn was handing over more of the skilful work to me. I usually only worked on my own projects in the late afternoons, spending the rest of the time assisting my mentor.

Once his latest blade was complete, he turned to me and told me that the next work would be my final sword made in his forge ... providing, of course, that it passed his meticulous standards. He would be there to advise, but would take no part in its design or its forging.