Free Haven Keep (Book 1) by R. David Bell

“Time to quit daydreaming and get to work.”
    No shop in Azmark compared with Baiden’s.  Large, well kept, and well equipped, it was everything Von imagined a shop should be.  It had the best tools, the best forge, supplies for anything and everything. Working in here was therapeutic, much better than working with Berkler.
    The last few days Berkler had been unsufferable, demanding Von work for him.  While Von labored Berkler would sit and watch.  It was uncomfortable.  Von already felt uneasy around the man, but having Berkler scrutinize everything he did put Von on edge.  More on edge than normal.  Berkler must have trunks and cases full of swords as a result of Von’s efforts over the years.  The old blacksmith sold most of those to the merchant ships that frequented the waters of the Emerald Fjord.  The swords brought a hefty price, but Von never saw any of the money.  Still Berkler remained unsatisfied.
    “What is old Berk after?” Von wondered aloud.
    He returned the unfinished spearhead to the forge fire. He knew Kaiden wanted more arrow heads, but Von was anxious to get back to work with the mysterious metal.  He was sure there was something that would satisfy Kaiden stashed somewhere on the shelves. At least a dozen arrowheads or more.
    Dell and Reece were still under the impression the strange alloy was no different than fine steel, so the secret remained Von’s alone.  He hoped to keep it that way, at least until he  puzzled out more about their find.
    Two daggers lay completed on the shelves.  Von wasn’t ready to part with them. He’d taken special care to forge his friends weapons fit for any Lord. The daggers appeared flawless, only Von knew they could have been better.  The curious, powerful sensation never returned as he finished the daggers.  He wanted to know why.
    .  The sensation was akin to the awareness he often felt while meditating with the clerics.  No matter what Von did he could not force the feeling to return.  The momentum that built with every hammer strike.  The oneness with the forge, the hammer, the steel.  It was elusive, and despite his efforts he could not summon its return.  He even tried meditating before beginning work again. His struggles were useless, and so he finally finished the daggers, but never with the same energy.  Von knew the weapons where not what they could have been.
    Each dagger was as perfect as its twin, yet flawed in the same way.  Not even the most trained eye could pick out anything wrong, and none but Von would ever guess they could have been much more.  What was he doing wrong, and why couldn’t he finish as he started?  He wanted to ask for help, but who could he trust?  Certainly not Berkler.
    The spearhead heating in the forge fire was formed from one of the mysterious billets.  Von had a limited supply of the alloy, so he needed to make this attempt count. Maybe if he tried his hand at something besides a dagger he could figure out what he was doing wrong, somehow finish as he began.
    Von originally planned the spearhead for himself, but he liked the idea of giving it to Kaiden. Why not?  Dell and Reece were getting something special too.
    Finishing the spearhead now was an obsession.  There was a mystery to solve, one he was determined to puzzle out.  Berkler would just have to wait.  So would the arrow heads.  Right now Von couldn’t focus on anything but the spearhead.  It was pulling at him, calling to him from the flames of the forge.
    Outwardly Von appeared calm, but his mind raced as a madman’s.  He was transported to a different time and place.  The world outside ceased to exist.  Hammer stroke after hammer stroke he worked and turned the piece, returning it often to the forge fire.  The hammer strikes were musical and began to sing to him the familiar intricate melody.  He focused his emotion, driving himself into a frenzy, incorporating all the secret skills taught him.  Von learned the secrets