Chapter 50: Strike the iron when it’s hot!
"Feel the metal as you strike it!"
Irwin grunted as he held the tongs with his left hand, bringing the hammer down on the chunk of Degnin Iron. It flattened at the top as the reverberations ran from his wrist through his arm.
Keeping his eye on the metal, he struck it again, forcing his weary arm to comply. He knew that Trimdir stood to the side, staring at him, and if he relaxed even the slightest, he'd start shouting again.
"Listen to the metal after you hit it. It rings like a bell if it's pure-"
Irwin heard a high tink that echoed after as Trimdir tapped a completed ingot onto an anvil.
"- and clanks if it's not."
A dull thud came as his hammer struck the iron, flattening it further, the sound coinciding with Trimdir's words.
"Like that."
I know already, Irwin thought as he gritted his teeth and tried to focus on the sensation of the hammer striking the iron and the ringing after. After another ten hits, he thought he heard a slight difference, but it could just be his imagination.
He had been hitting the same bloody piece of iron all afternoon, and besides proving he wasn't even remotely as strong as Trimdir, who could flatten it in a dozen hits, he wasn't sure he was really making any progress.
"Alright, enough," Trimdir finally said.
Irwin lowered the hammer, breathing raggedly as he felt the heat of the nearby forge wash over him. Sweat dripped from his forehead and ran down his bare back. If it weren't so hot in here, his pants would have been drenched by now.