Carnelian

Chapter 10

The morning after Sir James had returned from the Deep Woods, he was hailed on his way to the kennels by the blacksmith's assistant. Politely, Sir James returned the greeting. He would have continued on his way, but the young man added, "I have your order ready. If you stop by the shop, I can get it for you."

For the life of him, Sir James couldn't think of anything he'd ordered from the smithy, aside from the fire irons he'd already delivered to Jakin's family. "I picked up those irons almost a fortnight ago," he frowned. "Surely you didn't fill the order twice, did you?" If the young man had, he'd be sure to earn correction for having wasted valuable resources.

"No, not the fire irons," grinned the apprenticed smith, before his smile faded. "Perhaps you'd forgotten about it; you ordered it almost three months ago and we were in the armory at the time."

Still, Sir James couldn't figure out what the teen was talking about. "Perhaps you'd better show me," he decided. "My apologies, my good man, but I confess I'm at a loss!" Utterly confused, he followed the grinning young man to the blacksmith's workshop, where an older version of the apprentice was hard at work, pumping the bellows.

"Master, I need a moment before I begin, please!" hollered the apprentice over the din of hammering.

"Hurry it up then!" came the equally loud reply. "There's work to be done, Boy!"

Ignoring his master, the apprentice reached under the counter and pulled out a leather glove. "Is this what you had in mind, Sir?" he asked Sir James.

The glove was beautifully worked, molded and stitched into a kind of partially-opened fist. In the web between the forefinger and thumb, a bit of flattened metal protruded, forming a notch toward the wrist. The apprentice indicated the bit of a hook. "I intended it for the reins of a horse or a dog's collar, but perhaps with a bit of practice, you could pull back a bow?"

He didn't wait for a reply, but turned the glove over, revealing the latches on the long wristband. "I designed the catches to work one-handed, so you can get it on and off easily," he pointed out. "That's why it took so long. Avery and I had to experiment a bit to get them right." With a nod of his head, the apprentice indicated the man at the bellows, who waved with a similar glove.

The lad lowered his voice a tad. "Avery lost his hand some time ago. I overheard you talking to the armorer. He might not have been interested in the project, but I sure was! If not for your design, Avery might still be depending on charity to support his wife and little one. Try it on!"

Sir James realized he was staring and returned his attention to the glove. He pulled it over the stump of his left wrist and pulled the straps tight. It fit over the bracer, fit his stump perfectly. The inside of the glove had been stuffed with something and stitched into place, rather than filled with a wooden form. Sir James realized that the iron hook was attached to the glove somewhere near where his wrist ended, making a wooden form impossible.

Still though, the soft leather and the padding would protect his stump, preventing the stinging pain that shot up his arm every time he accidentally bumped it wrong. Aside from the iron hook set inside the glove and the latches, most of the thing were made of leather. Sir James knew it had taken the apprentice long hours of his own time to build.

"How much do you want for it?" he asked, striving for a casual tone. After having paid for Jakin's reparations, he hadn't much coin at the moment. Sir James wondered how long it would take to save up for such a costly item.

"I would be honored if you would keep it as a gift," the apprentice said slowly. "If you hadn't suggested it, Avery and I would never have figured it out and he'd still be wearing a hook and begging instead of working the bellows." The boy winked. "Besides, this is a smithy, not a leatherworking shop."