Today, however, was different.
The green was wrong.
He cursed under his breath and tossed it onto the bed where it joined the three others already resting in a bit of a tangled heap.
Edgar appeared in the doorway. “May I be of assistance?”
“No.” The exasperated grunt told its own story.
“Mr Lucas. You don’t have to do this, you know.”
He sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed. “I do have to do this, Edgar. It’s important. It’s the main reason I’m even here.”
“All right then. So approach it in that way. A mandatory meeting. A necessary meeting. This is not a party, a ball, a formal dinner, or a night of cards with the lads. Push all that away, and focus. You’re very good at focussing.”
“I used to be,” sighed Lucas.
Edgar closed his eyes and murmured quietly to himself.
“What are you doing?” Lucas glanced at him.
“Praying for strength, sir.”
Lucas shook his head and grinned. “All right, damn you.” He took the maroon cravat, twisted it, and nodded. “Will this do?”
“Extremely well, sir. Most flattering.”
“You’d say that if it made me look like a—a white haired midget forge worker with a head full of iron filings.”
Edgar remained silent for a moment or two, observing his master. “I doubt I would use those terms, Mr Lucas, but the essence is not far off. However, in all seriousness, I believe your appearance at this point is without fault.”
Wisely, Edgar did not pursue the matter. “Will you be requiring an aethercoach this morning?”
“I will, yes. But most of the way down will be via trammelbuggy.”
If Edgar had had a nose instead of a beak, it would have turned up at that announcement. “Is therenoother way?”
“I’m going to the Forge, Edgar. No, there is no other way.” He turned back to the mirror for a brief moment. “Right then. I have some papers in that small black leather portmanteau. If you could put it out on the table in the hall, I’ll collect the ones I must take with me, while you call me some transportation.”
“Very good, sir.”
Dismayed to find his palms were damp, Lucas straightened his spine and told himself not to be an idiot. Certainly it had been many years since he and his brother had parted, and that had been painful in many ways.
But they had grown since then, their lives had changed. Lucas felt he could look his brother in the eye now, in the hope that what he would see there wasn’t the agony and despair of ten years ago.
He would find out soon enough, that was for sure. The papers he carried were of particular interest to the Forge Master and would have been making this visit necessary regardless of who held that position. It was simply inevitable, given the circumstances.
Edgar saw him off, polite, inscrutable, but with some encouraging words. They helped.
The aethercoach took him down two levels, but from then on it was trammelbuggy all the way. Not that he minded, since the amazing assortment of people sharing his journey fascinated him, as did his surroundings. Less and less grandeur and more and more reality. This, he realised, was the heart of Arcvale. The people who lived, worked, loved, raised their families, and finally passed on—theywereArcvale.
And it grew warmer. He’d forgotten the heat, the way the air held a mixture of odours, a dash of oil mixed with grease and a definite touch of iron. It was oddly familiar now, a scent he’d associated with his brother. Silas had been a Forge man for as long as Lucas could remember. He wondered if that was still true, or if—in his position as Forge Master—he’d succumbed to the more formal atmosphere that probably went along with the title.
The last trammelbuggy screeched to a halt, and Lucas joined the people descending onto the platform. He paused a moment, letting his eyes and his lungs acclimate to the hot, harsh air, while his ears did their best to deal with the incredible cacophony around him.
He patted his pocket, ensuring that the papers were safe, and then set off toward where he knew the Forge Master’s office was.At least it had been years ago, so he crossed his fingers that it hadn’t moved.
And there...there it was. Doors wide open, someone working inside, and a figure standing out front, lit by the light of the massive, brilliant forge. A tall man wearing a leather apron.
