When Anabel and Mark returned from their lunch break at the caravan, Mark got back to work by loading up some of the colored ores in the furnace to be refined. With the refinement process started, he grabbed some of the small bars that were ready to be utilized and added them to the fire of his forge in their separate crucibles.
He only had to make a small amount of his strength alloy so he mostly had the green sheen metal melting with a small amount of the purple sheen metal in their respective crucibles. It would be more than a single normal crucible could contain when combined but not enough to actually fill a large crucible.
He then placed a couple of refined iron bars into their own crucibles to create some weapons from scratch. Since his objective for the day was just a few weapons bonded to bone, he would not need as much metal as normal to he was only preparing a couple of kilos.
'This should suffice for the day, but if it ends up not being enough, then I can just melt some more later. . .'
His supply of the purple metal was still limited and he separated the supply he received from the caravan from the stuff that was brought to him for personal requests. This was done as a way for him to complete his work while also utilizing his personal payments to supply his personal projects.
Considering these facts, Mark thought, 'And when the caravan is gone, ill have plenty of time to explore further out into the new caves that should have opened during the last big growth. . .'
The one thing that was disruptive of the timing of the caravan was the end of the growth the village had just faced. There was not much time between the rebuilding period and the arrival of the caravan, but the goods the caravan brought was helpful for the entire village.
The arrival of Mr. Li was especially helpful for Mark, since he did not have to go out to gather materials himself the past week and he could focus on his smithing. With the caravan leader having his guards go out and gather materials for Mark, he would not need to explore the outside of the village for the rest of the week.
'But that also means there will be no new discoveries, no new metals to experiment with, and no new grey stones. . . if there is even any of them out there anymore. . .'
Mark had been staring at the fire in the forge all this time as he ruminated over his plans and other thoughts. With his thought process coming to an end without actually falling into a trance, he checked the metals that were melting in their respective crucibles.
With the metals being at a workable consistency, he poured them onto his forge and hammered them while folding them with his flat tongs. He took deliberate care to make sure the purple metal was spread out evenly with the green metal to create an appropriate alloy during the fifth step later. When he was done with the mixing process, he placed the cooled lump of metal mixture into its own large crucible and placed it back in the forge to melt.
With the metal he would be working with for the day ready, he moved over to the bone pile to pick out the first piece he would be working with. While he was looking over the possible bones he could utilize in his next creation, Anabel walked over to him.
"Hey, what are you going to do with those bones? I have been meaning to ask. . ."
Mark looked up with surprise. "Have you not seen those weapons with bones in them?"
Without waiting for a reply, he walked over to his assortment of weapons he had not sold or traded yet and grabbed one of the swords with a handle made of bone to show to Anabel.
He held it up to her and said, "This is one of my newer creations, in which I bonded metal and bone together to make a lighter weapon."
Anabel ran her hand over the bone and metal parts and looked a bit shocked.
"How is that possible? It is like the bone is part of the metal. . ."
Mark just shook his head excitedly, his emotions beginning to come out as he spoke about something he loves.
"Yes, the bone and the metal are bonded together. I was able to do it with the fifth step. The technique enables me to create strong bonds between many solid materials that do not have to be metal to begin with."
Anabel just looked confused, still unable to understand how bone and metal could bond together in such a manner. Seeing her continued confusion, Mark decided to change the subject.
"Well, which one of these bones do you think I should use next? I want to make a couple of weapons and maybe a helmet. Where do you think I should start?"
Anabel, snapped out of her confusion, looked back to the weapon Mark was holding and then to the bone pile. There were leg bones and arm bones among large claws and teeth. Each bone looked to have been picked out to be useful in the creation of weapons.
She leaned over and picked up a large upper arm bone and turned to Mark.
"What would you do with this one?"
Mark laid his sword down on a nearby table and grabbed the arm bone in one hand, checking how it felt in different positions for different angles for one hand and two hands. He envisioned a blade on it as he swung it around, checking how it would work out as a sword.
'It has the right grip and length for a one-handed sword, I could bond the blade with minimal modifications. Just a cut at the top here and a couple of pins would do the trick with the bonding process.'
He turned to Anabel with a resolute look in his eyes, "I could easily turn this into a one-handed sword. It would be lighter than a normal sword, while its strength and sharpness would be unparalleled. For the balance to be right, part of the blade would poke out of the bone at the top, but it would be a great weapon."
Anabel found his explanation quite amusing and replied, "Then I would like you to see you make that weapon!"
She smiled at him after he was done talking, and he just nodded at her as he turned to the forge. His thoughts of the process he would going to utilize to make his thoughts of the materials into a reality had already taken hold. His attention had become focused on the singular task at hand.
He placed the bone on the anvil as he walked over to his tool rack. He grabbed the knife that would allow him to cut the bone as needed and a punching tool for the pins he would put into the bone through the blade.
With the blade next to the bone, he grabbed his hammer for the fifth step and dipped the punching tool into the strengthening alloy to coat it. Then he bonded the alloy with the punching tool to create a strengthened punching tool that could withstand the force needed to punch through the tough bone and he compressed the tip of the tool before sharpening it.
He then grabbed a mold for a blade for a one-handed sword and poured some molten refined iron into it. Once it had cooled enough, while still being malleable, he pulled it out with a pair of tongs and placed it on the table.
He grabbed his regular hammer and a heavy splitting tool to carve off some of the metal that would be unnecessary for the bonding process. He took off part of the lower back end of the blade which would be extra weight in the bone.
With his preparations in place, he put the blade in the flames of the forge and readied his knife. He grabbed the bone and started carving it to fit the image he had in his head. He cut out the bulky parts at the end of the bone where the blade would come out of and cut it partially at an angle.
After cutting it up to his liking, he grabbed the punch to make the holes where the end of the blade would have pins through it to anchor it to the bone. With this process completed, he set the newly carved-up bone to the side and pulled the blade back out of the fire.
With the blade at optimal temperatures for the etching process, he pulled out his tool and made a light etching in the fractal pattern he found to be the best. The etching process was done quickly on both sides, but he placed it back in the fire to make sure it was at optimal bonding temperatures before utilizing the fifth step with the strengthening alloy.
With the blade warming up, he checked his alloy and ensured it was at the right consistency to be poured and readied the anvil for the fifth step. He grabbed the blade out of the forge and the alloy before pouring the metal into the grooves.
The fifth step process went by quickly for both sides of the blade since he was utilizing just enough to strengthen the blade. With the strengthening done, he placed the blade into the fire again before the last step.
The blade did not take long to get to optimal temperatures, and while he was waiting he readied the pins and the bone on the anvil. With the blade at the correct temperature, he quickly pulled it off the fire and inserted it into the slit he had cut with a little assistance from his hammer.
Since the edge was compressed already, there was no need in worrying about damaging the edge or tip of the blade as he hammered it into the bone. After he was done, he was able to quickly punch the holes for the pins with his upgraded punch tool and hammered in the pins.
He then grabbed his fifth step hammer and began the bonding process between bone and metal. There was a bit of variation in the previously established rhythm and power placed in his strikes, but after tinkering with it he was able to figure out the correct bonding process for this specific weapon.
The bonding necessary for this process required the metal touching the bone to all be bonded, but when he was done it was impossible to tell where the bone began and where the metal ended. Anabel walked over after he was done so she could see what he had done, and she was astonished.
"Wow, it really does look like the other weapon you made. The bone and the metal just come together like they are meant to do that, it's awesome!"
Mark was happy with the support and replied, "Thanks, Anabel. Now I just need to do this with the rest of the bones in the pile. Want to see me make a helmet with one of those skulls?"
Anabel looked over to the few skulls in the pile and looked back at Mark.
"I think that would be great!"
With the next item on the agenda, Mark readied his hammer for the work ahead.