Lina stood silently before the aging dwarf. His eyes looked her over, missing nothing. She was strong, that was to be expected in one who already had some experience in running a forge, even if it was as small as the one in her former workshop. There was a curious intelligence and maturity in her eyes that belied her young age.
"Why you?" he demanded gruffly. Tion had hoped to startle the girl with his bark. He was almost disappointed when she didn't even flinch.
"I am young and able to learn. I already have a great deal of the knowledge about smelting metals. I need only your wisdom regarding the creation of armor. Weapon makers we have in plenty, armors we only have you. Your apprentices were killed in Erebor, and you need to pass your skills on to someone. Why not me?" Lina reasoned.
Tion considered her words carefully. She was determined then to be his apprentice.
"Very well," he answered slowly. "When we have found a place to purchase the needed supplies for the new forge, I shall begin your training. Now, off with you!"
Lina's heart leapt for joy at his words. She was to be his apprentice! With a far lighter heart, she left the old dwarf to his list-making.
The nearest village that might have the supplies they needed was several days away. That gave her time to kill. Her mother had quickly found her place in the migrating dwarven company making and mending clothing. Several of the older female dwarves had joined her in this. The younger females, however, were either helping their mothers or wandering aimlessly about the camps in the evenings. They, like Lina, had nothing to occupy their free time.
"There are too few." For some reason this simple phrase caught Lina's attention. She looked around for the speaker and quickly identified the highest ranking member of Erebor's army to survive the dragon attack. He stood with his arms folded across his broad chest and scowled out over the ragtag bunch of dwarves. Some were very early in their minority still, barely of age to begin their training. Others were so old that they had probably retired from the fighting force at some point. At twenty-two years, Lina was still very young for a dwarf, but some of the minors before her were barely sixteen-years-old.
Lina watched as one of the smallest males attempted to swing a practice war hammer around his head in order to knock the head from a training dummy. The attempt failed miserably as the weight of the hammer pulled him backwards. The officer buried his face in one hand despairingly.
Squaring her shoulders, Lina strode onto the field. She plucked the hammer effortlessly from the youth's hands and motioned for him to leave the circle of dummies. Open mouthed, he obeyed. Drawing in a deep breath, Lina swung the hammer in a wide arc around her body at shoulder height, knocking the head cleanly from the dummy. She did not stop there. Continuing with the momentum of the hammer, Lina spun and took a couple of steps to remove the head of the dummy behind her. Her feet traveled in a pattern her fingers had only traced a thousand times before. The knot she envisioned in her mind was traced by the movement of her feet and the swinging of the hammer.
When she had traced the knot in her mind, Lina pulled the hammer to a halt. Her heart was pounding as the officer advanced upon her. His expression was forbidding. He seized the weapon from her loosening grasp and hefted it experimentally. Then his gaze slid from the hammer to the dummies around him. Of the twelve encircling them, only one still had its head on, but a massive tear had been ripped into the dummy's chest from the force of Lina's swing.
"Get me a proper hammer!" he shouted over his shoulder. Lina watched in confusion as the officer's aid scurried away only to return with a larger hammer in his hands.
The officer took the new hammer from his aid and thrust it at Lina's chest. She accepted the weapon, still confused.
"Reset the dummies!" he bellowed at the gawking recruits.
"Show me what you can do with a proper hammer, girl," he ordered gruffly. With that he stalked out of the circle.
Lina lifted the hammer experimentally, finding the balance of it. It was heavier, which meant it would be harder than the last one to get swinging and it would be harder to stop, but it would be no problem as long as Lina kept moving.
Once the dummies were reset, the recruits hurried to well beyond the range of the hammer's swing.
Lina swung the hammer in a circle around her head to get a better feel for its weight. It was heavier than she'd realized. The knot she'd used before would not work. This time she had to think on her feet and direct the hammer, not just use its own weight to complete the trial. This required more strength and skill than Lina believed she had, but it would not do to back down now.
The first head was sent sailing toward the recruits, scattering them in all directions. The second disappeared into the tents. A third vanished into the growing crowd of onlookers. By the time the twelfth had been sent sailing, Lina had grown tired. She forced the hammer to a halt, trying to make it seem effortless.
"What is your opinion, My Lord?" Lina was startled when she realized the Prince Thrain had appeared in the midst of her exercise.
"She'll do just fine, Commander," he answered, smiling broadly at the dwarven girl before him. "She'll do just fine."
"You, girl, have just volunteered for battle training," the commander informed Lina with a smile. "Your specialty is the war hammer."
Lina returned the smile, feeling somewhat faint. What had she gotten herself into?