Chapter Ten - Beckendorf

I entered Cabin Nine to find the last stragglers just climbing out of their bunks. Looking around, I saw Nyssa but no sign of Charles Beckendorf.

"Hey, where's Charlie?" I asked.

"He went off to get some things from the forge," Jake said. As a son of Hephaestus, he was apparently my half brother. He had a shaggy mop of light brown hair and his skin was covered in blue and red splotches like he'd had ink poured on him. "And nobody calls him Charlie."

"Silena does," I said, getting a few laughs from the others. "Besides, I thought we were going to be heading to the forge first thing. Why's he getting something from the forge when we're just going to be heading there anyway?"

"It's the first proper day back to camp," Nyssa said. "Which means safety meeting in the workshop. Plus the cabin is less likely to explode than the actual forges if you mess something up, so you'll be doing your work here today."

"Explode?" I asked.

"We all had to do our first works here," Jake said, ignoring my outburst. "Less interruptions and less distractions. The rest of the world falls away and it's just you, the hammer and your creation. You'll see what I mean."

"No, seriously," I said. "What's this about exploding?"

"Ah, don't worry about that," Jake reassured me. "There hasn't been an explosion in the forge since last year."

"Yeah well," Nyssa said with a grin. "The forges have also been cold since last year too."

"Remember when the Johnston girl blew the place up?" Someone else - I think his name was Mack - said. "She still won't set foot in the place. Thinks dad cursed her or something."

"Hey, curses are serious business," Jake said, frowning as he held up his arms to show off his tie-dye complexion.

"That's dye from your clothes, Mason," Charles Beckendorf said as he walked in carrying a small anvil over his shoulder. Jake frowned, then spit on his finger and rubbed at the discoloration only to blush as it started to easily come off. "Go wash up. The rest of you, downstairs."

We all followed him down the winding staircase to the basement workshop, taking a seat at the work benches as Beckendorf set down the anvil and turned to face us from the back of the room.

"Alright, as most of you know, I take safety in the forges seriously," Charlie said, looking around the room at everyone. He didn't shout to be heard, but his deep voice carried well enough that nobody had trouble hearing him speak. "The 'Days Since Last Explosion' calendar is a fun joke, especially since it was damaged in one such explosion, but we should all strive for that number to continue climbing. The healers can fix a lot, but we shouldn't bother them with preventable injuries if it can be avoided. To help with that, I would like to go over some basic safety practices today."

There was a collective groan as everyone else seemed resigned to a meeting. I was interested, but probably because this was my first time hearing it.

"I'll try to keep it brief, so just grin and bear it. First is the apron," he said, pulling on a heavy leather apron with 'Kiss the Smith' written on the front. "In addition to keeping your clothes free of things like ash and dust, the padded leather is enchanted to provide protection against accidental skewerings and will also cushion against any kickback of an unbalanced anvil - looking at you, Mack. It's also got pockets and loops for holding tools and other things while you work, so you can keep things close at hand as needed. Next, eye protection."

He pulled out a pair of tinted safety glasses; "Eye protection. This is non-negotiable. If you are in the work area, you will be wearing eye protection. These are specially tinted to protect your eyes against even the flare of a welding torch, and will keep sparks and other shrapnel out of your eyes.

"Next is hand and foot wear. We handle a lot of hot things in the forge. Never assume that just because the metal is dark that it's cool. Also, like the apron, these gloves are leather and enchanted to protect against bludgeoning forces while not restricting manual dexterity. They'll mean the difference between a dull pain and several broken bones should you hit yourself with a hammer while working. Unfortunately, both Chiron and Mr. D have informed me that I cannot require steel-toe work boots in the forges. Luckily, this year I am happy to announce a new creation of mine, the bronze toe shoe caps."

He held up a set of rounded bronze disks that had leather straps.

"These will conform to fit all shoe types and sizes and, unlike normal steel-toe boots, will protect the entire tops of your feet from being crushed or skewered if you or someone else happens to drop something."

There were a few appreciative whistles and a smattering of applause. Charlie grunted, clearly fighting the urge to blush, before he continued; "And last, but not least, ear protection," he said, holding up a pack of bright orange soft rubber ear plugs. "The workshop is loud. Hearing damage caused by repeated noise is accumulative, and it can take months or even years before the impact of the damage becomes very obvious, but it can also directly affect your health. Even if you don't drop dead from tinnitus, it certainly wont do you any favors if a monster can sneak up on you from behind because you can't hear a thing over the ringing in your ears."

He paused, making and holding eye contact with each of us in turn. The weight of his gaze was an almost physical force.

"Alright, that's it. Thank you for patiently listening to me ramble on," he said after a minute. "Be sure to grab your gear before you leave. Mason, you can take this bunch off to the forges whenever you're ready."

I turned, only now noticing Jake standing by the stairs. He was no longer tie-dyed, so I had to assume he'd been able to wash up. So much for curses, heh.

"What about you?" he asked.

"I'm gonna hang back and run our new little sister through the basics," Beckendorf said. "See if I can't turn her into a proper smith."

There was a clatter of chairs scraping against the floor as everyone stood up at once and started moving to the stairs. I stayed seated until it was just me and Beckendorf left.

"Come on over," he said, gesturing for me to approach. "I heard about what happened from Chase. She also said you were dead set on making something today regardless."

It took me a moment to figure out who he was talking about before it clicked. Chase must have been Annabeth's last name. I briefly wondered why she'd be talking to my counselor, but remembered she'd called herself my friend. I guess she was just doing her best to look out for me.

"Y-yeah," I said. "Even if I don't get around to anything else today, I'd really like to at least try. I... I just... I'd like to take the chance that I can get my mind on a different track, you know?"

"Fair enough," he conceded. "Alright, let's get you started. First, you need to gear up."

I grabbed the required P.P.E. but frowned at the ear plugs.

"I'm going to have trouble with these," I said.

"You just have to twist them in."

"No, no. I mean I'd probably cause them to start melting or something, see?" I unwrapped the package and held one of the foam rubber plugs up for him to see. Sure enough, it had already begun to smoke in my hand. "I'm pyrokinetic, and my flames are emotionally driven. I'm doing my best to keep them under control right now, but I'm still running hot."

"I see," he frowned. "If I'd know ahead, I wouldn't have dragged that anvil all the way here. Alright, no problem. Instead of a standard forging, we'll just start you off with a cast blade. First, you need to design and craft a model of what you want the finished blade to look like. So go grab a plank and pencil and get drawing. While you're doing that, I'll get the clay ready."

He gestured to a storage closet against the far wall. Stacked inside were dozens of wood planks of uniform length. I suppose it would keep them dry and safe from warping. I grabbed one from the top and closed the door back before moving to a work bench nearby. Grabbing a pencil from the holder, I stared at the plank before starting to draw. Beckendorf stopped by a couple of times, offering advice but otherwise not interferring. Finally, I had finished.

"Okay," I said, taking the board to show him. "What's next?"

"Next, we cut the template out. We'll use the jigsaw for this, as it's designed to cut curves easily." He walked over to the power tools, grabbing a cordless jigsaw and a battery pack. It was loud, but nothing compared to some of Jo's tools at the Waystation. In no time at all, the template was smoothly cut from the plank.

After that, he had me shape out the template to properly match what the end result should look like. After all, there was only one use for a sword that was one inch thick and flat as a board along the edges - a hammer. Once I got the hang of the sanding, he left me to it until he was satisfied that it was properly ready.

"Next, we get the clay mold set up," he said before talking me through the steps to make a proper two part mold.

I separated rolled out the clay in two parts, pressing the wooden template firmly into place, sprinkling the exposed side with ash to keep the two parts from sticking before closing it up. Beckendorf absolutely could have done it faster and cleaner, he pointed out, but that was the point of making me do it. He wouldn't always be around, and unless I actually put in the work, I'd never reach his level. Not that I ever hoped to reach his level - he was considered the best for a reason. Unfortunately, we'd have to wait at least a week for the mold to properly cure.

"Is there a way to make magical weapons?" I asked, wiping my hands clean with alcohol wipes. They stung in the same way that anything moist stung, but the alcohol dried must faster so I hardly noticed.

"There is," Beckendorf said. "But that requires actual forging, not casting. The enchantments are applied as the blade is shaped, and they become part of the weapon itself. It's also tricky as you need someone that can forge the blade as well as lay the enchantment. If you lack the skill of either, it can't be done." He paused for a moment, as if considering something, then said; "I suppose someone can lay enchantments on a completed blade, but they will always be temporary."

"I see," I said. "I'm learning magic. Kind of. Mostly self taught, but I did have some encouragement from a daughter of Hecate. She also gave me some books to help me out. If I got good enough, do you think I'd be able to make magical weapons?"

"I think if you got good enough, there's nothing you couldn't do," He patted me on the head. "Just make sure you're willing to put in the work and strive to be the best at whatever you do."

"Thanks," I said. "I'll do my best."

"That said, your mold needs time to cure before the next step. I'm not going to send you to bed, but as your cabin leader I am telling you to take it easy for the rest of the day. If you like, the T.V. upstairs is set up to get broadcasts from dad's station. Otherwise, you can probably hang out in the recreation room at the Big House or go for a walk. Cabin Nine is strictly in the forges today but, if you're still restless and feeling up to activities, Silena's cabin is probably either in Arts and Crafts with Athena cabin or at the Lake today."

"Thanks," I said. "But I think I will retire to my bunk for the rest of the day. I've got plenty of reading material so I can practice getting better at magic. I really do want to try making enchanted items at some point."

"I'll leave you to it," he said, clapping a massive hand on my shoulder before heading up the stairs. "Just be sure to clean up in here before you go, though."

I stared at the mess of clay, ash and wood shavings all around me as his chuckles followed him out of the cabin.