Elevation of Mana Chapter 37 Negotiations

My new knife was rough, it was also the talk of everyone in the village.  It took almost no time at all for people to begin looking over it and trying it out themselves.  I only smiled and let them try it, all according to plan.

“It cuts a bit different than stone ones, the motion is not the same,” Larus observed as he used it to slice up a piece of meat.  “It's also very thin, gets in places easier.”

He handed it back to me and I took a few moments to sharpen it again.  It didn't need to be super sharp, but displaying how to maintain something like this would make it easier in the future to get people to do it and not complain at me.

“So, what do you think?  Worthwhile to make?”  I asked.

“Not sure on that one Elian.  They're pretty hard to make right?  And your father said the stone to make them isn't common around here.  Can you make anything else with the same metal?” he asked.

“Need to test it but I think so.  I'm also pretty sure that when they wear out we can just melt them and remake them again, not have to start from scratch.  As for how hard it is, with my light it's pretty easy, without it you could, but it might be hard.  The right stones being far is a problem.”  I frowned at the last part.

He looked at my dad and shrugged.  “If another trader comes we could ask him to get some, or we could make a run ourselves.  These might be good for spear tips if they can be melted and remade.  Break a flint one and it's a tossup if you get anything out of it.”

He and several other men had gathered to give their full impressions, and so far it was good.  People could clearly understand the use and differences here, so it didn't take long for them to start parsing the ideas.

“Is it far to go and get more?”  I asked.

Everyone looked at my father, since he was the resident expert on rocks.  “It would be outside of the valley, ten days or more for both ways of the trip.  We'd also need to take Elian to get the metal from the rocks if we wanted it to be worth doing.  I'd need to go to find the right ones and keep an eye on him while we do, maybe Larus as well.  Elaya won't like us taking so many of our strongest from the village at once, and someone will have to deal with that mess too.”

There was grumbling on his observation.  The elder couldn't outfight forbid something like this, not if so many of our people thought it was worthwhile, but she could raise an awful stink and cause problems.  She was the political power for a reason, and if we wanted to do this we'd need her permission.  That was all assuming that my mother didn't join her in raising a fit, something which might actually sink this mission.

“We still have the stone from where I made it.  Perhaps we can get more of the copper out of it?  Make them some beads or something?”  I suggested.

“Your mother likes her trinkets Elian, but she won't risk your life for them.  Elaya is the same as well, and is far more concerned with the village than pretty things.  Even if you could, which we should check if you want to risk it, that won't help.  We need to show them the knife, and convince them it is worth it to sent so many out,” dad said, furrowing his brow.

I took a couple of days to plan, during which we managed to smelt down the rest off the ore into a few more ounces of the reddish metal.  That in itself was helpful, as it was possible to do without nearly as much magic.  Dad agreed that if we needed to it would even be possible without it, though we'd need lots of charcoal.

We met with the two women as they prepared dinner, asking both to come to the same place where a deer, generously donated by our hunters, was being dressed.  They looked skeptical, but some of my weirdness had panned out in the past, so they humored me.

“I want you to try this,” I said, handing the little blade to Elaya.

With a shrug she began the work of cleaning the animal.  It was a bit messy, but the first few movements told her most of what she needed to know.  My mother had used the knife already, being that I'd made it and been doing my best to get people's opinions.  During this whole operation I took the time to explain how it might be able to be reformed into other things when the knife wore out.

“It is odd, but good,” the elder finally declared.  “Can you make more?”

“Yes, but several of the men will need to go to gather the materials,” I answered.

“Who?  And how long?”  I could already see the gears ticking, trying to find why she was being consulted for this.

It was dad who spoke.  “I would need to go, as well as Larus to make the trip worth it.  We'd also need to process it there, so Elian would need to come.  It would take at least ten days...”

“Absolutely not!” mother cut in.  “You are not taking my son off like that for so long.  You wouldn't even be in one place, but taking him who knows where all over the countryside!  He's not even an adult, just a boy...” a hand on her shoulder stopped the tirade before it could continue.

“She has a point.  The two of you would be one thing, but he is still a child.  We would also be weakening the village for that time, I there no other way of getting what you need?” Elaya asked calmly.  “If it came from that green rock he was playing with, we do see some like that in the river every now and then.”

“Not enough, it would take forever to make even a bit more metal using those,” I answered.  I had even bothered to check, but if there was more than a few flakes every now and then of something usable I wasn't finding it.

I could see my mother fuming, only kept in check by the fact that Elaya was already leaning towards opposing our mission.  Her eyes were mostly baring down on dad as she crossed her arms over her chest.  I was getting a few of those glances to, and knew that I'd be getting it when we got home.

“Let Adia and I speak for awhile, and consider this,” the older woman said.

“There is nothing to consider,” mother retorted.

They had a mixed relationship, both clearly wanting to be in charge of certain things, and clearly not wanting the other to butt in.  If it had been anyone else I think mom would have  dropped it, but it wasn't, it was both father and myself, and she was very protective sometimes.  Elaya too might have acted as the sole person to comment had it not been our family, and seemed tired by the argument they were sure to have.

“Let us talk,” she said again, with a bit more hardness in her voice this time.

Mom didn't talk to us again until we were all done with dinner.  She spent the whole time deep in conversation with Elaya, who was using some kind of magic to keep others from overhearing.  I wasn't fully sure what they were going back and forth on, but both looked very frustrated until the very end.  Mother left with a wicked smile on her face while Elaya just looked tired.

She looked at father and I as if she'd won when we got home, speaking.  “You should have come to me before you went to Elaya with this absurd request.”

“I knew how you would react my love.  If I hadn't gone to her at the same time you would have refused outright,” dad answered.

“Because taking our son out into the wilds is madness!  It wouldn't even be in the normal hunting grounds Eduan!  The beasts out there...” she began.

“I know what the beasts are like Adia, and I know my way better than most.  Do not forget that I lived as a trader, that I know where to go and how to go safely.  Do you think that I would allow Elian to come to harm?  That I would take him anywhere if I thought it was dangerous?  He's young, but strong, and with both myself and Larus there little could threaten us.  Pah, even the boy has fought powerful beasts and won nearly on his own,” dad said, unhappy with her assumptions.

“May I say something?”  I asked.

“No,” the chorused, it was pretty funny.

“I'm going to anyway,” I clarified.  “Mom, this could help us, all of us, a lot.  Also, dad's right, if he didn't think we could do it safely, we wouldn't go.  I know you want me safe because you love me, but you also have to let me grow when it's safe to do so.”

Her expression softened a bit at that, but she still looked unhappy.  “Son, it's very dangerous out there.”  Then she sighed, and with a slightly harder look sat back.  “We did come to a conclusion.  Elaya is interested in your claim that this metal can be melted and remade into different things.  You can go,” I perked up.  “IF you remake it into something else useful.  Are you willing to destroy your new favorite thing and risk it for this?”  She looked triumphant as she asked, clearly thinking I wouldn't break my favorite toy and risk it to go and get more metal.

“Okay, we'll do it tomorrow,” I said.

Her face fell. “What!?”

I could see dad trying not to smile as I continued.  “I've got enough for a small hammer, and I wanted to try making one anyway.  I'll do it tomorrow.”

We gave her space for the rest of the evening until the time for bed came around.  She was the one to come and get us and pull us into the group, though positioning me between her and my father rather than the normal arrangement where she was between us.  She was still mad, particularly at my father, but being mad and loving someone weren't mutually exclusive.