Pops had the copper laid out in a dozen small ingots, and Dominic wondered just how large this compass was supposed to be. It should just be a box with a carrier liquid and a floating dial under a glass dome. But he didn't see any glass in this shop at all.
"What we are going to make today is a Dimensional Compass, not a ship's compass. It will tell you what plane you've gone to and what direction you need to take to get to the one you want.
It's a bit of a specialty item, and not many know how to make it, so my customer has been a bit cranky. His sort doesn't often come out to the common quarters to get anything, much less in person."
Once he was finished ranting, Pops snorted with derision, making his long white beard fluff up for a moment. Dominic smiled at his version of a pouting face, and instinctively knew that it must be for his benefit. He couldn't see that old man being that emotional about some odd mage.
"You don't need to know how to make the whole thing, and you would not be able to make it at your skill level anyhow. But what I want you to remember is this. See how you need to lay all the magical materials perfectly on it in the exact pattern? If you get any bit of that wrong, the item is scrap metal, and you'll lose most of the materials.
But if you do , make a paper cutout that you stick to the copper sheet. You can just paint that crystal paste over the top in the right brush stroke order and call it a day. As long as you don't try to add any extra mana before you touch up all the edges, it's fine."
The old man was practically rolling with laughter as he did just what he said, using the template to paint the symbols on the copper sheets until they glowed with magic and the runes engraved themselves into the surface.
"Now we take our hammer and our chisels and get to work. No hard edges. I use this one here to round them off, then the flat one to make a nice hard bend. Light taps with the hammer. The hot brass is pretty soft.
The pieces all interlock , all seventy of them, until we end up with this."
He had an ornately decorated cube in his hand, slid together with such precision that there were no visible seams. Then he put a bit of magical power into it, and the freshly crafted Dimensional Compass glowed.
"A word to the wise. Dimensional Mages and Demi Humans don't mix well. It's best to stay out of his way, and if he's fool enough to suggest you follow him on a trip, politely decline.
If you leave your home world, there is no guarantee that you will end up anywhere but where your ancestors live, you see. If you signed a pact with or descended from an infernal being, you would send your entire party straight to hell, and you'd be the last one to die." Pops cautioned his.
"It's a Dragon. A World Dragon." Dominic mumbled, unsure what the reaction to the revelation about his obscure and powerful ancestor species would be.
Pops chuckled. "I'm not sure the others would appreciate the distinction between being eaten by Demons and Dragons, young Sorcerer. Just because he is related to you doesn't mean he will be happy to see a bunch of strangers showing up on his doorstep."
"I understand. I suppose that I should probably look for a place to stay the night, now that your lesson is over. I didn't get a chance with all that happened today." Dominic sighed, regretting being so broke.
"If you've got one more of those daggers or three copper a night, I've got a room upstairs that you can stay in. I'll even pay you if you want to sweet talk the customers for me during the day." Pops suggested with a wiggle of his bushy eyebrows.
"I've got a few more of the daggers on me. I'll trade you one for the night, and then we can talk about an ongoing arrangement in the morning. I will warn you, though. I do intend to apply for the Royal Apprenticeships during the next intake." Dominic agreed, then set the dagger on the workbench by the anvil.
"Perfect. You'll need to work hard to gain some skills if you're going to succeed. Now, come over here, and I will show you a bit more about the fine points of Smithing. We're nearly out of the etching chisels that the scribes and Arcanist sorts use to make their runes and the decorative bits and bobs they like so much. They're not too hard, and I've got a template for the metal." Pops began.
He already had a number of chisel blanks formed out of iron. They just needed to be worked into the final chisel shapes and given an edge and a handle.
"You might think that chisels are a waste of time, but they're the easiest edges to do. Do you know where most apprentice smiths at the Academies make their tuition fees? They sharpen swords and tools and repair equipment for their team members and classmates.
That ability to fix things is the true value of a smith to an adventuring group or an army, not in making new items all the time, but in keeping the good ones they've got in top shape.
Once you gain a few levels and start grouping with the sorts who can afford magitech weapons, you will understand that a lot of their money goes to just keeping up their gear. If you can do that for them, they will want to keep you around, even if you don't fight much."
Dominic smirked at him. "I might not look like much, but I'm no pushover in a battle."
But he was also excellent at maintaining and repairing magitech items. He had been salvaging them from the scrapyards to fix and sell ever since his parents had been killed during the invasion of his homeland, over a decade ago.
Pops laughed and shook his head. "You're not following me. What I'm saying is, why do all the fighting and the fixing when you could do the fixing and only fight when you felt like it? The kids who want to be adventurers don't learn a working trade; they pick a base skill core that gives them an advantage in combat.
They learn their fighting style, and they go to battle and risk their lives. But a smart young smith can have them do the fighting while he does all the side jobs and gets the real experience."
"I get it. Make the tools, fix the weapons, then find some suckers to go out and use them to get what I need. Only then I will be the one smelting the copper, not the one chasing after a bunch of noblemen's children who fled at the first sight of goblins."
"Now you're getting it. So, let's show you the first step. How to make the tools."