NOVEL FROG 55. No Engravings?
Cedoron gave a nod. "This is a substantial order, my Lord," he acknowledged. "To forge such a large quantity of tools efficiently, I would need to hire one or perhaps even two assistants. Naturally, that would add to the overall cost of production."
He added, "But I'm confident I can deliver all the tools you require within the coming weeks. That is, with the exception of the iron nails. And rest assured, my Lord, even with the added cost of hiring assistants, my prices will still be lower than what you'd pay to purchase and transport them from Cinran."
"That's excellent!" Kivamus nodded with a smile. "Speaking of which," he inquired, "why haven't you taken on an apprentice before now? Surely an extra pair of hands would have allowed you to produce tools at a faster rate. Pydas, the trader, mentioned he always brought a few pickaxes and shovels with him to sell here. But with an apprentice or two assisting you, couldn't you have made those tools yourself to sell to the manor, for use in the coal mines?"
Cedoron gave a rueful chuckle. "Unlike you, my Lord," he explained, "the previous Baron had a different approach. He preferred to buy most of the village's necessities, including new tools, from the traders who visited from Cinran, just so he could levy hefty taxes and duties on the visiting traders." He paused for a moment, seemingly weighing whether to speak more, then he added, "Perhaps I shouldn't be speaking this, but to be frank, my Lord, this way, the Baron could line his own pockets while keeping the villagers dependent on external trade, so the traders would keep coming and he could keep getting his profits."
Cedoron shrugged his broad shoulders. "As a result, the only work I typically received was repairing broken tools. There wasn't a need for new tools being crafted here, so hiring a permanent apprentice never seemed necessary."
Kivamus offered a curt nod, a thoughtful expression settling on his face. "That clarifies a lot," he said. "Well, for the immediate future," he said, a hint of reassurance in his voice, "you don't have to worry about the cost of hiring new assistants. The current situation in the village is quite dire, and ensuring everyone survives the harsh winter will require a tremendous amount of work. So from tomorrow, I will be paying the wages to every villager who is willing to do manual work of any kind. That would include anyone you need to help you make those tools faster as well."
Cedoron shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "I did catch wind of these rumors earlier, my Lord," he admitted, "but I wasn't sure whether to believe them."
Kivamus offered a reassuring smile. "You heard correctly Cedoron, and those aren't just rumors. That means that you can hire as many workers as you need to supply me with all the tools on time, without worrying about paying them for now. Of course, they wouldn't be skilled in smithing itself, but even training them to do the easier tasks would help to improve your production speed."
Cedoron nodded. "It will certainly help a lot, my Lord. I can just give them the simpler tasks like fetching coal from the manor, fitting the handles in the axes and machetes, or even operating the bellows to keep the forge hot, which will free me to focus on the actual forging of those tools."
"That's true." Kivamus added, "From tomorrow, you'll just have to inform Duvas about how many people you will need for this. He'll be responsible for assigning the required number of workers to you, as well as keeping track of where the villagers are working to ensure fair compensation."
Cedoron nodded. "I'll do that, my Lord. And if I'm not paying for the assistants, the prices will be lower as well." He added after a moment, "So, assuming I have all the necessary materials readily available, and with a couple of apprentices by my side, I can realistically produce three, maybe even four axes per day. Now, this assumes you're not looking for top-notch quality with detailed engravings."
He puffed out his chest with a hint of pride. "Don't get me wrong, my Lord," he continued, "my father instilled in me the skills to craft such exquisite tools. But creating those elaborate designs would easily double or even triple the production time."
Kivamus chuckled, appreciating Cedoron's dedication to his craft. "No worries," he said, waving a dismissive hand. "I don't need any engravings or such things," he assured the blacksmith. "Just make sure they're sturdy and functional enough to handle the task they are meant for."
"Of course, my Lord," Cedoron nodded. "In that case, I can deliver all two dozen axes you ordered within a week. Now, machetes would be a bit trickier. They require a lot more shaping work, so I can only manage two or perhaps three per day. To give you a dozen machetes, that would take… another four or five days. But," he continued, his voice taking on an enterprising tone, "I can alternate production days between axes and machetes. That way, you'll start receiving both of them simultaneously. All in all, I can get you all the axes and machetes within two weeks, assuming there are no unforeseen delays."
Kivamus pursed his lips in contemplation. A two-week wait for the axes and machetes wasn't ideal, but it was still a better option than purchasing them from Cinran. Pydas would likely inflate the prices, and even then, buying the tools from him would take another week or maybe even two due to travel time. So getting the tools made locally, albeit slower, offered the advantage of a steady supply and potentially lower costs in the long run.
There was an additional motive behind his decision. Getting the blacksmith back into a routine of smithing new tools regularly, since he only repaired the broken tools till now, was a necessary step if he wanted to get completely new things made from him - things which Cedoron might never have seen in his life.
"Very well," Kivamus said. "Two weeks for the axes and machetes is manageable. Hammers, hinges, and the like, are only needed once Taniok begins constructing the longhouse frames, so you can work on those after the initial two weeks. He did say that he will only stock up planks until enough space is cleared for making the longhouses anyway."
"That will work, my Lord," Cedoron replied. "Now, the final item on your list was iron nails. That presents a bit of a challenge, my Lord. We're talking thousands of nails for a single longhouse, easily. And making them is very time-consuming, for something that is so small." He added, "While I consider myself a fast worker, I can only manage about eight nails per hour. Many blacksmiths would take twice as long."
"So, even if I dedicated an entire day to hammering out nails," he continued, "the most I could manage to produce would be around seventy to eighty nails per day. And that's pushing it, using every available hour of daylight. However, I will try to train a couple of new workers I'll be hiring to make nails as well. It's not exactly intricate work, it is just incredibly time-consuming. Hopefully, within a week or two, assuming they pick it up quickly and can produce decent quality nails, the three of us combined could churn out around two hundred nails every day."
He spread his hands in a helpless gesture. "But even with that increase, producing enough nails for even a single longhouse before the snow falls will be impossible. Realistically, my Lord," he said, "I'd advise purchasing a decent stock of iron nails from Cinran. That way, you can get started on the construction, and by the time those supplies are running low, I'll have completed your other orders and can dedicate myself solely to making new iron nails."
"At a rate of two hundred iron nails a day, and even higher if I take on more workers to assist me," he continued, "we could keep you steadily supplied for those other projects you mentioned earlier, as well as any longhouses you might consider building in the future."
Kivamus steepled his fingers, his gaze fixed on a distant point as he weighed the options. "Alright, that will work." Pointing to the manor house, he said, "Now head over to the manor hall there and speak with Duvas, so he can note down the exact numbers for everything you'll be producing. He can finalize the compensation details with you as well." He added, "You should start work on these items from tomorrow morning itself."
"Of course, my Lord," Cedoron nodded. "And thank you for providing that much work for me. It will be a welcome change after the slow times I've been facing." With a quick bow of respect, he turned and strode purposefully towards the manor hall, eager to get the wheels of production in motion.
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