The Forgemaster was standing in his personal workshop, working on his latest masterpiece.

'Until the next one', he thought with amusement.

As he stood over his forge, pounding the red hot steel with his hammer, a knock was barely heard on the door over the clanging of metal-on-metal. The knock quickly petered out and the door opened. He looked and saw one of his apprentices, standing there in the doorway with a scroll in his hands.

'Robert', he thought.

The Forgemaster put the cooling steel back into the flame, set down his tools, and waved his apprentice forwards.

As he approached, Robert began to speak," Master, a letter has arrived from the king of Cephorus, one King Haydrian."

The Forgemaster merely looked his apprentice in the eye, nodded, took the scroll and set it down, then turned back to his forge, ready to get back to work. The Forgemaster had just picked up his tongs and hammer when Robert spoke once more:

" Master, the messenger said it was important."

He was not visibly affected, he was far too well trained for that, but in his mind he was angered: Nothing gets in the way on his work without a good reason! He picked up the scroll from where he set it down and read it. As he read it, he understood what was needed, though the message was nothing special to the untrained eye, this King Haydrian was an old friend of his and knew of his messaging ciphers, and he would help his friend through his troubles. Once he was done, he gave it to Robert so that he may read as well. Once Robert had read, the shock evident on his face, The Forgemaster plucked the letter from his hands and tossed it into the flame.

"Master! What are you going to do about this?" Robert exclaimed.

The Forgemaster looked Robert dead in his eye, in his characteristic manner, and merely pointed towards the map on the wall. While many who didn't know him wouldn't have understood, his apprentice of nearly a decade understood his meaning well.

"You are going to travel to Cephorus and meet with this king." Robert stated, not asked.

The Forgemaster merely nodded his head and proceeded to gather his travelling gear and the necessary ingredients: his clawed gauntlets, a large bag of sample metals, and some light armor for the way to Cephorus was not without its dangers.

"But Master! You don't even know what he wants! The letter just said, 'Something horrible has occurred and I need your help, I require your skill as a smith and your genius for crafting wonders', and that was the entire message! He didn't even explain what he needed and you're going anyway!" Robert was getting frustrated with his master now.

The Forgemaster simple looked at Robert with a glare and Robert shut up; The Forgemaster had that effect on people, even those who knew him well. By that time The Forgemaster had gathered everything he needed, for it was all stored in his own workshop. As he left, he went up to Robert, took the key that hung off his neck by a strap, and pressed it into his hand.

The meaning, though not said with words, was clear: 'The workshop is yours until I get back'.

Robert simply stared after his master as he walked through the town, out through the gates, down the path, and into the forest. Robert then looked down at the key and felt a roar of pride within him: the master trusted him to look after his beloved workshop! Him, no one else! Not the other apprentices: HIM! After the small party/nervous breakdown in his mind, Robert stepped into the workshop of the greatest smith ever born… and explored.