Bruto's expectations were dashed; the temperature in the forge sky-rocketed, and not even the innate chill of the cold iron could suppress the heat. In the end, the molten iron poured into the mold had lost all the unique qualities of cold iron and was indistinguishable from ordinary iron.
Lancelot wondered if it was the True Qi he had secretly mixed in that had caused the anomaly, but even when he stoked the bellows in the normal way the next day, the result was the same. Then the third day, the fourth day...
Luckily, their furnace was small, and these trials hardly wasted any materials; otherwise, Barrend might have been tempted to beat his son to death. The entire blacksmithing district resembled an ant nest doused with boiling water, with dwarves scurrying about and steam rising from every corner.
