Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

These ten steel spikes left Giovanni's blacksmith friend utterly astonished, admitting that he didn't possess such skill, and even if he exerted great effort to make them, each steel spike would cost more than a silver coin.

According to Giovanni, "The materials aren't expensive, but the craftsman's dedication far exceeds the value of the material itself. The value of craftsmanship is severely undervalued, which is why so few would expend so much effort on a base metal. These little items are like engraving patterns into iron."

It was only then that Winters began to understand why Major Moritz used silver coins as casting materials—that the cost to produce these specialized steel spikes was even higher than that of a silver coin.

It would be better off just using silver coins as arrows, since the coins from the Vineta Mint are uniformly minted and readily available materials of equal weight and similar shape.

Compared to the troubles encountered in custom-making the steel spikes, crafting a sword sheath for Elizabeth was much more straightforward.

Winters brought the dagger as well. After Giovanni took the measurements and made a wax mold, all Elizabeth had to do was wait at home for Uncle Giovanni to deliver the sheath to her.

"By the way, did the little girl mention wanting any particular patterns as decoration on the sheath?" Giovanni asked casually as he handed the dagger back to Winters.

Winters was stumped by the question; he did not dare to decide for Elizabeth. He had no choice but to ride back home without rest to ask Elizabeth herself.

Elizabeth did not immediately reply to Winters, but after visiting the studio once, she handed Winters two paintings.

These two paintings were different from the common religious style, leaning more towards freehand painting, not concerned with perspective, and with delicate, exquisite strokes outlining a rich and splendid scene. Yet, they were not overly complex, making good use of negative space techniques.

Giovanni was amazed when he saw the two paintings and delivered the finished sheath the very next day. The patterns provided by Elizabeth were replicated by Giovanni using the embossing technique on the sheath.

The embossing technique involved using a small chisel to hammer out hand-symmetrical patterns on the back of a thin metal plate, resulting in shallow relief patterns on the front side. Details were then carved by hand to enhance the clarity of the relief lines. This ultimately created beautiful relief patterns on the metal surface.

These embossings on the sword sheath served not only a decorative purpose but also made the sheath more secure to grasp to a certain extent.

Elizabeth was so pleased with the sword sheath that she excitedly went to show it off to Tess and Antonio.

However, Giovanni had another matter in mind when he came to see his young nephew. He laughed heartily as he hooked his arm around Winters' neck: "Where did those two patterns come from? Do you have any more?"

It turned out that Giovanni had shown the two patterns to another wealthy merchant's wife and immediately received orders for two silver salt cellars.

Compared to base metal craftsmen, the valuation of skills for precious metal craftsmen is somewhat higher. Even if a lot of effort is expended, iron can hardly sell for the price of silver. However, after precious metal craftsmen have elaborately carved and polished, the price of gold and silver artifacts can far exceed the value of the material itself.

Therefore, unlike base metal craftsmen who pursue mass production, precious metal craftsmen have taken a different path: investing more effort into a small number of exquisite gold and silver items to make money.

The keen-nosed Giovanni realized that wealthy female patrons were very fond of these patterns. This new style presented to Giovanni an opportunity akin to a new vein of ore, and he was eager to acquire more patterns.

Winters explained, "The patterns were given to me by Ella, she's always going to Lady Angusola's studio, aren't she? She must have painted them herself."

Giovanni said regretfully upon hearing this, "That girl Ella, if I ask her, she's definitely going to extort me."

"Then there's nothing I can do," Winters spread his hands.

"But has Ella not always listened to you?" Giovanni seemed to have had a plan in mind, "You help me request a few more patterns from her, and I'll help solve your steel spike issue, how about that?"

For the steel spikes Winters wanted to customize, Giovanni had the following solution: the cylindrical shape required too much manual labor time and was not considered; therefore, he proposed using a triangular prism, which could be directly forged on an anvil with a V-groove; after the blacksmith made the roughly equi-weight blanks, they would be sent to Giovanni's workshop for a secondary process called "precision grinding," a technique used in precious metalwork. Though it could not achieve the exact precision of the ten steel spikes Winters had, it would ensure uniformity of shape and weight to the greatest extent possible.

More importantly, the cost would be acceptable to Winters.

Winters couldn't refuse the proposal, but he did not expect that his uncle had changed, and now wanted to trade with him in this manner.

Seeing the look of grievance in Winters' eyes, Giovanni agreed to make an additional silver saddle head as compensation for the patterns. Moreover, whether or not Winters could bring more patterns, he would still help Winters with the steel spikes.

However, much to Winters' and Giovanni's surprise, Elizabeth told Winters that she was not the artist of those patterns.

She mentioned a name that Winters was least willing to hear at the moment: Anna Navarre.

Not only did Elizabeth know Anna, but their relationship was also very close. Anna, Elizabeth, and several other female friends were learning together in Lady Angusola's studio. Those two patterns were ones Elizabeth had requested Anna to draw.

Pride is a subtle thing; it drives people to perform noble acts but can also prevent communication between them.