The Travels of a Hairy Hermit

Soren leads Nilsar from the tavern through the harbor mist toward the Sea Wolf’s berth. Hakon follows only as far as the gangplank, remaining to watch the transfer.

The Sea Wolf sits low against the pier, its hull salt-stained and its railings scarred by use. Loose iron bands, split fastenings, and worn tools lie arranged beside the mast.

Soren crouches beside a loose band and presses it with two fingers. The metal shifts against the timber, revealing work that has been postponed rather than forgotten.

Five sailors wait along the deck, watching without comment as Soren indicates the loose bands, worn mallets, and cracked-handled tools. Hakon’s gaze stays fixed from the gangplank.

Soren studies him, then gestures toward the loose bands, worn mallets, and cracked-handled tools. Nilsar gathers the neglected goods from beside the mast and lays them out for inspection.

Soren calls over a young adult man with a narrow build, brown skin, close-cropped black hair, and a patched gray tunic, his wary face marked by a small nick beside one eyebrow. The apprentice approaches cautiously from the pier.

A dock trader weighs the mallets, tests the cracked handles, and values the loose bands as scrap. The coins cover Tomas’s first wage and a modest meal allowance.

Tomas gathers the ship’s usable tongs, hammer, and charcoal pan while Nilsar lays out his longsword, Northern Helmet, and Two-Handed Axe beside the damaged fastenings.

Nilsar wears the Northern Helmet, its masked northern face and chainmail guarding his neck as sparks rise. He uses the Two-Handed Axe to split warped scrap, then the longsword’s straight blade to check each new band’s fit.

At the small shipboard fire, Nilsar heats fresh iron and hammers it around a prepared form. His Skilled Craftsman eye keeps the bends even, while Tomas cleans salvage and remelts the useless fragments.

Together they fit the new bands over the Sea Wolf’s loosened timber and secure them with heated rivets. The railings hold firm, and the postponed fastenings are repaired throughout the marked section.

The work succeeds, but the ship’s small charcoal reserve is exhausted and one borrowed hammer head warps under the final rivets. Tomas now has sound salvage, while Soren has durable repairs to judge.

Nilsar retrieves the sound salvage Tomas separated and weighs it beside the Sea Wolf’s berth. The metal is enough to bargain, but not enough to hide any careless measure.

A local blacksmith approaches from a soot-darkened shop, a broad-shouldered middle-aged woman, with a weathered, square face and ruddy skin, with dark hair threaded in gray, a copper-stained apron, and a burn-marked left forearm.

Nilsar sorts the salvage by thickness, rejects brittle fragments, and squares the usable pieces against the scale. Skilled Craftsman keeps the trade honest while the recovered metal supplies its own value.

The trade is completed, but the coal is mixed with damp pieces, leaving one sack partly unusable until dried. Nilsar carries the rest back to the Sea Wolf, with fuel secured for continued work.

Nilsar carries the coal sacks back to the Sea Wolf, setting the dry pieces beside the shipboard fire while Tomas brings tools to the marked fastenings.

Nilsar uses his Skilled Craftsman eye to mark each loose band before removal. He and Tomas loosen the rivets, but the iron intended for melting and reforging cannot be found among the tools or coal.

They remove two loose bands and sort the brittle scraps aside, while the coal fire burns steadily but cannot be put to the intended work. The ship is left with exposed fastenings and no replacement stock.

Tomas covers the dismantled section against salt air. Nilsar’s lesson reaches him through the careful removal and sorting, but reforging must wait until the missing salvaged iron is recovered.

Nilsar gathers the brittle fragments from their covered pile and carries them to the shipboard fire. His Skilled Craftsman eye separates clean iron from useless scale before the heat begins.

He feeds the soundest pieces into the charcoal, controlling the heat until the brittle iron softens. Tomas works the tongs and mould while Nilsar judges the metal by color and texture.

While Tomas pours the softened iron into narrow forms, Nilsar searches along the docks. His Legendary Perception catches fresh scrape marks beneath a neighboring pier, where salvage has been dragged over wet boards.

Behind a stack of tide-dark planks, he finds the sound salvage bundled in sailcloth. The bundle bears fresh rust dust and lies within easy reach, untouched since it was hidden.

Nilsar carries the recovered iron back as Tomas removes the first cooled billet. The apprentice now has better raw material for small repairs, and the Sea Wolf’s missing stock is restored beside the fire.

Nilsar leads Tomas beneath the Sea Wolf’s forward berth and conceals the salvaged iron behind a timber brace, covering it with sailcloth and spare rope.

He draws his longsword and plants himself where the hidden bundle remains visible to him but not to passing dockworkers. The blade guards the narrow approach while Tomas keeps watch over the fire.

With the iron secured, Nilsar searches the adjoining piers. His Skilled Craftsman eye follows rust dust, drag lines, and disturbed grit instead of searching at random.

His Legendary Perception catches a faint scrape beneath a tide-dark platform. He finds the original supply bundled in sailcloth behind stacked planks, its position matching the drag marks exactly.

Nilsar carries the recovered supply back to the Sea Wolf while keeping his longsword ready. Tomas uncovers the hidden salvage only after Nilsar returns, and both stocks are secured aboard.

Nilsar brings the sound iron salvage onto the deck and sorts it by thickness. Tomas steadies the pieces while Nilsar marks bands for the hull and braces for the mast.

He feeds the coal sacks into the shipboard fire, drying the damp fuel and building an even heat. The salvaged iron brightens without burning, ready for controlled shaping.

Nilsar’s Skilled Craftsman gift guides every measured strike. He forges replacement bands, then bends two broader pieces around the mast brace, punching clean holes for heated rivets.

Together they fit the bands over the repaired hull fastenings and reinforce the mast. Tomas holds each piece true while Nilsar drives the rivets tight against the timber.

The repairs succeed across the marked section. The Sea Wolf’s mast is reinforced, its loose bands secure, and enough coal remains for careful finishing work before departure.

Nilsar retrieves the remaining sound iron from behind the timber brace, where it rests beneath sailcloth and rope. He carries it to the shipboard fire and sorts it by thickness.

Wearing the Northern Helmet, with its masked face, dark bronze cheek guards, and chainmail and leather protecting his nape, Nilsar heats the iron and draws it into broad prow plates.

He uses the Two-Handed Axe to trim the plates into matching wedges, then lays his longsword along each edge as a straight measure. The pieces fit the Sea Wolf’s forward timbers cleanly.

Nilsar punches the holes, heats stout rivets, and drives them through iron and timber. Tomas braces each plate from within while the hammer sets every head firmly against the prow.

The reinforced prow now bears solid iron plates, shaped to divide waves and strengthen the wood against a hostile impact. Nilsar files the edges smooth and seals the finished work against salt.

While the captain is away, Nilsar gathers fine sand and cloth, then works along the Sea Wolf’s scratched planks. His Skilled Craftsman eye follows each gouge until the surface is even.

He uses the Two-Handed Axe to shave away raised splinters and damaged edges, keeping the cuts shallow so the planks retain their strength.

Nilsar lays his longsword flat against the boards as a straight measure, checking the repaired lengths before sanding them smooth with steady, overlapping strokes.

Salt dust and old scratches disappear beneath the work. The longship’s deck and rails take on a clean, newly finished appearance, with the timber sealed against rough handling.

By the time the harbor light shifts, the repaired planks appear nearly untouched by former wear. Nilsar cleans the sand from the seams and returns his tools to hand.

Soren returns along the pier and steps aboard, pausing to inspect the brightened boards and the strengthened prow before looking toward Nilsar.

Nilsar presents the finished work without flourish. His Skilled Craftsman eye has left the planks smooth, the rails sound, the prow reinforced, and every repair ready to endure salt and strain.

Soren turns toward the crew and raises his voice across the deck. The sailors move at once, casting off lines, checking the sail, and clearing the berth with practiced cooperation.

The Sea Wolf eases from the pier into the cold harbor water. Nilsar’s repairs hold as the hull takes the tide, and Soren’s judgment grants him a place among the ship’s working hands.