Balian Northstar stepped forward and stood directly before the alter. He wore his full plate armor which did little to protect him from the waves of heat radiating from the forge.
The three men in the red tabards lifted two-handed warhammers and began hammering the metal in a rhythm that matched the beat of the war drum. A shower of sparks exploded from the molten lump and rained down on Balian. Most of the sparks bounced off his armor but some found openings and it was not long before Balian could smell his under tunic smoldering.
The beat of the drum went faster and the shower of molten sparks rained heavier. Out of the corner of his eye Balian noticed that several of the sparks stuck to his armor and were burning their way across the surface like lit fuses. They left a dull red glow behind that soon became a pattern.
Red iron or "Gorum's Blood" they called it. The rare metal looked like reddish gold when it was refined. The lump that Balian purchased from the dwarves was ore and to his eyes it looked like any other rock dug from the ground. He half expected to have been conned on the purchase, but when he showed it to the clerics they had nodded in approval.
With one final swing of the hammer the last bit of the ore exploded and there was nothing left on the anvil. The drummer stopped. Balian's armor smoked and glowed red in places. The priests nodded at each other in grim approval. An intricate pattern showed in reddish gold across the shining armor. Two stallions locked in eternal combat dance across the breast plate.
The horse lord of Stagfell had Gorum's blessing.
