Kenilworth Chapter X

In which a sharp-witted boy named Dickie Sludge guides Tressilian to the mysterious forge of Wayland Smith upon a lonely heath, where strange sounds and curious rites suggest a mixture of artifice and enchantment. The smith, a grimy artisan with a hint of past jest and melancholy, invites Tressilian into a subterranean workshop filled with curious instruments, promising a tale of his life, whilst suspicion and sympathy intertwine in this shadowy encounter.