Smithy Part 1

  If you looked at her online art gallery, it was something special. It was unique as was every single component part. Each piece on display was a one of a kind master-work. They were each a singular refinement, nothing-less than breath-taking art. Acid etched stainless steel engraved brass punched copper fluted titanium and carved aluminium, bent and shaped from imagination given form and purpose. She was a blacksmith by trade, it was admittedly not a very common profession for a woman to pick. Some people might have expected a man to have made these items. This trade was the one that she had picked up from her youngest years, from her family it was in her blood. Though taller than average she was not some towering amazon at five foot nine. She was not even someone with bulging muscles, when she had tools to do the heavy work for her.

  She was an artist and artisan a master craftswoman, she created unique pieces of fine art. She was trained as a welder, knew how to use a drop forge a power hammer the English wheel. She was equally handy with a plasma cutter grinder and a lathe. In some ways she was a machinist as much as an artist. Her given name was Alesha Temper and like her name sake she did know how to temper metal and coincidently she had a bit of a temper. If someone decided to disrespect her craft or her professionalism, well they would soon regret it one way or the other. She would go from being as cold as steel, to as hot as her forge in a moment.

  She was about to get a new client, one who would be both very interesting and very frustrating at the same time. They would soon find their fates intertwined, the master crafter and the master of the stage. The professional magician know by the stage name silhouette was about to engage the blacksmiths services. She was also known by the more common name of Mandy Briggs. Despite a good amount of flair and skill grit and determination. She had never gotten very far with her goals in life. That was not through want of trying to break out of the mould she found herself in. She had never graduated from state fairs and carnivals. Silhouette was really looking for a way to make it into the big time. She was still set up for more of a sideshow, people saw her as just a carny. An amateur who was good if you were looking for a budget performer, once you got that reputation it was a little hard to change.

  She was trying to be seen differently, she was investing in her act. Every spare moment to practice. Every bit of money she could get, that she didn't need to feed and water herself or put petrol in her van. It was spent to build up a better repertoire of tricks. She had the raw talent in her nimble little body, she was sure of herself. She just needed some daring signature escapes and she would be onto a winner. She had recently procured a second hand water torture cell. However, on testing it all the water leaked out before she could even get in it. To make matters worse the panels fell out before she was suspended upside down by her assistant of the day. It was not that big a surprise considering the small amount that she had actually paid for it. It turned her act from what was meant to be a breath-taking spectacle to an unintended comedy. She didn't like that, she wanted to be respected for her talents. Not to be seen as a joke or a laughing stock. Still she was paid for her time and her act.

  Silhouette searched for a way to repair the water torture cell. Duct-tape and mastic wouldn't cut it. On investigating it turned out that it would have cost her more than the cell did. Surprisingly she didn't really have the budget for the proper item in the first place. She searched on line looking for some way to stand out, something better than second hand tricks with a new layer of paint. The big magicians had custom built equipment, custom built props. The things that they had access to that would take some time to be replicated so for a limited time it gave them an edge. If she could get a good act together something with a bit of unusual spectacle for a budget. Well then she could make her break through. She found someone who made rather exotic metal work, someone who might be able to build her a very unique little piece. That would really give her an interesting centre piece to her act. She sent an email and looked at the specification that came back. As well as the technical sketch of the devise. She painfully looked at her bank balance and emergency fund, she would work out some way to pay for it once it was built.

  Over an exchange of emails, the magician commissioned the blacksmith to make her a set of highly unique restraints for her act. This was right up the Artisan blacksmiths alley, she incorporated a knot-work design into the device. It would be primarily made from stainless steel with a medical grade rubber lining. She didn't usually make such items, but she had a few proclivities that meant she had a good working knowledge of such items nonetheless. It came from an entirely different perspective, personal rather than professional. She really did like to make unique pieces, she liked to constantly expand her repertoire and challenge herself. To mix up the design and construction process, so that there were never two items the same in her portfolio. Even two similar pieces would vary in material or technique to a substantial degree.

  She was quite willing to work for the magician, who was really talking herself up. She had persuaded her to start work with barely any deposit. The escape artist wanted some degree of exclusivity and the blacksmith liked to make interesting projects. She could see her work on a stage for everyone to admire. That made her a little careless not running a credit check on someone. The publicity would be very good for her business, she told herself. She looked at the magicians website, she was cute at five foot three. The idea of her in tight fitting restraints trying to wiggle out, well it just made something inside the forge-woman's chest tingle.

  The expert blacksmith was designing a very special escape challenge for the magician, as part of an escapology act. It would appear to be completely impossible to escape from, yet there would be a way to get out from it. It actually took her longer to design the restraints than to make them. In truth a lot of her design work would translate to cutting patterns on the plasma cutter and specific items on the milling machine. Things that she could leave to work away once she set them up. The blacksmith completed her work based on the sizes that the magician gave her. A week later when she finally turned up, it looked like the magician was not quite doing so well as she had described in there correspondence.

  She was living in a beat up van. It looked like a box truck converted into a camper van with half a stage show stuffed inside. It was an act of genius or madness, there was a portable stage on the roof in bits strapped down. With the other half of the stage show in boxes on the side. The van was unwieldy but it could be used as a stage theatre and dressing room all in one go. However, it wasn't designed for a speedy get away. It turned up ratting at the metalworker's home slash workshop when it was starting to get late. It parked up emitted a belch of smoke rattled and stopped dead.

  To put it mildly she was a little surprised by the vehicle that turned up on her doorstep. The woman that got out however, well she was just as the craftswoman envisaged. The forge woman felt the heat rising, she was quite interested. She found her new client really cute and incredibly sexy. She had purple hair and lips black eyeshadow with a few piercings. A little leather jacket with one sleeve rolled back over a tight black t shirt. It showed of her narrow waist, she had a big solid belt on top of a pair of black rubber short shorts. Her legs were clad in black fishnet stockings and two inch boots. They introduced themselves to each other.

  The blacksmith by comparison looked like she had wandered out of her forge. She was wearing safety shoes oil stained jeans and a t shirt that would have been white at one point. She had short cropped blond hair that wouldn't get caught up in any mechanism. They talked briefly and they walked side by side. She lead the magician into her establishment. They walked past a work shop that would have put many fabricators to shame and into a show room, that was also pretty much her living room. She showed her guest the restraint system lying on a table, they look solid and heavy yet almost like jewellery. With the silver shine and the knot-work pattern almost like a set of coiled ropes.

  The little escape artist was dreading having to explain that she didn't technically have all the money or even much money. Then it hit her and she had an idea, a grin spread across her face from ear to ear and she challenged her host. So that if she could make an escape from the set of restraints in say 30 mins, then she could have them for free. She was pretty confident in her ability, the blacksmith had a more measured approach. After all it was a lot of work to make a lot of cost in materials. However, she could feel a thrill run through her. The challenge of her craftsmanship against the magicians skills. It was almost too much to pass up, she wanted to see her in these restraints. She wanted to see her helpless and squirming under her touch.

  The blacksmith thought about it for a minute or two. She really wanted to accept the offer, there was a tiny nagging doubt that there was something that she missed. She got a coffee making it really slowly to give her time to think. Mulling it over as she hand ground the beans, the water boiled the filter went in. She added a tiny drip of milk stirring thinking. She began drinking it looking up and down over the box jumper. The guest who was grinning like the cat that got the cream, knowing that the blacksmith couldn’t resist. Then of course she agreed, but she had to make sure that there was no cheating. She started to check over the magician, the punk goth girl had half her head shaved. She sighed as the blacksmith ran her hand over her. Swiftly she found the nose ring is a lock-pick and none to gently pulled it out. Her earring is a lock pick, her wrist bracelet is a tool of some sort. She dug deeper, finding lock-picks in her boots when she shook one of them out.

  She looks at her accusingly, the magician takes a step back. She is told in no uncertain turns that tools are definitely cheating. The host is a little bit angry now, the escape artist is told to strip naked.  The blacksmith was pretty much growling now. Silhouette looked the blacksmith in the eyes and agreed to remove all her clothes. She was still flirty and moved provocatively she adopted a sexy pose standing in just her underwear. They cuddled the blacksmith feels something, the under wire on her bra is lock pick. She tells her everything is coming off, a moment later she is naked. Her panties are a tiny little thong that is the last thing to go, placed on the pile of picks and fabric.

  The blacksmith leaned forwards assertively, she had the magician in her arms and bent her backwards. Their eyes met their lips brushed and they kissed deeply. The blacksmith held her arm twisting it tightly, their lips pressed more deeply and there was a moan from the escapologist. The blacksmith pulled back and spat something into her hand. The blacksmith had pulled a lock-pick out of her mouth as they were kissing. The magician tried to act innocent claiming that it was a brace, of course the blacksmith isn't falling for it. She is now given a cavity search made to bend over, with a hand on the back of her neck. She places her hands against the wall legs spread. She looks nervous as there is the twang of blue rubber gloves. The challenger starts to pant as the blacksmith finds a lock pick roll inside her pussy in a rubber case, she looks embarrassed at being caught. The blacksmith waves her finger at her, indicating she has no chance of deceiving her.

  Now everything has been checked, the magician is now ready to be fitted with the restraint. She is a little hesitant biting her lip as she steps into two thigh bands. They are linked on cables to a rubber lined belt. The thigh bands are rubber lined, the belt rides high up on her hips secured and tightened with a star and crescent shaped key. The coils of rope work embossing meet up around the key hole as a decorative embellishment. As a security feature there is only one key for the entire restraint system making it very unique. The metal worker secured the thigh bands making them tight. From the belt a T shaped section went up her back with curved hooks round her shoulders and a high solid neck collar. That was locked and tightened with the key, keeping her neck held still. The host is ready for her arms, there are two hooks or horns on the bottom of the section near the small of her back, with two clam shell pieces on her shoulders.

  She gasped as her right arm was bent behind her sharply, the hook of her elbow was pulled in snagged on the curved rubber horn. Her hand was held up to her opposite shoulder. Her arm was twisted round, her fingers bent back twisting her hand. Before she could even register what was going on her hand was placed in the rubber lined clamshell mitten. Her fingers hit the end and it was slammed closed tight on a hinge. It automatically locked over her hand and tightened down, leaving her fingers twisted back in that unnatural position.

  Before she could get used to her right arm's placement, her left arm was swiftly bent over the right. The horn that captured the bend of her elbow the second time was slightly longer than the first, to accommodate for the first arm. Her other arm was twisted round and her hand was locked in the opposite clamshell mitten. Again, her fingers were twisted backwards, then it was locked shut totally solid. She experimented with her fingers sandwiched between the two sections of rubber pad, she couldn't really move them. Despite the position the rubber lined mittens at least made her fingers somewhat comfortable. Her ankles were cuffed together with a simpler foot long chain a matching part of the set. The blacksmith checked it over then started a timer, she was given 30 minutes to escape.