It was so loud.
All Katarina could hear were hammers, grinding, and shouted insults. There was a faint smell of sweat in the air combined with metal and as she walked the most attention she got was a quick glance before the dwarf went back to their work. No one else looked at her.
She walked past them and kept going.
The shared workshop Katarina had read about was three doors down. A sign above the entrance said BETTOLA in big, painted letters. Under it, smaller: BENCH SPACE. BY THE HOUR, DAY, OR WEEK.
Bettola herself was at a desk near the door.
She was a Valdari woman with one horn (the other had been broken off clean), and she had forearms like bridge cables. She was writing something down, and she didn't bother looking up when Katarina walked in.
"Rate sheet's on the wall. Read it first. Don't waste my time."
[... Alright then.]
Katarina read it.
