The furnace took its first production charge after the drying crew signed the lining inspection and cleared the lower chamber. Hajin read the accepted heating record on the observation platform while apprentices kept the marked escape lanes clear below him.
Below the platform, Ferra yanked the intake lever through its full travel before she let the crew begin.
She jabbed her tongs at the north chimney port without leaving the open archway, "Draft reading, off the marked scale, and if anybody presses his face to that window, I'll weld him to it."
Marrick checked through the mica from behind its shield, keeping his tablet well outside the radiant heat.
"Thirty-eight on the draft scale, Master Ferra, holding since the last stroke."
"Three more notches," she barked, raising three fingers at the damper crew, "let the fuel bed breathe, then hold the stroke while I check the draw."
