[Ironworks] Sneaky weapons for sneaky imps (Braeden)

[Bob Barton]

9th day of Winter 511 AV

Syliras was just like coming home to something because it was where Bob learned a lot of things which he has been using. One of that was how to use a sword so it should not come as any surprise that Bob decided that this would be the best place for him to make himself a new weapon. A very special one that he thought would be very useful for him to have. Unfortunately, not everyone shared the same sentiment as he did when one of the people mentioned that he can either take one of the already made weapons or get out as they did not have much time for a custom job by a person that was not even a knight. It was now too late to get anyone he knew to just stand in as his proxy. Really, what a pity...

He was being showed out the door because they did not have anymore time to waste with an angry midget who could be ranting things like "why do I have to be a knight just to get a new weapon?" the whole day. No, he did not mean any of those that were already on the rack. As far as he was concerned those were hand me downs. Rejects that the knights did not want unlike what he was planning as he shouted out before reaching the door "you just can't take a challenge can you? Come on, don't you have anyone with skills?" Bob could have tried finding someone else like they suggested but he did not have the time. He figured that this method would be the best way to draw out someone who was already in the Ironworks.

And since he was done he waited out by the door to see if anyone would come because like he ended his challenge, "I'll be waiting outside!"

[Marcus Braeden]

Marcus made his journey to the Ironworks as he did almost every morning, once again doing battle with the relentless crowds of Sylirans trying to reach their destinations. Marcus walked triumphantly, adorning a large smile across his face as two days ago, he had finally achieved his goal of joining the Syliran Knights, well, at least becoming a squire for them. Soon enough he would be one of those adventurers from the storybooks he had read, or so he had hoped. But before he could go off and train to become one of those fabled protectors, he had deal with any loose ends at the Ironworks. He had until the 30th day to do so, and he secretly hoped he would not have to completely abandon smithing in exchange for being a squire.

Marcus emerged from the crowd and found himself standing outside the Ironworks. As he took his first steps toward the entrance, he noticed a man, a short one at that, standing by the door. The man had black hair, and seemed displeased with his current situation. Normally, Marcus would not have paid much attention and simply walked into the building. But today, Marcus was in a great mood, hell, he was practically on the verge of bursting into song!

"Hello, sir!" Marcus said as he approached. It was obvious he was too happy for his own good. If he kept it up, someone would surely get annoyed enough to the point that Marcus would be found face down in some ditch somewhere. "You look rather..." Marcus searched for the word "...annoyed with something. Is there anything a random helpful stranger can do to help?" Somehow Marcus managed to retain his smile through all of this. Surely the muscles in his face would be getting sore at this point.

[Bob Barton]

Tradesmen. It was like they did not even understand the common tongue. Of course Bob knew that they spoke in the language of mizas but that did not seem to work in getting what he wanted either and trying to challenge them professionally turned out to be a weak method. None of them came out and the only person interested in what he had to say was someone, who Bob could only think of as a customer since he was going in. The midget had half a mind to make up some slanderous remarks about the Ironworks just so that they would lose out on some business but he was on a tight schedule today. There was no time to be wasted on that as much as he wanted to.

But since he was asked Bob could spare a few moments to answer the question, as horribly as possible for the Ironworks. At least one more person would not be giving them business today "because they discriminate against their customers. Wouldn't you be annoyed as well Mr. Random Stranger?" he asked giving one quick glance back at the doors to the Ironworks with his reddening face before turning back to confirm "or are you a knight?" A simple question he wanted to ask because "knights get to ask for the good stuff and normal people like us" who are not in fully decked out armour "has to take rejects that they do not want. Where is the fairness in that? Its like getting second hand junk" and Bob does not take those unless it was looted or stolen off someone, by himself.

"If I knew this was going to happen I would have asked Andre to come along with me when I met him yesterday..." but what was Bob going to do with that?

[Marcus Braeden]

Marcus' smile finally began to fade a bit, into more of a smirk than a gleeful smile. "Well first of all, it would be Mr. Braeden, or Sir, or simply Marcus, whatever suits your fancy I suppose. Hell, I'd be ok with you calling me 'lord' or 'my liege'. And no, I wouldn't be a knight, well at least not yet anyway" a smile crawled across his face once more, followed by a small chuckle. "Anyway, about your problem, what with not getting a decent item and all, usually you are supposed to place a custom order and such. But , you are in luck my...little friend. I'm a smith here, and I have had people come to me for weapons every once in a while, and the big boss upstairs doesn't usually mind, as long as I get the coin from the customer" Marcus smirked once more.

Marcus turned his back and walked toward the door to the building. Suddenly he lifted his hand and gave a subtle waving motion, signaling the man to follow him. "Come on then, let's see what sorta crazy creation we can come up with for you!" The blast of heat that usually hit someone upon entering the Ironworks was refreshing to Marcus, although he wasn't sure about how others felt about it. Someone of greater mass than him may die a little bit every time they enter the building. Marcus grabbed the usual assortment of tools, a hammer, an apron, a chisel, a pair of tongs, among others. Marcus set himself up at the nearest anvil and once the man was by his side, he asked "So exactly what are we making today?"

[Bob Barton]

Just great. Another knight, or would-be knight or whatever else he wanted to refer himself as who was probably just as bad as the others since he had an ego to match. Bob always wondered how it is that they actually were able to fit their helmets on their head like that. Maybe the answer was simply because they were also smiths like this Mr. Marcus Braeden was introducing himself as so they knew what they needed so Bob would have to treat this man nicely, at least until he got what he wanted which should not be too hard since he was friendly and helpful enough...so far. But he still got the eye from Bob as the dwarf wondered just exactly what Marcus was playing at when he followed.

But he could tell that the man was not faking or anything especially when he walked through the building like he knew the place really well and without breaking a sweat in the heat. At least, Bob could be more at ease when he saw that. Even more when he saw Marcus getting all those tools that he knew nothing about. Just like when his uncle initially tried to teach him about medicine. Now that was actually a troublesome thing to learn since there were so many tools that he needed to know how to use.

Today, Bob will not have to worry about that since Marcus would be doing the work, he hopes. So what are they making today? Easier if Bob tried to show the man first when he put his own canesword on the table for Marcus to inspect but this was not all of it. "Just think of swords coming out of each end of the cane" Bob suggested pulling out the sword like normal from one but faking a fail on the other end. Of course it would not be as easy as that or Bob could not draw out Marcus professional spirit to do his best because "we'd also need a little bit of room in it when I try and fit a mechanism to hold the one at the bottom until I want it out." Was Marcus interested yet?

That was the rough idea of it until Marcus accepted and Bob would tell more like the freaky thing with the rat skull and whatnot currently on the sword after the smith told him "anything you think I should know about this job if you choose to accept it then?"

[Marcus Braeden]

Marcus listened to the man's demands with much intrigue. This was the first time someone had come to him with such a request, a cane sword. A sword that is essentially concealed within a cane. He had seen his father construct them before as they were quite popular in Ravok, what with the amount of corruption in the city. Well, Marcus thought it was corruption, others turned a blind eye, allowing Rhysol and his followers to do their work. Regardless, the weapon made it easy surprise any enemy with a seemingly harmless cain, and then walk away as if the weapon had disappeared. But it was something out of the ordinary, something that would only develop his skills further.

"Ahhhh a nice honorable weapon for ya then?"Marcus stated sarcastically. "And yes before I get started you should probably know the price. Or I could make it then charge ya regardless, but I'm not a total arse" Marcus chuckled again at himself. "Well, a standard steel cane sword comes to 35 gold mizas. But if ya want cold iron it'll be three times that, or I could make it wooden and then it would only be a quarter of that! And then there is always the exciting designs people adorn on their weapons, which will cost even more. Whatever suits you I suppose, so what will it be?"

[Bob Barton]

Honorable weapon? That remark got Marcus the eye since a smith should know how to regard a customer even if it was just a joke although "there are some places where honor and knights don't fit" like Sunberth or as the man thought, Ravok. Bob liked neither of course but he was not going to tell that to a would be knight straight to his face. Instead he pondered for a while thinking about the price. The steel one sounded reasonable enough but the cold iron one was a lot more expensive. In comparison the wooden one only made Bob more interested in getting the cold iron one since it solidified the mentality that the more expensive, the better.

"What's so special about cold iron?" Bob asked thinking that "a design won't make the weapon better would it?" Unless convinced otherwise Bob definitely did not want to accrue additional costs since that horrible Sunberth gave him so little. Well with whatever explanation that was given, Bob would probably go for the cold iron one since he was already stuck on the mentality that it would be better.

So three times...that would be "seventy...hundred and five..." Holy! That was pretty expensive. "I don't suppose there is a discount?" Bob asked comparing that to more than a season of his wages. While he would not like to try this on a...who was he kidding. Bob would do it to get an advantage and the man already told him what he needed to know so far. If only he played it right then maybe it would work. Collecting djed at his mouth, Bob waited quietly as if he was lost in thought before opening his mouth to release it to its recipient.

Although he said that "I understand that it might be a little bit different from what you are used to..." the djed which entered Marcus through his ears would suggest to him first that he should try to help Bob to make since Marcus himself had such a great success with being admitted into the knights. And while Bob continued on persuading that "it might make you more well known as smith since you are the first to make this challenging piece and everyone else will see it since I travel a lot" with Marcus experiencing the same type of thoughts in his own voice that "this is a good chance" for himself to add to the one with the knights.

One final push was all it took hopefully and in that hot and humid place it was stressing to do all this. Again Bob took a pause and looked at Marcus almost pleadingly until the djed started filling his mouth again until it was released to build up some feelings of confidence in Marcus when Bob asked if "you have any ideas on how since you do work here and all" before fanning himself with his hand and coughing out some blood. "Wow, you smiths are tough" Bob commented on the heat as he wiped the sweat and blood away to try and appeal to Marcus.

[Marcus Braeden]

Marcus simply smirked at the mans comments about those places where there is no room for knights or honor, but never responded.? Marcus could tell that this man was less than noble to say the least. The way he talked and acted gave Marcus a red flag, as if he should choose his words carefully or else he may end up at the end of a blade, or maybe on some sort of list of targets. But he was the customer after all, and the customer was always right. Such was one of the basic laws of business, wasn't it?

"Cold iron makes the metal much more durable. The blade won't wear out as quickly as a standard steel blade. Such a quality generally comes at a higher price. And no, I cant say engravings or etchings will be improving the weapon in any way, but it sure does look nice!" Marcus stated with a smile. It was obvious the man was not pleased with the price of 105 gold mizas, especially when he was asked of some sort of discount, which Marcus denied. A cane sword, an already difficult piece of weaponry to create, forged in cold iron would most definitely not come cheap. But Marcus soon found himself being haggled with. The man was trying to goad Marcus into making the blade, simply to get Marcus' name out their, which was important to Marcus. But Marcus had always had a sense of honor, which had been heightened due to his recent acceptance into the order. Hell he practically considered himself a knight at this point. But still, something about the mans demeanor seemed convincing, perhaps some sort of compromise was in order. He was not giving a discount on the cold iron, as the last time he had done that he had been docked the amount from his pay, which was the last thing he needed, now that he would have no income with the order.

"Hmmmmm I'll tell you what, you pay in full, and this'll be the best weapon you ever wielded. I'll even etch your name into the blade for free" Marcus proposed to the man. A simple etching of someones name would only cost a miza or two, as it was the much more decorative ones that began to cost more and more.

[Bob Barton]

All that effort and discomfort for nothing but Bob should have known better than to expect the hypnotism to sway someone's thoughts in Syliras. The knights, and would be knights are all just so boring and stiff but still he hoped that they can think a little on their own. Bob could, and from the explanation he was given he knew that the cold iron would be a solid investment. Still paying in full was not something that any self respecting person would take straight away and the consolation of just having his name on it was not as appealing as Marcus made it out to be.

"Its not my name that could be on the blade" Bob said again trying to see if the words can make Marcus recall the ones which ran in the smith's mind earlier. Hopefully it would not be forgotten so easily and "with the price you are asking me for I might as well give you a picture instead..." No one in a fight is going to take their time to read their attackers name on the blade especially when it was coming right for them. Now something "...like a monster rat's head at both ends" would be something impressive to look at. Well there was one there already which Bob hunted and put himself but he did not like it too much since it takes up too much space.

"Yeah a scary rat to represent the things that bite you. Don't you think people will pay attention to that more than a plain B-O-B?" With that he felt he would be getting his money's worth but if Marcus was not keen on it maybe a price of "ninety...ninety five?" sounds a lot more reasonable for the lack of. He knew how haggling worked and drawing the last of his djed reserves he started to accumulate some at his eyes looking right at Marcus to make another thought that will run through the man's mind for "a hundred to shut him up or the stupid rat heads." Bob knowing how everyone else felt about him hopes that Marcus will be the same and think about taking the silence than the etching that Bob himself was always lazy to do.

"Or maybe there is something that I can do for you...r eh, uh, establishment to reduce the costs a little bit?" There are always ways...in other places in Mizahar that Bob has done this but Bob also knew that Syliras was a very different place. Which was why this was the last method of persuasion he could think of besides the sad face the it was accompanied with. Bob did not knew Marcus at all besides the fact he was a squire-smith and too much hypnotism with the wrong guesses might make him feel something is up. Especially when it ended up with those metal tasting drips.

[Marcus Braeden]

Marcus chuckled at the mans proposal."Me or the establishment eh? Haha, well I don't need anything in particular. You could always pay off the weapon with a bit of hard labor perhaps, as the works are always looking for able bodied men to make themselves useful, but I don't exactly know how much smithing knowledge you may have. Hell, do you even know what connects the blade to the hilt of a sword?" Marcus glanced around, looking for some sort of menial job that is hard to screw up. Attaching spear-heads to the shafts or arrow-heads to the the shafts always made for easy and tedious work. Hell, that was how Marcus first started off.

"Ok, see those two carts over there, one with large wooden rods and the other with spearheads. The heads need to be connected to the rods, and it may just be right up your alley! If you do those i'll drop the price to seventy mizas including that rats head if you want it" Marcus proposed to the man. People came and went within the Ironworks. One week someone may be working, and the next, he is nowhere to be found. Marcus assumed a random man fastening some spear heads shouldn't be too suspicious. Plus he had had guests visit him in the forge before, such as Gunho and Hadrian. Hell he even allowed Hadrian to help him with some arms. Surely this would be no different right?

OOCSorry for the short-ish post. Feel free to accept or deny the proposal, but if you do accept, go ahead and get into whatever hijinks you would like.