Closed From One to Another

[Mienskil Ostovik]

Watching Thomas think was an interesting experience fot Mienskil, who took the opportunity to observe and make inductions. His near spasmodic speech and sketching suggested a mind that worked in fits and bursts, probably a bit ecclectic when working. There was no way to know for sure, but Mienskil was much the same way himself and saw one or two habits that he often did when his mind was running miles ahead of his tools. They'd make a fine team. The design that Thomas sketched sort of made sense to Mienskil, but he had a bit of trouble grasping how he meant by aiming for higher and lower shots. For a short chime, he failed to understand what the circles reoresented, but then he understood, or at least he thought he did. One circle would rotate horizontally to adjust for side to side shorts, and the other would rotate vertically to aim higher and lower. That way, it would have full range of motion rather than just the small window. "We wuld need to attach the eyepiece somewhere else," the Magecrafter pointed out befire resting a finger on the horizontal circle. "If we attach it to this rotary piece parallel to the crossbow itself, then it can keep its sights aimed on its target while adjusting the angle of firing for distance." While he was on board with the aiming idea, Mienskil was a tad less enthusiastic about the wheels. "That would be good to have it move around," he said, "but we should focus on the body first. The crossbow and aiming system will take a lot of time on its own, and we need to allow plenty of time to make adjustments as necessary. Any number of things could go wrong with the main contraption, and we should fix those first before moving on to any unnecessary attachments." Before Thomas got the wrong idea, Mienskil made a placating gesture. "I'm nog opposed to the suggestion, I just think we should prioritize the functioning of the defice itself before moving on to mobility. Though if you find time in the days it will take me to prepare the crossbow then be my guest. Don't have any suggestions myself, but if we find time I'll dedicate myself to it." "There's probably more to it than just some flexible metal," Mienskil thought aloud, leaning over their design. "A normal quiver can carry the bolts, or maybe a basket of some sort, but as for actually reloading them I think it takes a bit more precision." He tapped that part of the diagram, thinking about how one would reload a crossbow. He of course had no idea, but he tried to get there logically. So there was a shaft where the bolt would be loaded, and a locking mechanism to prevent it from shooting prematurely. The bolt would need to be accurately placed, otherwise it would slip out and fall before it could be fired. "Maybe.." Mienskil paused. "Maybe some thing on the side, a box that comes up and sort of slides it in? Some pthing like little pinches to nab a bolt and move it parallel into the slot of the crossbow?" He was grasping at straws, without the contraption before him all he could do was hypothesize. "We'll also need to think of how the crossbow will recognize friendlies. We don't want to accidentally hit a wizard or apprentice when testing it. I don't know what the punishment is, but I'm pretty sure we won't gain any friends by doing that." He tapped the side of his head, trying to think about how a simple eyeglass could differentiate between two individuals whose differences weren't visual but internal. Then he thought earlier to the library golems. "Once you find out how those librarian golems tell the difference between living and dead, could you let me know? We might be able to adjust it somehow."

[Thomas Cosa]

"Not necessarily," he muttered, slowly coloring in the two circles, "In animation, anything reflective can be made into what you would call an 'eye'," Thomas doodled lines escaping from the sketched automaton, "If we could use something reflective, or if magecrafting allowed you to add a reflective quality to wood, or something similar, we could, in theory, give the thing a complete three sixty view," he nodded, more to himself, the drawing finally catching up to his mind's eye.

"While I understand the body is important, I think an unmoving automaton would fail to impress most in the Citadel," he argued, "But perhaps you are right, first things first -- no point in arguing mobility, if we haven't anything to support the crossbow."

"Really?" Thomas asked, retracing the wild limbs, "I think the metallic limbs would be a better, and easier to place substitute," he paused, collecting his thoughts, "Like an octopus, or squid even," Thomas suggested, turning to face Mienskil, "I feel like your suggestion might be a bit out of my ability, although, it wouldn't hurt to try. I just think, that besides the added advantage of having so many limbs, it wouldn't hurt the precision, I mean, the limbs can be easily trained to carry so many bolts, and place them in the machine," he stated, waiting for a response, believing his idea the better of the two.

"True, although I doubt we would be in much trouble should it take out the odd apprentice, but that is something to think about," he paused, sucking mindlessly on the quill's feather. "Perhaps...perhaps, at the very least, we could suggest something along the lines of a buddy system? Maybe assign one automaton to the sentries outside, and just have it shoot at whatever the sentry shoots at?" he asked, more to himself then to Mienskil, "But...I suppose that would be more if an annoyance then actual help. I don't perhaps something to research later?"

[Mienskil Ostovik]

“Really?” Mienskil replied, surprised at that little tidbit. Any reflective surface could be used to see by an animated object? Though he suppose it made sense, since it was an input of a clear image that the item itself could use. “A complete three-sixty view would undoubtedly help, though I’m not sure if I can affect a property like that through magecrafting. It sounds more along the lines of alchemy to me, something that we could ask Master Rayage about later if we find the time.” Honestly though, Mienskil’s confidence in the Nuit’s cooperation was more on the fence than in one camp or the other. That was the case for most Nuit. “Immobile weapons may be limited in their area of influence,” Mienskil conceded, “but do remember that this place is a fortress. Even if they’re unable to move from place to place as completely automated security, we can still mount them on the walls to fire down on any approaching individuals with hostile intent. While it may be a good deal less showy, in terms of utility it is hardly diminished. Though believe me, mobility is certainly one of my end objectives with this project, among other things.” Mienskil tapped the side of his head for a moment, looking down sideways at what Thomas had sketched. He tried imagining it, tentacle-like extensions grabbing a crossbow bolt and sliding it in. For some reason, the image never quite went as perfectly as he wanted it to. “There is more to it than simply moving something though,” Mienskil thought aloud. “How will these metal bands grip the bolt? How will the slide it into place? If they pinch the bolt then that might be something, but if it’s just a single extremity without any digits than you’ll need two lengthy extensions to maneuver a single bolt into place. Not to mention that there’d need to be enough friction for it to grip. I suppose that if there were digits, like an actual hand-like segment, then the task could be done easily enough, but then I don’t know what limitations of animation there are. What material do you want this to be made of that it is so flexible as to perform the tasks you see it doing?” If Thomas’ idea went through the Mienskil would not hesitate to get behind it, but the lack of specificity of the workings of these limbs made him reluctant to bank time on it without first planning it out. “Even if we wouldn’t get penalized for it, I’d rather not go around killing our own,” the magecrafter said shrugging. “Doesn’t give us the best reputation, and certainly doesn’t improve chances of future collaboration with whichever group they came from.” He thought on what Thomas said, again visualizing the event in his mind. He pictured someone shooting at an oncoming target, and then having an automaton firing at the same target. It seemed a wee bit redundant. “If the target’s already got a bolt flying at him, then a second one would just make sure he’s doubly dead. Strikes me as unnecessary to be honest, but I suppose we can dwell on that later.” After a short pause, Mienskil spoke up again. “A viable short-term solution would be simply to limit the contraption’s rotation area. If we were to mount them on the walls, then we could simply alter the design so that the crossbow cannot see or rotate so that it’s facing inside the walls. That way, anyone actually inside the Citadel is safe. The contraptions can be activated with a simple command, something to turn them on and off so they can allow people to enter without getting shot at. Or they could just recognize the carriages that take people from the docks.”

[Thomas Cosa]

Thomas snorted, smiling at the idea of a Master willingly helping the two pulsers with their pet project, "Right, well, you could always ask Master Rayage," he smirked, "But I'm not sure we'll get a response anytime soon -- you're a registered wizard, correct?" Thomas asked, an idea forming, "Perhaps you could go to the Synchograph Office, and ask for materials there? Although...there might be something of use in Lab 15," he suggested, turning back towards the rough sketch.

"True enough, although I suppose we should look at some maps of the island? If anything, we can suggest more stragetic placements of the automaton," his voice trailed off as he began to roughly sketch Sahova, and what little he knew of it's geography, "But," he paused, lines protudring from the small ink blob, the port, "I believe most of the more open areas are covered by the observers...unless you were considering placing the weapon inside of the Citadel?" he asked, not having considered the option, "Truthfully, I haven't see much of any defenses protrolling the insides, so maybe then..."

"Perhaps something more like a hook, at the end? I mean, I can't imagine there would be much of a problem with either friction or the arrows, especially if you increase the overall durability of the bolts, then whatever we create the tentacles out of, they'll be able to grip however hard they need too, and for materials," he paused, considering his options, "Perhaps some kind of metal? Or wood? We could do them in segments, thus ensuring some kind of grip when they wrapped around the bolts, and the added felxibilty of simple segements instead of a whole one material."

"Perhaps a bit redundant," he reconsidered his idea, "Perhaps, for now anyway, best to consider some kind of key word? In case we find anything better for later, I can alway reanimate."

[Mienskil Ostovik]

Mienskil was completely unaware of Thomas' apprehension and doubt of Rayage willngness to help. In his own experience he didn't know what to think of the nuit, nor did he have any particular confidence in whether he'd help or not. Still, a hope was a hope. "If all else fails, the Sunch Office will be the place to go," he replied. "I'll likely have to chip in, but that's a small price to pay if this idea goes through. And by all means, check your lab for anything useful, the more we can get our hands on the better." "Some maps would be most helpful," Mienskil thought in response, referring not just to the placement of their contraption but also in terms of familiarizing himself with the island as a whole. There was plenty he had yet to see, and some maps would let him ditch the damned follower golem at last. "Well, this will allow us to replace some sentries, or at least make it easier for them. As for inside the Citadel, I'm not where we should put them..." Mienskil hadn't considered the idea either, but now that it was brough up he was beginning to think of reasons. "Maybe for internal security, or keeping pele out of places they shouldn't be? In that case, a simple password could be spoken to avoid getting fired on. Yes, that could work..." OOCFor external ideas, maybe on the same network as the little spy golem things? They spot for the crossbow, identify enemies and the crossbow fires? "A hook wuld work," Mienskil agreed. "However, I'm not quite sure about magecrafting the bolts. I don't think it works in batches like that, I'd have to craft every individual bolt, and that just becomes tedious. Which is why I figured the crossbow itself rather than the ammunition." Listening to Thomas' sugfestions, Mienskil nodded carefully as he spoke, then shrugged in answer. "Whatever you think will animate best, I'm not knowledgeable at all in that regard. Just so long as it will hold onto the bolts well enough, that's fine with me." "The keyword idea makes the password idea seem more accessible," the crafter responded. "If we set it up outside key locations, we can have it fire at anyone who doesn't give it a password within a certain amount of time. In faxt, the same can be said for people outside the Citadel too. For now though, we should get started. We know what to do for now, and we can get back to it later. Sound good?"

[Thomas Cosa]

Thomas nodded, "Good, yes," he muttered, his mind still focused on the project.

"I should think Lab 15 will have the materials for the base, perhaps," he paused, catching himself mid-thought, "Unless you think it wiser you be there for the animation as well? I could build the base alone, but the animation itself would ideally be the final part of our collaboration, anything I deign approproate would be permanent, so perhaps you shou;d be available for teh event? At least, to give the base the O.K?" Thomas suggested, drawing nonsensical doodles around the rough sketch.

"And we can always find maps, here. Nothing too specific, mind you, at least nothing I've found, but certaintly something to give us an idea enough of the Citadel," he shrugged, his gaze briefly turning towards the never ending collection of arcane knowledge, and pre valterrian workings.

"So, to work then?" Thomas smiled, rolling up the loose parchment, excited to begin working.

OOCShould we end it here, then? And then we do the solos, and meet up later?

[Mienskil Ostovik]

Mienskil thought a moment before answering, deciding whether his time would be better spent otherwise. Honestly there was any number of things he could be doing, things for the Archwizard, but at the same time this project here could well be the first step on the road to a whole slew of ideas. That was, after all, part of Mashaen's speech when Mienskil first arrived: the thought that maybe new minds could imagine what the old were incapable of. Well? Miwnskil didn't see any automatic crossbows lying around. "Sure, I'll be around to check everything," he said. "Honestly I don't know a thing about gadgeteering or animation or anything to do with them, but at the very least I can double check everything and ask questions to make sure you don't want to make any changes. Just make sure that I know to bring any materials from the Synch office beforehand." A thought that he didn't mention was that it'd also give him a brief idea how to animate, though he had no intention of doing it himself. Just something he could learn in his free time. "Ah yes, here." Mienskil turned to face the row of shelves he'd just come from. Chances were there were a lot of useful maps here. How he was going to find them was a question he would have to ask later, after he brought up the librarian topic with Mashaen. It would probably do no good, but at the very least he could try. Would help a good deal of pulsers too. "Sounds good," the magecrafter agreed, shifting the books back into his arms, holding the tomes from beneath. The thought to check out a grammar book resurfaced in his mind, and though he thought to ask Thomas he decided that there was enough work to do before learning Nader Canoch. The ancient language wasn't going anywhere. "Best of luck, I will come to find you in lab 15 when the crossbow is done." With that, Mienskil hurried away, eager to drop the books off at his own lab. The physical push caused his body to work harder, his heart hammering within his chest. OOCSounds good, though I'm a bit stuck until I get a more informative overview from Tarot about his discipline. I'd just hate to get it wrong. Are you gonna post again?

[Mirage]

Mienskil

Experience

Skill	XP Earned
Auristics	1
Drawing	1
Negotiations	1
Persuasion	1

Lores

•	Lore Earned
•	Catalog Golems: Don't Respond to Pulsers
•	Contact: Thomas
•	Thomas: An Animator in Lab 15
•	Making Plans

Thomas

Experience

Skill	XP Earned
Drawing	1
Interrogation	1
Negotiations	1
Persuasion	1

Lores

•	Lore Earned
•	Mienskil: Skipped Apprenticeship
•	Mienskil: Wizard of Sahova
•	Mienskil: Magecrafter
•	Making Plans

It's Not What You Think...

Great thread you two! There were not a lot of points to be had in this thread, but you both got some useful lores. If you would like very specific lores on your project let me know, but you can also wait until you actually start making the item to get those lores as well.

Mienskil I gave you one point in Auristics, but in the future I would like to see more details. I need you to describe everything from how he moves his djed, to what he senses, sees, feels and hears, and also descriptions of what each of these things means to Mienskil. What do all the words mean? What do the sounds mean? Ect ect.

I look forward to your future threads together, and good luck for the Science Fair! Its coming soon!

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, please send me a PM and we can figure it out.