Another day Another Miza[ Job thread ]

[Skyard Underwood]

Mid day Fall 30th 515 A.v

Rainfall accompanied the sound of impactful and powerful roars of Thunder. Skyard awoke rather briefly only to have heard a perpetual knock at the door of his home. Skyard lazily trotted his way over to the door, clothed in no more than his ragged and somewhat tattered clothing. What had someone been doing present at his door this hour? He hadn’t invited anyone into his home at all and wasn’t interested in guests. Although this one simply held a small pouch in hand, as if he were prepared to do business, and that peaked Skyards interest. He hadn’t minded a visitor at all so long as they had true “Business” with him. He lazily grasped hold of the knob of his door, and twisted to the right side; the door creaked as it opened inch by inch and Skyard finally swung it open. He would ask the stranger a simplistic question. “Can I help you?” asked Skyard in a rather unenthusiastic and monotone voice as he’d not long waken up. He tended to be incredibly “Grumpy” when he’d just woken, and it had been at the hands of Mother Nature being noisy. Skyard gazed upon the strangers face, and then looked down at the pouch once more only to discover obviously miza had been in that pouch.

The stranger however didn’t speak to him; he simply invited himself in and walked directly through the door. The large azure skinned male had been tall, very tall. Strong and muscular as the man was he didn’t seem to be quite intimidating at all. Skyard hadn’t been petrified nor had he shown so much as a shred of fear; although he was rather suspicious of the Akalak. Then finally he spoke in response to Skyards aforementioned question. “Yes, I do want you to help me. I want you to make sheathes for me. That pile of leather looks rather nice over there, and I would like it of you made two that would fit my weapons.” Spoke the Stranger in a voice that was rather dapper and sounded incredibly friendly. Despite the fact that the voice had been so deep it could’ve carried for what seemed like miles. Skyard simply nodded and asked to see the weapons before he could possibly attempt to make sheathes. He hadn’t gathered enough information to know precisely how large or small to make sheathes for the Akalak.

The Akalak pulled from both sides of his hips a pair of daggers, which were approximately ten inches long at the blade and five at the hilt. The Akalak obviously practiced combat heavily Skyard wouldn’t bother to do too much more talk regarding the craft. The Stranger spoke once more, and uttered words that gave skyard quite a large amount of comfort. “Keep it simple as well, nothing flashy.” The stranger spoke before he left Skyard to work and sat down upon Skyards bed. Skyards bed had been only a few feet away from his desk where he made such crafts. Skyard picked up his leatherworking kit, and immediately placed the case upon the table rather gently. A deep inhalation followed a rather slow and expanded exhalation in order to calm him down. He smiled immediately and begun to work without hesitation. Skyard firstly removed a pair of small blades and two skins from the pile of common garment grade leather upon the floor. He picked it up and outstretched the leather before he began to see small patches of imperfect “Flesh” still upon the hides. He ran the sharp and relatively flat blades against the rather rugged surface of the underside of the leather. In order to remove the flesh from the leather so that he would have a much easier time working with it.

[Skyard Underwood]

Secondly Skyard put away one of the two blades he’d pulled from the kit and with the Akalaks dagger placed upon his desk he grasped hold of it and put it atop the “sheet” of leather. He put the entire length of the blade there in order to roughly estimate the length of the weapon. He knew that a single imperfection would cause him to us emore leather then he actually needed to. Therefore he decided to “Trace” the blades length with his own cutting knife and slice through the length of the leather to attempt to match the exact blade length. As he traced the blade he realized how much his hand trembled in the process, and caused minute imperfections. He knew that he would probably have to cut the remainder of the rough edges off the leather in order to fix it. Skyard had gotten a rough idea as to how long both weapons had been, and he intended to use two separate pieces of leather for the work. He aided himself by finishing the process of cutting off. He slashed away at the rough edges as a result of his hands trembling, and quickly got rid of it. Skyard then aimed to finalize the cut but he hadn’t quite known how to do so yet, and tried his best to continue on without becoming nervous. He hadn’t hesitated to cut a large section out of the leather.

He continued to overuse leather unnecessarily and he didn’t like that one bit due to the fact that it meant he’d been wasting his product. Skyard continued to work away and removed the remainder of the unnecessary leather and left approximately eighteen inches of leather on the “Sheet” so that he could properly work it. He played around a bit and folded the leather in half around the blade in order to attempt to get a proper fit. He didn’t want an unsatisfied client being unable to sheathe his weapon after he finished using it. He released his grip for but a moment and realized how quickly the leather snapped back into its flattened state. He didn’t quite know what to do about resistant leather that moved back into place. Therefore he decided to cut a small notch directly in the center of the leather and fold it once more. He’d done it again and this time the leather remained in place where it should’ve been.

Skyard quickly discovered the fact that tears in leather loosen the amount of resistance to folding. He then held together the leather once more, and cut away at the leather so that he would only leave an additional three inches off of the sharp side of the blade. He figured out that he needed an alternate method of “binding” this leather so that it would remain in place and hold the weapon. He quickly released his grip on the leather only to have it somewhat cover the blade still, and he reached for a needle and thread. He immediately pierced the leather with the rather short needle and attached thread to it. Although he didn’t know how to stitch leather just yet he would soon figure out that it wasn’t as easy as it seemed. In the process of stitching Skyard pricked the tips of his fingers multiple times, and had only been half-way through the entirety of the process. He imperfectly stitched around the length of the sharp side of the Akalaks weapon.

[Skyard Underwood]

Several chimes passed as he continued to work upon but a single sheathe. The Akalak stood over him and simply nodded his head as Skyard worked. The stranger immediately knew that skyard was still an “amateur” at crafting leather but allowed him to continue to work so that he might practice his skill. Skyard continued to prick himself as he stitched slowly and carefully in order to continue working in one direction. The excess hang would then have to be removed once he completed the “Dimensions” of the blades length and closed up the “sheathe” that had still been incomplete. Skyard then grasped hold of his cutting knife once more and gently slashed away at the excess leather that hadn’t been being used and cut away the extra two inches of leather he put atop the one he’d just stitched. He made quite a snug fit for the weapon, and the hand guard still stuck outside the knife holster; as it wasn’t meant to be covered. Now he needed to find a way to secure the weapon, and he looked into his kit again, only to find two separate and yet odd looking pieces of metal. They were incredibly small and round and yet when Skyard put them together they seemed to fit into one another. They were called “Clamps” according to the label left within the kit.

“Aha!” exclaimed Skyard as he figured out that the excess strips of leather still had practical uses for the remainder of the work. He figured out rather quickly that he could just as easily use the strips to help secure the dagger in place whilst it was in the holster. He then pulled out some strong “glue” left in the kit for adhesion purposes and dipped the end of one of the strips of leather within it. Only the spot where he’d needed the glue had been covered; and he then stuck it to the side of the holster. The opposite end would be glued as well to the opposite side of the holster so that a strap would wrap around the hand guard, and could be removed when needed for usage. Skyard decided to cut the strap in half again at the hand guard. He then pulled out a rather sharp metal needle like structure with a wooden handle. He supposed this could be used functionally enough to punch a hole in the strap. He placed the strap against the table gently and slammed the “pick” into the strap and missed the first time. However the second time he did indeed impact the small ends of the strap and punch a hole in it. Now all he needed was more glue to finish the remainder of the clamp.

He grasped hold of the sticky glue once more and dipped the piece of round metal in it. He submerged it completely and fixed it inside the hole. Before he would turn his right hand over and grasp hold of the opposite strap without the metal piece upon it. He would repeat the process of gluing the strap before he placed the opposite end of the clamp upon it and snapped them together. He heard the satisfying click of the two pieces of metal meeting and then there was simply silence. He looked down at the brown leather sheathe, and admired it for a moment before he realized that it’d take a while for the “project” to dry so that the holster would be able to be used. Skyard smiled and looked back at the stranger.

The Akalak raised a brow and looked down upon Skyard only to ask but a simple question. “Well, are we done now and can I pay for this and take it? Or is It not ready yet my friend?” Spoke the stranger as he looked down upon his newfound sheathe. Skyard responded in a rather brief and short series of words and then decided that he would converse with the Akalak for now until it dried. Skyard replied “Well it won’t be ready for a few more bells due to the fact that the glue has to dry. Otherwise everything would slip and break apart the moment you attempted to use it. I wouldn’t want you to be dissatisfied with my work my good man.” Spoke Skyard.

[Skyard Underwood]

The Akalak seemed a bit dissatisfied with Skyards choice of words as he hadn’t had too much patience for waiting. Skyard decided to continue talking to the Akalak until it dried, and he simply asked a few questions. “What is your name?” asked Skyard and he was given a very dull response and he absolutely hated short-talk. Short talk was almost a form of being disrespected; however some people do have good reasons for keeping themselves concealed. He had to find a topic to converse about, but sadly he failed rather harshly. He’d much rather give the man the weapon than bore him to tears by simply speaking to them. He picked up the dagger in its new-found sheathe and asked the Akalak to return tomorrow.

Skyard instructed the Akalak very, very carefully and he spoke “ Come back tomorrow, and come early so that I can finish the sheathe for your other weapon. I’ll make sure it is done to the best of my ability, however I am indeed just an amateur at doing this I’m rather new to making such craft. In all honesty I’ve hurt myself quite a bit simply doing what I’ve done for you here.” He concluded his brief speech.

The Akalak nodded his head, and then spoke to Skyard again, and when he spoke it had been very impactful. The Stranger replied “Well, boy let me tell you something. You were willing to make me a sheathe despite the fact that you knew you weren’t very competent at it. That in itself is a very kind act from you my good man. I’ll tell you what.. You can forget about making the second sheathe. This is just enough for me to appreciate. Perhaps if you were to come around sometime I would give you combat lessons. That is if you are indeed a fighter and are willing to do so. However if you are not I can simply go on with my day and thank you for your kindness, my good man!” He concluded his speech before he walked out of the door and closed it.

Skyard wanted to speak to the man, but he’d much rather not bother him any further then what he’d already done. The question was rather or not the holster would actually be useful to the Akalak. Although he didn’t want to doubt his ability he knew that his methods were still imperfect. He absolutely hated feeling as if he left someone unsatisfied, but he decided to no longer think about it and return to his slumber. Skyard reached upward and rested his forehead within his palms. He exhaled rather deeply and simply looked about the room for a moment. Before he put down his head and fell fast asleep.

Thoughts crossed his mind about how he could further improve his methods, and he figured that during the stitching process he should’ve slowed down. His fingertips were now a prickled mess; however he did finish the project. He needed to use gloves next time so that he could protect himself from injury. Skyard needed to buy some equipment that would help him. Perhaps he would later attempt to invest in somewhat metallic gloves that provide flexibility. The pricks of needles aren’t very painless nor are they easy to get rid of. He had to endure each and every grueling moment of his fingertips oozing blood. He would sleep at his desk for the remainder of the night.

[Skyard Underwood]

The following day had been rather boring, and unentertaining; as of yesterday Skyard was injured and a large scab formed across his visage. The scratch stretched from the center of his forehead, across the bridge of his nose and it stopped in the middle of his cheek. He’d just gotten out of a scrap with a Night-Lion and knew now that he shouldn’t ever challenge one; unless he was of course prepared to die. Despite how large he had been in his animal form he knew how much more powerful they were compared to him. Skyard wouldn’t dare attempt something like that again; unless another person’s life had been at risk Even if someone were in danger or dire need of him; he would still second guess a decision like that again.

Skyard thought about the fact that he hadn’t done any work all day, and decided to take a request. A knock came to his door. Tap, tap, and tap he heard at the door, and immediately he raised himself up out of his chair in order to go and answer. He knew precisely who this man had been, the same Akalak he’d serviced before with his amateur leather workings. He simply looked down and immediately knew what the issue had been; the leather had been soaked completely. He’d never waxed it after he finished the project for the man, and he stepped aside in order to let the large blue skinned male in. A smile crept across his lips and he knew how dissatisfied the Akalak had been with the work.

He spoke, and just as Skyard predicted; the leather wasn’t water-proofed. Due to the fact that he hadn’t waxed the leather it was water absorbent. He snatched the dagger and the leather sheathe he crafted directly from the Akalaks hip, and put it on his desk. He immediately sat back down in his chair without an exchange of words with the stranger. He reached downward, and grasped hold of Skyards leatherworking kit for him; the Akalak placed it upon the desk so that he may begin work rapidly. “You must be mighty unhappy my friend, what is wrong?” Spoke Skyard, although he knew what was wrong.
The Akalak raised a brow at the question; for it had been one that was pointless and used to create conversation.

The Akalak automatically assumed that Skyard would know what was wrong.

However he did choose to answer the question with a question. “Do you not clearly see how soaking wet that thing is? I could hardly keep my dagger locked in place because of how wet it is on the inside.” Skyard nodded his head and proceeded to remove a hardened slab of wax from the case, and immediately began to work. Skyard knew he didn’t have much of a way to heat the wax so that he could submerge the holster in wax. He hated that he didn’t have ample resources to fully service a customer. A nervous grin spread across his visage, as he felt a bead of sweat form upon the surface of his forehead.

The Akalak simply looked at the slab practically bewildered as Skyard pulled it out, and he asked a question. “What do you plan to do with that? Do you even have a way to heat it up?” He beckoned Skyard, and in response Skyard simply replied with one word “No.” The Akalak laughed so hard that a tear fell from his eye, and he reached into the small sack he carried to remove a rather large pot. Skyard immediately knew the pot had been too large for him to not be using it to cook. However if the Akalak was indeed a chef what would he be doing lugging around a pot in his bag rather than in his kitchen?

Perhaps he traveled and cooked food where it had been available; someone who survived in the wild perhaps? Skyard wouldn’t bother to question it any further, for he feared being beaten to a pulp if he offended the man. The Akalak put down the pot atop Skyards desk, and picked up the slab of wax as he placed it within the pot. Skyards eyes widened as he watched the Akalak simply ignite the area beneath the pot on his stone floor. Skyard became incredibly scared as he saw something he’d never seen before. He simply continued to heat the base of the pot for several chimes. The blue male closed his eyes, and seemed to focus on the pot and the flame he spontaneously created. The wax broke, as it heated up and begun to fall apart whilst it melted in the base of the pot.

The blue skinned male opened his eyes, and he simply exhaled deeply. Skyard looked on in fear, and finally he decided to ask the question. “Exactly what was that? You just did something that was incredibly strange, almost magical.”Skyard beckoned the Akalak who’d just melted the wax for his work with what seemed like no effort at all. The stranger didn’t reply in the way that Skyard expected him to, but he simply said “Don’t worry about what that was; it was a little trick of mine.” Skyard didn’t quite like the way that he’d answered the question, but he certainly wouldn’t pester the Akalak about it any further.

Skyard knew that what he’d just witnessed was far from normal; what “normal” person could conjure flame from their hands. Skyard ignored the thoughts that continued to cross his mind as he grasped hold of a pair of tongs in order to dip the scabbard within the wax. Common sense would tell anyone not to dip their hand in hot wax; as it was fluid and sticky when hot. However when the wax cooled it would harden upon any substance that it’d been left upon, permanently. Skyard gently and rather slowly placed the end of the scabbard within the wax, and inched it down into the wax further. Skyard held it in place for several ticks, and simply waited as he saw bubbles rise to the surface of the pot. He wondered why bubbles rose the moment he put the scabbard within the wax, but he wouldn’t question it.

[Skyard Underwood]

The Akalak seemed to know quite a bit more about how to work leather than he did. The stranger lectured him about the bubbles as they rose to the surface. “I will tell you this now for future reference. Those bubbles are actually air bubbles, and why they have emerged from the wax is because of the fact that the scabbard still contains air. The hot wax as we speak is filling in the “pores” Which are small pockets in anything that will allow things like water and air to pass through them. This wax is filling those openings in and essentially making this scabbard “water-proof”. “

He concluded his lecture, and Skyard looked perplexed the entire time that he’d spoken. Skyard never knew anything about how equipment had to be properly waxed before it reaches the fields of battle. He felt bad due to the fact that he knew he didn’t complete his services the first time. However he would do anything in his power to ensure that the man left satisfied this time. He felt as if the man wasn’t a customer at all, but a teacher here to help him right his wrongs. After all, Skyard figured that without a person present to teach him what was right and what was wrong, he wouldn’t be the person that he is today.


Skyard slowly, but steadily pulled the scabbard from the wax, and watched as the molten liquid dripped off of the scabbard. The bubbles stopped, and the moment they had, Skyard chose to pull it away for he didn’t want to simply burn the darned thing. He hadn’t known rather or not the process worked, and he asked the Akalak that seemed to have wanted to “teach” him. Skyard waited several more moments, and he noticed that the scabbard stopped its once constant dripping. He felt it and noticed how hard it became; the scabbard had been almost imperviously solidified. Was this what made it waterproof, and unable to be “Wet”.

Skyard looked incredibly surprised, and he thought that with such solid structure that the scabbard would become utterly useless. However he knew that it wasn’t useless, due to the fact that if it couldn’t become “wet” itself; then it could be used for a variety of purposes. The carrier could use it to carry water alongside him in battle, and drink to his heart’s content. The carrier could also hold his weapon or even use the scabbard as a weapon on its own against an enemy. The amounts of possibilities were endless, and now he understood the importance of waxing a weapon before handing it off to someone.

Skyard thanked the Akalak, and grasped hold of the now solidified scabbard in order to do the final test. The test would be to see rather or not the scabbard had truly been waterproofed, and as he held it in his hand he continued to squeeze away at it. Skyard simply felt how hard it was and now knew that if it were to strike someone’s cranium; the impact would be incredible. He turned toward the Akalak and nodded briefly before he handed the scabbard back to the male. Now he wondered what should be done next, in order to make his services better to the stranger that taught him a new “technique”.

Skyard slowly, but steadily stood up, and looked toward the stranger whose name he hadn’t known. “Well, shall we go and test it my friend? I believe that it’s necessary now that we have made it perfect for your long journeys. If not I believe that we could’ve simply made it dysfunctional and we may very well need to repeat the process, don’t you agree?” Skyard beckoned the Akalak. The Akalak stared at him for a brief moment and thought about rather or not to test the product; because he had somewhere to be in a short period of time.

However he figured that since Skyard was such an amateur and knew almost nothing about what he was doing, this was more important. Therefore the Akalak agreed with a nod rather than using words, and he stood erect followed by taking a large step. He waltzed toward the door and opened it faster than Skyard so much as made a move and exited. Skyard simply followed the man out of the door, and directly down several staircases. As they walked Skyard asked several questions in order to get a conversation going.

“Tell me something, my friend? Would you mind explaining to me how Akalak culture works? I understand that I am in a city filled with them, but I just thought I would ask you because you have been one of the few to actually speak to me. “Skyard beckoned the male with soft words, and in response the Akalak raised a brow. “Well then, that is quite interesting. To be quite frank we the Akalaks are a proud race of men. We do not become “men” Until we have reached the ripe old age of 30. We are also typically very family oriented, and all of us possess and have the ability to craft something called Lakan which are simply weapons to humans.”
Skyard nodded his head as the Akalak spoke to him, as if he understood the true value in the words. Skyard had no knowledge of their culture, and couldn’t quite grasp why “Lakan” were so important to them. However, Skyard knew that different races had their own practices and that he shouldn’t question them out of respect for him. Skyard continued to walk slowly and steadily; taking several deep breaths as he enjoyed the aroma of the outdoors. The Akalak at his side was practically twice his size and Skyard couldn’t help but think he was absolutely gargantuan.

Skyard beckoned the man with yet another question as they approached a nearby small body of water. He was hesitant and hoped that his work paid off; being that he was still fairly inexperienced at the job. With improper waxing he knew that the sheathe would simply become utterly useless during combat. Skyard had a thought cross his mind, and he immediately remembered something about the “waxing” process he’d just undergone. He recalled the fact that “waxing” filled the “pores” in the leather which is what water had to enter in order to soak the sheathe.

Due to the fact that Skyard waxed the leather the wax was supposed to block all incoming water from the pores and thus prevent water intrusion. “That was how waterproofing works! That is incredibly interesting and good to know in the future. However, I do not believe that I will continue this job next season..” He thought to himself due to the fact that this profession was far too difficult for him to master. Perhaps he would simply join the military as a volunteer and live a much more interesting lifestyle. Skyard didn’t enjoy the simplicity of leather working as much as he should, and he knew that he would eventually have to move on.

Skyard finally asked the question in a soft tone “Why are all of the Akalaks men? Are your kin simply all of one gender? Do you just breed outside of the race?” He beckoned the Akalak, only to be hysterically laughed at. The Akalak responded with a few simple words, and although they weren’t very complex nor what Skyard expected he listened. “We are all men simply because that was the way that we were created. However, as for the explanation as to rather or not an Akalak can be a female is no. I have lost quite a bit of my memories of the past and the history of my own heritage, but I do know that Akalaks only breed outside of the race. Which in turn produces more Akalaks that are men.” Spoke the Akalak as he knelt down next to the body of water they’d finally reached whilst they spoke.

He grasped hold of the sheathe from his side, and freed the dagger. The Akalak placed the dagger upon the ground and extended his hand outward into the water. Skyard inhaled and prepared for the worst, he closed his eyes in preparation to get yelled at. In the back of Skyards mind he was incredibly inconfident in his work, and all he could do was hope to succeed. Much to Skyards surprise he heard a brief slurping followed by a swallow. Only to snap open his eyes and realize that the Akalak was drinking from water held within the sheath. Skyard practically rejoiced at the fact that his work was a success. He simply waved the Akalak away and turned about; headed back to his place of residence.