A Lesson In Jewelery (Almost a Solo)

[Sira]

Timestamp: 39th of Spring, 511 AV - In the early morning hours before the mission begins in The Deepwood Riddles Players: Sira, with a special guest appearance by Vala Sira wandered about Wind Reach fiddling with some small object in her hands. She had been wandering for several hours, but it was still early in the morning, or late at night.. whichever you wanted to call it. Sira had risen only a few hours after going to bed but had left Addy to sleep. She wasn't worried about Aidara waking to her not being there, Sira almost always rose before her, and she could sense the moment she awoke so Sira had nothing to worry about. They had a big day ahead of them, so she wanted Addy to get as much rest as possible. She did have a destination in mind, though she still hadn't worked up the courage to go there. The object she fiddled with was a small shell and as she flipped it over and over in her fingers she slowly made her way to the Craftsman's Gallery. Sira had an idea in mind but had no clue if it would work. When she finally arrived nobody so much as even acknowledged her, something she wasn't used to, but all the craftsmen were busy with their work or discussing things that were behind Sira's knowledge. Sira cleared her throat, drawing a couple of looks but nobody moved to see what she wanted. Sira was beginning to get annoyed. And Endal didn't just walk into a room full of Avora and Chiet and not get noticed. Sira cleared her throat again and spoke up a bit, "Excuse me, I was wondering if somebody could help me with something." A couple people glanced her way and one man belatedly answered without even looking up from his work, "We're all busy. Come back another time." "But I need-" "I said we're busy. Now get out of here." Now Sira really was annoyed and she wasn't about to let what just happened slide. Sira stormed right up to the man who was leaning over some sort of quilt, grabbed him by the hair on his head and pulled him to his feet. Her other hand dropped down and grabbed him where it hurts. "Now you listen here you wretch. I tried to be polite, I tried to ask for attention nicely, and you have have the gall to tell me to leave?" Her hand clamped down harder drawing an even more distressed look from the offending Avora, "Now you are going to listen to me or I will drag you by the balls to the top and the sky and drop you! Would you like that? No, I didn't think you would. Now, I needed some help with something." Sira let go with both hands and the man let out a sigh of relief, "Uh.. Of.. Of course my lady, what was it you needed." Sira smiled and help up the little shell, "Lessons." The frightened Avora led the annoyed Endal to the teacher she was looking for who readily agreed to teach her, not that he had a choice really. Sira even offered to pay him twenty pinions for his services, which made the man all that much more agreeable. The teacher's name was Fondrin, a jeweler of moderate skill who wasn't incredibly busy. Sira didn't need the best, she just needed someone to watch over her and offer her advice. She wanted to make the seashell into a necklace, and she wanted to do it herself.. at least most of it. "Well let me show you some examples then, Sira, so you have an idea to work with." Fondrin brought out several pieces, some finished, others projects still in the making. There were silver chains, thread made from eagle feathers, pearl necklaces, all manner of things. Sira didn't like any of them until she saw it. It was a chain necklace, but the links were bigger and things were hanging off of it. "I like that, show me how to make that." Fondrin nodded and took Sira to another part of the workshop where various small chain links were kept. "Just choose a color and we'll begin." "You'll have to fasten each link together. It's not hard but it is time consuming. You may break a few links or bend them too much but don't worry, all the metal can be reused so it won't go to waste. These links are for beginners, they are already fitted so that they should close together perfectly as long as you bend them right. Now, let me show you and then you can try." Fondrin took a few links from one of the bins and set them on the work table Sira was going to use. Next to the he placed a few pairs of different shaped pliers. "To begin with we'll be using these." Fondrin held up a pair of pliers with a needle like nose for Sira to see then demonstrated how to use them on a few of the links, connecting them together so Sira could see how it was done. "Alright, now you try it." Sira picked up the pliers and one of the links, poking the pliers through the link and opening it as Fondrin had done. She then picked up another of the links and Fondrin spoke up, "If you find it difficult to grasp the links with your fingers you may use one of the other pairs of pliers." Sira nodded and grabbed a second tool. She had been having trouble picking up the little ring and it turned out to be much easier using the metal pliers. Fitting the open ring onto the closed one, Sira then squeezed it shut, creating the beginnings of a chain. For the third link she picked up another, opening it with the pliers and fastening it to the second link. This time however she bent it too far or perhaps at an angle, because the two ends of the link didn't meet up right and resulted in a lopsided circle. Sira cursed but Fondrin told her not to worry and simply remove the piece and start on the next. Sira repeated this process over and over for a while, messing up a few links but succeeding on most. Fondrin had not lied when he said it was easy, and when she was finally done Sira was pleased with the chain she had made. But, it needed more...

[Sira]

Sira wasn't exactly sure what else she wanted to do with the necklace, aside from attaching the shell, but that would be last. To get ideas she walked around the craftsman's gallery checking out the various things people were creating. There were many possibilities Sira could follow, but none she felt right about. Sira never really wore jewelry herself except on special occasions, so she couldn't just come up with a good idea on her own. Her search eventually led her to the market to peruse the various shops, specifically those that sold jewelry. Finally Sira found a piece she liked and returned to the gallery in a hurry, explaining in detail to the craftsman what it was she wanted to do. "That's a fairly easy thing to make," he assured her, "You just need to pick the one's you want and we'll attach them." The craftsman showed Sira his stock of beads, stones, and pearls. There were so many Sira didn't know what to choose. What would look good on Addy, she wondered? Sira took her time in selecting and the instructor waited patiently. She was paying him a good deal and he could afford to be patient. When Sira had finally selected what she wanted he sat her down and showed her how to attach the accents. It involved running a piece of metal wire through a small hole or core in the bead then twisting and bending it into a loop. When it was Sira's turn to try she found the process far more irritating than when she was putting together the chain. Firstly it was hard to get the wire to go through the whole sometimes and the twisting was tiring on the hands, but secondly she could feel Addy beginning to stir and wanted to make sure she finished before Addy started wondering where she was. Still, Sira could not rush over much. Each bead she ran a wire through and twisted it on both ends so the bead couldn't fall off. To some of the wires she attached small balls or tassel-like things. Each wire was bent into a small loop and fastened to the chain. It was slow, it was tiring both mentally and on the hands and fingers, and it was tedious. But Sira didn't mind, she was making a gift for Addy and that alone brought her enough pleasure to cancel out any boredom or irritation. She attached the beads in a pattern, black diamondy bead, white pearl looking thing, white pearl looking thing, gold-ish colored bead, white pearl looking thing, and finally back to black. And yes, Sira was pretty sure those were the technical terms for the beads. She used the same pattern on both sides of the chain, but at it's center she attached a special cluster which the teacher had made for her to as a finishing touch. Well... Not completely finished. All that was left that needed to be done was the shell. OOCI know I'm making this sound kind of easy.. but my makes these necklaces and I had her show me how and it really is super easy.

[Sira]

Sira pulled out the shell and showed it to he craftsman who took it and looked it over carefully, flipping it every which way and nodding occasionally to himself. When he was finally done with his examination he handed it back to Sira. "It should be easy enough to attach. You'll need to clean and polish if up, and a tiny hole will have to be drilled into it to attach it to the necklace." Sira nodded her understanding. She had figured she would need to put a hole in the shell, but she hadn't thought about the fact that it needed cleaning and was glad her teacher had mentioned it. "Also, if I might suggest, you may want to consider painting it or inscribing something on the inside." Sira nodded. She didn't want to paint it, but an inscription might be nice. "I might put an inscription on it. In fact.. I think I know just the person to do it too. I'll get it all cleaned up and get the hole drilled for now. I can add the inscription later." Fondrin gave Sira some polishing cloths and a waxy substance which he told her would make it keep it's shine then left her to her work while he did other things. Of all Sira had done so far, cleaning it was by far the easiest. First Sira cleaned the shell in water, removing all the sand and dirt from it. When the shell was spotless Sira applied some of the polish to the cloth and began rubbing the shell. As she applied the waxy stuff she saw that it added a luster to the shell which, while already pretty, it had previously lacked. Again this part was easy, and when the shell was shiny and clean inside and out Sira showed it to her instructor who looked it over closely, nodding in approval. "Not bad, Sira. It's too bad you became a hunter, you have a knack for this. Uh.. Not that, um.. Not that being an Endal is at all a bad thing, milady." Sira laughed and patted Fondrin on the back, "Don't worry Fondrin, I know what you meant. Now let's drill that hole." Fondrin nodded and went to retrieve the tool they would need. He returned with a small needle like chisel thingy, or at least that was the technical term for it. "This part is not difficult but it is delicate. Would you like me to do it." Sira shook her head. "Very well. Simply apply pressure to the spot you would like the hole to be and turn back and forth slowly. Do not press to hard or drill too quickly, you risk splintering or breaking the shell. Just take your time and you should be fine." Sira accepted the advice and the tool and went right to work. She pressed the tool against the inside of the shell and began to turn it in her hand but the tool slipped drawing a yelp from her lips. Fondrin glanced down at the shell then continued with whatever he had been doing. Sira held the shell up close and was relieved to find she hadn't scratched it, then tried again. The second try turned out better and before long she had drilled a tiny hole into the shell that she could run a wire through. Doing that, she attached the shell to the necklace and... Success! The necklace was complete! Well... Almost, she still had to get the inscription done, but other than that it was complete! Sira gave her thanks to Fondrin and paid him the twenty pinions she had promised plus an extra five for the materials she had used, much more than they were worth but Sira didn't care. Necklace in hand she took off down the halls heading back to the market place to a certain stand. When she arrived she cursed, realizing the sun hadn't even yet risen outside and very few shops were open. Instead she began to ask around, searching for where the person slept. Finally she had a lead and Sira was off, rocketing through Wind Reach determined to get everything done before Addy woke up. Finally she arrived at her destination, shouting the name of the person she was looking for and not thinking about the fact that she was probably waking up anybody else who was sleeping nearby. "Vala, Vala! I need a favor before we leave this morning." When Vala acknowledged her Sira showed her the necklace and explained what she wanted. "You are a writer, right? Like, a person who writes pretty things? I want you to write something on the inside of this shell. Fondrin said to use some kind of ink that would be permanent and not wash away easily. I want it to say, 'For the girl who saved my life in more ways than she knows. Love, Sira.' Can you do that for me? I'll pay you... How does fifteen pinions sound?" Sira knew she was offering far more than the job was worth, but she wanted it to he perfect and money didn't matter to her. Sira was practically hopping up and down as she awaited Vala's answer. OOCIf you believe 15 isn't "worth far more" than let me know a better price and I will change it (just don't rip me off too much) or have Vala make a counter offer.

[Vala]

“What the- How did she- What time is it- Gah” Vala muttered as she rolled out of bed. Vala grabbed her clothes, quickly getting dressed before opening the door, revealing an Endal, who was very much awake. “Who? Sira? But how?” Vala stepped back to avoid the other woman rushing in. This was way too early for the young woman oto be up, especially when she was due in the Enclave in a few bells... Someone was going to be cranky today. Writer?... a writer of pretty things? “Calligrapher?” Vala offered but was cut off by Sira’s excited barrage of words. Still super groggy, Vala had trouble keeping up, doing her best to catch what she could. - “For the girl who saved my life in more ways than she knows. Love Sira.” - Fifty pinions Fifty Pinions! Vala shook her head in disbelief. That couldn’t have been right. Sure the ink that Sira needed was worth 5 pinions a pop (vial), but a simple ink engraving was still only worth about 8 pinions. Still horrible at business transactions, Vala couldn’t, in good conscience, cheat someone, especially one so pretty, of their hard earned pinions when it wasn’t her right. She had nothing against the Endal who had the decency to actually remember her and not treat her like dirt, even offering her so much money when she wasn’t yet a master. She tried to let it go, the greedy little monster inside tried its darndest, honestly believing that Sira had said fifty, in her morning daze. She did manage to keep it at a still ridiculously high, twenty pinions but even that gnawed at her. “Fifty sounds a bit high... I’m sure I just misheard. Why don’t we make it 20 and call it even.” Vala smiled weakly, scratching her mussy head. “So I guess I’ll get to work then. The job probably won’t take any more than bell...” Vala walked over to her desk, pulling out her calligraphy drawer. Rummaging through the meager selection of inks, she pulled out the three vials filled with black liquid. The first two just had BLACK written in fancy, meticulous cadels. The third, also in all cadels, which had taken Vala four attempts and three bells to perfect, displayed quite clearly - WATERPROOF BLACK. Vala put the other two back in the drawer and then pulled out her cloth tool case. Shutting the drawer with a nudge of her hip, Vala unravelled the case’s knot and unrolled it out on her desk. She sat down, holding the shell gingerly between her left forefinger and thumb. After using a clean edge of her nib towel to brush the inside, Vala pulled out her sharpest stone stylus. Testing the nib against the pad of her finger, Vala cringed, instantly remembering how sharp it was. She never used the stylus on paper since it would instantly rip it; the stylus was usually reserved for leather, and it was perfect for Sira’s shell. Vala didn’t mention to Sira this was her first engraving project - trying to convince herself that engraving wasn’t that far away from calligraphy, which she knew much better. “Just to make sure - sorry I’m still feeling a little groggy - you wanted: “For the girl who saved my life in more ways than she knows. Love Sira.”, right? Oh and I hope you don’t mind but the only waterproof ink I have is black.” When Sira confirmed, Vala began to etch into the shell, very gently. She tried not to squeeze the walls too tightly but it was hard to keep a good grip on the polished surface. It took her about fifteen chimes to get the faintest outline of all the words finally looking even. “How does this look to you? I’m sorry I had forgotten to ask you what font you wanted, but I just thought this really fit your messege.” Vala had completely zoned out Sira, not realizing what the Endal had been doing for the past half bell, caught up in the work in her hands. Adjusting her grip so that the shell was nestled securely in her palm, Vala began going over the lines again, digging it deeper and deeper. Once the outline was quite secure, beads of sweat forming at her brow, Vala reached for her second stone stylus. Like the first, it was sharper than her wooden or reed ones, but it was a little thicker and duller. Vala used the other to thicken the line, carving out as much as she could, without threatening the integrity of the shell wall. This step required less dexterity, and more mind numbing concentration. Thickening the lines was tedius work. Vala had never engraved a shell, leather harnesses the closest she had ever gotten, but the extra pressure of the Endal’s gaze upon her back seemed to make her hands extra steady. And she was also still under the impression that everything was still possibly all just a dream, a really vivid one. With the initial engraving done, Vala picked up the thinnest brush she had. Uncorking the vial of ink, with a sound pop, she dipped just the very end of the brush into the inky black. She closed one eye, to sharpen her focus. Then resting her elbow on the edge of the table, Vala began to fill in the script, trying her hardest not to spill over the furrows. To make sure she didn’t overfill the lines, Vala had to use the least amount of ink possible, having to dip often. It wasn’t too hard since Vala had chosen to engrave with a fairly flowy script, instead of the heavier and more elaborate of styles. She felt that the heart felt, genuine note deserved a style that matched. There was something about the font that reminded Vala of a clear spring day. Doing one last look over, Vala wiped away any excess spills of ink on the shell wall, making sure not to leave a smudge. “Ok, it’s all done. It was a short message after all. Because the ink is deep and not really being absorbed by the shell, but acting more as a paint layer, it will probably take another bell or two for it to fully dry. Until then avoid jostling it or even touching it - Don’t even blow on it, allow it to air dry. And if the ink ever gets worn down, the engraving won’t, so if Aidara ever wants me to apply another coat of ink, I’ll do it for free.” Not mentioning that she was offering so, since Sira had paid so generously today. “I hope you don't think I'm speaking out of my place, but this was a beautiful thing to do. I'm sure it will make her very happy. And thanks so much for asking me to do something so important for you. It means a lot to me that you...” Vala had trouble thinking of a proper word. “...recognize my skills, even if I’m just a chiet.” Vala smiled and held out the shell for Sira to pick up. Deep in her cold little heart, Vala felt a little spark of warmth, if it was from the exhilaration of a challenge, the musical tinkle of glass pinions, or the sentimentality of it all, she wasn't sure nor did she mind.

[Sira]

Fifty pinions? Sira was fairly certain she had said fifteen.. But maybe she hadn't. It didn't really matter to her anyway, she would have happily paid fifty but Vala was decent enough to ask for only twenty. If she had wanted the full fifty Sira would have had to go home and get some more money. Not that it would have bothered her. What were pinions to someone who could demand whatever she wanted from anybody beneath her? But Sira had wanted it to be special, she had wanted Vala to want to make it. Forcing someone to make something just didn't seem very heartfelt, so as Vala began her work Sira counted out twenty-two pinions, the extra two for a tip. She had no idea she was already about 12 pinions over the market value. "Twenty pinions sounds good to me." Sira confirmed her message and waited patiently as Vala worked. Patiently meaning she paced, bobbed, twiddled her thumbs, looked around Vala's room, and hovered over her shoulder trying to get a glimpse of the work before it was done. It wasn't that Sira was judging Vala's work, she was just curious to see how it was all done. When Vala had the initial engraving finished and showed it to Sira for examination her eyes lit up. To her the thin engraving stood out like black on white, though she knew more would need to be done for Addy to read it easily. Vala asked her something about the writing and Sira laughed. "I don't even know what that word means. It looks very nice though, I can't wait to see it when it's done." To Sira it seemed like an eternity waiting on the shell to be complete, especially since Aidara was beginning to realize Sira had been missing from the bed for so long. I just stepped out for a bit of fresh air, dear. Go back to sleep, I'll be there shortly. Hoping that would keep the healer at bay for a bit longer Sira returned to Vala's side. The chiet was applying the finished touches and when she was done she held it up for Sira to see. "Oh Vala, it's absolutely beautiful," Sira whispered as Vala gave instructions Sira was only half listening to. "Don't blow on it, air dry, two bells. Got it." Sira finally tore her eyes away from the shell when Vala began saying something about it being a beautiful gesture and recognizing her skills. Sira smiled and held up her hand, cutting Vala off. "Vala. I know a good person when I see one. I wouldn't trust just anyone to do this for me, so don't sell yourself short because of your caste. Don't tell anybody I said that though," she added with a wink. Sira knew what it was like to be treated less than you were worth and while she didn't always show it, she felt for the lower castes. Sira withdrew the coins she had counted out then paused. "You did such a good job, and didn't even complain that I woke you up in he middle of the night.. I'm gonna add a little extra to your tip." Sira reached into her pouch pulling out the remaining pinions and added them to the small pile on the table, bringing the grand total to twenty six pinions. "I should be going now, I'll see you in the morning," Sira said before Vala had a chance to say anything about the tip, and then quickly left the room leaving Vala alone with her coins. Sira rushed through the twisting halls that led to the eagle aeries, in a hurry but still being careful not to jostle the shell too much. She was almost tempted to wake Addy upon arrival and show her the gift, but Vala had said it needed to dry, so when Sira got home she quietly tip-toed into the room and hid the necklace amongst her things. Slipping out of her clothing Sira crawled into bed next to Addy, cuddling her love and barely able to sleep because of her excitement. Her biggest worry now was whether or not she wanted to give Addy her present as soon as they woke up, or wait until they were on the mission. Perhaps she could find a romantic spot in the woods.. Or maybe she could give it to Addy right before they left. Sira fell asleep and dreamed of nothing but giving Aidara her gift all the way to morning. Expenses-25gm for Training/Materials -26 GM for Vala

[Flicker]

Sira’s XP Award: Intimidation 2 Jewelry Making 4 Negotiation 1 Sira’s Lore Award: Aidara’s Dead-to-the-World Snoozing Habits Using a small needle like chisel thingy (in technical terminology) Being ignored and doing something about it Grabbing a man’s testicles (or penis) in a not very nice way A limited number of options for Necklace chains Fastening delicate chain links together with pliers Double Fisting Pliers A limited number of options for dangly things on a jewelry chain Attaching dangles onto a chain with simple wire Polishing a small shell Simple shell polishing materials and techniques Vala’s sleeping location What not to do to an engraved shell with wet ink in it Transaction: - 51 Pinions for one incredibly well done necklace with a beautiful engraving inside the shell Vala’s XP Award: Calligraphy 1 Inscribing 1 Negotiating 1 Vala’s Lore Award: Using a stone stylus to carve into a shell Thickening lines in a shell Instructing on the care of a freshly engraved shell Liking Sira