[Ironworks] Designs in steel (Eris)

[Eanos]

Spring 43, 510

There were many reasons to visit the Ironworks, the largest forge in Syliras and to tell the truth many who came there had not the slightest interest in weapons or armour but instead were seeking the items which made life easier for everyday use - metal hinges to replace leather ones, needles which were finer and stronger than those of bone and so forth.

Whilst it employed many workers, it was natural that the smiths tended to specialise and while Eanos; the Isurian smith whose duties for that day included helping out at the front of the store, could turn out most things, still his passion was in weapons of one sort or another. Not yet the best weaponsmith that the forge employed by any means, still his Isurian heritage allowed him some advantages over his colleagues. Besides the fact that he worked the forges bare chested, the metallic black of his left arm marked him for those who knew Isurian society as one who tended towards the arcane, but likely there were few in this city who would be aware of that. Few however could fail to know that the Isurians had the reputation of producing the best metalwork.

For the strengths that Isurians had, they also had weaknesses and one of those was a general intolerance of the other races, which made this day more than a little trying for Eanos. He was realist enough to know that making things was not enough, they also had to be sold, and as such this was a part of his training to be a smith. But still he remained more than a little surly towards those who entered and it required at least a little courage to ignore the glare which leaked past his best efforts to be civil and to actually approach him to ask questions instead of the clerk who normally tended the shop.

[Eris]

Eris had made quite a few rounds around the Ironwork as she decided whether to go in or not. She knew that if she did purchase a new dagger, it would have to be custom-made – she wasn’t going to settle for something that didn’t fit her hand perfectly. Eris fingered the blade hanging at her side, still unsure whether she should let it go. Her dagger hadn’t been of very good quality to begin with and after five years of use, it resembled a kitchen knife more than an assassin’s weapon. The hilt had worn down and the steel had become bent and rusty. The weapon might still have a few kills left in it, but ultimately, Eris didn’t want to take the risk of facing an enemy with a broken blade.

Nodding her head slightly - as if to seal her decision - she strode up to The Ironworks and pushed open the door. Stepping in the doorway, she surveyed the shop quickly, her gaze coming to rest on a short, muscular man behind the counter. It didn’t take long for Eris to realize that the man was not human, but rather an Isur. She’d never dealt with any Isurs personally, but she’d heard a lot of praise for their talents at metal-working. This one looked a little tense, but Eris didn’t much care about the man’s disposition as long as she could walk out of here with a dagger.

She walked up to the counter, her hand hovering close to the hilt of her dagger out of habit. Always keep close to your weapon when entering unfamiliar territory. It seemed like lately she couldn’t get Joel’s advice out of her head.

“Good day. I’m looking to have a dagger made,” she spoke bluntly, uninterested in small talk and flowery speech. Keep everything short and to the point. Business transactions aren’t mean to be dilly-dallied around.

[Eanos]

The words captured the attention of the Isurian smith as the appearance of the young woman had not. Dagger? It was not the request which he'd assumed she had come in to ask for but if there was anything to break through the reserve which Eanos used to buffer him against the need to deal with inferior races like humans then it was to talk to him about the things he loved.

His eyes brightened and he straightened his back to look up into the green eyes of the young red head. "Then you have come to the right place," he answered and his expression softened into a smile, the frown easing off his forehead as though it had never existed.

"We sell a wide variety of short blades as you can see," his arm swept in a guesture towards the display case of knives and daggers, "but if you wish to have one made then I think you have something specific in mind. Do you have a design in mind? Does it need to perform specific functions or be able to be hidden?"

He wasn't at all unaware that she'd asked for a dagger rather than a knife, and daggers only had one function which likely placed her in a very small band of women, but then he wasn't about to make assumptions either as for all he knew she might be having it made for someone else or even because she thought it would look nice, though he had little time for those who fell into the latter category.

Normally he reserved his Djed for the metal on which he worked, but now he released it and allowed his concentration to take in the aura which surrounded his potential customer. It wasn't that he expected much from it, just that it would help to guide him into asking the right questions and knowing when to probe deeper when her aura might suggest that she was shading the truth.

[Eris]

Eris titled her head to the side slightly, accessing the Isur. In order for her to fully explain what she wanted from a dagger, she might have to disclose the purpose for which she used the weapon. Would he be able to be discreet? She hoped that he would, because she did not much like the idea of turning back now.

“I have no particular design in mind, though I would prefer it to resemble my old dagger in some way, as I’ve grown rather used to it,” she said, detaching the dagger from her belt and placing it on the counter. It was a typical one for an assassin, with a wide blade and short handle. She kept her hand over the hilt as she continued, “Keeping the dagger hidden is a must. Most blades that I’ve looked at are either too long or too bulky to be easily carried under a jacket. Having one made seems much simpler than going through shop after shop looking for and not finding what I want. I simply don’t have that kind of time.”

“And I do not need the dagger to perform any other functions than the obvious one,” Eris added with a thin smile.

She still held doubts about abandoning her old dagger; having placed so much trust in it over the years, buying a new one almost seemed like a betrayal. Eris could hear the irony resonating in her mind – she was more attached to a dagger than to any human.

[Eanos]

As she placed the blade on the counter so he with a cant of his head to her for permission to slide it over the counter and pick it up so that he could judge its weight and balance.

Assuming that she granted permission for that he would grunt and place it back down. He cared little for the mores of the other races and wasn't interested in what she might do with the blade, but the more they discussed the detail of what she wanted, the more interested in her he became.

"So tell me more about the style of ah, fighting, that you intend to use this blade for. I see your old blade has a wide blade so is this important for you? If I am to design for you a blade which suits your style exactly then I need to know how you intend to use it."

"A dagger is normally optimised for stabbing, yet a wide blade like this requires the use of more force and even for a strong man could be foiled by heavy clothing or armour. A stiletto penetrates easily, even through mail but is almost useless for any other use. Then too there is the question of blade length for it must be long enough to penetrate the thickest of clothing and still reach its target. Again a stiletto scores strongly here for the additional length does not unbalance the blade. Added to this it is the easiest of blades to conceal. If you don't like the idea of a stiletto then I might suggest something a little heavier in the blade which is a better all round weapon?"

[Eris]

Eris frowned slightly. She knew that it would eventually come to telling the smith of her purpose for the weapon and she didn’t feel the least bit happy about it. Then again, why would he need to know her profession? Surely it would be sufficient to tell him of her style of fighting without disclosing anything else.

“I rarely need to fight against someone wearing mail. Close combat is comfortable for me and I know to aim at areas of the body where thick clothing poses little problem. For those reasons, I do not think a stiletto would work for me,” she said with a shake of the head.

“A wide blade does more damage and if it is twisted the right away, the wound that is created will bleed for a long time – enough to permanently weaken the opponent. A wide blade also makes for a quick kill – a single cut at the right artery and…” Eris brushed the tips of her fingers against her neck, remembering how unpleasant it had been to feel someone else’s blade so close to that fatal artery.

“I know that the balance of my current dagger works for me, but I am open to any suggestions which you think might improve it,” she added.

[Eanos]

The smith was relatively oblivious to her feelings, not because he could not see her aura change as he spoke and then she did, though even that was not too much help to him as he was far from expert in interpreting the changes, but rather because he didn't care.

He shrugged and grinned, "if a wide blade is what you desire, then a wide blade is what you shall have." He hoped that she knew what she was doing in her choice, for he knew little of the fighting techniques himself, but a dead customer would not be coming back to buy more blades.

"A wider blade will restrict the length somewhat, but I can certainly replicate the dimensions of your existing blade since I imagine you are used to that."

He picked her blade up and ran his fingers along the cutting edges, oblivious to the fact that a human would have risked cutting themselves and then balanced the dagger across his finger. "I can certainly keep the point of balance the same if that is your preference. I would normally recommend that it sits just inside the hilt itself so that the blade becomes neutral in your hand, but that needs to be your choice. You can certainly try some of the blades we have on display here to see if one takes your fancy in terms of design or there is a feature you'd like to include in your own."

He smiled expectantly at her for this was to be her weapon, and if was not yet a seasoned veteran who knew exactly what she did want in a blade, she knew her old one well enough to know what she wanted different in the new one.

[Eris]

The Isur spoke reasonably. She had assumed the process of getting a weapon would be easier, never really thinking about all the little bits of knowledge that went into making a dagger. To her, the feel of the hilt in her palm and the weight of the blade had always seemed so natural that she had never bothered to consider them.

“Very well, I’ll try one or two daggers from your display. Pick whichever ones you believe to be closest to my own in style and balance. I have only ever fought with this one dagger, so I am not accustomed to choosing others.”

She pondered her next question before asking it. “And are you going to be the one making this new dagger?” she asked, pausing for a moment, and then continuing, “Because if you are, I’d like to see some samples of your work if they are available. Nothing personal, you understand. I just need to be sure what it is I’ll be paying for.”

She did not want to offend the Isur, but she wanted to know if she would be getting a quality item, not something slap dashed together by a rookie smith.

[Eanos]

He nodded swiftly to her acceptance of his offer and moved over to the display case where after a moments perusal he withdrew three blades and brought them back to the counter in front of her.

"These daggers all have much the same blade length as yours," he said, "though as you can see the blade style is not the same." He pointed to the one on her left first and smiled, "these first two are both of a similar style, but this one is comes closer to being a stiletto in design but I show it because it has certain features to it. The blade has a ricasso at the top, so you can see that reduces the sharpened section but at the same time has a thumb indent which some find useful in hitting what is aimed for. The hilt is stacked leather so it absorbs sweat well and the hilt is pointed so that it can be used for striking the skull."

He tapped the middle one with his finger. "Both of these have a similar point of balance, but this is much more the classic dagger design and all round fighting knife. You can see that the blades as we move across are getting wider and so also flatter as the additional steel helps make the blade more rigid. This one has a knurled metal grip but all of these have the classic vase shaped handle which means that the dagger can be held easily in a number of grips."

He moved to the right hand dagger. "Short wooden handle with enlarded pommel to help counter the weight of the blade, but of course some feel that this design can get hooked in clothing when attempting to draw from a concealed position, but it is a question of preference. This one also has a forged steel patterning to it which makes the blade more attractive. Try them out and see what you think. We can mix features from any of these into your dagger easily enough, but yes I will be the smith who makes yours."

He waved over the other clerk to help, "I will be back in a moment," and he disappeared into the back of the forge, returning after a short while in which she could try out the daggers under the watchful eye of the clerk. He laid another knife on the counter for her inspection, though this was longer than the daggers by a couple of inches.

"I have not been in the city long, so I don't have much to show you, but it also means that as yet I have not established my reputation here so you won't get charged the normal cost for Isur work." He grinned at her, not mentioning that his work did not yet command the price for such work as he lacked the experience for it. "More than a thousand layers of steel in this blade, forged entirely by myself, though I did not make the hilt since that is not where I specialise." If she had an expert eye then she would realise that his work had some flaws and yet it was a pretty enough piece for the steel showed a grain in the light and the bevel of the blade had its own wavy pattern on it from the tempering process which hardened the edge.

[Eris]

Eris nodded her thanks and reached for the first dagger. She weighed it in her hand and made a few quick cuts at the air. No, this would most definitely not do. She was used to a heavier blade and the thin width wouldn’t do for her line of work. Placing it back on the counter, she tested out the second dagger. This one had a much better balance and the hilt was indeed very easy to hold. She lightly tossed the blade from her right hand to her left. The hilt felt just as comfortable there as in her other hand. That was a definite advantage, seeing as she was often forced to fight with her left hand.

She could see before she even picked it up that the third blade would not be to her liking. The hilt’s shape was needlessly curved. The last thing she wanted was to get her blade stuck in her jacket while an opponent’s knife was coming down on her throat. She did, however, like the feel of the wood against her hand. Then again, her old dagger had a wooden hilt as well, and Eris was quickly finding out that she was having trouble letting go.

Putting the third weapon down, she once again picked up the second dagger. She felt herself gravitating more to its simple design. She still had it in her hand and was idly twirling it between her fingers when the Isur returned.
She was grateful for the fact that he was not insulted by her request. She had known men, who when asked to verify their skill, would simply scoff and nurse their injured pride.

Putting the dagger on the counter, Eris gingerly picked up the curved knife, turning it in her hand to inspect it from all sides. It was certainly a beautiful blade, but Eris did not much care for the outward appearance of weapons. The blade was not perfect, but it was good enough. Certainly better than some of the shoddy workmanship she’d seen over the years.

“Thank you, I’m quite satisfied now,” Eris said with a hint of a smile playing on her lips. “As for the three daggers, I believe the second on is more to my liking. The shape of the hilt is perfect, but I would prefer it to be wooden. As long as you don’t think the wood might splinter or hinder the blade’s quality, of course. The form of the blade is good, but I would prefer it if it was to be just a tad wider towards the end.”

Eris wasn’t sure how else she could explain exactly what she wanted. She had never looked at a dagger as a summation of different features, but rather as one joint weapon. “I am trusting your judgment in all the subtleties that go into creating a blade. All I see when I look at a dagger are the hilt and the blade. I feel rather than see the rest of the weapon’s characteristics when I use it. I find that I must get to know a dagger before I can fully understand what I like about it and how it behaves."