Open Back in the Saddle

[Gaius Sivet]

51st of Spring, 513 A.V.

Gaius rushed into the Inner Fire Glass shop in Syliras, ducking inside and moving as quickly as he could into the back, hoping to avoid Leena. He'd been away for some time, and he knew it. He was surprised if he still had a job. But that was the way of it sometimes, getting pulled away by life and tossed about a bit before being allowed to return to the things one enjoys.

He quickly donned an apron and a pair of gloves, before moving to the large oven set near the outer wall of the workshop. Gaius opened it and stoked the coals, ensuring the oven was hot, before checking the crucibles inside. There were only a few, one of which was obviously meant for a piece of Leena's own work, and so he made a mental note to avoid dealing with that one.

Gaius took several molds off the shelves. The molds themselves were simple, almost crude pieces of metal and stone. They formed basic shapes, vases, glasses, simple things that any novice could work well with. He set a total of five molds out to work with, two that would shape simple, curving vases, two for a set of glasses that would require a bit of free handed molding to get right, and one that would, if used properly, form a perfect sphere. Useless in almost every aspect, but they generally sold well to the wealthy looking for interesting trinkets.

Gaius grabbed a set of tongs and went back to the oven, gripping a crucible of melted red glass in the tongs and slowly bringing it out. He moved it carefully over to the workstation and poured the glass into one of the vases and glasses before placing it back. For the other two, he pulled out a crucible of molten blue glass, carefully transporting it and pouring it into the molds. When those molds were filled, her placed the crucible back into the oven and withdrew the last remaining one that he could use. It was filled with green glass, melted and hot. This he poured into the spherical mold before replacing it in the oven.

Gaius quickly sealed the molds together and set them aside to form properly, smiling at his work. That done, he checked to make sure everything was sealed properly and taken care of, leaving no openings or chances for a disaster to occur while he was away. Then, he went off to find Leena, hoping that a profuse apology would be enough to save his job.

[Gaius Sivet]

After a few minutes of wandering, Gaius realized that, job or now, Leena would be happier if he got more done than if he simply apologized. So he headed back to the work shop, hoping to get a large portion of things done. He began simply, adding more glass of the right colors to the crucibles to melt them, sweeping out the workshop, cleaning and putting away the tools, polishing that which needed it, simply wiping the grime off of what didn't.

After all that was done, he checked on the molds. They still needed an hour or so to set, so Gaius headed over to the batch oven set in the wall and opened it. He took a pair of tongs and, after donning his apron and gloves, removed the crucible of blue, molten glass. This he brought over to the work table, a slab of solid marble, and set it down, grabbing a pair of jacks and a piece of leather, Gaius then took the crucible and a ladle. He scooped out a small bit of glass with the ladle and poured it onto the marver. He took the jacks and quickly placed the crucible back into the batch oven.

Returning to the marver, Gaius took the tongs and began to form the molten glass. He shaped and formed the glass with a slow, gentle working, moving it delicately and precisely. He soon had a small figure that was approximately man shaped. He smiled and began to work on the features, though the glass was starting to harden, so he worked quickly. He formed the figurine into a man in simple clothes, holding a sword aloft. It was somewhat crude, but it had good detail and form and would make a nice piece for some noble's paper weight.

Gaius stood and set the figure aside, placing it in the annealer to cool, and pulling the molds towards himself. He cracked the first vase open and brought it out. He looked it over and found only a few bulging areas. He took the leather and pressed gently against these, forming the glass more soundly. He then took up the jacks and rounded certain areas of the vase, mostly around the lip, giving it curve and form, before placing it in the annealer to slowly cool.

Gaius cracked the second vase open and repeated the same process. He pressed the leather gently against the bottom of the vase to ensure it was properly flat, the leather burning, stinking and ash falling on the marver and floor. Gaius then used the jacks to help form the contours and lines of the vase properly before putting it in the annealer.

Gaius took the next two molds, the glasses, and cracked them one at a time. These pieces were more delicate and required a different approach. Gaius held the jacks, ensuring the stems of the glasses were straight and that the cups of them were properly curved to give the right appearance. One after the other, they went through this process and into the annealer for cooling. Gaius then took the last mold and broke it open.

Gaius was horrified at what he found. The orb, supposed to be the simplest piece, was cracked and bubbled with air. It was by no means an utter failure. It was one color glass and could easily be melted down, but it was terrible. Hours of work were lost, along with pay, and he had one less piece to present to Leena. Not only that, he had a failed piece, which was even worse. He cursed silently in Inartan and took the orb to the bench, letting it sit there while he finished his work.

Gaius went to the annealer and, one by one, pulled out each vase and glass. he took up a puffer and laid it against the pieces, one by one, where the opening should be. The glass was still quite hot and malleable and so it was simple work to blow into the puffer and form the openings. As each opening was made, Gaius took the jack and widen the hole, using the ladle and a pair of shears to cut off and pull out any excess glass. Once this was all done, and the excess glass was set aside to cool and be melted down later, Gaius put the pieces back in the annalear, letting them cool. He smiled as he started putting everything away and cleaning up, glad with the work he had done today, and trying to ignore his failure.

[Emblem]

Congratulations! You Get Glorious Experience! Gaius Skill Points Earned Glassworking 3 XP Lore Earned Returning to Work Saddened by Failure Recovering from Failure Other Shenanigans: Comments : Sorry for the wait, if you questions or concerns shoot me a PM!