Closed [Terra Cottage] Acquiring Arms (Kirsi)

[Jorin Ertihan]

Season of Fall, Day 27, 513 AV

Eleventh Bell

The sun was fairly high in the sky when Jorin picked his way carefully to Garob's Terra Cottage. Jorin walked past the lines of impressive-looking clay creations lining the walls, and up to Garob's imposing figure. The Eypharian didn't seem to notice him at first, his brow furrowed in concentration as he sculpted a delicate-looking pattern into what looked to be an urn or a vase. Jorin waited patiently for him to turn.

"Need something?" Garob asked, without turning. Jorin almost jumped. Garob had seemed so focused, he didn't think the man knew he was there.

"Uhhh, yes," Jorin replied, clearing his throat a little. "Is Kirsi here?"

Garob indicated with his head the rear of the shop, not looking away from his work. Jorin nodded and padded silently to the rear of the shop.

"Just make sure you don't touch anything," Garob's voice called out from behind him.

"Right, I won't," Jorin called back in acknowledgement. Now to find Kirsi, and see to his staff. Jorin just hoped Kirsi hadn't changed her mind.

[Kirsi Winterflame]

Patience, Kirsi, she reminded herself, keeping her smile pasted onto her face. By now, she was beginning to feel as though her face might crack if she had to force the expression much longer. But the woman in front of her was sweet enough. Even if she was having the world's most difficult time choosing a chamberpot of all things.

But it was also a triumphant moment for Kirsi; one of the pots the woman was debating on was the very first thing that she had carved when she'd taken up employment with Garob. It was not glamorous. And each day that it had sat on the shelf, she could feel it silently mocking her. There were days she had contemplated an 'accidental' mishap carefully plotted to shatter the petching pot on the ground. Except that Garob knew her well enough, by now, to see through the ruse, and would surely never let her live it down.

"I suppose," the woman began, drawing Kirsi's focus back, "I'll take this one. And those bowls. Oh, and maybe one of those jars you showed me earlier?" The woman offered up a hopeful smile, placing Kirsi's chamberpot back onto the shelf.

Lovely, she thought sourly, I really am going to have to knock that thing onto the ground. But she kept her smile in place and nodded agreeably at the customer. "Certainly! I think you've made a few very smart choices here - Garob's clay bowls are a much higher quality than anything you'd have found in the bazaar." Totaling up the items, she looked up, only to find the other woman back in front of the chamberpot. Pick it up, pick it up, pickitup! The chant reverberated in her head; she almost bounced a bit at the prospect of finally sending that one out of the store. A small mental cheer erupted when the woman switched out Garob's chamberpot for the one Kirsi had made.

Walking it back to the counter, the woman said, "I just couldn't decide. But this one is better, don't you think? Prettier?" And then she blushed, as if realizing how inane the comment was. Did it matter if a chamberpot was pretty?

"I think it's lovely. Its such a... Functional item; it may as well be pretty, too, right?" Kirsi offered a friendly smile, stacking the woman's purchases efficiently. As the payment was counted out and placed on the counter, Kirsi handed the stack of clay pots to the woman carefully. She had been in here frequently, as of late; apparently her children were none too careful with the pottery their mother purchased. Still, she was friendly, if a bit slow to decide, and Kirsi never really minded seeing her walk into the shop. As she walked away, though, Kirsi saw another familiar face.

"Jorin! Welcome to the Terra Cottage!" She grinned while offering the rote greeting, indicating the stacks of clay on the surrounding shelves. "Looking for something particular?"

Please don't say chamberpots, she implored, silently.

[Jorin Ertihan]

Season of Fall, Day 27, 513 AV

Jorin smiled easily as a small, pleasant-looking woman shuffled her way past him, carrying a chamberpot and bustling her way out of the store. He briefly wondered if he was catching a glimpse of Rinya in the future, buying chamberpots for their new home. In any case, chamberpots, while interesting, was not why he was here. Kirsi called out a greeting that sounded like it was a standard greet for any new customer. To her question of whether he was looking for anything in particular, Jorin simply grinned back at her.

"I can see your skill with clay is getting better," he answered, with a smirk. "That woman's chamber-pot seems a lot more... ornate than the other items in this store," Jorin added with a laugh. It was not a cruel laugh, just an expression of mirth.

"Anyway, I'm actually here because of the quarterstaff. You know, the one we said we could make?" he reminded her. Leaning against a wall (and making sure he wasn't too close to the shelves full of delicate clay wares), Jorin ticked off the basic details.

"I'm pretty sure I'd want it made from some sort of hardwood," he began. "Something that's much sturdier than a branch, anyway. I want a staff, after all, not a switch."

He thought some more. "Ideal staff length is about a inch, maybe two, greater than the user's own height. So it needs to be somewhere in the vicinity of five-foot-seven-inches."

Jorin shrugged apologetically. "I've... never really named a weapon before. If I had to name it, I'd call it Sentry. A silent sentinel, to aid me in protecting what is important to me."

Jorin tapped a finger to his chin. "Obviously, I'm happy to pay you for your services, but I thought maybe I could help out, as well? I'd hate to just sit around while you do all the hard work. I could... I don't know, do the heavy lifting? If there is any heavy lifting... perhaps I could do the big cuts? The ones that are harder to mess up?"

The truth was, Jorin really hated feeling useless, or worse, in the way. Even if he was doing something as simple as fetching buckets of water, he'd rather be doing that than just sitting around. If he was going to ask Kirsi to do this for him, he wanted to make sure he helped in whatever manner he could.

"When do you think we could get started?" he asked hopefully.

[Kirsi Winterflame]

A light blush spread over Kirsi's face, and she grinned at her friend; maybe she had been a little too enthusiastic about the chamberpot sale. But, it had sold, and that was the important part. "You have no idea how long I spent convincing that woman that she simply had to have a decorated chamberpot. It was exhausting. I may have to take the afternoon off for a nap." A chuckle accompanied the words; there was little chance of Garob giving her the afternoon free - they had been moderately busy this morning, and even if the customers stopped coming in, there would be merchandise to clean up and more merchandise to create.

But Jorin was here to talk about his quarterstaff. Kirsi had agreed to try her hand at making one for him days ago and it seemed he'd given the matter a lot of thought in the interim. She listened carefully as he ticked off important points; hardwood, 5'7", Sentry. Sentry? He had given this some thought, even naming the weapon. It was... Cute, Kirsi decided. His earnest enthusiasm made him seem younger, and she held her hand up, palm out in a good-natured gesture intended to stop the flow of words.

"Okay, slow down a chime," she smiled to soften the directive. "First, we'll need hardwood, a section of it a few inches taller than yourself, and a good portion of time where we can do the initial cuts and sizing," mentally she reviewed the schedule she'd set up with Garob; tomorrow was no good, she was supposed to work in the back again. The Epharian had tasked her with replenishing the shop's supply of drinking glasses, from sculpting through glazing. Thankfully, he would still do the firing.

"How about... In two days? I have the day off and we can scour the bazaar for the perfect piece of wood and I can show you how to block out the staff? Once we get into the finer details, I don't think there will be much you can do to help, but some of the pre-carving stuff is perfect for a beginner."

Kirsi deliberately sidestepped the issue of payment. In Avanthal, most of the carving work she'd done had been on the barter system. She wasn't sure what they might barter for, but neither was she comfortable setting a price on a commission that she wasn't entirely confident would turn out worthy of any actual payment. An idea formed in her mind, and she seized it eagerly. Jorin could provide the wood, and after the staff was carved, perhaps he could teach her some more of what he'd learned at the Sasaran! She'd gone only once, but found the instruction too rough for her liking, and the surrounding Akalaks, wielding their own weapons at every turn, more than a bit intimidating. Though she'd meant to return, she hadn't quite managed to talk herself into it yet.

[Jorin Ertihan]

Season of Fall, Day 27, 513 AV

Jorin nodded sympathetically when Kirsi mentioned that she spent a long time convincing her customer to purchase her chamberpot. Dealing in sales, on either end, was a tiring process. It was why Jorin never wanted to become a merchant, and why he never really enjoyed going to the Bazaar to purchase goods himself. While he had some minor skill in negotiation from half a decade working in theater (you had to learn to negotiate with the stagehands or you'd always get the rattiest costumes and most worn-down props), that didn't mean that he enjoyed the act.

"Of course, Kirsi," he replied lightly, "You know when I was a stagehand, we'd sometimes go behind the stacks in the afternoons to catch a few winks of sleep where the stage master couldn't find us." Well, there was the one time the stage master did find him. Jorin almost winced as he remembered being dragged from sleep by his ear. Ah well. You can't win them all.

Jorin took a breath when Kirsi put her palm out to stop his torrent of words. He grinned sheepishly and nodded as she laid out the basics of what they would need for his staff. Right, a piece of hardwood. Well, that shouldn't be too difficult. It wasn't like Riverfall was located in Eyktol.

Jorin couldn't stop the grimace when Kirsi mentioned the Bazaar though. It wasn't that Jorin hated the place, it was just that it was very much a "buyer beware" sort of place. You had to make absolutely certain your purchase was sound, because returns were not accepted. Nonetheless, he had to agree with Kirsi's logic that it would be the best place to acquire the wood they would need.

Jorin remembered watching Kirsi work on her little comb when they had first met. This would be something quite different of course, and quite a bit larger, but he imagined that the fundamental principles would likely be the same. Jorin nodded at her suggestion that he begin by helping her with some pre-carving things, and leave the finer details to her.

"Two days sounds good, Kirsi," he replied. "Maybe we could meet outside the Bazaar around tenth Bell? Take a look around and see if we can't find the perfect piece of wood for the staff?" And pray to the gods we don't get ripped off, he silently added.

Jorin briefly wondered how much Kirsi might charge for her efforts. He was more than happy to pay her of course, and was quite expecting to. This was not easy work, Jorin was sure. But so far Kirsi had sidestepped the issue, deftly directing their conversation away from the topic of compensation. Jorin, tempted to ask anyway, gave Kirsi a small smile and asked, "I know how hard you work on your carvings, Kirsi."

Jorin smirked as he continued. "I mean, even that chamberpot was so nicely decorated. I definitely want to compensate you for your efforts. I'm not sure what you would want by way of payment, but if it is within my power, I will definitely pay whatever price you set."

Jorin never haggled with friends. Truthfully, Jorin was never the type of person who'd ever charge a friend money for help. If a friend needed assistance, that was reason enough to help, and petch who owes who what. But still, this was more than a small favor, and Jorin recognized that Kirsi deserved some form of payment for her hard work. He just wondered what he would end up paying for his staff.

OOCKirsi, it's fine to do a time-skip for your next post and jump straight to the Bazaar, otherwise this would be a very short thread .

[Kirsi Winterflame]

Timestamp: 27th of Fall, 513AV

Kirsi made a face at Jorin - clearly he was not going to let the chamberpot drop, as it were. Not that she could fault him for it, and if she'd learned anything similarly amusing, she'd probably be teasing Jorin with it for awhile, too. But, there was still the subject of payment, and though she had mentally decided that bartering seemed the fairest way to go, she was loathe to bring it up right at the outset.

"I don't know, Jorin. After those chamberpot comments, I should charge you at least..." Kirsi tapped a finger against her chin, pretending to give serious thought to her fee before grinning. "I actually don't know. Tell you what - I'll give it a bit of thought and we can discuss it in a couple days?" Just then, another customer walked into the shop, and Kirsi gave Jorin an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, it looks like duty calls once more. But I'll see you in a couple days."

Turning to the newcomer, she pasted her work smile on and called out her typical greeting once more: "Welcome to the Terra Cottage! What can I help you with today?"


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Timestamp: 29th of Fall, 513AV, 10th Bell... Ish

Kirsi rushed through the streets; she'd promised to meet Jorin outside the bazaar around the tenth bell - but if she didn't put on some speed, it would be closer to the eleventh. In her haste to get to the marketplace, she nearly ran into a large, green-skinned man.

"Sorry! So sorry," she offered the Akalak an apologetic smile and a half-wave before continuing on her way, pace only slightly more sedate.

Rushing pell mell through the city's streets served a purpose; Kirsi soon found herself nearing the official entrance to the bazaar and slowed to a much more dignified, if a bit breathless, walk. She craned her head, mentally cursing her lack of height, and searched for her friend in the crowd. Surprisingly, on this day, he wasn't difficult to spot; being a human man in a city mostly filled with Akalak and Konti, he stuck out a bit from the mid-morning shopping crowd.

"Hi, Jorin! Sorry; I know I'm a bit late. I had a bit of a slow start at the shop," she offered him a bright smile. The late start was due to the same woman she'd been helping when the actor had first come to the Terra Cottage. Apparently her children had claimed yet another victory over pottery. A minor tussle between brothers had rendered the pot utterly useless and in pieces, and the woman had come to purchase a replacement. Kirsi was at once saddened and relieved to hear of the chamberpot's fate and had hurried the woman along as much as politeness would allow.

"Are you ready to go pick out your new staff?" It was said with excitement, as though they were going to pick out new puppies or something equally fluffy and cute. For Kirsi, the prospect of carving such a large piece was a bit exciting - even more so because she was hoping to finagle a few combat lessons into the mix. After much thought, she'd realized she really wasn't able to begin putting an actual price on this work, for multiple reasons, she'd gotten quite attached to the idea of training as payment. She only hoped Jorin would be amenable to the idea. Her one lesson at the Sasaran had taught her only one lesson: it was not a place she wanted to return to.

[Jorin Ertihan]

Season of Fall, Day 29, 513 AV

Jorin wasn't really all that upset that Kirsi was late. He knew first-hand how hectic schedules could be and he'd had to scurry to get to places on time. In fact, the very first time he'd met Kirsi, he was late for his troupes rehearsals, and he still remembered the ear-chewing that the stage master had given him for that. Since then he'd become much better at managing his time; still, shyke happened.

Jorin grinned when he saw Kirsi's form walk up quickly, slightly out of breath and apologizing for her tardiness. Jorin just shrugged it off. "Well at least you got here," he replied, without a hint of anger. In reply to Kirsi's question of whether he was ready for picking out a new staff, Jorin just grinned.

"Absolutely!" he laughed, but then raised an eyebrow curiously.

"I will admit," he confessed as they entered the Bazaar, "I was a little surprised that we're buying the wood for this. I would have thought we'd be cutting it down ourselves, or buying it from some lumberyard or something." Shrugging, Jorin smiled and added, "I mean, all that wood fell during that storm the day before, you'd think some of it was usable. Oh well." Jorin shrugged. It was what it was.

Despite this, Jorin shrugged and pressed forward. "I guess Cyphrus isn't exactly in a wooded area, though," he mused. "Not like the Sylira region. So many trees there."

It was due to the fact that lumber was not entirely difficult to come by that acquiring a piece of wood suitable for a staff would probably not be any more difficult than to go to the nearest forest and cutting it for yourself. That or going to a lumber yard where cords of wood abounded. But the Cyphrus region was mostly plains and grassland, and the trees were not nearly as abundant here as in Jorin's childhood home. He supposed that made wood of the nature they desired a bit more difficult to come by.

Jorin really didn't know anything about purchasing wood though, so he let Kirsi take the lead this time. He was interested to see what sort of wood they'd purchase. He'd only seen the barest basics of carving the last time they'd met, and hopefully now he would see a great deal more.

[Kirsi Winterflame]

At Jorin's questioning, Kirsi nodded thoughtfully. "Well, the only trouble is finding wood that is long enough, straight enough and strong enough - but not too strong. And the drying, of course. If you want, we can go look around for some instead?" It was sometimes a sensitive topic, mizas, and Kirsi wondered if Jorin was tight on funds at the moment. The thought made her doubly glad that she wasn't planning on asking for payment in coin, but rather in trade.

"One of the things people don't realize is that its really difficult to carve fresh wood," she went on to explain. It was a struggle, trying to find the words in common to detail the words of wisdom her grandfather had taught her. "It carves alright, sometimes easier. But it's... Wet?" Kirsi's head shook in mild frustration; after a bit more thought, though she nodded. Wet was the right term.

"Inside the wood is a lot of moisture - its a plant, right? But when it dries, it gets smaller. Tighter. If it dries at the wrong speed - too fast," she clenched her fist in the air between them, tightly, to illustrate her words, "if the outside dries too fast around the center, it can split." Kirsi opened her fist, palm facing the sky and fingers thrusting outward in a sort of hopeless gesture. A split staff would do Jorin no good, and would only be a waste of both their time.

Earnest blue eyes studied Jorin; she hoped she'd gotten the risks across, but she didn't want Jorin to be completely discouraged. While cleaning up at the Pearl House, she'd seen a few pieces that looked as though the might have worked. Presumably other trees within the city had dropped branches that were already on their way to becoming deadwood. It wasn't an impossible task to scavenge something that would fit their needs.

Just unlikely.

"But we can certainly take a look around - I'm sure we can find some options lying about in need of a cleaning up. Maybe in one of the parks?" She would leave the choice to Jorin; If they walked around and found nothing suitable, the bazaar would still be here when they were done. And if they did find something that would work, even better.

[Jorin Ertihan]

Jorin nodded as he listened carefully to what Kirsi said. The truth was, he really didn't know much about wood or carving, so he was more than willing to let her take the lead on this one. Though one thing she said caught his attention.

"Not too strong? Why not? isn't stronger .... better?" Jorin truthfully was curious on that point. Though he suspected the answer would be similar to what Sohryn had told him at the Kendoka regarding quarterstaff lengths: the longer weapon was harder to control. Perhaps the stronger wood was harder to carve... or something? Then again, he was no expert.

Jorin almost chuckled good-naturedly at the mention of "wet" wood, but he understood Kirsi's meaning. Yes, after she described it, he could see why that'd be a problem. And he didn't want his staff to warp and bend after it had been carved, either, which he imagined wood would tend to do as it dried, else why would old, dried branches be so gnarly?

Still, Jorin wondered if the wood shouldn't be too dry. Actually, he wondered how people prevented their staffs from drying out and becoming brittle and less sturdy after a prolonged time of use. Perhaps they used magic. It was the only explanation he could come up with that made any sense. It was either that, or they maybe used some sort of preservative on the wood? Oil it up maybe? He'd have to ask Kirsi later.

"Ok, let's hit the parks then!" Jorin grinned with enthusiasm. It wasn't that Jorin was necessarily a cheapskate, but he figured why shouldn't they take advantage of free wood? He was sure Riverfall would be more than happy to let him take the wood from the park, since it would simultaneously benefit him and it would contribute to the cleanup efforts.

Though a thought occurred to him. If the wood was weak enough to be blown off the tree, would it be strong enough for their purposes? Wouldn't the weakest branches be the ones on the ground? Jorin sighed and gave Kirsi a confident smile. No, they'd find what they were looking for. Half of making something happen, after all, was believing it would happen.

[Kirsi Winterflame]

Smiling, Kirsi nodded. It was an understandable confusion; of course it would seem that one would want the strongest wood available - especially for a weapon. "If not for the carving, I would agree, stronger is better. But if the piece is not straight, or is to be carved on, we should look for something that will take minimal effort to customize. Otherwise this staff may take a much longer time to finish."

Moving away from the bustling activity of the bazaar, Kirsi considered the parks of RIverfall. The Cliffside Grotto would almost certainly yield nothing helpful - and its location and layout would make collecting wood difficult in any case. Knirin Gardens? There were many old and lovely trees there, surely something would have been knocked down to a useful level by the storm. But Knirin Gardens were on the other side of the city. Semele Park, then. It was nearby, and though the trees there were not as old as in Knirin, and more decorative, it was still a likely source for Jorin's staff.

"Shall we check out Semele Park first, then? Its just across the way here," she pointed out the lush greenery facing the warrens. From this distance, Kirsi was unable to see any downed wood - indeed, any evidence of a storm at all - but she was confident something would present itself if they only looked hard enough.

"If we don't find what we're looking for there, we can try the Knirin Gardens next. Its a bit of a walk, but probably our next best option. I think we can safely rule out the Cliffside Grotto and Lapis Park." Though the sculpture park was an arresting sight, Kirsi was sure they would have no luck searching there for the wood they needed.