Closed Helpful People [Halon]

[Jenni Twilight]

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-- Winter 27th, 513 AV --

Jenni sat on her bed, book balanced on her raised knees, and cat nearly on top of the book. Crook had taken the entire center of her stomach, with the book lightly resting on his back. He didn’t mind the weight, as long as he was paid with constant ear scratches. The woman was comfortable with a stack of pillows on her back, one hand where Crook wanted it to be, and the other keeping her current reading project upright. She’d read through most of the interesting books in the Twilight Tower’s library (those not on morphing) and had picked up the first one that had taken her fancy. Oddly enough, it was metal working. She’d never really bothered to read about the crafts, so this was an interesting change in genre for her.

The book, sadly, was not one for beginners, but rather something in between that and pure mastery. For someone completely unfamiliar with the subject like her… half of it felt like gibberish. Like it was written in Nari… but it wasn’t. Actually, it was written by a Twilight (hence why it was in that library) many many years ago, probably some great-great-great grandfather of hers. She didn’t recognize the first name, at least. The man had developed an interest in smithing, and deigned to write a book about it so his relatives could share his passion. It didn’t seem to have worked. At least it provided some interest to her.

At the moment, she was on a chapter about wire. She knew what wire was – who didn’t? But the section explained more in terms she didn’t understand than words she knew. Particularly this ‘drawing out’ thing. It was repeated over and over again, apparently an important part in making wire. Drawing… drawing as in sketching? That was what she first thought of. What other meanings did drawing have? Well, other than that… it meant sort of moving something. Drawing a book to yourself, or… wasn’t there an expression of ‘drawing water from a well’? Did the term reference to that kind of drawing? Maybe. Drawing, pulling… pulling out. Pulling out the metal… lengthening it! That had been used there as well. If you drew out a strip of metal into wire, you lengthened it so it was, well, longer and thinner. More wire-like.

The Twilight grinned to herself at this discovery, pleased at her deductions. In her pleasure, however, she had paused in her scratching, and Crook meowed distastefully. It took him pawing her hand once or twice to get the Seeker to return to her task. She moved onto the next bit… and found more gibberish. Though figuring that word out would be nice, it wouldn’t work for everything… she’d need some kind of dictionaryI’m assuming someone’s come up with the idea, but never put the effort into writing one. But those barely existed, only in concept, and where would there be one specifically in smithing? Except… yes… a smith themselves would work perfectly.

“I’m going Crook” she told the long-haired cat, shoving him gently off her lap. He protested, but simply rolled out to stretch over an amazingly large space when it didn’t seem like she was coming back. The woman sighed irritably and stretched a bit, holding her place in the book with a finger. Now… to the smithies… where would those be?

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About half a bell, two direction-givers, and a quick snack from a vendor later, Jenni had found the smithies. There she would find her information. It was funny how much she was getting into such a trivial thing, but… she’d finished her hours working that day (absurdly early) and had plenty of time off. The evening light was nice and calming, with Syna completely gone from the horizon, and Leth and Zintila’s lights shining overhead. It was chilly enough that she wore her furred cloak, though that was normal during this season.

The morpher puttered over to the first building she spotted and walked through the open door, hands still clutching the book. Just in case she needed it… though she wasn’t going to let it anywhere near the forge fires. The writer had explained quite clearly that those were very, very hot. Sighing, she tried to peer through the darkness that was this bit of the smithies, but the air was smoky and odd. There was certainly someone in there – she could hear them – but seeing was another matter. Pursing her lips, she slowly and carefully pulled at the djed in her eyes, moving them to a familiar model she’d figured out long ago. Crook’s eyes. They were sharper and oddly shaped, like a cats, but worked fine in low-light conditions. Now the building wasn’t as dark, and the nearest fire lit the room quite well. Yes… there was a person.

“Hello?” she called out, raising a hand in greeting. “If possible, could I get some assistance in something?” It was best to be as polite as possible in this situation. “If you can spare the time, of course.”

Common - Nari/Crook - NPC - Writing - Reading

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[Halon]

OOCReally sorry about the looong wait on this. I'll try to be faster! The sound of metal on metal rang out in Halon's ears, the industry of the forge that reminded him so much of home. Though he was far from the Pitrius City, he took comfort in shaping the metals as well as he could which was not nearly so well as his Magesmithing was. The Isur reached his Izurdin blessed arm into the forge and pulled forth his desired item. He was currently working on creating a head for a shovel, not exactly the most exciting item he'd ever created but it would certainly help get him back into practice, as Aska had put it. The Isur pressed down on the heated piece of metal with his Izurdin blessed arm, curling his fingers around the other side of it and bending it upwards slightly. The heated metal warmed the metallic hand, but did not burn him as he shaped the metal like clay. The rough overall shape of a shovel achieved the Isur steadied the metal on the anvil and started beating down in it with his hammer. His green eyes focused upon the item as he worked it, hammer slamming down and lifting up in inexperienced ways. The Pitrius Isur was bare chested, his robes cast off to the side with only trousers and boots adorning him. Sculpted muscle rippled as his mundane arm brought the hammer down again and again, his Izurdin blessed arm holding the metal steady. He didn't need to worry about hurting his hand for the arm was nigh impossible to arm with weaponry, powerful as it was and strong as the black metal it looked to be. It glinted in the light of the forge, almost looking like volcanic glass in a way. The Isur was established the head of the shovel easily enough, knowing its design to be simple. Now he needed to work on the part that would wrap around the shaft sitting nearby that he had been provided. This part was going to be a bit more tricky, but Halon was suitably confident enough that he could manage it. He started by hammering completely flat a section of the metal further down from the head proper, beating and pounding it tirelessly. As he worked the Pitrius Isur closed his eyes, focusing deep within himself and gathering the energy from the pool of his Djed. The man forced the Djed upwards into his eyes, glazing them over with the vital energy and giving him the power of Auristical sight. He gazed down at the aura of the object he was crafting, its aura a swirl of orange, reds, and even a trace of gold here and there. It looked so much like a fire, its physical properties seeming to change as he worked it. He held the magical gaze as it was, easily identifying the red as being hot though that orange color eluded him as he had yet to see it in the works of other's in the force known as A Touch of Fire. The gold was also a curiosity, perhaps he just needed to search a bit deeper to find out exactly what he needed to see... Halon closed his eyes and forced the sight back, opening them again to see the world as it normally was and continuing one with his work. Delving too deeply into the sight was dangerous and Halon could feel a slight buzz in the back of his skull. The metal was flattened already so Halon placed aside his hammer and produced a metal rod, placing it on top of the flattened section of his product. The Pitrius Isur then gripped and started to physically fold the heated metal around the rod with his blessed arm, forming a sheath for the wooden shaft to go into. A slight smirk was on his face as he finished the whole thing, setting the rod aside and examining the finished product. It was certainly rough, but it was functional as far as he could see. A slight cluck of disapproval sounded from behind him, drawing his eyes upon none other than Aska Terras, his employer and a fellow Isur though of the Terras clan. She leaned against a nearby support beam and was looking down at his shovel head with a look of disappointment. She didn't exactly look disgusted but Halon knew that she was likely about to point out some flaw in his crafting. "Pretty Shyke work there, Pitrius. I'd expect that from a human maybe, but certainly not from a kinsmen." She said in their native language, raising and eyebrow. Halon bristled slightly at the rather insulting remark, his pride flaring at the slight against his skills. Certainly he was a bit rusty at mundane crafting but if only he had the tools of a magesmith. Then she would see true art that Izurdin could be proud of. He scowled slightly at the female Isur. "My apologies if my work his unsatisfactory, Aska, no doubt you could instruct me on how to improve it." Halon said diplomatically in Isurian, his tone possessing a slightly cold edge that his employer ignored as she moved to look over his work. "Well for one you need to pace yourself, find a good rhythm and stick to it. You shouldn't rush through your work, each piece should be meaningful in its own way no matter how mundane. Your product here is functional, but its hardly as good as you are capable of." She commented, waving her purple arm over it. "It also, like a number of works from you that I've noticed, lacks soul. You shouldn't be so afraid of indulging in Izurdin's blessing as it will elevate even work like this into something far greater. Its what sets us apart from the humans and the like." Aska said, giving him a meaningful look. Halon shifted uncomfortably, knowing deep down that she was right in a way but also knowing how tiring the act of Imparting himself upon his crafts could be. It often left him out for a day, stealing much of his energy even though it made even things like that shovel head into works of art. Perhaps it might be a good idea to use it more often as he worked, every once in a while at least. "I will meditate upon your advice, Aska. Thank you for giving me something to think about." Halon replied cordially. The Terras Isur snorted slightly, a sharp bark of amused laughter coming from her chest as she shook her head. "Ever the diplomat, eh Halon? Well, perhaps you should apply that behind the main counter. Why don't you go take over there for a bit and come back here in a couple of bells?" She said, turning away and heading back deeper into the forge. Halon grunted and retrieved his clothes, settling his shirt back onto his torso and heading out into the main showroom. He reclined back into his chair, ready to greet potential customers when one entered before he could even get settled. A young human woman by the looks of her, speaking common as fluently as could be expected. Halon noticed an odd quality about her eyes, his own superior darkvision easily handling the smoke of the forge that managed to make it this way. "Its possible I might be able to assist you. What assistance do you need?" Halon replied, crossing his arms over his chest.

[Jenni Twilight]

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Jenni smiled pleasantly at the man who approached and greeted her, looking him over as she did so. He was short, much shorter than most men she knew... but not skinny. In fact, he was as bulky and muscled as any smith she'd seen, though that wasn't saying much. Still, he was oddly proportioned, thick and small at the same time. One of his arms was odd too... much darker than the rest of his body, and bigger than the other as well. After frowning a bit, wondering what that meant, it came to her.

She'd seen his race - Isur - around Lhavit, generally working in places like here, or stopping on trading trips. They were well known for their skill in smithing, but other than that... the Twilight wasn't well informed. She hadn't bothered to make the Isur and Sultros her topic of study when she did focus on Anthropology... if anything she studied the Inarta. Still, she had a vague idea of their culture... mostly distant and a little rude. Some one had mentioned once that they had a good reason for it, but she'd missed the explanation.

Now that the person she was speaking to was closer, she didn't need Crook's eyes to see them more easily. She didn't like to keep that kind of morphing too long, either... she hated to think what would happen if it stuck. She released her hold on the djed, letting her eyes spring back to their normal shape and coloring. Though she couldn't deny she enjoyed morphing, it was nice to be back to normal, too... though the returned darkness was still a little off-putting.

"Oh, that would be lovely," she replied with a smile, holding up the book. "I was reading this - it's about metal working, see - but... I don't understand half the things it's describing. Since the most obvious people to understand it would be the smiths here, I came to look for... well... deciphering advice. I'm still interested in the craft." After a moment's pause, she wondered vaguely if the Isur could actually read the book. She assumed he could read in his own language - Is... Is... was it just Isur as well? - but since Common was probably not his native, she was unsure about that. She could always read the words aloud, though her pronunciation would probably be off.

"If you're available for something so... odd, I admit... could we move outside? It's easier to see out there." She shrugged a little, knowing she could technically bring back the cat eyes, but... she didn't like reading with them. It was highly possible that she could get caught up in the book and forget her morphing, keeping the eyes longer than was safe, and straining her djed more than it was used to. Too dangerous, in her mind. Though she certainly couldn't become more skilled without straining herself, she was very, very wary of overgiving.

Common - Nari/Crook - NPC - Writing - Reading

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[Halon]

Halon raised an eyebrow when the rapid explanation in fluent common started racing to him, feeling a bit disoriented by it all. He rather disliked conversations in common, they twisted his tongue in unfamiliar ways and just tasted off when actually put into practice. Unfortunately it was the most frequently employed language used by those outside of his kin, thus the need to use it was brought on more and more each passing day. He was suddenly longing for his comfortable conversation with Aska over this one. The woman presented him with a book and the Isur squinted at the lines of common lettering, as though it would somehow make the words make more sense to him. Sadly, as much as it shamed him to admit his inflection of common lettering was far from perfect. He could understand the basics of it but it took him a rather lengthy amount of time to decipher the foreign tongue. Such was his current lot in this land unfortunately, as much as it irritated him there was little he could do to change that. According to her it was about metal working though, so Halon opted to take her word for it and was starting to see why she had come here. At the moment he was of two minds, on the one hand Aska had told him to man the front desk so he really shouldn't leave so soon after arriving. On the other, perhaps this woman's reading could shed some light on the metal working process to him as well. His Pitrius blood made him ever the opportunist, even now when there was only a vague gain to be had it was enticing. Halon mused over the woman's proposition, thinking of a way to both appease Aska and to get whatever knowledge he could from this woman. A slight rare smirk formed on his face as he thought on a certain method that might very well do the trick. Aska wanted him to help customers out after all, so perhaps by incorporating business into this conversation he could get away with this. It was a possibility, it was also a bit underhanded in a way but Pitrius were notorious for using less than conventional tactics. "I might be able to... help you. I do not speak common so good, so you will need to tell me what this book says unless you have bells to kill. First though, you need to agree to buy something." Halon said, his expression becoming serious once more. He held up his Izurdin blessed arm to forestall any coming protests that might come from the woman, needing to think about his explanation's wording carefully. Not because he was afraid of spinning it poorly but because the words actually needed to be thought of before being taken from his mouth. Another reason why he disliked common, half of his conversations were simply him trying to think of the right thing to say. "It does not need to be big, something small. Aska would not like me leaving in the middle of work, unless its to help out a potential buyer. So we could step outside, I will help you how I can, and then we come back in and you buy something. A fair trade?" Halon said, halting over a few words but hoping he got the point across why he'd asked that. He was a pretty shyke negotiator, but this was an opportunity to appease both individuals. Aska would make a profit from this woman's curiosity, the woman would learn what she needed to, and Halon would also gain whatever knowledge this book held. It was starting to look like a rather good thing in his mind, a salve on the wound of his earlier performance.

[Jenni Twilight]

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The Isur was ever the shopkeeper, and gave the deal of buying something, in trade for his time. Jenni was not short on money, and maybe buying a trinket for her room would freshen things up a bit. She wondered vaguely if they sold jewelry, like her bracelet, but decided against it. There was another shop that specialized in such things, and these people couldn't do the stones and gems that were placed in most pieces. This smithy probably only did basic things, as well as weaponry and such. Still... she didn't want any of that. Did they have any... artwork, of a kind, here? Maybe she could make a request. There wasn't anything practical she needed, at least.

The man's extra explanation wasn't even needed, as she nodded in agreement once it seemed her turn to talk. "Sounds logical," she agreed with a smile, nodding. "I'll be happy to purchase something..." She drifted off, leaving her plans for her purchase unsaid. That could be dealt with after she fished out her information. "And I can read out the book, if necessary. It will be faster, I assume?" The Twilight was attempting to slow down her speech for the sake of the smith, but it was hard... she was used to speaking quickly and in complicated statements, and often those not fluent in Common had a little trouble understanding her... now was no exception.

"Alright... shall we move to where I can actually read this?" she asked with a smile, motioning towards the door. If the Isur agreed, she would lead the way out into the day's sunshine.

Eyes squinting from Syna's bright light, the morpher allowed herself a few moments to adjust, fingers instinctively flipping open the book. She turned to the first chapter that had given her trouble: the one that explained various kinds of hammers. Technically it wasn't 'smithing', but it certainly had a lot to do with the craft. The book had mentioned it was pretty important, at least, and spent a total of three pages going into detail, plus one with basic sketches. The drawings had helped her understand it a lot better, especially the labels... but maybe this Isur would understand more than she.

Finding the one question that had struck her, Jenni pointed to one of the listed items. "This. A ball-peen hammer... thing. It's mentioned as decently important, but... not much of a description is given. Do you know what it looks like? What it's for?" She sincerely hoped the man didn't know it under another name... it would simply make things awkward. She wished there was a drawing for that one, but it was sadly missing from the diagrams. It was such a funny name, and made her so curious.

Common - Nari/Crook - NPC - Writing - Reading

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[Catastrophe]

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Jenni Twilight :

Skills

• Reading: 1 XP
• Deduction: 1 XP
• Observation: 2 XP
• Socialization: 3 XP

Lores

• Wires: Drawing Means to Lengthen
• Reading: Drawing Has More than One Definition
• Morphing Technique: The Eyes of a Cat
• Morphing: Cat Eyes See Better in the Dark
• Overgiving: Being Wary of Long Lasting Effects

Loot

• N/A

Halon :

Once you return and have updated your ledger, please send me a PM so that I may award you with your grade!

Notes :

It was a shame this thread didn't last very long. I really saw something happening between you two! Anyways, here is your grade, Jenni. I hope you enjoy.

Questions or concerns can be settled over a private message! I don't bite, I swear!

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