[Ironworks] Hey I Know You... (Hadrian)

[Marcus Braeden]

"Like I said, you are the first to know on this one...and yes, it was at least a days travel by cart. I've considered telling the knights but I just haven't gotten around to it yet. I've been just trying to readjust to life here in the city..."

In reality Marcus didn't tell the knights just because he was trying to distance himself from them. He was letting go, and forming new ambitions. His experiences out in the Wildlands had changed him. He had seen a new and darker side to life in this world. Growing up in Ravok, Marcus knew about the evils in the world, but he hadn't experienced them first hand.

Marcus watched as Hadrian worked, this time not interfering as much as he did the first time around. Marcus could see the improvement from Hadrian's first dagger to his second dagger. Marcus also noted that Hadrian was attempting to replicate the curvature he had included in his blade. While not perfect, it was practice which was important.

[Hadrian]

"I have a friend who has to go to Ravok," he confided. "Did I say that already?" He shook his head, having lost himself to the rhythm of the metalworking, though he had still taken in Marcus' words. "I don't know why, but I feel the urge to go with him. I know he will have a friend or two to watch his back, but..." He shook his head. "Might be worse even that what you dealt with. But, well, if you do tell the knights, it's more likely they'll be able to take care of the problem. Prevent it from happening in the future. Maybe." He shrugged. It was worth the effort, he thought. Let the knights keep the peace in their domain. He ceased work on his dagger, looking to Marcus for his readiness to move on. There were still steps to be taken before they were done, but the hammering seemed to have gone as far as it needed to.

[Marcus Braeden]

"Yes, you did say that before" Marcus said with a chuckle. "If you are really set on going up there, well, watch your back. Because someone is surely watching yours already, and I mean that in the most literal way possible." The Black Sun were always watching people up there. They had there eyes on pretty much everyone in the city, and travelers were at an even greater risk. But at least Hadrian was a human. It made him a less likely candidate for the slave market. Marcus had seen non humans taken from the streets, crowded streets at that, and not one person gave a damn.

Marcus noticed Hadrian was ready to move on to the grinder. Marcus nodded and grabbed his blade. He walked toward the grinder, waving Hadrian to come with him. Marcus once again went first, since he could finish putting the edge on rather quickly. Marcus sat down and placed his blade on the grinder and pressed down. The occasional spark propelled itself into the air as the grinder rotated, and soon enough Marcus' blade had the edge it needed. Marcus sat up and placed his blade on the anvil. Marcus then began to watch as Hadrian took his turn.

[Hadrian]

"I intend to be very careful," he said, taking his turn on the grinder, catching rather more sparks than Marcus and sacrificing more of the metal to get his edge than his teacher did, but eventually getting himself a reasonably sharp blade for his efforts. "Do you have any more specific advice?" he asked, trying to make it casual. "It sounds like you know a bit more about the place than I do. I'll have to figure out how I'm going to play myself off while I'm there... I don't want to end up the Ebonstryfe's slave magecrafter." The very thought of that made him shudder, and it was lucky the thought didn't come until he was done with the grinder or he might have hurt himself.

[Marcus Braeden]

Marcus walked back over to the forge again after the two were finished sharpening there blades. All that was left for the blade was hardening and tempering the blade, then it would be on to the new stuff, creating a hilt. Marcus stuck his blade into the furnace and waited for the heat inside the blade to rise.

"Well, you are travelling with a group, so I would stick close to them as best you can, as they say, there's strength in numbers. Obviously don't do anything stupid that would make you stick out. Just stick with the crowd. Try to look oblivious as the person you are walking with to the fact that the city you are is ruled by a fanatical cult who worships the god of chaos..." Marcus told Hadrian.

The flames had heated up the metal to an adequate level. Marcus drew his blade from the fire using the tongs and then quickly dunked it into the cool water. Steam rose into the air when the hot metal was plunged into the water. Marcus repeated this, placing his blade into the fire, and then dunking the blade into the cooling tank. Now, all that was left was tempering. The blade was placed into the fire again but for a substantially shorter period. Once again it was soaked in the cooling tank. Marcus continued the pattern until the blade had a good strength to it.

[Hadrian]

Hadrian thought as they watched their forming blades soaking up the forge's heat. The idea of going with Kendall to Ravok tugged at him even though he knew it was probably a bad idea. But to let Kendall walk into that den of thieves and vipers? He might have Cathan or Sondra with him, but would they be enough? "I think... if I do go, I would end up being the leader. That... rather terrifies me. I don't... I've never been there. I've been raised to fear and hate it... It's the place of nightmares rooted so deep in the psyche of the native Syliran that..." He shuddered and shook his head. "It would be a suicide mission, maybe. Well... thank you for the advice." The glow of his blade on the auristic spectrum clued him in that it was time to remove it, so he grabbed the tongs with his leather-gloved hands and pulled it out, preparing for the next step.

[Marcus Braeden]

Marcus waved Hadrian to follow him once more and retrieved more metal to construct the hilt with. They were going to have to go back to forging with hammers, but this time it would be a different shape than a blade. But, as usual, the first step was to heat the iron in the forge. As they waited, Marcus once again began to think, but not of the usual day dream. No, something else was on his mind now.

Hadrian had called it a suicide mission. What exactly were they going to do in Ravok that would warrant it to be called such a thing. Something was definitely on Hadrian's mind, judging from the way he spoke. Marcus couldn't place what it was, but it was there. Hadrian seemed genuinely terrified to go on this journey. If he felt this threatened by the thought of venturing to Ravok, why go? Now the thought of him never seeing Hadrian again entered his mind, and Hadrian had been his only friend, well almost friend anyway. The thought of Hadrian being killed, or worse, began to haunt Marcus' mind.

Marcus couldn't help it now. "Exactly what are you planning on doing in Ravok that makes this trip so dangerous. You said it yourself 'suicide mission'."

[Hadrian]

Hadrian heated the metal as before, only this would be a bit more like the blacksmithing he had done with Eanos, and the work he had done with Marcus himself before. But a hilt was part of a weapon, so he supposed it was weaponsmithing too. It was a bit convoluted, but he was capable of holding things in his head that were more than one thing at the same time. He liked when things were subtle and intuitive as much as he did the matter-of-fact, black-and-white things. Staring at the fire had almost soothed away his fears. He wasn't even sure he was going yet, but he did want to help keep Kendall and the others alive if he could. Altruism wasn't a common trait in him, so he thought he would follow it while he could, and if Marcus considered him a friend, it was news to him. He liked the fellow, and there had been this sudden sharing of details if not a full picture, and now concern? "I... call it that mostly to make a jest out of it, so I can laugh at it and not be so afraid of the possibility that I might walk into danger for other people. I'm not a bad man, but I'm not terribly brave. I don't know, I might not say anything, just let them go. I don't know all the details why they're going, but they're determined..." He raised his gloved hands. "That's what worries me too. Not knowing."

[Marcus Braeden]

Marcus realized that the metal was ready for forging. Using the tongs Marcus removed his metal and then let Hadrian remove his before walking back to the anvil. Marcus hoped that smithing once again would help Hadrian get his mind off things. Besides that is why Hadrian came to the Ironworks, to learn. Not to be reminded of how dangerous Ravok is. Once Hadrian arrived with his metal at the anvil, Marcus began the lesson.

Marcus decided to go with just a normal shaped grossguard, exept smaller of course to suit a dagger. It was nothing fancy, since he was teaching a newcomer afterall. The handle wold also be straight and then the hilt would end with a smll round pommel. When it all came together it wouldbe a rather plain looking hilt.

Marcus began by shaping the crossguard and handle with his hammer, each blow bringing the metal closer the shape that Marcus desired. Every once in a while Marcus stopped and checked on Hadrian's once again pointing out mistakes or things to improve upon. They would also need to make enough room for the tang of the blades they had made to extend into the grip. The grip would need to conform to the shape of the tang for the weapon to be secure. Marcus first punched the hole in his own grip, making sure to match his blade's tang, and then showed Hadrian the proper technique.

[Hadrian]

Hadrian again fell silent, letting himself slip back into a learning, crafting mode, only speaking to clarify what Marcus said or did, and otherwise the entirety of his attention fixed on copying that technique exactly. He might get fancy or creative when he knew what he was doing, but first it was best to copy the masters, or at least the more masterful person who was teaching him. The heat he watched on an auristic level as well as the visible spectrum, also paying attention to how his use of blunt force changed not only the external shape but the structure of his work's aura. His first hilt was turning out to be very simple and very plain, but not sloppy. He was certainly taking great care in his work, but his lack of skill was evident. Still, concentration and determination could go a long way. If only he could spend a few seasons in Sultros, learning from master crafters and hopefully catching the eye of Izurdin Himself. "It isn't pretty," he noted quietly when they were nearly done, "but I think I might actually accomplish a dagger here..." His smile was only faintly self-mocking.