"Sure, but that's how any good business starts," the courier said confidently. His own had certainly expanded from such humble beginnings! ...Give or take the family name, reputation, and history of transporting goods and letters from one end of Halo to the other for generations before the world had opened up to them.
The smith worked diligently away on iron and silver, ignoring the chattering of her two assistants for the tasks as Tal grimaced uncomfortably but kept his hands on the bellows instead of rubbing his neck. "I mean, you're not wrong," he conceded. "I just feel like if I say a harsh word t'him even by accident it'll be like kickin' a puppy." And Tal wasn't the most tactful of Halovians on his best day!
The ring molds had been prepared in advance in a variety of sizes. The smith poured the silver into the one that suited Alys's commission and then went back to work on Tal's iron while the silver cooled. There was final shaping and smoothing to begin and she motioned the courier to stand beside a contraption of several wheels while she swapped out the sandpaper on it. At her signal Tal began to tread up and down on the contraption's pedal and it spun swiftly while the smith held the metal against it, smoothing out the rough edges.
"Y'got that... right..." Tal agreed, huffing a little at his task. "'Least th'Greatwood... is shady this... time o'year, though." Shadier than the places Tal had been to in King's End, at least!
The smith worked diligently away on iron and silver, ignoring the chattering of her two assistants for the tasks as Tal grimaced uncomfortably but kept his hands on the bellows instead of rubbing his neck. "I mean, you're not wrong," he conceded. "I just feel like if I say a harsh word t'him even by accident it'll be like kickin' a puppy." And Tal wasn't the most tactful of Halovians on his best day!
The ring molds had been prepared in advance in a variety of sizes. The smith poured the silver into the one that suited Alys's commission and then went back to work on Tal's iron while the silver cooled. There was final shaping and smoothing to begin and she motioned the courier to stand beside a contraption of several wheels while she swapped out the sandpaper on it. At her signal Tal began to tread up and down on the contraption's pedal and it spun swiftly while the smith held the metal against it, smoothing out the rough edges.
"Y'got that... right..." Tal agreed, huffing a little at his task. "'Least th'Greatwood... is shady this... time o'year, though." Shadier than the places Tal had been to in King's End, at least!
