True, imagining gruff Alys working in laid-back, party-loving Torchline was hard to imagine, but no harder than trying to imagine himself there for any length of time. Tal nodded, his grin going a little lopsided as he caught his breath and let Alys handle the sanding contraption for a bit. "Well, when you're ready, I know a fast skyboat with reasonable rates," he offered, enjoying the chance to tease his friend.
Then they were both given a break while the smith did the finicky work of preparing the settings, and Tal, shifted from where he was leaning against a counter so Alys could join him while they chatted. He listened to her explanations of her business with curiosity and nodded along. "Huh. I didn't realize y'could keep askin,'" he admitted thoughtfully. He subsided then, watching the smith work with brisk efficiency as she painted the metal with flux and proceeded to attach the prongs, then dunked the settings into a jar of some sort of pickling liquid. After testing the fit of the stones she reclaimed the ring and brooch and, working swiftly now, she used copper salt and a blowpipe with an oil lamp to solder the settings to their respective pieces.
A quick quench and she inspected them a final time before sliding the nearly-completed pieces towards her customers with a set of polishing cloths and a grunt of satisfaction.
Then they were both given a break while the smith did the finicky work of preparing the settings, and Tal, shifted from where he was leaning against a counter so Alys could join him while they chatted. He listened to her explanations of her business with curiosity and nodded along. "Huh. I didn't realize y'could keep askin,'" he admitted thoughtfully. He subsided then, watching the smith work with brisk efficiency as she painted the metal with flux and proceeded to attach the prongs, then dunked the settings into a jar of some sort of pickling liquid. After testing the fit of the stones she reclaimed the ring and brooch and, working swiftly now, she used copper salt and a blowpipe with an oil lamp to solder the settings to their respective pieces.
A quick quench and she inspected them a final time before sliding the nearly-completed pieces towards her customers with a set of polishing cloths and a grunt of satisfaction.
