The old man shrugged. It wasn't as if the boy was going to be able to break anything. Worst case scenario some of the coals and wood would be wasted. Best case? He wouldn't have to stoke it himself, and for that his back would be mighty grateful. "If with ya then laddie and we'll see what ye can do." He grunted, waving an arthritic hand towards Caiside, indicating in no uncertain terms that he could figure out the forge himself.
Listening to the story with a stony expression, eventually the old man's lips were parted to reveal a toothy and unbalanced row of teeth that widened into a smile. It was when Jigano mentioned that the stone creature that he began to cackle a dusty croak of amusement, waggling his finger up at the bard. "Yarrr I thought so." He continued, the laugh breaking off into chunks of coughs with a wheeze every now and then, but he didn't seem deterred. "The R'iVe family owned it not but 10 years ago now. Greedy buggers tha lot of 'em. Started up an artisans guild an then wouldn't let the likes of us common folks in. HAH." The old man took of his glasses and jammed them carelessly into a pocket. "He'd be rollin' in his grave if'n he had one. Good fer you."
Grunting and grumbling through what sounded like the beginnings of pneumonia or something similar, the old man watched as Jigano presented what he'd come here with. The look of greed and appreciation on the old man's face was obvious, and from a pocket he produced a pitch-fork. Clanging it against the platinum it gave a warm tone which made his grin spread even wider. "What is it yer wantin' to have made this time?" He croaked, unable to peel his eyes away from the lump of resources before him.
Caiside hesitated a moment, not sure if he was being given permission to prove himself at some point, or to move behind the counter and look for himself at what the shop was like. He took a step toward the workspace behind the counter, moving behind it if he encountered no resistance. It was a sparse little work area, practical, but still simpler than the workshops he had grown accustomed to in his own world. This was more like the place he’d first learned to smith, as a child.
His investigation paused as Jigano dove into the story of how he’d come across his treasure trove of ingots. It was an exciting story, woven into something that much more captivating by the silver haired mans skilled tongue. He did make a mental note to ask Jigano about the location of the place, it would be easier to get his own workshop started with a foundation, and it wouldn’t be the first time he had built something on the bones of those who had come before.
The warm tone rang out trough the shop, music to Caiside’s ears. He was overcome with curiosity about what Jigano could possibly want made with such riches, and turned his eyes to his friend, eagerly awaiting the answer.
Jigano grinned at the old smith's praises, managing a little half-bow of gratitude as the man filled in some of the missing pieces. He'd thought the forge far older, based on its location and state of near-complete destruction, but he certainly wasn't going to argue with the man whose skill he needed! He glanced up to watch Caiside explore, catching his friend's eye with a rueful wink for the other man's blatant curiosity - not that the bard could blame him.
"Another half dozen of the Loreseeker pins," he listed, ticking off his requests on his fingers. The pins were of a fairly simple design, at least, only two inches in diameter with a design that could be easily soldered together by a skilled hand. It was a task Caiside could likely do, given the training he'd mentioned at their previous meeting, if the old smith still had Jigano's design around to work from. "And another charm like the ones before - I have the coins for that in my sleeve here - of a small copper vampire gourd with a golden flame in its mouth. And I was hoping to have some of these ingots used for simple masks. Forged as thin and strong as you can make them, and about this big," he described the size with his hands for a face a little smaller than his own. "From the gold, a smiling face. From silver, a sad one - comedy and tragedy masks," he explained. "And the platinum should be a narrator's mask - a neutral expression." The thinner the masks the more of the ingots the smith would have left over for his own projects, and Jigano knew that the metals would need to be lightly alloyed to strengthen them, but he trusted the master to know his own trade, and to do the work honestly.
"Pins, eh?" The man grunted, pursing his lips and then glancing over his shoulder to where Caiside had gone. "Y'think yer up to tha task, boy? Gotta be real precise though, I won't have anythin' comin' out of this shop that won't stand tha test of time." Despite the gruffness in his voice, there was a modicum of approval in it. Something that said he'd likely be hard on the apprentice, but that he'd indeed be there to teach him what he might need to know. Prideful or not, the old man was certainly the type to appreciate good work when he saw it, even if he was too stubborn to ask for the help when he needed it.
"A gourd with a—" Frowning, he gave the bard a bit of a glance, before shrugging. Coin was coin, and as long as the long-haired one kept showing up with it, as well as finer materials than he'd been fortunate enough to work with in years, he'd keep his mouth shut. A rare gift indeed.
"Masks?!" He mewled, balking surprising at the idea. "This ain't for one of 'em sexy parties is it? Nawp, I remember them well. The blood, the dancin', the howling at the moon. Much as I might like to work with what yer brought me here, specially if it comes from that ol' turnips stock, ye won't find me helpin to create any o' tha' mischief." With a last longing look at the ingots before him, the old man turned up his nose, pursed his lip, and crossed his arms.
If this was a sex thing, or a way to resuscitate that cult, he most certainly wouldn't be a part of it. He'd made that mistake once already.
Caiside met the old mans look with a wide smile, then held up his hand to show off the rings on it. ”Little things are my specialty.” There was confidence in his voice, not his usual self assured cockiness, but a quiet certainty. The cockiness wasn’t gone long, Caiside’s next words directed at Jigano, and accentuated with a wink. ”They’ll be perfect.”
With a short laugh, he turned back towards the tools, running his fingers over what was available. Caiside didn’t get to look long, the smiths voice immediately drawing his focus back fully on the conversation. He leaned in at the mention of sexy parties, his interest piqued. The little bit that was described almost sounded like the rebels he used to host, thought blood had not been a huge factor in his parties.
”You didn’t tell me you were starting a cult. Do I get an invitation?” He couldn’t help the gentle tease as he stepped back over, inserting himself quite literally into the conversation. It seemed highly unlikely to Caiside that the masks were for anything strange. He was interested in their actual purpose as well now, his hand coming up to stroke his chin as he regarded the silver haired man.
03-08-2019, 05:20 PM
(This post was last modified: 03-14-2019, 04:47 PM by Jigano.)
Jigano grinned at his friend, then, in a moment of inspiration, removed the one from his own collar and set it on the counter. "You can use that as your model," he said cheerfully, glad that his friend would be helping with the new batch.
The gourd charm earned the same disbelief that his earlier animal charms had, and Jigano had to stifle a laugh as he could almost see the old smith's disdain losing out to his interest in the raw materials the bard had for trade. He let him come to terms with that, but the sudden squall that moved over their conversation at the mention of masks caught Jigano utterly by surprise. He blinked, flabbergasted at the mention of 'sexy parties' and 'blood.' "What?!" he managed, looking from the smith to Caiside's teasing and giving his friend an exasperated roll of his eyes at the 'help' the redhead was giving him. He held up his index finger, giving Caiside a stern look. "No cults," he said succinctly. Then he raised the second finger and looked to the smith, giving him the same look in spite of the man's age and experience. "And no sex parties. Is that what people do for fun on Caido?" He used the hand to rake his long hair back, considering Bastien's little 'masquerade' and ended up pinching the bridge of his nose against an impending headache. "No, never mind, I think I know the answer to that. And I swear that these are not intended for any such purpose. They're a gift to someone who, I think I can safely say, will not do anything sexy with them." Bloody, maybe, but definitely not sexy.
He glanced up, meeting Caiside's gaze ruefully, though his words were for the smith. "I suppose people here haven't had time or energy for plays or theater in a very long time... well. Perhaps something can be arranged for the Fiat Lux. Family friendly," he reiterated for the old man's benefit. "No blood. No sexy business. Just a story acted out to entertain people. Perhaps something simple, like a children's tale. Do you think people here would like that?"
The old man glanced up, expecting to see some sort of salacious smirk on the young man's face (small things indeed), but instead was shown a hand full of rings. Grabbing with meaty and arthritic fingers, he pulled Caiside's fingers close to his eyes, frowning in that subtly-impressed manner of the very old. With a grunt of approval, the old man nodded gruffly.
Still looking fairly skeptical, the old man crossed his arms and looked up at Jigano with the beginnings of a scowl. "Fun ain' got nuthin' ter do with it." He croaked, waggling a finger at the bard. "S'all sorts of worship." He continued. "If'in I see any a' my work bein' used fer such, ye can believe it'll be tha last time we do bi'ness together, fine materials or no!"
Collecting up the ingots, the old man weighed them in his hands with a thoughtful sort of expression. "I reckon this'll take about half of what you have here. My payment will be half o' what's left. We agreed?"
Jigano took the chastising solemnly, wondering even more now what the old cult the man referred to had been like. Maybe he'd have to try and look it up in the Atheneum... He tilted his head in consideration at the limits the old smith posed on his request, and at last he nodded slowly. "No worshipers will get them," he agreed. "Not from me, at least. And the deal sounds fair to me." Nodding sharply, he stuck out his hand to strike the bargain.
The bard grinned at Caiside , nodding to the Loreseeker pin he was loaning for a template. "And I'll look forward to seeing your work as well, my friend." Leaving the bag with the raw materials where it was, Jigano glanced around the smith's shop a last time and then nodded to both of the men. "And I'll let you get to it, then. Please give your wife my regards, mastersmith. I'll come back in a week to see if you need anything else from me." And probably be told to come back in a few days after that, he thought ruefully, but didn't mind the time spent when the final product was so very fine. With a last, courteous bow the bard left the shop and the two men to their work.
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