[TTC] To Be a Metal Smith

[Green Gwendolyn]

Closed to Otto.

A city. Why did it have to be a city?

Gwendolyn hated populated areas... like cities... however, as a member of the Trading Company, she knew she would have to cope. She would especially have to cope if she was to become a better crafter. She had heard of an orc within the Trading Company named Otto, who was an excellent weapons and armor smith. Gwen herself was only at the basics of smithing metal, and she wanted to learn more. Thus, here she was, in a crowded city walking up to a Trading Company smithing facility. Gwendolyn was wearing her Trading Company robes... she hated these robes like heck. The furs itched like heck; and while Gwen was used to plants and small outfits of fur, entire robes were a bit too much for her. However, Gwendolyn knew that she would have to wear them to ensure that she was a member of the Trading Company to anyone who had not a clue (since she was a fairly new member).

Gwendolyn walked into the forge and glanced around at the awes and amazement. For a small, undeveloped forgery, it sure was organized! Various tools were lined up in order against the wall and on shelves. Several forges and anvils were spotted in lines across the single room, and there were ingots of various metals pilled up on boxes in the corners. Gwendolyn looked around with wide, brown eyes. She smiled despite herself having to be with other people... This was a place she could get used to quickly! She looked around with one arm clenching the other, hanging casually down to her hip. She knew that she should see the orc Otto somewhere... she also hoped he was nice.

[Otto]

He was, at the very least, hard to miss. Gwendolyn was a bit too busy peering at the apprentices bustling about the hearths and stockpiles, and so failed to notice a couple of figures in the corner behind her. Their muted voices finally reached her ears and caused the elf to glance over their way. She spied two broad-backed men leaning over a table, their features glowing ember-like from the lantern which they had used to pin down a map across the wooden surface. One was a stout-looking human, soot-faced and black-haired. The other was a touch leaner, but somewhat larger of frame, and almost certainly her quarry. At least, if the tusks and lupine, yellow eyes were anything to go by.

"... we're close to a tributary to the Nieme here," Gwendolyn heard the human say as she drew closer. "We could set up a watermill and rig some machines to that. Modify our current equipment for it before we get anything else in, like drop hammers."

The orc scratched his beard contemplatively. "We have something like that at the garrison. But the Nieme is slow and flat at that point, so we've had to install some big cisterns in the forge, rather than draw power from the river directly. They're slow to fill up, but I reckon we could get away with something smaller here. Since we're nearer the mountains, and all..."

"Excuse me-"

Otto and Ian looked up at a wild-looking elven lass, rubbing irritably at he bulky Company robes. Either men were clad in simple tunic, trousers, and leather aprons. For a moment, their eyes swung guiltily to another neglected corner of the room, where the elf could make out what looked suspiciously like two rumpled fur garments stuffed discreetly under some boxes.

Ian drew himself together, and turned to properly face their guest. "Hello, miss," he said, while Otto gave her a friendly little nod of acknowledgement before returning his attention to the map. "What can we do for you?"

[Green Gwendolyn]

Gwendolyn noted the orc right off the bat. This must be Otto! Shes smiled shyly and forced herself to stop itching, "H-Hello.." She bit her lip. "I- I'm looking for a... Otto? An Otto, grammatically correctly. Uh-..." She shuddered, embarrassed at her poor social skills.

She pushed her blond, messy hair behind her ears and smiled, she sure hoped this would go well... and she hoped that she could get out of these robes! She had her leather shirt and her brown pants right under her robes. The only reason she was wearing these was to show that she was a part of the Trading Company. She continued to smile, hoping for a merry response and not a sour one. The sounds of the clanking of metalworking around them was distracting to the elf who was used to being aware of her surroundings and not tuning everything out for a conversation. She wanted it to stop... She tried her best to keep her focus on the two men in front of her as they spoke.

[Otto]

Otto and Ian shared a brief and curious look.

"Well, we've only got the one in any case," the human remarked, "so that's just as well."

The weak attempt at humour didn't seem to put their guest at any more ease. Otto straightened up, rolling his shoulders as he did so, and stepped forward. "We can leave this for now," he said to Ian. The human nodded in reply, gently rolled up the map, and strode away. Otto watched him for a moment, before turning back to the elf.

"I'm sorry," he heard her say. "I didn't mean to interrupt-"

Otto waved her concerns away with a small gesture. "Just a few improvements to the forge that we're working on. We haven't committed to anything yet, though, so it's not too urgent."

"It's very, er..." Gwendolyn ran an anxious eye over the broiling din one more time, "... impressive?"

She was answered with a shrug. "It's alright. They've done well with what they could get their hands on, sure. Tea?"

"Hmm? Oh! Yes, thank you..."

The orc shuffled to a side bench, near to them and well away from the hearths, where he seized a cast-iron kettle and filled it from a small stone cistern in the corner. The little black pot was set down by a lit hearth, and while that began to puff steam, Otto measured out a handful of brown leaves, which he gingerly cast into the rapidly heating kettle. A couple of plain, chipped mugs were procured next, along with a jug of milk, sugar pot and pewter spoon. A rising whistle let them know that the tea was ready, so Otto rushed over to grab the kettle and pour out two measures of tea into their cups. He let his sit black and plain, but nudged the milk and sugar in Gwendolyn's direction before sitting down at the vacated table.

"Alright then," he said at last, mug cupped in his large hands. "Who did you say you were, sorry?"

[Green Gwendolyn]

Gwen sat down and drank the tea. The warmth spread throughout her body and quenched all thirst while it slipped down her rough throat. Gwen smiled, a tad bit calmer now. She shlyly looked at the orc Otto, "I-I... Gwen." She was still a bit stressed...

The young elf sighed, attempting to calm herself down. She blinked and placed her cup of tea down, and reached for the sugar, placing it in the cup. Nothing wrong with some energy, right? As she place 'some' sugar in then stirred it, "I-... I would like to learn more about weaponsmithing, please!" Gwen spoke that last sentence as if it was all a single word, way too quickly. She them cleared her throat then finished mixing her tea and sugar, she took another sip of tea. "Uh... So yeah..."

Nervous as ever... maybe the sugar was a bad idea?

[Otto]

After a little while, the silence coming from the other side of the table worked its way far enough past her jitters for her to notice. That pair of dappled, lupine eyes were leveled unblinkingly on her; two amber gems in a mask that had had now taken up the countenance of stone, in addition to the colour. The only sign of movement came from the thin coil of steam which rose from his mug, and the the slow, thoughtful tap of his finger against the handle.

"I'm sorry," he suddenly said, and gently shook his head as though to dispel strange thoughts. "It's just... really? You want to learn how to make weapons?"

Gwendolyn nodded vigorously. "I already know a bit," she corrected him. "I just - hoped to learn a bit more."

"Oh." Otto fell silent again for a few moments. The stout ceramic mug came up, cupped in his huge paws to that point that it appeared toy-like, and half-disappeared beneath his brush of beard. Gwendolyn heard a muted slurping before he lowered his hands back to the table.

"Sorry," he said, eventually. "You just didn't seem... well, most people who I have come to me about weapons are a lot more calm about it. Or they have some unwholesome bravado. Or creepy fascination." The orc's brow creased slightly as his eyes glazed over in recollection. "I hate the creepy ones," he muttered, apparently to himself.

"Er..." Gwendolyn begun, unsure of where the orc was steering them.

"You're sure?" Otto continued, swerving back on course. He lounged into his chair, which caused the old timber to groan warningly under the huge fellow's bulk, like a whalebone corset pushed to its limits. "Weaponsmithing... may I ask why, exactly?"

[Green Gwendolyn]

Gwen sighed when the orc questioned her. She took another sip of tea then set it down, finally starting to calm down a bit.

"W-well, I already know a lot about other crafts like woodworking and sowing. Before joining the Trading C'pny I, uh... was out in the wild. - Like I-I was out in the forests and plains and stuff. Me and my..." Gwen trailed away, swept off by the memory of her father for a short time, "...Family... All pretty much thrived off rock and for'st for a livin'. So I've learned to do all sorts of things!" The girl finally smiled, "I can do lot's of things! Like making weapons and stuff with wood, hunting, cooking, making makeshift shelters... I briefly touched base with weaponsmithing. I m-made a dagger once. Unfortunately, when my... family... went - nuts? W-Well I lost it. It was only a crappy piece of iron though! I also made iron arrows. They're still crappy and all, but better than that scrap knife... But yeah, I want to continue learning to smith and stuff."

After such a long time talking, Gwen dived for her cup of sweet, lovely tea again. She started to slip back into her more mellow state after the obvious blonde popped up during her speech. The young elf has still stammered, jittered, and paused, but her words were honest and a tad bit bold. Just to prove her point, she reached back into her quiver and pulled out one of those very iron arrows. All it was was a bumpy stick with a point on it, but it was (barely) shootable. Gwen leaned over and set it on the table. She was going to mention her father helped, but the thought of him caused her to drift into space once again.

[Otto]

Otto picked the arrow up, holding it pincered between stout grey thumb and forefinger. He squinted at the arrowhead, and probed at it with his other hand. The iron was coarse and uneven against his fingers, and seemed to offer a brittle sort of resistance in the face of his considerable strength. He went deeper. The iron quietly hummed - to him alone - in his grip, a dense lattice interspersed with carbon, silicon, and a smaller array of other impurities.

"Knives and arrowheads," he mused. "Useful things. Sorry - when you said 'weaponsmithing', I was thinking of something a bit more, uh, martial."

He put the dart back on the table, and picked up his mug in both hands. A faint wisp of steam veiled his face as he raised it to his lips, but did not immediately drink. He had the unfocused, glaze-eyed look of a man in thought. At some length, he finally took a gulp of tea and lowered the cup to his chest.

"I take it you spend bit of time outdoors. Hunting and such?" Otto waited for Gwen to nod before he continued. "I have an idea, then. I'll need the afternoon to get everything ready... and you'll have to be willing to spend a few weeks on this. But I think I can certainly help. How does that sound?"

He looked expectantly at Gwendolyn, lupine eyes gleaming above the rim of his mug as he took a final sip of the tea.

[Green Gwendolyn]

Gwen excitedly took a huge gulp of tea before answering. As long as this was done outside, she could last for months!

She smiled, confidence swooping over her, "Sounds good to me."

She set the marvelously carved tea cup down on the table. The quirky elf was finally starting to get accustomed to this building - and the people there. She was still a tad bit nervous, but the excitement on whatever was ahead was starting to cause the butterflies in her stomach to die down. In her nervousness, she did start to play with her gold ring with one of her hands. She picked up the tea cup again other and took another sip.

[Otto]

Otto nodded, once. "Alright. I'll talk to a couple of people. Meet me back here tomorrow at, oh, dawn? Bring some essentials, but know that there'll be a decent hike ahead of us."

"Why?" Gwendolyn asked. "Where are we going?"

"With any luck, to the countryside," he replied. "You're more than welcome to use the Trading Company lodgings here for the night."

"Oh... I'm, um, more comfortable outdoors..."

The orc quirked an eyebrow. "Well, most of the land around here is owned by smallholders, so I'd be wary about where you camp in case someone thinks you're poaching. But I believe there's a patch of commons just on the southern edge of town. A stretch of green and a hazel coppice by the creek. Can't miss it. Just mind the goats."

Gwen looked baffled. "Goats?"

"Aye, the farmers usually take their livestock over to feed on common land. So sleep light, or else old Gaffer Kilroy's goats will nibble the shoes right off your feet."




* * *



A clear sky meant that dawn came quickly the next day. One moment, the dome was black speckled-white, and then the first hints of grey crept in and faded out the stars. Before long it had swelled into a fiery red corona on the horizon, superseded by burnished gold as the disc rose into sight. The air was fresh and cool, the dew sparkling on the common green. The little satellite town, though right in Radasanth's shadow, was a sleepy place. Gwendolyn only spied a couple of souls on her way back to the Trading Company outpost; an artisan, carrying his toolbox and whistling a tune, and a farmer driving her horse and carriage into market, laden with the day's milk.

Gwendolyn found Otto was already waiting for her outside the forge. Today he had on his coat and a worn canvas knapsack, and looked ready for travel. He eyed the elf up and down as she approached, until he spotted a chunk torn from her trousers at the knee. The bushy black beard stretched as he grinned wide.

"I did warn you," he chuckled.

Gwen rubbed at the frayed cloth. "You didn't tell me they could climb trees," she said accusingly. Otto shrugged.

"Got everything you need?" he asked.

Gwendolyn nodded.

"Good," Otto stated. "Then let's get moving."