Forged in Fire (Home)

[Allyria Allenmorde]

-Undal Street Workshop
-Late Evening

As Allyria walked in she showed Vekkia the vast openness of the Warehouse. Her friend immediately balked, and evenly said something that Allyria wasn't expecting.

-"Where are all your goods?"-

-"What?"-

-"How can you expect to run a business, let alone make a warehouse worth having, without goods to sell?"-

-"Uhm... I've been busy?"-

Exasperated, Vekkia went to inspect the premesis. That's about when the children showed up. Allyria was standing there just in the door and the children came up behind her. They hugged her, happy to see her again. They hung around her skirts with questions on their faces. She had to remember to switch to Cruic.

"Lily, Grayson! Good to see you both! How has the shop been?"

"Empty!"

"Boring."

"No commissions?"

"Nope."

"Nothing but dust."

"So did you put up the fliers looking for our parents?"

"Yes. I haven't seen any letters and... you say no one has come by the store?"

"No. Who's that?"

Allyria hugged the children and felt bad for them. No one had come for them, no one had tried. She had put up posters in Sorath, near where she found them in those catacombs. She looked to Vekkia, who was just now coming back and stopped right in her steps.

-"Who are they? Slaves?"-

-"No! They're children I rescued from some catacombs. Be good to them? We can't find their parents."-

"Whoa! One language lady!"

Lily had a mouth on her.

"Ok. Ok. Grayson, Lily. Vekkia Av'Keran. Vekkia is my new administrator. She's also my good friend. But... she doesn't speak Cruic."

Then Allyria made the same introductions in Drokagr for Vekkia. That was all there was to it. A large awkward moment occurred after that, and Allyria went straight to the forge.

"Whelp... have fun getting to know each other."

---

Work felt better than standing around. Vekkia immediately took to trying to teach the children Drokagr, she took no lesson in Cruic from them. Allyria was sure she'd have to be the one to teach Vekkia the Cruic tongue. Allyria wanted to be in front of the forge though. She wanted to work with her hands after traveling for so long and engaging in the delights of Korasus, as well as showing the city to Henri. She took iron, heated it, and struck it into a shape. Tools were a good idea. Her people would need tools. Vekkia had demanded that she ship good tools to the people in Agharta. So first were the hammers. Large iron heads to be fitted onto wooden shafts. She was being industrious. A little bit of guilt generated by Vekkia motivated her.

At least one of my ventures should be profitable.

---

Allyria Allenmorde
-STM: 179/180 -1
-MP: 370/390 -5, 15

Sudden Sight
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Crafting:
Hammer! (Simple: 30, Iron Smithing II: 10, Power Shaper, Thaumaturgy III: 15, Artificing II: 10, K: 30): 95


·

[Allyria Allenmorde]

The hammers had been a success. With that out of the way, and with Vekkia pleased that she was working, things around the workshop became empty very quickly. The children went off with their new acquaintance. Grayson was far too trusting of the new half-breed, but Lily kept her eye on things. She was suspicious of anyone new, even if Allyria vouched for her.

Especially if they didn't speak the language.

But for Allyria, all was well. The workshop was quiet except for her working the iron. She heated the next ingot until it was ready. She struck it with her forging hammer over and over on the anvil to shape it into the head of a hoe, then the next into a shovel, and the following one into a rake. Then a variety of other farming tools. The whole manufacturing of a slew of tools. It was good work for her to follow through with. Her people would be happy for it. They'd also be fed. Which was most important.

---

Allyria Allenmorde
-STM: 243/245 -1
-MP: 433/390 -5, 15

Crafting:
Farm Tools! (Simple: 30, Iron Smithing II: 10, Power Shaper, Thaumaturgy III: 15, Artificing II: 10, K: 30): 95
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Sudden Sight
·

[Allyria Allenmorde]

With the farming tools completed and packaged for shipping it was time to move on to the mining equipment. The majority of which would be the mighty pickaxe. Perfect for splitting rock and mining ore from the ground, these pick axes would make the labor of extracting resources from Agharta easier. Resources that she would no doubt need for her endeavors. Metals like Iron were easy to come by, but Hydrillium or the crystals Cordite, Aquate, and Arcite were not. Those crystals would be very useful for enchanting purposes.

That's what she thought about while she hammered out the tools after heating the required amount of metal. The work was easy for her, really. Simple. Working with iron was almost like doing basic arithmetic to her. She would be more surprised if she made a piece of useless slag than if she accomplished her goals while working iron. At the same time, she also used her magic to aid her, almost like it was part of her natural process for creating a piece of work.

Somehow that didn't cross her mind as anything out of the ordinary.

---

Allyria Allenmorde
-STM: 242/245 -1
-MP: 413/473 -5, 15

Crafting:
Pickaxe! (Simple: 30, Iron Smithing II: 10, Power Shaper, Thaumaturgy III: 15, Artificing II: 10, K: 30): 95
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Sudden Sight
·

[Allyria Allenmorde]

The final tools were now ready to be forged and shipped. Allyrias people would need to clear land and fell trees. The resources from Skaraptica could only be fully extracted that way.

The head of an axe was a simple thing. It was basically a sharpened wedge that could be mounted on a handle or shaft. Hammering it out was simple. Sharpening the cooled product was also simple. With the axe complete, her people were fully armed for industry.

---

Allyria Allenmorde
-STM: 241/245 -1
-MP: 393/473 -5, 15

Crafting:
Lumber Axe! (Simple: 30, Iron Smithing II: 10, Power Shaper, Thaumaturgy III: 15, Artificing II: 10, K: 30): 95

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[Allyria Allenmorde]

Ausoris 23rd, 200ATD

Grayson led the Wylmonts through the rain to the warehouse on Undal Street. From the market it was a few turns down cobblestone streets. As they rounded the corner the warehouses were immediately in sight. Three square brick buildings right next to each other. They were plain looking. Just large brick boxes. Each had a set of wooden double doors and a wooden sign with A&F painted on in stylish letters. A smokestack crafted from stone jutted out of the left side of the middle warehouse.

"This is it. Can't wait to get out of this rain."

The boy pushed on the door of the middle warehousend which was already ajar. And went inside. It was dark, save for the light from the coals of the forge.

"Allyria, Vekkia, Lily! Hayar ce'malool!"

Grayson said as he entered the warehouse fully. He went over to the forge and picked up a pair of tongs, and carefully grabbed a coal put of the furnace in the forge. He brought it over to a bronze colored dish and dropped it in. The dish lit up, small flames gave light to the area. He began to light the others.

Allyria approached the lit area. She was wearing a pair of tan leather shorts with a sheer red silk sarong tied around her waist and a matching embroidered vest. One of her front locks was red, the others were the drokagr brand of white. Her various tattoos were clearly visible in this outfit except the one on her back.

"Veraku Ash'Nadar, Grayson. Go on and find your sister. I need her to sit with Vekkia for this meeting."

"Sure thing."

"Glad you both could make it despite the weather."

She led them to a table and set of chairs that were near the front of the building and gestered for them to sit, as she dI'd so herself. They were hand carved from oak.

As light filled the warehouse many things would reach the visitors vision. Grayson was busy lighting other braziers. Shelves and stacks of materials filled the building to the brim. There was enough to manufacture weapons and armor for a few well equipped teams.

[Deleted]

I drew myself across the room, taking in the aspects of the warehouse—its exits and what it contained. Listening to Grayson speak in the Drokgar tongue felt strange. I always felt like it was something alien the sparse times I'd heard it, and really I'd only heard it spoken by women. Hearing a young boy; Cruinthian no less, was jarring.

I'd been wearing plain clothes, dark trousers and a matching shirt with a leather vest which tied together in the front. My attire was currently soaked. I'd had a jacket, which I provided to my wife in the interest of keeping her from being soaked.

I nodded wordlessly in response to Allyria's words—the ones I'd understood, and walked around the table from her, standing. It wouldn't do to damage her table or chairs with water, I thought. They were nice, and expensive, and I wouldn't want to be tasked with replacing their cost. I folded my arms and began gathering my thoughts. This time, we weren't here to try to get anything in particular from Allyria, or give her anything. We were to be employed, and it was her task to sell it to us. I felt more comfortable, but my shoulders were squared nonetheless.

[Deleted]

"It is good to see you again. I hope we didn't catch you in the middle of anything important." She smiled and looked around the room. She gratefully took a seat, less mindful to water damage than her husband.

She removed her husband's coat from around her person, draping it delicately over her lap. "I see you are prepared for quite a great deal." She smiled at the Countess, gesturing around the warehouse.

[Allyria Allenmorde]

Allyria took a seat at the head of the table once Astris had sat down, and smiled back showing her pointed canines. The genetic mutation that marked her as a Daywalker. She looked over to Ikram and cocked her head slightly, then she looked back to Astris.

Curious. Perhaps I've missed something.

Either way...

"The market fluctuates slightly on the price of iron and other materials. Up, down. It is better to buy low and sell high. Anything under utilized will be sold off. But yes... it is good to see you both again."

Grayson came by and whispered something into Allyria's ear. She nodded and waved him off. He went back outside, leaving the warehouse. There was a corner of the building that was still a little dark. One could see a folding short desk sitting there on the ground in front of another gray skinned figure. Upon closer inspection it'd be obvious that where this one's eyes should have been white, they were instead black. Next to her was a little girl that was slightly older than Grayson. Both of them were seated on pillows, with their legs folded under them. The half-breed Drokagr was wearing robes, the little girl wore a matching set. Vekkia was Nocturnal, unlike Allyria.

"My companion is day-blind. She is the one that ran the numbers for your loan, and she handles the finances of the business. Which, spoils from the last expedition into the cordoned off territory in the west just shy of the Darthaks are still being calculated for. I can only give you a best approximation including the cost of your loan, and the finances as they were before that expedition I'm afraid."

Allyria looked back to the corner and met eyes with Vekkia. The latter could not see her. Nor did she speak Cruic. But she knew that Allyria was looking at her.

"It was a very large haul. The company's expenses were of course met, the remainder will be split five ways as soon as we determine what that remainder is. One fifth of that will go to me, and another fifth will go to the company. The rest will go to the other members of the expedition."

She produced a scroll and unfurled it onto the table. Detailing the following:

---

Incomes: 9025
+25 from Skaldi Headdress.
+4000 from first expedition
+5000 (Expenses met for second expedition)
---- Profit from Second Expedition

Expenses: -13912

Property Purchase:- 3650
Expedition Funding:- 5000
Property Registration (Sorath): -12
Property Purchase (Sorath): -2250
Wylmont Loan: -3000

Monthly
-175, Maintenance

Balance: -4887 (Tentative)

[Deleted]

I nodded about the times that it felt, or seemed proper to nod. Sometimes when I could spy Astris doing the same. That said, I had little understanding of what was actually being said. Perhaps, had I the context of whatever was written down here I might have additional understanding. I understood that numbers were being ran. How numbers actually managed to run however, I did not understand. Surely it was just a turn of phrase.

Knowing that there were significant profits, or at least that was the impression I was left with, from the expedition was encouraging. I've been restless since having been attacked by those thieves, and it sounds like these expeditions will turn violent quickly. That was something I was looking forward to, quietly.

[Deleted]

She fingers the paper as she looks over the scroll and realizes these are her financial books for the interim. Interesting that she'd be this open.

"I see. With this amount of heavy expense, I'd imagine that you're eager for a second expedition in relatively short order then. Will others from the previous expedition be going again?"

She looks back up at the Countess, meeting her gaze evenly, honestly curious.

[Allyria Allenmorde]

Allyria nodded at Astris' assertion that she'd be eager for another expedition. She was, she was very eager. With the information she'd gleaned from the first and second expeditions, a third would be extremely enlightening. Not to mention profitable. Not that Allyria truly cared about the money. It wasn't much of an object to her. She had no qualms about spending it to get quality resources or personnel. That's what money was for, to obtain quality things for other ends. The expeditions were fun for her, but they were a part of a more personal journey. There were things she had learned that she needed to pursue.

I will not be stopped.

"Yes. I am eager for another expedition. My first was in the catacombs that lie under the Sorath City graveyard. Can you believe there is a network of tunnels there? It was rife with undead, but there was treasure as well. The next expedition needs a location. I have been thinking about a particular ruins. Many of the old duchies and provinces have ruined fortresses and such. Most of which are haunted or have some sort of legend around them. If its feasible I plan on looking into setting up an expedition for one of those locations."

She looked back to Vekkia who had her face in the books. Quill scratching away at the paper with fervor. She was uninterested in the guests, she couldn't even see them. Allyria thought it would be rude to ask them to go into the dark for her friend's sake. She hoped Vekkia would understand the need.

Allyria sat idle in her chair, waiting for Astris to be done with the scroll. The Countess had a sneaking suspicion the gentleman was not educated in the academic sense. The way he behaved made her think this. She had seen it before though. Grayson and Lily were wholly without education until Allyria changed that.

I'll keep this to myself for now. Perhaps perform a reading on one or both of them at a later date.

Or you could do it now.

Or I could not be rude and not do it at all.

[Deleted]

"Undead?" I ask. I knew what they were but to imagine that there were undead in a place such as Sorath so frequently visited by travellers strained my disbelief. It's easy to believe that there were no shortage of bodies there, but hard to imagine what could have caused it—at least it was for me. But... moving bodies might prove good sport, if the source of them had not been eliminated.

"What caused them to spring up? In the Sorath Graveyard I mean. Did you find the source?" I incline my head. Genuine curiosity and unapologetic opportunism are evident in my expression.

[Deleted]

Astris watched Allyria, this Countess in her own right as she spoke. Her eyes are disinterested, even bored as she speaks of finance. She looks to the woman she'd mentioned every time she brings up money and debt. The Countess isn't really interested in the monetary gain. There's something she's looking for. What is she looking for?

She smiles and mentions the gist of the scroll for Ikram's benefit as she rolls it neatly in her hands, giving it back to the Countess. "Still, near five thousand in the hole before you even start. I can imagine you're eager to know the full worth of what you retrieved on the last expedition. Might I beg your indulgence and ask what kinds of things you found? Beyond the normal and pale I mean. A place filled with undead must have harbored wonders. I ask out of an intellectual curiosity."

And how much are you willing to risk to get it, Countess?

[Allyria Allenmorde]

A curious person this Astris was. Both of the Wylmonts actually. Allyria smiled again, this time not being shy at all about her teeth. She narrowed her eyes slightly. A flash of purple smoke came from here eyes as she blinked. There was a strange sort of noise, like a humming in the background for those sensitive to it. Yet they were focusing on the expedition in Sorath. That was good. That was less personal, though it led her to her journey in the first place. The part of her that fed into her constructed alter ego of Scarlet shone through. Confident, strong. There was no mental instability. Scarlet was a mere mask, but at the same time it was what she called the sorceress in her.

"I believe they were guardians of the tomb I stumbled into. What I found there was more valuable than gold. I found the trinket around my neck, an interesting device. I've yet to fully ferret out its secrets. But more important than that."

I found something better...

Secrets. Unfathomable secrets.

"I found books. Ancient histories and knowledge. More valuable than any arcane trinket."

[Deleted]

Magic? It's somewhat of a shock. My brow furrows and my visage develops a scowl. This suddenly became several layers more complex than I cared for. My wife, on the other hand, may have just found her calling. I inspect my trousers for the state of their dryness. Determining that I'm no longer dripping, I brush off the rear of my pants and pull out a chair to sit in it.

Books. Magic books? Maybe just books with history. Everything about this rang as illegal—but the latest developments this year had turned all concepts of law on their head. This would be the third woman whom I've met in the last year as well who has rang an attunement to the mystic. What could be happening? I wonder.