Seeking Stuffs

[Deleted]

Ulric had arrived in the small duchy of Mardok not long ago, he found it not to large or small, it seemed well looked after although he had no clue what could be lurking in the underbelly of this place, but at first impressions he found the place quite agreeable. There were enough vendors to keep him going and a few craftsman, although after a few hours of scoping the place he found that apparently the greatest by far was indeed the count of the damn place.

And so it was that Ulric found himself ambling down the streets, headed towards the large building that he had been directed to when asking after the count, it seemed like a nice building, with smoke coming from the roof that indicated much more than a simple cooking fire. Hopefully this count knew his stuff as Ulric was in the mood to grab himself a few new shinies, and if he could do it here then all the better, apparently the count had a reputation for providing quality goods if the things Ulric heard were to be believed.

Upon reaching the large wooden doors that served as the entrance to the place he found them closed, but being the nice person that he was (no sarcasm at all there) he knocked politely on them, hoping that the count was indeed in and that Ulric could hopefully come out of here well equipped, assuming that the meagre amount of ritz he possessed was enough to pay for the things he was wanting. 

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Stamina: 19/20

[Tyr]

Tyr in fact wasn't at the Artificery, but instead was on his way there. He'd been out for a while attending other matters and Ssryl wasn't really opening the place up on his own yet. Since he'd stopped spending all day every day there the place wasn't constantly open, couldn't have people stealing the supplies now could he? It was lucky that he'd gone out to talk to some of his citizens though, they'd informed him that a traveler had been asking about where to get some equipment and everyone pointed him towards the Fishery. Always eager to have some shaping to do, after his own work was done the Duke headed right over. The giant workshop popped into view and there was clearly someone standing outside the locked doors waiting to get in. Probably his prospective client. As he hurriedly walked over, the Duke called out and waved.

"Ho there! Welcome to the Mardok Duchy. Give me a moment and I'll have my shop all opened up." He pulled the key out from under his tunic and stepped up to the doors, lightly nudging the newcomer out of the way if he had to. The doors would unlock with a solid clacking sound, and Tyr shoved one open for the other man while stowing the key away again. The Duke would get right to work rebuilding the forge fire once inside, while getting tools ready for immediate use.

"So, what can I help you with today?"

[Deleted]

And then he appeared, the man that Ulric had been looking for, well at least he presumed that this was the man, and he was basing his guess on rather solid evidence considering the man opened up the workshop in front of him, so presumably he owned it, that or he was just a rather good grifter. Seeing as how the man seemed to fit though, Ulric took him to most likely be the rightful owner of this place, the count of this duchy.

"The Mardok duchy is very nice, friendly also, after asking your people a bit I found them rather happy to give me directions to here." He said to the count, not observing any of the usual address of calling him by his title or anything, seeing no real point in it himself as right now he wasn't dealing with the man as the count of this duchy but as a craftsman.

"I've heard around that you are quite the accomplished craftsman and was hoping that you may be able to help me outfit myself better, as it is currently all I have are the clothes on my back, haven't been able to find any other items of use."

Ulric himself took a few seconds to tally up in his head what he wanted, for now it wasn't much but he just had to hope that he actually had enough ritz to afford the damn things, by no stretch of a man's imagination was he rich, or even approaching rich. If anything in fact he could be considered as rather poor, he didn't have much money to his name.

"You wouldn't happen to be able to make me any throwing daggers would you? And a grappling hook and rope wouldn't go terribly amiss either if it's at all possible. You wouldn't happen to be able to make me some form of armor would you, preferably light and flexible instead of the heavy plate most seem to wear nowadays. How much would I owe you for these items, assuming of course that they are all available." He knew that he had placed a large order, most likely larger than he could afford, but he could always chop and change items until he found a point where he could get some of it at least.

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Stamina: 18/20

[Tyr]

Tyr smiled and took pride in his people's kindness. It was a way of life he was trying to spread to them by embodying it himself, and apparently it was working. Good, he'd have to find a way to reward them for it to enforce the behavior. In the meantime this guy was looking for some equipment and Tyr was just the man to make it for him.

"Everything you've mentioned I can make. I make things here by commission, so it will take a little while, but it allows me to save the resources for when someone wants something and thus makes it a bit cheaper. In terms of price you'll be paying current market value for any and all materials used in the making of your order, plus a 20 percent fee so I make at least a little money off of this." Not that he needed it, but profit was nice. Plus it made it so anyone else working his shop could charge less and thus be competitive. That was the hope at least. That wasn't a complete answer for the customer however, and he knew it, but right now he had a bit more to do instead of thinking about prices.

Tyr placed some ingots in the forge for heating, one shoved into the heart of the fire for a quick heat. Throwing knives were simple, and so was the armor. He'd never done a grappling hook before, or rope for that matter, but he knew the principle idea of both and he'd worked with less before.

"15 throwing knives made from, oh.." Tyr briefly sized up the guy. He seemed like he'd be able to wield some decently hefty gear, but nothing overly heavy. "three iron ingots will thus cost you roughly 25 Ritz. If the making of it fails that price is still added in. Sounds unfair, but it means I don't have to charge you 50% for a set stock of items like other stores. Same idea for the rest of it." You could find cheap and low grade equipment everywhere for cheaper than he would make it. That was fine. The way the Duke figured it if you were searching for his shop you wanted something better and were willing to pay for it.

After the first ingot heated Tyr set another in its place and started hammering out the knives.

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Crafting 15 throwing knives from 3 iron ingots.
K (25) + Simple (30) + Iron Smithing M (20) + Weapon Smith II (10) + Forge (5) + Mind of Metal (5) = DC 95
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Success.
Masterwork check, DC 40, two degrees possible.

One earned.
Superior Throwing Knives (x15): Dam 33; Req 12 Str, 6 A, 6 K.

---

The knives came out nicely and Tyr set the group on a table by the forge.·

[Deleted]

Ulric nodded his head in agreement with the count's methods and pricing, they sounded fair to him if he was being honest with himself, and he didn't really want to make an enemy of such a good smith by stealing the wares without paying so he placed 25 Ritz on the counter next to the throwing daggers. "They look perfect to me, well worth the Ritz." 

The only worry he had was that the count would make an item and he'd be unable to pay for it, he seemed to be making the items and giving the prices almost at the same time giving Ulric no chance to say no if he knew that he didn't have the money to pay for it. "Apologies about this but on the rope and grapples and the armour, would you mind giving me a rough price assuming all goes well for each of them, I'd rather not have you make something only to find out that I can't afford it, although if you'd like I can work off some money if you need a field plowed or some work done." He said with a grin and a chuckle, making a small joke as he figured the count seemed a rather fine man. "The armour though as I said before, would you mind quoting me on some lighter armour, i'd rather have the agility over pure protection, nothing to heavy if it's ok with you." He said, making his requests clear for the blacksmith.

Ulric ran a single finger across the throwing knives that were lying on the table, tracing it down the blade and the handle both, marvelling at how quickly and expertly the count had made them and hoping that the other goods (assuming he could afford them) would come out just as well.

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Stamina: 17/20

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25 Ritz paid. -Cheph

[Tyr]

Well, he tried. Looks like he had to do the math himself. Although that was probably a good idea since there was something he'd been wanting to try that no one else offered at the moment, namely steelwork. The offer for work though, that was something he could use. If this guy was able to afford even the knives it meant he had access to some Ritz. Either he was someone high up in the government, another land owner, or someone with the talent and skills to be a potential Ritgr.

"I can make you a grappling hook out of straight iron, that should only be 25 gold. The rope will be interesting, I'll have to get some cotton for it. It would also take most of the leather I have left, so I wouldn't be able to make you the armor immediately. If you are open to the idea though, we might be able to come to an arrangement. If you do some work for me, I'll make you your armor in trade. If it doesn't work out I'll pay you for your effort all the same and you can buy your armor anyway. Plus it will give me time to get some supplies from Kable's Company. Does that work for you?"

It was odd how badly Tyr needed to find Ritgrs. He didn't even know this guy's name and he was offering him work in exchange for potentially amazing equipment.

[Deleted]

Ulric took a few moments to take it into consideration, although that was mainly just for show, he knew that this was a good deal and that he would probably quite happily do the work for the Count for this armour that he wanted, whatever the Count asked him to do for work couldn't be that hard, and it'd be worth it once he got this armour that he wanted. "I'll wait for now then on the grappling hook and rope until you have the cotton as the hook itself is fairly useless without a rope." Ulric said good naturedly.

Ulric ran a finger once again down his new throwing knives, picking each one up and placing them in his belt, holding one out and placing it in his hand to check the weighting and running another finger down the blade to check the edge. He knew not to much about the balancing other than that these seemed to be done rather well, but he did know that when he pulled away his finger and there was a small cut it meant they were sharp.

"I'd be happy with that arrangement, depending on what job you want me to do exactly it sounds quite fair, so what would you like me to do in trade then." Ulric said with a smile at the Count, it didn't particularly matter how quickly he did his job as he would still have to wait either way for the supplies that were needed to get here.

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Stamina: 16/20

[Tyr]

Tyr's face briefly flashed into a wider smile before returning to normal. Maybe things could get rolling now. Every time another person joined his retinue things became easier in one way or another, everyone had a skill set he could put to good use. Now though introductions would be necessary. At least on the part of this other fellow, he seemed to already know who Tyr was, having said 'your people' earlier.

"Good! Now then, I have two questions. First, what is your name?" Best to know what to call the man he was about to hire on. He had a task in mind that should hopefully be fairly easy for the man, especially with the knives he'd just given him. Although, with what he was aiming to get some of the armor might be helpful to have right about now. Using some iron tongs Tyr unlatched a metal box that sat above the forge. He threw two oak logs in and let the heat build while sticking three piece of iron into the forge to heat up.

"Second, how do you feel about hunting?"

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Tyr's Status Card

SPOILER: Click to show

Tyr Mardok
Str: 25 Vit: 25 Agi: 25 Ch: 25 ST: 25 T: 25 D: 25 EN: 25 P: 25 K: 25
HP: 500/500 MP: 313/313 Stam: 91/125 (-30 for Refine)
Actions: Refined two oak logs into 1 charcoal.

[Deleted]

"Ulric Bartok, pleased to meet you Count....?" Ulric said, realising he had yet to learn the name of the man doing all of this work for him and whom was actually sending him on this job. The count had began busying himself, Ulric having no idea at all about smithing or any sort of crafting for that matter couldn't place what he was doing. All he could tell was that he had thrown two logs into his forge and presumably was going to try and do something with them if Ulric wasn't mistaken. Then again he could well be.

The second question was also a pretty easy answer, "Hunting? I'm not the most skilled person that you will ever find, but I can do it, what do you want me to hunt exactly?" So that was what the count expected him to do as payment. Sure it wouldn't be to hard, he could catch a few deer or rabbits or the like if he needed to, would take some time but he could do it. He somehow doubted though that he would be sent to hunt rabbits or deer, they were to easy to catch and wouldn't be worth it for the count with the time and effort it would make to get the armour.

If he was lucky he might be told to get a few wolves, if not then it could well be something much much worse he was tasked to go after. Either way he knew that there would be a need for allies, hunting alone could only end in death, unfortunately the amount of people that Ulric could count as allies wasn't exactly a long list.

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Stamina:15/20

[Tyr]

Tyr chuckled for a moment before covering his growing smile with a hand. Maybe this guy didn't quite know who he was. He held his face in a hand for a few seconds, composing himself, before holding said hand out with a finger up to pause his counterpart.

"No no, I don't own one county. I own five." The pointed finger spread into an open hand to emphasize the point. "I am the Duke Tyr Mardok. Good to meet you Ulric." He would have shaken hands but a high pitched whine started emitting from the wood in the box, reminiscent of a kettle that had been thrown into the fire instead of set on top. The steam reminded him of the work he had, and the shaper set about it with a passion that would leave most craftsman breathless. Coal was worked into the forge fire in a hurry and iron was moved into the intense heat it provided. With some quick hammering Tyr turned iron into steel, taking the newly made charcoal out of the box and doing the exact same thing again with a second bar of iron.

Then the harder work began. With a brief eyeball examination of Ulric Tyr made a frame of leather straps, hammered out some iron wire, and then steel scales to complete the piece. The scales were laid in rows and the wire was fed through, anchoring them to the leather frame. After a hard rush of work Tyr held the piece in front of him and glanced back and forth between it and Ulric, eyeing how well it had come out.

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Actions: Refine x2 to create steel. Auto success. (-60 stamina)
Stam: 30/125
Creating scale armor from 2 steel, 1 iron, and 1 leather.
Easy (15) + K (25) + Forge (5) + Race (5) + Knowledges (Iron M/Steel I/Tanner III/Armor Smith III = 55) = DC 105. Auto success.
Masterwork Check: 10 + 55 = 65. Four levels of success. (1-20;21-40;41-60;61-65)
gCPIX7SP
9, four levels earned.
Superior Steel Scale Armor: 52 DR; Req 14 Str, 7 Agi, 7 K (2S1I1L Scale/Medium/Chest/Back/Abdomen/Shoulders)

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It was one of the finest pieces he had ever created, and one of the first to include steel. It was a sight to see as the craftsman who made it, he could only imagine how it looked to the person who would be wearing it.

"Wolves. I want you to hunt down three wolves and bring me back their bodies. I need the fur, fangs, meat, all of it. I can use all of that in the making of your next pieces of gear. How you complete this task is up to you. Hunt them alone or bring companions, bring back one at a time or all three, the task is your's to complete in the end. It won't be easy, but that's why I'm giving you this to start with." Couldn't have the man getting killed in the process could he? "This also functions as the start of our contract. By taking this armor you agree to work for it. You have a month to complete the task, after which you either return with what you have and I pay you, or you simply bring the armor back. Fail, and I will have that armor back regardless. Are we agreed?"

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(Side note, the throwing knives should have the 'Grand' prefix, not Superior. Redid my naming scheme, just wanted to let you know.)

[Deleted]

Well....He'd made a slight blunder. It seemed that the man that he had been talking to this whole time was not in fact a count, but was rather a Duke, didn't own one county, he owned five. All in all a very powerful man in the world and one that Ulric definitely did not want to be crossing. Luckily though it seemed that Tyr was not the type of noble to be greviously offended if you got their title wrong, either that or the whining sound coming from his forge distracted him before he could slap the hell out of Ulric...with an iron bar...to the face...

Tyr was a hurricane of motion, it was amazing to see the smith at work on his goods, what he was making though Ulric couldn't see for quite a while as it started out merely as a few bars of different metals that Ulric couldn't identify and some pieces of leather. However as Tyr built it up Ulric could see the shape emerging, he could see that it was becoming armour and secretly he was rather pleased, supposing that this may be the armour that he had wanted from Tyr, in exchange for this hunting job that he was wanted to do. 

Ulric was completely entranced as he watched Tyr work, foccussed on the armour that he could see slowly taking shape, it looked beautiful to him, he didn't even have to test it to know that it was good quality and he knew next to nothing about metals or smithing. 

And so it was that when Tyr then began talking Ulric shook his head to stop himself from purely starting at the set of scale mail before him, digesting all of what Tyr said. It was a big decision, that was true, if he accepted the armour then he was then contracted to do the job, that was fair enough of course as the job was payment, and what Tyr had said about the wolf parts that he brought back being used to make Ulric's next item also appealled to him. 

The issue was the actual hunt, he didn't know any real skilled fighters, in fact he didn't really know any unskilled fighters either, he had a few people that he knew that could potentially be useful in this, Vivien being a strong candidate, it was something he would have to puzzle on himself. "I can do that for you, for this armour it is well worth it, do all your pieces turn out this well?" Ulric said, quite clearly pleased with it, stroking one hand down the scales appreciatively.

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Stamina: 14/20

[Tyr]

"It depends really. For how little went into it that's probably one of the best I've made. If I get more materials I can make a stronger piece, even if it's not worked as well." The Duke shrugged. Crafting things was never really an absolute process. "Luck strikes us all sometimes. Hopefully it will aid you in your hunt just as well. Contract accepted the shaper gingerly laid the scale armor out on the table between them and ran one hand down the interlinked scales himself. Regardless of how much had gone into it, it truly was his best piece to date. He hoped to make many more like it, but he still wanted a moment to admire his own handiwork and everything it had taken to get to this point.

"You should be able to find some people hanging around the Duchies here, and if need be you can travel to the nearby cities. If you plan on doing so though let me know before you leave. I didn't hear a horse outside and that's quite a way to go. Report to me when you return and we can pick the month up from there. Fair enough?"

[Deleted]

"It does look like a rather good piece, better than most that you'll see now days." Ulric admitted to the Duke, both of them seemingly happy with how this had gone so far. The armour truly was good, and he hadn't been lying when he said it was probably one of the best sets he'd seen to date, it was, then again he hadn't really seen many sets of armour, if someone came running towards him in a set of armour he usually did his best to stay as far away from them as he possibly could because usually they were chasing him.

On the comment of not owning a horse he nodded, rather pleased with the idea the Duke put forward, of course not having a horse it would take him time to gather up his companions in order to help with the hunt, part of that problem being that he had no real clue where he would find those companions or even what it would take in order to entice them to join him. His mind was running a million miles an hour as he considered it, eventhough he already knew he'd just have to do it, the offer of good armour and work was to much for him to pass up. "Yeah I don't currently possess a horse, lack of funds on my end means they are slightly out of my price range, I've got some people in mind already to help me out here, i'll be back when I've gathered them up to do this job."

The people he was trying to find would most likely be rather hard to find, they didn't stay in the same place for very long..."May I?" He asked, placing one hand next to the scale mail, wondering if he was supposed to take it now or when he came to begin the job.

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Stamina: 13/20

[Tyr]

Tyr gave Ulric a hard look, as if sizing him up. In reality the Duke was just getting a mental picture of his potential new Ritgr to make future stuff that might fit him better. Tyr was trusting enough that he could let the armor go, especially with the fact that he could just put a hefty bounty on the man to get it back if he had to. The Duke was a firm believer in letting people be trusted until they proved they couldn't be. Taking risks on people held the potential to be pleasantly rewarded. Plus letting Ulric go for a bit allowed some time for a true contract to be drawn up.

"You may. Take it, wear it, let me know how well it fits when you return. If you would rather pay for it when you get back that will be fine, but the work will be waiting for you if you want it." With how earnestly Ulric had accepted the offer to work Tyr hoped the man would still want it later. Especially since it meant getting even more armor in the future, and perhaps other gear not yet mentioned. Not that he was going to say anything about that just yet. "Just be careful to return." There was a sharp edge to his tone and a brief frown on his face. Tyr may be a trusting man, but that didn't mean he wasn't cautious.

"I'd hate to have some gear sit around waiting for someone to want it." His tone lightened up quickly and the usual smile beamed brightly on his face. Hopefully the point sunk in, but didn't sour Ulric's image of the Duke. It may have been an odd practical joke to play, but it was best not to leave people on a bad note if you could avoid it, and he needed to make that clear anyway.

[Deleted]

Ulric was not stupid, he noticed the slightly steely edge to Tyr's turn. He had heard it many times before in a variety y of places, wanderers were usually not particularly well trusted by anyone, then again why should anyone trust a wanderer like him there. They had no idea who he was usually so would shun him or treat him with the barest of courtesy, and yet here this Duke was talking with a commoner like him as if it were nothing, whilst also offering him, a mostly unknown man who could well be a serial killer, work and armor for it.

He seemed to have most definitely struck lucky in turning up here, Tyr seemed like a nice man, he couldn't help but feel from the hard looks and slight steel interspersed amongst his cheery turn that the Duke was sizing him up for something, for what though he was unsure. He was just happy with the offer of work in exchance for armour that the Duke had given him, it would go a long way to kit him out properly and to get him some decent equipment and possibly some coin if things went in his favour.

"I'll take it with me, might as well begin to get accustomed to wearing it now, and when I'm most definitely going to be taking you up on the work. I can agree with you about gear this good sitting around unused, maybe once I gather some funds I can come and get some more." And with that Ulric took the armor from the table, taking a few moments in order to put it on and strap it on properly, accepting help from the Duke if any was offered and if not just doing it himself, albeit with it taking longer and slightly more cursing.

"I'll be back once I've gathered my companions, we'll drop by here before we go off on the actual hunt to inform you of the beginning of our month." And with that the young rogue would leave the hulking workshop, setting off to gather up his chosen companions for the task ahead, at the same time wondering who exactly those companions would be. 

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Stamina: 12/20