Seeking The Shaper

[Kreans]

When Kreans reached Mardok within moments he was pleasantly surprised, he entered the town without any trouble and received barely a glance from it's people. Humans though they may be they seemed to not mind the Skaldi's presence withing their city, it seemed that what he had heard was true, and if that held then his information on Duke Mardok should also be accurate. It was odd being within a city and not even getting the fearful glances that he usually drew, he must have been somewhat imposing dressed as he was in bone and leather yet no one batted an eyelid.

Now he needed to somehow gain audience with this Duke, and then convince him to teach Kreans what he could, if he could gain experience from the one told of as the greatest craftsman then he'd be well on his way to making his own works better. If he could make this power his own then he would be all the stronger for it and could rise higher in the clan, Kreans was looking upwards yet at his current strength unable to take much more than a step. He needed to solve this lack of power and find a way for himself to climb higher.

A castle sat amongst the town, by the looks of things it wasn't finished, in it's current state it was a good defence but wouldn't hold up to much of a concerted attack. Also if he wanted to escape from it there were multiple gaps he could do so by, now that he'd seen the town however he thought that far more unlikely than he would have a few nights previous. A castle seemed the best bet for where he'd find the land's Lord, it was where Redgar had resided in his lands and why should one noble be different from another.

[Tyr]

Kilinger hacklung threshold 10. lUCJAEM531, success.

---

The people of Mardok noticed the Skaldi's presence with mild curiosity but little else. After the one had worked in the Artificery a while, Na'ka's frequent presence with her deliveries, the other two who had come around a while, and the Duke's known friendliness with the whole group the people had just sort of...become used to the idea of Skaldi existing peacefully around. Luckily there hadn't been much violence to change that mindset, and there was plenty of hope that would continue.

The castle itself would be relatively imposing, the standing ruins of the ancestral Mardok home under current renovation and repair. The first stage of work had been completed, allowing for the safety of its occupants and general living quarters. The second stage, the equivalent to erecting a keep it had been determined, would provide more expansive rooms and better defenses. The front doors were elegantly carved oak wood, stylized with the almost chitinous style that had become traditional for Mardok things. Perhaps the most intriguing thing of the castle however would be the lack of guards posted around, if any were even present. Plenty of workers and builders filtered around to their areas, but there was an almost complete absence of armed and armored individuals.

When Kreans knocked the doors would stand firm, the heavy wood barely budging. A few moments would pass before there was the sound of movement within, a bar withdrawn, and the doors swung open easily. Kilinger Mardok stood in the doorway, sizing up the Skaldi in front of him. The lack of guards would be quickly understood, Kilinger's armor and sword were of impressive quality and the man himself an imposing figure. Kreans however would get what was likely to be his greatest surprise yet, when the Duke's cousin greeted him in semi-fluent Sissak.

*You look new here. What brings you to Mardok?*

[Kreans]

Even as he approached the large wooden doors covered in odd patterns still he was somewhat surprised at the fact he'd had not even a single human show any visible fear at his approach. In Morith he'd had people baulk at his appearance, in Innorsford even the centre of the Alliance territories he'd had people looking quite uncomfortable with his presence, yet here far in the north there was barely an eyelid batted at him being in the city. Even with the people basically ignoring him his fingers woudl itch for a weapon, he was in unfamiliar territory and while things had gone well so far he couldn't count on them continuing to.

Another point he noticed as his hand on it's own strayed towards a weapon was that he seemed to be the only person with one. Kreans couldn't spot any of the usual guards that one would expect in a town, no one that he could see was armed or looked even slightly like any type of guard or policing force for the civilians. It wasn't as though it were a small town either, people swarmed everywhere like so many ants through the bustling town and crawled across the construction site also, there were people in abundance but as far as he could see not a single one was armed. This seemed completely odd to the Skaldi, how did this land protect it's people and settle disputes in the way he'd heard human guardsmen usually operated within lands, they must have some issues that needed solving and the usual misfits that would require steel to stop their actions.

Very quickly after he'd pounded on the large wood door he could hear sounds from the other side before it swung open. This man was a warrior from the moment Kreans saw him, the man was tall for a human yet still several heads shorter than the Skaldi. Armour enevloped him completely and a sword hung at his waist, both of exceptional quality far beyond anything he'd produced so far in his crafting, if his guess was correct they were likely made by the great crafter he'd come here to meet, or so the Saurian hoped.

If he was surprised at seeing a human finally bearing arms and armour then he was more surprised when the human addressed him in Sissak, to his knowledge there was not a human capable of speaking Sissak, and while the man was not perfect he was very good considering he was definitely not Skaldi. It seemed that what he'd heard of Mardok was true if it's people could speak Sissak, he'd made a good choice in coming to this place. Once he'd taken a moment to digest what the human had done Kreans would reply also in Sissak, it felt good to not have to speak in Cruic for the first time since leaving New Skaldira. "I have come seeking your Chieftain, he is the crafter I have heard of?"

[Tyr]

Kilinger, hacklung threshold 20. RmgqyxPd 28, success.

---

Honestly Kilinger should have known better. This was what, the third Skaldi to specifically come looking for Tyr? Did he have an active posting somewhere inviting these things to find him? Not that he cared overly much, but it was going to attract attention. No one else the man knew had Skaldi literally tracking them down. Why couldn't interesting stuff happen to someone else's kin for once? Eyeing the big lizard one last time, Kilinger dubbed him not a threat and pointed back down the steps of the castle towards the town. He also politely angled his way out of the doorway, closed the heavy wooden door behind him, and went down the steps motioning for the Skaldi to follow.

Leading out the front gates of the castle proper, Kilinger pointed to a relatively nearby pillar of smoke. The artificery, built against the river a ways back into town. Tyr was often between the two locations, so it was a tossup who would have answered the door today.

*Our chief is in the large hut by the river. Take care, he's stronger than you.* It was as much a warning as he needed to give, Tyr could defend himself well enough. With or without his own handmade gear, you didn't piss off the Duke lightly. The things the man did, Kilinger would swear Tyr could destroy buildings with his bare hands.

---

Tyr hacklung threshold 10. 10, failure. Autorecover. HP 1815/2000

---

For his part Tyr had been prepping for more experimental work in his shop. At least, up until his lungs erupted in blood and he spent the next few minutes coughing it up onto the floor. This disease was going to be the death of him and everyone he cared about if he couldn't do anything to fix it. He needed more of the injectors, and vats of the potion to take care of the sick and injured. That alone could help cut down the death toll, but it wouldn't cure the disease. When the fit passed the Duke set to cleaning it up, rags absorbing the blood from the ground while he filled a wash bucket with river water outside. If Kreans showed up he would find a lit and active forge waiting for him, a small pool of blood beside it.·

[Kreans]

Kreans was pointed back down the steps and into the town, it seemed that this lord did not reside in the unfinished castle and instead had some sort of housing within the town. By what he'd seen so far of humanity's figures of power he envisaged a sprawling manor of some kind but surprisingly he was pointed towards a stream of smoke issuing from somewhere fairly nearby. As the human said it seemed that the human lord was in some large building down by the nearby river, his mansion most likely, and the warning of the human being stronger than he was met with a grin, Redgar had seemed as though he would be a formiddable foe so he expected more even from the man who could build a city such as this and showed no fear at Skaldi in it.

It wasn't a particularly long journey between the gates of the castle and the smoke-belching building, and along the way Kreans was again struck by the fact that no one was bothered by him being there, it was an odd feeling not having people be affected by his presence. Still, he would work his way through the bustling humans and half breeds, he could not see another of his own kind amongst the crowds but he surmised there must be at least one somewhere, that or else his kidn frequently visited the town. How else could the peoples be so calm if they didn't see Skaldi quite frequently?

When he did reach the building the Saurian found it to not be what he'd expected, where he'd expected a sprawling mansion he found something far more akin to a shop or workshop. Kreans stepped in and saw the lit forge in front of him, it was a shop for sure, a fine forge for metals and various workbenches and other pieces of equipment around the room told him this was a place of making and shaping. It seemed that the lord was what he'd been expecting, if he was at work in his forge and had such good equipment to use, the question would be where was he. Once he looked at the floor he'd see the pool of blood and place a hand to his spear half drawing it, where there was blood there was injury and he had no intention to be caught unawares should an assassin turn on him having just dispatched the lord.

[Tyr]

Tyr hacklung threshold 10. Bl|eoRSf 79, success.

---

The large building was an impressive display of a crafter free to build his own domain. Well, within the confines of normal reality at least. Work tables all over the place with various tools, stocks of materials along one wall and in a back area, a closed off sleeping room on the side to allow a dedicated worker to literally amongst their crafts. All the Duke needed was his hidden tunnel to secretly go back and forth at whim and it would be complete. Well, that and about eight thousand other various improvements but then if he ever stopped trying to improve things then he was likely dead.

Returning with the water bucket the Duke strode into the open door, brain mentally picking up on the fact that he hadn't left the door open, and pausing only a moment upon seeing the Skaldi occupying his workspace. While there was plenty of opportunity here for some shenanigans, Tyr wasn't exactly equipped with anything to stop that spear from piercing his sensitive bits.

*Nice place without the mess, yes? Ignore the blood, some trouble with breathing.* Hacklung was just about everywhere at this point, if the Skaldi wasn't familiar with it already there wouldn't be much help in explaining what was wrong. Tyr only barely understood what was wrong outside of his lungs didn't want to remain inside his body anymore. The Duke's command of Sissak however was much better than his counterpart's and Kreans would likely notice. His hands were a more effective adaptation to lacking a tail than Kilinger's, and he could adapt more words to fit meanings. Still working on it obviously, but better.

*How can I help you, free one?* The Duke splashed the water on the blood, some spray causing the forge to hiss briefly. Bending down to pick up the wash rags, Tyr started scrubbing the stone floor clean in front of his company likely seriously damaging the Skaldi's understanding of traditional human nobility.

[Kreans]

Kreans would turn to face him as soon as the man would enter the room, he was unarmed and so the grip to his spear would loosen slightly, still he would keep a hand on it for now as he was unsure what this man would do given half the chance. He was a large man by the standards of humans, very muscled presumably from all of the work at his forge, however he was a clean man and dressed in clothes that looked to him to be of quite a high quality. If he had to take a guess he'd say that this was likely the Lord that he'd been told would be in here, that he'd travelled to find.

It was at that moment he'd choose to shatter Kreans' idea of a lord though, bending down to the floor and beginning to wet and then wipe up the blood that was pooled across the floor. Redgar had not cleaned his own floor when he'd bloodied it, he'd caught the blood as it had been coming out but he'd not cleaned anything, from his understanding of human nobility they had servants that did all of their cleaning for them why would he be doing it himself. Another point that struck him was the fact that the Lord was happy to place himself in a vulnerable position on the floor not even looking at him, presenting his weak areas for what could be a well timed attack from another Skaldi, maybe what the other human had said of the Lord's strength was true if he would happily present himself for attack such as this. *"A fine place for a craftsman to work. The blood I am familiar with, the southern Lord had the same sickness"* Kreans would reply to the Duke, it seemed everyone could speak Skaldi here so that he felt just at home, except he was still the largest around by a decent amount.

When the Lord bent down to clean his neck was exposed fully, he seemed to be wearing something underneath his normal clothing, Kreans would bend closer to the back of his neck while completely releasing his spear and stare at the red tinge that came from it. Cordite couldn't be weaved in such a fashion as to form clothes yet here he was fairly sure he saw it, he'd only seen Cordite once or twice but had been made to familiarise himself with it's properties during his apprenticeship so that he could learn to work it should he ever get the chance. Everything he'd been taught said that you couldn't work it as cloth and yet here was proof that it was possible, it seemed the other human's directions had been true and he'd found the Shaper and Lord of this land. *"I have come to seek power, I have come to learn crafting from the human that is known for his strength in making and his willingness to work with my kind."*

[Tyr]

Tyr hacklung threshold 20. nJGrhOZq 84, success.

---

The Southern Lord? There weren't too many of those running about, and Tyr had a solid suspicion who that would be. Even more confirming was the fact that Redgar had sent that letter a while back talking about a Skaldi...what color had he said it was? Blue? Close enough really. What was the name he wrote down...Creams? No, that wasn't quite right.

*The sickness takes many these days. Few can stand it.* And if nothing could be done soon fewer would survive it. Tyr was lucky no one in his family had been claimed, mainly due to his constant administration of a healing potion whenever someone recovered from coughing blood. Hopefully someone would find a cure soon, his own knowledge of herbalism and alchemy wasn't turning up anything. But that wasn't the important thing right now. Important now was this Skaldi who turned up out of nowhere, apparently seeking his instruction. What was this, the third one now?

*Power I cannot give, Skaldi Kreans, but I can teach you to make.* Tyr dropped the last wash rag into the now empty bucket, floor mostly clean of blood, and peered up at the curious Skaldi. What would he teach the lizardman? What did he know? Where did you start with something like this? Tyr scratched at his chin briefly, trying to put together any sort of beginning off the top of his head. *But first show me what you know.* Tyr stood, dusting his knees off, and gathered materials. There was everything Kreans could ever want. Metals of all sorts precious and not, wood of every kind, stone blocks, bones and fangs, there was even an emerald. Everything but leather and fur really. He'd used the last of his stock recently and needed more of those. But for the moment Tyr set out an assortment on a workbench, with tools for any of it, and waved his hands.

*Make one thing the best you can, anything you want. I will help. Make it to suit me.* No instruction as to what that meant, weight wise or anything else, no set design, hell he didn't even specify weapon, armor, jewelry, or even a lantern. Simply to make what Kreans thought would suit Tyr. It was a test of the Skaldi's mindset, his ability to size up a customer, and also to just see what he came up with.

---

Tyr is supporting whatever check Kreans makes. +20 for higher knowledge levels, +10 for Law of the Jungle.
Kreans has at his disposal whatever he needs of: 50 (each) iron, copper, tin, coal, hydrillium, silver, oak, ash, yew, walnut, ebony, sandstone, granite, marble, and cotton cloth. 10 each gold, cordite, aquate, arcite, bones, wolf fangs, and any plant. 1 Emerald.

[Kreans]

*"It is a strong sickness, I have seen it's effects and many of your kind suffering under it."* The Skaldi hadn't been particularly bothered about the fact that he had seen so many fall under its effects but he thought that wasn't something to let on to the human that he was attempting to gain from. Unless he'd gotten the man and the rumours completely wrong this man had a deep caring for others so pointing out that he cared little for the deaths caused by the plague didn't seem a good way to get the Lord to accept him and teach him.

*"Being able to make is a power in itself, the things you make help you survive."* So saying he would watch as Tyr began gathering up the various materials, some such as the large amount of iron and other simple metals Kreans had worked with extensively during his apprenticeship to the tribe's blacksmith. Others he'd heard of only such as the hydrillium and its various variant gemstones, they'd never had any in the tribe and any they had procured was given to a master not to be wasted on an apprentice only learning the trade. The various woods and metals that sat around and on top of the workbench gave him pause, he'd only recently had any major experience with both carpentry and masonry so attempting to work one of them was out of the question where the future could potentially rely on his success currently. If only there were more leather and bone at the table, those were materials he was intimately familiar with and could work to a higher quality, he'd prefer that to the Emerald, why would you work a piece of emerald into anything other than a piece of jewellery, even then why would you bother with such an item that served no purpose.

Tools were in abundance, far more than the simple iron tools he'd used at his tribe, some of which he was even unsure of their function, all were incredibly well maintained yet showed the signs of hard usage, presumably by the Lord he now stood by. Kreans would examine the tools thoroughly before turning to the Lord and properly scrutinising the man, attempting to gauge what item he could make that would both suit the Lord and display his crafting abilities so that he would be accepted. The lord for sure was well built for a human, large muscles showing the lifetime of making that had turned him into the man he was, if he had to be object about it he'd imagine that the human would have around as much muscular strength as some of the strongest in his own tribe, it would be a complete guess as he'd never properly been able to measure the power of those so far above him so he'd have to make an attempt to gauge it as he could. As much as he would want to try and work with the Hydrillium he had no real idea how to do so, it appeared he'd have to stick to the iron that he knew and forge a blade worthy of the Lord, all good Lords should have a strong weapon after all.

---

Rolling to craft an iron greatsword from 20 Iron
Simple (30) Knowledge (20) Iron Smithing I (5) Weapon Smithing I (5) Tyr's assistance (20+10) Threshold: 90
Dumt_tho - 58 - Success

Lord's Strength
Dmg: 200
Reqs: 80 Str, 40a, 40k
*Slashing, Piercing, Ripping, Two-Handed*

---

Kreans would take the ingots from the table and take from the quite impressive collection of tools, melting down the iron in the forge, he'd look over at the Lord while he waited for the metal to melt, after that final look he'd turn from the Lord and focus solely on his work. All else would fade from view as all his senses honed onto the craft in front of him to the point where he forgot he was even being watched.

When all was said and done the ingots had been turned into a sizeable sword that while for him appeared to be a normal blade would when held by a human likely require two hands to be used properly. "This is what I can make with what you have provided, most of the materials you've given I've not used before so I kept to the strength of what I know." Kreans would speak in Cruic now to the Lord and hold the blade out in one hand for him to take.

[Tyr]

Tyr hacklung threshold 30. M4CHuwyP 73, success.

---

The crafting went off without a hitch, the Skaldi selecting pure iron for the project. Tyr’s assistance wasn’t even needed for it, although it was provided all the same to give an idea of whether the pair could effectively work together. The Skaldi’s technique with a hammer was rudimentary but effective, his designs simple but usable. He had the basic talent of a smith, without the finer points of having been instructed. Experience told him the blade would already be lighter than he was now used to wielding, but it was a good approximation of Tyr’s strength without having it demonstrated firsthand. With the way the Skaldi talked about crafting too, Tyr figured the lizardman had only ever made things for himself.

*Those same things can always be used against you. The power in things lies with those that use them.* There was solid logic to be had on both sides, but Tyr rarely looked at his creations as powerful on their own. It took a living hand to guide them, and while his work gave those people more power, that power remained with them. Jorkahn, for instance, wielded power at a distance in Tyr’s name, but if he decided so he could strike out for himself and still retain that power.

Tyr accepted the blade with one hand and held it point up. While he was strong enough to wield it that way, the sheer size of it would limit his ability to swing it without the leverage two hands gave him. The shaper inspected the weapon at a distance, giving a few light test swings off to the side to get a feel for the greatsword’s make and balance. He switched tongues to match the Skaldi, barely skipping a beat with the change. Without needing his secondary hand to make up for the lack of a tail it grasped the blade, Tyr testing the weapon with the two handed grip he would need to actually wield it.

”A rough design, but a solid one.” He flipped the sword back over in his hands, offering it back hilt first. ”Keep it. Let it remind you of how you started.” Once free of the weapon Tyr would again rub his face, trying to piece together a training regimen on the spot. If Kreans lacked experience with other materials, and thus wasn’t willing to try something new on the spot, he would need to be made to experience other things. How best to do that?

”You have proven your ability to create, but learning is neither quick nor easy. I will accept you as my student if you can prove your dedication as well. Take a horse from my stables, report to Morith under my name. Help them rebuild, learn to work with wood and stone.” He could send the Skaldi with a cartload of material as well but one cartload would barely create a dent in what they were likely to need, and the roads were rarely safe. He had no idea of the Skaldi’s combat capability, forcing him to act as a guard would be irresponsible. Plus the trip would be faster without said cart. ”When you return, show me you have learned and I will teach you all I can.” The Duke rummaged around the shop briefly, turning up a loose piece of paper. He scratched out a quick letter of introduction, one that would hopefully get people to accept the Skaldi as under Tyr's protection, and sealed it with his family ring. He held the letter out to Kreans, his face displaying the same question he couldn't help but ask. "Do you accept this task?" Mind you he wouldn't actually let Kreans go just like that, but this was an important enough point that he needed an answer before anything else could be handled.

[Kreans]

"This is true Lord, you cannot use the power of what you make if you do not have it, should someone else gain what you have made then they will have a part of your power. You must keep the power only to those trusted to wield it under you." And those not trusted should be killed, for they could become a challenge you later on, and challenges could not be allowed to live and build against him they must be removed in order to grow his own strength.

When the Lord accepted his blade the Skaldi felt pride at his creation, although it was quite clearly unwieldy in the Lord's single hand despite him being quite large for a human, it was surprising that he could hold it at all given the weight of the blade. For a human it seemed as though the Shaper was incredibly strong, far stronger than he even as a Saurian born to strength and trained to it from the moment of his hatching. The Lord's practise swings spoke of no great skill with a sword, although that could simply be him not caring enough about a practise swing to put any effort into it, if that was the case then Kreans would be slightly disappointed, how were you to know if a blade was proper without properly attempting to swing it.

A look of confusion would cross Kreans' face, although it was a different matter whether Tyr would be accustomed enough to Skaldi expressions to read it, as he accepted the hilt of the blade from Tyr. Had the blade not been acceptable to the Lord? He was handing it back to him after only a few test swings, had he found some fault that Kreans had not detected during the forging process? The fact that he had called the greatsword rough but solid weighed on the Skaldi, amongst his own people he was considered proficient at his skill, not a great master but not a mere apprentice as he had started any more, was what the Shaper created really of such a calibre to make his own crafts look like dirt in comparison. Still he would accept the blade and keep it in his hand, he'd not made a scabbard for it and so would have to keep it to hand or place it down somewhere safe when the situation allowed him to do so, he would certainly treasure this as the starting point of his working with the Shaper to improve his strength.

These words were maybe not the ones he wanted to hear but they were necessary ones, in order to be properly accepted he would have to ride back to Morith, so soon after arriving from that very place, and assist with the rebuilding efforts that he had noticed missing when last he was there. Wood and stone he had little knowledge of beyond what he'd learnt from the Alliance trainers, he had enough to assist with the basics of repairs and it would be a good chance to add this power at a higher level than he had attained currently. The idea of returning to Tyr with his learnings appealed to him, it seemed that the Lord had found some fault with his earlier crafts and he wished to remedy this by showing him more of his skill when he could, this would have to suffice it seemed. If he wished to apprentice to the Shaper and learn how the human made such high quality crafts then he would have to complete this challenge, it was not as though helping to rebuild was the greatest issue, he'd faced harder challenges against his own kin and nature itself when he was barely an adult.

"I accept this task Lord, I have only this day arrived from Morith but I shall go back under your name to assist in their efforts." Kreans would take the letter from Tyr's outstretched hand and wrap it in a skin before placing it in the bottom of his pack to ensure it would make the journey relatively untouched. "I look forward to learning from you afterwards." The Skaldi would show a very tooghy grin towards Tyr that while friendly would still be somewhat fearsome.

[Tyr]

Tyr hacklung threshold 40. XcX9FCmZ 70, success.

---

The Duke almost clapped his hands together in enthusiastic happiness, but best not startle the big lizardman who was used to people attacking rather than being peaceful. "Learn from me now." Materials were gathered, the forge was stoked with coal, and steel was made and refolded until it reached the proper strength. Kreans had a good hand for making his own armor, the bones were worked exceptionally well and Tyr was unlikely to surpass it without simply remaking it out of solid metal, but most everything else needed an upgrade. The belt could stay, but the spear was virtually useless. And Skaldi or not, boots and gloves helped everyone.

The extremity coverings came first, padding of cloth covered in layers of steel. Aquate was worked throughout the metal for its usual properties, plus to create stylized effects of ridged scale. Silver was added as a last measure, creating sockets on each pair for future gems to be inserted. Those were more of a preparing for the future thing though, while he did have some gems to spare he didn't have a huge supply.

The spear came next, a shaft made of carved and joined wood. The tip was military steel, arcite wound around the spear and into the handle, while a silver socket sat just below the tip. In this case he inserted a faceted jade stone, gleaming and fierce. He wasn't overly positive what it would do, but hey it looked fantastic. Pairing with the spear was a shield of solid hydrillium, again coated with arcite and silver, this one with a smooth obsidian set right in the center. The set complete, Tyr placed it all gently on a worktable for Kreans to inspect.

---

Crafting boots, gloves, shield, and spear.
Boots/gloves: Mil steel, folded steel, 2 cotton, silver, aquate. +1 socket in addition to the silver.
Shield: Hydrillium, silver, arcite. Inset Obsidian.
Spear: Mil steel, 2 ebony, 1 yew, silver, arcite. Inset Jade.
All creations are automatic successes. Masterwork checks.
Boots/gloves: Base 25 + ArmM/SteelM/HydM/TailM/JewelM = 125, 7 degrees possible.
Shield: 25 + ArmM/HydM/JewelM = 85, 5 degrees possible.
Spear: 25 + WepM/SteelM/CarpM/HydM/JewelM = 125, 7 degrees possible.
Rolls in order: Boots, gloves, shield, spear.

Boots 41; 5 earned. Masterwork Skaldi Boots: 116 DR, 2 Cold DR (all zones, heavy); Req 20 Str, 10 A, 6K, 2 Cha
Gloves 73; 4 earned. Superior Skaldi Gloves: 105 DR, 2 Cold DR (all zones, heavy); Req 20 Str, 10 A, 6K, 2 Cha
Shield 42; 3 earned Excellent Shield: 106 DR, inserted Obsidian; Req 20 Str, 12 A, 10K.
Spear 99; 3 earned Excellent Spear: 122 Dam, Piercing/Slashing, inserted Jade; Req 20 str 14a 10K

---

Each one was a beauty to behold, and highly functionable for what Tyr figured the Skaldi could handle. Large though he was, the construction of the armor and belt gave away much to the trained eye. Sure, he could have had Kreans lift the hammerweights to truly figure out the measure to aim for, but he honestly didn't feel it necessary this time around. The last detail to be added was a mark etched around the shield, identical to one he had engraved in a ring some time ago. A relatively secret mark, it would identify Kreans as one of Tyr's Ritgrs to those that also bore the symbol. In this case, Jorkahn.

"I will not send you empty handed, take these and use them well. As my student, I will grant you a measure of my power until you learn to wield it yourself." He wasn't entirely positive how Kreans would take such a gesture, but hopefully it would go over well. "Rest here tonight, supply yourself as needed, and travel in the morning." He almost parted ways for the evening there, but a final thought occurred. Maybe he SHOULD mention Jorkahn, just in case it came up. "And during your travels you may find someone who recognizes the symbol on that shield. Jorkahn, a warrior of solid prowess. Should you need help, I trust he will do whatever he can to assist you."····

[Kreans]

Kreans would attempt to sear the entirety of the Shaper's work into his mind, watching every blow of the hammer and movement of the human's hands in some effort to glean knowledge from the process that the master craftsman used on his current projects. It was clear to the Skaldi that his own tribe's masters couldn't match the Lord's skill, if the master's couldn't then his own skills would be but a hatchling carving sticks compared to what he was now seeing. This man had power, it maybe wasn't the brute power of strength in combat that he himself was reaching for but it was what would enable a warrior to work to their best, without the right equipment there was only so much power a warrior could have and only so far they could go. The Skaldi did however note that throughout his workings the Shaper did not attempt to replace neither the belt nor chestpiece that he'd made for himself, surely a sign that he recognised the Skaldi's crafts as sufficient at the least, something he could take pride in as they were likely his best works to date.


His unarmoured state was quickly remedied, or rather it would be later, the Shaper had created masterpieces and they were to be his? It seemed that was the case unless he was making these for another Skaldi, from the look of them there was no human that could wear them sized as they were. Kreans would run his eyes over every detail of the completed set, noting that he had never properly worked with a single one of the materials that had been used other than the wooden shaft, even that was masterfully carved and joined to the steel head. It was not simple steel either that had been used for the spear nor the armour, styled and tinted a slight blue to match his own scales with some crystal like material that had been added into the forging of the steel. The steel in itself he was unsure of what had been done to it, the Shaper had folded it over itself multiple times for some purpose, steel was in short supply to his people so he'd had only the rudimentary teachings on how to work it, what he had seen went far beyond moments after he'd first touched it. So many materials he'd never studied in the slightest were worked into the one set of equipment being made, so many techniques to be learnt and so much power to be gained if he could master those processes to even a degree of what he was seeing.


"I shall accept your power in order to increase my own, there is no shame in taking what another makes only shame that I cannot make such fine equipment for myself yet." And that was the truth of the matter, he'd thought himself sufficient when judged against his people's standards but this was another level altogether, he needed to make this power his, coming here had been a good idea it seemed. " I shall watch for this warrior, Jorkahn, does he also carry the symbol?" If the Lord was endorsing him then he must be a warrior of some strength, if he were not one of the Lord's men then Kreans would have hunted him down to test his worth, but offending his potential teacher by fighting against his man would not do his cause well. "When I return I have many questions about the processes used, and the inclusion of these two pieces in armour when they belong to jewellery." Kreans would state, motioning towards the Jade and Obsidian, he could see no reason for the flashy gem and odd material to be put into functional equipment, there was no need for him to show his wealth in combat as some humans did in their normal dress.