RP:Ranok's Order

From HollowWiki

Sound of the Sea

The sound of metal clanging echoed through the streets of Cenril, coming, of course, from several directions. In the south was the sound of Togo's Armor Shop getting its newest wares, and the man who ran the shop making it all, too. Further south would come the sound of clashing steel; there was always some duo or trio hashing it out at the Arena, training for some championship somewhere. To the north was the sound of the guard training. There was yet another source of noise; from the east; and it wasn't just the sound of ships being loaded and unloaded of their precious cargo. No, it was the sound of a hammer hitting steel. If a person were to follow that noise, they'd eventually come to a place where the scent of the sea floated on the air, and where a finely-built wooden covering had been erected over a forge made of stones put together, with fire meticulously kept blazing within its pit. Nearby was the beginnings of a shack, and a bedroll, with a pile of clothes nearby. Laying near the forge was a timber wolf, its demeanor not fierce by any means. If anything, the creature looked like it was just a lazy mutt. In fact, it probably was just a lazy mutt, nowadays. Near the forge was an anvil, and at the anvil stood Al, working hard as ever. Her face was smudged with soot, and she wore much heftier gloves than usual. The wild mass of hair was held back in a tight ponytail-bun, for safety. She looked completely focused; as if she had forgotten the world around her even existed. Nearby was a good-sized pile of completed blades, all simply needing grips to be added to their hilts. She'd deal with that later.


Ranok found the city of Cenril to be largely disgusting. Smelly, ridden with filth, both literal and in human nature. But still, that was most cities. Even Rynvale was like that, and he sure as hell wasn't going to manage to make it a utopia. Even so. He'd been in Cenril looking for a decent exporter of weapons. Rynvale was all well and good, but filled with Elvish smiths, who liked their weapons small and dainty. The smith was always more of a practical mind, and it was hard to beat street practical, even if it was mostly concerned with stuffing blades into hidden places and clubs. But he'd had enough of that and the city. Right now, he needed some fresh air, and the only place to get that was the oceanside, away from the docks where it smelled like piss and rotten fish. Naturally, he'd also lit himself a smoke, the irony of which was likely lost on him. He'd also indulged in a favored treat: a Cenrilian Sticky Bun. The best in the world...and a small personal vice of which he liked to keep on the down low. Wouldn't do to make the vendor too popular, not until he could find a way to convince the fellow to move to Rynvale instead. The sounds of metal meeting metal drifted to his ears. He'd know it anywhere. That smell, too, of the forge. Made him faintly nostalgic. Without completely making up his mind, he'd found himself drifting towards it, finding the woman in her work state, a cigarette between his lips and a warm sticky bun in wax paper in hand.


Alice wasn't exactly a fan of Cenril's current condition, but anyone who was anybody in Cenril, (the problem with Cenril was that there wasn't anybody who really was anybody), knew that she had plans to change all of that. They were high-aimed plans, plans that most people gave up on within the first few steps. But she'd already made some headway that not many others had made. Perhaps some of the change noted might be that the sailors passing through seemed a little less asshatty. Not by much, just enough to know they were friendly with the smith who had mad herself comfortable between the city and sea. The timberwolf hopped up from his relaxed stance as the male approached, and darted forward, yapping in a tone that in no way seemed threatening. If anything, he was more like an over-excited puppy. The greatest danger he presented was maybe a piss on a boot if he got too riled up. In any case, his yapping seemed to alert the redhead of the Ranok's approach. The hammer fell a few more times, then was hung in the little loop she had fashioned on the side of the anvil. The hiss of the heated blade in the waterbarrel nearby echoed, and she gave it a swipe or two through the air. She seemed satisfied, but continued her work. She now lay that blade atop the pile of already completed swords, and moved over to a tanning rack, beginning to knife over the large piece of leather that was already there. It was almost done, barely a hair fell from it. "Feel free ter explore." She finallly spoke as she started to untie the hide from its hanging position. "Armor's ter the east side, blades ter the west. Mind yer step towards this end, though, ain't swept today." If he did choose towards that end of the shop, he'd find peculiar contraptions of unknown use.


Ranok wrinkled his nose as the wolf approached. Maybe his ears went back a bit, but not much. He was careful to keep the bun out of reach, putting it into a pocket. His then free hand immediately went to his lips to fish the smoke out from between them, a snarl of smoke flowing from his nose as he did so. "Rather unalarmed for someone poking around in the dark coming up on you when you were busy. You're not so far out of town." Didn't stop him from coming in any closer, unworried where his feet laid. The soles of his boots were thick enough that he could probably stand on a sword and come out okay. Probably had something to do with those heels of his and reinforcement. "Thought I smelled hot steel. Working lass when you're not dragging men out of forests, hm?" He'd replaced the smoke by then, taking an inhale of it, then exhale, sending a cloud of sweet something billowing across the area for a moment before it was drowned out by the forge again. He'd drifted to the blades, selecting one seemingly at random, though he might have picked one that might have been still a little too hot to hold by merely fleshy hands with his artificial left. Thumbing the blade and giving it a casual look over, he finally delivered his verdict, "Good steel." Oh, he'd seen those devices in the corner of his eye. He'd get to those in his own time.


Alice 's pet hopped up and down a few more times, but quickly came to the realization that he was in fact, not going to be recieving any pats on the head or any snacks. A whine of defeat left the beast's throat, and he made his way back to the woman's side. She patted him on the head, with the skin tucked under one arm. She looked up when she recognized the voice of the man. "Oi! Yer that bloke Ranok! What, I pulled yer hide out ther damn forest an' what." She grinned. Man, those teeth were white for someone whose face was so dirty. She gave a nod, and moved to her workbench, unfolding the hide on it. Near the workbench was a rack that held all sorts of tools, each one specifically for the art of leatherworking. She pulled down a specific knife, and started making the cuts necessary for whatever the hell she was doing. There were differently-sized cuts, at that, as if she was making enough for several different projects. "As fer me bein unalarmed... I kin hold me own. Ain't no one's caused me no trouble since that last bloke got caught liftin' a blade without pay, I tell ye what." She gave a nod, as she continued cutting. "An ye. If I ain't causin' trouble, I'm workin' on somethin' er rather. Either here or on the docks, or doin' politickin'. Keep myself busy." She turned her eyes to him, pausing her cutting for a moment as he examined one of the blades. At his approval, she flashed him yet another toothy grin. "Thank ye kindly. Learned from me da, then later from some ol' ass I were apprenticed to long time ago."


Ranok weighed the steel in his hand a moment longer, which seemed a little silly given that he really couldn't technically feel the heft. Old habits died hard, it seems. Eventually it was placed among the others and he moves on. "Yes...the ordeal with the homoculi. I later checked on where I landed and it was gone. I do hope it didn't get anywhere it could cause trouble." A pause. "I suppose I should thank you again. So. Thanks." That out of the way, he returns to his perusal of the forged items on the table. It all looked pretty good to him, even if his smithing days in the classical sense of making weapons and armor were more or less over. "Well, with a wolf as a pet...I can only imagine. I also have to say, I'm hard pressed to imagine you as a political force." A snort, the cherry red tip of the smoke bobbing as his lips pass the air, "I also suppose you'd say the same of me. A good many have." Suddenly, he felt very tired, recalling all the work that always needed to be done. His hair would be turning gray if it wasn't already on its way there. A moment was taken to rub his face, leaving a bit of smuged charcoal or metal dust from handling the blade behind when his hand dropped. Though, he probably didn't notice, as he asks, "So then, are you going to tell me what you're making or will I have to poke at the things and find out for myself?"


Alice let out a merry snicker. "Aye, not many people expect it when I come on the scene. But I been politickin' fer a while now. Ambassador to Venturil, did ye know?" She nodded. By now, she was beginning to organize the various pieces of leather into different piles, each by shape and size. "And yer right welcome." She looked over at him. She too had stuff all over her face, as previously noted. A laugh left her lips yet again. She stretched, and lifted one of the blades from that pile, and took one of the other pieces of leather. Sitting at a stool nearby, she slowly began the process of applying the grip, using a hardy needle and a thread made of some unknown material. "At the moment, I'm jes finishin' up these swords. Some o' this leather is to line the insides o' some armor, and a few pieces are fer them contraptions oe'r there." She tilted her chin in the direction of her inventions. As she looked at them, there was a sort of adoring look on her face, as if those inventions were her children or family.


Ranok frowns, "No, I didn't. Last I'd checked into it, Venturil was in turmoil after that barbarian took it over. Well, it's on the other side of the world, so I don't exactly get the newspaper every day from it." A flick of a hand in dismissal and one last inhale, tossing aside the spent butt. "Been looking for a good weapons supplier. Elves dunno what a proper longsword is, I swear. All spears and sabers. Bunch of dainty...hrmph." A thumb hooks into his belt, much in the same way it would in a pocket instead, "Might be I'd buy a few from you, if you can turn them out fast enough. Have no apprentice or helpers to get the gruntwork done?"


Alice gave a solemn nod in agreement with his opinion of Venturil. There was an unspoken look of disapproval, directed towards the way Venturil had been running. "It ain't what it could be, tha's fer sure. Hopefully Cenril..." She just smirked. She had her plans, oh yes indeed. "A weapons supplier, eh? I could do the job. An' I could put 'em out as quick as ye need. That pile there?" She glanced over at the pile of unfinished swords. "This week's work; there's bout a hunnerd er so." She tied a knot in the thread, and put down the sword, quickly replacing it with another. "An' no. No helpers. They can't be doin' it good like I kin."


Ranok scratches his chin, "Cenril has been a cesspit and probably always will be. I once considered dipping my hand in to help the city, but it rather doesn't want to be. All the scrabbling powers, struggling for nothing in the end. Besides, if Cenril got its act straight, where else would all the holy types head off to to save?" A bit of a smirk, and he moves on, "Seems quite fast. Your father must have taught you well. But you'd be wise to take assistance. The point of an apprentice isn't to teach, it's to shuck all of the drudge labor off on them to give yourself more time to give attention to the details that require it. Heh." A finger flicks over at the unfinished swords, "A few hundred would do. Not needing a great amount of weapons, but some dull, get lost, or rarely break. Even the best steel gets stressed." He added the end there, not wishing to insult her work. As far as he was concerned, though, that concluded the business of weapons dealing, and his attention drifts to more interesting matters. Namely, the pile 'o contraptions there. For the moment, he contented himself at perusing the pile, seeing if anything stuck out.


Alice had a particularly odd expression on her face at the comments about Cenril, but even she couldn't help but to snicker at his mention of the Church. "Them holy men kin go stick it where the sun don't shine. If I didn't know any better, I'd think they've all got a hand in the damn problems 'round here." She nodded as the convesation continued to flow onwards. "Taught me ter work fast, taught me ter work hard. Quality, Quantity, and Sped. Got ter balance 'em all ter keep a business afloat." She smiled. "As fer hirin' help, I thought o' it a few times, but unfortunately fer me, there ain't enough qualified, who could do well 'nuff fer the kinds o' people I sell to, an' I ain' thinkin' o takin' no childers either. That an' the money side o' it." She rolled her shoulders. "Got ter save my money an' spend it wise-like." She then turned her eyes to the contraptions. She finished up the handle she was working on, and lay it down beside the other, standing and moving over to them. "Aye, ye've found me inventions! I keep some o' them out here, fer when I'm on me lunch breaks."


Ranok rolls his eyes a bit, "Well, that's why you teach the kid. Can't expect them to know all the ropes the first time they step into a forge. Like your father taught you, yes?" He finally shrugs and lets the matter drop with, "I suppose it's your choice in the end. Money is a pressing matter to many people." Casually, he reaches over to pick one of the inventions up, turning it in his hand. He'd have taken it apart, but that would have been impolite. And it was too dark and he didn't have a proper workplace. "Doesn't seem like you can accomplish much in a lunch break, but these seem fairly advanced. What do they all do?"


Alice nodded a bit, and thought to herself that there was perhaps merit in his words. She definitely could use the help. Perhaps the bigger reason she was hesitant to bring anyone in was more emotional, than financial. She subconciously fiddled with the mithril cuffs on her upper arms for a moment, a rather faraway expression on her face. There were definite memories running in her head. They were almost so vivid you could see them reflected in her eyes; and yet, not so clearly that an image could be made. She jolted out of her moment of introspectiveness rather quickly as she heard the sound of one of her pieces being picked up. The usual friendly grin pulled on to her face. "All sorts o' different things. That one in yer hand there's not quite finished yet. Haven't quite got a handle on how she'll work." The contraption was round; and made of glass; with a few gears and a cyllindrical chamber in the center. It looked like a little miniature cup, as if it was made for holding something. "Me hope fer it is that it'll take place o' a candle or torch somehow. Lighter-weight, won't need no fire to start it. Tryin' ter think o' powerin' it with friction." She rolled her shoulders.


Ranok was too focused on the thing in his hands to see any faraway memories in Alice's eyes. The attention paid was astute, noting details. It did look rough. Maybe that could be tightened a little. It looked like good work...if it worked, anyways. "Light is a tricky thing. Always throws off heat, unless you're going completely magic. It'd take some real ingenuity to replace old flame light sources, though. Candles and the like aren't used because there isn't anything better." He'd reach inside the bowl and finger a gear lightly, testing the torque. "Friction? Hm...would need some constant sort of power to keep applying that friction. And friction is heat, which you don't want too much of. Spreads through the metal wicked quick. An interesting design nonetheless." It was placed among the others. "Did your father teach you this, too? Seems a great deal of ingenuity for a blacksmith farmgirl."


Alice listened in keenly, her eyes wide, giving him her full attention. She was always open to hearing what another person had to say. At his final phrase, however, a side of herself not often seen was displayed for a moment. In her embarassment, she rubbed the back of her neck, and a tone of pink came to those freckled cheeks. "Heh. Nah. This... Da always said I had the brains o' me siblin's. O the village he'd say, but that was just him bein' me Da, weren't it?" She laughed awkwardly. "An' farmgirl ain't exactly the term I'd use. More like... I dunno. But we sure as heck didn' farm nothin'. If we weren't fightin', we were makin' stuff ter fight with." She laughed again. She seemed to be a bit surprised by him asking. "I... honestly always sort o' did this sort o' thin'. Got in trouble fer usin' up pieces o' metal out o' me da's forge, for from his ship without permission to make gizmos an' doodad's what'd cause all sorts o' trouble in our village..." She snickered a bit.


Ranok lifts an eyebrow at her tale, scarcely believing it. "You learned to do all this yourself? No teaching?" Head tilts, then inclines slightly, "Impressive." Turning away from Alice, he speaks as he pokes through the contraptions to find something else of interest, "Your father would likely be correct. Average intelligence aside, it takes a more special type to act on those whims even through adulthood. And you say...you were raised on a ship? ...that explains the accent and sea wench flair, I suppose." Picking up another one, he turns it in his hands, "Of course, you couldn't know that purely physical devices simply don't work as they should. Forces that work on a lower level do not scale. A prime example is steam and it's tendency to expand. Attempting to harness this into an engine fails unless you take a route that taps into magic. It has been surmised that the gods themselves have deemed it so, so that man and mer might rely on them for eons to come. Now. Do you have anything that works?"


Alice let out another loud chortle. "No, no. Weren't raised on the ship, but I was taken out several times as a wee lass. I lived on an island, with me siblin's, ma and da." The look from earlier, the faraway one, slowly grew back onto her face. "Me sealike manners'n whatnot came from after... I had ter..." She paused as she thought of how to word it. "...Leave the island. Were at sea fer close ter ten years." She rolled her shoulders, which seemed to be one of her little ticks. "As fer the gods, I've always been inspired ter do thin's what without their help. Now ye want somethin' that works, ye say. Well, if'n ye remember, I told you bout some dockfire back in Rynvale I helped with back in some day. Ye had a pair o' them springy shoes, I remember..." She snickered. "Ye looked like a bloomin' idjit. Anyhow. That fire got me ter thinkin. This oe'r here..." She motioned for him to follow, and lead the way to a contraption that reached up, halfway to her knees. It looked like a large, metallic pot, with two metal hoses reaching from the back, and two from the front. She pulled open a small hatch that rested next to a large hand crank. If he looked down inside, he'd see a few gears, as well as large wooden paddles, set in a circular position, along with a few other minor details. "This here is me water deliverin' system. Ye take these two hoses back there, put 'em in a large source o' water. Those two ends get held. This fills up with the water either manually, with the use o' this here crank, and the water comes out the other side." She closed up the hatch. "Now, with manual hand-crankin, the thing only delivers water, at a tricklin' pace. If'n ye have a mage to turn it at a higher pace, I've discovered pressure builds up in the kettle here..." She pats the side of the large chamber. "An' blasts the water out them two sides oe'r there, pretty far, an' fer as long as the water source lasts. So it kin' be used fer collectin water, or used, with a mage's help, as a way to quickly put a fire out. Or whatever else ye might need high-powered water fer."


Ranok gives a derisive snort in response to his boots, "If it's stupid but it works, it isn't stupid. I don't see you making devices that can fling several hundred pounds that are so compact." He follows her anyways, listening. "Yes, I recall it but barely. The cleanup was a mess. You don't want to know what was stored in that warehouse." The man shudders. And then bends down to inspect the machine, fishing another smoke out of a pouch as he does so. It was placed into his lips but not yet lit. Reaching inside, a few things were given a twist, a prod, or a crank, to see how it fit. Or how well it fit. "Seems solid. And seems real useful, if you have the water to run it. Bet it'd do okay right on the docks. Not that we get too many fires, but..." Finally, he decides to light his smoke, using a flame that comes from the tip of his left thumb to do so, "You know how it goes." A puff was taken, and again that sharp, but sweet, smell. "Pity about the crank though. Needing a mage to make it operate kinda makes a device pointless. Might as well get the mage to dump water on it. Maybe if you put it on a crank system that can transfer the torque...but it'd be awful big. I'd have been interested in purchasing some if that flaw wasn't there...and I was sure it worked, naturally."


Alice gave a solemn nod. "I'm working on upgradin' it. I want ter make it run by heat, actually. I've seen flecks o' metal flop about on their own before. If I could jes harness the heat enough to make a set of metal paddles move... I think they might move fast enough to take the job o' the mage." She shook her head. "But like ye said, it's almost as if we're damn destined to make every las' thing work with some sort o' influence." She made a little face. "Only models o' this particular piece I've sold are ter farmers. Takes a whole lot o' time offa their workloads ye know." She nodded a bit. "Whole lot indeed." She grinned. "Ye seem te know a thing er two 'bout invention yerself, ye know. What's yer story?"


Ranok hrms, "Heat, maybe. Heat and water don't mix too well. The water steals the heat, which is useful in other applications...but not this. Best you could do is a peddle flywheel. Wheels, pulleys, and the like, they work at least. Not the strongest, but most everyone has a foot. You want simple stuff, useless parts. Wood, iron, nothing more then that. Otherwise people want to steal it, and that's a pain in the ass." He straightens from investigating the machine, "A good start, though." The smoke was moved to the other side of his mouth via his lips as he gets asked about himself, "A very long one, filled with a whole hell of a lot of details most people don't need to know. I picked up what I know from all over the place. Used to travel a whole lot, places most people haven't ever seen. And some mistakes and tinkering. Seeing what works and what doesn't. Be surprised what happens when you have time on your hands to put a couple of things together."


Alice nodded, but as she did so, she let out the slightest yawn. She gave a blink of her eyes, suddenly realizing just how bleary they were beginning to get. In any case, she nodded. "I see. So a travellin' man what picked up a thing 'er two here an' there." She smile. "Tha's good an explanation as any. Ye know, I'd like te hear a story 'er two bout yer travels sometime. Ye oughtta tell me 'un when I ain't busy toilin' away here." She finally pulled off the gloves, and tossed them atop her work bench. There was a bruise across the knuckles of her left hand, the one that hadn't been holding the hammer. A rather nasty-looking cut was there too, but she didn't seemed bothered by it by any means, and simply wiped her hands clean of any remaining soot on her work apron.


Ranok gives the slightest of smiles, "Might be that I will. But it's late. We can talk price about those swords some other time, when it isn't such an uncivilized hour of the day. I'll be seeing you around. Oh, and in case you didn't remember it from the last time, the name's Ranok." With that, he tugs the brim of his hat, and departs back towards the city.