DeTess
 Shandara's home 

Shandara's mending magic restored the seven wands to pristine condition, and did the same for the enchantments on five of the wands. The remaining two wands had been damage to such an extent that it would require a more in-depth intervention to fully restore functionality.

Her work on the spell to render wood invisible or see-through also went apace, and she had several approaches she could take. Depending on the exact method she reckoned she could have a working spell in a day or two at most.

OOC thread:  https://forums.giantitp.com/showthre...ctric-boogaloo 
Previous IC thread:  https://forums.giantitp.com/showthre...ery-Society-IC 
WindStruck
Shandara realizes trying to base the spell off of something like the common "Invisibility" effect is too complex and actually does accomplish more than it should. So instead, she works on something in the divination school: a spell that affects the caster, who has the ability to see through touched wooden objects of a limited volume and weight. This is her first draft of the spell, so for the selected material to see through, she just needs to test it on a a very ordinary piece of wood. If that succeeds, she'll test the spell out on the spirit wood.

 
 Spoiler: ooc 
I'm interested in seeing how the spirit wood also reacts, if it does so at all. It might not, seeing as this is a divination spell that mainly affects the caster.
 


Some of the wands she tried to repair were also stubborn, so the following day she tries a use of Make Whole to see if she can get any improved results.
DeTess
The spell works fairly well. The wood does not become entirely invisible, but it does become translucent to Shandara's sight, allowing her to see straight through. The same test on the spirit wood is not quite as succesful however. Where the  normal wood became translucent like a fine piece of glass, the spiritwood is more like an old windowpane. Still somewhat translucent, but foggy and a distorted. By narrowing the area if effect to only a portion of the log Shandara can get a significantly clearer view at the veins of crystal within however.

The attempt to repair the two remaining wands the next day with a more advanced spell has mixed results. One wand is restored, but the enchantment on the last remaining one remains stubbornly damaged.
WindStruck
Shandara is pleased with the results for the divination spell she was working on, until she had tried it on the spirit wood itself and found that it was quite muddled and unclear. Unsure of if this was simply because of a different composition in the wood, or perhaps countless imperceptible crystal veins, Shandara thinks she needs to perform some sort of material analysis so she can more accurately define what kind of material to make invisible/visible.

 
 Spoiler: ooc 
Well, I'm not really sure how to do this. Do I have to develop yet another divination spell to try to get an accurate composition for writing another spell, or can I simply do this with a knowledge roll of some kind?  alchemy? nature?  Do I need to seek an expert?
 
WindStruck
After a day or so more of tinkering with the spirit wood and her spellcraft, Shandara manages to develop a spell that has optimum potency on the spirit wood itself, but not on other types of woods. Then she tries casting Light on one of the veins again, tests her new divination spell out on the wood to REALLY see the lit up veins, and then, if she can manage the concentration, tries to observe the light magic ebbing from it with Detect Magic.
DeTess
 Shandara's home 
Shandara's new spell works without a hitch, and she can clearly see the lit up veins of crystal snaking their way through the wood. After some time the light and magic starts ebbing away again, though it does so very slowly.

 The Fiddle and Saw - Home of Aiden Sorveaux 
While working on the harp, Aiden still had time to instruct Cliff and Markel on the finer points of boat restoration. Both kids learned fairly quickly, and they both looked noticeable better fed, likely thanks to the meals provided by Maria when the boys where working on the boat. The boys each had their own strong suits. Cliff was the stronger of the two and good at rough work and work requiring strength. He also must have learned about  knots and ropes at some point, as he seemed to need little instruction for working on the boat's ropes and rigging. Markel had a bit of trouble with tasks that required raw strength, but was very good with detail-work. Under Aiden's direction they soon finished the work on the boat, and though it didn't look quite as new, it looked far more seaworthy than it had when Aiden first laid eyes on it.
WindStruck
(snipped from OOC)

Shandara is still busy trying to unravel the mysteries of how the spirit wood worked. Reconfirming that the light magic lingers for much longer while affecting the spirit wood, she decides she wants to test the theory out from a few other angles.

First she'll want to go out and see if she can find some scrolls of Lighten Object and Grease. She would choose these spells because first of all, she didn't want to do anything drastic to the wood that might damage it. And second, it could be argued that the Lighten Object spell would be much more improved either in effect, duration, or both seeing as the magic was supposed to encompass all of the wood, where as Grease would only affect the outside. Though Shandara could not really say for certain what would happen, which is why she wanted to experiment.
WindStruck
After further experimentation, Shandara concludes that magic that affects the crystalline structure of the wood simply lasts longer.

But now, of course, she had come to the part where she would be testing out the wand efficacy and crafting. And there was no getting around it.. she needed someone who was good at cutting wood. And she needed a few normal wand blanks as well.

 
 Spoiler: ooc 
lore wise, how are wands crafted?  Is there something similar like in the Harry Potter books, where it wouldn't just be a plain piece of wood through and through but have some sort of magical material or conduit in the middle? Would be a great way to incorporate the spirit wood..

Also, now might be a time to bring MrAbdiel back into the fold and see if Aiden was still interested in getting paid to cut the wood for Shandara...  though if MrAbdiel is very absent and infrequently posting, I think Shandara had better find a different artisan anyway.
 
DeTess
 Bluefin's rest 
The restaurant is fairly quiet when Shandra arrives. The midday rush is over and it's still a bit too early for an evening meal. A group of four, two men and two women, all human,a re sitting in the back. Based on the papers spread over the table they might be in some kind business meeting or similar.

Shortly after Shandara arrives she si approached by a blonde man in his early twenties. His white apron suggests he is onE of the servers in the restaurant. "Good afternoon, miss." He greets the Drow. "We are not quite ready yet to serve dinner, but if you're looking for a smaller meal or something to drink we have plenty of options." He offers her a menu.
WindStruck
 "Ah, thank you,"  Shandara says, briefly glancing at the menu.  "But actually.. I was wondering if anyone here knew where to find Ulrik? If I recall, I believe he said he had some family here." 
DeTess
"Ulrik? Ah, right, give me a moment to check with the chef." The man disappears into the kitchen for a moment, before returning in short order. "You are miss Shandara, right? Ulrik is quite likely to be here this evening for a meal, so you could wait for him here. If you're in a great hurry, however, you can ask for him at the Streidekker and sons shipyard, though the chef told me he's quite busy, so no guarantees he has time to see you if you go there."
WindStruck
 "Well.. it's not really urgent,"  Shandara says. She peers at the menu again, considering it.  "I could certainly meet him here later this evening, though I would say I have.. certain obligations to attend to and would rather not tarry here for hours."  And by that, she was referring to needing to meet Xavier so that he didn't think she had been kidnapped. And she also didn't want to waste time here munching on snacks and getting drunk. At least.. not all by her lonesome.

 "If you do see Ulrik, tell him I'll be looking for him tonight. And perhaps I'll buy him a drink .. though, I imagine he might get some for free here anyway. Hm."  She shrugs.

She forces an awkward smile toward the young blonde man briefly and leaves.

So she'll walk back home. Probably do a few chores, tidy up the place, make some tea, relax. Meet Xavier. Randomly take him out to eat. Same restaurant. Hopefully Ulrik will actually be there after sundown.
DeTess
When Shandara returns, the restaurant is a lot more livelier, with merchants, officers and shipbuilders enjoying their dinners. It does not take her long to make out Ulrik's sturdy frame. He is sitting at a table together with one of the women who had been engaged in a business meeting when Shandara dropped by earlier. Seeing the two of them beside one another some similarities between the two humans become apparent, with them sharing the same color hair and eyes, as well as some other subtle similarities. It could be that the woman, who seemed around the same age as Ulrik, was the sister he'd mentioned before. The two seemed to be involved in an animated conversation, and neither noticed Shandara when she entered the restaurant.
WindStruck
 "I hope you like seafood,"  Shandara commented to Xavier.

- - -

Shandara picks out Ulrik easily enough. She tells the host they were meeting someone here. Suspecting the two at the table were brother and sister, it might not have felt so bad to interrupt their conversation. She quietly walks over, probably not noticed by either until she stops at their table.  "Hello again,"  Shandara says.  "I hope someone told you I was coming. Do you have a few moments, or would you like to have a meal together?" 
MrAbdiel
 
 Originally Posted by DeTess 
  The Fiddle and Saw - Home of Aiden Sorveaux 
While working on the harp, Aiden still had time to instruct Cliff and Markel on the finer points of boat restoration. Both kids learned fairly quickly, and they both looked noticeable better fed, likely thanks to the meals provided by Maria when the boys where working on the boat. The boys each had their own strong suits. Cliff was the stronger of the two and good at rough work and work requiring strength. He also must have learned about  knots and ropes at some point, as he seemed to need little instruction for working on the boat's ropes and rigging. Markel had a bit of trouble with tasks that required raw strength, but was very good with detail-work. Under Aiden's direction they soon finished the work on the boat, and though it didn't look quite as new, it looked far more seaworthy than it had when Aiden first laid eyes on it. 
 

The smell of the wax was strong in the air. A vessel is typically made of reasonably hydrophobic woods, but sealing was still required for good measure, and the craft that was once a ruin with a broken mast now looked ready to put to sea.

Aiden washed his hands in a basin as Cliff and Markel scampered about the resurrected vessel, plying the fictional seas of the barn while gleaming rodent eyes watched from high rafters.

 "She's a good'un, as they say, lads. You can take her to sea now, but I recommend not chasing the horizon right away - you'll need to let the timbers swell with the water and lock up with each other, and it'll give you a chance to discover any leaks you need to patch. But I wouldn't go to sea without a name for her - that's just asking for trouble. But, ah... Well, lads, I've a proposition for you." 

Aiden waited for them to gather to him, and he plunked down on a low crate. It wasn't comfortable sitting at all, but it put him much closer to eyeline with Cliff, and just above Markel.

 "I know you've got your hearts set on going out, spreading your nets and living off the profits, but I wondered if you might both think about staying on here to learn a little more, and help me out. Let me pose it to you, and you tell me if it fits, alright?" 

He gestures to the restored boat with one open hand.  "A boat like this, well... A fresh one might sell for close to five hundred gold. But you'll put about a third of that into it in materials, and plenty of labor. But that's the trick of crafting - once you know how to do the labor, and if you love doing it, it's practically free. So how about this - you take your boat to sea a couple of days a week, catch fish to your heart's content. Bring the best ones back here to Maria, since she'll be feeding you at the end of the day anyway. I'll put up the money for materials to get started on a completely new boat. Maria will keep feeding you, and you can stay here as much as you like. You give the fish a few days respite from your assault, and put those days here into working on the new boat. I'll come through to help you if you have troubles or for the heavier and tricker bits, but I'll let you do most of this on your own. And when it's done, we'll sell it; I'll take back the cost of the materials, and you boys can split the rest how you see fit. If you bring any friends to help you out, you'll get it done faster, but you'll have to cut them in. I think you'll find selling boats is a little more profitable than selling fish, in the long run, though you'll have to use your profits from the fishing for a while to pay for a berth for this ship. We won't fit both in this barn! What do you think?" 
 
 Spoiler: OOC: New Character Goal 
Aiden has spontaneously developed a vision of a new project, the  Stormdrains Arsenal  - a combination Orphanage/Shipyard which offers shelter, community, work, and skills for young lads and lasses with nowhere to go, with an eventual goal of them getting a 'real' job in another shipyard when they age up. It would be a focus on small craft - rowboats, jolly-boats, and fishing boats that can be sold (or given away) at lower that market cost to people who couldn't otherwise afford it.
 
DeTess
 Bluefin's Rest 
Ulrik looked up as Shandara approached, some surprise on his face. "I don't think anyone..."

"Yes, they did, brother." The woman cuts him off. "You'll have to forgive my brother here, he has just received some very good news and I doubt he has registered anything non-ship related this evening."

"Ah, yes, sorry." Ulrik gives a sheepish grin, te expression seeming illa t home on his weathered face. "You might remember when we talked about our dream projects? Well, I've been asked to oversee something very much like it, so I might have been a little distracted today. Ehm, what did you need my help with? Or was it Just a social call?"
DeTess
 The Fiddle and Saw - Home of Aiden Sorveaux 
Cliff and Markel exchanged a glance. "Ehm... 500 gold coins, but we lose a third to materials and then we split it is..." A look of concentration came voer Cliff's face as eh tried to doe the math in his head.

"166 gold pieces each, with some silvers and coppers left over." Markel had worked it out a lot quicker.

"That... sounds too good to be true." Cliff looked troubled. "How long would it take us to make a boat like that?"
WindStruck
 "Could be a social call as well if you'd like,"  Shandara says with a small smile and a shrug.  "I just wanted to ask you a little advice about something." 
 "Um. Would it be alright if we sat down with you?"  she asks, also glancing over to Xavier.  "This is Xavier, my bodyguard. It's.. perhaps a little awkward explaining why I feel the need to have one. But for the most part he's usually accompanied me in the Society's archives and not much has happened. Well, aside from that one time Bolten and I went out to test a little project of ours, and there was a bear..." 
MrAbdiel
 "How long? Well. Hmm. Well, let's think a minute. For a twenty footer, first we'd have to have you on the drawknives carving a keel..."
 
 
 Spoiler: OOC: Child Labor Statistics 
Assuming a fairly junior craftsman - one that has a total of +5 to their craft skill, which is proficiency plus two points of skill (go with me for a minute), they can take 10 for a 15, and 15 is about the DC for a boat  (since it's a large but fairly simple type of boat, and DC20 examples are things like siege engines and firearms that require much more complex sciences) .

It seems reasonable to me that both boys can work on one boat - some parts would be slower alone, some taxed a little by getting in each others way, roughly evening out. So with a DC15 and a 15 result from both boys, each week they will contribute 225SP towards this 5000SP project.  At this rate, it'll be 11.11 weeks to complete a fully functional boat.  They'll each make the equivalent of 15gp for each week they labor. That's pretty good - about half of what the average doctor makes, and with a hefty material investment cost.

As for the assumption that they can even  do  this, I'm operating under the assumption that this process will empower them to be, effectively, level 1 Experts. Until they get there, Aiden is on hand to loosely supervise; set up tasks, help them they they are stumped, lend them luck, and loan them tools (he has a set of masterwork shipwright tools, and it'll buy the boys each a set of normal ones for 5GP each if they accept the offer, to spoil them with masterwork sets when they complete their training). Even if they can't take ten for a while, it's a good indicator of their likely progress. Aiden is going to be as hands-off as he can afford to be, so they do most of the work and gain the skills - learn, and earn.

So that's the answer! It's about...
 

 "...So with all that, maybe ten, twelve weeks or so. You'll get a little faster as you get better, but like I always say - slow is smooth, smooth is fast. After we're a few weeks in, if you have any friends you trust to come in and spent some time on the tools, that might help a bit too. What do you think, boys?" 
DeTess
 Bluefin's Rest 
"Yes, feel fre to take a seat." Ulrik looks Xavier over, but refrains from commenting on the bodyguard. "What did you need my advice on?"

 The Fiddle and Saw - Home of Aiden Sorveaux 
"Right so over that time it'd be..." Cliff starts to do the math, but Markel once again beats him to it.

"About 15-ish gold pieces per week." the smaller boy declares the number with some confidence. "That's still a good amount..."

Cliff is silent for a moment, doing whatever balancing of the scales he learned from the streets. After a moment he speaks up again. "It's not too good to be true." He declares.

Markel let's out a sigh of relief. "So should we take the offer? I did like working on the boat. And the food miss Maria brings is nice too..."

Cliff considers for a moment. "I think we should give fishing a go first. Once we've done that for a bit we can settle on what we like more, you know?"

"Is that okay with you, Aiden?" Markel asks, a worried look on his face. "We could probably give you an answer in a couple weeks."
WindStruck
Shandara sits down and says,  "Well, I was wondering if you happened to know of any skilled artisans that handle wood. I- I know you're a ship builder. I mean someone who is skilled at..  cutting the wood  precisely and likely at small difficult angles within the wood. Then again, maybe for my little project, they don't have to be the best. I just need someone I can trust that won't mess up the explicit details that I ask of them..." 
MrAbdiel
Aiden laughs his rich, warm laugh.

 "Of course, of course. Boys, it's not an answer with a time limit. You deserve to enjoy all the work you've done on this young lady."  He thumps the hull of the fishing boat.  "We'll bring it down to the dock tomorrow, and organise a berth for it.  You boys... both know how to swim, right? And how to handle the nets, out there? And... Well, how to sail? You're not just kicking out onto the water to figure it out, are you?" 
DeTess
 Bluefin's rest 
"Hmmm." Ulrik considered Shandara's question. "Even what we consider fine detail work like figureheads tend to be somewhat rough by non-shipbuilding standards. Based on what you told me though, Feathers might be able to help you, but that's.... No, I might know another person who could be an even better match, but I've only seen their handiwork, so I'm not certain." Realizing that might need some further explanation, Ulrik elaborated.

"During the briefing for the project I was shown some beautifully made scale models. Whoever made them really knows fine woodwork. I'll meet them in about half a week for the project's kickoff so I can ask them then, or you could check with the Escribano workshop, as they provided the model, so should know who made it. If they don't work out, I can get you in touch with Feathers. He does detailwork like figureheads and other decorative woodcutting, so he might be able to help you."

 The Fiddle and Saw - Home of Aiden Sorveaux  
Cliff nodded. "My old man was a fisherman back when.... Back when." Cliff bit down on whatever detail he wanted to add, though a sad look crossed his face. "I know the basics and I'll teach Markel. Already made certain he won't drown."
MrAbdiel
Aiden gives a shallow nod, and a faint smile of reassurance. Perhaps it had been the plague that took the boy's father. Perhaps some other misfortune of his life. But the boy did not offer it, so the country carpenter did not pick.

 "Alright. I just ask because we can get a real old salt to give a lesson or two, I'm sure; but that's up to you boys. Cliff, if you say it's in hand, I trust you." 

The offer hung in the air for a few seconds, waiting for the lads to consider it and take it up now, before the possibility they'd have to come back, pridesore, later. Truth be told, Aiden's sailing experience was entirely theoretical; and he never had much luck with the old hook-and-bobber at the creeks near his village. But how hard could it be to make a new friend who would be willing to teach the lads, if they needed it?
WindStruck
 "Oh, I see,"  Shandara says  with a nod. Then she asks,  "So the project involves building a ship. Does it have a name?" 
 "Since you mentioned this was similar to the dreams you were talking about earlier, I would have to guess this is a very advanced ship that incorporates all sorts of.. hm. New innovations?" 
DeTess
 Bluefin's rest 
"We haven't settled on a name yet, still a bit too early in the project to do so. But it's a real marvel!" Ulrik launches into the explanation with gusto. "It's a large rescue and salvage platform. The Imperial Navy has made the first order, though I hear some of the larger trading companies have some interest as well. It's this triple-hull design that can function as a dock to keep the stricken ship floating and packed with machinery like cranes and the like to do maintenance on another vessel. It also has a magic powered mechanical secondary propulsion system to help with precise maneuvering." Ulrik then launched into a detailed description of the challenges the shipyard would face putting the vessel together. It seemed he'd been given a lead role on the project, and he was very excited about everything it would entail.

 The Fiddle and Saw - Home of Aiden Sorveaux 
"You've already done so much..." "If you know someone you trust I wouldn't say no." Markel and Cliff spoke up at the same time. Perhaps surprisingly, it was Cliff that seemed mor receptive to the offer. After an exchange of glances the taller boy continued. "I'm pretty sure I know what I need to do to bring fish in, but my old man never got around to teaching me where the best fish can be caught and even if he did, things are probably different now. I also don't really know where best to go to sell the fish." Cliff explained. "If you know someone that could help explain all that I wouldn't say no. Otherwise it shouldn't take too long to figure that out ourselves."
WindStruck
Shandara does try to listen intently, at least as long as her attention span allows. The technical aspects sounded intriguing, though truthfully she was not much of an engineer, nor a ship builder.

 "Almost seems like this is your first time being a supervisor,"  Shandara chuckles.  "Or perhaps not. But obviously, with something of this scale ..." 

She looks around to see if there was a menu.  "Have you two eaten yet, by the way? I was thinking of having something here. And you're welcome to a dish as well, Xavier." 
MrAbdiel
He gives the boys a judgement-free smile and nod.  "I've an idea, maybe. Let's see what we see tomorrow. For now, you better figure out a name for this ship so we can paint it on and have it dry for tomorrow!" 
 
 Spoiler: OOC: 
This is a minor side project, but why not be precise? :D

The lads need to know:

- Where to catch fish
- Where to sell fish

Aiden's roundabout plan is to head back to the shipyard the next day (maybe while the boys are waiting in the boat with instructions to notice if there are any leaks for patching later, and bucket-bailing anything that gets in, still tied off at the dock).

There's probably a bit of cross-pollination between people working in the big military shipyard and people who know about fishing. A wonder-scenario would be if the fellow who was injured before and whom Aiden was asked to play for in his infirmity as a price for borrowing those tools happened to know, such things, but we can't promise anything. But any direction they can give us - say, to a fisherman's guild if there is such a thing, or to an old hand who is getting towards his retirement and wouldn't mind passing on some secrets to some young guns or something... You get it.
 
DeTess
 Bluefin's rest 
"I haven't eaten yet." Ulrik replies. "I'm having a party in a bit with a group of friends. You're welcome to join, of course."
WindStruck
 "Oh..  I suppose..."  Shandara says reluctantly.  "Though I wouldn't want to impose on you."  Then again, she also speculated about what kind of friends Ulrik had and if she would even be comfortable around all the rowdiness and bored of all the ship talk and whatnot.

Turning to his sister, Shandara says,  "Oh, sorry, I don't believe I had gotten your name. Mine is Shandara." 
DeTess
"I'm Elin." The woman introduced herself. "I run the fishing boats that keep this restaurant as well as several other places stocked. You worked with Ulrik during that festival competition, right? He talked quite a bit about it."
WindStruck
Shandara nods and smiles a bit.  "Ah yes. The competition we won too.. along with a few others. It was quite a challenge, and a learning experience. Might be fun doing it again next year, though that is quite a ways off." 
 "A good team I must say. If we were missing any one person it would have never worked." 
DeTess
 Bluefin's rest 
Elin nodded. "That's one of my brother's strengths. He knows how to ensure everyone is pulling their weight." At that moment several men entered the tavern, and Ulrik got up to greet them. They where similar in build to the shipbuilder, large strong men with weathered faces, clearly used to hard work on or near the water.

"Though he has his weaknesses too..." Elin added while her brother was otherwise engaged, and gave Shandara an appraising eye. "Such as not always being able to read the mood in social settings. I might be misreading you, but you seemed a bit wary at the idea of the party. You seem more the type to enjoy a quiet dinner with friends, not the rowdier affairs you can expect from folk of the sea."

 the Royal Artificery Society archives 
Bolten spend a day digging through the archives, and was rewarded with a wealth of knowledge on the art of teleportation. Quite a few tomes and papers had been written on the subject, as it was still very much an active field of research. Short-range teleportation, covering distances no longer than a few dozen feet was a mostly solved problem, though research was still being done in making the process more energy efficient for easier sue in enchantments. Mid-range teleportation, out to about a mile was a more difficult prospect, but still had a number of solutions that allowed for the feat, though it relied on enchanted objects to aid the caster.

The real holy grail of the field, long-distance teleportation of goods and people over hundreds if not thousands of miles was quite another matter. Based on the books Bolten found on the subject, achieving long distance humanoid teleportation had been consistently considered about 10 years away.... for the past 50 years or so. That's not to say no progress had been made whatsoever. According to a recent paper discussing the state of the art, a total of three sets of 'teleportation gates' had been established, each linking the capital to another major city in the empire, the furthest of which was almost a 1000 miles from the capital. However, operation these gates to allow even the passage of a single person required tremendous amounts of energy, enough that even powerful mages would need a full day recover before they could send another person. According to the paper, the gates where currently only used for experiments or emergencies, and the author suspected it would take at least another decade before the energy use would be optimized enough for more regular use.

During his research Bolten also encountered a book called 'Magical transportation for travellers in a hurry', which discussed a variety of means by which one could employ magic to travel long distances quickly. The book had a chapter on teleportation, but mostly dismissed it as a viable method at the time of writing ('though that could change within the next decade'), but it discussed several other methods as well. By far the quickest of these was a method referred to as 'extraplanar shortcuts', which seemed to involve travelling to a plane of existence close to the material plane, travelling some distance there, then travelling back to cover a far greater distance in the material plane. While moving back and forth between these planes still costs large amounts of magic, it was still a lot more doable to move a group of people and material this way than through teleportation gates, and with far more freedom regarding the start and end point. The main risk involved was that the two planes suitable for this method where both rather dangerous places. The author makes little mention of the exact dangers involved, but refers those interested to a group called the Fernhal courier association.
WindStruck
Shandara looks down and says,  "Erm.. yes. I think that about sums it up. I don't think I'd fit in with that bunch." 
 "..and I suppose that's fine. It would not do to force other people into situations they aren't comfortable with." 
DeTess
 Bluefin's rest 
"Don't worry, he won't take it badly if you turn down his offer for that reason." Elin gave Shandara a friendly smile, though the dark elf could detect a hint of relief in her bearing when Shandara confirmed she'd rather miss a party like that.

 
 Spoiler: OOC: sense motive 

Shandara does not get any feeling of malice or deceit from Elin, but she does get the sense that the woman had another reason for wanting Shandara to miss out on the party.
 
WindStruck
Shandara could tell something was amiss, but couldn't put her finger on what. Suspicion flared as she ran through a bunch of petty reasons this woman could want her gone in her mind.. but ultimately they didn't seem that important, and Shandara didn't think she wanted to stay just to spite Elin.

 "Well, I suppose I still feel like a meal, but if Ulrik and all his friends are coming here I think I had better find another table... Or would that just be awkward?" 

Hm. Maybe if everyone stayed it would just be far too cramped with a bunch of big men sitting at one table. Shandara looked around and thought maybe she'd have to get up and talk to the host at the front again.
DeTess
"That shouldn't be an issue at all, I actually had a room in the back reserved to ensure the party doesn't spill over too much in the common room." Elin explained. "We were waiting out front to greet the guests, but will go there once more people arrive." She cast a glance in the direction of Ulrik, who was in the process of welcoming more acquaintances and friends who had arrived. "That would be right around now, I think. I'll let my husband know your meal is on us though, so enjoy your dinner!" Elin got up and joined Ulrik and his friends, gesturing towards a door set further back into the restaurant.

Ulrik and the others started heading there, though Ulrik took a moment to stop by Shandara's table. "Thanks for stopping by. Also my apologies for inviting you without considering it might not be your kind of party. Anyway, regarding the woodwork, how about we meet up here for dinner, four days from now? I'll invite along Feathers or the person from the Escribano workshop. Does that work for you?"
WindStruck
 "Oh, in four days? Hm,"  Shandara says.  "Well, I was going to try stopping by the Escribano workshop to inquire about who built that boat model. But I suppose I could come back regardless and tell you how it went." 
DeTess
"Allright, I'll meet you then!" Ulrik hurried off to join his comrades, leaving Shandara to her meal.
WindStruck
Although Shandara was reluctant to admit it, when she had seen Aiden's name (albeit seemingly misspelled) on the commission for the boat model, perhaps, she thought, perhaps she might want to reconsider going through him for the work on the spirit wood. Was it a sign? Maybe. Although she doubted any of the gods would want to bother influencing her life, aside from maybe one who might do so for the worst...

One late afternoon, she arrives at the Fiddle and Saw with Xavier and a cloth-wrapped spirit wood in her possession. She raps on the front door of the shop, still thinking maybe she should reconsider. Though if anything, it may at least make Aiden happy to see the effects of the divination spell she had developed.
MrAbdiel
There's a pause before an answer, but the hurry of footsteps within forecasts his coming.

 "It's okay, it's a storefront, you don't have to knock. You can just-"
 

The bell on the door's interior jingles merrily as the carpenter pulls it open, presenting him in much the same form as when Shandara has encountered him out and about or on planned visitations, with the exception of an extra seasoning of sawdust on his overalls and sleeves. A flash of confusion on his face is quickly dissolved into predictable glee.

 "Shandara and Xavier! An unscheduled pleasure! Come though, come through, I'm just grooving up the flanks of this harp, come through..." 

Past the array of display furniture and carved novelties they can see one of his several workbenches with the swooping neck of a harp held gently in a vice near set-town chisels. The pillar - the straight upright element of the harp - stands detached nearby, elaborately gouged along its length with eye catching channels awaiting sanding, staining, and sealing. In the flicker of self-consciousness, he takes a moment to brush some sawdust from his person.

For all this business, he seems to not have noticed the obvious shape of the spiritwood in its shroud; neither does he show any sign of lingering bad feeling about the clash over its fate previously. The man after that conflict is not perceptibly different to the one that existed before.

 "To what do I owe the pleasure?" 
WindStruck
 "Ah, right,"  Shandara says regarding her entry. It seemed she seemed to conflate this place more as Aiden's home, which was more or less true, but also the bottom portion of the building was indeed a shop, and knocking wouldn't be necessary. She steps inside, peering around once more at his handiwork and current project.

 "Well, I thought you might want to see the results of the spell I have developed, just so you can see how intricate all the crystal veins are,"  she says. She unfurls the object wrapped in cloth, revealing the chunk of spirit wood.

 "Um, also. I did forget you may be quite busy with other projects. The harp was so that you might still have a chance at that major project to disassemble an entire tundra oak and bring it here? Were you still interested in making cuts into the spirit wood? Of course, I would pay you for your work, but I'd like the pieces cut as directed.." 
MrAbdiel
Aiden seems pleased that Shandara has remembered his other project - he's still going to need help with preserving the disassembled tree if, when, his proposal is accepted. But he's also excited to be working with spirit wood again, the moment it comes up. Any more gaiety in his steps, and he'd be dancing as he crosses the floor in a hurry to clear one of his benches for the sample timber.

 "Oh, certainly, certainly. Happy to help. But honestly, it's just a bit of cutting; unless it somehow turns into a long and hairy sort of job, I'm happy to help without a charge. Oh - that reminds me! I have something for you, here..." 

He crosses the floor again to one bench, then another around the corner when that doesn't pan out. He calls out conversationally around the bend as he searches.

 "Your transparency spell paid off, then? Good, good. I've been thinking..."  A pause as something around the corner almost falls and is saved by a flurry of improvisational restacking...  "...That  cutting  the spirit wood might be the wrong approach, in the first place. Since the crystal as far as I can tell grows along the grain, we might have more luck carefully  splitting  pieces off from a round instead of cutting them from a block. Let the natural wood fibres parrallel to the major veins do the hard work. The wands blanks will have a more organic shape, but that was going to happen anyway with the crystal..." 
WindStruck
 "Yes, it did,"  Shandara responds.  "Well, I suppose you're the wood expert and all, and if you think trying to  split  the wood along the grain works, we could try it. But there's no telling how fragile the crystal veins are. Or if the small ones reinforce the wood somehow and make it more difficult to split. Perhaps you had better try an edge of the wood that isn't near a large vein..." 
 "Um, what did you want to show me?"  she asks.
MrAbdiel
 "Well, I think we have some reason to believe the Crystal is reasonably durable. Even uncommonly flexible, even. After all, a wood saw - the kind of saw used to cut up the tree in the first place - isn't a remarkably delicate instrument. If you'd, say, braced some glass with wood and cut them with a saw, the glass would crack and splinter even braced. And a tree, just as a part of the world, has a certain amount of sway and flex to it, what with the wind beating on it and wobbling it about. Given that the crystal in your piece here isn't cracked up to splinters just from the act of harvest, I'd say you've got good reason to expect it's got a the toughness of something more organic. Like the wood itself. Maybe bone. Ahah! Yes, here..." 

Around he comes again, his quarry held in proud presentation in his palms, for Shandara to take - a smooth little cherrywood box about half the length of her forearm, with a simple brass clasp and hinge on the long edge.  "Here. I made these for you." 
 
 Spoiler: Within... 
...are a pair of spectacles nestled in a red velvet case. The frame for the circular lenses, and the arms that fold out on tiny concealed hinges, are light, and silvery. The lenses themselves are 'smoked' to a dark tint.

 "I'd thought to make a set for you ever since I noticed you squinting in the sunlight by the job postings. I heard once of a fellow who suffered in the sun - born pale, and weak of eyes - who had smoked lenses. You're not of a condition, of course, but I figure they might make it a little easier to go about when it's clear and bright out. There's no magic to them - not yet, anyway. But that's just a fine silver-leaf set over a wooden frame I put together from the twigs and scraps of spirit wood good ol' Dunfen had left over when I went back looking for them. Just fragments, none big enough to make a wand or an arrow or anything much useful, but enough to work delicately together into a set of frames, I thought." 
 
 Spoiler: OOC: 
OOC: Mechanically they're just a set of glasses that do nothing right now. I was looking over  Lenses of Darkness  but they're insanely expensive for what they do... but if you ever decide to enchant them that way, they're made of spiritwood and I passed the roll to preserve the effectiveness of the discount to components Spiritwood grants. :)

 

Maybe like that, I figure.
 


Aiden seems rather proud of them indeed.  "I had to consult with Bolten to get hinges that small, for the arms. I can work in wood, glass, stone, leather, cloth and metal, but for tiny moving parts like that, he can't be beat." 
 
WindStruck
 "I'm.. not sure how flexible a live spirit wood tree is.. Perhaps you are right, but I still don't think we can be certain about all its properties,"  Shandara says.

Accepting the box, Shandara peers down at it curiously then opens it.

...

It took a moment to register what lied within, and to appreciate the thoughtfulness of the gift.  "You.. you made this for me?"  She didn't know what else to say. She was flabbergasted, even as Aiden kept letting loose more details, like how the frames were actually made of spirit wood underneath the silver, and how Bolten even helped. The amount of kindness displayed seemed unprecedented and undeserved. She didn't understand why Aiden would do this, especially after the whole incident of her "sharking" "his" spirit wood. Here she was thinking their relation had become awkward again, and then he went and did this. Did he want something? Did he intend to try to curry favor with her or manipulate her? Shandara blinked and dismissed such thoughts. Aiden, whether that be considered a positive or a negative, was simply  incapable  of doing such.

 "I.. I... Thank you..."  she says. There was something in the glint of the lenses that reminded her of something. Or maybe it wasn't the material object itself, but the epitome of an experience. She closes the box and gazes pensively at Aiden for a moment. She didn't deserve this. She didn't deserve any of this. She was ruthless and methodical. Cowardly and paranoid. Weak and sickly. Speaking of weak, as Shandara's eyes briefly began to tear up, she felt her vision going dark as, for whatever reason, overwhelmed with emotions and killed by kindness, she faints and hopefully falls back onto a nice couch. But this was mostly a display area or workshop. Maybe instead, Xavier might catch her...
DeTess
"Miss!" Xavier was at Shandara's side in the blink of an eye, catching her. He quickly checked her condition, then addressed the carpenter. "Mr. Sorveaux, do you have a couch or something for her to rest on?"
MrAbdiel
Oblivious as he is to many things, the difficulty Shandara seems to encounter with the gift. A degree of worry colours the warmth in his expression he watches the drowess content with something unseen.  "Well, it's my pleasure, certainly..."  comes the reply, almost apologetic in its reassurance ... but then she is slackening in front of him, bound for sawdusted floor. The carpenter's heart leaps into his throat as the adrenal shock demand he do some impossible feat and get behind the woman to catch her before she hit the ground - but Xavier is there, and Aiden is more than glad of it.

 "Mr. Sorveaux, do you have a couch or something for her to rest on?" 

Aiden looked at Xavier's face for a moment longer than was sensible to understand the plain words, then looked to the showroom. There was all sorts of furniture there; but it tended to range from the affordable to the sturdy for those in the district that could afford them. Padded and plush things did not move quickly in the Stormdrains. Not to mention it seemed disrespectful to the enchantress to lay her out on a couch in the middle of his store. The carpenter's eyes turn up to scan the ceiling as he considers the upper floor of the house, given over to living instead of working. There was Maria's bedroom, but that would be an imposition. There was his own bedroom, but that would be inappropriate. But there was...

 "The prayer room; yes, it's just up here." 

With Xavier doing the carrying, Aiden led the way two steps at a time up the corner stairs to the home above the store. A modest but comfortable place, whose wooden panelling and floors were fresh and clean and accented with framed art purchased from local artists of the stormdrains - much of it, frankly, rather amateur. The quality art is that he has mostly made himself - feature panels in wooden corner beams depicting heroic and fanciful scenes from legend and lore, and wooden instruments - most of them broken - set to the walls like conversation pieces. What there isn't is a room set aside for recreation, with couches and rugs and comfort as its function; but Aiden directs Xavier to a room unlike any other he has likely been in.

At the back of the room is a low altar of white granite draped in a cloth of green silk with gold embroidery in celestial lettering around its hem. The altar is topped with an idle incense bowl, oil flasks, a bare silver plate, a small clear vial of holy water - standard fare for shrines of the middle and upper classes. A well work leather cushion before the altar speaks of a habit of kneeling, and in the centre of the room is a low set, simple, padded recamier with a mildest suggestion of a headrest. This is far less worn than the kneeling cushion, but seems to have been placed with the purpose of meditative repose. But where the furnishings were rather simple, the walls were cluttered,  swarming  with points of attention.

Celestial figures - hundreds of them, perhaps thousands, carved from wood into likenesses about the size of a hand and fixed to the wall each by a single screw hidden behind an ankle, or an arm, so that they seem to be leaping gaily toward the interior of the room from beyond the wall's surface. Some are sweeping abstractions in loose evocative shapes, others are rendered in dazzling detail within the medium. Some are dark ebonies and mahoganies, others lighter and sweeter birch or cherrywood. All of them are excellent quality. No two are alike. Each seems to have been conjoured from imagination and placed with regard to the crowd of its fellows around it. There are Agathions of Elysium with animal features blended into their humanoid forms; Azatae of Nirvana with fey grace in their bodies and postures; Archons of Heaven in splendid purpose and panoply. Most of all, more than all the others combined, there are angels - devas, planetars, and solars - whose wings are leafed in fine foil of copper, silver, and gold.

All of these divine figures are posed as if drawn from the wall toward the altar, so the 'momentum' of the room is weighed there heavilly; but keen eyes can seen the anomaly in the heavenly host crowding the back wall. One of the angels is inverted - he is not leaping out from the wall upright, but descending head first, arms gently to his sides, head tilted back as if to see the ground rushing up. Inversion in a divine scene is typically ghastly or eerie, suggesting some wickedness in the subject of the scene; but this seems to be an especially tender descent. The figures around the 'falling' angel soften the departure with hands and fingertips. To either side, confederates of the departing one seem to bear away his possessions with reverence - one with a harp, one with a spear, and a pair each holding a wing that strikes the observer as less  lost  and more  yielded  for safe keeping. The ceiling features an inclined skylight with a closed exterior shutter, so the room is lit only by the lamp in the hallway behind. The metallic wings of the angels glister in with even this glow; they must shine indeed, when the skylight is opened for the noonday sun.

 "There, now; softest bed in the house, there, Xavier. I'll get some tea going, for when this, ah.. dizzy spell passes." 

Around the corner, he confers quickly with Maria to arrange two more plates for dinner later, but a pot of tea for now. The former he wasn't sure would be needed. The latter, he expected, would not go to waste.
WindStruck
Shandara's limp body is carried up the stairs, though by the time Xavier has cleared the landing and has begun making his way to this prayer room, Shandara has already begun stirring in his arms. He sets her down on the recamier as she begins to come to. Her eyes pop open and she takes a sharp inhale of breath, almost as if having awakened from a nightmare. Slowly managing to sit up, she takes in her new surroundings, and briefly wonders if she was dead.

Her head swivels around as she notices the countless carved celestial figures. She had never been in a modern day, typical prayer room used by those of the empire before. And frankly, her first experience felt awfully creepy and surreal. However, she notices Xavier hovering around her, come to check on her condition again.  "Wha.. what happened? Where am I?" 

Xavier explains that it seemed she had fainted for some reason. They are still at the fiddle and saw. He just carried her to a room upstairs.

"Are you alright, Miss?"

Shandara weakly nodded, her head slowly clearing, though she still felt awfully gloomy.  "I suppose so.." 
MrAbdiel
 "You just... fainted dead away, there..."  Aiden adds, returning to the conversation with a tray in his hands with a teapot and cups, carrying the collection with the unpractised over-caution of a recent adopter.  "It was quite abrupt indeed - I'm no doctor, but I think you should have an extra spoonful of sugar in your tea for a while." 

He uses the tray to nudge some space on the altar for the platter of tea and proceeds to pour three cups out with predictably amateurish focus on the task.

 "Have you... been sleeping alright? Eating alright..?" 
WindStruck
 "Yes, it seems so..."  Shandara says. She began recollecting what had happened before and why had she fainted. Oh yes, the glasses. And now Aiden was bringing tea and furthermore asking about her welfare.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Did someone say they were working on a harp?  😁
  


Also, interesting prayer room...
 


Shandara sighed and looked down.  "Aiden, that was most kind of you. Even for one so.. shall we say, hospitable, I never would have expected this..."  It didn't seem she was going to answer about her food for sleeping habits.

 "I don't know why I fainted just then. Perhaps it had something to do with what I was researching earlier. It dealt heavily with emotions. And I certainly felt a lot just then.. too many all at once I suppose..." 

She continued to stare down at the floor, not wanting to look Aiden in the eyes, or at all the wooden figurines.  "Aiden.. I'm sorry I've been such a terrible friend. After our disagreement with the spirit wood, I don't think I have any right to accept such a gift." 

But what was she saying? After all the work he did, what else would he do with it?  "But I suppose I'll have to, otherwise it will only insult you and disappoint you further." 
 "That's all I have done to you, haven't I?" 
MrAbdiel
The carpenter is silent for a moment. A smile of sympathetic pain for Shandara's self deprecation goes unseen as the drowess fixes her eyes on the floor. Aiden kneels to pour the tea using the altar as a table - and as a pretext to lower himself to nearer the seated elf's eye level without condescending to her.

 "Shandara... I'd been thinking about making those spectacles for you as soon as I noticed you might benefit from them. And I thought I'd used the spirit wood for them the moment we'd purchased the piece, and it looked like I'd be cutting it up for use with suitable offcuts to spare. Why, once we'd moved on to using the tundra oak for the ranger's violin, the reason I was anxious to get my hands on any spirit wood at all was to make them. But after we clashed about it, I put the rush on that project because I wanted to show you there were no hard feelings about it - none, not at all." 

The whisper of a porcelain cup rocking gently in its saucer fills the quiet for a moment as he sets a presumptuous serving of tea on the recamier beside her.

 "I was upset for a little, yes, but it was just a misunderstanding. We're from different worlds, you and I-" , the statement pregnant with possible interpretations is quickly found to be meaning only its mildest,  "- I'm country, and you're city. We come to things like that transaction with different assumptions and then there's misunderstandings. That's all it is. You're not a bad friend or a disappointment or anything like it. I'm glad to know you." 
 
 Spoiler: OOC: 
Ooh, classic Zelda harpery! Good scene music, too.

And it's a perfectly normal prayer room idontknowwhatyouretalkingabout
 
WindStruck
 "To think that was your motivation..  I thought you just wanted to make instruments out of it,"  Shandara says with an almost sad, wry smile.  "I suppose I should have asked." 

She glances over at the tea at her side and says,  "Two different worlds. It's more than simply country and city. I don't know if I can ever impress that enough upon you. But at the same time, I don't want to go into all the details." 
 "It's not that trying to explain to you would be a waste of time. Just that.. where I grew up, things were truly terrifying. You could never trust anyone. And most everyone worshiped a dark goddess, or at least, acted like it I imagine. Because to dissent from that was to be put to death." 

A silence lingered in the air and Shandara glanced over at the cup of tea again. She didn't think she wanted to pick it up though. If she kept going how she thought she might keep going, she might not be welcome to finish it.

 "Perhaps I could tell you a secret, Aiden. Something I've told no one since I arrived at the surface. Maybe then you might reconsider if you want to be my friend. If you really want to know me." 
MrAbdiel
Aiden smiled faintly - he did that a lot - at the suggestion that he might have intended to make instruments of the spiritwood.  "...Well. I might well have done that, too; there's a certain enchanted lyre I've been dreaming of crafting for a while, now. But I wouldn't have told you, if you had asked, about the glasses. Not to spoil the surprise, you see." 

But when she speaks of the place she came from, the nadir of violence and suffering in the dark places where the sun's warmth has never touched down, he has no flippant commentary. He merely glances up as she speaks of secrets to Xavier's figure just outside the door professionally out of earshot, at these conspiratorial tones. He heard the weight of her words, the burden of the loneliness in them, and finally stopped fiddling with the tea tray, orphaning his own cup to refine his focus on the drowess.

 "Well... I do want those things. Let me make it fair - if you trust me enough to share something so private, I'll tell you a secret of my own." 

Simple and honorbound as he is, intuition would suggest he is definitely the kind that could keep a secret - though it may be hard to imagine he possesses any organic ones.

 "What's your secret, Shandara?" 
WindStruck
Shandara slowly turns and eyes her body guard at the door.  "Xavier, could you give us some more distance for a moment?"  She was asking the half-orc to not do his job, and he must have looked concerned about it.  "Just.. two minutes. Or three. Rap on the wall when you are about to return." 

She turns back, but only to gaze at the ground again. Or perhaps, the alter and the cushion before it.

 "My mother was a slave trader, and I often had to help with some of her.. more menial duties."  Finally she looks up at the sympathetic man before her and asks,  "Do you have any idea what that entails?" 
 
 Spoiler: ooc 
Surely Aiden isn't as clueless as he seems all the time. Especially with that bardic knowledge.
 
MrAbdiel
When Shandara looks up, having made such a bleak confession of participation in such an enterprise, into the trade of thinking and feeling beings, Aiden's expression is so open, neutral, and free of the moral disgust such things typically bring involuntarily to the eyes that it is difficult to believe he heard her at all. But he did; and he answers her question.

 "...You had to... hurt them? The slaves? Break their spirits..?" 
WindStruck
Shandara almost lies when she says,  "Not.. not always..." 
 "Think of it like .. maintaining animals. Trapped in cages, locked in chains. People like you, your mother, your neighbors, Bolten, all fair game. So many were already broken. Oh, but the hopeful look in their eyes, sometimes..." 

She murmurs on, musing to herself.  "It feels like I hardly spoke a word.. at least at first. It went on long enough, somehow I picked up a number of languages. But I had to stop talking to them. So many yearned for freedom, for sweet release from their nightmare. But of course, I could do nothing. I could barely even leave that place myself." 
MrAbdiel
Aiden listens. He can hardly do more. To be saddled with such a duty over such desperate souls sounds to him like a remarkable torture all of its own.

He listens; and discharges some weight of misery from the imagining with a soft sigh.

 "...And now you see them all around, I suppose; people like me, and Bolten, and other kinds you were once responsible to treat in such a way. But you did leave, after all. Is... Xavier on your payroll for fear of those who would... try to take you back?" 
WindStruck
Shandara nods slowly.  "I .. still catch myself thinking things like that sometimes. Not as often as before. But of course, I know I mussn't. This is not.. 'our society'. It is 'yours'..." 
 "And I think I should add: it's a lot more favorable living here in most circumstances..." 

When Aiden brings up Xavier, Shandara's face grimaces, almost a grim grin and she nods again.  "Oh, they'd do  worse  than take me back.. perhaps if I was lucky, they'd merely kill me in my sleep, or broad daylight even." 
MrAbdiel
He frowns at the implications, a tightness in his face as if holding his face in a non-smiling position was a considerably unnatural effort.

 "That's... an unbelievable amount of threat and guilt to walk around under. Around other people, reminded of how things used to be; alone, afraid of how they might still be. I can't imagine it. How... How common is it, for a woman in a position like yours to risk so much to escape to the surface? There must be many thousands of drow, in the Underdark; but I've only ever seen you walking in the sun." 
WindStruck
 "I don't know how common it would be. But I suppose I couldn't be the only one,"  Shandara says.

 "Perhaps they might go about under a guise of an illusion to hide their identity all the time. But surely that would be difficult and expensive. I'd think someone who was that skilled and well off might be content with their life and not bother trying to leave though..."  she shrugs.

 "That's the problem.. I was a failure and felt like I was in eminent danger. Even, even my mother.. tried to..."  she chokes, holding back tears.

 "Don't you see, Aiden? If I was stronger.. I probably would have  stayed ." 
MrAbdiel
He considers Shandara’s words. Aiden is a simple sort of man; not possessed of bone-deep foolishness like some, but simple enough that he has been stripped of presumptions about his knowledge of complex matters. His language is built of  seems-to-me  and  well-I-thought-maybe ; and this tentativity is in his tone as he grapples with Shandara’s confession.

 “Well… maybe so. It seems to me it depends on what one takes ‘stronger’ to entail. Down there, the strongest might be the one who… is least moved by suffering, and least fearful of pain. I’m not sure there’s much use for that kind of strength up here. But what’s true for certain, what you and I know to be the case, is that there are thousands of drow happy, or at least willing, to live and work in that awful business even with no shortage of threat to their lives. And only one I know who scrambled up into a world of… of suspicion and strangers and tries to make a life dealing fairly with the people she was raised to trade as livestock. Without presuming to minimise anything in your past, Shandara… it might be fair to cut yourself just a little slack. You’ve come a long way.” 
WindStruck
Where normally Shandara would have felt fear about revealing the personal details about her past - fear of judgement and reprisal - in Aiden's presence, she felt guilt more than anything. But the man showed more compassion and tolerance than she thought any reasonable person would have. Shandara took his words in like a suffocating person receiving a breath of fresh air.

 "You're right,"  she says, her gaze lifting upwards towards a myriad of carved figures in a corner of the room.  "The past is what it is. For all the suffering I've caused, indirectly or not, whether it was under my control or not.. I know I still must have benefited people here as well. Perhaps one day it will balance out. Or more." 
 "And maybe I was weak there and strong here. But that.. all those notions - weak and strong - don't matter. What matters is.. is.. I don't know..."  Shandara looks at Aiden again and says,  "I'm just happy to be here."  Though she still didn't really look all that happy, honestly. Perhaps more at peace if anything.

 "Now then.. what was your secret you promised?"  Finally, a small smile upon her lips betrays some inner solace.
MrAbdiel
The carpenter was silent, naturally, as Shandara found the grip she needed to begin working out her own salvation, or something near enough to it. He could hardly pronounce the answer to the question that trailed off - what matters now - but the fact that the enchantress had turned to ask it, and to seem comfortable now even in not having the answer immediately, was the best reflection he could have wanted for her.

Another delay hung in the air after her question - time to honor that small smile, perhaps the first of its kind he'd seen from her. Then his thoughts catch up to the question queued for him to answer, and his gaze slowly deflects left, to the walls with their myriad divine agents.

And then he tells her, just as promised, a secret he has told no one before.

 "Aiden Sorveaux is not my name, Shandara. Or... It is; but it's my name because I gave it to myself when I was first ..." 

His gaze deflects to his calloused fingertips, and he traces the pad of this thumb over them as he seems to contemplate the best language to describe the experience.

 "...When I was first incarnated. I am not.. in disguise. This is not a false life; it's a genuine one. But my first nature is not human; it is Celestial. And my first name is not Aiden Sorveaux; it is Sorvariel." 

His drawl, his languid country manner, doesn't go away during this 'confession', but it does soften some; the edges on his words sharpening up a little like a soldier's posture straightens instinctively at the trumpet call. Blue eyes glance up from his hand to Shandara again, hunting across her expression for reaction.
WindStruck
Shandara tilts her head somewhat and stares at Aiden with a scrutinizing half-squint.  "A Celestial?"  she murmurs curiously.

 "How does that..? Uhm. Okay..." 

Now she really wasn't sure what to think. But surely this secret wasn't as damning as hers, that was for sure.

 "Why were you incarnated?"  she asks. Though she wasn't sure if Aiden was making this up, or.. more likely was delusional in some way.
MrAbdiel
Confusion was a fair response to hearing such a thing, he decided. His smile flinched art the corner of his lips slightly, ambiguously,

 "I am - was - "  He pauses again, eyes glancing up as he sifts through language again.  Am  is not right.  Was  is not right. But there happens to be no tense within Common that corresponds to was, is not, will be - The Once and Future Perfect Tense. He settles for  was , close enough.

 "...I was an angel whose domain of care was  joy , Shandara. For long and sacred ages, I hunted and fought in the outer planes against creatures and schemes that would intrude on the simple wonder of mortal joy. After a certain deed, my peers elected to reward me with a wish - and I asked to be given the opportunity to live a mortal life. Thus, I was permitted to put aside my nature and become incarnated for time. I wandered out of the forest into the village of Tantamere, relied on hospitality, and put myself to work serving the people there; first in their militia, where I met Ambrose, and then soon in crafting, and making music. Things I made eventually made their way to Vaungate, and I received an invitation to join the Royal Artificery Society soon after. That's my entire story. I have only had this life to enjoy for a handful of years. It's an explicit gift - I try to honour it as such. I know it's not a secret like yours, Shandara. I'm not sure what would happen if it were to get out. Perhaps I'd be treated like a harmless madman, or quietly expelled from the Society as an embarrassment. But I have only told you, and you are my friend, so I don't worry about such things." 

The carpenter's eyes shine in the gloom with wetness; tears not quite shed, but held back. How long have they been there? Have they been forced up by Shandara's more harrowing tale, or shaken out of him by some unspoken aspect of his own bizarre confession? Like many things about the man, the answer is not clear. But he does smile, warmly and reliably, at the Drowess.

 "I'm very glad that you and I are such friends." 
WindStruck
Shandara listens, quite mystified by the whole explanation.  "That is.. quite the tale.." 
 "So.. you still remember much of your past life, or past self, I assume?" 

She looked around at all the countless wooden carvings in the prayer room and somehow, it all seemed to make sense. She wondered if Aiden was regretful of that decision to live a mortal life, or if he was just.. fixated on something.
MrAbdiel
Aiden squints a little, and gives a slow shake of the head; a negative gesture with a mild mitigation.

 "I remember... enough to know what I was. What my part in the tapestry of things was. But much, most, of my recall was surrendered to make the incarnation possible. There is a relationship between knowledge and power that is clearer from that side; and I know I had persisted for many ages, seen many places, fought in many battles. Those things were functions of what I was, more than... anything I had earned, or made of myself. And a mortal - a mortal life is a mixture of that which you are handed, and that which you grasp for yourself, in various proportion, isn't it? I could hardly live a genuine life if I... remembered how to do my miracles, for example. I could hardly live as a man if I remembered what it was like to watch the gods groove out the mountains, and weep to make the rivers, and call men, and elves, and dwarves up from the clay and the wind and stars. And the flaw that pervades many celestials is the inability to appreciate creation in its particulars, rather than its wholeness. Aiden Sorveaux knows that the boys I met, Cliff and Markel, are right now in the barn behind the house painting the name on the boat I helped them fix, thinking about the fish they're going to catch; and that Maria is in the next room preparing dinner, conscious about how she might look when when you or Xavier meets her. Aiden Sorveaux gets to dream about the next instrument to make, or whether or not I should try to make a dress like the one that Lady Orlof wore, since it was so striking to me, and what store might sell it on my behalf. Sorvariel could not commit himself to those thoughts and dreams - not with all he can see about the evil in the hearts of men, and the need to do this or that for my cause and kindred. I don't remember most of it; but I remember enough. I remember  that I remembered . It's like having a...."  He touches his temple lightly with two fingertips, tracing them there in a half-moon.  "As if there is a door within me, behind which is a vault which I know contains the rest of me. It's not locked, but I know to open it will be the end of Aiden Sorveaux. But I remember some of it - enough not to... spoil me, maybe. Some of the sublime places. The music. The faces I knew. Does that... Make sense? If I knew less, then my life would be... more dishonest than it ought to be. I might make promises or commitments that I would not be able to fulfil. If I knew more, I could hardly be said to have lived a man's life at all." 
WindStruck
 "It's like having a ..."  Aiden said.

  'Delusion?'   Shandara thought. Hrm.

When he's done, she says,  "I really don't know what to think, Aiden. It seems.. very far fetched, if I'm honest..."  Maybe he really used to be an angel. Maybe he was just a bit crazy. If it was the latter, why was it that she seemed to be attracted to the crazy ones? She sighs to herself, and makes a mental note about this 'Tantamere'. Maybe one day she might find this village and ask people about him.

 "Maybe the truth of it doesn't matter either. Though it goes without saying.. none of these secrets should leave the room. And if we're lucky, they won't have any bearing on our daily lives in Vaungate." 

A rap on the wall near the door frame indicated that Xavier had returned, or was just about to.
MrAbdiel
He makes a little puff of an unvocalized chuckle.

 "Of course. I know what it sounds like... But all the same, it feels good to tell someone." 

When Xavier makes himself known, Aiden lets the conversation round off into silence. He wonders, just for a moment, if he has made a mistake. Trading one secret for another struck him as the best way to honor Shandara's vulnerability. Now he wondered if she found his words so incredulous it burned away some value from his reception in the first place. No matter. The drowess had composed herself, and perhaps equipped herself better to confront the things that haunted her next time. That would be enough for him.

 "Well, you're both welcome to stay for dinner. Or... Breakfast, as it might be. It's still a half-hour away. If you're feeling steady, we could try our luck just a little on that spiritwood for you while we wait." 
WindStruck
Shandara looked behind her as Xavier approached again.  "Ah, of course.. that sounds.. lovely,"  she says, turning again to almost knock over her forgotten teacup. She now picks up the cooling implement and gives it a sip.

 "Hm, where did I leave that thing? Downstairs?" 
MrAbdiel
He puffs an nonvocalized laugh as he rocks to his feet... and quickly downs his tea in one draw of the cooling beverage.

 "Yes, indeed. Let's see what a little creative magic and a little elbow grease might produce..."  He offers the drowess a hand to rise from the recamier, and to leave the strange prayer room behind; the secrets spoken there in the care of the mute divinities whose multitudes attend the altar.

 
 Spoiler: OOC: 'Sperimenting! 
Alrighty, DeTess. Looks like Shandara and Xavier are staying for Dinner/DrowBreakfast, and spending a little time either side of it in the workshop with Aiden poking at the spiritwood. With the transparency spell, and with his modicum of experience playing with the tiny pieces of wood and preserving their crystal integrity, Aiden's planning to try splitting off lengths of the wood along the grain as an alternative to cutting. If that doesn't seem to work, he's forced to try cutting/carving. Shall I hurl dice at you?
 
WindStruck
Shandara goes back downstairs to retrieve their neglected belongings. Luckily, it seemed no one had dropped by the store for the time being to pilfer the spirit wood. Though even if someone did arrive, it would be unlikely they would know what the chunk of wood was or how much value it had.

When Aiden is ready, Shandara says,  "Remember, we'll try to preserve the most prominent crystal veins in full. But for now, see what you think of this."  She will cast the divination spell on Aiden and bemusedly watch him as he manipulates an object that has become mostly invisible to himself.
MrAbdiel
 "Oh, wow... That's so interesting. I've never..." 

Aiden fusses and goggles offer the transparent wood with that kind of ultrafocused, preconscious obsession that professional specialists sometimes get. He runs his fingers along the top of the now invisible wooden block while his eyes track the curls and and twists of crystal within.

 "It's... So interesting. This pieces is from a limb near where it joined the trunk, probably. You see that all the major veins of crystal run top to bottom, and curl away a little to one side? That's... Well, I'll bet that's them curving toward the ground. Or... more likely, they start in the rootbulb and then a new line of crystal slowly pushes up into the wood, following the line of the other veins until it finds a limb to grow into. It might be easier to think of the wood as a host creature and the crystal growth as another thing entirely. Wow. Because there's nowhere in the piece where the major up and down veins jumble and merge, see? They twist by each other sometimes, but they're like... well... veins. They're all coming out from a central location and branching and bundling. I'll bed in the stump of each spiritwood tree there's some kind of... of big, crystal nugget, or... organism, or source. Maybe a cavity where a spirit lives, and the crystal is just the corporeal bleed, you know? But they don't merge. And they don't... seem to knot, terribly. That's good for us." 

He fiddles in a draw and produces a block of chalk, grinds it a few times against a strip of sandpaper, and scatters the chalkdust on the top of the invisible wood so the powdery layer reveals a ghostly map of its texture. Then he grabs a nice, polished, quarter inch chisel and wooden mallet, and begins speculatively tracing the chisel's tip over the wood. More than a score of times, he lets the edge of the chisel fall into a groove of the grain, presses it in ever so slightly, gives it a wiggle... and seems unsatisfied with whatever tiny fragment of tactile information this gives him. Then, on the twenty second try, his eyes light up. Without even tapping with the mallet, he gives the chisel a little bit of downward force, and a a faint woody 'pop' sounds in the air.

He has never looked more like a praised dog, wide eyed and grinning.  "Watch this..." 

And it  is  possible to watch it because the wood is no visual barrier. Without even the mallet to strike, the chisel sinks with minimal force, slowly and smoothly, until three inches of steel are imbedded in the wood. And with one hand on the block, one on the chisel's handle, careful not to damage tool or medium, the country carpenter applies a little lateral leverage, and part of the spirit wood pops free with a spritely clatter across the tabletop. It quickly becomes visible, alienated from the core of the spell; a length of wood peeled off from the side of the block, with a counter clockwise curl. At the top and bottom of the rod, on its flat little sawn off ends, are the visible terminations of the primary vein within. Down its length, speckling the pale golden rough wood's interior side, are the spotty little clusters where smaller crystal capillaries have detached necessarily.

He gives it a quick once over with some medium sandpaper, wipes it clean, and offers this first spiritwood wand blank to Shandara.
WindStruck
Shandara picks up the piece of wood that was split off and examines it. She wonders just how much crystal is in this particular piece of wood...
DeTess
A thick vein of crystal seemed to run down the centre of the piece of wood, perfect as base for a powerful wand.
WindStruck
 "Ah, this is most excellent! I think this particular piece is quite suitable for a wand indeed. All we need - er, I mean you, I suppose - all you need to do now is sand it smooth. But I'll worry about this piece later,"  Shandara says.

 "Try getting some more pieces, and splitting the spirit wood however you can while the spell lasts. Personally, I would not mind wood without prominent veins either. I think all the pieces could be potentially useful. Although.. I suppose I wouldn't mind if you had other ideas..." 
Prehysterical
 The Royal Artificery Society Archives 

It all made Bolten's head spin... Ironically, he'd tried to stay as far away from this sort of magic as possible. There always seemed to be the potential to go wrong... but what other choice do they have? The timetable Aiden describes is more akin to a deathmarch than a deadline! The very books he has been reading showed the folly of mortal schemes done within a season's breath.

The idea of extraplanar travel seems interesting... Potentially dangerous, but interesting nonetheless. His mind imagines a tunnel being opened in the stone wall separating this reality from others and using that to transport their precious cargo. Of course, this would be the one time they would want to collapse the mineshaft behind them... Gods only know what might follow!

That said, one needed familiarity with the local stonework to excavate safely...   All right, I'm letting this whole mining analogy get away with me,   Bolten muses. Returning the books to their proper shelves, Bolten makes for the Fernhal Courier Association. Perhaps if his stubby legs move quickly, he can find their house of operations before they close for the day.

They need all the information they can get. Bolten wouldn't send Aiden somewhere he wouldn't go himself.
MrAbdiel
Aiden chuckles a little.  "I think I've made the item I most wanted to. I thought about making tools - there's a lot of tools that are very useful, but very expensive to enchant, see - but that fell apart on me. The  Ironwood  spell they use to make wooden armor and weapons works to add strength, weight, and fire resistance to wood; but metal tools need a certain amount of flex, and to hold a finer edge and to be sharpened simply, and a deal of properties in metal that just aren't in wood; and not in super-hard woods, like  Ironwood  or our friend Tundra Oak. No, there's some things you just need metal for and that's that. So let's see how many blanks we can get from this thing..." 
 
 Spoiler: OOC: 
Aiden will split and cut the wood into as many blanks as that 51 buys us for Shandara's use. Later, during the sanding, he'll make a little jaw of the sawdust with its wood and crystal mixture and keep that for her as well. Priority is wand blanks, then leftovers (probably with only minor veins), then dust.
 
WindStruck
Shandara shook her head.  "I don't think you would get much value trying to make this wood into tools either. Seems like something this size would be best off being more decorative, or perhaps.. given the size of this piece, bolts for one of those small crossbows that fit in a single hand..." 
 "But yes, it so happens that the dimensions of this piece of wood would be perfect for wands, actually. Speaking of what to do with the wood.. our promise to Mr. Dunfen was.. hmm.  He wanted to 'advise' his clients on how to work with it. Well.."  Shandara chuckles.

 "Seems your wood splitting technique works quite well, as I'm sure it would with most types of wood, and I'm sure many experienced woodworkers know of it. However, the little trick with actually seeing the veins surely helps. We could.. say that generally, one wants to keep the crystals intact, and split the wood around them accordingly. But I'm afraid actual use of this spell goes quite a bit beyond the mere friendly sharing of knowledge." 
 "I could make mention of that spell. But you have to understand, I cannot simply cast it for free for everybody. Often a wizard's services command a price far more than a commoner could make in a month. Although.."  she thinks again about the man in the glass shop that helped her free of charge,  "There could always be some exceptions." 
DeTess
 the Fernhal Courier compound 
Bolten's carriage took him a short distance out of the city. The ride was smooth, the journey taking them over a well-paved main road. Eventually the carriage stopped, and Bolten got out. In front of him was a cluster of buildings, surrounded by a 2 meter high wooden palisade. An open and unguarded gate was in front of him, with a large wooden sign on top with the words "Fernhal Courier Guild" carved in elegant letters.

Within the palisade where several buildings. There was a large, three-story building, that seemed like a living space or main office, and around it were several workshops, storage sheds and other auxiliary buildings. There was also a large stone-walled enclosure, about twenty meters on a side. The enclosure had a closed and sturdy looking gate, facing towards the gate Bolten had just come in through. The stone walls where wide enough for people to walk around on top, and Bolten spotted several people who liked like guards. Curiously enough they were all looking into the enclosure, not out onto the rest of the compound.

The compound was a hive of activity. All manner of artisans hurried back and forth, working on a large carriage parked inside one of the sheds. The carriage was easily twice as large as the one Bolten had come in, with no fewer than eight sturdy wheels. Its sides where armoured in thick wood and steel, and something resembling a ballista was mounted on the carriage's roof, with copious clockwork on the mount and weapon itself suggesting some kind of automated loading system. At another shed several more standard carts where being unloaded of crates. As bolten looked around he saw a richly dressed man, likely a rich merchant or noble, surrounded by what might be bodyguards, leave the main building and head towards the gate. From somewhere behind the main building cam an odd, hooting cry, not unlike that of an owl, but the volume suggested it had to be coming from a creature far larger than any bird Bolten had ever seen. The merchant seemed momentarily startled, but none of the workers of the Fernhal Courier Guild paid it much heed.
MrAbdiel
Aiden's smile widens as Shandara chuckles. He doesn't say it, but the observation is clear in the flash of his eyes - he has never heard her laugh before. But he lets it pass without making a song and dance about it.

And he  could  make a song and dance about it.

 "The way I see it, that transparency trick is yours anyway. It seems fair at least to share that keeping the greater veins intact helps. Maybe you can end up doing quick commissions tracking the veins, and marking on the ends of each length where vein 'a' corresponds to vein 'a' at the other end, or something like it. But that's up to you; it may hardly be worth the time. I ought to tell Victor at least about the splitting, at least. Share what you will, according to your judgement. No one could ask more." 

Dinner, when served, is a good quality meal - Aiden explains with some pride that Maria, his housekeeper and cook, worked for a very monied family indeed, and he feels particularly chuffed to have her around. It's the setting for the eating that's unusual. The upper floor of the house is smaller than the lower floor, but divided up as it is into bedrooms, bathroom, living space, worship space, and a number of other closed rooms that were not part of the impromptu tour, there's no space given over for a drawing room. The kitchen has a bench suitible for two or three people to sit and eat comfortably enough, but with two apprentices coming in from the barn, two visitors, Aiden himself, and Maria if she was feeling brave enough to join them, the space simply didn't exist. It wasn't the first time this problem came up, however, and a solution had been born from Aiden's creativity.

Stepping out of the kitchen window onto the sturdy shingles of the roof, the carpenter opens a locker bolted to the chimney. Inside are a number of simple but comfortable chairs with legs collapsing on scissor hinge so they can be packed flat away into the locker. Folded put, a comfortable canvas seat awaits a willing rump; but oddly, the back legs of these chairs seem to be much shorter than the front, and the feet of both cut at a slope. The mystery is quickly solved; they set nicely against the sloped roof, flush up to small wooden rail that prevents them from ever risking a slide down the slope. Thus, dinner at the  Fiddle and Saw  is an open air affair; sitting on armchairs on the roof beneath the early evening sky, with the surussus of life in the district and the calling of the night birds. Elevated from the street itself, some of the 'denser' smells of this less affluent district are abated, and most of the time it's clear, cool evening air and the smell of the meat and vegetables on the serving trays cut to sit across the lap of those watching the Stormdrains wind its way into the night hours.

 
 Spoiler: OOC: 
I'm fulfilled with this scene! Thought I'd give that little capper because Aiden's lack of a dining room was kicking around in my brain, though. Aiden will sand up those wand blanks for Shandara, too - seconding Cliff and Markel to the work, it shouldn't take terribly long and the enchantress will be free to enact the next step in her plan for the wands!
 
WindStruck
 The Fiddle and Saw 

Shandara nods and says,  "That works. Would you be able to tell him all about how to work with the wood, being a wood expert and all? And I suppose you could drop my name again too, saying I developed a spell to help clearly see the veins..." 

The dinner meal was nice and all, but the seating arrangements were... not optimal, to say the least. Shandara, being a timid scaredy cat and all, declines to sit on the roof, especially with the setting sun glaring at her. Even with those glasses Aiden gave her, it just made looking somewhere bright barely tolerable, and her skin would still burn. But most of all, she also just didn't trust herself not to be clumsy and fall off. Shandara does, however, try to sit near the window. A compromise of sorts, though still awkward as people had to turn their necks a lot and raise their voices to interact with each other.

 "Next time we have a personal dinner together, I think I'll be the one hosting it,"  Shandara says bemusedly.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Twenty-eight wand blanks was  huge , though. Shandara imagined that they wouldn't really need any other magical manipulation or insertion of special ingredients and whatnot. Aiden just needed to smooth them down. She asks if he can do that. She doesn't care if they are a uniform shape or not, just get them pretty smooth and splinter-free. And of course, Shandara does offer to pay Aiden again, or asks what she can do for him as a favor.

Sanding down all the wands won't be done by the end of that evening, but Shandara is more than happy to get them tomorrow or a few days from now. In the mean time, she tries a bit of experimentation creating a standard wand first.

 
 Spoiler: ooc 
Let's say we create a wand and give it 3 charges of Feather Fall.

Might take her one or two days. Does it cost anything beyond like 75 gp?
 
Prehysterical
 
 Originally Posted by DeTess 
  the Fernhal Courier compound 
Bolten's carriage took him a short distance out of the city. The ride was smooth, the journey taking them over a well-paved main road. Eventually the carriage stopped, and Bolten got out. In front of him was a cluster of buildings, surrounded by a 2 meter high wooden palisade. An open and unguarded gate was in front of him, with a large wooden sign on top with the words "Fernhal Courier Guild" carved in elegant letters.

Within the palisade where several buildings. There was a large, three-story building, that seemed like a living space or main office, and around it were several workshops, storage sheds and other auxiliary buildings. There was also a large stone-walled enclosure, about twenty meters on a side. The enclosure had a closed and sturdy looking gate, facing towards the gate Bolten had just come in through. The stone walls where wide enough for people to walk around on top, and Bolten spotted several people who liked like guards. Curiously enough they were all looking into the enclosure, not out onto the rest of the compound.

The compound was a hive of activity. All manner of artisans hurried back and forth, working on a large carriage parked inside one of the sheds. The carriage was easily twice as large as the one Bolten had come in, with no fewer than eight sturdy wheels. Its sides where armoured in thick wood and steel, and something resembling a ballista was mounted on the carriage's roof, with copious clockwork on the mount and weapon itself suggesting some kind of automated loading system. At another shed several more standard carts where being unloaded of crates. As bolten looked around he saw a richly dressed man, likely a rich merchant or noble, surrounded by what might be bodyguards, leave the main building and head towards the gate. From somewhere behind the main building cam an odd, hooting cry, not unlike that of an owl, but the volume suggested it had to be coming from a creature far larger than any bird Bolten had ever seen. The merchant seemed momentarily startled, but none of the workers of the Fernhal Courier Guild paid it much heed. 
 

The dwarf wasn't the greatest fan of carriages, but the half-hour journey seemed to fly by in no time at all. He made sure to pay his driver the full three gold pieces for the fare. There was no telling how long this might take and Bolten didn't fancy walking all the way back...

Whatever Bolten had been expecting, it wasn't this. He also winced slightly at the sound of the unknown beast. Something told him that he was probably better off not investigating the source of the noise. As unfamiliar with his surroundings as he was, Bolten still made the assumption that the merchant was not a member of the guild. Before approaching the main building, however, Bolten's curious mind won't leave well enough alone. He steps closer toward the reinforced carriage, focusing on the siege weapon and its chassis.
 
 Spoiler: Craft (Clockwork) 
 (1d20+17)[ 22 ] 
 
DeTess
 the Fernhal Courier compound 
From his position next to the carriage Bolten could not make out much more of the ballista's function. There were iron rungs set in the side of the carriage that would allow the dwarf to climb up to the carriage's top, but before he had the chance to do so he was addressed by a dwarf. The dwarf appeared about middle-aged, and was dressed as a smith. a badge on his apron showed the symbol of a carriage wheel with a thorny vine wrapped around it, the insignia of the Fernhal courier guild. The dwarf carried with him a klong metal rack filled with large bolts, likely meant for the ballista Bolten had been admiring. "Can I help you with anything?" the dwarf asked. He did not sound unfriendly exactly, but Bolten did get the feeling from the blacksmith's tone he might be getting in the way of his work.

 Streidekker and Sons shipyard 
Several days later Aiden once again found himself in the same meeting room where he had held his presentation a month ago. Albert and Mieveur where there as well, as was an older woman wearing a similar uniform tot eh two engineers, though the material quality and fit was clearly a cut above theirs. Her stern face was framed by short, greying hair and her storm-grey eyes had swept across the room, taking in every detail before settling on the blackboard at one end. Albert had quietly informed Aiden that she was none other than Maria Escribano herself, and the two engineers seemed quite intimidated by her presence.

From the shipyards, the elder Streidekker himself was present, as were the designer, Eduardo, and the woman from the calculations department, Emilie. Accompanying them was another man. He was a big and heavily muscled, had a bushy brown beard, and wore a nice-looking short-sleeved shirt, the length of the sleeves seemingly intended to allow the man two show off a particular tattoo on his upper left arm, which consisted of two bands encircling his arm, with three anchors set between them. Unlike the other three he had the look of someone doing the actual work of building a ship, rather than just being involved in the design and paperwork.

Mr. Streidekker introduced his companions. The large man Aiden hadn't met before was called Ulrik, and according to mr. Streidekker he was an expert shipwright.

"Well then, let's get down to business." mr. Streidekker announced after the introductions were done. "This probably won't come as too much as a surprise given the people I brought along, but we have received an order for the Hexfold Recovery System. From the navy, to be exact. So far it's just a single order, but I know several of the larger merchant companies are interested as well. We intend to start construction as soon as possible, but there is of course the matter of recompense to be handled first." He gestured towards Emilie, who took over.

"Our standing agreement with the Escribano workshop for designs like this would be a 5000 gold piece reward, plus contracting the designers in advisory roles, and contracting the workshop for production of any relevant components. Mr. Streidekker is sufficiently impressed by the work that he indicated the reward should de increased to 6000 gold pieces. Is this acceptable?" Emilie looked at the the owner of the workshop who, with a small gesture of her hand, passed the question on to her engineers and Aiden.
MrAbdiel
Aiden looks his best for the meeting: his flannel shirt is pressed, its wooden toggles polished, and his whole ensemble fit to present him well. All of this does not stop him from looking a little out of place - his rural sense of 'formal' cannot pass muster in city environments, though the effort he puts in might be enough to invite endearment that forgives the shortfall. He stays close to Albert and Mieveur as they lay out the players for him (those he did not meet at the demonstration), nodding along, feeding back their excitement.

He shakes hands with characteristic enthusiasm, especially when meeting new people - Ulrik has the build to absorb his best, though he restrains himself when it comes to Maria Escribano (if she turns out to be interested in a handshake at all!)

When Mr. Streidekker announces that the navy has put in an order for the Hexfold Recovery System, Aiden has to use all his discipline not to throw his arms in the air and whoop. This was a very important project for Albert and Mieveur, and now their innovations would start to see production. His too. Perhaps more importantly, there were sailors and vessels that would otherwise plunge to the bottom of the ocean that would endure for another day, which had been the sparking drive for the system in the first place.

Oh, and there would be money.

When the sum of payment was offered, Aiden's face may have betrayed an easy sell. He was the kind of man that might have accepted a low ball - but with standard rates to Escribano Workship, with Maria Escribano right there and not interested in being taken for a ride, and with Albert and Mieveur there to confer with briefly to make sure they didn't have any objections, the negotiation would be brief indeed.

 "Well, that's incredible. That's just fantastic. I know it's a fiddly design and it'll require some real professional work to fit and float, but the way I figured it, once you've saved one frigate from going under and sent a crew back to the barracks instead of the seafloor, well, it's paid for its own construction just in... ah..."  He catches his ramble at that point, and addresses the actual question.  "We'll... confer for just a moment, if you'll permit, of course..." 

Aside with Albert and Mieveur, in suppressed tones, he gushes for them.   "This is grand news. I'm certain Ulrik there will have people capable of handling the basic wrighting of the vessels, but you'll both likely enjoy consultation opportunities for the cranes and engines. I'm more than happy. And six thousand - well, it sounds like a lot to me, and it splits three ways easily. What do you say?"  
WindStruck
Shandara spends one day crafting one standard wand with three charges. She has to buy a blank but otherwise the materials were covered by the crafter.

The next day she tries enchanting one of her lesser spirit wood wands with the same amount of effort. Experimenting with both wands by casting them on an object and casting it, she finds the first wand has three uses (obviously) but the spirit wood wand casts up to twenty-five times. Amazing! Unfortunately it gets quite burnt out and somehow unusable. But she does think the spirit wood wands are far better for making recharging wands.

These past few days Shandara doesn't really leave her home as it's one of the few times she hasn't prepared windy step or alarm...

After that, though, she plans to meet up with Ulrik once again at the designated place and time.
DeTess
 Streidekker and Sons shipyard 
"I see no issues with the reward or splitting it evenly, but..." Mieveur gave Albert a glance. "That solution with the twinning enchantment for the power source might be the most revolutionary part of the design by a significant margin, not to knock Aiden's or my own work, of course."

Albert smiled at his colleagues consideration, but then shook his head. "I already discussed that invention with the curator, so don't worry about giving me a larger share of the pie for that invention. I'll get another payout for that one straight from the workshop."

"It seems we are in agreement then." Mieveur announced.

A quick round of contracts and paperwork followed. Aiden was provided with a contract stating that he would release building rights of the ship design to the shipyard in return for hiss hare of the reward, 2000 gold pieces, to be send either to a bank Aiden had an account with, or directly to his home if he so desired. The contract had some complicated passages pertaining to exactly what was included in the design, but if he asked about it, he was explained that that had to do with the rights on production of some specific parts of the mechanical propulsion being retained by the Escribano workshop. Everything else in the contract was easily understood and entirely aboveboard.
MrAbdiel
A deal is struck, and all are pleased. Aiden is especially pleased to hear Albert will be compensated above and beyond what they have done so far - his work deserves it. Aiden is happy to take a writ of order for the money he is owed to the bank himself, after the meeting; but in the immediate aftermath, while everyone remains in the room discussing the outcome, Aiden finds a moment to speak to Ulrik aside.

 "Mister Ulrik, sir, I was hoping you'd spare a minute for me for a matter of fish. See, I'm a man of the wood and hearth more than the wave and sand, most often. And there's these lads I've been helping..." 

What follows is another long, winsome ramble about Cliff and Markel; their difficult lot and their ambition to turn the abandoned and busted fishing boat into a revived thing; the process of doing so, and his hopes to steer them, if willing, into a career in ship building if they don't decide to stick to fishing.

 "...And they're great lads, see. If they end up making and selling boats like the one we fixed up, they'll do more than just fine, but for now it turns out they don't know a great deal exactly about where to fish, or how to do it. They're just sort of... going after it with good nature and pluck. I wonder if you could give me some advice on where they might cast nets. Do you know a thing about that, I wonder?"
 
DeTess
It was easy enough to pull Ulrik aside. It seemed the man had something to discuss with Aiden as well. "Hmm, I don't know too  much about the actual fishing part of fishing myself, but my sister does. She runs a small fishing fleet, so she or one of her people could give these kids some advice. I'm going to stop by the restaurant her husband runs once we're entirely done here, and I can do the introductions if she's there. I happen to also be meeting a friend there who is looking for a woodworker specialized in very precise work, and I was thinking you might be able to help her out, given the excellent work you did on the scale models."
MrAbdiel
Aiden laughs.  "Well, then, I'd love to meet her and ask her about the angling, if you don't mind me following along. And goodness, I wouldn't mind if some other time I could ask you some things about seacraft just more generally - I'm delighted this first foray has gone so well, but I'm sure I can learn a lot from someone so learned. And I'll certainly help your friend as best I can - I have some work coming up already, but I've found I can squeeze other projects in if I try!" 
DeTess
Once the final formalities were handled the sun was already setting as afternoon turned to evening. Ulrik led the way to the restaurant he'd mentioned before. It was a large wooden building near the waterfront. A large sign above the door proclaimed the place's name to be 'Bluefin's Rest'.


 the Bluefin's rest 
When Aiden and Ulrik entered the restaurant business was already picking up with the dinner crowd.  The clientele seemed to consist of merchants, ship officers and well-off craftsmen and women, and the restaurant was rapidly filling up. Ulrik got the two of them a table near the door, underneath a wooden carving depicting a three masted ship made from driftwood.

"I'll check if my sister is around once the firs rush fot eh evening is done. For now, order whatever you want, it's my treat." Ulrik explained. "And once the friend I mentioned arrives... Ah, speak of the devil." Ulrik waved over a familiar looking Drow that had just entered the restaurant.

"Aiden, this is Shandara, an enchantress with the Royal artificer society. Shandara, this is Aiden Sorveaux, the expert woodworker I had mentioned before." Ulrik handled the introductions, quite unaware that the two knew each other already.
WindStruck
 "Oh.. I didn't know you'd be bringing someone else along,"  Shandara said, a bit confused at first. Though Aiden's name WAS on the design for the model, so...

 "Pleasure to meet you Aiden,"  she says, daintily extending a hand and attempting to mask a smile.

She turns to Ulrik and says,  "Well, perhaps you'll be happy to know I've already found someone who could take care of my little problem. He's quite good. In fact, he's already sitting next to you." 

Shandara has a flurry of emotions, all expressed by an awkward laugh, and sighing and looking down.  "Truthfully, I have already met Aiden and was aware of his skill. At first, I just wanted a different wood worker for.. silly reasons I suppose. But when you had mentioned the person who made the model, I went and found out who it was. And strangely enough, it was Aiden again."  She shrugs sheepishly.  "Sometimes it feels like a small world, huh?" 
MrAbdiel
It is, quite possibly, the funniest situation Aiden has ever been a part of. He laughs, and the only reason it is a moderate laugh and not an uproarious one is because of a great deal of restraint that leaves his face red with the effort. Unable to compose himself to speak, he makes vaguely agreeing hand gestures toward the much more poised Shandara. The idea that she had been seeking out an alternative woodworker during their brief collegial dysfunction had already been declawed, and its revelation now didn't seem to bother him. Indeed, if anything, the fact seemed to enhance its quality as an anecdote he would tell for years to come.

Once Ulrik is emancipated from the situation to seek after his brother-in-law and sister, and Aiden has settled to a periodic flutter of chuckles, he sags into a chair and sighs contentedly.  "It does seem that way sometimes. I suppose it's a reminder that so few people can work and create at the level we can; how much of a privilege it is to be a member of this society at all. You saw the model for the Hexfold Recovery System? The navy just picked it up for production, and we're all just tickled pink. Oh! But on the subject of boats... That transparency enchantment you developed - can I ask how long it lasts? What the expense of casting it happens to be, and so forth? My head's spinning with another idea launching off it, but I want to make sure I understand it a little better." 
Prehysterical
 
 Originally Posted by DeTess 
  the Fernhal Courier compound 
From his position next to the carriage Bolten could not make out much more of the ballista's function. There were iron rungs set in the side of the carriage that would allow the dwarf to climb up to the carriage's top, but before he had the chance to do so he was addressed by a dwarf. The dwarf appeared about middle-aged, and was dressed as a smith. a badge on his apron showed the symbol of a carriage wheel with a thorny vine wrapped around it, the insignia of the Fernhal courier guild. The dwarf carried with him a klong metal rack filled with large bolts, likely meant for the ballista Bolten had been admiring. "Can I help you with anything?" the dwarf asked. He did not sound unfriendly exactly, but Bolten did get the feeling from the blacksmith's tone he might be getting in the way of his work. 
 

Not missing the other dwarf's tone, Bolten backs away from the contraption.  "Oh, er, I apologize! Didn't mean to get in the way of the operations! I was just admiring the automated loading system on the ballista here. Quite handy, I am sure.

Anyway, to the point... I was referred here by a book from the Artificer Society Archives. It made some mention of 'extraplanar shortcuts' and cited your organization as something of a reference. I'm trying to help a fri- an  acquaintance  with a project of his. He's on a bit of a time crunch and we were hoping that one of these shortcuts would help us cheat some time. I just... don't know exactly who I should be talking to, kinsman." 
DeTess
 the Fernhal Courier compound 
"You could talk to the guildmaster." The dwarf nodded in the direction of the large central building. "But a word of warning. If one of your questions would be asking how much we charge, it means you can't afford us." The dwarf added that matter of-factly, no arrogance to his voice whatsoever. "If you wonder why we would charge that much, you should go up there." He gestured towards the stone-walled enclosure. "Just tell them Farsmith said you could observe, and stay out of everyone's way. Things should pop off in half an hour or so."
WindStruck
 
 Originally Posted by MrAbdiel 
 Once Ulrik is emancipated from the situation to seek after his brother-in-law and sister, and Aiden has settled to a periodic flutter of chuckles, he sags into a chair and sighs contentedly.  "It does seem that way sometimes. I suppose it's a reminder that so few people can work and create at the level we can; how much of a privilege it is to be a member of this society at all. You saw the model for the Hexfold Recovery System? The navy just picked it up for production, and we're all just tickled pink. Oh! But on the subject of boats... That transparency enchantment you developed - can I ask how long it lasts? What the expense of casting it happens to be, and so forth? My head's spinning with another idea launching off it, but I want to make sure I understand it a little better."  
 

 "I did see the model,"  Shandara says.  "Can't say I understood much of what I saw at first glance, but as always, the wood work was impeccable." 

Shandara hmms a bit and then says,  "Well, it would depend on the skill of the caster, but I believe I could cast it on someone else and it lasts for about two minutes. It would be considered a.. spell of complexity one, and so the cost of putting a charge in a potion or wand would be around fifty gold pieces. Or perhaps, much cheaper, were you able to find a person willing to cast it."  The drow smiles faintly at Aiden, with a smug impishness.

Then she sighs.  "Alright, let's hear it. What is this idea of yours?" 
MrAbdiel
Aiden pulled a face that suggested a mixture of surprise at the cost of a single casting - and some amused self reproach and being unfamiliar with how expensive even simple castings can be. Honestly, money and its value had never been the most pronounced element of his learning.

 "Well, nothing too serious. I mean... Well, if it's remarkably cheaper to make wood transparent than to make objects genuinely invisible, there's all kinds of applications. My thought was to install a nice, solid panel in the bottom of this boat the lads are fixing. If they could toggle transparency on and off, why... They'd be able to see when they were right over the fish, for the casting of the net, without all the watershimmer or the waterblur and trouble of sticking your head under. But you could make windows that don't expose a building to intruders or weather; or some kind of... semi-permanent structures to be deployed into the sea, for observation of the creatures down there, without the fear of a glass porthole cracking and bursting inward. I'm sure there's many military applications, though admittedly my mind for those things is less sharp. But a shield that permits a soldier to shelter from arrows without peeking around the edges.. or even an ironwood helm with no vulnerable eyeslot. Things like that." 

And then, with a burst of excitement, he adds again.
 
"You could grow flowers in a box, with the sun still nourishing them, without ever worrying that the grasshoppers would get at them!" 
WindStruck
Shandara gives Aiden that look again. Not spiteful, scornful, or dismissive. Just a bit weary.

 "Hrm, well... if you're surprised about the costs for a single casting of the spell, I suppose I'll need to impress upon you how much vastly more expensive such a thing would cost if the enchantment is made  permanent . This is not to mention the extra complexity involved with making the effect suppressible, and certain volume and weight limitations..." 
 "Also bear in mind, that it is a  divination  spell: which means although you might be able to see within the contents of a wooden box protecting a plant, the plant is still very much confined in darkness." 
 "All fun and interesting ideas, but they either don't work or likely have far too much cost that outweigh any potential benefits. Hm, that helmet idea, though. That might be something. The Ranger's Guild does seem to have deep pockets that might spare large expense for a marginal benefit. But this isn't an idea I would try pitching to them. I would rather try to solve problems people currently have or fill existing needs, rather than create some wondrous item and then scrabble around trying to find someone who actually wants it." 
MrAbdiel
 "Well, it would need to be permanent, but not necessarily suppressible. I'm sure a mechanical shutter would do in most situations, just like with a glass window..." 

It's a minor defense and he offers a sheepish smile. He knows the kind of dream-headed craftsman he is; how much better he is, for having a more concretely focused friend like this.

 "Wait... if the divination doesn't allow real light through, then how..." 

What follows is short exchange justifying the nature of divination in the face of an understanding of how light is required for sight. The specifics are less important than where Aiden lands, at the end.

 "Well, that's fair enough. It was just a curiosity. But all the same, if I could bring over a wooden panel of a certain size and grain and leave it with you, could you - in an off moment when you've nothing better to do - compose a quote on what it would cost me to make it functionally transparent permanently? Even if just for a novelty project. If it's not a wild number, I'll commission you. I'd consider it a favor." 
WindStruck
Shandara blinks and asks,  "Is there some reason glass wouldn't work?" 

Sheepishly, she turns to Ulrik with an awkward smile.  "Well, what do you think of all this? Also, should we get an appetizer? Hm, what's good..." 
 
 Spoiler: ooc 
craving calamari!
 
DeTess
Ulrik had returned sometime during the conversation, and had quietly informed Aiden that his sister would be stopping by the restaurant later that evening.

He mulled over Shandara's question for a moment, before answering her second question first. "For appetizers the squid is good this time of year. They come down from the north as the temperature drops, so they're far fresher. My brother-in-law fries strips of the creatures up in a light batter which makes the whole very tasty." Ulrik took a quick glance over the menu to refresh his memory. "Soup of the day is probably something salty this time of year. As a main I'd recommend Tuna or Crab."

Having finished the recommendation the shipwright turned back to the initial topic. "I can think of a few applications in shipbuilding where transparent wood could be useful, provided it isn't too costly. We avoid using glass because of its fragility, but you have to use it for some situations, and then you need to design around it, probably include heavy shutters or budget for enchantments. If transparent wood is cheaper than magically reinforced glass it could see quite a bit of use in my line of work."
WindStruck
 "Divination simply imparts knowledge onto the affected creature or person directly.  You  can see something no one else can, or through a solid object for instance.. but that does not change the physical state of the world in any way. It's the same with illusions. They will trick a creature or another person into perceiving this or that, but they don't actually alter the state of the world. And so, a plant confined in such a box would wither and die without sunlight, even though we may be able to see it perfectly fine. This is also why I suggested glass, as that is a fine deterrent for keeping insects out,"  Shandara says.

 "As for the much more intensive boat applications, I wouldn't think there's anything wrong with a bit of magically reinforced glass, plus a cover.. for instance on a small portion of the bottom of a boat. It is, of course, far less sturdy than normal wood still, but you wouldn't want to take such a boat into dangerous applications like navy battles, navigating areas with dangerous hazards, and the like..." 

She continues,  "Now, I probably could give an estimation on enchanting a sizeable slab of wood in such a way, but do keep in mind that what I am thinking of, with the current spell I have developed, it only affects one person at a time. In other words, only one person could see through the wood at any given time. But, in order to let it affect more than one person, that makes it significantly more expensive, to the point where permanent invisibility is likely a superior option. And that would probably cost, oh.. say.. at least six thousand gold pieces?" 
 
 Spoiler: some rolls 
arcana:  (1d20+17)[ 31 ] 
appraise:  (1d20+11)[ 21 ] 

let me know if there's some tweaks I could make to what Shandara says
 
Prehysterical
 
 Originally Posted by DeTess 
  the Fernhal Courier compound 
"You could talk to the guildmaster." The dwarf nodded in the direction of the large central building. "But a word of warning. If one of your questions would be asking how much we charge, it means you can't afford us." The dwarf added that matter of-factly, no arrogance to his voice whatsoever. "If you wonder why we would charge that much, you should go up there." He gestured towards the stone-walled enclosure. "Just tell them Farsmith said you could observe, and stay out of everyone's way. Things should pop off in half an hour or so." 
 

Bolten struggles to keep a polite expression in the face of such pride. Such a sentiment would have been considered the height of rudeness back home! Instead, Bolten bows his head to excuse himself and heads toward the walled compound. He's already paid for the carriage to wait and come out all this way. Might as well see what the literal fuss is about.

Upon finding one of the sentries, Bolten informs him of Farsmith's instructions. The dwarf then finds a place where he can get comfortable for the wait.
DeTess
Within the enclosure was a flat area paved evenly with large slabs of stone. Large sections of the ground and wall had soot and scorchmarks on them, but apart from those there was nothing remarkable in there at all. The guards patrolling the wall kept an eye on the yard nonetheless, but they seemed quite unworried.

All that changed when, about 15 minutes after Bolten ascended the wall, a loud bell rang across the compound. It tolled twice, then fell silent again, though the silence spread over the entire compound, as all activity seemed to halt for a moment. The silence only lasted for a second, before the noise resumed, though there seemed to be a greater urgency to it now.

The few watchers on the wall became more alert, and soon enough more guards carrying heavy looking bows and crossbows joined them, as well as several men and women carrying staves and other spellcasting implements. Bolten could hear the enclosure's one gate being opened, and a large metal portcullis was winched up, dropped down with the pull of a lever and then winched up again. Farsmith and several of his colleagues made  a circuit of the wall, handing glowing bolts and arrows to the guards, and then setting up five magical contraptions, one at each corner of the enclosure, and the fifth above the gate. Each consisted of a long metal staff and a tri-pod to hold it up. After setting them all up, the ones at the corners started glowing red, and the one at the gate started glowing green.

Several minutes later the bell rang again, this time tolling three times. A hush settled over the guards on the wall, all of them looking into the enclosure. Several moments later an elderly human in flowing purple robes arrived on the wall, flanked by two more guards carrying shields. The man held two staves in his hands, one made from black metal, the other carved from grey wood in a twisted shape.

Two minutes of silence passed, as everyone in the wall stared fixedly at the enclosure. Then someone called out as a tiny purple mote of light appeared near the wall opposite the gate. It grew in radiance and size, then with a tearing noise a large rent in the fabric of reality opened up, bleeding a purple radiance.

Moments later a large creature came running through the rent. It was the size and general shape of a bear, but its body was covered in feathers and it had the head of an owl. It was covered in armor and four sturdy ropes stretched back from the armor and disappeared behind it into the rift. It was quickly followed by a second, third and fourth specimen, all running towards the open gate, and moments later a large carriage of the same model Bolten had seen before was dragged out of the tear by the ropes leading back to the owlbears. The carriage was heavily damaged, several of its eight wheels where missing, and great gouges were torn in the amor plating on the carriage's side. There was no sign of the ballista Bolten had seen on the other carriage. At the front of the carriage was a sorceress holding a staff shining a purple light ahead of her and a harried looking coachman holding the reins of the owlbears, and several guards where hanging on to the sides of the carriage of the carriage as they fought of a number of long-limbed, eyeless, grey-skinned creatures that were clinging to the back of the carriage.

A horde of the grey-skinned creatures started pouring out of the tear in space and chased after the carriage, but the purple robed wizard on the wall slammed his iron staff against the ground while shouting a phrase in a language unknow to the dwarf, and a wall of fire sprung up, bisecting the courtyard and halting the monster's advance. The carriage quickly disappeared through the gate, and moments later the portcullis came down, locking the monsters in.

The guards, meanwhile, had started firing their bows and crossbows at the creatures below. First came a volley of enchanted bolts, the arrowheads exploding on impact in gouts of fire and bursts of electricity. These where followed by mundane arrows, as well as spells from the spellcaster on the wall. The purple-robed wizard continued chanting and brandished his wooden staff. Green strands of energy leapt forth from the staff, twisting themselves around the tear in the air and slowly closing it up, even as more monsters tried to claw their way through, straight into a hail of bolts, arrows and spells.
MrAbdiel
 
 Originally Posted by WindStruck 
  "Now, I probably could give an estimation on enchanting a sizeable slab of wood in such a way, but do keep in mind that what I am thinking of, with the current spell I have developed, it only affects one person at a time. In other words, only one person could see through the wood at any given time. But, in order to let it affect more than one person, that makes it significantly more expensive, to the point where permanent invisibility is likely a superior option. And that would probably cost, oh.. say.. at least six thousand gold pieces?"  
 

Aiden whistles a low, swooping note as his eyebrows shoot up.

 "That's a pricey window. I think you might be right. Better off getting a... a rod that can cast it a couple of times per day.  Or a wand of  Detect Fish!  Haha! But like Ulrik says, it may end up with some value in a military shipbuilding field. Indeed, especially the divination instead of the invisibility - perhaps you want to be able to see out, but not be seen  in ." 

He profits from Ulrik's dining recommendation, and orders the soup to begin and the crab to follow (after a brief misunderstanding about 'crab soup', and revelation that he might never have been in a circumstance where a two-course meal was standard). Theoretically, he's mostly waiting for Ulrik's sister to arrive to pick her brain about fishing, but in the time between he tries to steer the conversation towards novel enchantments in the field of shipbuilding, and then sits back and lets the expertise radiating off the other two wash through him.
WindStruck
Shandara gets the squid appetizer and the tuna main course. And she shrugs noncommittally at Aiden's comments.

 "So what is going on with you two? Seems you're going to be overseeing an important job pretty soon,"  she says to Ulrik.

And then turning to Aiden she says,  "And apparently you had a hand in that as well. You're trying to help two boys fish and.. you're still working on that harp, right?" 
MrAbdiel
 "My harp, yes - proof of skill as part of my submission to the Archduchess's call. I hope it's good enough - what an opportunity that would be..." His eyes shine with imagination for a moment, before he grounds himself. "But more immediately, yes - Cliff and Markel, you met them briefly at the house - have been fixing up their boat in my barn. I've been helping them, and it's done; but they haven't done much fishing, so the plan to support themselves by fishing has that hole in it. Ulrik's got a sister who I'm told is something of a expert to ask." 

As far as an important project goes, he swings his eyes to Ulrik to let the shipwright tell as much, or as little, as he would to about it.
DeTess
"Yes, a new design courtesy of the Escribano workshop and Aiden here." Ulrik eyes sine as he starts to explain. "It's a salvage and support vessel meant for the navy, two twin triple-hull designs with middle sections that can operate independently while the outer hulls lock together to form a dock for any stricken vessel. Add in a hybrid power system with sails and a magical drive and you've got an enormously challenging project. But if we can pull this off future designs will use elements of our work for years, if not decades to come." Ulrik seemed ready to launch into a lengthy explanation of the ship's appeal again, but caught himself. "Sorry, I shouldn't be acting as giddy about a project at my age, but this job really has me excited."

Ulrik seemed to spot someone from the corner for his eye and excused himself for a moment. He returned a minute later, accompanied by a woman just a little shorter than he was. The two shared hair and eye colors, and the woman seemed to be of a similar age to Ulrik. "Aiden, this is Elin, my sister. Elin, this is Aiden, one of the artificer's behind the ship proposal. He wanted to speak with you regarding a fishing related matter he's been involved in." Ulrik handled the introductions, but left explaining the details of the matter to the carpenter.
MrAbdiel
Aiden is just as excited - though his part in it is mostly done, now - but the idea of the project going into production was certainly thrilling, and even more so that Ulrik's forthrightness had disabused him of any notion it was somehow hush-hush. It looks as if he's about to egg Ulrik on and the two of them would box Shandara in with shop-talk until Elin arrives, and after introductions, he gives Ulrik and Shandara a polite excusing smile and pares off a side conversation with the lady angler.

 "I really am pleased to meet you, Elin. To get to the heart of it, a couple of lads without much to their names came across a wrecked fishing boat and filled their own heads with dreams of fixing it up and making a living fishing off of it. I helped them fix it up and taught them what I could - I hope they consider making and selling small watercraft instead of subsistence fishing now that they have the skill, but that's for them to decide. But for now they have the boat they worked so hard on, but actually remarkably little knowledge about fishing, and especially where to fish. And I suspect they've not thought for a moment about how crowding in on other fisherfolk's spots will cause frictions. I wondered if you might be able to give me a clue - or even better, maybe join Cliff, Markel and I some day to look over the vessel and give them a lesson yourself." 
DeTess
The woman considered Aiden's proposal for a moment. "I understand from my brother that you're a skilled artisan where wood is concerned. How would you rate the abilities of your two wards in that regard?"
MrAbdiel
Aiden's brow creases just for a moment. Elin didn't radiate the same gregariousness as Ulrik did... But she was his sister, and he had vouched for her, and that was good enough for the country carpenter. The sceptical notion that had wiggled its way into his forebrain was seized by the elbows and frogmarched back out again, leaving him blissfully trusting once more.

 "Well, they've proven to be apt apprentices at least with small craft. If they came to me tomorrow and said they wanted to apprentice more formally under me to become shipwrights or luthiers, I'd hire them without a second thought and get them on the tools immediately. There's a thing with apprentices where... well, there's a period when they just begin where they  cost  you more than they make, because you're giving up your time to supervise and instruct instead of fabricating. But at this point they're skilled enough that I'd trust them with simple work without supervision, and reasonably complex work while I'm at hand to check in. But they're so young, you see - I'd love to see them put these skills to use making a living, but right now, it's important they get a chance to fish off the boat they rebuilt. It's a chance to see the thing they dreamed about completed by their own hands, you know? That's something they can put in their pocket and carry around with them for the rest of their lives no matter what they put their hands to - the knowledge that they  can , if they try." 
DeTess
Whether it was Aiden's assessment of their skills or his earnest plea, it seemed whatever mental calculus Elin was working out came up in the boy's favor.

"One moment." She scribbled a note and handed it to Aiden. It contained an adress, but also a remarkably detailed map of the docks with a location marked with an arrow and a sketch of an emblem to look out for. "Tell your wards to be here with their boat, two days from now, no later than the crack of dawn. I'll ask one of my people to show them the ropes in their boat for a couple days, and if they bring in any decent fish I'll buy it off them for market price as well."

"Though these days fishing for more than just subsistence is a matter of scale, and not something two kids in a small boat can handle on their own." Elin warned. "But if they show interest and aptitude I could bring them on as apprentices on one of my boats. Experience with woodwork is definitely a mark in their favor."
MrAbdiel
Aiden claps, then hoists his hands in purely instinctive appeal to the sky.

 "Incredible! Oh, that's wonderful Elin. That's really wonderful, the boys will be so pleased. I'll let them know; they'll be there bright eyed and bushy tailed. Thank you so much, Elin, really. I owe you a favor."  He tries to extract one of his hand-over-hand handshakes from the woman.  "It'll be great for them. Maybe they'll get the itch and sign on. If they do, and there's any forward cost for... for their own nets, or tools or anything, I'll front it. Just let me know." 
 
 Spoiler: OOC: 
Hooray, total success as far as I know! I think that might be all Aiden's looking to squeeze out of the scene. Though naturally if Shandara, Ulrik, or Elin have something more, we can keep it going!
 
Prehysterical
As Bolten watched their preparations, he began to despair.

 If you have to ask, you can't afford us. 

These men seemed to be preparing for a siege from  inside  of the compound... or was it an exorcism? Either way, Bolten didn't know the half of it.

At first, Bolten thought that the owlbear was the source of all the trouble. Upon seeing them fleeing and attached to a half-destroyed battlewagon, Bolten felt the hairs stand up on the back of his neck. Nothing could have prepared him for the horde of screeching monstrosities that surged through the gate.

Everything was chaos. Bolten began hyperventilating. Even in his relative safety, being close to so much violence triggered unhappy memories long buried. Blast it, why couldn't he have known?! Today had been just another day, so Bolten hadn't prepared any combat spells! There was nothing he could do to help!

Looking at the guard nearest to him, Bolten remembered one thing he could do. While the mercenary was reloading, Bolten taps his finger against his weapon and gave it a weaponsmith's blessing. Hopefully, that would help, because that was really all Bolten had to offer.

While the others fight frantically against the tide, Bolten wracks his brain trying to remember anything resembling these horrible invaders.
 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Bolten casts  Magic Weapon  on the mercenary closest to him. It will last for two minutes (20 rounds).

Knowledge (Arcana) about creatures:  (1d20+12)[ 16 ] 
Knowledge (Planes):  (1d20+7)[ 10 ] 
 
DeTess
 the Bluefin's rest 
Elin shook her head at Aiden's offer. " If  they meet my standards and wish to sign on with my fleet I'll make all necessary investments myself. Anything less and I wouldn't deserve my current position."

 the Fernhal courier compound 
The guard gave Bolten a nod, but wasted no breath on verbal thanks, keeping up the onslaught of arrows.

The atmosphere was tense, yet Bolten would notice after a moment that the guards did not receive any orders after the initial command to fire. If any of the monsters attempted to climb the walls they were immediately shot down, without any calls needed to alert the guards to the risks, as they worked together like a well oiled machine.

With a crack of thunder the tear in reality closed up, and moments later the creatures were all felled. Though the monster's onslaught had been fierce, the guards' superior position and preparation had allowed them to fell the horde without any climbing over the wall or breaching the gate.

As silence settled over the enclosure, the guard Bolten had helped turned to him. "Thanks for the spell. It made this all a little easier than usual. You might want to get down now though. This next bit will stink like hell." He gestured towards the gate, where Farsmith and several other artisans were hauling up large wooden caskets. The guards took the caskets, and poured the contents, a viscous liquid that looked like lamp oil to Bolten, into the enclosure below.
MrAbdiel
Taking Elin's underlined stipulation in the most positive possible way - as an expectation of excellence, rather than hedge against failure - Aiden winks his understanding and salutes with his winecup, only to sip overly boldly and cough a little, barely fending off a spatter and dribble scenario, ending with merely a breathless chuckle and watering eyes.

 "Hoo. I reckon there's alcohol in that, tell you what." 
 
 Spoiler: OOC: 
Aiden's all set for this scene, I think!
 
WindStruck
Shandara is content to let the conversation between Elin and Aiden unfold. She was rather glad to have the spotlight turned away from herself, and not having to "talk shop" incessantly over what she felt was going to be a more casual dinner gathering.

Once Elin agrees to help the boys, and Aiden is done celebrating, Shandara nods and says,  "I would have suggested hiring the boys as part of your fleet as well. Assuming they are bright and can follow simple directions, even their small boat and hands would add that much more volume to your operations. And perhaps, they might discover a new calling later." 

Taking a sip of tea, which seemed pleasantly sweet with the addition of a fruit juice, she adds,  "If I am reading you correctly, your operations have no trouble finding hands on a deck and fishermen, but perhaps you might need someone who is both skilled with working with wood,  and  can fish and sail?" 
DeTess
"That's right." Elin replies to Shandara. "Finding someone who can do one or the other is not that hard, and training the fisherman to do basic maintenance is not that hard either. But finding someone with an interest in both fishing and woodwork, and training in the latter is a lot rarer."
WindStruck
Shandara looks between the two and bemusedly says,  "It sounds like if you really want to help them, you'll continue to give them lessons in carpentry." 
MrAbdiel
 "That's up to them,"  he says, covering his mouth with one hand as he catches up to the fact that he hasn't quite finished his mouthful.

 "Nothing would make me happier. But otherwise Elin, if you end up with a damaged vessel and you want to set up a kind of... short-run workshop option for some of your guys to learn a thing or two, I'd be happy to come out and make a weekend consultation of it, or something like that." 
WindStruck
After thinking about Ulrik's project some more and mulling some thoughts over in her mind (as well as some fish and potatoes in her mouth) Shandara asks,  "Hm. So the new ship you will be working on will be able to repair ships, and even salvage them out on the open waters...   what happens if   this   ship gets damaged, though? I suppose it would have its own special dock for that sort of thing? Assuming it makes it that far?" 
DeTess
"The Streidekker shipyards operate a large drydock a little distance outside the city for special projects." Ulrik explains. "It will be large enough for this ship, though if we end up making a larger number of them we'll have to build a new maintenance dock for them, I think."
MrAbdiel
Aiden nods, unable to keep himself from chiming in.

 "All ships are vulnerable to being sunk, I suppose. A benefit of having the Hexfold system means that even a really cracking broadside is able to sink a sixth or a half of the 'ship', instead of the whole thing. But really, as they stand, the aren't designed to be exposed to direct sinking hazards. They ride higher in the water than the heavy-draft ships so they're less exposed to sandbars and reefs. In storm conditions, they can break them up into their elements so they won't get rocked over and bashed into each other. And in combat - ...Well, they're just not attractive targets for enemy fire. A ship that is sinking is already out of the battle, all things considered; most pirates or enemy attackers would much rather capture a ship than sink her too, so turning guns on saviour vessels - especially while there's other frigates lining you up for a retributive raking - is unlikely. But it'll happen. Ships sink. But if there's a hexfold system or two behind the fleet... it'll happen less often. Substantially less often." 

He takes another bite of an over-buttered breadroll, his gaze lofting upward in dreamy consideration.

 "I'll tell you what though, it came up in planning and never panned out - but some day someone is going to figure out a way to modify a spell like  Freezing Sphere  for utility in patching breaches below the waterline, and they're going to make a lot of money and save a lot of lives. Right now it can create a crust around a ship to trap it for a moment, but it won't stop it sinking. And a sixth circle spell? Forget it, no navy is going to be able to routinely finance that regularly. Training the crew alone would cost a fortune in dummy-castings off the... rod, or what have you. But if you can grind that down a few circles, and modify the spell to create an ice 'plug' about that big..." , he taps the tabletop, with his fingertip,  "you can abort most catastrophic breaches before buckling happens. It'll do for ships what the tourniquet did for medicine." 
WindStruck
Shandara shrugged, as she didn't really know much of anything about the sailing business, only that it seemed to take more skill and had more potential dangers than simple land travel.. at least in more controlled areas. Anywhere had a potential to be dangerous, with the right amount of bad luck or strife, however. And besides...  "Well, even if you don't expect any catastrophic accidents or to be targeted by hostile forces, I suppose maintenance is still maintenance, and it needs to be done every now and then,"  she says.

Once again, Aiden started talking shop and throwing out hair-brained ideas. Shandara quickly shot him a look with a raised eyebrow.  Really? A freezing sphere? Did he want to just make the entire breach explode with expanded ice??  And besides, she wasn't even familiar with a spell called  Freezing Sphere . It was probably something he misheard somewhere or made up.

 
 Spoiler: ooc 
also, seeing as that's a 6th level spell, and we're an E6 world, making max spell level a solo caster can pull off at level 3....   I doubt such a spell is known to exist in any commonplace capacity whatsoever
 


A number of other thoughts flashed through her mind. Was it possible to seal up a breach in a ship? Most definitely. Did she really feel like talking about this? Well, not particularly. She didn't want to be rude.. though now that Aiden brought up the subject, her mind started thinking of other ways she could use magic to save a ship. First a barrier abjuration spell? Then a transmutation spell? She sighed, and perhaps for a number of reasons, curious if it would work, but not sure if anyone was even willing to pay for it.

Silently Shandara picks at her food with her thoughts, stomach growing a bit more full.  "Is there even much need for that sort of thing?"  she asks.
DeTess
"From what I've heard, it does come up from time to time." Ulrik suggested. "Close to the empire's broders the waters are safe of course, but further out there there are sea monsters, seafaring bandits and the like. There are even some countries whose ships will attack others on sight for some reason. Our navy can deal with all such threats, but it's not always without losses."
MrAbdiel
Aiden nods along with Ulrik's breakdown.  "It's like a healing draught. Most people go through their whole lives not needing one; but if you've ever needed one, the cost to be caught without it is terrible." 

He gives a little chuckle, but then a sigh.  "Anyway. Like a lot of things, there's no simple, widely deployable magical solution to something like that - thus our rescue system." 
 
 Spoiler: OOC: 
Naturally, Aiden could rabbit on about this forever, but presumably more interesting speakers will wrestle the mic away from him in due course. Happy to move the scene along or whatnot.
 
WindStruck
Shandara continues to pick at her food a bit, wondering if developing some spells to save a sinking ship may be worth her time, and how to go about it. Then her mind finally wanders to something else.

 "So who was this Feathers that you mentioned? I take it that's a nickname of some sort? Not that meeting them is necessary anymore.. I'm just curious." 
DeTess
"I don't know if it's the name his parents gave him, but it's what everyone calls him, including Feathers himself." Ulrik answered. "He's some kind of birdfolk, feathers and head like a large raven, so that's were the name comes from. He works at the shipyard and mainly makes figureheads and similar decorative elements."
WindStruck
Shandara looks at Ulrik blankly for a few seconds, but soon it may be noticeable that she is attempting to keep an impassive face.  "Ah. A birdfolk.... I mean,  that  would explain the name..." 

She looks away and takes a drink.  "Hm. If I had to guess, maybe he frequents the Xlotl's Nest more than here." 

Shandara turns back to Ulrik and blinks.  "Um, sorry. Do birdfolk have hands? I'm sure they do, right? Or most would. Otherwise, how would he make the figureheads?" 
DeTess
Ulrik seems a little surprised by Shandara's question, but then nods to himself. "I see Feathers regularly, so I probably lost sight of the fact that people like him are quite rare in town. Yes, he has hands similar to you or me, though he has enough feathers along his arms that they appear a little wing-like, I suppose."
WindStruck
 "Oh, I see,"  Shandara says.  "I'm sure he'd be an interesting person to meet, although.. I'd wager we'd have little in common..." 

Even now Shandara's eyes darted around occasionally at those sitting at the table. Come to think of it, they probably didn't have much in common either. Her end Ulrik's involvement in that one competition was serendipitous, and Aiden seemed even moreso. Suddenly, she felt more like talking about something related to her profession...

 "Well,"  she says.  "I think all of Aiden's ideas have given me some ideas of my own. Merely the prospect of having a magical system that can seal holes in a hull under an emergency.. I'm sure that would be desired by all, assuming they can afford it. As I believe the saying goes, 'Better safe than sorry'?" 

Yes. She might be able to make use of those spirit wood wands if the spells started getting expensive. But either way, an extra source of revenue from supplying boats with wands that could fix holes might be very lucrative.
Prehysterical
 The Fernhal courier compound 
How did these people like this was  normal ?! From how coordinated they seemed, this must been a regular occurrence. When the guard suggested that Bolten leave before surely igniting the oil slick below, Bolten was seriously tempted to run away and never look back. Just what he had seen earlier had been enough to dissuade him from the whole idea, but Bolten found himself thinking about Aiden. He had promised the young man his help. Bolten couldn't go back without giving Aiden a full report of all needed information. That information would include whatever was coming...

 "I appreciate your consideration of my wellbeing, sir, but... I think I will stay."  Bolten tried to sound more confident than he felt.  "Out of the way, of course." 
DeTess
 Bluefin's Rest 
The conversation turned to less consequential matters as more tasty seafood arrived and was consumed. Eventually the dinner came to a closed, and Shandara and Aiden went their own way, Aiden to the end of his workday, Shandara to the start of hers.

 the Fernhal courier compound 
"Suit yourself." The guard turned his attention back to the walled area, while wrapping a shawl around his mouth and nose. Many of the other guards were doing the same. At a gesture from the purple-robed man the guards once again put arrows to their bows. A moment later the man sent a small bolt of fire down into the enclosure, which lit the oil on fire.

Moments later the entire floor of the enclosure was engulfed by flames. Several of the grey-skinend monsters suddenly lept to their feet as the fire reached them, the creatures having apparently been playing dead. These monsters where quickly riddle by arrows.

A sickening smell of burning meat filled the air as the guards kept a close eye on the heaps of monster corpses, but after about a minute had passed they all settled down. Some of them called out to their companions, with boasts and good humored trash talk as the majority of the guards started to make their way off the wall, while Farsmith and his colleagues started to break down the contraptions they had set up at the wall's corners and the gate.

As the majority of the guards cleared out the elderly spellcaster in the purple robes walked over to Bolten. He had handed his staves over to one of the guards, who was trailing behind him. When the elderly man arrived at Bolten's spot he made a small gesture with his left hand an a refreshing breeze picked up, clearing the smoke and smell away in a small area around the man. "I am magister Fernhal, guildmaster of the Fernhal courier guild. I was informed you might be interested in making use of our services." Fernhal cast a critical gaze over Bolten. "I take it you're with the Artificery society?"
DeTess
 the Artificery Society archives 
The next morning Aiden once again found himself at the archives. The place was filled as always with the smell of paper and a quiet energy as archivists and members of the society bustled back and forth among the towering bookshelves or sat at desks, poring over the tomes.
MrAbdiel
 Toolmaking was an unglamourous trade. Kings did not commission thousand-times-folded steel chisels with ruby encrusted handles to give as gifts to their peers. A good sword might kill a man, but an incredible sword might sit in a treasury somewhere, having been used to purchase an army, and therefore be deadlier by far. But it was the fate of tools to be abused until they were destroyed, and the only tools with gallery mileage were those broken ancient relics of fallen civilizations. But tools were for  using  and an unused tool was a tragic, orphaned thing.

But that didn't mean there weren't master toolmakers. And that didn't mean they did not, from time to time, produce  legends .

 "Excuse me,"  Aiden petitions the least busy archivist he can see,  "I'm looking for records about great toolmakers, and their works. I know Torvo Finebolt used to make enchanted tinker-tools... things like that. Where might a fellow look?"  
DeTess
"Ah.. ehmmm..." The archivist Aiden had adressed was a young bespectacled human man, who had been scrutinizing a list. "Ehm, I'm not certain..." He cast a look around, searching for a colleague to help him out.

"If I may?" A voice spoke up from a nearby desk. It belonged to an unusual looking woman. Her skin was covered in light-brown fur and the thick brown hair on her head evoked the impression of a lion's mane. Her face had an unusual build, looking more like a cats than a humans, with a pair of prominent triangular ears peaking through her hair. Her green eyes had slitted pupils, and her smile, which was likely intended as friendly, revealed a lot of sharp teeth. Her age was difficult to judge, but she seemed young, maybe mid-twenties. She was wearing a clean and well-tailored white shirt and brown pants, with no indication of being associated with the archives. However, as soon as she spoke the archivist froze up entirely.

"Lucas, right?" The woman addressed the archivist. "I heard you're a bit of a genius where contemporary research is considered, but don't neglect your fundamentals. Even when you don't know the answer you should know which catalogue to look it up in." She spoke gently as she rebuked the archivist, then send him on his way.

"Now regarding your request." The woman grabbed an empty piece of paper from a stack nearby. She was surrounded by books and maps. Aiden recognised one if the maps as contemporary, while another had terms and names from the time of legends on it.

"What exactly are you looking for? Our records on craftsmen could keep you reading for months if not years, but you don't seem like the kind of person who wants to read through the 231 volume 'records of the craftsmen of hold Tripeaks', even if volumes 130 to 138 does mention Torvo Finebolt's works in  exhaustive  detail."
MrAbdiel
 Aiden is delighted and fascinated to encounter the lion-woman in such a place. He's just barely tactful enough not to deviate from his line of investigation to ask her all about her kind, but his face certainly bears a flash of marvel that she must be used to, before he replies.

 "Well, you're right for sure; I'm not looking to read everything about Finebolt's works - or anyone's, for that matter. I suppose you could say I'm trying to make... constructive inferences on his methods, and about a dozen other historically prolific crafters who used magic tools. I'm trying to draw out the commonalities in what they were able to accomplish with their enchanted tools so I can get a picture of the kind of enchantments they must have used and adapted to their own trades. Do you follow? A smith's magic hammer can't just be charged with  hammering good . Or it might, but I figure it must belong to some kind of family of ensorcelment that's less about hammering and more about realizing the crafter's intention."  He's rambled on for long enough in a quiet space that he begins to feel a touch of self-conciousness, and curls his fingers into the crown of the straw hat he holds at his chest.  "Does that... make sense?"  
DeTess
"Yes, that does make sense." The woman considered for a moment. "You could refer to Viar's 'practical enchantments for the workplace' for an overview of the current state-of-the art on magical tools. It's not too in-depth, but it has a solid bibliography you can use to find out more about anything that strikes your fancy. I would also recommend Steelsong's 'Ancestral Tools' for some unique insights regarding the unique properties of tools that have been in use for centuries." As she spoke she noted down the titles on the piece of paper, together with the names of the authors and a long code Aiden had seen in use in the archives before.

"Now, if you're not just interested in what's possible now, I'd refer you to Tollen's 'catalogue of legends', which dives into stories from ancient times and discusses the truths behind these stories. Volume 5 deals with tools and similar objects, so could be useful as inspiration. There is also Volume 7, which deals with places and describes several legendary workshops and foundries, but you'll have to wait a day or two, until I'm done with it." She rapped her knuckles on the cover of one of the books on her desk. "These books should be enough to get you started. Once you have a specific idea my colleagues can help you find more specialized tomes."  She finished the document she'd been drafting for Aiden with a quick map of the archives with marks describing where the books could be found. "You can take this list to the desk there and ask one of the archivists to retrieve them, but it's quite busy right now, so it might be quicker to go look yourself."
MrAbdiel
 "Oh, well that's perfect - That's-"
 
He does a stutter-start as if he's about to jog off into the archives, stopping and looking at the map again; starting off again and finally settling himself down.

If he didn't take a moment to make a friend out of the helpful leonine librarian, he'd be very crestfallen indeed.

 "Well I'll shoot off and have a look for myself, like you say. I'm Aiden Sorveaux, ma'am. And I certainly am glad to have met you!" 
DeTess
"It was nice to meet you Aiden. My name is Kou Maron." The leonine woman belatedly introduced herself, though a glint of mischief in her eyes as she said her name suggested she might have been withholding her name on purpose.
MrAbdiel
Aiden gives Kou that benign, pleasant stare that warmly displays a window into the firing braincells behind it. After about three seconds, he animates again, snaps his fingers.  "Oh, you're..."  And the, after another half second factoring in that she had introduced herself already so recognition by name offers no value,  "You're you! Wow, well it was already good to meet you. Now I'm curious as well. You're researching legendary workshops and foundaries? Can you talk about it - or... is this a matter of discretion?" 
DeTess
Aiden's surprise ellicited a chuckle from the curator. "My work is hardly a secret. My most recent  expedition turned up, amongst other things, the remains of a stone-carved map from ancient times. It was pretty weathered, but the location of the legendary dwarven hold of Fireheart was marked on it. It's a place a lot of archaeologists and treasure hunters have been trying to find for centuries now, but it looks like I've finally found a solid lead." Kou gestured at the documents scattered across her desk. "I'm reading through the other information we have on the place in preparation for my next expedition."
MrAbdiel
Aiden's eyes roll up for a moment like they're searching his eyebrows for more information, but they find none.

 "Fireheart..? It sounds impressive. I don't think I recall it, but then again, I'm more of a luthier and a carpenter than a worker of stone and steel as dwarves tend to prefer. Not so many dwarves devoting themselves to making the most comfortable chair, and a few more to making bridges and mountain holds and so forth. It must be a big deal, if it's been so sought after." 
DeTess
"Many weapons, armor and other items of power form the time of Legends where said to have been forged there." Kou seemed eager enough to explain more. "The few stories that survived describe a massive foundry powered by magma, where many of the age's finest artisans did their metalwork. According to one story the hold was sealed towards the end of the age of Legends due to some unnamed calamity, so there is a chance that the place is mostly intact, including many of their designs and methods."
MrAbdiel
 "That sounds like quite a treasure of a place - but I can't help but wonder if it was sealed off, and all traces of record about the nature of its calamity have been hidden or lost, it may be the kind of thing the original stewards were trying to protect people from. But you'd know better than I - or maybe... do you mind if I just...?" 

The carpenter reaches his hand toward her for the belated handshake their introduction has earned, with a mild mystical scintillation moving between his fingertips. He does not say outright say  I would like to cast Borrow Skill on you for a moment so I can keep up with you in this conversation  - but he trusts, between Kou being so travelled and being a risk taker, he doesn't need to. Regardless, he finds the topic interesting enough that he'll easily lose half an hour side-tracked from his original task talking about dwarven magma forges.
DeTess
A flicker of magic lights up Kou's eyes before she takes Aiden's hand, but having apparently determined the nature of the spell, she takes his hand without hesitation.

A veritable flood of knowledge hits the bard, but it's easy enough to sift out the relevant portions. Hold Fireheart likely got sealed during the same unknown calamity that ended the time of Legends. The one record describing this sealing suggested it was to protect the hold's secret from 'a time of chaos'. Many legends of legendary arms and armor state that these were forged at hold Fireheart, but it is assumed that the hold produced more than that, and only these records survived the millenia. Many other little tidbits flit through the bards mind, but these prove harder to grasp and keep in mind as the spell fades.

"All caught up?" Kou asks. "It's a useful spell, is it not? I always insist my assistants on any expeditions have access to it, as it saves a lot of explanation when time is of the essence."
MrAbdiel
He laughs a little; a touch of self deprecation to it as the spell's primary effect (as well as the illusory impression of the carpenter having gained a green, slitted cats' eye) fades out.

 "Terribly useful. Endlessly helpful when collaborating in this Society - when you need someone else's expertise, but can't quite articulate what you need because if you could, you'd be an expert already."  He uses the insight gained from the flash of knowledge to probe at her speculative expedition a little; what kind of experts she's taking, the dangers she expects, how deep below the mountain and so forth. Being endlessly fascinated by the world, Aiden is able to show interest both because it is polite  and  because he finds it interesting.

 "Well,"  he offers cheerfully as he slowly recalls why he's come to the archives at all,  "I wish you success, Miss Maron. When you come back, if there was an adventure in it after all, I'll write a song about it for you. If it turns out to be a non-starter... we'll make something up." 
DeTess
The curator saw Aiden off with a laugh and a smile before diving back into her research.

Aiden, meanwhile, easily found the three books he'd been referred to, finding them exactly where the curator had told him to look.

All three books proved to be solid volumes. A full read through of all three would take a day or two at the very least. A quick skim showed that 'practical enchantments for the workplace' was a fairly technical overview of the most common types of enchantments for tools, from simple enchantments increasing the tool's material properties like hardness or sharpness to more complex works like forge hammers that kept the metal being worked from cooling too quickly or chisels capable of preventing slips by reading the artist's intentions.

'Ancestral tools' discussed how tools that had been in use for a long time would develop unusual but characteristics even in the absence of enchantments, with artisans reporting flashes of inspiration and an easier time using the tools when using them for the crafts the tools had been used for over the past decades, though trouble would occur when using the tools for similar but different jobs, such as one artisan observing that a hammer that had been used for a century by a dwarven weaponsmith often landed wrong while being used to make a breastplate. The book also discussed enchantments that could harness these properties.

The last book, volume 5 of the 'catalogue of legends' was a bit less technical, focussing on the analysis of ancient myths and legends and deducing the likely properties of the tools that inspired said stories, such as tools capable of slowing or even halting the flow of time while the artisan worked, or ones that could move far more material than should be possible, allowing an artisan to create a massive fortress wall in a day or two at most.
MrAbdiel
Having made a new friend and found what he needed, Aiden would check-out the books he could to read at home. It'd be good to have something to mull over as he sat on the dock in his collapsible chair, waiting for Cliff and Markel to finish their time on Elin's boats.

Primarily he was a creator of masterworks, not magical items, so this part of creation was still somewhat mysterious. But the composite image he was assembling for how to best pull together the tools he imagined would be to  start  with an old, well used set of carpenters tools - enough used that they had a soft registry in the ethereal plane from their essential character being driven into the physical objects. And not just the objects importantly, but the  idea  of the objects in their set; a uniting principle holding together all the chisels and saw blades and bench dogs and G-clamps as a body as surely as someone's fascia and flesh cohered their organs, bones and blood. He'd have to restore the tools of course - replace old wooden handles, forge and die new fittings or perhaps whole tools in sets. The ancientness of every part wasn't the point, he was coming to suspect. The whole set needed a uniting  story. 

And  story  he could work with just fine.

Restored, each tool would need its individual purpose enchantments (that would be the most difficult part for him - this was more complex than a flute that attracts mice) with a common element that made all of them part of the same set - loose threads in the enchantments, left to braid into the tool kit's identity. And then... Well. Then that's it. It either works, or it doesn't. But where to start looking for a comprehensive set of woodworking tools, now resting in neglect and disuse? Somewhere neglected and disused, maybe. Somewhere had subjugated long ago. It didn't need to be an ancient magical dwarven foundry - like he'd said earlier, dwarves weren't the premier woodworkers of the world. Perhaps somewhere elven? Gnomish?

 
 Spoiler: OOC: 
Making some wild speculations about how this might go here, DeTess. Feel free to correct me or give me some rolls to make!
 
Prehysterical
 
 Originally Posted by DeTess 
  the Fernhal courier compound 
"Suit yourself." The guard turned his attention back to the walled area, while wrapping a shawl around his mouth and nose. Many of the other guards were doing the same. At a gesture from the purple-robed man the guards once again put arrows to their bows. A moment later the man sent a small bolt of fire down into the enclosure, which lit the oil on fire.

Moments later the entire floor of the enclosure was engulfed by flames. Several of the grey-skinend monsters suddenly lept to their feet as the fire reached them, the creatures having apparently been playing dead. These monsters where quickly riddle by arrows.

A sickening smell of burning meat filled the air as the guards kept a close eye on the heaps of monster corpses, but after about a minute had passed they all settled down. Some of them called out to their companions, with boasts and good humored trash talk as the majority of the guards started to make their way off the wall, while Farsmith and his colleagues started to break down the contraptions they had set up at the wall's corners and the gate.

As the majority of the guards cleared out the elderly spellcaster in the purple robes walked over to Bolten. He had handed his staves over to one of the guards, who was trailing behind him. When the elderly man arrived at Bolten's spot he made a small gesture with his left hand an a refreshing breeze picked up, clearing the smoke and smell away in a small area around the man. "I am magister Fernhal, guildmaster of the Fernhal courier guild. I was informed you might be interested in making use of our services." Fernhal cast a critical gaze over Bolten. "I take it you're with the Artificery society?" 
 

Oh, so the creatures played dead? That was  wonderful ... At least things seemed like they might finally be over.

When approached by the senior mage, Bolten gave a polite bow of greeting.  "Aye, Bolten Cogturner of the Society, I am. I had heard mention of the Fernhal courier's guild's research into extraplanar transportation and travel, but... I can see now that major details were left out of the logistics in such an endeavor... not to mention safety."  Bolten shuddered, even though there was no cold.  "One of my fellow artificers is looking to transport an entire tree from the frozen wastes to a noble house in the capital to make a giant harp. They gave him an extremely tight schedule and I offered to investigate this on his behalf. I can see now, however, that using such methods would entail a small army and... well, the risk of loss of life is hard for me to stomach.

Farsmith over there informed me that if I had to ask about your price point, I would be wasting everyone's time. In light of that statement, I will respect your time and take my leave now that my curiosity has been satisfied."  He couldn't quite keep the bitterness out of his voice at it all having been for nothing.
DeTess
"It is good to have a respect for the dangers our couriers face, but don't take it too far." The magister gave Bolten what was likely intended as a reassuring smile, though it looked a bit off on the man's stern face. "For example... Ally, casualties?" He suddenly turned to address a woman that had just scaled the wall. It was the sorceress who had been riding on the carriage, and who was likely responsible for opening the gate.

"Three wounded, no deaths. We had to leave Farad at the destination point in the care of Count Theodore, but he should make a full recovery." The sorceress gave her report in an exhausted tone.

"Thank you. Go get some sleep, I'll hear the rest of your report once you've rested." The magister send her off again, then turned back to Bolten. "I won't pretend we never lose guards. We have about one death every four journeys which, given the distances we cover is about the same casualty rate as traditional long-distance caravans. Our carriages also have enchantments inside that allows one to carry far more than you would think. In other words, your tree could fit inside just one of these carriages if cut up the right way. As for payment... we have had an inquiry about the feasibility of the transport job you just described a day or two ago, and given whop made it I don't think payment will be a problem."
WindStruck
The first night of Shandara's research, inspired by Aiden, didn't result in much. Technically the original task she had envisioned was possible.. practically anything was with magic! But unfortunately, the force of water rushing in from the ocean was pretty tremendous. Even if Shandara could fashion together a high level spell into a wand, a few charges of that spell would likely cost more than the boat itself. And this was only half of the process of repairing the vessel!

The current research in the library simply didn't seem promising. It didn't matter if the barrier targeted only water or not.. in fact that seemed to make the spell more complicated by ten fold. Then Shandara also remembered Aiden's suggestion about using ice to seal the hole. And while at first, ice expanding seemed like a terrible idea, she felt a bit frustrated from the other night and tried to think if there was a way to incorporate ice into temporarily sealing a hull breach.

Soon, she convinced herself that it had to be possible, although the process likely would not be instantaneous... Given the nature of water and how it could expand, it wouldn't even be wise to do this.  But perhaps, over the course of a minute or so, a ring of ice could be formed around the hole and slowly close in. Maybe, just maybe, the spell could draw energy from the water itself!

 
 Spoiler: ooc 
research rolls in OOC thread!
 
WindStruck
After another night of research, Shandara finds some promising ice-based spells to begin creating a new magic spell.

She stays home the following day to work out a prototype, which she believes she completes successfully. She now has a wand with one single charge to test, but now here is a problem.. how do you test that out safely?

 
 Spoiler: ooc 
Also a concern:  creating a wand with one charge is okay, right?  Or perhaps a scroll?  But if Shandara's wizard level is 2, how is she able to charge the wand or create the scroll in the first place?
 


After some thinking, she tries going over towards the place where she had once rented out a lab that could deal with a high amount of water flooding. She wonders if they had any recommendations for where she could test her spell, because she had no clue where she could conveniently block up a torrent of gushing water.
DeTess
 the campus facility offices 
Shandara finds herself at the campus facility offices, once again in search of a suitable testing grounds for a magical invention. The procedure is the same as last time, and soon enough she finds herself once more in Olaf Narson's office, paperwork in hand.

"Well, let's see here." The gigner-bearded dwarf looked voer the application, then rifled through several folders on his desk. "I'm afraid to say we don't have anything that's perfect for what you need. The waterworks labs could work, though you'll have to create your own test rig and way to get the waterflow you need, though I suppose you could use the fire suppression mechanism to help with that. Or... hmmm..." the dwarf considered matters a moment more, when an older human entered the office. He was bald, with a grey beard with a short, grey beard with just a few streaks of red left in it. The man nodded to wards Olaf, then walked over to the other desk in the office.

"Ah, Don, could you come here a second?" The young dwarf called out to his coworker, and showed him Shandara's application. "Do you have any suggestions?"

The human, Don, considered for a moment. "Nothing on campus besides the waterworks labs, but we helped the navy put together a facility for training crew on ship emergencies a year or two ago. It should provide a pretty good testing environment, but it's a navy facility, not a place just anyone can walk in and make use of." Don turned to address Shandara directly. "I could give you the name and address of the officer in charge there. The navy might be interested in the spell you describe here as well, so they might let you use their resources for testing. Otherwise our only option is the waterworks lab."

 Greyrock library 
Greyrock library was a large stone construction just outside the nobel district, more reminiscent of a fortress or prison than a place of learning, the rough-hewn stone and narrow windows speaking of strength and defensive purpose. Yet plenty of folk where walking in and out of the building, and a plaque next to the open heavy wooden doors did proclaim the building to be a library.

When Aiden entered he found the interior to be much more in line with what a library should be, rows upon rows of ceiling-height bookshelves interspersed by desks and tables for the library's patrons. There was a large front desk where people went to check out books or ask questions, which was manned by two old men and a woman, all three of whom had the scars and bearing of military veterans.

Aiden's own search through the library's collection proved unfruitful. He did find a number of interesting books, detailing topics such as sea journeys and the early exploration of the New World to the west, military campaigns, the history of the city of Vaungate and much more, yet the information on old elvish settlements proved quite elusive to the bard.
MrAbdiel
Aiden spent a long time outside of Greyrock, marvelling at the brute structure. He grins admiringly at the keystones over the arched doorframes, and runs his calloused hands over the snugly fitting stone intersections. Masonry wasn't his primary craft of course, but it was one of his many secondaries. Perhaps in time he'd be able to get his hands on a set of old mason's chisels stonesaws and -

Well, one thing at a time.

Browsing the library with his amateur enthusiasm, he found plenty that was fascinating in its own right, but nothing to his current focus. As always, he found himself at the mercy of the curators of such places. He'd just have to make another friend.

In a flash of counterintuitive cunning, he selects whichever of the three desk-bound attendants looks the  least  approachable, on the premise that such a person must be most in need of a friend of their own.

 "Fair fortune to you, good librarian. I've tried my own hand at finding what I need, but I'm afraid I'm just not very good at searching in a place like this. I'm Aiden.  Aiden Sorveaux." 
 
 Spoiler: Also: 
Aiden's also scoping out the desks, and particularly the chairs, that these old timers are stuck with, on the assumption that this place is just as spartan with its furniture as it is about its architecture. He might end up hooking them up with something more custom and ergonomic, especially if they help him out!
 
WindStruck
 "Ah, a navy training center,"  Shandara says, nodding with approval. Why hadn't she thought of that?  "That sounds like the perfect place to try, as I'm sure patching up holes in their ships is a crisis they want to be prepared for. Do you suppose a letter of recommendation would be helpful? Or perhaps.. yes, I think seeing the officer in charge would suffice as well." 

She mulls over the possibilities, wondering if there was enough time to perhaps attempt to visit them today. Or, she could simply write a letter...
DeTess
 Greyrock library 
 
 Spoiler: also 

The desks and chairs are indeed very simple and spartan, with the only accommodation for comfort the fact that some of the librarians had added thin cushions to their chairs. The mismatched shapes and patterns of these cushions suggest they came from elsewhere though.
 


The man Aiden approached had a greying beard and an eyepatch, with a long diagonal scar peeking from behind the covering. His remaining eye was a bright blue, and immediately locked onto Aiden when the bard spoke up. "What do you need?" His tone of voice was gruff and somewhat cold, though not dismissive.

 the Campus facility offices 
"You can find the officer at the Imperial Navy academy most of the time." Don explained. "Her name is Eva Islador, though that will be Captain Islador for most people." While he spoke Don had started writing a letter. "I can't claim to be close with her or anything, but we did work together on that training facility I mentioned, so a letter of introduction from me should be better than nothing. Your best bet at getting a meeting with her would be to drop by the academy between 12 and 1 o'clock, or between 4 and 6 in the afternoon, or by sending a letter." Don did not accompany the suggested times with any meaningful looks or other indications hat he was aware of Shandara's more nocturnal nature.

Once he had finished writing the letter, Don sealed it with a stamp holding the crest of the Artificery Society and handed it to Shandara. "Is there anything else we can help you with?"
WindStruck
 "Oh no, I don't need anything else.. thank you!"  Shandara says.

Depending on what time it was now, she could head over to the Academy now or later today, but in the likely event that she has missed the 4-6 window, she will go back home for the evening and add one more charge to her prototype wand (giving it two total castings).
MrAbdiel
He notes the furnishings. Standard - not particularly charitable, for old bones such as theirs. Hmm.

 "Well, I'm trying to get some information about old elven settlements or villages, ideally - those fallen into ruin or abandoned for one reason or another. It's for a project I'm working on, you see." 

Normally he'd go on a little more about the project, but he tries to match his brevity atleast somewhat with the librarian's!
DeTess
 Imperial Navy Academy 
Shandara took her leave from the campus facility office, and went home. She got an early day's rest, and woke up in the afternoon so she could make it to the Imperial Navy Academy around the appointed time.

The Imperial Navy Academy was located in the harbor district, close to the wharfs housing the portion of the fleet stationed in the city. The academy itself was spread out across the district, but those who had business with the academy would come to the central building, in which the officers took their lessons and where the administrative offices were housed. It was a large stately building, three floors high and made from grey stone weathered by the wind coming from the large river running past Vaungate.

The large central entrance led to a busy hall, filled with officer cadets and the occasional teacher moving around, though it seemed the day of teaching had come to an end, with most of the cadets heading out. Shandara got quite a few curious looks, but no one tried tos top her, and she quickly found a reception desk where visitors could announce their presence and business.

After introducing herself the Drow was asked to wait for a moment while the letter of introduction was taken to captain Islador, then after about ten minutes she was led to the captain's office on the third floor.

The office was fairly small, but was lit up by a large window overlooking the harbor. The furniture was simple and sparse, with a heavy wooden desk and simple chairs in front of the window, and low bookcases along the walls holding all kinds of treatises on naval warfare. In contrast, the walls above the bookcases were decorated with several paintings, showing ships at sea, in battle or in the harbor. All paintings were done in the same style, with rough brush strokes which nonetheless beautifully captured the essence of the sea and ships.

The captain herself was an old woman, gray of hair and with a face weathered by the sea. She wore an immaculate azure uniform with several medals pinned on the left side. A well-maintained bu simple saber was hanging from a peg on her desk, easily within reach. The woman regarded Shandara with grey-green eyes the color of a stormy sea. "You're the artificer, yes? Mister Donovan mentioned you where working on a spell that could be of interest to the navy, but need a way to test it. Take a seat and explain." She gestured to one of the two chairs in front of her desk.

 Greyrock library 
"That's a broad topic." The man considered for a moment. "Too broad. We have records of military campaigns involving fights against elven enclaves like the Grey Forest Campaign, or older history books detailing abandoned enclaves, for example those about the green valley exodus. There is also more modern stuff, about... urbanization or something like that, that causes villages to empty. If you want me to help, you're going to have to be more specific."
MrAbdiel
 Greyrock Library 
 "Hmm!"  When he put it like that, it  was  broad.

 "How about... Abandoned, ruined, and defunct elven settlements in wooded areas - if any are close to Vaungate, that's especially helpful. I suppose the Grey Forest Campaign and the Green Valley Exodus both interest me..."
 
 
 Spoiler: OOC: Quick Geography Roll 
...To see if I might know where either of those locations are...  (1d20+4)[ 10 ] 

Well, they're pretty big geographical features. 10 might be enough to know which is closer, and request info on that! If not, he'll look dumbfounded and ask.
 
WindStruck
 
 Spoiler: ooc 
Also not sure if Xavier is here. If this is earlier than he normally comes, maybe she'll leave a note that this is where she was going in the afternoon.
 


Shandara meekly makes her way through the Academy with purpose, yet also lost and curious, with hood drawn and the new glasses that Aiden made for her. She has seen more impressive buildings before, but noticeably not gotten so many looks. Strange. Something about the military, or the navy then? As she enters, she pulls the hood down and puts her glasses away. Eventually, she enters the office of a human woman who was, for once, possibly older than herself.

She nods and takes a seat.  "Yes. Thanks to the inspiration of a friend, who is quite the carpenter and somewhat of a shipwright.. oh dear, already getting off subject..." 

Shandara clears her throat and says,  "Captain Islador, what I have been developing is a fast and cost-effective way to seal up breaches in ship hulls that have been seriously damaged. Seeing as the navy is obviously in the business of defense and warfare, suffering attacks is bound to happen.. and that's not even mentioning accidents out at sea. Currently what I have made is a spell that should be able to seal up a breach in a hull in a matter of seconds, albeit temporarily. It is only the first of two I plan to work on, as once the first has dealt with the violent influx of water, the second will make more permanent repairs to a ship's hull. But what I need is to test the spells, in particular, the first one that stops the water..." 

She glances around a bit at the pictures on the wall, awkwardly continuing,  "Um.. the problem is, trying to test the application isn't exactly feasible in situations that are not real, life-threatening emergencies. But I did hear there was some sort of training facility here at the academy, that might deal with hull breaches?" 
DeTess
 Greyrock library 
 
 Spoiler: OOC: geography 

the 'Green valley' in question is fairly close to Vaungate, about a day walking upstream (for a fit person, there is a fairly regular carriage service as well). As the name suggests it is a beautifully green valley, in which elven ruins have been found. Several of the ruins have been preserved, and a lot of nobles have summer estates in this area.

The grey forest is further away, a week or two's walk to get to the nearest edge, and its is a very large and dense forest. Lots of woodcutting and hunting villages along its edges, but most people avoid travelling deep into the forest, as many dangerous creatures lurk there.
 

"If it's nearby you want, the green valley would be close." The man started flipping through a large book, stopping occasionally to squint at what was written with his one good eye. "Let's see here... 'Remnants of the Trisainid dynasty' should be about the ruins in the green valley and the stuff found there. 'Tracing the green valley exodus' is probably more about trying to figure out where those elves went, but might still be useful to you. Oh, and 'kingdoms before empire: Vaungate' should be about the history of this area before the empire was founded, so you could find other leads in there, maybe."

The old man slowly got up. "Follow me and I'll show you where these books should be."

 Imperial Navy Academy 
"The IN Reefshark would allow you to test those spells in close to real circumstances." The captain considered for a moment. "I can have you take part in a training exercise, two days from now. Best case, we'll get a show-case of a useful spell, worst case, it'll make a for a good extra obstacle for our cadets." Captain Islador added matter-of-factly.

"How many castings will you want to test at most? Naturally, if it proves a dismal failure I reserve the right to pull you out after one test." The captain moved on to more practical matters. "And how fit are you? If I make it a part of our regular practice you'll be expected to do a bit of running around and up and down stairs in the Reefshark. If you don't think you're up to it, could you provide the spell in a way someone else with some magical training can use it?"
MrAbdiel
 Greyrock Library 
 "That sounds real fine, sir; I'd be real thankful." 

He falls into step just behind enough to let the old timer lead, but as close to side by side as reason affords. And then, unable to simply take a win, he asks:

 "Would'y' mind if I ask where you served?" 
WindStruck
Shandara answers, shrugging,  "I think I'll only bring two charges in a wand. One should suffice, but in case something goes wrong and I feel some form of slight adjustment could remedy the problem, a second chance would be helpful. Or, simply the opportunity to observe the spell a second time could provide some more information." 

She's a bit less comfortable when asked how fit she is.  "W-well, I mean, I'm a bit nimble I suppose. But it's not like I'm very physically active..."  Blinking when coming to a realization.  "Ah, well, my overall plan was to eventually develop recharging wands that just about anyone could use. I'd imagine that having an artificer or other type of caster on board at all times wouldn't be necessary to utilize them." 
DeTess
 Greyrock library 
"Better to ask where I haven't." The librarian grumbled. "I've fought against giants and barbarians in the north, centaurs and more barbarians in the east, and undead in the south. At least the undead had dealt with the barbarians in the south already."

The old librarian didn't move that quickly, but there was an economy and certainty to his motion that betrayed a life of physical activity that meant that even in old age his body had not abandoned him. Soon enough he had found the books he had listed before, though he had Aiden fetch a book on a particular low plank for him.

"Some formalities, I suppose." He spoke up again after the books were found. "If you just want to read these here, you can sit down at any desk and do so. Bring the books to the front desk when you leave. If you want to take these home to study you'll need to fill in a form and pay for membership. And if you damage the books, there'll be hell to pay. All clear?

 Imperial Navy Academy 
"Well, there should be a shipmage present to handle the wand if you're not up for the physical part." The captain started writing a note, then attached a personal seal to it. "The training will start the day after tomorrow, be at the Reefshark facility at six o'clock in the morning. Actually, come 15 minutes early, and someone can show you around the facility before we start." The captain provided Shandara with an address and directions towards the facility. It was apparently a large drydock not that far from the Academy main building they were in now. "Show this at the entrance and they'll let you in." She handed Shandara the note she had written before. It contained a simple mention that she would be allowed in to the facility on the given date. "Any questions?"
MrAbdiel
 Greyrock Library 
 "Quite a series of tours of duty, sir! I imagine a bit of peace and quiet in a place like this suit you well enough now, though. A membership? Oh, well that sounds fair. I suppose I'd better get a membership then. Thank you for all your help - let's get that fee sorted out..." 

He takes the books procured for him, and lets his aging assistant lead the way back to where the form is to be filled out. He takes note of the man's height compared to his, and tries to supress a chuckle. In the mind of Aiden Sorveaux, the idea of spontaneously deciding to make a stranger a comfortable chair qualifies as a  prank .

 
 Spoiler: OOC: 
Aiden'll get that membership, and check these books out.

Then he'll stop by some of his dealers to pick up some leather and duck down, and then when he gets home he's going to put these books he's hired on a desk nearby and immediately procrastinate by making this fellow a custom comfortable chair with cushions and leather armrests and all the works. It shouldn't be too much because, while there's no listed price for an armchair, a light chariot comes in at 50GC! A bedroll's in at 1SP, a folding chair at 2GP... So Aiden might sink 7GP in materials into this thing to make a chair worth about 21GC to the right buyer, just out of comfort and artistry. But I'll worry about that after we get this membership and these books done.
 
WindStruck
Shandara took the paper and nodded. So day after tomorrow..  This was currently early evening.  Shandara would therefore spend two nights up, then meet them early afterward.

 "No, I don't think I have any questions for you,"  she says, though she pauses a moment just to be sure.  "I don't suppose you would mind if I brought my owl familiar along?"  She didn't know why, but for some reason maybe she thought Elu could help in some way. Or, perhaps the company would be nice as they went back home after it was all over.

 "I'll make sure I have at least two charges ready. And remember, the first spell is only temporary. So.. assuming it works, your crew would still have to patch up the hole in whatever the training exercise entails. But it ought to be much easier without water pouring in." 
DeTess
 Greyrock Library 
The membership fee ended up being a yearly 10 gold pieces, and required Aiden to fill out some forms with basic personal information, including his name, address and occupation. This was all handed quickly and easily, and soon enough the bard was on his way back home.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 

Those 7 GP will indeed get you materials to make a pretty nice and comfortable chair. Maybe not the kind that would be in a noble's parlor, but definitely the kind a merchant would have behind his desk.
 

 Imperial Navy Academy 
"Bringing your pet is fine, though I wouldn't recommend brining them below decks in the Reefshark." The captain provided her permission, then gave Shandara one more reminder of the time she would be expected at the facility, before seeing her off.
MrAbdiel
 
 Spoiler: OOC: 
I have subtracted 10GP for the membership to Greyrock, and 7GP for materials, from my inventory!
 


Back at the  Fiddle and Saw , Aiden races upstairs to place the books in his study, and then down to unload the materials for the side project into his workshop, then slid over to his drafting table and began to draw, mumbling to himself.

 "He was... what..? I'm three over six, he was to my eyebrow so..five over eleven. But hunched, so... say one over six..." 
 
 Spoiler: Time for some Chair-ity 
Project: Comfortable Ergonomic Chair. 21GC Market Value. A padded, smart looking chair with some built-in sliders tightened and loosened by wingnuts to be customized to the comfort requirements of the sitter.

Crafting DC on Crossbow is 15, but that involves minimizing weight and tension maximums and accuracy and all these things... But 10DC seems too low, because that's like the DC for making an iron pot. Which is not easy, but is less complex than a chair with adjustable parts. There are some examples of  DC12  items on the example list, so let's go with that.

Need to accumulate 210SP worth of success at DC12 to complete the project. With Masterwork Tools, Aiden has a +22 at carpentry... Slightly more if he can pull in an assist from Cliff or Markel, but I'll assume they're busy with the boat/fishing/deciding what they want to do with their young lives. Can beef up the DC to 32 to accelerate it.

He'll be able to take 10 to make one of these in about 1.5 days in the future, but since this is the first one, he's gonna roll, and I'll throw my Inexplicable Luck into this one too. I assume the last day was spent entirely in library hopping and imagining the project, so this will consume atleast the day after.

  vs32  - (1d20+30)[ 43 ]  , divided by 7 for the SP value of one day of wild-eyed carpenter work.

EDIT: Result... 196.5 SP of work. So 196.5/210 after one day of inspired work, and then a half day the day after to finish it. Then he can load it up on Ambrose and deliver it to the library. Hooray!
 
DeTess
 Imperial Navy Academy - Reefshark training facility 
A day and a half later, Shandara once again found herself in the harbor district. Following the directions she had been given she arrived at the Reefshark training facility. The facility was a large drydock, with massive stone walls hiding something within, right at the rivers edge.

Shandara was quickly admitted when she presented the message with the captain's seal to a guard, and after passing through a short hallway she entered the dock proper. Inside was the hull of a mid-size ship. It lacked masts, but everything else seemed to be present, as it sat high in the water, the drydock currently flooded with river water to allow the ship to float. The ship's hull was a patchwork of wooden planks and patches, many of which where attached with cables to machinery set in the drydock's walls. Nonetheless, the ship's name, the 'IN Reefshark' was still clearly readable on the bow.

As the Drow looked over the ship, she saw someone disembark using a gangplank connecting the ship to the shore and approach her. It was a human man in his mid forties, with a well-groomed beard. He wore a uniform similar to what captain Islador had worn, though the rank insignia on his should was a bit simpler.

"Good morning." He greeted Shandara in a gruff voice. "I take it you're the artificer the captain told me to expect? I am supposed to give you a quick tour of the facilities before we begin."
WindStruck
Shandara saw Xavier off once she arrived at the facility. However, Elu was still with her, perched on a wrist.

 "Yes, I am,"  she said simply.  "...sergeant?" 
 "I suppose you can choose to flood the area with water, or drain it, and the ship will still stand relatively stable thanks to the cables?" 
DeTess
"We're not in the army here. I'm Wavemaster Carver." The man introduced himself. He started walking back to the ship, explaining more about the setup as he did so. "Those cables allow us to rip away special panels to simulate breaches and leaks. We control how far the ship can sink by raising or lowering the water level. The bottom of the drydock is curved to stop the ship from listing too far."

Carver led her onto the ship and gave her a tour of the vessel. Inside the ship consisted of narrow hallways with the occasional wider rooms for storage, sleeping areas for sailors and the like. In the areas below the waterline a lot of tears and holes where visible in the hull, each of which was patched with wood from the outside. Carver explained the the wood patches on the outside where held in place using magic, but that magic could easily be turned off and on again to create leaks.

After a quick tour across the ship Carver led Shandara back to a round hole about a foot across, just below the waterline. It was located in a fairly narrow hallway running across most of the length of the ship, though it was partitioned off by a couple solid wooden doors. "This will be where we'll do the first leak during the training. You'll start on the deck with the cadets. It will be their job to locate the leak, get you to it safely, let you try your spell, then patch the hole up. By the time they'll get you here, the water will be about..." He looked Shandara over, comparing her height to the rest of the ship. "Hip-high for you, and still gushing in, so there'll be a decent current. The cadets should help move you through it, but it will still be rough for you. Are you up for that? If not, I will do the job if you have a wand or something like that with your spell, and can explain to me what I should do and what I should expect."

 
 Spoiler: OOC: shipranks 

On hearing the title, Shandara would probably realize she would have heard it's like before. Wavemasters, Tidemasters, Stormmasters, etc. are casters specialized in nautical matters.
 
WindStruck
Shandara nodded at the man's title and introduction. So seemed he did have some magical aptitude. She left Elu to perch somewhere outside and took a tour below the decks.

Shandara looked down with some worry when realizing how high the water would already be.  "Oh dear..."  she said, quite indecisively. She wasn't dressed for this, and didn't fancy becoming all soaked from her waist down.  "I'm afraid I don't have galoshes, or waders, or whathaveyou." 

She looked around to see if there were even handholds to help pull herself along through the water.

 "It might be best if you did it, although I really wanted to observe the spell myself to see if there were any hiccups, or where I can improve." 
DeTess
"I can give you my opinion. And you should be able to see the effect from the dock, though I don't know how close you'll need to be to see what you need to." The ship's mage suggested. "We can also lend you some more appropriate clothes."
WindStruck
 "...what kind of clothes?"  Shandara asked. She was pretty skeptical about how it looked, or would fit, or if it might be soiled or disease-ridden or something. Then again, it was part of the naval academy, so maybe it was just some sort of uniform?
DeTess
Carver led Shandara back to the drydock and to a door leading into the dock's structure. "This is the women's changing room. You can check what we have here."

For obvious reasons Carver remained outside. The changing room was fairly large, with benches, lockers and racks of clothing. The clothing consisted of long black boots, brown pants that seemed to have been treated with a waxy substance, faded yellow shirts and heavy blue raincoats. They all seemed clean enough, though signs of wear were present on some items.
WindStruck
Shandara gave the clothes available a good look, even going so far as trying on some of the boots and pants, but it felt like many of the articles were just too big for her and awkward, tangibly weighing her down, or if they were sized for a dwarf, somehow still too small and yet also far too wide. Standing at only about 4'9" and being as thin as a rail, she mentally threw her hands up and told herself  'forget it.'  Elu, sensing her distress and frustration, ruffled her feathers and flew over, scrabbling near the door with wings flapping as Shandara emerged back in her everyday clothes.

She sticks an arm out to try to sooth Elu, and sighs to Wavemaster Carver,  "I don't think this is going to work..." 
 "So, why don't I just show you the wand, how to activate it, what you should do while casting..."  Shandara sounded pretty disappointed.

In any case, activating the spell should have been simple enough, as with any other wand. But after activating the wand, she explained there still needed to be a period of focus, as one needed to point the wand as if there was an imaginary line, and draw a circle around the breach in the hull. After the circle was completed, that should be everything done, and the hole should seal up temporarily after a few more seconds. Seconds, because a one-foot hole sounded very small in her mind, for the application of this spell.
DeTess
 Imperial Navy Academy - Reefshark training facility 
Carver listened to the description Shandara gave of the spell, then nodded. "I'll take care of it." He pointed Shandara to a goo look-out point, then headed back to the ship.

Shortly after that a new group of a little over a dozen people arrived. Led by captain Islador, they where a mix of experienced looking sailors and fresh looking cadets from the academy. Shandara got some surprised looks, but captain Islador gave them no time to approach her. The men and women she had brought with her made a quick stop by the changing rooms, then boarded the ship, wearing the clothes Shandara had seen in in the changing rooms before. The gangplank as then pulled onto the ship.

A couple minutes passed as the captain provided the cadets and sailors with instruction. She finished by handing a slightly fancier raincoat to one of the cadets before retreating to the ship's aftcastle. Carver had joined the cadets as well. Shortly afterwards one of the cables attached to the wooden patches on the ship tightened, and moments alter the plate let go altogether, opening up a hole in the ship's side. Water immediately started rushing in, with a gurgling noise Shandara could even hear from the side.

The cadet that had been given the fancy coat immediately started shouting orders, her voice audible even from the side. Some of the other sailors and cadets where send to m=operate pumps to try and pump water out of the ship, others where send to get wood from storage, and she then led a third group, including carver, below decks to check out the damage. A minute or so passed, and then Shandara could see a bloom of ice form in the surface of the water, right near where the new hole was located.

About 10 more minutes passed, then the sailors and cadets returned to the deck, many of them soaked to their knees or even higher up. The gangplank was replaced, and captain Islador waved for Shandara to join them.

"Wavemaster, report." The captain gave the order once Shandara was present.

"The spell worked mostly as advertised. Some of the water pouring into the ship froze as well, which had to be cut away before repairs could be done, however, repairs were still effected a bit quicker than usual due to the lack of water rushing in." Carver reported in his customary gruff tone.

"Acting captain Torren, do you have anything to add?" Captain Islador addressed the cadet who had been given the fancy coat next.

The cadet saluted, then gave a report of her own. "Yes, captain. If a spell like this became standard issue, it should be paired with a tool for easily cutting away the ice growth inside the ship to save more time."

Captain Islador nodded, then turned towards Shandara. "It seems your spell has potential. What would you reckon would be the largest hole it could cover?"

 the Docks 
Aiden had settled in at the docks, working on his project while keeping an eye on the small boat sailing back and forth on the river. Today was the third day of Cliff and Markel where getting their fishing training.

Towards the end of the afternoon their little boat returned to the docks, at the same time the three significantly larger vessels of Elin's fishing fleet pulled into harbor. These three ships would leave early in the morning, sailing downriver to the sea to do their fishing with large nets.

Cliff dragged two buckets from the boat onto the dock, one filled with riverfish and the other with crayfish. He had a big grin on his face as he looked over his catch. Markel followed shortly after, carrying a pair of simple fishing poles. He too had a smile on his face, but Aiden could tell immediately that it was far more brittle than Cliff's genuine look of happiness and excitement. Markel also looked very tired, though the kid hid it reasonably well.

Cliff and Markel were accompanied by an old fisherman who had retired from Elin's fleet several years back. The man had wispy white hair and beard, and the wind and salt of the nearby sea had carved deep grooves in his face, yet his experience made him an excellent teacher of the fishing trade.

"Boys, go take your catch to Elin." The old fisherman gestured towards the largest of the three fishing ships. "Then see if they need any help bringing in their catch or setting up dinner."

The two boys immediately set out, sparing a quick wave for Aiden.

Meanwhile, the old fisherman approached the bard. "You're the boys' guardian angel, right? Let's have a chat." He nodded with his head towards a nearby bar.
MrAbdiel
Aiden literally claps and cheers at the sight of their catch - the kind of paternal over-celebration that risks embarassment now for fond recollection later. He notes Markel's expression, and the sense that he's less in his element than Cliff. That may be a tradeoff he has to make - work with his friend ongoing, or try to maintain that friendship while filling their days with useful work some other way. It was an easy enough thought, though these lads had cleaved to each other in destitution and come upon the ruined fishing boat, and dreamed of making something of it together. Having no children of his own, Aiden could only imagine the feeling was a common one for parents looking at their children grow and have to confront the unenviable trade-offs of life. He'd have to talk to Markel and see if he could buoy him up a little.

When the fisherman came to meet him, he met him as amiably as ever, and once introduced set aside his busy work in Ambrose's saddlebags to take an evening ale with sailor.

 "I'm pleased as can be that the boys are getting a chance to learn, an' no lie. I can show them jointing and lacquering and all sorts of things, but I'm no sailor or fisherman myself outside of my sketchbook. So thank you very much, for all you're teaching them." 
DeTess
"They're bright kids, so teaching them is no hassle at all." The old fisher replied. "When Elin asked me for the favor I expected to need a week just to teach them the basics, but I never needed to explain anything twice and they had the basics of pole fishing and sailing the river down by day two. Taught them how to set and retrieve crayfish traps and started on nets today." The old man had a note of pride in his voice as he spoke, before his expression darkened.

"Unfortunately Markel does not have the constitution for this kind of work. Though that is not even the real issue." He sighed. "Two buddies of mine sailed the trade routes. One day they encountered a storm and their ship sank. They managed to swim to a nearby deserted island and survived together for a few years before being picked up by another ship. In that time they had changed. They had gotten so used to relying on one another they could not even imagine doing anything separately. It took them a long while to even understand that was an option."

"These two kids have something similar going on. I don't know everything about their background, but it seems like Cliff in particular has put it in his mind that they'll get a better life together, or not at all. Elin will want to take him on as an apprentice, but not Markel, and he'll probably do the fool thing anf turn the offer down, even if as an apprentice with her fleet he'll earn more than the two of them can together with their little boat." The old fisherman laid out the problem step by step.

"And don't take this as me saying that Markel is no good. He's the smartest of the two, and the best at finicky work like untangling fishing lines. He'll do just fine at a trade where he can work inside most of the day, and won't have to do too much heavy lifting. But fishing is the opposite of that."

"Someone will have to talk to them about this. Someone they really trust and will listen to." The old man finished what he wanted to say and downed the remains of his ale. "Well, that was all I wanted to say."
WindStruck
Shandara looked down and took a moment to think.  "Hm...  Well, that would really depend on how much power was put into the spell, and therefore, how expensive the wand would be. But I'd figure, at the most basic level.. about 15 square feet?" 
 
 Spoiler: ooc 
Estimating something like 5 sq. ft. per caster level, in addition to lasting 1 min per caster level.
 

 "The other feedback you had about the ice forming inside was also something I was afraid of. I should be able to tweak the spell to minimize it, but still, I believe a mundane tool of some sort should help immensely." 
MrAbdiel
Aiden gives a sad smile as the older gent explains the situation; the disparity between Cliff and Markel. He'd gleaned an inkling of the same trouble just seeing them come ashore together; but this clarified and clinched it. But while he had the chance to probe...

 "I see, I see. I'll have to talk to them, see what they want. They're street kids, you know? They've lost enough, but found a brother in each other. Seems a crime against the heavens and mortal realms to not give them every chance to keep that much, until they're ready to loosen that grip. But Markel -... You don't think he'll grow into it? I mean... do you think he's ailing, in some way?" 
DeTess
 Imperial Navy Academy - Reefshark training facility 
"Understood. We'll run another test on a larger hole then." Captain Islador turned towards acting captain Torres "Acting captain, hand your mantle over to cadet Steelhold." The woman handed the fancy coat over to another cadet, a youngish-looking dwarf. "Acting captain Steelhold, take your crew to tool storage and bring back any tools you think will be useful for dealing with ice growth."

While the cadets went to find their tools captain Islador started signing something towards w window set in the drydock wall. Soon afterwards the water level within the drydock started to rise.

When the cadets returned with several saws, chisels, hammers and picks Shandara was once again send to the shore. Once the gangplank was removed the apparatus of the facility sprung into action and another patch was removed from the hull, this one significantly larger and deeper down.

The cadets and sailors wasted no time leaping into action, but it took them significantly longer to get the situation under control this time around, nearly half an hour, during which the ship started to sit quite deep into the water before eventually returning to its normal buoyant state. When the cadets returned this time they were all completely drenched. The new acting captain looked rather angry.

Shandara was once again called back on board for the evaluation.

"The spell sealed the rent without major issues. It seems it has no trouble with more complex shapes." The Wavemaster began his report after a nod from the captain. "Some ice spilled in once again, but we could cut it away with little difficulty now that we had tools ready. However, the spell did not last long enough to finish patching the hole in its entirety, which undid a portion of the work. It is my opinion that better timekeeping on the part of the acting captain would have prevented some of the issues, but a greater duration of the spell would be preferred as well when dealing with greater damage." The acting captain frowned at the wavemaster's criticism, but kept his peace.

"Do you have anything to add, acting captain Steelhold?" Captain Islador turned to him.

The cadet considered his words for a moment, the anger eventually retreating from his face somewhat. "As the wavemaster said, we were caught unawares by the spell expiring while about halfway through repair operations, which ripped a plank loose. I recognize that the spell's limited duration is something I should have kept track off, though I also strongly believe the duration is something that needs improvement."

Captain Islador simply nodded, then turned to Shandara. "Miss Shandara, it seems like your spell has promise, though it will need some improvements yet. Assuming you are still interested in further developing it, I'll pass the results of our testing here on to my superiors. they will likely be interested in making this an official commission."

 cafe by the docks 
"I don't think so." The old fisherman shook his head. "I doubt Markel would have had a great constitution even if he grew up under better circumstances, but as it is he missed too many meals during the years where he should have been growing. If he gets good food from now on it might still get better, but I doubt it."
WindStruck
 "Ah yes, the time..."  Shandara began.

 "I offer you my apologies,"  she said to the drenched acting captain and crew.  "To be fair, however, as I had mentioned to captain Islador the other day that this was only one of two spells in development. The plan would ideally be to first cast the spell that creates a temporary icy barrier, then a second wand could patch up the ship in a very quick time... once the excess ice is chipped away, I suppose." 

Nodding to the captain, she says,  "Well, I'm glad the spell at least worked as I thought it would. I will try to improve it, and get to work on the second." 
MrAbdiel
Aiden doesn't fight the concession any longer. Frankly, he'd suspected the same scenario.  "Well, thanks again, my friend. You know, when I was on my way to the big city, people warned me that a huge place like Vaungate wasn't like small towns - people here are supposed to be selfish and careless and so forth. But I keep meeting folks who're so kind and helpful, and sir, you're another one of just those. The things you're teaching these boys will change their lives, you understand? Anyway, I appreciate it." 

He commits the fisherman's name to memory, shakes his hand, and bids him farewell at the bottom of their drinks.

Back at home, when the lads get home, he ask Maria to draw a warm bath, and tries to finagle young Markel to go take his first under the pretense of washing up before dinner, but genuinely to get a chance to talk to Cliff alone. He asks the taller lad about all he's learning and how well things are going and, after being hearty with his praise and lavish with his approbation, he broaches the difficult topic.

 "You're both close to having what you hoped for when Mischa introduced us - your own boat, and fishing rights, and everything with it. You can have that, and probably make enough together to get by alright. But from what I can see, you've got the strength and natural ability to do something else - maybe work on the big ships like you're learning now. Markel's doing well by all accounts, but he's littler than you, and he might not be able to work as hard and as long as you can. That means you're both going to have to decide what happens next for you. I'm going to talk to Markel just the same when you're off having a bath, and then we'll talk about it together. But I want you boys to know that I'll keep helping you lads out as best I can whatever way that goes - and friends like you are to each other... well, that doesn't go away even if one of you is on a boat and the other isn't. So let me ask you a hard question, Cliff - where do you want to be, when you're looking back a year from now and remembering this?" 
DeTess
 Imperial Navy Academy - Reefshark training facility 
The dwarf currently bearing the mantle of acting captain sullenly accepted Shandara's apology.

"I, or someone responsible for development of magical tools for the navy will reach out to you soon." Captain Islador and Wavemaster Carver accompanied Shandara back to the gangplank to see her off, with Carver returning the now deplated wand to Shandara. Once the drow had returned to dry land the captain returned to her cadets to set them to work once more. Even though Shadnara's tests had been completed, it seemed like the training was not at an end yet for them.

 The Fiddle and Saw 
Cliff looked down at his feet, a sullen look on his face. It made him look a lot younger than the confident way he usually presented himself. "It's not fair." He spoke after a moment. "Markel is smart and kind, but because he isn't big or strong people ignore him. His tricks and ideas have helped us get out of trouble a lot of the time, but now..."

"I listened to the sailors. Their boss, Elin, seems to treat and pay them well, and if I sign up with her fleet, I won't have to worry about going hungry or without a roof over my head again. But that's only an option for me. They clearly think Markel will just get in the way..."

"Can't you convince them that Markel will be just as good a fisher as I am?" Cliff Looked up at Aiden, the uncharacteristic show of vulnerability betraying his true age, a kid not even 17 summers old.
MrAbdiel
 The Fiddle and Saw 

 Cliff looked down at his feet, a sullen look on his face. It made him look a lot younger than the confident way he usually presented himself. "It's not fair." He spoke after a moment. "Markel is smart and kind, but because he isn't big or strong people ignore him. His tricks and ideas have helped us get out of trouble a lot of the time, but now..."

"I listened to the sailors. Their boss, Elin, seems to treat and pay them well, and if I sign up with her fleet, I won't have to worry about going hungry or without a roof over my head again. But that's only an option for me. They clearly think Markel will just get in the way..."

"Can't you convince them that Markel will be just as good a fisher as I am?" Cliff Looked up at Aiden, the uncharacteristic show of vulnerability betraying his true age, a kid not even 17 summers old. 

Aiden gave the question what appeared to be genuine consideration.  "Well... Probably, I could. I'm pretty convincing when I try. But you're right - it's not fair. Markel's not big and strong like you. He can keep up, but I don't think he can do this day after day at the pace they'll be expecting him to do it. Fishing's just about the most ancient job possible, and lots of the tricks and ideas have already been worked out. It's a better fit for you than it is him. But -... hey, let me show you this." 

He moved to the alcove of the wall where the original models of the Hexfold Recovery System arrayed on pegs jutting from the wall. He took one of the primary hulls with its matching secondaries down and set it on the table, briefly describing in loose terms the ship's role.

 "...And then when they're all hooked up, the stop the ship from sinking so the ship's carpenters can repair it. I reckon, over time, it'll save the navy a lot of money and more than a few good men and women's lives. And you know what else? They paid me a lot of gold for it. Thousands of gold, if I'm honest. I'm not particularly strong, and I might not even be real smart, truth be told - but I've got some tricks and ideas, and there's plenty of good work for folks with tricks and ideas. The shop downstairs I do because I like the work. It's why I was able to let that boat clog up my barn all these weeks and work on it with you boys. I do the thing I'm best at for pay, but I do the work I love because I love it. And whatever happens - whether you boys take your own boat to fish at your own pace, or try your hands at something else, or if you end up spending more time apart so you can fish and he can do something else - you'll have a place here at the end of the day as long as you need it. I let you boys in and trusted you, and you've validated that trust every day. Neither of you are going hungry or without a roof any more, okay?" 
DeTess
Cliff sighed, still clearly indecisive. "I..."

He was interrupted by Markel entering the room, his hair still a bit damp from the bath. "I'm done in the bathroom, Cliff."

"Alright, I'll go wash up then." Cliff cast another glance at Aiden and Markel before heading off to the bathroom.

"Ehm, can I talk to you about something?" Markel addressed Aiden as soon as Cliff had left, beating the bard to the punch.

"Cliff seems to really be getting into fishing these past few days, and to hear our teacher and the other sailors talk, he probably has a real future on one of those big boats. But the work has been tough for me so far, and it'll probably only get tougher if I wanted to try working on one of the big boats. I don't think that's something I can do...  Or want to do do... " The last bit was added very quietly.

"Uhmmm... you said you would take us on as apprentices before. Is that something I could do on my own as well?" Markel cut to the real question he wanted to ask. "I really did enjoy the work in the workshop. And I saw some of the other things you have made, like the instruments, and I would really like to learn how to do that too..."
MrAbdiel
Aiden smiles a little, gesturing to the seat Cliff had just vacated for Markel to sit.  "It's not like sitting on a pier throwing out a line from a handreel, is it? Heh... I couldn't do that kind of work day after day, I think." He touches his palms together then opens his hands to his sides, as if to embody the still-openness of his earlier offer. "Markel, I'd be honored to take you on. I'd take Cliff too if he wanted, but that'd be up to him. You boys have been through a lot together, and I don't want either of you to think that, if you end up looking toward different ways of making a living in the world, it's alright. I told Cliff just before you came down - no matter what happens, you'll both have a place here as long as you want it. But you're also both growing up - you're coming up on the age where young men start thinking about spending a little less time with their friends and a little more looking for someone to hitch themselves to for life. If you're brave and open, you'll keep your old friends and make new ones all the time. Anyway, the point is, I know it's not quite the perfect picture you boys had when you found that old busted-up boat, but it's going to be fine for both of you, and you're welcome to come on as an apprentice with me. I could use the help." 
DeTess
"You talked to Cliff? How did he take that?" Markel asked when Aiden revealed he had already talked to the bigger boy. "He seemed to really like learning to fish, but I'm worried he would get angry or sad if I left him to do that on his own."
MrAbdiel
 "Well, I'll let you two talk about it when he gets back; but he's mostly frustrated on your behalf. He thinks Elin's people are undervaluing you. I'm sure he would be sad and mad if they offered him an apprenticeship without you - but he'd be sad because you and he spent so long imagining this escape from having nothing and nowhere together, and mad because he feels like they're leaving you behind. I don't think he'd be upset at you at all. Though he might be a little crestfallen that it's not all working out like you imagined, but not that you're doing anything wrong. But you're young men - you gotta talk to each other about this and decide if you both want to look for some other thing to do together, or if you're going to be okay going in different directions for your day-to-day work and spend other time together maybe fishing on your boat where no one's shouting at you to pull up a drag line or whatnot. I'll be here in case you need me to answer something or help, but I think you're both going to be fine. You just need to talk honestly, and do it knowing that you're not desperate kids anymore. You survived the hard part. You've got some options now."  
DeTess
Markel nodded, taking Aiden's advice to heart. "I'll talk to Cliff then."

Markel didn't waste any time putting his words into action, and took his brother aside as soon as he returned from his bath. The two had a long talk, and Cliff did seem somewhat upset, but eventually agreed with what Markel told him.

During dinner, Markel shared the results of their talk in a simple way. "I'll be coming by the workshop starting the day after tomorrow to help and learn then, Aiden." Cliff simply nodded. It seemed that, at least for now, the two boys would be taking slightly different roads in improving their lives.
MrAbdiel
Aiden doesn't like seeing either of the lads in discomfort. Cliff could be forgiven for feeling slightly the fool now for going to bat so hard for Markel, before Markel elected to step away. But Aiden could hardly insulate them from working out matters of loyalty and friendship in such a dividing circumstance. Aiden advises Markel to offer Elin and the old fisherman to finish out the term of the trial period - he had given his word, and even if he would get to the end exhausted and feeling a little defeated, the carpenter tries to assure him the value of keeping his word is better for everyone involved.  "Proud of you boys, you know. The way you looked after each other for so long. I hope... I can count on you to help me out later on. Maybe we can find something to do together to help out other young folks with nowhere to go. I don't know if we can get them all fishing boats, but I'm sure we can figure out something. You boys are inspirational."  past that, he doesn't hammer on the point. He doesn't want to embarrass Cliff, especially.

 
 Spoiler: OOC: 
 M'poor lads!

Well, I guess I gotta finish that chair next then get back to research. When Markel shows up to work, I'll have some plans for him too. But I'm also wary of the fact that I may get the yay or nay on the big artsy project sooner or later.
 
DeTess
Aiden easily finished work on the chair the next day, with plenty of time left over to start his research. Reading through the first book, 'Remnants of the Trisainid dynasty', provided plenty of information on the ruins of the green valley. The author speculated that the whole are was a grand elvish city, though one far less dense than a metropolis like Vaungate. A lot of objects had been found there, from grand jewelry and enchanted weapons to more everyday objects, like tools and pottery.  These objects where now in the care of a museum focussed on the area, and the private collections of the nobles that had estates in the area. A map of the valley was easily found, and revealed that Aiden's potential employer, the house of Vilfaren, was amongst the nobles with estates in the area, so they might have some of the tools Aiden needed in their own collection.
MrAbdiel
Aiden contemplates this discovery as he loads up the parts of the chair on to Ambrose. Likely, the tools recovered by the House of Vilfaren were considered important heirlooms and remnants of history. They wouldn't just give them to him, some rustic stranger from the forestlands - not until, perhaps, after he had proved his value by supplying the centerpiece for the Winter Ball. If they selected his submission. But for that, he'd just have to wait. The alternative idea (poking around in the ruins of the valley) felt like a long shot. He wasn't averse to long shots, but that would have to wait for a clearer plate. For now, he headed back to Greyrock to return the books he'd borrowed - and to give the old timer who'd helped him out a surprise gift for his trouble.
WindStruck
Shandara nods and takes Elu home. After resting during the midday, she gets to work trying to tweak and refine her spell. What was convenient was that energy consumed to power the spell could be extracted from the water itself, which would aid in freezing it as its temperature lowered. But now, if she had to expend more energy to melt ice, that would increase the demand for energy by a lot. So instead, Shandara tries to aggressively direct the growth of water crystal lattice away from the caster, as she now more properly accounted for the torrents of water streaming in and the high pressure.

This reminds her of her Scalding Spray spell, and she wonders how Jay did with testing it out....

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Taking a break from the freezing spell, Shandara then looks into the creation of her second spell in the series. This spell would be drawn out in a circular manner as well, around the hole in the ship's hull. Once the flow of water was stopped, and the excess ice was removed, it was supposed to fill in the hole in a similar way, by growing .. no,  conjuring  up wood-like material, and then using transmutation to bind it to the part of the ship hull that was intact.

While repair spells certainly already existed, fixing a hole that was missing material to this extent wasn't very feasible. And while other conjuration spells for sure existed that could summon wood blocks, barriers, and whatnot, this exact application was probably quite niche and probably didn't exist yet due to the flooding water problem - which she just solved. Still, Shandara does her due diligence and hits the archives once more, on the off chance that a spell with similar utility was already in there, or for inspiration on how to devise her own.

 
 Spoiler: ooc  rolls! 
I think I'll use investigative mind on the 'finding similar spells' roll for some copy pasta!

arcana:  (1d20+19)[ 38 ]   or  (1d20+19)[ 39 ] 

Spellcraft:  (1d20+16)[ 35 ] 
 
DeTess
 Greyrock Library 
Though the old librarian's gruff demeanour didn't change at the reveal of Aiden's little 'prank', the speed with which he swapped out his old chair, and the jealous looks from the other librarians spoke volumes.

"Well, is there anything else you need help with?" The old librarians asked after receiving his gift in the same gruff voice, though he did seem more at ease in his new chair.

 The society archives 
Shandara's search led her to the papers by the Puredew research group. They had been researching ways to magically grow wood into specific shapes, for applications like creating of wooden parts that would be difficult or wasteful to make from regular wooden planks. Their earlier research focussed on living trees and saplings, but their more recent work also focussed on dead wood as the starting material for repair spells.

Based on what Shandara read they already had spells that could be used to patch up a hole in a ship, but there where soe limitations. The first was growth times. With dead wood as the starting materials, it would take up to half a day to cover an area as large as 15 square feet Shandara's ice spell could cover, and it would need continuous attention by the caster to direct the growth. The newly grown area would also be more flexible than the dead wood around it for a longer period.

Their latest paper, written several months ago, mentioned that the research group was currently working on methods to speed up the growth process, but gave no further details. The papers all have the address where one interested could find the research group, so if Shandara wished to, she could visit them directly to ask them about the current state of their research.

Based on her own knowledge, combined with what Shandara had read in the Puredew papers she also had a decent enough idea about how to speed up the growth significantly by using a plant or seed as a starter, so she had some direction if she wanted to continue developing the spell independently.
MrAbdiel
 "No, no. That's quite good. I've taken a few notes, and now I'm a member so I'll be back from time to time, hah. Really I wanted to see how the chair suited - I figure if you have to spend so much of your day parked at a desk, you might as well get a little more comfort for the span. What do you think...?"  He glances to the other librarians, in whose jealous regard he may have landed himself.  "Would you be interested in something similar? Matching set of three, maybe. I've just taken on an apprentice, so I'm looking for worthy work to put him to!" 
WindStruck
Shandara decides to visit the Puredew Research Group at her next convenience.  Either in the early morning, or in the afternoon.
DeTess
 Greyrock library 
"Please do." Surprisingly, it is the gruff librarian that answers. "If you don't I reckon my chair will be stolen the moment I get up."

"Now, now." Another Librarian, an Older woman, answers. "Depends on how long you'll be sitting there, I might steal it out from under you." She gives the other librarian a grin, and earns a glower in return, though Aiden gets the impression that this is just the way these two communicate, rather than a sign of animosity. The old woman then addresses Aiden. "That is assuming it is no problem, of course. And we can't really ask you to do it for free. How much would you ask for another chair or two like that?"

 Puredew labs 
Shandara has time to pay an early morning visit to the Puredew labs after a night of research in the archives. The Puredew labs are located just down the street from where the water labs she had used before where located. The Puredew labs are located in a fairly utilitarian looking two story building, the most noteworthy part in its appearance the greenhouse that takes up about a third of the building.

The front door is locked and the building seems quiet, but just as Shandara starts to wonder whether she should come back later a large shadow passes over her, as an eagle flies through the sky just above her head and lands clumsily in the street. Moments later the eagle's form dissolves into a green light and a flurry of feathers, and is replaced by that of a half-elf. The man wears a long white coat, and streaks of gray in his brown hair and well-kept short beard suggest he is approaching a century of life. His skin has grey-ish complexion to it, though the man seems otherwise healthy enough, suggesting that it is natural, rather than a sign of illness. He knocks some non-existent dust of his coat, then approaches the door while pulling a keyring out of a pocket.

"Do you have business with the Puredew labs?" He asks Shandara as he proceeds to unlock the door, his tone inquisitive, but not unfriendly.
WindStruck
Shandara glances up and around at the shadow, really regretting that decision as it passes by the sun, but luckily the shades still help protect her eyes. The eagle lands and transforms into a half-elf. So a druid of some kind? That makes sense, given the whole wood growing thing they were developing..

She responds,  "Uh, yes, I was seeking out the Puredew Research Group for their research in growing woods into specific shapes, and regrowing dead wood..." 

Noting the half-elf's white coat she raises a brow and continues uncertainly,  "I am an artificer known as Shandara. Professor..?  Or doctor....?" 
DeTess
"I'm professor Cilan." The half-elf introduces himself. Shandara would be familiar with the name, as it was at or near the top of all the papers from the Puredew labs she had read. Professor Cilan was the man in charge of the Puredew research group. "I think I've heard your name in passing, you're mostly focussed on applied enchanting, right?" the professor had finished unlocking the door and headed in. "I should have some time to answer any questions you might have before the rest of my colleagues arrive."

Professor Cilan led Shandara up to his office on the first floor. It was a fairly simple affair with a desk and bookshelves, and a single window looking out on the greenhouse. The window was covered with a translucent curtain, significantly lowering the brightness of the light in the office, though this was naturally not an issue for Shandara.

"Tea?" The professor had placed a metal kettle on a metal plate on his desk. A slight red glow from the plate suggested it was enchanted in some way, and given that the water came to a boil shortly afterwards it left little to the imagination what the enchantment was. If Shandara wanted some tea the professor would give her a wooden mug, its slightly irregular and organic shape suggesting it might have been grown, rather than carved.

"So, what did you want to know?" the professor asked once he was settled behind his desk with a mug of tea of his own.
MrAbdiel
 Greyrock Library 

Aiden slaps his thigh and wheezes a muted, library appropriate laugh. For a moment, he almost thought they didn't like him.

 "Can do, certainly. I'll probably market them around twenty gold or so, but since these are the flagship models and you're doing me a favor just by showing them off to folks who come and go, I won't ask for a fee. Might be a week or two, but I'll bring them around when they're done. And if anyone likes the look of them, just show them that Fiddle and Saw near the right arm cushion - that's the joint!" 
 
 Spoiler: OOC: 
Sidequest: Give Old People Chairs is 1/3 complete. Aiden will cross off another 2 instances of 7GP for materials and he can crank out two more chairs in three days with a little bit of time to spare. We don't need to play that out though.:)
 
WindStruck
Shandara accepts some tea, and before then, examines the wooden mug.  Probably one of the wooden objects they had grown.

 "Well, I read your latest paper. It said you were trying to make the wood growth process much faster. How was that coming along? And have you tried growing tundra oak yet?" 
DeTess
 Greyrock library 
"I'll let anyone who asks know, and probably some who don't as well." The old woman smiled. "And I'll get this grouch to sing your praises as well." She nodded towards the gruff librarian Aiden had spoken to before.

 Puredew labs 
"You seem to know your wood." the professor nodded. "We have mostly been working with local woods, but we received a shipment of tundra oak saplings about a month ago. It'll be a while yet before we have results to share, but it does seem all the same methods work for tundra oak as well, though it grows a little slower. If we can make it work it would allow for a lot of practical applications, given Tundra oak's properties."

"As for speed, we have made some significant strides, increasing growth speed by about fourfold since the experiments detailed in our last paper." Reading something in Shandara's expression, the professor frowned. "It seems that that is not fast enough for your application though. Could you tell me a bit more about what you hope to accomplish?"
WindStruck
 "Ah, well.."  Shandara looks down and says,  "I've been trying to develop some spells that would seal some holes in ship hulls. I'm trying to accomplish it with two spells. The first one is quite successful. It will make ice form around and outside the breach and effectively stop the influx of water. But the problem is, it only lasts a few minutes, which is hardly even enough time for an experienced crew to patch it up effectively before the water starts pouring in again. So the second spell is supposed to permanently fix this problem, and I've looked into other solutions along the lines of conjuration and transmutation, but it does seem like your approach might be best.. if it can be done fast enough." 
DeTess
"Hmmmm..." Professor Cilan rested his chin on his hand as he thought the matter over. "You'd be looking for more than an order of magnitude increase in speed, and that's... a lot." The professor spoke quickly, clearly more talking to himself than Shandara. "You'd be able to simplify our generalist implementation for your use though, and Vajar did say he wanted a second pair of eyes to..." Reaching some kind of conclusion, the half-elf nodded.

"I could share an early draft of our next paper with you that includes the spell diagrams for the quicker version, but I think it would be in both our interests to work together on this." He announced. "Assistant professor Vajar, our main arcanist, has been asking for help with the spell optimization aspect. Also, there has been an abandoned line of research on a method that has all the speed you could want, but lacks controllability that we might be able to revive with your assistance."

"Naturally, if you join our research group for this little project we'd provide the funding you would need, within reason of course, but the results would also be published under the Puredew research group, though naturally you would get credited for your work." Professor Cilan laid out the offer. "And you're likely to get results quicker than working on your own. So, what do you think?"
WindStruck
 "Hm. Well. It's a tempting prospect.."  Shandara says, tasting the tea.

 "I don't think I would have any issue joining your group, if only temporarily. What are your thoughts on the empire's navy being interested in this project?" 
DeTess
"If it was for weapons research I might have some thoughts, but your research is meant to save lives." Professor Cilan shrugged. "As long as the merchants, fishers and other sailors can benefit from it as well I see no issue with the navy being interested in this. Do you have any other questions? Otherwise I'll introduce you to the rest of the team once our morning meeting starts."
WindStruck
 "Well naturally, I would be interested in helping optimize your spells, and that line of abandoned research. I am curious about the diagrams and would be happy to look at them now, unless you'd rather I wait..." 

She looks around the room a bit awkwardly, focuses on the greenhouse beyond the window, and then says,  "Ah, I know. How many of you are there in your team? And what else do you research? Seems to be a lot of other subjects of botanical nature?" 
DeTess
"The rest of the researchers should be here within about 15 minutes, but feel free to look these over until they arrive." The professor retrieved a map from one of the bookshelves, and dug through it top retrieve several spell diagrams for Shandara to look over.

"There are twelve of us working here, and another six doing field work in farms outside the city." He proceeded to answer Shandara's other questions while she looks over the diagrams. "We're very much focussed on botany, yes. We're mostly working on new ways of cultivating useful materials. Growing wood into tailor-made shapes is one part of that, but we also look into ways to make rare and hard-to-grow plants with useful alchemical properties more easily accessible, and work on crossbreeding crops to increase yield and resistance to drought, diseases and the like. Another project we're starting up is to see if we can somehow crossbreed Tundra oak with Imperial Oak to create a new wood that is as strong as Tundra oak, but grows quicker and in warmer climates and is a bit easier to work."

 
 Spoiler: OOC 

15 minutes isn't enough to study the spell diagrams in great detail, but there is enough time to at least get the gist of things. There are two variant sof the spell, oen that requires the caster to clearly visualise what they want the result of the growth to be, and another that instead requires an object to serve as an example that the spell will duplicate. The spell then provides power and direction to the target plant or wood to grow into the desired shape.
 
WindStruck
 "Hm, I see,"  Shandara says.  "Well, I haven't had nearly enough time to give these spells the close scrutiny needed for optimizing them - if that is possible - but I believe I understand the gist of them." 

Setting the diagrams aside, she says,  "Is it about time to meet everyone?" 
DeTess
Professor Cilan checked his pocket watch. "Yes, I think it is about time." He led Shandara out of his office and down to a larger meeting room on the ground floor. One wall was dominated by a blackboard and notice board. The notice board had papers with schedules and a calendar pinned to it. A large table with enough room for twenty people to sit at took up most of the rest of the room.

Several others where already present, and soon enough the entire team was assembled. Shandara received more than a few curious glances and one elvish member of the team regarded her with some suspicion.

"Alright, settle down everyone." Once everyone had arrived and settled down, many holding cups of tea, the professor called the meeting to order. "Before we get to the normal house-keeping issues, I have an announcement to make. We'll be joined by another society Artificer for the next little while. Miss Shandara has been working on a spell intended to rapidly fix breaches in boat hulls, and her research has led her to us. She'll be working with us to work on increasing the speed of our current magical solutions. To that end, Rafael..." The professor addressed the suspicious elf, who promptly looked even less happy. "...and Linette..." The professor next turned to a human woman in her early thirties with long ginger hair and freckles, who seemed rather more happy to be called on. "...please stay behind after the meeting to discuss this project a little more."

After that announcement the meeting went on to cover the simple matters that needed to be discussed to keep the labs running, like who would use which facilities, when new samples could be expected, the upcoming maternity leave of one of the researchers and who would be monitoring her longer-running experiments and a number of other small matters. The meeting ended after about 20 minutes, and the researchers of the lab headed of to their own tasks, leaving behind professor Cilan, Shandara, Rafael and Linette.

"Professor Cilan, I would like to make my reservations known." Rafael spoke up as soon as the others had known. "I know I asked for another arcanist to assist with my work, but this one has some very worrying rumours going around about her." He regarded Shandara with a mix of distrust and even a hint of fear.

"And can any of said rumours be attributed to someone other than the  esteemed  professor Fenhlo?" Professor Cilan responded with a sigh. "Rafael, you know well what I think about the ways professor Fenhlo chooses to waste his time. I myself have heard rather more positive talk of miss Shandara. If you have something concrete, bring it to me, but until you do you will be working with her, understood?"

Rafael remained silent, but gave a shallow nod.

"My apologies for that." Professor Cilan turned back to Shandara. "If there are any issues with working together with Rafael, let me know. He is actually a skilled arcanist and I expect between the two of you you should be able to increase the efficiency and speed of our directed growth spells by a significant margin." The professor then turned to introduce the other researcher.

"Linette specializes in cultivation and utilization of seeds from extraplanar origins. As an extension of the directed growth research she did some work with seeds and wood-samples imbued with energies from the fey-wild. I'll let her do the full explanation later, but suffice it to say is that though these experiments showed fantastic results in the growth department, controlling said growth proved to be next to impossible, and we abandoned that line of research fairly quickly. Between the two of you you might be able to solve that issue, however."

"Now, I imagine you're actually reaching the end of your working day." The professor continued once he had finished introducing the two researchers. "We stick to a more diurnal schedule most of the time, and I can imagine that it would be more difficult for you to adjust to than it was for me. I'd still like to ask you to join us here for at least half a day every day, if that is sustainable for you."
WindStruck
Shandara followed Professor Cilan down and felt a little overwhelmed seeing the size of the meeting room and all the people trickling in. All in all, there were indeed about 12 other people here, and Shandara was fidgety at first, as she hardly said much other than some greetings to those closest to her, and hung back. Eventually, she reluctantly took a seat, as standing around made her stick out even more.

Getting a suspicious look from an elf wasn't all that uncommon, though thankfully, Rafael seemed to be the only one here feeling this way. But, he just had to make his 'reservations known'. After the back and forth ensues, Shandara pinches the bridge of her nose and sighs,  "What did that bu-"  she catches herself and trails off with yet another exhale.  "Is he part of this group too? Jephrius Fenhlo?" 
 "Well, enough about me and personal drama that may plague my affairs. But I will say this: I don't know what you've heard recently, or if it is the same drivel he's always claimed. But if you do hear a particularly worrisome rumor, I would encourage you to report it to the Midnight Guard. I hear that not only are they a reputable group of mercenaries, but also investigators." 

Back to business at hand, Shandara says,  "Diurnal..."  Her brows furl and the gears in her head are clearly spinning.  "What is that? Twice in a..? Do you have two schedules? What time do you think it would be best for me to come?" 
 
 Spoiler: ooc 
I'm playing this as Shandara not having a perfect knowledge of surface Common.  But she should quickly learn any obscure gaps in her vocabulary.

Also not even near done talking here, but I think I've spoken enough juicy content for now.  🙂
 
DeTess
 
 Originally Posted by WindStruck 
 Getting a suspicious look from an elf wasn't all that uncommon, though thankfully, Rafael seemed to be the only one here feeling this way. But, he just had to make his 'reservations known'. After the back and forth ensues, Shandara pinches the bridge of her nose and sighs,  "What did that bu-"  she catches herself and trails off with yet another exhale.  "Is he part of this group too? Jephrius Fenhlo?"  
 

"Hah, no." Professor Cilan shook his head. "But he has been giving me trouble since I established the research group several years ago. He backed off some recently, but only because he found a new target for his misguided crusade."


 
 Originally Posted by WindStruck 
  "Well, enough about me and personal drama that may plague my affairs. But I will say this: I don't know what you've heard recently, or if it is the same drivel he's always claimed. But if you do hear a particularly worrisome rumor, I would encourage you to report it to the Midnight Guard. I hear that not only are they a reputable group of mercenaries, but also investigators." 

Back to business at hand, Shandara says,  "Diurnal..."  Her brows furl and the gears in her head are clearly spinning.  "What is that? Twice in a..? Do you have two schedules? What time do you think it would be best for me to come?"  
 

Professor Cilan frowned, a slightly confused look on his face, and it was Linette who chimed in to help with Shandara's misunderstanding. "Diurnal means we work during the day." She spoke with a clearly noticeable accent, more melodic than how most people in the capital spoke.

"Right, sorry. Imperial probably is not your first language." Professor Cilan nodded in thanks to Linette. "We start around the time you arrived this morning, and work till the late afternoon or early evening."
WindStruck
Shandara nods and says,  "Oh. I see. It seems like normally I would be catching your morning meeting.. and then perhaps a bit of whatever you do at the end of your day..."   If there was any reservations she truly had with joining this group it would be a change to her schedule. Though she supposed she could try to adjust it back. Maybe she could eventually get up in the late evening just after the sun had set. Probably whenever Xavier came, though usually she was already ready and presentable by then.

 "Hrm..."  she looks down, deliberating this situation.  "What do you all normally do in the day? Collaboratively, I mean. I guess I could try to stay up later.. or, earlier.. If that helps?" 

She sighs and adds,  "It's not exactly like I have to sleep during the day, but the sun is quite harsh on my eyes and my skin, and I would spend much of my time in the archives or at home anyhow. So that's just what I've grown accustomed to." 
 "So about what time do you think you would need me until?" 
MrAbdiel
 Greyrock Library 

Aiden chats with the librarians a while longer - he does like making friends - and almost has enough fun talking to them that he is compelled to break out his fiddle and given the a song. But it's a library, not a concert hall; and it'd hardly be appropriate. Soon enough, he is walking his horse back toward the Fiddle and Saw.
DeTess
 Puredew Labs 
"Rafael, Linette how would you want to schedule the collaboration?" The professor turned to the two researchers to answer Shandara's question.

"I'd like a full day to explain the spells in detail." Rafael still seemed unhappy about the collaboration, but was professional enough to move on to the actual work. "If we're accommodating her sleeping habits two afternoons or morning back-to-back will have to do. Afterwards we can work mostly independently, checking in in the early morning and late afternoon to share progress and insights."

"Our work would be more experiment focussed, so I'd really like to work at least half-days together with you, but I can shuffle my schedule around a bit with a later start and working later in the day." Unlike Rafael, Linette addressed Shandara directly. "Some experiments would have to be done outside, but we could schedule those for around Dusk. Will that work for you?"

 Outside Greyrock Library 
Just as Aiden makes to leave the library he is approached by a man leading a horse of his own. The man is pragmatically dressed for horseback riding, with sturdy pants and boots and a jacket and cloak against the more chilly temperatures of late fall. His clothes are clearly of good quality, suggesting he might be a courier or something similar for a noble house.

"Are you mr. Aiden Sorveaux?" He addresses the bard. "You are being asked to present yourself at the Vilfaren estate at your earliest convenience. The archduchess is in the final stages of selecting a design for the mid-winter festivities, and wishes to talk to the artisans behind the designs that caught her attention."
WindStruck
 "I've already taken a look at your spells. I don't think it would take a full day to explain them to me,"  Shandara says curtly.  "We're talking about the ones that need either intense focus and mental vision, or an example object of some kind, aren't we? Are there any others?" 

Turning to address Linette, Shandara says,  "Mornings like this could also work for me." 
 "Is that what you all would prefer if you'd like a half day out of me? Alternatively, if you'd want more time.. you could wake up a little earlier so we could meet earlier, I think that could get some more valuable time. Would that work?"  she asks.
MrAbdiel
 Outside Greyrock Library 

Aiden bears the expression of a stunned mullet for a few seconds as he computes the invitation - the fact that the summons clashes with his immediate intention to go home and make adjustable chairs leaves him baffled. But then the grandeur of the invitation, its quality marking his artistic bid as driving towards success, barrels into him and he smacks his forehead with the heel of his palm.  "O-oh! Oh, of course, certainly, certainly! I'll go right now! Oh - thank you very much!" 

He goes as far as to try to tip the messenger with a shiny gold piece - not catching in that precise moment that this is probably a member of the ducal staff, not merely a well dressed message-runner - but after a hustling jaunt to the Vilfaren estate and a moment's diversion to find somewhere to hitch Ambrose for the duration of the meeting, the country carpenter presents himself.

 "I've been summoned to see the archduchess,"  he tells the guard at the door with a tilt of his brow and a smile that suggests he thinks this is pretty good gossip and the guard might enjoy being  in  on it with him,  "to speak about my mid-winter art proposal. Should I just wander right in, or...?" 
DeTess
 Puredew Labs 

 
 Originally Posted by WindStruck 
  "I've already taken a look at your spells. I don't think it would take a full day to explain them to me,"  Shandara says curtly.  "We're talking about the ones that need either intense focus and mental vision, or an example object of some kind, aren't we? Are there any others?"  
 

"I'm not trying to teach you the spell, I'm trying to make you understand it well enough that you can actually provide useful suggestions for improvement." Shandara's comment earned her a glare from Rafael. "A full day it remains, and it won't surprise me if we need more."

 
 Spoiler: OOC 

Rafael's time estimate for going through the spell is not unreasonable, though Shandara would expect it to take a bit less time, just not a lot less time (probably more than half a day, less than a day).
 


 
 Originally Posted by WindStruck 
 Turning to address Linette, Shandara says,  "Mornings like this could also work for me." 
 "Is that what you all would prefer if you'd like a half day out of me? Alternatively, if you'd want more time.. you could wake up a little earlier so we could meet earlier, I think that could get some more valuable time. Would that work?"  she asks. 
 

"I'm not really a morning person." Linette grinned sheepishly. "Are afternoons that tricky for you? I can try to adjust, but we'll have to meet somewhere in the middle."

 Vilfaren estate 
"Wait one moment." The guard called for his commander, who, after going through some papers, nodded.

"Aiden Sorveaux, right? You're expected." The commander send a guard with Aiden to escort him to the entrance hall, where a servant took over. Aiden was escorted to the same richly decorated waiting room he had spent some time in during his last visit, and after another ten minutes he was taken to  a room which Aiden learned was called the 'Teal drawing room' from overhearing some servants.

The Teal drawing room was large, large enough that it could fit Aiden's workshop with some room to spare. Large windows along one side looked out westward, and the decoration had a nautical theme, with beautiful paintings and models of ships along the walls, and the wood of the furniture carved with nautical motives. Aiden was led to a seating arrangement around a low table, on which tea, small sandwiches and various sweets had been arranged.

Seated in a large chair at the head of the table was a tall woman in a beautiful dress. The woman had long hair the colour of gold and grey eyes looking out from a face that was neither young nor old. The dress was a rich azure in colour, and though it was not overly decorated, it was clearly made from the very finest of materials. When Aiden was brought in she looked up. "Mr. Sorveaux, thank you for coming." She spoke in a business-like and commanding tone.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Aiden would know that this is the Archduchess herself. So, how will the charming carpenter greet her? :P
 
WindStruck
 "I'm.. I'm already trying to compromise. I was already willing to change my schedule up to three, maybe four hours, and all I'm asking is  one  from you,"  Shandara says, with some growing irritation in her voice, though she tries to take a breath and remain calm. Looking at those present, she then asks,  "So would late mornings through evenings be better for you all, then?" 
MrAbdiel
Aiden gazes at the Archduchess Vilfaren for a few stunned, silent seconds before coughing and looking down to gather himself. It's a move that's only slightly performative. Aiden is not the wisest of men, but he knows some things. One of the things he knows is that if a woman wears a stunning dress, she is most pleased if she succeeds in stunning someone. The creative part of his brain, the builder-artist-maker in him, is as immediately interested in this dress from a technical point of view as the art, and the nautical models, and the composition of woods, and wants to ask questions about it. But for perhaps just this time, the thoughtful and diplomatic elements of his personality restrain this impulse and allow him to react as a man who was not also a tailor might typically react: by being stunned. But after clearing his throat, he animates again and moves to what feels like an appropriate distance without also making the presumption of sitting. Indeed, that feels like an excess - it's just as likely she has a couple of questions she is fitting in before a light luncheon with another guest.

It  is  time to eat, though, and he came straight here instead of going home to whatever Maria had thought to make. He realizes how hungry he is, and tries not to look at the little sandwiches.

 "Your Grace,"  he bows, bringing his hat across his body with a  swish  in the motion and immediately wondering if that is too much of a flourish.

 "I'm honored to receive your summons, of course. I came as soon as I could."  Then he thinks of something funny, and finds his modest reserve of serious manners too drained to fend it off.  "As soon as the messenger told me. I might have preceded him on the return trip - why, if I didn't have my old horse Ambrose with me, I could have jumped in your messenger's satchel and I'd have arrived just as swiftly, heh..." 

A drop of his better sense squeezes into the dry reservoir, and his whimsy tapers off with an embarassed smile.

One of the little sandwiches has tomato on it. Does it also have pepper..?

 "You asked, ah... How can I serve, your Grace?" 
DeTess
 Puredew labs 
"I was thinking something along the lines of mid-to-late afternoon for our work." Linette suggests.

"Just a meeting early in the morning and early evening would be sufficient on my end, once we've gone through the spell. I suppose I could do late afternoon and evening as well, though then I'll take the mornings off." Rafael explains after Linette makes her suggestion.

"Both projects will be fairly involved, so it might be a good idea to pick one to focus on first." The professor joins in after a moment as well.

 Vilfaren estate 
Aiden's humorous diversion earns him neither a smile nor reproach from the archduchess, who merely raises an eyebrow in response. Once Aiden returns to the topic of the meeting she gestures towards the seats around the table. "Take a seat. I've arranged for some refreshments, so help yourself." Her way of speaking was direct, eschewing the more flowery and indirect way of speaking some nobles might use.

Once Aiden was seated she moved on to the reason she had called him here. "Your design for the midwinter festival caught my attention, as did several others, but before I make a decision I would like to learn a bit more about the artisans responsible for those designs. I have looked into your background, and you have a good reputation as an artist at the Society, but I've learned little about you as a person or your achievements before coming to the capital. Tell me more about yourself, and what drives you to create."
MrAbdiel
The tomato finger sandwich has pepper after all, as well as some species of cheese that is more paste than solid, and which fascinates him. He'll have to tell people about it. But the strange man is more attentive than usual, today - this is a high stakes interview, and he hangs on the Archduchess's words.

 "About me..? Well... Well, I fear there's a paucity of things to say. Before I came to the capital, I've not much much interesting to report about myself. My little town, Tantamere, is heavily wooded so I suppose I had an early appreciation for natural beauty. I'm a carpenter first, and then a luthier - in both mostly self taught, with trial and error and old manuals. I served in the militia with spear and crossbow and horse, though aside from the odd forest skirmish I was never called up to participate in a greater conflict on account of the peacetimes, and all. I suppose I got quite good with wood and tinkering with other mediums. I mostly only sold to the near villages and in Tantamere, but something with my maker's mark must have made its way to Vaungate because I received an invitation to come and ply my trade with the Society, and I thought, 'why shouldn't I'? Never been to a big city before, and I worried about coming at all - losing my way, making a fool of myself, and so forth. But everyone's been remarkably kind, and I've made a few friends, and built a house with a great workshop beneath. I suppose I really enjoy helping people, when I can - making their lives better, and so forth. Most folks have to work very hard to do good for a few people they love; but the work I get to do is both wonderful to undertake, and helpful if I do it well. Life saving sometimes. Why, there's these boats I helped design that, ah..."  He trails off a bit, the act of restraining his instinct to meander a task of genuine human will.  "Well, I'm just grateful to the heavens, is what I mean." 
 "As for what drives me to create... I suppose I just like putting more good into the world. On account of my creative skills, sometimes I can see a certain  good  that doesn't exist yet, or it's locked up in some uncarved bough, or some such. It's a pleasure and an obligation to set such a good free, if it's within my power. That's what I figure. It's usually a spontaneous drive, triggered by some way to do a good, that makes me create. In this case, I wasn't sure what I could make that would be worth a submission; I met your majordomo, Master Duncan Westhold, and he game me some good information and it just all sort of..."  He pauses, realising how awfully trite his final answer is about to sound, but offers it with an apologetic smile to suggest he knows it.  "...Sort of came together in a dream." 
WindStruck
Shandara glances between the others, feeling a bit confused and overwhelmed by the various amounts of input and contradictions between it all.

 "Hrm. Well.. I think Linette's avenue of research might be a bit more fruitful, and I might not need to adjust much at all to start off with. And then at night, when I am sure you all are fast asleep, I can still look over the diagrams of the other spells when I have the time." 
 "Of course, I am sure there will be far more to review regarding Linette's work even when I have time to myself. So I do choose to focus on her line of study, but I will of course, aid Rafael when I get a chance. After all, it would be fairly disgraceful to take what I want from this research group, and then abruptly leave..."  Shandara's countenance seems a bit unreadable at the moment; it's hard to tell if she was attempting a joke or seriously considering the prospect. Though she isn't one to morally posture to anybody.

 "Ah, one more question. Do you all make your own teas, by chance? I'm fairly fond of the various types, and I have a friend, who.."  she begins to laugh just a bit,  "Oh, if I told you he loved drinking tea almost more than any other beverage, you'd hardly believe me. Anyway, just curious about that!" 
DeTess
 Vilfaren Estate 
The archduchess favors Aiden with a slight smile. "It is rare to encounter someone as... pure... as yourself." A slight warmth in her tone suggests that this is very much meant as a compliment. Lady Vilfaren quickly returns to her useable inscrutable and business-like demeanour. "This brings me to an issue with your application though. How where you planning on acquiring the tree in the limited timespan?"

 Puredew labs 
"It's a hobby project of mine." Professor Cilan responds with a smile to Shandara's question about tea. "I grow my own tea plants and try to create new varieties with varying treatments of the leaves or by hybridizing existing plants. Did you  know that... never mind." The professor stopped himself from going on an extensive tangent. "Anyway, I think we have an agreement and the beginning of a plan then? Linette, could you prepare an explanation of the project for Miss Shandara for this afternoon?"

Linette nodded. "Shandara, would you be opposed to starting off with a little excursion this evening? It would take us outside city limits, but only by a few hundred meters. I'd like to start with a demonstration showing the exact issue with the fey-wild infused seeds, and that can only be safely done outside the city."
WindStruck
 "I don't think .. well, hopefully it won't be a problem leaving the city,"  Shandara says.  "Which gate do you plan to leave at, and at what time? I'll need to make some arrangements..." 

Turning to Cilan, she says,  "Would it be possible to also send a copy of the spell diagrams Rafael is working on to my residence?"  Shooting the elf a sideways glance, which turns into a polite smile,  "Don't worry, I'm only trying to make the most of my time, so I can review them in detail if I get the chance. I will still meet with you later to discuss them, if you wish." 

She blinks a little absentmindedly and asks Linette,  "Um. So you  do  still want to meet here in the early afternoon then?" 
MrAbdiel
Aiden's eyebrows lift a little at the question. Having no good answer, he rubs the back of his head.

 "Well. That's the trick, I suppose. I was hoping there might be some... magical means of transporting there and back; but I suppose that might have been a bit fanciful. It's just that so many things have been possible in this city that I never thought would be possible, so I supposed I'd ask anyway. It would require some sort of expedition - I suppose on a very fast boat. But I'm afraid I don't know if there really is enough time to travel to where the Tundra Oak grows, harvest it, come back, and complete the project before your Winter Ball. I don't have a solution to that one - I supposed if anyone had a solution, they'd be within your employ and only yours, your Grace. If that can't be done, well... You might have to pick someone else's project." 

He lets his gaze drift away, a little sadly at that. But then he straightens up, reinvested with his normal vigor and positivity.  "...But in such a case, I could always work on it for  next  winter. If you were still interested in commissioning something for that one, I mean." 
DeTess
 Puredew labs 
"I'll make sure you get a copy of the spell documentation." Professor Cilan responded before Rafael could. "These will be a matter of public record anyway once we publish, so it's hardly top-secret."

"I think we can skip the afternoon meeting for today." Linette said after a moment's consideration. "I'd rather you see the main issue with your own eyes first before we start discussing  theory and countermeasures. Let's meet up at the western gates around dusk. I'll ask the professor to arrange for a bodyguard or something to accompany us, just in case."

 Vilfaren estate 
The archduchess nodded when Aiden confessed to not being entirely sure about the method. "I know of a way the tree could be brought here in under a week. There is an organization known as the Fernhal courier guild." She started to explain. "They use a magic developed by their guildmaster to send carriages across vast distances in little time, capable of covering what would take several months with conventional means in less than a day. They do this by taking shortcuts through other planes, known as the Feywild and Shadowfell, both of which pose great risks to travellers. I have had to ride with them twice to deal with emergencies in far-flung corners of my domain, and it's not an exaggeration to say that those taking part in a journey like that are putting their lives and limbs on the line."

She paused for a moment to let that sink in. "Having spoken to you, I suspect this method might bother you a little. Or am I mistaken?"
MrAbdiel
Aiden considers this for a long moment, his gaze deflected to the table again. After a time, he looks up again - usually thoughtful in his mien.

 "I would like to imagine it'd bother most anyone to imagine some folks suffering in strange and far places for matters that could have avoided it though some other way. But on the other hand, there's value and good in risk taken for right reasons. People have bled and died for art before. And I assume these chaps would be well compensated for the risk they're taking on. If you'd told me it could only be done by marching men into certain death, my skin would crawl. But I'm not so naïve to think we live in a world where all the beauty and industry and safety we take for granted was purchased with no great calculated risks, some of which didn't work out. I suppose I'd trust your judgement, your Grace, on whether it's worth it. I imagine, to select the tree and oversee its reduction to elements, I'd be going with them. If you're asking if I'm willing, then... Well, I suppose I am." 
DeTess
"Congratulations, mr. Sorveaux." The archduchess spoke after a moment. "The commission is yours. I'll let the Fernhal courier guild know to prepare for an expedition, but before that I just this morning learnt about a potential other source for the tree." At a gesture from the archduchess a servant approached Aiden and handed him a sheet of paper and a small pendant with the coat of arms of house Vilfaren. The pendant was made from bronze and iron and clearly enchanted in some way, glowing faintly. The note held a society research group logo of a stylised leaf with a drop of water falling from it, an address, and the name 'Puredew research group'.

"I sponsor crop research at an Artificery Society lab called the 'Puredew research group'." The archduchess explained once Aiden had accepted the two items. "I received my yearly report from them this morning with information on the progress they had been making, and it made some mention of other areas of research they have been working on, including guided growth of a variety of trees. I would ask you to check if they have some way to grow a Tundra oak tree quickly enough that it can be used for your project. If they can't, we'll take the riskier option, but as you so wisely stated, it would be foolish not to at least check if there is another way."

"The pendant will show that you are my representative. It can also be used with many vendors when buying the supplies you need for this project to have them send the bill to my estate. Do you have any further questions right now?"
WindStruck
At the mention of bodyguards, Shandara looks a little surprised, then amused, before saying,  "Oh, don't worry about that, dear. I will have that expense covered for you today." 

She soon takes her leave, and decides to head over to the Midnight Guard offices to let them know she'd like Xavier to meet them at the western gates when his shift starts.
MrAbdiel
Aiden is, of course, delighted. He draws in a breath raises his hands to shoulder height as if he is about to pump them into the air, looks around, and finds no one around him to spontaneously celebrate with him and thus to confirm his good fortune; just the Archduchess, who has bestowed that fortune herself. He sputters out into breathless chortle instead.  "I'm honoured - absolutely honoured, your Grace." 

The additional option, the possibility to grow a tree domestically, is welcome news - though internally he wonders if the different conditions will change the final form of the tree, and if that might not be a negative to the project. Certainly, however, it was worth investigation. He takes the offered paper and pendant with care, and inspects them as the Archduchess explains. When it comes to the time for final questions...

 "...There is one, your Grace. Unusual and perhaps not possible, I know. But I wonder if I might be able to... call on your son, as a kind of special consultant for the project. Since I'm intending to commit your family history in the design of the tree, it would be very fine to have the inheritor of that history giving input. And... I feel there may be a graduation of the value of the work, to have his mark on it in some way. I know it's quite a request..." 
DeTess
 Vilfaren estate 
"That will be difficult, as he is not currently anywhere near Vaungate." Archudchess Vilfaren answered, a thoughtful expression on her face. "We have ways of keeping in touch of course, but there are limits to the magic involved. We write each other about once a week outside of emergencies. If you have concrete questions to ask him I could have you join me for that."
MrAbdiel
The answer is a little disappointing. In truth, the bid to include the Archduchess's son in the project had a manifold of motives. Aiden had learned that the Archduchess's son had not distinguished himself in proportion to his prestigious mother - and how could a young man grow up in such a shadow without some doubt to in himself, or his right to inherit such a legacy? And it was the desire of every parent, especially a parent who had lost their partner, to know that they had given their child enough of themselves to thrive and succeed - surely also in a noble family like this. Aiden had concocted a fantasy in his head where he taught the Archduchess's son to play the harp so he could play the original composition at the Winter Ball at the revelation of the Legacy Tree. The commission had been to make a piece of original artwork to showcase her power, status and influence, but Aiden's nature invariably bent towards solutions that blessed their recipients in deeper ways.

But if the lad was not in Vaungate, Aiden could hardly request he be withdrawn from whatever situation he was in for nebulous artistic reasons. If he exposed that plan to the Archduchess herself, and she explicitly facilitated it, it robbed the gesture of any sense of the son flourishing under his own power - that is, growing capable of shouldering the legacy the tree represented. No; better to divide the job from the dream. The Legacy Tree could be a grand and powerful blessing for the family Vilfaren either way. And if, as a result of his efforts bringing him into contact with these rarefied circles, fortune granted him some other opportunity to do good... Well. That was out of his hands.

 "Well. Alright, it was just a thought. I expect I'll be running most questions I have by your majordomo, so I'm not pestering you needlessly. If I have questions too precise for anyone else to answer, then I'll ask them be brought to you and perhaps I shall ask to revisit that offer."  He looked down at the symbol of House Vilfaren - marvelling for a moment at the craftsmanship even in that marker - and then sucked in a breath, and smiled at his new benefactrix.

 "I'll talk to your people at Puredew right away, then. I imagine the seeds won't be too hard to come by, since the tundra oak is regularly harvested for the fleet. With your permission, I'll get right to work, your Grace." 
DeTess
 Midnight guard offices 
Shandara did not know the man manning the front desk today. He was a tall human man with a short grey beard and hair and a set of three parallel scars running across his face, the likely result of a strike by a monster's claw or similar. He made a quick note of Shandara's request and promised he would let Xavier know.

"If you have a bit of time, Jay asked to speak to you when you next dropped by." He mentions after handling Shandara's business.

 Puredew Labs 
Aiden was send on his way, and Aiden soon enough find his way back to the Artificery society campus. The Puredew labs are located some distance from the central square near a canal. The labs occupy a fairly utilitarian looking two story building, the most noteworthy part in its appearance the greenhouse that takes up about a third of the building. It seems lively this early in the afternoon, with a cart parked next to an entrance to the greenhouse where a researcher and a pair of laborers are unloading crates, and a couple of researchers either leaving or arriving, the paper bags in the hands of those returning suggesting they might have gone for lunch elsewhere on the campus.
WindStruck
Shandara had almost forgotten about the other spell she developed and asked Jay to test.  "Oh, is she here now?" 

She is interested to see how Jay liked the spell and how effective it would be in her hands. Hopefully it didn't cause too much property damage. Shandara did warn her, after all...

 
 Spoiler: ooc 
Don't have much else to write.  If Jay is around Shandara will meet with her.
 
MrAbdiel
 Puredew Labs 
 "What fortune we have, old friend."  Aiden confides in the old horse, feeding Ambrose a nice pear from his saddlebag and lovingly stroking the beast's muzzle.  "What fortune we have. We're going to make a piece of art for the Archduchess - perhaps one that will be looked upon, and heard, for many years. What fortune we have! And you have been very good, old friend, remaining just where I have left you. I beg it of you once again." 

Aiden leaves his horse tied to a hitching post or the next best thing outside the labs, and follows his instincts first to the fellows lunloading their cart.

 "Good day, fellows! Need a hand at all?" 
DeTess
 Midnight guard offices 
"Yes, she should be." The man replied. "One moment." He left for a moment, heading deeper into the compound, and returned after several minutes with Jay in tow.

"Hey, Shandara!" Jay waved at the Drow, then with a flourish pulled a scroll out of a pouch and handed it to the elf. "Here's your scroll back, thanks for lending it to me. I have to say, your spell is quite an interesting one! It's quite strong and precise, but at the same time you need to really pay attention to what's behind your target, because you'll probably hit that as well!" The slightly sheepish look on her face as she mentions this suggests there might have been at least one collateral damage incident. "If you want, I can give you a demonstration in the training grounds. Or was there anything else you wanted to know?"

 Puredew labs 
"I wouldn't say no to that!" The researcher is quick to accept Aiden's help, and between the four of them the crates are quickly brought into the greenhouse. From the labels and chatting to the researcher Aiden learns the creates contain seeds and soil samples from all across the empire.

"So, what has brought you here?" The researcher, a human in his early thirties with brown hair and a somewhat wispy attempt at growing a beard asks when the task is done. "Are you hoping to apply to our research group?"
WindStruck
 "Hello again,"  Shandara replies with a curt nod and a small smile. She blinks and takes the scroll, turning around somewhat to try to carefully put it in her backpack.

 "Yes, I'd imagine whatever this jet of water doesn't knock over, it would go through." 

After a pause she says,  "Well. I only really came by to leave a message for Xavier. Hadn't really thought about this other spell I developed, honestly.. but if you'd like to give me a first hand demonstration, I'd be more than happy to see it." 
MrAbdiel
 Puredew Labs 

Aiden borrows Ambroser's  Anthaul  enchanted belt, and the lifting work is knocked out in no time.

Dusting his hands off, he projects one palm toward the fellow to shake.  "Actually no, but I'm flattered you think I look the part! Name's Aiden Sorveaux. I'm actually a woodworker - something of an artist I suppose - working on a commission for the Archduchess. It requires a particularly extraordinary tree with exceptional properties..." 

He offers a short summary of the problem - Tundra Oak, the isolation of its native regions, the need for a particularly shaped trunk and then a complex, careful disassembly...

 "Ultimately, if I'm going to get that tree in a timely manner, it'll require a dangerous expedition that may have many risks involved... but her Grace suggested I check with your group first, in case you had some way to... well, rapidly grow a tree outside of its native frosty environment. Perhaps with some subtle influence to its shape as it grows, too." 
DeTess
 Midnight Guard Offices 
Jay led Shandara deeper into the compound and down a flight of stairs to a large basement. It was clearly set out as a training area, with racks of wooden practice weapons, open spaces for sparring, training dummies and what appeared to be an archery range, though closer inspection of then pitted and scarred solid rock wall behind the targets suggested it was used to practice a lot more than just archery.

"Give me a moment to set up some targets." Jay used a complicated set of levers right next to the archery range, and in response to her command several targets where pulled in, hanging from ropes on the ceiling, to form a nice line.

"'Be prepared to be amazed!' is what I would say, but you made the spell, so it won't be that much of a surprise." Jay said with a grin before beginning to cast. A blue-ish purple glow appeared around her hands before coalescing into a small magical circle, which the halfling aimed with care at the line of targets. With a hiss of rushing water and steam a thing beam of water leapt from between her hands. It hit the first practice two practice dummies with enough force to knock them aside, before finally stopping on the third target, about 25 feet away. Deep gashes were left in all three of the targets, while a cloud of steam wafted up to the ceiling.

"So, what do you think?" Jay turned back to Shandara. "Is it working as expected?"

 Puredew labs 
"You're working for the archduchess?!" The researcher looked quite flustered at the revelation. "I'm really sorry I made you work like that! Let me take you to the director, he should know how we can help you and her grace."

The researcher led Aiden to an office on the first floor.  It was a fairly simple affair with a desk and bookshelves, and a single window looking out on the greenhouse. The window was covered with a translucent curtain, significantly lowering the brightness of the light in the office, though this did not seem to hinder its occupant in any way. Behind the desk sat a half-elf wearing a simple green dress shirt. He had brown hair and a short-well-kept beard, with slight streaks of grey. His skin was a grey-ish color, though the man otherwise did not appear sickly in any way, so it could be his natural skin color. When Aiden and the researcher arrived the half-elf had been dictating notes to an enchanted quill.

The researcher quickly explained the situation. When he was done the director nodded and gestured for Aiden to take a seat. "Abel, you can return to your duties." He send the researcher on his way, then turned to Aiden. "I'm professor Cilan, and I'm the director of the Puredew research group." the half-elf introduced himself, then got straight to business. "We recently received some tundra oak saplings and acorns, which we are raising in a cold section of the greenhouse, so arranging for a fully grown specimen should be possible. However, I'm a bit worried about how quickly you need it."

While speaking the professor had used an enchanted kettle to bring some water to a boil and offered Aiden a mug of tea. The wooden mug had a slightly odd, organic shape to it, as if it had been grown, rather than carved. "If this is for the midwinter festivities then you probably need the tree ready in no more than two weeks, but even if we started casting now, it would take at least three weeks to get it fully grown, and that's assuming no complications from issues with the soil. In truth, the saplings are still acclimatizing while we make sure the climate and soil are suitable, so even if we started now we could not guarantee the tree would grow properly on our first try." The professor laid out the issues first, before moving on to better news.

"However, we just recently got joined by another artificer who is looking into speeding up our growth magics. She'll be working with one of my colleagues on a project involving seeds infused with the essence of the Feywild. These grow incredibly quickly, but are incredibly difficult to control. Still, for your purposes you don't need much in the way of control, you just need the method to also work with Tundra oak, if I'm not mistaken." The professor grabbed a fresh sheet of paper and quickly jotted down a message. "Neither of them are here right ow, but I know they'll be doing an experiment this evening just outside the city. If you go to the western gates around dusk you should find them. Linette will be wearing a white coat much like that one..." The professor gestured to a long white coat hanging from a coat hanger on the door to his office. "While the artificer is a drow, so I think the two of them will stand out quite a bit. Just give Linette this message, and you should eb able tot ag along with them."

"Meanwhile, I'll prioritize the research on the tundra oak saplings we have here so we can be sure we know what they need to thrive as soon as possible."
WindStruck
Shandara follows, and waits, and then observes.

She nods with some satisfaction to herself.  "Not bad, not bad..  I'd say it works exactly as expected.." 

She walks over to the dummies to examine them, looking at the depth and size of the gashes, and the type of material the dummies were made of.  "You certainly pulled it off with enough speed that I think it could take a number of would-be assailants by surprised and seriously injure them.. if they were aligned in a convenient formation, in any case." 

With it being the end of the day, she can also help mend some dummies to fix the damage.
MrAbdiel
 Puredew Labs 

Aiden is happy to have helped anyway - the belt makes the work quick and easy - but he's here on business, and he remembers it. He eagerly drinks in the details of the potential partnership, nodding along after Professor Cilan and he are acquainted.

 "Well then, it sounds like there's a chance - and I'll take a good chance for the sake of advancing the field! Thank you very much, Professor. I'll see if I can find them in the evening!"  He takes the folded message and pockets it away, but then grins a little when he learns the other artificer is a drow.

What remarkable fortune! He'll have to introduce them to Shandara.
DeTess
 Midnight Guard Offices 
The dummies are carved from a softer wood, pine probably, to very roughly resemble a human torso and head. The spell had left furrows an inch or two deep in the first two dummies, and had left a crater almost twice that dept in the last target. With a bit of magic the damage was easily fixed.

"True, you would need people to nicely line up, but during a pursuit that might just happen." Jay responded to Shandara's comment. "But it has some nice intimidation factor to it too, and it can hit an archer hiding behind thin wood cover. It is surprisingly versatile for an offensive spell actually."
WindStruck
 "I'm glad you think so.. I guess I thought as much as well, but you've already come up with another good example there: penetrating cover,"  Shandara says.

 "Well, I suppose, since it works.. what am I going to do with this spell now?"  She lifts a hand to her chin.  "The battlemage academy?" 
DeTess
"Hmmm, maybe?" Jay thought for a moment. "A friend of mine studied there, and he told me they focussed a lot on long-range spells and cooperative casting to create far greater effects, so your spell might not be the best fit. Though they might be interested in those planar coordinates to design something of their own off of. There might be a ranger interested in your spell as-is though!"
WindStruck
 "Oh? I'll see then.. perhaps another time,"  Shandara says, stifling a yawn.

 "Ah, well, I should get going. Thank you for testing out the spell, and, well.. have fun with it!"   She waves and begins to head out, homeward bound.
DeTess
 Vaungate western gates 
When Shandara and Xavier arrived at the western gates around sunset she already found Linette waiting for her. The freckled woman with the long ginger hair was wearing a white coat much like professor Cilan had, and carried a large backpack on her back. All kinds of vials and devices peaked out from pockets on her belt and backpack.

"Hey Shandara!" She waved as soon as she saw the Drow approaching. "Oh, and this must be the bodyguard you mentioned! Nice to meet you! the professor told me to expect one more person to join us, an artist working for one of the lab's sponsors. Once he's here we can go." She scanned the crowd, looking for their fourth person, though since she hadn't been given a detailed description it was Shandara that first spotted the familiar form of Aiden approaching them.
MrAbdiel
Aiden jogs up to them, keen not to let anyone wait on his account; holding his flopping hat on his head with one hand and offering intermittent waves with the other. When he's close enough to speak and introduce himself, he of course notices Shandara - and then bursts into laughter at his own folly, having blithely assumed the drow he was going to meet was some different drow again. He wipes his eye with one fingertip as he gets his giggles under control.

 "Ahahaha.. Haha.. Ah, Miss Shandara, we must stop meeting this way. It's getting ridiculous."  Another, finally wheezing laugh before he gets control of his red-faced, jolly self.  "Xavier, hello again. And you must be Professor Linette? Pleased, very pleased to meet you. Aiden Sorveaux."  He offers a hand to shake - or perhaps to ground himself in the storm of whimsy he finds himself, so he might not float off into the sky.
WindStruck
It was unclear if they needed to rent a cart, though it wasn't like they had a big contraption to test this time. At least none that Shandara was aware of. But still, she wasn't sure what the extent of the test was, and maybe if they needed a wagon, Linette would already have one prepared.. in any case, Shandara remembered the last time she tried driving animals, and it didn't exactly go over well.

She found Linette easily enough, and given her backpack with all sorts of things, looked like they were in fact hiking. So perhaps the cab over toward the western gates was a good call. She waves back and says,  "Yes, this is Xavier. I have him regularly under my employ. Who is this other artist that's joining us, and why?" 

Before that question could be answered, Shandara picked out Aiden, and he her, and he laughed as though he had just heard the funniest joke in his life.   "Aiden..? What's so funny?"  she asked. It's not like Shandara was unhappy to see the musician and the carpenter, just the laughing confused her most of all.

He introduced himself to Linette, as if expecting or knowing of her, so that meant...  "Wait.. you're with.. one of the sponsors?"  She didn't know how the Puredew Labs even worked, but apparently they got more money from other patrons. She almost couldn't puzzle it out in that instant. But then again, she was brilliant. Connecting the dots, and making some leaps in assumptions, Shandara asks,  "Did you get the commission?!" 
 
 Spoiler: ooc 
spells for today updated

Magewright:
1 detect magic
2 mending
1 identify
1 comprehend languages
1 break
1 make whole
1 detect object

Wizard:

daze, penumbra, read magic, message

Expeditious Retreat, Windy Escape, Color Spray

This is probably only one of very few days she hasn't put alarm up at her home as she left.
 
MrAbdiel
Aiden's lips begin to move to explain, but Shandara recalls his circumstances and guesses first, and he snaps his fingers and points at her with delight and acknowledgement.  "Just so, Miss Shandara! I am even now under direction of Her Grace! She directed me to Puredew Labs hoping they'd have a chance of rapidly growing a Tundra Oak, rather than requiring an expedition elsewhere. Professor Cilan directed me here, and told me I'd find you both here easily enough because of a drow artificer present. And I thought, 'Incredible! If this new friend is anything like Shandara, I shall have to introduce them.'"  He gives his forehead a gentle palm strike, but it is no self-rebuke at all. He seems to be of that special class of people who is able to enjoy their own foolishness.

 "So - what's the plan? I tied Ambrose up just around the corner, but if we're going a distance and there's a trail, I suppose I'll bring him along." 
WindStruck
Shandara smiles and says,  "Well now, I guess if you had a mirror in your pocket, you could introduce me to this other drow elf.."  She chuckles a little before stopping, feeling somewhat awkward and suddenly a bit more self-conscious.

 "I figured it was the Tundra Oak. You needed it for your art commission, and as for me.. I had started looking into those ship repair ideas like you had suggested. The whole ice blocking spell on the ship hull came along nicely. It's getting the wood, which is usually tundra oak on these navy vessels, to grow fast enough that is the problem." 

Looking back to Linette, she says,  "I was under the impression we are traveling some ways out of the city, but not too far, right? Will you be demonstrating the growth of a different type of tree?" 
DeTess
 
 Originally Posted by MrAbdiel 
  "Xavier, hello again. And you must be Professor Linette? Pleased, very pleased to meet you. Aiden Sorveaux."  He offers a hand to shake - or perhaps to ground himself in the storm of whimsy he finds himself, so he might not float off into the sky. 
 

Linette shakes Aiden's hand with a smile. "I'm still just a research assistant to professor Cilan, though it hopefully won't be too long before I am a professor in my own right."


 
 Originally Posted by MrAbdiel 
  "So - what's the plan? I tied Ambrose up just around the corner, but if we're going a distance and there's a trail, I suppose I'll bring him along."  
 


 
 Originally Posted by WindStruck 
 Looking back to Linette, she says,  "I was under the impression we are traveling some ways out of the city, but not too far, right? Will you be demonstrating the growth of a different type of tree?"  
 

"Yes, we just need to get far enough from the city walls that the city guard won't give us any trouble over a couple new trees suddenly popping up." Linette explained. "I think it will be a 15 minute walk at most. Are you two ready to go?"
MrAbdiel
Aiden is, now as previously, monumentally delighted to see Shandara smiling and even joking. Also tremendously interested in her naval project, making them peers in the research field of seaborne safety inventions.  "Ah, do you say so? Oh, I should like to see it in action! Ah... from a safe distance!"
 

When Linette explains the circumstances of the experiment, he begs the group's pardon long enough to dash back at full pelt inside the gate and return shortly after walking his old warhorse, whose companionship he has decided is worth taking on such a jaunt.

 "Ready indeed!" 
WindStruck
Shandara looks over at Xavier and Aiden and shrugs.

 "I'm ready. At least there shouldn't be any bears this time." 
DeTess
Linette led the four of them out of the city and towards the setting sun. While they walked, Linette provided a bit of background in the experiment she was going to demonstrate. "This spell was developed by a druid working with the Ranger's guild. He'd infuse a tree seed with energy, then throw them towards enemies, obstacles, or just on the ground to provide some shade for a camp. A tree would then rapidly grow, blocking the paths of his enemies or rapidly demolishing stuff like stone walls. It's quite an energy intensive spell though., so not something that can revolutionize logging or anything like that. I got an infused common acorn from storage, and got Rafael to infuse a tundra oak acorn as well. We haven't tried this with tundra oak yet, so I'm quite curious to see if it'll work."

While Linette explained they had reached the edge of the clear-cut zone around the wall, and shrubs and small trees started to appear near the road. "I think this is about far enough." Linette looked around, squinting in the fading light. "Let's see.... oh, there's a good spot over there." An open area surrounded by low bushes was located just off the road. "Give me a moment to set up." Linette put her backpack down and retrieved four long wooden stakes, each about a foot and a half in length. All four had a small leather cover on the wide end. Linette walked around the clearing, placing the stakes in the ground and removing the leather covers, revealing a glowing glass globe attached to the top. With all four stakes placed the clearing was bathed in a warm glow, as if from torchlight.

Linette also spend a moment checking the ground of the clearing. "These Feywild infused seeds need a bit of moisture to set them off. Just a little is enough, but I'd rather avoid hitting a drier spot, as it might take bit of time for the seed to dop its thing then." Linette explained after she returned. She then retrieved a small wooden chest from her back and opened it. It was padded with cloth, and inside of the cloth two glass vials rested. Both held a single acorn, one a familiar brown, the other slate-grey. Both emitted a soft green glow. "Now, this shouldn't happen as I'll be careful, but if I do somehow drop one of these vials, back away immediately. I'll start by throwing the normal acorn a safe distance into the clearing."

Before she picked up the vial containing the acorn, Linette retrieved a vial from her belt and took a swig from it, draining about half its contents. She then picked up the vial holding the acorn, and with a practiced motion she threw it into the eastern half of the clearing, the vial landing about 8 meters away. The glass shattered, and with a creaking and rustling noise an oak started to grow where it had landed. The growth was incredibly quick, and before even 15 seconds had passed a great oak stood in the clearing, the tree over 30 meters in height and wide enough that not even Xavier would be able to wrap his arms around the trunk in its entirety.

"I've seen it a couple times now, but it remains impressive."  Linette looked over the new tree appraisingly. "Our spells for guiding the growth of a plant can be used on a tree grown this way, but it won't stop growing after the object is complete, quickly going off into its own direction." She explained after giving Shandara and Aiden a moment to take in the new tree. "I did figure out that the growth is limited by the amount of water available, though it does not need anywhere near as much as you would think. I theorize you can control the growth by very precisely managing the amount of water available, but that's more easily said than done. Still, with your help, Shandara, we might be able to figure that out."

"Well then, do either of you have any questions? Or shall we move on to the Tundra oak?" There was a note of excitement in Linette's voice now. She was clearly quite curious to see how well it would work with the other seed.
WindStruck
The short trek isn't as long as Shandara thought it would be, though as they walk into the sun, even with the glasses Aiden made her, she's still squinting as she pulls the hood of her cloak deeply over her face and looking at the ground. But she still tries to give Linette her undivided attention.

Shandara watches as she sets up the area, then takes a step back as Linette prepares to throw the vial. With some awe, Shandara witnesses a fully-matured tree miraculously spring up from the ground. She peers up at its branches and its trunk, and down at its roots.. then up at its branches again.  "Amazing..."  she murmurs.

 "Um, yes, I have several questions,"  Shandara says.

 "I notice that you threw the seed while it was still in the vial, and got it to break on the ground. Would I be correct to assume that had you opened the vial normally, the seed would suck the life and moisture out of you?"  It seemed like a wild idea, with a hyper-aggressive plant seed like that, but then again Shandara didn't really know. In her mind, why not just throw the seed by itself and keep a perfectly good vial?

 "You also say growth is limited by water, but what about the nutrients in the ground itself, or the air?"  Shandara asks.

 "And what do those stakes do? Is that light for the tree?"  she asks, pointing at the four stakes topped with crystal balls that Linette put down.
DeTess
 
 Originally Posted by WindStruck 
  "I notice that you threw the seed while it was still in the vial, and got it to break on the ground. Would I be correct to assume that had you opened the vial normally, the seed would suck the life and moisture out of you?"  It seemed like a wild idea, with a hyper-aggressive plant seed like that, but then again Shandara didn't really know. In her mind, why not just throw the seed by itself and keep a perfectly good vial? 
 

"That is a risk, in theory at least." Linette replied. "In practice, as long as my hand isn't wet and I don't hold on to it for more than a few seconds it won't start growing yet, and even if it did it probably wouldn't draw moisture from me if another source is available. But better to be safe than sorry."


 
 Originally Posted by WindStruck 
  "You also say growth is limited by water, but what about the nutrients in the ground itself, or the air?"  Shandara asks. 
 

"I tested that, placed a seed in a box of sand with just water. It still grew like you saw here." the researcher explained. "We theorize the magic provides all the nutrients."


 
 Originally Posted by WindStruck 
  "And what do those stakes do? Is that light for the tree?"  she asks, pointing at the four stakes topped with crystal balls that Linette put down. 
 

"Oh, no. You might not have noticed it, but it is already getting rather dark. I just wanted to light up the area so everything was clearly visible, though I suppose you did not need the extra light."
WindStruck
 "Oh.  I see, I see. I suppose I hadn't really noticed..."  Shandara says.  Which may have been true enough, but even if the sun was low in the sky, if it was at a bad angle with few or intermittent obstructions, it would still be more distracting than anything.

 "Is that the only infused tundra oak seed you have?" 
DeTess
"We have quite a few acorns, but only one that is infused right now." Linette replied.
MrAbdiel
Aiden is silent - more silent than you'd expect he'd be with such a fantastical display. He taps his chin with his fingertips and walks around the tree, looking up at its spreading boughs, looking quietly concerned.

 "It's an impressive effect, for sure. I think... If I were to look at it long enough, I might detect some uncanny features. A tree goes through a great deal over its life to grow so tall, after all. It gets a small infection of wood grubs, and that sloughs off a branch here or there. Some critters nest in one part of it and they make a habit of chewing the sprigs from one side. Maybe the tree next to it catches fire from lightning, and this one becomes a little scorched. And every day the leaves reach toward the sun on its arc - not as dramatically as a sunflower, but enough that there's a sort of subtle shaping that a druid or ranger might know to look for. Now, none of that stuff is an issue for me - I plan to strip the bark to carve the wood beneath, and denude it of most leaves as if in winter - probably, replicate a few hundred in silver and gold. I can get around those uncanny aspects, they're no problem. But..." 

He gestures vaguely with one hand up at the trunk, as if that would bring forth the words he's only half-assembled in his mind. It's another few moments before they come to his call.

 "Well, one of the aspects of choosing a tree in the wild is finding one that's grown just so as required - picking the perfect one, from hundreds of candidates. Growing one with magical assistance like this, well, it's a fine work, but... Well, I'll bring around the model I made up; but I need at least two strong, upright forking boughs that I can fix with harp strings and seats to that they can be played. That's not a common arrangement; I expected to do a little looking before I found something like it. But I'm also worried about just forcing that shape, and so rendering it to look unnatural. It might need..."  He chews his lip, shakes his head a little, chews his lip some more.  "Well, I suppose, whoever is doing the magic to shape the growth as it happens ought to be fairly in tune with natural shapes. For my purposes, at least! Just how slow could this growth be made to happen? A minute? Perhaps, I might dare to hope, an hour?" 
WindStruck
 "Isn't the point of the art to make things more abstract or more ideal?"  Shandara says.

 "But I suppose if a tundra oak cannot be magically grown to your specification or liking.. then your only other option is retrieving one by expedition, isn't it? Did you ever figure out how to arrange the transportation and disassembly in time?" 
MrAbdiel
Aiden looks warmly confused at the first statement. Art? Point? Art was its own point, as far as he understood it. But the second, he gives a hesitant nod.  "There's another option - a dangerous vector of expedition - but I really think there is promise in this. That's why I'm interested to know about how much  shaping  can be put into this growth process, and if it can be slowed so it's not such a mad scramble against the rush of the tree's expansion." 
DeTess
"If we can slow down the growth speed to be more manageable it should be no problem to grow the tree into the exact shape you need." Linette explained. "But just how much we'll be able to slow it depends on the outcome of my work with Shandara. Ideally we'd have perfect control but... well, we're struggling against a wild power of growth here, so it won't be easy."

"Are there any other questions? Otherwise we should really see if this method works with Tundra oak first." She gestured at the second vial in the chest.
MrAbdiel
“Oh! Of course. Go ahead! Any predictions? I figure because it’s made to punch roots through permafrost you’ll end up with an outsized root bulb in temperate soil. But that’s just a guess.”
DeTess
"My main worry is that Tundra oak does not occur naturally in places without very harsh winters." The researchers replied. "I wonder if the period of cold is somehow necessary for its growth, which would make growing it magically more difficult."
WindStruck
 "Yes, I do think temperature is a concern, but we had might as well see what happens now.."  Shandara says.
DeTess
"Well, let's see how this goes then." Linette drank down the remaining liquid in the vial on her belt, then grabbed and threw the vial containing the Tundra oak acorn. the vial landed and shattered in the western half of the clearing, well clear of the party and the new oak. Once again a tree started growing at incredible speed, this time with the slate-grey bark of the tundra oak. However, after several seconds, when it reached a height of about 6 meters, a loud cracking noise rang through the clearing, and the tree split straight down the centre. The two halves fell down on the ground with loud thuds. For several seconds more new branches still grew from the split halves of the trunk, but soon enough the magic reached its end, and without the magic sustaining it the tree would soon die.

Linette had already retrieved a notebook from her pack and was quickly noting down observations. "Well, that was unexpected. I expected some issue, but for it to straight up split like that... I need to make some notes and collect some samples so we can figure out why and how this went wrong."
WindStruck
Shandara says,  "Hmm.. I'm no expert in trees, but..."  She walks much closer to the tree to study the structure of its trunk.

 "Seems this collapsed under it's own weight."  She prods the wood to find it almost spongy.

 "This.. this isn't right at all.. and all the sap? Maybe that is the result of the magic. I heard when tundra oak is harvested, it's already pretty dry. I wonder why that is." 

She turns around and states,  "Well, in addition to a slower version of the spell that Aiden would suggest, I think we would also need a sort of.. reverse-greenhouse: an area that keeps the ground and the air cool, freezing even. But I think that slower growth may also be necessary for the freezing conditions..." 
MrAbdiel
 "Heaven's bells! What an outcome!"  Aiden whistles, before jogging over to examine the fascinating disaster like his companions. Quietly, he's very impressed at Shandara's speculations. They seem clever; likely to be beneficial. He nods along before adding his own thoughts, which are largely baseless speculation informed vaporously by his general experience.

 "I suppose it stands to reason that a stone-hard timber can't grow in a stone-hard state the whole way. The newer growths would have to be softer and they'd have trouble displacing the stone-hard wood. Maybe it's a slow sort of... petrification process, from its own sap. Unusual, I'd admit; but it would make sense as to why a spell that flooded the seed with life and growth didn't work out. Perhaps the hardening isn't a function of its growth pattern at all, but a sort of.. biological side effect. A secondary effect of time. I imagine if we used such a spell on a vineyard, we'd end up with quite a lot of vines, but not a lot of wine." 
WindStruck
 "True, true, perhaps.."  Shandara muses.  "We would have a lot of vines at first, and then next year, a lot of flowers and potential for wine." 

She turns to look at the other two.  "Do either of you have something to collect this sap in?" 
DeTess
"Way ahead of you!" Having finished her notes, Linette was now busy collecting samples from the fallen tree. She was currently scraping some of the sap into a vial. "If either of you could break of some of the smaller branches to bring along?"
MrAbdiel
Aiden gives a little waving indication to Shandara that he's on it, and then takes some branch samples from the warped Tundra Oak. The fact that the narrow branches break off without requiring a chisel is a little sad, for the woodworker; like seeing an old and toothless lion reduced to scavenging.

Once he has a nice bundle of samples (and a few leaves for himself to experiment with), he carries the bundle for Linette and hands it over at her convenience.

 "All in all, a pretty promising effect. It'll require a little arcane finesse, but Shandara's the best there is as such things. Better than a dangerous expedition that risks life and limb, certainly." 
WindStruck
Shandara smiled very slightly at Aiden's compliment, though she was worried. She was worried, not so much that they would never figure this puzzle out, but that they would not figure it out in time for his big debut.  "Hmm,"  she mumbles to herself.

Shandara tries to grab a chunk of the fractured, spongy wood from the trunk. Perhaps a chunk of wood about the size of her hand. Then she takes out a piece of parchment from her backpack, setting it down. She takes the chunk of wood and slathers it all in the sap, on every surface, which also gets her fingertips sticky. She grimaces a bit, but puts the chunk of wood that was completely coated in sap on her parchment. Then she tries to wipe her hands off on the cloth of an empty sack in her bag.

 "Ugh, maybe I should have asked if this stuff was poisonous. Does anyone have some water?"  She just wanted to get her hands clean.

 "Oh, Linette, I also forgot to ask. What is that potion you were drinking each time you threw the seeds?" 
DeTess
"The sap shouldn't be poisonous. Might make your hands a little itchy for a bit though." Linette explained as she handed Shandara a waterskin from her backpack.

"Oh, that potion? It speeds up my reaction time and sharpens my senses and control of my body for a few seconds. It helps me make sure the vial goes where I want it to go."

 
 Spoiler: OOC 

OOC explanation: Linette is an alchemist, and that was a true strike extract.
 
WindStruck
Shandara uses the water to help get the sap off, in conjunction with the cloth of her spare sacks.

 "Well, I think that should do it.."  she begins.  "And I guess no one is going to care about these trees that magically sprung up here?" 
DeTess
"Nah, not really." Linette replied. "The crown forbids building anything on the land around the city for a few miles, but experiments like this are perfectly fine as long as you don't do them right next to the walls."

The experiment concluded and samples gathered, Linette led the four of them back to the city. As she did she explained her next steps to Shandara. "I'll start doing experiments on the Tundra Oak samples first thing tomorrow morning to see if I can come up with an approach for magically growing it without it becoming all weak like this. Hopefully I'll have some ideas when you stop by in the afternoon!"

She also took a bit of time to explain the 'guided growth' spell to Aiden. "So, we have two variations. One requires the caster to have a very clear mental image of what they want the shape of the plant to be. It's quite versatile, but also can easily go awry if the caster's image isn't quite correct. The other option is to use a model. It can be a scale model or one of actual size, and the growing plant will copy it exactly. In both cases, the plant will grow of fin its own direction once the shape set by the spell is completed."
WindStruck
 "I think you could come up with a model easily enough if you haven't already,"  Shandara says to Aiden.  "But the trick may be to make it intricate enough with enough twigs and branches so that there is very little left for the wild plant to do on its own devices. Then again.. that also might be very hard to visualize..." 

She shrugs and turns to Linette.  "So, this sample of wood with the sap all on it? I will just keep an eye on it, and see if the wood absorbs the sap, or if it gets harder over time. But the sap would not normally be exposed to air and at ambient temperatures, so.. what we learn still might not be very relevant."  She shrugs.
MrAbdiel
Aiden nods, enthusiastically.  "In fact, I have a scale model I made to submit the project. It doesn't map the structure down to the twigs, but what I really need is just to ensure a handful of boughs go the way I want them to, and the tree can do the rest as it prefers. I'll see if I can get the model back from the majordomo - erm..."  He pauses, thinking to himself a second, switching his gaze from Shandara back to Linette.  "Does it make a difference if the model is made from a different wood to the target plant? That is... is the spell lifting the shape alone, or something of the essence of the replica?" 
WindStruck
After a moment to herself to think, Shandara asks,  "So, Linette, was this the extent of your research? This was the method of making wood grow exceptionally fast? But it requires a magically-enchanted seed, and it pretty much.. always grows a full tree every time? Is there anything on a smaller scale?" 
DeTess
 
 Originally Posted by MrAbdiel 
 He pauses, thinking to himself a second, switching his gaze from Shandara back to Linette.  "Does it make a difference if the model is made from a different wood to the target plant? That is... is the spell lifting the shape alone, or something of the essence of the replica?"  
 

"No, the material does not matter much." Linette replied. "Unless there is some kind of texture you want to replicate, or don't want to replicate. Like, if you used a stone model that has some rough edges, the plant would do its best to replicate those rough edges as well."


 
 Originally Posted by WindStruck 
 After a moment to herself to think, Shandara asks,  "So, Linette, was this the extent of your research? This was the method of making wood grow exceptionally fast? But it requires a magically-enchanted seed, and it pretty much.. always grows a full tree every time? Is there anything on a smaller scale?"  
 

"I tried some smaller scale stuff. The infusion we use on seeds can be used on other wooden objects as well, but the results are very similar. Combined with our guided growing spell you could use this to, for example, very quickly mend a hole in a barrel, but as soon as the hole is fixed the spell goes wild and in seconds your barrel is stuck halfway up a newly grown tree." The researcher gestured up, as if replicating the motion of a barrel suddenly shooting upwards. "Experiments with water and nutrients did reveal that water can be a limiting factor, but I've not been able to design a way to control the presence of water with enough precision. I'll show you my notes when you next visit the lab."

"Add to that that we didn't really need the massive increase in speed for the applications we had imagined at the time, and we decided it was better to leave this line of research alone and focus our efforts elsewhere. Around that time a batch of these medicinal plants that only grew in volcanoes came in, so I moved on to figuring out how to cultivate them outside of lakes of lava."
WindStruck
 "Lakes of.. lava?  How could anything survive there?"  Shandara asks. That was absolutely intriguing.

 "Hm. Anyway. Perhaps I have an idea. I think there must be a way to end the spell prematurely. To cut off the flow of energy. Apparently, you can't do that now, but I could take a look at that spell if you'd like..." 
DeTess
 
 Originally Posted by WindStruck 
  "Lakes of.. lava?  How could anything survive there?"  Shandara asks. That was absolutely intriguing. 
 

"I'm fairly certain the plant was native to the plane of fire and somehow got imported here." Linette was eager to explain. "It was very rich in elemental magic, and only wanted to grow in very hot circumstances. In our lab we had to essentially put the seeds in an oven to get it to grow! I eventually managed to cross-breed it with a more normal orchid, without loosing too much of its power. It still needs a desert environment to grow, but..." She cut off her rambling after a bit, a slight bashful look on her face. "Sorry, this was just a very interesting project as well."


 
 Originally Posted by WindStruck 
  "Hm. Anyway. Perhaps I have an idea. I think there must be a way to end the spell prematurely. To cut off the flow of energy. Apparently, you can't do that now, but I could take a look at that spell if you'd like..."  
 

"The infusion spell is actually quite simple, but I'll get you the diagrams, maybe you can see something I did not."
WindStruck
 "Oh, do go on if you'd like. I'm quite fascinated by the whole idea,"  Shandara says.  "But yes, a look at the diagram.. I will see what I can do. Shouldn't take too long, hmm Aiden?"  She bumps her shoulder into his, which actually just touches his elbow due to height differences, in a somewhat friendly gesture to wake the man out of his daydreaming as they walked back to the city.
MrAbdiel
Aiden had been gazing, glossy-eyed and content, at the burst carcass of the Tundra Oak sprout. He'd been imagining what else he might do with trees grown into custom shapes to provide their timber. Specialty furniture was at the front of his mind, though he'd considered how easilly one might compel a nice yew tree to produce a profundity of boughs suitable to be made into bows and staves.

He would not think about the mutual compatibilities between this spell, and the very useful Spirit Wood, for some time.

He animates back to attention at Shandara's nudge, smiles, and then pauses a moment as he visibly parses back through his short term memory for what has just been said. He finds it, and then nods again more deliberately, as they set into motion walking back the way they came, with Ambrose plodding behind where the now well-set sun cannot menace the drowess's eyes, and it's Aiden's turn to squint at the ground as they go.

 "Well, you're the spellcrafter; and if you say it shouldn't take too long, I should not expect it to take very long at all." 
WindStruck
 "Yes, well.. in theory it shouldn't take long. But those would be foolish words uttered by every artificer who has ever existed, and then regretted it,"  Shandara lightly chuckles.

 "I mean, I figured it wouldn't be too hard to repair a hull of a ship. But I've had to break the process into two spells, and the second has found its way trying to come to fruition here.. where the solutions I hoped to find with this Puredew Research Group have been lacking.. no offense,"  she says aside to Linette.  "And now who knows what other obstacles will be in the way? Hopefully there will be an end to it soon." 
DeTess
"It wouldn't be a new discovery if you could just copy our homework, now would it." Linette replied with a friendly grin as the party of four approached the gate. The guards waved them through after a perfunctory check of their bags, and soon enough they were all safely within the city walls again.

"Well, it's about time for me to head home." Linette turned to the other three. "Shandara, I'll make sure the notes and diagrams are ready for you when you drop by tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have made some progress on figuring out the Tundra Oak growth process by then as well. Aiden, if there's anything you need from the research group, you know where to find us!"
WindStruck
Shandara smiles slightly.  "To me, much of what you already know is a new discovery. But yes. I'll get on solving those problems in about as soon as reasonably possible." 

She looks over at Aiden, thinking for a moment.  "Aiden, what are you doing tonight? Busy? I think I will be waiting idly tonight, which is a rare occassion. Have you ever been to the Xlotl's Nest?" 
 
 Spoiler: ooc 
I kinda forgot the details.  It is in the harbor district?  Or the stormdrain district?  And where exactly is Aiden's house/workshop in relation?
 
MrAbdiel
 "I'll do that, Linette. For now, I'll try to get everything else I need ready - thank you for all your help!" 

Aiden's normal enthusiastic gratitude discharged and perhaps a new friend made, the carpenter is at once attentive to the enchantress's questions - though his answer proves a shallow knowledge of the subject matter.

 "Well, I'd normally be pacing and thinking about this art piece I suppose. I'm free enough - though I've never met a Xlotl, and hesitant to disturb it if it's not the kind of creature that welcomes company." 
WindStruck
Shandara looks at Aiden briefly, with a moment of some awkward silence.  "...it's a tavern. That's the name of a place in the Harbor District. Or, I guess we could go somewhere else if you'd like." 
MrAbdiel
Aiden blinks. And then laughs, in that way he seems to richly enjoy his on follies.

 "Oh - well, then, I've never been. Come to think of it, since I hired Maria, I've made only rare occasion to dine or drink out at all. If the Xlotl's Nest carries your recommendation, I'm keen to visit after all." 
WindStruck
 "Oh, it's quite unique. You are likely to meet quite a number of interesting people there. It could do you well to expand your horizons, or.. to recollect some things, perhaps..."  Shandara says.  "Anyway, there's also an acquaintance I have who goes there, but I have no idea if he will be there tonight." 
DeTess
 The Xlotl's nest 
The Xlotl's nest occupies a building at the edge of the harbor district. From a distance it appears fairly nondescript, easily passing for a small warehouse or a large shop, but as one gets close more details of its true nature appear. Voices and laughter drift outside, and warm light peaks out through the windows and the partially opened front door. The front door itself is highly unusual, consisting of three nested doors, the largest over 10 feet tall and the smallest only 4 feet in height. The doors are made from solid wood with bands of iron keeping the three different doors in place. On the top portion of the largest door a wooden plaque shows a large lizard-like creature, its skin a dusky blue-grey and with strange frills extending from the back of its head.

The human-sized door easily swings open, allowing entrance to large, well-lit common room. A large bar occupies the opposite wall and the room itself is filled with tables of many different sizes and heights. A section of the room is split in two horizontally by a second floor, leaving two sections with a ceiling that would be uncomfortably low for the average human, but is just fine for a dwarf, gnome or halfling.

The bar's patronage is incredibly diverse. Though there are a few humans, dwarves and half-elves, most of the patrons are members of races far less common in the city. A group of short, black-feathered bird-folk is having a celebration in the split section of the room, and several Goliaths are sitting at the bar, occupying chairs clearly adjusted for their height. Sitting around a low table in the far corner, several frog-folk sit, chatting amongst each other in low, croaking tones and passing a long-handled pipe between them and several planetouched with elements of the plane of fire to them and wearing sooth-stained smiths clothes are drinking amicably together. Even the representatives of the more common races have exotic-looking touches to them, with strange tattoos or clothes marking them as having come from far-flung corners of the empire or beyond.
WindStruck
 "Quite an interesting place to be sure,"  Shandara says, herself perhaps fitting in as one of many diverse and odd patrons... but Aiden and Xavier not so much.

 "If you cared to play a tune, I'm sure you would make it even more so,"  she says with a soft chuckle that abruptly ends. She didn't want to put Aiden under such a compulsion though. But she did think his talent was excellent.

Lost in a bit of thought, she peers over towards the goliaths, wondering if Vaigr was among them. His name, she could easily remember. The face and the voice... not quite so much.  An unfortunate side effect of being recognized primarily by one's most outward and obvious features, rather than the subtle nuances each race is naturally tuned to look for amongst their own people, or even similar breeds.
MrAbdiel
Aiden reassures the warhost-turned-packhorse Ambrose as he leaves him hitched outside the nest, makes a difficult choice between taking his fiddle or banjo in with him (the fiddle wins), and follows his drow companion's lead into the undiscovered country of the Xlotl's Nest. He grins a little at the nested doors, their purpose and elegance immediately apparent, but he manages not to drag Shandara into a discourse about the building's entrance and instead merely transcends it. But inside, it takes him a bit to get much better.

 "Oh, hah! Look it that! Phwoarr, I've never seen 'em so tall. Heaven's bells, what a marvel!" 

In such a crowd of strangers in a strange place, who must be reasonably accustomed to be gawked at, such exclamations must draw an inevitable amount of expectation of targets. But in each case, the carpenter's benign exuberance is directed at some clever feature of construction or furnishing in the Nest - the double-up floor for the wee-folk, the outsized chairs made for goliath patrons, the manifold physical accommodations made for the variety of members. He's not quite boisterous enough to make a  scene  about it, but certainly there are eyes that dart to him expecting an occasion to defend themselves against a charge of oddity, only to find that the bard is in fact commenting on the scrollwork on the bar, or fireproof ale stein, or a floor support that hangs from a cable instead of rising up from the ground as a pillar. But once he's gotten all that out of his system, he returns to being perfectly good company.

At the sidelong suggestion to play a tune, Aiden's eyes light up, but then he squints, and wags a finger, temperingly.  "That might be fun - though on first blush I'm at a loss as to what song might most appeal to such a crowd. Ah, but it's only just sundown, now - these are the talking hours and the drinking hours, not quite yet the singing and dancing hours; or else they might have their own minstrels taking to the task." 

It's a soft deflection, but the seed has been planted, and his eyes and ears are alert to drink in the mood of the venue, the  feel , and perhaps on the scout for other musicians who might be employed to play here - whom might feel somewhat stepped on if he were to hop up onto the bar and begin his own performance. He hedges for the moment, but it does not take the penetrating insight of an old gambler to know the odds that he'll find occasion to break out the fiddle before the end of the visit are very favorable indeed.

 "Sort of a... reprieve venue, isn't it? For all the folk in the city who are used to feeling as outsiders, to have a place very much built for them. Why, I imagine if you keep coming back here, one day you'll find they've made a curtained section to cut down the lighting, if there isn't one already. How did you find this place, Miss Shandara?" 
WindStruck
Shandara isn't sure what to make of Aiden's almost excessive praise of the furniture and architecture. Almost on the verge of raising a brow and keeping some distance, she instead simply nods along and quietly agrees that the amenities are in fact quite unique and well-made.

As for how she found this place?  "A friend had recommended it to me. Or perhaps an acquaintance.. well, you see, it's not like I see him nearly as much as Bolten or you. One day we agreed to meet here to chat. Although, I think this is only the second time I've been here myself." 

Shandara supposed that perhaps maybe she would visit here more if she felt the need to be more social as an 'outsider' .. but then again, she supposed she did simply feel more comfortable at home or in those archives. In truth, sometimes she simply didn't feel sociable.
DeTess
Aiden's amazement and inspection of the environment drew some hard looks at first, but when it became clear he was talking about the construction and woodwork the interest quickly faded. However, one person approached Aiden once he was done. They had the rough size and proportions of a human, but their skin had the appearance of wood. Their face appeared like a rough carving of a humanoid face, with eyes, a mouth and a nose, but little in the way of small details. "It is rare to see someone as appreciative of the art of woodworking." They spoke, their voice slow and with a creaking timbre, as if caused by wind through branches. "Are you truly human as you appear, or is there some hidden fey side to you?" They asked, sounding curious.

Vaigr was not among the Goliaths at the bar, but looking around the establishment, Shandara saw a familiar looking Goliath and half-orc sitting at a table further in.
WindStruck
Shandara shares a glance with Xavier quickly before nodding to herself. That other very tall half-orc could only be.. Assama.

Gingerly, she approaches, but it might be awkward if they're already in the middle of conversation. Then again, just standing there eavesdropping wouldn't be good either.

Neither one to lurk, nor to stride in like she owns the place, Shandara soon finds herself right next to the table, her delicate hands placed on the wooden fixture and dwarfing her as though she was a halfling. Inevitably, she would be getting their attention, so she says,  "..hello." 
DeTess
"Hmmm? Oh, hello Shandara!" Vaigr adresses the drow. "It's been a while! How are you? Please rake a seat." Vaigr gestures at one of the empty seats around the table.
WindStruck
 "It has, hasn't it? Some weeks or a couple months, right? I feel I lost track of time. I've been awfully busy,"  Shandara says.

 "Well, how have things been for you two?" 
MrAbdiel
Aiden isn't so caught up to wander off and abandon Shandara, but when the enchantress seems to be seeking out a familiar form at one of the tables, he's vicariously warmed. Practically everyone Aiden meets ends up his friend, but Shandara had so few friends (as she had just explained!), and he liked the idea she might happen to graduate an acquaintance up to the upper strata. But the drowess had good reasons to trust slowly - she came from a world where loneliness was the best defence against death. That thought threatened to crack his sanguine mood, until the new interlocuter - the carved, ligneous creature - revealed itself. He marvelled at the novelty of its nature for a moment, then grinned and offered a bow and a flourish of his hat.
 
"Alas, friend - no fey in me. I'm just a man who loves working with wood. I'm Aiden Sorveaux. I've a shop, the Fiddle and Saw, over in the Stormdrains."  He thrusts out a hand, intent on befriending this curious questioner.
DeTess
"Things have been good." Vaigr responded. "The workshop has been thriving, and with the information you shared with us we have been able to improve our rituals, doing more while expending less effort. Assama is coming into her own as well, which has been a great help." Vaigr gestured to his companion as he praised her, reintroducing her in case Shandara had forgotten about the half-orc. "I might reach out to you sometime in the new year for a project, if you have the time of course, but that's something we can discuss when the time comes. Have you had any interesting projects lately, Shandara?"

"Ah, a fellow craftsperson then." The wooden creature nodded its head at Aiden. "My workshop is the 'Oak Tree' in the foreigners quarter, You are welcome to visit if you wish to talk about the art of woodcrafting."

 
 Spoiler: foreigner's quarter 

The foreigners quarter is  a section of the city bordering the harbor district, and is in fact very close to the Xlotl's nest. It is a very diverse neighbourhood with people from many different cultures. Most inhabitants are either traders or crafters.
 
WindStruck
 "Oh.. good, good. I'm glad to hear it,"  Shandara says, nodding along, but with hardly a smile to go along with the encouragement.

 "As a matter of fact. Hm. I guess I've done a number of things since we last talked. I briefly helped the city guard with something.. or rather, researched something for them, for a bit. Came across an interesting bit of wood that is quite conducive to holding magical energy.. oh, and that happened because I was working with that fellow on an enchanted violin,"  she says, briefly pointing toward Aiden, whom she had left behind to talk to some.. person? golem? dryad? tree person? She didn't want to be rude and stare.

 "I think I'll introduce you to him later. His name is Aiden, and he is quite an exceptional carpenter and musician.. Right now I've joined up with some other research group. I'm studying wood growth of all things."  Shandara's mouth twists into a wry grin. As a child, she had imagined herself doing all kinds of magical research after she had completed apprenticeship. But if you had told her she would be on the surface and playing around with the innumerable trees that grew there, she would have sooner believed that orcs have formed a mighty worldwide empire, or that she had draconic ancestry. She continues,  "and then I just happened to bump into Aiden again this evening, who was actually trying to do something similar, but to a different purpose. Me, I was just trying to create some magic wands that would repair ship hulls. But he's doing something far more.. artistic with an entire tree." 

Shandara shrugs.  "Anyway, I'm sure I will have time at the start of the new year. All I need is to plan accordingly and not get wrapped up in new projects beforehand. So.. if you don't mind my asking, what did you have in mind?" 

Shandara suddenly felt a little strange, as she realized just how talkative she has been. Bolten and Aiden probably didn't even know all of her recent exploits, and she considered them friends. And, well.. Xavier most likely knew or had some inkling, being the silent watchful sort he is. It's his job after all. But Shandara did think she mentioned everything except the SCORP, which she would have to ensure no one knew of except for herself, Bolten, the Lady Orlof, Dukkear, his whole clan...  oh dear. There were quite a few loose ends, weren't there?
DeTess
"It is something Assama came up with while we were updating our rituals based on the knowledge you shared." Vaigr began, before letting Assama take over.

"You might remember from your contact with the spirits that in the past they had aan entire spiritworld to roam in and communicate with eachother." The woman began. "We can recreate this for a short while to communicate with the spirits, but we can't keep this up for any real stretch of time. We would like you to look into creating an enchantment or object that could create and keep up an area for the spirits to roam in spirit-form, permanently. This is well beyond anything we know how to do, but we hoped you could look into it. The workshop has a big commission this winter, so we'll have enough money afterwards to offer you a proper commission."
WindStruck
 "Ah. Well.. I would think it's doable.."  Shandara says. She recalled the sad predicament all the spirits were in, apparently trapped in darkness with pretty much no senses at all. Would probably drive anyone mad, really. Though they could talk to each other. Maybe that would hasten the process for some.

 "Permanent enchantments do exist, and even quite complex and long-lasting ones, that simply need to be maintained."  She thought of enhanced weapons and armors, recharging wands, and the whole sewer sludge teleportation bit she did, in which the enchantments would need to be reserviced every once in a while.  "I would think in the worst case scenario, it's probably possible to feed it some power every week or so, once it has been established." 
 "But I guess there are other questions to ask, which might make the process easier. For example, I remember being upon a mountaintop with sparse grass and rocks. Was that based on a particular place in the world? And would setting up the permanent ritual in an area similar to it ease the process? Or.. is that even remotely desirable?" 
MrAbdiel
 'The Oak Tree!'  Aiden repeats, fastening the name of the place to his mind,  'in the Foreigner's Quarter! I'll certainly visit, my friend. I love talking shop. Most of my work has been in musical instruments - strings, mostly - and furniture, but I've been trying my hand at some other things. Boat and ship design. All kinds of things. Do you have a specialty yourself?' 

He makes a note to visit the Foreigner's Quarter. Since he's started taking on challenging work, he's had precious little time to just bumble through the streets in a daze of discovery, as he mostly prefers. It will be nice to explore, again.
DeTess
 
 Originally Posted by WindStruck 
  "But I guess there are other questions to ask, which might make the process easier. For example, I remember being upon a mountaintop with sparse grass and rocks. Was that based on a particular place in the world? And would setting up the permanent ritual in an area similar to it ease the process? Or.. is that even remotely desirable?"  
 

"That mountaintop is a real place. It's a mountaintop near the village I was born in." Vaigr looked off in the distance, lost in his memories for a few moments before turning back to Shandara. "We would gather there for import ceremonies and meetings, which is why I used that landscape as the backdrop of that particular ritual. If we set up something permanent it wouldn't be the worst area. But ideally it would be a slightly more diverse region."

"We'd want a rocky mountainous area like that, a forest area... and something slightly swampy." Vaigr counted the areas off on his large fingers as he considered the preferences of the various spirits. "If that is possible, of course." He quickly added.


 
 Originally Posted by MrAbdiel 
  'The Oak Tree!'  Aiden repeats, fastening the name of the place to his mind,  'in the Foreigner's Quarter! I'll certainly visit, my friend. I love talking shop. Most of my work has been in musical instruments - strings, mostly - and furniture, but I've been trying my hand at some other things. Boat and ship design. All kinds of things. Do you have a specialty yourself?'  
 

"I mostly make furniture and decorative items, like statues, wood carvings and decorative plaques like shop signs and coats of arms." The tree being replied. "I've been trying my branches at creating flutes as well recently, but they are not yet up to my standards. Have you ever made instruments like that? Do you have any advice for getting the exact sounds you want?"
WindStruck
Oh dear. Shandara certainly knew scope creep when she heard it.

 "Ahem. Uhm.. I am not sure how difficult it would be to add in different types of terrains. Perhaps one day you could show me an example of such a spirit world with the forest, and then the swampy regions, or meadows. Maybe I could see if there is any real difference to the ritual and its complexity, or if it is all dependent on your imagination. But..."  she says, beginning to raise her finger and possibly an objection,

 "What I can say for certain is that as the area and reach of a spell grows, the power it requires increases drastically. Now, that ritual you all performed with us in that tiny room might simply confine us to standing in a small area, and I imagine there's no problem with that. I'm just not sure if your spell covers the entire mountain top and everything we could see? For example, I know the spirits could approach us, but I'm not sure how far away they could go until they ran out of the bounds of the spell. It could be that maybe the reason the spell takes so much out of you two is that you've  already  created quite an expansive world for the spirits?" 

She looks down and says,  "Well in any case, supposing it would make keeping a permanent ritual up much easier, would setting it up somewhere out in the wilderness actually be quite risky? And what about the workshop with you and Banbas?" 
MrAbdiel
 "Flutes - yes, yes, I've made a few. In fact my first job when I got to Vaungate was one to deal with a rat infestation, and I had concocted a plan to make a magic flute that called rats, another one that called owls, and then rig them up to some kind of weathervane wind-instrument apparatus so the flutes would tootle away during the knight and the rats would march up to be snatched away by owls in an orderly fashion. Didn't quite work out that way, but I did make the flutes, and they work just fine! I've made a few. Fine instruments for children especially because they don't need tuning. In what way are yours falling short of your hopes?" 
 
 Spoiler: OOC: 
Aiden is willing to ramble on about flutes for as long as this treefellow desires. You can supply that side if you want, DeTess, but don't feel the need to articulate it in detail!
 
DeTess
 
 Originally Posted by WindStruck 
  "What I can say for certain is that as the area and reach of a spell grows, the power it requires increases drastically. Now, that ritual you all performed with us in that tiny room might simply confine us to standing in a small area, and I imagine there's no problem with that. I'm just not sure if your spell covers the entire mountain top and everything we could see? For example, I know the spirits could approach us, but I'm not sure how far away they could go until they ran out of the bounds of the spell. It could be that maybe the reason the spell takes so much out of you two is that you've  already  created quite an expansive world for the spirits?"  
 

"For the spirits the size of the world is about... a 100 feet or so around the circle." Assama explained. "I asked the spirits about that once I started thinking about this project. Everything beyond that is like a really realistic painting to them, visible, but not a place they can enter."


 
 Originally Posted by WindStruck 
 She looks down and says,  "Well in any case, supposing it would make keeping a permanent ritual up much easier, would setting it up somewhere out in the wilderness actually be quite risky? And what about the workshop with you and Banbas?"  
 

"We hoped it would be possible to set it up in the spirit's room in the workshop." the half-orc replied. "Though maybe a place outside might be easier? We'd have to make sure no animals could disturb it though."



 
 Originally Posted by MrAbdiel 
  "Flutes - yes, yes, I've made a few. In fact my first job when I got to Vaungate was one to deal with a rat infestation, and I had concocted a plan to make a magic flute that called rats, another one that called owls, and then rig them up to some kind of weathervane wind-instrument apparatus so the flutes would tootle away during the knight and the rats would march up to be snatched away by owls in an orderly fashion. Didn't quite work out that way, but I did make the flutes, and they work just fine! I've made a few. Fine instruments for children especially because they don't need tuning. In what way are yours falling short of your hopes?"  
 

"My problem lies with getting them to sound  right ." The tree person explained, before going into more detail. It seemed like they had very accurate hearing, which could be a blessing, but in this case made them a bit of a perfectionist regarding the exact tones their flutes could and should produce.
WindStruck
 "Hm. A hundred feet around the circle isn't really a lot of space to incorporate all those features. I'd imagine you could get a bit of the forest and swamps and grasslands for instance, but simulating a mountain top itself would need quite a lot of room just for itself,"  Shandara says, and then with a shrug,  "Maybe you could settle for two different rituals that had different environments in each?" 
 "If other wild animals entering the area would disturb the ritual site, then I wonder how your ancestors did it. I suppose the tribe was far more numerous and protective of the area, and more in tune with their surroundings.. with the wildlife.. Hrm."  Yes, that was probably it, rather than some other fancy trick involving how they used their magic.
DeTess
"Back in the day, the spirits somehow created the spirit-world themselves, or at least the elder ones did so for the benefit of all the spirits." Vaigr explained. "But none of the spirits still around are powerful enough for that."
WindStruck
Shandara thinks a bit and says,  "And that world no longer exists, correct?" 
DeTess
"I..." Vaigr was silent for a moment, mulling over his answer. "I don't think so. The spirits I rescued never mentioned anything like that still being around. They said it disappeared when the most powerful spirits went off to battle."
WindStruck
 "I see..."  Shandara says, looking down again.  "I guess that makes sense." 
 "Well, even if we can only make the area a bit bigger and permanent, I think that would still be a massive improvement."  She looks up at the others, cheering up a little.  "So what else will you two be working on until then? Did Banbas ever come up with a suitable body for that one bird spirit? I forgot the name..." 
DeTess
"We're working on something closely related right now!" Vaigr seems happy to explain the project. "Various nobles are holding large festivities around midwinter, and they're vying with one another for the most impressive displays. A duke has hired us to create a clockwork dragon capable of flight, so this project is the test-bed for all the ideas Banbas had for the body for that spirit. The dragon won't be controlled by one of the spirits, but it's still a great learning opportunity, and a very well-paying one at that."
WindStruck
 "Ah.. I thought that nothing clockwork suited that spirit.. even if it could propel itself on its own for quite a distance? Hmm..." 

Shandara says,  "Well, I'm interested in how that turns out. If none of those work, might need to go back to the really light frame idea. And I was just thinking, there are some extremely light woods, but they are quite fragile as well, right? Luckily, it should be possible to enchant them with a common and permanent spell, to the point where they are hard enough to resist many impacts, yet still retain the lightness. What would you think of that?" 
DeTess
Vaigr nodded, familiar with what Shandara was describing. "We're doing exactly that for the frame. The internal mechanisms will be metal as usual, though Banbas has redesigned the gears and other mechanical components to be lighter by adding grooves where possible."
WindStruck
 "Well, I hope that all works out,"  Shandara says smiling a little.

 "Say, what do they have to eat around here?"  she asks, realizing she feels a bit peckish, as she had only snacked on something light before making her way to the Western Gates this afternoon.  "You're here a lot, right? Anything to recommend? Or are there any.. subterranean dishes?"  Somehow she felt that might be a little less scary than saying 'The Underdark'.
MrAbdiel
 "Hmm. That's a bit of a trick, isn't it? If you find you've bored the flute too wide for the tone you seek, then you'd be forced to make a new one entire. I imagine you're already experimenting with different kinds of wood, but if you were to make the flute's shaft separate to the mouthpiece, you could cut down on your repeated labour... Why don't I come by your shop some time this week, and you can show me your flutes and between our ears and skills, we'll see if we can't figure out the adjustment needed?" 
DeTess
 
 Originally Posted by WindStruck 
  "Say, what do they have to eat around here?"  she asks, realizing she feels a bit peckish, as she had only snacked on something light before making her way to the Western Gates this afternoon.  "You're here a lot, right? Anything to recommend? Or are there any.. subterranean dishes?"  Somehow she felt that might be a little less scary than saying 'The Underdark'. 
 

"They have a lot of tasty things here." Vaigr replied. "I like their 'Kabobs', these skewers of grilled meats and vegetables. But something subterenean... Aren't ghost fish caught in caves?" Vaigr seemed stumped by Shandara's question.

"Ghost fish are indeed caught in caves, but only in caves directly connected to the sea, near the surface. but if I may make a recommendation?" While they had been talking a waitress had approached the table. She looked mostly human, but her hair was a fiery orange-red, and her eyes were orbs of molten fire. "The stuffed mushrooms use a variety of mushrooms native to the Underdark, though ours are grown locally, and the recipe is based off a traditional deep gnome dish. If you're looking for something that is more a blend of above and below, there is the mushroom burger. A large chunk of Deep Shelf mushroom, marinated and grilled, served on a small bun with leafy greens and local sauces, served with a side of baked potatoes."


 
 Originally Posted by MrAbdiel 
  "Hmm. That's a bit of a trick, isn't it? If you find you've bored the flute too wide for the tone you seek, then you'd be forced to make a new one entire. I imagine you're already experimenting with different kinds of wood, but if you were to make the flute's shaft separate to the mouthpiece, you could cut down on your repeated labour... Why don't I come by your shop some time this week, and you can show me your flutes and between our ears and skills, we'll see if we can't figure out the adjustment needed?"  
 

The tree person nods. "I would enjoy picking the brain of a fellow artisan on this matter. And if there are any projects giving you trouble, I would be happy to provide advice in turn."
WindStruck
 "Oh, those all sound tempting,"  Shandara says.

She asks Assama and Vaigr,  "Were you two hungry? Or did you already eat?" 


(to save a bit of time here, Shandara might be willing to order all of the things mentioned, provided they help eat it)
MrAbdiel
 The tree person nods. "I would enjoy picking the brain of a fellow artisan on this matter. And if there are any projects giving you trouble, I would be happy to provide advice in turn." 

Aiden grins in anticipation of more collaboration.  "Well, I'm working on something right now that's a little new to me - working with large scale tundra oak, and some other facets of the thing - but the whole process is still revealing itself to me. I'll tell you a little bit about it when I come over. What should I call you, friend?" 

Aiden is circumspect speaking about the project right off the bat - he's slowly becoming aware that blabbing all about the secret art project might rob the Archduchess of the mystique of revealing it, so he should be a little more reserved with talking about it in detail. But the tree-person seems so pleasant he can hardly imagine it'll be a problem...

 
 Spoiler: Intros 
I'm not crazy, right? I think this little Tree-Ent, whom I shall think of for now as Trent, might have declined to offer his name earlier when Aiden blurted his own.
 
DeTess
 
 Originally Posted by WindStruck 
  "Oh, those all sound tempting,"  Shandara says.

She asks Assama and Vaigr,  "Were you two hungry? Or did you already eat?"  
 

Vaigr and Assama hadn't eaten yet, and they were quite willing to order some of everything to share. The waitress took their order, and soon enough a variety of dishes were brought out for them to try


 
 Originally Posted by MrAbdiel 
 Aiden grins in anticipation of more collaboration.  "Well, I'm working on something right now that's a little new to me - working with large scale tundra oak, and some other facets of the thing - but the whole process is still revealing itself to me. I'll tell you a little bit about it when I come over. What should I call you, friend?"  
 

The tree person freezes up for a moment, then bows to Aiden. "Apologies. I am still not quite used to the process of exchanging names common amongst the people here. You may call me 'Oak', as everyone else does."
WindStruck
 "This is decent,"  Shandara says, after having cut one of those mushroom sandwiches in half and tasting a bite. The fish wasn't bad either. She also tries one of the kabobs and a stuffed mushroom that was apparently some deep gnome recipe? By the end of it, from having a bit of this and that, she was stuffed.

 "I usually don't splurge often, but the new experiences are nice. Hm. Maybe I could make some of these recipes on my own at home..." 

She looks up to see how the others are doing. It was pretty likely that all this food was merely a snack for Vaigr.
MrAbdiel
 "Oak it is. Easy to remember. Do your, ah... People have a different convention for the exchange of names, then?"  Aiden smiles as he asks, but it's plain he's bundling into the question the most polite possible way to ask  what are you exactly? 
DeTess
 
 Originally Posted by WindStruck 
 She looks up to see how the others are doing. It was pretty likely that all this food was merely a snack for Vaigr. 
 

Vaigr had indeed already finished his share of the food, and flagged down the waitress to order another serving of the kabob's, as well as another mushroom burger. "These mushrooms are pretty interesting." The Goliath shared. "I sometimes use surface mushrooms in simple meals, but always as additions, never as the main ingredient. These have a far stronger taste than what you can get from the local forests though."


 
 Originally Posted by MrAbdiel 
  "Oak it is. Easy to remember. Do your, ah... People have a different convention for the exchange of names, then?"  
 

"I... am not certain." Oak's wooden face was hard to read, but they exuded an aura of sadness. "I have grown up separated from others of my kind. I have met one or two in my travels, and they did not use names in the same way you do. Our near-stationary nature makes it easy to know who is who by simply referring to a location." They fall silent for a moment, before realizing that what they just said might be rather confusing. Oak appeared rather mobile, after all. "This body is my own invention, something that allows me to roam further from my true self than I could otherwise, and experience things that would otherwise be impossible for me. You'll understand when you visit my workshop."
WindStruck
Shandara nods and says,  "That's true. I find the common mushrooms most folk sell up here to be quite.. bland. Sort of like... ah, what else could we compare it too. Like a carrot versus a celery? Did I get that right? Or maybe this is more accurate: like a potato, before and after it is seasoned? Then again, just because it's bland doesn't mean it's necessarily bad. There's a time and a place for everything, I suppose..." 
 "Well, I don't think I'll be ordering anything particularly special to drink.." 

She looks around to see if she can still find Aiden.  "Huh. Where did my friend go?" 
MrAbdiel
Aiden tilts his head as he listens to Oak's melancholy origin. He feels a sort of unusual kinship to the being; but he makes the leap of logic that they do not come to this place to dwell on their loneliness, preferring instead to seek companions with whom to connect. This, at least, he could provide.

 "Well, it's quite a marvel, to create one's own vessel. A significant overlap of art and artist, naturally. I'll certainly come by your workshop, to understand better."  And then, springing off that point to enter a warm ramble that invites collaboration:  "...And you see your furniture. Why, I recently took up a little hobby task of making these chairs because - well, I had occasion to visit a library, and found the librarians there were these venerable greyhairs who were afforded such basic seats, and I thought: these folks could use something more comfortable, if they're going to be sitting all day. So I went home, and I decided..." 

He talks about the adjustable chairs, the simple mechanisms to make them possible, some problems he overcame in their sudden design. As he does, he invites Oak to ramble likewise, pivoting to encourage the tree-being's crafter's passion to come out with the assurance that Aiden speaks the language of the trade. As is sometimes the case for such exchanges between artists, time blurs by within their bubble of shop-talk.

 
 Spoiler: OOC: 
Again, sorry for my absenses; I haven't been giving you guys much to play off. I'll try to pick up again!
 
DeTess
 
 Originally Posted by WindStruck 
  "Well, I don't think I'll be ordering anything particularly special to drink.."  
 

"They have got a lot of great drinks here though." Assama had a mug of foaming... something in front of her. The foam suggested beer, but the drink was a deep dark red. "There's beers and meads, and this is apparently brewed using cherries." She gestured towards her mug.

While they spoke, Shandara finally noticed Aiden out of the corner of her eyes. He seemed to be in an animated conversation with some kind of tree-person at one of the tables.
WindStruck
 "Yes, well, I imagine so..  but perhaps for another time..." 

She tries to relax a bit in her chair and keep an eye on Aiden all the while, while she finishes up her food, and the conversation.
MrAbdiel
Finally, it dawns on Aiden that time has passed.  "I'll be sure to come by very soon, Oak. I'm very glad to meet you! But I should find my other friend, lest she fear I've forgotten her."  He risks the social oddity of giving the wooden-bodied being a friendly clap on the shoulders, along with a smile, before he peels away and, after some searching, tracks Shandara to her table and hoists his hand into the air to wave at her. It's possible this is meant to spare her the possible social interjection of approaching to the table, but why he'd think it was less awkward to be waving like that than just to walk up politely is anyone's guess.
WindStruck
 "Oh, it's about time Aiden,"  Shandara says with a bemused smile.

Looking over at Assama and up at Vaigr, she says,  "This is the carpenter friend I was telling you about." 
DeTess
The goliath man and half-orc woman nodded at Aiden. "It's good to meet you, Aiden." The goliath spoke. "Shandara spoke highly of your skills, and she is not one to make idle boasts."
MrAbdiel
 "Oh! Well, it's fine and good to meet you too!"  After a round of shaken hands and introductions, he offers a bashful smile at the praise. He might even be blushing, ever so slightly.  "Well, I figure I know my way around a hammer and nail. I'm not the most glamorous species of artisan, I'll admit - I'm not braiding arcane magisteria or making mechanical men - but there's always plenty of work in wood." 

He makes the presumption of pulling an unused chair from a nearby table to join theirs, setting his fiddle case in his lap and resting his arms on it.

 "You all worked together on a project before?" 
WindStruck
Shandara nods.

 "Yes. Vaigr and Assama are actually shaman; under their care and possession are some special crystals which contain.. guardian spirits. Who take the form of animals. I was curious and helping with the magic component of what they do. And Bolten was even able to help, for you see, they would walk around in mechanical bodies." 
MrAbdiel
Aiden blinks, marvelling.  "A clockwork prosthetic... whole? Well, that must be a great benefit to a creature otherwise at the mercy of someone else's pocket. Good show, then. Guardian spirits - are they animal in nature? Or some manner of ancestor spirit that chooses a special beast form, or..." 

Aiden comfortably picks away with questions of the shaman craft unless it seems clear they are uncomfortable with the questions.

 "And the magical element - to permit them to drive the mechanisms from within their crystals?"  he speculates, to the drow enchantress.
DeTess
Vaigr seemed happy enough to explain about the guardian spirits. They were a kind of ancestor spirit, given life by generations of accumulated memories and experiences from the tribes they originated from, and the animals they partnered with. They would take animal forms, though the spirits in Vaigr's care were unable to manifest their animal forms in the real world. Vaigr didn't go into too much detail why they couldn't, though Aiden could sense there was some sadness in the Goliath's voice when he mentioned that inability.
WindStruck
 "...so you see, I wouldn't really call it a prosthetic. That would be implying a replacement part to a body which they never had to begin with. Although, depending how wild you want to go with technicalities, maybe you could say it was a prosthetic for one of the creatures that died,"  Shandara says.

She thinks about it a little more.  "But still, I find their situation quite intriguing. The spirits themselves are their own unique entities. While they have various memories of animals and tribesmen, in some way they feel as if they aren't their own. They are their own being, with their own intelligence and memories now." 

She frowns a bit and says,  "Hrm. And now that I think about it.. I think it would be very hard for them to grow as they are now, seeing as they don't really get opportunities to get out and experience the world. But then again... somehow, one of the first spirits or shaman had to have done it all on their own." 
MrAbdiel
Aiden catches the sadness in Vaigr's tone during the discussion. He subdues his inquisitive question stream somewhat, reluctant to excavate a sensitive issue.
 
"Not a prosthetic, then - a clockwork vessel, for a unique, emergent spiritual reality. It sounds like you have done right by them, having these concerns and providing this modicum of autonomy." 
DeTess
"Part of my hope with the spirit world project I told you about before is that it might allow them to grow more, and maybe gain more independence." Vaigr replied to Shandara's musings. "It might not be a real world, but it will give them more chances to be and interact with one another and visitors."

"I appreciate the sentiment." The Goliath replied to Aiden's praise. "Things are not as they should be, but we try our best."
WindStruck
Shandara nods and says,  "Oh, that could be true. Perhaps you are right. Seeing as they don't seem to have a chance to do much of anything... perhaps it could enable them to grow in ways which their predecessors have before." 
 "Hm. Perhaps we could add little games or challenges for them as well?"  she muses.
MrAbdiel
 "I think your ancestors - both their true selves and these new brings issued from them - would be glad for your compassion. And hundreds of years from now, when your descendants look to the spirits to guide them, well... They'll find them richer both for your efforts, and your presence among 'em. Be humble and say you're just doin' your best - but if you weren't doing your best, no one else would. That's somethin'." 

It's a very weighty compliment - it borders on rude, being so personal. Yet it's delivered in a warm and friendly tone that seems convinced of its own authority to say such things. Aiden is quick to move on, though, rather than let the intensity of his remark scorch Vaigr in a silence. He snaps his fingers at Shandara's suggestion of games for the spirits. "That sounds like a fine notion. Certainly, it'll require you to be sure exactly how the spirits in question think - but adding richness to their world seems both good and right. Or, in the same vein, finding a way so that the descendants who are connected to those spirits can add that richness. Hey, there we go!"

Distracted, he points with a waving finger a small troupe of minstrels setting up their instruments to perform. He gives Shandara, Vaigr and Assama a grin which stands in for an excuse, and slips away from the table, hat and fiddle in hand.

 "Hey! Hey! Do you folks know  Red Winter, White Winter ? I can show you.  Hey, I love those drums. That's a great set of drums - did you make those? I once made a timpani, but boy, you wouldn't believe what happened when I tried to play it..."  
DeTess
The evening at the Xlotl's Nest slowly came to an end, and Shandara and Aiden went their separate ways. Aiden went off home to get a good night's rest before another day of woodworking started, while Shandara headed home to do some testing on the wood sample.

The Tundra Oak had absorbed most of the sap, but apart from that the properties did not seem like they had changed much from her earlier inspection.
WindStruck
Shandara thinks on the wood sample, and decides that the next day, she will test out trying to freeze it to see if that does anything.

But in the mean time, she tries an herbal tea to maybe make herself feel drowsy and sleep earlier. After spending a bit of time with Elu, she tries to sleep earlier, but tosses and turns in bed. Failing that, some time in the late morning, she finds herself awake and tries to stay up, fearing she will just fall asleep again and sleep through the entire time she was supposed to go out.

Shandara likely arrives at the Puredew labs, slightly tardy and quite weary.
DeTess
 Puredew labs 
The labs are pretty much the same as last time Shandara visited. Shandara arrived at pretty much the same time as professor Cilan did once again, but when the professor tried to unlock the front door he found the lock already undone. A quick investigation revealed the cause. Linette was already there, seemingly asleep at the desk in her private lab, surrounded by samples of the Tundra Oak. She was still wearing the clothes she had been wearing for the little expedition out of town, and all signs pointed to her coming straight to the lab after the experiment with the tree. Professor Cilan gently shook Linette awake.

"Mmm... just five more minutes...." Linette mumbled, but on the professors insistence she finally woke up. "Hmmm, where... Oh!" a sheepish look crossed her face as she realized where she was.

"I do believe I told you something about impromptu all-nigters, did I not?" Professor Cilan asked her, a stern tone to his voice.

"Right, you told me 'do not do that'." Linette sighed. "Sorry professor. The results of the experiment last evening were just so interesting. I planned to just get a couple experiments going, but before I knew it it was deep in the night and... Well, here we are." Linette turned to Shandara. "Sorry you had to see that, interesting research has a tendency of getting away from me."
WindStruck
 "Mm... I can understand. I might have done the same thing, but I simply did not have enough samples to work with,"  Shandara says bemusedly.

 "Speaking of, that one wood sample I had didn't seem to change much. I'm planning to try freezing it later..  ah, sorry.  Do you need some time to eat and freshen up?" 
DeTess
"I could do with some breakfast at least." Linette stretched. "Come on, there's a small shop near here that sells good sandwiches and serviceable coffee. I can tell you about what I found on the way."

Linette led the way out of the labs and a short distance down the street, where a small shop sold sandwiches packed with meats, cheeses and sliced vegetables to order. It was quite packed with artificers, researchers and students getting breakfast, some clearly having just gone through a night similar to Linette's.

"Your idea of freezing them is a good one." Linette explained while they waited in line. "I've already tried it a few times. Just freezing the wood makes it harder, but incredibly brittle, but freezing the wood while drenched in sap gets it closer to the Tundra Oak we know, but it's not quite there yet. My theory currently is that you either need a longer period of cold, or a number of cold-thaw cycles. The sap  on its own seems very useful as well though. If you freeze it it gets hard and fairly brittle, and sticks to whatever object it was on before, but it remains set in its shape even if warmed up again, as long as it is not brought to a boil. I still need to see what happens if you just leave it out for a while, but it might have applications as glue. Did you find out anything?"
WindStruck
Shandara shakes her head.  "Well, no. I tried testing the properties of the wood after it had soaked up the sap, but it didn't seem to take on any of tundra oak's unique properties. What you said about the sap properties is very interesting, though. Normally, tundra oak is extremely hard, but softens up a bit if you warm it up. It retains those properties when it cools down again. But tundra oak also has that same property - where if you heat it up  too much , then it completely loses its strength and resistances. So I'm thinking, you are definitely on to something there. Perhaps the sap just needs a longer time to transition to being cold, and it also needs to remain freezing for a while to obtain its maximum strength." 

She doesn't order anything at the shop herself, seeing as she already ate at home before coming here.
DeTess
Linette Nods. "Yes, I'll be running a few longer term experiments to figure that out. Of course, that does leave us with a challenge for growing an entire tree though. Freezing and thawing a few planks or a small object isn't that difficult if we use the slower spell to grow it, but doing the same to an entire tree is another issue."
DeTess
 The Fiddle and Saw 
As Aiden settled in for another day of working on the library's chairs, there was a knock on the door of his workshop, almost too faint for him to hear. Upon checking, he found Markel there, looking nervous but determined. "Well... I've come to start learning." The boy spoke after a moment. "Is there anything I can help with right now?"
MrAbdiel
  At the Fiddle and Saw
 
 "Markel, my lad!"  Aiden pats him on the back and attempts to infuse him with encouragement to fill out the hollow nerves he seems to bear.  "I'm glad to see you. I've been thinking about some projects to get you started. You already know your way around some of the tools for bigger work on the boat - woodplanes, spokeshaves, and so forth. What you'll need is some time using a variety of tools to get them familiar in your hands. So I thought..." 

He guides the lad over to a workbench he has cleared for Markel's use. Layed out is a simple charcoal sketch plan for a  wooden chest, as well as a variety of other items sketched to go in it - bobbers, lines, hooks, lures, knives, a collapsible fishing rod - and leather buckles to secure the items in the interior. The design seems to suggest the box to be larger than is required to hold all these things, but Aiden quickly explains:
 
"You see, I'll show you how to make it so well, so air-sealed and perfect, that it'll hold that air inside and float if it goes overboard. Whether by accident, or in a desperate moment for some fellow overboard to grab! And when it's all done and put together, we can work out a woodburning design to scorch into it, then polish it all up, and you can give it to Cliff. I know it's probably still a little raw, spending time apart; but a hand-made gift is about the best thing you can give to a friend. What do you think?"  
WindStruck
Shandara leans against a wall and looks off into a corner of the place at no one or nothing in particular. Seemed rather busy here still.

She sighs and says,  "In order to help Aiden, I do think it could be possible to grow a full Tundra Oak Tree, albeit I think it would have to be in stages, and in a controlled environment. A bit of growth spurt in a temperate setting, then stop the magic, chill the surroundings, let it sit overnight or for at least several hours, then warm it up again and resume the process for a short time again. But already, that does seem like it makes things far more complicated than growing a more normal tree." 
 "What I do believe, however, is that this line of research wouldn't exactly help me with the ship repair project. It is apparent that tundra oak takes freezing temperatures and time in order to have its desired strength. But this is unfortunately time that a desperate crew trying to plug a a hole in their ship to not have. But at the very least, I suppose I could try substituting a different type of wood..." 

She is a bit lost in thought wondering how she would achieve her own goals.
DeTess
 At the Fiddle and Saw 
Markel was a bit hesitant at first. The project Aiden had had the boy start out on was different from the rougher work on the boat, but Markel adjusted quickly enough. If anything, the work of making the finer components for the fishing rod agreed more with the boy than work on larger components, and by the time lunch was brought out by Maria he had made a decent amount of progress.

 Sandwich shop near the Puredew labs 
"Hmmm, do you know what wood they use when patching holes manually?" Linette asked. "Tundra Oak is difficult to work with, so I doubt they use that when they need to add a quick patch. I can take a look through my notes to see if I can come up with something that has similar properties..." Linette frowned for a moment, here eyes distant as she thought over the problem. "Actually, I might have a candidate for you! It doesn't really have the strength of Tundra oak, but it should have some other properties that make it suitable for patching holes in different kinds of wood. It's called Cuckoo birch and it's a kind of tree that has parasitic properties. It grows on trunks of other trees and coopts their roots for its own growth. The wood itself should be sturdy enough, but the parasitic properties should help with attaching it to the existing wood on the ship's hull."
WindStruck
Shandara's eyes perk up a little at the mention of a completely different type of wood she hadn't heard of.

 "Now that sounds interesting. Although the bark of wood is a lot different from finished planks..  Would we have to start it from a seed, and do you think it could be guided into bonding with a thin, circular area?" 
MrAbdiel
 
 Spoiler: Markel's Project 
I'm happy to cross off the component cost to make a Masterwork Tool for Fishing, to represent this fine kit of fishing gear ultimately destined to give Cliff a +2 to his fishing rolls in future. I could chart out how long it'll take for you if you like, if you give me some stats for Markel - but presuming he is considered to have 1 point (therefore training) in carpentry now, and he's a clever enough cooking to have one or two points of stat bonus to his smarts, he'll work through this in a week and a little.
 

 "Great! Great. I'll take care of the other disciplines for now - casting the metal parts, and cutting leather, and so forth. But once you've gotten a good grip on the woodwork, I can show you a thing or two around the other skills so you can tackle and projects you like." 

Aiden is, as is typical, hearty with his praise, and lavish with his approbation. He does call on Markel's complicity for an unusual task when he hears Maria coming down the stairs to the workshop.

 "Oh!"  He whispers in alarm, patting Markel on the shoulder and hustling a linen dust sheet into the boy's hands, "quickly, quickly, cover up that sewing desk, there!" He gestures  with haste to a nearby desk strewn with sewing tools, sketched plans, and incomplete cuts from a bolt of flame red silk. Charging Markel with this obscuration, the craftsman bounds to intercept Maria at the bottom of the stairs.

 "Ah, Maria! Lunch, how timely! I was just thinking I might close the shop for an hour and Markel and I would take lunch upstairs so we can all eat together. What do you think? Maybe with a spot of tea?" 
DeTess
 Ye Olde Sandwiche Shoppe 
"There's only one way to find out for sure." Linette replied. "But I think it should be possible." Linette had gotten her breakfast, but rather than taking a seat in the shop she hurried back to the labs. "There should be some seeds available in the labs, and a wooden plank for testing should be easy enough to get." She spoke between bites. "If it's just for testing we could use our slower growth spell to test if it works." The thought of new experiments had clearly energized the woman as she wolfed down her breakfast.

Linette had finished her sandwich by the time she made it back to the labs, and quickly procured a few Cuckoo birch seeds. The seeds were very small, with a small collections of sticky green tendrils surrounding the central seed. Linette also managed to find a pane of wood somewhere, apparently a scrap left over from a crate. "It's not nearly as thick as a ship's hull, but should work as a proof of concept." She had gotten a small saw from somewhere and started making a circular hole in the wooden pane. "Have you studied the guided growth spell enough to cast it yourself?" She asked.

 At the Fiddle and Saw 
"I will bring the lunch upstairs and prepare some tea then." Maria still spoke softly, but she was not as timid as before. She took the tray holding bread, cheese, meat and some bowls filled with a simple soup back to the dinner room and busied herself making some tea.
WindStruck
Shandara looked at Linette with a blank, almost puzzled expression.  "Um. Well, no. I would imagine that would be difficult if I have not even seen a copy of that spell yet..." 
MrAbdiel
 At the Fiddle and Saw 

Aiden lets Maria wander back up the stairs before he hustles back over to Markel, and the now-covered sewing desk.  "Thank you, Markel. I don't do a lot of sewing, but I'm hoping to make a really lovely dress for Maria - one so lovely she'll want to be seen in it. But if she discovers the project half-done, well..."  He rubs his chin with one hand.  "Well, she might reject the whole thing out of hand. Or worse, think that I'm making sport of her in some way." 
DeTess
 Back at the Puredew Labs 
Linette blinked in surprise, then shook her head. "Right, Rafael might not have gotten around to getting those to you. Do you want to go and talk through the entire spell with him first, or should I just dig up a copy for you to read through now?"

 At the Fiddle and Saw 
"Why would she think that?" Markel seemed a little confused about the matter. "You don't seem like the type to do something like that." He added after a moment. "You're the most sincere person I know." There was a short pause before sincere, where Markel seemed to consider what word best described Aiden.