Arrow Shafts (8/3)

[18:25] Caspian Pierce says, "Hm.."
[18:25] Caspian Pierce says, "Yes."
[18:25] Caspian Pierce says, "I need coin for things."
[18:25] Katrin Weiss says, "C'mon along then. Can get some work done today."
[18:29] The artificer takes her time in shuffling along to her 'office'- or, more accurately, the library. A little on the gaunt side, and clearly unwell, but there was always work to do.

She moves to the center table and unrolls a long sheet of parchment. It contains a multitude of diagrams. Of what?

Arrows. Lots of arrows. Of different shapes, sizes, with details of material composition and other notes, as well as many sketches of different heads. Some barbed, some bodkin, all lain out in detail.

But she points to one section of the great, sprawling blue print in particular. A corner that contains details on the construction of arrows shafts.

"Headmaster wants somethin' made for a student," she begins, drawling. "Arrows that're gonna return, tied to a quiver.

Thing is, he wants the cores of the shafts made outta' crystal. That somethin' ya think ya can handle, Cas? We can talk compensatin'."

No one goes unpaid in her work.
(Katrin Weiss)
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[18:30] Katrin Weiss says, "...Who in the fuck wants somethin' now..."
[18:30] {LONG DISTANCE FROM: Nikolai pyr Docro}: Nikolai Pyr Docro's Letter To Katrin Weiss, 1861, Katrin,

I was in fact busy the other day you penned the letter. I'm free anytime tonight if you are.

From Nikolai pyr Docro.
[18:30] Caspian Pierce says, "I've never seen this room before.. Hey, there's pencils stuck in the roof. I'm gonna throw one."
[18:30] Caspian throws one up. It sticks into the ceiling..!!!
(Caspian Pierce)
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[18:30] Katrin Weiss says, "..."
[18:31] Katrin looks up to the pencil thrown.
(Katrin Weiss)
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[18:31] Katrin Weiss says, "...Huh. Good shot."
[18:36] {Item} You drop Black Trout x1.
[18:36] {Item} You picked up Caspian Pierce's Letter To Katrin Weiss, 1861..
[18:37] With that out of the way, the Teraphim moves to come and sit at the table next to her. The diagrams are unfolded, among other things, and he looks over them with the eyes of someone who's definitely not trained in this. At all.

Seriously.

He has no idea what's going on!

"..Oh, I see. So, do you think they should return based on the crystal's wavelength or something?"

It's his conclusion, and Caspian is still definitely no much of an artificer.. "..Or do you just need normal crystals?"
(Caspian Pierce)
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[18:39] Katrin goes back to smoothing over the schematic, as groggy as ever.

"Could be. The Headmaster was actually gonna use Wayfindin'. The runes'll be added later. So if ya can just make sure they're sturdy, structurally sound, as much as magic crystal can be. I-"

The pencil falls and lands right in her lap. There's a slow blink. The artificer plucks it up and returns to her plodding explanation.

"We just gotta' make sure they are sturdy. And fit these dimensions. They're gonna be cores, mostly.

But how can I compensate ya for this is the first thing I wanna solve. Honest work gets honest pay."
(Katrin Weiss)
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[18:47] Caspian nods along, looking, a few moments over one more time as he tries to grasp it all.. In the end, he decides that Katrin can probably explain to him what needs to be done. There's a light pause when she does, and when he says that it's normal, basic crystal magic, the Teraphim simply nods.

"I see. Well.. Maybe if we were to find a special type of crystal, too, it would help the craft come out better. Honestly, my crystal magic isn't as good as my light and metal magic, but I can do my best for this," he declared lightly; a pause before he'd simply continue on with his words.

"As for compensation.. I'm looking to make twenty-thousand coin so that I can hire a bounty hunter for.. This person named Sachiko. He's extremely dangerous and has been trying to kill me," he paused "or help with devising some sort of weapon so I stand a chance would help, too."

He doesn't sound entirely enthused or passionate about the last part; knowing that he was essentially being sought after by someone with murderous intent definitely dampened his lack of mood to begin with.
(Caspian Pierce)
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[18:50] "I've had a hand in carvin' gemstones and lapidary work, even a lil' bit in glass. But makin' the crystals is...ain't my thing. Beyond me," she confesses. As low as she is the wound to her pride is easy to dismiss in admitting as much.

"I got faith in your best, Cas.

I ain't know about compensatin' you twenty thousand for this..."

A soft grunt. She rubs a hand across her chin.

"But. Helpin' you devise a weapon? I can do that. Sorta' what I...do." The words, normally full of fire and pride, come out with a frown.

"...Yeah. Like I said. Can help with that. You wanna give me a demo of your crystal magic to examine real quick? Just gimme a stick. I wanna test it."
(Katrin Weiss)
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[18:59] {LONG DISTANCE TO: Robert Weiss}: I'm sorry I can't be there with you, like a good ma should. Please know that I'm proud. No matter how you do against him.

-K.W.
[19:00] Sayu Gardios whispers something.
[19:00] Robert runs up behind Katrin, giving her a bear hug with a huge grin on his face.
(Robert Weiss)
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[19:00] Robert Weiss exclaims, "Oh yer doin' business, sorry!"
[19:00] Sayu quietly follows around behind him.
(Sayu Gardios)
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[19:01] Katrin Weiss says, "-S'fine, Robby."
[19:01] "Ah, I see.." He spoke. "..I do have a question, actually, about metal since you do work with it. Have you ever worked with Mercury?" He asks; the liquid metal definitely had different properties, and likely had it's own advantages.. "I was thinking about incorporating it into my own casting style, since it's a liquid metal that I can make into a solid.."

A quick ramble, quickly dismissed after a moment or two..

"..anyways, I was thinking of something that would help me manipulate mercury a little bit better. At the very least," he breathed. "I can show you my crystal magic, though, yes."

He opens both of his palms; facing upwards, and his crystal heart appears in a quick twinkle of light; pulsating with silvery, spiritual mana. From the aether itself, it condenses- earthen mana from all around being plucked to fuel his magic before he'd begin to form a small, single unaspectedcrystal; pale and colorless, it was not unlike a clear prism waiting to be charged.

"From here, it can be invoked with the caster's mana signature- since it won't be my own. But it can be left unaspected until he wields them."
(Caspian Pierce)
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[19:02] Caspian Pierce says, "..ugh, sorry. My magic's also just not at 100%.."
[19:02] Caspian suspiciously covers his wrist...
(Caspian Pierce)
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[19:02] Katrin Weiss says, "S'fine."
[19:05] "I've had a chance to examine it. Never worked it into any of my workings. My uh..." A pause. "I knew someone who had some. Got a chance to look at it. Can be finicky."

Katrin watches him as he brings his magic to the fore, giving her a sample. She plucks it up and examines it.

"Oh...that's handy. Think that'll do real nice for what we wanted, actually," she mutters.

But that suspicious covering catches her eye. Though she looks exhausted, a bit underweight to boot, nothing seems to escape her notice even still.

And her movements seem just as quick as she tries to grasp onto the boy's wrist with deft precision coupled with a gentle touch to examine it.

"...I wish I'd have known. If you need to rest, if you're hurt. I ain't wanna over work ya."
(Katrin Weiss)
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[19:10] His hand over the wrist after offering her the crystal is simply so that his sleeves wouldn't roll up and reveal what he'd been hiding, but it's a little bit evident after a few moments.. Upon the Teraphim's delicate, untouched, pale skin are two reddened teeth marks belonging to what must've been a vampire. As of recently he hadn't been bandaging them since they hadn't even been healing, and he simply figured that it would be best to try and let it breathe rather than to keep it under wraps.

There is, awkwardly, a complete stillness as he looked back at the artificer like he'd done something wrong.. Perhaps, because he had.

"... It's, um, not super painful. My magic does just feel a bit weary though. We can keep going," he declared, trying to change the subject. "So I just need to shape these crystals with your proper dimensions, and in the right shape.. right?"
(Caspian Pierce)
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[19:12] There is a long stillness. A very long pause as the artificer stares at the twin familiar puncture marks. Her face is blank as freshly split slate.

For a moment she forgets the project.

"...Ya did it willin'?"

It is only half a question. The other half potentially a statement.
(Katrin Weiss)
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[19:17] Now, his expression had definitely shifted; it was more of the face of a guilty puppy who knew they destroyed the toilet paper roll- yes, those eyes, in the destroyed bathroom where wet toilet paper now stuck to everything once you'd gotten home from a long day of work.

"I might have.." He spoken. "They said that they would help me deal with the guy that's hunting me.." He frowned. "So I did it. I didn't know they meant this. But they said it heals..

Eventually..."

Despondent, distant- avoiding her gaze. It's guilt and some desperate explanation all wrapped into one.
(Caspian Pierce)
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[19:20] There's a frown on the artificer's features. Not that it had ever truly left in full. She stares at the wrist a few beats longer and then lets it go.

"For all the talk of wantin' that skeleton gone, huh?" she murmurs.

"Docro. Or Asphodel?"

A final query as she turns back to the table, picking up the crystal to examine it anew.

"...Looks pretty stable."
(Katrin Weiss)
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[19:21] Robert and Sayu share a few hushed words, before Robert hugs her lightly, turning his attention back to the the pair on the other side of the table.
(Robert Weiss)
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[19:27] "..It's no secret that I do hate that skeleton, I actually fought it a bit ago.." He paused, thinking, "But I can't defeat this person yet- at least.."

A frustrated sigh!!!

"It's one that lives in.. Aesirheim? He fed from me, they paid me, and then promised to 'take care' of this guy for me."

Shrug. "..All things in due time, I suppose.. I'm not one to back down, but when it's someone who placed fifth in the grand tournament hunting someone down who's sixteen and used to need a wheelchair in order to move..?"

He sighed once more. ".. So, crystal magic.."
(Caspian Pierce)
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[19:29] The artificer blinks again slowly.

"...Aesirheim? Didjya' get a name? What they look like?"

Aeisirheim. That was new. And unexpected, given the bounty they put out even recently. The grilling though apparently goes on a little bit more.

"You be careful trustin' strangers."

But back to the matter at hand again, back and forth.

"This looks stable. Yeah. If you can make rods like this, about...forty of 'em. To this spec." She tapes a block of scribbled measurements, dimensions for each of the arrow shaft cores.

"Then I can make sure I help ya make a weapon when ya get the materials. Give ya a discount."
(Katrin Weiss)
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[19:38] "He just wore a hood.. or no, it was white hair with a blindfold!" He exclaimed with no true passion behind the words; in truth, now that he'd made the deal the Teraphim didn't entirely care if he was selling them out. He was sure people already knew if they were enlisting a random Teraphim they met on the side of the road, after all.

"I really didn't think much of it until then.." He declared, a light pause. "But once I'd done it, I definitely did think that I was being a bit too trusting.."

Perhaps he was confident that he was totally safe; the likely story.. Even so, when they return to artificing, the young Aschean stares at the measurements for a moment before nodding.

"Right. I'll start now. It might just take me.. A few hours to make fourty. No issue, though."

He starts to work immediately; his crystal heart appearing, and pulsating with mana as he begins to forge them from nothingness; the area itself begins to almost feel dampened, weakened as lingering aether is brought forth and practically compressed into the shaped rods.

.. one by one, of course!
(Caspian Pierce)
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[19:42] "White hair and a blindfold. Huh..."

There's a faint hum. She considers this new knowledge. There was already enough to do as it stood.

"You be careful. They can entrance mortal folk. Somethin' to be cautious of." Something wasn't quite adding up. Thoughts for later.

"So long as it ain't strain ya, Cas. Do what ya can."

And as Caspian forges them one by one, the artificer offers her careful, watchful eye to ensure each one is up to spec. The young Teraphim had all the hard work though.
(Katrin Weiss)
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[19:43] Robert had his head leaning on Sayu the entire time, when it seemed like Katrin's business might be concluding, he slid his plaque over to her.
(Robert Weiss)
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[19:51] "..Mhm!" He confirmed. A light pause, and then he gets back to work.

"I didn't really know much about them, but now that I know the bite hurts that much.."

Why didn't he know that..?

".. I mean, now that I've been bitten, I'm going to try and make sure that doesn't happen again."

One by one, he puts down a small dowel of crystal magic that fits the proper specifications; unenchanted and unaspected, they served as a dull grey waiting to be given life, color, mana, and empowered magic.

Eventually.

"I'm thinking that I could probably use mercury magic for my own type of.. You know, Lost Magic," he name he would dub magic that was casted with unique means..

"It's metal. It's probably very hard to control though. Do you know any staff members who might be able to help me with it?"
(Caspian Pierce)
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[19:55] How did he NOT know getting bitten by people- let alone a vampire- hurt? She stares at him in disbelief.

Goodness...

"Can't go healin' it by most magical means neither. Lax is the best ya can do."

Since she's mostly hands off at the moment, she can tug down the collar of her long sleeved shirt in demonstration. There, on the left side of her neck, is a massive swathe of scar tissue.

"Mercury magic...The nature of the metal's a lil flighty. It's loose. Fluid. Ain't easy to tame.

I could try helpin'. I ain't know any metal magi. Ain't one myself. Some of my ancestors were, but best I can offer is my knowledge of matters metallurgical. Might be a prof who knows the magic more intimate."
(Katrin Weiss)
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[19:57] Katrin Weiss asks, "...Ya graduated already, Robby?"
[19:58] Robert Weiss says, "Mhmm. Got ma diploma right afore I fought Seifer."
[19:58] Katrin Weiss asks, "Good on ya...how'd it go?"
[19:59] Robert Weiss says, "Mmm. Well ah didn't expect ta win. But 'e gave me 'is blessin' ta marry sayu."
[19:59] Robert dons a wide smile and kisses Sayu on the cheek.
(Robert Weiss)
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[19:59] It could be said that Caspian definitely thought that his new body was completely invincible to things like Vampire Bites, Limb Loss, and being stabbed multiple times by different types of mire monsters. It was definitely an eye opener for the young Pierce, but it was all said and done..!

"..I suppose it probably would be. More free form. It's not a physical solid you can just control one part at a time, like metal or crystal usually is.."

Crystal could be shaped simply by manipulating the mana due to the nature, but earth and metal had to have their physical properties altered, too..

"Alright, alright. I'll look around." He declared. In the meantime, though..

He makes another rod, once more.

Nearly ten done.

"Crystal magic is definitely more magical than metal, so this does just take.. a bit."
(Caspian Pierce)
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[20:00] Sayu drummed her fingers on the table, seemingly thinking about something. As Robert joined the conversation she looked up and between the two. She smiles at Robert as he leans in to kiss her cheek.
(Sayu Gardios)
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[20:01] Sayu Gardios says, "Most people wouldn't be able to win against my dad. He fought really well though."
[20:04] "Exactly. Most metals, includin' crystals...they got a particular structure. Mercury's a rebellious. Ain't want nothin' to do with that. Reason they call it 'quicksilver'."

Earth typically brought to mind stolid structures after all. Finite surfaces.

As Caspian produces a rod, she takes it up for inspection. She lays it against the diagram that's spread across the table, double checks it's measurements with a keen eye, and then smooths out any rough surfaces.

Not that the surfaces mattered quite so much. These were going to be plated cores, after all.

"Take your time, Cas. Ain't push yourself too hard."
(Katrin Weiss)
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[20:04] Katrin Weiss says, "And good...good. Glad it all went well."
[20:04] Katrin Weiss asks, "Would ya have listened though if he ain't give his blessing?"
[20:04] Robert Weiss says, "If Sayu didn't care ah wouldn't either."
[20:05] Sayu Gardios says, "Why would I listen to someone telling me I can't marry who I want to? Even if he was my dad."
[20:05] Katrin Weiss says, "Atta girl..."
[20:06] Robert smiles wider at Sayu's statement, planting another kiss on her cheek.
(Robert Weiss)
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[20:06] Robert Weiss says, "Y'know Sayu..."
[20:06] Sayu Gardios asks, "Hm?"
[20:06] Robert Weiss says, "Now ya gotta ask my ma fer 'er blessin'. S'only right."
[20:06] Robert smiles mischeviously.
(Robert Weiss)
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[20:07] Sayu Gardios says, "Oh, I do? I thought it was just the boy who had to."
[20:07] In the meantime, Caspian continues to make them as fast as he could; it could take from one to five minutes, depending on his approach and timing, as well as mana supply..

He, too, uses one as a sort of 'base' to tell if it's well enough. It was likely the need to make it into a certain shape.

Though, all good crafts took time regardless.
(Caspian Pierce)