Amulets and Bird Toys
Log Info
- Title: Amulets and Bird Toys
- Place: A07: Lower Alexandria Market District
- Summary: Rune visits the Market district to pick up a new amulet before joining Alaryn for lunch and discussing designs for some bird toys.
Work work work work. It is amazing that the ADHD Artificer has a work ethic. Of course... the fact that she might have four projects going at the same time. Not when she is enchanting, no. But mostly it's multiple tasks, small ones just to keep her from losing focus.
The whole... amulet she's been working on is laying on the extendable workbench. She's tinkering with a compass she's been hired to add light up crystal powder to so that the wielder can use it better at night. That, and she is waiting for the quartz scales on the amulet to cure. Really just letting it settle in. It's the last step, since all of the innards were there to cause the effects of them. The thinly sliced quartz scale is thematic -and- there to channel the mana from the world into the innards.
She has just finished applying the glow-powder to the compass... setting -it- aside to dry and such while turning back to pick up the amulet... inspecting it. She nods with a smile, "My, you -are- a pretty one, aren't you?" She used smoke quartz for this one... the dark gray look hopefully working for Rune. Her own is bright white scales.
Rune had been hard at work as well, though not quite in the same way as the Artificer who had become a common patron of. No, she'd been trying to earn enough coin to be able to pay back Alaryn for pulling her ass out of the fire during a recent mission. That, along with a dealing with potentially world-impacting horrors and a personal quest to build a new perch for a leucistic raven familiar, Rune has been quite busy.
At the moment, she is walking along the street, shuffling a few bits of paper as she goes, heading towards Alaryn's shop. With the stall often moving, she has to figure out exactly where along the market street it just so happens to be, today. Thankfully, it isn't hard to find.
"Hey." Comes a somewhat shy greeting as she makes sure to make her presence known as to not interrupt anything that Alaryn might be working on. "So, how's the work coming?" She asks, and then clears her throat a little, adding on quickly, "And... how much do I owe you for that potion?"
Looking up, Alaryn reaches to lift the goggles off of her eyes. She doesn't need to wear them. She just likes'em. But her face breaks into a grin that shows her youthfulness and her enthusiasm for her craft. "In fact, I was just waiting for the last bit of quartz to settle in to its permanent fixture. Should be good to go in the next few minutes." she states.
And then at the question of the potion, she responds with the most un-merchant-like comment ever. "Oh the potion? That's the cost of doing business. Sometimes you gotta spend money to make money. Pay it forward. Keep someone else alive when they need it. We were on a team, and it's -always- smart to help the team out. Plus... I like you." she adds with a smirk.
But then she picks up the amulet and holds it out for inspection. "I figured that rather than the reflective silvery white quartz I used for mine, you'd prefer something like a smoky gray." she states, beaming.
As the amulet is handed over, Rune seems to treat it quite delicately. The crafter had said it was still setting so she lightly turns it in her hands, "The fact that you can make things like this, that's more than enough 'helping the team'." Running her thumb along it, a small smile spreads on her lips. "Hopefully this will help me stand up against a few more hits in a fight." And mess with the Makari, let's not forget that.
Looking up, her lips press together. "I won't push back too hard on it, but... are you sure?" Rune's head tilts, "I know those potions can be quite expensive, and trust me, I appreciate you pulling my ass out of the fire. That was..." She hesitates, reaching up with her free hand and rubbing at the back of her neck, "... a little too close for comfort for me."
As her attention is drawn to the coloration on the amulet, Rune seems to notice it for the first time. "Huh." It's more a simple sound of surprise. "Yes, I think this will do nicely. It won't stand out too much if I have to sneak around."
"Look. You put up with my smelly ointment... I think you paid -plenty- for it with just that." offers Alaryn with a smirk. She steps back to let Rune handle her new amulet on her own. She picks up the compass she'd been working on.... really just to use it as some sort of ADHD fidget... to work it in her hands.
"I am -certain- that in the future, you'll save my backside too. We're almost friends. Plus, you're a regular customer. I can't let you die and stop spending gold on my products, can I?" she asks with a smirk.
"Now, if I have it figured right, Delwyck is about to come by with his cart. He cooks some of the best mutton stew and delivers it to market stalls. Would you like to join me for lunch?"
"It... wasn't the worst thing I've been covered in." Rune admits, a laugh bubbling up out of her at that. "Did I mention that I had a run in with a mimic who tried to eat me? Oh, and then there were the oozes that splattered sewer goo onto me the one time." She smirks, "At the very least, it keeps my coin going to the baths as well."
Her head tilts, "Almost friends?" Raising her brows, Rune asks, "So what do I need to do to earn the title?" There is amusement in her voice.
Since the amulet is still setting, she just continues to hold it carefully, "You know you've got a dedicated customer for a good while. I've got more ideas than I do gold." She laughs again, this one softer. "Trying to focus on things that will help keep me alive right now. Few too many close calls, lately."
At the invitation, Rune looks up, seeming a bit surprised. "Sure. I hadn't grabbed food yet today. It's been a busy day. Besides, I was hoping to go over some ideas with you, since I know you're good at eye-catching products."
Lifting her brows, Alaryn smirks, "The word -almost- was the joke." she states as she steps out into the pedestrian walkways... waving a hand down a ways. A small cart is rolling along, pushed by a .... *ahem* 'healthy' Halfling. The smell from the cart is mouth-watering to say the least.
"And oh? New ideas? I love brainstorming new ideas!" she admits as she looks down at the compass. "Like this one. There's a ranger who was complaining about his human eyes not seeing in the dark. So I suggested putting some of my glow-powder on the settings. On the arms as well as the directional indicators. That way he may not be able to see the trees, but he can see what direction to go. What do -you- think?" she asks, holding it out for inspection as the cart rolls up with the smiling Halfling looking over the two women and saying, "Two bowls then?"
Taking in a slow breath through her nose, Rune's stomach decides that that is the time to make itself known. It grumbles audibly, even over the sound of cartwheels on stone. "That smells delicious."
As the Halfling asks about the order, Rune gives an enthusiastic, "Yes, please."
Then, she is distracted by the compass. It is certainly an interesting idea. One she wouldn't have thought of. "This wouldn't happen to be for Ous, would it?" She asks. Rune doens't happen to know many Rangers personally, but that particular axe-wielding one stands out more than most. "It's really beautiful work."
Then, waiting on the food, Rune lays down one of the pieces of paper. The sketches she's made are rough at best, and all look to be some sort of dangling apparatus, like an ornament. "I'm working on a new perch for Cor'lana's familiar, Pothy. Since most of their old things were destroyed in the recent attack." Her finger taps the parchment, "So, it needs to be something that can draw the eye of a raven, but also is safe for a bird to interact with."
Delwyck sets about deploying his stew into a pair of bowls. As he does so, Alaryn reaches into her cart and retrieves a similar bowl which she's washed already. "Here's yesterday's bowl." she tells him as she sets it on his cart. They have a fun friendship it seems.
"Ous? No, Some ranger named Billtar. Just met him the other day..." (NPC for fun). "Do you think other folks might pay for such a compass?" she asks. "I could also make directional light caps. But I doubt you, or any other sneaky ranger would want a torch on their heads. I -love- mine." she says as she reaches up to activate the bright light atop her hat.
And then the stew is handed over, and coins are exchanged. "Come by tomorrow Delwyck, I'll have the bowls cleaned for you." And that is when she notices the sketches, "Oh, a perch. Something super shiny for a raven to be interested in it. Are we looking for it to be enclosed, or free for the bird to come and go?"
"You must get your lunch from Delwyck a lot." Rune raises her brows, "I guess it comes from being a regular in the Market. Everyone knows one another." She has more than her fair share of contacts in the Market as a messenger, but due to her many 'adventures', Rune is not always about on any sort of consistant basis.
"I imagine they'd be useful for travelers." The compass is eventually set back down, carefully. "Usually when we end up in truly dark places, Harkashan tends to light himself up like a firefly." Another laugh follows, "Not exactly the most sneaky of people to follow."
After accepting the bowl, Rune flips to another page where she's got another, horribly rough sketch of the actual perch. "I've got this much so far. So a base, some cleaned driftwood for the perch itself, some leather to wrap the thicker branches for him to stand on." She stops briefly to shovel a bit of the stew into her mouth, making a pleased sound and closing her eyes before swallowing and continuing her explination.
"What I'm thinking about is toys or things for him to interact with. Things I can dangle down from the branches." Looking over at Alaryn, "I've heard ravens like shiny things, and that birds like tearing apart wood, but I wanted to make sure that nothing I put on it would be dangerous for him."
Smiling to Delwyck, Alaryn takes a bite of her own stew, "Perfect as always." she tells him as he pushes the cart off and keeps moving. Then Alaryn turns and regards the sketches, thinking while chewing. Her eyes glaze over for a moment now and then as she visualizes something or other.
But for now, she is doing it mentally, and not putting her food aside. She must -really- be hungry.
With Alaryn seeming to be considering the very crude sketches, Rune also sets about to eating. "You know what I really miss?" She murmurs between bites, "Sith-Makari have a really high spice tolerance, so a lot of their cooking can get quite spicy, but it's also really flavorful. This is good, though." She taps the spoon on the side of the bowl.
Then, motioning to the crude designs, "I found a few pieces of wood I think I can cut down to make something like this one, with the different wood pieces. I just need to find some kind of animal-safe dyes to make it colorful. Hark might be able to help me with that since he's pretty knowledgeable on what is safe to consume or not." To one of the other sketches, she adds, "I'm thinking of putting a bell on this one. I've seen birds play with those before, so I think that might make it more interesting?"
"So, do you think I should go for just shiny? Or some of the glow-powder to -really- draw the eye of the raven?" asks Alaryn as she waves her spoon about as she speaks. "Maybe put the powder underneath something translucent to -really- get its interest?" she asks aloud, almost talking to herself at that point.
Then she scoops another bite of stew up and sticks that in her mouth to silence herself and to let her brain work some more. "Okay. So you can work on some of the wood. I can work on the attention. So it's open, not enclosed then. Got it." she states. "So like little chimes.... what about deployable shiny items for playing with?"
"I think adding some glowing elements would definitely appeal to him." Rune taps the spoon on her chin. "He's... more intelligent than a normal animal, so think of it like designing toys for a kid." That's the impressions he's gotten of the familiar.
With the prospect of the designs put forward, Rune and Alaryn continue to talk for what is likely far too long about bird-toy designs, eventually settling on a couple of ones that don't require much in the way of expense but also seem to be perfect for capturing the attention of a bird.
Of course, that means Rune may very well be spending the rest of the day sitting in Alaryn's shop, working on bird toys rather than doing anything else. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon.