F4: The Wanderer's Forge - Blacksmith (Special Order Only, Tell me what you want made.)

[Mack 0]

Situated on the extreme edge of Snowfrost Town, just inside the established barriers of the town The Wandering Forge can be found, following its move from the first to the fourth floors. The shop his housed inside a brown tent made of heavy canvas that encloses an area that is, perhaps fifteen by thirty feet with the forge occupying one end of the tent while a trio of tables made of silver maple and laden with various weapons, shields, and armor take up much of the remaining space. Despite the snow frosted exterior of the fourth floor, the shop is rather cozy and warm, easily heated by the forge.

A hand-lettered sign rested on one of the maple tables, and it read: "Fair Prices for Goods, both new and used. I will buy used weapons and armor, so far as my col will allow. Commissions on request."

Inventory

(3) Clawed Warhammer (40 Col)  - A sturdy looking steel warhammer (good quality) with every appearance that it will hold up well under the strains of battlefield use. A solid, if unspectacular and unmemorable, weapon. 

(3) Round Iron Shield (40 Col) - A simple, but well made, iron shield (good quality) capable of withstanding all of the rigors of battle even though it adds no buffs.

(10) Scutum Shields (40 Col each) - A shield (good quality) of the type used by Roman soldiers. Made of wood, leather, and bronze it's large enough to protect its user from armpit to knee. 

(3) Chainmail Shirts (40 Col each) - A simple chainmail shirt (good quality) made of sturdy steel with no buffs but a solid and sturdy piece of heavy armor just the same.

(0) sets Steel Gauntlets (40 Col each) - Simple gauntlets made from high quality steel. Nothing flashy or showy, but they get the job done.

Severance (400 Col or 2 Mats) - A simple straight sword (uncommon quality) made of good steel with a leather wrapped hilt. It comes with a +1 Damage modifier.

[Mack 0]

In the early dark of the morning Mack approached his forge and slipped behind the tables that made up his very simple and humble shop. It wouldn't begin to be light for another ten minutes and the actual day was still at least a couple of hours away. Taking out two sets of crafting materials, he pitched them into the forge and then pumped the billows several times to get the forge nice and red hot glowing. When he was satisfied that the forge was ready he snatched up a basic pair of tongs and retrieved the first set of crafting materials. Placing the glowing items on the forge, he took up his steel smithing hammer and smashed it down on the crafting material several times. While he waited for the game's engine to give him the result from the first forging, he repeated the process on the second set. He was in need of crafting himself a better weapon, and so that was job number one.

ID: 26787 (YESTERDAY)
CD: 4 (FAIL)
LD: 1 (SALVAGE FAIL)

ID: 26788 (YESTERDAY)
CD: 11 (Rare Item)

Name: Midnight Eclipse

Profession: Blacksmith

Rank: 1

ID: 26788

Roll: 11

Quality: Rare

Item Type: Two-Handed Battle Axe

Enhancements: +1 Damage, +1 Bleed (2 Slots)

Description: A wickedly sharp bearded axe with a handle made of nearly black ebony wood, wrapped in leather and a heavy bladed head with enough heft to cleave nearly anything in twain upon a successful strike.

Image: Midnight Eclipse

Pleased with the forging of Midnight Eclipse, Mack transferred the crimson feather from his Ceremonial Bearded Axe to the new weapon and equipped Midnight Eclipse by sheathing it at his back.

(OOC: I failed both of today's attempts, one was an EPIC FAIL. ID's are 26924 & 26926. CD's are 4 & 1 and LD's are 1 & 5... dice gods abandoned me on my crafting today. Oh well.)

[Mack 0]

ID: 26979
CD: 6 (Bad Item)
LD: 10 (Salvage Fail)

ID: 26980
CD: 8 (Good Item)

As was becoming his standard routine, Mack had arisen before the sun had quite begun to rise over the first floor of Aincrad. Making his way through the deserted streets of the City of Beginnings to his shop stall, which was still rather shabby looking he pitched two sets of crafting materials into the darkened forge before cranking the forge bellows several times. When the flames were good and roaring hot and the coals glowed nearly white he reached in with the tongs and extracted both sets of materials, placing them on the anvil. The ring of a smith's hammer on metal peeled into the pre-dawn darkness and then Mack set both of the still being crafted items on the maple work table.

Within a few moments the first of the items he had crafted for the day resolved itself into a delicate looking silver poniard. The blonde haired smith eyed the weapon dubiously. Sure, it might be able to find the gaps in someone else's armor and he had no doubt that it was sharp. But, in order to use it effectively you'd have to be near suicidal. He swore and turned his attention to the other item in his store's possession now, as it resolved itself into an extremely basic looking clawed war hammer. He could tell this weapon was of a higher quality than the poniard was, but it still was nowhere near the weapon the his Midnight Eclipse was.

Groaning, Mack placed both of the new weapons on the display table next to the Ceremonial Bearded Axe and wrote out price placards for each. 

[Mack 0]

ID: 27088
CD: 10

ID: 27089
CD: 11 (Need to collaborate with Mayuri first and see what enhancements she wants, commission weapon.)

Having risen early and made his way over to his forge, and knowing that he had a few other commitments for the day that he would have to make sure he was available for, Mack slipped behind the tent flap that marked the front of his smithy and immediately began pumping the billows to fire up the forge. Slowly, the heat from the coals began to warm the small space that was enclosed by the tent based smithy. Once the coals were throwing off a rosy glow and the tent space was getting to be just a little bit hotter than Mack liked for it to be, he pitched a pair of crafting materials into the forge. His previous method of tossing in the materials and then lighting the forge had not wound up being really all that effective, with luck this more traditional method would be more respected by the game and yield better results.

Carefully reaching into the glowing forge with the tongs, the hefty blonde man extracted the first set of crafting materials. Perhaps the game would reward a slower approach. Placing the materials packet on the anvil, Mack slammed his smith's hammer down on the materials several times, counting silently to keep a rhythm. Slowly, the materials formed themselves into a traditional Chinese jian sword with a glittering steel blade and a winged golden hilt. Once it was cool, Mack lifted the weapon from the anvil and tested it experimentally. It was light and speedy, definitely not the kind of weapon he favored. Checking out the stats on the weapon, the smith also noticed it came with a plus one modifier on its accuracy. This one looked like it might bring a nice return in the shop.

While he waited for Swiftsure to cool to the point that he could test it out he began working on the other weapon for the day. Extracting the materials, he placed them on the forge and began to methodically work the material. Slowly, a sword began to take shape and with a bit more time the blade began to softly glow as the game engine completed the craft. Stepping back, Mack waited for the weapon to fully coalesce. In a few seconds it had formed itself into a beautiful Hwando with a blade just over two feet long. The hilt of the weapon was wrapped in in teal blue cloth with a stylized cross guard that has been stamped with a pair of dragons. The sheath, itself, was made of highly polished, nearly black, ebony wood that has been painted and lacquered with Asian style dragons in a teal color that matches the hilt's wrappings. The weapon was excellent, and of high quality. It would do nicely for repaying his debt to Mayuri.

Edited August 11, 2015 by Mack

[Mack 0]

ID: 27112
CD: 10 (3rd Craft, leveled skill after the first two)

Having polished off the first two crafts for the day, which had gone really quite well, Mack checked pulled up his player menu and checked out his blacksmithing stats. As he had suspected, the crafting of the Hwando for Mayuri, to pay his debt to her, had resulted in him earning enough career experience points to level up his smithing skill. That, in turn, would allow him to make one more crafting attempt for the day. Fishing around in a storage bin under his tables, he retrieved another crafting material and pitched it into the fire. When it began to glow white hot he pulled it from the forge using the tongs and set it out on the anvil. A few ringing peels of metal on metal later it had resolved itself into an uncommon falcata called Leopard's Fang.

[Mack 0]

ID: 27200
CD: 12
XP: 8

ID: 27201
CD: 8
XP: 2

ID: 27202
CD: 1
LD: 3
XP: 1

Arriving in his traveling tent shop in the City of Beginnings, early enough in the morning that even the birds had not yet begun chirping their morning songs. After the success he'd had at the forge the previous day, Mack was sold on using the same method. Beyond that, he had a good feeling that today would be the day that he finally succeeded in crafting a perfect weapon. Reaching the forge, he pushed aside the leather flap of the tent that housed his shop and entered. After following his forge lighting ritual, pumping the billows for several minutes, he pulled out the bin in which he stored his crafting materials and emptied it. He could craft three items today and he had exactly three crafting materials. Farming was in order, but not until a bit later in the day. Now, it was time for smithing. Taking up the tongs, he pulled the first of the crafting materials from the flames and began pounding on them with his smith's hammer. Slowly, the blade of a two-handed axe took shape and then, suddenly, it began to glow and resolved itself into a terrifying two-handed bearded battleaxe with a tempered steel blade that has been worked with an intricate Celtic knot design along the blade's leading edge and a second Celtic knot design at the point where the axehead is connected to a highly polished mahogany handle with the last foot of the haft above a solid iron butt cap wrapped in leather.

Showing more emotion that he usually did, the blonde man examined the weapon. It was called "Guillotine" and, checking the stats he saw what he had hoped to see. Quality: Perfect, +2 Damage, +1 Bleed. It was just like Midnight Eclipse, except more so.

As he waited for Guillotine to cool so he could try it out, almost like a seriously overgrown child in a candy store, he began forging the other two items he was allowed to craft. One was turned into a simple round iron shield. It wasn't a spectacular shield, but it was solidly constructed and would be able to withstand the stress and rigor of combat. The final craft, would it wind up being another rare item? As it turned out, no. As he put hammer to crafting material the entire thing just evaporated right there on the anvil. Critical fail, no chance to salvage the material.

[Mack 0]

ID: 27291
CD: 6 (bad item)
LD: 1

ID: 27292
CD: 12 (Perfect Item) (Level up to 3)

ID: 27293
CD: 9 (Uncommon Item) 

ID: 27294
CD: 9 (Uncommon Item)

Up before the birds, as always, Mack pushed open the flap to his tent-based shop. Before he could step through into the shop and begin lighting the forge Chewie bustled in, went rumbling under the tables laden with items for sale, found his straw mat by the forge and curled up to go to sleep. Seriously, the lazy bear only ever ate and slept or so it seemed. But, when he grew up into a full-blown Grizzly Mack was certain that the cub would be terrifying and huge. Precisely what he wanted.

With a few puffs on the billows, the forge was soon lit and with his knuckles again scraping the bottom of the barrel, Mack retrieved all of the crafting materials he had and tossed them in among the glowing coals before pumping the billows several more times. Then, reaching in with the tongs, he extracted the first set of crafting materials and began to hammer. Once the materials began to resolve themselves into an item, he set the first item aside and repeated the process with the other three items he was crafting today.

The first item was a complete bust, just a giant cudgel that was wrapped with a few bands of iron for increased strength. Mack made a face of disgust and attached a 20 col price tag to the item. The second item, on the other hand, resolved itself into something that was CLEARLY of the best possible quality. Slowly, a round disc shield formed on the table and when Mack checked the item's name he saw that it was a rare quality shield called Crimson Sunrise which came with a plus two modifier to Damage Mitigation and a plus one boost to thorns. Third out of the forge was a breastplate called Hussar's Protest, a steel breastplate that would protect the wearer's chest and back and came with a +1 damage mitigation rating. Finally, the last item of the day for crafting resolved itself into a rather simple looking rapier called Zephyr with a finely polished silver blade and a basket style pommel of fire hardened steel to protect the hand of its wielder. Mack made a note to contact Abalasster to have the other player swing by the shop to swap out Leopard's Fang for Zephyr. He suspected that the other swordsman would prefer a rapier to a one-handed straight sword as Abalasster had traded Mack a beginner's rapier for Leopard's Fang in the first place.

Edited August 12, 2015 by Mack

[Abalasster 0]

I walked into the Mack's forge with the sword he had given me. Unfortunately, it was a straight sword and not a rapier. I preferred something that could stab to something that could slash. I walked up to the register with the sword, Leopards Fang and put it on the table. "The rapier come in Mack" I inquired. I was super enthusiastic to get the sword and to get back out into the field. This rapier would be what I wanted and needed to hold me over for the time being. This smith had yet to let me down, even though our introductions were a sketchy...

[Mack 0]

The first thing to respond to the presence of Abalassater within the canvas confines of Hither and Yon as the grizzly bear cub, Chewie. Hearing a new, but still familiar, voice the cub popped up from its straw mat by the forge and went racing over to where Abalasster was. When the brown and tan cub reached the side of the swordsman it came to a screeching halt and immediately popped up on its hind legs and began pawing at the customer, looking for a delicious handout.

"Chewie, no. Heel," the smith grunted. The bear pawed at Abalasster a few more times and then dutifully trotted over to the side of the Smith and flopped down on the ground with a wuffling grunt. "I do have a rapier, forged it today. Has the same bleeding enhancement on it as Leopard's Fang. Trade me back the Fang and Zephyr is yours," the smith continued in the same low tone that was somewhere between a grunt and a growl.

From underneath the table, the blonde bear of a man produced a fine looking rapier in a black leather scabbard and he held it out to Abalasster hilt first to be inspected.

[Abalasster 0]

"Ha ha, there she is" I said. It was beautiful. The perfect rapier. "Mack, you are a brilliant smith" I said examining the sword. I gave Leopards Fang to the smith and took Zephyr. "What a blade" I mumbled in awe. I then looked down a chewie, the smith's ferocious companion. I looked in my inventory and pulled out a loaf of bread. "Hey chewie" I called to the bear cub. "I know it's not meat but hey, its food". I handed the loaf to Chewie. he may not eat it but that's all fine. Its the least amount of compensation I could give to Mack. Before I left the shop, I turned back to the smith. "Be expecting more orders from me good sir. One's that will be met with pay. You are a great smith. Keep up the great crafts". I walked out of the shop with Zephyr at my side, ready to take on the world...   

[Mack 0]

Chewie the bear cub howled with delight at the sight of the loaf of bread, his beady chocolate brown eyes following the loaf as it appeared in Abalasster's hand. When the bread was offered to the bear cub he didn't have to be told twice. With a woofling roar, and a gaping maw, Chewie opened his mouth and clamped down on the offered bread before scampering back off to his straw mat with his grainy loot. Growling, but with delight, the bear turned a few circles on its mat before collapsing with the bread between its paws and setting about the feast.

"You know where to find me, if I move shop to a higher floor and you want something just send me a message and I'll tell you where I'm at," the smith replied in his trademarked low growl. He accepted Leopard's Fang back from Abalasster and removed the weapon from his scabbard before setting about polishing the blade and its gold and ivory hilt as Abalasster exited from the tent.

[Beoreson 0]

     "Well the time has come, the time that I realized that I sucked at forging and that I needed a new blade stat". Beoreson mutters darkly to himself before he enters the shop. Beoreson then, with a deep sigh, enters the shop. seeing the bear cub for the first time shocks the black haired warrior. "Erm, Mack are you aware there is a bear in you're shop?" questions the young warrior. The warrior then, states after what ever explanation is given "I need a new blade, I got 645 col, and can trade Loyalty. What type of weapon can I get with my current funds." States the young warrior in a business like manner.

[Grave 0]

Bored... Bored... Bored... was e repeating thought in my mind as I strolled down the market district of the Town of Beginnings.  Didn't feel like hunting, didn't feel like chatting, didn't feel like eating... Absolutely and utterly bored.

But then I remembered what was down that end of Town; a forge owned by the hulk of a man known as Mack.  Supposedly his crafts were pretty awesome - I saw his attention to detail a few days previous when he showed off his two axes and two swords.  I looked around for the rather familiar alley, and once I spotted it, all I had to do was move my glance a little further ahead and...

Yep, there it was; the 'shop' that wasn't much more than a tent, but housed many wonders.  I approached it and lifted my arm under the entrance flap, peeking my head in.

"Hello!  Mack!  You there?  It's Grave!" I called, not bothering to check the ntire tent.

[Mack 0]

ID: 27389
CD: 4 (Bad Item)
LD: 2 (No Salvage)
XP: 1

ID: 27390
CD: 7 (Good Item)
XP: 2

ID: 27391
CD: 2 (Fail)
XP: 1

ID: 27392
CD: 11 (Rare Item - 2 Slots)
XP: 5

Chewie was adjusting to his life out of the woods and in the city. When they entered the shop the bear sped off to his bed, rooted around for a moment, turned in a circle and flopped down. Within less than a minute, the cub was asleep. How that was even slightly possible, Mack had no idea. Crossing the shop to his forge, he took the ends of the billows in his hands and fanned the flames of the forge with them for a moment and when he was satisfied, he pitched in all of the crafting materials he had. Once again, he would have to go out today to track down more material so he would be able to craft tomorrow.

One at a time, the materials came out of the forge and right away one of the crafting attempts failed utterly. The smith swore loudly at that and hammered away at the other three. By the time everything was resolved by the game's engine, the only item to have come out of the forge that was worth anything was the Viper's Kiss, a straight-bladed ninjato with a Damascus steel blade and a hilt wrapped in white cloth. The blade itself was about three feet in length and, when he checked the stats on the weapon, the smith noted that it came with modifiers to both accuracy and it had the benefit of dealing paralyze effects on a critical strike.

[Mack 0]

Mack looked up at the sound of someone entering his shop and, while he didn't scowl, he also didn't exactly smile. Still, his face didn't look angry and his grey eyes didn't show any kind of displeasure. He listened as the familiar figure of Beoreson asked a question about the bear cub. Chewie, for his part looked up and when it was apparent that he wouldn't be able to get anything by begging from the warrior, he yawned loudly and curled back up and was soon back to sleep. "Where else would Chewie be," Mack asked, as if the bear's presence in the shop were the most natural thing in the world to him and, given that the little grizzly was his familiar, it was the most natural thing in the world.

After listening to Beoreson's request, Mack nodded once. Then he reached around under one of the pair of tables and pulled out a ninjato with a three foot long black blade made of Damascus steel. The hilt was made of polished silver maple and ivory, wrapped in a bit of white cloth and the minimal crossguard embossed with a viper chasing its own tail. The scabbard, made of the same wood, rather than being painted it has been etched and carved with a similar viper design winding around the scabbard itself. He held the weapon out to Beoreson. "You've accompanied me several times, take it as a gift. It comes with an accuracy buff and the ability to paralyze," he said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Maybe now, you'll be able to hit something," he continued in a gruff tone, with the smallest of grins.

[Beoreson 0]

     Beoreson looks stunned for a moment."You're sure?" he asks. He returns the grin to Mack. Taking the blade shyly, He then, equips the Viper's Kiss and, gives it a few test swings. He also avoiding hitting anything, which is a surprise to himself."I should be able to hit stuff now, I must give you my thanks for such a wonderful gift. If you ever need help with anything, just PM me and I will be more then happy to help." With that the young warrior leaves the shop, to go test his new blade on some new foe.

[Mack 0]

At the sound of a familiar voice a black nose at the end of a tan snout appeared around the end of the forge. With what amounted to a bellowing war cry, Chewie came tearing around the edge of the forge. After blitzing under the tables of wares, the grizzly cub made a bee line for the tent flap. "Don't let him out," Mack rumbled as the bear nearly bowled into Grave's legs, just managing to stop in time before running into the visitor. Then, popping up on its hind legs, it opened its mouth to display plenty to sharp tiny teeth and a gaping pink maw. Clearly, the animal was looking for another hand out. After all, Abalasster had stopped by earlier and had given the cub food, this newcomer who was familiar was obviously here for the same reason, Chewie was certain of it.

"What can I do for you," the smith asked, before turning his attention to the bear cub. "Chewie, down."

[Grave 0]

I grinned as the familiar little bear cub came barreling around the corner, "Heya, Chewie!" I greeted him and crouched down.  He seemed pretty hungry, as it sat in an 'I want food' position.  I rummaged through my inventory and yanked out a loaf of bread.  I had too many of them; they had to go somewhere.  I chucked the bread to the large baby and stood back up, strolling towards the giant smith.

"Don't worry, planning on picking up on cooking, so I can get you some Chewie food," I assured him, approaching a nearby table, "As for why I'm here," I unsheathed Severance and placed the falchion on the table, "My sweetheart's getting a little... Worn out, so I was going to ask if you'd be kind enough to craft me a new weapon, like maybe a Wakizashi or something," I explained, "I'd like it to be fairly light, with a bit of added damage of possible, as I don't have any Weapon Skills yet,"

[Mack 0]

Chewie howled with delight for a split second. His joyous cry was abruptly cut off as he clamped his teeth down on the offered loaf of bread, nearly taking a few of Grave's fingers with him in the exchange. His precious cargo secured the tan blur scampered quickly out of sight and back to his bead. Two successful attempts to beg in one day. This was truly a momentous occasion, as far as the bear was concerned.

"A wakizashi with bonus damage modifiers. That should be simple enough," he said in his characteristic low rumbled, rubbing his chin with his thumb and forefinger. "That should be doable, I assume you'll be trading in Severance for it? Also, do you want only damage modifiers or additional bonuses like bleed or paralyze?"

[Grave 0]

"Yeah, I'll trade in Severance, however painful it is," I wiped away an imaginary tear, "Take good care of her and give her a good wielder, would you?" I asked, a wide grin stretching across my face.  When he asked if I wanted anything else on the weapon, I replied, "If you could chuck something on it to help me hit my target, that would be awesome, thanks,"

I looked past Mack and saw Chewie in his bed, and that sparked a question, "Hey, how'd you get Chewie?  Was it a quest or something?"