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

[Mack 0]

The sounds of a loaf of bread being given and early, and likely very crumbly, death could be plainly heard by both Mack and Grave as Chewie devoured the treat that he had received from the silver haired swordsman. "A wakizashi with damage and accuracy modifiers," Mack said, nodding his head. That meant the weapon would need to be of at least rare quality, if not perfect. That would make it a bit costly, and much more difficult to craft. A challenge, but not an impossible one. "I think I can manage that, not sure how long it will take though. Sometimes, I have a run of good luck with my crafting and sometimes the gods of random numbers abandon me completely."

[Mack 0]

ID: 27472
CD: 9 (Uncommon Item)
XP: 3

ID: 27473
CD: 12 (Perfect Item)
XP: 8

ID: 27474
CD: 12 (Perfect Item)
XP: 8

ID: 27475
CD: 7 (Good Item)
XP: 2

Total XP: 21

Chewie knew the drill. When they entered the forge the bear cub went straight over to his straw mat and, clamping the leather from several failed crafting attempts in the claws of his paws, he began to gnaw on them. At least it would keep the cub occupied while Mack got his work done, and it had the added benefit of putting a few of his failed crafts to good use. Occasionally, a playful growl or snarl would escape from the tawny cub as it played with the toy as Mack went about the business of lighting the forge and getting his daily allowance of crafting attempts completed.

When he extracted the first set of materials for the day from the forge, Mack began to craft them into a tower shield. While he hadn't seen a great many players running around in the game that resembled him, in terms of size, that didn't mean that some of the players might not prefer a shield that was a bit beefier in terms of the protection it could offer. Slowly, the shield resolved itself into an obsidian tower shield that was trimmed in silver and had a stylized phoenix, also in silver, worked across it. Checking the item Mack saw that it was called Phoenix Wings  and that it came with a plus one damage mitigation buff on it. Starting the day off with an uncommon item craft was never a bad thing.

Next, the smith began to hammer out a new suit of armor for himself. Hussar's Protest was a fine suit of armor, make no mistake about that, but Mack knew he was capable of producing something better. Little by little something that looked like light armor, but had the impressive stats of heavy armor took shape on the forge. The armor was called Angelic Sheath and it was, without doubt, one of the finest pieces Mack had ever crafted. The suit was exceptionally well crafted in glittering white and would provide protection for the entire body with only a very limited sacrifice to mobility. The interwoven steel and titanium mesh of the armor would give superior protection equivalent to heavy armor and, despite its light appearance it had a deceptively heavy feel in his hands. The armor itself was covered in an intricate series of designs worked in black which matches the trim of the armor. Checking the stats, Mack was pleased to see that it came with a plus two thorns modifier in addition to a boost to damage mitigation. He'd be keeping this one for himself.

Feeling good about his work so far, Mack moved on to work on a new weapon. This one would be a wakizashi, and it was a commission item for Grave. Slowly and methodically the smith beat on the metal until it transformed itself into the desired weapon. Another wonderful craft for the day, as a second perfect item was produced from the forge. Cobra Strike was a beautiful wakizashi with a two and a half foot blade. The cross guard was made of gold and carved to resemble a coiled cobra. The hilt consisted of several carved serpents in varying shades of green, emerald, and evergreen and ending the the curved head of a hooded cobra with tiny rubies for eyes. The scabbard was made of jade and trimmed with gold and continuing in the serpent motif. This made the scabbard considerably heavier than what one would think it would be, but the scabbard can double as a club in a pinch. Checking the stats, Mack saw it had an added plus two bonus to accuracy and plus one bonus to damage, just what Grave was after.

The final crafting attempt for the day wasn't nearly as satisfying as the first three had been, producing only a simple bronze targe style shield with the helmet of a Roman Centurion in profile on it's face in raised bronze. Still, given all that the forge had produced today it was hard to be too disappointed.

Edited August 14, 2015 by Mack

[Thorrissia 0]

As Thorrissia was wondering through the bits and bobs stashed around the forge, she was lucky enough to come across something rather special. A shield! And one exactly that she was looking for. The girl quickly snatched the item from the pile and rushed straight to the counter with it. "Hi, I was just wondering if this was for sale, and if so, then how much?" Thorry asked with enthusiasm, keen to buy. 

[Mack 0]

At the sound of armor shuffling around and a female voice, a furry brown face poked around the side of the forge. Experience had taught Chewie that female voices were more likely to gift him with treats. With a wuffling grunt the grizzly bear cub regarded the brunette woman and then came tearing around the side of the smith's forge with a tiny battle cry, mouth open displaying a pink maw, and tiny fangs bared. Reaching Thorrissia's side, he hopped up on his hind legs and pawed at her leg with his mouth open, clearly looking for a handout. The burly smith merely sighed, this was his bear companion's usual greeting for everyone and the habit was so deeply ingrained that it would be nearly impossible to break now.

"Crimson Sunrise is for sale, best shield I've crafted so far," the hulking blonde said in a low rumble as Chewie continued to beg for a handout. "I'll sell it for 1150 col or some crafting materials, it's up to you."

[Thorrissia 0]

Thorrissia stumbled back in surprise upon seeing the tiny bear beg for food. The tiny beast was sort of cute. It was a shame she didn't carry around any treats "I don't have anything to give yah buddy or I would." She told it sadly, giving the bear a light pat on the fuzzy brown head. When the blacksmith spoke to her of payment options, Thorrissia didn't have to think about it. "I'll pay you in Col if it's alright." She replied with a friendly smile, trading some of her money

 

-1150 Col

+1 Crimson Sunrise 

[Mack 0]

Chewie gave the brunette woman a deeply sad look with his chocolate brown eyes. No treats. Who in all of Aincrad wandered around without carrying treats for him. Slumping back off of his hind feet the cub sat down in the middle of the shop floor and gave Thorrissia another very hurt look. She had to have something, she just had to. "Stop begging," Mack rumbled at the cub and, dutifully, the bear picked itself up off of the ground and wandered back to its bed, taking a leather chew toy between its paws and beginning to gnaw on it. "He's a worse beggar than any dog you'll ever meet," the smith said, passing the shield across the counter to the woman and accepting back a leather pouch that was heavy with col. "If you need anything else, you know where to find me."

Edited August 15, 2015 by Mack

[Thorrissia 0]

Thorrissia grinned rather triumphantly as the beautifully crafted shield was slid across the counter into her possession. It was light weight enough that it would suit her need for speed and at the same time dense enough to fend off attacks. "Thanks, I'll be sure and do that. Good luck with your shop!" The alchemist added with a friendly tone as she made her way towards the shop exit. She gave the little disappointed bear one last apologetic look before adding, "And your familiar, he seems like a handful. See yah around." Thorry raised a hand in farewell before heading out into the open air again. 

[Grave 0]

I watched in amazement as Mack worked around the clock, producing not only my Wakizashi, but three other fine works; two shields and a brilliant suit of armour.  It was astonishing how quickly one could make items in the world of Aincrad, and so beautifully too.  Once the giant smith had finished up, I took a peek into the forge at my Wakizashi.

It was beautiful.  The snake design let off a vibe of speed and danger, as if one 'bite' from the blade would cause serious damage (which, undoubtedly, it would).  I looked at the resident smith.

"How much will that be, good sir?" I asked, mimicking Abalasster a slight bit.

[Mack 0]

Not five minutes after Thorrissia had left the shop Grave stopped by to check in on the progress of his commissioned blade. Reaching under one of the tables, where the items crafted on commission were kept, he extracted the decidedly serpentine blade and passed it over to Grave for inspection. "Try this, if you like it we can talk price." Mack watched through storm cloud eyes as Grave tested the weapon with obvious approval. After a few moments, the silver haired man asked for the price.

"Trade me Severance and three hundred col," the Smith said after a moment's thought, quoting a ridiculously low price for the finely crafted blade. "And add me to your friends list. I've been thinking about the possibility of forming a Guild," he continued in a low tone, springing the kicker on Grave, not that it would be a difficult request to fulfill.

[Grave 0]

I heard out Mack's offer.  I swiped my index and middle fingers down to bring out the swipe menu and... Man I was poor.  I choked as I saw I only had four hundred and ninety Col.  Sure, I could pay for the weapon, but I was going to have trouble with only one hundred and ninety left.

"Y-yeah, sure," I told the smith nervously and opened up a trade request, placing in Severance and the three hundred Col, sending the request.  When he asked me to add him to my friends list and notified me of forming a guild, I smiled, "No problem.  I've given joining a guild some thought lately," I told him, navigating through my menu again and sending the giant a friend request.

---

-300 Col

-1 Severance

Edited August 15, 2015 by Grave

[Mack 0]

Pulling up his own menu, Mack tapped in the sword that was being transferred to Grave and hit the green confirm button once all the pieces of the trade were in place. That done he removed Severance from its scabbard and considered the weapon. It would need some polishing and the blade was well worn enough to the point that it could use a sharpening as well. But, the weapon was still quite serviceable and so Mack would prepare it and either re-sell it or give it away to another low level player that was in need of something that was better than a beginner's sword. The beginner's weapons, after all, were just the worst. When he saw the friend request from Grave appear in front of him Mack again hit the confirm button. 

"Anything else I can do for you," he asked.

+300 col
+Severance

-One Wakizashi

[Grave 0]

"Well, yes," I began, "I have two queries.  I'd like to know where I could get a familiar and how I get a profession, like your Smithing," I asked him.  I went through my inventory and materialized the Wakizashi, Cobra Strike, onto the back of my waist.  It was actually a lot heavier than met the eye, but most likely because of the snake design adorning the scabbard.

I slid the weapon out if the scabbard, and I was right in my theory.  The wakizashi was actually very light in my hand, and gave it a few swings and twirls in my hand before cleanly sheathing it again, satisfied with the effort put into it.

[Mack 0]

Mack considered the questions for a moment before answering. As near as he could tell there was no harm in sharing the information with the silver-headed warrior. After all, anyone could do the quests, and Mack himself had already completed all of them. They were also such low level quests that he'd really not had much trouble with them, so it wasn't as if the information would put Grave in any kind of real danger. Shrugging his shoulders, the mountain of a smith decided that he would, in fact, share the information with Grave.

"To get your profession you'll need to complete the Earning a Living Quest," Mack rumbled after a moment. "Any NPC shop owner should be able to give it to you. For the familiar you'll need a common food item and you'll have to complete the Feeding the Enemy Quest. I picked it up from the Quest board on Floor Two, but you should be able to find it on any floor. Make sure you grab a shield on the way out, if you want one, even Phoenix Wings which is the big obsidian tower shield. I use a two hand axe, got no use for a shield."

[Mack 0]

ID: 27590
CD: 2
XP: 1

ID: 27591
CD: 9 (Uncommon Item)
XP: 3 (LEVEL UP!)

ID: 27593
CD: 8 (Good Item)
XP: 2

ID: 27594
CD: 6 (Good Item)
XP: 2

ID: 27595
CD: 4 (Bad Item)
LD: 15 (SALVAGED!)
XP: 1

Today Mack decided he was going to try his hand at armor and, specifically, at gauntlets. He'd yet to try and make any kind of work that was quite that detailed, but he had the materials at hand and it was time to try something new. Considering the rousing success he'd had with his crafting the previous day, he was feeling very good about his chances of crafting some of the finest gauntlets available in all of Aincrad. Unfortunately, the best laid plans of mice and men were sometimes all for naught. After more than an hour at the forge, working on gauntlets the only item he could say he was even somewhat proud of were the Bobcat Gauntlets which were made from the bobcat he'd thrown off a cliff, and even they were only an uncommon level item.

Edited August 15, 2015 by Mack

[Grave 0]

"Ah, I see," I acknowledged, "I may as well get my profession before a familiar, as I'll be able to make food anyway... If it works that way I mean," I grinned and scratched the back of my neck.

I was stunned when the smith started saying I should probably pick up a shield, "Hmm, I guess you're right.  I don't have anything in my off hand, unless I want to used scabbard as an impromptu club, but that won't amount to much," I pondered, "Mind if I take a quick look at said shield?"

[Mack 0]

"Help yourself, the big black tower shield is the best one I've got now," the Smith said, turning his attention briefly on the grizzly cub in the corner who was busily gnawing away at his leather chew toy. "Not really quite sure it's your style, more of a tank shield. Had a nice round shield earlier today, but someone already came by and bought that one for a little over a thousand col," the hulking blonde man continued, turning his full attention back to the conversation at hand.

[Carambit 0]

Carambit wandered into the store and looked around. He had recently come into around 430 Col, and wanted to spend it on a weapon that would make things a bit easier for him. He gazed around the room for a bit, and nodded toward the large, hulking blond man whom he assumed owned the store. He felt like he fit there the best. 

He began to browse, as the man appeared busy, and started to look for something that fit his style. He knew he wanted to get his hands on another straight sword, as curved swords, spears and daggers weren't quite his style. Although he did contemplate purchasing a dagger to use as a backup later on down the track when he could afford it, just in case he found himself disarmed he could always switch out to it.

His eyes listed over the several weapons that the store had to offer. There were all sorts of things to choose from, and many things he hadn't even considered yet began to cross his mind. Did he want a heavy or light sword? Would that affect the way he used it? Did he want a rapier or a wider bladed weapon? He was almost dizzy with mixed thoughts and decided it was best to just wait until the owner of the store was free, so that he could discuss exactly what he was after. Maybe there was some arrangement they could come to that involved bringing the owner materials he could use to forge the weapon.

[Mack 0]

ID: 27912
CD: 6 (Good Item)
XP: 2

ID: 27913
CD: 5 (Good Item)
XP: 2

ID: 27914
ID: 1 (Crit. Fail)
XP: 1

ID: 27915
CD: 11 (Rare Item)
XP: 5

ID: 27916
CD: 11 (Rare Item)
XP: 5

Total XP: 15

Arriving at his forge early in the morning, as per usual, Mack began the process of getting everything in the shop up and running and ready for his daily crafting attempts. So far, he had yet to produce any perfect items since the day when the lords of the random numbers had gifted him with the creation of not one, but two, perfect items on the same day. Sure, there had been a few rare items that had come off of the forge since those perfects and, as it would turn out, today was not the day that Mack was going to get another perfect item from his forge, though he did turn out a nice pair of gauntlets that would generate light and granted plus two heavy momentum as well as a sword called Vampiric Strike which had a plus two bleed bonus tacked on to it.

Edited August 19, 2015 by Mack

[Mack 0]

Chewie, the mighty grizzly, hadn't noticed the arrival of a new visitor the the forge. The tawny bear had been too engrossed with his leather chew toy and, at any rate, he couldn't see the front of the shop anyway since his straw mat was on the far side of the forge. But, as the footsteps came closer and closer the bear's ear's began to twitch and his nose began to wiggle. That was definitely the sound of unfamiliar feet and that was definitely the scent of an unfamiliar person. New people meant only one thing.

With a bellowing growl of challenge, the bear was on his feet. The chew toy completely forgotten. The roiling mass of fur and muscle came tearing pell mell around the edge of the forge and then darted under one of the display tables. Because he was only a cub and couldn't have knocked over or plowed through the table even if he'd wanted to. Reaching the side of the newcomer, Chewie sat back on his haunches and began insistently swatting at the man with his front paws while displaying a pink maw full of teeth. It was clear that the animal was looking for yet another free handout.

"Is there something I can do for you," Mack asked in a low rumble as Chewie continued to whap the man with one of his tiny paws. The dark haired, and clearly low level, player had been wandering in the small tent shop for several minutes, checking out various items.

[Grave 0]

At Mack's suggestion, I crept over to the giant obsidian shield he had pointed to.  I admired it for a moment; I still couldn't get over how meticulously made all of the smith's crafts were.  The black colouring had something of a rocky design, with a dim silver Phoenix spread across the curved metal.  I removed it from its perch.  It was definitely heavy, probably too heavy for my fighting style.

I slipped it onto my arm and held it up in a blocking position; with my weapon choice, there was no way I'd be able to watch my opponent and attack quick enough.  I replaced the shield and turned face the smith.

"Yeah, you're right, it isn't really suited to my fighting style," I told him with a shrug, "Maybe when I get myself a little more money I'll come back and get one commissioned, hey?" I back-pedalled to the exit and waved to Mack before giving a parting word, leaving the tent, "See you around!"

Final Transactions:

-300 Col

-1 Severance

+1 Cobra Strike