Hammer in the morning

    The sounds of various crafting tools is just getting started. Saws working on wood projects, some brewing here and there. Even some blacksmithing going on. It's probably mid-morning in the world as a certain red-headed, tall smith wanders in. His outfit has changed considerably since he managed to get some levels under his belt while helping others.

    But this time, he's there for some other project it seems. Looking around, he starts towards an open blacksmith area. One more suitable for armor making than your average one. He did this first elsewhere, to test the limits on extras and see what happened. But now, well... he was up to doing the real thing. The real big confusion that might get people? He doesn't pull out a slab of metal, ore, or anything like that. He pulls out a trio of plates from Spinner's End, a bunch of bolts, and a couple leather straps.

    By the time he acknowledges anyone, he's already starting to heat up the plates and working on carefully folding and wrenching the loose ends off. It's not perfect in shape for whatever he is intending to make with it, but the loose ends are definitely coming off of the mostly rounded plate that he's working on at the moment.

    Oh, and he's mumbling to himself as he does, "... let's see... these can snap off... I need holes here...

Another morning in Ikegai.

Another morning in which people are busy with the business of getting on with their lives and trying to make it better for themselves and others. If that be monetary, knowledge or peace of mine, all currencies are valid.

Nureha has an image to uphold, especially here where the workshop is open to other adventurers and other guilds. Her clothes are tough and no-nonsense, a purple half jacket and blouse with a plain skirt over tough shoes. She drifts from station to station, listening and fielding questions whenever one of her personnel come up to her, voice very soft and her eyes slightly clouded.

At some point she drifts towards the Forge, standing at a polite distance from Giganpor as she watches him carefully heat up the plates. She waits to be noticed, dark circles under her eyes. After a minute or so, she clears her throat quietly in a brief lull of activity.

Kauchemar has what could be called a passing interest in the going-ons of the crafting center. More that it's in her nature to keep tabs on various activities, and maybe offer a little inspiration now and then. That's what muses do, after all.

At the very least a bit of music helps pass the time and maybe a little motivation. Seeing as this world doesn't have a radio to just tune into, you get a bard to strum a few chords now and then. Besides, the thump and grind of tools means Kauchemar doesn't need to worry about percussion, she can just use the ambience already here.

After taking part in the near-terrifying task of clearing the First Floor, Kirito is in the crafting center to buy and create some new gear for himself. He keeps the Coat of Midnight but gives it an upgrade to add an additional buff to his sneaking skill. He buys two new swords that have better stats and functionality than his old ones, both swords looking basic, but having increased strength and damage output.

However, as he's moving, he notices Giganpor working the blacksmithing station. "Improving your skill?" He asks in a straightforward and noticeably blunt manner. Though he seems to fail to notice Kauchemar, he notices Nureha and gives the familiar player a light nod in greeting.

    Giganpor looks up from his task, managing to break off a piece of the plate. A sharp looking spine before setting it aside. He inspects the break before reaching over to pick up a file.

    "Hello, Nureha. The day treating you well?" He says politely towards Nureha in the break from what he is doing. Then he looks at Kirito. Eyeing the man, he shakes his head, "Yes and no. Call it an experiment on something if you will."

    Well, he is polite about it at least as he starts to work the file over the edge carefully, rounding it down. Considering the number of spines and uneven edges on the plates, that's probably going to be close to an all day thing to accomplish perhaps. Moving to crouch by the plate, he eyes it before standing up to start the filing again.

A young man with blonde hair and a green/black set of clothes under a mud brown cape pokes his head through the white archway at the entrance to the workshop. He sees Nureha in the crowd and freezes up a second before pointedly looking away. When trying to avoid someone's attention (or trying not to comment on someone elses) even small things and little inspirations can be instant salvaltion. The adventurer sidles up to Kauchemar, trying to look non-chalant as they sit on top of a tarp covered stack of boxes listening to their impromptu jam session. "That works pretty well." he says as the thump and clatter continue, melding with the music."You a wandering bard, or is this a one-night-only?"

Nureha eyes Kirito and gives him a similar polite nod of acknowledgement, lips pursing slightly at the unintended reminder of last evening's... festivities. "As well as any other." she says with a more sincere smile. She rolls up her sleeves. "I hope the tools have been sufficient to your needs., We're still sourcing replacements for a set an initiate accidently damaged. Would you mind walking me through your experiment? Sometimes it can help, even if I can only lend an interested ear."

"It's more effective to use the environment than fight it," Kauchemar replies. Her gaze shifts to the young man without disrupting her playing. Clearly she has some 'real' skill and isn't just using whatever 'play music' commands the Bard class has. "Essentially, yes," she answers the query. "But I am a member of Guild, so you could say it's more oft wandering away from the local, than to, when it suits me."

Kirito gives a light nod to Giganpor. "An experiment? What are you trying to do?" His attention seems to be piqued, but then Nureha gives him that nod and he smiles. "I recall you from the First floor the other day. Well done." Then his attention falls on Kauchemar when she arrives, giving a nod.

"Hi there."

Then back to Giganpor, waiting for knowledge.

"Guildmaster."

Kaleido nods politely towards Nureha as they step into the workshop. Plant Hwayden's most recent recruit (arguably most recent poach) has a book in one hand and a quill in the other.

"Please don't mind me, I just thought I'd step in and update our inventory records while I had a few spare minutes."

    Giganpor looks considerate, "To date, we've only been experimenting with ores, wood, and materials we've found that know work pretty much, right?" He looks to Nureha. "Even when we experiment, we're not using more exotic materials. If you've been to Spinner's End, well..." He taps a knuckle against the plate.

    "Typical plate. I wanted to make armor out of it, but since the plates are hard to come by and they only come in standard size for a round shield." He shrugs.

    "The experiment is with what we can use now. A lot of the menu had us using your typical materials. Ores, wood, leather, hides." The filing is done carefully as he talks, aiming to round out the edges and make the piece flat on the bottom from the looks.

    He looks at Nureha and Kirito as he picks up the tongues and starts to heat the plate again. "I experimented a little. We had a lot to do there. Some craziness. I do need some tools here that I do not have. Those hand drills, for example, clamps, I believe those are called punches?" He motions at some tools off to one side. "And a bit of space because these tend to get pretty hot just to shape or pierce through."

"Same here. I'm.." he clears his throat. "..technically, I'm supposed to be training but boss lady does always say we should learn to better observe our environments. So. I'm observing. Dutifully." he clears his throat. "I'm Br.. I'm Lazion, by the way." He winces as though remembering anybody can just Inspect his name anyways. Social mores. What a concept.

"So.. what do you think about all this?" he crosses his arms, gesturing to the workshop. "New quests. New.. new areas, then there's the menu, which still works but everything else kind of works like Sword Skills now. It's.." he chuckles. "It's a little overwhelming."

Nureha flicks an ear, her lips pursing briefly again as she rubs her tired eyes. "Yes.. most of those we lost are waking up now. I'm just glad things were recoverable after turning so sour." Her attention is drawn to Kaleido, head inclined in a polite acknowledgement. "A good thing. We've seen more than a little turnover the last few days. It also gives me a moment to speak with you. How are you settling in? I do admit the headquarters is still a bit sparce, but we're working through the little difficulties that arise."

She makes a point of ignoring another one of their recruits picking up a box and looking TERRIBLY busy with the contents in an attempt to be noticed as Kaleido arrives. Her attention is quickly drawn back to Giganpor. "Hmm." She brings up a hand to her chin. "..I'll ask around. Space, I grant you, is at a premium but we should be able to accomodate. If we don't have a source for such a tool already at hand, our quartermaster and master procurer should be able to help you." She gestures to Kaleido, her eyes still fixed on the process. "..So you are saying you are.. improvising? Not working from a general template but making something work by feeling your way towards a satisfactory answer?"

Kauchemar nods to the fellow about observing the surroundings. "Never step onto the dance floor without knowing the theme of the show," she replies, and smiles a bit. It's suppose to be reassuring. But it still manages to be a little creepy with the way her narrow fangs, something you don't see on a normal equine, stick out from her lips. "I'm known as Kauchemar. Muse of music and monsters alike." She embellishes a little, as while Muse is a fine title for the general nature of her ways, it doesn't really convey the full aspect of her combination of classes.

"Overwhelming does not mean it cannot be overcome though." Her tail flicks at her side, rapping lightly against the storage crates. "Just look at these people. Bettering themselves by bettering the resources, and the knowledge, we have to put to use."

As the work going starts to pick up, so does the pace of the nightmare's playing after a few distinct chords. The song she was playing melds into one that might be familiar to those that have seen certain old cartoons involving factory lines. Just played on lute strings instead of a swing band.

Kaleido raises an eyebrow when 'Quartermaster' and 'Master Procurer' are thrown around. "I'm settling in quite well. And my first week here I was running endless fetch quests, eating nothing but apples, and sleeping on the ground, so everything here is a step up from that."

"If I can ask for anything, as your, ahem, quartermaster, it actually would be some space. The Miracle Network is something I've been able to run remotely so far, but the affairs of an entire guild are going to take a bit more... of a static space."

"Especially if you want static records that the rest of you can access and not just bothering me to pull the record books out of my inventory every time. A desk and a bookshelf, at minimum."

    Giganpor looks considerate at Nureha's question. "Yes... and no. I've been watching others who do it by hand. And something.... seems like it's... natural?" He shrugs. "I'll figure that out eventually. I've also been watching a lot of the routines of the Landers when they are not selling in mass numbers. Even talked with a few to get ideas."

    He huffs a little, then considers as he looks at the next piece. He hums before picking up the hole punch and looking at the particularly wide uneven spine before looking to the others, "Ah, either of you pretty strong? I need someone to hold this while I try to punch through. From when I tried before, I know that if I don't do this right I'll end up with too large of a chunk off it if I do it like the first one."

    "But... the general idea is improvising, using what we do know, and well... hoping for the best."

Lazion frowns, then starts to grin with incredulous recognition. "Wow. I haven't heard that in ages." His foot taps to the beat as he busies himself with the act of looking utterly busy. "Though it's kind of strange to hear it live instead of out of a television. Were you a musician..uh.. before, Kauchemar?"

Nureha gives Kaleido a calm, serene smile as though.. why yes, whyever would you think those words to be strange? "We endeavour only the best for our little band, even if it's only /baked/ apples instead of fresh these days." She listens to his requests, tilting her head to one side. "..I see your point. We'll have to put a little more work in before I can offer you anything more concrete than that space to yourself and that desk, but your right. We've had nothing for a titch too long. It's time to settle down and get a few things sorted away while we can. In the lull between endless fetch quests."

Nureha shakes her head. "Not personally, but I may know one or two still lingering about who may be able to assist you." She puts a hand to her ear and an armored adventurer steps away from where they were guarding the door, moving deeper into the complex and replaced by someone else. Nureha gestures to the worked piece of chitin. "Would you help this gentlemen for me please? Apparently it's more than a one person job."

The adventurer huffs faintly, then nods and does as Giganpor instructs.

"I've been involved with music most my life." A few more strums to finish the song, then opts for the chance to take a break. It sounds like Giganpor is getting into some intense process over there, and she doesn't want to accidentally cause a disruption with her attempts at motivation. Let them work at their own pace for this part.

The lute is set aside, and the nightmare leans back against the stack of material storage again to continue her conversation with Lazion. " 'Before' I was a DJ and nightclub performer. So." She shrugs her bare shoulders a little. "Not entirely different from being a bard, when you think about it."

Unfortunately for Kaydon he doesn't have access to his own forge (yet) so he's been graciously able to use others. He's gathered the materials he needs, after last night he's going to have to make himself a better weapon.

The gnoll were fang wanders in with a bucket full of materials, looking around for one of the forges that's currently not in use. He hmms a bit to himself, as he tries to think about what to make. The last time he built something it was done based off real world memory of the object. This time he'd be trying to make something that's never existed before.

    Giganpor nods, "We can just knock off the major ones, then you can be on your way. Thank you for the help." Giganpor says politely, moving to attach the tongs. "Just hold these, and pull. I'm going to be doing the heavy work."

    Once the tongs are held, he starts to punch holes into the spine near the base of it. The large punch starting to make quick work of the material in question as he drives a hole, letting his help pull it until the last bit. "Alright, steady yourself. Last one."

    After he's done, he sets the heat on the next spine and looks at the pieces he has, then over at Nureha. "Know anyone that specializes in small weapons? These might make good dagger pieces, or throwing knives... I don't know for sure because they're so thin, though."

"... Sounds like you're looking for a buyer?"

Kaleido puts away his bookkeeping tools, and pulls out a hand mirror, holding it up next to Giganpor's work in progress, checking it out.

"If you're planning on making these in bulk, I might be able to help you out..."

"What genre did you work with? I.. I dabbled a bit, but uh.." He chuckles awkwardly. "It didn't work out. Got a Tech job instead. It wasn't bad." He snorts, frowning down at the box before looking back up. He eyes Kaydon in passing, lugging their bucket of materials towards the forges. "But no.. figuring out what works together. Changing your music to fit an audience. I guess it really isn't that much different."

Nureha watches the ongoing process with tired but sincere enthusiasm. "I might procure a piece for myself. Purely for sentimental reasons, of course. I want to remember the beginnings of such things, and greatness usually comes from such small things." she puts a hand to her ear. "..My apologies, but I must attend to something that has come up. I'll leave you to your work." she nods to Kaleido before starting to depart. "Lazion." she says without looking and without raising her voice. The adventurer freezes. "That one goes in the other box. Check the label." He looks at the bottle he had been unconsciously fiddling with and coughs. "Uh. yeah. I'll.. try to remember that. Thanks, boss."

She gives a smile to Kauchemar before exiting "Thank you for the accompaniment, my dear."

"Most of them!" Kauchemar replies with a laugh. "My gig 'before' was a dance club in Tokyo," she explains afterwards, "But I've spent a good deal of time in the States as well. Gave my work a flare of difference from the other clubs, helped bring the crowds." She has to stifle a snicker when Lazion gets called out. "Don't entirely blame him. I -am- a bit distracting after all." That's a joke about a previous misadventure that only Nureha herself will get.

Her attention turns when Kaydon clomps in. "Ah. What do we have here? Another body, come to make themselves busy."

"You know how the saying goes about idle hands." Kaydon replies, as he looks over Kauchemar for a moment, "Plus after last night, I need a new sword. Something with a bit more, shall we say, oomph behind it."

They got the award for taking down the bosses despite being underleveled and undergeared. While it's a nice reward, it's not the one he would like to get every single time they try to clear a floor.

Kaydon starts up the forge and then takes a seat nearby, spreading his materials out on a table to take stock of everything, "You with Plant?"

    Giganpor shakes his head, "I am not out to make money in this. A large part of things worry me so far. And I do not know if making any sort of profit off helpful gear is something I would do."

    He looks over at Kayden. "No, I am with Grandeur."

    He considers before looking at Kaydon, "You might do with a claymore or zweihander." He comments, giving a shrug.

    Then the hand mirror is eyed. "What the hell is that?" Giganpor asks.

"I, however, am," Kauchemar chimes in, assuming she is the one Kaydon originally directed the question towards. Smiles that charming yet creepy snake-fanged smile of hers at the gnoll were. "I can inspire more than just great moves upon the battlefield, you know."

She was the one Kaydon was asking, though he nods to Giganpor as well, "Ah yes, the merchant folks in New World. You've been taking point on a lot of the crafting research, haven't you?" He asks, though he turns his attention back to Kauchemar, "Is that so? Are you talking literally or figuratively here?"

"It's the prettiest mirror," says Kaleido, completely seriously.

The mirror is put back into Kaleido's inventory. "Well, your loss. Money makes the server go round."

    Giganpor shrugs, "A bit. I'm just the one that's not freaking out over the loss of the stores like everyone else is."

    He seems to consider, then shakes his head, "I disagree. Money is not what makes the server go around. Players are."

Kauchemar waggles a finger playfully at Kaydon. "Both." Then picks up her instrument, sits back down on one of the crates, and resumes her idle playing. Lets keep those productive moods going.

The gnoll smirks faintly, and then turns his attention back to the forge, "I swear I hope someone invents a propane forge. And also propane." He muses to himself, as he stirs the coals and gets the fire heated up, "Gonna need a lot better equipment to make higher end stuff."

"And if you have money, you can influence in which direction the players *make* the server go around. It's the same thing," says Kaleido, leaning back against a convenient bit of workshop equipment.

"If you want, say, to put that money towards making sure everyone has decent gear... you don't just give a few pieces away for free, that's not going to get you a decent RoI. You sell at a *discount*, maybe do a *few* bits of charity, and reinvest your profits towards making more gear or better gear."

    Giganpor sighs, finishing punching through the next pretty large spine on the chitin plate before he looks over at Kaleido. "That is only if you are interested in such things. I am not." He shakes his head.

    "One of the things that many in my own Guild do not understand is that this world is, in a way, a home for us. More so than before. If we are to make it better, we need to be willing to overlook things such as greed and what we have seen before. The hourglasses, for example. I heard there are a few here, and one counting down. That can not be ignored."

"I think you're confusing efficiency with greed," says Kaleido, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm saying you can do more good by charging for your gear than you can if you're just giving it away for free. You can give away some to people who direly need it, sure, but most of what you make should be reinvested. Buying more materais, buying better tools, helping like-minded crafters get started."

"The whole... vow-of-poverty crafter monk schtick is going to leave you stuck in neutral while the rest of us get out and actually start doing good in this world."

Kauchemar doesn't say anything. But she does strum the first few and most familiar bars of 'The Final Countdown' when the hourglasses are brought up. She's not getting in the middle of that discussion over there though. Just listening to it.

    Giganpor rolls his eyes, "Try minimum charge instead. Plus, in most cases, I get out there and help them gather the materials. I also am not an exclusive crafter either. I tank and do damage runs for others. So, as far as money, I am not hurting. Others, however, do tend to be hurting whenever they need the gear to survive, to accomplish what goals they can and to become better people."

    He heats up the next spine. Eyeing the pieces left, he considers, then shakes his head. He looks over at Kaydon, "I don't suppose you know anything about organic materials rather than metals? That seems to be my one major problem. A shield's definitely coming out of this, but well... material not being metal but as hard as metal... you kinda don't want to try metal based ideas on it."

"I have a bit of skill with woodworking." Kaydon replies, "And maybe a bit of tailoring too, but I generally prefer metalworking." He considers for a moment, "What kind of shield are you thinking? Smaller ones like a buckler could be made of metal easily, but if you wanted to make a tower shield you'd need to mix it up."

"... I think I see why you're in New World and not Scale Emblem or Olympus," says Kaleido, remaining in relatively the same slouched position, leaning against the unused shop equipment.

"And I think, hey, if you won't take my advice, I'm fine leaving you in the dust. Your loss, my gain."

Kauchemar does pause in her playing this time. "Now now gentlemen, let's not get bitter. You both have valid methodologies... and it's usually not a good idea to fluster a craftsmen. Bad things happen when they lose their focus."

She settles back on her seat, lute resting in her lap. "Besides, if it had not been for the help of the other guilds this facility would not have been readied so swiftly."

    Giganpor looks over at Kaydon, "I'm thinking a rounded shield, probably forearm sized for myself or a buckler if I have to shave down too many parts. I believe the larger is called a targe? Us Were Fangs probably have enough strength to use it as a good back up weapon as well, if not off hand. I would make it triangular with the spines I've been cutting off, but I'm not sure how to make them fit to the rest without it being terribly brittle."

    He looks over at Kauchemar, then laughs, "She has a point. I'm one of the ones that put in with the construction and materials as well."

    He considers, then looks over at Kaleido, "I do have other reasons, but for me? I love this world. I started with the offline, came here with my school class in the online, and have been someone who helps others learn to love it as well either through helping them or starting them off on paths that they will find enjoyable. The only problem I have now is that whatever race and classes you picked, you're stuck with them." He shrugs.

    Giganpor looks at the piece of chitin plate he's messing with, finally punching through the last large piece. He nods at the helper that Nureha sent him, "Thank you. If you ever need a hand, give a call. The rest should be a one person job."

Kaleido shrugs, and then wordlessly gets back up and pulls out their record-keeping book, getting on with the inventorying they originally came in to do.

"They will have to learn to use what they now have, save as the rest of us."

Which gets Kauchemar to start snickering again, having met at least one person that just repeatedly hit the Randomize button and how that has... complicated a few things for them to learn.

"Or rely on those that do."

"Yeah a targe is usually made of wood planks with a metal binder around the outside to hold it all together. Think like a cask they use to store whiskey in." Kaydon says, turning back to the forge, and tossing several ingots of metal into it, "I'm going to try something different but I don't know if it'll work. It'd be much easier if I had a welder and a bandsaw but I don't think we've invented those yet.

He glances at Kaleido, "You know, I'm sure he appreciates the concern. Just let him do his own thing. We're all figuring out how to play to our strengths these days."

    Giganpor shakes his head, "I do and I don't, really... hm... well, we don't need the metal reinforcement here. Were the fastenings any different on a targe, or just fitted right to the back? I imagine that is going to be the hardest for me to figure out. I could perhaps punch some holes, but if I go too deeply or too shallow, the straps risk breaking."

    He considers, then looks at the left over spine pieces, then at the shield. "... unless I could somehow fit those on there, but since it's not metal, would that even hold?"

"You would have to use them like pins? But are they strong enough." Kauchemar muses. She looks from Giganpor, to Kaydon, and back again. Shrugs a little. It's their field more than her own. "But between the two of you, at least I know who to bother if my Binders need their weapons repaired."

"Oh you can make them hold. You just need epoxy." Kaydon replies, "Or at least something that can serve the same purpose. Could also pin them in too. Drill through the wood and spine and put a metal pin through, should hold well enough under a majority of circumstances."

He flips the ingots over in the forge, and then pulls the hot metal out, laying it on an anvil, and then he uses a chisel and hammer to begin to break the metal into smaller chunks, trying to keep them as evenly sized as possible.

    Giganpor hums, "... pin... hey, these are thin enough. I could easily use them for pins. Perhaps hold them by the larger spines I'm pulling off? If nothing else, I can switch to using typical methods and use them as decoration. Maybe even weaponize it or something." He shrugs.

    Then he sets to work again, starting to heat up and break off excess spines. He comments, "I do wish we had a suitable grinding wheel that wouldn't break this. I tried it with a previous plate. It kinda... shattered. Like whole chunks." He looks at the chitin plate he's messing with. "Hm... ah well, I'll just have to see."

    He sighs, then gets to the tedious task of breaking extra spines and filing down the edges, including the ones he had help on.