A Working Workout

Vertina has been spending some time around the public crafting facility that was established by Plant Hwyaden, learning how to utilize the few crafting abilities she has without relying on the menus. To do so she had given herself a personal project to work on. Having picked up some worn out low level gear and weapons, and touching them up to be used for practice equipment with the training area the Scale Emblem was working on.

It was also good excersize before she shipped out for the tournament. Right now she was hammering dents out of a small buckler shield. Nothing unusual there... Other than she was just hammering it with her own fists cloaked in flames to help soften and reshape the metal.

Goldenblade is a crafter, technically, though she's got little idea how to go about it, so she's come here to learn. She'll wander through the public crafting facility and watch what's going on, pausing to watch Vertina hammering a shield with her fists. This is wildly impressive to her, and she watches quietly at first, though with the intent consideration of someone definitely trying to drink this all in. Finally, she looks up to Vertina and asks, "Pardon, were you a smith before, or did you learn here?"

While she may be a member of Scale Emblem, Kita is neither a crafter, nor a fighter, but the eccentric young woman is among the resident artists and 'paper-pushers' for the Alliance. She has a clipboard in her hand as she wanders in, looking over a few last crates of supplies that seem to be heading off towards the Holy Empire. She flicks a pencil against the list.

However, it's hard for her attention not to be seized by someone hammering out metal with their own fists. She lightly lifts the brim of her witch's hat, then pushes her glasses up on her nose. "I have to say, that's quite impressive." Her Imp tail twitches behind her, pencil still against the page. "I've never seen anyone use their fists for crafting before."

Vertina glances up for a moment at the voices and nods. "Hello." She turns back, gives the buckler a couple more smacks, and holds it up to look over. "Not in the slightest," she answers Goldenblade. "But that is why I am here, learning. And picked something comparitively easy." She raps the edge of the shield with the scale-coated back of her hand. "Knocking out dents, resharpening edges, that sort of thing." The buckler shield is set aside with a couple of basic swords and other simple gear to cool off.

The Salamander turns to the duo properly, clasping one fist against the other palm and give her knuckles a good crack as the hot glow around them dies down. "Even I'll admit using my fists probably isn't the most practical, but as a martial artist they're pretty strong and tough on their own, so it makes it a workout for me, too. Tough scales and fire aura do make it hard to burn myself in the process."

Goldenblade looks intrigued by the idea of beating on steel with bare fists, but says, "I ... think I had better not try that, myself." But she looks relieved at having started from scratch here, and she admits, "I'm in the same boat, I ... think I have some skill with it, but I have no actual idea of what to do. If I can borrow some tools, do you think you could get me started?"

She looks over to Kita, nods gravely at it being an impressive thing. Eying the paperwork, she wonders, "Are you an official here? I'm not clear on how any of this works."

Kita's pale fingers wrap lightly around the edge of the clipboard, approaching to get a better look at what Vertina is working on. Though she has no real crafting skill, herself, those that do are met with curiousity. "It's a fascinating use of your natural skills. I mostly set mine to art and numbers." The Imp laughs softly, a smile gracing her lips. "The heat resistance that Salamanders have is nothing short of amazing. Your kind also run a bit warmer than the rest of us, too. Which is nice. Like having a personal heater." She smirks.

"Not an official here, no. This facility is run by Plant Hwyaden." Kita explains, shaking her head slightly, the motion causing a bit of blue hair to brush over her shoulders. "I work for Scale Emblem. Just checking on a few last-minute shipments of supplies which need to go out on the next boat." The Imp raises her pencil, then taps it on the edge of the clipboard. "We met at sign ups. You had the riducliously long name, I believe?" It's hard to forget.

Vertina chuckles softly at Goldenblade. "Oh, please, I am hardly experienced enough to teach anything." She waves an arm in an arc towards the facility in general. "I just watched some of the other people here for a bit, and then started working for myself. Trial and error is one of the better teachers." Jabs a thumb towards Kita. "Like she said, trying to apply what abilities I have, and I've spent enough time punching and kicking my way through certain defenses like shields to know where they need to be repaired most often."

Another nod is given to Kita. "Yeah, someone needs to do that stuff. My older sisters handled most of the 'business' back home, being much more the intellectual sorts." As she turns to pick up some of the sword blades that have cooled off and set them in a crate. "So you're probably well aware of the projects the Alliance has going on. I'm making these to be practice weapons for the training grounds once they're organized/

Goldenblade ohs to Kita, looking embarassed twice over. "Uh, yeah, that's me," she admits about her name. "Sorry for not remembering you. I've met so many people so quickly, I can't keep everyone straight." She seems contrite, at least, and peers more closely at Kita, as if trying to remember her. "And, uh, yeah, the name was not what I had planned for the name. But computers. Too confusing. How is any of this a game? It's way too complicated to call it a game, I think. You couldn't pay me to work on things like that. Games are supposed to be easy and fun. I liked playing baseball as a child. That's my level of complication that's still fun."

She ohs to Vertina about learning through trial and error and observation. Goldenblade wonders, "Do you think they would mind if I tried a little? I think I can at least fix things with menu-crafting, but I'd like to work out how to do it the normal way also. I've worked with my hands all my life, just not at weapons and armor."

Kita glances at Vertina, then back to Goldenblade. "Scale Emblem tends not to focus as much on dedicated crafters as some of the other Alliances, but I imagine if you hang around the forges long enough, you could find someone to mentor you?" There's a distinct lift of her voice, showing uncertainty in that statement. Then, the Imp shrugs, her wings flicking once before folding against her back.

As Goldenblade doesn't remember her, Kita inclines her head, "Kita Blackthorne. Member of Scale Emblem. Specifically the Odysseia Knights." At that, she turns her attention back to Vertina, "Mmm. I've been trying to organize purchasing some training equipment, but some of what we need may take a while to arrive. It will be good, though. Someplace to make sure our soldiers are trained well enough to face whatever the Tower throws at us."

Then, with a tilt of her head, she answers Goldenblade. "I don't try to think about how all this works. Right now, I'm just trying to live in the moment. We've got to make the best of what we've been given, as strange as it is."

Vertina smiles. "That's what this place is for, from what I understood. Help people learn, get the information spread out to help others." She shrugs slightly. "You're not entirely wrong at this point, and that's all the more reason to learn to use one's potentials. Game or not, we're probably going to be here for a fair while at this rate." She picks up the shield she had been working on and looks it over. "I figured this gives me a chance to learn a little, and help the Alliance out.... and if some second-hand practice weapons are busted up by the trainees, we're at less of a loss on cost and materials than with brand new gear. Save that for the actual raids."

Goldenblade nods to Vertina about working on practice gear. "Yeah, that's a good thing, then, it's practice gear in more than one sense. We're practicing, and then whoever uses it is practicing." She will, after a moment, pump up a bellows and get the forge next to Vertina's good and hot. She'll take a small blade in the tongs and let it heat up, then will try to hammer out a notch from some unfortunate combat incident.

She nods to Kita about the uncertain prospect of getting a mentor. "Well, I'll learn what I can, I expect." She smiles as Kita re-introduces herself, and she bows, "Ah, thank you! It's good to meet you. It was a kind of a large thing the other day, I couldn't really keep track of anyone. And the discussion got sidetracked, I think?" She nods vehemently at Kita's observation about living in the moment. "Yes, that's the case. We've got to figure out how to make the best of what we have."

"Well, we could certainly use it." Kita flips a few pages on her clipboard, "Not everyone in the Alliance is well outfitted. I know Zorin is hoping that the tournament helps us with recruiting some new players in as well. Getting them up to speed will be important." The page is tucked back down and she lightly catches her lower lip between her teeth. "Xander has a theory that the monsters aren't just harder, but more intelligent since the expansion. That we can expect bosses to continue to pose a major challenge to climbing the tower."

The Imp's tail twitches against her ankles, "I imagine the tournament will be a good place to learn, as well. It gives people a real experience with PVP combat, without the danger that would come with fighting an actual PK." Her lip quirks then, "Though, I'm just going to watch and manage supplies. I'll leave the fighting to others."

Vertina emits an ashen snort at the mention of PKers. "Hoping the tournament stays competitively sporting and not having to deal with any griefers like that. I'm sure they're taking precautions in the organizing of it, though... And it is in the Arena in a Root Town. That in itself is probably a precaution."

She turns to set the shield atop the other gear in the crate she had been working on. "They do, Kita. Like I said, get the good stuff for the actual quests and tower climbs. We can use this simplier stuff for training practice. Not every player is use to working in large groups, either."

Goldenblade hammers and pounds the blade against the anvil a few more times, considering it skeptically as sge says to Kita, "That's why I joined the tournament. I've fought a couple of the encounters with groups in the main dungeon-tower-thing, whatever you call it. They were pretty hard, so I definintely need more training, myself." She assures Kita, "You can learn just from watching, if you've got a good eye." With a sigh, she adds, "That's why I'm participating."

To Vertina, she says, "I definitely hope that, I have no idea what I could do if someone really came at me. I'm planning on making armor at some point, though my fighting style is kind of agile, so I'm not sure how much armor I can layer on. This stuff," she taps the mail she's wearing, "is just costume as far as I can tell. When I selected it, I thought it looked pretty stout, but I haven't seen it do much good."

"It should be, though I expect a few people will take it too far." Kita replies, shaking her head. "Someone is bound to get too serious, take offense, then try to take a fight off the battlefield. Luckily, since the competition is in a Root Town, nothing too bad should come of it. And if someone acts like too much of a douche, we can always ban them from participating." The Imp lifts her shoulders in a shrug, then rolls her eyes at the sort of person who might have to face that kind of consequences.

Kita nods, "Well, we appreciate you at least trying. Those boss runs are hard. I've been there, myself." She pushes her glasses up on her nose, tucking the clipboard to her chest as if she were using it as some form of protection. "I'm a back line magic user, rather than a fighter, so... I don't know much about armored protections. I imagine that if you have better base materials, you would be able to make better armor, though."

Vertina pats a hand to her chest. "I know what you mean. As a Martial Artist I need to have great feedom of movement, so I need to rely on evasion even more. I've got some light leather on under this gi, but that's about it." Then points a clawed finger towards Goldenblade. "Chain or scale mail would be the way to go for the combination of defense and agility. Or banded, which is hinged between plates and segments where the most movement in a fight occurs. Limbs, midsection, so forth." She shrugs and chuckles a bit. "Like I said, I've had enough experience breaking through defenses to have a gist of what works where. Use what you learn, I guess."

Idly she leans back against the stone frame of the station she had been using, watching Goldenblade experiment. "Yeah, that Sandworm was the real deal... plus that Glass lady. She's something else."

Goldenblade nods about people taking things too far. "There's always someone," she agrees. She nods at the precautions, and agrees, "That sounds like it ought to be effective. To be honest, all the players I've met have been helpful and pretty decent people, so I'm not sure if I've just gotten lucky, or what?" She shrugs helplessly.

She nods about the boss runs being hard, and admits, "I was in the last one, and I was mostly just following along, to be honest, and pitching in where I could. I think I did okay. But if the bosses get harder as the levels increase, I will soon be out of my depth."

She ohs as Vertina mentions the Sandworm, and admits, "It was pretty intense. I wasn't fighting the sandworm at first," she explains, meaning she was on the adds, "And then it got crazy, and I kind of missed what happened with the Glass lady business. Not that I wasn't paying attention, but it was too much for me to take it all in."

"There's a pretty extensive range of light armors, at least from what I saw pre-Apocalypse. Some people turn some interesting things into armor." Kita smirks, chuckling to herself, "I saw someone who managed to make a set of armor that had a helmet which looked like a gnoll. I have no idea how many times they fought Haggar to build that."

However, when the two start talking about a Sandworm and someone named 'Glass', well, she is left just looking between them. "This has something to do with those Calamities, doesn't it?" Kita hazards to ask. "I haven't really gotten away from Alne much, so I haven't seen them first-hand. This trip will be the first time I get away from the Tower since I got here from Ezzo."

Vertina reachs over to pat Golden on the shoulder. "You guys dealing with the beetles was just as important. They would of overrun the locals, or turned on our backs and pinchered us fighting the main boss, pun intended. Mob Add Control is just as important as fighting the main boss." Then nods her head to Kita. "Yeah. The Sandworm was the monster triggered by the Calamity in Westelande after the second Floor Boss was defeated. But we don't know why that Glass woman was there, or why she'd try to stop 'Adventurers' from handling the events... Or how she could -teleport away- when the Chaos Gates don't work. Or why she's marked as a Player AND several other icons."

Then the Salamander perks back up. "I did nail her with one of my hammer kicks though, and the Doc had her bound up in thorns... but she -still- teleported out of it somehow. Considering the way she was ducking and dodging and tossing people around like a bunch of dolls, I'll take scoring a square hit, even if it was minimal in effect."

Goldenblade hrms about the pre-apocalypse, but admits, "I'm pretty new, so I don't know anything about that. But yeah, as far as I can tell, the armors are all just costumes. I'm thinking I can make protective armors somehow, though I'm waiting on another project to bear fruit that I'm hoping will give me a good type of steel to work with."

She can only shrug about the Calamities and Glass. "I have no idea about any of that, unfortunately." She smiles to Vertina at dealing with the beetles. "I'm glad we could help!" She nods at what Vertina says about the encounter, those were the parts she remembers about it. "I think I was still climbing out of the worm's carcass when you were doing that."

Kita shakes her head then, "They aren't just costumes." She explains, "Maybe some of the lower level ones which are pretty basic only serve for appearance purposes, but once you get into actual proper armor, it definitely influences your defense stat." The witch laughs then, "At least, that's what Jurou tells me, anyways. As a primary magic-wielder, I don't really do armor. My magic is what influences my offensive and defensive stats."

Then, a long look is given to Vertina as she starts rattling off information about the strange woman. "That... doesn't sound normal." Kita jots a few things said down into the margins of her piece of paper, if only to try and remember them later. "Seems I need to get out more." She admits, "Then again, by the sounds of it, you all had your hands full. Maybe I am better off keeping out of that sort of thing." Smirking, the Imp chuckles to herself. "I think dealing with the Tower bosses is plenty of excitement for me. More than I would want on most occassions."

Vertina points at Kita's clipboard with a clawtip. "What you're doing is important too. So don't feel left out. A lot of us fighting types aren't that good at being so well organized out of combat. Especially with how many people we have in the Alliance Guilds, and looking to draw in more."

Goldenblade admits to Kita, "The only armor I know is the lowest level stuff, unfortunately. This," she taps the mail she's wearing, "is what I started with, and I'm not sure it does much good. I've had to jump clear of attacks to avoid them, and when I was too slow, I got hurt. So, I'm hoping to maybe make something that looks interesting and gives a bit of protection without slowing me down."

She nods at what Vertina says. "We used to laugh at all the bean counters at work, always counting things. But if they got things wrong, then -everything- would get screwed up. So it's a vital job, even if it doesn't get as much glory as fighting."

"Well, in the real world, I'm an artist." Kita replies, tapping the pencil on her clipboard. "I did graphic design and took commissions for a bit of extra spending cash. This..." She motions at the paperwork, "Isn't so much what I'd like to do, but what is needed. I owe Scale Emblem a lot. They helped me find my partner. We got separated during the Apocalypse. So I do whatever it is they need from me."

She seems to consider Goldenblade. "Seems to me, maybe you should start practicing with the basic materials, but if you want to make something more interesting and impressive, you'd want to go hunt some kind of specialized materials." She reaches into one of the pouches at her side, plucking out a strange, glowing crystal. "Like this. Someday, I plan on incorporating it into my spellbook to try and unlock some better black magic spells."

Vertina nods, pigtails bobbing a bit with the motion. "She's got the right of it. Practice is what will get you the farthest. Same reason I started with just fixing up some practice weapons, which was practice for me as well. Only way I've got to go from here is up!" She pushes off the stone frame of the forge to lean closer and peer at the glowing crystal. Though the leaning may be more because of her height than any attempt to be super scrutinizing of it. "That's one shiny bauble. Which dungeon did you dig that up in?"

Goldenblade nods about practicing with basic materials. "That's why I'm here. Practice. Well, learning, first, then practice." She nods. "As to the specialized materials, I'm helping with a project that should get me some good quality steel. And ..." she peers at Kita's glowomg crystal. "That's pretty interesting," she agrees with Vertina. GB is at the glowing=powerful stage of understanding. "What exactly is it, though?"

As Kita's fingers move over the crystal, it almost looks as if something dark were passing over it. Like ash and char form in places, and then vanish again. It certainly is unusual. "I don't know if the place has a name or not, but we've been calling it the Ruins in the Mist. A group of us have managed to get there twice, but it seems to be worse and worse each time we go." She tucks the crystal back into the pouch at her waist. "I imagine it's a limited time dungeon or something. But it sounds like the next journey there might be the final battle."

Vertina ahs at the explaination as she stands back up. "See? Exploring unusual events like that to find resources that will be useful to ourselves and the alliance in the long run is important to do, too."

Goldenblade hrms as sometning dark seems to pass over the crystal. "Ruins of Mist?" she wonders. "That sounds very mysterious. Where is it? only I'm involved with the tournament, so I don't know if I'll be able to participate?" She nods to Vertina, and says, "Oh, I've gotten a few interesting items from some missions, myself. I hope to be able to do more and get more interesting things."

"Well, I blame Xander for that. That Salamander has a habit of getting himself into trouble. Usually in the best ways possible." Kita seems to have a certain affection for the man. "He wanted to check it out, and dragged me along."

When Goldenblade asks for more information, Kita nods. "I think it might be instanced. The first time we had to go to a specific spot in the woods in the early morning. The second time we were able to open a portal using one of the items we found there. So I imagine it should be accessible from anywhere so long as you have the right key to unlock it."

Kita adds, "I'm interested in anything that might be usable as a magic focus. Though anything I find more suitable to a fighter, I usually just give to my partner. They're pretty new to the game so I try to help where I can. The two of us are actually heading to the Holy Empire on the last ship out tonight."

"Beats sitting around being bored all the time! A little extra challenge and danger just gets the blood pumping more." Vertina pauses. "... Figuratively speaking, I guess. We don't really 'bleed' other than those red gashes. You know what I meant, I think."

She squats down to grab the crate of practice gear she had been working on and lift it. "Same. I want to spend some more time getting to know my 'home' kingdom a little better before the Tournament." She stands and balances the crate on her shoulder. "Just need to drop this off at the alliance base before I head out. The quartermaster can find somewhere to store it until their actually needed."

Goldenblade only knows Xander slightly, so can't comment. She nods about it being instanced, though she has no idea what that means, her blank expression only clearing a little at the conclusion that it'd be accessible from anywhere. "Well, that'd be good, then," she observes, "I ask because I'm involved with the tournament also. But if I can do both, I'd like to participate."

She nods to Vertina as she gathers her things and makes to head off. She taps the knife she was attempting to repair once or twice, eyes it, shrugs. "I'm not sure if I'm making it better or worse." To Vertina, she says, "If you're heading out, take care."

"Sometimes I wish I could go back to my boring life." Kita muses, "Design classes, figure drawing... butts, so many butts." There is a sound like exhaustion when it comes to that. The downside of being an art stuident. "But, I'm here with someone I love, who I don't get to see when we're back home. So I'll take it as the gift it is, for now, while working on a way to get back."

Then, she takes a deep breath, looking to Goldenblade. "Well, I'll add you as a friend, and give you a ping over the chimlink when we find a way back." Kita swipes through the air, offering out a friend invitation. "I imagine the King is going to be a nasty boss-fight, so any help is good." With Vertina starting to pack up, it seems to remind Kita that she has other places to be, as well. "Shit, I need to get back to HQ and pack our things."

"Yeah, I'll probably see you guys over there later then. Going to drop this off then head out to the Marina to be ready to sail. You guys take care." Vertina gives a lazy salute-wave with her free hand before trotting out of the building.

Goldenblade hehs at a boring life to get back to. "Days in front of an old television in an empty house. Having to get up on old legs and walk to the store or to get anywhere. Yeah, I'll be happy to see people when I get back, but my life is a bit better here, to be honest." She shrugs weakly.

She bows to Kita and adds her as a friend, telling her, "Thank you! That would be much appreciated." She nods about any help being good. "Well, I'll do as much as I can. I'm still new to all this, so, no guarantees."