Emerald River Glass & Art Shop

[Iseult Fluersdotter]

	A wide glass window opened a view into the front showroom of the Emerald River Glass and Art Shop, pale green in color and translucent. A sign hung above the door, a wooden piece with rounded sides and straight tops, outlined in a deep blue-green with the words "Emerald River Glass and Art" scrawled in a matching shade across the middle. The door itself was a dark wood, propped open during the warmer brightenings and pushed shut in poor weather. It opened inward, giving way to the stone floors and carefully arranged showroom dappled with pieces that ranged from glass and crystal to silver and ceramic. The room had certainly been arranged to display. Along the walls translucent shelves of green glass cut in wavy lines--reminiscent of a river curling through a landscape--had been intermittently set into the stone, while three shelving units of a similar design and held together with rounded metal poles and brackets had been situated at carefully spaced intervals in the heart of the room. The sale pieces had been arranged according to their function rather than their material make-up: Dinnerware and serving platters were placed along one set of shelves, while vases and other such decorative pieces had been placed on another, and so on and so forth. Along the back wall in the right corner, the dark wood counter cut an 'L' shape, its edges curved rather than blunt. Like the shelves, it displayed store merchandise with a few pieces gathered in strategic places and several small bowls boasting marbles and beads of varying colors and types. Behind the counter was a young cether with curling, brown-black hair and a chubby, freckled face. He sat perched on a rather tall stool, forearms pressed against the counter's edge as customers stepped into the room. He was the sort with a ready smile and cheerful countenance more suited to the country than the city. "Serale! Can I help you?" Just beyond the cether's head was a plaque of dark wood upon which had been fixed a Star of Michelle on its purple velvet ribbon. Iseult had removed it from glass-lidded box, replacing it in a new one of her own that could be hung on the wall of her shop, evidence in plenty (she felt) of a skill that had been recognized from higher quarters.   Prices are given on a case-by-case basis and vary according to material, size, shape and how elaborate the piece is. All pieces are sized for humans. Prices go up for very small and very large designs. Pieces are made to order. At least three brightenings required for simple pieces. More time required for larger orders and more elaborate requests. Available Materials: Glass, Crystal, Silver, Gold, Copper, Bronze and Ceramic (Earthenware or Stoneware)     Name: Tanner Curlbottom Role: Clerk Race: Cether/Halfling Description: Of an average height of a cether with curling brown-black hair, a chubby, freckled face and bright brown-gray eyes. He is rather plain in appearance with little to distinguish him from others. He often wears serviceable clothing, passing for a humble youth, and can't much understand the flare that some folk put into their attire. He's young. Personality: A vibrant, enthusiastic halfling given often to rambling. He has a somewhat naive countenance and often takes things at face value.     Training Opportunities: Up to Level 2 in Glassblowing and Level 1 in Precious Metalworking, Ceramics, & Sketching; Training Conducted at Emerald River Glassworks Employment Opportunities: Yes; Clerks & Artisans (Precious Metalworking, Ceramics, Glassblowing, Inquire about other options) Can this location be self-moderated?: No.

[Esmé Xind'ell]

Third Cycle in the Month of Ponutis, Winter, Era XVII

A letter arrived from the distant city of Jaedaxia, addressed to one Mademoiselle Fluersdotter, written in swirling script upon a sealed letter. Accompanying the letter was a neatly shaped, firm package with the same name written in the same script upon it. Both were delivered rather unceremoniously by a human man with thick dark hair and dark eyes.

When delivered to the proper person, the man would leave with a softly uttered au revoir. It was a long ways back to Jaedaxia and he was eager to get home. Upon opening the letter, Iseult would be able to read the following message:

Dear Mademoiselle Fluersdotter,

I hope this letter finds you and your in good health and your business flourishing. It is with a sincere heart that I hope the severities of the all too recent winter--previous to the current one--have left you unharmed and that Carmelya protected you.

I am not sure if you remember me, my name is Esmé de l'Avarrée-Xind'ell and nearly an era ago I commissioned you to make a set of jewelry for me. It was a beautiful set in which you managed to capture and preserve two beautiful flowers. I will cherish those pieces from the rest of my long life.

However, I am writing you now for a more reasons that to compliment you on your work. I am in need of your services again. I wish to commission another order from you on behalf of my husband. I was hoping that you could construct two crystal figurines, one in my image and the other in my husband's. I was thinking around a foot in height, though the one of my husband's should be taller, naturally.

I have attached to sketchings of us, in color, for you to work off of as I am unable to travel and neither is my husband. As well in the package you should find the amount of 2,000 crowns; I hope that is enough to cover the costs and shipping fees to Jaedaxia when the works are finished. Any extra should be considered a donation to your work, and if more is needed, please send word.

Merci in advance,

Esmé Xind'ell

Like promised, attached to the letter were two sketches: one depicted a slender and non-pregnant Esmé with purple hair and blue skin and the other pictured Riconus, ears unharmed, with his red locks and piercing blue eyes. And more importantly the crowns that Esmé had promised her.

[Iseult Fluersdotter]

ooc, Esme: Letter Responded to; Commission thread started!

[S'Lon]

42 Cyrxatum, Spring, Era XVI

Medonia had seemed the obvious choice for the items which S'Lon had in mind given the time which he had spent living there. And it was but a step and a short run away from his current home in Trysvale which was the factor which decided it in his mind.

It was but a moment to transfer through the glade to the Medonian one and then to find someone to direct him to what he wanted. Even better was to find that there was a new glass smith set up outside the city and even if it meant a little further to travel, it was better than going back into a city which held memories which S'Lon felt no interest in stirring.

Arriving close to the shop he shifted back into human form and entered, glancing around curiously for he had spent very little time indeed in such a place before.

"Serale," he replied to the youths greeting and came up to the counter.

"I was looking to commission some arrow heads in glass, like this," he fished in his pouch and produced one of the broad headed copper arrow heads he'd been using the brightening before. "I don't want them too sturdy because I want them to break on impact, but I also need them to be strong enough that they won't break in the quiver. A point is not needed, do you think you could do this for me?" He grinned back and wondered what the man would make of the order.

[Iseult Fluersdotter]

Finn shifted forward slightly, bending to take a glance at the copper arrowhead that had been extracted from the pouch. He was silent for a moment before he nodded simply. "Oh, aye, Miss Iseult'll be able t' produce 'em for ye," he acknowledged, but extended his hand in a questioning gesture. "Ye mind if'n I takes a look?" he queried.

Once the arrowhead had been relinquished into his head, he'd turn it about in his palm, eying it over as if trying to commit some of the details to memory; not everyone handled arrowheads on a regular basis, although they were generally straightforward enough. "She'll likely make most o' it hollow--breaks easier. Ye want 'em this big abouts?" He indicated the arrowhead in his hand. "An' 'ow many?"

He had set the arrowhead down on the counter with a slight click and nodded that the man could retrieve it again. He was shuffling about, drawing out a wooden box from under the counter and setting it down. From within was a sheet of parchment paper drawn and a stick of lead. "It'll take a few brightenin's to make 'em, o' course."

[S'Lon]

Handing over the arrowhead was not a problem, he was far more intently curious as to what the response to it might be, and in any case he'd bought the arrowheads here in Medonia in any case so buying a few more was not a problem.

He smiled at the youth and nodded, guessing that this Miss he referred to was some sort of smith. "Keep it if you need a model. It doesn't have to be an exact copy by any means, just so long as it will cut through the air well enough, it could even be more narrow and rounded like a spike. Really the most important part is the back end so that I can fix it to the shaft. I'd like just a dozen this time. If they work in practice as I expect then I'll be back for more soon enough."

He straightened back from the counter which he'd found himself leaning over. "A few brightenings will be fine. How much will they cost?"

[Iseult Fluersdotter]

Finn bobbed his head in a companionable manner, ever quick to be agreeable. "If'n ye don't mind me holdin' on t' it. Miss Iseult'll likely want t' have a reference. Don't think she's held a bow b'fore." He flashed S'Lon a wide grin, amused in its manner. The other didn't know the woman, however, so he was aware that his own personal amusement over the thought was not shared. "She'll likely be returnin' it t' ye when the commission is done, no worries there."

He jotted down notes on the paper in response to S'Lon's responses, head canting sharply as he did. To the question of price, he stood there for a moment, eyes narrowing. It wasn't often folk came through with a request for glass arrowheads. He hadn't a number immediately off the top of his heads. "Wi'h the quantity an' the design, likely t' run ye forty crowns fer the batch. Another ten if'n ye'd want s' sort of pigment added t' it. We can make 'em transparent or like a solid black...or somethin' in 'tween. Or any other color ye'd a fancy for."

He shrugged his shoulders. "Jus' an option, course."

[S'Lon]

The reaction of the clerk made S'Lon wonder just how far out of the ordinary this order was and while he couldn't follow the source of the mans amusement, it didn't mean that he couldn't share in it for the need to laugh was one of the most basic of human nature and it was easily triggered even for one as heavy hearted as the ranger. So it was with a smile on his lips he replied to the question. "That seems a fair price for a one off order and for this batch I would like them to be just clear glass. If I come back then I will be looking for a variety of colours."

It seemed to him that these arrowheads would be a much better choice than the copper ones, but only if they actually worked for what he wanted. He reached into his pouch and withdrew the number of crowns for the job since he didn't think a special order such as this should be paid for after the fact.

[Iseult Fluersdotter]

Another scribble of the lead pencil across the page, the youth's tongue poking through his teeth as he clenched his jaw around it slightly. He narrowed his eyes on the words sprawled haphazardly across the page, then nodded, apparently satisfied with what had been produced. He lifted his head as the jingle of coins caught at his attention. "Oh, only 'alf when ye order, sir," Finn protested, grinning a bit sheepishly. "The rest when ye ge' the commission and decide whether or no' it's t' ye'r likin', aye?"

He canted his cheek a little. "Come back in four brightenin's. Miss Iseult'll likely 'ave 'em fe'r ye then. If not, then no' much long after tha'."

~Four brightenings later...!~

A small box of wood had cradled the delicate and small glass pieces the half-brightening distance between the glassworks and the shop, the lid clamped into place rather than nailed--quick and easy access to shop keep and customer alike. The redheaded clerk was there, seated on a stool with his shoulders slouched forward, his hands clasping the rounded seat as he bent forward, a bit of a grin on his face.

His attention was focused, set on the woman that had brought the box: Tall and blonde and blue. Her nails tapped at the wood of the box absently, one hand resting on its surface, the other hand poised at her hip as she casually leaned her hip against the counter. She was angled towards the redheaded youth rather than the rest of the shop, hand lifting occasionally to emphasize a word. "...didn't mean to spring an appearance on you. I thought it'd be as good a time as any to stop in and see if anything was needed." Her hand thumped again on the box.

[S'Lon]

Space shifted around the wolf as the druidic spell blurred his body from one place to another. Soft stems of grass curled around paws which padded soundlessly out of the grove towards the city.

It was human fingers though which opened the door of the shop on the day assigned by the youth. He entered and paused for a moment while his eyes adapted to the dimmer interior. Golden pupils expanded rapidly though the far ends of the room remained slightly blurred, the price for retaining his wolf vision, a price which was compensated for by the fact that he could see with more clarity inside than he would have been able to with his normal eyes.

There were other prices for his choice of vision and he was drawn to the red of the youths hair, familiar from his last visit. His moment of pause though had given him the chance to catch the tail end of a conversation and one which implied that the woman was something of a stranger to the shop and yet associated with it. Whether or not she was the woman the youth had referred to was not yet clear.

He gave the woman a nod of greeting out of politeness before turning his attention to the man who seemed cheerful enough.

"Serale," he opened, "I wondered if by chance the arrow heads might be ready as we discussed the other brightening." He didn't expect to be remembered for himself though likely few of the customers were as roughly dressed as he with bow slung across his back, but he doubted that any others would have ordered what he had.

[Iseult Fluersdotter]

Finn fidgeted just a little, but turned away from the blonde and her dark eyes to smile quickly at S'Lon. "Aye, they be ready, sir." He looked towards Iseult, who just tapped at the box underneath her hand and gestured in a dismissive fashion towards the redheaded youth. She plucked up the box from the counter, lifting off the top and setting it down on the counter with a thunk. "Here." She tilted the box slightly, extending it towards S'Lon so that he could get a glimpse in at the neatly lined glass arrowheads.

She inclined her head slightly. "Iseult Fluersdotter," she introduced herself. "I've never made arrowheads and none of my employees are any good with a bow either. I thought I'd bring them along and see if they were any good." She paused, brows furrowed slightly. "I made extras, so you'd not be wasting any of the ones you bought and paid for."

She reached in and plucked one of the arrowheads out, turning it in her palm with the side of her finger. Then she held it towards him so that he might take a look at it. "That is, if you've the time for a quick trial run? I'm not altogether fond of the idea of sending a paying customer off without finding out if they do as you want them to do. It's not quite the same as a vase."

[S'Lon]

"Serale," S'Lon replied with a smile of pleasure, though as such at that point it was merely a formality. His listened keenly, his head nodding slowly as he considered the points which she made. In truth he'd been so wrapped up in the idea and it's execution that he hadn't actually taken time to properly consider from the point of view of the craftsman.

He rubbed his fingers through the short beard on his chin.

"I thank you for your honesty and I will admit that I made certain assumptions in placing the order which in hindsight I should not have made." Now he had concerns that perhaps the heads would prove troublesome in flight. It had't concerned him before but her concern brought it into focus for him. He'd had the same issues with the copper heads, but there he'd been able to rework them if he'd needed to. With the glass he realised with a quirk of his eyebrows he couldn't test fire them and learn how to compensate.

He sighed, resigning himself to this scheme not working out as he'd hoped and his plans wobbled.

"Thank you for your honesty," he replied, "and thank you for the spares."

He took the offered arrow and balanced it in his hand, the feel of it doing much to reassure the doubts which had arisen. He shook off the mood which had taken a grip of him and grinned, the expression as much deliberate as natural, but as ever he was easily amused by his own foibles and expectations. To have fallen unexpectedly on his backside figuratively speaking was merely the latest such escapade.

"I'm afraid you'll have to give me a moment, so please don't wait unless you wish to." He paused, "do you have somewhere I could make a small fire? Perhaps out back? I'll need to warm the resin to fix the heads to the shafts." Whether or not the resin would fix the relatively slippery glass was something else he hadn't considered. Still though it was a one shot affair, so it wouldn't need the usual degree of attachment.

[Iseult Fluersdotter]

She could see the doubt suddenly pop up and spread on the other's face. He hadn't thought about her concerns, which surprised her a little; one didn't buy glass arrowheads and not have concerns, so she thought. But she'd had dealing in 'exploding' glasswork when she'd agreed to make and sell Straylor's spellspheres and while she'd come to learn how to adjust the glass so that it took a bit of force to shatter it, it wasn't the same as a glass arrow.

With the arrow liberated from her fingers, she folded her arms against her chest, her back straightening a touch as she watched him to shift it in his own hand. "There's a cook fire in the back living area you can stoke. Finn? Do you mind?" There were, after all, his quarters. The redhead just smiled broadly and gave his assent, apparently good-natured enough not to mind the mild invasion. "Or, if that's too cramped, you can set something up behind the shop. Your choice. I don't know what you need, exactly."

She seemed prepared to meander after, however, her own good curiosity about the effectiveness of her wares pressing down on her. After all, if she couldn't see what the problem was when it was fired off, what good would she be at making adjustments? "If you don't mind, I'll watch. Just to see if it would be possible to make any changes to it, if needed." She gestured absently for him to follow, pushing her way past a door just behind a counter, Finn edging aside so that S'Lon could get through.

The quarters behind the shop were simple: A wide room containing kitchen and living arrangements, a pair of doors off the main room leading doubtlessly to bed and bath chambers. The fire in the kitchen area had been allowed to burn low, glowing embers remaining. Iseult leaned her hip against a table. "Fire's there. The door to the back is that way, if you prefer it." She pointed towards another door in the center of the back wall.

[S'Lon]

His thoughts had wandered as she answered his query and showed his through to the back of the shop. Too much he always considered only the surfaces of things and not any deeper. His experiments with copper had taught him that there was more than one way of attaching the heads, and whilst he had initially rejected the alternative it might indeed be stupid not to test it while he was here. If it failed, she might well be able to suggest a cure for it and that would be worthwhile indeed.

"Please feel free to watch," he replied, his thoughts returning to the present. He nodded to the redhead as he slipped past him and into the back area. "On second thoughts I'll try something else than the resin to attach the glass to the shaft. And I appreciate your offer, because we might find that a change is needed."

He headed off through the indicated door, opening it more by afterthought than anything else because his thoughts were elsewhere as he inserted a globe of fireflies spell into the glass which he clutched in the fingers of his left hand.

He glanced around him abstractly to find a suitable target while his fingers drew out an arrow shaft which had been fletched in anticipation of testing the arrow heads. Test fitting the shaft proved that just a little trimming was required which he did without too much care so that when he tried again it was a loose fit. Slowly he abjured mana into the top of the shaft while he manipulated the glass between his fingers, straightening it and then checking it was tight as the wood expanded and grew into the head. He sighted down it once it was done, pleased that he'd managed not to crack the glass, something which had concerned him.

"If this test works, as I imagine it will, for the next batch it might be worthwhile if the socket could be strengthened?" He cast an eye at the woman as he slipped the bow off his shoulder and clipped the arrow on to it.

For the test he drew the bow back only half way. That the glass would shatter at short distances under full power he had not the slightest doubt, but how would it be once the arrow went over the top of the arc and started to slow?

He released after glancing around to ensure that no one was in danger of arrow or exploding glass and the arrow sped across the short distance and struck the point on the stonework he'd chosen. The glass disintegrated and the fireflies swarmed around a moment after the shattered wooden shaft had started to plummet down to the ground.

He grinned, pleased that it had worked and unbent the bow. "Well that worked as well as I could have hoped," he said with a nod to the woman. "My thanks for your work."

[Iseult Fluersdotter]

Iseult was a quiet observer, standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame with her arms folded against her chest, ankles crossed. She inclined her cheek slightly at his question, although her eyes had narrowed, focused on the little globe of fireflies that whirled in the glass. "That shouldn't be a problem, no," she informed him simply, mouth canting thoughtfully as she lost interest in the fireflies to work the process through her head, already contemplating how to get from point A to point...C. Could she? She didn't see why not. It came down to how she handled the glass, how she cooled it, the right mix of materials...

She drew wandering eyes back towards the spectacle as his arm drew back, taking aim. It was hard to follow the immediate progress of the arrow in flight, but she zipped to where it had struck the wall, the fireflies unmistakably freed as they blinked serenely through the Medonian air. There was little she could have garnered herself from the demonstration, but at least she could do a little bit of probing before letting him wander on his way. "Hm. That's good," she observed mildly, straightening away from the door and taking a slight step forward into the alley, both to converse a little more easily and to provide him access to the living area again, once he had gathered whatever he needed to.

"So. A stronger socket. The balance was otherwise all right? You'd change nothing else?" She kept her attention down the length of the stonework, at the fireflies that were milling about. "That can be managed. When you want more, just stop in. If you think of any other changes..." Shoulders rose and fell as she swept a casual hand in front of her.