Checkmate (Solo)

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

Minerva was lying down on her table, which was pushed up against the wall. Her feet were propped up on the wall, crossed at the ankles. Her head was hanging backwards off the edge of the table, her hair dangling down below. A pile of nearly finished clockwork chess pieces were scattered around on the floor below her head. She had one in her hand, working on the finishing touches of sanding and polishing.

She held it up, checking the curves and contours. There were a few minor spots that needed to be smoothed out, but she was just about done. A little more work, rubbing the grains of sand across the wood in quick, even strokes, until the wood was perfectly smooth. She pulled off her gloves and closed her eyes, running her bare fingers over the wood, searching for imperfections. It was easier to tell by touch than by sight. This one seemed... well, as close to perfect as her skill could get it.

She set that piece down and grabbed another, running her fingers over it as well. A few small patches needed to be smoothed out. Some quick finishing work and that one was done, too. She moved from piece to piece, wrapping up the work on the whole set.

Finally done, she climbed down off the table and gathered the pieces up. Polishing was done. Now they needed to be painted. All the pieces were made from the same type of wood, so there was currently no way to tell one set from the other. Though she wasn't quite content to paint them all black and all white. Of course, highly detailed work was well beyond her current skill. But despite that, she could have a little fun with it, and make them look pretty.

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

Minerva sat at her table with a variety of jars of paints. She wasn't really a painter... she had never taken a class in it, or tried to paint like, a portrait or something. She didn't need any fancy schmancy stuff like that for a job like this. It was just solid colors on wood.

Of course, that didn't mean she was going to let herself be sloppy.

What she had really wanted was some nice metallic colored paints. Gold, silver, or bronze would have been the keenest. Of course, those sorts of paints were also rather expensive, compared to the normal stuff. So she'd settled on a variety of whites and blacks. She had a few different shades, so she could paint the different pieces in different variations. All the pawns were being done in a matching shade of gray. The black pawns were a nice, dark, smoky gray, while the white pawns were a simple cloudy gray. Then, for the knights, bishops, and rooks, she went with progressively blacker or whiter shades. The king and queen would be jet black and pure white. The end result would be a nice array of shades that would look pretty nifty when laid out in the board.

The painting was mostly a slow, detailed process. Easy strokes, spreading the paint carefully to avoid any ugly little bubbles. Each piece was a solid color all the way around, so she didn't need to worry about any variations. Mostly it was just a matter of the time it took.

Before she knew it, she had a complete set. Sixty-four pieces, all cut, carved, polished, and painted by her own two hands. Once the paint was dry and the set complete, she cleared off the table and set up the board. She moved a couple of pieces around in a mock game, and within a few moves set up a winning position.

"Checkmate!"

[Cascade]

Adventurer's Loot Minerva Agatha Zipporah's Loot : Minerva Agatha Zipporah Skill XP Reward Drawing +2 Mathematics +1 Carpentry +1 Carving +2 Painting +1 Climbing +1 Lore: Arguing With A Guard Building A Chess Set Items or Consequences: A Poorly Made Chess Set Notes: Tock now owns a poorly made chess set (poorly made because the skills she made use of were still low). Please link your character sheet to your profile (it'll make it easier for yourself and for everyone else). Another thing I'm curious about is about where her accent is from. All in all, it was a good thread. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to PM me!