Open Sweat of the Brow

[Yori]

Day 21 of Winter, AV 512

The cool winter day was almost an odd feeling for Yori. Yori, who was accustomed to the burning heat from the forge, felt that it was almost a sickening chill, one that needed to be expelled by the fires of the Ironworks. Thank the god though, here he stood next to his own fire, staring into its glowing red and orange, the heat already expelled the cold from his body, and more so, already coaxed his skin to glisten with moisture. Yori gave the bellows a few sturdy presses as he watched the glow radiate with each flow of air. He took his iron bar and thrusts the cold metal into the forge. The first step to a farrier's work was to prepare your area. That included organizing your tools, stoking a considerably heated forge. He watched eagerly as the iron rod slowly began to shift from its cold black hard color to that of a deep dark red. By now, the rod was hot as hell to the touch, but it still had a ways to go before it was ripe for being worked. Right now, it was barely a dark red, but what he wanted was that powerful orange, almost yellow. White was too far (since it was difficult to work iron that was literally a liquid). Eventually, the bar reached its orange color that Yori was looking for. With Fire Glvoes equipped and tongs in one hand, smithing hammer in the other, he pulled the bar from the forge and set it down on the anvil. Before today was over, it was bound to be one of many horseshoes.

[Korvathi]

A Huntsman's Request Day 21 of Winter, AV 512 Korvathi quietly slips into the confines of the farrier's workshop, he squints slightly as he looks through the waves of heat irradiating from the area of the Ironworks as well as from the occasional sparks showered from every contact between the hammer and the iron beneath it. Walking within a few feet of Yori he just stands there and waits until the farrier is at a point where it is best to disturb him from his work and speak with him. A few moments pass until Yori looks up and sees the silent man standing before him just a few feet away, he stops the pounding against the horse shoe and places it in the water to cool and then stands up, greeting Korvathi. "I wish to order a set of four new shoes for my horse, here is one from his current set." Korvathi says as he reaches within the confines of his cloak and pulls out a weathered, old horseshoe, "Do you think you can copy the craftsmanship, as well as give me a base price for your work if you are indeed available for hire?" he finishes saying as he hands the shoe to Yori.

[Yori]

Yori had just drawn the heated bar from the forge when a voice spoke out from behind him. You'd think that Korvathi's entrance wouldn't have gone unnoticed, except that Yori was so focused on his work (and the fact that the Ironworks tended to be flooded with sounds of pounding metal, rough voices, and bartering customers) that he had indeed failed to detect Korvathi. That is, until the Inarta spoke aloud. Yori lifted his hammer, only to stop before he even struck the iron. He turned his head to face Korvathi, indeed a customer. Yori cleared his throat as he set his hammer to the side, and the iron bar placed back into the roaring flames of the forge. A little more heat wouldn't hurt it, as long as Yori kept an eye on it. Korvathi was quick to state his purpose today. Good. Straightforward, to the point, Yori's favorite kind of customer. Yori wasn't much of a small-talker, and he wasn't fond of those that came to browse rather than to buy. Yori accepted the worn and aged horse shoe from the Inarta and examined it. It was a strong healthy shoe at its creation, no huge flaws or faults from whatever farrier shaped it. Only issue was, as Korvathi stated, it was old and needed to be replaced. "I can." Yori took the aged shoe and set it beside his hammer. "Twenty-four silvers." Yori nodded solemnly. He knew he could make the shoes, easily and swiftly. "Six silver pieces each." "There's plenty in stock if you want to buy them now, most are shaped for the horses of the Knights or travelers. Four silvers apiece if you want those. You want a fresh set, similar to the make of this one, it's six apiece." Yori nodded slowly as he turned and drew the bar once more from the forge with the tongs in hand. The color was a ripe orange-yellow, ideal for working the iron. He lifted the hammer once more into his left hand. The hammer was lifted above his head and fell, striking the hot bar near the end. First off, he needed to shape the iron, slimmer, and then he would bend it, punch it, and make sure it was shaped just as the first shoe that was handed to him.

[Korvathi]

Making a Purchase Korvathi listened absently as his eyes roamed around the shop, taking in the details and noting the craftsmanship of this particular farrier. As the man droned on about his prices Korvathi finally made his decision as Yori finished speaking and declared his price for the expenses of the set of horseshoes. Korvathi nodded and opened his mouth to speak, but for a quick moment he closed it and then reopened after deciding what to say, "Hmm, looking around your shop I can see that you are definitely a farrier of some skill... but the only issue I come across is your price, how about we lower it to something we both can live with and then I will be able to come to terms with purchasing your quality goods, I'm thinking somewhere along the lines of 5 silver pieces per shoe." he says as he begins to haggle with Yori, "Do you find this a fair offer?" he finishes speaking and waits for Yori's counter offer, while resting his hands in his pockets.

[Yori]

Yori had already delivered several strikes with the hammer when Korvathi suggested a new price. The overall charge wasn't much different. Four silvers in total, a single silver miza for each. The offer wasn't absurd, that was certain, but he didn't much care for idea of bargaining in general. Yori looked away from Korvathi for a moment as he resumed to pounding the iron bar's red-hot end. Four silvers for an already-produced shoe, or Yori's price of six silvers for a guaranteed fit and likeness to the other. Yori didn't see why his labor was worth less than two silvers each. "No. My price stands. I've a busy schedule ahead of me, and it's not worth the extra time for only four more silvers in my pocket. Twenty-four silvers for the set it stays." Yori was going to play hardball. He'd been doing this too long, worked too hard in his life, to be coaxed into laboring for less than he deserved. Of course, in reality, Korvathi most likely meant no insult towards the Isur Half-blood, it was just business. In Yori's experience though, customers often overlooked the price of labor. Horseshoes didn't make, shape, and mold themselves. Chisels didn't jump out of the forge without sweat and exhaustion. Hammers didn't give birth without the heat and anvils. Yori continued to pound away at the iron as Korvathi pondered and/or made a decision. He of course considered whether or not playing hardball with the Inarta would drive away future business, but he knew too well that every other smith in the Ironworks would also fight for their ideal prices, and many of them weren't as fair as Yori's. He paused for a moment to look up from his work, listen, and then speak.

[Korvathi]

Hard Time Haggling Korvathi narrowed his eyes and smirked as Yori gave his counter offer, he runs his fingers through his beard and chuckles softly, "Alright, you've got a deal my friend, you may drive a hard bargain, but it looks like you make quality goods." he says as he reaches within his cloak and pulls out the desired amount of coins and tosses them to Yori. He then turns around towards the exit, but stops for a moment to tell Yori that he will be back later for the shoes sometime the same day or the very next one.

[Korvathi]

The Huntsman's Return Korvathi entered into Yori's workplace and stood there quietly as he waited for Yori to finish his current shoe, after a few moments he finishes and then wipes the sweat from his brow, seeing Korvathi he stands up and addresses him. "I've come for my order, have you finished them yet?" he asks calmly, looking around absently as he waits for Yori to respond to his question. He notices a set of four shoes and assumes they are indeed the shoes he came for, but he patiently waits for confirmation from Yori first.