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Day 80 of Summer 515AV
The courtyard was filled with people as always, and because this was a market day, there were stalls all over the place. One of those had piqued Brandon’s interest, and as a result, he found himself standing in front of it, checking out the wares. It was owned by a leatherworker, and there were various types of leather equipment displayed; belts, gloves, boots… you name it. Brandon was interested in a pair of gloves, having picked one up and inspecting it carefully, under the watchful gaze of the merchant. It was just a simple glove really, made of supple and soft leather, ending a bit further than the wrist.
It wasn’t a falconry glove, so the merchant had explained, but inspired on it, only without the protection needed to handle the sharp talons of the falcons. Eventually though, the bat placed the glove back and walked off, starting to head in the direction of the fighting pits. It was still too early, and his class wouldn’t start just yet –he still had about half a bell or so- and the Kelvic decided to roam the market a bit longer, which was why he got up earlier on market days.
Soon enough though, Bran passed by a metalworker, and an idea popped into his head. “Excuse me,” he spoke, attracting the attention of the man behind the counter working some steel, “I have a question.” The man nodded, not very enthusiastic, but he seemed to listen anyway. “Do you do individual projects? Custom stuff?” Another nod, and a look that said “all the time”. The Kelvic nodded too, content. “So would it be possible to attach metal plates to these areas,” he asked, tracing squares on the back of his hand, the upper phalanges of his fingers, and a small part behind the wrist, “of a leather glove? Doesn’t have to be thick, just enough to stop a blade.” The man frowned, and stroked his chin thoughtfully. There was interest gleaming in his eyes now, and he had stopped his polishing –or whatever he’d been doing-to consider Brandon’s request.
“Suppose I could. Shouldn’t be too hard. But why don’t ya just buy a steel glove here? Would probably be cheaper.” But Brandon was already shaking his head. “I want my fingers to remain nimble. I’d like to still feel what I’m touching, and what I’m doing. Just a bit of plating would be enough.” The metalworker frowned again, deeper this time. “Ya want it not to be too heavy, right?” The bat gave an affirmative nod. “Then cold iron’s the best choice…” his hand started stroking his chin again, and the pensive look returned to his face. “Ya said it was fer blocking blades, yea?” another nod from the Kelvic. “Then might be best to add some extra paddin’ to protect yer hands.”
Solid advice, the impact of a blade would indeed hurt if he wore a regular glove with some steel on top of it. Worst case it might even break his hand, and that was not the purpose of the glove. To be completely honest though, blocking wasn’t either. Well, it was one of the purposes. The other was hitting harder. “Oh, and some on the knuckles too,” the thief piped up suddenly, and the metalsmith gave a knowing grin. “Figured. Gonna need a glove to figure out the measurements, ya have one on ya?” Unfortunatey, that was not the case, but such a problem was easily solved, and after telling the smith he’d be back, the Kelvic strode back to the stand of the leatherworker.
The courtyard was filled with people as always, and because this was a market day, there were stalls all over the place. One of those had piqued Brandon’s interest, and as a result, he found himself standing in front of it, checking out the wares. It was owned by a leatherworker, and there were various types of leather equipment displayed; belts, gloves, boots… you name it. Brandon was interested in a pair of gloves, having picked one up and inspecting it carefully, under the watchful gaze of the merchant. It was just a simple glove really, made of supple and soft leather, ending a bit further than the wrist.
It wasn’t a falconry glove, so the merchant had explained, but inspired on it, only without the protection needed to handle the sharp talons of the falcons. Eventually though, the bat placed the glove back and walked off, starting to head in the direction of the fighting pits. It was still too early, and his class wouldn’t start just yet –he still had about half a bell or so- and the Kelvic decided to roam the market a bit longer, which was why he got up earlier on market days.
Soon enough though, Bran passed by a metalworker, and an idea popped into his head. “Excuse me,” he spoke, attracting the attention of the man behind the counter working some steel, “I have a question.” The man nodded, not very enthusiastic, but he seemed to listen anyway. “Do you do individual projects? Custom stuff?” Another nod, and a look that said “all the time”. The Kelvic nodded too, content. “So would it be possible to attach metal plates to these areas,” he asked, tracing squares on the back of his hand, the upper phalanges of his fingers, and a small part behind the wrist, “of a leather glove? Doesn’t have to be thick, just enough to stop a blade.” The man frowned, and stroked his chin thoughtfully. There was interest gleaming in his eyes now, and he had stopped his polishing –or whatever he’d been doing-to consider Brandon’s request.
“Suppose I could. Shouldn’t be too hard. But why don’t ya just buy a steel glove here? Would probably be cheaper.” But Brandon was already shaking his head. “I want my fingers to remain nimble. I’d like to still feel what I’m touching, and what I’m doing. Just a bit of plating would be enough.” The metalworker frowned again, deeper this time. “Ya want it not to be too heavy, right?” The bat gave an affirmative nod. “Then cold iron’s the best choice…” his hand started stroking his chin again, and the pensive look returned to his face. “Ya said it was fer blocking blades, yea?” another nod from the Kelvic. “Then might be best to add some extra paddin’ to protect yer hands.”
Solid advice, the impact of a blade would indeed hurt if he wore a regular glove with some steel on top of it. Worst case it might even break his hand, and that was not the purpose of the glove. To be completely honest though, blocking wasn’t either. Well, it was one of the purposes. The other was hitting harder. “Oh, and some on the knuckles too,” the thief piped up suddenly, and the metalsmith gave a knowing grin. “Figured. Gonna need a glove to figure out the measurements, ya have one on ya?” Unfortunatey, that was not the case, but such a problem was easily solved, and after telling the smith he’d be back, the Kelvic strode back to the stand of the leatherworker.
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credit goes to Euthisa
