[Ironworks] Too many smiths spoil the brooch (Rhuryc)

[Eanos]

Eanos nodded to the description, accepting the mans word as fact for it was an entirely new world to him. He suddenly grinned to himself as he realised that he'd been raising an objection based on a way of working which was far beyond his experience and likely too far beyond his ability. What Rhuryc suggested was a relatively simple way of working, something which they had a chance of succeeding with and something on which they could later build upon.

"Sounds like a plan," he replied to the proposal which Rhuryc had suggested. He was unconvinced that it would prove easy to weld the rings once they were meshed together tightly, but the worst that could happen is that they would have to undo what they had done and redo it. That would simply add to their experience but he was sure that the rings would need to be welded because otherwise the ends were likely to pull apart under impact. That would not matter for the first blow but it would leave the armour rent and worthless for the next blow.

He realised that he was getting left behind and once he'd watched the man work his first rings together he took some for himself and started to experiment. He decided to also try to create a short chain and then widen it, so he quickly wove together five rings into a row and then laid them down flat. The even numbered rings sat up proud and he realised that would be an issue because the chain needed to have a flat surface. Suddenly he was glad that he hadn't attempted a more complex weave.

He twisted the links so that they lay more or less flat in the same plane. It created a slight twist as it lay there, being unable to lie flat. He made a second chain and laid it alongside with the links flipped to match. The question then was how to link them and he spent some time inserting rings and then taking them back out again. It took some experimenting to find just how to do it so that the mail would lie flat, or as flat as possible, but once he had it in mind then it was time to start expanding it.

He gave a glance up to see that Rhuryc was now ahead of him, perhaps the man already knew how the pieces would go together or perhaps he'd been better at visualising, but Eanos shrugged it of for now he could forge ahead so he bent his head and knuckled down. Speed though was not as easy as he'd assumed for it was easy for mistakes to creep in, to tuck a ring under that and over that instead of over that and under that. Several times he had to unweave some of what he'd done, finding that easier than trying as he first did to try and correct just the rings which were wrongly placed. It reinforced his doubts as to how easy it would be to weld but now he didn't care. This was excellent practice and he really needed to know how the rings fitted before he tried to weld them. Once a ring was welded it would have to be cut off if he made a mistake, and mistakes were inevitable.

He glanced up once more to see that Rhuryc was ahead of him and had finished his piece. He grinned, "fast work there." He was content with the pace of his own work and measured his piece against the completed half noting where he needed to add rings before taking it back and working again whilst the faster smith worked on the arms.

[Rhuryc]

"It's just a pattern," Rhuryc spoke as he grabbed a hold of his weave, coiling it over on itself to create an open ended cylinder. "Some of the links are off, and I'm sure that if we add a fourth it'd thicken the mesh. But it's just like making a frame or a nail. Process," He trailed off, his hands working over the shaped chain that rested now on the surface of his anvil. He eyed the construct and started to play with it. First he tugged on the edges. The jingle of the metal drifted up to his ears and a low, pleasant tune rumbled from the man's throat, humming about with the minor percussion while he worked. The half-a-shirt was taunt, thick. It would not stop a thrust, or even an arrow, but the close knitting of the chains would deflect the edge of a bladed weapon. A sword, perhaps. Next he bent the material, shifting it's mailable form to test both the edges and elasticity of it. A brow narrowed in response, unamused by the lack of draw available to him. With a shrug he flattened the chain back out and continued its creation.

For a measure Rhuryc used his own arm. He wrapped the shirt around his shoulder and under his arm, where he slipped a link around the edges at both his pit and joint on his back. That would serve for the arm connection. Satisfied, Rhuryc replaced the shirt and went about his previous pattern, chains withdrawn from his box and set into a small pile to be taken from at a later point. From her things got tricky. Before he was dealing with a flat surface, a series of strings all linked and held down with ease. His fingers returned to their work, adding chain one after another only now at a circular bend. The joint at the shoulder was easy. Rhuryc found that as he tried to angle the chain it responded by sliding down or refusing to coil, so instead he flipped to a single, straight pattern - as before - that spread the length from his arm down to the knuckles. When a single strip was finished he moved backed to the joint and filled the connection before sleeve and torso, adding just enough to halt where his arm pit began. He mused at the work. The chain appeared to be guiding itself, falling and dismayed when he did something wrong. Using both himself and the acquired shirt made the whole exercise one of copying.

"I don't think the sides will match up," He said, glancing over to Eanos. "But I don't think they'll have to."

[Eanos]

Eanos frowned as he examined his work and compared it to that of his fellow. He sighed and shook his head. "You were right I see," he replied to the comment. "We should have gone with the four as you suggested. Next time I'll know better."

It seemed to him that Rhuryc had a much better handle on making the mail and it irked him to be second to anyone. He was however realistic enough to know that he'd learned some things and that next time he'd make a much better attempt at it. He was also realist enough to see that Rhuryc was best suited to completing that side of the project by himself and that Eanos was better suited to taking a different tack.

Whilst collecting bits and pieces earlier he'd noticed certain equipment which he now went and collected. A heavy mandrel bolted into the vice on his workbench and a coil of steel wire now sat on the floor underneath it. He fed the end of the wire though the feed hole and into the hole in the mandrel. He tugged at the handle on the mandrel experimentally and frowned at the effort involved.

It could be done, that he knew, so he threw himself into it and soon found that tapping the wire as it came up the mandrel was enough to start it bending an reduce the amount of effort needed. It also eliminated the issues he had at first with the wire not feeding smoothly up against the previous coil.

When the mandrel was full he cut the wire and slipped the coil of metal off the mandrel. A careful cut along it with a hacksaw and he had the first handful of rings to feed back into the box from which Rhuryc was taking them from.

[Nisaba]

I hope it's okay that I yanked this out of Ata's office.

Grade Complete: XP Award! Name: Eanos   XP Award Glyphing- 1 XP Observation- 1 XP Negotiation- 1 XP Armorer- 3 XP At the beginning of the thread, I noticed that Eanos was sketching a glyph. He was focused on it and seemed to have been working on similar ones for quite some time, so I thought he deserved a point for his effort. Practice makes perfect, you know. His quick sum-up of the room, how he noted that some people glared and others nodded, and then his assessment of Rhuryc earned him an observation point. Of course, when he was trying to persuade Rhuryc that maybe they weren’t working on the armor correctly but then they came to a compromise where they would each work on their own half was negotiation. Armorer, which was what they worked on the most in the thread, got three points because they experimented pretty extensively on a single piece of armor. I’m sure if the thread didn’t have to end so suddenly, Eanos would have gotten max points.   Lore Award Trying New Things Differences Between Isur and Syliran Knight Armor Learning by Experimentation Construction: Chain Shirt Additional Note: I really liked how Eanos truly was experimenting with the metal and trying different styles to make it work. He also had a few problems and was confused with aspects of it, which really made it seem like he was brand new to the work.

Grade Complete: XP Award! Name: Rhuryc   XP Award Persuasion- 1 XP Leadership- 1 XP Negotiation- 1 XP Armorer- 3 XP Rhuryc easily convinced Eanos to help him experiment on armor instead of working on his own project for the day, which earned him a point in persuasion. He announced that he wanted to work on a full suit, no matter how complex it was, and then gathered items for the suit plate and set them up so that he and Eanos could work on it together, which was definitely worth a skill in leadership. Of course, when Eanos was trying to convince him that maybe they weren’t working on the armor correctly but then they came to a compromise where they would each work on their own half was negotiation. Armorer, which was what they worked on the most in the thread, got three points because they experimented pretty extensively one a single piece of armor. I’m sure if the thread hadn’t ended so suddenly, Rhuryc would have gotten max points, as well.   Lore Award Recruiting Help Trying New Things Construction: Chain Shirt Learning by Experimentation Additional Note: Rhuryc was very persuasive and take-charge in this thread. He also had lots of ideas on how to work with the metal and what he wanted to do, which I think was a nice addition onto his character. I would have liked to see more towards the end, but I know that sometimes things come up in life and they take precedence.