A note: Most of the posts in this thread will be extremely long. There are a large variety of skills being displayed, and time for each post will be an entire day.
Day 3 of Fall 516 A.V.
Shortly after meeting Matthias Shimoje had decided to extend his stay in Syka. He was filled with aspiration. Surely such an interesting place would be a good harbor for his skillset. Shimoje knew that he had to do a variety of tasks to get started. The first worry of his was to get out of the bungalows. To do that he would need to make some sort of home, and he wasn’t one to rely on others. For this he wanted to do things on his own. After-all, he had a myriad of tools at his disposal.
The first was to devise a plan. He needed to think of some creative way to build or start his business. He wasn’t much keen on the appearance of the buildings in Syka. Most of them seemed to be constructed of what looked like material that was degradable. After living and visiting a variety of cities he knew that stone and wood were preferred for constructing. Though he knew that it wouldn’t just do to construct a building entirely by himself with that type of material. Sitting down in the sand right by the steps Shimoje ruffled through his pack. It had been some time since he had taken to planning, but his thoughts were rampant with creativity.
Taking out some paper, his ink, and quill he started to devise a plan. Attempting to write in the sand was far too difficult. It only frustrated him. No this would just not do. His writing on the paper wasn’t legible. He needed somewhere comfy and something hard to write on. After walking closer to the steps and where the steps entered into the jungle Shimoje worked on chopping down a tree.
Hit after hit working in an angle his arms began to grow sore. The knocking of the wood could be heard under his rather loud grunts as he struck the tree trunk. Finally, the tree fell. He had to aid in knocking it over by pressing on it in the direction he wanted it to fall. The tree itself wasn’t that large only about 6 inches in diameter of it’s trunk. Various limbs cracked off as the tree fell into the dirt before, kicking up some mud and … clay?
He had the idea earlier that clay might be useful for reinforcing wood, but he just had to figure out how. Though now he knew, the land around Syka did provide. After most of his early morning he finally had enough wood to build what he needed. Hauling the wood back to his area using a large jungle leaf to wrap them up neatly and drag them, he sat down a bit exhausted from the labor. After a few swigs from his waterskin and a quick bite to eat from the commons he was ready to start work once again.
Using his hatchet, he cut the wood into manageable pieces to create a chair and desk. He drew in the sand a measurement of about 3 foot so that he could cut each piece evenly. Now to drill and form the wood together… Taking the first four legs he drilled a hole at the top of each of them, also using the sand as measurement for each of the pieces. After going closer to the steppes where there were twigs and trees he found some thinner sticks to put in each of the holes. Returning back to his “plot” he managed to get the four legs to stand up right by supporting them with the sticks. He used a few nails and his hammer to ensure that the pieces stayed. Though the “chair” still needed a piece to sit upon. He had weaved things before, perhaps making a thatch seat would do? Luckily, there was some wilderness not too far away where thatch could be collected. He worked on interweaving the pieces until it formed a square. It was crudely crafted, but it might work right? He set it on the hole of the chair, it was slightly larger so he attempted to fold it over the legs of the chair going downwards and tied it in place using a longer piece of thatch on each leg. Happy with his construct he was sure it would work. Though, after sitting down the thatch didn’t seem to be woven strong or tight enough and he slowly sunk into the chair. The thatch broke and he fell into the chair. This only resulted in his butt getting stuck and falling over. “Shyke!” After a bit of struggle he managed to get released. In his frustration he decided to head back to the settlement.
Sighing after looking at the crudely constructed building of the Syka Mercantile he knew that he could do better.
Walking in he was greeted by none other than James, but Shimoje didn’t know him yet. Still though the man somehow knew his name.
“Ah, Shimoje I didn’t expect to see you here. I was told that you were the independent type… Oh forgive me, allow me to introduce myself. I am James Chaliva. Mathias told me about you. I was a captain of the clipper Veronica. What brings you here?”
“Oh, uh… you happen to have any clay items in stock. I need to learn how to make them.”
“Sure sure! We have plenty of clay items currently. Over here are some jars, bowls, pots, basins, and say I thought you were more of a tinkerer what are you up to?”
“Trying to build is all.”
“With already formed items?”
“No no, I just need it.”
Walking around and the bald headed zeltivian sought to learn from the items of the shop. He called upon his gift from Eyris. He viewed many of the clay items, getting a variety of different images to the way they were made. The first sound he heard was mud being ripped from the ground. Then came the pouring of water? Then the slapping of mud together and the image of hands kneading at the clay. Every now and then he got the impression from the crafter. These seemed to be made by an Aklak. Irrelevant data, he needed to learn how make the clay hard. Finally, after viewing the last clay item in the mercantile he caught a glimpse of a furnace or kiln. A large, building constructed of clay itself with a large fire within. Roaring sounds and smoke escaping from a shaft on the top. Great, another thing he had to build just to start his project. The more he learned and strive to achieve his goals, the more he needed to learn more and more skills.
“Say, are you going to buy something Shimoje?”
“Yes, I’ll take this large clay basin, I need it to carry water.”
“Sure, that’s 3 silver mizas.”
Handing over the money Shimoje took his prized new possession and left the shop. He was the curious type, and his actions within the mercantile made Chaliva suspicious.
Returning to his plot and the area he found clay before he took some water from the steps and poured it on the ground. At first it was too much water but after digging up more soil and clay it managed to mix into a workable material like what he saw by his mark of Lykata. Forming the clay into a large wet mass, he placed it into the basin and carried it back to his actual plot on the sandy beach.
It was starting to get into mid-day and he hadn’t even accomplished that much. He had to work faster. After digging a small hole, he knew he had to invent something that could garner future use for many things. Not just clay. After collecting a few pieces of commonly occurring materials the construction of primitive technology began. He knew air intensified fire, so perhaps something that would cause greater heat. Taking some kindling and digging a whole he struck at the kindling with his flint and steel. The fire first erupted in small bits of smoke then died out. He blew on it gently and the smoke returned and fire soon caught. After adding a lot of wood he could begin his experimentation.
He decided to make a rotary fan from two pieces of bark that put together at right angles to each other to form bladed paddle wheel. The blades of the fan weren’t angled and seemed only to throw air outwards away from the axle when spun. It was a simply gadget, but one that require trial and error. The rotor of the fan was made by splitting a stick two ways so it formed prongs. The fan was then inserted into the prongs and the end lashed to hold it in place. Spinning the fan rotor back and forth between the palms of his hands fanned the fire he made. But only some of the wind generated reached the fire. The rest of the wind was blowing in other directions, effectively being wasted.
So he decided to build a fan housing from unfired clay to direct the air flow into the fire. This was done by an upturned and unfired pot he made with a hole in the top, with a spout coming out of the side so the fan could be placed within. The hole in the top and the spout were both the same size so that the air coming in roughly equaled the air coming out. The base of the fan rotor sat in a wooden socket placed in the ground to make it spin easier and the top of the rotor protruded from the hole in the top of the housing.
Now after Shimoje tested his gadget, when the fan spun, air entered the hole in the top of the housing and exited the spout in the side. It didn’t matter which way the fan spun, air always went into the inlet and out the spout. Air was thrown out towards the walls of the housing and could only leave through the spout while the vacuum in the center sucked new air into the housing through the inlet. A separate clay pipe was made to fit over the spout to direct air into the pit. This was done because the pipe that could touch the fire can melt away so It was better for him to make this part replaceable. The fire began to grow larger and more intense. Shimoje was ecstatic, but he couldn’t help to grow tired of everything.
Instead of making a large wheel and belt assembly to step up the speed of rotation, He opted for a 75 cm long bow. He made a frame to hold the rotor in place consisting of two stakes hammered into the ground with a socketed cross bar lashed on to hold the top of the rotor. He made bark fiber cordage and tied the end to a stick. He then looped the cord around the rotor and held the other end in the same hand holding the stick. He then pushed and pulled the bow causing the rotor to spin rapidly, forcing air into the fire.
He made a simple mud furnace for the blower. This was done by taking the large amount of clay and forming it around the fire to block it in. Then he collected orange iron bacteria from the steps, mixed it with charcoal powder and wood ash and formed it into a cylindrical brick. He filled the furnace with wood, put the ore brick in and commenced firing. The ore brick melted and produced slag with tiny specs of iron through it. His intent was not so much to make iron but to test the furnace so it can reach a fairly high temperature using the blower. He wasn’t much of a blacksmith, but he did promise Mathias that he would attempt to take on the trade.
This device produced a blast of air with each stroke of the bow regardless of whether it was pushed or pulled. The bow made it possible to operate the blower easily. The materials used (wood, bark, bark fibre and clay) were readily available in Syka. Eventually he knew though, that manually operating a forge for so long with the manual blower would tiresome and with that he let the large clay construction and fire to heat the clay around the housing he had made. It took several trips back and forth from the jungles to collect enough clay. Even then, his job was not done. However, it started to grow dark out. He was tired and opted to go back to the bungalows to sleep. He knew he couldn’t afford to stay there at the bungalows for that long, as money was tight in Syka. It didn’t help that staying at the bungalows was by far the most expensive he had ever seen for a traveler.
Day 3 of Fall 516 A.V.
Shortly after meeting Matthias Shimoje had decided to extend his stay in Syka. He was filled with aspiration. Surely such an interesting place would be a good harbor for his skillset. Shimoje knew that he had to do a variety of tasks to get started. The first worry of his was to get out of the bungalows. To do that he would need to make some sort of home, and he wasn’t one to rely on others. For this he wanted to do things on his own. After-all, he had a myriad of tools at his disposal.
The first was to devise a plan. He needed to think of some creative way to build or start his business. He wasn’t much keen on the appearance of the buildings in Syka. Most of them seemed to be constructed of what looked like material that was degradable. After living and visiting a variety of cities he knew that stone and wood were preferred for constructing. Though he knew that it wouldn’t just do to construct a building entirely by himself with that type of material. Sitting down in the sand right by the steps Shimoje ruffled through his pack. It had been some time since he had taken to planning, but his thoughts were rampant with creativity.
Taking out some paper, his ink, and quill he started to devise a plan. Attempting to write in the sand was far too difficult. It only frustrated him. No this would just not do. His writing on the paper wasn’t legible. He needed somewhere comfy and something hard to write on. After walking closer to the steps and where the steps entered into the jungle Shimoje worked on chopping down a tree.
Hit after hit working in an angle his arms began to grow sore. The knocking of the wood could be heard under his rather loud grunts as he struck the tree trunk. Finally, the tree fell. He had to aid in knocking it over by pressing on it in the direction he wanted it to fall. The tree itself wasn’t that large only about 6 inches in diameter of it’s trunk. Various limbs cracked off as the tree fell into the dirt before, kicking up some mud and … clay?
He had the idea earlier that clay might be useful for reinforcing wood, but he just had to figure out how. Though now he knew, the land around Syka did provide. After most of his early morning he finally had enough wood to build what he needed. Hauling the wood back to his area using a large jungle leaf to wrap them up neatly and drag them, he sat down a bit exhausted from the labor. After a few swigs from his waterskin and a quick bite to eat from the commons he was ready to start work once again.
Using his hatchet, he cut the wood into manageable pieces to create a chair and desk. He drew in the sand a measurement of about 3 foot so that he could cut each piece evenly. Now to drill and form the wood together… Taking the first four legs he drilled a hole at the top of each of them, also using the sand as measurement for each of the pieces. After going closer to the steppes where there were twigs and trees he found some thinner sticks to put in each of the holes. Returning back to his “plot” he managed to get the four legs to stand up right by supporting them with the sticks. He used a few nails and his hammer to ensure that the pieces stayed. Though the “chair” still needed a piece to sit upon. He had weaved things before, perhaps making a thatch seat would do? Luckily, there was some wilderness not too far away where thatch could be collected. He worked on interweaving the pieces until it formed a square. It was crudely crafted, but it might work right? He set it on the hole of the chair, it was slightly larger so he attempted to fold it over the legs of the chair going downwards and tied it in place using a longer piece of thatch on each leg. Happy with his construct he was sure it would work. Though, after sitting down the thatch didn’t seem to be woven strong or tight enough and he slowly sunk into the chair. The thatch broke and he fell into the chair. This only resulted in his butt getting stuck and falling over. “Shyke!” After a bit of struggle he managed to get released. In his frustration he decided to head back to the settlement.
Sighing after looking at the crudely constructed building of the Syka Mercantile he knew that he could do better.
Walking in he was greeted by none other than James, but Shimoje didn’t know him yet. Still though the man somehow knew his name.
“Ah, Shimoje I didn’t expect to see you here. I was told that you were the independent type… Oh forgive me, allow me to introduce myself. I am James Chaliva. Mathias told me about you. I was a captain of the clipper Veronica. What brings you here?”
“Oh, uh… you happen to have any clay items in stock. I need to learn how to make them.”
“Sure sure! We have plenty of clay items currently. Over here are some jars, bowls, pots, basins, and say I thought you were more of a tinkerer what are you up to?”
“Trying to build is all.”
“With already formed items?”
“No no, I just need it.”
Walking around and the bald headed zeltivian sought to learn from the items of the shop. He called upon his gift from Eyris. He viewed many of the clay items, getting a variety of different images to the way they were made. The first sound he heard was mud being ripped from the ground. Then came the pouring of water? Then the slapping of mud together and the image of hands kneading at the clay. Every now and then he got the impression from the crafter. These seemed to be made by an Aklak. Irrelevant data, he needed to learn how make the clay hard. Finally, after viewing the last clay item in the mercantile he caught a glimpse of a furnace or kiln. A large, building constructed of clay itself with a large fire within. Roaring sounds and smoke escaping from a shaft on the top. Great, another thing he had to build just to start his project. The more he learned and strive to achieve his goals, the more he needed to learn more and more skills.
“Say, are you going to buy something Shimoje?”
“Yes, I’ll take this large clay basin, I need it to carry water.”
“Sure, that’s 3 silver mizas.”
Handing over the money Shimoje took his prized new possession and left the shop. He was the curious type, and his actions within the mercantile made Chaliva suspicious.
Returning to his plot and the area he found clay before he took some water from the steps and poured it on the ground. At first it was too much water but after digging up more soil and clay it managed to mix into a workable material like what he saw by his mark of Lykata. Forming the clay into a large wet mass, he placed it into the basin and carried it back to his actual plot on the sandy beach.
It was starting to get into mid-day and he hadn’t even accomplished that much. He had to work faster. After digging a small hole, he knew he had to invent something that could garner future use for many things. Not just clay. After collecting a few pieces of commonly occurring materials the construction of primitive technology began. He knew air intensified fire, so perhaps something that would cause greater heat. Taking some kindling and digging a whole he struck at the kindling with his flint and steel. The fire first erupted in small bits of smoke then died out. He blew on it gently and the smoke returned and fire soon caught. After adding a lot of wood he could begin his experimentation.
He decided to make a rotary fan from two pieces of bark that put together at right angles to each other to form bladed paddle wheel. The blades of the fan weren’t angled and seemed only to throw air outwards away from the axle when spun. It was a simply gadget, but one that require trial and error. The rotor of the fan was made by splitting a stick two ways so it formed prongs. The fan was then inserted into the prongs and the end lashed to hold it in place. Spinning the fan rotor back and forth between the palms of his hands fanned the fire he made. But only some of the wind generated reached the fire. The rest of the wind was blowing in other directions, effectively being wasted.
So he decided to build a fan housing from unfired clay to direct the air flow into the fire. This was done by an upturned and unfired pot he made with a hole in the top, with a spout coming out of the side so the fan could be placed within. The hole in the top and the spout were both the same size so that the air coming in roughly equaled the air coming out. The base of the fan rotor sat in a wooden socket placed in the ground to make it spin easier and the top of the rotor protruded from the hole in the top of the housing.
Now after Shimoje tested his gadget, when the fan spun, air entered the hole in the top of the housing and exited the spout in the side. It didn’t matter which way the fan spun, air always went into the inlet and out the spout. Air was thrown out towards the walls of the housing and could only leave through the spout while the vacuum in the center sucked new air into the housing through the inlet. A separate clay pipe was made to fit over the spout to direct air into the pit. This was done because the pipe that could touch the fire can melt away so It was better for him to make this part replaceable. The fire began to grow larger and more intense. Shimoje was ecstatic, but he couldn’t help to grow tired of everything.
Instead of making a large wheel and belt assembly to step up the speed of rotation, He opted for a 75 cm long bow. He made a frame to hold the rotor in place consisting of two stakes hammered into the ground with a socketed cross bar lashed on to hold the top of the rotor. He made bark fiber cordage and tied the end to a stick. He then looped the cord around the rotor and held the other end in the same hand holding the stick. He then pushed and pulled the bow causing the rotor to spin rapidly, forcing air into the fire.
He made a simple mud furnace for the blower. This was done by taking the large amount of clay and forming it around the fire to block it in. Then he collected orange iron bacteria from the steps, mixed it with charcoal powder and wood ash and formed it into a cylindrical brick. He filled the furnace with wood, put the ore brick in and commenced firing. The ore brick melted and produced slag with tiny specs of iron through it. His intent was not so much to make iron but to test the furnace so it can reach a fairly high temperature using the blower. He wasn’t much of a blacksmith, but he did promise Mathias that he would attempt to take on the trade.
This device produced a blast of air with each stroke of the bow regardless of whether it was pushed or pulled. The bow made it possible to operate the blower easily. The materials used (wood, bark, bark fibre and clay) were readily available in Syka. Eventually he knew though, that manually operating a forge for so long with the manual blower would tiresome and with that he let the large clay construction and fire to heat the clay around the housing he had made. It took several trips back and forth from the jungles to collect enough clay. Even then, his job was not done. However, it started to grow dark out. He was tired and opted to go back to the bungalows to sleep. He knew he couldn’t afford to stay there at the bungalows for that long, as money was tight in Syka. It didn’t help that staying at the bungalows was by far the most expensive he had ever seen for a traveler.
