Completed You can't craft my friendship! (Koffurn)

[Bob Barton]

Bob expected to give a little advice or arrange some things here and there during the process of making his prize but not to make make it himself! The suggestion was completely unexpected because Bob expected Koffurn to do all the work since he already did his bit of investigating. He did not like touching dead things. Bob did not even kill unless he was forced to, even if it was Sunberth. So of course Bob thought Koffurn strong in that aspect, the boy able to handle all these things and it made himself feel weak in comparison despite how Koffurn physically looked. Maybe its this way Bob could use Koffurn in the future?

It was pretty obvious that one of the chairs would be for him. Bob stole glances between the worn looking table and Koffurn rummaging through his own chest. He continued to watch until he saw Koffurn bringing bones and tools to the table. If Bob did not roughly know what they were supposed to be doing, he would have thought Koffurn just killed the animals and ate them like a savage. The same sort which are in that other region. With how poorly lit the shack shack was, Bob felt himself in some kind of nest for wild animals. Maybe like his thoughts...Koffurn really is a wild animal.

"I thought I was the one who was supposed to help you make the item instead of the other way around?" he said after taking a seat to watch. He did not accept the challenge yet. Bob still wanted things to go the way they planned it. Bob did not need to do more work besides actually playing the game and finding out about the animals. What sort of a person would work this much for prize he was already promised? As far as he was concerned, Bob already kind of won it through their game in the tavern last season. Koffurn should be doing most of the work as the obvious loser.

His feelings of discomfort intensified when Koffurn offered to hold Bob's hand. The same hands that Bob was told worked on the dead things. Bob had to try and lighten up before he stormed out. "But Coughing, I only let attractive women hold my hand." giving a little grin. It looked like the boy lost it when he suddenly attacked the table with his dagger. When he stopped it looked like he made a circle. That looked very familiar but Bob could not put his finger on what. It must not be very important for him if he could not...

Add that large circle into the tiny bones? That is impossible no matter how Bob looked at it. "You don't have to tell me how good stories are, I like them a lot myself but...I am more used to the verbal side of things so why don't I tell you what to write? That should work out better right?" Adding power to his stories seems like an interesting idea but Bob could not see how writing them into bones would do that. He always preferred the feeling of sharing the experience with other people when he spoke instead of just giving them something to read while he himself waited until they were done.

[Muldris Koffurn]

“Okay, Bob. This shouldn’t be that difficult for you because you are so small. The circles should be more normal sized for you,” Koffurn joked. There had been a little malevolence in his voice this time, but at the same time, he truly believed that the circles would be more manageable for Bob. The Legate took the gambler by the arm and led him to the table. He picked up the wolf bones and held them by the fire so Bob could see them better. Koffurn traced circles with his finger to show Bob places his could go. “Here and here and here and really anywhere! Anywhere with a large and flat surface... You will only be doing a very small portion of the etching. It will be good for you to learn though. Knowledge of this craft can be just as valuable as the items they create! So stop complaining. You are getting a bonus if nothing else,” his voice showed the excitement building from the prospect of teaching Bob a thing or two. Koffurn took the tool he had given Bob and lightly etched the first of part of the circle. “See? Easy! All you have to do is the most basic parts and I will fix any mistakes you make and add the final details. Take it really, really slow. You will probably cut yourself a few times, but you will live.” He would let Bob decide how many circles he wanted and what to put. He can write all about that pup’s valor and overcoming odds and such... If it doesn’t work, he can’t blame me! And if it does he can thank me! Koffurn smiled at the thought. Another no loss situation made him more than pleased. He would watch Bob a while before starting. While he waited, he grabbed one of the files from the kit and began working on the vertebrae. He would need to widen them a bit and remove some of the odd edges in order to fit his fingers nicely. He would reach over and help Bob if he looked like he was struggling or confused. Koffurn probably did this more than he needed to, but Bob had no experience with such things. The Legate would chime in some confusing word of advice or odd saying every couple of minutes. He ended up doing more than Bob, but that was to be expected and the way Bob would like it probably. The truth was that Koffurn never was taught Malediction. He sort of soaked it in while working under his master. Thus, he didn’t have much experience being taught so he couldn’t reverse the experience. Luckily, Koffurn wasn’t particularly bothered by the mistakes Bob made. Every mistake the gambler made just made Koffurn feel in charge and superior, a feeling he relished more than most. OOCI sort of set up the dynamic for the rest of the thread, but I don’t want us to finish making the stuff next post if that makes sense. I sort of took a bit of control of Bob this post, but feel free to have Koffurn’s corrections or actions in your post. If you want me to change anything, PM me

[Bob Barton]

That was a funny joke. So funny that Bob forgot to laugh even if he did remember he could not. Just thinking of touching those things... it disturbed him greatly but it looked like Bob did not have a chance to say no. The strange boy was very assertive and pulled him over by the table as if he was enjoying this before he picked up what looks like any other bone a person could find. It looked like Koffurn wanted Bob to do the work on it.

And Bob just mumbled to himself quietly as he listened to Koffurn. "Knowledge of the craft and the items it makes...I already know how to make up and tell stories of my own..." not sharing the same enthusiasm as his host. Since Koffurn is not going to let him leave just like that, Bob decided to just do what the boy wanted and grabbed the tools along with the bone he was provided. The tool he held firmly in the hand, but touching animal remains still troubled him. He pushed his fingers from both hands on to the ends of the bones and carried it to the table allowing as little contact as possible to the surface as if it was a vile thing.

"A story with words huh...?" Bob said repeating what Koffurn told him. If that was the case then how could he be using a small circle? It had to be big! Very big to fit everything he had to say about the wolf especially since Bob was not too good with writing. It was ugly and big. He would need a lot of room to work with and the tools in his hands felt like unfamiliar writing implements. "Is there any other way I can do this besides writing?" he asked as he stabbed the point right into the bone.

He chose the part with the widest and most straight area he could work with. Bob tried to make a circle. He really did. His hand clutched on the bone tightly, pushing it right on the table to hold it in place. But everytime he dragged the tool down to make the line longer, it went in a straight line instead of the curved one for a circle. So Bob had to make do with that. He pulled down on the tool each time on short bursts. Everytime it stopped he turned it to the side a little bit before continuing. He made one full circle in the end, even if it looked strange with so many corners.

The only thing Koffurn told him to do was make a circle and that will be what he will do. After wasting so much energy just to make the circle, Bob was not looking forward to doing any writing. The bone and etching tools were just too different from a pen and paper. Done, he held out the bone to Koffurn and asked "So are we done now? Because I still can't see any story on it."

[Muldris Koffurn]

Koffurn grabbed the bone and examined it. The circle was fine, but Bob’s lack of etching skill was obvious in his work. The Legate went to correcting the mistakes immediately and adding the missing parts. The gambler had carved lightly so fixing the mistakes was pretty easy. The room was filling with smoke, but Koffurn wanted to get this whole thing over with. “Bob, please go open the door and let the smoke empty,” he said without looking up. For all he knew Bob hadn’t left, but he was too focused to care. “You have to add the story, you dolt,” Koffurn muttered. There were a few more details to add and he put down the bone. He pushed it over to Bob and pointed out which parts were missing. Bob would learn nothing at this rate. It was sink or swim with Mr. Koffurn as the teacher. He went back to his own work and let Bob finish his circle. The work was tedious, but the rewards were well worth the monotony. Bob’s item would be interesting, but Koffurn had become strangely obsessed with his darker ideas. The five vertebrae fitted very snuggly on his fingers. Pulling them off had left his fingers scraped, but he was used to blood and small injuries at this point. Working in the dark had led to many self-inflicted injuries. Now, pain was the norm and its lack was bliss. Silence was in the room besides for the sound of scraping bone. Koffurn was taking a different approach with the rings. He would do about a tenth of a circle before moving on to the next. This meant he was doing the same thing consecutively five times. It felt very good to complete a cycle. The watchful eye he kept on Bob slowed his progress, but he would finish before the day’s end. “You have to add the story, Bob. I will do it for you. You are happy with one circle? I can add more but based on your story, one should be plenty,” Koffurn mumbled. He looked at the circle. It was large enough for a sentence... two if he could muster enough skill. “Keep it short. With one circle, you can’t say much.” He went back to working as he awaited Bob’s response. The Legate was probably not supporting the gambler as well as he could have, but he didn’t really mind. The passive aggressiveness felt good. Bob was always making little remarks and jabs. If Koffurn needed to vent by putting himself in a dominant role, he would take it without hesitation or regret. He was happy with his work and his corrections and additions to Bob’s circle made it seem like his could workout just fine. He tossed another log onto the fire and continued to work. His rings would be awesome... he just knew it.

[Bob Barton]

Bob was too busy scratching at the bone Koffurn gave him. Now he knew how the dogs at the kennel felt when he taunted them with the bones. He was very focused on just digging into the bone with the sharp tool he was given as hard as he could. Bringing out long lines in them as though he was measuring how strange he felt doing this but he persisted, the lines growing deeper and deeper in the bone the longer he took. It wasn't until Koffurn grabbed the bone and asked him to open the door that he noticed the thick smell of smoke in his nose.

He came back after opening the door only to hear Koffurn calling him a dolt. One would question who exactly was the dolt under the circumstances, expecting an untrained person without any knowledge of the craft to make his own prize no less? Bob already had his own troublesome job at Killroy's half the time and right now was his Bob time. The other half available to him. He was supposed to rest and forget all about working but now he found himself doing otherwise with a strange boy in his stranger shack for something he did not need to.

Angrily Bob said "fine, I'll add a story!" as soon as he knew what the story is going to be. He had to think it through. What exactly would he write about the wolf whose remains he is toying with in his hands? Definitely not about it choking on weasels especially after the scary thing Koffurn hinted about it being able to cause people to choke on their food. Bob could see no reason how an item could do something like that and he came to his next best conclusion. Another of Koffurn's talents was with ghosts. What if Koffurn made one follow the item and choke everyone it came into contact with? Bob had his own experiences with ghosts before and knew they were not beneath that. A shiver ran down his spine and Bob took a look around the shack for any clue of any ghost but to his untrained eye he found it in everything.

Death. It was in the stains his eyes could see, the stains of wolf's blood as Koffurn told him. It was in the smell that reached his nose better when the smoke cleared out, the same smell Bob knew in Killroy's Kennels for those animals that reached their time. It was in the bone he held, the remains of the animal it once was. Not to be forgotten, the things Koffurn has always been telling him. Stories of ghosts, killer trinkets and such. There was only one left but with the information he already knew, Bob even without the capability to make a proper judgement could conclude this atrocious shack would definitely give birth to resentful spirits. He did not need a ghost choking him to remind him that especially the ghost of the wolf Koffurn butchered.

His thoughts were interrupted when Koffurn reminded him about adding in the story again and also that one circle would not be enough. So Bob stuck out his hand to stop Koffurn and said "Don't worry. I can do it." While Bob had no idea what he was doing here he cannot show that he was useless at it. Especially when Koffurn just called him a dolt. He was going to prove the boy was wrong and finally give taunting laughs at him when he got his prize. A prize that he will soon finish now that he had given enough thought to the story of the wolf he will put on it.

The tool in his hands dug into the bones again this time with purpose directing it. If one circle was not enough as Koffurn has said, Bob only had to make more. Bob continued to pull his hand in a circular motion making another, smaller circle in the bone and then repeating the action again a few more times. When he was finished, the bone had five new small circles surrounding the bigger one in the middle Bob made initially. The gambler looked at his prize with satisfaction before he said "There! There's your story. Can you see it or do I have to spell it out for you?" Bob asked smugly.

Well he was going to explain it anyway as Koffurn made the necessary adjustments to Bob's rather crude work again. The gambler will prove his gift in stories as well. Something picked up as he met different sorts on the table. Taking a seat he took a look at the wolf bone and the weasel bones to get in the mood before he began with "I don't have to tell you how the wolf died Koffurn, only the manner it died" trying to make the story personal to its listener.

And then he continued "the wolf only needed one thing that time. Something that should be provided to anything that needed it." Bob let it hang in the air for a while before he clarified "water. But the weasels for some reason didn't allow it." He paused again then added "greedy bastards. But the wolf? The wolf knew what it needed to do to survive. Surrounded against the uneven odds of fangs and claws it fought back taking down the weasels one by one." Bob was becoming a little more animated. His hands moving and pinching around as if trying to recreate the scene of the fight not for Koffurn's benefit of course but because he was already too into it.

The story was near its end and Bob calmed down, allowing his voice to become quieter. Almost...restful as he concluded "the weasels might have had the advantage in numbers but the wolf? The wolf had the strength and the courage to win. After it won, of course it would take its prize from the losers..." and that was the end of that for Bob. Wait...actually no. There was one thing a story actually needed at the end. A moral. Something to learn from and Bob without thinking blurted out "However the wolf got too confident in its victory and bit off more than it could chew."

It did not take Bob more than a chime to remember back what Koffurn told him and relate it to his story before he said "can we omit that part out of the story?" Koffurn handed him back the bone, circles looking better than before and told the gambler that only the circles were there and it was time to finish the story just as Bob has told it or without the last line if he really wanted to. Bob started to think again about how to make the story. Write? Maybe draw he as he would suggest to Koffurn? What exactly should he do? There was a few circles there but as Koffurn pointed out even the biggest wouldn't hold much. He looked the the legate for advice again but as Koffurn would say, its sink or swim with him.

Bob took the tool in his hands again, ready to finish off the trinket. His thoughts went back to the story which he just only told Koffurn and what this trinket would be for. Actually Bob had no conceivable idea how this...slab of dead animal bone would be a trinket he could bring around for gambling. Well maybe once he has finished with it, the trinket can sit pretty somewhere as a reminder of the weird people he meets with. He never did know what this bone was but since Koffurn has rather insultingly told him the bone would correspond with its effects , whatever that means Bob might get a rough idea about what he wants to put on it.

And after Koffurn cleared up that it was the chest bone, Bob really ran out of ideas. He started thinking back to his medical lessons by his uncle in Zeltiva. Chest? It had held all the important parts like the lungs, throat, heart....heart! That was it. Bob immediately got to writing. Lightly this time since he did not trust himself to make anything legible and would have to rely on Koffurn's corrections again but his plan was set. Digging just a little bit into the bone for a small scratch he wrote the words 'even', 'before', 'the', 'unbelievable', 'odds'. One word in each of the smaller circles representing the weasels to illustrate the situation the wolf was in before putting in big words 'VICTORY!' which the wolf got in the end. Yes, nothing about its actual end.

Handing the bone over to Koffurn, Bob nodded in agreement when the legate asked him if he was sure about the story. When the gambler thought it through, it was perfect. Gambling was all about the odds and no matter what they were, only victory mattered in the end. Bob waited, watching as Koffurn made the necessary corrections to his work and handed it back to him to appraise. Considering that it was all Bob but for Koffurn's much needed corrections and alterations so the work would look nice, "it looks good. If this was a book I'd written, I'd sign it just so people would know who was responsible for the impressive story."

Koffurn did not have to do much to freak Bob again. In reply to Bob confirming that "oh you do sign it?" Koffurn had to tell him it was with blood. The gambler looked flabbergasted and could not help but ask "Why?" which Koffurn only explained that the trinket would not be completed without it. The blood is what gave it the power. Bob kind of wished Koffurn told him that earlier then he would have accepted anything. Even the choking tool. All he had to make sure that no blood was spilt on it and no scary freaky things although Bob still would blame it on ghosts.

Reluctantly sighing Bob allowed a small cut on him that the blood may fall from. He already invested too much time and effort into this little project forced on him to actually stop a little before its over. "Fine. Are we done now?" Bob asked hoping that Koffurn would not him to do anything else. "Sure?" Bob asked again before declaring "great! I'll just take my prize and see you next time you need a game." Hopefully by then, Koffurn would actually have mizas.