Smuggler's Vale - Evening Forging

[CautionCat]

With a flick of her wrist, she summoned a single orb of lavender light, and raised it just high enough that it illuminated the both of them. "I always forget not everyone can see in the dark. I do like your eyes. And your... crooked smile. You have... a charm to you."

[opius]

He wrinkled his nose and smiled, looking over his appearance in the mirror again. "Oh you like my crookedy teeth and my big ears too, huh?" He laughed and looked back to her. "Well, I suppose I've got an earthy crunchiness to myself. It's come in handy, I think- no one expects much from a goofy looking fellow."

[CautionCat]

"You are unexpected." She nodded, and closed the mirror, tucking it back into her bag. "But he said you took after her?"

"It is funny, my ma always said I took after my papa." Konane brought her hands to her face, and rubbed her cheeks some. "He has skin like mine, eyes like mine. Loooong poofy black hair. But he was... large. Not as large as Jaeger, but I could imagine he is very close. I was almost hoping the Otonin in the picture was him, when I first saw it. But, I guess there are other large Otonins who roam the world. He will be harder to find than I thought..."

[opius]

He nodded and smiled. "And a good thing too- Alain told me about the man in the picture. Devil Darke. They were friends until..." He shrugged. "Things... went bad with the gunslingers. And the pirate princess. And... the other faction." He pursed his lips. "... We should ask her about that- at least, find out if it's okay to talk about to us, or if we should be secretive even among one another. I think Alain would leave out context because of course he would."

[CautionCat]

"Devil Darke... he sounds like someone you should not cross." Konane frowned, furrowing her brows some. "Someone, if you speak his name too often, he will appear, and curse you."

"Talk to Sae, you mean? She... seems to be very trusting of us, not spreading any gunslinger information. They mentioned a lot during the time she brought me, and she said quite a bit when Alain spoke of it. I am sure she would not mind."

[opius]

He nodded. "Yes, Sae. It was pretty weird hearing both of them recount the same thing. Maybe quietly, privately, she might share more. She does put a lot of trust in us, and I'd hate to pry too much... But she does trust us. And maybe knowing the full story might help us in the future."

[CautionCat]

Konane nodded. "When she is done with her new girlfriend, she can talk to us." And she snickered, covering her mouth some.

[opius]

Alastair laughed and wrinkled his nose. "Wh- girlfriend? You mean like, a fancy? No way. They're probably strategizing and commiserating over who's a worse Drow or who's a worse Mareki."

[CautionCat]

"Mmmn. I think Sae likes to pair off with girls and isn't sure which one she wants to stay with yet." Konane looked to the door of the forge, and pursed her lips some.

"The night is not getting younger. How long do you think it will take you to make a brush?"

[opius]

"Do you really think so?" Alastair glanced about the workshop, searching for lights and signs of life. He proceeded to knock on the front door. "Ohn. I'm not sure. A few hours, maybe, long enough for the wax to set and the lacquer to cure..."

[CautionCat]

Konane shrugged. "I could be wrong. I never asked her, and shouldn't assume. Maybe I will ask her, tomorrow, to just talk."

She nodded some, watching the door for a moment. "I suppose with your skills, a brush shouldn't take too long."

[Ancelas]

The forge was only two streets down from town common, tucked up against the mountain cradling the Refuge. It was larger than one might have expected, two stories tall and long, with several chimneys. While the sun had gone down, it was not late, and there was light in the windows, even though the doors were closed.

After a moment, a viewport mounted on door slid open and a pair of eyes stared out. It slid shut almost immediately, and a moment later the large door began to roll to the side. Just beyond the door was a brown-haired dwarven woman, her long hair drawn back and tied into a bun, with shoulders and arms almost as wide and thick as Jaeger's. She was dressed in a green nightgown embroidered with hammers and anvils.

"Good evening to you," she said, looking from Alastair and Konane. "Bit late to come 'round knocking on people's doors now, don't you think?"

[opius]

Alastair's responded with a firm but short nod to the woman and spoke a greeting in dwarven, a phrase that translated roughly as, "Apologies for the late interruption, neighbor."

He spoke again, this time in common. "I hope it's not a bother, but we were hoping to borrow some time in the craft space. Today's excitement has me wound up, and, well, I'm sure your no stranger to blowing off steam in the workshop."

He lifted his shoulders some. "Could I impose on your generosity?"

[Ancelas]

The dwarven woman arched an eyebrow and looked between Alastair and Konane. "Nighthammers, feh. You're lucky we took the time to insulate our rooms. If you wake up the mistress, there'll be hell to pay."

She stepped back to let the two visitors inside. "I recognize you - you're the outsiders, Felix's friends. Hope you don't mine us charging a modest fee for the workspace. How long you plan on renting an anvil?"

[opius]

"Yeah, that's us, hah! Well met." Alastair smiled. "Oh, I speak Gold as well as I speak Dwarven. Really, I just need to work through something- and an hour or two should wear me out." He began reaching for his coin purse.