Blacksmith Down

-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--<* A07: Anvilclang Smithy *>--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-

         Down a quiet side alley, a large shield hangs in front of an unassuming shop. Formerly "Under Lock and Key," it appears the shop is under new management. The front door opens with the chime of a small silver bell on an array of locks, locking devices and keys. On the left hand side an assortment of metal shields of all types. On the right there is a set of display armor, and several historical smithing tools arranged thoughtfully on the wall. Straight across at the other end of the hardwood floor is a worn counter with a workbench behind it, though its polish is now influenced by soot. One can see the smithy just behind, a half-room over; and feel its heat. 

The day outside is starting to get hot and muggy, slightly overcast as if it could rain later in the day. Inside the buisness side of the smithy it's not much better. Infact it's almost worse given the closed in confines of the shop and the soot and heat coming from the smithy itself. Bina stands by the counter waiting to be seen by someone with Lord Emp at her feet. In her hands a fan made of peacock feathers swishes back and forth trying to keep her cool in the space. And then, almost desperate, she casts a cantrip in order to help herself get cooler. Almost sighing.

"Stay out here, Spud."

Four words forewarning the arrival of Lanier Vaylan, the ranger stepping into the smithy a few seconds later. He sighs, reaching up to take a wide-brimmed hat off of his head and fan himself. He casts a quick nod towards Sabina, offering an otherwise sedate 'hello' to the Luckbringer before his eyes begin to wander the shop, even if he is standing still.

Bina turns to the sounds of the arriving Lanier through the propped open door. She smiles friendly enough and nods to the man. "Hello Lanier." She says, again pleasantly. "The day treats you well, I hope? And Spud as well?" She continues to fan herself, magic giving her a few more degrees worht of cool around herself, but not enough.

There is a quiet grumble that rumbles up from the depths of the Ranger, but he turns to Sabina and nods his head before replying with a slight hint of a gripping affectation to his voice, "The day is too hot, and I mistimed things. I feel bad about that for Spud. He is doing as well as he can, be's a large furry wolf in a city that wasn't built to accomodate large furry wolves." He then gestures to the peacock, "How are you and...?"

"Lord Emperor.. Emp for short." Sabina says, the bir'ds head coming up proudly as he'd been announced to a room of lesser beings. "Ah.. yes, Emp. You." Bina says rolling her eyes behind her mask. "He's doing much better then myself believe me. And yes the day is rather humid." She looks about for the still missing proprieter. "If you have a dish I'd be happy to provide water again for Spud or us all."

Lanier hmms, "That's a humble name." He then looks up, nodding his head, "We're also getting cooked by the stone the city is built with." He looks away, considering for a moment before he nods his head. Unshouldering his back, Lanier reaches in an removes a large serving bowl. He then holds it out towards Sabina, "Thank you. In a few weeks, I'll need to get Spud his own drinking bucket. He's quite a bit larger than even when you saw him last."

Bina blinks and then leans over tryingto see spud from where she stands. "Really? Well they do grow quickly." As if she knows. Still, it's with a smile that hse pull forth her holy symbol and says a few words of prayer. From nothingness water begins to pour into the bowl. And when it nears the top Bina cups her hands under the flow before kneeling down to offer some to Emp who partakes greedily. "Ever your humble servant, Emp." She says dryly before laughing.

If one were to look out of the window of a shop, they couldn't miss Spud. He's a wolf alright, only he somehow seems to decide to keep growing, and he's now the size of a small pony. Lanier nods his head, and then replies gravely, "And they eat a lot."

As the bowl fills, Lanier then nods his head, lifting the bowl up and taking a gulp of water for himself. He carefully maneuvers for the door, switching to a one handed grip on the bowl, and throws it open. He leands forward, putting the large bowl outside the door and then calling for for Spud and saying the sildanyari word for water.

He returns a moment later, closing the door behind him, "What are you shopping for today?"

Bina raises a brow at the size of the wolf. The gesture is hidden behind her mask though. "I'm here looking for a mithral buckler. As a follower of Tarien I can use shields and armor. Was trained to do so but such things affect my other love, arcane spells. I seek a balance between the two worlds. Normally I'd have not cared one way or the other. But things have gotten more dangerous as time goes on. Vampires, oozes, demon hydra geese. All manor of things."

Lanier raises an eyebrow, and then grunts a hmm. He then nods after a moment's deliberation, "That's a good decision. In their way when you need it to be. Out of your way when you need to cast spells with finger wiggling." Like a curtain falling, his face darkens, "I hate that we have so many demons running around Alexandrios right now. It's like the barriers in the Felwood are breaking down and it's all spilling out."

The priestess stands back up and blinks over to Lanier. "There are barriers out in the Felwood? I'm sorry. I'm still new to the city and area in general. Are you saying ther are some kind of mystic defenses out there that are protecting the city? Or rather keeping things in the Felwood? The one demon I know of that still wanders the sewers is there due to some sort of circle that exhists at the heart of the sewers. And folk such as Seldan are working on that as we speak."

Lanier shrugs, "I think of it as a barrier, but I'm less concerned with how demons and devils get here than I am with how they're leaving." He smiles quickly, the act almost more like the baring of teeth, before his face is long once more, "Are you familiar with the Daemon Wars that created the Vast?"

Bina grins then. "In a general sort of way. Grew up there but my parents were about the day to day traveling and surviving rather then the history of where we were? If that makes any sense. Why worry about the past when the struggle of the day is before you. A thing I heard my papa say more then a few times to my mother durring an arguement."

Lanier nods slowly, "Right. Makes sense." He then proceeds almost gingerly, as if he doesn't have a full grasp of the story himself, "From what I understand, a little piece of the war that created the Vast was also fought in Alexandros, primarily centered around the Felwood. There's a higher than usual amount of demonic and devilish activity there due to that. It was where I originally trained before moving to the Mythwood."

Bina ahhhs softly as she continues to fan her face. "Thus why I encountered a dire hydra goose of demonic origin. I couldn't for the life of my figure out how the creature came to be. I've spent more the a few sleepless nights trying /not/ to picture what mated with the original goose and then what that thing was that mated in turn with a hydra to get what I and a few others defeated." She shudders as if chilly but that's almost impossible given the heat.

Lanier frowns, "Rest assured that it's not a natural occurrence. I've spoken with many rangers who have had encounters with abominations like the one you've described. It's universally accepted that they are products of magics that should have never been performed, extraplanar manipulation and, once, because two creatures caught in the wrong place at the wrong time when a lordling hired an Artificer to heat his toilet in the winter and too much magicite was used."

He pauses for a moment, grimacing and shaking his head, "Anyway, they're the exception, not the rule. Still good to have a shield of some kind, however."

Bina nods with a grin. "If I can ever get someone here to the counter to talk about getting an order. Do you think they're on lunch break?" She peers, craning her neck to look back towards the smithy itself, trying to crach a glimpse of someone. The banging of hammers to metal is certianly going on my no sight of someone to take care of the front. Bina sighs and fans faster. "I'm also wondering about getting some mithral chainmail. Or mithral shirt at least."

Lanier shakes his head slowly, "I'm not certain. Lunch could be the issue here." He narrows his eyes, his jaw flexing, "They coulda put a sign on the door." He peers towards Sabina for a moment, then says, "A chain shirt, most certainly. Full chain armor has negative effects on finger wiggling." He takes a few steps back, "I'm going to see if I can get their attention."

He opens the door, his eyes scanning the alleyway the shop runs up against. He then whistles, tossing his head to the side in a come hither. His mighty wolf companion, Spud, stucks his head into the shop, with Lanier restraining him with a hand across his chest and pressed up against the door jam.

Lanier turns his his head, making eye contact with Spud and then looking towards the door leading back to the shop. This sort of meaningful eye movement to attention certain gets the expected response from Spud. Lanier then clears his throat, emiting a quiet, "Arooooooooooooooo" that starts high and then goes low. Spud bucks forward against Lanier's arm, his ears twitching, but Lanier persists, "Arooooooooooooo." This time, he changes the tone of the fake howl, which seems to agitate Spud just a little more. Finally, on the third, Lanier seems to have found the right quality of fake howl to get a rise out of that instinct in his animal companion, who sticks his nose in the air and shows the human how it's done. Loudly.

There's a crash as hammer hits stone and not metal, followed by several bangs, crashes, and curse words in several different languages.

With an understated smirk and a shove, Lanier intones a quick, "Good boy stay outside," closing the door as quickly as he can.

Bina watches Lanier with some confusion as he howls. But when Spud adds in his own louder howl she understands and then giggles. A giggle that turns to laughter as the small crash is heard from the forge. A muted shout, sounding like someone's name being called with a grumpy voice. There doesn't seem to be a response to the call and Bina mmms softly. Curriousity getting the better of her she steps around the counter and she startles, letting out a gasp. "The clerk! He's passed out!" She shouts before kneeling down to chek on the poor man.

Lanier's eyebrows knit, and he releases the door handle, "Really?" He moves forward quicker than his size would indicate he's otherwise able to. He moves first to his pack, ripping it open and pulling a leather satchel out from a position high above most other things. He then moves towards then counter, placing a hand on it and then leaping the rest with not even a second thought. He lands on the other side of the counter and on the other side of the shopkeeper from Sabina, "Is he breathing?" The clerk is breathing and Bina relays this bit of information with a simple yes. She's gently patting at his cheeks "Hey.. hey.. can you hear me?" She asks the downed clerk. The only response she gets is a rolling of eyes as he pants softly. "I'm not sure but I think he's overheated. I should have payed attention to the healing classes..." She trails off. "I'm not the best when it comes to such things." She admits.

Lanier shakes his head, "It's alright." He reaches forward, grabbing the khazadi by the beard and pulling, opening his mouth. Then grabbing his tongue with the fingers of his other hand, Lanier nods and then releases the shopkeeper, reaching up to brush the shopkeeper's forehead and then look at his fingers, "His tongue is dry and sticky, and he's not sweating. You've come to a reasonable conclusion." He then gestures over his shoulder, "Can you grab Spud's water bowl, nicely, and then bring it to me?"

Bina nods and goes to fetch the bowl. She too moves much faster then she should be able too. She leans out the door and smiles at the wolf.. the really big wolf. "Hi Spud. I have to borrow your bowl. So please excuse me." She speaks lightly to the animal while slowly reaching out to get the bowl and scurry back inside. "More water, yes?" She asks as she takes up her holy symbol and praying once agian.

For the fiercity of Spud, and the ever present danger he seems to carry along with him, he doesn't really move as Sabina takes the water away. Only watching with disinterested golden eyes.

By the time she returns, Lanier has removed the shopkeepers outermost layers of clothing. He looks up to the cleric, his eyebrows raising, "You're alive!" He then nods his head, "That's great." He then looks back to the Khazadi and nods again, "More water, yes." He goes back to the healer's kit, opening it up quickly and then removing several large cloth squares. He turns back to the bowl, and as the first prayer is done, he dumps the first cloth into the water. He then pulls it out, and without wringing it, begins wiping down the Khazadi, "He's not sweating because of the humidity, right? So we're going to sweat for him. As I wipe him down, will you use your fan to cool him off further?"

Bina nods. "Of course." she says as she starts fanning air over the prone Khazadi. "I can't believe it. I've been standing her almost a half an hour before you got here. I just couldn't see him over the counter. Poor man." She fans a bit faster looking concerned. "Anything else I can do?"

Lanier goes back to the bowl, putting the cloth in it to soak up more water. He then shifts positions, up by the Khazadi's head, "He's poor if he's dead, but he's not dead yet." He reaches down hooking his arm under the dwarf's shoulder, "I'm going to roll him over on his side. Please guide his legs around so he doesn't kick us or something else." He waits for a moment, and then lifts. While the Khazadi is stout, Lanier moves him with little actual effort, placing his knee down on the ground behind the dwarf to prop him up on his side until they can arrange better balancing.

Bina nods and pauses her fanning in order to do as Lanier asks, moving the dwarf's legs over and arranging them in a way to help him stay on his side as well as less chance of kicking out. "Why on his side?" She asks before starting to fan again. "The water I understand but the side not so much." And /now/ she wants to learn?

Once the Khazadi is balances better on his side, Lanier nods his head, "Very good." He reaches out, picking the cloth from the bowl and proceeding to wet down the shopkeeper's back, "It's benefits are two-fold. Currently, it lets us reach his back. The more his skin is cooled, the more likely he'll come out of this unscathed. Second, sometimes, when people wake up, the contents of their stomach empty. If they're on their back, it's highly probable it will lodge in their throat and suffocate them." He then gestures to the fan, "Keep that up. That's the most helpful thing right now."

Bina listens and learns a little something. "Good to know." She says before making a face. "I'd not like to clean out his mouth to clear his breathing." And this time she makes a sound to go long with the face. She increases the speed of her fanning in hopes that it helps as Lanier cools off the man. "Oohh.. come on. You can do it! come on back to the land of the living!" She roots softly for the man. The clerk coughs once and almost heaves up his guts but settles back down. A hand lifts weakly in a wave and in his mind affecting condition he murmurs. "Welc..ome to Anvls clang Smith."

Lanier frowns, his head tilting to the side, "Well, sometimes that's what it takes. You can do any other healing you want, but while their lungs are full of whatever they were chewing a few minutes ago, no herb is going to be very helpful." He continues to wipe water down on the khazadi's back, and when the shopkeeper starts to come around, Lanier nods, "Good." He then adds, "Welcome back, yourself."

Lanier tilts his head and body, putting his forehead almost on the floor to look the shopkeeper in the eye, "Hmm, alright." He sits back up to a kneeling position and then he says, "Luckbringer, I'm going to pull him up to seated position. Take one of the clean rags, wet it down, and then wring it out into his mouth until he starts getting his wits back about him." Upon acknowledgement, Lanier does in fact life the dwarf up and lean him up against the back wall behind the counter, ensuring he's stable before he stands up, "I'm going back into the shop to get someone. If he starts to pass out again, put him back on his side and yell." He gives Sabina a thumbs up, asking quietly, "Are you alright?"

Bina nods quickly. "I'm good. Thank you for being here and assisting. I'd not have known what to do myself." She tells the ranger. Then she dutifully takes a rag and wets it before carefully wringing it near the Khazad's face. The gentle trickle half going into his mouth, the rest into his beard and over his skin. "Just got to make sure I don't drown the man before you come back." She manages to say with a grin.

Lanier nods his head, "You're welcome." He turns, looking over his shoulder and then says, "I'll be back." He takes a long step over the Khazadi, getting to the other side of the shopkeeper before he continues on to the door that leads into the shop.