The silver shoppe thrummed with activity again after so long.
Jodiah Ayreg had been busy not only with his normal routine of blacksmithing, but also with other, more pleasurable persuits. Killing. Maiming. Flaying (a particularly satisfying bout of skinning two nights past, by the by, earned him a considerable amount of Flaydskin stock suitable for making premium-quality sword and dagger hilts, as well as a few pairs of high-quality gloves. Sadly, the man was not large enough for a full suit of Flaydskin Armor).
Amongst these pleasurable persuits were Obsidian and Belial.
Truth in the telling, he had been actually rather distracted from his labors here at the Dragon's Breath, but he did leave it in the care of Zorbenastrocalipermeneotullis (otherwise known as Bob). That wizened old gnome could direct the others, even when Joshel the Large (the Gnome) was supposedly their "captain."
Silly gnomes.
The pendant had already been finished nearly a half-hour ago, and the silver was still soft enough to set some standoffs into. He decided upon a second look, though, that standoffs would not set well into the conical-shaped imprint where the gem was to be set. Tiny silver hammer picked up and magnifying glasses swung down over the azure glow of his eyes, he set into the sides of the silver pendant, near the top, retainers instead. Once pressed down, they would bend outward and grip whatever was impressed into the socket. In this case...
Whereas the first necklace he had created had been alternating loops and counterloops, set into an exquisite pattern and design, this new necklace was far more simpler to make (yet no less ornate). This necklace was considerably shorter, not near as to having the reach down the torso that the first one did. Therefore, it didn't need the flexibility of the loops -- he chose, instead, a tripple-woven silver "rope" twist, offset in regular intervals by interlaced black pearls.
The pendant itself had a seperate ropy strand dangling from it, capped with another black pearl. Conscripting Rendap, he had ensured that the bend-and-twist joints (as the gnomish tinkerers called them; their craft continued to madden him to frustration) that connected the pendant to the primary rope of the silver chain would give it maximum flexibility, while not having the gaudy look of jointing and saddle hatches. All in all, he was quite approving of the final product.
But it was not his eyes that would have to approve.
Tweezers in hand, the circular fire opal, lustrous and brilliant, was set into the pendant and pushed past the retainers. Three soft clicks were heard, then, and Jodiah smiled, giving the brilliant gemstone an experimental tug.
It was quite secure.
Flipping the pendant over, he took up the engraving tool.
Exhaling sharply through his lips, he blew away the flakes of silver that attempted to cling to what the engraving had cleared out. He nodded, satisfied, and turned the necklace-and-pendant over again, quickly examining it for any faults or flaws before packing it away into a box.
Then..
Another necklace was withdrawn. Silver, too, dropping into a double-triangle pendant with a sapphire mounted into standoffs upon the pendant. It took a tricky bit of fingerwork to get it off the slumbering Obsidian, but it was in his posession now, and she never did wake.
Turning it over, he set it into the engraving vice. Her name was still there, of course, right where he had left it so long ago. The tool was lifted, and he finished filling the space he had left when he first crafted the necklace.
His work was complete. Jodiah Ayreg mounts the silver-sapphire necklace into a box seperate from the silver-fire opal necklace, and places both into his pack. He rises, moving out of the silver shoppe. He glanced down at the case that Kairee had delivered for him, but still didn't speak those god-awful embarassing words to open it. Admantium was inside, and he had but to summon her to forge them into a pair of blades worthy of a battle-mage. He'd put that off for as long as he could, though, to keep from speaking those bull-goosed foolish words...
Ah, but as for the necklaces? Presumptious, perhaps, but Jodiah Ayreg was a man known for his foolish pride, and his arrogance. It would seem only natural he mark those he calls lovers in some way, perhaps special to him.
And he so adored giving gifts.
Jodiah Ayreg had been busy not only with his normal routine of blacksmithing, but also with other, more pleasurable persuits. Killing. Maiming. Flaying (a particularly satisfying bout of skinning two nights past, by the by, earned him a considerable amount of Flaydskin stock suitable for making premium-quality sword and dagger hilts, as well as a few pairs of high-quality gloves. Sadly, the man was not large enough for a full suit of Flaydskin Armor).
Amongst these pleasurable persuits were Obsidian and Belial.
Truth in the telling, he had been actually rather distracted from his labors here at the Dragon's Breath, but he did leave it in the care of Zorbenastrocalipermeneotullis (otherwise known as Bob). That wizened old gnome could direct the others, even when Joshel the Large (the Gnome) was supposedly their "captain."
Silly gnomes.
The pendant had already been finished nearly a half-hour ago, and the silver was still soft enough to set some standoffs into. He decided upon a second look, though, that standoffs would not set well into the conical-shaped imprint where the gem was to be set. Tiny silver hammer picked up and magnifying glasses swung down over the azure glow of his eyes, he set into the sides of the silver pendant, near the top, retainers instead. Once pressed down, they would bend outward and grip whatever was impressed into the socket. In this case...
Whereas the first necklace he had created had been alternating loops and counterloops, set into an exquisite pattern and design, this new necklace was far more simpler to make (yet no less ornate). This necklace was considerably shorter, not near as to having the reach down the torso that the first one did. Therefore, it didn't need the flexibility of the loops -- he chose, instead, a tripple-woven silver "rope" twist, offset in regular intervals by interlaced black pearls.
The pendant itself had a seperate ropy strand dangling from it, capped with another black pearl. Conscripting Rendap, he had ensured that the bend-and-twist joints (as the gnomish tinkerers called them; their craft continued to madden him to frustration) that connected the pendant to the primary rope of the silver chain would give it maximum flexibility, while not having the gaudy look of jointing and saddle hatches. All in all, he was quite approving of the final product.
But it was not his eyes that would have to approve.
Tweezers in hand, the circular fire opal, lustrous and brilliant, was set into the pendant and pushed past the retainers. Three soft clicks were heard, then, and Jodiah smiled, giving the brilliant gemstone an experimental tug.
It was quite secure.
Flipping the pendant over, he took up the engraving tool.
Exhaling sharply through his lips, he blew away the flakes of silver that attempted to cling to what the engraving had cleared out. He nodded, satisfied, and turned the necklace-and-pendant over again, quickly examining it for any faults or flaws before packing it away into a box.
Then..
Another necklace was withdrawn. Silver, too, dropping into a double-triangle pendant with a sapphire mounted into standoffs upon the pendant. It took a tricky bit of fingerwork to get it off the slumbering Obsidian, but it was in his posession now, and she never did wake.
Turning it over, he set it into the engraving vice. Her name was still there, of course, right where he had left it so long ago. The tool was lifted, and he finished filling the space he had left when he first crafted the necklace.
His work was complete. Jodiah Ayreg mounts the silver-sapphire necklace into a box seperate from the silver-fire opal necklace, and places both into his pack. He rises, moving out of the silver shoppe. He glanced down at the case that Kairee had delivered for him, but still didn't speak those god-awful embarassing words to open it. Admantium was inside, and he had but to summon her to forge them into a pair of blades worthy of a battle-mage. He'd put that off for as long as he could, though, to keep from speaking those bull-goosed foolish words...
Ah, but as for the necklaces? Presumptious, perhaps, but Jodiah Ayreg was a man known for his foolish pride, and his arrogance. It would seem only natural he mark those he calls lovers in some way, perhaps special to him.
And he so adored giving gifts.