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 Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 3:34 pm
Dante sat while Damion drew and described his request, sipping quietly from the mug. For the most part Dante was taking a mental inventory and though he had everything on hand he was considering sending the man on a quest, but then he'd already done that already. That wouldn't be terribly sporting of the man after all, but it was awfully tempting. Dante smiled a small grin hidden behind the lifted coffee mug before returning to his mental inventory.
"Cooling in Salt, is perhaps not advisable as if you mean quenching in salt water. Beyond the fact that its potentially corrosive if not immediately rinsed, its also a much higher chance of cracking. Which considering the surface area of the item would mean even if it doesn't fully crack the grain stress would make for a much less robust and certainly lower impact resistance."
Dante paused to take another sip of the mystery liquid in the cup.
"Which I'm assuming is a property you'd like to keep. There is however, a potential compromise."
Dante put the cup down on the counter an walked around the counter to loop at the notebook from the same side as Damion. Picking up the pen, Dante drew an arrow to the rim on the outside of the shield.
"Polishing or not polishing the steel really doesn't effect the finish all that much, once clean of scale steel can still be shiny, even if not polished. The only thing polishing does is ensure a more regular surface finish. Depending on how much its polished, the surface becomes more and more uniform, and therefore more reflective."
Dante wrote simple annotation next to the arrow 'NaCl' and laid the pen back down.
"What you are actually looking for is a uniform surface treatment that will not reflect light. THAT I can do, and more than that it involves Salt."
Dante picked up the cup again and took a quick drink from his mug to wet his throat as he began speaking again, setting the mug down next to him.
"Salt in molten salt forms a surface coating known as a phosphate, or in the gun trade its known as a 'salt bluing.' Its not an easy thing to do but done right it will protect the rim from rusting and get you the sort of non reflective surface you are looking for.
Now I don't know if it has to be cold salt water for whatever ritual you have planned, but other than just rinsing it in salt water I wont compromise the pieces performance for rituals sake.
It wouldn't help my reputation in the least..."
Dante walked back around the counter carrying the mug with him.
"... And no to answer your question I don't require anything else. Since it seems you will be handling the finishing yourself, I should have everything I need."
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Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 5:43 pm
Damion listened in silence, his head tilting slightly to the side as he considered. The salt was the important part, everything else was secondary to him. But it was as Dante said, he didn't want it breaking on him after all, and this compromise sounded perfect. A nonreflective surface was what he wanted, but how it was achieved had been beyond him to begin with.
" That sounds perfect. You'll have to excuse my lack of knowledge, my knives were relatively simple to make so I don't know much in the way of making things."
He wasn't embarrased, after all if he had known enough he could have just made it himself right? No, he had come to Dante for just this reason, the mans knowledge was as he had been told.
" So with this Salt Bluing, the edge is more protected from the elements and comes off as a Matte finish? Tempature is unimportant for my purposes, the salt is what matters really. It simply needed an element of salt. I do have a more pressing concern. My Homeland is mostly swamp, a mixture of salt water marshes and freshwater brought down from the northern mountains. Will the shield be able to take such an environment for long or will special precautions be needed?"
He didn't want the shield rusting up or being destroyed somehow just because of his duties. He could only do so much in the way of weather protection by himself, the shield had to be able to do well enough by itself. He noted the lack of additional supplies, feeling slightly disappointed. It was his job to hunt for things or deliver things after all, but this would be a kind of vacation.
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Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 6:31 am
"Well I'm not going to lie, you are going to have to stay on top of things to keep it from oxidizing. Oiling it daily, avoiding direct submergence, polishing it regularly to avoid pitting. These will all go a long way towards preventing rust. On my end there are a few things I can do to prevent or delay rusting, but in the long run its going to take regular maintenance and consciousness of your equipment if you continue to stay in that swamp of yours."
Dante pulled a glass bottle from behind the counter a thin black label wrapping in a spiral along the sides, pouring a bit of the clear liquid into the coffee mug. He stopped about half way up, and set the bottle down on the counter putting the stopper back into the mouth of the bottle, then offered the cup or so of alcohol left in the bottle to Damion.
"Its going to take six days to make your request, and probably another day of finishing to get it properly outfitted with the fixtures and furniture that would make it actually useful as a shield. So seven days give or take a day.
Now as for payment..."
Dante took a long drink and smacked his lip as the sweet, apple based brandy hit his throat. Though even from this distance Damion could probably smell the strength of the alcohol. Dante smiled a warm smile as the liquor burned his throat all the way down.
"...That's where I draw a blank. "
Though the chill in the air had almost passed, it was still cool enough to enjoy a warming drink before the morning chill had completely passed. though drinking this early in the morning probably would seem odd to some people.
"I've absolutely no idea what you have to offer. I'm assuming your wealth belongs in things other than monetary assets considering you're living in a swamp these days."
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Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 8:17 am
Damion nodded slowly, listening to the things he had already suspected. He took the proffered drink with a nod and smile, holding it gingerly between fingertips and thumb as if it was some caustic acid. Bringing it to his nose, the elemental took a sniff, smiling as he sifted through the scents contained there-in, eyes watering as the full force of the alcohol scent smacked him in the face.
Before he could drink, however, Dante brought up the issue of payment, and this brought an even wider smile to his face, teeth the color of old ivory shining on his face.
" I had something in mind."
He set down the bottle, reaching behind his back to a small kit he kept there. In his right hand he pulled out a bottle not much bigger than a prescription bottle, a leather casing covering it and hiding the contents from view, and in his left a small pouch, about the size of a baseball although irregularly shaped. Both of these he set on the counter.
" the bottle contains a mixture of water, fresh, and a trolls stomach acid. The water keeps the acids from melting straight through stone and steel, but makes it potent enough to do short patterns in the material. Like mundane acid, but more potent. You use this brush to apply it. In the bag there are gems, a random assortment, I am unsure of their value here."
As he spoke Damion pulled out a brush aswell, the fine hairs at the end brown fading to green at the end, brought down to a rounded tip almost like a caligrapher's brush.
" My homeland may not be much in the way of monetary value, but I am able to make things from time to time myself when the rigors of protecting it aren't too demanding. If these are not acceptable, I have one final offer."
And once again those hands disappeared, taking the last item from the kit at his hip, the 3 pouches now very empty as he thumped it onto the table. It was a dark rock, almost like marble with the multiple colors shooting through it and just as shiny, but it was warm to the touch. He had carved it into the shape of a large coin, almost three inches across.
" This Rock."
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Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 8:54 am
Dante watched as he pulled out the various items he had on him, it was not exactly what he had expected. From a swamp he had expected plants and poultices, teeth of large reptiles, skins etc but this was decidedly different. One thing was plainly obvious, the acid wasn't exactly what he was looking for. The gems on the other hand generated a subdued response from Dante as he opened the pouch and peaked inside before returning them to the counter. Quote: "If these are not acceptable, I have one final offer." "Lets see it." Dante was not known for driving a hard bargain, and though he was more than willing to trade for the most part had had no real need of gems and even less need of acid. He wondered what his newest offer would be when he got his answer all Dante could do is laugh. It was the sort of laugh not expected from such a consistently serious person, but regardless of its levity it was also quite short, Dante composing himself quickly and taking a drink from his mug before continuing. "Alright, you have my attention..." Dante couldn't help but barely hold back the hint of a giggle as he wondered what sort of snake oil this stone was going to exude.
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Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 9:13 am
" Seems a simple rock, yes? Simple as can be, but feel it." He offered the stone to Dante, picking it up gingerly and holding it out with a smile. " Feel the heat, the texture. Smooth as can be, and lighter than it should be. I found this on an adventurer who came to my home, he was holding onto it. If you grind some of the stone dust off it, it makes a small poof when thrown in fire!"
Damion became very animated now, clearly enamored with the small rock, " Just a small bit, I am afraid of what may happen if more is taken. It may have been harmless at first, but who knows what would happen if more was taken? or if the veins were introduced?"
And he didn't, but he had a good idea what it would do if the greenish veins were ground into the stone dust. The Hydra's poison sense was good, he could tell when something was amiss and this stone definately had the taste of poison around it. Dark purple streaks ran across it's surface like lightning, cutting across the green veins without reason. The white stone around it reflected the light around them brilliantly.
" In any case, you are free to expirement with it at your leisure, even if it is not an acceptable offer."
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Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 9:37 am
"uh huh..."
Dante was not exactly clamoring over the counter to take the stone as payment. Sure it was interesting but it wasn't exactly the most useful of items for a smith. It was unusual and perhaps he'd either find a use for it or barter it off to some other explorer. For now though he needed to try and cover his expenses or this would be less than a fair exchange.
"Alright I'll take the rock, and the gems but I'm going to need a touch more collateral to cover the costs."
Dante picked up the bag of gems first and did a quick precursory sort and guesstimate of what the stones were worth and then closed the bag and did a bit of mental math. He had already guesstimated what he could sell the stone for and overall it was still coming up short to even cover his costs. Though admittedly it wasn't that much of a loss, Dante wouldn't mind a few extra items to even it out.
"Keep the acid, I really don't need it. However, If you throw in some skins from a plated lizard. That and eight or so large teeth from a gator or some other carnivorous reptile by the time I finish the shield...
Then we have a deal."
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Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 2:03 pm
" I beleive I can manage that."
He smiled alittle, back into his own territory.
" Do you need the teeth from a live creature or no?"
A dead alligator would be easier and likely safer for both parties, but a live one presented new opportunities Damion rarely got to explore. But it was up to Dante in the end, sometimes rituals called for odd things. As he talked he scooped the bottle of acid back up, twirling it between his fingers for amoment before replacing it amongst the hip pouches. It would take him awhile to get home and back, but he was sure his ride was fast enough for the job.
"And any specific size of plated lizard? We....tend to have big animals at home....I beleive it's the influence of our diety, but it requires more research."
That had been the subject of much debate between himself and some of the Deep Ones, but Dante didn't need to know all that. It would make a difference to Damion though, who had to gather the things and make sure they were good enough for Dante's purposes. Damion settled his hands on his hips, all ready to leave out now but needing his info.
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Posted: Sat Mar 27, 2010 8:11 am
"Good, I didn't expect it would inconvenience you much. The teeth don't have to come from a live animal as long as they are clean, I don't exactly enjoy the smell of rotting flesh, at least when I can avoid it."
Dante really did have an aversion to taking thing' s from scavenged kills, mostly a sense of honor but that was really irrelevant if the kill was fresh enough. Raw materials were raw materials after all.
"What I'm really after is the tail, so as long as its over two feet it should be fine. The rest though still quite useful for various projects is not my primary object in this material."
Dante was unaware of what the deep ones were and truly for the moment he didn't care, with a price negotiated his mind was already at work. Considering the conditions the shield would encounter and the modern world he still lived in Dante had already worked out an arrangement of materials for the shield. Nothing that he didn't already have on hand, but still he had other plans for the items Damion was going to fetch.
"Well Mr. Hedley if yo agree to the price than I believe we have an agreement. In seven days your order should be complete, I dont reccomend returning before then...
I can be somehwat 'twtichy' if approached un announced."
Dante signed the bottom of the piece of paper which had the rough dimensions on it, wrote down the additional items he requested as well as what he had already paid and ripped it from from the notebook, holding it out for the man to take.
"Here iss your receipt sir, if you see anything in the display cases you would like just make note of it, and you can pick it up with your order."
And with that, Dante turned and walked out an open store room door behind the counter, closing it with a definitive 'thud.' The doors here were apparently much thicker than they seemed.
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