Posted by Civilian Thyr Th’arialat (Resident) in Unlikely Friendships (Tag Thyr)

Posted by Civilian Ragna Idun McKenzie (Future Citizen) in Unlikely Friendships (Tag Thyr)

Posted by Civilian Thyr Th’arialat (Resident) in Unlikely Friendships (Tag Thyr)
Posted by… suppressed (15) by the Post Ghost! 👻
To say Ragna was upset would be an understatement. Her dagger was broken. The stupid hard packed dirt of Oed chipped the blade. Her first inclination had been to take it to Uncle Oddvar to fix. He had made it after all. He wasn’t here though. Terje wasn’t and neither was Blair. There was no one. She had no clan. That was how it felt. Like exile. Runa was willing to be útlagi. Ragna was not. She was miserable, and she was giving in to quite the pity party while Seamus was gone - doing useful work that he enjoyed. He was making strides to prepare for the clan. She was useless.

And now her dagger was broken. The one Uncle Oddvar made for Aunt Trine and Aunt Trine had left to her when she died. She had to get it fixed. So she ventured out seeking, not quite hopeful, to find a
blacksmith on this rock.

She entered the first weapon shop she found and walked toward the counter. The smell of hot metal and extreme heat wafting from the back was promising.

Ragna McKenzie

The Alt’retha Blacksmithery was a decently sized brick building in a busy part of Oed. In the front, there were displays of various weapons, behind glass to prevent tampering or theft. Both functional and display/ceremonial pieces were displayed. The back was a well ventilated blacksmith’s workshop, with racks of tools hanging from the walls, tables around the edges of the room with various power tools. Then there was the anvil, the forge itself, and a barrel of some kind of oil.

Working with one of the power sanders was a six foot tall Andorian, a nine inch black metal blade in his hand, held carefully against the sander, sculpting the shape of the handle. He was not overly big and burly, nor terribly lanky, but looked just a tad rough and tumble. He wore heavy duty work clothes and a heat resistant apron.

Ragna’s eyes went up seeing an Andorian. She had net a few in her days. Most recently the hired thugs that Victoria had paid to assault her husband. She didn’t blame them though. They were doing the job she paid them for. They had done very little damage to Seamus, but he had made sure they wouldn’t return to bother them again. She had been too injured to witness the fight nor would she able to recognize the men. She had a deep respect of their militaristic society and the code of honor they lived by.

When the door opened, he looked up, turned the tool off, and set down the blade, coming to stand at the front desk. Today was his first full day back on the job since Jezem’s revenge with the poison. He was feeling much better, but wasn’t quite 100%.

He looked at the customer who and couldn’t muster anything resembling a friendly look or a smile (he was working on that). “What can I do for you?”

~ Thyr Th’arialat, blacksmith

“Do you do repairs?” Ragna set the small blade on the counter in its leather sheath. “The tip chipped off.” It was small, more a tool than a weapon, unless someone wanted something to conceal in a most unlikely place.

Ragna McKenzie

Thyr picked up the blade and pulled it out of the leather sheath, studying the blade with expert eyes. The shop may be new, but the Andorian had been around, making, or otherwise involved with, bladed weapons for most of his life. “Tip’s always the first to go. It’s all in the making… Don’t get a hard enough tip, and this happens.” He commented as he looked.

Ragna stopped herself from taking offense. Her Uncle was an excellent Smith and that knife was older than she was. “It’s old, about 40 years and has been used a lot. The ground on this ro…planet seemed to be the end of it.”

“Hm.” He said gruffly, looking up at her. “Don’t worry, this rock wasn’t my first choice of residence, either.”

“I could grind in a new point.” He said after another couple of minutes of looking. “Taper the tip a tad more and create a new tip here,” he pointed gently at the end of the break. “Would that be okay?”

~ Thyr

Ragna nodded, “Yes, thank you. How much do you need in advance?”

Ragna

Thyr named an amount about equivalent to forty dollars. “I’ll get it looking as close to original as I can.” It was a human metal, likely steel. Steel was easy to work with, especially compared to other hardenable metals he’d worked with. “How soon do you want it?”

~ Thyr

“Thank you. I appreciate the effort.” Ragna handed over the credits with a knowing glance toward the back of the shop. She knew from experience he had about a 5 days worth of projects she could see. “A week?”

Ragna McKenzie

Another nod. “I’ll have it done by then. You can come back or you can leave contact info for me to call. Either way.” Thyr took the credits. “Thank you.”

~ Thyr

“I will come back, but if you need to contact me, here is my information.” Ragna nodded, “Of course.” She left and spent some time wandering not wanting to go back to an empty room.

Ragna

Four days later Shivan had time to do her job, and when he was done, at about 1400 that day, he called her. =/\= Ragna… McKenzie? The blade you left is ready for you to pick up.=/\=

~ Thyr

Ragna moved to the table and picked up her comm. =/\=Thank you. I can be there in an hour.=/\=

Just a little under that hour she entered Alt’retha Blacksmithery. Her long white blonde hair was loose that day, showing the truly impressive length, and she was wearing a traditional dress with a plaid shawl over her shoulders. This time she paused to examine some of the other blades on display before making her way to the counter.

Ragna

Shivan had hers already out on the counter, sheath next to the blade. It looked almost like new, just a little bit shorter. “Looks okay?” He asked, after she’d had a minute to examine it.

~ Thyr

Ragna picked up the knife and tested the new balance point. She ran the edge and tip over her finger drawing a small amount of blood. “Thank you, this is excellent. I can’t even tell it was damaged before.” Other than it was slightly shorter. “How much is the balance due?”

Ragna

Shivan was about to say something, then changed his mind. “Don’t worry about it. The cost you paid before is enough. It wasn’t that much work, anyway.”

~ Thyr

Ragna was surprised. “You honor me. Your work is worth more than that. My uncle and my sister-in-law are accomplished blacksmiths. I recognize the quality and skill in your work.” She half turned and pointed to a complicated patterned, twisted, and curved blade. “Is that a Doomblade from Gilmagua?”

Ragna

“I’ve dealt in blades most of my life,” said Shivan vaguely. He nodded to answer the question. “It is. When trying to get a shop like this off the ground, best to make a few things to show off skill. I’m not likely to sell any doomblades any time soon, but it does look good, doesn’t it?”

~ Thyr

Ragna nodded. “It’s impressive. One of the most difficult blades I ever fought against. If you ever decide to sell one, I would be interested.”

Ragna

“I’ll sell you that one if you’re serious,” Shivan offered. “I can always make other cool knives. Or another one of those.” He leaned on the counter. “You fight for fun?”

~ Thyr

Ragna grinned, “I am always serious about weapons. I’ll bring my sword by and let you see it some time.” She shook her head. “Where I grew up, it is part of our traditions to be trained to fight. Not for show but respect for our traditions and necessity. However, I do compete in live blade competitions, and won several years. I enjoy having my skills tested.”

Ragna