Graded [Ryken City] A Purchase From the Would Be Queen

[Silent Angel]

Rachael Meredith

The amazon's eyes examined the doors and signs of buildings she passed by, looking for a smithy she had been told was nearby. Sadly, this was one of the drawbacks to not getting into the adventurer's guild, as the one there, considering she had been helping the shorty as of late, would have been a bit more convenient, but most of the things would be full priced there for non-adventurers. However, she had hope in her heart that this one would be good as well, as she had heard good things about them.

Her eyes caught the name of one of the shops that stopped her dead in her tracks. She stared at it for a few moments, wondering if she was hallucinating, forcing her to think back to what people had said the name was. She had thought of it as a joke that quite a few folks were in on, but... apparently they weren't joking. She sighed, walking up to the door and pushing it open. "You know, the name of this place could have a bit more tact. And that's coming from someone like me."​

 

[Elvario]

Regula
​

Regula was working on her gun, the muzzle to be exact. Her last field-test had nearly blown it off. Perhaps a bit too much combustion magic, or a projectile that jammed. Either way, it needed a fair bit of work, so shd picked a day at which Rossle himself wasn't at the forge. She wouldn't want to be constantly in his way when freeloading off of his own forge, after all. She was surprised when someone walked into the smithy, until she realised she must've forgotten to put up a closed sign. Most of her orders went through Rossle, after all. That said... this particular customer piqued her interest. A lot, at that. So she decided not to chase them out with the excuse they closed.

“Hah, be sure not to tell the old Dwarf or you'll get a lecture.” She observed Rachael for a fair bit, not really showing any shame with regards to staring at someone and even including appraising her to make sure she wasn't a criminal or monster. When she was satisfied with that, she continued. “I'm Regula, Rossle's apprentice. Are you here to make an order?”

 

[Silent Angel]

Rachael Meredith

Rachael walked up to the counter, not seeming to notice the lady appraising her, or at least not caring as much as if she was a man. She leaned onto it, looking down at the lady across from her, a small smirk playing across her face. "Well, I think I could handle a lecture. Wouldn't be as strange as having to say 'I get upgrades from the Bastard's Bastard,' after all. But a name doesn't really mean that the work is as strange as the title."

She waited as the lady introduced herself, giving a slight nod in response to her words. "Yeah, I do. I think my armor needs an upgrade." She tilted her head down towards her clothing, which seemed to be normal cloth, but with a closer inspection turned out to be more of almost threaded metal, except for the frills. "And I'm Rachael. Nice to meet you."​

 

[Elvario]

Regula
​

“Most people just say that they got 'em from Rossle or they stay silent about it, and the work only gets as strange as the orders.” Regula clicked her tongue. “Armour, huh? That's going to be a large order.” She was wondering why the girl hadn't brought in the armour supposed to be upgraded, until she noticed Rachael was wearing it. “Well, that's certainly... unique.” She'd never worked with this type of armour before, that much was sure.

Regula was debating what options she could give Rachael, before saying them aloud. “If you want to spent a small fortune for something legendary, you'll want the owner himself, but I'm fairly sure I can reforge this into something good for a fair price.”

 

[Silent Angel]

Rachael Meredith

Rachael let out a chuckle. "So, should I instead say I got it from Regula? Since you'll be the one working on it?" She flashed the girl a smile, obviously thinking her words were at least some level of comical, before starting to straighten out her clothes, nodding at the next statement about how unique her armor was. "Yes it is. Though, I enjoy it well enough nowadays, since I'm wearing it by choice and not for a job. How bout you? Do you think it looks good on me?" She did a small spin, letting the girl get a good look at it, before coming to a stop, a smirk on her face as she leaned back onto the counter.​

 

[Elvario]

Regula
​

“Only if you're praising it.” Regula replied to the question of getting her name attached to the work. “Otherwise you're free to say it's Rossle's.” All of her joking aside, she was a bit surprised by the question whether it looked good, but decided to go with a political option. “Sure, it's cute.” That said, Regula was far more interested in getting to work on this. She wanted to get to the bottom of however this armour functioned and more, she wanted to learn how to make it even better. In fact, she didn't even think through her actions when she approached Rachael to lift up part of her skirt in order to examine the metal threads from up close. “It's really remarkable...” She said, as she was trying to get a feel for the distance and patterns. She had no skills in weaving whatsoever, but now that she was checking it out from up close, she could definitely see the makings of a blacksmith underneath its outward appearance.

 

[Silent Angel]

Rachael Meredith

"Oh, I'll make sure of it, don't worry~ And thanks for the compliment~" Her eyes drifted around the room before she felt the front of her skirt getting raised up. Slowly but steadily Rachael's eyebrows lifted, just like what the blacksmith had done to her skirt, before she finally said, "Thanks, It's my pride and joy. Though, just so you know, I'm glad you're cute and don't seem to be doing that to peek underneath, because otherwise you'd have a red hand print on your face." Her voice was joking, but it was somewhat embarrassing for her, as the lady was only a few inches from getting to see what she had put on to protect her nethers, and she preferred that to remain a secret.​

 

[Elvario]

Regula
​

Regula was reminded of her actions by a gentle threat of immediate violence, but she was surprised more by its implications. Someone that went out of their way to dress this provocatively showing signs of embarrassment was oddly endearing. She figured it'd be best not to start teasing her potential customer too much, but at the same time, it did raise a question. “Right, of course. So, when did you want me to work on it?” She wasn't sure if the half-giant had brought a change of clothes, but Regula did know that she wouldn't be able to work on this armour whilst she was wearing it, so she assumed she was planning to bring it back on a later date.

 

[Silent Angel]

Rachael Meredith

The half giant's eyes glanced from the door to the area behind the counter ,her eyes thoughtful. "Well..." She glanced down at her clothes. "I would rather get them done now. Though, do you guys have a back room? Or are you expecting any more customers? If either of those might be a problem, I can probably come back another time, but I would prefer getting it done now. Need it for something."​

 

[Elvario]

Regula
​

Regula checked her pockets, before shaking her head. “I've only got the keys to this place and the outdoor area.” Still, there was another option. “I can put up the closed sign to make sure there won't be any other customers though. Not like I was expecting anyone to begin with, as most come for Rossle himself and most know he's not around this time of day.”

 

[Silent Angel]

Rachael Meredith

Rachael glanced at the front area, noting that no passerby could see her inside. "Alright, that should work. And I'll make sure to come around more often when he isn't here, if you do a good job. After all, it would mean I get all the blacksmith's attention I could want." She turned just in time to give the girl a wink before walking to the side of the room, already starting to strip down, taking off the strange looking armor until all that was left was what she wore underneath.​

 

[Elvario]

Regula
​

After walking over to the door to put up a 'closed' sign on the outside and locking it behind her, Regula turned back towards Rachael. Her half-giant customer was quick to confuse her, as she had displayed some modesty and even shyness not a moment ago, but she was now teasing her on a level that outdid her clothing. Perhaps it was to cover for embarrassment? Regula took it as a possibility. In fact, it'd be fun to test that theory, so she had her words ready. “If it's just the attention you want, I'm willing to give it free of charge.” She'd put actions to words as she wouldn't avert her eyes, but in all honesty, there were only a few things she was curious about. One was a passing curiosity whether the assets of the half-giant were equally half-gigantic (which her outfit already mostly assured to be true regardless), the other was a much more lasting curiosity as to how this odd type of armour would fit and stretch when taken off, as that'd be some vital information to have when working on it.

If anything, she was surprised. “I've still got no clue how anyone came up with this, but I think I'm starting to get an idea on how it's made, at least. That said, I want to make sure that I don't accidentally make the parts that need to be stretchable too firm when upgrading it, so just to confirm I've got them all down, would you mind putting it on and off again?” As she said it, she took out a piece of paper and some charcoal, making a rough sketch of armour and then making the areas that needed to be extra stretchable darker. Confirming them if Rachael were to repeat as instructed.

 

[Silent Angel]

Rachael Meredith

Rachael grinned at the girl, not seeming to care anymore that only a small bit of cloth in two areas protected her body. One of her eyebrows raised at the statement which the amazon took as teasing, or maybe the lady did enjoy her form. Either way, she decided to press it more, leaning forward so her assets took up more of the lady's vision. "Sure, you can check me out, if you really do like how I look~ Hell, if it gives me a discount I wouldn't mind you keeping your eyes on me when they aren't on your work!"

She started to comply with the order, putting on the frilly armor once more, pulling it up and zipping the dress on the side before taking it off again. She glanced at the other lady expectantly. "So? That good enough, or do you want me to do it again?"​

 

[Elvario]

Regula
​

Now that Rachael was putting herself on display with zero shame, it was a whole lot less interesting to Regula. After confirming her 'minor' interest in the mayor assets, she was able to focus well on what she needed to learn for her actual job. That said, she still had a proposal to respond to in a political fashion. “You're not unpleasant on the eyes, I'll grant you that, but I'm afraid it won't earn you a discount.”

Regula nodded after her orders were followed, confirming her suspicions. “No, that was good enough.” She then went to take over the actual outfit, cleaning off the normally sooth, grime and iron dust covered workbench a little with a nearby rag before putting the outfit on it. She then went to work, carefully extracting one of the metal threads to study it further on its own, before wandering off the forge. It'd be a long process, but she was sure she could coat these and make a stronger alloy that'd full-fill the same purpose, just better.

For the first few threads, she needed all her concentration, but after she was getting the hang of it, she felt a bit more comfortable having a conversation whilst working. “So, if you don't mind me asking, what do you do for a living?”

 

[Silent Angel]

Rachael Meredith

The amazon shrugged, her eyes looking around the area once more as she said, mostly to herself, "Well, I guess it was worth a shot." She focused back on the lady when her outfit started getting worked on, watching with interest, even if she wasn't fully sure what she was doing. "I don't do too much, to be honest. I was plannig on becoming an adventurer, but the guild and me had a... disagreement. I'm tempted to try and get a job, but I'm not totally sure what to try and get. Maybe..." She trailed off, seeming to not totally be sure about if she should continue.​

 

[Elvario]

Regula
​

“A disagreement with the guild?” She paused for a moment. “Sounds like I might be smithing away my chances at getting a good deal with them in the future.” After a bit of silence, she laughed. “Well, I guess that was already gone when I apprenticed with Rossle, so who cares. Still, what kind of trouble did you get into to get into a disagreement with them?” Regula also wasn't planning to let her off the hook with leaving it off by ending on a maybe. “... and maybe what?”

 

[Silent Angel]

Rachael Meredith

Rachael chuckled, her face showing no small bit of contempt for the guild as she started to list what she had seen one of them do in a single meeting. "They condone kidnapping, breaking into others property, and convoluted schemes that instead of being simple, to the point, and understandable, seem to just be made to start more conflict. They don't care how much they're traumatizing others as long as it somehow works with their hair brained schemes, and it seemed like the person who did all of that wasn't even punished by the guild, but instead the guild acted like it was any other day!"

The amazon let out a frustrated sigh, plopping onto the ground, that outburst seeming to have just put her in a bad mood. But, her mind was taken off of that somewhat by the next question. "W-well... it's kind of dumb. But I think... I want to become a politician when I'm not using my muscles to help the hobbit. Because if I get enough power, politically, then I can go to the adventurer's guild and laugh in their stupid, smug faces and force some change in this city. Some of the ways this city deals with their laws boarder on Draconian, and I think change can't come fast enough. And if it takes someone like me to get that change done, then so be it."​

 

[Elvario]

Regula
​

Regula wasn't sure how to react to the flurry of accusations made against the guild. She also doubted the guild was that bad, but she didn't wish to take their side either. In the end, she figured it best to leave it with a joke. “Are you sure you didn't accidentally apply to the Thieves' Guild instead?”

The other topic was of more interest to Regula. This was where she might make a move. “It doesn't seem like politicians do much here, it's the nobles and royalty that have the power.” As she was smithing the armour with her hands, her mind was smithing a plan to phrase her next words. “If you just want change and not necessarily the power or responsibility, you might be better off finding some lesser noble, or even a bastard, that has the same ideas as you. Try to help strengthen their position to where they get stuff done instead.”

There was one more thing that stood out to her. “I don't think I've seen any hobbits yet. Are they really as small as people say they are?”

 

[Silent Angel]

Rachael Meredith

The half giant chuckled at the joke, picking up that the conversation was over. She waited, listening to what was said, before somewhat scoffing at the notion of finding some noble to back. "If this place is anything like where I come from, Nobles tend to be pompous pricks who only care for themselves, and a ruler won't stay alive long if he doesn't appease the nobles."

After that, however, she paused for a very long time, lost in thought. "Though, becoming a noble myself might be a good idea. Would need to find connections, get myself a job, maybe as a squire, and then I might be able to rise in rank that way. Though that would probably take a while." She hummed to herself as she thought, before hearing the question about hobbits. "Yup, she's a shorty. Though I think the actual term is halfling, hobbit is how I remember them."​

 

[Elvario]

Regula
​

“Are you sure you wouldn't become a pompous prick or fail to stay alive due to not appeasing the other nobles well enough?” Regula replied, wondering if she'd gotten herself a rival rather than an ally thanks to her own suggestion. “It would probably work better if you were to be part of a movement, for that matter. Banded together, you can do a lot more than on your own.”

She paused her work for a moment. “Halfling does sound a lot more familiar. Perhaps hobbit is an insult?” She wasn't sure, but there was one thing she did know. “At the very least halfling sounds a lot more cute than hobbit, as the latter just makes me think of some roundish, big-footed greasy midget.”

As well as the conversation was on the way, Regula still had work to do. The basics of the new threads were given an alloy, but she figured it wouldn't harm to check if everything would still fit well. She poured some water of the threads and made sure it fully cooled down the glowing hot red metal. “Would you mind putting it on for a bit to see if it fits? I can finish up the rest once I'm entirely sure the outline is correct.” She wasn't taking into account that damp clothing would be a lot different to try on that damp armour usually was.

 

[Silent Angel]

Rachael Meredith

Rachael seemed to really be getting into the idea of it, a smile spreading across her face. "Oh, I think that someone who wasn't a noble to begin with and didn't grow up in that type of culture wouldn't end up that way! And I don't think I'm so easily killed... anymore." The last word was almost a whisper as her face darkened for a moment, her eyes glancing away before she perked up again.

She took the outfit, starting to put it on and, when in mid zip, she paused, thinking over what the lady had said about an alliance. Something clicked. "You seem quite insistent on that. I'm assuming you have something in mind?" She finished zipping, but her eyes still looked quizzically at the blacksmith, the dress fitting just as well as it had before..​

 

[Elvario]

Regula
​

“Anymore?” Regula instantly perked up at that odd mention. Was she dealing with a kindred spirit? That would be quite the discovery.

However, Rachael had also taken the bait at long last. “I've got a lot in mind, but most of it is going to require a very strong foundation before things can be set into motion.” Regula was purposefully remaining vague, as casually explaining the full extend of her plan to someone she just met would be outright insane. That said, she had a feeling she could let some of it shiver through, as she was clearly dealing with a fellow rebel and perhaps someone that was even a fellow alien to this world.

Upon expecting Rachael's armour from multiple angles, Regula nodded in self-approval. “It's not tight or straining anywhere? If not, you can take it off again so I can finish it up.”

 

[Silent Angel]

Rachael Meredith

Rachael started to take off the dress once more, pulling down the zipper before pulling the dress down. "No, it feels fine, like it had before." The half giant didn't seem to notice that the girl had repeated what she said, instead focusing all her attention on taking off her armored skirt. Once she had finally stripped fully once more, she offered the dress to the other lady, deciding the moment had passed enough for her to continue talking. "And as for having a strong foundation, how are you planning on doing that? Got any nobles lined up to get at your wares to make connections?"​

 

[Elvario]

Regula
​

“Nobles? Perhaps a few, if any of them are worthy of using what I'm going to be making.” Regula said, as she got back to work finishing up the last few strings and details, which wouldn't take too long now that she as assured the size was all good. “I'm gunning for more though. Fame, wealth, allies, lineage, information all sorts of things that could be turned into power would be good to have.” She figured it was easy to mention what she wanted, but didn't risk telling the stranger what she wanted it for.

Now that Regula had given her answer, she did want to get back to what Rachael had tried to skip past. “So what was up with what you said about getting killed?”

 

[Silent Angel]

Rachael Meredith

"Wow, you have big plans already. Guessing you aren't hoping to become just a noble then?" Her eyes stayed on Regula for a few lingering moments before trailing away. She checked her nails before turning to look at the weapons and armor on display again, obviously putting off answering the question asked of her.

Finally, she shrugged. "Well, I guess the most you can do is tell me I'm insane. Got stabbed. Some dumbass didn't like how much money he was losing at the tables. Took it out on the nearby bunny girl who was small and unable to defend herself. Fucking sad, if you ask me. Bitch didn't even take it out on the dude passing out cards. Must have thought that guy was too scary for a pussy like him." ​