Nell dusts herself off and stands, striding over to squint at your discovery. "Looks like greefolk make, good quality," she declares after a moment, "can't say what for, though. Mayhap an axle or a tool haft at one point. It looks bent but not broken but it's pretty short for construction... hollow, you say, that's unusual, might be some sort of pipe? But the ends aren't open either... mayhap you'd have better luck asking a blacksmith, I know a couple who sometimes work with greefolk scrap." Nell harrumphs. "...also, I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier. I know you didn't mean aught by it." 

None. 

"That's all right," I assure her. "Where would I find one of the blacksmiths - does it matter which one?"

Prota accepts Nell's apology and asks her advice for contacting blacksmiths. 

"That's all right," you assure her. "Where would I find one of the blacksmiths - does it matter which one?"

Step 149

(Giving the two blacksmiths reason to dislike each other introduces a choice and challenge to the Player. They cannot simply ask both blacksmiths for help without making them angry, or being appropriately sneaky or diplomatic.) [Nell works with two local blacksmiths. Mayard Felksbarrow is a childless widower from a long line of blacksmiths. He makes simple tools to fine quality. His former apprentice, Jachd Grey, favors experimental techniques and fills custom orders, but less reliably. Mayard thinks Jachd is dangerously careless and disrespectful of traditional techniques. Jachd considers Mayard hidebound and unimaginative.] (It could be interesting if Prota encountered these feuding blacksmiths in another context as well.) [Mayard inherited a Clan Council seat, something Jachd considers unfair. They were once very close - Mayard considered Jachd like a son - but they had a dramatic falling-out years ago, set up shop on opposite sides of the Pratch encampment, and haven't spoken since.] 

Advantages of Mayard: experience, fine tools, can identify rare steels. 

Advantages of Jachd: creativity, out-of-the-box thinking, clever tests, works with unusual orders and materials. 

Mayard and Jachd compete for customers, more out of spite than because there isn't enough work to go around. Nell doesn't mention that Mayard is a Council member, since she doesn't bother with politics much and it's not salient to her. 

"Well, they both have their specialties," Nell muses aloud. "Mayard Felksbarrow has the most experience, and makes the finest tools. Knows a lot about the different kinds of metal that greefolk leave behind, and what they're good for. I get all my nails and most replacement parts from him, he does good work. Jachd Grey, his former apprentice, does custom orders for - " she gestures at the leather-wrapped contraption " - unusual designs. He's not as experienced as Mayard but he more than makes up for it in enthusiasm and open-mindedness. He'll craft things that Mayard won't even consider, but they're often brittle or flawed the first few times." 

Nell sighs. "Problem is, they sorta hate each other. Used to be thick as thieves, but they had a screaming spat years back. Jachd abandoned the apprenticeship in a huff and now whenever we stop they set up competing shops on opposite sides of the Pratch encampment. I'm one of the few people that can get orders from both of 'em, and it took me months to make it clear I wasn't picking sides. There's enough business around for the both of 'em, but only just, and they get pretty territorial about their customers." 

None. 

"Huh. Well, I don't need something made, just identified, so maybe Jachd would be the one to go to with this?"

Prota is speculating aloud. 

"Huh. Well, I don't need something made, just identified, so maybe Jachd would be the one to go to with this?" you speculate. 

Step 150

Nell isn't sure which blacksmith would be best. Mayard would be more likely to recognize something if it's a common greefolk part. Jachd might be better in the case where it is rare and nobody's encountered similar before. 

Nell shrugs. "Maybe. If nobody knows what it is, he'd have the best chance of figuring it out. Mayard would know if it's a common part to some greefolk machine. He's melted down a lot of scrap and knows more metallurgy. My guess is - Mayard might guess how it was made and what from, Jachd could maybe figure out what it's for? No guarantee either way, though." 

None. 

"Jachd, then, I don't care nearly as much about how it got there as what it's good for now. Thank you."

Prota resolves to visit Jachd and thanks Nell. 

You say, "Jachd, then, I don't care nearly as much about how it got there as what it's good for now. Thank you."

Step 151

It's past normal shop hours. Prota will have time to visit Jachd tomorrow, before the Council meeting. Nell suggests they do so. After that, the next order of business is probably dinner. Nell asks what they found on forage. She knows Glint has an unusual advantage there and expects at least modest success. Prota's pack is nearly full, meaning plenty of food for dinner and, later, bolstering their stock of dried provisions. 

Glint still hasn't given Nell the perfume, and will look for a chance to do so after dinner. 

"Happy to help. It's a bit late for business, though, so maybe see him tomorrow morning." Nell eyes your nearly-full pack appreciatively. "I take it foraging was a success - want to help me with dinner?" 

None.

"Sure!" I volunteer the food we found for the stew.

Prota contributes foraged food. They are assuming dinner will be stew again, which may or may not be true. They seem to be assuming it will take all of their forage, which is not fully true; they found a whole pack's full and some can still be dried and preserved for the road. 

"Sure!" you say, and share some of the food you found. 

Step 152

Prota found berries, nuts, fruits, rushes, and some common seasoning herbs. The nuts will keep and some of the fruits can be dried. The herbs are a good addition to dinner. Nell has enough variety on hand to make something other than stew. Roast root vegetables, plus leftover mutton, seasoned with herbs and with rushes and berries on the side, perhaps. Glint shows Prota how to prepare the extra for the road. Nell has a stove but not an oven. [As large and bulky items, ovens are an expensive luxury for migrants.] Glint knows how to dry fruit in the sun, though that may take a while. An open fire is faster, and many fruits can in fact be smoked like meat. 

Some recipes recommend soaking fruit in lemon juice before drying. This may or may not be something the Pratch know about; Glint probably wouldn't bother, but Nell might know how. They may briefly argue over it, in a way that suggests familiarity. 

Never one to pass up an opportunity to work smarter, not harder, Nell will use the magically-rotating axle to turn a spit over the fire. It probably rotates a bit faster than necessary for a spit, so naturally she has stepdown gears set up. (Using the spinning rod this way serves as another subtle reminder about clever uses of simple magics, and the ways they impact the world. It is also a chance to characterize Nell's ingenuity and personality.) 

The prompt should end after Glint proposes smoking the fruit, to give Prota a chance to reply. 

Nell is delighted at your foraging success, especially the herbs. "That'd be perfect for roast paleroot and mutton tonight," she remarks. "Goes nice with those rushes and berries on the side." She starts up a fire - not on the stove this time, just in a small firepit surrounded by stones - and walks you through the recipe. When the time comes to roast the spiced segments on a spit, Nell retrieves the mysteriously spinning rod from underneath the leather-covered contraption and attaches it to a curious wooden apparatus with several gears. Glint watches it with interest, and Nell looks a tad smug when she's done; the result is a self-turning spit. 

Dinner doesn't take all of your forage; there's still nuts and fruit remaining from your excursion. "The nuts should keep fine for a few days," your uncle tells you while the meal turns, delicious smells wafting from the cooking spit. "We ought to fire-dry and smoke the fruit, since we don't really have time to sun-dry it."