"Hi!" I reply. "I'm Emerald, good to meet you - I found this weird thing," I hold out the rod, "while out foraging and I don't know what it is but it looks like it must be for something. It feels hollow."

Prota introduces themself and presents the rod for inspection. 

"Hi!" you reply. "I'm Emerald, good to meet you - I found this weird thing," you hold out the rod, "while out foraging and I don't know what it is but it looks like it must be for something. It feels hollow."

Step 157

This is a consult rather than a commission, but Jachd is genuinely intrigued by the opportunity to inspect a novel bit of scrap. He does not initially suspect it might be magic. He is curious enough to volunteer his time for now. 

What tools and techniques does Jachd have for identifying strange scrap, and what does he try first? He could try to gauge its hardness, density, the rust and the material beneath it. He can probably identify it as greefolk steel almost immediately, and seek an explanation for its seeming lightness. He is curious how such a thing might be made hollow with no visible holes and no sign of melting over one. He will weigh the rod, and notice it weighs as much as a normal rod of its size and shape even though it feels light. He may try to straighten the bent end; the results depend on whether he is holding and moving the rod or using a set of clamps and tools. (Prota should be at least somewhat involved in this process, to make it feel more like solving a mystery and less like having it solved for the player.) Jachd asks Prota to hold the rod for some of the tests, or asks for their input after basic testing. 

Likely tests include: testing hardness by scratching it with various tools; measuring weight and volume with scales and a water-displacement test; polishing it to remove the rust and visually examining the metal for color and pattern; applying small chemical or alchemical substances to gauge reactivity. The latter may be a last resort, since Jachd is unlikely to have access to sophisticated alchemical tests in great quantity, so he'd be going through a very limited and expensive stock of reagents. How long will it take to go through these tests? Fifteen minutes for the first three, maybe. Long enough that Jachd will ask if Prota wants to stay for the tests. 

Jachd expresses interest, asks Prota what they want to know specifically, suggests it looks like greefolk steel below the rust, and asks if they want to stay for the tests. These will be insufficient to conclude exactly what the rod does, but might give Prota clues. 

Jachd could tap the rod against an object - his anvil, perhaps - which would probably dent the rod slightly as it tries to push through the anvil and runs into the limits of its own bending strength. (That might give the game away.) Alternatively, he taps a hammer against the rod, achieving a similar goal of gauging its sound and strength. Or, he may notice its weight and suspect it of being fragile, like glass, and so not risk such a test at all. 

"Oh, a consult! Certainly." Jachd takes the rod in a gloved hand and startles, briefly. "Huh, that is lighter than it looks. At first glance, I'd say it's a bit of greefolk steel beneath the rust, but the feel is unusual." He swings it experimentally through the air a few times. "...light as a feather. I wonder how they managed that?" He frowns. "I'm going to need to be careful with this, it might be fragile. I have a few tests in mind - want to stick around for a quarter-hour and watch, or come back later?" 

None. 

"I'd like to watch if that's all right!"

Prota tells Jachd they'd prefer to stay for the tests. 

"I'd like to watch if that's all right!" you reply.

Step 158

Jachd performs the tests in order: hardness, weight, volume, close visual. He talks about his findings at the end. He will conclude that the material is a high-strength low-alloy steel, though he will probably know it by another name. Greefolk metallurgy is more advanced, and has a wider range of magic inputs, than blusefolk blacksmithing. Might this particular type have alchemical properties identifiable to a blusefolk smith? Perhaps it is a particular alloy that is often associated with permanent enchantments. It is unlikely that Jachd could tell more, and even that much is a stretch. Where might Jachd have seen the alloy before? Perhaps a bit of scrap that lost its magic when melted down. The scrap looked like a damaged mechanical arm and was used as a functional prosthetic before it was discarded in favor of a newer model. It may or may not have been enchanted by the same person - "going where one puts it" is a useful enchantment for a prosthetic, but there are other ways to magically accomplish the same effect. 

Jachd should polish the surface before testing hardness, since it's easier to see the effect of a scratch if the rust is gone. 

In referencing the scrap, Jachd touches briefly on his animosity with Mayard, who melted the arm before Jachd finished investigating it. Mayard judged that it wouldn't do them any good to puzzle over the arm, tying up a valuable source of pure steel when they couldn't possibly replicate the process that made it. 

Jachd nods and gets to work. He carefully polishes the rust off, examines it carefully, then attempts to scratch the surface with various implements. He weighs the rod with a set of scales, then briefly dunks it in a full tub of water, which he also weighs before and after. Absorbed in his work, he's mostly silent during this process, though he occasionally emits a thoughtful "Hmmm" or "Oh!" and the results of the weighing earn the rod a baffled frown. 

"Well," Jachd concludes at last, "its properties are similar to a greefolk alloy I've seen once before, on an old-looking mechanical arm whose magic I never figured out before M- before someone melted it for scrap." He scowls. "What I can't figure out is how it manages to feel so light when my scales say it weighs almost exactly as much as an iron rod of the same volume. It's not hollow, not if it's the steel I think it is." 

None. 

"Huh! Is it magic, then? Reacting to - touch or something?"

Prota hypothesizes the rod may be magic and remarks on this to Jachd. Prota is asking Jachd to confirm. 

"Huh! Is it magic, then? Reacting to - touch or something?" you ask. 

Step 159

Jachd is not an expert in magic and has no way of knowing for sure if the rod has magical properties. He cannot outright confirm or disconfirm Prota's suspicions, but he's currently leaning towards agreeing. Left to his own devices, he would probably experiment further. He is intrigued by the rod's properties, but it isn't his. (It would also be anticlimactic for Jachd to solve this problem without further input from Prota.) Conclusion: Jachd offers to continue further testing the rod for pay. He can be haggled down from his initial offer because he's fascinated and because the rod could offer insights into greefolk metallurgy and magic. (This setup rewards Prota if they are able to come up with a solution themselves, and gives them a way to exchange resources for a solution if they prefer). Prota may also suggest a few immediate tests based on this conversation, which Jachd will perform if they don't take too long. But if Prota wants him to figure it out for them, they'll have to leave the rod with Jachd for a day or so and pay him. (For this to represent a significant tradeoff, the price for Jachd's work should be a substantial chunk of Prota's available coin.) Perhaps a fifth. This is expensive for a day's work, but Jachd knows that magic objects are valuable and thus can charge more for investigating one. 

Jachd hasn't yet asked Prota's name. At present, he's a bit too distracted by the cool magic thing to notice. He may want to buy it once he knows what it does. 

"Your guess is as good as mine," Jachd admits. "But my guess is yes, something like that." He gazes at the object, a tad forlornly. "If you want to leave it with me for today, I can try to figure out what it does." He names a price that's about a fifth of your current purse. "That price is only if I actually figure it out - if I can't, no charge." 

None. 

"Hm - I have a trip to pay for and it probably isn't that useful or the greefolk wouldn't have left it... maybe I'll tote it around with me for the day and play with it and see if I have a breakthrough, but if I don't get anywhere I'll come back to you?"

Prota proposes to try figuring the rod out themself and visit Jachd if they fail. 

You answer, "Hm - I have a trip to pay for and it probably isn't that useful or the greefolk wouldn't have left it... maybe I'll tote it around with me for the day and play with it and see if I have a breakthrough, but if I don't get anywhere I'll come back to you?"

Step 160

Jachd won't offer to do the work for free, and Prota is proposing an entire alternate idea rather than haggling. He has no reason to object, though he wishes he could study the rod. He reluctantly agrees. He does say he'd be interested in maybe buying it if either of them figure out what it does, though the price depends on what exactly that is. From here, further actions are up to Prota; they still have some hours before the council meeting and dinner. 

Jachd may now think about getting in touch with Prota later, which would prompt him to realize he doesn't know their name. If Prota chats with him longer he'll ask about their journey, but for now the cool magic thing is occupying most of his attention. 

"I suppose," sighs Jachd. "I might be willing to buy it off you, if either of us does figure out what it's for. Let me know if you're interested, miz...uh..." he trails off, evidently embarrassed that it took this long to ask your name. 

None. 

"Emerald," I say. "I'm not in town for very long, this is a stopover on my trip to the Blue, but won't be leaving till probably the day after tomorrow at the earliest, it's not getting any farther away."