Private Tales Old Reunions

A private roleplay only for those invited by the first writer
"Yeah, well..." Sam gave a sniff of doubt, knowing well her own limitations so far as Sable's rehab involved.

Sure, she'd been helping Davi deal with his demons and skeletons since the day he agreed to join her. He'd made great progress since then, but Sam heaped a lot of that up to the trust they'd built for one another in their last year at the Academy.

She didn't have that with Sable. If anything, Sam wasn't entirely sure that Sable wasn't disgusted by her. Something about his honorable nature that butted heads with her own pragmatic self. She was willing to make the sacrifices that he refused to make for the greater good. The bigger picture. There wasn't trust between them... not yet. Maybe one day there would be but she wasn't sure it would happen before his probation period came to an end. By then it was on him to pass the test and gain approval from Holstag.

"Don't make any bets on it. I'm doing the best I can with him but I'm a bit out of my depth."
 
Alistair dismissed her concerns with a wave of his hand, "Your best is pretty damn good, and at the end of the day it's all anyone can ask. Either it works or it won't."

On the other hand, Alistair's own interactions with those who returned to Vel Anir's embrace were not exactly stunning. For all of his diplomatic skills, it was hard to forgive those who ran away. He nearly got into a fight every time he saw Henk, and Kalix had only just been released from prison. All the others, it was more of a polite stand-off with them.

"I have faith it will work out."

And if she can't do it, then maybe Davi or someone could.

Samantha Black
 
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It was easy to be cavalier about a situation you weren't involved in. Sam took his vote of confidence with a healthy grain of salt and decided to let the subject drop on her end. Further discussion wouldn't be of any use.

"Anyway," she moved the conversation right along, "tell me more about the Tyrian steel. What's got you so hot about it?"
 
Sam knew exactly how to make Al change subjects, by bringing out the nerd in him.

"It's incredible stuff, Sam. Some of the hardest stuff I have ever had the chance to mess with but not fragile, as long as you can get it hot enough, it is so easy to manipulate. The stuff feels like it was made for rune work."

Of course, it also helped that the stuff was usually handled by what Alistair considered to be some of the best blacksmiths in the world in the Tyrians. Although, he had confidence that Sam could match them in skill.

"Although, it's definitely a quality over quantity material. I sell regular metals to the armies in bulk, only dealing out Tyrian steel for individual orders...and I make a pretty good profit on it." He said the last part with a gleam in his eye.

Samantha Black
 
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"Hm," she hummed in thought as they paused at a crossing and waited for the traffic of wagons and riders to pass. The Waterbell's sign hung in the afternoon sun: a bare-chested mermaid holding up a flagon of ale. She could see the owner, Donnie, standing out on the attached porch with his pipe, making chatter with some portsmen while he leaned over the railing.

"The General will want to see examples of it before making any sort of investment. They craft a good deal of the Blackguard's armor and weapons at the forge halls here - sounds like something that would work well for them. You should show it to Schwarz, too."

As for runes? Well, Sam wouldn't be purchasing any for her own use. She'd given up crafting with metal the day Schwarz melted her entire kit on a whim.
 
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To outfit the entire Blackguard would be...expensive to say the least. It would likely deplete most of Alistair's stores at the moment, but it would be worth it. He might even buy himself a new villa.

"Oh, I'm sure the General and Noel will love the stuff. I brought enough to make a good showing, and leave a little bit behind." And a little bit for himself, but no need to mention that one.

Alistair finally spotted what he assumed was their destination and followed Sam eagerly, by now he was starting to get hungry and there were still plenty of things to talk with Sam about.

"The steel will be what the army was interested in, but I also brought some rare alchemical materials and a few other pieces that I thought you might like." His supplies would either be a way to show off, or he would happily sell it to Sam...at a discount of course.

Samantha Black
 
"That so..." Sam said as she lead the way across the street, striding long to clear out before the next group of guard retinue rode through. She nodded to Donnie as they walked by who dipped his pipe at her in return, then took the steps up to the porch two at a time to push the door in and hold it for Al.

"Admittedly I've not really been doing much with alchemy lately. Haven't had the spare time," her eyes picked out and open table among the crowd of those arriving for luncheon and she quickly found her way over to claim it.

Alchemy had been part of her survival set of defense mechanisms at the Academy. Now that she lived among the Guard and Squadron she had little use of it.

"But you can tell me about it anyway..." Sam smirked at him as she eased into a chair.
 
Alistair lightly pouted at Sam's admittance, but it made sense. There was not much time for crafting for a soldier. Alistair was the opposite, it felt like he spent more time crafting and experimenting than fighting these days. Hell, the few times he did get to fight, he stabbed people in the back before they knew he was there.

He took a seat at the table, largely ignoring any looks that were cast his way.

"I suppose all your time is spent training troops like you said...If they are half as good as some of the things you used to make then I feel pity for anyone they meet in battle."

There was no reason to ask what type of food they had here, as Al would just get whatever Sam was getting. Why would he not take the opinion of a local?

"With my new resources, I've managed to make some really impressive things lately."

Samantha Black
 
"I don't take credit for the capabilities of the Knights. They're hand-picked from the various armies because they've already proven themselves worthy of the title and rank," Sam casually pulled off her gloves and loosened the straps of her gauntlets, setting them aside on the table. There were a fair amount of military people that patronized The Waterbell on the regular - recognizable faces dotted the bodies among the afternoon crowd.

"I help onboard new recruits in Holstag's company, get them settled into their routines and homes. Teach them the protocol of the Knights, assign them to seasoned Knights to shadow for their first year..." she made a vague gesture with a sigh, "it's very basic stuff I get delegated like every other Lieutenant in his Company does so the Captain can deal with more important matters. There are some specialized training classes I offer to those interested when I'm not out on mission but other than that...there's higher ranking officers that handle any official Knight training beyond what I do. Even Davi, Elias, and I train with them."

"Afternoon, Lieutenant!" a middle-aged woman appeared, smiling warmly but wearily, to take their orders. The usual for Sam and whatever her usual is for Alistair.

"Enough about me-" Sam nudged his shin under the table with a boot, "you can't keep leading a girl on with that bait, Al, it's rude. Tell me about everything you've been making."
 
Oh, that's right Elias was her too...great.

As soon as Sam took the bait, he pulled out a notebook from his pack that contained several drawings and extremely advanced runic formulas.

"For starters, my pride and joy The Chain Maiden my flagship for my trading fleet. It has so many runes engraved upon it that I would wager it in a race when any other seafaring ship." He flipped to a page revealing several runes designed for weight and friction negation.

"Next, I have been working on a series of relay runes that can work with mirrors. I just need permission to set them up in every fortress in our territories. They would serve as faster communication than anything Vel Anir has to date." The idea for these mirrors began after the siege of Ostia Anir with Kristen.

Finally, he flipped to another page in his book which revealed several runes that seemed to be focused on ant-magic. The picture revealed a simple-looking metal rod. "This...well, admittedly I am still working out some issues, but essentially a rod that breaks down wards and other shields, but maintains their structures. Mages would never know the wards had been broken until they saw someone walk right through them. The best part is they could be given to anyone." This idea had come about from his new practice with anti-magic. His training with the Archon and Thorne had advanced his understanding by leaps and bounds.

Samantha Black
 
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Though her brows arched upward as she perused his notes, drawings, and formulas, Sam's gaze appeared detached. Distant.

She missed her off days spent digging into the deeper knowledge of runic magic. Experimenting with implementation into alchemy. Forging her armor. Building it up and then breaking it down in order to build it back better. In the end she had always known she was never destined to become a great and powerful mage.

Samantha Black had always been destined to be a warrior and fight the battles that needed fought. There was jealousy shadowing her mind. Envy, too. Neither of which were qualities she liked in others, least of all within herself.

"Amazing," she said after a length of silence, trying to muster the tone needed to match the word and falling short, "you've been busy. Your name will certainly go down in history for your advancements in magetech."
 
Alistair was quick to pick up on the tone. Yes, he had become more aware of when people were annoyed with him. He quickly stashed the notebook away before dismissively waving his hand.

"Unfortunately, that is unlikely. The boat was a personal hobby, but all the others require approval and a large sum of resources that the Republic is not inclined to give me at the moment." He said with just a touch of hurt.

"At the moment, I am limited to personal projects." And there was the problem, while much of Alistair's work kept him busy and focused, he did not experiment for the sake of knowledge. He wanted to make a change. Change was the one things that the Republic seemed opposed to for the moment. The revolution was still recent enough that the Council was focusing on stability rather than evolution.

For now, his ideas would remain as such, ideas.

Samantha Black
 
"No surprise there," Sam watched his shuffle the notes away, the barest hint of regret on her face. She wasn't the sort to let her own emotions run conversations like this ... rather, she hadn't been as an Initiate. A hand wiped over her face as she let loose a sigh, "We're still just kids to the Republic. Course they aren't going to give us the keys to the vaults for the asking."

"I've not even been granted access to free hours at the forge to work on my own projects..." she wasn't sore about it, not really, but Sam sometimes worried the longer she was forced to tamp down those passion projects, the less she would care to see them through.

"General Blackforge keeps my schedule there full with his own. Nothing so interesting as your ideas. Portal Keys, small weapons. He sent me to Alliria to train with a Master Dwarven smith to learn how to forge dwarven steel. That's about the most exciting project I've had since ... "

Since the Academy, but she didn't like referring to it when she didn't have to.
 
Samantha Black said:
"We're still just kids to the Republic. Course they aren't going to give us the keys to the vaults for the asking."
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That comment left plenty unsaid, which Alistair was sure Same realized. It would not be for asking, and that just meant that it would have to be for the taking. It would not be long, for now, their generation was on the bottom of the hierarchy, but signs were already beginning to show their advancement. It would not take long for the pieces to start moving. Alistair's face remained a mask on that discussion before moving on to the idea of personal projects.

"Oh, he keeps a tight hold? Do you believe you will still be able to help with the runesaber? I can pay for it with some runic tattoos, touching yours up and providing a few for any interested."

It would be more than unfortunate if Alistair had come all the way up here only to not accomplish his primary goals.

The mention of a Dwarven smith did get an eyebrow raise from Alistair, that was impressive. Even more of a shame that Sam was not given the proper time to practice her skills. Alistair had considered the idea of requesting a master's tutelage, but time did not provide for it. He was simply stretched too thin. His combat training, family business, Dreadlord assignment, and his new theoretical experiments on magic were already causing poor sleeping habits, to add in increased study on any of his crafting skills would likely kill him.

"You would think he would value the skill more given his name."

Samantha Black
 
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The food arrived between words and Sam wasted no time in digging in. Two-tined fork in one hand and knife in the other, she cut into her steak and popped a piece into her mouth to chew blissfully.

"The General is very liberal and forward thinking," she remarked, knowing now that she would never have been granted leave to take on negotiations of an alliance with the elves of Loriden were he anyone else.

"But he is also pragmatic. Vel Anir before self. He doesn't believe in celebrity, he believes in hard work and earning ones honor. I haven't earned personal projects at the forges yet." She'd been a bit miffed by it at first, but Sam was no stranger to earning things and working hard. She recognized in the General what she had known to be one of the most admirable qualities in Captain Holstag - dedication and discipline.

"He may be interested if he learns more about it. If it's something I can replicate for others, I'd be willing to bet he'd allot some time for me to work on it."
 
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Alistair would have continued with the conversation with a quickened pace driven by worry, but he completely stopped to admire the steak before him. Damn, that was good. He savored two bites before finally focusing back in on the topic at hand.

There was a pause of several seconds while Alistair considered what she had just said. Replicating the runesaber had been one of the ideas when he had first crafted the weapon, but...he would admit that he had grown accustomed to the idea that his weapon was unique to only him.

No, he pushed that childish idea away. Besides, recreating the new runesaber he was planning on making would bankrupt an army if they made more than a few.

"Hmm...I suppose you could make several of the original design, but...there would be some drawbacks."

Samantha Black
 
Prudent planning for Sam would have dictated letter correspondence about these very ideas and plans ahead of time, but this was Alistair... not her. He would have learned well in advance the limitations for what she could do - but, he was here now and there was nothing more for it. She took another bite of her steak, chewed on her thoughts, considered apologizing for giving him the impression that he was barking up the wrong tree and thought better of it.

Apologies rarely helped anyone.

"You'll need to request an audience with the General to know if I could do anything for you at all," she washed down her meal with a drink of ale from her mug, "if he's for it, I'm happy to trade my services for ink. I have a few that need work and I've not found anyone new for the job."

She would have eventually gone to hunt Alistair down on her free time.
 
"I suppose I'll do that later today then. I might as well assist the fort while I'm here. Besides, I have to stay a few days while my workers take orders from the fort."

He would have lost it if he was sitting around with nothing to do, anyway. Alistair had never met or worked with the General, but the man ran a tight ship. He did not leave room for any deliveries to be late, and his people were always quick and precise.

"I'll happily take that trade, I may even throw something else into the pot."

Alistair went back to his stea while he thought of the best way to go about all of this now. He had brought his own supplies to redo Sam's tattoos, having expected he would be doing that. He did not consider that work, not when he could assist Sam in her battles.

"I probably should have thought all of this through beforehand."

Samantha Black
 
"Yeah," Sam agreed over a swig of ale, "but forethought was never your strong point, was it?"

Smug.

The next day.

Usually when a Smith brought a new item for inspection and show, it happened within the courtyard of the General's Shield Hall. Alistair found himself a healthy spot of luck - he'd managed not only to gain an audience with the General before the man set out for business, but he'd also garnered that of the Forge Master.

They stood within the private yard of the General's Keep in order to hold a quiet, nondescript audience with the eyes and ears of only those-who-needed-to-know. Sam received her summons not long after Alistair provided the first look at the Runesaber. Pulled from her work in the Forge Hall, she arrived in the sweat-slicked and soot stained leather dusters of the Forgers.

General Blackforge watched the Forge Master who keenly watched Alistair display the unique power and ability of the Runesaber on a target dummy dressed in iron.

Sam stood at attention as the runner took their leave, her eyes tracking Al and his favorite weapon.
 
Alistair stood out like a sore thumb with the rigid and worn armor that both Sam and her superior officers wore. He wore simple brown pants and a loose white blouse along with one dueling glove on his right hand. He had made this visit as a merchant and a craftsman, so he had not come with any of his own combat fatigues or armor.

The Runesaber, by this point in its use, still showed the strong and sturdy craftsmanship of Samantha, but Alistair had been forced to make some additions to reinforce the device when it was damaged in his multiple battles.

By this point, Alistair's skills with the Runesaber were refined as he had grown accustomed to using the weapon. The weapon was not entirely wielded like a sword. There was less of a need for strength and more for control as the Runesaber could cut through most materials with a flick of the wrist.

The dummies lasted seconds as Alistair weaved between them, each only requiring one cut from the Dreadlord.

"This original iteration was made by myself and Lieutenant Black. The blade is made to condense mana into a focal point. The crystal that we used serves as a magical amplifier meaning the user doesn't have to constantly emit a ridiculous amount of energy for the blade. It can even be used for a limited time by those with even a minimal amount of magical energy."

Samantha Black
 
While it was quite clear the Forge Master was most impressed, the General's face gave very little away aside from the idea that a great deal of thoughts presently churned beneath the stoic veneer. Sam had become accustomed to this and knew not to question the man's intent or opinion - not only was it out of order for a Lieutenant, but if something of import had to be said, he'd do so on his own time.

"May I?" asked the Forge Master, holding out his hand toward Alistair as the young Merchant came to a standstill.

While Sam had never personally handled the Runesaber beyond her time constructing it, she assumed it would feel like no other sword. The blade itself held no weight to speak of, for one, and the balance of the grip's many complicated materials made it a heavy hold for another.

Upon closer inspection, the Forge Master's furrowed brow slowly arched upward, "You made this?" he asked, looking from Alistair to Sam, who nodded in return.

"You made this ... at the academy?" the man reiterated, "How?"
 
Alistair happily handed off the magical saber to the Forge Master, upon making contact with the hilt, the Master noticed what felt like a faint pull coming from it. It was how the sword attempted to interact with a user's mana. The handing-off also caused the blade to shift to a dark gray color, which caused Alistair to smirk.

The blade was incredibly light meaning it did take a little getting used to. The weight of a blade was usually a trait that soldiers grew accustomed to and even familiar with. While swinging, the only reactive weight coming is the handle itself.

"Yes, well a lot of planning to start. I've been working on the Runesaber since I was 14. Thankfully, Sam's skills allowed for the realization of that vision. The original sword would have been...better but we were limited by the materials available to us."

That was no longer an issue, Alistair could get his hands on most materials. His understanding of magic and the Runesaber had also drastically increased.

Samantha Black
 
The Forge Master furrowed his brows at the explanation, finding it unsatisfying, "I know the forge at the Academy. There's no way you were able to get enough heat to work even this material."

Sam gently cleared her throat with a faint smirk, "I had some help with that."

The General looked at her then.

"Dreadlord Sol," she completed without having to be asked, "I used his flames. We damn near melted the forge but it got the job done. Alistair didn't know that part."

Al wasn't around for the majority of her time spent working on the project, but he didn't necessarily need to know how it was made so long as it worked the way he wanted it to.

"And you could recreate that here with his assistance?"

"Yes, Sir. But it will take time away from my other duties."

The General made a noise of agreement and nodded, then moved to clamp a hand on Sam's shoulder, "The Forge Master and I will discuss your current responsibilities. I have seen enough, you and Master Krixus are dismissed."
 
Alistair only grinned as Sam added to the explanation. He knew that he did not know the entire process behind how she had managed to craft certain parts of the weapon. Over time, he had made some guesses while studying the intricacies of the weapon in order to make changes to it, but he had largely left the core untouched.

Nodding at his dismissal and offering a light bow to both the Forge Master and the Commander, he swiftly left the yard leaving the two men to talk, while he hoped to speak with Sam.

As soon as they were out of earshot, he whispered to her, "So that went well. The basic designs should be easy enough to replicate consistently."

The original plan had been designed with ease of production in mind, primarily due to Alistair's lack of resources at the time.

"Sorry, if you did not want to get stuck with forge duty." He knew how much she valued the work she did.

Samantha Black
 
"Do I look mad?" Sam deadpanned at him, the usual frosty facade she wore all through their years together at the academy to keep others much further away than arm's length. After a moment, a small smirk cracked through, "It'll be a nice change of pace ... if they approve the project."

Sam wouldn't complain about any time spent in the forge, but she'd be lying if she said she hadn't grown a bit bored with the rudimentary pieces they'd tasked her with making. Portal Stone keys had only been interesting for the first few dozen or so.

"Where're you staying while you're here?"
 
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