[Medieval] Locksmithing Lessons

[Shinko]

((Roleplay between myself and Avery))

Morgaine sat down with a sigh in the wooden chair. She was in an inn- but, for the first time in a decent while, that inn was not the King's Arms. In fact, it wasn't even in Medieville. This little inn, apparently dubbed the Chatty Tanner by it's proprietor, was in a small town on in the southeast of Rindfell. It took a decent amount of money to convince the aging locksmith to make a four day trip for the sake of a commission. Fortunately, the minor nobles of House Arnett who made this town their home had that money.

Once upon a time, this was the sort of trip she'd have made with Rosalie in tow. The energetic keymaker wasn't really one to allow herself to be left behind, after all. But now that she had Lawrence Kidde to distract and entertain her, it was much easier to convince Rosie to stay behind so the shop could remain open. But the absence of her business partner didn't mean Morgaine had made the trip alone.

"Nice to finally be inside out of the snow," the old woman remarked, looking up into the face of the young blonde haired teenager sitting across from her. Ciara Kidde, Lawrence's younger sister, was fourteen years old and had accepted a position as Morgaine's apprentice about four months prior. It was odd for the old woman to think of herself as a master to someone- she could still vividly remember her own locksmithing master, Brennan Smithson, who'd been killed in a Courdonian raid not long after she completed her apprenticeship. He'd been a grumpy, penny pinching old miser, but he was also a good friend and she'd missed him terribly after his passing. Morgaine hoped she could be half as good a master to Ciara.

"We'll head up to let the lord know we've arrived and schedule a time to complete the commission in a bit- for now let's get some feeling back in our toes, eh?" Morgaine pulled off the shawl she was wearing over her shoulder and draped it on the back of the chair so it could dry. With a wink and a joking tone she added, "I know this doesn't quite compare to the amenities you had when you ventured out with their royal highnesses, but I hope that won't sour the trip for you."

SPOILER: Click to show

Morgaine is making a trip out into Rindfell for a commission at the manor of a minor noble. Accompanying her is Ciara Kidde, now fourteen, who has since the conclusion of the main storyline become Morgaine's apprentice.

[Avery]

"Nice to finally be inside out of the snow."

Ciara Kidde nodded, her teeth still chattering. She'd always hated winter, because growing up poor as she had, winter had always meant being freezing, constantly. She supposed at some point she should have gotten to it, but she hadn't. And although she was excited to be traveling to Rindfell with Morgaine-- she'd seldom before been out of Medieville, save for that trip with the princesses several years ago-- she decided sullenly now that the idea of travel was much more romantic than the actuality of travel. Ideas didn't make you freeze. Ideas didn't make you saddle-sore and exhausted.

"We'll head up to let the lord know we've arrived and schedule a time to complete the commission in a bit- for now let's get some feeling back in our toes, eh? I know this doesn't quite compare to the amenities you had when you ventured out with their royal highnesses, but I hope that won't sour the trip for you."

Ciara couldn't help but temper a grin. "Oh, you'd be surprised actually," she said. "We were sort of trying to stay hidden, then. Ended up in some sorry village in middle Rindfell, tucked into the mountains-- in the guest cottages of a minor lord. House Slate, I think it was. There were holes in the roof, and it rained on us the whole time. It wasn't anything unusual for me, of course, but the princesses..." Ciara shook her head.

Standing from the chair, she shuffled over to the crackling fire and hovered her hands over the licking flames. "When is Lord Arnett expecting us?" she asked. "I mean-- you don't think we'd have time to look around the village first, do you?" She bit her lip. "I mean, of course if we can't that's fine, I just-- I may have promised Daria that I'd bring her home a souvenir. She's wicked jealous, you know. Still living with Bry and Arthur while I get to be an apprentice." She savored this word, as if she still couldn't believe it was true.

She paced over to the window, sweeping aside the heavy curtains. Outside, the sky was a sickly grey, painted with dense clouds, and snow fell steadily. She knew that the castle she and Morgaine had been sent to retrofit with new locks was only a few miles up the road, visible on a good day, but right now Ciara could hardly see five feet beyond the grounds of the inn.

"I think the market's only just around the corner," she added to Morgaine. "We could even go on the way up to the castle?"

[Shinko]

Ciara's remark about the living conditions she had shared with the princesses on the run from the Courdonian delegation earned a smirk from Morgaine. "I imagine they weren't terribly thrilled. I grew up in a tiny village in the swamps of Corvus, and my father was a fisherman. I wasn't too well off as a child either, and if you know anything about Corvus you can probably guess I know what it's like getting rained on through a patchy roof. Though at least it never got all that cold- snow like this was rather a novelty for me when I first came to Medieville twelve years ago."

The old woman leaned sideways against the back of her chair, turning so she could keep Ciara in view as the young girl crouched in front of the fireplace. When the apprentice put in a request- with ill concealed eagerness- to explore the town market for souvenirs, Morgaine chuckled indulgently.

"I suppose we shouldn't disappoint your sister then, eh? Might not be a good idea to go before, we don't want to keep his lordship waiting too long, but we aren't actually installing the locks today. We're just letting him know we're in town and finalizing the schedule for the install. Shouldn't take more than half an hour to sort that, and then we'll have time to browse the market at our leisure."

She stretched upwards, her elbows popping, then let her arms fall with a sigh of contentment. "Honestly I'd be very much surprised if we see the lord at all- more than likely he'll just send his steward as a liaison. The titled have far better things to do with their time then deal with lowly merchants, after all."

That last remark was laced with amused sarcasm. "At least the nobles in Medieville are better about that. But out here in the boonies, with small timers like this, they have an almost contractual obligation to put on airs with the peasants. It's a coping mechanism, to help them feel important despite the fact that they've very little influence in the grand scheme of the nation's nobility."

SPOILER: Click to show

Morgaine agrees to explore the market, but suggests they do it after talking to the nobles so they can go at a more leisurely pace and enjoy it. Then she talks a little about nobles in general, giving Ciara insights she's gleaned from thirty-some years as a high-demand craftswoman.

[Avery]

"I suppose we shouldn't disappoint your sister then, eh? Might not be a good idea to go before, we don't want to keep his lordship waiting too long, but we aren't actually installing the locks today. We're just letting him know we're in town and finalizing the schedule for the install. Shouldn't take more than half an hour to sort that, and then we'll have time to browse the market at our leisure."

Ciara smiled. "Thanks, ma'am," she said, moving away from the window.

She was actually a little relieved when Morgaine said they probably wouldn't have to deal with Lord Arnett himself; it would probably be far less stressful to deal with a steward. Nobles in Medieville had gotten much better since King Galateo's ascension, that was true. But Ciara still remembered far too keenly all the nobles she'd dealt with before then. Her experiences had been less than positive.

The two lapsed into a silence then, as they continued drinking in the warmth of the room. The idea of going back out into the wind-lashed afternoon was not exactly the most appealing one... but Ciara also wanted to make sure they had time to browse the market before nightfall; she doubted that in a little village like this, the marketplace was open much after sundown. As the innkeeper pottered around, asking if Morgaine and Ciara needed anything-- they were presently, it seemed, his only guests-- Ara ordered a mead, figuring that might warm her bones just enough to make the trip outside bearable. She drained it slowly, hovering over the fireplace, and then once it was gone, turned back to Morgaine.

"Do you think you're warmed up enough?" she asked. "If so, might as well make the journey up to the castle sooner than later, eh?"

[Shinko]

Morgaine smiled. "Eager to get going, are we? Alright then, let's go present ourselves for the nice customer. The sooner we schedule our install the sooner we get paid."

She stood, stretching, and put her now dry shawl back around her shoulders. They emerged into the street to find that the snowing hat stopped while they were inside, though the wind still cut right through their thick clothing with knives of ice. Morgaine shuddered. "I've learned to like snow during my time in Medieville, but windchill like this is one thing my Corvid bones will never appreciate."

The two of them made their way through the snowy streets towards Lord Arnett's manor. It was an old looking place, probably it had been in the family for generations. And who knew when the locks had last been upgraded? "I'm curious to see what kind of locks they have in there," Morgaine remarked to Ciara as they stopped at the gates. "The older models are so bulky and complex- and they have a bad habit of getting stuck locked because if just one of the inner mechanisms stops working the whole thing is busted. And they're so delicate that if you give 'em a good smack- like say if the door is slammed open into the wall- that's usually enough to break 'em."

As she was speaking a knight came up to the door. "Who are you?"

"Morgaine Braham and apprentice Ciara Kidde, of the Braham-Dylas Lock and Key trust in Medieville," the old woman replied. "Lord Arnett should be expecting us?"

The knight, his expression bored, turned towards the manor to go and check their clearance. After a moment he emerged and opened the gate. "The steward will see you in the main hall."

"Thank you," Morgaine said with a smile, leading the way through the gardens towards the front entryway. In an undertone she asked, "Ready for your first taste of working with the nobility, Ciara?"

SPOILER: Click to show

Transition! \ o /

[Avery]

Ciara shivered under her cloak as she and Morgaine made their way to Lord Arnett's estate, listening quietly as Morgaine prattled on about old locks. After being received by a knight and let in through the front gate, Morgaine asked Ciara, ""Ready for your first taste of working with the nobility, Ciara?"

Ciara nodded, shivering as a sudden gale of wind tore through the air, sending the snow to either side of the carefully manicured front lane swirling. She flexed her fingers beneath her lambskin gloves, the feeling already gone from them once more. Woo, it really was miserable out. Ciara made a mental note to never move north of Medieville. Winters in the capital were bad enough. This... this was just some god's cruel idea of fun.

At the main house-- imposing by this village's standards, but in Medieville Ciara wouldn't have blinked twice at it-- she and Morgaine were let in by a haggard looking steward. "Welcome, welcome," he said, hustling them inside. "Now, Lord Arnett would like this job completed as quickly as possible-- milord is expecting some distant cousins from Elacs later in the week and would really rather have his house... prepared before then." Hurriedly, the steward added, "For privacy, of course, not that milord doesn't trust his esteemed cousins from the south, but he'd really rather not wake up with a boa constrictor slithering along his throat..."

As Ciara bit back a giggle and Morgaine glared daggers at her, the steward paused and glanced back at them. "Milord did already settle the fee with you, yes? We need all the interior doors retrofitted with your top of the line locks, and keys to match." Briefly studying Ciara before locking eyes with Morgaine, he asked, "And shall it all be paid to your hand, madam, or ought I split it between you and the young miss?"

[Shinko]

I'll need to work with Ciara on being polite to the customers, Morgaine thought ruefully, as the young girl tried to hush her amused reaction to the steward. She is many things, but I imagine a poker player is not one of them.

When the steward asked if a price had already been settled on, Morgaine nodded- she had the contract in her tool belt, not that she expected to need it on this particular trip. When he asked who the money should go to, the old woman grinned.

"Just me, the 'young miss' is paid in room and board- and education. As was I during my apprenticeship."

Not that Morgaine completely stiffed Ciara, of course. She received a small stipend, enough for buying herself little trinkets from the market if she wanted on her time off. And as long as the request was reasonable and Ciara had a good reason for it, Morgaine was usually willing to buy more expensive things for her. The old woman had always been very maternal, and though she was stern she did her best by all of the young people who had come into her life since Rosalie had pulled her out of mourning for her husband Belial six years prior.

"Good, good. I don't suppose tomorrow morn is too soon then?"

We're in town for this job- the longer it gets put off the longer we're stuck in your backwater. Morgaine thought, though her face remained in a polite, impassive smile. "Not at all, good sir."

"The third hour after dawn then- someone will be waiting to show you to all the doors that need to be retrofitted. Have you any idea how long it should take?"

"If we're doing all the interior doors, given the size of the place, I would estimate probably at least three or four hours," she said with a shrug. When the steward frowned, she coughed. "You want the high-brass stuff, yes? It's only professional that if you're paying that much, I take my time and make sure it's fitted tight- or what's the point?"

"Of course, of course," he said, waving a hand dismissively. "Very well then, if you've no further questions?"

"No, thank you," she said. A few more pleasantries were exchanged, and then the knight saw them back out the gate. Morgaine cracked her neck, looking down at Ciara as they walked back down the path.

"See? Painless, or relatively so. But do try to smile and be polite for the nice customers, nobles especially don't like being laughed at. You can laugh at them after we've left and they can't hear it."

Her mouth quirked into a grin as she added, "Though I don't know what he's complaining about really; at least he's not being asked to hand over his house's private chapel and denude his forest for a thirty food coffin to provide a snake funeral."

She jerked her head back towards the town. "So, you wanted to look around the market?"

[Avery]

As Morgaine spoke with the steward, Ciara stood at the woman's side, still shivering. Woo, this house was drafty-- you'd think Lord Arnett would spring for some fireplaces, not locks. Back outside after business was squared away, Ciara noted glumly that it had started to snow even harder during their brief time inside. Flakes caught in her lashes, and she blinked them away.

"See? Painless, or relatively so. But do try to smile and be polite for the nice customers, nobles especially don't like being laughed at. You can laugh at them after we've left and they can't hear it."

"Sorry-- it was just... funny," Ciara said, still biting back a smiling thinking about it. "I'll try to keep a better face next time."

"Though I don't know what he's complaining about really; at least he's not being asked to hand over his house's private chapel and denude his forest for a thirty food coffin to provide a snake funeral."

"Yet, you mean. There's still time." She snorted.

"So, you wanted to look around the market?"

"That'd be great, yes," Ciara said, grimacing as a swirl of wind set a torrent of snow pelting into her and Morgaine. Woo, this was their luck-- being called to this sorry little village during a blizzard. She only hoped it stopped before she and Morgaine were due to head back home. The road up here had been difficult enough to traverse even in mild weather. During a snowstorm? They probably wouldn't be able to even travel at all. And the idea of spending more time than was strictly necessary in Rindfell...

"I'm not sure quite what to get," Ciara said as she and Morgaine listed toward the marketplace. "Daria is... finicky. You know how sisters are." She paused, and cocked her head. "Or... do you? Sorry, ma'am, but I can't recall-- have you any family other than Sir Sieg? Not to pry, I just..." Her voice trailed. "I'm not very good at small talk, am I?"

[Shinko]

Morgaine chuckled. "It's fine, you're not prying. I never had any siblings of my own, alas. My mother died birthing me and my father was too heartbroken to ever remarry. It was just me and him while I was growing up, until I left to become an apprentice locksmith in another town."

The old woman's expression turned a bit wistful. "That's where I eventually got married to Sieg's father. Neither my father nor my husband are alive anymore, Woo rest their souls, but I do have one other blood relative still around besides Sieg- his younger sister, Ophelia."

A particularly strong gust of icy wind shoved the two of them in the back, making Morgaine stumble forwards a few inches. "Woo the weather isn't playing nice today is it?" She remarked, glancing at the sky with distaste. Turning back to Ciara she added, "At any rate, having raised two children who were- not always bestest best friends, shall we say?- I do understand how siblings can be sometimes, even if I had none of my own."

They had arrived at the market by this point, and Morgaine, glanced down at Ciara. "As for your question, what sorts of things does Daria like? What's she interested in?" The old woman smirked, "If all else fails you could just get her a scarf or a blanket- I doubt you'd find a more accurate 'souvenir' to remember this trip by, at least if this mess doesn't clear soon."

[Avery]

As they neared the market, Morgaine explained about her family and then asked Ciara what sort of things Daria might like. Ciara bit her wind-lashed lip, mulling. "Well," she said, "she likes baubles... jewelry. A scarf could work, too. Pretty but practical. Thanks for the idea."

By the time they reached the small, dizzying marketplace, the snow had finally, mercifully let up some. As Morgaine drifted a few feet ahead, her attention caught by a vendor hawking old, twisted keys repurposed into (rather ugly, in Ciara's opinion) jewelry, Ciara paused to twist the moisture from her cloak-- and as she did, someone hurried past her, their shoulder connecting with her chest as they did. It wasn't such a hard hit, but the cobblestones beneath were slick with ice, and it didn't take much to lose your footing. Before she knew what was happening, Ciara found herself skidding to the ground, landing on her tailbone with a painful thump.

The person who'd bumped her whirled back in her direction, smiling down at her apologetically. It was a young man about Lawrence's age, his dark hair partly concealed beneath a deerskin hat. "Ah, sorry madam," he said, kneeling over her. "I didn't see you. I can just help you back up, now..."

Still bewildered-- and the wind knocked out of her-- Ciara only blinked as the man took a hold of her hand and hefted her back to her feet... his other hand poised around her waist to steady her. "There you go, sorry again," he said once Ciara was righted. He dropped his hands away.

"It's alright, was only an accident." She brushed the snow and dirt off her skirts...

... and then, as he tipped his hat and began to scurry away, she noticed something: her purse. Her little leather purse, that she'd had cinched at her waist, was gone.

Ciara spun toward the pickpocket. "HEY!" she called-- loud enough to catch Morgaine's attention. "Come back here!"

When the pickpocket didn't acknowledge her cry, Ciara cursed under her breath. No way was he getting away with stealing her purse! She was paid mostly in room and board, and so when she did receive actual coin, she was extremely careful with it. Like hell if she'd just let some northern yokel make off with a solid month of wages.

"STOP!" she yelled, lobbing herself after him. "You get back here, you thief!"

[Shinko]

It was evident Ciara really had only brought up the topic of Morgaine's family in a stilted effort to make small talk, because she immediately steered away from it. Morgaine did't mind that, really, it wasn't like the girl had a reason to be invested in her teacher's relatives. Still, she hoped that they wouldn't spend the entire trip exchanging two or three sentences and lapsing into awkward silence again. Morgaine was a very social person at heart, and she had hoped to use this trip away from Rosalie and Lawrence and the distractions of Medieville to get to know Ciara a little better.

Morgaine noticed the key seller as they approached his stall, and her interest caught. The man's keys were obviously old and had been refashioned into accesories after the fact, unlike Rosalie's which were crafted for that purpose from the begining. Thinking on Rosie and how she'd react to these made the old woman smile.

"Ah, I see you have an eye for finery," the man said, misenterpreting Morgaine's expression. "Would you like one?"

"No," she retorted, pointing to her own key necklace. "I already have one, thanks. Besides the 'gems' on these are all made of glass, and the metal is tarnished. They aren't worth nearly what you're charging."

He blinked, staring at her in horror; no doubt he knew she could report him for that little omission. "How can you tell about the gems?"

Before Morgaine could inform him that the bubbles in the gems were a blatant tipoff- glass frequently had bubbles inside it as a flaw when the blower had been lazy at their work, while gems did not- she was distracted by a shout from Ciara.

"HEY! Come back here!"

The old woman jerked in surprise, turning to see her apprentice glaring at a dark haired man who was quickly disappearing down the street. With a scowl, she took off after him.

"STOP! You get back here, you thief!"

Oh dear- the girl must have run afoul of a pickpocket. Clenching her jaw, Morgaine took off after her apprentice. The old woman was short, and not exactly the fastest person on the planet, but fortunately being only fourteen and having lived most of her life undernourished Ciara wasn't too much taller. Morgaine managed to catch up to her, and grabbed the younger girl by the arm, stumbling forwards a few steps before she managed to stop her forward momentum and plant her feet.

"Ciara no," she said sternly. "He's probably armed, and half again both our heights. How many coins did you have, five, ten? It's not worth it. I fought back against a thief for a value a lot higher and it's how I lost my eye."

She tightened her grip on the younger girl. "Report him to the constables and let them handle it, that's what they're paid for. I can reimburse you in the meantime!"

In Medieville there would have been constables stationed all around the Merchant's Market during buisness hours, making regular patrols specifically to watch for pickpockets. This backwater probably didn't have enough of them for that, so they'd be scattered around the city as a whole- if the thief was canny he'd find a way to hide the coins he'd stolen before the constables found him, and with no evidence they'd probably let him go. But it would give the boy a record, and when he was seen in public from then on the authorities would watch him more closely.

But first she had to get Ciara to stop straining after him. Easier said than done for a short, forty-nine year old woman.

[Avery]

She'd made it precisely five steps toward the pickpocket when she was suddenly seized from behind, vise-like fingers clamping around her arm. As Morgaine firmly told her it wasn't worth going after the thief, Ciara strained against her, furious still. They were visitors, for Woo's sake, had slogged days along the snowy road to fit locks for some sorry nothing of a lord-- and this was how the inhabitants of his village treated them?

"Get back! here!" she snarled again.

Which just caused Morgaine to tighten her grip. "Report him to the constables and let them handle it, that's what they're paid for. I can reimburse you in the meantime!"

"It's not even the money, it's the principle." Ciara said, cheeks flushed a furious red. As the thief disappeared around a corner, she turned toward her mentor, heart thudding in her ears, pulse racing. "What kind of rotten place is this where you can't take five steps into the marketplace before being robbed?"

When this still didn't cause Morgaine to let go of her, and if anything made her hold tighter, Ciara huffed. "You're hurting me. Look-- I just want to grab my purse back, he might be bigger but I bet I've got more stamina-- you don't chase after goats your whole life without one-- and--"

As she noted the unmoved look on Morgaine's face, Ciara cut herself off, sensing that she was getting nowhere. She bit her lip and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down-- and knowing that at this point, the thief had probably gotten far enough away where even if Morgaine let her go, she might not be able to find him again.

"It's just not fair, that's all," she grumbled. "I... I know it's just a handful of coins, but... for most of my life, that would have been..." She swallowed hard, her voice trailing off. As the snow suddenly picked up again-- joy of joys-- she murmured, "You can let go of me now. I'm not going anywhere."

[Shinko]

"I know Ciara; trust me dear, I know. Just because I have money now doesn't mean I've always had it. I told you, I grew up just as poor as you did," The locksmith let go of the girl's arm with a sigh, and put a hand up to the eyelid she never opened. "But growing up like that also taught me that the people in your life are the most valuable resource you have. I'll gladly give up every cent I have if it means I don't have to explain to your brothers and sisters why you're coming back from this trip with a shiny new scar... Or worse."

Morgaine looked morose for a moment, lapsing into silence. Then she shook it off, and smiled at her apprentice wanly. "If it's any consolation, he probably assumed you had a lot more than you did. You're dressed as well as a fairly well-off merchant can afford to be dressed, after all. In general pickpockets go for marks like me; people with enough money to be worth the hassle, but no political power behind them to have the fellow's hands cut off for the offense. When he gets back to his little hidey-hole with your purse he's going to be sorely disappointed."

She cracked her neck, gently guiding Ciara towards a nearby storefront, where at least they'd be out of the wind. "And as for us being visitors, well... travelers are prime targets for pickpockets, actually. They don't know the locals so they don't know who to be on guard for. And being able to travel involves having a decent amount of money. In the future try keeping your coin purse inside your clothes somewhere. It's less convenient, sure, but it's also harder for a thief to get it away from you without you noticing."

[Avery]

As Morgaine lectured her, Ciara sighed... not because she was annoyed and still wanted to take off after the thief, but because she knew her mentor was right: a few small coins weren't worth putting her safety at risk. And she couldn't help but smile thinly then when Morgaine told her the thief probably would be disappointed with what he found in her purse.

"And as for us being visitors, well... travelers are prime targets for pickpockets, actually. They don't know the locals so they don't know who to be on guard for. And being able to travel involves having a decent amount of money. In the future try keeping your coin purse inside your clothes somewhere. It's less convenient, sure, but it's also harder for a thief to get it away from you without you noticing."

"That's a good idea," she said, shivering as a gust of wind kicked snow up into her face. "And I suppose you're right... I guess I just haven't traveled much, beyond that one time with the princesses. I've spent all but what, three weeks of my life, in Medieville. Not that Medieville's the safest place if you want to avoid pickpockets, but well-- it's my place. I know what areas to avoid and all that." She paused, tracing a half-moon in the snowy ground with the toe of her shoe. "Have you gone many places? I mean, I know you're not originally from Medieville, but before you moved there, did you travel much?"

[Shinko]

Morgaine shrugged. "Honestly I've done a lot more traveling since coming to Medieville. When I lived in the elflands I mostly just catered to folks in towns and cities in the immediate vicinity of Nid'aigle. But living in the capital and having done work for Raven's Keep gives me a lot more credit with folks in distant places than I'd have otherwise."

She smiled sympathetically. "But you're still young, dear. At your age I'd never left my tiny home village in the swamp. At least not to go further out then a mile or so to collect plants for the local doctor. You don't need to feel frustrated by your lack of experience. That's what you're apprenticing for, to learn not just how to be a locksmith but also the skills you'll need to operate in the adult world." With an apologetic smile she added, "I just hope I do a better job as a mentor in the future at pre-arming you with knowledge, rather then waiting until something goes wrong and only then realizing I could have prevented it. I owe you an apology, Ciara."

As she spoke the older woman hesitantly put out a hand and gave Ciara's shoulder a comforting squeeze. The locksmith had always been a very touchy person when it came to giving comfort and showing affection, but she was never sure about doing it with newer acquaintances who might not like being touched.