The Royal Artificery Society - IC

[WindStruck]

Shandara tinkers around with the concept of a protective field that expands and contracts with energy fed into it. She is very sure it is possible, but she just needs to make sure that the enchantment only absorbs a very particular kind of energy, and does not instead accidentally amplify a different type of energy or unravel due to an overload.

So instead, she opts to make a prototype for the prototype: a simple wooden disk that is enchanted to resist fire damage. She should be able to safely place it in a stove and it will not become damaged or burn away. And then, when she applies one of her own 1st level spell slots to it, the field will protect her as well. She should be able to therefore touch a burning stove without harm.

[DeTess]

Granite street workshops
The three artificers exchanged a glance. They seemed a bit hesitant at Aiden's sudden request. Eventually the half-elf spoke up. "We'll be busy here for an hour, may be two more. If you still need help afterwards I suppose I could lend a hand."

Shandara's home
Shandara's detailed research mean that her experiment did not result in a charred wooden disk or burned hands. The enchantment worked as expected, protecting both the disk and the elf's hands from the effects of the fire.

[MrAbdiel]

Aiden is elated.

"Great! Perfect! I'm only experimenting with materials, so I'm not so time-sensitive here myself - I'll be down there, in number three, until six hours of the morning! I appreciate it a great deal! Good favour to you, all!"

And with that, he capers back to his workshop to experiment with the fantastic tools available.

[WindStruck]

With Shandara's experiment being successful, she then concentrates on finishing up the overall spell design on paper, then has to make some adjustments to fit all the runes onto the mock-up violin.

Additionally, much like she has done on other projects, she must acquire a gem of suitable size, strength, and value to begin cutting, which she will plan to install in or near the "scroll". Thankfully this part of the violin is all superfluous and decorative, so it may be nice to suggest making this part into the shape of a creature's head and giving it two gems as eyes.

Spoiler: ooc

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How much will Shandara's experiment with the little wooden disk cost? Keep in mind, I have now essentially created a magic item which at the very least has a use of "expend a spell slot, gain resist fire energy"

[DeTess]

The granite streets workshop
True to their promise, the half-elf stopped by Aiden's workshop after a little over an hour. In the time between, Aiden had time to experiment with the various tools. Anything with a cutting blade harder than standard steel could be used to work the Tundra Oak, though it required a lot of strength to do, making precision cuts very difficult to do by hand. However, in his time there Aiden discovered that one of the machines, which looked somewhat like a small guillotine was intended for just such a purpose, magical (or maybe cleverly hidden mechanical) force slamming an adamantine cutting blade through the Tundra Oak with ease.

When the elf, whose name was Ciel, arrived to help Aiden with his heat-based experiments the bard made several more discoveries. The steaming process he had thought of did not quite work as hoped. Though it did allow for bending of samples of the Tundra Oak, the steamed side, even after being flashfrozen by Ciel's magic, would remain noticeably softer than the unsteamed side, and tests revealed it to be more susceptible to fire as well. Tundra Oak submerged in warm water would become a little more pliable and return to its usual properties after being frozen again, though if the water was brought to a boil, the wood sample seemed to permanently lose its properties, becoming similar to normal white oak in hardness and fire resistance.

[Prehysterical]

Imperial Records and Customs office
The Imperial Records and Customs office is much the same as it was when Bolten visited it last. After presenting himself and the business he came on Bolten is pointed to a waiting room and informed that someone should come to meet with him within an hour. Apparently it takes slightly more people to appraise his prototype than it took to simply provide information for the job, and it will take a bit of time to gather them. The waiting room is fairly large, and filled with benches for people to sit on and rest, but there are also desks, ink and paper available for those that want to do some work while waiting.

Eventually a bespectacled man in his late twenties came to pick up Bolten and guided him to another sizeable room, about 4 meters wide by 8 meters long. There where tables at the two short ends of the room and at the room's center, as well as a system of numbered shutters at both ends of the room. its purpose was not immediately clear, but it might normally be sued for sorting large amounts of documents or the like. Today it was not in use for its normal purpose. Waiting for Bolten was the elf he met earlier, Lurel, as well as two humans, a man and a woman. The woman was advanced in age, likely past her 60th birthday already with shoulder-length white hair and wearing a pair of glasses and a simple, powder-grey dress. The man was in his early forties, with a bald head and full brown beard. He was wearing slightly stained workman's clothes and near him on the large central table a large toolbox was set.

"Mister Bolten, welcome, and thank you for your patience. I hadn't expected you to turn up today with a prototype, so it took a bit of work to gather a small committee to take a look at your invention." Lurel greeted the dwarf, the introduce her companions, starting with the elderly woman. "This is Marga, a manager with the notice drafting department. The gentleman with the tools is Victor. He is a facility manager here and has knowledge of all kinds of mechanisms and devices. Lastly there's Thomas." Lurel indicated the man that had brought Bolten to the room." He works in the record keeping department and would be one of the people who would regularly make use of your device if we were to choose your design."

Once introductions were done Bolten was invited to give a demonstration and explain his invention.

Bolten makes sure to greet each member of the evaluation committee with a respectful nod. "Thank you all for coming on such short notice. I make it my aim not to disappoint on that account." So saying, Bolten takes out the small prototype press from his backpack and sets out on the central table.

"I have been told by the city guard that the magic that animates the copying pens has a tendency to stray and deteriorate. I thought it might be more economical to make the parts that fail more mechanical. Much easier to shape a piece of metal than a spell, after all.

What you see before you is a letter press. Parchment can be loaded into this tray here and the slate with the letters can be loaded here." Bolten points out spots on the contraption as he goes. "A full alphabet and number set of tiles can be made out to load into the slate for whatever configuration you set up beforehand. For the purposes of this demonstration, I have made a copy of the whole form that I recently filled out at the city gate." He provides the original copy of the form for the committee's inspection before showing them the slate. They might have been confused to see the letters and words arranged backwards instead of forwards.

"These tiles can be infused with ink from the machine that will bead out from the small pores that you see at the bottom. This ink will be released in the shape of the letters, ideally reducing any stray ink blotches. Once a tile set has been set up, all that needs to happen is that parchment is continuously fed into the machine for the pattern to be copied out. This could be set up on a timer with a belt attached to clockwork gears, but I decided to stick with a simple lever here on the side for this particular prototype. After all, this is more a proof of concept than anything else. Depending on your tolerances for security clearances, a version of this machine could be made that even melts wax and provides stamped seals to authenticate government documents. That is an option that I will leave to your superior judgments in that regard."

Finally clasping his hands together in excitement, Bolten looks between them and asks, "So, would anyone like to try it for themselves? Accessibility was a key factor in my design for this press, so that serves just as much a test as anything."

[MrAbdiel]

"Really, Ciel, I appreciate it so much. If there's ever anything I can do to pay back the favor, you just let me know. I'm at the campus all the time."

He bids the elf farewell and sits amidst the scraps of wood and his discoveries, thinking deeply. He would need Misha's help - the young druidess would have access to low level frost magics no doubt - and he could head the water just fine at his own home. The small quantities of wood he was using to make the violin made that easy enough.

All that remained was access to tools. The adamantine definitely cut quicker - it would be a breeze, a joy, to carve with tools of such a magnificent metal; and he could do so with greater detail, even if there were lesser metals that could do the job. But where would he get such tools - or the money to acquire them? That was a mystery he was yet to solve. It was dawn, now, and he had been awake a very long time - he needed to sleep. But the sun was coming up - and he had other commitments.

Early that morning, the artisans getting their breakfast from the campus cafe would be treated to a new spectacle: the regular musician in his wide brimmed hat with his banjo on his lap, sitting on the steps to the cafe with the instrument's case open at his feet. There were a few coins in the case, as he had managed to get a few tunes out before stopping to rest his eyes. He leaned against the railing with one shoulder, his face tilted up, his mouth open, his cheek mushed to the bannister, snoring; with old Ambrose standing a few feet away, upright, but likewise asleep.

Spoiler: OOC:

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Alright. Research complete. Tools required. I have an idea for where Aiden is going to (try to) get them, but that'll have to wait until tomorrow when I can post again.

[DeTess]

Imperial Records and Customs office
Thomas stepped forwards at Bolten's invitation and after checking with Bolten once or twice to make certain he understood how to operate the machine he made a single copy of the form. Lurel and Marga took possession of it, then asked Thomas to make a couple dozen more copies to get an idea of the variance in the machine's output. Meanwhile they looked over the printed form carefully, comparing it closely with the original. While Thomas worked the machine Victor closely observed the press's operation. After Thomas was doen they asked Bolten to remove the letter plate form the machine again so they could look it over as well. Eventually they finished their deliberations and turned back to Bolten.

"First of all, I have to say this is a rather impressive piece of machinery, mister Bolten." Lurel started things off. "I was quite curious about the end result when you talked about a mechanical contraption, but this seems to be quite an elegant piece of machinery. That having been said, we do have some concerns and questions. Marga, would you like to start things off?"

The elderly manager nodded and presented Bolten with two of the copied notices. In both notices the 'd' in 'day' in the final lines of the document was a lot lighter than that of the other letters. "I noticed these imperfections. They seemed to be present in some of the other documents as well to a lesser degree as well, but these two where the most noticeable. When compared with the outright mistakes of the quills imperfections like these are more acceptable, but I'd still like to see the occurrence reduced. Do you know what causes them? Is it an issue with the operation of the machine, or an imperfection in the plate?"

[WindStruck]

Having finished her part of the violin design (at least for now) Shandara then turns her attention to the completion of her thesis. The report was all just about done, however she decided to refine the knowledge she had gathered (some from an accident that damaged the metal gratings in the lab) into a powerful combat spell.

Drawing what she could from the appropriate runes needed for a permanent magic ring, she then deduced a more simple and non-permanent structure that was in effect, powered by the caster's will, and shaped by their gestures and intonations. For all intents and purposes, this was just another way of describing how a spell is cast in real time.

However, while Shandara thought she understood it on a fundamental level, she did not feel confident enough to quickly pull all the necessary components off simultaneously, in a very short span of time. That is when perhaps a "friend" might come in handy. She recalled a halfling named Jay from the Midnight Guard who said she might be interested in some new spells to test out. Perhaps she was, in fact, skilled enough to pull off this spell?

Spoiler: Shandara's Scalding Spray

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Conjuration [Water]
Level: Sor/Wiz 2
Components: V, S, M
Casting time: 1 standard action
Range: 30 ft.
Area: 30-ft. line
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Reflex half
Spell Resistance: No

You release a powerful jet of scalding water aimed in a specific direction, which burns victims and deals physical damage. The first creature in the area takes 1d4 damage per caster level (maximum 8d4 or 16d4), half of which is considered fire damage, and the other half considered untyped physical damage and exploits vulnerability to briny water.

If the creature succeeds on its reflex saving throw, then the jet of water continues down the line, attacking the next creature like it would have the first.

If the creature does not succeed on its reflex saving throw, then it must make a Strength Check (equal to the DC of the spell). If the strength check fails, the creature falls prone and may be pushed 5 feet back and/or to the side. Then the spray of water continues on to the next target.

If the creature succeeds on its Strength Check, the creature is not moved any more, nor does it fall prone, but it does suffer an extra 1d4 damage per caster level, and the line of damage ends with it. The creature can choose to to forgo its successful strength check and drop prone at its current location, but that means the line of damage continues, up to the spell's maximum range.

Creatures that are small are pushed back twice the distance. Tiny creatures are pushed back four times the distance. For flying creatures, double that distance again.

If the damage caused to an interposing barrier shatters or breaks through it, the jet may continue beyond the barrier if the spell's range permits; otherwise, it stops at the barrier just as any other spell effect does. Barriers which do not move (or break) are treated like creatures that succeed on their strength check and choose to receive more damage. However, even if the additional damage breaks the barrier, the effect is stopped.

Arcane Material Component:
A teaspoon of salt.

While creating this spell, Shandara scribes a scroll of it and then makes a copy. She then considers if she should pay a random visit to the Midnight Guard.

[MrAbdiel]

It's past midday when Aiden awakens. No one had the heart to bother him, it seems; and he is woken from his slumber only by Ambrose nuzzling at him with concern. After a brief start, and a tumble down the three stairs that lead to the boardwalk infront of the bakery where he normally busks, he is rubbing the sleep from his eyes and enjoying the warm flush of embarrassment - an emotion most people avoid at all costs, but which he can sometimes seem to get outside of himself to appreciate. An autumnal pinkening of his face is what he gets for falling asleep with his face tilted up toward the sun, but aside from that, he's alright.

In fact, he's much better than alright. Dreams are a kind of workshop all of there own.

"Ah... Ahah! Hah! Eureka!"

For the next forty minutes, he is there on the steps with the wad of papers he had brought to take notes about the experimentation with the Tundra Oak. He had overshot as it turned out, but now he finds purpose for the surplus - sketching, scribing, imagining, treatising. And the moment he has his thoughts down, before the dreamfog has completely lifted, he laughs aloud again. "Haha! Ah - Julianne! Julianne!" He skids inside Julianne's Brew. The proprietress knows him well enough by now - he's been serenading the comers and goers outside her establishment for weeks, and has bought no small share of croissants for himself. "Julianne, I have to leave Ambrose tethered outside for a few hours - he should be fine, but keep an eye on the old boy, will you? I've got - I've got to run!"

This is not strictly true. He does not have to run. There is no urgency to the matter that demands that Aiden should have to travel so fast he cannot slow down for plodding old Ambrose. But the urgent feeling is sufficient compulsion for him; and with that one announcement he is taking off down the street in great strides, slowing down only when his lungs are burning and he is plodding up the steps to the Vilfaren estate; sweat-backed and flapping his hat in salutation at the no-doubt alarmed estate guards.

"Duncan-", he wheezes, "I need... to see... Majordom..o... Duncan!"

Spoiler: Aiden's Artistic Proposal

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The proposal is almost illegible with the frenzy in which it was written in places, but Aiden will be very animated in filling in the details. The title on the proposal papers is written with such enthusiasm it seems to have broken the nib of the pen used to write it, commanding a chance to a new color of ink shortly after.

The Legacy Tree

The commissioned work shall be a tree of singularly attractive proportions no more than 20ft in height so not to soar beyond the ceiling of the estate. The Tundra Oak, having been harvested in this fall season, will have shed its leaves and I will strip it of its pliable bark to reveal the smooth hardwood surface within. I will carve the surface of the trunk with pictorial celebration of the Vilfaren family, and illuminate them with precious metal inlays. Finally, I will select an appropriate arrangement of branches in the upper region and I will fashion the strings of a pair of grand harps and seats for two harpists. Thus, the work will be a functional and singularly beautiful instrument in addition to being salutory for the Vilfaren family and a celebration of the seasons. It will not be an inexpensive or easy project, but I think with a few specialists and dedicated action we can accomplish this wonderful feat.
I will outline the matters of difficulty below as I see them.

1. The Tree must be Tundra Oak. Symbolically it is most perfect, as it is deciduous and will have shed its leaves and thus marks the season; but also the species has other qualities. It is hard as stone, and all but immune to frost and fire; a symbol of the enduring power and majesty of our empire and its reach. The tree is in demand to armor the ships of the fleet, and so the choice is not without a touch of military grandeur. It is not enough that the message of the art should be beautiful; the materials for a project like this must be similarly rare and commanding.
2. This will require an expedition. Teleportation magics are, I must imagine, quite expensive; but in this case there is no choice if the initial showing of the piece is to be a debut in the mid-winter of the same year of its harvest. And even if a team were told to set sail right now, fetch a tree and bring it back, it would not arrive with enough time to make the work complete. This expedition will require a considerable investment in itself. The reasons why will follow.
3. The harvest will require tools that do not presently exist. Collection of this tree's wood has so far existed only for military and industrial purposes. I am experimenting with it for small projects presently but the logging teams no doubt have enchanted or adamantine axes to fell the trees and then saw off the limbs. This will not do for our purpose - we must have the tree unmarred by felling. It will need to be taken down surgically, which means people in the tree using tools to cut it down in segments then lowering those segments for preservation, packing and transport. Handsaws, two-man saws and the like are not sufficient for this. Ideally the cutting will be done with some kind of powered saw, like what is normally confined to action in a saw mill, running an adamantine or equivalent blade. I do not know how this will be accomplished; but I do have an idea of a machinist capable of conceiving and operating such a device. Additionally, it will need to be dug out from the permafrosted ground; but my machinest is the inventor of a device that will make that matter, at least, very easy.
4. The tree's preservation is problematic. It can not be allowed to rot and the process of the tree drying once it is taken down will rob it of the aspect of vitality and endurance which is part of the subject of the piece; and the distortion of the wood as it dries may mar the carving. It will require something like a permanent application of the Gentle Repose spell, but it will need to work on plants and indefinitely; perhaps by some token or tonic hidden in the interior of the segments. This is beyond my ability, but one of my best friends is an enchantress par excellance and will certainly be able to overcome this problem.
5. I will need to be advanced a set of adamantine tools. The wood is harder than stone which is excellent for the durability of the art but very difficult to manage instrumentally. I have recently conducted experiments with such tools and I know they are suitable for this purpose. I would be happy to sign a binding agreement that, upon my death, the tools are to be returned to the Vilfaren family for them to bestow upon the artisan of their choosing. This is important, because the upper reaches of the tree will be prepared for carving but left uncarved for the deeds of the the generations to come.
6. We must begin all these operations as soon as possible to supply the greatest freedom of time in which I can apply my craft to the medium. This is a grand project and will take me many, many weeks of work. Before I can begin this, the preservation and harvest processes need to be developed by my colleagues and an expedition undertaken where I can select the tree, and a team of helpers can assist in boxing the segments for travel. But the final result will be a work of art that has, perhaps fifteen segments of trunk and more than a hundred segments of branches. The joins will be mechanical fasteners but they will be hidden by goldwork. Once the festivities are over, it can be disassembled into crates for storage and moved to another location at the Archduchess's desire. No one has made anything like it before and the few parties who would be able to extend their resources to do so after will be seen as imitators. Hundreds of years from now, the descendants of the Archduchess will gaze upon it and consider what they will do to earn their own addition to its design.

Note: As a matter of perfect transparency, I am currently working on another project which uses small amounts of this wood and which I would first complete with the tools I am asking for. It is both a contract I intend to honor, but also it will be useful to have worked to completion with the material before I embark on this greater work.

Yours enthusiastically,

Aiden Sorveaux, Society Artificer
Proprietor of the Saw and Fiddle

Spoiler: OOC:

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That's Aiden's proposal. And, fortuitously, it involves roping in two special friends. Without their consultation, but one thing at a time!

[WindStruck]

After Shandara has finished scribing two copies of her scrolls, she decides to rest during the midday. Later in the afternoon, she takes a stroll over to the office of the Midnight Guard for an unannounced visit.

[DeTess]

The Vilfaren estate
It takes a little time, but eventually the Majordomo of the Vilfaren estate comes to meat with Aiden. He listens to the bard's proposal and looks voer the documents, seemingly having little trouble decyphering Aiden's handwriting. "It is certainly an intriguing proposal." The dwarf nods. "I understand there is some urgency to this, but we do require some further materials from you to better judge your proposal and your ability to carry it out. First of all, I'd like a sketch or small model showing your concept in greater detail. I get the gist of it from your notes, but the archduchess will want to see something in addition to your notes. Secondly, she'd want to see some woodwork done by you to give an idea of your skill at carving and decorating. Lastly, I'd like to ask you to prepare an instrument to show your skill at creating instruments capable of carrying a pleasing tune. Will that be doable?"

the offices of the Midnight Guard
Shandara was in luck, as it was the very person she had come to find that was manning the front desk as she arrived at the midnight guard compound. "Ah, Shandara, Xavier!" Jay sits up straight behind the desk, waving at the Drow and her bodyguard. "Welcome! What brings you here today?"

[WindStruck]

Spoiler: ooc

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I'd imagine the afternoon is a bit early for Xavier to be doing body guard duty already.. However! It might be somewhat convenient if he was at the office tidying up a thing or two and just happened to meet Shandara there. Or.. he could walk in with her as you say. Either way.

Shandara waves shyly at the halfling and says, "Hello, Jay. You're just the one I was hoping to find."

Without really explaining why, she asks, "Have you found work lately? Well, since I last spoke, I mean..."

After a bit of small talk is out of the way Shandara says, "So, I remember you told me that you might be willing to test out some new spells. As a matter of fact, during the course of my work, I believe I have come up with quite a nasty one as a byproduct. It could be quite deadly and destructive in the right hands."

She extracts the scroll from her pack and sets it on the desk. "You can read magic, correct? I'm just wondering what you think so far, without casting it."

Spoiler: spellcraft stuff

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Suggested stuff to reveal, in order of difficulty. If there's anything else you want to add or modify, feel free.

At first glance, the spell is of the conjuration school, though it does not appear to manipulate matter for the purposes of "creation". Nor does it summon or call anything. Instead, it actually seems to teleport objects.

More advanced insight reveals that the spell forms a brief connection with the plane of water.

And then that actually, though the spell goes to the plane of water, it is also slightly "close" to the plane of fire, and the negative energy plane.. or perhaps, one could say, close to the quasi-elemental plane of salt and para-elemental plane of steam.

And then it would take an insanely high roll and specific knowledge (spellcraft or planes) to recognize that this location on the plane of water is boiling hot, briny water, under extreme pressure.

[MrAbdiel]

Aiden is delighted that the Majordomo seems to be taking the proposal into consideration, even with the reservations.

"Yes, yes! I'll... mock up a little model tonight. Not from ironwood - I don't have the medium or the tools right now, but the style I can replicate. And as for a sample of my craft, well, that's -"

He turns around and reaches for the open air where Ambrose is normally standing with his instruments, and meets nothing. And then laughs.

"Ah, I'm a silly fellow, sometimes. I left my horse back at - ... It's alright, I can do that. I'll make it a harp, I suppose. You shall see me again soon!"

He waits a little longer to catch his breath, and then off to collect his equine friend he goes; practically clicking his heels.

Spoiler: OOC:

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Tasks:

1. Make a Masterwork Harp as an example of skill for the Archduchess. This is a standard operation, and the calculation will be the same as it was for making my banjo:

Masterwork instrument is 100gp, translating to 1000sp for crafting formula. Craft DC is probably equivalent to a "Complex or Superior Item", DC 20. Aiden pays 333SP and 4CP for materials.

Take 10 for Woodwork is 32, for future reference. I can pop the crafting DC up to 30 then, comfortably enough.

32*30=960. So a week of work would get it almost done; needing just another day (or half day) to push it over the 1000sp threshold.

There's also the ship restoration happening in the workshop; but most of that at this point is sanding that Aiden is deliberately letting his unwitting apprentices do so they will discover at the end of it that they did most of the job themselves.

2. Make a model of the Legacy Tree concept.

This is a bit more freeform. He doesn't need to carve the tree in exacting detail (he's not planning to sculpt a tree and the harp should demonstrate his talent) he just needs the abstract form and some scaled down gold fasteners for the segments, which I think he should be able to make with his Toolmaking skill. That whole thing is a lot less complex than the instrument - maybe another day or two, with about twenty gold worth of material investment? Up to you, boss.

Before that, though, he's going to have to check in with Shandara about his findings on the Tundra Oak.

[DeTess]

The offices of the Midnight Guard

Shandara waves shyly at the halfling and says, "Hello, Jay. You're just the one I was hoping to find."

Without really explaining why, she asks, "Have you found work lately? Well, since I last spoke, I mean..."

"I'm actually just back from a short job." Jay happily explains in response to Shandara's question. "Some occultist was hired to deal with the haunting of a Noble's manor and wanted some people to watch her back while she worked. Was only for a couple days, but it was pretty interesting to see the occultist at work, when I wasn't busy stopping the ghost from bringing down the house on top of us, that is."

After a bit of small talk is out of the way Shandara says, "So, I remember you told me that you might be willing to test out some new spells. As a matter of fact, during the course of my work, I believe I have come up with quite a nasty one as a byproduct. It could be quite deadly and destructive in the right hands."

She extracts the scroll from her pack and sets it on the desk. "You can read magic, correct? I'm just wondering what you think so far, without casting it."

"Hmmm, what do we have here..." Jay looked over the scroll, scanning the lines and diagrams with a practiced eye. "So, it opens a small gateway to the elemental plane of water for a short moment... You can aim it very precisely, so it's probably an offensive spell of some sort, right? Meant to push away a bunch of opponents with a flood of water maybe? Though... the apperture is really quite small, and you're being very specific about where you want to get the water from... I don't really know enough about the plane of water to know what makes one place better than another but at a guess you're probably going for something temperature related? Really cold or really hot water could add bit of spice to the spell. I'm still unsure about why you didn't creature a bigger aperture to allow more water to gush out.... maybe it's just to make it easier to cast?" After going over her initial thoughts the halfling looks back up at Shandara. "I think I'm still missing something. Could you explain the spell to me?"

[WindStruck]

Shandara's mouth ticks up in a small smile, and she nods and says, "You seem to have the gist of it." For a brief moment she silently laments to herself how nice of an assistant Jay might have been.

"And yes, while the opening is relatively small, making it easier to cast, it... honestly, I'm not sure if it needs to be bigger. You see, this locale on the plane of water? It's actually extremely hot and salty. But what's more: it's under very high pressure."

Shandara smirks and says, "Let's just say, when I was doing related experiments for a more benign source of water, I accidentally created a jet of water so powerful that it damaged metal gratings."

"So anyway.. I have a feeling you are more capable of casting this spell than me, despite the fact that I designed it. I would be interested in seeing how it performs in your hands. Erm. You just need to be careful where you aim it. I'm sure it would cause considerable damage."

[DeTess]

"A water jet so strong it can cut through metal? Now that I've got to see!" Jay said enthusiastically, but then some realization immediately dampened said enthusiasm. "However, it'd take me a bit of time to learn the spell. I mean, I could just use the scroll, but so can anyone with a bit of magical skill, so you wouldn't need me for that. With about half a week's intensive practice I should probably be able to get it down though."

[Prehysterical]

Imperial Records and Customs office

Bolten brightens at Lurel's compliment, but he really should have seen the "but" coming. Thankfully, Marga's complaint can be solved with some brief deliberation. "Er, to be fair, it could be either, really. It could be that that particular 'd' type is just slightly shorter than the others, but it could also be the amount of force being applied to the machine is slightly different between different people." He holds his own freshly printed copy from before for comparison.

"I'm thinking that the simplest solution would be to add a spring mechanism to the lever that ensures even force distribution regardless of whoever is pulling it. The problem could be solved by making sure that every letter is exactly the same height down to the finest hair's breadth, but I understand that such precise required measurements are not in the department's best interests for long-term viability," he finishes with a shrug.

[WindStruck]

Shandara says, "I'd be happy for you to learn it and see it in action. And tell me if you find any flaws too. I hope not..."

"Well, as I said before, do be extremely careful with it, alright? Treat it like any other deadly spell.. hmm. That acid arrow one? Or the scorching rays? And don't worry about rushing to practice it. You may take all the time you need. I mean, it's not like I am paying you..."

She smiles again and says, "But perhaps adding a spell like this to your repertoire is compensation enough. For I am sure it would be useful, if not.. perhaps a bit too much force to deal with a problem."

[DeTess]

Imperial Records and Customs office
"If that issue can be corrected then I have no further comments." The old manager said.

"Victor, I believe you had some comments too, right?" Lurel prompted the bearded man, who nodded.

"Mister Cogturner, what would you reckon the durability on this device is? And how easy will it be to maintain and repair?" the facility manager asked. "If we where to start using this device then I expect we'd end up putting a dozen or more into service, each of which would be used hundreds of times a day. If that results in these devices breaking down too often, especially if it requires very specific knowledge to repair than that could cause all kinds of issues down the line."

The Offices of the Midnight Guard
"Can I Borrow this scroll for a bit then?" Jay asked. "Don't worry, I'll get it back to you in one piece, but it'll be a useful aid while a try to figure this spell out. We have a practice area for mages in the compound, so I should be able to practice safely, even if it is as destructive as you said."

[WindStruck]

Shandara nods and says, "Yes, you may borrow it. I have a spare anyway.."

After a bit of awkward silence, she looks around and says, "Oh Xavier, you do come by this office frequently, right? I suppose whenever you meet Jay again, you could tell me when she is ready?"

[WindStruck]

After saying farewells and leaving the Midnight Guard offices with Xavier, Shandara drops by her home, and they then make the familiar trek over to the Archives. However, Shandara doesn't have research in mind tonight.

Instead, she approaches a counter she hasn't been to in a while, and says she has a paper she would like to file, for the benefit of everyone.

[DeTess]

The archives
The person manning the counter is a short, older human man with a bushy grey beard and a pair of spectacles clamped to his nose. He accepts Shandara's report and quickly scans through the document. "A report on an enchantment and some related mapping of the elemental plane of water I see. Quite interesting! I didn't see any monograms of existing research groups, so can I assume this is based on personal research? If so, we have an acceptance procedure that will take a couple days, maybe a week." The man explains. "You go into quite sufficient detail, so it mostly consists of someone going through the steps you outlined to confirm your results. Once that's been done we'll give it our stamp of approval and add it to the archives. Does that all sound acceptable?"

[Prehysterical]

Imperial Records and Customs Office

Bolten hesitates for a moment before answering, fighting the urge to shrug. "I cannot give you an honest answer to that, sir. I've never made a device like this before or heard of anything like it. The answer to that question would require testing and time. I always design to be as durable and maintenance-free as possible, but there is always the chance of a hidden gremlin in the works. I typically offer a lifetime guarantee for my inventions with repairs at no cost in the event of mechanical failure. Alternatively, I am prepared to offer up the design itself as part of the commission. In that case, your engineers would be able to examine the schematics and troubleshoot any possible issues that might arise. I always prefer my designs to have mechanical fixes rather than requiring re-enchantment.

Truthfully, sir, I just thew this piece together as a proof of concept since I wasn't sure whether with a more magical solution would beat me to the punch. If the Office wishes, I can manufacture a full-sized machine for testing."

The dwarf feels a bit stuck. How do you guarantee the longevity of a unique item that was built, quite literally, yesterday?

[WindStruck]

Shandara nods when the question is asked, or implied, that it's based on personal research. "Very Well. I will check back with you in some days. Now is there some reference number or name you will be using while the report is pending? Or will it just be on the name given?"

Spoiler: Shandara's Report: On Conjuring Water Via Arcane Methods

Show

A lengthy and cumbersome document, which might form a very small novel, which is at least numbered properly by page and has a table of contents.

The introduction briefly describes the nature of the magic and other shortcomings that have been faced so far, for example, the creation of water only through means of divine magic. And then lists off a number of other practical applications for this magic, like irrigation, supply of fresh water through aqueducts, providing small compartmentalized units of water for steam engines, and portable emergency water supplies while being out in the wilderness.

Additionally, there is a call for a need to organize major, continual uses of these enchantments in a list, or registry, so that they do not overlap with each other and cause failure over the long term. A table of coordinates is listed in the third chapter.

The first chapter briefly explains the process in very technical terms. Opening small apertures into the plane of water, through a fixed and defined area. It is then followed up by a sample diagram and suggestions for materials resilient enough to make the framework and runes.

The second chapter goes extensively into different types of coordinates, and the ability to shift them over closer toward other planes, for example, the planes of fire, air, earth, positive, or negative planes. There is also a caution that pressure may fluctuate, or there are areas under extreme pressure, but no correlation has yet been determined. Before putting to practical use, the location must be thoroughly tested to ensure safety.

The third chapter cautions on long-term impact of this magic, should its use become extensive. If several powerful individuals or organizations use the magic constantly, all in the same locations of the plane of water, their enchantments will interfere with one another as they compete for the same sources of water. Also, in extreme cases, they may harm or anger denizens of that plane. Therefore it is advised to use multiple smaller enchantments with smaller apertures, rather than a single enchantment with a large one. A sample table is provided, which might describe what such a registry might look like. In the table are some fictional entities, application of water use, and the coordinates used. While coordinates may be fairly "close" to each other with little foreseeable impact, they should not be exactly the same.

[DeTess]

Imperial Records and Customs Office
"Well, I suppose having information like that available already might have been a bit too much to wish for." Victor sighed. "Well, It does mean I will have to caution against employing more than one or two of these devices, at least until we have an idea of how much effort maintenance will take."

Lurel nodded in agreement. "It's not unexpected. This would be a very new approach, and we'd rather avoid rehashing the issues we have with the quills, where a solution that seemed fine at smaller scales started to show problems at the larger scales we work at. Still, I do believe this invention is worth investing in. Mister Cogturner, if we were to order two of these machines with the additions we discussed here, as well as supplies so we can make our own plate designs, how much would you ask for those? I'll discuss it with some of my other colleagues and we should have a final verdict in one or two days, as well as an order if we decide to go further with this design."

The Archives
"For ease of reference we internally use a letter-code for referencing works like this." The archivist explained. "It would consist of a code referring the subject matter, in this case enchantment and planar sciences, the year and month in which it was submitted, an abbreviation of the title and of the primary author's name." While speaking the Archivist quickly noted down a short code and handed it to Shandara. "If you want to refer someone to your document in the archives you could refer them to this code, though of course we can find it for anyone looking for a document like this. The code is mostly just for us archivists to quickly and easily find relevant works based on someone's request or description."

[WindStruck]

Shandara nods and thanks the man. She has no other business in the archives for now, so she exits the building and it's still fairly early into the evening. She wonders what she'll do in the meantime, as she strolls slowly compared to her usual gait.

She knew this enchanted violin project would be her top priority, though at the moment she was still waiting to see what Aiden came up with as he experimented working with Tundra Oak.

The paper she wanted published, the process was started at least, and aside from possibly getting her findings published in a prestigious journal, it was mostly squared away.

Slightly related to that, the scroll she gave to Jay was passed on to her less than two hours ago. It would be some time until Jay had anything to say about her spell.

The spirit wood.. she could try revisiting the chunk of wood in her home and continue with her wand research. Aha.

She suddenly changes direction and announces to Xavier, "I need to make a quick trip to the bank and buy some material for wand blanks before all the shops close."

[DeTess]

Shandara's shopping trip was rather uneventful, and she acquired the materials she was looking for without issue. When she arrived home however, she found a letter waiting for her. The letter was sealed close with the coat of arms of the city guard, and the letter read as follows:

Dear madam Shandara,

I hope this missive finds you well. My name is Desmund Tar, and I hold the position of captain within the Arcanist branch of the city guard's investigative division. I have heard a thing or two of your prowess within the field of enchanting, and would like to offer you a commission designing a new tool for me and my colleagues. As the details of this matter are somewhat confidential I cannot go into more details in this letter, but if you are interested in taking this commission you can come visit the Crown's gate guard precinct to meet with me in person.

Regards,
Captain Desmund Tar, city guard 1st investigative division, arcanist branch

[WindStruck]

Shandara takes and read the letter with some interest. Well at least it wasn't some sort of death threats or ransom note.

"Crown's gate guard precinct.." Shandara mutters. "Do you know where that is?"

knowledge local (1d20+8)[23]

It seems even as she asks this, some details she remembered hearing about flood back into her mind.

"It is highly unusual for someone to directly send a request like this. I think you had better come with me."

[WindStruck]

Shandara shrugs, then sighs. "Let's go now, I guess. Before it gets even later."

She stops and adds, "Although. I will be a little annoyed if they tell me to come back in the morning."