• Graded • (Wood)work In Progress

[Darius Baer]

Arc 700, 2nd of Ashan

With one last sawing motion, the piece of wood was cut in two. A quick check with a marked piece of string confirmed that it was of a perfect length, and after a little sanding, its end was nice and smooth.

Josef Baer was not the finest woodworker in all of Idalos, but in the eyes of a young Darius, he might as well have been.

The two Baer boys were in Josef's shed, where father was teaching son a thing or two about woodworking. Darius knew he had a lot to learn when he looked down at his off cuts and saw a messy pile of uneven wedges and roughly cut shreds of wood.

"Fret not, lad," Josef chuckled. "I've had arcs to practice. By the time you're my age, you'll be a finer woodworker than I."

Darius nodded with a sense of uncertainty. It was difficult to imagine being as skilled as his father, but he also knew that the man wouldn't offer such a hopeful prediction if he didn't believe it to be true.

"Here," Josef continued, stepping behind Darius so that he could reach around the smaller form of his son, "when you use your saw, start by making backward strokes. That will help the teeth to bite into the wood and make the groove for cutting."

The man then did precisely as he had explained, holding onto Darius' piece of wood while his other hand gently rested over that of his son. In that way, they were both holding onto the saw as they gently pulled it back a few times on an angle until a cut began to form.

And so, in a small shed in Scalvoris Town, Darius began to learn some of the most basic lessons that any woodworker should know.

[Darius Baer]

Arc 700, 3rd of Ashan

Darius' vision had become blurred. Everything in his father's workshop that had once been in sharp focus became an indistinct haze of colours and shapes. The tears that covered his vision began to escape his eyes through his eyelashes, before rushing down towards the ground and leaving hot trails of moisture in their wake.

He could feel his bottom lip beginning to quiver. He could feel the pulsing within his arm as blood rushed to his hand. But most of all, he could feel the throbbing pain of the impact of hammer against thumb.

he heavy tool fell from his other hand and clattered noisily to the floor as a scream worked its way from his belly and out of his mouth. Within moments, he was pulled into the familiar embrace of his father, and he sobbed into the man's waist.

"It's alright, lad," Josef said. "Hammers can be tricky things at the best of times."

His voice was warm and comforting, but it did little to erase Darius' confusion. He had spent all of the previous trial with his father teaching him how to use a saw, and he had been certain that now that he was a woodworking expert, learning to use the hammer would come naturally. But, alas, his opinion of his own abilities didn't seem to match reality.

When the pain became more bearable, Darius' father would teach him how to properly use a hammer. He was holding it in the middle of the handle, which meant less control and power. And he'd bent the nail he was attempting to hit, so he got taught how to use the claw of the hammer to remove it.

The blond boy was forced to accept that perhaps he wasn't the brilliant woodworker he'd thought he was, but perhaps he would eventually become one.

[Darius Baer]

Arc 700, 4th of Ashan

"I'm not interested in your isolationist nonsense, Silas!"

"Don't be a fool, Josef! Think of the opportunities!"

Darius was nursing his sore thumb, a small bandage wrapped around its tip, as he watched the two men continue their polite but robust conversation. Silas was, as far as Darius knew, an old friend of his father's, for the pair often met up in Josef's workshop and had impassioned but friendly disagreements.

"And which opportunities are those?" Josef asked, the skeptisicism in his voice impossible to ignore.

"Think about it! The Crafters only want what's best for Scalvorians. If Scalv locals can only buy Scalv crafts, you'll be one of the benefactors," Silas continued to plead his case.

"How so?" Josef sighed.

"Well, as a woodworker --"

"I am not a woodworker by trade, Silas, and you know it."

Josef rarely got angry, especially in these tired arguments that - as far as Darius could tell - repeated themselves on a regular basis. The man took a hammer and a chisel from his workbench and began to chip away at a chunk of wood, even as he continued to speak.

"Woodworking is a hobby, and one I enjoy, but I have spent arcs as a sailor. I have seen the world - something you certainly can't lay claim to."

"Then you must know that Scalv craftsmanship is the finest in all of Idalos."

"If that is the case," Josef shot back, "then Scalv craftsmen have nothing to fear from the skills - or the supposed lack thereof - of other parts of the world."

Darius watched on as the conversation seemed to stop, the hammer and chisel the only sounds in the workshop. After a few moments, he put the tools down and held up the piece of wood.

"Now," Josef added, "if you've finished preaching about The Crafters, I could do with a hand with sanding this."

Any tension that might have been in the room immediately left as the two friends shared a chuckle, and Silas took the piece of wood and set it down onto the workbench, before picking up a piece of sandpaper and getting to work.

"Over here, lad," Josef added, and Darius pushed himself off his seat, ignoring the pain in his thumb and receiving a friendly pat on the head from Silas as he walked across the workshop. "It's time to teach you how to use sandpaper."

[Darius Baer]

Arc 700, 5th of Ashan

"Do you know what today is, lad?" Josef asked, hands on thighs as he leaned down towards his son's level. "It's the Gifting Trial. Every arc, on this trial, we get to pass on something we've made with our own hands to a friend or a stranger as a gift."

Josef patted his son on the shoulder and Darius jumped down, then rushed across to the end of the workbench, eager to pick up the project he'd been working on while spending time in his father's workshop.

The young boy bit his lip as he looked at his creation. It wasn't to the same standard as his father's, which was a finely crafted bowl. The younger Baer's creation was not so much an attractive piece of tableware as it was a lopsided, unevenly cut and only partly sanded block of wood and a hole on the top where a bent nail had been pulled out. It would require the new owner to use a lot of imagination for it to be used for...well...anything, really.



It was late in the trial and Darius was feeling sad. He'd gone with his father to the local market, and seen other Scalvorians exchanging gifts. There were all sorts of nice things being handed around: a small vase from the potter's kiln; an ornamental dagger from the blacksmith; bouquets of flowers that people had grown in their back gardens.

Josef's gift had been readily accepted by the first person he'd offered it to: an old woman in Darius' eyes, who in reality was probably aged about twenty arcs, gratefully took it, and offered the sailor a small potted collection of herbs in return. Darius had watched as his father had graciously taken it, saying that his wife would surely enjoy it.

But Darius' gift was still in his hands as they returned home. It wasn't that anyone had rejected it; he simply hadn't thought that anyone would like it, and so he hadn't even offered it to anyone. But that also meant he hadn't received anything in return, either. He was sure he must have been the only person in all of Idalos to not have exchanged gifts that trial. He trailed his father on the walk back, feeling as lonely as a little boy possibly could.

"Jean!" Josef called as the two Baer boys reached the house. "Jean, take a look at this."

Darius' mother stepped out of the house, wearing her ready smile as she embraced her husband and took the offered herb garden.

"Oh Joe, it's beautiful," she smiled, but her grin faded when she saw her son. Now, what's got my brave boy so upset?"

Tears were streaking down Darius' cheeks as he stepped forward, and held up his wooden curiosity. He wanted to tell her what had happened and how he felt, but the words got caught in her throat.

"Oh my," Jean smiled as she knelt down and took the misshapen block of wood. "Darius, it's wonderful."

The young boy's tears faltered, his eyes glistening with tears but showing a mixture of hope and confusion.

"Darius Baer," she said in a voice that blended formality with affection, "this is the most wonderful ornament I've received in quite some time. But what can I give to you in return?"

Darius didn't say anything. He just stepped forward and gave his mother a big hug, holding her tight. He didn't need anything else. She had already given him enough.

[Doran]

Darius:

Knowledge:
Skill Knowledges:
Discipline: Dealing with thumb pain.
Endurance: Experiencing the pain of hitting your thumb.
Woodworking: Measure twice, cut once.
Woodworking: How to use a saw.
Woodworking: How to use a hammer.
Woodworking: How to use sandpaper.

Non-Skill Knowledges:
Faction: The Crafters
NPC: Silas Guthersun: Old friend of Josef Baer
NPC: Silas Guthersun: Member of The Crafters

Loot: -
Wealth: -
Injuries: Bruised thumb for a trial or two.
Renown: -
Magic XP: -
Skill Review: Appropriate to level.
Points: 10

- - -

Comments: Little Darius is cute! I like how he looks up to his father and trusts him and admires him. You did a good job when it comes to describing their relationship and their interaction in my opinion, and their dialogue was entertaining. The scene where Darius got hurt was quite well-written in my opinion. Poor Darius! Josef is such a good father though!

I also liked the way you incorporated the challenges for the Scalv-enger Hunt into the thread.

Enjoy your rewards!