Open - Lightning Ironworks: Homecoming

Hidden: OOC Notes

This thread is open to any who want to drop by and be a part of the Lightning Ironworks actually becoming a legitimate business. Treat it as a megathread, where you can come and go, and please tag those you are actively associating with, as Ironworks members work to make this place their home away from home.

If you would like to join the Ironworks, please see here! Thank you!

​

Up on the surface, there was a quaint little shop that seemed simple enough to the passerby. A little tech shop that sold little trinkets and gadgets, with a sign out front that read:

Lightning Ironworks

Upon entering, it looked like most any other fantasy or medieval storefront. Little display cases with some of the greatest inventions that Emerath and his teams could come up with. Simpler mechanisms on shelves or racks for perusal and purchase

Many of the inventions for sale comprised primarily of weapons. Crossbows, switchblades, mechanically extending lances, and the like. Though the more unique items in display cases were what would truly catch the eye. The likes of the Wingchute, the wrist mounted grappling hook, skate boot attachments, and other wacky things. Many of these came without a hefty price tag, though some of the display cases boasted values that could only be afforded by a king, and that was just how Emerath wanted it.

He didn't want the best inventions him and his team could come up with to fall into the hands of just anyone. He needed to make sure that someone either had the money, or joined up with him to create even greater things. It really was that simple. Besides, if the armies of Astorea or Falderen got their hands on this stuff and convinced their greatest Tinkerers (who was Emerath kidding, he was their greatest Tinkerer) to reverse engineer it, he would be out of a job. He couldn't have that.

Though the storefront itself hadn't costed Emerath a ransom sum, the basement below had. You see, hidden in a side back room, away from prying eyes, was a door labeled: "IRONWORKS PERSONNEL ONLY". Emerath had even managed to hire a pretty beefy guard to stand next to it.

Behind the door was a spiral staircase that led down into the earth, before opening up into a grand room with quite a bit of room for experiment stations, alchemy tools, ironsmithing stations, and magical tools. A place where Tinkerers, Blacksmiths, and Mages of a more scientific nature could call home.

And so, it was down here that Emerath turned to his willing workers and companions, from atop a balcony overlooking the area, and cried out, "Welcome to your new home away from home, my friends! Come, science to your heart's content. Here, we think of the greatest things that Terrasphere has to offer!"

Once the announcement was made, he left everyone to their own devices, as he moved down into the area himself, to begin poking and prodding at science and see what some of his subordinates got up to.

@Iván Carl @Tetsunosuke @Ashnor Ironth

 

So, this was the building where the new "Lightning Ironworks" player company would be setting up shop? It was a nice looking place from the outside, if not a bit small. Pushing on towards the front door of the shop, Ashnor wondered where they would be actually practicing their craft. Was it going to be somewhere her, or was there another location that Emerath had purchased. He put his hand on the door handle and entered the shop, glancing up at the space above the door as he heard a small dinging sound. Seeing one of those bells that shop owners put in, Ashnor nods his head in appreciation "Huh, well that's a nice touch."

Looking around the shop's interior, Ashnor see's that there is already a decently large amount of Items on the shelves and in the displays around the shops. And there was quite a variety of things, it seemed. All sorts of different mechanical weapons, along with some interesting modifications for existing weapons and some altogether interesting gadgets. Appart from the items for sale though, everything else about the shop seemed pretty... normal, really. Ashnor wasn't really sure if he expected something crazy, but it certainly wasn't; just a counter in the back for whoever was manning the shop at the time, and another door behind the counter, leading into some sort of side room. Storage maybe?

From what Emerath had mentioned when he said to come to the shop, Ashnor and the other people that were going to work here, he was going to meet everyone somewhere in the "Employees Only" portion of the shop. Shrugging, Ashnor heads over to the door leading to the back room and opens it. Behind it, Ashnor is surprised to find a much smaller room than he was expecting, and even more surprised to see some sort of beefy guard standing next to a door labeled "Ironworks Personnel Only" which was obviously where he supposed to go. Walking up to the guard, Ashnor speaks up, "Excuse me, Sir. Could you let me through, my name's Ashnor Ironth, I work for the Ironworks." The guard glances down at some sort of list he holds in his hands, nods, and opens the door for Ashnor, all without speaking a word.

This place just seemed to keep on going, it seemed; behind the door, a spiral staircase continued on into the craziest part of the entire shop. Ashnor supposed that his question about where they would be working was answered. As he descended the stairs, the huge room below the storefront was revealed, a two-story complex with all sorts of workstations and areas. Alchemy, Metalworking, enchanting, you name some sort of crafting, there was probably a place to do it here. There was even a forge in here, with ventilation pipes leading through the roof so the place didn't fill with smoke. Reaching the bottom of the staircase, Ashnor looks around in awe at the scale of this place (Which must have cost a fortune for Emerath). Suddenly, a shout from the second-floor balcony rang out, and the man himself - Emerath Katou - began spouting some inspiring words about this being a "home away from home".

Clapping a little once Emerath had finished his speech, Ashnor looked around for a second, before moving over to the Smithy he had seen earlier. The stuff around the place all seemed to be pretty decent quality; new, shiny workbenches and anvils, along with high-quality materials for whatever project you were working on. The forge, especially, was impressive, to Ashnor, with all its ventilation. Even though it wasn't lit right now, the forge was already warm from all the coals in its firepot. Reaching behind him, Ashnor lifted his hammer from its harnesses across his back and laid it on the ground in a corner away from the forge. He then removes his jacket and does the same for that. now shed of his extra layers, Ashnor looks around for some piece of metal for him to work with.

 

So this was the business location of the Lightning Ironworks, eh? Tetsunosuke smiled as he looked at the small shop that was recently erected in the bustling city of Stokbon. Well it should look like the owner of the company had not invested much on edifices. But maybe there were something more within this shop that should interest him. That was the characteristic of true inventors, they would be seen as crazy, and their abodes would seem to be ordinary shacks, but all of the inventors' ideas were within those shacks, and once someone enters, they will gasp at their imagination and works. Well that should be the magic of innovators, and Tetsunosuke thought that the proprietor of it all, Emerath Katou, had the same magic in him. Well there should be only one way to find out, and that was to enter the shop.

The bell rang as soon as he had entered, and he smiled as he saw the display that the proprietor had placed in the shop. This was the magic of innovators in full display, and as he saw that apparatus that Emerath had exhibited at the Albus Exceed expo, he moved towards it. Aside from the Wingchute that had made him join the company, there were more inventions by Emerath that was displayed within the cases. All of them were of high difficulty, and Tetsunosuke thought that he had joined the right company. He would learn a lot from this person that should help him on his inventions in the near future. Especially that project of his that was very ambitious if he would talk about it. Well hopefully Emerath would let him pursue that project that he was thinking. Especially since if some fiction back in his world would be considered, it could be considered forbidden science.

He then noticed a signage that read "IRONWORKS PERSONNEL ONLY" on a door, and it even had a muscular guard who guarded it. Well he was an employee, albeit a new one, and so maybe he could enter that door. Fortunately for him, the mention of his name made the guard open the door. As he descended the staircase, he then wondered what sort of basement and workers' lounge did this shop had. As he had finally reached the bottom, he was surprised to find a huge area beneath the small storefront. So this was their workstation. From ironworking stations to magical tool production areas, this area had something for everyone. And it seemed that Emerath was also there, giving a speech to every person within the area. New home away from home, eh? Definitely. This area had lots to offer for tinkerers like him, it was a paradise for those who desire to conceptualize something new. As the speech had stopped, Tetsunosuke moved towards the mechanical workbenches. He then started to marvel at how complete the tools and materials were, as he started to unscroll a plan for the one-handed repeating crossbow and take some materials and tools to assemble it.

 

“Lightning Ironworks…” Iván read the familiar sign out front of the tiny shop that didn’t look anything out of the ordinary, switching from it to the card on his hand that contained the same name and logo. “This must be it.”

It’s been days since he met Emerath Katou, founder and owner of Lightning Ironworks, at the Exceed Expo. To say that Iván was impressed with his Emerath, his new boss, was an understatement. Iván considered him a genius, a paragon of his field not unlike Alphabet Chocolate in terms of illusion magic. Not contented with just one Mastery mentor, Alpha’s student sought out Emerath and asked for his guidance. Iván believed that under Emerath’s tutelage, his understanding of the Mastery would grow further. It helped that he also wanted to do things with his hands.

Iván browsed the display cases he passed by inside the shop, marveling at the inventions, the mechanisms, they contained. He wondered if he, too, would be able to create something as magnificent and awe-inspiring as these things. “That’s the Wingchute...” Iván muttered to himself. “I saw that during the expo.”

After spending a lot of time noting everything he could in the shop, Iván to head where Emerath had told him to go: the basement. He had to go through a side back room, the door that was labeled to make sure only personnel went through it, and some guy who looked like he worked out too much. Iván didn’t even talk to him, merely showing him the business card.

“What?” Iván was surprised to find a grand room down there, bigger than he expected, though the spiral staircase should’ve made him think about that beforehand. There were a lot of different stations down there, including something that caught Iván’s eye, actually a bunch of somethings: alchemy tools. He wondered if he would be able to use that. Apart from cooking, alchemy was something Iván believed he could do well. Whether that was true or not remained to be seen.

He was caught surprised when he heard Emerath speak, only noticing the balcony when he was just about to end his speech. As soon as he was, Emerath wasn’t. Iván simply shrugged and immediately headed to the station that seemed like it was made for alchemy.

What was Iván going to do?

 

Huh. A new shop. Well, it was worth a poke around, right? Worst thing that happened, she got asked to leave. Actual worst case was her being attacked, but it wasn't like anything around here was likely to pose a threat to her at her current level. Well, not anymore. So yeah, she'd poke around. Not stealing, no, she wasn't looking for that trouble. Yet. No, she'd behave for now. Opening the door to the front of the shop up slowly, she decided it was a better idea to knock after she was in already.

So she pulled the sheathe from her hip, knocking on an overhead sign with the end of it, then approaching what she could tell to be a front desk. She wasn't gonna bother trying to slip on into that side door or anything, at least not now. Instead, she 'borrowed' contraption of some sort off the desk, something clockwork-like. She couldn't figure out the purpose, much less how how to work it. Turning it over a few times in hand, she decided that since nobody was here yet, she'd try and at least sketch out to something to see if there was any way to do what she wanted in the future.

The result, of course, was her 'borrowing' a sheet of paper and a stick of charcoal, leaning on the desk and roughly sketching out the sheathe idea she'd long had. Something that she could never have done in some other game, due to the fact she'd never been much for asking for help. Not helpful was the other fact that she was NOT good at design, not like this. Swords were simple, at least in that regard. No moving parts, just the blade. That was easy. This? She was trying to rig a sword to go flying in a controlled way.

So maybe these guys could lend a hand. Wouldn't be too hard, if they were good, or at least she figured. So off she sketched, muttering to herself and chewing on a stick of deer jerky. "Would think a new shop would be fuckin' busier."

 

Emerath saw all his workers show up, and to say he was excited to begin working with them would have been an understatement. But he was the boss. He had to stay calm and composed. He had to make sure they were sufficiently directed and funded, and could come up with anything their mind could work out. They were scientists, innovators, and the best of the best. Nothing anyone could say would convince Emerath otherwise.

The Blacksmith - @Ashnor Ironth

Ashnor was the first that Emerath saw show up, and he was the first one Emerath went to for discussion. "Looks like you found everything, I'm glad," Emerath said with a smile, as Ashnor picked up the metal. Emerath motioned to the piping that he had seen Ashnor admiring, as he said, "Took quite a bit to get this place properly ventilated. Last thing we'd need is everyone dying like birds down here underground as you work your magic, right?" It was rhetorical, of course. Nobody wanted that.

Emerath moved to look over the workbench and the forge itself, as he said, "So, I'm not going to direct you. I want you to work to your hearts content on anything you see fit. Give us anything you feel is completed. Hell, you can give us anything you feel isn't completed, and we'll work it out, yeah? That's the whole point of us Tinkerers. Find new and interesting ways to take anything and complicate it."

But as Emerath picked up one of the hammers on an anvil, he pressed a finger to the head in thought as he said, "Though if I did have a request, one of the things us Tinkerers need a lot of, are nails, hinges, and cranks. Varying sizes, varying uses. Weapons to work with are important, but so are things to make those weapons more interesting. Things to make brand new inventions. The like. Basically, you're going to be the backbone of everything we do. No pressure, my friend."

Emerath put the hammer down, and gave Ashnor a solid pat on the shoulder, "I appreciate you being here. And remember, money is no object right now. Create to your heart's content and I'll be happy. We'll make sure the profits keep coming in from there."

The Mechanist - @Tetsunosuke

Emerath was glad to see that Tetsu made it to the workshop, and that the instructions of such hadn't given him any trouble. Even better, the man had gotten straight to work on an invention, as Emerath walked over to take a look. Emerath cocked his head this way and that, watching him work this way and that on the crossbow, trying to puzzle out what exactly he was trying to modify.

After a bit, it became clear, it looked like a mechanized repeating crossbow. Rubbing his chin, Emerath thought about the problem he was seeing at hand, and he ran a hand along the plans that Testu appeared to have made before working. This was exactly what Emerath had been hoping for, and he was glad to see it taking flight. Two Tinkerers, working in tandem to solve complicated tasks. Teamwork at its finest, etc.

But Emerath hadn't even done anything yet! Oh, but that was about to change. "So, I think the best way to handle this is with a crank," Emerath explained, as he looked over the plans. "Since crossbows operate through tension, you can use a crank to both create and release that tension, combined with a clip like those used in automatic rifles in the real world."

Emerath picked up a crossbow, and tried to simulate what he was talking about to the man, as he spoke, he held up the crossbow in one hand, and moved his hand in an invisible crank motion with his other hand, "You see, the crank operates like the trigger, but it works twofold. Releasing the crank releases the tension, firing your first shot. And then you crank it again, pulling the rope back into place. With the arrow clip, you already have arrows ready. All you need is the tension for another shot. So once you have successfully cranked the tension back into place, the next arrow automatically loads, making it repeatable so long as you have arrows in the clip. It should increase firing speed by roughly 50% if created efficiently enough. What do you think?"

The Alchemist - @Iván Carl

Ivan was admittedly one that Emerath was incredibly glad to see. The man had shown a great amount of potential at the Exceed Expo, and was the first one that didn't seem to be there just to gawk at Emerath as if he was a zoo animal. Although, Emerath was a little surprised to see Ivan go straight for the alchemy workbench. Though, it worked, and it made his whole team diversified. Emerath was okay with that.

The man hadn't seemed to get started on anything yet, and so Emerath walked up to him, giving him a pat on the shoulder, before looking to the desk and the tools. "You know," Emerath explained to the fellow Tinkerer, "when it comes to alchemy, there's always been one thing I've been really bad at. I can't ever seem to make my alchemical concoctions taste good." Emerath took a step over to a beaker, and pulled some chemicals from nearby, before throwing in a dash of this, and a drop of this, before he was mixing it all together in some water, before putting it over a small wood fire he got going with his flint and steel.

"See, this potion I'm cooking right now, it will give you a boost of adrenaline. In the case of both martial and magical combat, this will most likely increase your damage. It has some complicated chemicals that the game taught me at higher levels of tinkering that all make it work, and are usually pretty readily accessible through local plants in the world." Emerath pulled the beaker from the fire, and after blowing away the steam, he took a gulp of the liquid.

Immediately, Emerath felt like he had just drank about three cups of coffee in one gulp, and his brain started working a mile a minute. But he tried to keep himself from going off the rails, as the disgust on his face was evident, and immediate. His face scrunched up for a good few seconds as he made an audible "Yech!" sound, before placing the beaker back on the holder, using his aeromancy to quickly blow the fire out, and patting the embers to clear them. "Disgusting, but effective," he said, trying not to talk a mile a minute from the adrenaline boost.

"Maybe one of our first challenges, as alchemists, should be to make these things taste better. So many people have recommended things like sugar, and syrup, honey, etc. But as non-Tinkerers, they don't understand one of the biggest fundamental flaws with chemistry. You're adding something that could change the composition and outcome of the chemical we're making. Sugar could dilute or completely alter the effects. So, as scientists, we should figure out how to avoid this. You up to the challenge?" Emerath gave Ivan a wink, knowing that the man probably was.

The First Customer - @Eyas Amari

Back topside, Emerath watched as some customers walked around, while the clerks that Emerath had hired tried their best to assist them. But that didn't mean Emerath didn't want to be in the fray. After all, how was he supposed to get new ideas and inspiration if he never met the consumer, learned what they wanted and needed in their inventions and such.

As an example to this, Emerath saw a young woman at the counter, drawing out what appeared to be a rough sketch of something. Normal store owners might have been otherwise upset by such a showing, but not at the Lightning Ironworks. Emerath was glad to see such an enlightening woman drawing at his table. Exactly the type of consumer inspiration he was hoping for.

He watched her draw from the other side of the counter, trying to piece together what she was going for. It appeared to deal with swords. Something with a sword being launched, at least that was what he was getting from the design. "Now, I can't be sure, but I think I have an idea what you're going for," Emerath said, hopefully not startling the woman too bad from his approach and careful watching.

If she would look up, and otherwise be interested, Emerath held out his hand to her for a handshake, "Hello there, Emerath Katou, owner and proprietor of the Lightning Ironworks. And probably the best engineer to get your contraption working, should you put me up to the challenge."

That aside, Emerath moved on to the design that she seemed to be working on, "Looks like involves swords. There's a few ideas I'm getting here. You appear to want a sword launched somehow, though I can't tell if you want it launched directly from the scabbard, or if you would prefer it to be launched during combat. I'm pretty sure I could get both ideas working. Maybe it would be best if you explained it to me what exactly you're hoping to do, and I can tell you my thoughts."

 

Of course she was startled. Her focus has been precise, honed to a razor's edge. And then suddenly, his approach ripped her from her reverie. What did he want? Well, apparently, to help. Which she wouldn't deny him, at least not now. Holding up a finger as she kept drawing, she topped off the rudimentary firing mechanism. Lever-triggered, rather than something with an actual trigger and gearbox and all those shenanigans. She wasn't that level of talent... yet. Maybe sometime in the future, but definitely not right now. "Right."

She wanted this done right. And to do this right, she would gladly take some help. "Right. Right. Want to get this triggered up to launch on pull. Gotta make the draw fast. Issue is, can't think of any way to be able to do it more than once without losing power." Unsheathing the katana, guessing a few rough measurements, she laid it out on the counter, silver eyes narrowing for a moment. "Made the blade a bit longer than is normal. Gonna need a higher back pressure. Or. Something."

Right. She was NOT going to publicly slip back into her old MMORPG habits. "Sorry. Played a few shooter vr's in the past. Don't want to seem like I think I know it all." She could still feel the rifle in her hands. How she tweaked the munitions. The rockets. Yes, she could still feel them all. "Blade's curve might make it a bit easier. But can't figure out the mechanism right."

@Emerath Katou

 

Emerath rubbed his chin at Eyas' discussion over what she wanted. She seemed to have a technical mind, thanks to the technology information necessary to play VR shooters. He had never played one himself, but he had heard that an incredible knowledge of how guns actually worked were a serious necessity in order to be the best of the best in those types of games. Unluckily for Eyas, Emerath had no such information. But Emerath could always puzzle it out, thanks to the rules that governed Terrasphere and his own Tinkering knowledge.

"Okay, so I'm a bit confused," Emerath admitted, as he turned the drawing around, "Just clarify for me, are we talking you launching your blade from the hilt, or launching your sword from the scabbard?" Emerath thought about it, and it sounded like she was going for some sort of boosted draw slice maneuver that he had seen samurais do.

"If we're talking the ability to launch the sword from the hilt, that's actually a very simple task. Since you already would have the momentum of a swing, you simply need a switch release mechanism to fire the sword, with a chain to connect the blade to the hilt for retrieval," Emerath explained, taking the charcoal, and showing what he meant on a separate sheet of paper, with the blade connected to a chain that came directly from the hilt, and buttons to release it.

"However, if you're talking a propulsion from the scabbard, that's a bit more difficult. There might be ways to do it, but they would rely on either magic, or springs. Springs I don't yet have access to. I know that may sound odd, but it's actually locked behind the Awakened Tinkering Mastery, under Clockwork. I'm not quite at that level yet. However! If we do it through magic, that is a possibility. But it would need to be recharged from time to time, so you'd have limited uses. Do you think you'd be okay with that?"

@Eyas Amari

 

Iván had been inspecting the alchemy tools that were present in the station not many had an eye out for when Emerath approached him. Even before the founder of Lightning Ironworks could lay his hand on Iván's shoulder, the apprentice tinkerer had already heard footsteps coming towards his direction. His mind might've been busy with questions regarding the equipment before him but he was still wary of the others around him. After the betrayal he suffered in his first mission for the Aristocracy, Iván couldn't help but be more cautious this time around.

He wasn't surprised when he saw Emerath standing before him. Sooner or later, their paths were bound to cross again, especially in this place where Emerath played mentor and Iván his apprentice. So when Emerath spoke, Iván listened. He wanted to get as much knowledge from this man, to learn a lot from his genius. It was the same thing he was doing with Alphabet Chocolate but for another Mastery. Iván was certain this, too, would end with him gaining more than he would dare to expect.

Grinning under his hood, Iván nodded in response to Emerath's question. He was more than up to the challenge. He was confident that somehow, someway, he was going to overcome that challenge. Emerath's concern was the taste? Well, it's a good thing Iván has been working on something he learned from the alchemist's books, the same books he got way back when he went into that cursed village to help a short-haired card-wielding magic girl. Although at first Iván was disappointed to find out that the books weren't magic books, his curiosity got the best of him and what turned out to be recipe books ended up a passion of him. They would be quite useful in Emerath's challenge.

"I'll look into it," he remarked, rather dryly, as he began to tinker with a few vials and bowls on the table. "I think I can come up with something that'll help with that problem, though it might take me days, maybe even weeks."

Without even waiting for a response from Emerath, Iván's mind started working right away. He wanted to impress his mentor. The problem that he was given would be a suitable key for him to make his mark. If anything, it could jumpstart his own legacy in Tinkering. Alchemy wasn't always the first thing that came to his mind whenever he heard or thought about the Mastery in question but it was starting to seem like the expertise he was meant to practice in.

"This is going to be fun," he murmured to himself.

 

Hearing footsteps approach from behind him, Ashnor set the lump of metal he held back onto the pile. Straightening back up, he turns around to see Emerath reach him and comment on his findings. Ashnor chuckles, "Yeah, and it certainly seems like everything, too." Ashnor uses his arm to gesture at all the stuff around him. "Maybe we could get a few canaries in here, in case one of the pipes leaks while I'm doing my 'magic'." While that suggestion was a joke, having some sort of an early warning in case something did happen wouldn't be all that bad of an idea, really.

Ashnor nodded along as Emerath informed him of what he was to do here and for the company. "That sounds good to me. I'll probably get started on those materials first since I haven't actually come up with any sort of project yet. And like you said, those are things you need a lot of." Ashnor glanced over at the other two people that were down here, one of them was standing by some workbenches, and the other by what looked like an alchemy lab. "And make sure to let the others know that they should feel free to ask me for anything specific that they need to be forged, and I'll get working on it as fast as I can."

With one last nod of his head, Ashnor picks the lump of metal off of the pile, before turning back to Emerath. "Hey, I was wondering what you did with that Core you got in the Arcadia, if anything."

After Emerath's response, Ashnor finally moves back towards the forge and places the metal next to it. With the use of a small Pyromancy spell and a few gusts from the forge's bellows, the once dormant forge blazes to life as the coal coke within the firepot burns. While the forge heats up, Ashnor goes and grabs the things he'll need: Cast's of various sizes, along with a hammer and a few casts. "Now, let's do some work..."

@Emerath Katou

 

As Tetsunosuke tried to make the crossbow according to the plans he had made, he was surprised that the boss, Emerath Katou, made his way to him. Surely he was not interested in the crap that he was making? The mechanism for a one-handed repeating crossbow should be easy for him. But wait, he was interested in it, he just laid his hands on the plan that he was making. So it should seem that Emerath wanted to help him do the project? Tetsunosuke was quite flattered about the prospect. The boss, helping his employee reach his goals. This was not common in the real world, although he himself practiced it in the smithy that he was managing right now. Before he was the one helping, now he was the one being helped. And so, he would try to listen what the boss would say.

He then talked about adding a crank and an arrow magazine similar to those of rifles to the design that he was making. As he demonstrated how it should work, he listened, but he noticed something would be a problem. Not with the arrow magazine, but with the crank. He then said, "The problem is, it needed to be operated with one hand, and should always be ready to shoot. If we go with your suggestion, the crank should be continued to be held if the person would be aiming. And I presume that the thumb would be used for that if ever. If we go with that, there would be considerable strain on the thumb. For quick firing, it should be just fine, but when it would be aimed..." A thought then entered his head. "...Wait. I had a plan. What if we do something like a double-action? One that should allow both rapid fire, as you suggested, and an almost focused fire like I wanted? Wait..." He then flipped the plan for the crossbow that he would construct, and then, with a pen of graphite, he started to carefully draw it. He was careful of using the pen, for it would break easily if his grip would be too tight. With nimble hands, he then started to sketch the plan for the LI Double-Action One-Handed Repeating Crossbow Type-01. It was a quite sleek composite crossbow, with a gun grip complete with trigger, a small 90-degree toward-to downward crank just above the grip enough for the thumb to reach it while the forefinger rests on the trigger, a small sliding switch which could be set in a particular direction for a particular mode, and a rifle-like arrow magazine that was mounted at the top of the crossbow. He then sketched all the parts that should be made for the crossbow, and then the assembly instructions. He then said, as he was presenting the plan to Emerath, "All right, this should revolutionize the whole ranged weaponry industry. Well I say, this design was like that of a handgun, only that the ammunition is mounted at the top. And it could receive any size of quiver or arrow, up to around 40 centimeters, with an open magazine. It could do rapid fire as fast as you flick your thumb, but with a flick of the switch, you could ready the arrow, aim, and then fire. I say, this is the finest one-handed crossbow that one could get his hands on, and this is only available at your nearest Lightning Ironworks. Now how's that for an advertisement?"

 

Ah, Stokbon. This might be the first time she returned to the Falderen capital after the political conflict. Walking around the busier part of the city, she noticed a small shop that wasn't there before. "Lightning Ironworks?" She cannot tell whether it's a smith or tinkering shop. The place looked too small for a workshop, or maybe this was just the front? Intrigued, the girl took a few step towards it and entered the shop.

Tiny mechanisms on a display was the first thing she noticed. There's things that are too advanced that she didn't certainly expect on fantasy game. Weapon, armor, gadgets? This place is like the all-in-one solution for modern armory. There's this grappling gun thingy on the display case that caught her attention, and also unique, streamlined designs of crossbows. There's also this luxurious display with an unbelievable price tags lined up, she didn't even know what those expensive things was for. The blonde was sure that some of them was infused with magic somehow.

While she was taking her time looking at the techs displayed on the shop like a child on a toy shop, a familiar red-haired tinkerer came out from the door with 'IRONWORKS PERSONNEL ONLY' written on it and interacted with another customer. "Ooh! Emerath!" she approached and barraged him with questions enthusiastically "You work here? Is this place yours? So many interesting things! You made some of those?" Corvella pointed at things like the mechanically extending weapons, looking very impressed. It looks like @Emerath Katou was consulting a custom order from a customer that came with her own design "... And you also providing modifications too?"

 

Launch the blade or launch the sword? She had a rough idea of how that might work. If she had multiple blades, she could easily switch between them, while being capable of adapting to the situation. Launching the sword itself would also work, too. She just... hm. "Tryin' to launch it from the scabbard. Not from the hilt." She liked the idea of a magic sword launch though. Fucking awesome. "Here's a thing though. Can I make ya' the trigger group design, and have you integrate it or sommat?" Without even asking for an answer, she picked up another stick of charcoal, setting it to work and sketching out a rough trigger design. "Don't have springs, so you gotta make it all mechanical. Or uh. You got magnetics access?"

@Emerath Katou

 

@Iván Carl

Emerath smiled as the hooded man got to work. "Well, then you have all the time in the world. Just be sure to take regular breaks, and maybe go hit the shop up top with some of your work. We can always use the sales. More money in the shop's pocket is more money in yours."

He moved to the vials and beakers, as he lit another flame and began to mix up a few different potions using some extra ingredients he had in his inventory. He made three major concoctions, a health potion, another adrenaline booster, and a poison. As he cooked, he explained to Ivan from the other end of the desk, "It seems like the higher up in skill you get, the more gross these things taste. It correlates with the real world. The more medicine you put in... medicine. The less good tasting flavor you can put in it. The key is to retain the potency while dispelling the taste."

Once he was finished, he cleared up the flames, before bottling all three liquids and corked them, before sliding them down the table to the hooded alchemist. "Here's three high level potions to work with. We haven't discussed your actual skill, but just in case you can't make high level stuff, there's some starter stuff. If you need more, just hit me up. I'll always be around."

As Emerath walked away, he gave Ivan a wave behind him, making sure to remind him that, "The third one is a poison. Don't taste test it. Use squirrels or something. Otherwise, you're liable to be pretty sick for a few days. Nothing lethal, but enough to knock you on your ass!" And with a laugh, he was onto the next thing, as jovial as ever.

@Ashnor Ironth

Emerath smiled as he watched Ashnor light up the forge. He could feel the heat. Sweat beading on his brow. It felt good. The joy of watching the forge light up and his business begin to take flight. Not the heat. The heat was awful. He wondered how blacksmiths could stand this. But that was Ashnor's territory, and as long as he enjoyed it Emerath was happy.

In response to the question about the core, Emerath opened his inventory and produced the golem's core. "I still have it," he said, showing Ashnor, "someday, I'm going to use this baby to create my first magitek golem. Like the one I stole this thing from. That will be the day the Ironworks takes the next step into furthering the science of this world."

Putting the core away, Emerath patted Ashnor on the shoulder before turning to let the man work. "Let me know if you need me, my friend. I'll always be around. And I'll let everyone else know to come to you. We'll be working together as adventurers too, so once we get some science contracts I'll have you in the field with me too."

And then Emerath was gone, onto the next project.

@Tetsunosuke

Emerath looked at the new plans that Tetsu had provided, and while he was intrigued at the idea of a top mounted magazine, there was now another flaw that had presented itself with the lack of a crank. "Okay, I like the idea, first off. But how do you reset the crossbow for fast firing? Unfortunately, we are playing this game in a medieval era, and crossbows have to be manually loaded to fire, kinda like muskets."

Emerath pondered over this, as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully, before he considered something. "Actually, I might have it," he said, as he grabbed the charcoal and then drew two hard lines where the arrow sat. "These are magnets," he explained, "but nothing incredibly powerful. These magnets are reverse polarity, so instead of pulling in metal, they repel metal."

Emerath held up his hands to show the motions of a one handed crossbow. "So you take the crossbow, which is fed from the top down in the clip. As you pull the trigger, two magnets are brought into proximity of your metal arrows, and since they are reverse polarity, they cause the metal arrows to launch from the crossbow, similar to the explosion of a gun. Not as powerful, of course. These magnets aren't particularly strong. But they're strong enough to do some damage at least. In the hands of a proper archer, these could definitely wreak some havoc."

As Emerath slid the plans back to Tetsu, he smiled, "I like the advertisement, by the way. If you want to make posters I'm all for it. I'll even help design them."

@Corvella

As Emerath worked the shop, he was happy to see a familiar face come into the store as he saw Corvella. Both a fellow Witch Ops member and having joined in the latest raid on the Bandit King fortress, he was getting to know the woman a lot better over the course of their adventures. "Yes! This is my store, and my organization!" Emerath explained excitedly as he walked over to some of the gadgets she was looking at. "I've made a good number of these, but all of the Ironworks members pitch in. I simply put out a lot of the starting things. Everyone here has such great ideas though."

And then he moved behind another counter, pulling out a sheet of parchment and some charcoal. "Are you looking for modifications? I can make general purpose gadgets, modifications. We even have a blacksmith to make your basic weaponry. You tell me what you want, and I'll tell you if it's possible. And let me tell you, I love a challenge when it comes to science."

He placed the parchment and charcoal between them, "But if you have trouble explaining what you need, just try to draw it. I'll make the best of it."

@Eyas Amari

What Eyas had brought up was actually brilliant. Emerath had completely forgotten that he had access to magnets, and he could use reverse polarity magnets to propel the sword forward. Or, he could use electromagnets by instilling the metal with aeromancy lightning. A few possibilities, all adding up to what the woman was looking for.

"Okay, so I think I've got it. You have two options. I can create an entirely switch based system using just magnets. it'll be a bit bulkier, as it would require space to pull magnets away from the sword, and a switch to bring them closer," Emerath explained, as he grabbed his own sheet of parchment and charcoal.

He drew a scabbard for a katana, and then drew two magnets near the hilt of the weapon along with the switch. He pointed to the location of the magnets and the switch, "Here, you press the switch, bringing the reverse polarity magnets to the sword. Pointed the right way, these will propel the sword forward, giving you added momentum to your draw as you wish. But since these are just magnets, and not extraordinarily strong ones, the draw power won't be massive. Just a boost similar to what you would get from a basic buff without the need for a support giving it to you."

Emerath then drew what appeared to be a battery near the switch, "Alternatively, I could create a mana battery for you. The 'magnets' at this point would no longer be your standard magnet. They would instead be electromagnets. These are significantly more powerful, but require aeromancy magic to create electricity on command."

Emerath thought about it, "For this to work, you'd have to come visit me pretty regularly to get a supply of aeromancy charged batteries, but it would have significantly more power with the drawback of less longevity."

Standing back up, he slid the drawing across the counter to Eyas, before smiling, "So, what do you say?"

 

Not just a simple shop, but an organization with members contributing to make inventions? Impressive, @Emerath Katou has successfully exceeded her expectations. "Wow, it must have costed you quite a fortune to be able to start something like this." She shifted her views on the different corners of the shop, still fascinated by the number of unique inventions lining up. It looks like there are members with different responsibilities, like blacksmith, alchemist, or even magitech engineer?

As the red-haired man presented her with a sheet of parchment and modification offer, Corvella instantly replied while using both hands to grab the winged shield off her back. "Ooh! I do want some modification for my shield!" She pointed at the shield before pausing for a while, her face soon frowned with disappointment. "Uh, I don't think it could be done in time. You see, the shield," she pointed at the part where the wings meet with the body of the shield, "Is made of black steel, straight from the King's armory. Disassembling it safely might be too much work, and since I don't have backup shield I won't be able to go on adventure while it's being maintained. In the meantime.."

Still leaving her shield on the table, the girl removed the fiendish-looking black helmet on her head, letting her blonde hair unravel and fall to her shoulders "When I'm in the midst of dangerous battle, I always rely on the visor to protect my head. But many times I got my hands full and didn't have time to slide it down. On other times when I needed peripheral vision, it's quite irritating to slide it up because it's so cranky." She explained thoroughly before giving a suggestion.

"So I think it's time to give it a mechanical upgrade! I think it should mechanically slide down and up easily with a switch somewhere, but I fear for the durability of the joint if it was constantly slid up and down. How about splitting it on the middle, and it folds to the sides of my helmet and also back to the middle like this? What do you think?" Corvella took the charcoal and drew something in anime-like style. "I don't know anything about tinkering, though, so I don't know if it's possible or not." She lightly laughed.