Gold Bug

Since my first foray into goldsmithing, I have been coming back again, eager to improve my skills. Much work needs to be done, but at the moment, I can manage from pretty standard pieces, up to a mediocre level of expertise.

Different skills are required for this noble art: the first one is crafts.smithing.gold (or crafts.smithing.silver if you will be forging stuff out of other noble metals: silver, bronze, copper...). The former should not be a problem for you if you are a caster of Wonker's Wicked Wobble; the second one is crafts.arts.sculpture. Finally, it seems that crafts.arts.design is also somehow relevant. For at least the first step -forging-, you need to be in a smithy that has a goldsmithing workbench. My place-to-go is the Sto Lat Artificer's Guild. You will also need some metal bars, a pattern book and some tools, which usually can be purchased in the same place. Let's start with the tools:

This soft canvas roll contains a dozen tiny, delicate files made from hardened Gebra steel and a sturdy oak handle for them.  Used in goldsmithing and similar work, the variety means that any surface or corner - even the most complex or arcane - can be smoothed or rounded to the smith's desire.  It also has a handy pocket for a polishing cloth.

It is in excellent condition.

The roll of jeweller's files is about half full with a jeweller's polishing cloth.

It is open.

get cloth from files

You get a jeweller's polishing cloth from a roll of jeweller's files.

> 

l cloth

This soft cloth can be used to polish jewellery and gemstones to a lustrous shine, removing every last vestige of roughness.

It is in excellent condition.

Bars come in many materials, shapes and sizes. Just an example:

This is a bar of red gold, about five inches long.  Stamped into the top surface, the staff and crossed hammers of the Sto Lat Academy of Artificers indicate its purity.

Finally, you need some pattern book from where you take inspiration and guidance. The basic one, which you can purchase from Master Weestone, is Finesmithing for Artificers, a goldsmith's pattern book whose description goes like this:

This hefty leather-bound tome has been tooled with images of forge and anvil, and decorated with gold leaf.

Now you are ready to get going! This book  contains six workpieces, which in order (from least to most difficult) are: a cabbage brooch, an oak leaf ring, a tankard, a chain of stars, a wise owl ink well and a fountain pen nib. I have tried my hand at all of those.

Your first step is forging the item, and for this you will need the workbench, as stated, the book and the bar. After working, you should get a rough version of the workpiece that then needs to be filed (depending on the difficulty level, quite a few times might be required). Finally, you polish the piece, first with your files, then with the cloth. As with the production of other works of art, your skills determine one of approximately eight different outcomes for each piece.

I have already shown you in yesterday's entry what the oak leaf ring looks like. Let's go through the others:

Cabbage brooch

An elegant circle of gold bears a pattern of cabbage fronds in low relief, recalling the tasty and loyal denizens of the Sto Plains.  From beneath a frond at the centre of the disc, a pair of eyes peek shyly out with an affectionate gaze. 

Tankard

This red gold tankard is quite tall and slender, with a neatly rounded rim and a solid base.

Chain of stars

A slim, delicate black gold necklace supports a dozen shimmering, twinkling stars, each the size of a child's fingernail.

Wise owl ink well

Simple and elegant, with a wise, affectionate look in her wide round eyes, this decorative gold owl statuette has a deep well in her head for ink.

Fountain pen nib

This is a very well-made gold italic nib.

 Results are a bit middling. I have also made a short trip to Slippery Hollow and got myself another pattern book to try out: 

l book

This slim little book has been bound in sturdy light green book-cloth, and stamped with a title in silver ink.

It appears to have something written on it.

It is closed.

> 

read book

You read the cover of the closed light green cloth-bound pattern book:

Written in silver letters:

Jewellery from the Hedge-Wizard's Life

This book only has 4 patterns, and I have managed to try them all as well:

Crescent moon ring

This slim, pretty ring consists of a delicate band of gold, wrought in the form of a dozen crescent moons overlapping around its length.  Lovingly detailed as they are, the moons could have fallen from an autumn sky.

Country cottage ink well

This prettily made white gold cottage has a deep well for ink where the chimney-pot would normally be, and every detail of the thatch has been lovingly engraved.

Sleeping cat pendant

This rose gold pendant has been lovingly shaped into a cute, whimsical cat, curled up as though fast asleep between the wearer's collarbones where it hangs from its ribbon.

Dinner plate

This gold plate, solid and sturdy, won't shame any dinner table.  The beading around the edge is elegantly simple, done with a deft hand.

There is nothing on the elegant gold plate.

Except for the plate, most results were middling too, so I definitely have to improve my sculpting skills. Besides, there is a whole world to explore in which you set jewels into metal pieces, and in which you engrave these pieces with writing and symbols. But let's go one step at a time.

My first goldsmithing!

Actually, my first attempts at working with precious metals preceded my gem-cutting ones (of which I wrote about a week ago) by more than two months, but posting priorities have relegated it to today...

Excluding the two glaring exceptions, this is your typical smithy. One of the exceptions is the blue flame coming from within the forge. The other is the rather fashionable crystal and wrought iron counter sitting near the entrance displaying various trinkets and odds. The walls are all covered in soot and ash, while the floor is covered in a thick layer of sand to keep it from catching ablaze. Of course, that might prove difficult as the fire emitted from the forge is, among other things, merely warm. There is a small stool in the corner which has a few items that look as if they might belong to a tanner, and a rowan-wood workbench sits against the west wall. This place has seen some use of magic. 

There are three obvious exits: east, north and south. 

Master Weestone is tinkering. 

An iron chain is on the floor and a neat little jeweller's balance is sitting on the counter. 

You close the east door. 

> 

look weestone 

This is the master smith Weestone. He's one of the few dwarfs active in the guild of wizardry. He lectures here at the Academy in advanced metallurgy. Master Weestone is one of the rare artisans that can manipulate octiron. His great grey beard nearly touches the floor and it swoops around his large belly like a tail around a sitting cat. His face is layered with ash and soot and his robes have slight scorch marks on them as a testament to his craft. His rosy red cheeks lump up humorously as he smiles at you with a slight I-know-something-you-don't-know look. 

He is in good shape. 

He is tinkering. 

Holding : a sledgehammer (left hand and right hand). 

Wearing : a pair of hard leather boots, a brown velvet and vermine robe and a pointy wizard's hat. 

> 

forge item from book using gold bar on workbench 

You start to work at the goldsmith's workbench. 

> You finish working at the goldsmith's workbench and set down your tools. 

> 

look ring 

This is a roughly finished ring, forged into shape but not yet sculpted and filed to bring out the details. It is in excellent condition. 

Master Weestone says with a Sto Plains accent: I like this quiet life I've built for myself. I only lecture graduate classes now and only one class a year. 

You buy the roll of jeweller's files. 

> 

look files 

This soft canvas roll contains a dozen tiny, delicate files made from hardened Gebra steel and a sturdy oak handle for them. Used in goldsmithing and similar work, the variety means that any surface or corner - even the most complex or arcane - can be smoothed or rounded to the smith's desire. It also has a handy pocket for a polishing cloth. 

It is in excellent condition. 

It is open. 

> 

sculpt oak leaf ring with files using book 

You start to work on the roughly forged gold oak leaf ring with some delicate little files. 

> Your fingers start to ache, and you stop working on the roughly forged gold oak leaf ring. Despite your efforts, it doesn't look as though you've made any progress on it at all. 

Master Weestone says with a Sto Plains accent: Feel free t' fix up your stuff on the forge, or use th' workbench. You should be able t' buy anything you need for it here. If you want t' repair wooden stuff, you'll need t' go downstairs for that. 

> 

sculpt oak leaf ring with files using book 

You start to work on the roughly forged gold oak leaf ring with some delicate little files. Your fingers cramp and you put away your tools, noting that the roughly forged gold oak leaf ring could still do with more work. 

> 

look ring 

This is a roughly finished ring, forged into shape but not yet sculpted and filed to bring out the details. It is in excellent condition. 

> 

sculpt oak leaf ring with files using book 

You start to work on the roughly forged gold oak leaf ring with some delicate little files. 

> 

You finish sculpting details on your roughly forged gold oak leaf ring and put your tools away neatly. It still needs polishing, however. 

> 

look ring 

This heavy, ornate ring consists of a thick band of gold, wrought in the form of a dozen oak leaves overlapping around its length. Lovingly detailed as they are, the leaves could have been picked from the ground on an autumn day. 

It is rough and unpolished. 

It is in excellent condition. 

> The flame gouts suddenly as if spitting someone out. 

polish oak ring with files 

You start to work on the roughly forged ornate gold oak leaf ring with some delicate little files. 

> 

Saving... 

You discover a new way to grip the file for better control. 

You finish polishing your roughly forged ornate gold oak leaf ring and put your tools away neatly. It could still use a final polishing with a cloth, however. 

look oak ring 

This heavy, ornate ring consists of a thick band of gold, wrought in the form of a dozen oak leaves overlapping around its length. Lovingly detailed as they are, the leaves could have been picked from the ground on an autumn day. 

It is still slightly rough and could use some polishing with a fine cloth.

It is in excellent condition. 

>

polish oak ring using cloth 

You start to polish and buff the ornate gold oak leaf ring with the jeweller's polishing cloth. 

> You finish polishing your ornate gold oak leaf ring with the jeweller's polishing cloth. 

> 

look oak ring 

This heavy, ornate ring consists of a thick band of gold, wrought in the form of a dozen oak leaves overlapping around its length. Lovingly detailed as they are, the leaves could have been picked from the ground on an autumn day.

It is in excellent condition. 

> 

wiz weee! My first forged ring! 

You whisper into the Sung family crest.