#AND my calipers AND a good pair of gloves do you even KNOW what a PAIN it is to find work gloves that fit!! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

chysgoda · 4 years

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The Toolmaker

A tale in three parts

Cross Posted to Ao3

Calipers

A bell chimed above his head when the outlandish man opened the door to the shop in Ul’dah. It was a shop in both senses of the word. A counter separated the retail portion from the significantly larger workshop. In the front simple tools like hammers and screwdrivers hung from pegs on the walls. In the back things were in disarray, equipment being boxed up and more expensive tools being carefully packed for shipping. The proprietress straightened up from where she had been carefully packing aether crystals. “Good morning, what can I help you with?”

From behind a mask pale blue eyes scanned the walls and what he could see of the tools behind the counter. “I don’t suppose I’d be lucky enough to find a pair of micro ilum calipers worth the metal they’re made from.”

The woman arched an eyebrow as she rested her weight on one leg and placed a fist on her cocked hip. “Not a great way to entice good customer service there Mr. Mysterious.”

The masked man sauntered up to the counter. “Aren’t you supposed to fawn over your customers?”

“Well Mr. Mysterious Garlean, if you’re coming to me for calipers, then you’re looking for metric calipers, and you want micrometer calipers. I’m the only one who makes those this side of a Garlean border. So I don’t really need to fall all over myself do I?” She walked up to the counter herself. “And before you ask, you cover your accent too well to be local.”

The man gave an exaggerated shrug and took off the mask which he set on the counter. “Well then, I guess I won’t have to bother with that bit of ridiculous play-acting for a bit. But the question remains, are your tools worth their reputation?”

“If you’ve got the gil or barter for it.” She challenged him. The toolmaker stepped away from the counter. She went over to a set of crates and picked out a pair of boxes. She looked him over when she set them on the counter. “I’m thinking you haven’t got the gil, so we’ll be working on barter.”

She watched the man out of the corner of her eye as she opened the boxes to show the tools within. His shoulders rolled back and his lips pressed together clearly annoyed. “And clearly you don’t know who I am or you would not be so worried.”

“Gonna pay me in exposure Mr. Mysterious?” The toolmaker asked dryly. She motioned to the calipers on the counter. “The long one will measure up to fifty centimeters with resolution in millimeters and the small one will measure up to five centimeters with a resolution in micrometers. Both of them will be five thousand gil.”

The man did not quite hide his wince in time. She watched as he examined the tools as closely as possible without touching them. She gave him marks for that. He reached into his trench coat and pulled out a stack of coins. The toolmaker’s eyebrows raised in surprise. The outlandish mystery man smirked at her reaction. “Perhaps you can find a use for these?”

“Byregot’s hammer! Where exactly did you lay your hands on Allagan pieces Mr. Mysterious?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” The man smirked and set an assortment of silver and gold pieces down.

The toolmaker counted out what the price would be in the ancient coins, “Well anything else you’d like to take a look at, Mr. Mysterious?”

“Just where you’re planning on relocating to.”

“Mor Dohna. Got a big contract and rent is a hell of a lot cheaper.” She folded her arms over her chest. Shining peridot eyes looked him over again openly appreciative. “What’s your name Mr. Mysterious?”

“Ah yes, how unforgivably rude of me. Nero Tol Scaeva at your service miss…” he paused in his dramatic introduction clearly expecting a name in return.

“Gisela Alvey,” She smiled at Nero’s dramatics. “A Tol huh? No wonder you’re wearing that mask. Maybe I’ll see you around some time.”

“Perhaps,” He closed the boxes of the tools. She was nearly tall enough to look him in the eye, it made a nice change from having to crane his neck to look at people that were only tall enough to stand as high as his elbow or hip. “if these suffice, then I just might.”

“Well, I’ll plan on seeing you there then, Nero Tol Scaeva.” Gisela grinned at him.

Soldering Iron

Nero glared at the ringing bell above his head when he stepped into the shop. It didn’t seem to matter though, the shop owner wasn’t visible. However, there were flashes of light coming from behind a heavy curtain in the corner. He let himself behind the counter and strolled over to the curtain. He kept back and made sure not to look directly at the two pieces of metal Gisela was working on joining. Even from the corner of his eye the blinding white light was painful. He turned to the desk at the back of the workshop to look at the disaster that Gisela’s designing space was. There was a journal filled with short hand he had not yet deciphered, Gisela had told him it was her notes from training in the Thaumaturge Guild. He arched an eyebrow seeing a pair of texts on theoretical mathematics. It occurred to him that he didn’t actually know what any of Eorzea’s schools of magic actually studied. He’d need to remedy that.

Light stopped reflecting off the wall. He set the journal back down and turned to Gisela setting aside a mage’s scepter and pulling off the heavy gloves she’d been wearing. Sweat gleamed on the highlander woman’s dark arms and and soaked the neck line of the sleeveless green shirt she was wearing. He adjusted the yellow scarf around his neck feeling a bit over warm suddenly. He cleared his throat and approached the work area. “And what pray tell, has Garlond sweet talked you into beyond what you’re contracted for?”

Gisela threw one of her gloves at him and he caught it absently. She removed the full face mask she had been wearing, he couldn’t see dark glass in the eye slots, she must have enchanted it then. He really did need to do some more research on what mages could do outside of the few combat soldiers he’d ignored in the legion. She set the mask next to the scepter and examined what she had been working on. “I get specs from Garlond. I do business with Jessie. Hand me the bottle of orange stuff on the desk please.”

He stepped back and picked up the small as he walked back he opened it and carefully sniffed. The astringent scent wrinkled his nose. When he handed it to her, he expected her to pour it on the metal as part of some spell. When she threw her head back and downed it like a shot of cheap whiskey his lips curled in disgust. She laughed seeing his expression, “Aether potion, I ended up needing to channel earth aether as well as lightning aether. Which is exhausting.”

Nero snorted and leaned down to examine the weld, smooth, strong, and precise. Had this been in the legion he would have pestered Baelsar into making sure she was assigned as a worker on his projects rather than general repairs. “I’d wondered where Garlond had found himself a master welder.”

“Master my ass,” she gently shoved his shoulder, “I’ve seen some of the stuff that’s been hauled out of the ruins of the castrum. This is apprentice stuff. What’d ya come in for?”

Nero straightened to see her rubbing at the back of her neck while she looked away from him clearly embarrassed. She stepped away to retrieve a water canteen from one of the many work benches. He smirked at her back debating about continuing to poke at her. “I find myself in need of a soldering iron to repair some of the circuits on my hammer. Your tools are... sufficient for my needs.”

“Sufficient huh?” She motioned him to the front of the store while she went to a set of shelves to grab a box. She set the box on the counter and then turned to the cases he knew stored crystals. He looked over her wares at the front of the store and selected a set of precision screwdrivers. He walked up to the counter and set them on top of the box. She found what she was looking for and placed a handful of small orange crystals into a smaller case. She set it on the counter with the rest of his purchase. “Repairs to your hammer huh? Going to make it hit harder and last longer while you’re at it?”

“There's always room to improve on perfection Gisela.” He told her solemnly.

“Don’t they make rings for that?” Gisela smiled sweetly as Nero blinked at her. Silence stretched between them and the smile broadened into a grin. “Garlond’s out in Ishgard somewhere playing hero with the Warrior of Light. Go ask Jessie, she’ll point you in the right direction for that kind of tool.”

Nero gave her a suspicious look, “I do not trust that sticky sweet look.”

“Probably for the best sweetheart.” Gisela laughed. Her grin didn’t change as she watched a blush spread across his face. “Three thousand gil for this pile.”

Nero just thrust the bag of coins at her and looked away from the laughing yellow- green eyes. She handed him his change and he grabbed his set of screwdrivers still to flustered to attempt to speak. He nodded at her and made a tactical retreat. Gisela laced her fingers together and rested her chin on them watching the door. Silently she began counting down from ten, when he didn’t come back she shrugged and set the soldering iron aside to wait for him.

The bell above the door didn’t ring again for two hours. When it did the new patron was not slow in making her presence known. “Alvey!”

Gisela had been reviewing one of the math texts and leaned her chair on to its back legs and dropped her head back. “Afternoon Jessie.”

“What the fuck did you do Scaeva?” Jessie let herself behind the counter and stomped up to the toolmaker.

“Do? I just sold him a soldering iron to repair his hammer” Gisela’s grin did not match the innocent tone of voice or shrug.

Jessie glared down at her. “You owe me.”

“Did he steal one of your soldering irons?”

“Yes!”

“I’ve got his set aside. You can take that as a replacement.” Gisela rocked her chair forward and stood. “And lunch is on me.”

“You still owe me Alvey,” Jessie grumbled. “That was not a conversation I ever intended to have, especially with him!”

Gisela laughed as she grabbed her jacket and ushered her friend out making sure to flip the sign from open to closed and lock the door before they began strolling to Rowena’s house of Splendors.

Call Out

Gisela groaned when the ringing linkshell woke her. She slapped her hand down on her bedside table several times before finding the linkshell that was ringing. She was growling when she activated it, “This had better be really fucking good Jessie!”

“I need you at Rhalger’s Reach.”

“Is the Warrior of Light still hanging out there?”

“Yes.”

“You can fuck right off through all seven hells. I choose life.”

“Nero’s hurt, I need you to babysit and make sure he doesn’t make it worse.”

Gisela’s breath caught and she was silent for long enough that Jessie called her name. “What the fuck did he get himself into?”

“I can’t explain over the linkshell. I just need you here.”

“What the hell makes you think he’ll listen to me?” Gisela blinked when Jessie was silent for a beat longer than she should have been. “Jessie?”

“You are both idiots. There’s an Ironwork airship getting supplies in Gridania that will leave in three bells make sure your ass is on it.”

———

Alpha shook himself to adjust his feathers under his uniform. He had just checked on his friends Wedge and Biggs and now he was not sure what to do in this place of rough stone and warm air. The other residents had gotten used to him now and he knew exactly who would cave and give him a treat for big eyes and an enthusiastic tail wiggle. The lady in the red dress with hair the color of his feathers was a good target for that. First, he did need to check on Nero. The little chocobo trotted over to the curtained off bed where the tall man had been bunked down. The curtain that served as a door had been left open. When Alpha peeked in, the engineer was sitting up but had the most bemused expression as he looked down at the woman who was asleep with her head on crossed arms that rested on the side of the bed. Hesitantly he reached out to lightly card his fingers through teal hair. He froze when the woman shifted in her sleep and sighed in relief when she didn’t wake.

Nero’s expression shifted from bemused to soft as he continued to run his fingers through hair that was long only on one side of her head. Alpha tilted his head trying to make sense of what he was seeing. When Alpha gave a soft ‘kweh’ of confusion Nero snatched his hand away like he’d been burned. The tall man glared, “Move along, you did not see anything.”

Alpha tilted his head the other way and shrugged. The tall man often said things that were very different from how he acted. Turning he went to find the blonde in the red dress and convince her that he was in desperate need of sweets.

Nero glared at the space where Alpha had been until he could no longer hear the bird’s talons on the stone. He looked down at Gisela, her dark brown skin contrasted starkly with the pale blanket on his sick bed. Jessie must have called her, but he knew that she did not have anyone to mind her shop in Mor Dohna if she had to leave. She’d grumbled loudly about it and tried to price her call out fees higher than anyone would want to pay. She was also working on her masterwork for the Thaumaturge’s Guild. There was no reason for her to be in Rhalgr's Reach.

But here she was slumped in exhausted sleep at his sickbed. Hesitantly he ran his fingers through her hair again watching the dark and light strands of teal glide through his fingers. Weariness settled in his bones, his body had still not recovered enough even for this short bout of wakefulness to be anything but completely draining. He relaxed back into his pillows falling to sleep without realizing his hand still rested on Gisela’s head.

#ffxiv #ffxiv fan fiction #red head writes a thing #nero tol scaeva #Jessie Jaye #Gisela Alvery #look a new OC #WoL has a rep #WoL has a blast radius as well #FFXIV: The Toolmaker

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