I spent the next couple hours concentrating intensely on copper ingots. I picked it up pretty easily after the test, especially with a little private tutelage from Fatimah.
"Keep the shape of the copper ingot foremost in your mind," she offered after one successful synth. "You were struggling near the end there; you almost lost it."
"Can you read my mind?" I asked jokingly, laughing a little to myself.
"No," she replied with a smirk, "I can see your concentration wavering in the crystal's energy. If it wavers too much, that's when you lose control and your synthesis fails." She shrugged, then added, "You're progressing well, but you just need to maintain a little more focus to minimize any synthesis failures."
I nodded my head, and took a fresh set of materials in hand, vowing silently to keep my concentration solely on this next synth. After a short moment of preparation, I released the crystal's power in the now-familiar way.
"Very nice," came the praise from Fatimah, sounding faint in the roar of the flames. I continued to hold my concentration on the desired final form of a copper ingot, noticing that it actually was getting a lot easier as my confidence grew.
The flames roared higher, culminating in the final burst of energy that could only mean a successful synthesis. I set the very warm ingot aside to cool. In a few moments, I would be able to examine it for any flaws.
"Your concentration was spot on that time," said Fatimah. "You've picked up on this ingot synthesis very quickly, Aspen. Maybe we'll have to challenge you a little bit more." She laughed softly, and picked up the ingot I had just set aside, apparently heedless of the heat.
"Not bad at all," she said after a moment's appraisal. "Your edges are more clearly defined that the last few. Not that it makes much difference in an ingot, but it will make them stack nicely in the storeroom."
I nodded, happy to be getting the praise of the head of the guild. "I think I'm just about done for the day," I said with a smile. "I'm just about out of fire crystals, and I'm starting to get a bit hungry." I looked to the stack of completed ingots, silently trying to figure out how much gil I had earned that day.
"You should have no problem getting a nice lunch with the gil you'll make today," said Fatimah with another soft laugh. "I see eight copper ingots here..I mean, nine," she amended, placing the one she was still holding on top of the stack. "You can sell these to the guild with Teerth, or you can pay for the materials and take them to the auction house." She paused, then added, "Although I'll warn you, the auction house will only accept them singly or in a stack of twelve."
"So if I make three more, I could sell them more easily?" I was intrigued by the idea of selling them on the auction house, but that meant I would have to come up with some gil to pay Teerth for the ores. "Or maybe I'll just sell with Teerth," I added hastily, thinking of my poor, aching supply of gil.
"Most newer recruits do," she said with a laugh. "When you build up a little stash of gil, it becomes easier to just buy the materials and sell them yourself. Or use them for crafting other things."
I nodded, and began picking up the small ingots of copper. "Thank you for all the help today," I said with a smile. "I think I'm beginning to see why some get so addicted to synthesis. It's actually a lot of fun." I laughed, and scooped the last ingot up into the pile.
"As long as you can maintain that attitude, you'll go far," she replied with a lovely smile. "It's these crafters who can't see the wonder in each synth that burn out and turn it into a horrible chore." She shrugged, then added, "Just go slowly, and your skills will increase with time. It's not a race to the top."
I nodded, considering the advice carefully. I wanted to become an accomplished craftsman, this was true. But to try and rush through it would certainly end up taking a lot of the enjoyment out of it. I didn't want this to become just another drudging job.
"Thank you again," I said with a nod toward Fatimah. "I'll try to come back tomorrow and make more ingots. Will I see you then?" I blushed faintly, hoping she wouldn't notice the color in my cheeks.
"If I'm not, you can seek instruction from any of your new colleagues," she offered with a smile. "Wulfnoth is one of my best, as is Ulrike. You can find them in the room across from the shop," she said with a wave of her hand. "And if I'm here, I'll provide some instruction, of course."
I nodded again, and stepped for the shop counter, saying, "Thank you again, Fatimah."
She smirked, replying, "What are you thanking me for? You're the one supplying the talent." She laughed again, and disappeared around the corner towards her desk. I laughed as well, shaking my head as I walked toward the shop counter.
I began placing my ingots on the counter. lining them up for Teerth's inspection. He looked at me, and smiled that fearsome grin of his.
"Fatimah liked the look of you, aye?" he asked, before letting out a deep laugh. "Decided to give you a chance in her guild. And it looks like you ain't done half bad." He laughed again, picking up a few of the ingots for inspection.
"Thank you," I said, mustering a smile. "Fatimah told me I could sell these to the guild through you. Pocket some earnings, so to speak." I laughed, but I think it came out more like a nervous chuckle.
"Indeed," Teerth replied with a smile. "Let's see..you've got nine ingots to sell, minus the cost of the ores.." He trailed off, looking down at a piece of paper which, no doubt, had the current prices on it. "You did lose a couple of ores in the beginning," he said with a smile, "which we'll have to count in there."
"Of course," I said with a returned smile. It didn't look nearly as ferocious as his, though.
"I can give you sixty gil apiece for the ingots," he said after a moment's thought. "It's a slightly better price than normal, but we can use the extra stock..and you could certainly use the extra gil." He laughed again, the booming sound filling the room.
Why did people keep commenting that I needed the gil?
"So after expenses, that comes up to..one hundred and forty-one gil in your favor." He smiled, and reached into a cash drawer on the other side of the counter, and began counting out the gil quickly.
I nodded my head, pleased with the results of a day's labor. I made a mental note to myself to check out how much the ingots would sell for on the auction house, be it individually or as a group of twelve.
"Here you are," Teerth's deep voice interrupted me, as he handed me a small pouch of gil. "You can count it if you want, but we ain't in the habit of cheating our new recruits." He laughed loudly again, and I nodded my head.
"No," I said with a grin, "I trust you. I'll be back another day, Teerth. Thank you for all the help." I turned from the counter, and walked towards the door of the guild.
It wasn't a lot of gil, but it was a fair amount for someone just starting out. I was pretty sure that it wouldn't have even covered the crystals I used, though. Maybe tomorrow I would look into buying the materials myself and selling the ingots on the auction house.
I headed back up the stairs and looped around the fountain, heading toward home. Maybe this afternoon I could see if the gate guards needed any small missions done.
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