Industrialization Quest

Also its something greatly overstated by amateur historians: the level of acidity needed to dissolve significant amounts of lead from the alloy would not be at all palatable. Unless you kept an acidic substance on the plate for hours or actually boiled food in pewterware(which you wouldn't, pewter could be deformed by such treatment due to its low melting point)

This is a bigger concern for lead pipes and lead lined cisterns, which carried large amounts of mildly acidic water for long periods.

Okay the tomato stuff may be overstated, but given the abundance of acidic food, the danger remains.

It's not only tomatoes, but also things like other fruit, sauerkraut and especially vinegar that is being used for preserving food such as pickles.
 
Time in Ganz part 4
[Befriending smiths: 74 + 14 = 88.]

The boisterous Master Dresil is far too busy to spend any time entertaining or introducing you, and you quickly leave his shop after a spray of sparks nearly lands on you. Well, you don't need your hand held, do you? You know the names and specialties of many of the smiths working the metalworkers' block, and thanks to the good word of a Guildmaster many of them even have a neutral opinion of you. That makes a good opportunity to see if any of them have interesting insights or opportunities. Politics and profit is so often about connections, after all.

So you spend all morning talking to whichever apprentices and smiths are taking a break from the relentless heat at that moment. The general mood is frenzied cheer, with more than enough work to go around keeping everyone busy. You do hear a few grumbles about the block running out of space - there's nowhere left to build new smithies or expand the existing ones, since it's unreasonably difficult to build a two-story smithy given all the heavy constructions they require, and no space left elsewhere in the city either. It's all already claimed or built upon, or else faces objections by everyone from burghers not wanting soot on their clothes to devotees of Ettri complaining about the risks of fire.

You get the names of a few Journeymen who complain the loudest about not having enough tools and space to work properly - perhaps you can atract them to Nesiwald and expand the ironworking capacity of your little village. Many of them are rightly skeptical about moving to a little village up in the Rostwald, but some of them say they'd consider it if you helped pay for their tools and space to get them started.

Later, a woman as large and burly as any man in these halls finds you, wearing a smith's apron with hair braided tightly. You call upon all your politeness and tact and make the snap decision to treat her just like any other smith, despite the surprise at seeing her in such a male-dominated profession - the strength and endurance requirements of smiths are no joke.

"Hey, you're that man from the Wald? Rostwald? I got my hands on one of your ingots. Whoever smelted it's an amateur using bad tools. 'S a little offensive that such impure metal is going around, actually. I don't know what the source rock was like, but I bet I could do better."

"-I'd be excited to see you win that bet. Good metal is good business. Are you Yema Falstead, then?" The general rumor is that Yema Falstead is a bit rude, annoying and arrogant... But not undeservedly. She really is one of the best smiths in the kingdom, perhaps the best outside of certain specialties. You suspect her help will be expensive if you end up going for it.

She gives a wide smirk, looking confident, even arrogant. "Yep. Yema Falstead, Master Smelter. I make the finest alloys in the land. I can even make that legendary weapon-metal - Steel. When this whole messy war's done with, maybe you'll want to talk to me about smelting what comes out of the iron mine you apparently have."

Intriguing.

Found possible recruits to Nesiwald.



[Approaching Timothy Greens: 3 + 14 = 17.]

Your gentle suggestion that Timothy Greens take a day off lands... Roughly, to say the least. He sullenly mutters something about not needing to be lazy, and slams the inn's door on his way out.

...But that afternoon he comes back to the inn early. It's a few minutes of carefully probing him as he snaps at you to get the gist of things.

--

"What's got your bit, lad? Need a break?"

"No! I'm good to work!"

"Easy, now. I'm not accusing you of anything, unless I should be?"

"Why does everyone think I can't do the work! I can do it. I don't need breaks. Every day I spend here is a precious learning opportunity!"

"...Och. Did you take a break yesterday like I told you to?"

"I- I wasn't forging anything."

"Did. You. Take. A proper break? Or were you hanging around Liam's place or something?"

Greens shifts his eyes away, fist clenched, forcing himself not to cry.

"Come on, Tim. If you're not going to relax your brainmeats so they can learn properly, at least realize that you'll be sloppy if you work too much. Can't have you dropping hot workpieces and ruining everything, you know."

"I'm good to work, boss. I won't drop anything."

"...Hmph. That's it. Out. Out!"

Greens spluttered as he was roughly shoved out the smithy door.

--

"And that's how it is. I'm banned from the ironworks for three days, to center myself. I went back and asked about the pewter-forging and Master Greaves said I can help out a bit and look at the results, but no serious work on it. So, I can't really help beyond giving advice."

"I am sorry I presenting things so harshly..."

"Sure. I just - everyone's got something to prove, but I'm not allowed to try my best because I'm terrible at everything-"

You hear the defeat and stress in his voice and feel bad. Maybe you should have been watching out for him sooner? It cracks, slightly. Somehow, you suspect saying 'It's for your own good' or something would go over badly right now... So you should just give him space.

"Mm. I'll leave you be, let you cool off. Want me to order food for you?"

He gives a very loud sigh. "Just... Go! Alright. Fine."

You're... Honestly surprised by the venom in his voice. You thought you were friends! Well - he is just seventeen. You're not that much older but you imagine he wasn't raised with lessons in manners and good self-control like your mother gave you. You still remember her being deliberately as annoying - or funny - as possible, trying to get you to make any kind of expression at all, and the genuine praise in your voice as you got better at schooling yourself and staying calm.

You leave him be.

Timothy Greens seems depressed, and is annoyed with you.



[Initial batch of pewter castings: 3 + 16 - 2 (no Codex Crystal) + 15 (bad pour omake and flag idea) + 10 (Minor blessing of Dreselin) = 42.]

You spent most of the previous afternoon in your rented storage room, messing with sand and your box molds and making careful impressions according to your notes and some guesswork. You can't shake the feeling that you're doing something wrong here, but if you mess it up it's not the end of the world...

"Just remember, lads," the pewter-smith tells you. "I don't promise nothin' about how well your cast will take it. I can't guarantee work I didn't participate in. All I can promise is a steady pour of good metal."

"I understand," you say. "Even if it all comes out ruined, I'll pay you the other half as soon as the work's done."

He nods and exchanges a few sentences with Greens, the gist of which is 'slow pour, please' - he's decided that a too-quick pour would abrade away the sand.

He motions to you to get back and with a radiant heat and a pair of tongs clutching a dull-red crucible, a drooping tongue of metal and a low hiss---

........................................................................................

"...Look at that - it's like the whole top half cooled off and didn't flow in properly."

"...Because of the slow pour, maybe." Timothy suddenly says. "I think I see how - it tried to flow up here, but couldn't, see? Ugh. My mistake, again."

"No worries. This is something new. Mistakes will happen. Ah - maybe there should have been air holes? I would think all the air has to go somewhere, that might be why the back part is just missing."

"Huh. I think you're right. You made these sand-casts, and you're not a smith. Maybe if I hadn't been sulking so much I would've caught that..."

Hmph. You grab him by the shoulder and turn him to face you. Looking into his eyes you tell him, "Mister Greens. You did everything I expected of you satisfactorily in this matter. It's really no big deal to take lessons from this and try again. And some of these are salvageable, anyway."

He pulls away from your grip, grimacing. You sigh. It was worth a try.

The dozen palm-sized shield-and-hammer symbols you made, thinking they would be popular, came out... Tolerable. Mostly. You think the blocky shape helped a lot there. There weren't many little details to lose. But the rest... A bear figurine that looks like it has some horrible pox, the surface looking almost crumpled, filled with holes where little details of fur should be. Eugh. A figure of a folk heroine has a face, breasts, elbows, and feet that are just blobby ruins, the most protruding parts not coming out well. Just looking at the failures makes you a little uneasy. Casting seems to really not be that good at tiny details. Only a third in total came out good enough to be worth selling, in your opinion. And the rest, you will simply have to melt down as raw material for another try.

Could have gone worse. You're not hurt, at least. You've learned some lessons about how to do this properly. A little bit of the special sand has been lost, but you still have plenty.

Progress, nonetheless.


You have 17 Profit and owe 4 to the smith in Nesiwald. You have eight days left before you plan to leave. What will you do in the next four days?

[ ] Make more decorative pewter castings using what you've learned, keeping the sand casting method as secret as possible. 1 Profit.
[ ] Get a master pewter smith to help you make more castings, revealing that sand casting exists and the overall method, but not how to make the sand. 2 Profit.
NEW ACTION - [ ] Get a market stall and sell the pewter castings you have already produced (as well as any more from a second try) at low, low prices so they go quickly. You'll still make a tidy profit.
[ ] Put on your merchant hat and trawl the marketplaces looking for opportunities to do some side-trading and earn a little extra money.
[ ] See if you can earn a little money helping Maisah with errands, or just help her out in general with her trading tasks.
[ ] Seek moneylenders and merchants who might be willing to give you a loan, and inquire as to their terms.
[ ] Seek contacts you can correspond with among the greater merchants living here as well as couriers, and perhaps some guilds.

[ ] Find a reputable doctor and dentist and get yourself a checkup, just in case. Costs 1 Profit.
[ ] Trawl the marketplaces looking for interesting or useful stuff to buy. You have a decent supply of money, why not spend it on something?
[ ] If you want to find something specific, you could search the markets for it.
-[ ] Write in what you are looking for.
[ ] Get fitted for a new pair of sturdy shoes! Five days of travel has reminded you of how much easier good shoes can make things. Costs 1 Profit. Doesn't cost a day if taken with another shopping option.
[ ] There's no public library, but see if there are any private collections you can get into to do some research or possibly buy some useful books. Costs 1 Profit.
-[ ] What research topic?

[ ] Spend more time with Genevieve Casinet, discussing the economy of Veschwar and the relative merits of various tax policies. Fascinating stuff!
-[ ] Hunt down a copy of that book about the architecture of spires and towers you mentioned to her, as a gift between friends. 1 Profit.
[ ] Spend time in taverns and markets and gardens chatting socially with middle-class folk. Perhaps you'll meet someone interesting and make a new friend.
[ ] Take some time to do nothing much, rest, recover, and relax in your inn room. Not really the height of luxury, but cheaper than carousing in excess.
[ ] There are luxuries you haven't thought about in months accessible here, and a brief taste of them would certainly be relaxing. 1 Profit each.
-[ ] Gambling? That's always a thrilling pass-time, and you'd like to imagine you're better than average at reading your fellow gamblers. Might win money back... Might lose more than 1 Profit.
-[ ] Drinking and feasting? Nesiwald had simple fare and plain beer, but here you could get all sorts of fine wines, spiced meats, honey mead, a minstrel playing while you dine...
-[ ] A play or poetry? Surely there's some interesting performances going on. A good story with music, actors, and flashy costumes is always a great way to escape from one's troubles.

[ ] Write-In - ask the QM if there's anything you want to do in the city that isn't listed above.


 
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Nope, it's in there. I gave +10 for the flag idea and +5 for this other omake, which totals to +15.
 
[X] Get fitted for a new pair of sturdy shoes! Five days of travel has reminded you of how much easier good shoes can make things. Costs 1 Profit.
[X] Get a master pewter smith to help you make more castings, revealing that sand casting exists and the overall method, but not how to make the sand. 2 Profit.
[X] Find a reputable doctor and dentist and get yourself a checkup, just in case. Costs 1 Profit.
[X] Seek contacts you can correspond with among the greater merchants living here as well as couriers, and perhaps some guilds.

I want to clean the personal matters of good shoes and health, and then fix up the casts and make contacts. We can wait on selling until next time, and then relax before we leave.
 
While I'd like to do something for Timothy, I'm not sure how to help. We should probably do one relaxation option to keep our health up, and I'd like to seek out more contacts. Buying sturdy shoes is important, but I'm willing to leave it for the last four days, along with selling whatever castings we can.

[X] Make more decorative pewter castings using what you've learned, keeping the sand casting method as secret as possible. 1 Profit.
[X] Seek contacts you can correspond with among the greater merchants living here as well as couriers, and perhaps some guilds.
[X] See if you can earn a little money helping Maisah with errands, or just help her out in general with her trading tasks.
[X] Spend more time with Genevieve Casinet, discussing the economy of Veschwar and the relative merits of various tax policies. Fascinating stuff!
-[X] Hunt down a copy of that book about the architecture of spires and towers you mentioned to her, as a gift between friends. 1 Profit.

I want to spend more time with Maisah and Genevieve because I don't know when we'll be able to meet up with them after we leave. I think we've learned enough from our first attempt to try again without involving a master smith, and it might help Tim if he can figure it out on his own.
 
[x] Make more decorative pewter castings using what you've learned, keeping the sand casting method as secret as possible. 1 Profit.
[x] Seek contacts you can correspond with among the greater merchants living here as well as couriers, and perhaps some guilds.
[x] See if you can earn a little money helping Maisah with errands, or just help her out in general with her trading tasks.
 
[X] See if you can earn a little money helping Maisah with errands, or just help her out in general with her trading tasks.
[X] Spend more time with Genevieve Casinet, discussing the economy of Veschwar and the relative merits of various tax policies. Fascinating stuff!
-[X] Hunt down a copy of that book about the architecture of spires and towers you mentioned to her, as a gift between friends. 1 Profit.
[x] Get fitted for a new pair of sturdy shoes! Five days of travel has reminded you of how much easier good shoes can make things. Costs 1 Profit.
[X] Trawl the marketplaces looking for interesting or useful stuff to buy. You have a decent supply of money, why not spend it on something?
[X] Get a market stall and sell the pewter castings you have already produced (as well as any more from a second try) at low, low prices so they go quickly. You'll still make a tidy profit.

EDIT: added a trawl marketplace action for better action economy.
 
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[X] Make more decorative pewter castings using what you've learned, keeping the sand casting method as secret as possible. 1 Profit.
[X] Get a market stall and sell the pewter castings you have already produced (as well as any more from a second try) at low, low prices so they go quickly. You'll still make a tidy profit.
[X] See if you can earn a little money helping Maisah with errands, or just help her out in general with her trading tasks.
[X] Trawl the marketplaces looking for interesting or useful stuff to buy. You have a decent supply of money, why not spend it on something?
[X] Get fitted for a new pair of sturdy shoes! Five days of travel has reminded you of how much easier good shoes can make things. Costs 1 Profit. Doesn't cost a day if taken with another shopping option.
 
[X] Make more decorative pewter castings using what you've learned, keeping the sand casting method as secret as possible. 1 Profit.
[X] Get fitted for a new pair of sturdy shoes! Five days of travel has reminded you of how much easier good shoes can make things. Costs 1 Profit. Doesn't cost a day if taken with another shopping option.
[X] See if you can earn a little money helping Maisah with errands, or just help her out in general with her trading tasks.
[X] Spend more time with Genevieve Casinet, discussing the economy of Veschwar and the relative merits of various tax policies. Fascinating stuff!
-[X] Hunt down a copy of that book about the architecture of spires and towers you mentioned to her, as a gift between friends. 1 Profit.
 
[X] Make more decorative pewter castings using what you've learned, keeping the sand casting method as secret as possible. 1 Profit.
[X] Seek contacts you can correspond with among the greater merchants living here as well as couriers, and perhaps some guilds.
[X] See if you can earn a little money helping Maisah with errands, or just help her out in general with her trading tasks.
[X] Spend more time with Genevieve Casinet, discussing the economy of Veschwar and the relative merits of various tax policies. Fascinating stuff!
-[X] Hunt down a copy of that book about the architecture of spires and towers you mentioned to her, as a gift between friends. 1 Profit.
 
[X] Make more decorative pewter castings using what you've learned, keeping the sand casting method as secret as possible. 1 Profit.
[X] Seek contacts you can correspond with among the greater merchants living here as well as couriers, and perhaps some guilds.
[X] See if you can earn a little money helping Maisah with errands, or just help her out in general with her trading tasks.
[X] Spend more time with Genevieve Casinet, discussing the economy of Veschwar and the relative merits of various tax policies. Fascinating stuff!
-[X] Hunt down a copy of that book about the architecture of spires and towers you mentioned to her, as a gift between friends. 1 Profit.
 
[X] Get fitted for a new pair of sturdy shoes! Five days of travel has reminded you of how much easier good shoes can make things. Costs 1 Profit.
[X] Get a master pewter smith to help you make more castings, revealing that sand casting exists and the overall method, but not how to make the sand. 2 Profit.
[X] Find a reputable doctor and dentist and get yourself a checkup, just in case. Costs 1 Profit.
[X] Seek contacts you can correspond with among the greater merchants living here as well as couriers, and perhaps some guilds.
 
[X] Make more decorative pewter castings using what you've learned, keeping the sand casting method as secret as possible. 1 Profit.
[X] Seek contacts you can correspond with among the greater merchants living here as well as couriers, and perhaps some guilds.
[X] See if you can earn a little money helping Maisah with errands, or just help her out in general with her trading tasks.
[X] Spend more time with Genevieve Casinet, discussing the economy of Veschwar and the relative merits of various tax policies. Fascinating stuff!
-[X] Hunt down a copy of that book about the architecture of spires and towers you mentioned to her, as a gift between friends. 1 Profit.
 
x] Get fitted for a new pair of sturdy shoes! Five days of travel has reminded you of how much easier good shoes can make things. Costs 1 Profit.
[X] Get fitted for a new pair of sturdy shoes! Five days of travel has reminded you of how much easier good shoes can make things. Costs 1 Profit. Doesn't cost a day if taken with another shopping option.
[X] Get fitted for a new pair of sturdy shoes! Five days of travel has reminded you of how much easier good shoes can make things. Costs 1 Profit.

Getting fitted for shoes allows an additional shopping option without costing an action slot, so perhaps we should choose one? Currently I'm going for the:
[] Trawl the marketplaces looking for interesting or useful stuff to buy. You have a decent supply of money, why not spend it on something?
To see if anything interesting turns up.
 
[X] Make more decorative pewter castings using what you've learned, keeping the sand casting method as secret as possible. 1 Profit.
[X] Seek contacts you can correspond with among the greater merchants living here as well as couriers, and perhaps some guilds.
[X] See if you can earn a little money helping Maisah with errands, or just help her out in general with her trading tasks.
[X] Spend more time with Genevieve Casinet, discussing the economy of Veschwar and the relative merits of various tax policies. Fascinating stuff!
-[X] Hunt down a copy of that book about the architecture of spires and towers you mentioned to her, as a gift between friends. 1 Profit.
 
[X] Get a master pewter smith to help you make more castings, revealing that sand casting exists and the overall method, but not how to make the sand. 2 Profit.
[X] Get a market stall and sell the pewter castings you have already produced (as well as any more from a second try) at low, low prices so they go quickly. You'll still make a tidy profit.
[X] See if you can earn a little money helping Maisah with errands, or just help her out in general with her trading tasks.
[X] Trawl the marketplaces looking for interesting or useful stuff to buy. You have a decent supply of money, why not spend it on something?
-[X] Get fitted for a new pair of sturdy shoes! Five days of travel has reminded you of how much easier good shoes can make things. Costs 1 Profit. Doesn't cost a day if taken with another shopping option
 
[X] Make more decorative pewter castings using what you've learned, keeping the sand casting method as secret as possible. 1 Profit.
[X] Seek contacts you can correspond with among the greater merchants living here as well as couriers, and perhaps some guilds.
[X] Get a market stall and sell the pewter castings you have already produced (as well as any more from a second try) at low, low prices so they go quickly. You'll still make a tidy profit.
[X] Trawl the marketplaces looking for interesting or useful stuff to buy. You have a decent supply of money, why not spend it on something?
-[X] Get fitted for a new pair of sturdy shoes! Five days of travel has reminded you of how much easier good shoes can make things. Costs 1 Profit. Doesn't cost a day if taken with another shopping option

Okay the tomato stuff may be overstated, but given the abundance of acidic food, the danger remains.

It's not only tomatoes, but also things like other fruit, sauerkraut and especially vinegar that is being used for preserving food such as pickles.
Abundance =/= lead poisoning.
Vinegar pickled foods would be produced and stored in ceramic amphorae, pewter was nowhere near cheap enough to use for such bulk purposes. Serving them would be, pessimistically, have the food placed on pewterware for several hours at room temperature.
The reaction is far, far too slow unless your vinegar was acidic enough to etch teeth.

The abundance of lead poisoning was deliberate creation of lead acetate by boiling vinegar in lead lined pots as a sweetener, as honey was the main source of pure sweetness in the day and its supply was extremely low.
 
I think we're alright to do a partial reveal at this point. I can accept involving a master in the process, since we'll want to basically use our work with him as a show-piece to the guy (who will probably be our main inside man shouting at the guild master to buy the process from us).

I'm ambivalent on pretty much everything else... We accomplished everything I'd hoped for, and then some (to the point some of the things I'd hoped to do were rendered entirely irrelevant due to how well we accomplished everything).

[X] Make more decorative pewter castings using what you've learned, keeping the sand casting method as secret as possible. 1 Profit.
[X] Seek contacts you can correspond with among the greater merchants living here as well as couriers, and perhaps some guilds.
[X] Get a market stall and sell the pewter castings you have already produced (as well as any more from a second try) at low, low prices so they go quickly. You'll still make a tidy profit.
[X] Trawl the marketplaces looking for interesting or useful stuff to buy. You have a decent supply of money, why not spend it on something?
-[X] Get fitted for a new pair of sturdy shoes! Five days of travel has reminded you of how much easier good shoes can make things. Costs 1 Profit. Doesn't cost a day if taken with another shopping option
 
[X] Make more decorative pewter castings using what you've learned, keeping the sand casting method as secret as possible. 1 Profit.
[X] Seek contacts you can correspond with among the greater merchants living here as well as couriers, and perhaps some guilds.
[X] Get a market stall and sell the pewter castings you have already produced (as well as any more from a second try) at low, low prices so they go quickly. You'll still make a tidy profit.
[X] Trawl the marketplaces looking for interesting or useful stuff to buy. You have a decent supply of money, why not spend it on something?
-[X] Get fitted for a new pair of sturdy shoes! Five days of travel has reminded you of how much easier good shoes can make things. Costs 1 Profit. Doesn't cost a day if taken with another shopping option
 
[X] Find a reputable doctor and dentist and get yourself a checkup, just in case. Costs 1 Profit.
[X] Spend time in taverns and markets and gardens chatting socially with middle-class folk. Perhaps you'll meet someone interesting and make a new friend.
[X] Take some time to do nothing much, rest, recover, and relax in your inn room. Not really the height of luxury, but cheaper than carousing in excess.
[X] See if you can earn a little money helping Maisah with errands, or just help her out in general with her trading tasks.
 
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