Candlemass 26 (evening), 6107 (9 December 2003) Zahn has a visitor to his workshop as Amelia brings some wood for him to make into a fighting staff. Takes place after the Frog Festival.
(Amelia) (Stonebarrow) (Sylvania) (Zahnrad)
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Kettenrad Workshop
Zahnrad's personal workshop. It's located near the Mint dam where Zahnrad spends a good deal of time working on the gearing that links the waterwheels to the various machines that are used in the Wingnut workshops and the Miller's paper mills. It's an unusual shop, even for a Wingnut. The door is, in fact, not really a door. It's a rather large wooden gear that's attached to a stabilizer bar. The bar has handles on it that allow visitors to pull and simply roll the gear out of the way on some makeshift wooden teeth that line the floor. Over the 'doorway' a plaque is mounted that reads "Kettenrad Workshop. If it's broken, we can fix it. If it's not broken, we can still fix it!"

The usual amount of creaking echoes from within the shop. However, something starts grinding … then squeaking … then outright squealing. It's quickly followed by a series of rapid, loud poundings on something. What seems like a final groan is uttered by something inside, then the noise returns to normal.

Just outside the workshop, a dark-furred Kadie pauses when she hears the horrible sounds, but only for a moment. She sets down the tree limb she's been dragging, and tries to puzzle out how the gear-door works. Eventually she tries the handle on the stabilizer bar and rolls the gear aside. "Hello in there?" she calls. "Did someone get their tail caught in something?"

A disheveled looking Zahnrad suddenly appears beside the door. His jacket and shirt are both off, and he's resting a rather large looking wrench on his shoulder and panting slightly. "No, no. The transmission gearing from the waterwheel decided to jam up. I had to give it a technical tap," he says in between catching his breath.

Amelia jumps backwards in surprise. "O-oh… I see. Uh," she says, then turns and picks up the length of oak she brought. "I chopped off a limb to make my staff from, if you can still do it," she says, holding the wood up protectively. It's fairly straight, close to five feet long with ragged ends where it's been chopped by a stone-bladed axe, and nearly as thick as a human leg.

Zahnrad eyes the log critically, then nods. He waves for Amelia to follow him in, then heads off into the workshop recesses. "Keep an eye on your tail," he says. "Lots of moving things in here."

The girl nods and wraps her tail around her waist before carefully stepping inside the workshop.

Inside the Kettenrad Workshop
The inside isn't any more normal by any stretch of the imagination. Gearing and axles crank and groan throughout the workshop. All are powered by a large central gear linkage connected to a feeder axle on one of the waterwheels. Aside from just the general din of the gears, odd puffs and hisses can be heard as seemingly random intervals as one of Zahn's latest grand inventions is probably finding its way to a grand parts pile as it rattles itself into oblivion. Belts also crisscross throughout the rafters, transferring power from one side of the shop to the other. Still, all things given, the workshop is in relatively decent order. No unruly piles of paper stacked in corners or puddles of goo to step in. In the corner sits a desk and drafting table, which currently has a small stack of detailed plans for some sort of new flying machine.

Amelia stares around in open-mouthed awe… or terror. "It's like a big clock inside," she says over the din, but wisely decides not to compare Zahn to a cuckoo.

Zahnrad tosses the wrench to the side and rubs over his eyes briefly. "Glad you made it this early. I should be able to get it done before the little trip up to the castle," he says, then seems to consider something. "I've heard that before. I've probably got too many belts and gears, but I think they look cool," he says, then seems to consider something. "Ah, oh, sorry. Let me put on a shirt. I'm not terribly decent."

"Are you cold or something?" Amelia asks, setting her log down against a pillar that she's pretty sure isn't a moving part.

"No, but it's not polite to be without around a lady," Zahn says matter of factly. "Plus, I don't want Emmett getting any more ideas," he adds as he pulls a shirt on over his head.

"Oh, right," Amelia says, unsure if she's being complimented or not. "I'd think clothes would be sort of dangerous in a place like this, with so many moving thingamajiggers."

"Loose clothing, yes. A dress in here could be downright fatal," Zahn agrees and walks over. He kneels down and eyes the branch. He taps it and asks, "I assume the tree wasn't dead?"

"Nope, it's a small outer limb from my own tree," Amelia says, patting the wood. "Oak! It took me like a hundred hours to plane and sand down my last staff, can you really make this into one in just a day?"

"Ever use a lathe?" Zahnrad asks and motions for Amelia to bring the log over. "Once we cut it down, we'll need to dry it some, though, or it'll warp."

Picking up the log, Amelia carries it over. "Of course I bathe. At least once a week," she says.

Zahn laughs and says, "Well, I'd hope you bathe. But I said, have you ever used a lathe?" He heads over to a rather odd looking apparatus standing on four bowed out legs. He adjusts a couple clamp-like things in the center, then slowly spreads the device apart … lengthening it. He takes the branch from Amelia and sets it in the center. "It's a device for rapidly spinning and planing down wood. I imagine it'll be a lot more round and smoother than your old staff if made with this."

The dark Kadie blinks at the device, and then shakes her head. "Never seen anything like that before," she admits.

Zahn forces one end of the branch against a chitin three-pronged claw. On the other side he inserts a wooden locking pin, then spins a wheel that slowly screws down another chitin claw into the other end, tightly fixing it between the two ends. He pulls out the pin, then another few on the platform just below it. It drops down a few inches, leaving the branch suspended between the two claws. As he puts his hand on it, he says, "And now, it can rotate." He then spins the branch.

"Like a log in the river!" Amelia says, grinning at the spinning wood. "Why do you want it to turn like that though?"

"Oh, you'll see… " Zahn says cryptically. He walks over to a set of levers and eyes them critically. "Now, which one was it… ?" he muses.

"Have you used this thing before?" Amelia asks, taking a step back from the device.

Zahn waves a hand dismissively. "Of course I have," he says … then adds rather quickly, "rightbeforeIupgradedit!" He points upward, then yanks one of the levers. There is a loud bang, quickly followed by a creaking sound.

With a chitter of alarm, Amelia squats down and covers her head with her hands, looking warily up at all of the heavy looking axles and gears overhead. "You'd tell me if it was about to come apart, right?" she asks.

Zahnrad just gives Amelia a smile. "You don't trust me?" he asks. Overhead, one of the axles swings slowly, coming to rest above a gear, and what looks like a belt on a wheel. The belt goes downward, and is wrapped around the largest of three sets of wheels, all close together. He walks back over to the device and hmms, "Let'ssee if the upgrade worked!" He pushes on some sort of petal near the base.

"I don't trust the machinery is all," Amelia admits. "It's scary and loud and all too big!"

And right as Amelia says that, another loud bang as the axle above drops down hard into the gearing on the wheel. It groans, then starts to spin. The belt makes a loud crack as it grows taut, then amazingly, the branch starts to spin on its own, at an even rate. "Whoohah!" Zahn says, "It works!"

"It's not going to kill us then?" Amelia asks, starting to uncurl just a little.

"Well, not at the moment, no," Zahn says, considering. He picks up an odd wooden bar where both sides have been lined by what looks like sharp, flat, stone. He then waves Amelia over and says, "Come, I'll show you how this works."

With a brief look of absolute terror before standing up, Amelia carefully walks over to Zahnrad's side.

Zahnrad sets one end of the bar into a slotted round horizontal bar on the apparatus. He leans it over slowly, the bar it's slotted into rotating. "Now, you want to keep the pressure even and firm, but not too firm," he explains. "If you're too light, it won't do anything. If you press too hard, you'll break the stone and it'll fly everywhere… " He then carefully presses the edge into the spinning branch and chips of wood start to spray out everywhere!

Amelia instinctively brings her hands up to protect her face from flying debris. "It's awfully violent! Shouldn't you be wearing a… a helmet or something?" she complains.

Zahnrad just grins and slowly slides the edged bar along the branch. Wood continues to spray everywhere. When he reaches one end, he rotates the bar and then carefully comes back. He stops and pulls the bar out, then kicks the petal again. Another groan, and the branch's spinning slows, then stops. It's not much thinner, but it's now quite stripped of bark and fairly smooth. "See? All there is to it. Simple! Would you like to try?" he asks.

"Simple?!" Amelia squeaks, and looks at the planing bar. "I don't think I can hold my hands steady so close to… to something that looks like it'll suck my skin off."

"Amelia, it's safe enough, really. No more dangerous than attacking some huge slobbering beast … which I seem to remember you doing," Zahn points out. "I'll be right here and I'll guide you."

The girl takes a deep breath, then nods. "So… uh, press this bar against the wood until it bites a little, then… slide it up to the other end?" she asks.

"Right, come over here a moment," Zahn says and motions.

Amelia steps up next to Zahnrad, and says, "Okay."

Zahnrad takes something from the side of the table and offers it to her. It's some makeshift goggles, probably made from one of Aiken's wine bottles. "Here, tie these on. It'll keep crud out of your eyes," he says.

It takes a moment, but Amelia finally realizes the things go over her head. "At least these don't have buttons," she says, half jokingly.

Zahn politely tries not to laugh. "Now, try and calm down a bit," he says and hands her the planing bar. He then walks behind her and puts one arm around her from each side. "I'm going to show you how much force to apply, so don't panic or anything," he says quickly.

"I'm trying," Amelia says, holding tight to the bar and trying to ignore all the pounding and creaking noises around her. She certainly can't get more stressed out, anyway.

Zahn leans in close and looks over her shoulder. He places each of his hands on the back of hers and guides the planing bar against the log while it's not spinning. "See, you only should push about this hard and go slow. If it seems to catch and not want to move, don't push it. Back it off and we'll need to stop the machine to make sure you're not hitting a defect in the wood. If you force it, you could break the bar, or worse," Zahn says firmly. "Ready to try?"

Amelia swallows and nods. "Okay, I'm… ready," she says.

"Just relax. I'm right here and I'll jump in if anything goes wrong," Zahn says to reassure her. Of course, given Zahn's record for insane machines, it may not be all that reassuring. He steps away from Amelia and goes over to the pedal. Instead of kicking it, he presses on it slow and evenly. With less noise this time, the branch starts to spin…

Trying not to stick out her tongue as she concentrates, Amelia begins to apply pressure. She's very cautious about it, and keeps easing back as soon as the stone edges begin to bite into the wood.

Zahn watches Amelia and the branch with a critical eye. He rubs his chin slowly and tries to reassure her, "Okay, not bad. When it first bites, it will feel like it kicks a bit, that's normal. It will only last a second. There you go. Now, slowly slide downward and try to keep the pace equal or it won't be even… "

The bar starts to move slowly, and Amelia focuses on keeping the pressure constant more than the sliding rate.

"Good, good, the planing looks like it's consistent in size. Now, try to move at an even pace or it'll end up wavy," Zahnrad encourages. He also looks up at the gearing now and then, making sure everything is staying in place.

"Okay," the girl says, and tries to keep up an even motion along the length of the branch, shuffling her feet along as she moves sideways.

Zahnrad steps up behind Amelia and looks over her shoulder. He watches her work her way down one length, then taps her shoulder. "Okay, you can let up," he says. "I can tell you're still a bit tense. Let's see how it did."

With visible relief, Amelia lifts the bar back up out of the way, then wipes her forehead. She's breathing and sweating as if she's run for a mile.

Zahnrad kicks the pedal again and the machine grinds to a halt. Then there's a sudden snapping noise! The belt that was driving the machine bucks, then falls off and onto the floor in a lump. "Hmm, retainer ridge, I knew I forgot something," Zahn says, not looking surprised or startled at all.

Amelia doesn't yelp or panic as the belt fails, she just freezes in place until her heart starts beating again. "Does that happen often?" she asks.

"Now and then. It's not dangerous. Well, not really," Zahn replies and shrugs. He walks over to a mass of gearing on the far side and makes sure his tail it out of the way. He grabs a rather large bar and pulls on it, grunting. Slowly, a section of the gearing starts to move and slide away. Much of the movement in the room grinds to a halt, making the room disturbingly quiet. "Anyway, I can fix that later. Let's see how you did."

Tail twitching wildly as pent-up stress is released, Amelia steps up to look critically at the proto-staff.

The end she started on isn't terribly even. It rolls and spills in a wavelike pattern. "See, That's what happens if you don't keep the movement consistent. It gets wavy. It's also a way to make rippling table legs and so on," Zahn explains and points out the differences. He then motions further down where it's much smoother and very even. "And see? You got better down here. More even pace, clean plane."

"I see it now," Amelia says, nodding. "It's hard when it's all spinning around though. I guess you can tell by feel if it's going smooth or not?"

Zahn nods. "When you go back, it'll seem to undulate under your hands. That's how you tell," he explains. He looks at the girl critically for a moment, then asks, "Have you ever considered a job doing woodworking or mechanics?"

"Uh, no," Amelia says, looking around the shop again. It's quite different when it's quiet. "It all seems pretty complicated. I'm good at chopping wood though."

"Ah, yes, I suppose so," Zahn says with a nod. He grins and comments, "Plus, you look silly with those goggles on." He takes a few steps back.

Amelia blinks and reaches up to touch the goggles, then looks around for a mirror. "Doesn't everyone?" she asks.

Zahnrad motions to the far side, where a mirror is mounted. "I don't know. I sure don't," he insists.

The Kadie girl goes up to the mirror, and examines her reflection, tail twitching all the while. She eventually takes the goggles off, and says, "I think I looked dashing. All I need is a leather jacket."

Zahn laughs and points to his jacket hanging on a nearby hook. "Well, find out," he replies with a grin. He then takes a bit to check out the machine and the various wheels and gears.

Amelia tries on the jacket, which is a bit large on her. She tests out her reflection with the goggles perched on her head, down over her eyes, and with the jacket collar turned up and down. "This is a really good mirror," she says after a bit.

"Eh? Why do you say that? I don't remember where we got it from, but I think it's been in the family for some time. Might've come from the old castle we're going to in a few days for all I know," he comments idly, then gets up and walks over. He looks at Amelia for a moment, then says, "You know, you do look good in that."

The girl finally takes off the jacket and hangs it back on its peg, and hands the goggles back to Zahnrad. "Maybe I'll get one made then! Oh, that's right, you said you could get really good measurements here… but I don't need to stand in one of the machines do I?"

Zahnrad gets an incredibly wicked grin on his face. He sets the goggles aside and says, "Well, I could try out a new machine on you to see if it'll take the measurements faster… "

The girl's eyes go wide at the thought. "You're just joking right?" she asks.

Zahnrad waggles his eyebrows. "Well… yes," he admits and laughs. "But, your expression was priceless," he says, then heads over to his desk, still laughing.

Amelia frowns at being made fun of, but decides to delay her revenge. She wonders if a rock jammed in the gear-rail outside would keep the door from opening…

"Well, how's it really done then?" she asks, following after Zahn. "Calipers and rulers and calculations?"

Zahn picks up a notepad from his desk and a roll of some sort of fabric. "Nothing so massively complex. I just needed a measuring tape," he replies and turns to face the Kadie. "I need to get a series of measurements and the rest I can extrapolate from them. And ah, realize I'll have to measure around certain areas, okay? Please don't hit me."

Scratching at her cheek, Amelia asks, "That's it? I don't have take my clothes off or anything? I got the impression from Olivia that I would, for some reason. Or maybe it was Emmett."

"Emmett? You told Emment?" Zahn says, looking horrified.

"Hah, gotcha!" Amelia laughs, pointing at Zahn's expression. "No, I didn't tell him. It's just that everything he says to me somehow suggests I should be taking off my clothes."

Zahn lets out a sigh of relief. "Well, good. Emmett's already been giving me grief about you," Zahn replies and unfurls the tape. "Now, as for your clothing, no. It can stay where it is. If you wanted more skintight clothing, it would be better to measure with it off. But I could just calculate that out anyway, so you wouldn't really have to even then. Besides, I don't think you want more tight clothes."

Amelia nods. "I just want clothes that fit the same all over," she says.

"Emmett saw you holding my hand, by the way. He couldn't pass up a chance to comment about me and Bruiser Blacktail," Zahn comments idly. He lifts Amy's arms up and out from her sides, then says, "Hold them there, please."

Holding her arms out, Amelia also shifts her tail out of the way. "Was he jealous or something?"

"Who knows with him. I think he just likes making me mad," Zahn comments and walks around behind Amelia. He places an end of the tape against Amelia's spine and then stretches it out to the wrist of her right arm. He holds it there, then checks the number and jots it down on the page. He does the same for the left arm.

"I wonder if we can turn it into a practical joke on him somehow," Amelia says. "I never got back at him for the time he scared me out of the hot spring with a big dead swamp lizard."

"That could be funny. We could try and make him think there is something going on. Of course, that could backfire too," Zahn comments as he looks over the measurements of Amy's arms. "Say, did you know your left arm is slightly shorter than your right?" He shrugs, then places the tape at the base of Amelia's neck and measures all the way down to her tailbase.

"I'm right-handed," Amelia says, trying not to twitch too much. "How much shorter though?"

"A mere fraction, less than a quarter of an inch. Not noticeable by looking," Zahn comments, then loops the tape around Amelia's chest. He doesn't pull it very tight, just enough to get a number. He then shifts it down and measures just under her chest, then down further around her hips. "What did you have in mind for Emmett? I'm kind of leery of trying to lead him on. I don't want say, my folks also thinking there's something up. They leave me alone because I bring in a decent amount, but you know parents. They want their kids married, they want grandkids, and all that. If they even thought there might be something, I'd probably hear about it. A lot."

"I don't know, I've never been good at practical jokes," Amelia admits, sighing. "I mean, how do you embarrass an Akwavi? I couldn't even come up with anything to do to Clover and Parsley for tying my clothes in knots so that I couldn't chase after Emmett."

Zahn hmms and thinks about that. "Well, I'll try to think of something, then. He drops down to one knee and blinks. "Interesting view," he comments and chuckles, then measures the circumference of Amelia's tailbase. "Okay, now, er, I have to measure your inseam, so, er, could you spread your legs a bit?" He asks as he offers her the end of the tape. "And hold this where your legs end, please, not at your waist."

After spreading her legs apart, Amelia takes the end of the tape, then figures out why Zahn didn't want to hold it himself as she gets it into position. "Okay… "

Zahn stretches the tape downward and makes note of the location of her ankle on the length. He moves it over and makes note for the other leg. He jots the numbers down, commenting, "Your legs are the same length." He then tugs the tape lightly. "Let go, please."

Letting go, Amelia asks, "So, are your folks really picky about who you court, or do they already have someone chosen for you?"

"Honestly? They'd be happy to see me with anyone," Zahn replies. He places his hand on Amelia's hip and holds the tape there, then stretches it down the outside of her leg and notes the number, then again for the other leg. "Why? Is your father picky?"

"No, he still forgets I'm a girl every so often," Amelia says, then suggests, "Maybe you should get a Lapi girlfriend then. You can tell your parents it's just for practice, and they'll assume that you intend to get a Kadie girl eventually so will stop fretting about it."

Zahn snorts a bit at that. "I just don't really have time. I mean, I've got dreams. I'm going to make them come true, Amelia. I'll get my own airship working one of these days, you'll see," he replies and starts measuring around her thighs and calves. "How could I possibly work on my designs and such with a girlfriend? They all seem to require so much attention and all that. If I don't complete my designs, I'll be stuck here, forever." He sighs and writes down some more numbers, then stands

"Are the measurements all done?" Amelia asks.

"Almost," Zahn replies. He measures quickly around the circumference of Amelia's neck, then arms and jots them down. "Now we're done," he says.

Arching her back and stretching, Amelia gets back into a more comfortable stance. "I still don't know what I want to make of my life, to be honest. I don't really care for growing chestnuts. Maybe if there's a town militia or guard or something formed, I could join that."

Zahn laughs and comments, "I could honestly see you doing that." He considers something for a moment, "Hm, I can perhaps hire you now and then to gather lumber as we need it. You said you liked to chop things, right?"

Amelia nods. "I know where a lot of good timber is," she says. "I've even found an untapped grove of rubber trees in the Gnarly Wood."

Zahn blinks. "Really? You'll have to show me that sometime," he says, then goes about copying the measurements down and making sure each are clearly labeled. "How come you go out to that place? It's a bit creepy, isn't it?"

"It's nice to be someplace by myself," Amelia says. "It's not that creepy, during the daylight… as long as you know how not to get lost. It's like the whole forest belongs to just me."

Zahn tears off a page and folks it neatly. He offers it to the Kadie and says, "Huh, never thought about it that way. Well, I might like to see the place sometime. If you don't mind the company, of course."

Amelia tucks the paper into her shirt, since she doesn't have any pockets. "I suppose I could. You're a pretty nice guy, for a loony," she says, grinning.

Zahn chuckles and shakes his head. "And you're a pretty good guy, for a girl," he retorts, grinning. He then glances over at the staff and sighs, "And I should get to work on that. It'll probably take me most of the night to finish. Then there's the storm tomorrow, so I'll have to man the gearing out at the dam." He groans.

"I could come help, if there's simple stuff for me to do," Amelia offers. "I've got my own axe."

Zahn considers that. "Possibly. We might need to reinforce parts if the rain is heavy enough," he says and scratches at an ear. "It'll stress the wheels and the gearing too. I really wish they'd let me install the variable gear array I designed. It worked on one of my airship attempts, so it's sound. Pity the rest of the ship wasn't. But, they still complain it could be dangerous or something. I swear, crash into the bathhouse once, and people just don't forget that," he mutters.

"I remember that!" Amelia laughs. "It was great! Didn't you claim you were just trying to use the hot air or something?"

"Well, er, it does rise. Figured it would help with liftoff. I didn't account for steering, though," Zahn admits. "So, it went up, sideways, and right into the building. Boy, did they scream when the divider fell. Of course, some whistled too. For months after that Emmett kept asking me to do it again too!"

"Maybe you can make a big slingshot or something if there's enough rubber," Amelia suggests.

"Maybe. If all else fails, the otters would love it," Zahn considers. He then shakes his head and says, "And really, I should get to work on the staff if I hope to get it done. Thanks for stopping by. It's, ah, rather nice to have company for a change."

"Thanks for helping me out in the first place!" Amelia says, and gives Zahn a quick hug. "Nobody else ever offered. I'll come around tomorrow when it starts raining, just in case you need any help."

Zahn looks a bit unsure about how to react to being hugged, really. So, he rubs the back of his neck and says, "Ah, sure. You leapt to defend the town, so it's the least I could do since you broke your staff. If there's time, I'll see if I can put some leather banding supports on it so if it breaks again, it shouldn't splinter badly. Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow. Hopefully, it'll be a light storm and I won't have to do much."

Amelia bounds over to the 'door', and pushes it open. She turns back halfway through though, and asks, "Hey, what happens if someone sticks a wedge in track out here, would you be trapped inside?"

"Er, I would've last year. I've got a secondary way out now, though. It's not much fun to use, though," Zahn replies and furrows his brow. "Why do you ask?"

"Just curious!" Amelia says, innocently enough. "And it lets me know that you've had otters up here too, I wager," she adds with a wink, then disappears into the evening.

Zahn mutters something about Emmett again, then looks up at the ceiling and the 'skylight' he installed after that little 'incident' last year. He shakes his head, the fetches the slipped belt and heads up into the rafters to replace it.

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GMed by Jared

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