Wardrobe

Villager: Kimeya

Ducking into Aisling’s forge, you’re surprised to see a brown skunk inside, feathers dangling from his headpiece, sticking a long metal pole in the furnace. You realize that the lump on the other end is actually glass, and watch transfixed as the skunk pulls the pole back before hurrying over to his worktable, grabbing what look like a giant pair of tweezers and using them to drag the glass around like taffy. He glances up at you, before returning his gaze to the glass.

"One minute please. Feel free to watch, I’m almost done.”

He returns to the furnace, slowly spinning the pole in his hands, before scurrying back to his workstation. He reaches down to a bucket before pulling out a wooden spoon, and you watch as he places the pole so the glass is hanging off the side of the table, and uses the wooden spoon to force the glass into a round shape as he expertly rolls the pole back and forth across the tabletop.

Next, the skunk sets the spoon back into the water-filled bucket before grabbing a tool that looks like a pair of tongs with two knives instead of the gripping part. He closes them around the glass right where it attaches to the pole, and rolls the pole back and forth again. You can’t find it in you to be impatient, not when you’re watching this.

After about a minute, the skunk set the tongs-knives thing down, and picked up a smaller set of tweezers from the bucket. He traced where he’d gripped the glass before, and then moves to another worktable, one with steel boxes full of padded material - ones that look a lot like what you’d see on hot mitts, actually. Carefully, he traces a second time, before giving the pole a careful whack. The glass orb comes clean off the pole, gently dropping onto the heatproof material.

“Almost done, sorry!”

The skunk sets the pole aside before grabbing a pair of actual hot mitts from off the table, snatching up the glass orb before running it to what almost looks like a steel cupboard nearby. There are several other glass orbs already inside; the skunk carefully deposits his newest one, before closing it and turning back to you.

“Right, give that a day and it’ll be done.”

“Huh? Oh, I’m Kimeya.”

“What am I doing in Aisling’s forge? Well, I’m glassblowing. Kinda gotta do it in here, Zale’s workshop just isn’t equipped for it.”

Kimeya chuckles.

“Ah sorry. Give me one second.”

Kimeya goes over to the furnace before opening a door at the bottom. To your shock, you see a chow pup inside!

“C’mere boy, we're done for today."

The puppy whines, but obediently extracts himself from the furnace. Kimeya closes the door, and without even prompting, the puppy gets into the steel basin full of water next to the furnace, and a FWOOSH of steam explodes from the contact.

"Yeah don't worry, he's a molten chow, he's fine. He really enjoys his furnace time, don't you Tawa?"

The puppy barks, before submerging himself a second time. Using the little stairs inside the basin, he climbs out and hops onto the floor, shaking himself out before looking up at the two of you with a happy expression on his face, tail wagging and tongue lolling.

"Yup, that's a good boy!"

Kimeya laughs, getting a high pitched bark from the puppy, who runs over to the skunk to be picked up and petted.

"Right, so who are you? I don't think we've met."

"Oh, I see. A visitor. Well, welcome to the island!"

"What was I doing? Oh, I was making ornaments. Here, come take a look."

Kimeya opens up a cabinet, where a line of clear glass balls with explosions of color contained inside are lined up neatly. He grins at you, clearly proud of his work.

"These go on Christmas trees and stuff. Over here is a glass sculpture I made of Dakota, that’s Faolan’s falcon battle buddy, for the fun of it too. Glassblowing is just awesome in general."

"Haha, yes, it's my hobby and my job, all in one! I mean, I play the tambourine too, that's pretty fun. Sir Milo will often dance to my beat, it's really cool. He's incredible to watch when he dances."

"My job? Technically, by your terms I'm a crafter, and I do help Zale out too. My other passion is jewelry making, you see, plus any member of the Tribe worth their salt can weave. I mean it's a kiddie thing, for crying out loud!"

"Huh? Oh, right! I'm a member of the Tribe of Red Sands, like Sanuye is. We come from a desert outside of the known regions of Furvilla, way over to the west from here. We're taught weaving as kids, before we're old enough to pick a profession - err, career. You guys call it careers here."

"What made me decide to live here? Well, the oasis chief and I didn't really get along, so I packed up and left for a different oasis. Only, I got turned around somewhere and ended up outside of the desert. I would've just turned around if I hadn't happened on a merchant, and we got to talking. When I heard about an ocean relatively nearby, with sandy beaches, well, I couldn't stop thinking of how different that sand would be turned into glass. So I decided to go, and after getting directions, set off for Oceandome."

Kimeya chuckles, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

"Yup, I moved here for glass. And it is different, too. I mean, the Red Desert gets its name from its red sand, so this stuff is of an entirely different make. I go back to the Desert every once in a while to pick up more sand to work with here."

"Huh? Oh yeah, it's a long journey. But totally worth it. I mean, I could just get it delivered or something, but it's nice to make the journey myself, you know? Plus it lets me visit my family too. Sanuye and I make a trip out of it, we're pretty close friends, and having a buddy all the way makes the trip ten times more fun. We're both fellow tribesmen, you see, and it's nice to be back in our homeland every once in a while. But our home is here; she and I don't plan on moving back any time soon."

"The water breathing charms? Yeah, I make 'em. The materials are a right pain in the butt to get, some of which you can't even get outside of the Red Desert, but trust me, they're worth it. Saved my life countless times in a desert flash flood, and they're super helpful to the warriors and explorers here besides."

"Now, I dunno about you, but it's pretty hot in here, and I'd like to get outside. Tawa and I are due some playtime. Don't be shy introducing yourself to everyone else, I'm sure they'd love to say hello! And probably talk your ears off, haha."

Kimeya laughs, before setting Tawa back on the ground.

"I'll be seeing you then. Don't be a stranger!"

And with that, the skunk and puppy leave the forge, leaving you alone. You can't help but admire his work one more time; blown glass really is beautiful. Maybe you can buy some off him to take home yourself...