bethen avilla ; the circle mage (bethe) wrote in thedas,
The man in front of them was very much unlike all of the other dwarves Bethen had ever met before (those only numbering three and being the other Wardens and Dagna), but so much more like the illustrations she had seen in the old manuscripts of Chantry scholars. He was borderline stereotypical -- a full, brushy beard that seemed to swallow the lower half of his face, a round nose to support spectacles, and an occupation in merchandising -- and yet different, as well, especially for his status as an Andrastian. The subject of a Chantry in Orzammar was a topic few in the Tower spoke of, though she had heard of its existence at one point. It never occurred to her that she would ever come across living evidence of conversion, though.
She took his offered hand with no hesitance, so as not to either insult him or the honor of the Grey Wardens. Even if she could be counted among their ranks now, she still thought of the first Warden and companions she had ever met, and how her life had been preserved by their actions, with great reverence. His grip was a lot firmer than her own, though she suspected that as hearty a handshake as he had, Jaswont was just as capable of delicately crafting pieces of stone into something beautiful with those same paws. Jaswont let go at the same moment that he asked her about what she wanted. Beth had already slipped a hand back into her belt pouch, where the rough chunk of amethyst was nestled between coin at the bottom of the bag.
"Would it be possible to have this carved into a wolf charm?" she returned his query with one of her own, holding forth the small piece of purple stone between her fingers. Without further word, the artisan delicately took the fragment, holding it up to the light that streamed in from the window, though it seemed this view was not to his satisfaction. Jaswont meandered back toward his counter, setting the gem on top of the surface while he ducked below the wooden unit to shuffle some things around. He came up with a rounded piece of glass set inside a blackened metal frame -- some sort of monocular -- and what looked like an enchanted lantern, which produced twice the brightness that the dimming afternoon sun had provided. The stone was held in between the two devices while he lifted the loupe to his eye and made his examination.
Beth had stepped closer to the dwarf's workstation to watch him with curiosity, as well as wait for an answer. She hoped he would respond to her in the affirmative; the suggestion hadn't been in her mind for long, but she was already dedicated to seeing the gift completed, not to mention the silvers she had already spent to get this far. But none of the grumblings that the craftsman was making sounded one way or another. She didn't want to interrupt, but his study had gone on for several long minutes before she decided to finally speak. However, just as her mouth opened, Jaswont turned his head up at her and smiled, "I can do that for you, most certainly. It'd be a pleasure."
"Oh, thank you," the Warden (and it still made her uneasy to think of herself under that title) replied eagerly, unaware that she had been holding her breath until she practically exhaled those words. But she wasn't completely relieved by his response; she still had a more difficult request to make. "Um, about how long do you think this might take you? I don't mean to rush your artistry, but it's for a friend, you see, and I won't be able to give it to him any later than tomorrow morning, as we'll be parting ways for a while." Something in her sentence stirred a soft chuckle out of the small man, though she couldn't tell what exactly she'd said to elicit such a response. Her hand went back to her coin purse as she added, "I'd be willing to pay any extra cost if that would help."