Contest Entry – Interview of the UO Mind

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ARTIMUS KHYVES OF SONOMA

Character Name: Artimus Khyves of Sonoma

Interview of the U.O. Mind

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, I’m Jonny Cathoway, and this is my show, Interview of the U.O. Mind. Tonight we have a splendid show lined up for you. Here to honor us with his presence, is the Admirable Artimus Khyves, a blacksmith/tailor, here to tell us his tale from the mystical world he has encountered, the world of Britannia. So without any further ado, lets bring him out, Artimus Khyves himself!

Jonny: Hello Artimus, it is a pleassure to have you on my show tonight, everyone is so excited to hear what you have to say, and I am as well.

Artimus: Yes Jonny, but I’m afraid the pleasure is all mine, I am honored to be a guest on your show this fine evening.

Jonny: Okay, lets get to it, to start could you tell us about how you first found this new world, and what fortunes you were first blessed with?

Artimus: Well Jonny, as I remember I found this little gem on the ground. Inside was a perfect imagine trapped of a world, and as I stood transfixed by the gem, its power sucked me in. Later I learned the name of this gem was Sonoma, and many other people have had this same experience, found the Sonoma shard by one way or anther. I soon after awoke to the smell of the sea air and stale beer not quite the smell of roses, or a scent one would find themself to be awoken by. I found myself outside the Salty Dog Inn. A tavern right on the ocean front, empty except for a few tavern keepers, and bar maids. I found my attire to consist of a doublet that was of a rich purple, a pair of long pants to match, and a smith apron that covered my lower half. I was equipped with a smith hammer, a pickaxe, a dagger, and around fifty iron ingots. I also had a journal to write in, and a candle that only seem to fit my left hand. I had a hundred gold pieces in my pocket as well. I was ready to head out into this new world. I had nothing much to start out with only apprentice blacksmith to my name, but I was ready to learn. I made my way out around the Salty Dog Inn, as I walked around the corner I found a busy street with people all around selling various items. I later found out this was the West Britain Bank. This was where most people kept all their prized possessions in this bank. All the items for sale where no where near what I could afford. So keeping in mind where this place was I began to ask people where a forge was where I could start to learn my chosen trade. Someone pointed me off in the direction and off I went.
Jonny: Remarkable, so what did you do as an apprentice blacksmith?

Artimus: Well, at first nothing, I zipped through my fifty ingots and only accomplish to make a few decent weapons. I wasted most them trying to make armor which I found to be too complicated for my beginning talents. I tried buying more ingots but with a hundred gold, which I found didn’t get me very far, all I could afford was twelve ingots. So back to West Brit Bank I went a little upset at my early misfortune, I didn’t know at the time that you could just mine ingots to get them. Which could have made the first bit of my career easier. After asking questions at the bank I learned this from someone player I met at the bank: “What you do is use a shovel, or a pickaxe to one of the mountains scattered throughout the land, and start mining raw ore. Then you’ll have to haul all the ore over to a forge because you gotta get that iron ore real hot in order to turn it into ingots. But I warn you to bring lots of shovels, because they tend to break a lot, for some odd reason about forty-five times for normal made one to be exact,” said the new stranger I had met at the bank. And with this information I found myself heading off towards the mountains. The stranger was also kind enough to give me some tinker tools, said to just make pickaxes or shovels whenever I got some ingots again and it would save me some money.

Jonny: So then what did you do?

Artimus: Well for many days that is all I did, I spent my time learning and failing, how to mine, tinker, and blacksmith. Those days turned into months, and then months into years. Then the failing slowly diminished, I also found more ways to increase my success. Like I started investing in Magery to add quickness to traveling, I also came by some pack horses which became my friends. The packhorses where able to save my back a great deal, and time as well. I was able to transport mass amounts of ore. Also as my skills increased in mining, I soon found different kinds of metals. First I found veins of Dull Copper, a dull version of Copper. Then those of Shadow Iron which I found most intriguing, a metal dark as night. And so forth I climbed through the metal scale and finally reached the top, Valorite Ore, the most difficult but most valuable ore, a metal that is blue like the great Mother Sea. Then I found as my blacksmith skill increased I was able to work with these new obtained metals. Not long after a couple years, I, once the student became the Teacher. For I became known as a grandmaster of the trades. I soon after picked up tailoring, which was a fun enough skill, manipulating cloth into clothing. Tailoring like the blacksmith and mining skill worked out as my skill increased so did the materials I could work with. First normal leather found on most animals. But some of the animals, and monsters carried spined, horned, and the most difficult barbed leather. I played around with tailoring for a while till most people regarded me as a grandmaster tailor as well. And then one late day the shopkeepers got together, and figured out how to get better made items to sell. They hired grandmaster’s like myself to make them bulk orders for rewards that these shopkeepers have hoarded over the years.

Jonny: Bulk Order’s, that is awesome so I imagine you took these in a stride and gained many of these little treasures?

Artimus: Aye that I did, that is what I have dedicated my life to, up to the present day. Gaining, ancient smith hammers, runic hammers and sewing kits, colored anvils made from the special colored ingots not obtainable before. They also had hidden within these treasures scrolls of power which revealed to us crafter’s ways to learn to further improve our skills to eventually become Legendary Blacksmiths and Tailors. Which is what I am currently working on, that is my final goal before I can finally retire, and just relax at West Britain Bank to tell stories of success to the next generation of blacksmiths and tailors.

Jonny: Well Artimus that is an incredible tale of how you found this Sonoma shard, and what you did once you found it. I know I speak for everyone when thanking you for taking the time to sit down here and share it with us. And good luck with reaching Legendary Blacksmith, and Tailoring, I hope you have fun while trying to obtain those valued skills. Artimus Khyves: And thank you Jonny for having me this evening, it was a pleasure talking with everyone, this is what I hope to do when I retire, good night and farewell.

Last modified: March 28, 2011

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