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Rednail’s Kiln

by Okensha

“No, no, no! You were supposed to make a double Opus Vermiculatum in rose and azure, to bring out the pennants in the ‘procession of ancestors’ wall-divide! This is turquoise! And that had better be unsanded grout!”

- Jusri, master of mosaics, berating an apprentice

Rednail’s Kiln was originally named after the red clay that was once the only thing worked here, made into tiles and pots and other things, and which tenaciously stuck to the skin and under the nails of all who handled it. As time wore on and the business passed from master to student, the clayworkers expanded to include other types of clay in their work, up to the finest porcelain; then glass and painted tiles were also included. Now, Rednail’s Kiln is one of the most in-demand producers of decorative tiles, indoors and outdoors; they have an exclusive contract with The Laughing Watersprite Bathhouse in Nexus, and were the source of most of the tiles decorating the houses along the Plaza of Rising Stars in Cinnabar.

The façade of the building is tastefully decorated with glazed red tiles that resist the infamous black soot of Nighthammer ... to some extent, anyway. Once within the building, customers find themselves in a quasi-reception area, where they can look at examples of various types of tiles and decorative designs hanging on sturdy leather mats from hooks in the ceiling. This area is inevitably overseen by one of the Kiln’s merchants and a pair of armed guards. For patrons who don’t wish to brave the air and thugs in Nighthammer, a set-up similar to this reception area can be found in a booth in the Little Market in the Nexus District, with the addition of an extra merchant and a journeyman trained in overall decoration.

Inside, the areas of production are neatly delineated, with separate furnaces and kilns for each of the primary types of material, presses for the tiles, painting and dyeing areas, and mosaic-patterning areas. Mosaic tiles have the grout carefully acid-washed off the colourful pattern pieces in a roofed, but otherwise open, area also used for glazing individual tiles. Any day of the week, workers can be seen in this area with heavy cloths tied over their mouths and noses, wearing thick leather gloves and aprons as they work. A few times a year, someone gets tired or careless and wipes at streaming eyes while working, blinding themselves with the dangerous chemicals. Residents of Nighthammer know better than to walk downwind of this area if they can avoid it, for the fumes are toxic at close range.

Lately, the masters and older journeymen have been on edge. Things are going missing from the work areas – bright bits of glass, briefly unattended food, and most especially, anything made of paper or the like. A lucrative commission was recently lost when the work-designs went missing. The masters are trying to find out who the thief is before they lose more business or, worse, their designs start showing up in other shops.

Rumours

• “I saw (insert co-worker’s name here) yesterday talking to one of them buggers as works for Suouj Phichez’s, down by that new building that’s going up by the docks. I’m tellin’ ya, that’s miiiiiiighty suspicious, y’ask me!”
• Small, colourful creatures have been spotted when there are few workers around. They vanish into dark corners without a trace. Most of the workers believe they must simply be rats or mice or some other vermin that have gotten into the pigment, but a few fear they must be spirits of some sort, and point out that there have been no trails of pigments on the floors.

Secret

In fact, the colourful creatures are the cause for the missing papers. Last autumn, Jo Wie, Goddess of Hamsters, decided to nest in the walled-off basement of Rednail’s Kiln. Now, her many children are gathering nesting material ....

Comments

Yes, god-blooded hamsters. Really. :D -Okensha

Hmm, rereading, this is far more boring than I was intending. And I probably should have referenced Burians Building Company rather than making up another one. >_< -Okensha

I like the idea of god-blooded hamsters. They sound interesting.
-- Darloth

I demand a tithe of the hamsters!! ;D - Taichara is the Stealthninjahamster, after all ..

You'll have to negotiate with the goddess Jo Wie. And it had best involve high things to jump from. -Okensha