The others did not have such a secretive introduction to their new work for Merits. They were asked to look over logs of potential work, stating who they would be working with or for, how many Merits they would earn per month of work, paid out every two weeks and what section of the city sized Academy they would have to go to to complete their assigned tasks.
These factors were chosen specifically to allow students a chance to choose something that wouldn't interfere with their training, study and coursework. In terms of Merits offered the earnings were based on several factors from experience required to the danger of the work. Not all alchemy was as safe as brewing Bloodstop Salve and the same could be said for advanced blacksmithing. Not all materials used were fully stable while being forged into their final form. The extra Merits were meant to assist in covering the cost of healing if an injury were to occur.
It was during this perusal of different offerings that Rosalind happened to find an interesting one. It was a listing by someone named Hallbjorn Strøm and though the amount of Merits offered was large the work itself seemed pretty standard. She was rather surprised that nobody else had taken the offer before her. However, in her usual excitable manner she didn't bother to ask, simply pointing it out as the one she wanted to take.
The tired looking woman in front of her scanned the results, asked for her pocket watch and logged it. She then picked up what appeared to be an ornate hand mirror and wrote on its surface with ink the same way she had on the log book. This was not a standard process but a side note by the requester to ensure that they would be informed immediately.
Soon the ink seemed to soak into the mirror before seemingly leaking back up onto the silver surface with different words. With that the woman turned to Rosalind and stated in a dull tone "Mr. Hallbjorn Strøm has requested that you go to his forge at the earliest convenience so that he can make his final decision." Her words were so dull that they would almost be considered monotone, only broken by a slightly stifled yawn in the middle of the phrase. "It is preferred that you seem him yet this morning as his afternoon is blocked."
Rosalind didn't hesitate to accept, asking for directions and in turn receiving a standard map with the location and best route marked by the staff member. Rosalind happily took the map, thanked the staff member and met up with Andrew who had already finished his own filing. She informed him of what was happening with hers and asked that he pass it along so the others wouldn't worry.
With that done she rushed off at a great speed, making her way across the large campus to a section of the academy that constantly had a cloud of smoke rising from chimneys of the many small and squat buildings. Each was a forge, some being slightly larger than others but all similar in style. As she approached she could feel the heat in this area rising steadily, as if approaching a massive, barely hidden volcanic Crater. Even the stones of the street ran warm.
It took her over twenty minutes at a light jog to make it to the specified forge, indicated by an iron nameplate beside the thick wooden door. The forge was a building like the rest around the area in terms of shape and build, but just standing in front of the door she knew it was different. The amount of heat flooding from the small cracks and the fact that the nob and knocker on the door were covered with thick cloth while the others were bare told her that whoever her new employer was, was using much higher temperatures than anyone she had seen, including her own family.
She reached out and used the heavy knocker on the door, feeling it's slightly excessive weight and the heat that radiated from it through the cloth covering. It took several long moments of silence before she heard the shuffling of locks and chains. The door opened wide and a wave of heat that seemed to even overshadow the warmth of the desert air rushed into her face. "Are you the assistant…" the man before her looked quickly at a piece of parchment in his sweaty, and soot covered hands. "Rosalind, right?" he added a moment later.
The man reminded her slightly of her mentor, at least in terms of build. He was over six foot and covered in burly muscles that seemed to roll beneath his skin like steel cords, his short dark brown hair stuck to his head and his tanned skin along with his simple tunic was drenched with sweat. His eyes were covered by a pair of goggles that seemed to block her view, but he did not remove them.
Rosalind nodded and put on a cheery smile despite the intense heat rushing at her. "I was asked to come here so you can see my work quality?" The man grunted in acknowledgement. "Come on in, though you likely won't want to be wearing your uniform." He pointed to a set of stairs that lead underground. "Take the stairs and find something to change into and then come back up and while get started."
He moved aside and let Rosalind into the blazing hot room, already beginning to sweat after having just been outside the door. She quickly headed down the stairs into what happened to be large and simple dressing room filled with a combination of uniforms and simple clothes like the tunic and light pants he had been wearing.
Rosalind, not being the shy type quickly found something that would work from what was available. She immediately knew that this employer while thoughtful in one manner hadn't actually considered how this would work given that all the outfits were his and for his rather powerful frame. Still she managed to make it work, nothing that she would need to acquire some simple clothes to use for this purpose in the future.
She headed up the stairs again with a determination in her eye to land this position and make Jien proud of her decision.