Legend of Ransera

Almost a week later with Dakkur still unable to find an idea which worked for him made him feel quite demoralized. Was he going to have to get a tattoo? Or was he going to have to dye his hair and paint his skin every other day? It was the big question of whether or not he wanted to get it over with all at once without breaking bank so he could take it easier, although it would also mean dealing with the pain when he went to mark his skin and remove it- no way he was going to keep it! The alternative? Time and money wasted for as long as he decided to live in Zaichaer because he would always need to have the colours on him. While he had no plans to remain in Zaichaer for long, actually a lot of what he learnt of it meant he wanted to leave as soon as it was safe for him, he also knew he was unable to look that far ahead. Not even his hostess with all her savvy could answer that question for him so it was still out there that he could possibly end up stuck in Zaichaer for seasons. There was no winning for this man from Zeraphesh.

But to his good fortune it was during one of his outings to get some fresh air from the old house in the West End he was confined in that he was stuck with inspiration. Dakkur had not given it much thought when he was told of the qualities and characteristics of his neighbors of the West end, hell, he thought nothing much of his neighbors of the West End because of these qualities and characteristics! Badges from the service, scars taken as merit for the more patriotic among them, medical supports and injuries which would not completely go away were a common sight of those who lived through their commissions and- wait that was it! Dakkur would not willingly get an injury and neither could he convincingly fake an injury for long, those being the two main reasons for why the second suggestion he was given to blend in was not accepted but what if he was stuck with an instrument which would do the faking for him? Those things would never change so unlike him there was no risk in having a lapse of keeping up appearances whether because he was tired or just forgot about it. It would also save him a lot of time, money and especially pain in the two other suggestions he was torn in between of.

For the next few days there was a little unease in the West End as residents had sightings of some big, hooded figure in the corner of their eye; Dakkur in his observations of the people which were the oddity of Zaichaer both being looked up to for their contributions for their society and being looked down on because of their perceived disabilities as a result. One interesting point Dakkur found in his observations of them, the other 'normal' people had a tendency of forcing themselves to divert their eyes from the sight of the veterans. Now that was what he would call an advantage for someone on the lam, good to know there was still things he could learn which even his hostess did not know- should he try to show off his new accomplishment? Nah, he would not want to test her hospitality and revealing it after she had the realization herself might be a little more fulfilling for him. It was kind of sad that this thing he considered an advantage was something which had become such a norm for these veterans that they felt uncomfortable when he got up close to them to have a chat, actually, him trying to steal a chance to learn and observe more of the instruments on their limbs helping them to leave a much more normal life.

Someone must have reported him at some point even though he learned enough to keep his distance for the benefit of his subjects of study as some guards came up to him. Why was he there? "To get some air, his aunt is really overbearing" he said as he pointed towards the general direction of his home, not his actual home though since he did not want the guards to call on him un the future. The more obvious question which came up which Dakkur had already anticipated, of why he was all dressed up in a hood despite the hot weather, "Its because I don't want to get sick!" The guards remained unconvinced until Dakkur brought up that Edgart guy, it was kind of lucky he paid attention to the attempts of amicable discussions of current events during the rare breakfast he had with his hostess however he was cautioned to not continue at it as he was scaring people. He was in the West End anyway and all the sickness and diseases were currently more commonly found in the East End. In parting a guard even decided to caution him in private, to not cause a scare by reminding the public about the not outbreak which Dakkur did not hear from him. "Understood."

Fortunately he had studied enough and despite having to go out in normal attire, Dakkur listened to the advice to keep his trips brief and inconspicuous enough so his appearance would not be remembered by anyone even if they would not pay attention to the rest of the random people they would meet on a day to day basis. There was no choice actually as Dakkur also needed to buy some materials to start his work and taking his hostess' advice to heart made sure to keep his purchases within the West End if he could. While the people in the West End would gossip, it was normally behind closed doors and between people they knew 'because it was only polite' which is a stark contrast to the East End where everyone did everything freely even, spreading rumors especially in those dinghy little taverns.

He narrowed down what he needed in his design. Most of the items he studied he could tell was made of something comfortable and loose yet sturdy, like leather although the problem was that leather may be a little too think and would show. He was going to use this gadget to emulate a disability but he did not want it to be something which suggests a disability, or a forced disability. As such it was going to be something worn under his clothes, his trousers, gods he was going to be stuck wearing long pants for a long time, maybe even baggy ones too. Speaking of long, he was also going to have to wear it for long periods of time so he also had to make sure it would be comfortable and would not ruin his skin. "This should be easy..."

He narrowed down the materials and methods he was going to have to use. Firstly leather but not as much as those used in the usual designs. Just enough to hold the entire object in place and allow for some mobility. Then metal rods. Three of them actually. As a dabbler, Dakkur had seen many devices and mechanisms. Thought he may not understand them or has yet to learn enough to know the inner workings and nuances to them, it was normally enough for him to be inspired in his own works. Like this one. Dakkur was inspired by some pneumatic pistons he saw, something to do with energy and water but he did not need to understand those parts- the only thing he needed to know was of the movements which is simple to incorporate. The strips of leather had some metal slots and sleeves attached to them firmly and through these were connected by the metal rods he prepared.

It worked very well as the device forced his leg stiff as he moved but allowed him to bend it ever so slightly so he would not overstrain his legs. It was worst at the heel though where the the metal corners held his foot in place. Unfortunately it also showed under his pants when he moved a certain way so he had to spend more time to shave and cut off some things then, rebuild it entirely when he fucked up and had to replace some of the parts. The second test went better and to Dakkur's satisfaction and so showing it to his hostess who was kind of impressed, she gave him the thumbs up that he should safely be able to walk around Zaichaer on his own now as long did not do anything else which would directly draw attention to himself. That said he felt a little angry and bitter when she tried to tease the 'cripple' but it was something which Dakkur was going to have to get used to. Maybe this was even something the veterans had to get used to. Great now he felt like he was insulting them too, somehow.

He might have rested on his laurels too early as after a few days of using the device Dakkur ran, uh, walked into a situation. Nothing too serious, Zaichaer had too many issues that he was... assured that there would always be guards looking out for him and looking right at him- maybe it was not meant to be reassuring and more as a warning the more Dakkur thought about it but, he was in a rush and needed to pick up speed but the leg brace, thing, encumbered him too much that he ended up falling flat on the ground and being late. If he was not so concerned at finding out a flaw in his designs he would have been quite ashamed. It was such a stupid mistake. He was taught to see every situation any item he made could be in it or conceivably used as to account for all scenarios but here he was, failing at that early lesson just because he was overwhelmed with need. What if he actually had to run from danger?!

Taking out the old plans to study, Dakkur compared it to elements of old things he had seen or heard of before and started tweaking the designs. A little bit longer here, maybe adding some leather in here since he was already using it, actually a lot more leather in hopes the thick fabric under his soles could dampen the clanking metal sound of the braces, cut up some of the extra rods to add over here, stuffing some chopped up metal sleeves over here for the bits of rods to get into... oh yes this would work. Dakkur quickly made the adjustments and then one final test. A walk to the end of the corridor- it was still working well even if it was a bit heavy, could make the whole show of it a little more convincing. A brisk walk down the street, still working well even if his leg was feeling a little stiff. The usual. And then tugging on some of the choice leather strips to loosen the gadget entirely. Like the weight lifted off his shou- leg, Dakkur was able to bolt down the road as usual.

But another flaw in the design, the leather while useful was not good at everything and it would barely even dampen the sounds of the brace. "What about rubber?" It was not a statement, rather, a question Dakkur had when it was suggested to him. As far as he knew "isn't rubber used for connecting pumps and various angles an- you don't have to call me an idiot you know..." even if an observant idiot could remember shoe soles too were made of rubber. He was making footwear, how could he even have forgotten that? He was going to get right on that. Hopefully, it would be the last thing he would need to correct.

This was such a great idea. With the item Dakkur got to be a full time cripple, wait...