Issue 1 Downtime

Nash walked into the common room and sat down at a table by the window. He placed a paper bag on the table and then set down his book bag on the floor next to him. He then looked in the paper bag and pulled something small out and a turned it around in his hand, apparently looking it over.

(Open)

Tommy, wizard hat and all, was on an easychair reading a textbook.

He glanced over Nash's way, curious.

If you were close enough you might be able to tell what Nash was holding was the watch part of a wrist watch minus the band. He soon placed the watch on the table, and reached into his bag.

He then pulled out a few items. First was a box set of mini screwdrivers. Next was two sets of tweezers, one straight, the other bent at the end. Finally he pulled out a small plastic jar, the jar was clear so you could tell it was currently empty.

Tommy watch a little meekly, still quiet.

Nash opened the jar before getting out a screwdriver. He then got the watch and took out one screw at a time placing them in the jar. He then removed the back of the watch, and then just sat there for a bit, looking at what removing back had revealed.

Tommy might have to get closer to see it, but was what was now visible with the back removed was a coiled spring and lots of little gears.

Tommy did move closer, peeking over Nash's shoulder to get a good look.

He tried to keep a good distance, lest a stumble cause watch parts to go flying.

Nash didn't seem to notice Tommy at first. He undid two more screws and placed them in the jar. He then took out a small paper envelope out of his backpack as well as a smaller jar, this one made of glass and placed them on the table.

“Never seen inside a watch like this before?” Nash asked, as he used the tweezers to remove the two two back-most gears that he then placed in the envelope.

"Not really.. I think my dad might have had one, years ago. But all I've ever seen are digital ones."

"Figured that, they don't make many like it anymore. Even the ones with the normal clock-face and a winder have mostly been at least electric since before we were born."

He looked at the watch for a bit, before turning back to Tommy.

"Want to sit down? I'd rather not do this next part with someone standing behind me."

He gestured to a chair one seat over from the one next to him.

Tommy nodded his head, quickly taking a seat, eyes peeled for what was coming next.

“I'm Nash. I've seen you around but I don't think I know your name”

Nash proceeded to loosen several screws but didn't remove anything else so far.

"Tommy. I'm Tommy Bowen."

Nash finished taking out some of the screws that were holding down one of the small metal plates. He then opened up the glass jar before picking up both pairs of tweezers. He then used one pair to pick up the plate ,then used the other to remove several small red disks that he then placed in the glass jar.

"You're kind of hard to miss with that hat. Do you wear it all the time?"

"pretty much, yeah. It's my thing." Tommy continued looking, very interested at the mechanical fiddling.

Nash continued to take the watch apart and put the pieces in one of the containers he had.

"So, is there are reason you wear that hat or do you just like it?"

"We'll, I'm an alchemist. Alchemists need a good hat."

"An alchemist?" He stopped what he was doing for a bit "What, you turn stuff into gold?"

"Sure. Small things, usually."

Tommy said it, like it was the most common thing in the world.

Nash went back to his work, taking off more pieces of the watch.

“So no crashing the gold market then?”

He shrugged.

"People keep asking me that, for some reason.. Including the headmaster. They have a signed promise to not disrupt the world economy in my school records."

“Better not to try it anyway. It may not be good for your long term health.”

Nash removed another piece, then stopped and poked at the watch with the tweezers.

“Here it is.”

"There what is?" Tommy asked, peering a little closer.

“The broken part, why the watch didn't work.” Nash pointed to a part near the watch spring.

“It is part of the mechanism that slowly lets the watch spring out. With it broken the spring came all the way out and winding the watch won't have any effect.”

"Huh. Can you fix it? Or do you need a new part?"

"Both, I can fix it, but I'll have to make a new part."

Nash removed the broken part and looked at it a bit before taking out a mini notebook and a mechanical pencil out of his backpack. He opened the notebook to a new page and drew something that looked like the part in question, but less... broken. Beside the drawing he wrote down the dimensions of various things, all without apparently taking any sort of measurements.

Tommy looked on, curious.

"You've done this a lot.."

“This is my first time at fixing a watch, fixed lots of other stuff before though.”

Nash closed the two jars of parts and sealed the envelope with the gears.

“I actually got this watch with the intention of fixing it months ago, I just never got around to it.”

"Cool."

Nash tore of a little piece of paper and folded it up and placed it in the watch which it filled up quite nicely. He then put the back of the watch back on and taped it down before placing the watch, jars and envelope all in the paper bag.

“Well that is all I can do for now.”