The Ashcoats

Overview

The Ashcoats are the city’s makers of gear. They turn chitin, silk, resin, bone, leather, steel, and rune-ink into tools, armor, weapons, and support devices. Their work keeps delvers alive, guards equipped, caravans moving, and laborers safe. The guild’s rule is simple: a tool must work under stress, fail in a way that will not kill the user, and be repairable with common parts. They do not chase fashion. They build for survival and repeatable results.

Bannick Coiljaw is the current guildmaster. He sets standards, approves designs, and halts unsafe lines. He promotes masters who uphold clear process and removes anyone who falsifies records. He meets with crews and takes field reports seriously. He is hard to impress and quick to act when a pattern shows risk. He will not trade safety for speed.

History and Purpose

The Ashcoats formed when early delvers needed gear that did not break in the tunnels. First shops hammered scavenged shell into plates and cut mandibles into edge tools. As the city grew, the guild standardized parts and adopted ledgers for batches. They set shared measures for plate thickness, resin blend, rivet spacing, and torque keys. This stopped the spread of counterfeit items that looked right but failed under load. Over time, the guild added testing yards, heat shops, and pattern offices. The goal never changed: return crews alive and maintain the city’s ability to work below ground.

Structure and Ranks

The guild organizes by shop type and line. Each shop is led by a master. A foreman controls shifts, intake, and daily output. Journeymen handle complex steps, calibration, and inspection. Apprentices rotate every six months across pattern, heat, and fit work until they qualify for field repair under time pressure.

There is a separate inspector branch. Inspectors do not report to local masters. They answer to a central office that reports to Bannick. Inspectors may freeze a line, impound a batch, or trigger a recall. They cannot be overruled by a shop boss. The only appeal is to the guildmaster with data that shows an error in the inspection.

Facilities and Footprint

Pattern Shops sit close to The Hilt. Designers can walk to the muster yards and talk to crews before and after delves. They gather failure notes and mark wear points on returned gear. Heat and Plate Shops work near steady fuel and water. They have thick walls, large vents, and slag trenches. Fit and Field Shops are near The Spindle’s haul routes, the Barrows’ work yards, and the Hilt’s gates. They handle final assembly, routine repairs, and issue.

The Hookline Gantry supports bulk movement of raw chitin and plates. Specialized jigs hang from ceiling rails to lower heavy sections onto benches. The Dregvault stores hazardous specimens and reactive stock. Access requires dual keys, ward checks, and a posted nurse with antivenom and burn kits. A small print house produces manuals, fault sheets, and recall notices.

Materials and Supply

Primary inputs include:

Chitin plates from regulated harvest lines.
Resin binders graded by cure time, flex, and heat tolerance.
Steel from scrap re-melt and controlled ingots for fasteners and edges.
Silk rope and cable with rated test loads.
Rune-inks and plates from licensed enchanters.

Every critical input follows two-source policy. If one source fails inspection, the second covers quotas while audits run. If both fail, the line stops. Substitutions need written approval and a limited batch test.

Process and Standards

Each new pattern moves through the same steps:

Draft and tolerance map.
Small-batch build with tagged parts.
Bench tests for load, impact, abrasion, grit, wet, heat, and cold.
Live trial on a low-risk route with observers.
Fault catalog and redesign if needed.
Final sign-off, manual draft, and lot code issue.

All lots carry stamps that record line, shift, inspector, and resin mix. Match marks allow quick alignment during field repair. Hidden anti-counterfeit pins prevent part swaps with substandard copies. Manuals include one-page quick fixes and a red stop-use list. If a stop-use sign appears, crews must halt and return the item for inspection or replacement.

Training and Culture

The apprenticeship lasts four years. Year one covers safety and tool basics. Year two covers reading patterns and using gauges. Year three covers heat treatment, lamination, and edge work. Year four covers diagnostics and field repair with limited tools. The final test is a timed repair on a damaged set while grit, noise, and heat are simulated. Failure requires retraining. Passing earns a stamp and assignment to a line or inspection team.

The culture is strict but fair. Eye shields, gloves, and lock-out steps are not optional. Vent flow and quench bath chemistry are checked each shift. Accident counts are posted at shop doors. Repeat faults reduce bonuses. Good improvement notes earn coin and pattern updates with the submitter’s name on the change log.

Product Lines

Cudgel Line Gear: line throwers, anchors, hooks, ward housings, lantern cages, pitons, and brace jacks. Rated for known tunnel materials and common collapse loads.
Armor: modular chitin-steel laminar in light, standard, and heavy sets. Plates swap fast with shared pins. Joint gaskets have wet and grit options.
Weapons: tunnel spears, axes, hammers, short blades, and hook-knives. Edges hold in bone and shell. Handles accept standard counterweights.
Shields: ribbed, edged shields with replaceable caps and central slot for sight and line.
Kits: repair rolls, resin cartridges, rivet sets, gasket rings, pins, and torque keys. Packed for one crew week or one crew month.

Each line has a revision code. Issue logs track lot numbers to crews. When an item returns for service, the lot and revision guide the fix and update the fault map.

Enchantments and Limits

Magic supports function but does not define it. Heat seals, corrosion wards, and joint stabilizers are common and approved. If an item needs magic to work at all, it must also work in a reduced non-magical mode. All rune sources are audited twice yearly. The guild rejects effects that block field repair or require rare inks for routine maintenance. Manuals list performance with magic active and with magic absent, so crews can plan for failure.

Recalls and Faults

If test or field reports find a severe or hidden failure, the guild issues a stop-use order. Notices go to the Regent’s office, the Cudgel, and the Promissory for market notice. The Ashcoats repair or replace without charge if the user followed the manual. Each recall includes a short bulletin with the cause and fix, a list of affected lots, and the check step a crew can do on site. Bannick signs each bulletin.

Relations with Other Powers

The Cudgel: Weekly meetings review failures and near-misses. Stocking plans change as routes shift. During breaches or outbreaks, repair carts deploy to the Hilt staging yards with priority for units sealing holes or protecting civilians.
The Barleys: The guild coordinates harvest timing, plate thickness, and resin grades. Trials on new stock run on non-critical tools until data is stable. The Ashcoats push for predictable output over risky gains. They will pause lines rather than use unproven brood product on life-critical items.
The Promissory: Contracts must reflect real lead times and service limits. Standard price lists reduce fraud. The guild refuses penalty clauses that would push unsafe speeds. They cooperate on counterfeit seizures and share lot data when fakes surface in the Spindle.
Regent and Council: Monthly safety reports and recall summaries go to the Regent. The Ashcoats accept spot checks. In Council, the guild avoids speeches unless safety is at stake. When they speak, they bring test data, casualty links, and batch numbers. They will block any motion that forces untested patterns into use.

Customs and Oaths

New journeymen press their palm to a warm plate, then sign the heat log for their first solo quench. Masters earn a punch mark on their stamp after leading a successful recall fix. Retired delvers who retrain as inspectors receive a half-black, half-brass pin that marks both trades. The guild’s only oath is written above every press: “Mark true. Measure twice. Fail safe.”

Discipline and Infractions

Skipping a lock-out or vent check earns a suspension. Causing harm by ignoring a safety step can end a career. Falsifying an inspection log is a firing offense with referral to the Span. Theft of parts brings fines, job loss, and charges if repeated. Selling substandard or counterfeit gear is treated as sabotage. The guild supports court cases against repeat offenders and pays informants who expose counterfeit lines.

Crisis Protocols

During breaches, collapses, or riots, the guild sets a triage repair point near the Hilt muster. Masters lead armor and weapon repairs. Journeymen handle jigs and pins. Apprentices carry parts and run manuals. Non-critical production pauses. The guild documents shortages and requests escorts for resupply runs. After the crisis, they audit the fault logs and update patterns that failed under new stress types.

Stance on High-Risk Zones

The Ashcoats do not support harvesting or mining at Odrun’s Head without strong containment, independent oversight, and evacuation plans. They consider the area an open hazard that could contaminate supply lines. Until there are proven controls, the guild will not approve patterns that depend on materials from the Head.

How to Work with the Guild

Crews who want custom work should bring clear needs, used samples, and honest wear reports. The guild will decline requests that add risk without return. They will approve requests that improve survival for many. Turnaround depends on test needs and stock levels. Payment is by posted list unless a contract sets a different rate. Manuals come with every item. Read them. Use the red pages. Report faults. The Ashcoats will do the rest.