Good day to you, and welcome. My name in Britannia is Tobias Ashgrove, Grandmaster Blacksmith, and I have the honor of keeping the guildstone for the Order of the Copper Kettle. My name in this world is Leland Haverty. I spent thirty-four years maintaining railroad signals and I am now retired, which my wife says means I have exchanged one kind of hammering for another.

Our guild was founded in the autumn of 1998 by four crafters who kept running into each other at the Minoc forge. We are smiths, tailors, carpenters, a bowyer, an alchemist, and a few stout souls with swords who walk the rest of us to the mines. We don't hunt other players. We hunt iron ore, reagents and a fair price.

The name, since everyone asks: for thirty years my wife Ruth and I had coffee every Saturday morning at a diner called the Copper Kettle. It closed in 1996. I thought it deserved to go on somewhere.

• Tobias Ashgrove — Grandmaster Blacksmith, guildmaster
• Wren Tallis — Grandmaster Tailor. Her dyed cloaks are known as far as Trinsic.
• Brother Aldous — mage and healer. Knows every rune in our library by heart.
• Marigold — alchemist. Keeps us in heal potions and refuses to explain the smell.
• Kestrel — bowyer, and the best archer we have.
• Ruck — lumberjack and carpenter. Built most of the furniture in the Tower.
• Dame Isolde — swordswoman. Walks us to the mines and walks us back.
• Hob — miner. Quiet fellow. Has been killed at the Minoc mines more times than any man living.

Sept. 11, 1999. Kestrel's bow vendor is up and running on the ground floor at last, next to mine and Wren's. We now sell arms, armor, clothing and bows under one roof, which I believe makes us a department store. Please be patient with Kestrel. She priced everything in her first week at about a tenth of what it was worth and sold out in an afternoon.

Aug. 28, 1999. A red came calling on Thursday evening while Hob was alone in the shop. He did the sensible thing, which was to go upstairs, close the door and wait. The fellow stood outside for twenty minutes and then went away. Our doors are locked, friends. That's what the doors are for.

Aug. 14, 1999. Another escorted trip to the mines. Dame Isolde, Kestrel and Brother Aldous against three reds, and the Order kept every ingot. Hob only died once, which for Hob is a very good day.

• We are at war with no one. We decline all declarations of war with our thanks.
• Members may take what they need from the guild chests for their work. Put something back when you can.
• Never leave a door of the Tower open behind you.
• Be courteous at the bank. There's no need to shout about your wares at the Britain bank. We know it's the custom. It's still not necessary.
• If you would like to join us, come by the Tower and speak to any member, or write to me here.