Little William is thoroughly pleased with the shield, and after a few sparring sessions to get accustomed to the feel of a steel shield, he can wield it as deftly as he could a wooden shield. "Would three pawns of Corpus vis be an acceptable payment, my friend?"
"That would be quite acceptable. If you need it to be an Item of Quality or have it further enchanted, let me know."
Speaking of which, does anyone have a request for Rhodri's covenant service seasons?
Oops, I thought that was as an Item of Quality 
Actually, it's better than an Item of Quality. It grants the same +5, but the +5 also applies to lab totals to enchant it. And it can also be made into an Item of Quality for another +5.
What's the difference in the amount of time it takes to make it an item of quality as well?
Also, where is the blurb about the bonuses Rhodri imparts to the weapons he crafts-- I have to figure out whether the Code's restrictions against magic items apply to what Rhodri's doing. (Items of Quality do not count towards the limits of what you can sell in, either Thebes or Rome, I forget which; everywhere else their sale is regulated as magical items.)
The Item of Quality requires 1 pawn of Vim Vis and 1 season in the lab. Without Rego craft magic what Rhodri made would take a season with a top-of-the-line (and then some) workshop, probably with a bunch of assistants. With Rego craft magic he was able to do it more quickly.
It's under the crafts section of C&G. No, it's not magical at all.
Sinmore will approach Rhodri at one point to inquire about a sword for herself. She stands near the blazing heat from the forge and sighs, reaching in with her bare hand to move some of the wood and stir the coals. The winter chill is not something she appreciates.
"It will be big of course, I prefer a great weapon sized for someone of my stature. I may at some point enchant it for a Talisman, but I am not certain. My Pater had advised against it, he said there were other items more suitable to Talismans, such as a rod or ring. What do you think Sodale? And what would be the price?" She gazes over the different items around the forge.
Sinmore offers services for consideration as well, once she is able to sign on as a probationary member. She'll do whatever they ask, but offers some things she does rather well.
Ignem effects naturally, but they don't have to be offensive, since they want to protect their books, she could create spells that ward against heat and flame.
Creo is also a specialty, she can make some Creo Corpus effects, and she is already planning on creating some for +2 size people, she could create something with her and William the Greater in mind as well.
She spent a lot of time training Grogs already, she could spend time on that again.
Is there anything or anyone that needs to be destroyed?
"You must make a proposal!" exclaims Lamentus. "Find someone who you like and propose! And a 2/3 majority vote of the council can approve. But don't elope, that's always a risky business." He turns to Sinmore. "Do not accept the suitor who comes bearing gifts." Though, she notices that the aging Criamon pronounces "gifts" strangely.
To Rhodri's Welsh ear, it sounds as though what Lamentus actually said was "...comes bearing gyffes," as in the Welsh word for "steady" or "sure."
Sinmore tries to indulge Lamentus. "Thank you Master Criamon, I read some of the Charter, and it stated I must make my proposal to the Princeps...who would that be right now, pray tell?". If she can't get a straight enough answer out of Lamentus she'll try getting it out of Samuel, who she'll call Discipulus now.
Ah, I don't have C&G. (Nor A&A, nor LoM.) If it's nothing that couldn't be done by an incredibly skilled mundane craftsman I'm sure there's no problem with it as far as the Order is concerned.
Little William will offer the pawn of Vim necessary to turn it into an Item of Quality, and also "...one favour, to be specified at such a time as you find yourself in need of my aid." (Rhodri has lived here long enough to know that "Little Will the Redcap" is highly respected throughout the Order, and many magi owe him favours, but also that "Sir Guillaume d'Arras" has connections throughout the mundane nobility, the Church, and among various mercantile circles as well, including the Hanseatic League.)
The old man giggles. "First of what? If you're hoping for the first of May, you'll have a long, long wait."
Samuel tells her that Lamentus is princeps, by nature of being seniormost magus on the council, but that Liliana frequently makes decisions in her capacity as "acting princeps" due to Lamentus being unreliable. However, Liliana is not present.
Sinmore winks. "Well, I shan't wait so long as May I think. Come the Spring I'll make my proposal then, and I'll be sure to have your apprentice remind you. Samuel is so clever! And very well read." she tossles his hair.
Sinmore figures that Samuel might be her best chance to get anything through to the addled old wizard since the acting Princeps is not available. "Samuel, who would I see about the shoes and the robes? I know I don't need them yet as a guest, but it might take awhile to make them in my size. Is there someone in the village perhaps?"
A totally mundane craftsman could do it. Normally a +5 would require a Craft level of 13 (or 12 plus specialty), which could include Puissant (Craft), Faerie Blood: Dwarf, Faerie (something - legacy?) (which increases the dwarf bonus by 1), and Faerie Sympathy. Affinity would help, too. So you're looking at about the very best blacksmith in Europe to make a +5. Additionally, he would need a workshop total of 27, so he'd have to get another 14 points from Strength, workshop bonuses (up to +6), and assistants. It's certainly possible, but far from easy. The extra +14 isn't the hard part; the Craft 13 is. How often do you find Craft 13? Maybe once a generation or once a century? With more assistants and workshop bonuses you could make up for the penalty for making the special shield.
Getting to +6 is a whole other beast. That requires Craft 16. Even with Puissant that's 14 in an Ability, 13 after removing the specialty. Without Faerie Sympathy it's nearly impossible. Puissant combined with all the dwarf stuff could drop that to a 12 or 11, which is still hard to reach without an Affinity. But now we're talking about 4 points of virtues for a character who would typically only get 3.
Anyway, yes, this is doable by entirely mundane means. We're just looking at the very limits of mundane means.
I'll have to look things up in the Verditius chapter. I know normally the house would have Rhodri charge at least 6 pawns of Vis. (I can't remember if that's on top of the Vis needed or not.) That's double the 3 pawns he could extract in one season. He's actually very close to the cut-off bumping that up to 8 pawns of Vis. I'm not sure how favors and other deals are viewed by the House. There must be some leeway, but I'm not sure they'd accept such a favor as being worth 5 or 6 pawns. Still Rhodri has a favor in mind (He needs to fight some demons soon , and who better to have by his side?) and likes the basics of this deal. Anyway, I need to read before Rhodri can respond.
"Stefan the omnipresent butler is the one you'd talk to about that," Samuel tells you.
Stefan turns out to be a tall, handsome Moor with impeccable manners, who tells you there won't be any problem finding robes in your size.
"You will want to decide whether it will be your talisman ahead of time. If it will be, you will want to include a number of gemstones and the like. If not, better not to do so. There are certainly other good options. Most likely, knowing you are a Flambeau who likes fire, as long as you include a ruby you should be OK." As Sinmore looks around she will find a partial reconstruction of the building taking place and numerous metal shields of a design with which she is unfamiliar that have been discarded even though many of them seem to be pretty good.
Another thing to keep in mind is that you might want Rhodri to open the item for enchantment if it's not going to be a talisman, but Sinmore would have to open it herself if it were to be a talisman.
"And shoes?" she takes a stick and compares it with her foot, breaking off the end to match the length of her massive foot and then marking the width of her foot with a knife. She holds up the stick "It must be this long and this wide." she says as she points to the notches she made. "And I thank you Stefan, you have been a great help with me since I have arrived."
The rule is that everyone must wear shoes on covenant grounds, whether council member or no. The moment Sinmore asked for guest status, a pair of shoes was provided in her size (that she had to pay for... har har).