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Character of the Season
Frail in body but dangerously quick of mind, Nikandr is the sort of character who proves that curiosity can be just as perilous as any weapon. A necromancer, inventor, and problem-solver with more ambition than self-preservation, Niki approaches the world like a puzzle box begging to be opened, even when what’s inside has teeth. Blunt, dry-witted, fiercely independent, and carrying a history best left partially buried, he has a knack for making even failure feel fascinating. Whether he’s raising the dead, moving across Caido to King's End, or experiencing a hangover for the first time, Nikandr brings a wonderfully strange spark to Caido, and we can’t wait to see what trouble his brilliant mind wanders into next.
Congratulations, Niki!
Credits
Court of the Fallen was created in October of 2018 by Odd, Honey, and Crooked.
OG Skinning provided by Kaons, with functionality and many custom plugins made by Neowulf!
Liam was feeling pretty good about his work thus far. The floor was solid beneath his feet as he worked on the walls alongside Maea, and they'd managed to get quite far into the project before they hit their first real snag. At his partner's call, Liam looked up from where he'd been preparing a piece of a frame to find Maea surveying a rather large branch that cut through the corner of the room. Rising to his feet, the soldier dusted off his hands and made his way to her side.
The branch was indeed too large to simply remove - and even if it wouldn't hurt the tree, it would be a shame to rid it of such a prominent fixture. Liam hummed thoughtfully. The buildings in the Greatwood were built into the forest so well that they seemed to blend seamlessly into the trees. Why would this treehouse addition be any different? "What if we build around it?' Liam suggested, glancing at Nikandr, who had been guiding them through the blueprints with such aplomb. "Use it as a piece of the ceiling in this corner? If we measure the roof line carefully, we could just work it in."
---
Liam suggests using the branch as part of the roof frame!
A sleepless night becomes bitter oblivion
Liam
Minor powerplay allowed without permission.
Feel free to use force/magic on Liam.
Pausing in his work to look up as well, Niki blinks over at Maea and instantly notices the problem, ambling over so he can peer up at the tree branch as well. "That is unfortunate," he agrees, glancing to Liam as he speaks and smiling; like the other man, he is also reminded of the Fae structures in the village that blend so seamlessly into the trees that they seem organic.
"I think that is a good idea," he agrees. "If we are careful and we attach some of the rafters and thatch to the tree, there should be minimal movement in harsh weather, too. It may be worth pruning some of the smaller branches it is attached to as well, to reduce that risk further."
Niki agrees with Liam and gives his suggestions as to how they can incorporate the branch into the roof!
my body's on the line now, I can't fight this time now I can feel the light shine on my face
I feel it in the wind, my dear The sun is gonna reappear
Gazing from one man to the other, their confidence in the ability to overcome this obstacle dissolved the anxious knot in Maea's gut. "Yeah? It would be great if we can make that work. A bit of pruning also sounds infinitely better than cutting the branch altogether."
After some discussion, they arrived at a plan of action. New measurements needed to be taken that accounted for the organic curvature and angles of the rogue branch, then the lumber was to be re-sized to fit the new design. And lastly the pruning; Maea volunteered to deal with that, being the current caretaker of the tree and arguably the lightest of the three. Entrusting the integrity of the room to Niki and Liam, she shifted into the gore crow once more and got to work on snipping twigs with her sharp talons - mindful to only thin the branches, not strip them entirely.
Round 10!
Maea accepts the suggestion to incorporate the branch into the roof. While she prunes the branch to minimise wind affects, please work together to take new measurements and adjust the blueprints, then adjust the size of the lumber to match!
(We're almost there! You guys are doing so well <3 )
Nodding along with the new plans they're able to make, Niki offers Maea a smile as she volunteers to prune the tree branch. "You would do a better job than I would," he agrees with a chuckle. "Liam, if you can take the new measurements, I can incorporate them into the blueprints and mark the lumber to be cut and adjusted?" That way they can still work efficiently and he won't hinder them by not being able to climb around.
Providing the other man agrees, he will roll out the blueprints on the (very new, very stable) floor and weigh them down with the corner of a plank before looking over them. Able to specify what needs to be measured, it's a relatively easy task to adjust the blueprints, and he quickly figures out what they need to do to modify the lumber. "A cut here and here should do it," he confirms, marking it with a pencil.
Niki adjusts the blueprints and marks the lumber for cutting!
my body's on the line now, I can't fight this time now I can feel the light shine on my face
Pleased with Nikandr's agreement, given the other man's apparent proclivity for blueprints and the like, Liam waited for Maea 's decision. When she agreed with their suggestions, he smiled at both of the others. With Maea to work on pruning, Liam got to work with Niki. "I'd be glad to." Taking a measuring tape, the soldier got to work, re-measuring each area that Niki indicated, until they had compiled a list of measurements and the younger man had incorporated them into the blueprints.
Peering over Niki's shoulder, Liam was glad to find that he understood most of what he was looking at, and as his working partner indicated where cuts should be made, the soldier was all too happy to provide the muscle to do just that. Finding the lumber they would need, he got to work on measuring it all out - twice, just to be safe - and then cutting where Niki had indicated.
---
Liam measures, passes on his measurements to Niki, then follows Niki's instructions to cut new lumber!
A sleepless night becomes bitter oblivion
Liam
Minor powerplay allowed without permission.
Feel free to use force/magic on Liam.
I feel it in the wind, my dear The sun is gonna reappear
Once Maea was done with her pruning, she came back down to the platform and reverted back to her ancient form. Picking chips of bark off her sleeves she came padding over to check on the others progress, only to find that they were done as well. Looking pleased while surveying the blueprint, her gaze glittered as she turned to Niki and Liam in turn. "We could build a castle with the three of us, at this rate. And speaking of... Now that the pulley exists, would it be a lot of work to turn this window here - " she pointed to the wall where the lift ended " - into a sort of door? You know the ones where you can open the top or the bottom or both? With the window on top still, so the light comes in?" She looked at Nikandr mainly, who was filling the role of architect with great success.
Given that they were already making adjustments, Liam was roped in as well. "Do you think it would be better to add the fireplace now or once the walls are completed? I'm unsure of just how to install it properly, especially now that the corner where it will sit has been altered... Actually, can you help me build it too? It would be nice to get it done now..."
With the lumber sawn up it was a simple matter of installing the rest of the framework and roof support, she just needed to know the order of things - and maybe stop adding new ideas, else the humble treehouse really might become a castle.
Round 11:
Niki is asked to re-design the window next to the pulley into a two-piece door for easy access to whatever is hauled up!
Liam is asked to help install the fireplace, either before or after the siding of the wall has been added. Brick and mortar is available among the supplies at the bottom of the tree!
Maea meanwhile will finish the framework of the roof, now that the blueprint and lumber is adjusted!
Pleased to see that he and Liam had successfully solved the branch issue between them, the boy is quietly surveying the blueprints and checking them over when Maea returns to them. "A castle would provide many different challenges, I think." He offers the Ancient an easy smile. "But I cannot help but agree with you. We are quite a good team."
As for her suggestion, he follows her gaze across to the window where the pulley sits beyond, tilting his head and nodding. "I do not see why not. Let me see what I can do."
Taking himself over to the window with his notebook and the tape measure, he works silently for a while on the task, sketching up what they would need, what it might look like, and any potential measurements as well. When he's done, he approaches Maea once more with his findings.
"I believe the easiest way will be to cut the space for the door and replace it with a new construction, but I can reuse the existing window glass if that would suit?" he suggests.
Niki makes a plan for the door and approaches Maea for her approval!
my body's on the line now, I can't fight this time now I can feel the light shine on my face
Liam raised a brow at his partner, smiling crookedly at her insistence that the three of them could manage a castle. While he wasn't so sure about that, they certainly made a good team. Work was progressing quickly and with minimal issues, and it was even starting to look like a room was taking shape up in the branches.
With the problem branch sorted, the soldier was roped into planning for the fireplace. "Fireplace first, I think, and then build the wall around it," he suggested, mentally calculating the best way to go about things. "That way we don't have to try and squeeze the fireplace in and mess up the wall somehow." With that in mind, Liam lowered the pulley system and went down to begin loading up bricks and mortar, then hauled it up. Once he was back on their platform/room, he unloaded his supplies and got to work on the fireplace.
---
Liam suggests building the fireplace first and then gets to work on doing that!
A sleepless night becomes bitter oblivion
Liam
Minor powerplay allowed without permission.
Feel free to use force/magic on Liam.
I feel it in the wind, my dear The sun is gonna reappear
Everything went really well. Niki fixed the blueprint, and Maea came down from her work on the roof to see what his solution ended up looking like. Any chance of reusing already existing materials was deeply welcome and Maea approved his suggestions with two thumbs up.
Taking the chance to check in with Liam, as well, she was impressed with the progress he was making. Even if the fireplace would be small it snaked its way steadily upward in the corner, born of diligence and an eye for precision that left Maea humbled and in awe. "You missed your calling, going into the Dragoons," she informed her partner with an adoring look, interrupting him only to steal a quick peck from his lips.
Disappearing downstairs for a few moments, Maea returned with a big pot of tea, mugs and a plate heaped with sandwiches. Setting it all down near the doorway, out of the way of the labors going on, she smiled brightly at her boys. "Help yourselves as you wish. We're on the home stretch now; no more additions or changes! The goal for the day is to seal this room against the elements. Walls, windows, roof, fireplace. I can make it pretty some other day."
Round 12:
It stinks of good luck in here, no one's fumbling, is this even a quest at all?
Getting closer to the finish line, the tasks from here on are fairly straightforward. Once the current projects are done, Niki is to complete adding siding to the walls, Liam is in charge of laying the roof, while Maea builds and installs the new door and the remaining windows!
With his plan for the new door approved, Niki smiles and gets to work. He makes a list of instructions for himself to follow and then carefully removes the glass from the existing window so he can set it aside to be reused. He's just making sure the space in the entryway for the door to sit is measured properly when Maea returns with tea and sandwiches, and he offers her a grateful nod.
Still, it isn't until he has procured a couple of hinges and has hung the bottom portion of the door (ensuring they can't accidentally fall out of the treehouse) that he pauses to take a break. "This is very kind, thank you," he says, sipping at his tea and taking a moment to enjoy a sandwich; all the while, though, he's still gazing at the half-finished door and what is left to be done.
Once he's refreshed, he carefully inserts the window panes into their new construction and mounts it atop the lower half of the door with another set of hinges. Completing the job with a brass door handle and a little hook for the top of the door, he steps back to survey his work and wipe the sweat from his brow.
That done, he promptly moves back to the siding for the walls, though by now it's true that he's leaning against his cane a little more heavily than usual. One thing's for sure: he's going to sleep well tonight.
Niki constructs the door and gets going with the rest of the siding!
my body's on the line now, I can't fight this time now I can feel the light shine on my face
Liam worked on the fireplace, laying brick after brick in a staggered pattern that, honestly, he was quite pleased with. He was so absorbed in the work that he might not have noticed Maea disappear for refreshments had she not paused beside him to compliment his work. Turning to grin at her - he was starting to think she might be right - he kissed her swiftly before she departed, only to return a few minutes later with tea and sandwiches. It was then that he realized that he was, in fact, quite hungry, and he took a sandwich and a mug with a soft thank you.
Once he'd finished the refreshments, it was back to work. With the fireplace completed, it was on to the roof, and he gathered his supplies as he'd done several times before, descending to the ground, placing them in the pulley, and hoisting them up. Once everything was in place, Liam began to prepare the roof, first working on getting the beams and framing in place, and then the actual pieces that would cover the roof.
---
Liam works on the roof!
A sleepless night becomes bitter oblivion
Liam
Minor powerplay allowed without permission.
Feel free to use force/magic on Liam.
I feel it in the wind, my dear The sun is gonna reappear
Gradually, one stacked brick and laid plank at a time, the platform turned into a room. As the view over the surrounding trees gradually narrowed, and the sky barred away beyond the ribs of the roof, for the first time since she settled on this idea, Maea was able to see her new workshop manifest in real life. Leaving her with an immense feeling of accomplishment, it drove her to work even harder. With the windows fitted and mounted, and Niki's door in place, with the hearth installed and waiting to dry and all the sidings finally up, all that really remained to finish was the roof.
Noticing a stiffness in the way Nikandr moved, she cast a long look up at Liam's progress and made some quick adjustments to how they ought to finish the final piece of this puzzle.
"How do you feel?" she asked the young man, approaching him as the last siding was nailed in place. "The only thing left is really to move the shingles up here so Liam can install them. If I do the lifting, can you operate the pulley?" What she really wanted was to sit him down somewhere warm with a cup of herbal tea against pain, but didn't know how to say it in a way that didn't sound patronising. The second best was a task that didn't require walking around or carrying anything; the pulley winch was so well calibrated that he could probably operate it while seated, if he so wished.
Round 13:
Almost done! Maea asks Niki to operate the pulley while she brings shingles up to Liam, who is doing a marvellous job of finishing the roof.
Liam was so focused on his work on the roof that he hardly noticed what was going on below, but if he had, he would have admired the way Maea tried to subtly allow Niki the chance to rest. With the majority of the structure in place, it was time to start placing shingles, and so the soldier-turned-carpenter began to nail them into place. It was slow, tedious work, but he found that he didn’t mind; the physicality of it was calming, and he settled into a rhythm quickly enough, pausing only to roll up his sleeves as he warmed with the work.
Shingle after shingle went into place, with Maea and Niki feeding him more as they were needed. The sun moved through the sky, the breeze wafted through the branches, and as Liam worked, he found himself at peace. Perhaps this truly was something that would prove to be his calling; perhaps it was time to give up soldiering, once and for all. Not to say that he wouldn’t maintain certain habits, but there was a certain satisfaction with finding some other work to occupy himself that he couldn’t deny. But whatever the future held, the roof was nearly finished, and Liam continued working until the project was completed.
—-
Liam works on the roof!
A sleepless night becomes bitter oblivion
Liam
Minor powerplay allowed without permission.
Feel free to use force/magic on Liam.
"Hm? Oh, I will survive," Niki says with a smile towards Maea, though it's true that this is probably harder than he's pushed himself in quite some time. (Lol that 5 STR/END). As she lays out the last steps for the workshop completion - which is, naturally, the roof, he finds her suggestion to be entirely practical, even if she is also trying to sneak in a chance for him to rest.
"I can do that," he assures her. "A lot better than I can shift shingles or climb up to lay them, anyway." And so with their roles in place, Niki gets himself over to the brand new door he's mounted, opening it the whole way so that they are able to access the pulley. It takes work, naturally, and he's careful not to stand too close lest he topple out of the treehouse entirely, but with two perfectly functioning arms, he's able to operate the pulley until all of the shingles are on the upper level with them.
Niki operates the pulley!
my body's on the line now, I can't fight this time now I can feel the light shine on my face
