[PQ+] Some kind of loaded gun

You won't believe half the things
I see inside my head

It was nice to work in the sun for the light, but gods was it hot. While other regions tended to fare better in Leafchange, the desert was not so kind. Soh was sweating more than she'd ever done in her life, and drinking more water as a result to ensure she didn't get dehydrated. The frequent breaks were appreciated, but they did little to make them all more comfortable. Oh well, she thought. It's only temporary. Maybe Colt would get some kind of cooling magic for the region from the gods, somewhere far down the road when her new region was more established.

They hammered nails and carried lumber and all sorts of other building tasks as the day wore on. It was hard work, the likes of which Soh had never seen before. By the end of the day, she had blisters on blisters from the hammer, she'd smacked her thumb a few times while holding nails in place, and she was hot, dirty, and sweaty to boot. Thoroughly miserable, she nonetheless joined everyone else in celebrating the end of the day, and when she fell into her bedroll, she tumbled into a dreamless sleep.

The bell that called them to order the next morning came too early, and Soh groaned as she pulled herself out of bed. She was sore in places she hadn't even known existed, and she stumbled blearily out into the desert once she'd dressed, grumpily preparing to face the day. Following Colt and the rest, she got to work on the base, continuing to carry lumber and hammer nails to frame out the building that would become a skyport one of these days.

---

Soh keeps building the base!

Regional Score bonus: +21 in all shrine visits, drops, PQ+s, KQs, etc. (You must post this at the bottom of any post where a +21 should be included). Residents cannot be cursed at shrines in this region.

Highest Overall Score bonus: +10 in all shrine visits, drops, PQ+s, KQs, etc. (You must post this at the bottom of any post where a +10 should be included).

It's Giving Luck | A silver ring with an aquamarine stone that, when worn, grants +1 luck. Must be included in all PQ/PQ+/KQ/DROP posts to be counted. (Made by Nova)
Type: Light | Style: Other | Level: Basic | Cost: Other

Wait 'til you see half the things
that haven't happened yet

Sohalia

Hotaru

I know they'll be coming to find me soon
But I fear I'm getting used to being held by you

The enticement of future food is all well and good, but the sun and the sweat and the sand turns that idea into a forgotten blur within hours. Time hardly seems real from hour to hour, or even day to day. Different tasks, but none that stand out in memory. She remembers the rain, the joking, the companionship - nothing else truly matters, does it? So when they wake to another early morning before the sun can bake them alive just yet and are assigned to work on the base again, Ru hardly notices.

Andraste stays with her during the cooler morning hours, her scales delightfully neutral if not cool against the nape of her neck. As the sun rises and the heat begins to climb at a dizzying rate, her new companion soars back to their tent without a hint of remorse at leaving the Valkyrie behind to continue toiling away. Not unlike her daily routine since this work first began.

- - -

More base building!

I used to sing about being free
Oh, baby, look what you've done to me

COLT

Cowboys ain't easy to love
And they're harder to hold

With everyone's efforts striving despite the sweat-spilling sunlight and the lip-chapping arid winds, they complete the base with a last, grudging flurry of hammer and nail. Colt plops back onto her ass, legs weary from so much kneeling, her knees red beneath the fabric where skin has answered to pressure and friction time and again. "Fucking hell," she pants, turning her forehead into her sleeve and wiping the drip of salt away. "We fucking did it. We're through the bulk of it now." Not done, mind you, but the thing at least has a complete base and a sturdy support, and it looks nearly like a done skyship port, akin to others if not bent to its own model for this region based on materials and surviving here.

"Lunch break!" she calls out, weaker than she means, fatigue robbing her of typical volume and splendor. Suddenly the effort to get back up doesn't seem worth it, and she nearly starfishes out on the fresh deck ready to let the sun bake her into nothing. Wyatt, faithful Wyatt, toes her side like she's no better than an errant and lazy horse napping in the sunshine, telling her to get off her ass. Grumbling, she does, sucking in a breath of prep before lurching forward back to her feet and clambering down to the tent to partake in another round of barely cooled drinks and dried foods. "I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. It almost feels like heatstroke, but I think it's just the tail end of our plans." Some energy restored despite the unenthusiastic lunch she takes, it's enough to joke with Sohalia and Hotaru a bit, finding companionship amid the shared misery of this arduous task, and ever grateful that they're willing to submit themselves to this plight.

"Based on the plans," Colt says, more serious now as she flaps the now well-worn papers back open. "We just have the vertical supports to create, then access points, and reinforcements." Shoving the last bit of her granola bar in her mouth, Colt wipes the crumbs from her fingers absently on her pantleg. The bell sounds outside, ending their lunch in short order, and out again the heat beckons them while there's still daylight left. "Frame out the vertical supports today!" se calls to everyone, hammers and nails and wood still their best friends. "Space them out every so often, that'll allow the ships to tie off beside them, and we'll use cloud spider silk to help create tension into the pillars below to keep the weight centered." Hauling herself back up a ladder and onto their fresh base, Colt picks up another stack of cut and delivered wood and holds it in place as others begin to sing metal against wood, starting to frame the vertical supports.

---

Great job being BASIC. Onto building vertical supports!

They'll never stay home
And they're always alone

You won't believe half the things
I see inside my head

It was brutally hot, the sun blinding as it shone down upon the workers. Soh toiled alongside the others, sweating and baking in the increasingly intense sunlight. Periodically, she stopped to slather sunscreen onto her pale skin, but despite her best efforts, she could feel herself burning anyway, especially along her bare shoulders. Why she'd thought that a tank top would be a good idea in the desert - particularly now that they were working through the days - she would never know, but there was nothing she could do about it now.

The base was completed around midday, and Soh forced herself to make it to the shade of a tent before flopping down next to Colt and Hotaru, blistered and sore in places she hadn't even realized existed. "Gods," she groaned as she considered the basic, bland lunch options available to them and settled on a granola bar. "I didn't even know the sun could be that bright." Or that hot, but that went without saying, given that all of them were probably sweating profusely by now.

Lunch ended, and then they were back to work - this time on vertical supports. Soh dragged herself back to the base of the skyport and up a ladder, then began to hold beams in place and hammer things together. It was slowly starting to look like something - so slowly, but also so surely. Maybe Colt was right, and they were on the home stretch now.

---

Soh takes a lunch break then gets back to building, this time working on vertical supports.

Regional Score bonus: +21 in all shrine visits, drops, PQ+s, KQs, etc. (You must post this at the bottom of any post where a +21 should be included). Residents cannot be cursed at shrines in this region.

Highest Overall Score bonus: +10 in all shrine visits, drops, PQ+s, KQs, etc. (You must post this at the bottom of any post where a +10 should be included).

It's Giving Luck | A silver ring with an aquamarine stone that, when worn, grants +1 luck. Must be included in all PQ/PQ+/KQ/DROP posts to be counted. (Made by Nova)
Type: Light | Style: Other | Level: Basic | Cost: Other

Wait 'til you see half the things
that haven't happened yet

Sohalia

Hotaru

I know they'll be coming to find me soon
But I fear I'm getting used to being held by you

They’re all a bit too pink (some a bit too red) around the gills given the endless days under the sun, but Ru usually saves her healing lightning for one round at the end of the evening for…honestly too many reasons, pick one. Sound? Number of “patients”? Exhaustion? Sohalia will have to lobster a bit longer - they all will - before any sunburn healing will be within reach in time for bed. At the very least it ensures they sleep without the pain of rolling around on a cot with sunburned skin. Ouch.

In the interim, the trio of blondes alternate between the pasty white of sunscreen-slathered and the abused pink of sunburned. Ru hisses at Andraste when she curls around her neck at lunchtime, the scrape of her companion’s scales akin to a switchblade. The sounds doesn’t dissuade the dragonling in the least.

“Everything feels like heatstroke right now darling,” she grumps, mollified by dry rations that have - like everything else - begun to blur and blend together over the days. But Colt speaks true, and their progress is becoming notable. Something like pride builds in her chest with each day and every notable achievement. It’s been far too long since she has made something like this; of grand scale, great impact, lasting effect.

The feeling spurs her on (at least for the rest of the evening) and renews her mentally if not physically as they put away their meals and head back out onto the sand to tackle the vertical supports.

- - -

Meal break, then supports time!

I used to sing about being free
Oh, baby, look what you've done to me

COLT

Cowboys ain't easy to love
And they're harder to hold

The effects of Hotaru 's healing has perhaps been the main way they've sustained this long, and those lesser skills of a few others mixed into the troupe. Enough so that Colt makes a mental note to add a healing something to her to do list for the town, but with so many things being given stars and priorities, impossible to mark everything urgent and immediate, the reprieve would have to wait. Never having had a healing source besides the man-run ones in King's End, she is far too accustomed to limping along as best she can, but after having a taste of Torchline's fountain a time or two, and now this on hand delivery of vigor and health, she is growing more attached to the idea of having a long term resource like this.

For now though, they all continue to broil slowly under the Hak Etme sun. Though Colt has dressed herself in long, flowy layers for precisely this reason, anywhere that her skin dares show itself from the cover of fabric or hair is red, giving her a polka dot effect of pain and a face flushed pink with effort by the time the sun sinks. With all their hammering and shouting and moving, the vertical support framing is completed, and with a sigh of relief and a mopping of sweat from her brow, Colt stands to admire their completed efforts. "Should be able to finish this tomorrow," Colt declares, thanking everyone again with tired pats on shoulders, some wincing where raw skin responds unkindly to the show of gratitude. Colt hangs back a bit to help shuffle supplies around for tomorrow, moving lumber and tools and planks into stacks spread about the base, aided by others who have the strength left. Then she too climbs down and retires for the night.

- - -

The next day greets them all fresh and hot again, and Colt is once more reminded of how this season is a nicer one and how crucial those heat protections will be for the town. "Let's finish strong!" she encourages everyone, tearing off some fruit leather with a grin that the heat is sure to dissolve in a few hours. For now though she's bright an refreshed and motivated by how much they've done already. She clambers back up the ladder to the base, trusty hammer and nails back in hand and set into wooden planks to flesh out the framing they'd made. They'd manage this by end of day she'd wager, and from there, very minimal additions would be needed to finalize this structure. Whistling a tune for tempo as she swings, Colt find her mood remaining uplifted despite the grueling nature of hard labor in the desert.

---

Great job doing the vertical support frames! Now to continue to build out their surface.

They'll never stay home
And they're always alone

You won't believe half the things
I see inside my head

The vertical supports didn't take as long as the base, for which Sohalia was grateful. She was growing tired of the desert and its endless heat and sand, waking each morning with the former already blazing and the latter found in cracks and crevices that should absolutely never have sand in them. But she'd committed to this project, and she would finish it if it killed her. Pressing doggedly on, she started the morning with a few strips of fruit leather and a couple of gulps of water, and then got to work.

Colt's whistle sounded over the Boneyard, joined by several others, who seemed to be particularly merry today. Soh supposed that she understood, though she focused her efforts on working and trying not to pass out as she did so. Still, she brightened as the day wore on, strength returning as the sun rose higher in the sky, as she hammered and hammered and hammered some more. Her poor hands would be torn to ribbons without Hotaru's healing, and she made a mental note to send the woman a gift basket after this was through.

---

Soh keeps on keeping on.

Regional Score bonus: +21 in all shrine visits, drops, PQ+s, KQs, etc. (You must post this at the bottom of any post where a +21 should be included). Residents cannot be cursed at shrines in this region.

Highest Overall Score bonus: +10 in all shrine visits, drops, PQ+s, KQs, etc. (You must post this at the bottom of any post where a +10 should be included).

It's Giving Luck | A silver ring with an aquamarine stone that, when worn, grants +1 luck. Must be included in all PQ/PQ+/KQ/DROP posts to be counted. (Made by Nova)
Type: Light | Style: Other | Level: Basic | Cost: Other

Wait 'til you see half the things
that haven't happened yet

Sohalia

Hotaru

I know they'll be coming to find me soon
But I fear I'm getting used to being held by you

Torchline’s heat is a sneeze near an open oven door compared to Hak Etme’s full-tilt broil that sets out to cook you alive before you so much as twitch. Returning will be a reprieve even if Torchline experiences its hottest day on record at the exact same time - what a wild idea.

She can’t say she has grown used to the heat, or gods forbid comfortable with it, but there is equally no compounding weight upon her mind or body alike as the project’s end nears. Nothing that makes her itch with the desire to cut and run, or grow snappy and uncooperative. Whether that’s a product of how much she needs this sort of work right now or some testament to her love of taking wild regions, well…up for debate. Preferably after a good night of sleep.

Or as good as you get in the desert.

The next day, Colt is chipper with the end of this phase in sight, and it’s admittedly a bit contagious. Ru catches herself smiling slightly at hearing the whistling as it’s carried without dampening or distortion across the flat sands. It helps the time pass a little faster.

- - -

Ru rinses and repeats!

I used to sing about being free
Oh, baby, look what you've done to me

COLT

Cowboys ain't easy to love
And they're harder to hold

Conversation drifts amid music and work, as it has throughout their time here, and as it does now to keep everyone occupied beyond the monotony of hammering and lugging. Despite this, don't ask Colt anyone's names besides some she's gotten to know very well, or in the case of Soh and Hotaru. Their pets' names she could tick off in an instant, even if all she heard was the animal described.

It's dogs she's currently bantering about as she and her partners finish up their last vertical support. A final hammer swings the nail into place and with a sigh Colt steps back. Wiping her sweat away, she glances about to find most everyone else in the same state. Tired, drifting away from a done job, gazes full of admiration and weary survival.

"We're doing it!" Colt whoops, her grin a reckless thing now. "All the hardest shit is over!" Taking a swig of canteen water, Colt glances up at the sun, gauging if people need food or a break. After a quick ask around, the consensus seems to be to push on, so Colt nods. "Alright, next up, we need to make it easier to get goods unloaded, so is anyone here willing to make a large ramp? Two wagons-width, I'd say, and not too steep." That'd require most of the helping hands to accomplish in a timely manner.

"We also need rope ladders fashioned around, and I have more spider silk cords we could connect from the vertical supports her and down to the base for tension." She glances around expectantly for people to shuffle to their preferred role.

---

Vertical supports done! Onto finishing touches

1. Build a ramp
2. Attach and secure rope ladders
3. Use cloud spider silk cords to anchor support for the verticals to the bottom pillars

They'll never stay home
And they're always alone

Hotaru

I know they'll be coming to find me soon
But I fear I'm getting used to being held by you

Voting to keep pushing forward is easy in the face of Colt’s excitement; infectious as it is, the allure of total completion is stronger and spreads wider. Hotaru even smiles where she stands dusting off her hands despite normally reserving those for speaking directly with the few people she has come to know and intends to remember for longer than a few days. Harsh perhaps, but so is the work at hand.

Content to keep working with the carpenters and utilize her demigod strength to haul boards and hold them in place without aid, the Valkyrie adapts quickly to being part of what swiftly shapes up to “ramp team”. The excitement bubbles amidst the workers, shown through flickering eyes and errant smiles between workers.

- - -

Ru picks building the ramp!

I used to sing about being free
Oh, baby, look what you've done to me

Everybody here wanted something more

When they finished with the vertical supports, Soh was weary to the bone, but Colt's enthusiasm was enough to coax a grin from the Luminary. Their skyport was nearly done now, and it had taken a shape that looked like something more than a pile of lumber and nails. Despite her exhaustion, Soh was proud of how far they'd come, of how much they'd been able to accomplish, and she moved on to the next task with a spring in her step.

Craving a break from the monotony of human life, Soh elected to assist with the rope ladders. Specifically, she shifted into her pegasus form, snorting as she picked up ladders one by one to fly to the top of the structure, rather than having to clamber up and down over and over again. While it was just as hot as a pegasus, the breeze from flight was refreshing, and Soh worked diligently alongside the other workers to get the finishing touches just right.

---

Soh hangs rope ladders!

Pegasus  Type: Grey | Level: Mastered | Cost: Action | Mythical: Yes

Regional Score bonus: +21 in all shrine visits, drops, PQ+s, KQs, etc. (You must post this at the bottom of any post where a +21 should be included). Residents cannot be cursed at shrines in this region.

Highest Overall Score bonus: +10 in all shrine visits, drops, PQ+s, KQs, etc. (You must post this at the bottom of any post where a +10 should be included).

It's Giving Luck | A silver ring with an aquamarine stone that, when worn, grants +1 luck. Must be included in all PQ/PQ+/KQ/DROP posts to be counted. (Made by Nova)
Type: Light | Style: Other | Level: Basic | Cost: Other

Searching for a sound we hadn't heard before

Sohalia

COLT

Cowboys ain't easy to love
And they're harder to hold

Hotaru really ramps up the construction. With her strength and guidance, the large and main rampway comes into shape, layering itself down into something whole and usable as the day wears on. Sohalia goes aloft, and Colt's attention is at once captured by the beautiful form of the pegasus, something envious and covetous rising rapidly within her. Soh's methods help deliver the supplies quickly to the workers who remain on the main platform, affixing the rope ladders in various stations as she delivers them around.

That leaves Colt to take the cloud spider cords, the surprisingly strong stuff very pliable in her hands as she grabs bundles of it, finally tearing her attention away from the winged horse. Although Colt doesn't mind heights, she leaves it to the Abandoned with telekenesis abilities to raise and secure the cords to the tops of the vertical supports, then she helps the others keep it untangled and throw the slack down below. The cords bend over the edges of the platform, then are tugged and stretched down to fasten securely to the base pillars. The latter part is difficult and requires several people exerting themselves all at once, but the taut line is exactly what they need.

As everyone finishes up their assignment, Colt squints back up at what seems quite finished. Her hands fist on her hips and she slowly walks around the base, gaze skimming surfaces for flaws or things forgotten. "Shit," she whistles appreciatively, cutting the group a smile as the looks back. "If this ain't the damn finest new skyport this side of Caido," she laughs, the delight and accomplishment pairing completely in the sound. "We can hang our hats up proud after this."

There's relief that sags some of the weary tension out of her. Not that she has anywhere to run back to after this, not that she wants to, but it's nice to be done with the labor and just enjoy what they've built. Especially as the first thing. Here it is, their mark on the world. "Just need to fit some rope coils around the anchors on the deck for ships to tie off on, add some hide bundles along the edges to keep the ships and deck from scuffing one another, and add lanterns around the vertical supports for nighttime comings and goings. Then I'd say, we're fucking done!"

---

Great job! Last round :D
1. Add ropes to the anchors on deck
2. Add hide bundles on the edges as a docking buffer
3. Add lanterns to the vertical supports

They'll never stay home
And they're always alone

Hotaru

I know they'll be coming to find me soon
But I fear I'm getting used to being held by you

Excitement and weariness war amongst the workers as the final commands are given. Victory dances on the tip of every tongue, electric but also silencing, as if a single uttered word might snap the new foundation in two. The same sort of holy muteness that inspires knocking on wood or breaking bottles on ship hulls. It’s such a charmingly human thing; Hotaru follows their lead with a small smile playing on her lips, some hybrid of fond and amused.

Ready to be the one flying this time around, Ru shifts into her falcon form and plucks the first lantern off the landing to hang it on the nearest vertical support. Despite the sun remaining in the sky, Andraste abandons their shared tent to join her, slower in her youth and untrained musculature but no less dogged in determination. Together, the two carefully hang each lantern with precise claws and slit eyes.

- - -

Ru and Andraste hang lanterns!

I used to sing about being free
Oh, baby, look what you've done to me

You won't believe half the things
I see inside my head

Soh's work went quickly enough, aided by her wings as she carried rope ladders up to the rest of the crew, who tied them off and secured them. It was a relief to be in the sky, to feel the wind whipping through her mane; a part of her longed to simply fly off into the bright blue sky, to see how far she could roam before night fell and she would have to rest. But they were almost done here, and she wouldn't abandon her friends so easily.

So instead, she made her way back to the ground, shifting easily back into human form as Colt gave the final instructions for the finishing touches. "I'll work on the ropes," she said, and then got to work doing just that. Coils of rope were taken up and tied off, providing places evenly spaced around the perimeter for skyships to dock. Her excitement began to grow as she realized this was it - they'd really done it! And she was so close to being able to get back to somewhere she could take a hot bath and sleep on a soft bed.

---

Soh ties off ropes on the anchors!

Regional Score bonus: +21 in all shrine visits, drops, PQ+s, KQs, etc. (You must post this at the bottom of any post where a +21 should be included). Residents cannot be cursed at shrines in this region.

Highest Overall Score bonus: +10 in all shrine visits, drops, PQ+s, KQs, etc. (You must post this at the bottom of any post where a +10 should be included).

It's Giving Luck | A silver ring with an aquamarine stone that, when worn, grants +1 luck. Must be included in all PQ/PQ+/KQ/DROP posts to be counted. (Made by Nova)
Type: Light | Style: Other | Level: Basic | Cost: Other

Wait 'til you see half the things
that haven't happened yet

Sohalia