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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 prepared for a fight, and he'd reloaded his crossbow before realizing that the tangleweeds had both been reduced to little more than tinder at their feet. Adrenaline pumped through his veins all the same, and he swallowed hard as he slowly lowered his weapon, as though expecting something to jump out at them from the shadows. After a moment passed without further incident, he finally sat the loaded crossbow carefully aside, within easy reach, and went back to work.
Now that the tangleweeds had been disposed of and the posts had been crafted, it was time to place them. Liam glanced towards Thalassa with a nod, moving to grasp one of the posts and maneuver it into place. Hopefully their makeshift poles would work in their favor, allowing the surf to move around and through them without destroying them in the first big wave.
---
Liam goes to work placing posts!
Do you still take as you please?
Minor powerplay allowed without permission.
Feel free to use force/magic on Liam.
She's a runner, she's a lover, always stuck in her ways Pull her closer, think you know her, now she's turning the page She gave a warning if it's storming, she'll be gone with the rain
The nasty thing about tangleweeds is their ordinary appearance, rolling around amid tumbleweeds in disguise. While the latter is just a nuisance though, and a fire hazard, the former has a nasty bite and has been the death of some of her stock a time or two. Once tangled, most of the simple beasts simply go down, and even an unprepared person could be snared. So Colt is right alongside Liam with a sharp look thrown back and forth, trying to find more, accustomed to greater, rolling brambles of them. No other ones appear nearby though, so reluctantly Colt sets her weaponry back aside to free up movement for the labor.
"You were playing with sticks too!" she fires back to Thalassa with a smirk, but salutes the dock-professional just the same with a slide of fingers off her hat. "Well," Colt huffs faintly, letting the excitement roll away with the breath. "Glad to hear it." She picks up their interrupted conversation without missing the stride, meaning that she's happy to hear he's settling in and that he doesn't like to take it easy. "That's always been my preference too," she grins, squatting down to gather up one of the posts they'd assembled.
Focusing on lugging it to the edge of shore and water, Colt helps deposit it where intended, grunting faintly through the effort. "Know the nice thing about ranching?" she tosses out to no one in particular as she works, although it'll only ruffle one person, as intended. "No itchy salt water to deal with!"
Colt moves and helps set up the posts
When she's in it, she's all in it, ain't no holding her back When I'm with her, she's a river moving steady and fast She's afraid of all the ways her heart is broke like glass
Received a Gilded Market wig from Remi that resembles her usual hair and is enchanted to stay on better than most wigs | has a reverse centaur tattoo on her left hand with the legs going down her pointer and middle fingers that looks like this.
The world's a little blurry, or maybe it's my eyes,
Pretending like she doesn't hear Colt's counter, Thal flicks her tail and moves to assist with the posts. She's not a professional port-builder (despite what some may think), so she doesn't comment on the strange decision to tie smaller pieces together when there are plenty of larger sections of wood. It will do well enough to hold the ships in place, and they can always reinforce them later when they have time for 'upgrades.'
Her arms are securely around a post when she hears the snippy comment about why 'ranching is better.' Thal scoffs. "No, just itchy attitudes." Some might think she's talking about the horses, but the sharp grin she shoots the blonde is enough to clear up any misunderstandings before she's shifting into scales and wings.
Time passes slow, the sun progressing as Thal switches between human and lyvern form, carrying some of the posts deeper to set them farther off the beach in a stretching outline of the piers. There are temporary floating platforms that her crew put together for them to use, floating gently on the water for the others to walk across for the deeper posts.
Once they're in place, Thal stands with her hands on her hips, glancing once at the sun slipping past its apex then down at the pile of wood in the sand. "Once these planks are on, we can start using the port. Make sure you secure them properly or it'll fall apart all over again."
Add the planks to the framework! There are nails to secure the wooden planks to the posts.
the friends I've had to bury they keep me up at night.
Aithne continues on her merry way, helping as best she can whilst continuing to be a nuisance (to Thalassa, at least). Eventually, the posts are secured in place, and Aithne moves to wipe the back of a hand across her brow, sweating not because of the heat, but because of the work involved thus far. Still, her attitude doesn't waver. She grins at the easy banter between Thalassa and the blonde woman, though she doesn't add anything of her own to the verbal fray. Perhaps she can learn a thing or two about being just annoying enough to be worthy of Thalassa's time.
In any case, she begins to grab planks and nail them into place, working out from the sand until she's balancing on what she just nailed down to work on the next plank. It's hard, thankless work, but she continues on and on, determined to show that she can, in fact, be useful. Perhaps that will be enough for Thalassa to take teaching her a thing or two about being an Ancient seriously.
---
Aithne works on the planks!
Aithne
Minor powerplay allowed without permission.
Feel free to use force/magic on Aithne.
She's a runner, she's a lover, always stuck in her ways Pull her closer, think you know her, now she's turning the page She gave a warning if it's storming, she'll be gone with the rain
A laugh barks free at Thalassa's return, and Colt grins into the work as she focuses on it fully. Posts are delivered and installed in greater number, using the floating pads and the frame left behind from Aithne and Thal's ripping. Questionable as they might be, they seem to be working, and they will definitely be improved upon at some point. For now, nearly anything is already an improvement, because the bar for dock standards around here is under the water it'd seem.
Turning her forehead into her sleeve to wipe away the collecting sweat, Colt squints over at Thalassa as she judges their work and grants the next step. "This is definitely looking closer to what a dock should be," she grins, excited to see it begin to surface into something better than a heap of splinters and rusty nails. There's something to be able to see the work you do that makes it feel nore rewarding, and building must surely be one of the more fulfilling careers out there.
With all the posts seen to, Colt reaches for the planks Thalassa mentioned. Popping a few nails between her lips, headfirst, Colt tucks the hammer beneath her arm and waltzes the supplies into line nearby an area needing attention. She lays down one plank first, then lines it up just rught and begins to hammer it down, snug and sure.
Colt hammers planks down!
When she's in it, she's all in it, ain't no holding her back When I'm with her, she's a river moving steady and fast She's afraid of all the ways her heart is broke like glass
Received a Gilded Market wig from Remi that resembles her usual hair and is enchanted to stay on better than most wigs | has a reverse centaur tattoo on her left hand with the legs going down her pointer and middle fingers that looks like this.
Liam noted the easy, but somehow still loaded, exchange with interest. He had his own history with Thalassa, but it was clear that he wasn't the only one. Somehow, it seemed like Colt and the captain had their own thing going on. Were they friends? Were they enemies? He wasn't entirely sure, but whatever they were, they were making quick work of the task at hand.
Now it was nearly done, and time to hammer planks into place to build the actual docks themselves. Liam left the women to it and went to work, steadily working his way out over the water, settling plank after plank into place and hammering nails in to keep them in place. It was satisfying, watching things finally begin to come together, and the carpenter settled into the task easily, tuning out the others to focus on his job - though he kept an ear out for trouble all the same.
---
Liam hammers planks!
Do you still take as you please?
Minor powerplay allowed without permission.
Feel free to use force/magic on Liam.
The world's a little blurry, or maybe it's my eyes,
She's not nearly as forgiving with her assessment of the dock, eyes scrutinizing the work they've done and what still needs doing. Obviously still finding it lacking, she at least grants it a nod, willing to grant the minimum praise. "It's still got a long way to go, but at least we'll be able to call it a port."
As the others gather hammers and nails, Thal shifts again, choosing to drag planks into place for the others to secure. Sweat and salt spray have started to gather on her blue-black scales, giving them a shiny glint over her muscles as she flies back and forth from the shore and the pier that slowly takes form.
It takes most of the afternoon, the work slow and labored in the heat. Each plank is secured, Thal making sure there aren't gaps wide enough to eat the shoes or goods of people who might dock there. She also takes the responsibility of testing their strength, ensuring that the planks won't give way to their first visitor by walking across in her shift, careful to keep claws from gouging into the wood.
Only once she's satisfied by the shape and stability of the structure does she shift back, booted feet tapping on the newly constructed port. She calls the others over, tail flicking as she takes in the mostly finished product. "Good work. My crew can take it from here." It's as much of an approval as they'll get from her as Thal turns away to figure out what still needs doing to make it functional as a trading hub beyond a place to moor.
Nice work everyone! The port has been finished! Thal says to get out of here.
[FIN]
the friends I've had to bury they keep me up at night.
