[PQ] this fate is well deserved

SUNJATA

i'm drowning in all these voices in the sea
and meeting all my vices in the ring

Things were falling apart, and then they weren’t. It’s almost as though he’d found some magical glue to keep them together long enough to see what he needs to through – and for that, he hops on the opportunity. He’s talked to Safrin, told her he’d rebuild the Temple and the Shrine for her, with her own, and he intends to keep that promise even if things had slowly frayed since then. For now, though, he can’t quite get to the shrine with the rubble of the Temple still in the way, almost keeping it like a tomb of sorts.

So he puts up a notice on the Notice Board, gathers what he needs to in the three days prior, and arrives early with a calculating eye for where they should even start. Though, perhaps for that, he should wait for others to arrive first. He begins by setting out the things he’s brought to try and excavate, to fix the walls, to reinforce supports and fix the roofing – things of which had all crumbled down as he’s found out. He’s sure there’s more surprises inside… But this is at least a start.

An attempt.

Like it’s an attempt to try and get his life in order, starting with one thing at a time.

---

Hellooooo, Temple building PQ! Open to any! Please note this is not the PQ+ portion, this is just to fix the Temple itself.

1. Maea
2. Libbs
3. Ronin MAYBE ?!?!?!
4. Quanil

Will move on when all slots are filled!!

so step inside, i ain't afraid to bleed
there ain't a casket strong enough for me

M  A   E    A I talked to God to no avail Said, "If you won't save me, please don't waste my time." She had wondered about who would end up taking the challenge of rebuilding the temple and restoring the shrine. Maea had wanted to, had prayed over it and pulled long nights in the Atheneum searching for blueprints, maps, anything at all that might relate to the Temple and its construction, in case it might provide some insight. In the end, she found very little that was of any help. And even when her prayers went unanswered, it seemed others were more fortunate - as per usual. Still, the girl would never begrudge anyone the favor she so sorely wanted, and especially not as the favor had gone to Sunjata, this time. It felt only right, after everything he'd endured. Of course, she would not be left out of this task, if there was anything at all she could do to help. She was dressed for work when she showed up, in the usual breeches and shirt that seemed even larger on her than usual, as if they'd grown a bit larger - or she'd become even smaller. Thinner, skinnier - if that was even possible. But despite dark rings under the eyes and something hollow about her cheeks, the girl was in a good mood and practically bounced up to Sunjata, a wide smile on her lips. "Seeker Valair, reporting for duty, sir!" she told him, topping off with a salute she'd seen some of the people around the militia barracks use. "Happy to help any way I can." Eager to please, almost desperate to prove she could be of use... to the Grounds, to the Gods... and perhaps even to him.

LIBBS

"You hobo."

As an artisan, it was her duty to help fix stuff. That was literally her job. Her one and only job. She figured good old 'Jata would've told her at the bar. She could have probably put some stuff beside and planned ahead. But instead, here she was, last minute, because he put it on a notice board and she just now noticed it. How rude. He should've known better!

Well to be fair, it was mostly her fault for not reading the board. But nuances. NUANCES.

She walked up, in her work gears. Gloved, up, hair pushed back, toolbelt on her hips, and a bag of good, crafty stuff to otherwise get started. The hibiscus garden caught the sun and seemed to ignite her already eager-to-work behavior. She'd drop the bag on the ground. "Sup Maea. Anyways, shame ya for not telling me." she wiggled a finger at Sunjata. "But hey, I forgive ya. What are we fixing today?" she grinned.

let's run off to costa rica

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

When not otherwise occupied, Quanil haunted 'round the Sanctuary and the Guild Hall. It was the only thing that felt properly like home at the moment. They still weren't sure where to go about looking for Freina, and, despite Mr. Silversmith's assertion to the contrary, they still didn't feel like a proper Loreseeker until they'd completed the quest set by the provost. She wasn't in the Sanctuary, but sometimes Quanil just had to retreat to someplace familiar, somewhere that at least felt safe. (To the extent anything ever did.)

On their way out one day, they saw a gathering of people over near the Temple. Curious (as always), they wandered over. The closer they got, the more clearly they could see: there was Maea Valair the formerly Disappeared, and another person, both in very utilitarian clothing. Quanil only really had the one set of clothes at the moment, but given what they were almost sure was going on here, they didn't think that would matter.

"Are you going to work on the Temple?" they asked politely. "I'd like to help."

Helping rebuild sounded wonderful, sounded like a way not only to meet others and get better acquainted, but to prove their usefulness to their new community.

the things we hold are always the first to go

I represent you but I do not have to like you.

Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in from Torchline. When Sunjata had initially mentioned rebuilding the Temple, Ronin had all but cackled at the idea. But y’know, things changed. Goddesses appeared and threatened you with worse suffering than that which you were already enduring and all that. And so Ronin came, tanned and scarred and not in the mood, but there all the same.

I serve you, but I do not have to like you.

The Hollowed Grounds was grotesque in the heat, but at least the mud had dried up. Still, it was no Torchline, and Ronin’s feet itched already to get out of the shoes he’d forced on and return to hot sands and silk shores.

”Tell me where you need me,” he said to Sunjata. He’d destroyed the place. There was probably some sick irony in putting it back together.

SUNJATA

i'm drowning in all these voices in the sea
and meeting all my vices in the ring

Maea is the first to arrive, and he can’t say he’s surprised about it. Instead, he’d expected it based off of her threat – to rebuild before her trip to Halo. So as she arrives, he gives her a bright grin at the salute given. “Ah, just what I needed.” He teases her with a wink, before his gaze lifts toward Libbs who arrives in a flurry as per usual – ready for work and prepared, and he can’t help the chuckle at the nickname. “A bit uncalled for, don’t you think?” He teases Libbs as well, shaking his head to her.

He gives her a somewhat knowing look, refraining from answering on purpose as others arrive. A person Sunjata hadn’t had the pleasure of meeting yet is next, and he offers them a smile in greeting. “The more the merrier.” He rumbles, voice accented just enough to get the point across, willing to take every hand that’s willing.

Though, while he had reached out to the Dark Star, he hadn’t actually expected the man to show, and the cheer and enjoyment along his face thus far fades ever so slightly as Ronin offers his own comment. A nod is given to him, stepping over to give the man’s shoulder a light squeeze should he allow for it, before turning to the group they’ve got.

“Yes, Libbs, we’re rebuilding the Temple.” He begins, giving her a smirk, before he focuses on each one of them in turn. “It’s a mess, so we’ll need a couple teams of people to work toward pulling out the rubble and reinforcing. So pick a side and I’ll help with the rubble removal.” He offers them all, gesturing briefly to the items he’s brought – shovels, things of that nature.

---

Round one!

Pick Reinforce/Removal and get started! No post order <3

so step inside, i ain't afraid to bleed
there ain't a casket strong enough for me

the things we hold are always the first to go

Offering Sunjata a softer nod of greeting, Ronin did not shrug off the hand on his shoulder. His mind was stormy and that much was written across his face, the Dark Star gazing upon the ruin of the temple and swallowing hard. Well, Safrin had told him that it needed a facelift. And that was especially true now. ”I’ll do better at heavy lifting,” he told Jata, surprising no one. With a cursory glance to the rest of the group (he half recognised Maea and that was about it), Ronin stepped forward and grabbed a shovel.

He worked methodically, and whilst the graft was hard and caused muscles to burn and strain in his arms and back, there was something cathartic about it as well. Shovelling rubble into a cart nearby, Ronin would wait until it was full before hauling it away to be dumped somewhere or else disposed of by magical means. And then the cycle started again.

---

Ronin chooses removal, and gets straight to work with a shovel.

LIBBS

Libbs clapped both of her hands. Okay! Where should she start? Where would she be the most useful?

Well, in this moment, Libbs thought critically, a rare, unrefined skillset that she has. Sure, she could move rubble around. That was half of her existence in the settlement for a while there, before she was entered into the Artisan's guild. But now, as her memory started to come back, purpose shaping into something tangible underneath her calloused fingers- some insights started to shine through the cracks. Libbs recalled being a decent planner, and remembered some of the stuff she may have read about.

In which case.. she probably would have been better off reinforcing the repairs. After all, with enough careful planning, they could avoid having to backtrack and correct out-of-place alignments and such, making the temple repairs a breeze! That made sense, right.

"I'll start reinforcing!" she shouted. "I think I got some ideas on how we can give this thing a stronger leg to stand on.." she scratched her head, and started to move some of the stuff out of the way.

let's run off to costa rica

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

Architecture seemed a wonderful subject... that Quanil hadn't studied yet. And growing up talking to plants hadn't exactly given them much in the way of muscle. They didn't seem naturally suited to either task, so they waited to see what others chose at first.

It was a real temptation to see if they could help Libbs; perhaps she could teach them some interesting ideas? But they also considered Maea the Disappeared - they still couldn't get the unofficial title for her out of their head - and wondered what she might be best at.

This is work time, they told themselves. Perhaps they could learn just as well by observing Libbs? They didn't want to do anything to slow down the process, and if they could learn and help at the same time, that might be the best option.

So Quanil picked up another shovel and set to removing rubble, trying to make sure Libbs had enough room to do... whatever it was she might want to.

M  A   E    A I talked to God to no avail Said, "If you won't save me, please don't waste my time." Her grin at Sunjata was shared in equal measure with Libbs, but then it gradually started to fade as more people arrived. Quanil was a face in the crowd, someone she vaguely recognized from home - the Fields farmers, some neighbor or another, she couldn't recall whom - and of course she knew Ronin by sight and reputation, if nothing else... but she didn't know any of them. Meaning, they were as good as strangers. It was far easier to just listen to instructions and leap into work than try to socialize, so that's what she did. "Let me help you out, Libbs," she said, once it became clear that the others were preoccupied with removing the rubble that covered the floors. Gingerly lifting the barriers she normally kept on her magic, she used her newfound gifts for ice and water to help support what was left of the walls and ceiling while Libbs worked on shoring them up better. The shimmering pillars of ice she conjured would not last long, a temporary solution only, but meant they could work without getting building blocks falling onto their heads. ----- Choosing to Reinforce! Maea uses her ice magic to shore up the walls and ceiling while Libbs start to reinforce them more permanently.

SUNJATA

i'm drowning in all these voices in the sea
and meeting all my vices in the ring

They pick their tasks, and Sunjata, Ronin, and Quanil begin their work on removing the rubble. At first things are going smoothly, Ronin manages to get a fairly good chunk of the debris out of the entrance of the Temple. Quanil and Sunjata have marginally less, as the two of them dig their shoves into remove a few more chunks of the building, they’ll find a few… more heavier lifting pieces that will need to be removed by hand. As soon as their shovels strike, it hits the stone with a reverberating feeling that draws up the arms of the two. Sunjata hisses under his breath, shaking a hand against the vibration, before setting the shovel off to the side to work on picking up the stone he’d hit with his own shovel.

Reinforcement goes relatively well, Libbs begins her work on it and as she begins to move things out of the way, a piece of the building that had been held in place precariously by some of the rubble falls toward her, nicking her along her arm. It’s nothing more than a scratch, but still a hint of surprise. Maea’s work goes easier thankfully, the ice shoring up the walls and ceiling to help prevent any further fall out.

---

Round two! Keep on keepin’ on!

Sunjata and Quanil find some larger pieces of stone that need to be removed by hand.
Ronin’s got some preeeettyyy good luck so far and doesn’t have any issues.
Libbs starts to reinforce and move rubble away, but a piece falls from the wall onto her arm.
Maea succeeds in shoring up the walls to let Libbs work further.

No post order!

so step inside, i ain't afraid to bleed
there ain't a casket strong enough for me

Quanil hissed as their shovel hit a large chunk of stone. They sighed and set the shovel aside. I knew it would come to this eventually. They brushed away the smaller bits and stared down at the stone hunk as if it had personally disappointed them.

They took a deep breath, held it, and let it out before squatting down close to the stone and trying to push it out of the way, towards the building rubbish piles of debris. They didn't think they were strong enough to pick up the stone, but it need only be shifted, not lifted. So they did their damnedest to push sideways and hoped it wouldn't scrape too loudly (or at too high a pitch) as they did so.

---

Quanil's only got 7 Str, so this should be interesting

M  A   E    A I talked to God to no avail Said, "If you won't save me, please don't waste my time." There was a rumble of tumbling stone, and Maea looked up in alarm at the sound, only to see Libbs be hit by some debris dislodged from the teetering structure. "Are you alright?" she asked in some alarm; the bubbly girl seemed to be on her feet still, but Maea went over to check up on her all the same. As her own work was coming along nicely, she threw a glance at what the others were doing. Sunjata and Quanil were the only ones struggling, trying to move a particularly big block of stone. She tried to help them out by making small marble-sized orbs of ice and scattering it on the floor by the big rubble; if they could get some of it in beneath, perhaps they'd be able to roll it away without too much effort. Then she went back to her own task, to ensure that no more building blocks would come tumbling down into their heads. Reaching deeper into the reserves of magic, she made a layer of ice stretch out between the temporary buttresses and supports, effectively capsuling the inside of the temple walls with a layer of ice, as far as she could reach. It lowered the temperature in the room a bit, but she thought the others probably wouldn't mind. ----- Maea checks up on Libbs to make sure she's alright, then tries to help Quanil and Sunjata move the big rubble by giving them ice marbles to roll it on! Attending to her own work, she shores up the roof a bit more by extending a layer of ice on the inside (like thick plaster) with the side effect of making it a bit chilly inside!

LIBBS

Libbs yelped for a moment, pulling back from what she was doing. Ouch! Ouch! What was that? Did something eat her?

She looked around, feeling for the source of pain, to only run a finger over some blood. Oh. Almost as if the discovery of it absolved it of the feeling, she looked at the blood on her fingers, quickly wiping it off onto her shirt. Oh. That was a small cut. Nothing to be worried about. She raised a thumb at Maea to signal that she was, indeed, okay. She looked to Sunjata and Quanil, who were struggling in their task.

Her eyes studied them, but moved to her task. For you see, in the midst of this, Libbs started to design this odd, triangular structure that was growing in size. Despite being rather light, something about how she had assembled it made it eerily strong, and she was able to walk along the top of it without any breaks. She looked for a good place to put what was more or less her version of a support beam into a good spot, because, eventually, they are going to need to rebuild parts of this roof, and getting these in good spots would keep the roof from falling on them.

--
Libbs more or less shrugs off the cut. It ain't THAT bad.

However, she has remembered her engineerin' bits, and knows that triangles = good. She's attempting making support beams to start holding up the roof with- that way they can start taking some of the walls down without issue.

let's run off to costa rica

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3