[PQ] Home Is Where the Books Are

Still somewhat unsuccessful in her ventures, Amalia begins to grow mildly frustrated. It is anger born from anxiety and a hope she will not once again fail, and it manifests in the horns that begin to spiral from her forehead and the long, prehensile tail that sprouts from the base of her spine. Turning at last to actual cleaning, the Shield gathers up her books and takes them to Jigano before setting to work on the shelf and pallet. In her arms she gathers up the straw and decaying bedding; with her tail she takes a cloth with soapy water, scrubbing on the shelf and readying to move it outside. Amalia takes the books out, then picks up the pallet and starts wiping down the bookshelf with her tail. a m a l i a You were young and you'd stare With a reverence unimpaired Searching in your dark eyes to find the stars already there

Loren was able to contain most of his water, though that which had dripped through the floor was beyond his reach. The beetles were small and easily moved by telekinesis, well within his reach to gather up again, though it took some time to find them all. Leather was an excellent polisher of wood and metal, but not quite so good on glass. It would take a great deal of elbow grease – and Jigano poking his head in to check on his friend’s progress and delivering one of the buckets of soapy water to help things along – but eventually he would finally conquer The Ladybug Room’s filth, and clear light filtered through the thick glass to reveal a pleasant little room that would make for a cozy little dorm.

Jigano’s faith in Samuel was well-founded, as it turned out. Shifting, dusting, and cleaning would reveal nothing more ominous in the room behind a few more dark stains on the broken glass of the window, though the sharp edges had been worn down by wind and weather over the years to lose their wickedness. Getting the moldy book corpses out was a Herculean task in itself, but thanks to the bookmaker’s lack of breathing it was accomplished without incident, and soon only the rotting shelves and table remained.
And the stains, of course. Those weren’t going anywhere without some serious scrubbing – or perhaps a nice rug over the top?

Quanil ‘s new friends remained scarce as light from the door once more illuminated the Mystic Room. They would have no trouble gathering the books and bringing them outside to a bemused Jigano, who had thought he was done carrying stacks of literature. ”We can investigate them later. Either the information inside was sensitive, or they might be Sentient Books,” he mused thoughtfully as he collected them. ”When Loren is done we can ask him to fill the lamps. Between the two of us, he and I should be able to get most of the intruders to move along.” Quanil would finally be able to apply the broom with earnest, revealing a lovely parquet floor with a silver circle inlaid in the wood and the phases of the moon inset within in ebony and tulipwood designs.

The rodents were summarily ejected from the building and Rance was able to finish dusting out the pigeonholes in The Farmer’s Room. The shelves wouldn’t take long, either, but the bigger challenge for him was yet to come with the shifting of heavy furniture and there would be plenty of chance for disaster in that undertaking, as Rance had already figured out for himself.

Amalia finally caught a break as she found a rhythm and got to work. Books were safely gathered, and soapy water obtained without incident. When she went to move the bedding the missing moon dropped out from the last pile of rotting straw. Though the pin that had connected it to its planet was broken the moon itself was still intact, a red-orange metal sphere the size of Amalia’s little finger. Once the pallet’s remains were removed the rest of the cleaning went swiftly and the room soon began to sparkle beneath her care.

The window was immune to Ronin ‘s sweet words, giving him the cold, glassy shoulder as it refused to be wooed. As in most situations, a little lubrication would go a long way when forcing an opening failed, but lacking any suitable substance at the moment the Dark Star had to turn his full attention to finishing the initial cleaning of the room. When the dust finally settled (outside the open windows, thankfully) he’d be able to begin carrying his shelves out.

”Alright, that’s the last of them,” Jigano said, relieved to have finished the last of the book-carting (for real!) this time. ”Let’s pair up and start emptying these rooms of their shelves. The tables and a chair or two can probably stay, if they have any, but most of these shelves will require at least two people to lift and carry down to the place where the wall was repaired.” He grinned down the walkway at the demigod at the far end. ”Ronin, you’re already paired up. Hmm…” Looking at the others he thought quickly, trying to balance personalities with how strong each looked. In the end, he smiled ruefully to himself and nodded to Quanil. ”I’ll give you a hand with what’s in that dark room, and see what can be done about some of those tenants you mentioned.”

---

After a lot of hard work, the rooms are finally clean. Great job, team!

This round will work a little differently: there is no posting order, but the partners will be first come, first picked. The first person to respond will get to choose who their partner is and which room to start with. The person who is picked should reply to that post accordingly and get shifting shelves or other heavy objects that might be in the way.

loren

With a little assistance from Jigano (whom the Launceleyn thanked profusely) Loren managed to clean the window. Despite his lingering annoyance over his mishap with the water earlier, he surveyed the room a bit proudly. When they were called out to the main area, and told to partner up, the healer glanced around at those who remained.

There was an obvious choice for him. Smiling almost shyly, he stepped towards Samuel. "Partners?" Assuming there weren't any objections, he'd add, "We can start in my room and move on to yours?" And then, again assuming all went to plan, Loren would suit action to word. Heading into room one, he'd move to the farthest bookshelf. "I'll take this end." Crouching down, he'd wait for the bookmaker to get into position before lifting.

---

Loren partners with Sam to begin clearing the bookshelves out of room one.

Never judge a book by its cover.

The revealed silver circle stole Quanil's breath for a moment, but they, with effort, shoved past it. There was work to do, after all, and they wanted to get it done, for lots of reasons. Once they had finished, they stood outside their room and waited.

When the provost decided to come partner with them - well, not partner with them, not that way, Freina'd said he already had a partner and Provost Jigano Silversmith would never do something so dishonorable as to cheat on a partner! - they nodded and smiled and practically dove back into the room to grab for the first bookshelf.

They almost, almost offered to be the one to go backwards down the stairs, but a moment's thought revealed the impracticality of such a suggestion. The guild master was not only stronger, he knew the stair placement, could move backwards down them... well, not easily with a large bookshelf, but easier.

To make up for that, Quanil did their level best to bear as much weight as they could manage otherwise. They also scooted the bookshelves out away from the walls a bit, to make them easier for both of them to pick up and also, hopefully, to discourage the skittering critters. Skitters? Skritters? The unwelcome guests.

Amalia

she wants the silence but fears the solitude

she wants to be alone and together with you

At least she's somewhat successful this time. The room rather clear, Amalia comes out to listen to the next set of instructions, nodding with Jigano. Pairing off and moving shelves..

A glance around gives her no clarity on who to work with, but as others pair off the choice is made for her. Nodding toward the man she doesn't know, the Shield extends a hand. "I'm Amalia. Guess we're working together. Where do you want to start?" She'll follow him into the selected space, gripping a bookshelf and waiting for him to help her lift.

---

Ama pairs with Rance and lets him pick the room

she ran to the lighthouse, hoped that it would help her see

she saw that the lighthouse had been washed out to sea

Sam could have cried with relief when his further searches brought up nothing particularly worrying. The stains on the glass of the window implied that maybe he was looking at the scene of someones accident than murder and he could only hope they'd gotten out okay - at least he wasn't finding them. He didn't want to touch the stains so he went out to look for some kind of rug or covering: finding eventually a bit of material that would do for the moment he went to lay it over the ground, then weighed it down on each corner. He'd have to tell Jigano about what lay underneath later and let the bard decide how to proceed from there. A chair and a table over the material left the room looking homey enough. You wouldn't even know about the crime scene. They were to find a partner and Sam was beginning to have flashbacks of childhood bullying when Loren thankfully came up to him quickly. "Yes. Um.." He went with Loren and helped him lift the bookshelf, a little wobbly but able. "I found bloodstains, in my room....how was yours?" Samuel He took a step but then felt tired He said, I'll rest a little while But when he tried to walk again He wasn't a child

Dusty and a little frustrated with the window, Ronin arrived back out into the hallway just in time for Jigano to address them. He raised an eyebrow as he was singled out as already having a partner, wanting to snip out yes but he's an asshole before thinking better of it. Still, as everyone partnered up and got instantly to work, the Dark Star was left with little ole him to get it all done.

Given that he spent the majority of his time alone these days anyway if not for Remi, it was hardly a task he wasn't used to. Heading back into the room, he summoned his projection again and got to work, lifting the shelves and carting them down to where indicated.

---

Ronin and his projection cart the bookshelves out of Room 6 where he started to the indicated place.

Dusty and sort of wishing he’d just eaten killed the mice, Rance was still a little irritated when Jigano announced the next step in the cleaning process. At least he wouldn’t have to move the furniture alone, he mused, though he’d been perfectly prepared to. He looked curiously at Ronin and his doppleganger, wondering if that could really be called ‘pairing up’, but before he could consider offering his help, the sole woman in their group approached, offering her hand. Rance arched a brow high at the horns that stood above her head, but said nothing as he grasped her hand. “Rance, and I guess so. We can do your room first, it’ll be easier to keep out of everyone’s way.”

Turned out he’d made the right choice, as her assigned room didn’t seem to have much actual furniture in it other than a shelf and a broken metal contraption of some sort. He had to duck his head to keep from clocking himself on the low end of the domed ceiling, but otherwise it seemed simple to take the other side of the bookshelf and lift so that they could carry it out.

---

Rance and Amalia head to Room 4 and work together to carry the shelf out of the room.

Samuel was able to hide the evidence stains for now and he and Loren made a very effective team! Something they might have already known, of course, but they were both strong and steady enough to shift the bookshelves from the Ladybug Room without mishap. They would be able to be used in their new location downstairs for better-preserved books than the ones Loren had initially found on them. The table could remain – one less thing to add to the room later – but Sam’s Broken Room was another matter. The broken table was levered out easily enough in its two pieces, but the bookshelves were soft and spongy, difficult to grip and prone to slipping – or crumbling – at the worst possible moment. The men would get them downstairs only with great difficulty, and both bookshelves were reduced to debris by the time they did.

Rance might not have been the strongest member of the group, but with Amalia to help him they were able to wrangle the shelf to its new home. When they returned, Amalia would be able to find the missing planet from the orrery, a swirled green orb with streaks of emerald and ivory. Moving the orrery itself was a far more difficult task, but this time luck was with her and with Rance’s assistance they were able to shift the strange device to wherever Amalia directed them to go. No more pieces fell in the process, and some study would reveal how to glue the broken pieces back into place later. In comparison, the Farmer’s Room was cleared with almost surprising ease. The pigeonhole racks were built into the wall and couldn’t be moved, but perhaps would provide a useful space for a future tenant to store odds and ends. The bookshelf made it down without incident, leaving one table behind as a desk and another that could be moved to one of the other rooms without one.

Ronin had the most work ahead of him – both of him – and the most chance of disaster, for there were six shelves to shift. Luckily for him he was both strong and dexterous; there was a sense that had he been less so, things might not have gone as well as they did. A stumble towards the bottom of the stairs resulted in one shelf cracking under its own weight and rusted nails that snapped one after another, but the other five made it down, most without even a scratch to show they had ever been elsewhere.

Quanil ‘s room wasn’t too difficult to divest of its shelves; the table and chair remaining for some future occupant to use. The youngest loreseeker was wise to let Jigano go down the stairs first, though, as they struggled with their grip twice and two of the shelves showed some scuffs and scrapes before they were re-homed to the first floor. The skitters were another matter, but Jigano exercised his Beastmaster ability to coax out as many as he could reach, and compelled the intrusion of mutated carnivorous cockroaches outside. Perhaps the vampire gourds would get them, or perhaps they’d get the vampire gourds; he didn’t care too much, so long as they were away from Sanctuary.

As they finished  placing the last of the shelves Jigano grinned brightly around at all of them. As he noted the dirt, the smudges, the bits of moldy books, the straw in hair, and everything else his grin turned a bit rueful. ”Thank you so much for all of your help so far. The last item on today’s agenda is moving some basic furniture in. I called in some Guild favors to have some simple pieces made; they’re in the cart outside. Every room should have a bed, a desk, a chair, and a chest for clothes and belongings.” He nodded to Quanil with a smile. ”Thanks to Freina we also have bedsheets and curtains. If you’d like to change rooms, now is the time, or you can stick with what you’ve been working so hard on. I’m going to see about getting some oil for those lamps,” he added with a nod for the Mystic Room’s lighting problem.

---

Almost done!

List of tasks for this round:
Move beds (and tables, where necessary) into the rooms – two people
Move the chests into each room – one person
Move chairs into the rooms that need them – one person
Make the beds after they’ve been put into position – one person
Hang curtains – one person

No posting order, though the person making beds should wait for the people carrying them in to post first.

loren

At the mention of bloodstains, Loren's eyebrows shot up. "Um. Nothing so eventful as that." He gave the bookmaker a concerned look. "Were they new?" Although the healer wasn't going to give up in the middle of the task, if the other man was worried the Launceleyn would take a look when they were done here.

Apart from the last part, where the bookshelves broke down in their hands, Sam and Loren's efforts went quite well. Grinning at the bookmaker, the healer brushed the debris off himself as best he could. "Wanna tackle the beds and tables with me too?" There was something almost shy about the way he asked.

Regardless of the redhead's response, the Launceleyn would make his way over to the cart. When a second person joined him, he would do his best to help transport the beds and tables up the stairs and into each bedroom. Although his arms already burned a bit from the strain of the bookshelves, he was surprisingly strong these days. Apparently eating regularly and not descending into self-destructive spirals was good for his health. Who knew?

---

Loren helps transport the beds and tables into the rooms.

Never judge a book by its cover.

Amalia

she wants the silence but fears the solitude

she wants to be alone and together with you

Amalia and her companion are surprisingly successful at moving the furniture from the room, finishing swiftly and with little difficulty. Wiping her hands on her breeches, she is about to gather a chair when something she heard Sam say suddenly clicks in her brain.

Turning abruptly on her heel, the Shield fixes her brother with a look of surprised alarm. "Did you say bloodstains?" she asks incredulously, wondering why nobody else seemed the least bi phased. "Where? Were they fresh? Show me." She's still carrying a wooden chair, but that seems suddenly much less important.

---

Ama overhears Sam talking about bloodstains while moving her first chair and is totally derailed.

she ran to the lighthouse, hoped that it would help her see

she saw that the lighthouse had been washed out to sea

Quanil brightened. "Freina made the curtains and sheets?!" Hearing that, how could they resist going to see them?

The sheets were all of a type, simple, undyed linens nicely hemmed and edged. But the curtains had been dyed different colors, and they each had different patterns along the bottom edges, resist-dyed geometric shapes and patterns. Quanil was so proud of their sister for helping their guild, but they were lollygagging, and so they sheepishly began picking up the curtains to go hang them. This also provided them a good chance to see the other rooms, since the room they'd been working on didn't have a window.

They got a bit fussy with it, honestly, trying to decide which hue and pattern best reflected each room (really, it was just an excuse to marvel at Freina's handiwork that she had provided to the guild). It was going to be difficult to choose a room, though they were inclined to let more senior Loreseekers have first choice.

---

Quanil's hanging curtains!!

Getting everything downstairs was difficult and Sam was glad when the job was done and he could talk to both Loren and Amalia about the blood stains, both of whom thankfully reacted with the appropriate amount of shock. "I don't...think they were new, no, but they were big." He told them both, then pointed them both to the room he had been working in, to the material he had spread over the floor. "Under there." While waiting to see what his friends would make of the situation he went to pick up chests and move them to rooms, keeping an ear out for any cries of disgust or shock coming from the room. The final chest he took to the room he had begun in so he could see what had happened, if anything. -- Sam moves chests! Samuel He took a step but then felt tired He said, I'll rest a little while But when he tried to walk again He wasn't a child

Clearing the two rooms turned out to be pretty straight forward, they’d seemingly gotten the two rooms with the least amount of furniture. The cleaning job wasn’t perfect, but the new occupants themselves could take care of that if they weren’t happy. Cleaning wasn’t exactly his strong suit.

Conversely, helping to carry heavy loads in most certainly was. The talk of bloodstains had Rance’s brows rising, but he didn’t let him distract him too badly. As Amalia and Samuel picked up chairs and chests, and Quanil scurried by with curtains, Rance glanced at what was left and took the other end of whatever the unintentionally abandoned HA! Loren was carrying.

On one pass, Rance peaked into the room in question and commented, “Can’t be too fresh, the Guild’s been here a while, right?”

---

Helps Loren with the tables and chairs!