From being an Abandoned who had rarely left the Hollowed Grounds, to embracing the call of adventure, to dying and being reborn first as an Ascended and then as an Ancient, Maea has gone through quite the amount of changes in her life. One thing remains common, though, in her attempts to find out just where she belongs; she’s always had a craving for knowledge which has brought her to so many places and to meet so many people here in Caido. We can’t wait to see what else is in store for her!
Congratulations, Maea!
Credits
Court of the Fallen was created in October of 2018 by Odd, Honey, and Crooked.
Skinning and hosting by the epically talented Kaons, and functionality fanciness by the coding magic of Neowulf. If you ever see either of them around, make sure to show them some love!
10-04-2020, 05:40 PM (This post was last modified: 10-04-2020, 05:40 PM by Zephyr.)
tried to fight the creeping sense of dread with temporal things
Floors out and floors it. It makes sense as the logical next step, but you're in an awful lot of pain already. Raza's lucky you like her you think, rubbing your braced arm. Breaking to grab a cup of coffee, you flash Jack a skeptical look. "Does this mean we're gonna be seein' more'a you, oh royal one, or you still retreatin' out onta th'sea?"
Right, though, back to work. With a long-suffering grunt you shove yourself off the wall, following Jack to collect planks and bring them back inside. "Thought you'd never ask," you drawl, kneeling down to firmly grasp his wood. "Remember, Jack, slow'n steady. I know ya don' got a lotta' experience in hammerin' an' poundin'."
Zeph firmly grasps it and gives Jack some important pointers
how do you wanna face it? when the end is so close you can taste it
It’s likely that my Torchers already knew what kinda structure I’m goin’ for - the Hanged Man ain’t the only bar on the sand in Haulani, after all, it’s just the best.
Am I blatantly ripping a design off? Maybe. Maybe not. But it is a significant change, one that’ll hopefully keep the Hanged Man more protected from the weather an’ such things. Milo gets to work on the hinges an’ it takes ‘im a false start or two to make hatches that’ll fit, but in the end the boy is successful at both parts’a his assignment; as I work with Theo, the three’a us manage to create something that don’t look bad. Certainly sturdier ‘n afore.
Zeph an’ Jack are able to get the floor in too, though who’s holdin what and doin’ something’ to whom, I can’t say. An’ frankly, I don’t wanna know. Let ‘em dick fight it out.
The sun’s startin’ t’come up now - I can see the first fiery rays beginnin’ to rise over the Ocean.Luckily it seems like the real hard work is past us. If I’d been real ambitious, I’d ‘ave put a second story on it, but not today - no, one step at’a time.
“Promise we’re almost done,” I say to my deckhands. “I need someone to re-thatch the roof, someone t’help me restock everythin, someone to make sturdy rods to prop the hatches open, an someone to waterproof slash stain the outside again.”
---------------
Milo, Jack, Zephyr, Theo - pick your poison again! Almost done. Again, all the tools you should need will be there for you.
The floor goes in with a great deal of hammering and pounding, and if Jack tries - multiple times - to ‘accidentally’ catch Zeph’s thumb with the hammer, well, that’s his business and no one else’s. Once it’s done he straightens back up, knuckles pressing into the small of his back to try and tease out the tension there, and glances over at the sound of Raza’s voice. He’s been so busy fucking around with Zeph that he only just realises how good the Hanged Man’s starting to look again.
And as their glorious captain gives her orders, Jack knows which one he wants to go for. ”I’ll help restock,” he decides, wanting nothing to do with hard labour on the rooftops or painting. So he grabs the nearest crate of booze and cracks it open, starting to sort through the alcohol in preparation to stock the bar up.
Jack chooses to restock!
you wanted perfect, you got your perfect but now I'm too perfect for someone like you
Theo yawned; even after coffee and malasadas, he was really starting to look forward to being done. So good thing they almost were. "Got the stain," he mumbled, grabbing a brush and starting to slather on the coating.
Then he used his telekinesis to pick up another brush and work with it, so he could put on twice as much stain at once. Nice. That was why he'd picked this task: to finally have something his magic would make easier. His telekinesis might not be strong enough to lift a palm tree out of the ground, but he could slap a brush around no problem.
now they're standing in the door singin' "that's my shit, that's my shit"
It takes him a few tries but he manages to get the hinges working, manages to make the cabinets seem to look just as he imagines Raza had wanted. And a sense of accomplishment overcomes the smuggler with the look of it when it’s all put together – an amused beaming grin that he can’t seem to wipe from his face.
He’s taken a water break when Raza details the next set of tasks, listens when Theo and Jack pick their respective tasks, and then it’s simply rod making and roof thatching that him and Zeph have to decide between. So he walks over to the older man, flashing him a boyish grin. “Don’tcha worry, Zeph, ‘m not gonna make ya get yer ass stuck on the roof.” A playful tease of old age perhaps, but Milo makes his way toward grabbing the materials he needs and climbing up to the roof in the sweltering start of the day to lay down the thatch to cover it entirely.
Milo makes a joke to Zeph about his age and chooses the roof!
that's what everybody wants an' some more singing "you may be the death of me"
tried to fight the creeping sense of dread with temporal things
Well whaddya know, the lot'a you are more talented at construction than you have any right to be or Raza had any right to expect. Sweating and a little sore, you take a break for coffee and a malasada, admiring the new floors and walls while leaning on a table. Seems like a good set of accomplishments for a day's work. Time to pack up and head home, right?
Wrong. There's another set of tasks doled out, and you resist the urge to roll your eyes at it, groaning internally. Externally you simply nod, letting others take their tasks and scoffing at Milo's generosity. You're left with making rods, which is in fact right up your alley. Maybe it'll take a bit longer than it should, but it'll come out painted in rather nice colors with a motif of leaves carved into the wood.
how do you wanna face it? when the end is so close you can taste it
Basically the five’a us should take up construction side gigs, cause we’re fuckin’ brilliant at construction. The worst is a slammed thumb or a couple’a splinters - don’t ask me how it’s done, maybe the Hanged Man is just special like that an’ her magic is rubbin off on us.
More than a little happy that Jack got to restockin’ first, I flash ‘im a smile as I pass ‘im a box full’a clanging bottles. There’s a certain way I like it, but he’s likely to know the way they’re set up by heart, what with all the time ‘e used to to spend in here. “We need to catch up soon,” I tell him with a look that says exactly what kind of catchin’ up we should do. Eloise be damned, oops, I’m back to stake my temporary claim.
Theo gets through his staining fairly quickly, what with his very apt magic use an’ all. Quickly enough so that I notice an’ ask ‘im to start cleaning up.
Milo gets the thatch laid down atop the roof, sealing the magic (hopefully) in. An’ when he climbs back down, I ask ‘im to send a runner to a particular carpenter to come an’ pick up the excess wood an’ remove the palm trees.
@Zephyr’s rods are surprisingly beautiful, an’ when I come over to see his work, I’m openly touched that he’s taken the time to make them pretty. With the rods sent in their places, openin’ the hatches for light an’ an extra breeze, there’s just the floor to reset - the tables an’ chairs on top’a the floor he’d just lain.
Which leaves me ‘n Jack again. I got the fancy stuff locked up in the back room so I gesture for ‘im to follow me. An once we’re back there - I show him the tunnel to the Governor’s mansion. “Figured we could make use’a this at some point,” I say as I quietly lift up the hatch. “Goes to the Governor’s place.” Leavin’ ‘im to ask questions, I go to reveal the magic bag where the good stuff is an’ begin to put it in unsuspectin’ arms so we can look like we’re actually doin’ shit.
-------------------
Last round! Thanks for sticking with it!
”That we do. It’s been a long time,” Jack mutters as he reaches up to replace the bottles, leaving the top shelf (and hidden cupboards) for the good stuff. As he straightens back down, he shoots Raza the filthy sort of smile that Zeph will probably twist his ear for, but the old guy is busy carving shit into wood (obsessed with it, he is) and he isn’t there to see it. The captain follows close behind Raza as she leads the way into the back room, raising an eyebrow at the hidden tunnel that he’s pretty sure wasn’t there the last time he was here.
”Oh, now that’s convenient,” he says with a chuckle, glancing around for the bodybag - an affectionate nickname, of course - and the rest of the booze that comes out of it. ”Reckon you and I will be doin’ even more business by the time the Hanged Man opens again. Though if the Governor changes, as it’s gonna... might need to reroute that tunnel.”
you wanted perfect, you got your perfect but now I'm too perfect for someone like you
now they're standing in the door singin' "that's my shit, that's my shit"
The thatch gets laid down and Milo looks down at it through the bright sunlight with a bit of pride. It turned out well, and it looks pretty decent as well if he says so himself. And so he climbs back down, grabbing another glass of water to down as he listens to Raza’s next command. So he knows just who to go to, setting down the glass and slipping out in to the alleys of Haulani.
He finds one of the other young men that he works with, tells them to fetch that specific carpenter Raza has requested – knowing the guy knew of him – and when Milo comes back after a bit of being gone, it’s with the carpenter in tow, flashing a wide grin Raza’s way, though he still offers help for the carpenter to load the trees and extra wood into a cart he’d brought.
Milo grabs some help in getting the carpenter and returns with him + a cart, offers to help load it up with him.
that's what everybody wants an' some more singing "you may be the death of me"
Theo agreed to clean up, but once Raza and Jack walked away ... Well, he wasn't going to shirk completely, not with Zephyr still around to watch, but he certainly slowed down a bit. No rush, after all. His telekinesis helped again with the cleanup, letting him lift and move things without touching them, which was a bit of a relief after the day's manual labor -- he stretched, feeling his tired muscles complain. Gods, and it wasn't even noon yet. He was going to have to find a nice shady spot to nap off the unaccustomed effort ... after he got some booze.
And he could help finish off the malasadas, too. Another meal, another day keeping body and soul together -- and hey, he was almost even proud of what he'd done here. Theo wasn't usually one to find satisfaction in hard work, but the Hanged Man looked good. With any luck, the bar would remember the favor down the road.
tried to fight the creeping sense of dread with temporal things
You take a quiet pride in your artwork, though to be honest you've been doing it half to avoid any other labor. It's all worth it to see the delight on Raz's face, though, and you flash her a less-and-less-rare grin as she looks over the rods, saying nothing because you guys are well past the point where shit needs to be said.
Then it's back to the grindstone, as it were. It should come as no surprise that you're tasked with setting out furniture; with the sheer amount of time you've spent in this bar, you know where shit goes better than anyone save Raza herself. Being careful not to scratch up the new floor, you drag tables and chairs into place, creating a cozy atmosphere with plenty of little nooks and crannies where business can take place.
10-17-2020, 07:20 PM (This post was last modified: 10-17-2020, 07:22 PM by Raza.)
how do you wanna face it? when the end is so close you can taste it
“I been busy,” I quip back, though there’s absolutely no need to justify why it’s there. “We’ll see what happens. Remi ‘n Ronin lived in a wagon before they built that place… may not be the kind’a guys to stay in one place if they don’t have to.” No sense’a home in Torchline, no reason to stick around if Remi ain’t Governor… I mean, I’d stay, but I ain’t an Outlander. This is home. It’ll always be home.
Which I guess is part’a the reason I don’t like an Outlander as Governor. No sense’a long-lived loyalty. Not like us smugglers.
Anyway, I shrug an’ lead the way back to the main room, purposefully putin’ a little extra sway in my step. Out there, Zeph has rearranged the furniture exactly the way it has been, an’ Theo’s more or less got the cleanin’ up done. Well, enough for me. “I’ll handle the rest,” I call to ‘im after putin’ the rest’a the bottles on the shelf an’ comin’ out from behind the bar.
Milo’s got the carpenter’s cart almost loaded up, so I’ll leave that to finish an’ then throw in the towel. Which is good, ‘cause I can feel the heat settin’ in an’ am ready to call it a day. “Come on, boys, let’s call it. Like I said, breakfast on me.” I can figure out the rest when the sun goes down tonight.
---------------
We done! Next time Jack, Milo, Zeph, or Theo come to the HM, they’re welcome to a night of free drinking. Just make sure to tell Mik if Raza isn’t around ;)
