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!
It's one thing not to be able to really help lift or load heavy lumber into a cart and having to watch someone else do it, but when said lumber falls back out and he has to do it all over again? It just makes it worse. She grimaces, watching his jaw feather and his gaze grow a touch darker with his frustration. Maeve is left to watch again as he loads them back up, stacking things more strategically this time to ensure that they don't fall out of the cart again. For extra measure, Sunjata tosses her the end of a rope, instructing her to hold onto it as he ties down the other end. Maeve keeps it nice and taught on her side, ensuring that it'll help keep the wood in place this time.
When he comes around to her side, she's quick to step out of his way, wanting to get this done as smoothly as possible. Once it seems to be secure, Maeve grabs a few cans of the screws and nails as well as the sealant she mentioned earlier with the necessary brushes to paint it on with. She loads that into the front of the cart to ensure they aren't forgotten.
Maeve helps Sunjata tie things down and collects the extra supplies they need so nothing is forgotten.
Second, third, and hundredth chances
Balancin' on breaking branches
Those eyes add insult to injury
Now that is more like it. With ample organisation and the supplies securely tied down, it's quite a spectacular array of things that Sunjata and Maeve will have with them when they return to the port. Which, judging by the way the cart eases into motion when they do decide to move it, smoothly and without a hitch, should be very soon indeed. (Like by your next post!).
As for the little group at shore? With the beat of wings and two brawny (yes even you Gideon) men hauling the debris into a lovely pile, the water and the dock area is looking mighty clean and tidy. And it turns out, Remi, that when a demigod fires three starbolts at a pile of wood (and when that demigod rolls particularly high), it is indeed enough to ignite said wood. And so when the two groups meet again, it will be to see a merrily crackling bonfire and a beautifully blank slate with which to build the new dock.
Excellent luck all around means that you smashed through that round! When Sunjata and Maeve arrive with the supplies, the following tasks will be necessary:
- Two to unload the cart
- Two to paint the wood with sealant
- One to begin constructing the dock frame!
Why, are you wishing death on me already? comes Ronin's snarky reply back to the manticore in the water. And I can't wait for you to watch me light a pile of wet wood on fire. Smiling brightly at Gideon and working with the other man to arrange the debris into a bonfire, he nods his agreement. "That sounds like the best idea." He agrees.
And then Ronin goes for it - and lo and behold, he's only fucking done it. Resisting the urge to poke out his tongue at Remi, he glances up to see the other members of their group returning victoriously, with supplies that look much better than those they had started with. "At last." Grinning, he jogs out to meet them, intending to help unload the cart.
Everything went as smoothly as it could do, as Gideon often found that missions blessed and intended by the Gods did (was this due to his memory purposefully ignoring the ones that didn't? Nooo, of course not). They had a moment of rest before the cart arrived with the supplies, which were swiftly taken out and put to use.
Feeling quite confident after his successful lifting and hauling work, he took the pieces of wood and metal, bolts and joins, and began to put them together methodically. It had been so long since he'd done this kind of work, but Gideon hoped his memory and the right amount of help from above would assist his hands in doing the right things. Being able to look at the structure later and claim he'd help build it would be something great indeed.
--
Gideon begins constructing the dock framework.
GIDEON
And lord, don't let me break this, let me hold you lightly
Give me arms to pray with instead of ones that hold too tightly
dreams where you're murdered boy i know you heard it all before
There’s a silent prayer of thanks to Safrin when Sunjata steps back from the cart and notices that it isn’t going to budge this time. And with Maeve’s help and Sunjata shifting to his nyala shift, the trek back is made quite easy, until they reach the docks and Ronin comes to greet them. He shifts back into himself, stepping out of the ties used to lug the cart back, and he manages a soft smile for his friend but nothing too much more.
Ronin begins to unload the cart and Sunjata casts half a glance toward Remi, swallowing hard as he steps away from the wagon toward the paint brushes Ronin had supplied. I can paint if you want to unload the wagon with your husband. It’s said quietly, peacefully as he can, even if there’s some hidden inner war that occurs. He simply just wants to make this go as quickly and as easily as possible.
So he takes the paint brush and grabs a can of sealant and gets to work.
Sunjata tells Remi that he can unload the cart with Ronin if he wants to, and grabs a paint brush and sealant and starts working to seal the wood!
you shut your eyes to pain boy then just lock the fuckin' door
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
On it. Remi silently says to Sunjata with a nod of his head. Exiting the water and shifting back—he's now soaked of course, not that he minds—Remi goes to join his husband in unloading the things that Maeve and Sunjata have brought.
"No one could have lit those logs on fire better than you, husband." He chuckles, sounding proud, but smirking as he presses a kiss to his husband's temple. "Honestly, what would we have done without your skills?" Giving Ronin's ass an appreciative slap for a job well done, Remi begins to help unload the wood and other supplies as the wood crackles merrily in the background.
Remi unloads the wagon with Ronin!
Coding base by Sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Thankfully it seems the boys are tending to the heavy lifting. Which is perfect because that certainly wasn't going to be Maeve's job. She climbs from the cart, grabbing the sealant, "We got a little caught up. Apparently I'm quite the looker and the shop keep just had to let me know." She's not going to tell them that everything fell out of the cart after they loaded it the first time. All that matters is that they're here now and they can finally get to work.
Maeve happily makes her way over to where Jata is working, settling beside him to start coating the wood with the sealant that she so thoughtfully suggested they get. Hopefully it helps the wood last longer than it would without it.
Maeve helps Jata seal the wood!
Second, third, and hundredth chances
Balancin' on breaking branches
Those eyes add insult to injury
Well, the good news is that all of the equipment gets unloaded (well done, R&R), all of the wood gets sealed up (well done S&M) and there's a very decent start made to the dock frame (good job Gideon). The bad news is that Sunjata and Maeve seem to get sealant everywhere, even in places (and especially, in some cases) where it isn't meant to be. Like all over themselves and all over the nails, and all over the floor.
Now it's incredibly slick and slippery, and dock construction will proceed with very sticky wood. (Hurr). Still, there's a whole afternoon ahead to get building, so how hard can it be? Really? How... h... let's just do our best, guys.
Okay, we're heading towards the culmination of things! The rest of the afternoon will be constructing the dock.
Because no one here - as far as I know - actually knows how to do this, don't worry about the details and just let me know what your characters are up do: helping finalise the frame, helping to stabilise the dock in the water, helping to make it look pretty etc. etc.
It goes, however it goes, and you know what, that's good enough for Ronin. He can't help but cackle at the sight of the sealant covering everything, and if he spends a little more time than he ought to lingering around Remi to try and get more kisses and ass slaps, well that's his fucking business.
Now there's a dock to make, and so Ronin busies himself in using his bRaWn to get the larger pieces of wood in position, and to clean off the slick nails as best he can. And when a few dock workers amble past, he hollers to them as well and tries to sweet talk them into helping with the promise of some of the snacks Maeve has brought.
Ronin moves the larger bits of wood into position for the frame, cleans off the nails, and tries to rope in some help.
Everything went rather well as far as his responsibilities went; Gideon was quite happy to see the dock coming together, the slats forming something bigger than themselves as it went on. Then he went to reach for another plank and his fingers came back sticky - oh dear.
Well, everyone made mistakes, though he couldn't help pulling a face as he had to use the rather grubby wood. Hopefully, it'd dry out soon enough; he was glad he'd worn his messy clothes for this and not his usual formal outfit. Working the best he could with the sealant-soaked material, Gideon continued to work on the basic construction of the dock, leaving it to other people to make it look good and add details (when they weren't slapping asses).
GIDEON
And lord, don't let me break this, let me hold you lightly
Give me arms to pray with instead of ones that hold too tightly
dreams where you're murdered boy i know you heard it all before
He has no idea how it happened, honestly. And yet, it’s managed to get everywhere. It’s an addition to an already difficult day, truthfully, but it isn’t anything that can’t be… Fixed, he supposes. A bit of rain and washing and letting it dry might help clean that up. “Well…” He huffs, moving to stand and secure the sealant so hopefully nothing else gets anywhere.
“I’ll help set it up below.” He offers, casting a glance from Maeve to Ronin and Remi, ignoring Gideon for the most part before he’s slipping into the chilled waters, shifting halfway into that favored merman shift of his, diving into the water and moving to help support the beams underneath.
Sunjata mermans to help stabilize it below! (I wasn’t sure if a full orca would fit so we’re just mermanning it up) LOL
you shut your eyes to pain boy then just lock the fuckin' door
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
Excuse me of course I know how to build a dock, here, in the land of prairies and mountains
Is Remi the strongest and most agile of them? Why yes he is; for a task like this though, Ronin and Sunjata's strength is plenty good enough. Before all of this godliness, Remi was an alchemist, and though he might have lost that title in lieu of another, turning one thing into another was still at the heart of what he did.
This might not be gold, but still, it was turning a bunch of supplies into something else that was useable.
Remi doesn't bark orders at all. When it comes to Ronin he snarks them sarcastically (Oh wow. Really interesting choice. So you want this to take longer, then?); with Sunjata it was mere mental narration of what was happening above so the orca would have some idea of what to expect; for Gideon it was to suggest which boards would require the least amount of sealant in order to maximize efficiency; and for Maeve it was merely quiet and polite suggestions.
THE ALCHEMIST
i’ve been chasin the storm of a lovesick lonely lie
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Maeve was fairly sure that she had been doing a good job painting with the sealant, but perhaps she was a little over zealous with it. She winces slightly as she watches Gideon make faces when he handles the wood. Whoops. Maeve watches as Sunjata discards his brush and offers to help down below. This is the part where she really isn't made for helping. So she does the next best thing. She makes sure that they have all the nails that they could use and hands out snacks from her basket of goodies.
She also does her best to help Ronin entice the dock hands over with a few well timed winks and smiles, giggling and fawning over them until they agree to help with the work. Maeve might not be good at actually building things, but she's very good at networking.
Maeve helps by making sure everyone has enough supplies, snacks, and by being a flirty flirt to entice the dock hands into helping them work.
Second, third, and hundredth chances
Balancin' on breaking branches
Those eyes add insult to injury
Well would you look at that. You may have had your troubles along the way (and then some) but as the day draws to a close and the winds begin to pick up, there's a freshly built skyport sitting against the docks where previously there had only been rotten, moulding wood and a bunch of sea manta habitats.
The dockhands flock to help, and remain enthusiastic and refreshed thanks to Maeve, the port is stable above and below thanks to Gideon and Sunjata, and between strength, agility, sass and a keen mind (that's mostly you, Remi), things fall into place.
And how wonderful, to have a place for skyships to tether themselves in: there is room for up to three ships to safely dock side by side.
What a shame, though, that it'll all need a lot of TLC after the monsoons. Oh well. Live and learn.
Congratulations everyone! The skyport is complete and so is this PQ+! You can all count this for any levelling you may need to do.
