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!
i say i'd do it all again, but i hate paying for my sins
He’s quite pleased with the fact the mortar stays thin enough and still not too thin as they work. And even with Wessex’s blunders, they manage to get it done and settled to where they’re hardening without too much else to do other than plan. “Sounds easy enough.” He rumbles with a soft smile sent Wessex’s way before he’s focusing on the next task once Nikolai has returned.
He grabs the cutters to cut the wire where Nikolai indicates, mulling over the ideas of Wessex’s as he does so. “Placing them on the ground does run the risk of the accidental deer or two.” Varus says with a hint of consideration as he goes. “Is there a way to maybe keep it contained to the trees through the branches that combine if they were to flit through the branches? Could make it unassuming with the leaves and what not.” He suggests, though he doesn’t know for sure what would be the best option.
Or, or… “What about fishing line?”
Varus gets to cutting while making some suggestions!
after all is said and done you're just a carnivore
let you in and drink my blood you're nothing but a monster
Nikolai’s luck takes a sharp right turn and increases exponentially, with the young Ascended expertly measuring out wire and rope in perfect proportions. Seriously, dude, maybe consider a career change, you’re so good at it?
Varus does have some good ideas, and he’s able to talk and work without anyone losing a finger, cutting where Nikolai indicates. Wessex talks through the idea he proposes whilst looking up at the trees surrounding them, and tying rope to the maces that have already dried. “Fishing line isn’t a bad idea, do we have any that’ll withstand… I don’t know, up to twelve pounds? And is clear?” How much does a fucking raccoon weigh, anyway? Her hand slips and she cuts herself on a bit of metal, but even as the shiny fluid flow from her, Wessex’s hand heals, leaving only a thin line where her nanites re-knit themselves together. She pays it little mind.
“I think the only way to catch someone is to string it through an open path. The Fae are small but not that small. I don’t think we can worry about bird shifts or anything like that. And as for the deer - we may just have to start patrols to check and see if any are sprung every now and then.” The tasks won’t end, now that war looms definitively on the horizon. If anything, they’ll just get busier.
So with everything measured and cut, Wessex carefully picks up a mace and loads it on to the cart. “Time for a test run. Let’s see the sites.”
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Let's load everything for the first mace into the wagon. Nikolai, show them the site you picked and then let's try to rig the thing. Almost done!
We are only haunted by the things we refuse to accept -Bridgett Devoue
Nikolai left the debating of wires to the other two as they seemed to have it covered for now. When Wessex gave the signal, Nikolai began to lead Varus and her through the trees. "I marked the ones that seemed advantageous with X's." He noted, pointing to a tree where two paths met that had a slashed X on the trunk. "I marked more then when need, so we can decide which ones are best to use."
Going around and showing them the chosen spots, Nikolai brought them back to the initial tree. "This is probably the best place to start." With that, he did his best to help them rig it. The young Ascended was out of his depth so he followed the lead and instructions of the other two as they worked.
Nikolai shows Varus and Wessex the trees that he marked. Choosing one, he helps them rig it. He's not sure what he's doing in that department, so he's following their lead.
Resilience is born even when we feel like we are dying -Alex Elle
i say i'd do it all again, but i hate paying for my sins
They make a good team once everything falls in together. And with it, it leaves time for Varus to think. So the grin that crosses his face at Wessex’s question is full of excitement and thought as he nods. “Torchline.” He offers her helpfully, lips quirking more toward a smirk. “Sure they gotta have something that’s used for the bigger fish. I can go and see if I can pick any up.” He offers with an easy shrug.
They manage to get everything done, though, and he moves swiftly to start lifting and loading up the mace carefully as he can, using his metal arm to handle the brunt of it. He flashes another fanged grin Nikolai’s way. “Smart kid.” Once they reach the spot where they plan to set the first one up, he works carefully with the rest of them to try and set it up without setting it off.
Varus helps load it up and helps to put it up at the place indicated by Nikolai!
after all is said and done you're just a carnivore
let you in and drink my blood you're nothing but a monster
It turns out that Nikolai does indeed have excellent taste in trees and has gone from a crit 1 to two nat 20s in a row and the one he suggests for their first trial is perfect when it comes to camoflauge, height, and advantageous position. Wessex whistles low and long, nodding in a good way. “Yep. This is exactly what we’re looking for, well done.”
She hands the rope to Varus before moving the flying mace from the wagon. “Loop that rope around this a couple of times so it can swing like a pendulum without falling out. Then we’ll need to get it up the tree.” The assassin, too, is adept at this and is able to both loop and tie it off securely, so that there’s two loose ends - one to enable the mace to swing down from a branch, and the other to tie it to the tree until triggered.
“Let’s set the tripwire there,” Gesturing to a break in the branches, Wessex indicates where it should go. “Everything should be in the cart.” Whoever takes it will find some fishing line neatly coiled, hidden under the counterweight. “And that means we’re going higher with this,” she says ambitiously, taking hold of everything needed. “I can get all this up there, but whoever’s coming with me will have to climb. Sorry.” And then like that, she’s gone, and reappears in the branches above them.
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Pick if you'd rather run the tripwire across the open space (tie the fishing line to one tree, then the other + rig the counterweight for the release clamp)
OR
Help Wessex set up the mace (tie one loose rope to the branch, or the other one to a release clamp and run the line down to the counterweight)
i say i'd do it all again, but i hate paying for my sins
The rope gets handed to him and he does exactly as Wessex indicates, wrapping it around a few times so that it can swing without falling out. Once that’s done and made in a way that can make it trigger-able, content with the result as he focuses on the next task. There’s a couple of options laid out and Varus watches as Wessex fucking teleports up to the top branches. (He isn’t jealous, not at all, no sir.)
He flashes a grin to Nikolai, handing him the fishing line. “You got the tripwire?” He asks, though doesn’t give the kid much of a choice as he moves to follow Wessex – using his metal arm to pull himself up through the branches to help the demigod set up the mace with the rope he’d just worked with. He decides to go with the one that would bring him down to the release clamp to connect it to the counterweight, hoping that it works and doesn’t end up coming back to literally swing at him.
Varus picks setting up the mace and focuses on the release clamp and rope to the counterweight!
We are only haunted by the things we refuse to accept -Bridgett Devoue
Nikolai flushes at the approval his choice of trees receives. He's pleased that he's actually contributing to their efforts and not acting as a burden. Seeing Wessex teleport has the young Ascended pausing in shock, jealousy and awe freezing him in equal measure. It's in his moment of shock that Varus hands him the tripwire. Nikolai's gaping look is turned into a scowl, but he accepts the wire and gets to work.
Running the wire along the proper path, Nikolai ties the line to the trees. He triple checks the ties to make sure that they're secure enough, but not too tight that they won't release, before moving on. Grabbing the counterweight Nikolai then does his absolute best rig it up properly so that the others can attach it to the release clamp.
Nikolai runs the tripwire and rigs the counterweight.
Resilience is born even when we feel like we are dying -Alex Elle
07-21-2021, 03:47 PM (This post was last modified: 07-21-2021, 03:49 PM by Wessex.)
WESSEX
after all is said and done you're just a carnivore
let you in and drink my blood you're nothing but a monster
Though it took a while, they’re all successful in the end. Nikolai is able to set the tripwire and the counterweight, and Varus is able to climb up the tree and help Wessex rig the actual weapon.
But their work isn’t done; she has to run a test, and then there are more to set.
It will be a bit of an effort, but the two men will have the demigod’s gratitude and good will from here on out, because these defenses aren’t just for the three of them, they’re for the Grounds and the family as a whole.
When it seems like the rigging will hold, Wessex teleports down and triggers the tripwire with a stick so they can see if their hard work has paid off - and it has, the weight releases clamp and the mace comes flying down, ripping apart some smaller branches and sending leaves flying in its wake. Wessex can’t help but grin in excitement, more than thrilled that her plan seems to work.
“Great. Now that we know what to do, let’s set this back and up and collect the other maces. We should be done by sunup and then I owe both of you some serious favors.” The words are barely out of her mouth before she starts at it again, the Wraith's energy seemingly endless when it comes to this kind of thing.
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This concludes the PQ to set up defenses for the Grounds. Nikolai, Varus, and Wessex have successfully erected flying mace traps in the trees of the Outskirts. Thank you, both! Feel free to cash in that favor from Wessex whenever.
