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!
Like some child possessed, the beast howls in my veins
Unfortunately, Melita didn’t have much for creative solutions – scooping out sand with any of her weaponry wouldn’t be very effective, nor did she desire to call down a god for something that (should’ve) been as simple as moving granules. There were more than a few huffs and puffs of irritation and frustration, but rather than fume and fury, she snorted and continued onward.
What if she worked faster? What if she worked slower? Her eyes swept over to where Aidon was attempting to match her pace, and strived, at least in this interim, to work together with the rest of the townsfolk and the dragon.
Fangorn, for his part once more, continued to aid in merry movements of his vines, sweeping them along with his regular aplomb.
--
Melita keeps on truckin’ in moving sand with the NPCs.
The frustration coming from her companion was palpable. She could feel it rolling off of him in waves. The Nightshade's jaw feathers and she calls him out of the well. "Okay. New plan. Aidon, come on out. Melita and the rest of you... Space the boards two feet apart. Aidon will come in and do the exposed sections. Then we shift and repeat." Maeve says, voice loud and clear over the bustle of everyone working. The dragon climbs out of the well, joining Maeve once more as she starts to direct those around her.
With Melita continuing to dig, the townsfolk putting in the boards, and Aidon focusing his fire on the exposed sand once they finished their part, Maeve thinks they might actually make some progress.
Maeve proposes a new plan!
If you're a lover, you should know The lonely moments just get lonelier
Hadama considered Yuna’s suggestion and compared it to the plans scratched into the shellprints. Nodding thoughtfully he pulled an urchin spine out of his hair and corrected them to account for the new angling. That is better than what was here. Thank you, he nodded respectfully to the many-legged mermaid and her excellent idea.
Strength and teamwork saw the final ring sunk and tilted at an angle, providing much-needed stabilization to the curve of the tunnel-to-be’s roof. Now we can begin the tunnel beneath the Court, he said with quiet satisfaction, taking a short break to consider the next section of the project. There are ribs from a ghostwhale that was killed three years ago that we can use as braces as we go. And once the rest of the merfolk were rested and ready to continue, forming a chain to help remove the excess sand and dirt and stone, Hadama began to dig again.
Melita was a force of nature as she shoveled with furious focus and a prodigious application of both strength and endurance. Although the initial progress had been slow and fraught with setbacks, the deeper she dug the more firm the sediments became – and the less slippage occurred. Under her unceasing attack the hole grew both wider and deeper and she descended into the depths…
Luckily Maeve had an excellent strategy to keep further slippage from occurring, and with the help of their fellow Torchers she and Aidon were able to stabilize the walls. Hardened to black glass, the well no longer suffered from collapsing and Mel was able to dig in safety with her assistants (and companion). Much like the honeybee girl, Maeve and Aidon would find their pace increasing the deeper they went as the shaft required less thickness for stabilization; and the smooth glass shell would keep the water that would soon fill it from softening the walls over time, as well.
Round 4: Turning Points
The mer have begun their cross tunnel beneath the Court! There are several tasks to choose from:
Digging
Carrying sand/dirt out of the growing tunnel
Bracing the tunnel as it’s dug out
The humans have almost caught up and now face the same question the mer did:
How to start/stabilize the turning point of the cross tunnel on their end? And how will they stabilize the tunnel once they start it? Using the same ribs as the water side (though those may be harder to move outside of the water)? More fire? Something else?
They can also begin cleaning out the well shaft of debris in preparation for the imminent shift in direction.
You are more than welcome, Yuna chimes with a sunny smile, simply happy to be of use to the efforts to dig the tunnel. Once the cross tunnel is braced and can begin in earnest, she considers where her strengths might be. I have a lot of limbs for digging, she says at last, flailing her tentacles as if to demonstrate. Maybe I will give that a try.
And if it goes awfully wrong? Well, there's plenty more to be getting on with, as has already been demonstrated. Until then, though, Yuna drifts down into the well and begins to use a variety of large, scoop like shells in her tentacles to drag the sand and mud out.
Like some child possessed, the beast howls in my veins
Yeah, that’s fucking right. And it’s about damn time.
Proud of herself, and purposefully forgetting all the other moments where she’d been a lost, hopeless cause, the youth granted her abilities with a Cheshire grin. With those proportions tackled, the youth clambered out of the hole, permitting other actions to take place while she surveyed the rest of the options.
The debris would likely need to be hauled out of there – she could imagine a multitude of things getting stuck along the way, and that would defeat the purpose of their work. Shrugging her shoulders, feeling the depths of her muscles not quite screaming yet, the youth and her stalwart companions began cleaning out the well shaft.
It was with a satisfied nod that Maeve called Aidon back from the tunnel they were digging. One task done. Only a million more to go. Melita chose to tackle the well and she left her to it. Instead choosing to focus on the other problem. It would definitely be difficult to handle the rib bones, but Maeve is certain they can manage. ”Alright, let’s take a page from their book. The rib bones will be the best for support. We’ll just need two to a rib.” The queen instructs, already sending a few towards the spare ribs that were laying along the edge of the canal. She doesn’t hesitate to help either, more than willing to get her hands dirty and lend her strength.
”Okay, two down in the bottom. We’ll pass them along.” Leading the others in their newest task, Maeve sets to work, directing each person.
Maeve works on the turn.
If you're a lover, you should know The lonely moments just get lonelier
It was a good thing that Yuna and her 10 limbs joined Hadama in the digging, for the going slowed considerably. Her merform was considerably more efficient at removing the sandy soil than Hadama's two arms and he quickly realized that he was only getting in her way. Leaving the octomer to the task of pushing the hole forward, the mermanta bent his strength instead to helping leverage the rib bones into position. The water provided some pressure as well to help stabilize their side of the tunnel, and Yuna was able to make steady progress.
A well shaft that would eventually fill with water was a far more difficult stretch to vertically traverse while dry. Melita was fit for the challenge, however, removing those volcanic stones that studded the sand, and the sandstone chunks that had compacted over the centuries before the Court had been built over top of them. With bicep and bucket the honeybee girl buzzed with activity, ensuring a clean and clear means of egress to the fountain's edge.
Maeve was a natural leader, and her confident, firm tones and clear instructions kept the operation moving smoothly on the human side. The ribs were heavy and would have proven more of a challenge for the townsfolk, but when the Queen lent her considerable strength to the task things moved along without a hitch. While some of the Torchers dug forward, Maeve and her assistants carefully maneuvered the ribs down the shaft (without hitting Melita in her own duties) and secured them into place.
The base of the tunnel was securely settled on ancient sandstone; unlikely to shift or crumble beneath their supports. There was no water pressure on the dry side to help keep the roof and walls intact while the digging continued, however, and a steady stream of sand and silt sifted down from above to coat the tunnel floor and make footing treacherous.
Round 5: Steady on
Thanks to Yuna, the mer side is progressing well! The tunnel is getting darker, however, and the water is growing cloudy with all of the disturbed sand and dirt being loosened into it.
Keep digging, switch to rib duty, or find a way to cleanse the water so work can continue!
Maeve and Melita have things well in hand on the dry side! The Torchers can handle the basic digging, but finding a way (or more than one) to stabilize the ceiling of the tunnel is quickly becoming a priority.
Like some child possessed, the beast howls in my veins
Rolling her shoulders, grateful for the muscle there even though it was beginning to note some fatigue, the youth pondered over the next problem. Not one to dig tunnels in her lifetime, unless they were for fun ones in the sand that collapsed almost immediately after, the Honeybee glanced over the particulars. “What about some wooden beams?” She extended as an idea to Maeve and the rest of the Torchers. Hadn’t they used that in surface-level designs? “But we’d probably need something to stabilize those too…,” considering the amount of water that would always be threatening and looming. A powerful force, and eternally reckoned with.
Her eyes flickered back and forth to anyone else with suggestions, ready, willing, and able to try anything that was decided upon.
"That's a thought. If we combine the beams with a makeshift arch and have Aidon fuse the sand again we might have something." The queen muses, wiping her brow with the back of her hand and huffing out a breath, studying the tunnel with consideration. "Let's at least try it. We'll need two beams on each side and then one across the top. Section them out every few feet and Aidon will fuse what's left in between." With the instructions given, Maeve sets to work once more, directing those as she goes and marking the spaces for the beams to be set into the walls.
It's tough to keep the top beam up while the others are slotted beneath them, but they do their best to make it work. The team moving section by section and making sure to take their time.
Maeve proposes an idea and gets to work.
If you're a lover, you should know The lonely moments just get lonelier
Pleased with her progress but realising that seeing has become something of an issue, Yuna scrunches her nose and halts her progress for the moment. Unfortunately I haven't any magic to move the water around, she apologises to Hadama, so the only solution is to leave it to clear for a little bit. I'll come and help brace those ribs with you while the sand sinks, if that's alright?
Providing he doesn't mind, Yuna will bob back a few feet and add her efforts to the fortification, using her tentacles to help hold the other ribs in place while she sinks a new one in (hopefully that will lower the chances of them dislodging). Do you think we could encourage some bioluminescent creatures in here? she asks with a grin. Might spruce the place up a bit, and make it easier to see.
Yuna switches to rib duty while she waits for the water to clear!
Melita and Maeve were a dream team when it came to temporarily stabilizing that side of the tunnel. Eventually, when the water filled it, the whale ribs would be sufficient - when the final touches were added. But for now the additional wooden beams and dragon-fire kept the tunnel safe for those Torchers still doing the excavating and progress became much swifter. Wooden beams and ribs were carried in and set into place while sand and dirt were carried out, and Aidon fused the ceiling in between the bony arches to a dark, glassy finish.
The mer side had slowed thanks to the dirty water, but a few of their assistants were able to begin filtering the sand out with their magic. Hadama moved forward to take his turn at digging for awhile and let Yuna handle - tentacle? - the supporting rib bones.
I am hoping to, Hadama agreed with Yuna, pleased that she had the same thought. And I have brought some of the deep corals to grow here, in the dark. Brightly colored nonetheless, they would provide decoration for the tunnel, stabilization of the sandy substrates they took 'root' in, and protection for the small creatures he hoped they could encourage to inhabit them.
And then he thought he heard the clunk and thunk of shovels through the water, not far from where his own shell was scooping away at the lengthening tunnel. I think we are getting close to the humans... send someone to warn them to clear--
Which was when it all went wrong.
Perhaps Yuna was simply wrangling too many ribs at once. Perhaps Hadama had paused just a little too late. Perhaps the humans had been just a little too successful. Or perhaps all three of these things combined in the perfect storm. The rib that Yuna was trying to sink only slipped against the sandstone floor, sliding loose and falling in slow motion through the water. Hadama had time to get out of the way, but not enough strength to stop the massive bone from grinding against the place where he had been digging. Even with water to help resist it the weight of the rib was significant enough to crack the weakened wall that remained between wet and dry. First the water began to trickle through, and then to spurt, and finally to rush, swirling and churning, into the formerly-dry side of the tunnel as the remaining obstructions succumbed to the water pressure from the canal side!
Round 6: Water, water everywhere
There are Torchers in trouble of getting washed away and merfolk getting sucked along by the powerful current at risk of being bashed against the sides of the tunnel as it floods! That 2 was brutal, team. There are only a few seconds to react; what do you do?
Like some child possessed, the beast howls in my veins
Perhaps they should’ve known that wouldn’t last.
Content with the way their plan had formed, Melita was more than happy to assist in fitting beams where they needed to be, adding onto the structure and proportions –
When everything went to shit.
There was no time to think. A breath of air, an intake of the world being fine, and then, unceremoniously not. The volley of water swept and curled, and she had no more opportunity to do much else but reach for the nearest Torcher as their feet were taken out from under them. Fangorn clutched onto anything nearby with vines, Sila took to flying, and Melita?
The Fae charms glistened along her ankle, and the youth stood above the surface, grasping at anyone she could – to save, to ensnare, to snag, before it became too late.
--
Melita stays along the surface of the water (thanks Fae anklet), and reaches for any Torchers before they get swept away!
The Queen wasn't the strongest swimmer. She was getting better with each passing season, but that wasn't in a tunnel beneath the surface of the earth that was rapidly filling with water by the second. Fear lanced through her and she looked around with panic in her jade eyes, "Everyone out of the tunnel!" She calls, high stepping to try to make her way out of the tunnel, but it wasn't easy at all.
Melita stood on top of the rising water, helping Torchers escape the rushing water and Maeve waited until most of them were out before gripping her hand.
Maeve tries to help the others out and takes Melita's hand.
If you're a lover, you should know The lonely moments just get lonelier
It's all going very well until it isn't, Yuna trundling along quite happily as she sinks the ribs into the sand tunnel. But when one slips, falls, and collides with the weakened tunnel ahead, it's a comedy of errors that isn't at all funny. Oh shit-- she manages, just about, before the water is sucking forward and out wards the drylanders.
Luckily she's got more than one limb to spare, and so it's with as much effort as she can conjure that she braces and clings to the side of the tunnel with her tentacles. Are you alright? she calls to Hadama, flailing out a tentacle or two to try and grapple hold of him if he needs it.
Yuna braces with her tentacles to try not to get washed away! She also offers help to Hadama if he needs it.
