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!
Grinning at the Remedy’s ever-present thoughtfulness, Wessex nods and continues on her way down the steps. Just a couple of ROUS’s. Everything should be clear up to that landing, but can’t say for anything above it.
After depositing the arcasses outside, Wessex ventures in one more time to see if she can clear any excessively large rubble from lower levels. It seems like a lifetime ago when she fought Jigano to open this portal, and for a moment the Wraith is taken back to the night she Ascended to demigodhood. That damn Snake Guardian, the summoned Frost Giant, and eventually, the momen the Voice stepped in to bitchslap the Sage. More or less.
And the truth is that she’d never turned her eyes to the walls, despite using this portal fairly often. Really, the whole Spire should be given a once-over now that they’re in peace’s waning months. Maybe that’s a project for herself and Nikolai after she makes sure there’s nothing sekrit in Stormbreak.
Nikolai, we should find some time in the future to look the rest of the Spire over for anything to be translated, she offers casually to her brother, before grabbing something big and trying to carry it out.
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Wessex goes to try and remove any last minute big rubble pieces from the basement and tells Nikolai they should do a complete scan of the Spire... at some point.
No, I’ll be the stone
I’ll be the hunter, a tower that casts the shade
I lie awake and watch it all
Nikolai is glad to be rid of the rodents. Something out their tails were just unnerving to the Ascended. Probably because they looked like intestines to him. He really needs to stop reading those horror books.
Shaking his head to clear it of disturbing thoughts, Nikolai joins Wessex in clearing rubble. Glancing at the Spire he notes the progress they've made. It doesn't feel like a ton in his opinion. But it's still progress. Plus, it'll be easier to delve deeper now that this path is clearer for foot traffic.
Nikolai perks up at Wessex's offer, giving an eager nod. "I'd love that." He didn't get many opportunities to use his favorite upgrade, and he was sure that the Spire held more secrets than they could imagine.
~
Nikolai helps move rubble and agrees with Wessex about coming back later.
Down and out, and out of luck, we're spinning but the needle's stuck
Pleased with the relative progress they had made, Maea made a point of going over both the walkway and the railings one more time, just to make sure that everything was drying properly, looked safe and nothing had been forgotten.
After making a final round, she began to help the volunteers clear out the remnants of the labor. Saw dust, mortar and other debris was cleared up and brought outside, along with any leftover materials. It would probably remain nearby for another time.
Maea
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
Darkeye looks at his work and is satisfied that as soon as his workshop is finished, he will put lanterns in this place to light up the room.
He also went downstairs to look at the stability from below and if he was sure that everything would hold, he would add a few more support beams and columns. He took measurements and drew everything again to get to work later. It was important that the stability of the tower is guaranteed and he would do this as soon as he had time on each floor. But one step after another.
More than satisfied with the work that the group has put in, Isla smiles as she gazes over the (much more stable looking) ground floor of the Spire. If only a few ROUS were all we ever had to worry about, she remarks to Wessex, helping to sweep and take out the last of the smaller pieces of rubble, and checking the stability of the doors leading into the tower as well.
"Oh, that's very thoughtful," she says to Chaele as the shaman makes their way down to investigate the basement. "If you wouldn't mind, that would be wonderful. It would make it really feel like a new place." And gods, Isla doesn't know if there are any bad spirits lurking around here still. A purification certainly won't hurt.
Chaele investigates the basement in the faint lantern light, reading the dwindling wreckage as if it were the pages of a book that is going to burn. Surely the story of the Spire can be told by those who had witnessed its near destruction, but there is something honest, something unbiased about the scene itself that eventually satisfies her naive examination of it. Once she has made her rounds, she retrieves her smudge sticks and begin on the task of purification.
"I call the east wind, that renewed purpose may one day return to this place." She nods in passive gratitude to Wessex and Nikolai as the smoke drifts after their labor. "I call the south wind, that prosperity and cheer may find it. I call the west wind, that the history of this place may not be forgotten." She makes room for Darkeye to check the beams as fresh embers catch on the swaying sage. "And I call the north wind, that it stand in strength for years to come."
Isla stands by as Chaele begins the purification work, as the volunteers and the rest of their little group finish up and begin to make their exit of the Spire. Eventually, it's just smoke from the smudge sticks, the shaman's calm voice, and the lanterns flickering overhead in the spaces where the others had made room for them. And Isla feels strangely at peace, to see at least a small amount of restoration come to the obsidian tower.
"Thank you," she says again to Chaele, turning at last to make her way outside as well. "Hopefully your blessings hold true, and the Spire starts to become a place to be proud of." It's a long road ahead, but they have made a start. That's the hardest part, so she's heard.
