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!
01-10-2023, 08:54 PM (This post was last modified: 01-19-2023, 07:17 PM by Hadama.)
It was said that nothing brought people together like food, and in the past two years Hadama had found that to be true. He had indulged his own curiosity in the flavors and textures of the airbreather culinary experience with the help of his human friends, and he had shared the traditional undersea dishes of his own people with them in turn.
With peace upon the land he was turning his efforts to increasing ties between the two communities and hoped that a place where Mer and humans could gather and try each other’s specialties would provide another catalyst for that dream.
In his trips into Haulani he had kept an eye out for a good location. He found it along a section of canal near the beach next to a comfortably deep tidepool that was only – currently – accessible at highest tide. He had considered the possibilities over the following days and weeks, and then he had set about arranging materials and posting a request for helping hands, both Mer and human, to meet in early Deepfrost.
He arrived early to help direct the arrival of ocotillo timbers and ropes, cement and dried palm leaves, glass blocks and sturdy bricks, and the tools for those who would, he hoped, help him build his cafe between land and sea.
This is a PQ to build a new restaurant that will serve both human and Mer food! Please post your character arriving and then we’ll get started!
She wandered the streets of Torchline, eyes turning this way and that, studying the people going about their lives. Shopping in the market. Boring. Taking their children to school. Boring. Delivering goods in wagons. Boring.
Large amounts of building materials being brought from the sea.
Curious.
She walked over to the construction site, looking around. People moved around her without thinking about it, the tide of people parting for the tiny demigod. They carried tools and rope, wood and glass. They would be building something?
Building meant something new. New was always interesting.
She wandered until she found the person who seemed to be in charge. She stood before Hadama, holding her doll against her chest. Two pairs of glassy black eyes, girl's and doll's, studied the merfolkf for a long moment of silence.
Then she asked, "What are you building?"
Maybe, she thought, she would help. She had never built anything before. It might be a fun game.
Kaiden had heard about Hadama's newest endeavor after overhearing eavesdropping on a conversation between two other mer. Now, the mershark wasn't known for their teamwork, but food was food. And if they helped create a restaurant, maybe the King would let them take some for free? It was worth a shot at least.
As such, Kaiden arrives and instantly spots Trinket. "Brat. Looks like you're still alive." They honesty weren't sure if she would be. The brat was far too volatile not to have made a few enemies by this point. Good on her for surviving.
Turning to Hadama, Kaiden scowled slightly, "I'll help but there better be food at the end."
~
Kaiden arrives and demands repayment in food later.
A few curious humans arrived along with the building material deliveries, as well as a child. Hadama paused in directing the chaos when she asked her question, considering her solemnly for a long moment before tipping his head to her in greeting. "A cafe. That will serve both human food and mer food," he rumbled quietly in explanation. "I am Hadama. Do you wish to help?"Trinket was small, but there were adults among the volunteers who weren't much brawnier. There was enough work for all, and he had no intention of turning volunteers away based simply on age or height.
Kaiden arrived shortly after, addressing the girl with familiarity (though their usual lack of respect) and making demands of their King. The Mer bond remained tranquil but there was a glint of amusement in emerald eyes as Hadama inclined his head in agreement to the mershark's bargain. "Yes," he affirmed with his usual lack of extraneous explanation.
He faced the gathered Mer first. "We will need to dig a deeper channel," he pointed to the current shallow entrance between canal and tidepool, which needed to be widened and made accessible at all times of day. "And shore up the side facing the sea." So the high tides didn't damage the broad pool or what would go beyond it.
For the humans he nodded to a grizzled older woman who held a blueprint. She was testing the sand while Hadama spoke and it swirled around her Earth magic in exploratory eddies. "We will need to dig a broad area out behind the tide pool as well." On the inland side, farthest from the sea. "And mark where the roof posts will go."
Round 1 tasks:
1. Digging out the channel to connect the tide pool to the canal.
2. Using timbers and stone (which may be taken from the digging crew), shore up the walls of the tide pool on the other side.
3. Dig out a broad area on the inland side of the tide pool for the human kitchen and table area.
4. Mark the places where the roof posts will be sunk.
There are shovels of bone (for Mer) or metal and general tools available. There are also a number of NPC townsfolk and mer who can assist, and will help with whatever the PCs don't get to this round. Hadama will chose a task to help with after everyone else does.
Kaiden nodded sharply, deal struck. Now that the tasks would be worthwhile, the marshark quietly listened as the tasks were given out, a scowl permanently in place. They weren't one for manual labor but digging seemed like the least complicated of the tasks. Not the easiest, no. But the simplest.
With that thought in mind, Kaiden swam over to grab a bone-shovel and take it to the channel. After a moment of brief consideration, hardly any consideration really, they began to dig. Kaiden wasn't sure exactly how deep or how wide it needed to be, but they figured that as long as it swimmable by Hadama it'd be ok. With his large manta fins, the King was probably a decent standard to use.
~
Kaiden starts digging out the channel to connect the tide pool and the canal.
"Food is boring," Trinket said. "But cafes are interesting. There's always lots of interesting people to play with. I hardly ever get to play with merfolk."
If the cafe would bring more playmates for her, then she would enjoy helping out.
Trinket looked around at all of the work, holding her doll against her chest. For a long while, she simply stood there, her dark glassy eyes watching the workers. People moved around her almost as if avoiding her. Trinket stood perfectly still, though the doll's head swiveled this way and that, staring at the people through the dried bloodstain that covered its eye.
Finally, Trinket decided on a task. Digging was boring. But near the pool, lots of people were hauling rocks and wood. There was a large pile of rocks next to the pool. People were lowering them into the pool one at a time.
Boring.
Trinket looked at the rocks near the bottom of the pile. She commanded them: roll. The rocks started rolling into the pool, starting a rockslide within moments. Workers yelped and jumped to the side as dozens of rocks tumbled down the slope. Several workers fell over, grunting in pain as they were pelted with rocks.
Trinket looked at her work and gave a tiny nod. She had helped. Now all the rocks were where they needed to be. That was better than one at a time.
"You're welcome," she told the workers. They scowled at her for some reason.
---
Trinket helps move the pile of rocks down to the pool so the workers can shore up the sides.
Several other Mer joined Kaiden in his digging. Pickaxes were brought into play to break apart the volcanic rock and the mershark was able to easily shovel away the debris as the entry was made deep enough to ensure a steady flow of water even at low tide, and wide enough for two Mer to swim past each other. The work went steadily and without mishap and much faster than anticipated thanks to Kaiden's efforts in particular (18). Finishing ahead of schedule, the digging crew was able to take a short break and rest up before the next round.
Whatever Trinket's reasons, Hadama inclined his head gratefully for her help. A strange child, perhaps, but he usually avoided children and wasn't one to judge. He swam over to where materials for the sea wall were being delivered, overseeing the construction from within the pool. He stopped the people trying to lower stones into the pool; the tide pool was already made of stone, where softer rock had been eroded out of a broad, deep basalt basin, and the wall nearest the sea needed raising up and shoring around the pool's edge, not its interior.
When the rocks began rolling, Hadama raised his voice. "Esme!" The older woman who had been marking out the post holes looked up and, seeing the disaster unfolding, reached out with her Mastered earth magic to hold the rocks in place. Luckily Trinket's magic was weak enough (7) that only a few of the rocks had shifted, and the rockslide was more of a trickle. The workers were easily able to avoid those few larger stones that had started to shift (14, 16, 13) and while Esme held them steady, the men and women moved them further back until mortar could be placed to fix them upon the tide pool's lip and atop each other in a protective barrier, held in place by the timbers until it could dry. Hadama helped stabilize it from the pool-side, making sure the rocks were lined up flush with the edge. It was slow work (10), but in time it was complete.
The Mer contemplated the child who had almost caused so much trouble, but in the end he chalked it up as a learning experience and turned back to the gathered crew. Looking out on the other side of the tide pool, the human side had begun to take shape as a large basin, half as deep as the pool itself, and the King nodded in satisfaction.
"We will need to plant the roof poles," he explained. "Weave the palm fronds into thatch. And move the creatures living in the inlet to new homes." Some people needed to sit down and take a break, but others were rested and ready to get back to work, heading off into different groups to begin.
Round 2!
Pick your task:
1. Sink and mortar the roof poles into the holes Esme made for them.
2. Weave the thatch roof from palm fronds
3. Construct the roof frame that the thatch will be tied to.
4. Move the tide pool inlet flora and fauna to a new home
No post order! Hadama and NPCs will pick up the slack.
Trinket looked around, the tiniest frown touching her lips. Building things, so far, was boring. The mer in charge started talking about putting up poles and weaving thatch. Boring. But then he mentioned something about moving creatures.
Curious.
Trinket headed over to the inlet, dragging her doll along behind her. Workers moved out of her way. Trinket strode straight forward, caring not for who was in her path. They would move, she knew. They always moved.
When she reached the inlet, she looked down at the plants and animals below. Frogs. Fish. Plants. Boring...but they didn't have to be.
Workers were already catching the fish in nets and moving them out to sea. Trinket ignored them. Others were carefully digging up plants to be transplanted into new locations. Trinket saw no point in worrying about plants.
The frogs, however, drew her attention. There was a large conglomeration of them at one end of the inlet. They would do.
Trinket looked around, spotting an empty crate. She looked at it and gave it a command: come. The crate tipped over, rolling end over end until it landed at her side near the inlet. It settled down with the opening on the side, making it easy enough for the frogs to hop inside.
They just needed a little encouragement. Trinket couldn't control the frogs, but she could find ways to get them moving. She looked around at the dirt and rocks and shells scattered about. She started giving them little commands, making the dirt shift and the rocks jump. It spooked the frogs, making them hop in the right direction. She kept a close eye on her work; if some of the frogs were moving in the wrong direction, she made sure to spook them back in the other direction.
Before long, dozens of frogs had hopped into the crate. She set her doll down and commanded it to help usher the remaining ones inside. The doll wobbled about on its porcelain legs, shooing the frogs into the crate.
Once the crate was adequately full of frogs, Trinket commanded it: close. The lid flipped shut and latched itself. Then she commanded the crate: follow.
Trinket headed back towards the town. She didn't know how far away the mer wanted the frogs to be moved, so she headed up to the market district. It was a bit of a walk, but she was in no rush. The crate continued tumbling end over end beside her, making quite a ruckus of croaks and ribbits from inside.
Once she was in a nice crowded area, Trinket stopped the crate and commanded it: open.
Then she returned to the work site, as dozens upon dozens of frogs swarmed out into the marketplace. She heard women scream behind her. A tiny smile touched her lips.
When she reached the work site, Trinket located another crate. Now it was time for the crabs...
---
Trinket helps relocate the animals away from the work site!
