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!
08-17-2023, 04:45 AM (This post was last modified: 09-02-2023, 02:49 AM by Talyson.)
He'd been talking about it for a couple seasons now and Tal figured it was time to put actions to words. He'd gone hunting for a good place to set up shop in Torchline; someplace near to the skyport so he wouldn't have to carry the packages too far from the drop point to his skyboat, but it didn't need to be very big.
Which turned out to be a good thing, because all the larger properties had long since been taken over by merchants catering to the sailors of sea and sky. The best Tal had been able to find was a little place wedged between two larger buildings and sharing walls with each of them. It was narrow and cramped and terrible for trying to display wares from, but the courier didn't have wares. Still, previous tenants hadn't left the place in good repair and it was going to need some work to get it ship-shape again.
Tal had posted a few notices around town asking for help in exchange for lunch and his services and now the young man with his dark, shaggy hair and brown skin stood waiting outside with a collection of cleaning supplies and repair materials, watching his companion - a large, glacier-pale dragon built like a mastiff and standing as tall as a great dane - stalking the tiny, swift lizards that were sunning themselves on the side of the busy road.
This is a PQ to establish a courier's depot/dropoff and waystation in Torchline!
Please post your character arriving with whatever they've brought to help.
Ray had been slammed with work lately, drowning in patients and tricky customers. She'd had to give up her ambitions of leading Torchline and thankfully Hadama had been understanding. But it had still stung. Yet the herbalist had always felt that her main purpose was to care for the people or Torchline, in whatever capacity that she was needed. It was a bit of relief that Harper was able to step in and she could continue to keep the citizens healthy.
It was as she was dropping off an herbal shipment for her shop that she spotted the notice. She vaguely recognized the name attached and figured she should help. She'd never met the courier in person, but his name had made the rounds. Finishing up her errand and picking up some supplies, the Attuned made her way to the run-down building.
"Hello! I'm Ray. I saw that you needed some help?" The herbalist smiled warmly as she spoke, grinning at both courier and dragon.
~
Ray arrives! She has her usual first aid kit, daggers, and rope.
When Tal had mentioned setting up shop in Torchline, of course Soh had offered to help. After all, Tal had to be one of her best friends, and gods only knew how much he'd helped her in the past. If she was distracting herself from the fact that she still hadn't heard from Jude since he'd left earlier in the season, well, that was just a pleasant side effect. Right?
Right.
In any case, she rushed up to Tal and a young woman she didn't recognize, a little breathless, Tarak clinging to his typical perch on her shoulder. "Hi!" she said, her voice coming out in gasps. "Sorry I'm late!" Tarak leapt from her shoulder to greet Boreal with a squawk that sounded suspiciously like the dragon's name (he was half parrot, after all). "I'm Sohalia," she introduced herself to the stranger before turning her attention back to Tal. "Where do you want to start?"
When memories fade we've got each other When time and confusion collide
"Oh! Hey, I'm Tal. Talyson Seawright," the courier said, unable to hide his relief that someone had showed up to help him out. "Nice to meetcha, Ray. I'm hopin' this doesn't take all day--" Boreal had ambled over to sniff at the newcomer's fingers, scaly tail wagging in canine draconic greeting, but her attention was immediately snagged by the bright, cheerful little squawk that come from the shoulder of one of her favorite people.
The noise she made in return sounded nothing like Tarak's name and everything like a happy dragon noise as she bounded over to greet her friends and Tal's face lit up even further at the welcome appearance of the Heart of Stormbreak and her companion. "Soh! You're just in time! This is Ray. Ray, this is Sohalia. An' this is Boreal," he added, making sure introductions were made most of the way around. "Let's get goin'! So here's what I figure we gotta do first..."
Round 1!
1. Remove the broken furniture from the second floor
2. Pull the boards off the windows
3. Sweep the debris out of the first floor
Rising from the sea like some warm and welcome submarine is a Tumsea. With a smattering of starfish on its shell and a coating of seaweed, the creature looks as if it is trying to reflect the starlit heavens. Slow and kind, the creature glances your way, and though it is difficult to ascribe a smile to a creature such as this, indeed it seems to be smiling at you before descending down back into the waves.
You’ve encountered a Tumsea. This counts as a rare creature encounter for the purposes of levelling, but does not count as a Random Event for levelling or MP. There will be no further admin/re intervention. If you choose to follow this creature, you do so at your own risk, however, just having it in this thread is enough to satisfy your levelling requirements. You may not kill your rare creature without admin permission.
Tumseas (rare/mythical): Smaller cousins of the Tulmhainar, Tumseas are like moving ecosystems all unto themselves. With shells of brilliant blues and earth browns, these turtle-like creatures can grow to nearly 4ft in diameter and can hold their breath for decades at a time. Bringing vibrancy and health to all the underwater trails they follow, Tumseas are thought to be good omens and are often followed by schools of fish encantados
"Hi, Ray!" Soh said cheerfully before focusing her attention on her friend, giving Boreal a fond pat and slipping her a treat with a wink. If Boreal started to gain weight, it would likely be Soh's fault; she always carried a bit of dried meat or something similar on her, on the off chance she ran into Tal and Boreal. Of course, since she had given Boreal a treat, she had to give Tarak one as well lest he begin to squawk indignantly. Once he was offended, he was impossible to deal with until amends had been made.
Minor crisis avoided, Soh turned her attention to the task at hand. She might not be strong enough to move furniture on her own, but surely she could manage to pull the boards off the windows. "I'll take the windows!" she said, and made her way to the first. She was just about to start when movement caught the corner of her eye, and she turned to see a tumsea rise from the sea. "Oh, look!" she cried. She fumbled in the bag at her side for her journal, hoping to capture the magnificent creature before it could disappear, but it descended back into the waves before she could even pull out the notebook.
Pouting slightly, Soh closed her bag and turned reluctantly back to the task at hand. Tarak, uninterested in the windows, sprawled nearby in the sun, purring contentedly, as his bonded began to tug at the boards.
------
Soh tackles the windows!
When memories fade we've got each other When time and confusion collide
Ray happily allowed Boreal to inspect her feelings, cooing at how adorable the dragon was. As she watched the companion eagerly greet someone who was clearly a friend, Ray waved. "It's nice to meet you all." The older Attuned moved to grab a broom but paused when Sohalia pointed out the Tumsea. "Wow!" She had had no idea that the creatures were so gentle looking.
When the Tumsea resubmerged, Ray returned to starting her task. There was quite a bit of dust and cobwebs on the first floor. The Attuned coughed into her shirt when a particularly large cloud of dust was stirred up as she swept.
If there was any better omen for his new shop, Tal didn't know what it was. He paused to watch the tumsea along with the ladies, shading his eyes as he whistled in appreciation at the cheerful-looking life-turtle. "Hail, it's pretty cute," he admitted, right before realizing he had to make a grab for Boreal's horns to stop the friendly dragon from trying to bound into the sea to say hello. "Oh no you don't--!"
He managed to wrangle the dragon back down and by the time she had settled again the tumsea was gone. Soh and Ray were already at work so he figured he better get moving, too!
Sohalia had to work to pry the boards off the windows. The wood was old and warped with humidity and saltwater and swelled around their nails, but with some serious elbow grease and tenacity she was able to finally strip the last slat away! ...only to reveal that many of the smaller panes beneath were cracked or broken anyways.
Tal, meanwhile was handling the awkward, heavy lifting of shifting the old furniture down from the second floor. It looked like it had once been an office of sorts but had since ended up a place to shove broken and unwanted furniture from the previous tenants. He wrestled it all down, piece by piece, and started sorting out what could be repaired and what could go to the beach bonfires.
Ray was a hard worker and she attacked the dust with a will and admirable determination! As it turned out, though, it wasn't the cobwebs that were the problem. It was the trio of mice that jumped out of their hiding place beneath the shop's little counter and went fleeing in three different directions when she sneezed!
One headed for a small hole in the corner, one headed for the stairs, and one headed for the shadows of the shelving that had once held the previous shop's inventory.
Round 2!
Drop everything and get those mice out of there!
08-31-2023, 06:11 PM (This post was last modified: 08-31-2023, 06:11 PM by Ray.)
The snake will always bite back
Ray jumped back when the mice raced out, startled by their sudden appearance. As the rodents scattered, the Attuned quickly locked onto them. All of her shifts were predators but only one was both fast and small enough to keep up with the mice. Scales began to cover her skin and within a few seconds, a bush viper was in the herbalist's place.
The viper quickly slithered after the closest mouse, letting instinct guide her as she chased after them. If they evaded her, maybe she could call her fellow snakes to help? That would be her back up plan. For now, she'd hunt.
~
Ray shifts into her bush viper form and tries to hunt the mice!
Prying the boards off the windows was harder than Soh had anticipated, and by the time she had finished, she had worked up a bit of a sweat. Tarak, content in his ray of sunshine, eyed her with disdain; he was quite the finicky griffin, and he abhorred dirt and grime. Soh wrinkled her nose at him as she passed, on her way inside to see what else she could do to help. With a dramatic sigh, Tarak heaved himself to his feet and padded inside behind her.
It wasn't long before some mice were unearthed, and, like Ray, Soh's first instinct was to shift. In the blink of an eye, she was a tide jaguar, and she bounded after the mouse that ran for the hole in the corner, Tarak hot on her heels. The little griffin arced around to try to cut off the hole and, therefore, the mouse's means of escape, as Soh tried to pounce on the terrified creature - not to kill it, but to trap it between her paws.
------
Soh shifts into a tide jaguar and tries to trap the mouse (Tarak helps by trying to block the mouse's escape).
When memories fade we've got each other When time and confusion collide
As always it seemed like there was a mix of good news and bad news when it came to these sorts of things.
Ray 's viper shift was a perfect predator for such a chase. She shot after the mouse that was heading for the stairs like lightning, and the little vermin didn't have a chance. It squeaked and struggled as she caught it, then lay limp in her jaws, either frozen with fear or else playing dead. It didn't even reach the first riser before it was caught, and what Rayo did with it at that point was up to her!
Sohalia's shift was a bit large for the task at hand, but that meant that she covered ground fast. The mouse almost managed to dodge her broad paws with its greater agility, but she just barely managed to smack one down on its tail and the little rodent couldn't manage to pull itself free. It was unfortunate that Tarak was not quite as graceful, either because he was young or just very unlucky and got a nat 1. The little griffin slipped as he darted around the room and skidded face-first into the wall, his little beak ending up stuck in the mousehole.
And then there was one.
Tal had fought ROUSes in the Feverlands and should have been fully competent to hunt down a single mouse. Alas, fate me, I'm fate was cruel, and the courier tripped over the dropped broom handle as he dove for the final rodent. He missed by a mile, but his dragon had grown up hunting mice on the Tundra and this particular little morsel had no snow to hide in. Boreal leapt over her fallen human, pouncing like a fox down onto the mouse just as it reached the shadows of the shelves. A toss of her head sent it into the air with a final squeak of dismay before it disappeared head-first down her gullet.
She burped delicately and went to lick Tal's face, 'helping' him back up. The courier draped an arm around her shoulders even as he pushed her slimy tongue away, giving the ladies a rueful grin. "Uh. Yeah. So, that went... well? Thanks, guys. Good huntin'." He looked around, rubbing absently at the bruise on his knee before he straightened and nodded. 'Things are lookin' a lot better. Just a few more things to go..."
Round 3!
- Replace the broken panes in the windows
- Repair the wooden shelving
- Drill a pair of hooks into the walls upstairs to hang a hammock from
Could she have succeeded with a smaller shift? Probably. But her only other shift was a snowy owl, and with those talons, she'd have been just as likely to kill the rodent as to catch it. At least as a tide jaguar, she was able to retract her claws and pin the mouse by its tail. Tarak, on the other hand, was not so lucky, and slid face-first into the hole in the wall. His pride wounded far more than his physical form, the griffin pulled his beak from the hole with a squawk of irritation, then stalked back outside to lay in his sunspot. See if he'll help any of you in the future!
On Soh's part, she shifted carefully back into human form, keeping the mouse trapped underpaw (in her hand) as she shifted. Then she was able to carefully carry it outside and around the block, where she could release it into a patch of grass.
That done, she returned to the building they were working on and got to work replacing the broken panes in the windows, removing the panes one at a time and attempting to replace them with new ones. With any luck, she'd be able to move through the windows quickly and efficiently, leaving Tal with brand new windows.
------
Soh tries to replace the broken window panes!
When memories fade we've got each other When time and confusion collide
Ray swallowed her mouse whole before shifting back to her human self. Her serpentine instincts allowed no other course of action. She grinned at Boreal as the dragon did the same. At least Tal didn't seem hurt.
With the new tasks given, Ray moved to repair the wooden shelving as Sohalia took the windowpanes. The older Attuned wasn't confident in her drilling abilities and figured that she should leave that to the courier. The herbalist grabbed fresh planks of wood, a hammer, and some nails and set to work.
Ray took her time to make sure that the shelves were even and wouldn't let items slide off of them. Or at least, she did her best to do so.
Poor Tarak might have escaped from the streak of bad luck, but that just meant that it shifted to Sohalia next. Though she successfully released the mouse to a new life in the park (where it would live a long and happy existence and beget many children and grandchildren and great grandchildren), her hands weren't quite as steady when it came to working with the windows. It was shadows of Harper all over again. The first window went smoothly enough and she replaced all the cracked panes without a hitch! ... But the other window was in worse shape than she'd realized. The frame itself was warped, and every pane of glass she tried to fit back into it inevitably fell out or immediately cracked under the pressure.
On the other hand, Ray turned out to have a veritable knack for woodworking! Tal whistled in admiration as he came by with the hand drill, admiring her fine and sturdy work. The shelves were square with each other and level enough that nothing would roll out of them. They even looked strong enough to hold together throughout an earthquake in case Apopo should blow again, and capable of protecting the missives and parcels that would be stored within against anything short of fire or flood.
Tal's task was simple enough, and the courier did it with efficiency. He located the studs in the walls first with some testing taps and a small magnet on a swivel, then measured the height and drilled his holes. Pleased to find the supports were sound, he twisted the screw-ends of the large hooks into the thick wooden beams and then tidied up the wood shavings, coming back downstairs to throw them outside and survey the work being done.
"Hey! I think we're almost done! Let's do the finishin' touches an' go get somethin' t'eat!"
Round 4!
1. The last window needs its entire frame replaced. oops?
2. There's some furniture to carry upstairs so Tal has a place to crash on overnight courier runs: a hammock, a chair, a big pillow for Boreal, and a small desk
3. A sign needs to be painted and hung over the front door, letting everyone know about the new post office in town!
