[PQ] Domiciles Delivery Service

Between Noah's scouting and a couple of customer recommendations, Tal had narrowed down his prospects to a single building on the outskirts of the Domiciles nearest to the docks and the skyport. The neighborhood was a little on the rough side - as in, a number of buildings hadn't been repaired yet - but civilization was slowly expanding back out in that direction and it wouldn't be long before the new post office was in the middle of a bustling little civic center.

Well, hopefully. And if not, it was still on the way to the port so people would be going past it anyways with any packages they wanted to get on a ship to elsewhere.

As he'd poked around it in the rain, Tal had determined that the roof looked fairly sound and most of the windows were covered by storm shutters that had kept out the worst of the weather while it had stood abandoned. Boreal had headed up to the roof to see if the chimney held any snacks surprises, and her companion finally steeled himself to step inside and see how bad the damage hidden by the shadows was.

And promptly came backpedaling out as fast as his legs could take him over the uneven ground, barely dodging the swipe of one large, stony fist. "Hey!"

A gravelly roar followed, and a hulking, stony shape lumbered into the doorway. It hesitated for a moment, but the ceaseless rain that fell upon the Hollowed Grounds kept the sun hidden behind thick clouds, and after a wavering test of the dreary grey stormlight it emerged fully, large fists swinging.

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This is a PQ to help Tal build a courier station in the Hollowed Grounds!

Round 1:
Get the stone golem out of there!

1. Tal
2. Noah
3. Alys
4. Open!

Stone Golems (uncommon/mythical): Large, rocky constructs, these clumsy creatures aren't too bright, and instinctively will attempt to batter or smash anything that disturbs them. They can be found lurking sometimes in abandoned domiciles. They are very vulnerable to daylight, collapsing to dust under the rays of the sun.

Alys had accompanied Tal on his travels, and despite the fact that she had no interest in returning to the grounds, she was hardly going to abandon him halfway through their world tour. So when he mentioned putting a courier station in the Grounds, the seer swallowed her distaste and agreed that it was a good idea - which, to be fair, it was - and followed along with Sascha in tow.

With the appearance of the stone golem, however, she was beginning to regret her choice. As Tal stumbled back from the entry of the building, Alys looked up and yelped to see a great, stony fist swinging through the air. With a mental surge of warning for Sascha - who promptly ran to the nearest bunch of grass to hide - the seer ran to Tal's aid.

Stone golems didn't like sunlight, but there was none to be had on such a dreary day - still, perhaps she could trick it. It would be a complex illusion, to be sure, but if she could get close enough without being hit... so she snuck carefully around the back of the golem as it emerged into the rain, casting an illusion that the downpour stopped and the sun emerged just above the golem.

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Alys arrives with everything on her profile and tries to trick the golem into thinking the sun is coming out with her illusion magic!

Alys

Noah arrived on the back of Vi'dore (Eira, reminding Noah how much she despised the rain, stayed home), ready to go. The unicorn was pulling a cart loaded with supplies that he thought might be useful: tools for repairing (nails, hammers, etc), some lumber, and some paint. Just as he slid off his companion's back, he went to call out to Talyson. The courier, however, was already making his way inside the building with Alys at his side. Noah brightened a little at seeing her, having enjoyed the time she spent with him and Cordelia learning to make luxere stew for the first time.

It seemed though that all hell broke loose. Noah flinched at the sounds, but immediately went into protection battle mode. Having helped scout the place, Noah felt a sting of guilt on the back of his neck. He would have to apologize to Talyson profusely -- for while he had determined which buildings were abandoned by humans, he hadn't ventured inside of any to see what creatures may have settled within.

Noah had encountered these creatures before. They fell to him before, and his power had only grown stronger. Knowing that the creatures were weakened by the sun, Noah summoned what he could. First, he sent his stag. Made of pure sunlight and celestial energy, the attack had proved to provide a great deal of damage against such a creature the last time he used it. It appeared at his side first, and then did as it was commanded. The great beast shook its sunlit head and charged, lowering its antlers before making contact with the stone golem.

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Noah attacks the golem with his Spirit Stag!

Magic: Spirit Stag | Can summon the spirit of a mighty stag; an echo of Noah's former shift. This will last for 1 post per thread and appears to be made of pure sunlight. Noah can direct the stag to charge at a target, dealing fire damage and causing disadvantage on their next roll.
Type: Light | Rank: Upgraded

With him Noah has all of his magic/abilities, Vi'dore, and his Atticus amulet; a cart full of tools lumber and paint.

the forsaken

The rain, the mud, and Tal's own classic bad luck combined in the worst possible way in that moment. As the stone golem took its second step towards him he reached for his Dagger, attempting to dodge back a second time--

And stepped into a puddle that was hiding a pothole several inches deep. The courier went down on his ass in the mud with a yelp, raising an arm in a hopeless defense against the trundling creature that was bearing down on him.

Alys had a good idea, but her illusion magic wasn't strong enough to overcome the rain that relentlessly shattered it. Her little bit of light barely distracted the golem, who waved it away with the annoyance of swatting a fly. It didn't even manage to slow the monster down as it closed the distance to Tal and raised its fists to smash down upon the courier.

Or it would have, if not for Noah. He had reacted in time to send his stag leaping across the distance, and this the golem could not ignore. It froze where it stood, arms raised above Tal, and then took a step back, lowering an arm to ward against the stag that charged into and through it. Where the sunlight touched, the golem cracked and then shattered. Most of its body fell to dust, while its limbs dropped to the ground, reduced to simple, unliving stone.

Tal stayed where he was for several breaths afterwards, waiting for the blow to fall before he cracked his eyes open and saw the remnants of the golem in the mud. He let out a deep sigh of relief before turning to give Noah a look of wordless relief and gratitude.

And more than a little embarrassment that the Sentinel had seen him make such a fool of himself.

He picked himself up, trying to knock the mud off his clothes as he cleared his throat, abashed, and tried to get back on track. "Um. Thanks for comin', guys. An'... dealin' with that," he nodded towards the golem's remains. "An' prob'ly savin' my life." Or at least, saving him from nasty bruising. "So... I guess we should start by cleanin' it out, first? An' maybe hangin' a new door..." The old one was looking badly cracked after the golem had knocked it half off its hinges.

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Round 2:
One person can make and hang a new front door
Two people can clean out the cobwebs, dust, and rocks left from the golem's lair behind the stairs

With the spirit stag having done its work, Noah let his eyes fall to Talyson. When the courier's face turned back on him the relief and thankfulness flooded down Noah's spine and warmed him from the inside despite the nasty weather around them. He nodded and smiled, his glacier eyes softening briefly. "I thought that building this post office was a better use of our time than burying you." He hoped to lighten the mood with the joke, offering Tal his arm as he pulled himself up and out of the pothole.

Brushing his hands down his front, Noah turned to the door. "I've seen your building skills and they're much better than mine. I'll lift the heavy stuff." He flashed Tal a grin that he hoped would ease whatever the courier felt, and then went to work. He worked on trying to gather the biggest debris he could which was hopefully a lot given his 40+: Near herculean strength and take it outside where he could make a pile for it to be used later for some kind of project.

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Noah helps clear debris and rocks!

the forsaken

Alys's plan didn't work particularly well, and her heart jumped into her throat as the golem merely waved away her attempt at sunlight, focusing its attention on Tal - who had slipped in the mud and now lay, defenseless, at its feet. "Tal!" she shrieked, terror taking hold. This was her best friend, and she was about to see him trampled into nothing before her eyes -

But then a spirit stag appeared, shattering the golem and saving Tal, and Alys looked around with relief. Her heart still hammered in her chest as she recognized Noah and waved a shaking hand in greeting. Her laughter at the Forsaken's joke rang a little hollow, but the attempt at humor did, at least, lighten the mood.

With the golem taken care of and the adrenaline settling in her system, Alys turned her attention to the tasks at hand. She was not particularly strong, but neither was she adept with building doors, so she set to gathering the smaller bits of debris and rocks that Noah left behind before clearing out the lingering cobwebs.

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Alys gathers debris and rocks and cleans cobwebs.

Alys

"Yeah, you'd be diggin' til Longheat t'make a hole in this mud," Tal agreed with a shaky grin, grateful not just for Noah's timely arrival but also for lifting the mood. Alys's laughter might have been a little shaky, but so were Tal's legs as he accepted the Sentinel's hand up. At least the damage wasn't too bad; most of the wood from the door could be salvaged and repaired without needing to split entirely new planks from the supplies they had. Moving inside to be out of the rain, Tal put his woodworking skills to good use and soon had the door reassembled and ready to fit back on the hinges.

Noah and Alys were also in luck. The debris was fairly light; the stone golem appeared to be a recent resident of the building, and the mess it had left was more one of disarray than damage. Noah's demi-godly strength did, indeed, come into play as he shifted the larger rocks back outside with enviable ease. Alys faced more of a struggle; her height worked against her for reaching the cobwebs in the high corners of the room, and her strength wasn't quite up to the challenge of carrying out the larger chunks of stone, but with Noah's help they had soon cleared the nest and all remaining signs of the Golem were relegated to outside.

Tal had just finished hanging the door and making sure it closed properly when he straightened, a look of distracted panic crossing his features. "Oh, fuck, Boreal don't--!" But it was too late. With the Golem dispatched the dragon had gone back to investigating the roof and chimney, and though her bulk couldn't fit down the opening she had stuck her head down as far as she could, sniffing something delightful. And when she couldn't get any closer to it, she did what any self-respecting dragon would do.

She took a deep breath and belched a ball of flame down the flue.

Fire hit the rusty grate at the bottom, scattering ashes across the hearth in a cloud, but the larger problem was the small colony of Humming Bats that fled downwards and away from the predator at the top of their home. They burst out of the fireplace and into the building, humming wildly and darting this way and that in a singed panic!

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Round 3:

Oh no! Get those humming bats out of there any way you can!


Humming Bats (common - Hollowed Ground): A large colony of bats live in the rooftops of the domiciles. Coming out only at night as they are wont to do, this species of bat uses both echolocation to determine their surroundings as well as an oral phenomena that sounds to human ears like humming. They are roughly hand-sized, are easily frightened, and happily eat away the bugs that would otherwise linger near your doors and windows.

Noah couldn’t tell what was sweat on his brow or what was rain as he worked. He moved in and out of the building, piling up rubble and debris alongside Alys. He was thankful for the woman’s help as equally as he was thankful to have a familiar face in what still felt like a foreign place to him. ”Do you know what this building used to be?” He asked Alys as they worked, knowing she had spent her youth in the Grounds.

Dusting himself off of most of the debris dust and gunk, Noah went to ask Talyson what he had for them next. He was interrupted, however, by the actions of the dragon. He was blasted by the ash and smoke before he was rushed by the bats. ”Shit!” the demigod cursed, cover his head briefly as the bats fluttered over him and filled the main room. Vi’dore snorted and bucked, swinging his horn wildly towards the flying creatures.

Noah grabbed a broom from the cart he brought with supplies on it, and tried to herd the bats through the open doors.

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Noah uses a brook to help shoo shoo the bats

the forsaken

"I think it used to be a storefront," Alys told Noah, cocking her head to the side as she looked around. "Or, no - there's a storehouse nearby, and I think this was the office?" She took in the layout and nodded to herself. That was more likely, what with the location and the layout of the building.

Their cleanup was going well until Boreal took it upon herself to help, and Alys joined Noah in cursing as bats flew from the chimney to crowd the main room. As her friend grabbed for a broom, Alys searched for her magic, throwing up an illusion of Boreal chasing the bats to - hopefully - help herd them out the door.

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Alys uses her illusion magic to try and herd the bats out the door.

Alys

Tal listened curiously to Noah and Alys's conversation, absolutely curious about the building's previous provenance. Before he could ask a question of his own, however, Boreal's attempt to toast a light midday snack threw their work into chaos and the courier had other things to worry about.

Sometimes it was nice to be reminded that demigods swore just like the rest of them. Or it would have been, if Tal hadn't been so busy coughing out ash and waving his hands over his head to ward off the bats who darted around the building (this was not helping the situation).

Sometimes the simplest answer worked best. Noah's gentle sweeping might not have calmed the bats, but it did shoo most of them towards the door, which they fled out gratefully. His size and ability to reach high up were an effective combination that had Tal looking on with a little envy as the courier's attempts to use his bare hands to do the same thing only seemed to cause more chaos rather than less.

Alys's illusion didn't seem to bother the bats at all, perhaps because their echolocation went right through the dragon's image. They largely ignored the 'dragon' in their midst, though at least it didn't seem to panic them any further, and they were amenable to Noah's herding.

The real dragon was too busy trying to extricate herself from the chimney and being given a stern talking-to from her companion to cause further mischief, and by the time the last bat had escaped Tal was looking around the room to take stock of the damage.

"Well. Could be a lot worse," he decided ruefully as he rubbed some ash off his nose. "Good windows, good roof, an' th'fireplace seems t'be okay. Chimney needs cleaned out, an' th'ashes need swept up, but that's not too bad. If we can build some extra shelvin' t'go behind the counter, it'll be almost ready!"

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Round 4:
Clean the mess out of the chimney before a fire gets laid in the hearth
Sweep up the ashes that Boreal and the bats scattered everywhere
Build some shelves for packages to be stored on while awaiting delivery!

With success in removing the bats, the Forsaken sighed in relief. "We had to clean a bunch of those out of the Temple, too, last season." Looking around, the hunter decided on the fireplace and moved towards it, broom still in hand.

With his sleeves rolled up and covered in soot, Noah bent over the fireplace with determination etched on his face.  The fireplace, once a source of warmth and comfort, now lay in disarray. Noah meticulously cleared away charred remnants and shattered pieces of coals. His hands, accustomed to cleaning fireplaces from his growing up in Halo, tried to restore the wreckage. He pulled bucket after bucket of ash and debris, dumping it into the wagon Vi'dore rested by.

Once he cleaned it thoroughly, Noah intended to prepare to build a new fire within the hearth.

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Noah sweeps and collects the ashes in his wagon to be disposed of later.

the forsaken

Her illusion didn't do much, but, fortunately, Noah's efforts worked for all of them. The taller man swept the bats easily from the room, and they fled almost happily. Hopefully they'd had enough of a scare that they wouldn't be back.

Alys turned her face curiously towards Noah. "What are you doing in the Temple?" she asked as she busied herself with the chimney, working around the Forsaken's efforts to clear the ashes. She grabbed some supplies and began to clean out the chimney, ignoring the ashes that smudged on her clothes and skin as she worked.

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Alys cleans the chimney!

Alys

The quiet hum of conversation between the three friends was a nice way to come down off the adrenaline rush of having a swarm of bats flying around his head, and Tal found his grumpiness at Boreal's antics dissolving under Alys's determination to see the job through and Noah's stalwart support. The courier braved the rain to collect some timber from Noah's supply cart and brought it back inside to begin building the shelving while the others talked.

Years of experience and a willingness to get his hands dirty aided Noah as he cleaned the room and hearth. The ashes were soon swept up from where little bat wings had scattered them around the floor and counters, and once Alys had done the work inside the chimney he was able to join forces with her to haul out the ancient charcoal and dust beneath the grate.

Alys had the harder job, but her smaller stature made it easier for her to clean inside the chimney and get the worst of the guano off the stones. It took some scrubbing and sweeping, but eventually the hearth was cleared and ready for a fresh fire to be laid. The Flowerbirth air still had a chill to it, especially at night, and the air was damp enough to be clammy until she and Noah lit the fresh logs. No Halovian would struggle with that task, and soon a merry blaze was burning and chasing away the moisture from their clothes.

Tal finished securing the new shelving to the back wall in relative comfort, even as Boreal finally poked her nose sheepishly in the door and slunk over to the hearth to drip on the stones, letting the heat dry her scales. The courier gave her a look of exasperation as he dusted his hands off and straightened, but the look he gave to Noah and Alys was pure gratitude. "You guys are life-savers. This would've taken ages t'do on my own. If we can just get some furniture in here, I think we'll be all set!"

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Last round!

Find, build, or bring in some chairs, a table, and a hammock, or have fun adding decorative elements to the new delivery station!

It might have been wet and clammy outside, but the fire that they built in the hearth was soon crackling merrily, giving off warmth and light and cheering the place up substantially. Alys say back with a happy sigh as the flames flickered and danced, watching for a moment before heaving herself to her feet and turning to Tal for further instruction.

Now that the place was clean, dry, and warm, it seemed to be time to bring in furniture. Having lived in the Grounds all her life, Alys knew that there used to be a furniture seller down the street, and she silently instructed Sascha to stay put as she ventured back out into the rain. At the furniture seller's, she selected a few comfortable chairs and a table, then paid a little extra for a quick delivery. It was no time at all before she and her purchase strode back in through the door.

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Alys buys chairs and a table!

Alys