"I have done what I can, try not to do anything too strenuous as it may still be tender" Naja says as she wipes her hands off.
Gathering those in her command, Fin waves towards the southern side of the large plateau, her motion encompassing a large, weather beaten structure. Walking closer to it, you see that large, massive chains tether the wooden contraption to the top of the mountain.
Used back in its military days, this large crane once hauled large supplies of water, food, armor, and anything else the fortification needed to be a useful military asset. Today, it sits alone, abandoned.
WHOA! You want us to ride down in that!Bain suddenly demands, a thrill of fear riding in his voice.
yes. its the fastest way down. and we dont want to be caught by the seanchan patrol. Remember what happened to Arnel? Fin says strongly, although for a moment, you do see a flash of doubt upon her face.
Bain blanches at whatever thought is tied to this person named Arnel. No, youre right. If we did get caught by the seanchan, it would be bad for us. bain agrees, lifting his pants up a little higher, summoning his courage.
getting closer to the crane, you see now that the chains that hold it to the top of the plateau are pitted and rusty. ropes that are used in the windlass and large wheel have dry rot and are fraying. The wood where iron nails and bolts have been driven into has rotted away, leaving some areas to be held together by the sheer weight of the structure. Looking out onto the gantry where the load is applied, you see more of the same, rotted wood and rusted iron.
"Thank you Aes se.... uh.. m'am. It feels better already."
He began thanking the sea folk channeler. He wasnt sure really what honorific to use. He was sure there was one. He followed along with the others, keeping quiet merely following along. He wasn't sure whom he was even supposed to answer to. He had been hired to follow the traitorous Aes Sedai. He had been about to say something when the hotheaded man spoke.... Blame? Baim.... No Bain. That was his name. Instead of speaking out as the man did he instead studied the wooden contraption.
"I've no fear of the seanchan... their creatures however."
He said with a slight frown as he studied the crane. He spent most of time in the wilds along the old blight, learning to track and stay hidden... that contraption however had seen better days. He had a general knowledge of wood and rope however his eyes following and scanning along his mind racing with whatever practical knowledge he did have to see if anything helped.
"Its no different from some rigging, I mean when I was a girl I would have to deal with the ropes and sails. This should be no different"She says with a wink and a smile slipping her club into a hoop on her backpack.
Isa looks askance at the contraption. "Heh. Looks like it would be safer to climb the cliff itself."
She frowns, thinking they should probably have spoken with their Seanchan counterparts - the only others who knew the truth about what happened - but it would be difficult to do so now, surrounded by these wetlander strangers. I suppose that not-an-ogier creature will have to herd them... Assuming he will.
Bormanes eyed the contraption, not so sure it was a good idea.
The large crane, although weatherbeaten, looks like it should hold everyone's weight with ease. It could stand to be greased, but you just dont have time for that.
Lucius likes the look of the descent contraption very little. However, he likes the thought of being captured by the Seanchan much less, particularly when considering what the Seanchan think of his kind. "Well, let's be about it," he says as he walks aboard the rickety platform.
"But a good rope will help you far better then just mere hand holds!" She says with a smile winking at Isa, as she began to work her muscles.
"A good rope will, yes." Isa replies. Then despite her misgivings, she joins Lucius on the platform.
"It should hold our weight - althought it probably needs to be greased. Let's go."
Bormanes steps onto the platform.
"Well, we all have to die at somepoint eh?"
He said with only a hint of trepidation as he followed the others. He made sure to stand next to one of the ropes that was lowering the platform. If the thing fell apart well maybe the rope would still hold his weight.
The sound of boards snapping is all the prior warning Jair has before finding himself falling through the large platform...
..only to have his hands fail to grasp anything that prevents him from falling though the boards.
Bormanes, being next to Jair, spins quickly in an attempt to save his companion...
...only to have his life saving attempt inadvertenly hampered by bain being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Jair, now in free fall, attempts to pivot in the air in an attempt to grab onto the jagged rock face...
...only to have his actions hindered by the lack of anything to grab onto.
A shriek of terror escapes Jairs mouth as he plummets down, landing wetly on an outcrop of rocks, unconcscious.
"Oh sp.."
He began as he fell arms spinning reaching for anything he could find to slow his fall. At the last moment he seemed to remember someone saying something about relaxing right before impact... Then it went dark.
Gender: Female; Skills: Composure 5 ranks, Weavesight 4 ranks
Feats: Multiweave, Tie-Off Weave
Channeling: Two or more talents, two or more affinities
The man stood hidden in the dark shadow. I am one with the shadow, yet am not the shadow he thought to himself, willing the shadow to hide him more thoroughly. The stomp of leather booths and cloven hoof rang loud in the tunnel, drowning out the sound of hammers and picks breaking at the hidden mineral inside the mountain.
The man never moved, and if anything, became absolutely still. He became one with the rock face, a featureless rock in the dark shadows that sufficed this deep oriface in the bedrocks. Another man's heart would have been racing, sweat would have drenched the back, but such things would give someone away in this place, this location. The creatures that prowl this rocky hallway can smell the sweat of a man from a mile away, can hear his heart beating from half that distance. There are some that could smell a man's fear.
Yet this man had none of these features to betray him. His heart beat regularly, as one who is confident in his hiding place. his body didnt sweat, content in the knowledge that his skill at avoidance was tantemount to legendary, his emotions were calm, collected, the Flame consumed his fears, his desires, his wants and needs, leaving behind a cold, emotionless void. Yet he was not a male channeler. He was just a man. a man gifted in evasion, in intelligence gathering. He was a man who swore his loyalty to a cause. the cause to knowing. And he was rewarded with pay. handsome pay, as his minor lordling house and farm showed proof.
but that was neither here nor there. that was a distant memory, for it has been 3 years since the man had last been home. His current quest for information brought him here, the mines of Thakan'dar. He has been around the world, Tanchico, Ebou Dar, Tar Valon, The lands of the Seanchan empire, everywhere he looked, he found the strange metal that is Bloodmetal, and have seen it be utilized for the strange works that channelers use it for. From arms and armor, to plowshares that never dull, to bridges, aqueducts, stone reinforcements, and beyond. it is like a strange, mystical metal.
Yet no one knew where it came from. where it originated. Those who took up the task of finding it often met dead ends, even literal dead ends. its as if no one wanted the world to know where bloodmetal came from. That was, until HE decided to look into it. And he did. Tar valon was useless, for they just purchased it by the ton. But they got their stuff from Camelyn. camelyn from mayeane. mayeane from camelyn, camelyn from tanchico, tanchico from saldea. the list went on and on. but the man persisted.
He took a knife between his ribs in Seanchan itself. half his lung was pulled out when they removed the hooked dagger, but luckily he had a friend heal him.
But it was in Tear of all places that he got a break. It was there that he overheard a couple of smugglers talking about a cargo ship needing discretionary passage up the channel. He found out the name of the ship and was able to slip aboard. Hours later, he found himself sitting in a large pool several thousand miles away. He saw wagons loading up the refined bloodmetal. He stole away upon an empty wagon, and found himself in the blistering heat of the Waste. There, he spoted a refinery for the strange metal. He waited upon the blasted earth for days for Aiel to come, for someone to venture forth and destroy this factory, yet none came. Puzzled, he did his own calculations, and determined that he was far, far away from any Aiel presence. Yet the ore that came in came from somewhere.
The sounds of the hoofs and boots grew louder before suddenly stopping just out of sight. the man stopped breathing, for the sound of his breath would give him away. The beasts spoke in gutteral tones, and the stench of their odor wafted down the hall, filling his nose with retched odors. Yet the man didnt flinch. Then they were moving again. Away.
The man gave a count to thirty and then breathed shallowly, so as not to awaken his presence to those that prowl the tunnels. Slipping silently on soft leather soles, he stole down the tunnel, the sound of hammer and pickaxe as his only guide.
The light of several dozen torches glared a harsh light just around the corner, throwing back the shadows of the tunnel. the man stepped up to the corner and listened intently, counting the number of hammer blows, the cut of chisels, the scoops of shovels, the falling of rocks. He counted 27, 27 trollocs inside the chamber. He stuck his head out around the corner, glanced quickly, taking in the location of all the workers and snapped his head back out of sight. 14 were hammering ore, 3 were chopping into the rock face with pick-axes, 7 were cutting up the large blocks into smaller blocks, and 3 acted as supervisors. All were armed with the large sword that all trollocs favored.
i need proof. i need some ore. the man thought. He stuck his out again, looking for a pile of ore that shown the clear signs of bloodmetal. But he paused, fearing to make another movement, for something worse than Trollocs had appeared.
Tall, gaunt, with withered hair, eyeless, The Myrddrall stood in the center of the room, staring at the man
Grabbing on to something that looks sturdy enough to support their weight for the long decent, everyone looks down at the still form that is Jair. Blood pools around his body from the savage impact he suffered from falling from that great of height. The dragon's own luck has allowed him to fall onto a small ledge no more than five feet in width, jutting out at a sharp angle, forcing jair's body to be wedged into the crack. You cannot help but be grateful for this wedge, for it appears to be the only thing that holding up your companion.
toss the support, and belay on Fin says in a commanding tone, and as one, two of the men drop a massive roll of rope and chain over the far side. setting themselves as best they can, they heave hard, lifting the wooden platform high enough to clear the debris that lays strewn upon the ground. Bain, the gantry
Bain opens his mouth to complain, but a stern look from Fin is all that is needed to keep his mouth shut. he quickly hurries off of the platform and rushes to a large iron turnstile set into the side of the large wooden gantry. Putting his weight into the iron handle, he slowly manages to turn the giant wheel, with a grating, grinding noises. a loud clack rebounds through the area, making everyone jump, thinking it was the awning cracking from the weight of the bodies. instead its the ratchet mechanism from bain's position, locking the wheel in place, preventing it from spinning freely. Heaving and grunting, the platform is swung out further and further until finally it swings free and clear of the side of the mountain.
Looking down, you dont see bottom, instead the brief rolling mass of cotton clouds forming and dissolving as fast as you can take in the view. As the clouds dissolve, you see the landscape far below you take shape, hills, trails, little ants moving about. The barrier that defines the border from normal land and the little Blight is plain as day, corruption and rot suddenly turning to nominal vegetation.
his task complete, bain locks the cogwheel in place, and rushes to the platform. stepping lightly, he leeps the 10 feet to jump onto the platform...
unfortunately his foot lands just at the edge, jolting his body and causing his forward momentum to stop short of clearing the edge.
falling backwards, he makes a wild grab at the platform and catches himself on a lone wood timber.
unfortunately, the timber crumbles in his hand, leaving him to hold only rotted wood as he screams in terror to his doom.
Bormanes rolls his eyes, and attempts to catch the man as he begins falling to his doom.
bormanes moves quickly to grasp at the falling man, but fails to catch him. the boards he moved onto creaked and groaned, but held his weight.
Seeing two now fall from the platform, Lucius seizes the One Power. For a moment that drags for an eternity, as it always does, his world is nothing but the raging inferno and bone-breaking cold of the struggle to master Saidin and bend it to his will. When it is under his control, he readies the weaves of Air that will catch anyone else who may fall.
Naja takes out some rope and ties it to her self and then to a sturdy metal part of the chain.
Isa follows suit, retrieving a length of rope and securing one end to the platform and gripping the other in her hands. "We need to get moving."
Oh it sux asz. Lots of stuff has to be trashed. Furnace needs another look over, and so on. Bleck!
Naja ties herself off to one of the main eye-bolts that hold the platform to the main tackle up above, and the two men begin to slowly lower the platform down, their movements slow yet steady. They move about, testing foot placement before putting all of their weight down, ensuring that they will not suffer the same fate that befell Bain.
approaching the 50 foot mark, they stop lowering, providing you all with an opportunity to retrieve your fallen comrade.
The distance between you and jair is 10 feet, over 950 feet of freefall death, should a slip up occur.
Isa turns to the Asha'man. "Any chance you can simply lift him over here?"
Isa turns to the Asha'man. "Any chance you can simply lift him over here?"
"I can, perhaps..." Lucius considers the fallen form of Jair, trying to evaluate how heavy he might be. After a moment, he turns to Naja, "though we are newly met, I would ask your assistance with this task as Air is not my strongest weave. Will you Link with me to help save this man?"
"Um..sure?" She says hesitant.
"Never linked with a man before" She says opening herself up to do so.
Lucius nods and reaches out to touch Naja's hand, "Contact makes it easier. It is much the same, and yet much different I am told, as linking with another woman save that I must lead."
Lucius reaches to Seize the Source and, as he would with an Angreal, also reaches through Naja as gently as he can. A rushing torrent of the Power floods through the Sea Folk woman and her strength is added to his own. He smiles at her briefly, and then turns his attention to Jair. Lucius mutters to himself as he grasps the threads of pure Air, "And even so I must reach for more, I think."
He draws deeply on the source, and Naja can feel when Lucius draws more than is strictly safe for him to channel. Using hundreds of hair-thin strands he forms the weaves gently and carefully into a cocoon of Air to hold Jair immobile while he is carried over to the lift platform.
The fallen man's body rises into the air, slowly crosses the gulf between the cliff and the platform, and settles gently to the planks directly over one of the main beams of the floor. Lucius does not release the weaves, nor does he remove them from around Jair's body until Jair's weight is resting safely upon the platform.
Once Jair is secure, Lucius nods his thanks to Naja, and releases the Source and the Link, "I have not the talent to heal him."
The sensation was amazing, like a crashing wave of energy washing through her soul, the tempest though rough was never as bad with a sturdy boat beneath your feet. Otherwise you ride the wave not fighting the current until you get to the perfect stream and shoot straight away steering yourself to salvation!
When the link ended Naja exhaled deeply her body shaking a bit as she looked to Lucius and blinks, wondering if that was what it was like for men all the time. She didn't ask long as she then looked at Jair and frowned.
"Reminds me of the idiot children who thought diving from the crow's nest to the swirling torrents in the reef was a good thing to do! So many broken bodies, so many fool hardy children" She sighs and draws on the weave to twist it together and touch it to Jairs body thourgh her hand.
Lucius' skin tingles as Naja channels to heal Jair. He Embraces the source once more and readies the weaves of Air, ready to lock them around any of the group that should fall once more.
[ooc]Ready Action to weave Harden Air around a falling person.[/i]
Seeing everyone back to the relative safety of the contraption they are riding, Isa turns and nods at the two men to continue their descent.
