Open | Building Plot

[the_effect_she_has]

WHO: The Inquisition
WHAT: Building!
WHEN: 28th of Cloudreach, through the first week of Bloomingtide
WHERE: The river valley below Skyhold
NOTES: See here for details.

Welcome to the Great Building Project of 9:42, Dragon! So you've come to help construct some living structures and barracks? Excellent, there are several areas in which everyone's help is needed.

Clearing

The Mage Council themselves have dedicated themselves to clearing out the valley, and flattening it as well, so buildings can be constructed. They'll need all the magical help they can get, honestly, and even that will include people to help clear away the wood to be used for building, as well as the stone and other materials. It will be a lot of heavy lifting, carrying, or being able to drive a cart.

Building

Of course there is the building. Holding up walls, hammer and nails, thatch on the roofs, cutting out awkward window where necessary. Putting together fireplaces and firepits. The deft of hand and light of feet are the ones who can climb the roofs, move around without any problems to haul up sod and other things to plug the holes on the roof to make for a snug small hut, or a long and clean barrack hall.

Healing

And of course, there are accidents. Someone accidentally hammers their own hand, falls off a roof, gets a splinter in their finger. The healers themselves are going to need fresh water and herbs brought in, as well as food brought to keep them going.

Fetching/Carrying

Messages need to be brought back and forth between the builders. Water needs to be brought to the thirsty, as well as food. There are a million little things that need to be done to complete this great endeavor, so feel free to help out whatever little way you feel you can.

Katniss

Katniss is everywhere.

There's not a place you won't see the slender young woman, dark hair pulled back in a braid that is coming out in wisps. Dirt smudges her face and hands, but there's a faint smile on her face and no matter what she's doing, she's humming softly. At her heel is the wolf pup, who trots along beside her faithfully, and stands guard while Katniss is up atop a roof, hammering.

She's carrying water to give to people who are building, as well as food. Lifting bundles of stick and rock out of the way, or walking with a builder, murmuring softly over the plans.

Need to talk to her? Just snag her. She'll be glad to stop and talk to anyone who is helping out here.

Comments

Clearing/Building

[gatheringstorm]

Korrin said she would be available, and it's a promise she fully intends to keep. Now that the weird plague issue has been resolved and her own health restored, the Vashoth woman is eager to demonstrate that wherever she can, and all for a good cause. For most part, that involves energizing wood or stone into bridges and walkways, stacking resource piles, loading carts, and clearing paths as needed, and however else it can find use. More often than not, she can be fond with her forearms wreathed in that bright green flame, items rising or falling at her will.

Break time isn't unwelcome, though if she has has to take one, then it's only fair to ensure that others get a respite as well. She'll go around and make sure that no one's overworking themselves, perhaps gently (or not so gently) shoving in the direction of food and water. Don't follow her recent bad example and be a collapsing moron, please. Katniss' wolf pup (and any other pets in the area) will find that jerky and other tasty treats tend to drop from her regularly. She has no idea how that happens, don't ask her.

Re: Clearing/Building

[the_effect_she_has]

"He's going to get spoiled if you keep doing that."

Is Katniss's dry response from above, as she finishes putting the thatch in place on the house that she is working on. She stands up, her shadow against the sun, as she arches an eyebrow down at her friend. It's not often she gets to be taller than Korrin, and it's a little jarring.

Still.

"He's not going to get treats in the wild, you know."

[fleurdesel]

Between clearing paths, coordinating sweeps of magic to level the land or move building material for ease of assembly, circling around to check in with each group of mages assisting in the effort, Adelaide finds the time to find Korrin and offer a bobbing, green glow of a mana wisp, something to make the work she's doing simpler. "How is the work going so far?"

Ellana | open

[serannas]

As part of the Mage Council, Ellana has known about this project for awhile, and is thrilled to be a part of it now. She mainly focuses on the clearing portion of the construction, her hands glowing a blue-green color as her magic molds and forms a flat surface to build on. Stacks of wood and piles of stones need moved too, and she carefully maneuvers those through the air and into carts. Sometimes she can be seen drinking down lyrium potions, other times she sits cross-legged off to the side having a short break. But she's available to talk while she works or rests and never shows any outward signs of weariness.

[hugeinorlais]

He spots Lilac when she's on break.

The Mages are doing a pretty excellent job leveling the ground, but that's just the start. Varric's not a carpenter, not technically, but even he knows enough about this business to know that foundations and the basic structures need to be put up. But, considering that mages can haul trees, he's already figured that guys like him are going to be doing most of the nitty gritty skeletal construction stuff.

"Now I have to ask, does that stuff taste better than it looks?" Varric asked as he moved up with a shovel and a box of tools. The box clattered loudly as he set it down, but nothing fell out of it. With his hand free, he just motions to the lyrium potion she has on hand.

"I think it'd have to, right? Glowing and blue aren't really appealing...flavorwise."

Christine | open

[aceso]

While she'll come lend a hand if called upon, Christine prefers to stay off to the side, sitting just outside a tent to await those who have injured themselves. She rolls up bandages and mixes poultices with a pestle and mortar in an effort to keep busy, but with most injuries, she asks if she can heal the person with her magic. With the go-ahead, her eyes glow blue as she calls upon her spirit partner Faith to assist her.

And off and on during the day, she can be heard warning people to take more care out there.

"Next time, do not go up the ladder without someone holding it. Am I understood? Good. You may go." A sheepish scout hurries out of her tent and she follows, crossing her arms and shaking her head.

Re: Christine | open

[sunshinethroughgrey]

Well, she gets to keep that look on her face, as Bethany appears with a floating pallet, and another sheepish looking soldier on it. Bethany gently maneuvers the pallet around, giving Christine a wry look.

"This gentleman decided that he was strong enough to haul an entire stone I pulled out of the field with his own two arms, instead of getting a wheelbarrow. Surprisingly enough, he dropped it on his foot. Would you mind taking a look?"

[gatheringstorm]

Korrin doesn't need healing when she heads over to the tent, overhearing Christine with the scout and raising an eyebrow as he passes. "How many idiots lectured does that make so far, or have you lost count already?" It's still morning, but she doesn't have a lot of faith the number is especially low.

Building

[onlyhymns]

Whether Cade volunteered or has simply been deployed isn't entirely clear, but he's doing his job either way. Silent and obedient, he spends each day acting wherever he's needed, sometimes for the lighter, roof-crossing duties and sometimes for the lifting and hauling.
Apart from taking orders, he keeps to himself, not even engaging in the banter of other workers. Even if they don't know his reputation in the keep, he is aloof enough that no one is exactly leaping to work alongside him.

Re: Building

[the_effect_she_has]

Well of course Katniss recognized the guy -- it was the one who could use help with his archery. Which he wouldn't accept, because he was something of a pompous ass. Still, she had to change her mind about him since he was here ... considering everything else with him.

So, when he went to lift a bale that was a little too big for one person, she moved to grab the other end. "Here, let me help you."

Metaari | Open

[metaari]

(( aka Gratuitous Shirtless Construction because of reasons ))

Being up and being able to move after being laid out like he had been is a release for Metaari. Knowing that there was heavy construction to be done he volunteers for it immediately, looking forward to getting his hands dirty and getting in there to help where he can. The mages can't move everything, after all, not without exhausting themselves in the process, and that's where pure brawn gets to come in.

He's been working hard, carrying wood and larger rocks to where they're needed. Occasionally he helps to hold some things together, or keep a wall up long enough for it to be put into place. Either way, he's doing most of this without his shirt on--physical labor gets hot, after all, and it feels good to get the sun on his skin anyway.

[issala]

Look, they can't all be girls and ooh over the shirtlessness, okay? Some people follow big hulking qunari around for other reasons. Like Wanting To Be That Buff™.

Kas keeps his shirt on, though.

Metaari lifts something, Kas puts in the wedge or the nail or whatever. Just being helpful. Maybe the teen just feels like getting to know the archer better, too.

"...how the fuck do you lift that without breaking your arms?"

Re: Metaari | Open

[the_effect_she_has]

"Keep it steady ... " Katniss calls out from above, from where the Tal Vashoth is holding up the wall for her, while she gets the rope wrapped around it to hold it in place while they hammered it. She moves quickly, making sure the rope is secure, before she calls out below.

"We got it, go ahead and grab the hammer and nails."

She hopped down, and offered a quick salute to the man. "Thanks. I appreciate it. I'm Katniss, by the by."

[arlathvhen]

It's a good thing that Merrick is dating someone. That he has a normal relationship, something stable and easy to define. Even better is that it's with a man who seems relatively normal. A man who was good with Merrick, who helped him when she had been unable to. Metaari is good for Merrick, and she is glad that Merrick has that. It's certainly not like she had been dating him, or had intentions to.

And yet.

He had taken what Merrick and she had. Not completely, but--plenty of it. Enough.

It was hard not to feel resentful. Especially when he was clearly so...really strong, calm, attractive and not a whip-thin neurotic noodle. She watches him for a little bit, and approaches once she sees an opening to help. As Metaari lifts a stack of wood, Beleth walks over. "Be careful," Was her warning, before she darts under the pile, grabbing the stray pieces of wood and rock, tossing them to the side, and then pulling a tarp over, straightening it out. "There. You can put them down."

With that, she stands back up, looking up at him. "Hello, Metaari."

Who needs shirts right?

[el_tybs]

Clearing the field, taking time to see to injuries as they come up, helping with construction - Metaari isn't the only one walking around without a shirt. Manual labor certainly built up a sweat, and with the sun beating down it was much of a relief to have it off as he helped with the physical labor.

He can't lift and carry quite the load as Metaari, but he can certainly help with some of the heavy work, enjoying it really after that illness had passed. Taking a moment to catch his breath he looks over at the qunari, wiping his forearm across his forehead. "Man, they better expect some hungry folks later on."

[gatheringstorm]

As one of those mages, Korrin has indeed be energizing what she can, creating walkways, bridges, piles, whatever else is needed. It's more or less what she did for the first few weeks at Skyhold, so this is nothing new. However, her energy isn't limitless, especially in light of recovering from the weird plague that went around. So having someone else nearby to snag the rest of those larger rocks so she doesn't have to go back for them is extremely helpful.

Her forearms wreathed in blue-green glow, Korrin keeps her concentration on the rocks long enough to form them into a semi-neat pile near the builders. Glancing back, she darts a smile at that familiar face. "Metaari, hey. Thanks, it helps not to make multiple trips."

Re: Metaari | Open

[samahl]

Cyril is delivering water around when he sees Metaari working. He pauses, and for a moment he allows himself to look.

His brother does know how to pick them.

"Need some water?" he asks, because he has some in a bucket in his hands and he's helping out people who are working.

Varric | Open

[hugeinorlais]

Clearing

Varric was, despite his general grousing about the outdoors, pretty well suited to construction work. He was deft with tools, could understand and explain blueprints easily, and had the upper-body strength and general coordination to both lift and carry heavy things in precarious places.

When he'd started helping in the morning, while the mages were leveling the ground and clearing the landscape, he'd figured a linen shirt and heavy gloves would be enough to hold off the cold. After a couple hours of helping saw the felled trees into usable timber, however, he was almost wishing it was colder out.

"Give me a second," Varric said as he let go of his end of the crosscut saw. He motioned idly at his partner at the other end of the tree, swiped a hand over his forehead, and then began literally rolling up his sleeves.

"This would be infinitely easier with a mill," he said, mostly to himself, as he stared at the magically stacked pile of trees that had yet to be cut apart. He only had a few more hours left in him, but it wasn't like he was doing much of value back in Skyhold.

"Alright, only half the forest left to go," Varric said as he gripped the saw blade again--his partner groaned and, with that, they started shaping timber again.

Building

"Alright, send it up," Varric called down to the person holding the other end of the rope. The pulley creaked as they hoisted and, gradually, a stack of boards and a bucket full of nails came up alongside him.

It was his own fault, really. People who could walk on bare-bones beams high up in the air were, naturally, in short supply. The moment he'd made a comment about scaffolding being largely optional, well, he'd basically volunteered to do all the roof-work on the bigger buildings. So, here he was, standing on a narrow wooden beam, lifting boards over one shoulder and hefting a bucket and hammer in the other.

It was lucky that he was used to dealing with Bianca, carrying around a portable siege weapon was an equivalent workout when it came down to it.

The person holding the rope below him, wincing the pallet of materials up to where he could get them, was good at their work but accidents happen. The rope slipped as he was picking up the bucket and, all of a sudden, the full weight of it was on him. He shifted quickly, caught himself before he fell, but his hammer tumbled out of his grip and dropped to the ground.

"Well, shit." Varric swore as he pulled himself upright. He didn't hear that hit anybody, but he still tried to gingerly lean over the side and check. This was a challenge given how much timber he had balanced on his shoulder. "Everybody okay down there? Anybody want to climb up and give that back?"

Re: Varric | Open

[judgemewhole]

"Maker!"

Was the curse from below, both for slipping on some loose stones that caused him to lead with the rope, and then with the pallet crashing down. He dove out of the way, wincing as he hit the ground, but at least nothing was broken. He sighed as he pushed himself up.

"Fine, fine ... sorry about that, lost my footing."

He looked around, trying to find the hammer itself. "Hold on, I'll bring it up to you."

Clearing

[fleurdesel]

Even Adelaide could only work so much magic in one day before needing a few hours break to regain her wellspring of mana. Clearing fields and leveling ground are not things she does often- it takes more out of her. Needing time to rest her magic, however, is not time to rest entirely. Manual labor is wearying but required. How she ended up on the other side of a saw with Varric she can't quite remember, but it's simple work. Repetitious and exhausting, but solid work none the less.

"Perhaps we'll clear room enough for a mill when we're finished with this. I doubt we'll run out of reason to break down lumber." Down to shirtsleeves herself and leathers, hair stuck to her temples and curled damp at the nape of her neck, Adelaide leans against the tree they'd been working on until he gives leave for them to continue.

Clearing

[wontforgetyou]

"Only half? Are you sure about that? I'm starting to think these trees are regenerating when we're not looking."

It wasn't true, of course, but given how long they'd been shaping timber, it certainly felt like they were, and Jamie resumed his own grip on the saw with a sigh, shifting slightly so they could tackle the next batch of uncut logs

"You know, it's good we're building this thing, but I have to agree. I daresay a mill'd be plenty useful right about now. Wonder why no-one ever decided to build one here?"

Velanna | Open

[failedfirst]

Velanna isn't formally a part of the Inquisition or the Mage Council, however she still responded to the call for help. The Wardens need some good press, although that isn't what's on her mind when she comes to assist. She quite simply wants to help the refugees get into something more secure than the patchwork of tents they've been living in for months.

Clearing the land is a fairly simple task, for her. She deliberately stands away from other mages working, insisting that their clumsy magic will only slow her down. Earth magic comes just as easily to her as fire and the work she does is quick and even.

When she needs to take a break she sits alone, writing in her notebook or reading. If she needs to eat she'll return to her own camp.

Re: Velanna | Open

[sunshinethroughgrey]

Well, one of those days she doesn't have to bring her own food, because Bethany brings it to her. She too, had decided to volunteer, but since she was better at working with Circle magic, she'd gone with the Mage council to clear one side of the forest using just force magic alone.

She'd seen Velanna, working on her own, and finally decided enough was enough. So, here she was with lunch in a basket, and a cheery smile on her face. "Why hello, fancy meeting you here. I've brought us lunch."

Fetching/Carrying

[samahl]

Cyril loves running around helping out where he's needed. Delivering water and messages gives him a good excuse to speak to the beautiful men and amazing women who are working so hard to repair the buildings.

"Water? I promise it's curse free."

[el_tybs]

Hearing someone run up, Sam pauses in his work, bringing his arm up to wipe at the sweat on his brow from the work he's doing. Even with his shirt off and the cool breeze, it's still a bit warm seeing as the sun was bright out.

Both Cyril and the water are a welcome sight, even if he does give the water a bit of a look as he moves closer. It'll probably be a while before he looks at water around Skyhold the same way.

"You promise?"

Building/ROOFTOPS | Open

[dragoon_pride]

Now this is something Kain can definitely aid with. He's not only physically strong, his power can be of real use on the rooftops and other high places. So Kain spends most of the time leaping up while carrying things from ground to the roof. When he's up there, he moves along with ease, entirely calm and unconcerned as most people might be when dealing with heights. He's sure-footed and efficient as he lends his aid.

Of course, he doesn't seem inclined to ever take a break, so someone may have to convince him of that eventually...

[gatheringstorm]

"Show-off!" Korrin grins up at him from below, where she's busy energizing planks of wood and other materials needed for a walkway. Either that, or she's sorting piles, using magic to flatten the area for buildings, and so on. Kain's worth watching, though, and she gets in an appreciative look at all that leaping around when she can.