The Forge

[I think I am here.]

7 minutes ago, Sorana said:

“You will stay?"

The sudden energy of the boy surprised Alask. Lightly he patted Mart on the shoulder.

“Yeah. I’m pretty much always going to be around here, the Forge.” He smiled reassuringly at the kid.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere.”

[+Sorana]

29 minutes ago, I think I am here. said:

The sudden energy of the boy surprised Alask. Lightly he patted Mart on the shoulder.

“Yeah. I’m pretty much always going to be around here, the Forge.” He smiled reassuringly at the kid.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere.”

Mart nodded and lay down again, this time falling asleep soon. Lena stood up, and busied herself with the kitchen again. Judging the state of the matress, they probably had a lot of cleaning up to do. They. She scrubbed at a plate and recalled her thought. They. She had agreed to stay for a while. Not a long while, but a while. And if it meant Mart had a place to stay. Angrily she set the plate aside and grabbed another one. Cleaning up. She wasn't his servant, or something like that. Next plate. But he'd never asked her to. He'd never asked her to do anything. He'd simply offered a bed for her child.

"What is the plan?"

She asked bruskely, hated the way he held her in his hand. Hated, that she knew, that he would never act on it, never unless she was about to do something he believed was worth risking a child's life. He'd killed so many with his plan to summon the phoenix. And the phnoenix hadn't changed a thing. Still. Without him, Mart would be with strangers, somewhere in the tunnels or in a car. Or dead. Grudgingly she added a

"Thank you."

To her question and then attacked the dirt on the next plate. She had agreed to come along, so she could stay for a while. If only because Mart liked him. The rest - she would see about the rest later.

 

[Silva]

After Alask and Lena returned, Eve had gone back to the other area where they'd talked with the Haunt. 

She'd picked up the book she'd been reading before Mart woke up, to distract herself. There was nothing to do when the city was under attack. At some point she must have drifted off, sitting on the floor, back to a wall, book in hand. 

The sound of dishes being cleaned brought her back to consciousness. The lapse startled her; falling asleep around people she barely knew was something trusting people did. Years of walls built up by tragedy were going down. She was changing and she wasn't sure if she liked it.

Mart was sitting on a matress. His bear's arm was reattached--Lena probably had sewn it on, she supposed. She watched the way he looked at them all, expecting them to vanish at any moment. 

Then she turned her eyes back to the window. Downtown wasn't looking any better. If anything it looked worse from the sliver she saw. 

She sighed. Another battle of one overly powerful force against another. Tragic sacrifices and deaths to destroy evil. The most common cause of civilian death.

And there was actually no way to stop this. No crazy Phoenix ideas to try and help.

History in the making, she thought sarcastically. How great. 

[I think I am here.]

On 25/08/2019 at 10:13 PM, Sorana said:

"What is the plan?"

She asked bruskely, hated the way he held her in his hand. Hated, that she knew, that he would never act on it, never unless she was about to do something he believed was worth risking a child's life. He'd killed so many with his plan to summon the phoenix. And the phnoenix hadn't changed a thing. Still. Without him, Mart would be with strangers, somewhere in the tunnels or in a car. Or dead. Grudgingly she added a

"Thank you."

“No problem,” Alask said, looking to her. She seemed... not happy. But Alask had said she could stay, her and the kid. Maybe she was unhappy about being unable to poison people. Alask couldn’t relate, but everyone had their hobbies, and Alask would also be upset if he couldn’t do his. But still, his hobbies didn’t include torture.

“The plan...” he exhaled, shaking his head. “I overheard most of the pipes giving water to this area burst in the invasion. When the people come back from the evacuation there isn’t going to be any clean water coming out of taps. I was thinking the Forge’s next project would be fixing them. Simple, easy, gives us good standing with the locals.”

[+Sorana]

18 minutes ago, I think I am here. said:

“The plan...” he exhaled, shaking his head. “I overheard most of the pipes giving water to this area burst in the invasion. When the people come back from the evacuation there isn’t going to be any clean water coming out of taps. I was thinking the Forge’s next project would be fixing them. Simple, easy, gives us good standing with the locals.”

Repairing the water supply. He wanted for them to repair the water supply. A grin touched her face and she nodded eagerly.

"I can add something to make sure the water is harmless. Without any bacteria. If the pipes burst, then there is dirt and that means the water isn't safe for drinking anymore."

And it meant, that she knew where the pipes were, that she had access. Access she could use later. That was good, really good. And if she stayed here, she had a constant number of possible subject. She could observe them. Her eyes returned to Mart and she nodded slowly.

"It will be good for him, to stay in one place, have a man to look up to. We'll stay. For now. For a while. I will help with your projects. But I won't clean up the bathroom if you left a mess in there."

[Silva]

On 9/1/2019 at 11:21 AM, Sorana said:

"It will be good for him, to stay in one place, have a man to look up to. We'll stay. For now. For a while. I will help with your projects. But I won't clean up the bathroom if you left a mess in there."

Eve stood up. Sitting still just wasn't possible anymore. She supposed it was easier for Alask and Lena. They connected to things differently. They helped in their own way. Did what they could. 

They at least had a plan for afterwards. She was back to square one. Trying to be preventative through the people hadn't worked. The danger hadn't come in a way they could stop through mindset. It was the issue of mob mentality. If one person panicked, almost everyone else would. Meaning they had to start farther out. In a place she really didn't want to go. But those ideas would have to wait for later.

"Do you plan to also try to extend the waterlines to the places that were never even connected since the last war?" she asked, fixing her eyes on Alask.

Alask was an interesting person. He seemed to care for the Forge. The people...she still wasn't certain. His willingness to oppose the guilds without respect for the members' lives did bother her. And the way he'd phrased the project...

Simple, easy, gives us good standing with the locals. 

A good standing shouldn't be the reason to do something. It should come as a reward earned with time. 

That was the true goal of her question. Extending pipelines or not could determine what really came first to him. The Forge and an easier way to a good reputation or a longer, harder path of true care for and interaction with the people. 

@I think I am here.

[I think I am here.]

“If we have the resources,” Alask said, not liking the way she stared at him.

“I’m no plumber, but I know fixing pipes is easier than making new ones. So if we have the resources, yes. But I think we should focus on fixing this whole neighbourhood up before going into other ordeals. Get it back to what it was before Laonin left and everything went to storms over here.”

[+Sorana]

Lena, completely unaware of the background of Eve's question, followed the woman with her eyes. She was making her nervous, all this standing up, walking around.

"Why don't we ask for help? There is a new guild, a young one, pursuing knowledge."

She lifted a hand to stall any immediate protest.

"I know you don't like the guilds, but without them, we would be dead by now. Why not use the scholars, when we need them? None of us has the knowledge to repair a whole plumbing system. Nor do we know how to reconstruct houses. And apart from that, we already can see, that doing things for these people doesn't help them in the long term."

Her hand made a sweeping gesture around the neighbourhood.

"The moment Laonin left, things returned to what they were before. But if we help them to gain the knowledge, if we include them, maybe that can change something. The moment they know how to repair houses, how to take care of a broken water pipe, it's not two," she looked over to Eve, "maybe three of us, but it's a whole quarter working. The whole city is lying in rubble by now. Three pairs of hands trying to build it up again - we won't live to see the end of that story."

@I think I am here.

@Silva

Edited September 3, 2019 by Sorana

[I think I am here.]

Alask was going to say something as soon as guilds were brought up, his head turning sharply towards her, but Lena raised a hand and he waited until she was done, finished. It made sense, to fix the issue Laonin had left behind. So that the neighbourhood didn’t become so reliant on them it stopped functioning as soon as they left.

And it was a young guild. A small one, she talked about. None of the evil ones.

“Guilds by design are evil,” he said to Lena as well as himself. But.

“But I agree. We just...” he exhaled. “We shouldn’t rely too much on the guilds. But for this purpose... it make sense. But once they’ve helped, it’s done. I’m not allowing any shadow-storming guild member stay in here for a night.”

[+Sorana]

15 hours ago, I think I am here. said:

“Guilds by design are evil,” he said to Lena as well as himself. But.

“But I agree. We just...” he exhaled. “We shouldn’t rely too much on the guilds. But for this purpose... it make sense. But once they’ve helped, it’s done. I’m not allowing any shadow-storming guild member stay in here for a night.”

"I never realized you left the one we belong to."

Lena remarked dryly. It had never been a real guild, although it had been called that way. Still, his hate was so one sided, so unreflected. She liked it. As long as he hated the guilds, he didn't hate her.

"And I don't care who you allow to stay here, as long as they don't frighten Mart."

With a slight grin she lifted one of her bottles.

"If the trespass, I'll gladly take care of them."

[I think I am here.]

“Don’t worry,” Alask said, looking to Mart. “I wasn’t thinking of letting anyone try to scare him anyway.” The poor kid had been through enough. Walking over to a table Alask slipped on a black coat and beanie. Nightfall was approaching.

“I have to do my patrols,” he said, which he was sure Lena would know what he meant. Patrols as the Hunter Shade, where the neighbourhood actually liked him, because he was the only one who hadn’t abandoned them, who continued to try and help them. Of course, not like he would reveal it to them. Far too dangerous.

“Shez is mad. Probably a lot of criminals going to die tonight,” he said.

[+Sorana]

13 minutes ago, I think I am here. said:

“Shez is mad. Probably a lot of criminals going to die tonight,” he said.

"Can I come?"

Lena asked and grabbed her bag before he could reply. A happy grin spread on her face. This day just got a lot better.

"You said, I am allowed to use them as well. And then I know, who you mean. I won't get in your way, just leave one or two for me?"

[+Ark1002]

10 hours ago, Sorana said:

"I never realized you left the one we belong to."

Lena remarked dryly. It had never been a real guild, although it had been called that way. Still, his hate was so one sided, so unreflected. She liked it. As long as he hated the guilds, he didn't hate her.

"And I don't care who you allow to stay here, as long as they don't frighten Mart."

With a slight grin she lifted one of her bottles.

"If the trespass, I'll gladly take care of them."

Quote

I thought she was talking about a baby bottle for a second

 

[Silva]

8 hours ago, Sorana said:

"You said, I am allowed to use them as well. And then I know, who you mean. I won't get in your way, just leave one or two for me?"

Alask had answered as well as he could have. And what Lena said was a good idea as well. Three couldn't accomplish much, but a slightly larger organized group could. She was contented with the thought that things would start happening to rebuild as soon as possible. 

Eve leaned against a wall. The two conversed about going on patrol or something. She was fine staying silent and out of it until one word jumped out at her. A name she'd never heard before.

"Who's Shez?" she asked after Lena finished her question.

[I think I am here.]

On 05/09/2019 at 7:08 AM, Silva said:

“Who's Shez?" she asked after Lena finished her question.

When Lena asked to come Alask nodded. She knew his secret and it seemed the Forge already knew her as the ‘Hunter Shade’s friend’. Having her around on patrols would definitely help the neighbourhood like her more, and by association the Forge. 

The Forge. The Forge was the only thing that mattered. Shez hummed a little at Alask’s Ambition. It had only been growing since his Bond with Shez.

Shez.

“Who’s Shez?” Eve asked and Alask looked to her with surprise. She either could read minds or Alask must have accidentally slipped the name into conversation. “Homeless person,” he replied, always quick with a believable lie from his thieving days. “Good at fighting, he always helps me out on patrols.” The lie was nice. Clean and smooth. Perhaps the only suspicious thing had been Alask’s initial surprised expression.

Edited September 6, 2019 by I think I am here.

[Silva]

On 9/6/2019 at 6:59 AM, I think I am here. said:

“Who’s Shez?” Eve asked and Alask looked to her with surprise. She either could read minds or Alask must have accidentally slipped the name into conversation. “Homeless person,” he replied, always quick with a believable lie from his thieving days. “Good at fighting, he always helps me out on patrols.” The lie was nice. Clean and smooth. Perhaps the only suspicious thing had been Alask’s initial surprised expression.

Surprise was evident on his face, but it vanished after a moment. Eve dismissed it, happy to hear of another strong likely uninvested person. It was nice to know that not all of the city was as docile as she so often found it. Every actively working person made a difference. Even one who seemed as prone to killing as this Shez, from the little Alask had said.

She smiled slightly. "You better not leave him waiting too long then."

[+Sorana]

7 hours ago, Silva said:

She smiled slightly. "You better not leave him waiting too long then."

Lena grinned excitedly.

"We won't. See you later Eve."

She opened the door and then looked back at the kitchen.

"Oh and don't eat the plants on the table. The tacos are safe though."

It would be sad if Eve poisoned herself while she wasn't here to spectate. Waiting for Alask to join here, her grin waned slightly, was replaced by a real smile. A place to stay. For her and Mart. And Alask knew and her, about her hobby. And he'd still offered that she could stay. She hadn't had a place like that ever since she'd killed her husband. It felt good, like an ice sculpture you admired and knew that it would melt. She would ruin this. She always did. But there was no reason not to enjoy it while she could.

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Is there anything you want to rp this era? Otherwise I'm fine with wrapping it up.

@Silva

@I think I am here.

[+Sorana]

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Sorry for the DP, but it's a new Era, and I wanted to keep it separated.

"Cohesion, sure." Lena agreed although she had no real idea if Cohesion was the right... She wasn't even sure what it was. Magic. Like everything else, it was magic. But if it worked to keep stone together, or to repair it, then it was exactly what they needed.

They turned another corner, slowly neared the quarter of the forge.

"I know that they are expensive, but we are good. We robbed Alleyzon. There is no reason, we shouldn't be able to get our hands on a motivator to repair some houses."

@I think I am here.

Edited October 9, 2019 by Sorana

[I think I am here.]

6 minutes ago, Sorana said:

“I know that they are expensive, but we are good. We robbed Alleyzon. There is no reason, we shouldn't be able to get our hands on a motivator to repair some houses."

“I remember that Alleyzon robbery,” he said, smiling. His smile stuffed somewhat when he remembered all of the skeletons he’d left in the main lobby.

“I wonder if the old crew would be down to do another job together, like you said. It would be fun. Though I heard Maq left to do his own thing, so maybe not him.”

[+Sorana]

32 minutes ago, I think I am here. said:

“I remember that Alleyzon robbery,” he said, smiling. His smile stuffed somewhat when he remembered all of the skeletons he’d left in the main lobby.

“I wonder if the old crew would be down to do another job together, like you said. It would be fun. Though I heard Maq left to do his own thing, so maybe not him.”

Lena shrugged.

"Let's go to our old headquarter. We can leave a message there, asking them to come to the Harbor in a day, if they are interested in a heist. If nobody shows up, we can do it on our own, if not, we have a larger crew on our hand." She stopped waited for his decision, so that they could walk in the right direction. If they wanted to go back to Maq's lair, then they would have to head to a different quarter of the city.

She finished her chocolate bar, smiled when everything suddenly became a full circle. That they returned, spoke about maybe getting the old crew together again, that they planed a robbery - today was a very good day.

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I figured that maybe we just leave a "note" in the pm, then everybody can see it, but rp the planning in a thread this time? Move more things out in the open, instead of rping in pms. Alternatively we could post the note in the Alleycity thread and just tag everybody who had a character in the Thievs Guild. What do you think?

Generally I'm open for new characters as well, although I'm not sure how to contact someone Lena has no idea that they exist.

 

Edited October 9, 2019 by Sorana

[I think I am here.]

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Maybe we could post it in the AlleyCity thread and tag the old Thieves Guild people, but also just state they posted an advertisement in the Odd Job Tavern so people can join up that way?

Alask nodded and stopped.

“Old headquarters it is.” He didn’t know whether the old group even checked the hideout anymore, Alask certainly didn’t, but the again, Alask had gotten caught up with other things lately. Maybe the others hadn’t. Besides, maybe they could post an advertisement in the Odd Job Tavern, to make up for numbers.

But just as Lena had said, it’s not like they needed too many people. Just a few, in Alask’s opinion. If worst came to worst, they’d need one person for the theft, and one for the getaway driver. Obviously, more people would make things easier.

“But how could we pay them?” He asked. “We’re not stealing money anymore.”

[+Sorana]

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Of course. Just wanted to give you a chance to write a reply there.

Lena pushed the door to the Forge open and stepped inside. She left it open for Alask to follow and smiled when she saw Mart, sitting at the table. He was eating something, and she realized, that naming the Forge as the location to meet with their old guild, maybe hadn't been the best idea. He jumped to his feet when he saw them and she quickly hugged him close, kissed his hair, then watched him run off, greet Alask as well.

She paid the woman watching him after school and then walked over, took a look at the table, at his homework. Humming to herself she started to cook them some dinner, she had found some beautiful zucchini yesterday and had decided to fill them and then bake them in the oven.

"So which place do we want to rob? Metallurgy and Investiture?" She asked Alask, unsure if that was the name of the place, or only what they selled. Names and Lena didn't fit too well. She started to chop some onions. When they were done she roasted them in a pan and used a different knife to cut some foxglove in tiny pieces she stowed in a little glass.

@Voidus @I think I am here.

[Silva]

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Hi. Quick question: if I wanted to get back involved with the Forge, would Eve or Gonev be better? Gonev was Thieves' Guild, but I'm a little partial to Eve and Lena and Alask know her.

Either works, just want to know if you have a strong preference one way or the other. 

An ant sat on the doorpost reading about human psychology. 

@Sorana @I think I am here.

Edited October 17, 2019 by Silva

[+Sorana]

9 minutes ago, Silva said:

Hi. Quick question: if I wanted to get back involved with the Forge, would Eve or Gonev be better? Gonev was Thieves' Guild, but I'm a little partial to Eve and Lena and Alask know her.

Either works, just want to know if you have a strong preference one way or the other. 

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Whatever you prefer works fine. Eve might be easier, since you could state that she was around now and then during the timeskip as well. But I have no strong preference.

 

[I think I am here.]

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Why not both?  But yeah, same as Sorana, either one works.

Alask smiled and patted Mart on the head as the boy walked up to greet him. They exchanged some smalltalk about homework and Alask turned back to Lena, paced around the room as he often did when thinking about plans like heists. It had been a while, he hoped he hadn’t gotten rusty.

“Metallurgy and Investiture is abandoned,” he said. “What hasn’t been raided yet isn’t worth much. Definitely wouldn’t be a working fabrial there.” But, if not there, then where? The guilds were a tempting option, but it was important to choose a mark that wasn’t impossible to steal from.

“The Whiterose Church?” He asked. “Ardents always have fabrials, and they’re a great guild, and not as threatening as some of the others.”