Mac's Boarding House

[MacThorstenson]

Mac nodded as his new tenant went off to read about the library. It was a good thing he put that there, the alleyverse was a confusing place, and didn't lend itself to multiveral travel. There was almost no guides or information about how to get involved, and the entire place was a mess. Hopefully this would help him. Once the man knew more, he would be able to help more.

At this point the city didn't need money or resources, it just needed a few people to inspire them. It needed hope. The people of the city didn't see how anything could get better, so they didn't try. The people needed heros, people to inspire them to do better, to achieve more. For people to embark on a Journey, they needed to have faith in a destination at the end.

You could do that. Mac shook his head. If anything he was the opposite of what the people needed. Despite the fact that they hadn't spiked random people in years, electing instead to use renewable spike farms, a murderer from their history was not the person to inspire positive change. Some journeys didn't have a destination worth finding.

Walking downstairs he heard a knock on the door, he hurried over and opened up the door, letting in a gust of wind as well as a lady standing at his door.

Frowning at the windspren that flew in with the gust, he ushered the lady in while shooing the windspren out. "Hello," he greeted her, "How may I help you?"

@Sorana

[+Sorana]

1 minute ago, MacThorstenson said:

Frowning at the windspren that flew in with the gust, he ushered the lady in while shooing the windspren out. "Hello," he greeted her, "How may I help you?"

Temeria hastily stepped inside, glad to be out of the wind.

"Hello." she greeted the man with a smile and looked around, noted the location of possible escape routes.

"I was looking for a place to stay for a night or two, maybe longer, that depends on when I can find some work."

She replied honestly and hoped that she had found the right house. Not that it would really matter if she hadn't, but she couldn't quite judge the dangers of this world, nor what to keep clear off. There were rumors in the streets, of monsters, of guilds, but nothing to really base her actions on. Rumors were helpful for a start, but what she needed was knowledge, real knowledge. About the weapons, about threats, about the magic they used here. If there was something like that at all.

"Ideally I can find someone here willing to answer me some questions, but that is a bonus and no must."

[MacThorstenson]

"Well then you have come to the right place!" Mac started. "We rent out rooms and provide food for those who need it. And I will definitely be able to answer any questions that you have about the alleyverse." Maybe once you hear about this you will be able to help as well. Leading the way to his office, he asked over his shoulder. "What brings you to our lovely city anyway? I assume it wasn't the site seeing or the people considering that the only sites we have are the result of two wars, and the people are those who survived them?"

@Sorana

[+Sorana]

Temeria followed him upstairs, without leaving her cloak or backpack behind. He hadn't offered, so most likely it was some kind of unknown tradition. His friendly and welcoming words warmed her and she found herself relieved that she found this place. He even offered to answer questions. Alleyverse. What a strange name. She needed to find out who held the power here, what weapons were used.

"I am sorry, but I doubt that I'll be able to pay you." She considered to talk about Nalthis and Roshar, but then discarded the thought. Last time she had and immediatly everybody thought of her as crazy. So keeping quiet was most likely the better idea. Or was it? Maybe it was better to play with open cards. Maybe he knew about a way home. She wasn't sure.

"I need to exchange my money first." She finally said after a pause and curiously looked around. The building was strange, different from any she'd seen so far. Just like the whole city looked foreign, threatening.

Falling silent for a moment she considered his last words, and then finally decided to go with the truth. Or at least a version that might be easier to understand. He seemed like a decent fellow, she could trust him.

"I am from a place, far away from here. One day I accidently ended up ...." how to describe a portal, "on a ship and woke up in a new country. I lived there for years, until I saw the merchants again. I hoped, that they were travelling home, but instead I ended up here. They left me close to one of the market places, at least I think it was a market place. There were so many carriages without horses, moving incredibly fast - It wasn't really my plan to come here, neither for the city, not for the people. Although I don't doubt, that it's beautiful to those that are used to it."

@MacThorstenson

 

Edited September 17, 2019 by Sorana
changed the tone

[Rushu42]

Sarah strolled up to the building and rapped on the door. "Hello?" she called.

[+Sorana]

33 minutes ago, Rushu42 said:

Sarah strolled up to the building and rapped on the door. "Hello?" she called.

Quote

Just a short question: Is this the same Sarah as in the tunnel thread?

Usually we try to avoid playing the same character at the same time in different locations, and it has a tendency to mess the timeline up. The threads are, more or less, happening at the same time.

 

[MacThorstenson]

7 hours ago, Sorana said:

Temeria followed him upstairs, without leaving her cloak or backpack behind. He hadn't offered, so most likely it was some kind of unknown tradition. His friendly and welcoming words warmed her and she found herself relieved that she found this place. He even offered to answer questions. Alleyverse. What a strange name. She needed to find out who held the power here, what weapons were used.

"I am sorry, but I doubt that I'll be able to pay you." She considered to talk about Nalthis and Roshar, but then discarded the thought. Last time she had and immediatly everybody thought of her as crazy. So keeping quiet was most likely the better idea. Or was it? Maybe it was better to play with open cards. Maybe he knew about a way home. She wasn't sure.

"I need to exchange my money first." She finally said after a pause and curiously looked around. The building was strange, different from any she'd seen so far. Just like the whole city looked foreign, threatening.

Falling silent for a moment she considered his last words, and then finally decided to go with the truth. Or at least a version that might be easier to understand. He seemed like a decent fellow, she could trust him.

"I am from a place, far away from here. One day I accidently ended up ...." how to describe a portal, "on a ship and woke up in a new country. I lived there for years, until I saw the merchants again. I hoped, that they were travelling home, but instead I ended up here. They left me close to one of the market places, at least I think it was a market place. There were so many carriages without horses, moving incredibly fast - It wasn't really my plan to come here, neither for the city, not for the people. Although I don't doubt, that it's beautiful to those that are used to it."

@MacThorstenson

Nodding along as she told her story, Mac led his way into his office and sat down, Motioning for her to do the same. "The money won't be an issue. You would be hard pressed to find a currency that we don't accept here." He grinned as he remembered the cookieconomy. "I remember about 60 ish years ago someone had the bright idea of basing our economy off of cookies. It only lasted about a week, but it was an interesting week. Anyway, what was I talking about? Money, yes. Yes money shouldn't be a problem." While he said all this, in the back of his mind he was thinking through what she said. She came here by accident by a ship. Now the rest of the alleyverse is uninhabited and we certainly don't have ships, but she also described cars as carriages without horses. Definitely an off worlder. Based on the accent they are probably alethi.

His face fell a little. "The city was beautiful once. A long time ago. But now it has lost hope. 2 devastating wars in 20 years will do that to you." He shook his head quickly. "But things will get better. People will recover and move on, like they always have." Hopefully, He finished silently. "Where did you used to live? I would wager alethkar based on the accent, but most people take such a roundabout way to get here that accents aren't a reliable judge."

[+Sorana]

6 minutes ago, MacThorstenson said:

His face fell a little. "The city was beautiful once. A long time ago. But now it has lost hope. 2 devastating wars in 20 years will do that to you." He shook his head quickly. "But things will get better. People will recover and move on, like they always have." Hopefully, He finished silently. "Where did you used to live? I would wager alethkar based on the accent, but most people take such a roundabout way to get here that accents aren't a reliable judge."

"Originally, yes. but I spend the last five years in Hallandren. Served in the army there. War is something I have to admit I hoped to escape. It's always messy and from my experience usually hits the wrong ones."

She removed her sword belt and placed it on the floor next to her backpack. Some sixty years ago. Maybe another immortal, just like the Returned. It hardly mattered to her. As long as she had a place to stay, to start a new existence she would be fine. She doubted that she would be able to leave soon. Sitting down she saw his face fell a little when he spoke about the city, about its beauty.

"This is your home, isn't it?"

She asked, although it was mostly a wild guess, based on his words, how he talked about the people, about moving on.

[MacThorstenson]

1 hour ago, Sorana said:

"This is your home, isn't it?"

Mac paused when she asked her question. A home. It had been a long time since someone had asked him that question. 

“Well that’s a good question.” He started. “The short, and mysterious answer is that I haven’t had a true home for quite some time. And the place that I use to call home was destroyed. Now I’m trying to preserve this home for others.  To give them what I never really had.”

That much was true. After all, repopulating the city again had been his idea. And while he had proposed the project in terms of sociological tests and closer resources, there had been some part of him that tried to build a Utopia. Maybe he hadn't been as lost as he thought. 

“Obviously I’m not doing that great of a job, but anyway. We aren’t here to talk about my mistakes. You said you needed a place to stay? How long are you expecting?”

Edited September 17, 2019 by MacThorstenson

[+Sorana]

1 hour ago, MacThorstenson said:

“Obviously I’m not doing that great of a job, but anyway. We aren’t here to talk about my mistakes. You said you needed a place to stay? How long are you expecting?”

Temeria noted how he changed the topic, away from home, away from the city. His mistakes. She thought about his words for a moment, and then inclined her head, let the topic slide aside. Obviously it wasn't something he wanted to talk about. She could respect that, had her own demons, had rarely met someone with some baggage to carry around.

"I don't know."

She told him honestly and shot him a quick smile.

"I need to find some work and a place to stay. And if I look around the city, it seems like especially the last one is hard to find. It depends on how much you charge I guess. Once I can't afford it anymore..."

I'm homeless. She finished the sentence in her head. Shrugging the prospect off the focused on the present again. It never helped to worry too much about the future. It came as it came and you had to deal with it. Unneccessary worrying never helped anybody.

[Rushu42]

8 hours ago, Sorana said:

Just a short question: Is this the same Sarah as in the tunnel thread?

Usually we try to avoid playing the same character at the same time in different locations, and it has a tendency to mess the timeline up. The threads are, more or less, happening at the same time.

Quote

Oh, sorry. It is. I didn't realize this was happening at the same time. In that case, please disregard my post.

 

[MacThorstenson]

5 hours ago, Sorana said:

"I need to find some work and a place to stay. And if I look around the city, it seems like especially the last one is hard to find. It depends on how much you charge I guess. Once I can't afford it anymore..."

"That's alright." Mac leaned forward, instinctively thinking about some way that he could help her stay at his place longer. It wasn't much, but if he protected those who he could, then he was already on the first step to helping the city.

"Maybe we can work out a little deal.

You see, whenever we have large quantities of invested people in any kind of establishment it tends to be blown up in some form due to conflict. Right now you, me and one other fellow live here. Now he didn't say that he was invested, but he carried around a decent amount of stormlight. I definitely qualify as high invested, and my guess is that most of the other people who come here will have investiture in some form. Whether they be Knights Radiant, allomancers, etc. I don't know if you have any investiture, but if you were a soldier it would be nice to have a second hand to help in some conflicts when I'm not around." He glanced at the housing contract on his desk. "The prices are already pretty cheap, so I would be able to dock a lot of it if you were to work for me. If not, and you want to look around for work as well that's totally fine."

[+Sorana]

6 hours ago, MacThorstenson said:

"The prices are already pretty cheap, so I would be able to dock a lot of it if you were to work for me. If not, and you want to look around for work as well that's totally fine."

Temeria considered his words. It was a good offer. To live with some kind of Returned? Work for him. She could learn her, find a place for herself in this world. And yet she hesitated. It was a good offer, but she doubted she could really fullfill that role.

"Thank you."

She started slowly and then sighed, spread her hands slightly.

"I'll be honest with you. I am just a soldier. No Radiant and I don't have breath, I assume that's what you mean by investiture. I doubt I can discern most threats in time, and facing a Radiant with a Shardblade?" she gave a short, bitte laugh, "I have no way to do that."

"It's a great offer, and I am inclined to agree, but I'm not sure if I can fulfill that role. I know close to nothing about this world, but I suspect that here is another kind of magic, I never even saw before. I can't stop something I don't understand. If some decide to start a brawl, I'm perfect, I can stop that. I have to admit I like a good brawl now and then. But if they walk in with blade and plate - I can't."

She looked at him for a moment, then leaned back.

"It's up to you. If you take the time, or know someone to give me a rundown about what I might face - I am willing to learn. I haven't been here for a whole day."

"I worked as a guard after I left the army, so I know about the job, what it means. Just know that there are many things I will have a hard time to stop."

[MacThorstenson]

"That's all I need." Mac started, "I wouldn't expect you to get involved in any fights beyond your capacity to mitigate. If someone is stupid enough to full on attack this place with blade and plate, then I would like to deal with them personally." Mac paused, wondering if he should continue. If he could continue. "If power ever becomes an issue, there are certain... methods that can be used. Unsavory by most measures, but they do work if power is what you seek." Mac sat back. "But that isn't the concern yet. As of now we only have one tenant besides you, and he seems like a good enough fellow. If we get more tenants and things start to become a problem, then we can talk again." Reaching behind his desk he pulled out a contract. 

"Here is the paperwork for the room, you can look over it and fill it out later if you want or now. But you mentioned that you would like someone to answer your questions about this place? I can do that for you."

@Sorana

[+ZincAboutIt]

38 minutes ago, MacThorstenson said:

Unsavory by most measures, but they do work if power is what you seek.

Quote

 

 

[+Sorana]

Temeria tapped her fingers on the table for a while, considered his words. His expectation was sound, and the thought the he so easily accepted her, without any proof, without any demonstration of her skills - it was relieving, because she knew, that she wouldn't be good enough, wouldn't pass a closer inspection. She'd never been good enough.

When he offered power with his next sentence she leaned back, looked at him. Power through unsavory methods. Whatever that meant. With a sigh she reached out for the contract, looked at it and felt cold. Strange letters covered the pages, letters she hadn't seen before. Admit that she couldn't read this? That the only script she'd learned was the one used in Altheakar, plus a little bit of the one of Hallandren. Or simply sign it and hope that it was nothing more but a contract about a room. Face burning from embaressment she pushed the contract back to him.

"Do you have a version in another skript? I can only read..." Temeria fell silent when she realized, that she'd forgotten the name. There had been a specific name, she was sure of it, "letters as they are used in Alethkar." she quickly covered her mistake.

Hastily she thought of a question, any question to change the topic. He'd offered, so she should ask about the city, the money, maybe if there was some kind of religion or god people prayed to. Who ruled, magic. What magic she might meet. Choose, choose, she pushed herself, her hand clenched into her shirt beneath the table when she was faced with so many choices, so many possibilities, so many questions. Most likely there was no time to answer all of them, so she should focus on the most important ones. Her thoughts turned and turned and she looked down. Decision, now. There was no time for a day long consideration. She hated quick decisions. With a sigh Temeria opened her hand again, closed her eyes and opened them almost immediatly. Strong. Just imagine you are at a tea party and ask anything. Every bit of information is useful.

"Are you some kind of Returned?"

She asked and immediatly wished she could vanish in the ground. Of all questions this one, was the worst. He'd already signaled, that he prefered to talk about everything else but himself. No taking it back now, that would only make her seem more weak than she already had to appear.

[MacThorstenson]

Of course. How could I be so stupid, Mac thought. He started apologizing immediately, "I'm so sorry." Shaking his head at his lack of tact, he bent over looking into another drawer for the women's script contract. His muffled voice continued speaking from behind the desk, "When everyone can somehow magically understand each other and speak the same language, you forget, that we can't all read the same language." Sitting back up, he placed a women's script translation on the desk.

"Are you some kind of Returned?" The question caught Mac by surprise, causing him to bump his head against the desk. "Oof," he muttered,  rubbing the back of his head with a new copy of the contract in his other hand. The poor girl looked like she would rather die right now then continue their conversation.

"Oh no worries." Mac said, trying to put her at ease, "It's just been a long time since someone has asked me that question." Pausing he thought for a moment. The image of a body with its age spiked out of it lying on a table flashed through his head. "Yes, it's been a very long time. I wish my immortality was as easy as being a Returned." This is stupid. Why am I nervous about telling this lady that I kill people en masse for my own gratification? I've done it for over a thousand years. A quieter voice in the back of his head answered. Because you regret it.

"The simplest answer is that I steal others ages. Using a magic system from another planet, one can take parts of someones soul, and graft it onto their own. Its an incredibly difficult science, requiring precision beyond that of the most complicated surgeries, and the power you can gain is nearly unlimited, but the cost is that it kills the donor in the process." Images of the bodies that he used for hemalurgy started appearing in his head, like slideshow of a crime scene. They showed him people he had spiked, starting over 1000 years ago.

He continued talking, struggling to push the words out that would condemn him, "You can do it with nearly any aspect of the soul, with almost infinite variability. People have studied it for over 2000 years, and they are still discovering new things. But I steal others age, and make myself younger. In recent years, we've discovered ways to make it so the donor doesn't die after we steal their soul. But that only keeps us from killing more people." The images were like a river now, flowing freely from the recesses of his mind as if a dam had been broken, "It doesn't bring them back."

He never talked about his work for a reason. It was important to learn early on that your goal was science, and not to look back, otherwise you started to see the cracks that formed in you. His body tense, he carefully reached into a pocket and pulled out his gold coin, tapping a little bit of heath. Hopefully it would help with the images.

"I'm sorry." He continued, "You managed to find an insane god, filled to the brim with regret. If you don't want to stay here anymore I understand." He slid the contract forward. "If you do want to, here is the contract in womens script."

@Sorana

Edited September 20, 2019 by MacThorstenson

[old man moomba]

Quote

Ok, this has nothing to do with the plot (I hope)

But I just read this as 'Mac's Walking House' and imagined a massive Art Deco building with a mustache spray painted on the front wandering down the road on huge, spike covered legs. 

 

[I think I am here.]

13 minutes ago, Dr. Dapper said:

But I just read this as 'Mac's Walking House' and imagined a massive Art Deco building with a mustache spray painted on the front wandering down the road on huge, spike covered legs. 

 

Quote

This is a non-canon story just begging to be written.  

 

Edited September 20, 2019 by I think I am here.

[MacThorstenson]

1 hour ago, I think I am here. said:

Quote

This is a non-canon story just begging to be written.  

 

Quote

If you think thats non canon, then you need to visit the alleys more often.  

 

[Voidus]

Quote

There is no such thing as a non-canonical DA story.

 

[+Sorana]

Temeria slowly took the contract from him, but didn't read it yet. Instead she looked at him, considered his words. Killed others to steal their age and if she remembered his previous offer about power, most likely other things as well. Damaged the souls of his victims. With a sigh she realized, that she had no real idea what he meant. She'd seen men broken by war, turned insane, maybe something like that.

"At least you kill them yourself and don't pay others to do it for you."

She answered after a while, heard the way her voice changed when she remembered the bored, stupid nobels that gave orders and never considered twice how many lives it might cost. She looked down at the contract, read the first part, then stopped reading when she realized that her thoughts were still occupied with his words. An insane god filled to the brim with regret. Help the city. It fit, somehow it fit together. When she looked back, she remembered the fear, the pain, the blood. But she didn't regret it. She had needed to kill to survive and that was it. And she'd done it for someone else, the only thing she'd gained was some money for bread.

"I am probably not the best person to talk to about this." She started slowly, wondered how he had to see her. She wasn't good enough, never good enough. Always too weak. A god. He was a god. Tilting her head to the side she looked at him. The Returned had seemed differently, powerful, but this man reminded her of some of those she had served with. "I have to seem like a fly or maybe a worm, or some short living thing. But in my experience the worst ones are those that never reflect what they do."

Without reading the contract she signed it with her name and then realized that she hadn't introduced herself. Her mother would be devastated by her lack of manners. Her mother. If things went well, she'd never see her again. Still, it was impolite, and she disliped being impolite. Especially towards the one person that had just offered her a bed and a place to work. She extended a hand towards him, smiled.

"Temeria Shenet. I never introduced myself."

 

Edited September 20, 2019 by Sorana

[MacThorstenson]

Quote

Except for project voidapple. The DA Sorcery department realized their mistake the first time they shipped voidus and a pineapple. They sacrificed over 100 interns in a ritual designed to push all mention of that into the space between the alleys.

Edit: Sorry I'm taking so long to respond to these sorana, every question you have asked has made me realize exactly how much i need to develop mac on the backend. In addition things have been really busy irl. I will be able to respond to your post tmrw.

EDIT 2: I guess technically its today,

@Sorana

Edited September 20, 2019 by MacThorstenson

[+Sorana]

4 minutes ago, MacThorstenson said:

Sorry I'm taking so long to respond to these sorana, every question you have asked has made me realize exactly how much i need to develop mac on the backend. In addition things have been really busy irl. I will be able to respond to your post tmrw.

Quote

Actually the pace suits me just fine. I need a while to get Temeria's voice right. Just reply when you have the time

 

[MacThorstenson]

Mac grinned in return, and reached out and shook her hand. "Mac Thorstenson. Though most call me Mac." He took the contract back from Temeria, and put it in a file. It was an odd experience, meeting someone who didn't know him. It was oddly refreshing, and rather easing. Though for the first time in milenia he found himself repeating the same line describing department heads. "We, er I," he said, correcting himself, "am no god. Long age does not a god make. I'm human just like the rest of you," he continued, "And people aren't worms or bugs," That hadn't always been true. For much of his life they hadn't even been worms, but tools. But for the first time in years, he realized, it was true.

Mac grinned, "No, they are more like dynamite. Small and simple on the outside, but when put in the right situation they can make quite the impact."

He thought back to the people he met. The first generation of people living in the alleyverse. They were an interesting bunch. Then he frowned. He realized that whenever people were dynamite, they usually tried to blow him up. Figuratively. He glanced at Temeria as he continued packing up his stuff, then realized something. "Do you know what dynamite is?"

@Sorana