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Forum locked This topic is locked, you cannot edit posts or make further replies.  [ 8 posts ] 
NinjaClarinet
 
PostPosted: Sat, Jul 25 2015, 18:59 PM 



Player

Joined: 12 Jul 2010

((This is for RP and work in Wharftown's docks))

Below the fortified seacliffs that Wharftown stands on, sprawls the newly re-engineered docks and shipyard of the city. The docks seem to be the heart of the city, bustling with the slow pulse of trade and fishing ships docking and setting out in a carefully slow-paced ballet. Cargo is loaded and unloaded with busy efficiency, with and endless crowd of children and clockwork automatons getting underfoot in their eagerness to "help" and make a few coins. The north side of the docks is dominated by a small shipyard, with three drydocks standing tall over the rest, an imposing array of scaffolding and cleverly engineered cranes and lifts. From a small office, engineers and foremen peer over designs and schematics, scribbling away at drafting tables and large rolls of canvas. A constant ant-trail of supplies and parts seems to go back and forth between this shipyard and the Clockworks on the cliff above. The three berths are already dominated by the skeletons of three imposing warships, their designs sleek and futuristic. Strange wooden golems of very tall, spindly, lanky design work tirelessly alongside carpenters as heavy parts are lifted and fitted to the skeletons of the ships, carpenters often harnessed to platforms on the golems themselves to achieve extra height as they work.

Two ships seem to be semi-permanently stationed in the harbor. Both are sleek sloops-of-war, standing ready as the first of Wharftown's fledgling escort fleet. One is the Exonerator, a fantastic vessel of blue sails, its flanks engraved with a screaming phoenix wrought in silver. Its deck bristles with strange clockwork ballista, and it practically hums with magic, seeming to float strangely still on even the choppiest seas. A single clockwork soldier stands guard over the vessel, a strange humanoid of sharp angles, fractal armor plates and curved claws. The second sloop-of-war, dubbed Huntress, is black in its entirety, save trim pained in burnt orange. A snarling wolf's head, accompanied by tribal patterns, is painted on its side in a manner reminiscent of a large tattoo. Both ships seem to have a constant trickle of new parts brought to them from the workshop, Valerius himself spending many hours on their retrofitting.


 
      
NinjaClarinet
 
PostPosted: Mon, Aug 10 2015, 22:24 PM 



Player

Joined: 12 Jul 2010

Shortly after nightfall, Valerius seems to busy himself at the shipyards, giving directions and orders to the men and women as they wrap up their work for the day. More tools are brought out of storage, and the work-spaces are given a mild cleaning and refresh. Along the docks, the mage spends some time conjuring a handful of portals, creating extra-dimensional doors leading to lavish living appointments. Seems they are preparing for an influx of labor.

Working by spell-light, the mage busies himself with the Exonerator and Huntress, a single Clockwork Helper assisting at his heels. Large spools of silvery wire are carried below-decks of the Huntress, along with several heavy crates of gemstones. On the deck of each ship, a large soaking vat is set up. The sails and rigging of both ships are pulled down, the sails folded and set aside, the rigging coiled into the vats. Both ships speak of the promise of hard work come morning.


 
      
NinjaClarinet
 
PostPosted: Mon, Aug 31 2015, 18:28 PM 



Player

Joined: 12 Jul 2010

Rigela wrote:
As Lathander reached high in the sky, to signify midday arising, Wharftown would be witness to the arrival of supplies arriving from Kohlingen. Containing various things hidden beneath cloth, the carts would be flanked by a small patrol of guards and be accompanied by a group of hardy young men and women who made their way for the shipyards. The man leading the shipment would speak with one of the local guard, asking for 'Dame Alanna' or 'Mister Everguard' and to inform them the supplies and men had arrived. The guards would stay with the supplies until an official of the small town came and relieved them.

Whoever came would find that the supplies agreed upon, and then a little more was to be found, similarly with the men. They happily assisted with whatever task they were assigned, working diligently throughout the day.


The men and supplies are immediately put up in the temporary Mage Manors enspelled around the yards, and then enthusiastically put to work on the three warships in dry-dock. By now, the inventor and entrepreneur seems to have honed his craft and leadership, hitting his stride with an almost manic demeanor and a reservoir of energy and enthusiasm that hadn't been seen for ages. The shipyards are an almost hypnotic ballet of barely organized chaos, with men, materials and constructs shepherded by the eccentric wizard. Under his direction, the visiting Kohlingen Magi and Clerics chant in unison, large timbers and equipment Levitated into position, and promptly fastened down by swarms of laborers and engineers. A carefully maintained time-table is run by the contingent of spellcasters, the workers magicked with Haste, Strength and Endurance at precise intervals, and with the facilities well-staffed at last, they are allowed plenty of time to rest and luxuriate in the Mage Manors in between periods of frenetic and occasionally hazardous labor.

The mages in particular, witting or not, receive a brutal master's class in industrial magic, military fabrication and enchanting, and chemistry, as they are pushed to their magical limits by the chaotic artificer. Throughout the work day, there is never a moment when a siege engine isn't being enchanted, or a part of a ship being etched with runes, or alchemical unguents applied to rigging and sails, or something being Levitated into place, or a worker magicked to be just a little bit better at what he does. Whether they love him or hate him by the end of each day, Kohlingen's spellcasters retire exhausted, but with a breadth of new technique to ponder.


 
      
Grymia
 
PostPosted: Mon, Aug 31 2015, 19:37 PM 

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Player

Joined: 14 Dec 2004
Location: Kohlingen, and a Basement in Canada

As long as Tuomas was welcomed to do so, he'd gladly join in on the work going on at the docks, likely drawn on for more specific works but also working a fair amount into the enchanting side of the works.


 
      
NinjaClarinet
 
PostPosted: Sun, Nov 08 2015, 21:46 PM 



Player

Joined: 12 Jul 2010

The organized chaos of the industrial shipyards, having falling into what passes for quiet routine for several months, spikes to a fever pitch as the three warships in drydock reach completion. The vessels are prepared for their launch, workers and magi putting in long hours to ensure everything is in place. Expensive barrels of quicksilver are rolled out from storage, and alchemists set to preparing the toxic fluid into a magical ink, infusing the substance with diamond dust. As the three warships receive their final coat of paint, Valerius directs his apprentices and the Mage Guard in applying the quicksilver ink to the vessels, daubing the fluid into grooves and channels carved into the ship's flanks and spine. Within hours, the vessels are proudly displaying glittering runes of magic and power, the drying quicksilver unguent catching the afternoon light.

The artificer seems to always be standing in the eye of the storm, shouting direction and encouragement as the workers and artisans swirl about their business. The scene is pure chaos for an outsider to observe, but every movement and direction is carefully planned, and expertly executed by the diligent employees, now accustomed to the chaos mage's boisterous management style. As afternoon wears into evening, and the laborers retire, Valerius calls together the senior magi and clergy provided by the Holy City. Alanna of Wharftown joins them then, and security is heightened over the shipyards under her direction, lines of militiamen preventing anyone from accessing the docks not expressed invited by the artificer. Tuomas of Kohlingen is sent a Sending, informing him that the last enchanting of the warships is to begin shortly. Should Toumas arrive, the three spend some time in quiet conversation with the magi and clerics, as final details are sorted.

Shortly, the group breaks into three teams, each attending to a ship, each group led by one of the senior spellcasters. Within moments, the shipyards are filled with the chorus of chanting, The Power and The Art called in equal measure. The air of the small town becomes tense and oppressive as the Weave is sorely taxed by the mighty incantation, the ritualists working long into the night. They fall into an easy rhythm, the spellcasters calling and responding to one another, the spellcasting song-like in it's construction. Prayers and invocations calling for the aid and blessings of the Triad, Selune, and Mystra drift through the quiet night air, sung by a lone chanter first, and then met with a powerful reply from the whole collective.

The town likely endures a sleepless night, the spell-song lasting nearly to dawn, the chanters' voices growing hoarse by the end. The shipyards are bathed in a ghostly silver spell-light throughout the process, the mercurial runes etched into the vessels glowing vividly as they are forced to accept ever increasing amounts of Arcane and Divine power. The haunting silvery radiance dances across the stormy autumn sea until the light of dawn begins to threaten the horizon, and the spellcasters fall silent, spent. The air smells faintly of ozone and seared wood, and the ornate runes burned into the hulls of the ships continue to glow for a time, well after the exhausted magicians have collapsed into their beds. A set of Celestial runes on the aft flanks of the vessels are the last to stop humming, and when their luminescence recedes, the names of the newly christened vessels are revealed.

The new warships Tristram II, Honneur Immortel, and The Sword-Saint simmer with power in their scaffolds as their enchantments settle, ready to be crewed and launched.


 
      
NinjaClarinet
 
PostPosted: Fri, Dec 04 2015, 16:21 PM 



Player

Joined: 12 Jul 2010

On a bleak, grey, and overcast morning, before the sun had fully risen, the three new warships were provisioned for a short voyage, and assigned skeleton crews from among Kohlingen's resident militia. They were launched with little fuss or fanfare, slipping off quietly into the mist and wintry seas. As he supervised their departure, Valerius seemed more distant than usual, giving only minimal direction to the crews as he nursed a cup of morning coffee. Saorise was glued to his side to observe and learn, but did not seem particularly happy to be up so early. After the Tristram II, Honneur Immortel, and The Sword-Saint have cast off their lines are begin to get underway, the unlikely mage and child pair return to the Exonerator. Soon the former Branded Phoenix flagship departs Wharftown as well, tailing the other three vessels at a distance, presumably to ensure they reach their destination without incident.

Much later in the afternoon, the blue and silver vessel returns to its home port alone, wizard and child looking exhausted from piloting the sloop-of-war on their lonesome. The Exonerator, along with its sister ship, the orange and black Huntress, are berthed in the now vacant drydocks before nightfall.

The pair of ships would remain in drydock for the next few tendays while basic maintenance and cleaning is attended to, while Valerius and other employees from the Clockworks seem to undertake a comprehensive refit of the ships' interiors. Walls, panels and furniture are removed from the vessels, and replaced again later after hours of unseen work inside.


 
      
NinjaClarinet
 
PostPosted: Wed, Feb 10 2016, 19:06 PM 



Player

Joined: 12 Jul 2010

As the months passed, the Exonerator and Huntress would have been freed from their drydocks after a lengthy and secretive retrofitting process. Valerius, these days mostly an eccentric hermit, emerged from the bowels of the Huntress after many months and weeks of exhausting labor and spellcasting. He seems disheartened for some reason, some of his usually endless energy dimmed and subdued. It seems apparent that the process took far longer than the mage had anticipated, his enthusiasm long replaced with dogged persistence. Nevertheless, the ships are returned to sea.

Both vessels gleam with fresh paint and bristle with elaborate clockwork weaponry, and the eccentric wizard hand-picks crews for each from among Wharftown's finest. Many of Wharftown's marines seem to be overjoyed to be back into work as the pair of war-cutters return to patrolling Wharftown's harbors and trade routes after a long hiatus. The drydocks do nut remain empty for long, however. The gears of industry begin to turn once again, as the artificers and shipwrights begin the process all over again. Foundations for three new ships are laid, this time for vessels far larger than any before. Vale seems to have built much more confidence in both his employees and the laborers borrowed from Kohlingen, giving them a hard-earned reprieve from his micromanaging, as he heads to the Shanty to recuperate.


 
      
NinjaClarinet
 
PostPosted: Wed, Mar 02 2016, 20:42 PM 



Player

Joined: 12 Jul 2010

Though still very early in the process, ship-watchers and travelers can begin seeing the rough skeletons of the three warships under construction. The exposed ribs looks like they will end up creating a very exotic, streamlined hull, the lines and curves of the ship almost organic in their own way. The rigging is strange, suggesting pairs of offset, triangular sails that are more reminiscent of wings than the old-fashioned square-cut rigging expected of a ship-of-the-line. Attentive scholars and engineers might discern elements of Illithid and Elven ship design blended into one very peculiar weapon of a vessel. Curtains are set up in the heart of the vessels, obscuring much of the work within. The seaside breezes and constant motion of the artisans means that the flapping curtains fail at providing total concealment, and a massive sphere of some sort is occasionally revealed to lie in the hearts of the skeletons of the ships, and a tangle of wires and conduits sprawl outward from this sphere like the webs of a drugged spider.

Vale is still an ever-present whirlwind of activity, directing and supervising the mages and workers, though he has started giving them some space, letting his students of engineering and clockwork experiment with their own flourishes and ideas. The labor of the Shipyards seems to be a dance of blended magic and muscle, with teams of arcane students working together to levitate large components into place, while clockwork and wooden constructs swarm over the area, assisting the carpenters and shipwrights with their sweaty labor. Workbenches and alchemical set-ups are sprinkled through the workspace, where delicate parts brought over from the Clockworks are assembled, and various components are treated with exotic oils and lacquers. Troughs of purified water are brought out every morning at the beginning of the day's labor, and occasionally small bags of gemstone dust are emptied into these troughs, and various components allowed to soak in the mixture before being enchanted by the magi in a flurry of a spellcasting.

One day, small placards are added to the frames of the growing ships. Seems they are to be christened the Arcanos, the Triarch, and the Requiem.


 
      
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