Post by Joliette Thorne on May 31, 2008 4:45:37 GMT -5
-- The Dark lands--
Valkor smiles to Tenebrae, "Good evening, fair lady. How goes your night?"
Tenebrae nodded agreeably. "It it well, Valkor, thankyou. I hope yours is fair, too. I had wanted to catch up with you, actually.”
Valkor rolls his shoulders with a chilled ripple and flexes his hands in thought, "Yes. I have wanted to catch up with you as well. Strange we should meet on a moonlit night, such as this. Tell me, please, shall we find a more suitable location to speak, or does the night air please you?" His dark eyes glance to the moon again and then back to her.
Tenebrae laughed softly, her gaze canted up at the large man. "I'd suggest we go to the Corpse, but it's merely a hole in the ground now." She turned toward the west. "Mind if we walk that way, though? I'd like to talk about the roads."
Valkor follows the fair lady looking around with an examining eye to the land.
Tenebrae said to Valkor, "This path has always been just dust... or cracked stone, and the bridge ahead is so .. dangerous. I hoped I might contract you and your workers to set a road of paved stone, from the portal, all the way to the shops at the end of the street? Also, I have plans for a grand plaza.."
Valkor glances to her eyes with his own thoughtful browns and then stomps the ground lightly determining its substance and strength. He picks up a few stones and feels and smells them. "Indeed. The ground here is unstable, but with the right stone and drainage we should be able to make a firm roadway here. Good and strong for wagons and horses alike to travel safely. " He looks to the east and then to the west. " It would take about twenty or so men and dwarves a week or so to pave it right. Maybe two weeks if the weather is bad."
Tenebrae beamed happily. "Would you come with me to the plaza site, close to where the old palace was? And is twenty-five thousand enough for the wages? Do say if it isn't, I am happy to pay more."
Valkor follow her and as he walk he counts the paces and looks lefts and right at the natural terrain for possible soft spots in the road and where to locate the gutters for drainage.
Tenebrae paused at the bridge. "I do have a plan for this bridge. I can send you the idea, if that's alright?"
Valkor nods again and mumbles,” Anything is better than this."
Tenebrae laughed again. "Horrible, isn't it? Imagine trying to bring a wagon across this.." She stepped out onto the boards, which creaked under even her light weight. "And you didn't say if the wages were enough, or not."
Valkor decides to hover alongside, examining the cliff sides for possible erosion issues. He snaps back to her question, "Oh, pardon me. Yes that should be a fair price for the roadway, but for the bride I might need a bit more time and funds. Depends on your ideas. If you wish I could survey the roadway completely and draw up plans for the bridge and plaza...then give you a price."
Tenebrae said to Valkor, "Of course, dear. I have two other places need paving. Not as lengthy as this.. If you'll follow me?"
--Burning Wreckage--
Valkor comes in with a few slashes and bite marks. "Beasties got frisky." He comments lamely, then looks around at the possible plaza. "Yes. you could do a lot with this area." He waits for her instruction on what she wants to do with it.
Valkor chews on some pungent herbs to regain his health again, A number of the wounds seal slowly, but leave no scars.
Tenebrae pointed southward first. "The path should continue from the fountain to here, and this..." She swept her arm out to indicate the area. "Is to be a fine plaza. To the west will be a shop, and to the north..." She looked that . "Another, shorter road, eleven houses in length, and three wide, so there might be houses and shops on both sides of a road." The vampiress once more turned her gaze upward to Valkor. "A lot of work, I know... and then there's the main part of the city, up there..." She pointed to the top of the cliff, where all was wreckage. "But that can come after, I think. First things first. Oh..." The vampiress indicated the massive piles of black stone, taken from the old palace. "This is the paving material. I may need to import more, for the new city, but these blocks should be cuttable for the paving, yes?"
You frowned a bit at the giant's wounds, glad he had the means to heal them.
Valkor pulls out a parchment and some ink to scribe her ideas and nods to each. At the mention of stone he looks over the parchment with a wary eye and kneels to examine a few of the pieces of rubble closely turning a few over. "This is good stone. Yes, very good. There is enough here to pave from here to start of the bridge, I think. I have quarried some stone near the minotaur valley, far to the west of here. There is some similar stone nearby. Do you wish for me to lay foundation for the plaza and stores? Then when business move in they can customize them."
Tenebrae nodded, her eyes also on he stone. "Yes, that sounds perfect. I had thought to ask if we may start with the plaza, then the house row, and work back to the bridge. Give my people somewhere to begin, a proper home." She could not have looked happier. "Here, I plan a monument, to all the great ones of history. Valkor, finally my people will have a noble home, befitting them." Her eyes were bright, her smile as much so. "You must have felt much the same, when Gualon was restored to your own folks."
Valkor joins in with her prideful smile, "Yes, I do not enjoy the rantings of tyrants. A free and prosperous city brings much joy to me." He looks at the vision of her new city blossoming in his mind’s eye and for a moment connects with this interesting dark lady. He holds her eyes for but a beat or two then looks to where she gestured the monument would be. "Where you thinking of a grand marble statue or something with enchanted water and light?"
Tenebrae snickered softly. "I doubt that enchanted water and light would please the more... dour .. of our citizens. I'd rather it be a single monolith, carved intricately, with one polished face for all the honoured names." She glanced upward, to the perpetual moonlight. "Once the dust and smog clears, the moons will light us adequately, though I might put in some ornate lamps." She frowned again, glancing back at Valkor. "That beast who bit you just now... I thought to place some gates, near the cemetery and after the portal, to prevent them harassing the townsfolk so much. We'll need to drive them back into the forest, which is a real problem, as you saw."
Valkor offers her a crooked grin, "Pardon me, good lady. I have spent much of my time with the fae folks as of late and their sensibilities seem to of rubbed off to me. Yes of course a cut of the deepest black marble should be used. Perhaps we may infuse the carvednames with firestone or even moonstone, so that theymay be read more easily. Yes, that would work nicely.” He seems to reach out and touch a stone in thought, feeling it with his workman’s hands. "Yes. I have an old technique to produce a smoothness befitting the dignity of your proud land's people." He comes out of his drifting thought. "Yes, here..here...and Amen to that. A few strong gates would help in this. Perhaps, begging your pardon, you might enlist the aid of those drow patrols that seem to walk your lands. They were no aid when I was attacked tonight. the just stared and gave me dirty looks. Spot of bother and useless to boot."
Tenebrae could not help jiggling a bit with joy as Valkor spoke his ideas for the monument. "Oh, that's perfect-- moonstone would be lovely! What a marvellous thought, and yes..." Her expression became a little wry. "The drow do not care much for other folks. But I do know several who wish to at least create a path to trade, so perhaps that's a point to start with. And I dare say we could drum up a fair number of volunteers for a hunt." She jiggled again, bouncing on her toes. "Since I was a girl, growing up on these streets, I always dreamed of being a fine lady, and making the ugly old place into something... better. It's a dream come true, Valkor." Tene twirled, as though she was that small urchin she'd once been. "I can't imagine what my mentor, Garath, might say. He'd laugh, probably."
Valkor seems to grow younger before her eyes as he gets caught up in her excitement. "There is so much we could do to make this dream a reality!" He smiles to her dancelike motions and nods his head quickly. "Or be proud of ya, I think. Is seems to me you were a fine lady back then, just er...smaller." He grins and looks around some more, pacing the plaza area. "Perhaps we can talk some later on trade between Gualon and your city. I see benefit for both in this time of peace."
Tenebrae laughed aloud at the thought of the ragged little thief she'd been, being a fine lady in the making. "I don't think of myself as much of one now, never been one to put such tickets on myself. But it's nice to have the gold and wherewithal to do all this." She paused at the mention of trade, nodding. "And yes, of course... we have not many resources of our own, so trade is important. Though.. I hope to change that, with the Necromancy Guild going in. I have plans.." She grinned. "Won't bore you with those. But yes, I hope we can find goods and services to benefit us both." With a happy huff of breath, the vampiress glanced eastward. "I suppose I had now better get along and find builders for the Corpse. The plaza, the house row and that are my priorities. Valkor..." She chewed her lip a moment. "I am pondering the idea of banishing magic from the pub. Not that needed to keep the Undead animated, or anything essential like that, but spells and runes, things that could be used to damage the place. What do you think?"
Valkor nods firmly, "Yes. I might even suggest having any disagreements take place outside. Either that or have a rumble room of some kind. That way the more physically expressive could feel welcome and also decrease the damage to the tavern itself."
Tenebrae pondered this. "Yes, we use to have a fighting room, but it was little used. I might rethink it. As for having patrons go outside.." She snickered. "I'm hiring a Guard, to serve the city, and security for the pub. Which, I might add, is being constructed from this same stone, so no more terrible fires or holes in the roof." She patted the giant's arm. "Thankyou, for all your help. Will you send me a quote, when you get a moment, with a price for all the work and a time estimate on each section? I'm rather eager, as I said, to get this part done, and perhaps the road outside the pub."
Valkor nods with a sigh and said, "Yes. I will take a flight over the roadway once more and then draw out a few ideas. Seeing that you have much of the stone we need on hand we might be able to contruct the most of the plaza and roadway. I will contact you a soon as I am able."
Tenebrae gave the giant a polite dip of her chin. "A pleasure, as always, Valkor."
Valkor returns the bow, "Good evening then, Lady Tenebrae."
Tenebrae chuckled again, as she watched the giant ascend on his broad wings. “Lady… How Garath would laugh.”