Down at the Docks (Nai'shee/Lyam)

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

Minerva shrugged. "Suit yerself, Conch," she said. "Ain't nobody's business but yers whatcha wanna do wit'cha life. An' don't ever let nobody tells ya otherwise, aye? Sometimes a girl's gotta pack up an' go." She shrugged again. She had done the same thing herself, four years ago. And she had done it with less planning and forethought than Nai seemed to have. After her Granddad had died, she'd just packed up her stuff, headed down to the docks, and caught the first ship out of Sunberth. "Ain't nobody what fer me ta tell anyway," she added. "Ain't like I knows yer family o' nothin'. So no worries, Conch. Ya can 'op on one o' 'ese ships right 'ere an go, if'n ya want. Ain't like I's gonna tell nobody." She'd only just met the girl, after all. Sure, she liked her well enough, but it wasn't any concern to her what Nai did with her life. When Nai protested that her story might be very long, Minerva shrugged and said, "Oy, we done got all day. I ain't gotta be up at the Uni 'til past sunset." She had her Gadgeteering class after work tonight. Which basically just meant trading chisels and saws for wrenches and screwdrivers. It was one project after another with her. She nodded when Nai said she was at the University and said, "Aye, me too. Jus' done started a couple o' weeks ago. I's learnin' ta make Golems, I am!" She grinned wide, always feeling giddy when she thought of all the things she was going to build. "Done jus' got ta the city, I did," she said. "Bloke up in Ravok, 'e done told me 'bout the Uni 'ere, an' I says, ''At's the thing fer me, 'at is!' Cause 'ey don't let cats in the classrooms, so's as I don't gotta worry none 'bout gettin' kicked out o' nothin', aye? Aye." She nodded seriously.

[Nai'shee]

"Thanks", Nai'shee responded with a sad smile, as her eyes were scanning landscape bellow them. She found something familiar in Tock, some passion, enthusiasm, happiness. She wanted to talk to her much more, but she decided to, once in her life, be patient with something. This wasn't time to talk about sad destinies, or even last hopes for fulfilling a dream. This was time to relax with lazy chit-chat about weather and building and not to think about problems, to enjoy this little job she succeed to handle the basics of, to enjoy Tock's simple lunch. "Golems?", Nai'shee asked curiously. She never heard about thing like that. She wasn't very educated person, but she spent all day talking to people and she was naturally curious, so she knew much. However, she couldn't connect Golems with anything she heard. Maybe she could use class about classes, so she could see what other students do? She imagined all professors she met annoyed by her, trying to explain what's every discipline University teaches about.

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

Tock chewed down her sandwich quickly, eager to get back to work. She didn't believe in wasting time on things like enjoying a meal. Her body needed food, so she tolerated the act of eating, but that was it. Though one thing that COULD distract her from her work a bit longer was talking about Golems. She nodded eagerly. "Aye, Golems," she said. "Ya know, metal people, an' stuff?" When she realized that the girl didn't seem familiar with what she was talking about, she launched into a more detailed explanation. "'E's like... people," she said. "People what been made, wit' tools an' stuff. From wood o' metal o' stone, o' whatever," she shrugged. "An' ya can make 'em smart, teach 'em stuff. I's gonna make some what I can teach 'ow ta build stuff, aye? Be nice, 'avin' a metal man workin' fer ya, what doesn't ever get tired o' need ta eat," she waved the last bit of her sandwich around before finishing it off. "Lots o' magic, though," she said, "teachin' 'em ta move, an' stuff. 'At's why I's at the Uni. Gotta learns all about 'em, 'fore I can make real good ones." She was determined, though. She had a whole city to build one day. She still had it in her head, even after four years. She wasn't going to quit until she made it a reality.

[Nai'shee]

It took her a while to process it, but when she did, Nai'shee was simply amazed by the idea. She imagined army of those doing her chores, so she would have time to do all other things and then she remembered she didn't actually have chores to do. But still, imagine those Golems on construction site! It would be simply amazing to watch! But she concluded it was probably too hard for them to do something too complicated, but they could still master physical work. Her eyes were shining as she listened to Tock's story. "It's simply incredible!", she said, imagining huge, dark creatures, with beautifully carved faces, yet empty eyes, walking around and doing everything for us. "We could have all the time in the world to have fun or study or whatever we want to do!", she said, happy for it, for no particular reason. "Imagine if they were able to do more complicated things, like hunting! We would have food and everything without even trying and everybody could focus on their dreams!" She talked a bit much, with lots of gesticulations and thoughts, so she failed to notice her sandwich was left almost untouched. She took another huge bit, it was a little to big due to her excitement, so she barely succeed to swallow it. "Imagine if they could draw", she added, imagining creatures being able to draw every moment they 'witnessed'. She would have dozens of paintings or drawings to carry forever, some moments and persons she wished to never forget. "Do you have some particular goal you're building them for?", she asked.

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

Tock grinned wide when Nai got excited about her work. Most people didn't have the vision to see Tock's brilliance. They called her eccentric, or strange, or crazy. It was refreshing to see someone actually appreciate her for a change. "Oy, 'ey can do anythin'!" she said, grinning and feeling downright giddy. "I's gonna make a 'unter one, gonna be a wolf, aye," she nodded. "Gonna be a real 'beaut, she is. Send 'er out, fetch me a deer o' somethin'. Won't need ta go down ta the market fer no fish no more. An' I's gonna make more fer workin' 'round jobs. Cuttin' wood an' 'ammerin' nails an' all 'at stuff. An' assistants what can 'elp me take notes, draw blueprints... everythin'!" She got to her feet, planting her fists on her hips and looking over the construction job. "I's gonna build me a 'ole city, I am!" she said. "Golem guards protectin' the streets. Wagons what roll 'emselves down the street. Cooks, builders, gardeners... everythin'. Just takes time, s'all. I's jus' workin' 'ere ta make money what fer ta pay fer my schoolin'. Gotta learn ta make 'em up right, I does." She waved Nai over and said, "Oy, but 'fore I can build a 'ole city, we done gotta put a roof on 'is place, aye? Aye." She grabbed her tools with an eager grin. "Learnin' ta build 'ouses an' stuff, 'at's part o' it, aye? Can't teach my golems 'ow ta build 'ouses, 'less I know 'ow myself, aye? Aye." There was a passion in her eyes... and perhaps a touch of madness. But she had a dream, and she wasn't going to stop until she achieved it.

[Nai'shee]

"Really anything?", Nai'shee got even more excited. She imagined hunting would require too much intelligence, but she was obviously wrong. Suddenly, idea hit her. "Could you... like... make a oar that oars by itself? I mean, could you make them for me? How much would it cost?" It would be just perfect. She would have a pair of oars for her future boat and they could travel much faster, even at night. It would take much less to reach the island she is planning to sail to, somebody would just have to stay awake and watch compass, so they wouldn't go wrong direction. A city. Tock punched her right in the face with that one. She couldn't hold it anymore. She wanted to say something, to invite her, but when she tried to speak, woman told her their pause was done and she seemed determined to finish their work. "Could I... could I talk to you later? It's important." That was everything she succeed to spit out. It wasn't time again, she should get to work now and work on their dreams later. Life was so complicated, wasn't it? She headed for the house they were working on, ready to learn how to put a roof on. That's mostly what she was missing when she tried to make anything what looks like house in wilderness... Well, it wasn't important anymore, she lived at University now, and even that won't last much longer.

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

"Movin' oars?" she asked, tapping her chin. "Aye, easy... but a waterwheel'd be better. Ever see a grain mill, what wit' one o' 'ose waterwheels on the side?" She moved her fingers in a circular motion like a wheel. "Wheels is easier ta move, aye? I could slap a wheel on each side o' the boat, animate 'em up, an' 'ey'll run all day, 'ey will." She nodded. It would be rather easy work. "Ain't nothin' ta worry 'bout cost," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Jus' cover the materials, and ye'll be fine. Just needs some wood s'all." She shrugged. "Course, ya done gotta buy a boat too, 'fore I can animate 'er. But once ya got 'at, the work weren't be nothin'!" She grinned. She'd never done work on a boat before. This sounded like fun. "Aye, later, Conch," she said, heading back to the shack. She cupped her hands to her mouth and called out to the workers, "Oy! Ya lazy dodgers! C'mon now, back ta work!" There were some groans and mumbling, but everyone was soon back on task. Tock spent a few moments directing a few of the men to clear our the scraps from the boards they'd been cutting, letting them know where she wanted them. Then she directed them where to set the ladders so they could start on the roof. The lead architect consulted with Tock for a few minutes, pointing a few things out to her on the blueprints. After he gave her directions on what needed to be done with the roof, she nodded and waved Nai over. "'E says we gotta mount the braces first, an' 'en get up on the roof as we go," she explained. "Right 'ere, see?" she pointed out what the architect had just explained to her on the blueprints. Cross braces needed to be attached at just the right angle, and then the boards nailed across those. "'Ope ya ain't scared o' climbin'," she said with a chuckle, slapping Nai on the arm. Tock explained to a few of the other workers what the architect needed done, and set them to work. She had herself and three others climb up ladders to the roof, while several more remained down below to hand them the boards. First she had to check the angles on the braces, to make sure the roof matched up to the angle in the plans. She straddled the wall as she checked the measurements and calculated the angles, until she was sure it was right. The architect would be back to check on them in a moment, and she wanted to make sure everything was how he needed it. Once the braces were secured, they started adding the boards from the bottom up. As they were secured, and treated to prevent water damage, the workers soon had to climb up onto the roof to reach the higher points. Tock had to reorganize the workers then with several at the bottom of the ladders, several at the top, and several on the roof itself, handing the boards up in a line to be placed near the top. As Tock and the others climbed across the roof, the men standing at the tops of the ladders offered support to help make sure they didn't slip and fall off the steep angle.

[Nai'shee]

"Really? That would be even easier to use! You're amazing! Just make sure I can turn it off, so I can get some sleep from time to time, without getting lost in the sea..." She would have the fastest boat ever made! She couldn't even imagine it. She counted many days 'til they get there, but it will be a lot faster like this and it reduced the cost for a great amount, since they won't need as much food. "Oh, I see", she said when she heard about a boat. She imagined animating it and then combining them up with a boat, but it would probably be smarter to do it this way, so it wouldn't complain. She already started to thing like things had personality. "I guess I'll buy a boat as soon as I can, then. But I still don't know how to take care of it properly, because somebody would steal it if I just leave it hanging around... Could I have you take it until I sail off? You would also have it right there, at your place, if you wanted to work on it. Anyways, count you'll have it around change of seasons. And thank you." She added a smile to her last sentence. She followed Tock back to the office building. She yelled at workers again, which became pretty usual image to Nai'shee by now. They crawled back to work, somewhat unsatisfied by short break. Or was it long, just shortened by interesting conversation? Look up at the Syna's Sun told her that she was right. "How are we going to attach them properly?", Nai'shee asked. She was never introduced to counting angles and she had no idea how would somebody do so. When she got her reply she followed Tock to the building. "Of course I'm not afraid", she replied, reaching to the arm she was hit to. It didn't hurt, it was just rare to experience with a person you've only just met. Okay, many hours passed, even if she was not afraid of it, but it still counted as 'only just met'. However, she loved to climb. Climbing ladders wasn't as much fun, tho. She used to climb trees and buildings from very young age. She was used to walking on rooftops already, so this wasn't any kind of new experience to her. However, in the beginning she only got to watch workers position boards at right angle from the ladders. She didn't assist in this one either, because she realized that was important part of the whole thing and she would use few math classes before ruining that. However, she always picked up while watching, concluding how everything works and it was the same this time.

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

"Aye," Tock replied with a shrug. "My place ain't so big, 'course. But if'n yer jus' talkin' 'bout a wee boat fer a few people, I's sure I could fit 'er in my back yard. 'Ssumin', 'course, ya can 'aul 'er down 'ere, an' back when yer ready. An' I's prolly need," she scratched her head, thinking about it, "couple 'undred pounds o' wood, too." She wasn't sure on the design for a waterwheel, but she had some time to work it out. Maybe she could consult someone at the University on how watermills worked. This would be much smaller scale, of course, compared to the huge waterwheel one saw on the side of a mill. Those were the size of the whole building, whereas what she had in mind would only be a few feet wide. As the work on the rooftop continued, Tock kept climbing higher and higher. She slipped a few times, but then her coworkers braced her legs, holding her by her calves to keep her steady. Eventually, the last of the roof boards were nailed in place. By the time Tock climbed back down off the roof, the light was starting to fade in the sky. There would still be minor details to fix up tomorrow, like the detail work on the interior of the building, and installing the door locks, but the basic structure was finished. The lead architect came over to check on everything, pointing out a few adjustments they'd need to make tomorrow morning. Then with a yawn, Tock said to Nai, "Oy, Conch, not a bad job, aye?" She grinned. It was always important to take pride in one's work, even for a simple shack. OOCI'm pretty sure we can cover the wood for the boat modifications with the wood we're collecting in the "Gathering Materials" thread. But I'm assuming you're buying a small boat first, and just need Tock to build and animate the parts to make it move?

[Nai'shee]

"I'll work something out", she sighed, realizing it's another thing on her cost list. It widened pretty much since she decided on trip and her gain list was... zero. This should help her, tho. Nai'shee probably helped the most with this part, discount carrying things. She was handy on rooftop since she basically spent half of her life walking from one to another and she quickly learned how to nail roofboards properly. They finished after a while and it was already evening. "I guess I'm not joining you tomorrow morning. I might have classes." It was only half truth. She might have classes, but she'll oversleep after using so much Flux during famine and miss them too. She didn't really want to point that out, since she assumed Tock won't allow her to use it if she helps her out again. "Yeah", she said, proudly looking at what they made. "It feels good, as well", she wasn't an artist or carver or anything similar, so she barely looked at finished work. A finished work in shape of a house looked amazing to her. "I... remember I wanted to talk to you about something?", she paused, waiting for reply. "I... you mentioned your dream was to build up a city... I might have opportunity for you." They remained silent for a moment, before Nai'shee lowered her voice and continued. "You know, that boat we're on about is meant for trip for me and two of my friends. We're actually traveling to investigate an unexplored island I found map of. It might even have pirate treasure! And I plan on building few houses for three of us over there, since lend is, obviously, free. I planned to sail away around 40ish next season and it would be incredible if you tagged along!" Excitement was obvious in her whispers. "You could help much about building stuff and similar and you would get as much land and material as you could wish for your project! If you made Golems to help us it would be twice as fast!" Her eyes were shining, as she imagined possibilities. She prayed to whoever was listening Tock would accept.