Open Unity Through Self-Interest

[Alric Lysane]

5th Winter 521 AV – Storage Yards & Castle Commons It had started as a ripping noise, the higher corner of the storage building nearest the Castle Commons tearing outwards and scattering all over the markets below and even quite a way away from the blast. Reports had come in that some debris had even managed to make it across the river and hit rooftops there that were still being battled. What was being battled wasn’t the debris but what was upon it – fire. Alric had been shopping when the stall next to the one he had been browsing had collapsed under a particularly large wooden beam’s landing. After the initial shock everyone had hit the floor and hoped for the best, he had survived but others had not. The survivors had dragged the bodies out and stamped out the beginnings of the smaller fires as quickly as they could but they hadn’t managed to get them all. Some stalls had been burning merrily by the time they had dragged out as many of the unconscious as could be found. Sunberth was a violent city but that didn’t mean they just left citizens to burn under something that wasn’t their fault. Besides which the Castle Commons was what kept the city alive, if it stopped then the city stopped. There was a kind of unspoken agreement that thought you might rob shoppers and stores that to eliminate them entirely was something to be punished for. Now the small group he was a part of had a moment to rest and they could take in the full scene and what was happening. Looking up Alric could see that an entire corner of on of the Storage Yards was simply gone, leaving an open space within that flames flickered out of. Smoke billowed up into the sky to form a dark column that everyone in the city would be able to see – that in itself was something as it meant many might come to help put it out. Much of Sunberth was wood and though it was damp any fire was a threat to everyone. That provided at least one small sense of unity amongst the denizens – fire was everyone’s problem. “Here there’s more than one, someone’s been playing silly buggers….bastards” one of the others spat onto the ground and Alric could see now, shifting his position a few steps to the side, that he was right, there was another column of smoke gathering over another of the Storage Yard buildings. “Shyke,” he muttered, “someone’s getting hanged for this” he said, not hatefully but in a matter of fact way. There was a grumbling of assent. “Aren’t those the grain storages?” one asked, suddenly fearful. In silence they all looked at the columns and mapped it all into their heads. It was sometimes difficult to know where things were stored, they were moved around often. Citizens were hired by those with wealth and power to transport goods around regularly to prevent damp, mould and a whole host of other problems. As they silently worked it out there was a fearful denial forming around them. “Nah…nah that was two seasons ago wasn’t it?” “I make it one season” “No, I think he might be right,” Arlis muttered with a sigh, “looks like our work isn’t done. Come on then, we’ll feel pretty stupid standing around like this alter if it is grain and our bellies are empty” “Who made you boss?” “No one, but I don’t like starving either. Your choice but I’m going” He suited his words by setting off at a jog towards the edge of the Commons where the Storage Yards were, noticing several bucket chains already in operation to fight the fire, starting with the ground floors which already seemed to be more smoking than raging flames. Getting to the end of one he grabbed the bucket and ran to the river’s edge to pass it down to someone to fill before snatching it back and returning as fast as he could without spilling it. For all of that work all he got was a small hiss as foot squared space of flame was quenched on the wall of the storage building. As he finished throwing the bucket's contents he noted with a grim smile that the others had elected to join him in the fire fighting. It was small, but it was a start.

[Alric Lysane]

Alric ran back to the river with his bucket, his legs beginning to tire now and his breathing becoming more ragged, he was amidst chaos he had decided and even in the face of flames Sunberth was having difficulty galvanising a unified approach. To be truthful they had already managed to tame and stamp out some of the flames. The market stalls were all spitting as they cooled now instead of flickering with lit flame, but the Storage Yards were another matter. Patches had been put out only to come back again after once the water had been burned away. As he ran back to the building and threw his bucket on what he felt was the same spot for the third time now, the flames dying and smoke rippling, he dumped his bucket down for a breather and wiped the sweat from his brow. “We need a better way” he said to no one in particular. “Like what now? Getting it to rain? Do a dance, see what happens” Alric chuckled at that, the man was part of the first bunch he had been with, stamping out the smaller embers in the markets. He breathed in deeply, trying to ignore the growing smoke in the air, and watched as they went back and forth. They were still going, if in a ragged and tired sort of way. He hadn’t expected them to come he had to admit, the had surprised him. He turned and looked at the people flowing back and forth, it wasn’t so long a distance between the fires being fought and the river, really it should be quicker getting the buckets going. But in true Sunberthian fashion everyone was their own person. He frowned and picked up his bucket, jobbing back to the river front and passed it down, there to be filled and he grabbed it back, handed it to someone arriving with an empty bucket and took theirs. Show by doing he had learned, not that he wanted to tell people what to do. He did, however, have a powerful need to eat in the coming days. He started filling buckets pre-emptively, leaving them in a small group and watched as people started throwing down their empty ones and grabbing the full ones. He continued to pass them down to the river water fillers and the pile grew larger, it was easier and quicker to fill then it was to run and dump and run back. After a while a few more people started doing the same as him, they were tired of running and needed a break and Sunberthians saw easy work when it was in front of them. Eventually there were more buckets than they knew what to do with and people were leaving them in a sort of trail leading towards the Storage Yards, paths for walking left between the clumps for ease of passage. People started stopping at the buckets, passing them to each other, and before long there was a small chain forming between the buckets and the flames. Alric ran up once everything seemed to be flowing unstoppably towards a bucket chain and joined the end, by the time he got there that end was almost on the edge of the flames and a second chain was forming – empty buckets being sent back to the river. He took the offered bucket and threw it on the flames before throwing it to the return journey. Grabbing the next one he stepped forwards with the few others at the front to get into the building through the shattered corner and dump it on the now quickly retreating flames.

[Alric Lysane]

As he was throwing another bucket of water over a patch of flames, further quenching at least part of the room after the breach itself, he heard shouting from within the warehouse proper and threw the bucket to the side, listening once more until another shout came. Eyes darting about he saw a shattered door hanging from its frame across the room and he jumped over what was left of the flames, landing softly but at an angle, wooden floorboards giving way that caused him to stumble into the door frame, seeking balance and almost falling through the door before he found it. Once through the warehouse itself opened up and he could see flames had started catching there also, wooden crates providing the beginnings of kindling. “Put that damned fire out quick, it’s starting in here!” he shouted back through the door. “That’s our grain store!” “Then if you don’t want to starve start getting through the damned door then!” he snapped at them, all too aware that food was scarce as it was in Sunberth, hoping it wasn’t about to become more so. He took off his jacket and started smothering the smaller areas of flame, corners of crates turning from flames to smoke as he worked his way through the warehouse from the breach, stamping on some spots of oil upon the floor, scraping his boot back over them until they were out also. Looking around he could see the warehouse had several floors, most of the others were around the walls, the middle being vast and open for the easy transport and storage of goods. The scream sounded again and he looked up, pinpointing it to an upper corner, towards the top of the breach. “Help! Gods help us!” “Shyke” he tugged his jacket back on, noting the singed parts of it, and searched around for a staircase. Finding one he kicked through the door and ran up the stairs as quickly a she dared, they looked weak in places and some parts were even starting to break out with fire also. He briefly wondered how it was possible that fire had spread so quickly and dotted itself about but the thoughts were dispelled by a falling beam that he just about managed to duck and dive out of the way from, rolling until he was able to push himself up, running to the other side of the warehouse to another set of stairs and barrelling up them as quickly as he could. Eventually he came to the door that the shouting was coming from. “What that shyke are you doing in there?” he shouted though the door, pushing it and finding it jammed. “Can’t get out! Locked! Can’t break it” “Oh for the love of…stand back!” He paced back a few steps, breathing a few times in preparation before running and ramming his shoulder into the door, bouncing off of it once, trying again and again. It took five items in total, the wood splintering bit by bit, before he fell through the door, forcing it open and almost falling into the arms of a very sooty and bedraggled group of people. Pushing himself away and steadying himself he saw they looked like labourers, though not particularly lucky ones given their circumstance. “Go on then, out out, grab some buckets and go get some water on this shyke show” “Thank you…thank you” “No time, later, let…buy me a drink…yes you’re welcome just get out of the on fire building” Words: 584

[Alric Lysane]

As he made his way back down, jacket flapping at other small flames springing up here and there, the group made their way across the floor and towards the stairs, the wooden parts of the structure were starting to creak and crack, portions of the roofing towards the damaged corner starting to tumble down, clattering to the hard packed earth that served for a floor in Sunberth. A loud noise caused the group to look up, the roofing beams collapsing and Alric all but dived at them, pushing them away even as a stray smaller piece smacked into his shoulder, sending him sprawling, sliding until his legs were dangling over the drop to the ground. His fingers dug in, knuckles and flesh turning white as his feet kicked at the air, trying to force momentum to be able to pull himself back up, to get a leg over the lip once more and bring himself to safety. The group, taking one look at his troubles and then looking at the flames made the choice that he hadn’t made – themselves. They gave apologetic looks that would be burned into his mind for some time, but ultimately chose the less risky path of turning tail and running through the building towards the exit, screaming as they went. Bastards… he thought as he went through the motions of trying to pull himself up several times, unsuccessfully so until he started the swing, his grip weaking bit by bit, but managing to hook a heel over the lip eventually, using that to lever himself up, pulling himself almost foot first until he was rolling away from the edge, pushing himself up, then rolling forwards and up to his feet to avoid yet another falling piece of timber. “Bugger this” he muttered to himself, following the example of those that had abandoned him. Running now, dodging debris as and when he saw it, simply lucky at other times, he ran until his lungs burned, smoke no thickening the air and making it more difficult to breathe. The stairs were all but jumped down, shoulder bouncing off of the walls as he pivoted and jumped down the next set, making his way towards the breach – to find it filled with bodies with buckets and so unable to be used as a mean to get some air. Looking around he found the main entrance, a great wooden beam still locking it closed, and he ran to it, pushing up at the beam, edging it up bit by bit, muscles straining until it was clear and he could drag the doors open, air rushing in to billow the smoke up and out towards the holes in the roof, clearing the interior of it temporarily. Getting outside, finally, he gulped in air between hacking coughs, sweat and the back of his hand smearing his face a dark grey colour as he bent double, coughing and spluttering before forcing himself up, hand behind his head to open his chest, taking in as much air as he dared to before it would make him cough once more. Words: 516

[Alric Lysane]

Smoke was starting to stream out through the doors he had flung open now, his hacking and spluttering subsiding to leave a bitter taste in his mouth and the sense that he had smoked a dozen pipes at once and felt slightly ill for it. Still, he had recovered, bedraggled as tired as he was, to see a large group of people simply watching him, as if he were a show that they could find some entertainment in. He frowned at them, his anger rising, stepping forwards tos cream at them. “What are you lot doing?! Grab some damned buckets and get through the door, put the damned fire out!” “Not risking my life for people’s trinket” one said, the rest muttering agreement. “That’s not trinket sin there, it’s our bloody food! Wheat! Pickled meats! Salt! You want to eat? Because I’ve got a powerful need to fill my petching belly” “I ain’t getting killed over some baker’s blo-“ another began before Alric grabbed him by the front of his shirt, eyes wilder than usual and sparkling with pure anger for the first time in a while. “Get.Your.Arse.In.There…and put the petching fire out! All of you!!” He was mad, he knew that later when he looked back and wondered how the crowd hadn’t just decided to murder him there and then for being mental, as well as stupid. Instead, whatever he had said that made them think twice, they muttered sourly and started to form another bucket chain, grabbing some buckets from the first on the other side of the building and the water started to stream from two sides, the fire beginning to die more quickly in places now as the word spread that the people’s bread was in danger. Even the bakers turned up, aprons and clothing no doubt set to be dripping ash into their loafs for several days to come from the effort. He had joined them after but a short breather, noting how his jacket had enough holes in it that it seemed less than a jacket now, though curiously the grey bodysuit beneath seemed not to have been touched. As he threw bucket after bucket upon the flames, he wondered whether that was another property it possessed – resolving to find a way to test it another time. His arms were beginning to burn after a while, water seeming light but mighty heavy after the hundredth armful hauled. They were beginning to take it in turns, those at the front rotating out and resting, returning the buckets to the back of the line for a breather. So far the majority of the roaring flames were gone, smoke and sodden wood replacing them as those who had had goods stored in the warehouse itself felt safe enough to start poking around and assess the damage – from the looks of their faces they weren’t happy, which meant things were likely more dire than most had yet realised. As Alric began his next period of rest, eyes flicking between the remaining flames and their faces, he had a dark feeling creeping upon him. Tight belts…that’s what their faces mean. Tomorrow or a score of days from now…tight belts he sighed internally, wondering how the damned fire had even started. He hadn’t seen any obvious signs of combustion when he had ran through the interior, though being fair with himself he hadn’t rightly been looking. Frowning he handed the bucket to another, making his way toward the building and entering it once more, there to begin the investigation that tugged at his curiosity. No one seemed to notice him as he slipped through the crowd to the breach he had initially entered from, kneeling down into the damp to eye the edges of the wood. Running his fingers across it he found it to be rough and jagged, splinters all over it but all of them pointing away from the interior, as if forced that way – that told him something had smashed the hole open, rather than the breach being widened and pressed inwards to allow for more bodies. He sniffed his fingers, the scent largely water but rubbing them together he swore he could feel a thicker substance there, weakened but still there…oil perhaps. That was concerning, largely because it seemed to suggest either sabotage…or a terribly unlucky accident. Words: 721

[Alric Lysane]

Tucking that piece of knowledge away he went back to the bucket line, taking one and throwing it over a patch that seemed to still be smouldering, dousing it completely before taking another bucket and heaving it in his tired, aching hands. Instead of throwing this one immediately he felt his fingers protest, his grip weak, as he held fast to it and instead made his way up the first set of stairs towards the first floor of the open interior, dodging through and around hastily flitting bean counters as he did so, trying to look for all of Sunberth like a citizen fixed solely upon the mission of putting out the last flames. Luckily, or unluckily depending upon perspective, there were still a few smouldering patches on the floor he had made it to. As he moved towards the region of the breach once more he tipped small portions of the water he carried onto small, smouldering patches, smoke creating small trails as he passed from one to the other. He felt bone tired now, limbs moving largely because adrenaline were propelling them. That adrenaline, though, was fading even as the last of the flames were put out and a rousing cheer filled the warehouse, the dour faces of the bean counters briefly shining bright before returning tot heir frowns of calculation. There would still be a group than hung around, himself included, just to make sure that no more of Sunberth’s precious foodstuffs were destroyed, but most would now leave, their promise of entertainment vanished along with the glow that had been replaced with smoke. “At least we saved what we could, might not starve even…damned hard season already, not even a score of days in” he sighed, bucket still in hand and being sloshed here and there, until finally it was empty as he made it to the breach. Examining it here, the same as below, he found it to be similar. There were more traces of what might have been oil but still no signs of anything beyond a terrible string of bad luck. Crouched down he ran his fingers across the wood as if it might speak to him, tell him what had happened to it. For some reason it kindled a fragment of memory, not fully recalled but filling him with the passionate deceleration that such things were indeed possible, though how they were he had no idea of explaining. He just knew, deep down, that he had seen something similar before…long ago. He sighed and frowned, trying to puzzle out what might have happened. Were there oil stores that somehow got ignited? Would the workers here be so stupid as to put food next to oil? I’d like to think not, that Sunberth wasn’t that stupid but…well there is a giant hole in the corner of the building…and the roof…and some of the flooring he mused to himself, scratching his chin and raking his har back with dirty hands. “Those people…how had they been there? Were they workers or…the top floor, why the top floor and why the shut door, slammed hard enough to wedge it shut?” he muttered to himself, looking up and deciding to make his way back to the door he had shoved open in his rescue. He pushed himself up with groan and slowly managed to get to where he wanted, eyes blinking dully as if he were about to fall asleep, looking into the room and finding it filled with scattered refuse. Two things caught his attention after a little while of moving things around the floor with the tip of his boot – there were no real valuables up here and nothing that seemed to suggest many workers went there at once, and the three torches that were splintered, broken and scattered about as if they had been thrown that way on purpose. He was angry, then, a deep anger that they were lucky they had escaped. He was not sure what he’d have done to them given that they were likely responsible for potential starvation of many. I’ll remember you, bastards he thought to himself as he nodded, stopped clenching his fists after a while and made his way back out of the storage building entirely, before he snapped at someone and got himself in trouble. The ones he had saved had been the arsonists, likely not on purpose but all the same. They had started it at the frost floor, where the oil smell had been strongest probably, accidentally igniting oil stores whilst probably trying to steal things of more value. He hoped that they thought it worth it because if he ever saw them again, he promised himself, he’d bring justice for the first time in his life. He spat and made his way to Ruby’s, his shift about to start soon and hoping it would be a calm shift for once. Words: 817

[Alric Lysane]

Your Grades Alric Lysane Skills Acrobatics – 2 Body Building – 5 Climbing – 1 Endurance – 4 Intimidation – 1 Investigation – 3 Leadership – 4 Observation – 5 Running – 4 Socialization – 1 Lores Culprits: Winter 521 Fire Leadership: Browbeating Leadership: Show By Doing Sunberth: Storage Houses Sunberth: Grain Storages