| Present day Location: Ortal's home, The Spires The writer's left hand pulled up another parchment paper, pushing the other one aside. It was wrong, many mistakes and many words striken through. The writer's right hand dipped once more into the inkwell and made sure it wasn't dripping ink. A soft tap near the beginning of the parchment and the right hand started writing. The left hand moved up to block a particularly annoying ray of sunlight as it slipped through the natural blinds outside and shone right into the writer's eyes. |
| Spring, 8th, Year 513 The Undrykas worked his way over the vine bridge connecting to the petal of the Climbing Snake. With a little trouble he crossed it and ended up on the petal. There he was greeted by a Jamoura, claiming to be one of the workers for his house. With no other option available to him, the Undrykas followed the large ape like creature. His djed swirled and gathered in his arms and legs, resting there but ready to be used if necessary. The Undrykas had always been wary of others and his time spent in the world hadn't done much good to change that. Walking after the Jamoura, the Undrykas looked around, observing the other structures on the petal. Most were large homes and none of them were the same, which was nice. It took them a while to reach the area where the house would be build. "You requested a remote location, correct?" The Jamoura waved towards the open space near the edge of the petal, far away from everything. "Indeed I did. Very good. So? Where do we start?" The Jamoura split themselves up, quickly starting their respective tasks. The Undrykas was grouped together with the Jamoura that had guided him here. At first they were stuck creating what was to be the glue that kept the house together. It was a strange mixture of plants and herbs, quite interesting to the Undrykas, and then combined with honey it would make the paste they needed to keep his house together. The other Jamoura were moving over the area, carrying around wood and stones. The Undrykas focused on his task, following the guidelines of the Jamoura with him. So, you take the leaves off of this one and squish them before adding the rest of the plant. Make sure it is much flattened, ok?" The Jamoura explained as he ground the leaves in a large mortar and pestle. The Undrykas followed his example, although with a smaller one. He made sure the plant was well ground and all the juice was out of it, as instructed. Another handy set of skills he had picked up in his life: listening to instructions and grinding materials with a mortar and pestle. By the time he had finished one plant, the Jamoura had finished five, grinding two at the same time. For a moment the Undrykas felt jealousy towards the creature's youth and strength. "The next step is to add the rest of the plant and then we start with the next one. You take the flower off of this one and grind it together with the rest." The Jamoura continued his explanation as he showed the Undrykas. He plucked the flower off of the plant and put it with the other plant before starting to grind the entire mixture with his hands. The Undrykas followed suit, he took off the flowers of the plant, much slower than the Jamoura had done, almost wrestling with the plant to get the flower off. He mixed it with the other materials and started grinding again, using both hands to place enough pressure on the plants. The instructions continued as the Undrykas mixed and ground more plants together, constantly listening to the Jamoura and intently watching the process, all the while memorizing which plants were used. His body might not have been very strong anymore but his mind on the other hand was in top shape still. The final ingredient, the honey, was mixed into the paste at the end and the concotion seemed to turn into a hardened jelly, both solid and liquid at the same time. The Undrykas kept his fingers out of it, afraid that he might get stuck in it. "Alright, that's it. This should turn those materials into a proper house for you." The Jamoura grinned at the Undrykas, revealing a whole set of sharp teeth to the man. For the next few days, the Undrykas spent his time creating more paste as he slowly saw his house being built. He often commented on things, making last minute changed as he envisioned them. All in all, most of the structure remained the same, with a few changes here and there. The Undrykas was mostly unable to do any of the hard labor stuff, like carrying and setting the wood or the stones. Instead, he focused purely on his one task, creating the paste used for his house. He often moved back and forth between his spot and the workers, supplying them with new paste whenever needed. At the same time, he also memorized the process more and more until he could recite it without a mistake. The Jamoura he was working with was impressed by the Undrykas' memory and didn't think anything more of it. |
| Present day Location: Ortal's home, The Spires The writer pauses for a while. The left hand rests on the side of the parchment as the right hand places the writing quill back on the writing block. It reaches for and grabs the cup standing on the side, lifting it up so the writer could sip from its contents. After a while, the cup is placed back. The light is still passing through the foliage outside and the hands slowly move to the side, helping to move the chair a little to the side so that the light doesn't shine right into his eyes anymore. Afterwards, the hands go back to writing, the right hand dipping the quill back into the inkwell and the left hand holding the parchment. |
| Spring, 8th, Year 513 The Jamoura workers had made quick work of the house. The walls were all set up, together with the roof, kept together by the Undrykas' well made paste. The inside of the house was quite barren for now, just wooden walls and a roof, but it showed the general areas of the house. The Undrykas, however, saw even more as he walked through the building, envisioning all its secrets. With the biggest step done, the Jamoura set to work on the next part: details. Growing plants around the building, setting in windows and doors, planting the garden, placing the stairs. There was still much to be done. In this step, the Undrykas was of much more use. While the Jamoura were carrying around parts of the stairs the Undrykas was walking through his garden to be. The stone foundations for the fountain had been placed but the grass still needed planting, together with the bushes. So the Undrykas, together with the bag of seeds in his hand, was walking over the ground, the only part of his with a different texture below his feet. He royally dropped the seeds for the grass onto the soil and planted the bushes where he envisioned them. While his stairs were being made, the Undrykas helped build and plant the covers for his windows. Wooden grate like constructs with soil at the bottom where the plants would grow from, entwining themselves with the wood and creating a shield for the light and for prying eyes. With the same glue he made before, the Undrykas helped paste it all together, creating a mountable grate for his windows. The Jamoura that was helping him did all the lifting and pasting but the Undrykas spent his time applying the paste to the wood. Although slower than the Jamoura, the Undrykas insisted on helping them out, which was gladly allowed by the large ape creatures. For them it was just an old man stubbornly trying to not be old. To the Undrykas, however, it was practice, practice for later when he would need it. The wooden grates were applied over the windows, which had been set in while they had been busy making them. A total of four grates, two large ones and two small ones, were made. The large ones were mounted in front of the window in the study and in the bedroom. The smaller ones were mounted in front of the two windows next to the entrance doors, left and right. The Undrykas started planting, putting the seeds in the soil below the grates, from where they would grow up and prosper while hiding the inside of the house from prying eyes. Later that day, in the early evening, the Undrykas was quite busy helping to place all his belongings into his new house. He conducted the placement of all his furniture, things he had ordered while his house was being made. A closet, book shelves, a chest, a bed several chairs, a desk and a table. With this part being so much heavy lifting, the Undrykas had to content himself with just giving orders and conducting the placement of the items. The Jamoura, still young and strong, easily carried a bed by themselves or a chest with one hand, like they were made of fluff. The last touch that had to be made to the Undrykas' house was to order everything, which he did until late at night, sorting his books onto the shelves in the library and study room, his clothes, what little he had at least, went into the closet. The single set of cutlery, cup and plate he had carried around was stored in the kitchen, along with all the little bits and bites of food he had left. Finally satisfied with his house, the Undrykas tested his bed in his new house in his new home for the first time. |
| Present day Location: Ortal's home, The Spires The hands finished writing. The sand and wood shavings mix is quickly poured over it and the ink was dried up. The scroll was rolled up and joined the others on the book shelf, where they would remain for quite some time. Turning towards the window, the left hand moved up to block part of the rays that entered through the thick foliage outside of the window. The grate was now almost entirely green, covered with the plants that had grown all over it. The writer smiled at himself and the thick foliage outside. |
