Quest Terror in Stormhold: Chaos in the Council Chambers

[Baelin Holt]

The leaner man couldn’t find the source either, and that was more than a little unnerving. It confirmed that Baelin wasn’t imagining things...and that there was a damned fire that they currently couldn’t get to. Ventilation was a must in any smithy or you would smoke yourself to death, and Baelin wasn’t willing to stake his life on the hole in the roof to save them.

Baelin shrugged helplessly in response to his companion. Balian sounded a bit distressed, and Baelin could hardly blame him. He felt a bit of panic begin to bit at him as well. Maybe their priority shouldn’t be saving others, but instead should be getting their own skins out of there.

“We have to hurry...” Baelin mumbled, more to himself than to Balian. He spotted a cloak someone had left behind, either in their hurry out of the chamber or in their haste to save the council members. Either way, it was their loss. Baelin hustled over to it, stumbling over a bit of rubble. His ankle protested fiercly and he had to grind his teeth to stop himself from groaning out loud.

Bringing it back to Balian and their “lever,” Baelin attempted to knot it around one end of the beam. It was poorly done, and looked more like a sad pouch than anything useful. Uncertainly, Baelin tried to put another knot over his first.

The burly man stepped back to survey his work and frowned. He doubted it would work. The first large stone they found was going to break those knots faster than you could say ‘Look out.’ Baelin glanced at Balian through his mass of hair. “Any chance you can tie knotss?”

He also wasn’t sure how they were going to get the damn thing around the more buried stones...maybe Baelin could climb up the rocks and wiggle them loose a bit to squeeze the cloak behind it, and Baelin could work the lever. Or whatever worked really, he wasn’t going to be picky. Their time was no doubt running out. Now that he was aware of it, the scent of smoke was hovering over his mind with its very real threat. They would have to deal with that when they get to it.

But before the pair could try anything, a resounding crash echoed through the chamber. Baelin jerked to his knees, hands instinctively flying up to cover his head. After a moment he chanced a glance and groaned at what he saw. On the plus side, the wider hole in the roof would likely help ventilation. On the much more immediate and pressing side, the pecking roof was still falling in on them.

True tendrils of panic started to snake through him. He looked around and didn’t see anyone hurt by the more recent drop of debris, but what about the next time? This was only going to get worst.

What if they all died?

Baelin unsteadily rose to his feet, pain in his ankle forgotten as adrenaline pumped through him. Voice strained in worry, Baelin said, perhaps unnecessarily, “We need to hurry.” He went to one end of the beam and got a grip underneath it. With a grunt, Baelin lifted up his end and looked expectantly at Balian to get the other side. Whether this worked or not, they either had to try something or get the peck out of there.

OOCIf I’m taking too many liberties, please tell me to stop.

[Balian Martell]

Your Words I My Words I My Thoughts

Balian shook his head at the Baelin’s question. Knots weren’t something he had committed too much time to, something that perhaps he could look into on the future. He could do no better than what already has been done. He could tell that the larger man was beginning to panic, and that did little to calm Balians own anxieties. Think Balian, think! You’re a bloody squire after all, you are trai…

A loud crash interrupted Balians thoughts, as more of the roof began falling. Balian, already on edge from the whole situation through himself onto the floor, covering his head. Unfortunately he landed on some rubble, reigniting the pain at his side and arm. When the roof ceased collapsing, Balian Ventured to raise his head to see how much more work they would need to do. Fortunetly, the new debris seemd to have landed on the far end of the chamber, away from the center mass of rubble and the people working to remove it. No new crisis to worry about. Thank the gods.

With the ceiling no longer falling down on them, at least for the moment, Balian forced himself back up, gritting his teeth as his injuries protested the move. He could see Baelin already up and moving towards the beam. The collapsing roof must have increased his sense of urgency, if his shout was anything to go by. Not that Balian could blame him.

The young squire moved towards the beam, on the opposite end of Baelin, and wrapped his arms around its girth. With his knees bent, and his back as straight as possible he attempted to lift the log in conjuncture with the other man. The difference in strength between the two men was apparent to Balian almost immediately. Whereas Bealin seemed to be able to lift the log without too much effort, Balian’s arms struggled to hold the weight. His injured side only added to the difficulty. As a result he was forced to drop his end of the beam.

Holding his side in an attempt to ease the pain, Balian breathed in deeply to collect himself. They needed to get this done. They needed to get this to work. He wasn’t about to let himself become the reason they couldn’t save any one. After a second breath, Balian bent his knees once more, and with great effort lifted. His struggle could be seen on his face, and his injuries protested, however for the moment he was able to hold. Nodding to Baelin, letting him know he was ready to move, they made their way to the rubble.

[Baelin Holt]

Baelin chewed on his lower lip nervously while Balian struggled with his end of the beam. He was a damned fool thinking the kid could lift the beam. So stupid of him to forget. He furrowed his brow in a mix of worry for Balian and rebuke for himself. The burly smith socialized with others so infrequently that he often forgot that what he found somewhat strenuous was downright arduous for others.

The youth had to drop the beam before they could really lug it anywhere. Baelin swore under his breath and glared at his own hands, hating himself for not being strong enough to drag the damned thing himself. If he worked out more surely he could lift...

The beam started to raise again and Baelin watched with surprise as Balian struggled. His face was twisted with effort and his arms looked to be shaking, but the beam was up and his determination came across clear.

His nod made Baelin grin widely. After this was all over he owed the lad something delicious.

Baelin returned the nod and began to backpedal quickly, figuring the faster they got the beam over to the pile the quicker Balian could drop it.

It was a short walk, but hardly clear of rubble. Baelin’s attention was split between the floor behind him and checking that Balian was still managing. With his focus divided it should have hardly surprised him when he tripped over a piece of rubble. With a yowl he fell hard on his knee, ankle twisting nastily under him.

Adrenaline still pumping, he swore loudly and limped back to his feet as quickly as possible. Trying not to miss a beat, he kept backpedaling. So stupid. Keeping his eyes fixed on the ground behind him he dragged on.

When they got the beam to the mountain of rubble he dropped it quickly and took a step back. Baelin sucked in quick breaths and moved his weight to his good leg before glancing at Balian through sweaty locks of hair.

Baelin’s shirt was plastered to his torso and his body shook violently, his breathing fast and rough. Not going to last, he realized. Now that he wasn’t staring at a small spot on the ground he realized his sight was constricted to a narrow tunnel. The smith gripped his wet shirt in rising panic and shook even more fiercely.

“Keep going,” he hissed, “kheep going kheepgoing kheegoin,” Baelin hissed through his teeth anxiously and grabbed the end of the beam, desperately wanting this to be over. He pulled hurriedly, digging his good leg in, and wedged it under a corner of a large chunk of rubble. The smith quickly rolled the closest loose stone over and pushed it roughly towards the beam’s center. He didn’t know if was better to have the rock closer or farther from the stuck rubble, but he figured splitting it down the middle was safer than trying to get clever.

Crouching in front of the loose stone, Baelin looked up at Balian and hissed, “Liffft!” He needed to squeeze this damned rock under the beam so they could get at the rubble and then get the petch out of there.

[Balian Martell]

Your Words I My Words I My Thoughts

Balians shoulders burned with effort. His arms ached as he struggled to hold the weight of the beam and his injuries yelled in protest, yet he would not yield. He wasn't entirely sure what the larger man had in mind, however he seemed to know what he was doing and this was better than doing nothing at all.

He let himself be led as they moved the beam towards the rubble, too focused was he on not dropping his end of the beam, notice much else other than the general direction in which they traveled. As it was, he barely noticed when Baelin seemed to lose his balance, so focused was he on not dropping his end of the beam.

As such, Balian was taken by surprise when Baelin dropped his end. They had arrived at the mountain of rubble where the chamber had originally caved in, yet the young squire did not have time to breath a sigh of relief. His partner in this ordeal was already busy at work with whatever plan he had. As the larger man worked, Balian began to realize what he intended. Buy sticking his end of the beam under one of the larger stones of the rubble, He was creating a wedge, something to apply leverage to so that they could remove as much rubble as possible.

- “LIFT!”

The sudden command snapped Balian out of his thoughts and back to the matter at hand. Baelin had rolled another stone towards the middle of the beam, apparently to place it underneath. Balian’s strength was fading; he could feel his arms about to give, his fingers were going numb, and his side injury was screaming in protest, to the point where his vision blurred red. Nonetheless, he was a son of a Knight! A squire of the order and the inheritor of a long tradition of duty to the City of Syliras, he would not fail now.

With a roar, Balian managed to raise the beam just high enough to where he could crouch under it and place its weight on his shoulder. Using his legs, he lifted the beam with what strength he had left, giving Baelin the room he needed to wedge the rock under.

Once in, the exhausted youth let the beam fall. It was now ready to be used to clear the rubble.

OOC :

Hey! I am really sorry it has taken me such a long time to respond. I feel as if the next post should do it for finishing up the thread, at which point we can (finally) turn it in!

[Baelin Holt]

The armorer rubbed his wrist across his face to wipe off the sweat that was now coating him. His eyes stung from it and he blinked rapidly to clear his vision.

It was of no matter; they were nearly there. He spared his exhausted companion a tired smile before heaving in a large breath and rolling his shoulders.

The scent of smoke was stronger now. Baelin was truly beginning to fear that as soon as they cleared the rubble they’d be greeted with a wall of fire. He shook his head fiercely to rid himself of the thought, wincing when the room seemed to spin around him. Whether it was from the pain he was experiencing, exhaustion, smoke inhalation, or if he had possibly hit his head when he had dodged that very first boulder, Baelin was not doing well. The armorer was probably going to spend a good chunk of the season recovering from today. Assuming he made it out of here in one piece.

Baelin scanned the rubble in front of him and tried to pick out a pattern to go at. The council members had been sitting at a table on a raised platform. The smith tried to recall just how high the platform was and picked out a ring of stones at about that height. Baelin grasped onto the end of the beam and maneuvered it just above one of the stones, making damn sure that the beam wasn’t going to fall off of its pivot stone.

The smith pushed the edge of the make-do pouch around the bottom of the rock. Wiggling the rock, he was able to slip the cloak just a bit more into the gap under it. After a bit more of wiggling, Baelin figured it was as good as he was going to get and looked back over to Balian.

“Pusssh down!” he ordered the worn looking young man.

Baelin quickly turned his focus back on the rock they were working on. The cloak straightened and then began to stretch. The smith watched it carefully as it strained under the weight of the rock, but the knot and fabric held and the entire rock soon was suspended.

The half-Dhani maneuvered himself to the side of it and carefully pushed the beam. Their lever rotated slightly until it was clear of the rubble they were working on. Baelin then pushed his shoulder against the rock and it fell readily out of the cloak, having never been in it well to begin with.

The stone landed with a crash on the ground below it, but Baelin was paying the dislodged rubble no mind. He was already maneuvering the end of the beam to the next stone. He repeated the process, praying the cloak wouldn’t rip on him, and shouted back down to the young man to push down.

They repeated this process, lifting and dropping stones away from the rubble, right up until Baelin froze. There, seeping out of two of the stones he was hovering by, was a tendril of smoke. It coiled in the air before dissipating, followed by another thin stream of smoke coming from the same gap.

Baelin hissed out of his teeth, not at all sure what to do. Where there was smoke, there was fire. But perhaps this was the way to the council members. Maybe their council members were there, knocked out by the smoke with flames licking closer and closer to their vulnerable bodies.

Or, maybe, when Baelin pulled this rock clear, the air would rush in and light the place up, much like when he worked the bellows at a forge. He might just make everything worst.

Gritting his teeth and second guessing himself, Baelin positioned the beam above the stone with faint smoke tendrils seeping around it. He tucked the pouch under it and then climbed away, wanting to be clear of where it was being pulled out in case a fireball was going to come spitting out.

The smith shouted down to the young man again and braced himself for whatever was going to come.

The stone lifted and was followed by a puff of smoke, but thankfully no fireball. Baelin quickly pushed the beam over and released the stone before scrambling over and looking at the space they had just opened up.

He was about eyelevel with the bottom of the dais, but craning his neck he could see a gap and, just beyond, a ceiling of the table. Baelin felt a wave of relief: the table had held. Hopefully he’d find at least one council member who had managed to take cover under it.

“I can sssee the table!” he called down to his companion.

Baelin hastily pushed aside the small pieces of rubble around the hole they had built, and positioned the beam to get the last large rock out of the way so that the hole might be wide enough to squeeze through. He repeated the process and when the rock landed with a loud crack on the ground, Baelin levelled himself back to look in the widened hole.

It was smoky in there, that much was for sure. Wherever the fire was, it was leaking smoke into the space below the table. But there, in the space under the table, he could see a lump. Maybe multiple lumps, it was too dark for Baelin to see.

The half-Dhani tried to squeeze through the gap, but his shoulders were much too broad. All he managed to do was scrape them up. Pulling head back out, he tried to assess the situation. He could try to get some more rocks out, but the more he widened this hole the more he risked it collapsing back in on itself. Or…he looked to Balian. The lad was much leaner and narrower than the bulky smith.

“Balian!” he called down, “Can you try to fit in here?”

OOCIf you don't want Balian to be the one to push down on the beam, no worries. Just write that someone else stepped in and did it.

[Balian Martell]

Your Words I My Words I My Thoughts

Balians body hurt. The effort to move the beam had only made his injured side ache even more, the muscles in his arms and chest were tired, and he had developed a throbbing head ache. At this point, Balian wasn’t sure what more he could do. The large blacksmith clearly new what he was doing, and had the strength to do it, however to his shame, Balian had to admit that he was at his limit. However, his pride would not let him quite now.

So it was that when Baelin ordered to push down on the beam, Balian followed, lending whatever was left of his strength to it, although truth be told it did not look to be enough to clear the rubble. The young squire struggles. Suddenly, the beam began to lift the rock, and the load inexplicably became lighter, and the rock was able to be moved out of the way. Looking behind him he saw another man pushing down on the beam, the side of his head caked in blood, but otherwise seemed unharmed. He gave Balian a determined Nod. Looking past the man Balian saw a woman making her way towards them. It would seem that the other survivors of the blast were coming to help. Balian could do naught but grin. We can do this!

Together, along with Baelins help they were able to move more and more of the rubble out the way. It wasn’t until the Blacksmith shouted that they stopped.

- “ I can see the table!”

Balian and the other looked at each other and exchanged brief glances of hope.

The squire looked on as Baelin tried to squeeze himself through the opening that they had created, only to be denied entrance. If Baelin could not fit, could he? He was not nearly as broad as the blacksmith, so he might just be able to do it. As if reading his mind, Baelin called out to him.

Letting go of the beam and trusting the others to do what was needed, Balian approached the hole and crouched, ignoring the protests of his body. “I… think I can.” It would be a tight fit, but he might actually be able to crawl through it. He looked up at Baelin, “only one way to find out?” and with that Balian leaned in and began to crawl forward.

Careful not to injure his side even more, he carefully maneuvered himself through the gap and under the table. It was dark. Save for the light that was streaming in through the gap, there was barely enough to see. He did however smell smoke, which meant that somewhere, something was burning. He needed to move quickly to find if anyone had managed to take cover under the table as the ceiling collapsed. Luckily he was able to hear soft groans. There were people here, and they were alive!

Balian crawled forward following the sounds he heard, and thanks to what little light there was, he could just make out a lump about a foot ahead of him. When he reached the lump, he could make out a body. It was covered in dust and soot, yet it clearly was a council members, if the robe the body wore was anything to go by. Balian could not tell which council member it was, yet that mattered little at this point. Carefully he rolled the body over to check if this person was still alive. It was a women, who exactly he was unsure. Regardless, she was alive and better yet conscious, if a bit dazed. “Come on,” Balian said to her reassuringly, “We need to get you out of here”. She nodded and slowly got to her knees. Balian held out his hand as she did, and once she took he guided her towards the gap.

“At least one survivor!” Balian shouted through, before letting the council women through. Those on the other side scrambled to help her out. To Baelin he said “I’ll go look for more” before quickly disappearing under the table once more. The further away from the gap he got, the harder it was to see, and the harder it was to breath. He did however manage to find a second survivor, this one looked like Council member Vashani, the one who spoke of the visit from the city called Sahova. He was conscious, and much clearer of mind than the previous woman, however to Balian he looked worse off, almost sickly. Not that he could blame him.

“Council member?” Balian asked hesitantly, the smoke under the rubble making it difficult to talk. Vashani looked up and saw the young Squire, and nodded. “Yes? Is there a way out?” He responded, seemingly unaffected by the smoke. “Yes, this way,… and please hurry”. Balian led the council member, who moved slowly, as if being extra cautious towards the gap where he could be pulled from under the rubble. Balian was glad of the fresh air.

And in this manner, they were able pull out another two people out from under the table, although Balian was sure there were more. It was Baelin who finally had to pull the squire out, being as exhausted as he was. Once out, Balian lay against a particularly large piece of stone, clutching his side and rested as the others worked to free the remaining survivors.

[Reflection]

This was a fun read I hope you guys enjoyed the adventure!

Apologies it took awhile to get the grade, I've literally been trying to do it on lunches with my phone. Without further ado, here are your grades!

 

Balian

XP

• Observation 5
• Endurace 4
• Investigation 2
• Socialization 1
• Bodybuilding 1
• Socialization 1

Lores

• Self: Politics are not Interesting
• Event: Explosion in the Council Chambers
• Syliras: The Council Chamber
• Self: Selfless Service to Aide Others
• Baelin: Has a Similar Name to Mine
• Endurance: Working through the Pain
• Self: Being a Squire as Expectations
• Self: Prideful
• Baelin: Strong and Brutish

Miscellaneous

• Shield Points 10
• Injuries
  
  • Partially dislocated shoulder, cuts and brusies. Bruising and cuts heal in a week. Shoulder will need placed back in and will heal in 4 weeks. Will have swelling, pain, and difficulty moving the joint.
  • Heavy fatigue - Recovery time three days

 

Baelin

XP

• Observation 5
• Endurace 4
• Body building 1
• Salvage 1
• Mathematics 3
• Socialization 1
• Knot-tying 1
• Leadership 3

Lores

• Self: Not a fan of Nuits
• Event: Explosion in the Council Chambers
• Syliras: The Council Chamber
• Salvage: Using Broken Materials to make a Lever
• Mathematics: Making your own Lever
• Self: Working through Pain to Finish the Task
• Balian: A Similar Named Stranger
• Self: Forgetful of Others Shortcomings
• Balian: Lean yet Strong

Miscellaneous

• Injuries
  
  • Cut from picking at scale Heal in a week
  • Cut on forearm Heal in a week
  • Sprained ankle, swelling and bruising. Bruising heals in a week, sprain heals in 2 weeks. Will have slight instability, pain, swelling, joint stiffness, and trouble walking.
  • Bruised knee - Swollen and tender for half a week
  • Heavy fatigue - Recovery time three days
    
    Note: The description for picking at the scale was well done, it had my stomach churning

Enjoy your grade! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to send me a PM.