Closed The Aftermath of the Cold Part I

[Crylon Stonecraft]

3 Summer 518 That morning Crylon had been met by a human slave in front of Tarsin's. Sent by the Calico Lumber Company, he had taken Crylon over to the Noble District and shown him a few buildings with damage which needed repairs. He was not to go inside without permission, but to inspect them on the outside. With the blank book he had been given by the Company, he began inspecting the first building with damage and noting down his finds. If nothing else, Crylon figured, it would give him a decent chance to inspect the various buildings and architecture while utilizing his own knowledge and skill in buildings and their designs. The first building was a large wooden affair with two stories, several rooms and attached structures, and a smaller building in the back which was separated from the main building. It was all on one large floating base, common enough in Ravok. Starting with the main building, Crylon began to inspect any damage he could find. From the outside it appeared relatively intact, no ruined roofs or collapsed walls. As he eyed it closer he did notice some small things. Mostly painted walls were the outer layer of the structure, a focus on dark purple for the main buildings and a lighter blue for the unconnected one. On the purple building bits of paint had been removed by the cold of the season prior, chips and bits stripped off or cracked. Crylon reasoned this was from the flexing of the wood beneath as it changed shape or size as the cold came and went, or perhaps stripped directly from the cold or the removal of the ice coating afterwards He also on his second pass around the structure began to notice planks which made up the outer layer of wall which were warped in spots. Some were warped out of shape, some warped into their neighbors, perhaps every fifth or six one on average, but all on the side first hit by the cold and so most impacted by it. The larger beams and structural elements appeared fine, not phased by the cold due to their sturdiness and thickness beyond a small bit of discoloration in a few spots. But still structurally sound. Aesthetic damage really, nothing that would affect the actual building standing or functioning. Crylon could see why he had been sent here first, rather than other harder hit structures. Clearly it was important to deal with chipped paint and warped planks of an aesthetic nature. Noting down his findings, summarizing, numbering, quantifying, and detailing any damage, Crylon began to slowly scratch out his findings in common. A process which required him to think in his proper tongue, word it into common as best he could without losing meaning, and write that down. A process much easier with numbers than words. A quick examination of the smaller side structure showed it was even less damaged than the main structure, little more than paint damage. Eyeing the two structures and mentally picturing the cold flowing through from the impact and damage to the warped boards, Crylon understood. The main structure had shielded the smaller one, in the direct line of the smaller one, and so had not been hit as hard due to their proximity. It was still hit by the cold, just not by the direct blast. WC: 559

[Crylon Stonecraft]

Done with the buildings themselves, Crylon moved on to the large floating base it sat on. Eyeing the edges, Crylon could see the marks of the cold, evidence of shifted planks and bits of wood and more warping. However due to its size and nature it was at once more damaged than the building, due to being directly exposed to the quick frozen water, but less in danger due to its overall size and thickness and redundancies. While some of the outer bits of wood would need replacing eventually the actual structure was not in danger, Crylon could tell from his examination. The large logs were intact and unaffected in appearance of shape. Still Crylon took the time and did his job thoroughly, noting the bits of damage to the wooden float which the structures were laid upon. Upon seeing such damage to this building, Crylon could see how ones more heavily damaged and closer to the area the ice struck could so easily be capsized and result in the entire structure collapsing. A simpler or less well made floater would not have the size and redundancies built in to absorb such cold, and even a few of the support planks in a smaller one could mean it would not be able to support the weight of the building atop it properly... Done with the building, Crylon followed the slave and headed to the next which took a few chimes of walking to reach. This was a much larger building, three stories in a large rectangular shape of a building from the side he was looking at, and a much larger wooden platform. Leaning over the side to get a glimpse of the floater below he could see it was also thicker, projecting deeper into the water than the single layer of logs the previous one had had. But then as it held much more weight, and needed to stop a taller building from shifting, it made sense. It had similar light damage to the edges like the last platform which Crylon quickly noted down, but nothing structural. Before doing anything else Crylon made a pass around the outer edge of the building, examining each side. While from one end it appeared rectangular, in truth it was more of a square box of a building. Which, Crylon introspected, made sense. With a large wooden platform below, weight distribution would be important even more so than on land. This one was far more complex in terms of design out of necessity, but as its base designed and working exactly in the same manner as the first buildings. Beginning to inspect the building itself, Crylon made another pass to look around. He was surprised to find that the building was made of stone, an oddity in Ravok! This was also something that struck him as odd at first, but as he made another pass and looked closer the truth was made clear. WC: 490

[Crylon Stonecraft]

As Crylon made another pass of the building, he understood how a bigger yet not drastically bigger platform was able to support the added weight of a stone structure. Or how that much stone had been brought in to Ravok. It was not actually made of stone. On his pass he had noticed a bit of the stone missing, and was able to see below. The stone was not truly laid blocks of stone as it appeared from the outside, but a out facade of stone. Beneath the structure was simple wooden planks and boards. Over this someone had laid a thin layer of stone facing which was able to mimic a true stone structure but without actually being one. On Ravok this meant much reduced weight over a true stone structure, with a stone element to the building that was... Something Crylon was quickly learning about Ravok... Purely Aesthetic. The stone had no impact on the building itself, and it underneath was a more or less standard wooden building with the windows set so as to make this not as obvious. A trick of design but nothing more. The concept of pretending to make a building out of one substance, but in truth using another, seemed odd to Crylon. In Sultros buidlings were made of stone all the time, but then weight was much less of an issue and stone was easier to acquire. It was also odd to Crylon's sensibilities to add something in to a building purely for perceived attractiveness without forming any structural or use related function. But then as he thought back, had he not seen jewel encrusted weapons and things similarly designed with non-functioning elements but meant to make it more attractive? Stone faces and statues carved into buildings and railings? Those served no purpose physically beyond looking nice. Perhaps, Crylon reasoned, Isur in their building were not so different from humans in Ravok beyond differences in terms of location restrictions and availability or usability of materials. Making another slower pass around the building and aware of what to look for, Crylon noted down one by one the elements damaged. Mainly this consisted of lost or missing stone facing, with the wood elements underneath not phased, though one or two planks would need replacing over the length of the structure. Of course compared to the overall size of the structure, this was rather minimal. Stepping back and getting view of the room, Crylon could see a bit of damage there was well. He could not get atop the building without the proper tools, but could from the ground nearby see the mark of missing slats and shingles covering the top. In Ravok, a place normally devoid of pouring rain or storms, roofs were usually less important. But if the cold came again there was the chance this could factor in to its ability to ward it off. Noting the damage to the roof Crylon finished his assessment of the building, returning to the slave who had been leading him and indicating it was time to go to the next building. WC: 516

[Crylon Stonecraft]

The next building to be inspected was in the merchants ring, and so required a Ravasola ride before they had gotten to where they needed to go. When they got out it was a short walk to a shop of some sort, though what it sold or focused on Crylon could not say. Outwardly it looked like just any other shop. It also, after a few moments review, was clear from the broken off bits of wood that a sign had previously been hanging over the door which had likely depicted their stores name or wares. Now both of the bits of wooden arms were snapped clean off, leaving a bit of broken wood sticking out of the wall, and the sign it had once held was nowhere to be seen. Taking back out the blank book he had been given Crylon noted this first and most immediate damage he had found. Missing sign... Holder needs replacement, made of wood... Sign not visible, unclear of prior material, assumed wood... Missing and needs replacement and attachment to holders... Beginning a circuit around the building, it was clear this building had been damaged a good deal more than the ones they had looked at earlier. Broken windows boarded over. An entire plank ripped out of the wall leaving a small gap due to the temporary replacement one that had been used. Crylon noted it all bit by bit, damage that needed fixing and would be recorded and reported to the Company. It was as he rounded the second corner and came into sight of the side closest to the brunt of the icey effect flowing over Ravok that he saw the worst of it. The side closest to it had nearly collapsed. A large structural beam in the middle of the wall had clearly swollen and shrunk and distorted, making it unstable. In response the weight placed upon the other support beams had been burdened more, causing the wall to slightly sag. Looking Crylon could visibly see two point in the wall where the roof sagged half a foot at its lowest point. Three counting where the ice damaged support had been. Along with the roof boards making up the wall had been pressed down upon, and several near the sagging areas were warped from the weight and cold. The ones on each side of the damaged support had each snapped clean in half from the sudden weight. Through the holes they left he could see the inner wall to the actual room itself, whose boards while not yet having snapped were slowly twisting and warping. Eventually, as the roof sagged further from the new burden these would snap as well he could tell. Writing in the details, forcing himself to write slowly and clearly so he would be understood in common, Crylon began to detail it all bit by bit. Main central support beam ruined, not supporting building... Needs total replacement... Broken boards along outer wall damaged, warped, six need replacement currently... To be replaced after main support... Inner wall boards damaged, to be replaced after others... Will require internal review for further damage once other repairs completed... Assessment... In need of immediate repair and replacement, structural damage which will become worse longer not addressed... Roof sagging, requires replacement of sections once other repairs completed... WC: 554

[Crylon Stonecraft]

Walking around the building, Crylon continued to inspect the structure for damage. He was puzzling though over the reason he had been brought to buildings clearly damaged to a lesser degree first, in the nobles area, before clearly more damaged buildings in the merchants... As he thought on this a few times, the question to himself answered itself. Because they were nobles, and they merchants... Money. Money was the most likely reason they had gone in the order they had since he had begun the job. Money and power, not need. While Crylon knew in Sultros not everyone was equal, to have such a thing shoved so clearly into his face in another city was quite jarring. Inspecting the other two walls, he found occasional bits of damage similar to the front, though to a lesser degree. The cold had not on these sides affected the main support beam, only a few smaller boards. A few would need replacement due to warping and damage, but were not in need of immediate replacement. Not like the back side and its severe damage. Minor damage to two side walls, boards in need of replacement... No immediate repair needed... Seven side boards in all... Moving over to the edge of the floating platform, Crylon finished his inspection by checking it out. As he toured around the edge he saw similar minor damage over it, bits pushed out of alignment and a few warped boards from the sudden freeze of the water. This he realized could be much more problematic than the rest, as should the floater give then the entire building would collapse. Picturing the events in his mind, Crylon focused on the coming ice. The wave of cold freezing over the water. As this occurred boards were warped from the cold or knocked out of place leaving them as they currently stood, pieces of metal driven through them and into the logs below broken off in places. Some only a bit, but others much more critically... The cold hitting the main support beam of the one wall, a solid piece of wood but hit in an odd way and perhaps damage otherwise, and therefore becoming ruined more or less. That leading to other damage, as the structural element meant to hold weight stopped doing so. A common story he imagined throughout Ravok. Though, Crylon reason, if he had run into this one building so damaged he could see there being quite a few more. Floating platform... Base logs intact... Seventeen boards in need of replacement... Seven warped, require immediate replacement due to possible structural effect if grows worse... Others less critical or redundant, still need replacement... Overall building assessment... Salvageable, however requires immediate repair, longer left without repair more likely damage will increase and endanger overall building stability... WC: 466

[Ruvya]

G R A D E

Investigation +1
Observation +4
Organization +3
Logic +1
Architecture +3
Planning +1

Ravok Architecture: Floating foundations
Inspecting a building for damage
Ice and cold strips wood of paint
Wood warps under extreme temperatures
Organization: Summarizing a detailed account
Organization: Numbering information
A building sheltered behind another is better protected from the elements
Architecture: An even weight distribution in Ravok buildings is crucial
Architecture: Stone facade laid over wood for aesthetics
Sultros Architecture: Stone is readily available as building material
Ravok: Those with money & power possess influence & privilege
Planning: Preparing for ice and snow

If you have any queries about your grade feel free to shoot me a PM!