hadriel_logs | Event Log: The Beach Episode

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Event Log: The Beach Episode

Who: Everyone!
What: The event log for the transition to our new planet!
Where: The city, which has now been fragmented onto four separate islands.
When: May 27th-June 10th
Warnings: Surf's up! If by 'surf', you mean separation from your friends, weird sea creatures, and cold rainfall.

The sun and the sand and a drink in your hand- well, it all sounded pretty nice when you voted for the island planet, but ultimately what you're getting is a bit less glamorous.

The transition takes place instantaneously, with very little noteworthy shakeup, though those of you who are particularly in-tune with the supernatural may feel a bit dizzied or nauseated by the sudden movement. And that's exactly what it is: for those of you who are outside, the change is fairly noticeable, as in the span of a single blink, what used to be miles of desert is now rocky ocean. The city is simply in one place one moment, and then somewhere entirely new a second later.

And that somewhere new is exciting! The islands have plenty of landscape to explore and weather conditions to adjust to, fish to catch, and- wait, how do you get to the other islands? What if your friends or your home or the bar is on these other islands? Enjoy having to figure out who is where and how you're going to get by with only a small fraction of the city to work off of- hopefully those boats will come sooner rather than later...

► This log covers May 27th-June 10th.
► Feel free to make your own logs as well!
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► If you drown or get eaten by an alien shark, let us know here.

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Delight's Coffee, there's a brand name for you!

And somebody to keep things in order was really needed here. Kate will definitely be proud!

"I don't think Margaery has sailing experience. But she's strong, deft, and intelligent." He laughs a little. ". . . As I discovered immediately, when I became one of her sparring partners! Ikaruga taught her the sword and must have been proud of her as a student. I'm teaching her the craft of sailing, and I'm sure she'll pick that up as quickly as she did the weapons arts."

"Do you handle boats, Ignis?"

Edited 2018-06-08 21:11 (UTC)

"Mm, to a degree." He knows how to sail, as he knows how to do most things to some level of competency. His fingertips tap twice more, then he pushes himself away from the desk to move to a window instead. One thumb nail finds its way to his teeth to be pinched lightly between them, but not quite bitten.

"I dislike all this waiting," he mutters, a small frown drawing a line between his eyebrows. "The uncertainty of what we might find lacking next. It's vexing."

"Good thing you have that skill, then. Unless somebody thinks up a better idea for island-to-island transport, we're stuck with whatever boats we can find or build. Of course, there are a few people who have the ability to move instantaneously from one point to another, without traversing the intervening space. But they're going to be inundated with requests, and I do not like to bother them anyway."

Curufin watches Ignis' restless movements. He thinks of offering to make another pot of coffee, but then, more bad coffee is probably not a good remedy for the Hadriel jitters.

"It is vexing, isn't it? I don't like the uncertainty, either. But are you worried about anything in particular?"

It's perhaps unfortunate for others that Ignis has no intentions of making himself a ferryman between the islands, when those people competent in sailing are likely in short supply. He has other things to do, and that does not rank very highly in his priorities.

"Mm, no," he replies with barely a moment of thought. It's a lie, but he and Curufin are certainly not close enough for him to delve to that level of openness. "We'll find a way around things soon enough. I don't believe many here are the kind to sit back and do nothing."

They all must have their priorities, or the work of maintaining the community would never get done.

He smiles. "Indeed, we seem to be a whole city full of restless, accomplishing sorts of people. And I was thinking, if we stay on this planet long enough, we might be thinking of building bridges between the islands. It would be a very time-consuming project, however. I do not know whether it would be worth the effort, if Fear is going to pick us up and move us again."

Just off the top of his head, seeking common ground: "Have you spoken to my brother Maglor lately?" He knows they are friends. Maglor has mentioned him with respect.

Edited 2018-06-18 18:45 (UTC)

"I doubt we have the resources to build bridges of that size, even if we were given the time." That kind of distance... they'd need deep foundations, they'd need to be able to stand against the curiosity of whatever creatures lurked in the deep water below, and they'd need to be able to stand against tides and potential storms. It would be a logistical nightmare.

But Curufin is right. Such a thing would be next to pointless busywork if they are to be moved again. "Perhaps we'd be better spending our time building a few piers," he suggests. Somewhere more secure to board and disembark the boats that will no doubt become a staple, and somewhere safe to moor them.

At the mention of Maglor, he briefly hesitates, but nods. "I have. We had a small disagreement over his handling of the demon, but I saw no point in trying to debate it further."

They would never agree over Maglor's approach to that particular situation.

"Some of the resources are available, depending on what sort of bridge we intended to make. There is plenty of rock to quarry and crush up for cement. But the upper and understructure should include steel, I would think. That presents some problems in terms of quantity, unless we mean to make a deal with the gods. I'd rather not rely on them as suppliers. I think it is better to make use of the methods and materials we have now, and to design projects that will serve us and can be finished in a relatively short period of time. Thus, the boats."

He nods in complete agreement. "A pier on every island would be a very good idea! We can certainly do that. I know at least a few other people with carpentry skills and strong backs, and I'm sure that more can be recruited."

And in regards to Maglor: "I hope that this disagreement has not put a damper on your friendship. Demon problems may come and go, but friends may last a long time."

Edited 2018-06-21 23:38 (UTC)

Ignis does at least agree wholeheartedly that they should involve the 'gods' here as little as possible. Owing them in any way isn't something that he intends on getting himself wrapped up in, particularly when it comes to something they can do without.

"We disagreed on the measure of value he gives to the lives of the people who aren't his friends and family," Ignis replies with the soft, tense edge of someone who would rather not be discussing a topic. Did it damage his opinion of Maglor, and how highly he regarded him as a friend? Most assuredly. He hasn't spoken to the elf since.

"I'd prefer to focus my attention on more practical matters," Ignis says then, moving across the room to sift through a desk for some blank paper. "If we're to build docks for regular use, they should be planned, not thrown together."

Agreed, no gods involved! It's too much work to owe them anything.

"My brother has certain ways of speaking of things, especially when the topic is how to respond to the injury or murder of a friend or relative. You may have gotten the impression that he doesn't care about anyone else, but that is not the brother I know. I would say also that in our world, the demonic kind do not cease to walk the path of destruction. They may withdraw for a little while out of fear. Maglor thought to protect Margaery by making sure Caedra knows there will be a price tag on any further interference with Margaery's life. But I do not think that anybody's actions, however well-thought-out, will stop the demon-woman from killing again. There is an anger in her, a profound desire to wreak destruction and worse, an allegiance to causing pain and death. She does not need provocation, and she does not need to be retaliating for a real or perceived injury to herself. Killing is simply what she does." Curufin's feeling about this peril is that the members of the community who are worried about it are all in this together, even if they disagree on methods. However, since Ignis does not seem to want to talk about this, Curufin will stop there.

"No one throws a dock together unless he or she is prepared to have it collapse under the first wave strike," he agrees, with a chuckle.

He rips the top sheet off his drawing pad and lays it aside. He starts to sketch rapidly again. "I'm thinking of using the same design as my people used at the seashore in our original home," he says. "Do you have specific ideas yourself?"

Ignis only observes Curufin while he talks, with the vaguely unimpressed air of someone who has drawn a thick line under a conversational topic and is being forced to listen to further exposition on it regardless. Unfortunately, the elf touches on several of the problems Ignis had with Maglor's approach without actually mitigating any of them.

The potential of docks are certainly a better thing to speak about, because Ignis has no desire at all to get into another argument with another elf regarding the blatant provocation of daemons and the lack of said daemons' desire to necessarily focus their attentions on the person who provoked them.

So, he says nothing to the explanation, rather leaning on the desk and focusing his attention on the drawings.

"We should keep things as simple as possible," he states - it isn't really a 'suggestion'. "Our access to resources is never guaranteed, and there are a large number of factors we aren't yet able to take into account. We haven't seen a storm here thus far, but I don't doubt they will occur, given the capricious nature of Hope and his ilk. It will do us little good to expend all our efforts on something that then breaks beyond our means to quickly repair it."

A stable means to step on and step off. Do they need anything more?

"That would be my advice. Once we're more certain of weather conditions and the sustainability of any structures we secure to the shoreline, we can add further elaborations."

The thing was, Margaery had never provoked the demon. Caedra murdered her with no provocation at all. To Curufin's mind, this is very likely the model for future behavior. He has no solution for the problem, though he has attempted to make human contact with Caedra himself, in hopes of getting a clue as to what might motivate her to stop killing -- assuming that there is even a ghost of a chance that this might be possible. In the service of the community, he will leave no stone unturned. And as for the disagreement between Ignis and Maglor, he hasn't got a solution for that, either, or even a mitigation. But perhaps in time, solutions will be deliberately devised or will grow out of everyone's attempts. Curufin can see from Ignis' manner that he doesn't wish to discuss any of this further, and so the Elf refrains.

But back to the piers, which are a much more easily solved problem. And one that needs attention now, as Ignis indicates.

"I agree. The simplest plan is best. The structures need to be built solidly and the piles sunk deep. That way, the possibility of storm damage is lessened and if there is any later, it will be easier to repair."

He quickly finishes the last sketch and adds in some measurements. These several drawings show different views of a very basic design, a walkway carried on partially-sunk columns, with tie rails and cleats for tie-ups and mooring.

"What do you think?"

He moves around the desk to stand behind Curufin rather than taking the sketch from him, and taps his fingertips lightly against the edge of the paper. Even this simple design will need many resources, and it is exactly for that reason that building structurally sound bridges themselves would be next to impossible.

"We should scout each island for the best placement. I've noticed sheltered coves on most of them, but the ground conditions there may not be ideal." If they can't sink the structures deep enough, they might as well float on the surface for how stable they would be.

"And we ought to cast a net out for some skilled individuals. We won't get far attempting this between the two of us."

Curufin turns his head and tilts his face towards Ignis as the other Guard stands behind him to study the drawings.

"I agree, we should go and take a look at the coastline features and any possible pier sites. We'll have to decide between sites on the seaward side of each island and sites on the shores of the sound between the isles. The second, of course, has the advantage of shelter from the driving force of open-ocean waves. The feasibility of the seaward shores also depends on the direction of the prevailing winds on this part of the planet. I'll be finished with the boat in a few days. Scouting these possible sites will be a priority. Want to make a separate voyage with me just for this purpose, sometime in the next two weeks?"

He pulls another sheet out of the stack. "I've started my list of skilled workers and other possible contributers. I'll get in touch with them and also cast about for others who might be skilled and available."

"The nature of the coastline also needs some consideration..." Ignis hums softly, shifting a few pieces of paper until he comes across a map. It's only of this island, but it will more than suffice.

"The sand and smaller debris collects in the coves here, and here," he says, indicating the bays on the north and south of the island. "The sea would be calmer there, but I would be wary of any moorings being less stable in the long term."

A soft breath leaves him, but there's a certain brightness in his eyes and his demeanour on the whole that speaks volumes of just how good it feels to be doing something constructive.

"And of course, I'd be happy to join you."

"Agreed, the coves are off the list. That leaves all the gently curved stretches of coast where the sand will just sweep on by and deposit elsewhere. I'm sure we'll have plenty of good choices. And we could take some soundings while we're taking a look. It would be nice to have a rudimentary map of the channel depths and the drop-off on the open ocean sides of the islands."

Curufin notes the change in the atmosphere and is glad. His own eyes brighten and he smiles a little.

"All right. Let's plan on it."

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Event Log: The Beach Episode

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