Solo Gonna Build a House

[Samuel Longwell]

Gonna Build a House Date: 20th Summer, Year 516 Location: The Mithryn Outpost Samuel Thoughts Others Samuel awoke slightly confused, not recognising the room he was lying in. It didn't take long for the drowsiness to lift and Samuel remembered where he was. He had been given a room for the night at the Mithryn Outpost Garrison and today he had planned to help rebuild the houses destroyed in the recent storms. Samuel stretched and pulled himself out of bed. He decided against putting his armour on, it would simply get in the way of the heavy labour he intended to do today, and simply strapped his sword to his waist and picked up his shield. He made his way over to the mess, intent on breaking his fast. He ate swiftly, exchanging pleasantries with the knights around him but mostly focusing on his meal. When he finished Samuel left the Garrison and headed over to where some houses had been destroyed. There were already several people labouring away. Samuel placed his weapons over to one side, walked up to a woman overseeing the work and introduced himself. “Are you in charge here?” he asked. “I guess you could say that. I'm the architect, Sally.” she replied, “Are you here to help?” Samuel nodded. “What do you want me to do?” he inquired. She quickly explained the work that was required for the house and told Samuel to go and speak to the carpenter. Samuel did as she said and the carpenter was happy for the help. “We need to saw these beams into the right length and the saw requires two people to operate. Just follow my lead and you'll be fine.” the carpenter instructed, “I'm Robert, but feel free to call me Bob.” The introductions complete, the two men began work. Samuel watched as Bob measured along the logs, marking the relevant lengths with a small blade. Once Bob was done, the two men lifted the saw into position. “We need to stay in rhythm while using this, you push while I pull and pull when I push.” Bob explained, “The weight of the saw will do most of the work.” Samuel pushed on the saw, feeling the resistance in the wood. The two men took a little while to synchronise the motions, but they finally found each other's rhythm and the work started to go a little quicker. After they had finished a couple of logs, Bob told Samuel to carry the individual pieces over to where the actual construction was happening. “Just remember to keep your back straight and lift with your legs.” Samuel bent his knees and wrapped his arms around the first beam. Pushing up with his legs, Samuel lifted the wood and carried it over to the builders. He did the same with the other beams, each time he lifted the load felt heavier as his muscles started to fatigue. He pushed through the pain, managing to move the last beam and return to the carpenter. “I've marked a few more logs with where to saw them.” Bob said, “Once you've rested could you do the same thing with those, you'll need to find someone to help you.” Samuel nodded and as he sat on the ground taking a rest he looked around the area to see if there was anyone who could help him.

[Samuel Longwell]

Samuel Thoughts Others Samuel's eyes fell on a squire that was watching the rebuilding effort. He appeared to be about fifteen years old, several inches shorter than the knight. Samuel realised the squire had not been helping with the rebuilding effort and frowned at the lack of participation. “Any member of the Order should be willing to help those in need” he thought to himself. “Squire,” he shouted over, “Help me with these logs please.” The squire looked as if he wanted to disobey but, after noticing the pin that displayed Samuel as a knight, he walked over. Samuel noticed his reluctance and tried to motivate the squire. “These people need our help, it's our duty to help them,” he said, “I'm Ser Samuel, what's your name lad?” The squire gave a lazy salute, replying “I'm Alex, I'll help if I have to." Samuel was not happy with the squire's attitude, but not knowing how to rectify it he turned and led the squire over to the logs. He tried to explain the use of the saw and the task that the carpenter had given him. Samuel grabbed hold of one end of the saw and motioned for Alex to do the same. The squire moved slowly to pick the other end up and Samuel's brows drew together in irritation at Alex's deliberate slowness. Samuel asked Yahal for patience, lifting the saw into position with very little help from Alex. The pair started to cut through the log. Samuel quickly noticed that Alex was not putting much effort in, which was significantly holding the pair back. After finishing the first log, Samuel stopped Alex and decided that appealing to the squire's altruism wasn't the best way to get him to help effectively. “I have tried to be patient, but your reluctance to work is now making me angry.” Samuel said sternly, “Such an attitude is not fit for a squire. We are going to finish these logs and help move them over there whether you like it or not. If you proceed with such a lack of focus there will be consequences.” The squire straightened up, nodded, and moved to pick up the saw again. Samuel followed and was pleased to note that the work was now going much quicker. “Apparently a firmer hand is required for some” he thought to himself. Alex and Samuel continued to sweat away until the logs had all been chopped to the correct size. Knight and squire took a rest once they were finished using the saw. “Much better.” praised Samuel, “If you continue to apply yourself like that you'll make a fine knight”. Samuel noticed Alex lips curl upwards slightly in a small smile at the compliment. A page ran over with some water for the pair to drink while they sat cooling off from the work. Samuel hoped that Alex's helpful mood would continue when the heavy lifting began.

[Samuel Longwell]

Samuel Thoughts Others After resting for several chimes Samuel stood back up and stretched. He offered his hand to the squire, pulling him back to his feet. “Right, let's get some of these pieces moved” Samuel said, gesturing to the logs they had cut. “Make sure to lift with your knees” Samuel instructed, mimicking the advice given to him by the carpenter earlier. Samuel noticed that Alex was looking dubious at all the heavy lifting. Samuel quickly tried to come up with a method to motivate him. “Why don't we have a race to see who can carry 10 chunks of wood over to the builders first.” Samuel suggested. Alex's expression brightened at that and Samuel smiled inwardly. Alex had a competitive streak, just as the knight had predicted. The pair lined up their own pieces and positioned themselves ready to begin. “Go!” shouted Alex, and Samuel lifted his piece of wood and moved forward at a steady pace. Samuel was still tired from the heavy lifting he had done earlier, so he tried to conserve his strength. He didn't rush, knowing that he needed to pace himself in order to avoid exhaustion. Alex however had no such qualms, trying to run with the heavy load. Samuel grimaced as he placed his wood down, his muscles were already starting to ache. He turned to see Alex picking up his second piece, so Samuel broke into a jog to try and close the distance. Samuel continued with this pattern, a careful pace while carrying the logs, then running back to pick up another. Samuel quickly began to tire, his muscles complained with every step. The knight slowly began to gain on the squire, his more careful pace finally paying off. Both placed their ninth piece at the same time and turned to make their final run. Samuel's breathing was laboured, his run was barely faster than a walk. The pair grabbed their final load and began the walk back. It felt much longer than when Samuel had started, exhaustion had really set in. As they approached the finish Alex, finding an extra burst of energy, pulled ahead and won. The two collapsed, their energy spent. Samuel laughed loudly, a grin lighting up his face. “Well that was very enjoyable.” he said, “Nothing like a bit of competition to make a task seem easier, eh lad? Well done for winning.” A similar smile appeared on the squire's face, Samuel assumed he'd enjoyed it too. Samuel looked around, the people involved in the rebuilding seemed to be about to take a break for lunch. The knight dismissed the squire, thanking him for his help. Samuel joined the others eating some food, sitting down next to the carpenter. “You did a good job motivating that squire there” Bob commented. “Aye, it took me a while, but I got there in the end.” the knight replied. “What can I do to help after I've eaten?” Bob suggested that Samuel ask those actually working on the construction, they still had plenty of work to do. Samuel promised he would, then wandered off to find himself something to eat.

[Samuel Longwell]

Samuel Thoughts Others Samuel had a leisurely lunch, then wandered back to the construction area in order to continue helping with the rebuilding. Most of the people nearby had finished lunch and had restarted work. The tall knight strode towards a half built house, a group of people were hard at work putting together walls made of rough stone bricks. Sally, the architect, spotted Samuel and walked forward to meet him. “We need some more heavy lifting done if you're okay with that?” she asked. “Sure,” replied Samuel, “just let me know where you want me.” He was directed to a woman who Sally introduced as Naomi. She was tall, standing nearly 6 feet tall with strong shoulders. Samuel watched as she lifted a brick into place, her arm muscles rippling. She turned and caught Samuel watching. “Like what you see?” she said with a wink. Samuel blushed. “I, erm, I was just admiring your strength.” he stammered “I didn't mean anything by it.” “Well that's a shame.” Naomi said with a mock pout, but her expression quickly changed to a mischievous grin. “We'll work on that.” she said, winking again, “You're gonna help with the building right? You're a big guy, you can help lifting the bricks into place once those below have been covered in mortar.” Samuel, still feeling slightly embarrassed, moved to obey. His lunch break had allowed him to recover from the extensive heavy lifting he had done before eating, but his arms were still feeling a little tender. He decided he would take it more slowly for the rest of the day, he didn't want to injure himself. He bent his knees to take hold of the large brick at his feet. It was much heavier than the wood he had been carrying earlier, but he only had to move it a little way. Samuel made sure that his legs did the lifting, but he felt his back straining so he realised his technique had not been perfect. Samuel took a few slow steps forward and gently placed the brick onto the wall. Having lifted a brick himself, Samuel had even more admiration for Naomi's strength. He glanced over at her as she placed another brick and stooped to grab another, she was placing them much faster than Samuel could. She again caught him staring and smiled at him. This time Samuel didn't blush so much, managing to return the smile before quickly turning back to his work. He grabbed another brick, lifting it up against the pull of gravity, much to the dismay of his leg muscles, to place next to his first brick. Samuel suddenly realised something. “Soon the wall is going to be too large for people to place bricks upon,” he thought to himself, “they'll need to be able to stand on something in order to complete the job.” He quickly considered some solutions to the problem. “Maybe they could stand on the bricks?” he considered dubiously, knowing that they would not be particularly secure. Samuel shook his head and bent to pick up another brick. He decided he would continue thinking about it while he worked.

[Samuel Longwell]

Samuel Thoughts Others The work continued through the afternoon, the wall getting higher and higher as those involved in the building effort continued to sweat away. Samuel had taken several breaks throughout the afternoon, resting his sore muscles from the strain of lifting the heavy bricks. Soon the walls were higher than many of the builders could reach, but Samuel was still just about able to place the bricks on the wall. Each brick now took a significant amount of energy to place as he needed to lift them above his head to place them. Eventually even the tallest of the builders could no longer place the bricks safely. Only one more layer of bricks was needed before the roof was to go on. Naomi came round and assigned people into groups of three and gave them a small ladder. The knight smiled when he saw the ladders, it occurred to him that they were a much better choice for getting up high than what he had thought of. Samuel was placed with a man who looked about fifty years old and a young woman in her late teens, both standing well under six feet tall. He guessed that he would be stronger than either of them, so he decided he would be best suited to passing up the bricks to whoever was on the ladder. Both of the others in his group looked slightly at a loss about what to do, so Samuel decided to try and give them some guidance. Turning to the older man he asked “Would you be willing to go up the ladder?” The man agreed, climbing up several rungs, and Samuel directed the girl to support the ladder. “Keep your foot on the bottom rung and keep your hands on to keep it steady” he instructed her. Once the others were in position, Samuel bent down to pick up a brick. The long afternoon of lifting had tired him out, but he had found a decent way to lift up the brick so there was less energy wasted. He straightened his legs quickly, using the momentum generated to help power the brick up to his shoulder. Pushing up with his arms he managed to pass the brick to the man on the ladder, who then placed the brick on the wall. Samuel took short breaks between bricks, the long day finally starting to catch up to him. In less than a bell the final layer was done and the walls of the cottage were complete. Samuel collapsed on the ground, it seemed as if his whole body was aching. The worst of the pain was in his thighs and shoulders, but his biceps, back, calves and core were also suffering. After resting for a little while, the knight stood up and helped pack away some of the tools the builders had been using. After everything had been packed away he picked up his weapons and turned to go back to the Garrison, he really needed a rest. He smiled hesitantly at Naomi as he passed her and she returned the look with a dazzling grin and a wink. Arriving back at the Garrison, the knight ate dinner quickly. Once done he went to the room he had been lent and collapsed into the bed, utterly exhausted.

[Aladari Coolwater]

Your grades have been spotted!
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Samuel Longwell

■ Construction +3
■ Endurance +5
■ Leadership +2
■ Running +1
■ Planning +1

Lores

Lore of Endurance: Lift With the Legs
Lore of Squires: Firm Discipline Required
Lore of Leadership: Competition Makes Work Easier
Lore of Endurance: Breaks Are Neccesary
Lore of Endurance: Lifting Above the Head is Harder
Lore of Leadership: Giving Direct Orders Clears Confusion

Additional Information

Samuel's muscles should be fine within a day or two, with rest.

Shield Points: +5 for helping the people of the city

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