Solo Fulfilling Promises And Breaking Curses I

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A lawless town of anarchists, built on the ruins of an ancient mining city. [Lore]

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Fulfilling Promises And Breaking Curses I

Postby Kelski on December 1st, 2018, 4:27 am

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Timestamp: 25nd of Fall, 518 A.V.

Kelski hurried. There wasn’t much else to do but gather supplies, check in with Ebon, and meet Snowflake at the entrance to Gil’s underground passage to his lab. Kelski wanted to be back quickly but Naska had requested something odd of her before she returned. The Shadow had wanted her to cut a double length of two foot of rope and dye each length a bright but contrasting color while she was at her workshop. Kelski hadn’t wanted to take the time, but she’d found out through experience it was easier to do what the Shadow said than it was to ignore what it told her. Naska’s lessons had been to important.

So, when Kelski was ready to go, rather than cut her climbing rope, she took another rope she had at The Gem which she’d used to hoist the weathervane upon the roof and hacked off two lengths of that. Then she’d dug around in her workshop until she’d found her pearl dyes and made little pots of that dye, just big enough to fit the small coils of rope – one in red and one in deep blue – so that both ropes were a contrasting color. The ropes were quickly dyed, not having to soak like the pearls themselves did to absorb color, and where rung out and quickly set aside. Then when she was ready, she returned to where Snowflake was and met Naska, with her still damp two-foot lengths of ropes and an attitude that bespoke an almost unwelcome interlude was coming.

The intermission wasn’t welcome. Kelski was still a bit upset at the delay in her return so she could have a lengthy lesson before descending back into the mines beneath the city and finding the mage once more.

Naska insisted though.

Repelling, as part of climbing, was dangerous, and she wanted her charge prepared. Kelski had promised Gils that she'd return, and return promptly and he'd sent a guide with her to ensure it. She knew Naska ultimately was right when she stated Gilthas had spent hundreds of years beneath the surface of Sunberth and that a bell or two longer would not hurt him. But still the Kelvic wasn’t happy.

The Shadow was waiting, Snowflake beside her somewhat impatient. The Brat seemed to have been having an argument with the Shadow, which amused Kelski to no end. Kelski knew from experience that Akajia’s minions were not the easiest to dissuade, especially not for a Nightstalker. So in the end, rather than arguing, she simply took the time to learn what Naska wanted to teach her before they proceeded back into the deep.

And what Naska wanted was a camp, close in to the entrance, safe, where the shadow could spend some time teaching Kelski some knotwork and climbing, Kelski looked for a spot. She walked until she found a likely spot, searched the darkness with her lamplight, and not seeing anything amiss called on her magic. Kelski had long since learned the source of her power was a core deep within herself. She could stoke that core and pull a great deal of djed at once, or she could lightly tap it and just augment her vision with aursitics and look for living things - their auras - in the dark. Kelski did that now, pulling just a tiny bit of djed in order to flare her aursitics vision, looking for hidden auras in the dark. She found nothing, scanned hard, and decided here was her safe place.

That being said, she made camp... the Shadow overseeing her work.

They set up a little camp a bit into the ruins, and Kelski took out the still damp ropes, one red and one blue, and Naska got started. “You need to know five basic knots to start out with when you are repelling, Kelski. The first is the foundational knot for the figure eight follow through called simply the Figure Eight. You use this knot to create the next knot.” She said, then carefully began to instruct Kelski on how to tie it.
Last edited by Kelski on January 4th, 2019, 5:37 am, edited 1 time in total.
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They laugh at me because I am different.
I laugh at them because they are all the same.


Painted Sky Jewelry (The Wildlands) | Crossroads Jewelry (The Outpost)
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Kelski
Freedom is earned. Fight for it.
 
Posts: 1598
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Joined roleplay: July 3rd, 2014, 11:08 pm
Location: The Wildlands of Sylira & The Empyreal Demesne
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Fulfilling Promises And Breaking Curses I

Postby Kelski on December 30th, 2018, 7:03 am

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Naska taught Kelski that for this knot only one rope needed to be used. Kelski picked the red one. The technique was easy. All someone had to do was pass the tail over itself to form a loop. Then one continued to pass the rope around the standing end forming the number 8. The knot was completed by passing the tail down through the loop and pulling it tight. It was certainly easy, but Kelski wasn’t sure what it was for.

Naska supplied the answer while Snowflake started nibbling on the still damp blue one. Kelski carefully pulled it away, afraid the still-wet dye would make the creature sick. While Kelski was retrieving the blue one and setting it aside, Snowflake stole the blue one. The Kelvic laughed and simply let the Brat have it.

“You need to know figure eight knots, Kelski, so you can tie off to things. They don’t look like they can be tied off, but they are the foundational knot in a figure eight follow through that does tie off. Use one rope again, tie a loose figure eight, and then take one of your daggers and thrust it into the dirt.” Kelski did as Naska asked, and stood paused as she waited. “Now, we are going to tie this rope to this dagger. Usually we use a tree or even a tie-down, clamp, or a lock pin. We’re just using the dagger as something to ‘tie to’ at the moment. Remember that. Now….” Naska paused, then continued with her instruction. “Pass the tail around the attachment point. Follow the original Figure 8 around the entire knot in reverse so its exactly like you are tying two side by side. Exit beside the standing end to complete a two stranded Figure 8 knot. And there you have it… really tightly and securely tied off to this dagger.” Naska said as Kelski followed suit. The knot was easy, both in the figure eight and in the follow through. And though it was secure, it was also easy to loosen.

“Do you always tie them off this short?” Kelski asked, looking puzzled.

Naska chuckled into the darkness. “When you are climbing, make sure the tail end is longer. That way you can allow the rope to slip a little for load bearing. If it is too long and gets in the way, secure it around the end using a stopper knot. Just take the end and form a loop in the rope making sure the main rope is inside it. Pass the end through it. Pass the end through the loop again. Tighten the knot to make it secure.” Naska explained.

Kelski tried to follow her words, but Naska huffed in disapproval, told her to try again, and the Kelvic struggled a few chimes until she had the hang of the stopper. When Kelski had it mastered, Naska continued.

“We need a Grapevine Knot now. This is a variation of the figure eight on a bight that has double ropes at the attachment point. That means you can connect two ropes together securely or connect to two different primary anchors or carabiners securely.” Naska explained. “Use both ropes…” She insisted, and Kelski retrieved the blue one from Snowflake. The Shadow continued her explanation then.
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They laugh at me because I am different.
I laugh at them because they are all the same.


Painted Sky Jewelry (The Wildlands) | Crossroads Jewelry (The Outpost)
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Kelski
Freedom is earned. Fight for it.
 
Posts: 1598
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Joined roleplay: July 3rd, 2014, 11:08 pm
Location: The Wildlands of Sylira & The Empyreal Demesne
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Fulfilling Promises And Breaking Curses I

Postby Kelski on December 30th, 2018, 7:04 am

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“Overlap the two ends so the red and blue mingle. Wrap one end around both ropes two full turns. Then pass this end back through these turns and pull tight. Next pass the other end two full turns around both ropes. Pass this end back through and pull tight. Pull on both ropes to tighten the two knots against each other.” Naska said.

Kelski nodded, understanding this explanation much better. She had the red and blue rope attaches together securely in moments as Naska muttered her approval. Even the Brat seemed interested as she came over to sniff at the now double length two-colored ropes. Then, at Naska’s direction, Kelski untied them.

“Now, do a grapevine knot in the red rope to make a loop… making it one big circle. We’re going to learn a Girth Hitch next. You’ll need to know it to attach a safety tether to your harness or anchor off somewhere. You install a safety tether whilst you are cragging on a top-rope. It makes clipping to safety lines fairly easy when setting anchors or doing other edge work. All you need to do is take the red rope.. the loop and pass the loop of the strap around the harness, strap, rope or other thing. Thread the other end of the strap through the loop. Make sure the strap lies neatly and then pull it tightly. Its literally the easiest knot to tie in the whole of the world.” She added.

And it really was. Kelski unhitched the Girth Hitch and tried it again. It literally took less than a tick to tie it. There was truly no tying involved. It was just passing a loop through a loop. Kelski nodded towards the Shadow, grinned at the Brat, and honestly felt like she was learning something. When Naska paused, Kelski jumped in. “Is this enough to get started?” She asked, wanting to make sure she had everything for now she needed to know.

Naska sighed in the darkness. “There are so many more I want to teach you. But yes.. with this we can go.” She said softly, and even Snowflake seemed to get excited. The Brat spun in a circle, rose up on her hind legs, and chittered until Kelski laughed.

“Okay… Okay… I know we need to go. Gils is waiting.” Kelski added, and the Brat did a tiny dance of happiness and then started off the edge of the rocks that were leading down. The Sea Eagle watched her go and her jaw dropped. The Brat was incredibly agile. She had no idea they could climb like they could.

“Kelski the first thing you need to do is prepare the top of the route down. I’ll give you step by step, but you’ll need to listen carefully. Anchor just like I taught you… and when your ready, lets get into your harness and clip your rope to the draw. Set up your belayer to take in the slack, then clip to the loop on your harness and clip another loop to a backup carabiner and get ready. Pull up about thirty feet of rope, tie off the slack with that knot I taught you… the overhand… then tie a stopper knot on the end of the rope. You want to make sure you can’t rappel off the rope ends. That’s always death.” Kelski nodded, followed Naska’s directions, and only chittered once when the Shadow cut her off from making a wrong knot. She corrected herself, and was tied on ready to go down in just a few moments.
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They laugh at me because I am different.
I laugh at them because they are all the same.


Painted Sky Jewelry (The Wildlands) | Crossroads Jewelry (The Outpost)
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Kelski
Freedom is earned. Fight for it.
 
Posts: 1598
Words: 2015452
Joined roleplay: July 3rd, 2014, 11:08 pm
Location: The Wildlands of Sylira & The Empyreal Demesne
Race: Kelvic
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Medals: 11
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Fulfilling Promises And Breaking Curses I

Postby Kelski on December 30th, 2018, 7:05 am

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When she was ready to get started, Kelski double checked all the knots, hitches and gave the anchor a good look, setting a backup anchor and threading excess rope through it in case the primary anchor failed. Then she stepped to the edge, tossed the excess rope over the edge, and set her hands in the proper place so that one hand was on the feed and one was on the breaking rope. She kept her brake hand on the rope snuggly, spaced her feet out wide, and used her guide hand to feed the rope through her harness. She kept her legs perpendicular to the wall with her torso leaning slightly in, she walked backwards off the wall following the Brat.

Naska was close. The Shadow whispered in Kelski’s ear as she began to speed her descent, jumping lightly along the rock face, rather than remain at a gentle walk. “Control your pace. Steady. Turn your head and watch for obstructions behind you. Look down, not up, so you know where you are going.” The Shadow urged. Kelski did slow, regulating her descent more carefully. She watched her pathway carefully, taking it slow and steady. When she took the final step to the bottom, she took a deep breath, pulled the ropes out of her breaker, and carefully untied the knots.

Then with a flick she began pulling the rope which slide upwards, through the anchor, and slid downward pooling at her feet. Then she stooped, picked it up, and coiled the rope siding it up and over her head to lay across her shoulder and under one arm.

“It wasn’t far from here, was it?” She asked carefully, glancing at Snowflake, who waited close at hand. The Brat chittered into the air, sniffed, and took off on what appeared to be a pathway of Brat prints equating to what looked like a Brat-sized road. They followed it… Kelvic, Brat, and a shadow that lingered seeming to drift with them. It wasn’t a smooth road. It dipped and bent, twisting through the darkness, branching right then left and once more dipping down a small wall that Kelski had to rapple down. She didn’t remember this as the way Snowflake had led her out, but things looked different traversing one pathway one direction then returning back down it.

They walked until Kelski was legitimately tired. It had been a long day, and she knew above the daylight had stretched into darkness. And still they walked… far shorter a time than the two days she’d spent wandering below following the Brats. The mine tunnels started taking on a more civilized appearance, almost as if the stone was hewn rather than mined out. And finally, when the Kelvic knew she could walk no further, the turned a corner, descended three natural stone steps, and walked out into what looked to be a courtyard. Light flooded the darkness from an archway. And in that archway, silloutted from the light behind him, stood a tall emaciated form draped in a cloak with light glittering off a metallic chain stretching from his neck back into the depths of Gils’ laboratory.

The man drew in a breath when the white Brat and the Kelvic came back into view. The Kelski paused a moment, catching her breath, and heard what almost appeared to be a sob from the silhouetted form. She could hear him draw a ragged breath, start to speak, stop, then draw another breath. Finally, after what felt like an eternity to Kelski, the Eth spoke ever so softly.

“You returned.” He whispered, his voice hoarse with emotion.
Image
They laugh at me because I am different.
I laugh at them because they are all the same.


Painted Sky Jewelry (The Wildlands) | Crossroads Jewelry (The Outpost)
User avatar
Kelski
Freedom is earned. Fight for it.
 
Posts: 1598
Words: 2015452
Joined roleplay: July 3rd, 2014, 11:08 pm
Location: The Wildlands of Sylira & The Empyreal Demesne
Race: Kelvic
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Plotnotes
Medals: 11
Featured Character (1) Featured Thread (2)
Mizahar Grader (1) Trailblazer (1)
Overlored (1) Donor (1)
One Thousand Posts! (1) One Million Words! (1)
Sunberth Seasonal Challenge (1) Power Fork (1)

Fulfilling Promises And Breaking Curses I

Postby Kelski on December 30th, 2018, 7:33 pm

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Kelski paused, though the Brat did no such thing. Snowflake ran forward, lashing her tail, and ran up to the diminished form that stood leaning heavily on a staff by the entrance. She circled once then climbed up the robes the man wore, to nestle in his arms while he continued to stare at Kelski. Absently, one skeletal hand reached up and stroked the length of the Brat’s back where she perched on his arm that clung to the staff. Gils entire posture was alert, tense, almost disbelieving. “Jeweler, you returned.” He said once more, as if trying to let the reality of it sink in.

The Sea Eagle strode forward, approaching him quietly, until she stood directly in front of him and looked up at him. “Yes. I had to get my tools. I told you. I have them here now. I won’t delay. I suspect you’ve waited long enough.” She said gently, gesturing at his abode. “Is there someplace with a good light source where you can sit down and I can reach your collar? I think that this procedure won’t be easy. There’s a complexity to it that I’ve been thinking of as I made the trip back.” She said, stifling a yawn. “And I want to get started as soon as possible.” The Kelvic added, waiting for his response.

Gils smiled, somewhat of a ghastly thing since his flesh was almost non-existent stretched over his skeletal form. His eyes were completely sunken, bright violet, and sad. “Yes, follow me.” He said, turning and setting Snowflake down before he gathered up his chain and began the slow walk through his workshop. He lead Kelski inside, deeper, to a work table that was indeed surrounded by lights. With a thought, the candles all lit, bathing the room with light. It made his sallow skin look even more decayed as Kelski un-shouldered her backpack and began to lay out tools. Gils took a seat carefully with a weary sigh, and Kelski walked up beside him to examine his collar once more. “This is going to take some time.” She said softly, knowing that might be an understatement. “Will you tell me the story of your curse as I work?” She asked, knowing he would not refuse her, not with his freedom literally under her hands as she touched the collar.

The Eth bowed his head forward, but nodded softly. “Of course. You will want to know who you set free.” He added, then tilted his head to one side and offered her a smile.

Last edited by Kelski on February 23rd, 2019, 5:14 am, edited 1 time in total.
Image
They laugh at me because I am different.
I laugh at them because they are all the same.


Painted Sky Jewelry (The Wildlands) | Crossroads Jewelry (The Outpost)
User avatar
Kelski
Freedom is earned. Fight for it.
 
Posts: 1598
Words: 2015452
Joined roleplay: July 3rd, 2014, 11:08 pm
Location: The Wildlands of Sylira & The Empyreal Demesne
Race: Kelvic
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Plotnotes
Medals: 11
Featured Character (1) Featured Thread (2)
Mizahar Grader (1) Trailblazer (1)
Overlored (1) Donor (1)
One Thousand Posts! (1) One Million Words! (1)
Sunberth Seasonal Challenge (1) Power Fork (1)

Fulfilling Promises And Breaking Curses I

Postby Kelski on February 13th, 2019, 3:10 am

G R A D E S
Kelski

Climbing +5, Interrogation +1

Climbing: The Five Basic Knots of Climbing (Figure Eight, Grapevine Knot, Girth Hitch, etc), Climbing: Tying Off, Climbing: Leaving Tails Long To Allow For Slippage, Climbing: Stopper Knot, Climbing: Basics of Repelling, Climbing: Anchoring Off, Location: Gilthas’ Laboratory
Image
They laugh at me because I am different.
I laugh at them because they are all the same.


Painted Sky Jewelry (The Wildlands) | Crossroads Jewelry (The Outpost)
User avatar
Kelski
Freedom is earned. Fight for it.
 
Posts: 1598
Words: 2015452
Joined roleplay: July 3rd, 2014, 11:08 pm
Location: The Wildlands of Sylira & The Empyreal Demesne
Race: Kelvic
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Plotnotes
Medals: 11
Featured Character (1) Featured Thread (2)
Mizahar Grader (1) Trailblazer (1)
Overlored (1) Donor (1)
One Thousand Posts! (1) One Million Words! (1)
Sunberth Seasonal Challenge (1) Power Fork (1)


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