Completed Capturing The Rain For A Cleaner Future

[Tazrae]

Timestamp: 1st of Winter, 520 A.V.

Tazrae sat at one of the patio chairs, the sketch stretched out before her on the table in the sun. She had a long stick of charcoal in one hand and had been making plans based on what she’d seen utilized throughout the settlement. The Innkeeper wanted an outdoor shower added to the Inn and she had big plans to get one. At first, she needed to acquire a water holding system that could contain enough water over time to shower all the residents and herself thoroughly without running out of water. Morning and evening rains would replenish the water system if she ran proper catchment systems off multiple roofs around The Protea and had them drain into cisterns that would hold the water for the shower. Randal had solved the issue for the holding system, supplying her with large heavy wine barrels that when lofted into the sun would heat and gravity feed the shower.

So her first problem was building a platform sturdy enough that would hold the loaded barrels, and from there she could pipe the catchment system into the barrels to allow the sun to do the heating work for her. Pipe was not a problem in Syka. They had a million miles of pipe growing in and around Syka in the form of bamboo. The structures of the Protea already had gutters that drained on one side into a fresh water catchment system on the ground. Tazrae used that for fresh drinking water for the Inn and water she could cook from. They had a well, but it wasn’t safe to drink from. She used it to wash clothing and clean with, which in and of itself took a lot of water.

The shower would bring the Inn to another level of luxury. It wasn’t the marbled halls of Riverfall’s bathing facilities, but it was something they didn’t have right now. There were tubs that sets of guests shared, but there was nothing like actually having a shower. Tazrae missed that little pleasure from her mother’s husband’s estate. This would be so much better though… for it would be something she built herself and that made it something she would be proud of.

She’d designed a set of pavers to be brought in to lead to a trail out the side of The Protea facing the jungle. It was beside where the snakes were housed in her Reptile Garden, though separated by a wall that would gently cup the shower area. She’d planned to plant bamboo that would grow quickly up and add more privacy. The wall she still wasn’t certain how to build, but the rest of it she could completely make happen, starting with the raised platforms to hold the barrels Randal had gifted her with.

Tazrae had wood. And as she sat at the table, she sketched what she wanted done with it. The platforms would be lofted on thick logs twelve feet in length. She’d need the ashta or someone able to move logs that size around. Once set in the ground, she’d build a platform off a frame the twelve-foot logs would support. They would be heavy enough to support the huge barrel which the ashta would have to get up there unless they could build a pully system to move them without the elephant’s help.

[Tazrae]

Tazrae tapped her chin thoughtfully, knowing she could do this. But she also realized there was only so much planning and sketching she could do before she had to get started. With that thought foremost in her mind, Taz rose, grabbed her work gloves, and headed out to the deck and down the steps where the shower would be. She paced off her own measurements, grabbed a shovel from the small stash of tools near the reptile garden, and paced off to where the platform needed to be.

There, she began digging. The shovel bit deep as she forced it into the hole she was creating over and over again. She turned then, lifted the contents of the shovel walking well away from the hole, and upended it over a less even place in the surrounding area in an attempt to level the terrain. She turned, bit the shovel back into the ground, and then put her back into it, groaning at each spade full of sand and debris she removed from the slowly forming hole.

Tazrae worked for bells like that; biting into the earth with her shovel and upending its contents over the uneven ground. She dug down a solid two foot, then decided with the platforms being as high as they were, four foot was better and kept digging. She dug until her arms ached and each lift of the shovel was backbreaking.

Bree and Creature joined her sometime in the late morning, digging along with her though the animals were less precise than Tazrae was on spreading the debris. The company cheered up the young Innkeeper and she found her second wind though she was sweaty, sore, and her arms felt like they were going to fall off. Somewhere in the middle of the early afternoon, she paused, fixed her guest lunch, and then took the time to use some of the scrap wood she had to make a screen to separate out sand from gravel so she could start a gravel pile to line the shower with.

That evening, too tired to dig any further, Tazrae took Bree out hooked to her little cart. Bree was game to go and they went on a mission to find flat stones that would work for the shower pathway and an area to stand under the spray. They found dozens of stones, down by the beach, and later around the common bathing pools where Taz took the time to take a break.

Bree joined her in a bath and the young woman scrubbed at the young Ixam’s scales – she was shedding again – until both the Innkeeper and her mount gleamed. Duncan visited them then, stopping by to see how the bath was and to inquire on how she was doing. Taz told him about her project, then brought up how nicely the pools were landscaped and how he pulled it off.

“Reimancy. Elemental magic. Do you want me to stop by and craft your wall? I won’t mind. And it will help you get things done faster. Lars was here earlier and mentioned he was going to stop by with the ashta to help you set the poles for your cistern platform.” Duncan said with amusement. Nothing got built alone in Syka, at least if someone let it be known they were building.

Taz grinned. “I’d love that.” The Innkeeper was thrilled that she was getting help. The one thing she had no idea how to do was to build a stone wall.

[Tazrae]

Duncan and Tazrae made arrangements and met the next morning late after Tazrae’s guests had been seen too. Tazrae had returned to find that Lars had been by with the elephants and the piles were driven and her premade platform was already raised to the structure. The barrels were set in place on top of it and all but fastening the barrels down so they wouldn’t be blown off in a storm was done.

“Okay, reimancy. I got it… but do you mind if I watch?” She asked the blind mage, fascinated by the magic. They both seemed to be in a good mood. Tazrae knew nothing of magic, and certainly not that it could build things up. She’d only heard the ancient horrible stories of mages tearing things apart.

Duncan nodded. “Of course. You can tell me where to put the shelves at.” He added, grinning at her.

“Shelves?” She asked, curious.

“Of course. If you are going to have an outdoor shower, you’ll need shelves for pillar candles. You sighted folk need to have light in the dark when you shower… or at least a romantic glow.” He flashed her a wicked smile and stepped back. “Do you know anything at all about magic, Tazrae?” He said as he opened his hands and then seemed to survey the area with his blind eyes.

“No… I’ve just heard stories... and that The Gods used it to contain Ivak during the Valterrian.” She said with a shudder, those stories being the most terrible of all.

Duncan nodded. “Magic is real, and as people we have access to it if you have a teacher and the talent and patience to master it. It is not suited to all, but it is helpful in everyday life… for sure. It is both more and less than the stories say.” He said thoughtfully, and then seemed to gather his thoughts. He glanced Tazrae’s way, as if judging her reaction, then drew in a deep breath. “It can be very very dangerous too. Listen closely to me, Tazrae, for I will tell you the truth of things without making the dangerous sound exciting and putting lace on a pig.” He added, and breathed out.

“All of us had djed within us. It is a force, a power… it flows through the world like rivers. Within us it flows in ways much like our veins and arteries. All things have djed. It is a force that can neither be destroyed or created. It just is. Mages harness djed to do magical workings. In Reimancy, a mage like I am can turn djed into Res that can be shaped into elemental things… earth, air, fire and water. There are other magics you can use to concentrate power in your body or to see without eyes. I know quite a few of the disciplines and other things around you know even more. Your lizard, the Ixam, look closely at her eyes. She has a ring around them, I am betting. She’s more than she lets on and she can teach you. I wouldn’t have given you the time of day or shared this with you, Tazrae, but the Goddess gave you a mark of guardianship of the city… you and your friends. You need some of this information to get stronger. This is something you should know.” He added thoughtfully. “Watch, learn… and if you want to know more, I’ll be around.” He said gently, knowing this was a lot to spring on the young Innkeeper all at once.

Then, with that, the mage got started.

[Tazrae]

A long sinuous vapor passed from his lips. Tazrae noticed similar vapor appeared from his hands. It curled outward and followed the path she’d staked out meant to indicate where the wall should be built. There was a tenseness to his body, an anticipation, as the vapor curled out and unfolded, building upon itself, and then settling into the place where the wall was going to be.

The vapor laid low at first, settling to the ground and crawling along it like some worm spawned from the mage’s body. But then the odd misty material spread out, took on the shape of stone, and gently began to solidify into what it was shaped into. Transparent became opaque stone, section after section, almost like Duncan was willing real stone into place. He worked in sections and layers, building from the ground up leaving staggered places so that sometimes the section ended rather than flush with the one it was against, extended outward into space, so that the next layer could be built beneath and above the almost brickwork like section.

Tazrae touched it in wonder, telling herself she simply couldn’t tell real from magical. The stone was beautiful making the wall itself beautiful… and making her shower area unreal. It would be incredibly lovely after dark.

When the mist materialized and fully hardened, the magical stone looked just like regular stone. The stone so closely resembled the cobbled pathway that Tazrae suddenly realized the cobble hadn’t been dug up and harvested from someplace rocky then transported to the pathway. Duncan himself had laid the stone, all the way through the settlement. And she suddenly realized that all the work she assumed had gone into the cobbled pathway after herself and Bree had dug up and transported stone for her pathway, wasn’t actually the work she thought it was.

The mage was sweating by the time he was done. But upon completion, Tazrae indeed had a giant privacy wall that came off one side of the Inn, sectioned off the Reptile Garden, and curved around to form a huge outdoor shower area. True to his word, he made some of the dark stones stretch out from the wall, making perfect ledges to hold candles and bottles of shampoo. And he even formed some stone that would jut out and upwards, making perfect hooks for robes or towels.

Tazrae was ready for Duncan once he was done, handing him a large mug of cold juice and a plate that had thinly sliced roasted pork with cheese slipped between rye bread. The mage tore into the sandwich hungrily, sinking down in a seat the Innkeeper carried over to him. “Takes it out of you?” She asked, looking at the blind mage thoughtfully.

He smiled, chewing thoughtfully. Once he swallowed, he continued. “Not usually, but I was particularly detailed in this working. Magic does burn through your energy reserves. As you use Djed, you feel more and more drained.” Duncan said, smiling at Tazrae, and taking another large bite and washing it down with the juice. Then, after a pause, he looked intently at her with his milky blind eyes. “What did you think? Have you ever considered learning something of magic, Tazrae?” He asked, curious.

[Tazrae]

Tazrae was a long time quiet, giving the mage a chance to eat and a chance to quench his thirst. When his sandwich was gone and his mug almost empty, she thought his color looked better and she then offered him her answer.

“It’s somewhat of a miracle. It’s not something I even suspected existed. I would like to know the way of it and how you do it. Who wouldn’t? But will I be wise with it? Would I be safe with it? I know the world isn’t safe and my decisions aren’t always wise. Does the power cause you to act differently… or does the power whet your appetite for more? I’ve heard stories… I don’t want to take a step down a path that will turn slick and treacherous.” Tazrae admitted, then looked thoughtfully at Duncan, wondering what he thought.

“And that is exactly why I would share this with you. Someone that wanted it without questions, without concerns, is no one that needs access to it. I have taught so few since my own imitation, but unfortunately the Svefra are short lived and no one of my djedline has survived. I am far from an old man, but it would be nice to pass on my knowledge to someone else… someone who might live a bit longer than the average Svefra always out to sea.” He said thoughtfully.

“I would like that.” She replied, almost shyly. Duncan was a fine person, uncommonly handsome and by no means old. It wasn’t hard to overlook his blindness for it didn’t much hinder him other than that he was a sailor no more. She suspected navigating on the sea where they used stars and landmarks was a lot harder than planting ones’ feet at a settlement and learning it intimately to get around. His power, undoubtedly, was put to good use here as well.

“I’ll tell you what. When you get this shower project done… come on over to my place and I will initiate you.” He said thoughtfully. “But only after you’ve learned as much as I can teach you about magic so you can make an informed decision if you want it or not.” He added, looking around as if he were a sighted man. “This place will be lovely. I can already tell. Do get that overgrown lizard of yours to sniff out the snakes though. I swear every so often I get a hint of snake musk here and there on the wind. I’d be concerned about your guests if its one of those eyelash vipers that got you.” He added.

Taz wondered if everyone at the Settlement had heard about her snakebite by now. “They aren’t eyelash vipers. They are mine… and they are snakes that hunt snakes. I’ve got them in enclosures to the west of here, beyond where I am going to plant the bamboo. I’ve a mind to breed them to release all over Syka to prey on the poisonous snakes and keep the mouse and rat population down. Your nose doesn’t lie. Thank you for telling me.” She said as Duncan took his leave, chuckling.

[Tazrae]

“That’s something else we can talk about if you drop by, Tazrae. I’d be curious to know more.” He added, then departed just as quickly as he’d come. She picked up his discarded and now empty plate and mug, took them back inside for a quick clean up, then returned to the shower area… looking thoughtful. Piles of bamboo lay cut beside the site, a product of her labors and Bree’s hauling earlier. She got busy splitting the bamboo poles lengthwise in half by holding them up at an angle from the ground and driving her machete deep into them cross-wise from the top of where they were cut down. She then used a hammer from her handyman’s toolkit to smack either side of the machete where it was driven into the pole.

The blade slowly worked its way down the bamboo splitting it neatly in half as it went. The bamboo was carefully carried up a ladder, attached to one long side of a deck gutter, and once the gutter was cut to accommodate the half arch of the bamboo, a trough was formed off the deck that would drain rainwater down into a hole Tazrae cut into the huge barrel held aloft off the platform. The inflow was at the top of the barrel. She then cut a hole in the barrel at the bottom and fit hollow bamboo in that slot as well, sealing both pipes with tree sap to make sure the water wouldn’t leak out. The bamboo leading from the barrel lead to an actual pipe fixture that turned into a shower head that was activated by a pull chain that gave the shower a heavy rainfall affect.

When Tazrae was done, she couldn’t wait to test the shower… but first the barrel would have to fill with water from the multitude of rainstorms that fell morning and night. It would be a few days before enough rainfall and runoff filled the barrel and gave the Innkeeper and her guests access to the refreshing shower. That didn’t stop Tazrae from filling the shelves with candles, leaving matches where people could find them, and then taking a few moments to build a towel ladder where she could fold towels over offering her guests fresh clean jungle-dried fuffy fabrics to enjoy. It was romantic and though the water couldn’t be tested until the barrel filled, she did go out and light the candles and enjoy the view.

Others wandered by to do the same thing, congratulating her and some deciding to mimic the design to make their own. These endeavors she made sure to drop by and help with so that the outdoor shower became somewhat popular throughout the settlement especially when once Tazrae’s big barrel was filled, the shower worked like a dream.

Thread Word Count: 3277

[Tazrae]

Tazrae-

Drawing +2, Planning +5, Body Building +4, Endurance +2, Construction +5, Driving +1 (Ixam), Animal Husbandry +2, Leadership +5, Arcanology +4, Socialization +3, Scavenging +1, Engineering +2, Cleaning +1, Observation +5, Interrogation +3, Teaching +2

Drawing: Sketching Out Construction Plans, Arcanology: Reimancy is Elemental Magic, Scavenging: Finding Stones For A Pathway, Engineering: Designing A Water System, Arcanology: Magic Is Real. Magic Is Dangerous, Arcanology: Djed – What It Is, Arcanology: Magic Burns Through The Reserve, Construction: Making A Water Barrel Stand, Construction: Pipping From A Roof To A Barrel, Construction: Setting Up A Shower, Observation: Watching A Mage Work, Interrogation: Questioning A Mage About Magic, Body Building: Digging Piling Holes, Body Building: Splitting Bamboo, Body Building: Hauling/Sifting Rock,