Perspective (Solo)

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

After awhile, Tock started sketching the city itself, all the little buildings spread out below. She drew in the lines of the mountains guarding the city at one end, and the sea welcoming it at the other, with her adopted home nestled in between. She had been quiet for awhile, lost in her own thoughts, until finally Nathaniel interrupted her by saying, "It's getting late..." She glanced over at him, then up at the sun. It was still a couple of bells from setting, due to the long summer days, but it was definitely past time to have sent the boys home. "Aye," she said, tucking her things away and walking over to the hatch in the floor. "Let's git on outta 'ere, aye?" The hinges on the hatch were rusted with age, and had to be pried off with a hammer. The wood splintered and cracked, dust falling down into the unused shaft below. "Gonna 'as ta replace 'is fer 'em," she muttered. She definitely wanted to come back up here, so she made a mental note to come back tomorrow and rebuild the hatch with fresh wood. The building's owners surely wouldn't mind a free repair job. The ladder down was a bit rickety, but still solid. The wood had remained dry and protected from the weather, though on her way down she noted multiple loose rungs that needed replacing. She added that to her to do list. They reached the bottom and found a door that was stuck quite badly, not having been opened for years. Tock had to ram her shoulder against it a few times to get it to open. When they finally emerged, it was into a tight packed storage space of some kind, filled with dust covered crates and chests, and some old furniture stacked up in the corners. It took quite a bit of navigation to make their way out, including climbing over some stacked chests that blocked the way. The Gods only knew what all was in here, or how long it had been since anyone had sorted through all this old junk. Finally they reached a staircase that led down to another door, and from there emerged in what looked like some merchant's office. Likely one of the wealthier members of the Sailor's Guild did business here, having converted the lower floors of the building into business offices. They passed by tables covered with sea charts denoting trade routes, and stacks of contracts and accounting ledgers. It must have been after their normal business hours, because nobody noticed them until they exited into a hallway that opened out into a grand staircase leading down to the first floor. A woman was there, straightening up papers behind a large desk by the bottom of the stairs. She was well dressed, and the breast of her blouse bore a crest Tock recognized as belonging to some merchant's family or another, she wasn't sure which. "What...?" she asked, looking up at them in shock and confusion. "What are you doing up there? You're not allowed up there...?" "No worries, Sook," Tock said, grinning as she walked past the woman. All three of them were covered in dust from the attic, and they must have looked quite the sight. "Jus' studyin' the architecture. Gots some repairs ta do fer ya..." She stared at them with her mouth hanging open, then finally said, "Repairs? What repairs? I haven't heard anything about this..." "It's all right, Missus Carlisle," Nathaniel suddenly said, stepping forward and brushing the dust from his sleeves. "No harm done. Miss Zipporah is my new supervisor. We were just studying the carvings on the upper floors." Tock turned sharply and stared at the boy, arching an eyebrow. Then she remembered; his father was with one of these important merchant families. He obviously knew whoever owned the building... "Oh," Mrs. Carlisle said, still looking a bit uncertain, but soothed by a familiar face. "Well, someone should have informed me..." "My apologies for the mix up," he told her. "Won't happen again..." They headed outside, with the woman's confused stares following them all the way. When they left the building, Nathaniel chuckled and said, "Wow... I didn't recognize the building from... well, from climbing it. But my father does business with them..." Tock smirked and said, "Aye... an ya thought we'd git in trouble..." She snorted, and the boys laughed. She sent them on their way, promising they'd get a chance real soon to practice carving some of the designs they'd studied. Then she headed home, climbed up on her roof, and spent some time staring across the rooftops of her neighbors' cottages. The view from down here wasn't nearly as good as the view from the top.

[Cascade]

Adventurer's Loot Tock's Loot : Skill XP Reward Observation +3 Drawing +2 Architecture +2 Climbing +2 Teaching +3 Leadership +1 Philosophy +2 Lore: Gaining Apprentices Charlie and Nathaniel, Apprentices Nathaniel: Plays the Clarinet Charlie: Professor's Son Respect Goes Both Ways Zeltiva: Bird's Eye View Appreciating Zeltiva's Beauty Items or Consequences: + blank book - 3 gm Beautiful thread, Tocky. I think this is my favorite solo from you yet. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to PM me!