17 Cylus 720 | Mathias Blackwood | Storm's Edge
"We still needed supplies." Sir Lance responded in an unflinching tone. He had a certain look to his face that Mathias didn't like for some reason. Were his eyes too close together? Were his eyebrows too high? No... maybe his nose was too big? Not that either. Then Mathias realized what it was. His eyes were too close to his nose! But that was besides the point because the man was also pissing Mathias off so he didn't like him for that as well.
"Okay but what are we going to do with the supplies now that we have them?" Mathias asked.
"I told him already, he'll have to keep them in his wagon till we have made enough space." Lance replied stoically.
"And he has told you he can't because he needs to go for another trip."
"The fact remains that we simply don't have enough sturdy storage rooms left to-" And at that, Mathias began marching away. "Where are you going?"
"To fix your fucking storage room it seems!" Mathias shouted as he marched away. He arrived at the storage room to find it very similar to the armory he'd already repaired. Both because it was in need of aid and because there were a handful of volunteers with the appropriate skills already in the room working on it. Mathias looked around for some tools and when he found them, he nudged one of the volunteers. "I'm here to help, what do you need me to do?"
The volunteer couldn't produce an immediate answer, but directed Mathias over to the woman in charge of this rebuilding operation. When he reached her she was standing in front of a table, staring intently at a pile of wood that had been brought to her. Mathias spent the time he had waiting by looking around the room to try and assess the damage for himself. There were a few obvious things- holes in the wall and ceiling being the most clear, but the structure seemed more or less sturdy enough by the time Mathias arrived. Honestly he didn't know what would be so wrong about storing things in the room with the holes but he didn't point it out. Having a spark like Transmutation made one more willing to wait for individuals admiring objects because it helped one understand that there was likely more going on, but even Mathias grew tired of waiting for her to acknowledge that he'd arrived.
"Hey, I'm here to help, what do you need me to do?" Mathias said loudly to try and get the woman's attention.
"Shut up!" She shouted at Mathias who took a step back in surprise. "I'm measuring." A few trills passed where the woman continued to stare at the wood planks sitting in front of her before she pulled a knife from her boot and made a small mark on exact same spot on the side of each plank. Then she turned to Mathias. "So what do you want?"
"To help. What do you want?" Mathias shot back in equal tone to the woman's own. She narrowed her eyes towards Mathias who narrowed his eyes back and then she started laughing. Mathias held for a trill longer before giving a small laugh as well to make it seem that he was in on the joke.
"Grab a saw and cut these planks to my markings, then help Weyland patch up the hole in the wall with them." The woman instructed. Without another word to Mathias, she walked passed him to another group of workers "Hey! Stop that! You'll split the wood if you drive the nail like that!"
Mathias was curious, but he had his task. He walked around the storeroom-in-repair for a few bits trying to find an open saw. It almost seemed that every time he grabbed one someone would shout "Hey I'm using that!" or "Hey that's mine!" so it took longer than Mathias wanted it to but he finally got a saw. Then he went back to the table to find that someone was trying to make off with one of his planks of wood.
Mathias grabbed the plank from the back end and yanked it out of the other worker's grip. The volunteer turned to Mathias with an angry look and Mathias raised his saw like a weapon "My planks!"
"We need them to patch up the roof!" The volunteer shouted.
"I need them to patch up the wall!" Mathias shouted back. Mathias set the plank back on the table and when the man moved to grab one of the other marked planks on the ground beside him, Mathias shooed the man away with his foot. "My planks."
"You can't just take them all." The man protested "We need some too."
"No, boss lady gave them to me." Mathias insisted. "You can have the ones I don't use."
"But you'll have already cut them to the smaller size!"
"Then go to the gate and get the new planks off of Clayton's wagon!"
"You go get the-" The farmer flinched when Mathias suddenly raised a fist as if he meant to strike him but no blow came. Only a silence as the room turned to look at the conflict that had transpired. Everyone looked at Mathias and the coward.
"My planks." Mathias said as he pointed a sharp finger at the planks on the floor beside him and the one on the table he meant to cut. A few trills passed and then everyone seemed to go back to what they were doing before. They had a storeroom to save after all. Mathias went back to work as well and the volunteer who'd been hassling him went to retrieve the planks from Clayton's wagon. Mathias began the process of sawing the planks to size, which he realized after a few dozen passes of the saw was a feat of strength and endurance that he'd not been expecting.
So it took longer than he was proud of, but Mathias finished carving the planks of wood into shape. Part of him wondered it it might have been easier to use his magic on them but he remembered the eventual degradation that would occur. While he could come back and resupply ether to his work while he was in Storm's Edge- and therefore buy it some more time- once this nightmare passed and he left, the keep would begin to degrade again. So he did it the right way, and the hard way.
And when it was done and the planks were ready, there was only more work ahead. By now his arms were sore- manageable, but sore all the same. He could feel the strain stretching up into his shoulders and back as well but he told himself he needed to get the work done. He, and every other volunteer who was still going around him. The more tired Mathias became, the more he looked around for familiar faces. He couldn't be the last to show up and the first to quit... he wouldn't. So as long as he looked into the crowd and saw a face he recognized, he stayed and worked. It was a logic flawed in a way Mathias could not recognize do to the fog of work... he would always recognize one face at least.
The work that followed was much simpler than the sawing had been. Mathias helped hold the boards in place over the hole in the wall while other volunteers drove the nails down into it. One board secured, Mathias picked up the next and positioned it a little bit above the first, but leaving no gap for the moonlight to get through. The other volunteers drove the nails in again and Mathias held got the next board. They did this over and over until they reached the ceiling, then it was suggested that they go and gather stones to stack up against their new wall to fortify it. Mathias chose to go help cut more wood rather than gather stones. Stones were heavy and his arms hurt. The wood wouldn't be much better but he could take his time.
So he did. He worked slowly but diligently until there was nothing left to repair with and nobody touched his planks.
