RP:Saddling Up For The Cemetery
On a nice warm night, Strex was sitting on an old oak chair at a desk with Jacklin's letter. A smirk happened to slip his way through, wondering how she would reply to his little negotiations. After a while of reading over the letter, the smirk faded ever so slightly. "I am not going to be the manager?" He asked himself. "Pfft... Why build the cemetary then?" He also asked himself. Then he took his cowboy hat off his head, cigarette burning in between the fingers of his right hand, Strex takes a deep drag and exhales slowly as he shuffles around his desk for a blank peice of parchment. After a short while he manages to find one. "Alright..." He said to himself. Grabbing his quill and a small bottle of ink, he dips the tip of the quill ink the ink and begins to write his message back letting her know, he was getting to work. Walking down to Larket, the area was new to him. Though, he was not frightened or alert at all. He tipped the front of his hat to a couple ladies as he looked about, walking down random roads to see what shops this town had, he could not tell which was better. Larket, or Rynvale. This though was not his main concern though. As he walked, he noticed a large shipment of Red Oak lumber near a building in the center of the city. Stopping for a moment, he looked around for anyone who was nearby. Spotting not a single person, he took note of that as he continues his traveling yet again. As he wandered this unfamiliar land, he searched for the land where the cemetary would be built. Eventually, he had found it.
As Strex finishes off a cigarette, he flicks the filter onto the ground and steps it into the dirt. "Hmm..." He says to himself as he stares at the land. "This is going to be fun." He said with a smirk. 'Builder of the Larket Cemetary.' That would be something to acknowledge at least. A favorable deed to the town of Larket, as well as Rynvale. Strex felt he was starting to become an important member to these communities. Numerous trees scatter the spot but Strex knew that would only serve well for lanterns. He knew a nice way to light the path without burning the trees down. The tricky part would be getting the stone walkway, but he had an idea for that as well. As he paced the land, wandered through it... He thought of a nice place for the building. Where all the buisness, if any, would take place. Thinking about the profit, he hoped a fair sum of money would be heading his way for the work he was planning. With that thought aside for the moment though, Strex had to concentrate on the Cemetary as a whole project. Stone walkway, of course, made of large, smoothed out flat stones. He will have to go to the cave near the Scenic Veiw of Hollow to gain such large stones. Wooden benches would line the walkway with the same Red Oak wood supplied by Jacklin. Lanterns hung from the trees to light people's paths in the delicate moonlight. He would worry about the building when it's time came. That was like a whole other project itself. As Strex takes another cigarette from his pocket, he strikes a match and lights it. Inhaleing it's smokey vapors once more before wandering back south to Kelay through the Sage Forest...
The air grew colder, lighter as he cheefed on his cigarette walking through the thick western Sage Forest going southbound. As he came eventually to infamous Kelay Way, he moves east to the Tavern that was usually booming at this time of night. Taking one last drag before he entered, he knew he would not be there long. Walking in, he orders a quick, simple, coffee to go. As he exits, he glances around at the other patrons but does not stop to talk to anyone, knowing well there was work to be done and a long walk that had to be done. Sippin' on his coffee, he heads over to Cenril. As he passes the bank he flicks his cigarette against it's hard outter wall and chugs a few sips of his coffee. He continues eastward through the sand, to the boatride to Rynvale. Once he had arrived there, he would step out to the wooden docks on the harbor and pull out another cigarette as he took in that chilled night's breeze. As he took his matches out of his pocket, he would begin to walk northward through Rynvale. He thought he would take a quick stop into the Broken Barrel Inn and grab another drink, this one being a bottle of black rum. Taking a quick look at the drink before popping the cork and taking a small swig to quench his thirst. Simon, the bartender, looks curiously at Strex while awaiting his two silver coins. Generously, Strex slid four his way and headed out the front door with after sending a small tilt of his cowboy hat to the man.
Once he was outside, Strex immediatly went over to the farm he managed north east of Rynvale. It was a long walk, but Strex knew the safest path. Thankfully, he brought his bottle o' rum with him. Sipping it as he entered through the main gate, he goes immediatly to the horse stalls. "Hey there..." He says to the horses as he gently brushed their coats with the palm of his hand. It was vital to show these animals affection before trying to use them with anything, otherwise they might get frightened, which happened often. When he was younger, he learned that lesson with a hard kick by their back hooves. Once he felt the two horses were calm, he went outside the stalls momentarily and returned hauling an empty cart over to the entrance of the stalls. It was light enough for him to pull, but not all the way to Larket where the Red Oak wood was, and where the work had to be done. Grabbing the proper harness for the horses, he places them on the two and strapes them to the cart. He could have sat on the cart, but the path to Rynvale harbor, where he intended on going first, was a winding path and covered with thick trees and roots in the ground. So, Strex would begin to walk them there while still sipping that hard rum.
As he, and his two horses stroll up to the docks. He lets go of the rope that was leading the horses momentarily and walked up to one of the sailors. "Excuse me..." He started off calmly. He had left the bottle in the cart while talking to the men, not wanting anything to sway their thoughts should they even think about letting him bring the horses and cart aboard their ship. "I have a very important job to do in Larket, and it is very important I get these horses over there as soon as possible." He then tossed a rather heavy sack of coins his way and looked at him intently. A long pause begins as the sailor simply stares at Strex. "Just a moment..." The sailor replied. Strex watched as the sailor walked over to another sailor, possiblly the owner of the ship. The two of them walked back over to Strex just a few short minutes later. The other sailor, the captin, judging by the diffrence in uniform, offered Strex a slight glare. "Hurry up onboard before anyone sees you." As soon as those words left his mouth, Strex was leading the horses and the cart onboard for a little boat ride to Cenril.
Once he arrived, he tipped his cowboy hat to the sailors and led the horses off the boat carfully. From there, he would start the long walk over to Larket. Pulling out another cigarette, he strickes a match and lights it, taking that first savory drag. He then would wander over to the cart that the two horses were pulling and grabbed up his bottle of black rum. Taking a large gulp of the throat burning mixture, he shakes his head a bit and draws a deep breath. "I have to get used to this stuff again." He said to himself. From there, he led the horses through Cenril, and the Sage Forest. There was no time to waist as Jacklin had been waiting long enough for this to be done. As he finally arrived at Larket's main gates, he strolls in through the town where the Red Oak wood was. Taking each and every board he could, he loads up the cart rather quickly and neatly, and makes his way over to the Cemetary area. As the night grew older, Strex became more tired, but there was no time for sleep ether. He had brought with him from the farm a few tools he would need, that rests at the bottom of the cart. Once they arrived at the Cemetary, Strex begins to unload the cart and ties the horses to a tree so they would not run off.
Taking a moment of concentration, Strex decided to start with the benches. He thought three or four might satisfy Jacklin, and if she wanted more, he would make them for her. Going over to the cart, he grabs his tool-bag and another smaller bag, filled with durable nails. As he walks back to his working area, which is mainly right on the ground, he takes a knee and begins his work. Taking a few peice of the Red Oak wood, he begins to make the first bench. After a good half hour passes, Strex finally comes close to making the first one. It looked as if he had hauled the bench from a king's castle and made off with it. Strex took the time to sand a bit and smooth edges. Making arm rests and comfortable back spots. Though, it still needed to be tested. Taking a seat, he wiggles his bottom on it and then decides to stand on it, jumping up and down, just a bit, Strex knew that this bench was well made indeed and would hold even the heaviest of dwarfs and maybe even up to a small Ogre. Strex then spent the rest of his night, making four more. Yes, he choose to make five, just to be on the safe side with Jacklin, not wanting to become the first resident of the Cemetary.
Strex tips back the flavory bottle O' black rum and dragged on his cigarette. Two habits he wished he never picked up... Though they got him through the day with ease. He knew the horses would have to be fed in the morning, which would not be too big of a hassle. Though keeping them in the open was something he was not about to do. So, he walked them around Larket in search for a horse stall. Leaving a note on it, he ties his horses up. The note read "I will give you 3000 gold tomarrow if you let my horses rest here tonight. Be back in the morning." Though, he planned on being up early, if possible, and getting them out of there before whoever he had to pay woke up. Now, it was time for him to rest. So he went to his own little hideout in the Sage Forest.
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As Strex awakens the next morning, he immediatly grabs his cowboy hat and makes a run for Larket. Once he arrives at the stranger's horse stall, he quickly unties his horses but notices the letter he left was torn down. "Knew noone could resist an offer that good... three thousand gold coins..." He had to get out of there before he was seen. Thankfully, he had sucsessfully gotten the horses untied and hopped on one of them, the rope still in his hands. With a loud "He-ya!" Him and the horses were off. Strex took one look back only to see an angery stranger shouting words to him, that he could not make out too clearly. As he rode the horse and had the other close by, he led them back to the cemetary. Once they all arrived, he dismounts and takes a deep breath. He knew the horses ate from the stranger's shelter, since there were two other horses that were in there, so that was another worry that he did not need to bother with. "Alright, time to get back to work..." He said, still a bit tired. Strex took his time now, as he connected the cart to the horses again. "Gotta get some more things." He told himself as he took a seat in the cart and gave the rope a small CRACK, making the horses move off. To the nearest craftsmen shop he was off to, simply to make an order and pick up some more tools. Once they arrived, he buys some farming tools. A hoe, a shovel, a bucket and about a dozen bags of cement. "I am going to need to place an order, for roughly three cartfuls of bricks." He told the owner. The man gave Strex a curious brow but nodded none-the-less. "That will be about two thousand five hundred gold there Sir. I should have your load in by boat in about three days, hopefully." The owner told Strex. With a long sigh, Strex wanted to make sure he got those bricks. "I will pay you when I see them..." He tells the owner of the shop, and went on his way with the items he already purchased. After he picked up those items, he headed back to the cemetary to begin his work. As he unloads the cart, Strex heaves the bags of cement over to the spot where he thought the Main Building would be. Strex knew this would be a long day's work, so he took his shirt off and began.
Taking a few stakes, he marked off a rectangular spot in the ground to show himself where to dig. As he did so, he made sure it all was evenly spaced. From there, he picked up the shovel and began to dig out the dirt. He would dig roughly three feet deep, all around the area he marked off. That was the easy part though. Now, he had to get the cement going. A bucket, was all he had to work with. He was thankful that there was a well nearby that he could use. Taking trips, he filled and emptied the bucket of water into the dug out area, to make it about half full. Strex had to take breaks, as this took him almost the entire day to do from the water seeping into the dirt continuously. Sadly, he never built a building by himself before, or at all. Though he had a good idea of what he was going to do. Taking occational, well needed breaks for a quick cigarette and a few drinks out of a bottle of rum, Strex finally manages to fill the area half full of water. "Now, to add and mix the cement." He told himself. Taking out a small knife, he cuts open each bag and pours it in one by one. He would then use the shovel and mix. It was a difficult job for him to do alone, but he managed with what he could do, and with the tools at hand. He would use the flat part of the shovel to smooth it all out nicely, trying not to take any steps in it. Once he was satified with the job, he looked it over again, and again...making small adjustments before the cement became hard. He would not stop until he had the feeling that a professional, a stranger, would be pleased with the work he was doing for he knew this was a job that could not be screwed up. After all adjustments were made, he walked off to a general store to get some horse food. As he returned, he tossed the bag down into the cart and took a deep breath. Strex dumped the food into the cart and pulled it infront of the horses for them to eat from, since he had nowhere else to put the horses, or the food for the night. He needed the cement to dry, and knew it should be done by the time the bricks came in. Strex spent that long night in his hideout in the Sage Forest until the next day.
Related Pages:
- Larket
- Part of the Larket's Renovation Arc