Renovations

[Drache]

The square three-story watchtower that squatted just in front of the cliff-face entrance to Drache's lair was barely more than a tumbledown wreck. It was the kind of building that had been re-purposed so many times, with a good deal of fighting in and around it during each occupation, that the original style and mission has been largely lost. At one time it had probably been tall enough to get a good view of the lake a good distance beyond, but the trees had grown tall and now almost completely obscured the sight. The construction was obviously meant as some sort of protection for whatever had been going on down in the sprawling caverns, and Drache had this in mind when she decided to try and salvage the pile of stones rather than pull it down.

It was overgrown with shiny green ivy, which had coiled it's spreading roots deep into the dark broken windows. Here and there under the veil of green fire and magical blast-marks marred the gray surface of the brickwork. The windows themselves were tall and narrow, almost mere arrow slits, and the parapet that jutted was mostly broken, the shattered merions buried in the years of verdant carpet-like growth that had crept all the way up to the base of the building. At one point there had been a pointed wooden roof covering the battlements, but only a side of boards and shingles dangling from one side remained.

The inside was in a similar state. Being open and unused for years, both of the thick doors absent and windows blown out, had allowed the elements to creep in. It smelled like mildew, decaying wood, dust, and mice. There was furniture, though most of it broken or moldered beyond repair. Likely, everything usable or valuable had been stripped from the place long ago, but you never knew.

The center of the space was dominated by a spiral staircase that was fortunately still usable. The north wall sported a blackened hearth and the rounded hulk of a potbelly stove. It appeared that someone had tried and failed to wrench it from the chimney.

The second and third floors contained warped shelving and the remains of cots, among other things. Typical for what was likely a military building. To Drache, the sense of stale magic lingered about the place, but not as strong as down in the caves.

Fixing up this little tower would take a lot of work, more than just carpentry. But despite the damage, it was largely structurally sound, and Drache hoped to locate a stone-mason soon who could see to the battlements and help beautify the outside of the building. She was also considering a two-horse stable to accommodate her newly arrived friend.

The half-dragon herself was lounging on the roof where the sun was able to shimmer hotly across the stones. Her red tail draped through a worn crenel and curled back and forth as she waited for Fred to appear, the occasional rustle of a page turning almost lost in the light breeze that played through the surrounding trees.

[Dulcie]

It had been a long trip to where Drache's lair was located and by the time she got up there she was pretty much exhausted despite the fact that she had come by horse for as far a distance as she had been able. Pausing then near the tower where Drache had situated herself she stretched and removed her hat so that she could wipe the sweat away from her brow. There was bound to be a better way of getting here.

She looked up at Drache then and waved one hand in her direction

"You certainly picked somewhere that no one else would bother you at! It's quite the trip up here." Not that she was complaining really, Fred was grateful for the work and the half dragon paid particularly well. She'd make her way towards the tower next, shouting up to Drache.

"Should I come up there or are you coming down here?"

[Drache]

It wasn't any particular arcane sense that warned the half-dragon when Fred was close. It would take a long time to build up a web of magical alarms and protections around what was now her territory. She didn't smell her or hear her until the human was fairly close, but the dragonkin was very observant. A fox streaked by the base of her tower, followed a moment later by a trio of deer, all heading in the same direction, and Drache knew they had been disturbed by a fleshling. It only made sense that the one who appeared would be the one she invited, the one she was expecting. She closed her book and magicked it away.

Even as Fred greeted her, red and gold scales flashed in the light as Drache rose to her feet. She walked brazenly off the edge of the roof and suicide-dropped, her wings only snapping out at the last second to break her fall.

"I do relish my privacccy. But I gave you enough to buy a horssse," she retorted defensively, having thought she'd eliminated Fred's need to overexert herself just to make her way up to the lair. She sniffed the air lightly. "Did you lose it?" It seemed unlikely. Fred appeared to be one of the kinds of humans that could take care of themselves. "I didn't mean for the journey up here to be ssso tiresssome for you."

The half-dragon may have been miserly and overly-concerned about her coin, but she offered those who agreed to work for her a fair amount of respect along with payment.

[Dulcie]

"I'm not a very good rider." She admitted, a little sheepishly then as she looked up at the half dragon. "I did alright most of the way over but when things started getting steep I couldn't get it to do what I wanted, I had to leave it down below." She motioned further down towards where the land was more flat. "Maybe I should get lessons..." She lamented a little, although she had a distinct memory of why she had never learned to ride very well.

She watched the way Drache dropped off the roof, her green eyed gaze wide in amazement. "Must be nice to be able to do that. I'll be alright in a few moments though, just need to rest a bit and then you can show me what you'd like me to do. I've travelled alot further than I did today just to get to Myrkenwood and I made it all the way there on foot or hitching a ride when I could. Tough to travel when you haven't got the money. Not that it's so much of a concern now. Miss Dulcie at the tavern's hired me to fix her bar too so I've got plenty of work now to keep me over for awhile."

Fred was a talented rambler it seemed, one sentence just bleeding into the next as she looked over at the stone building. "I can't do stonework though. Have you found a mason? I'd sure like to learn though.. maybe I could watch while I'm doing my work." And then as if realizing that she was rambling she'd turn her gaze back towards Drache and just grin.

"So, what's on your mind then?"

[Drache]

Drache's slightly narrowed eyes widened with understanding. "Ahh. I sseee. Forgive me, I came from a placcce where humans who couldn't ride horssses were extremely rare. I'm not a very good rider either. The animals ssseem to know I wouldn't hesitate to eat them if I was hungry." She grinned fangishly, only partly joking.

She shrugged her wings slightly at the mention of lessons. This was one skill she would never have. "There is a deer trail I can show you that might make the journey easier for you next time if you like?"

As Fred rambled, Drache watched her mutely with those pupils that slowly expanded and contracted again, almost randomly.

"I have not. A friend of mine, her name is Kira, recccently arrived here and can do sssome ssstone-work, but though her work will sssufficcce it will not be very pretty." Clearly the half-dragon wanted more out of the repairs. "I was looking for the human named Dominik who is a ssstone-massson, but I have not been able to find him."

She gestured towards the neglected tower, glad to be getting started. "There is much to be done. The windows all need replacccing and much of the wood is in ruins. Mossst of the furniture has been dessstroyed. It can all be cleared out as I intend to purchassse more. It needs new doors, sssome of the ssstairs are rotted, and many of the metal fixtures are russsted. It'sss not all carpentry ssso please tell me if I need to find another ssspecialissst. I do have sssome tools inssside but whatever elssse you need I will pay you to buy. However, I will want to know where the sssupplies come from. If you need others to help with the work, hire them."

Drache apparently wanted this done right, but done quickly, and the only resource at her disposal was her hoard and Fred's expertise. It wasn't a position she fancied.

"I have cool water and food for you too. I will be ssstaying down there, ssso if you need me you can come inssside, but only to the firssst chamber. Or you can call from the entranccce, I should be able to hear you." She lifted a wingtip and pointed it at the dark stoney rift in the rock face behind the tower.

"When thisss building is done, I am thinking of having a sssmall ssstable built next to it, and there will alssso be worrrk to be done down below." She eyed the human speculatively. It was rumoured that Fred was always on the look-out for work, but she couldn't help but wonder that this project might prove a bit too daunting.

[Dulcie]

"Would you really eat a horse?" She asked curiously, suddenly distracted from her whole range of questions and thinking by that one little fact. She basically regarded Drache as a human with scales and wings after all and that little joke had gotten her thinking.

"Oh, I think I met Kira... I think anyhow. You know how awfully hard it is to keep track of people around here. Almost impossible. I think there's been at least five new people show up at the Dagger every night" It was an exaggeration of course, something that Fred could be prone to if she let herself.

She would finally stop talking long enough to listen to Drache's requests then and would nod a little bit at one thing after the other, taking in the bit of details that she was given about the place.

"Alright, well I can take care of the windows for you after they're made of course. I can't work with glass or metal or stone, but I can put in just about anything that fits into a wooden frame and doors and windows fit that description. I can find some folks in town who I'm sure make both of those things. I can fix the steps, that shouldn't take me much work so long as you've got some wood and supplies around here. I'd probably actually like to do that first so all your other workers can get up and down safely. And don't you worry about all the loads of other work that's lined up. I'm happy to be kept in business for as long as you need." It was a good enough reason to stick around Myrkenwood after all and she was just happy to have a place to stay with food in her belly and good people around. She enjoyed the friends she had made after all.

"But if you do happen to find another Carpenter it'd sure be a help, we could get the work done twice as quickly then. I'll do my best though to get things started for you and get what's neeeded done as quick as I can though. Hey.. speaking of other folks, what did you mean by needing to know where the supplies come from? Do you mean like the wood and such 'cuz I know some good lads that work on the west edge of the woods and they're really handy for hauling about the wood that I need to make things work. Would you be alright with them coming up here?"

[Drache]

The half-dragon looked surprised by the question and her expression grew somewhat shifty. "Yesss, I would. I have. But I try to avoid horssses that belong to sssomeone..." Her tail writhed uneasily behind her. She chuffed, a sort of growling cough, and moved on.

"Kira is easy to missss, until she opens her mouth. Horrible acccent."

She fell silent, listening carefully, her horned head nodding slowly. She paced a little bit in thought. She was pleased with Fred's plans. But she grew agitated again at the handywoman's question.

"I like to know who I am dealing with, even when it'sss indirectly." Inviting people to her lair was a touchy subject. She could befriend someone and still take a decade to let them anywhere near her home. "If they are willing to work for a....sssomeone like me, I will defer to you to ssselect them to help. But none are allowed inssside the cavern without my expresss permission."

Fair warning given with a stern tone and an even firmer flash of her stare implied unsavoury consequences for someone who ignored this caveat. She may have some humanlike traits, but she was still not human. She turned to escort Fred towards the building to show her the motley collection of tools she had manage to accumulate, as well as the food and drink she'd prepared to see the human through the work. It was simple smoked meat and boiled eggs. The half-breed didn't have a lot of imagination when it came to food.

[Dulcie]

"Yech.. well.. maybe yech. Probably tastes like cow or deer I guess, but still." She shrugged her shoulders, not wanting to think about eating horses, instead tending to the more pressing matters at hand.

"Oh I'm sure there won't be a problem with the guys, they'd just be helping to haul the wood up here. But I'll make sure that I tell 'em not to go in your things." She didn't miss the tone however and she'd follow off after Drache to go see to the things that the dragon had laid out for her to work with. The tools looked right and the materials seemed quality enough and as she looked over them and the food she'd offer Drache a good natured smile.

"Should be enough to get me started! I'll let you know when I'm through for the day. I'm thinking it might take awhile though... stairs should be all finished up by the end of the week, doors will be about another. Windows depend on how quickly I can find someone in town who can make the glass, but I can get the frames started. Sound good?"

[Drache]

The half-dragon didn't seem keen on discussing the taste of horse at the moment. It didn't taste like cow or deer. It tasted like -horse-. But that was neither here nor there.

She simple nodded when it came to the men Fred might hire to assist. She might not like not having the luxury of time to select each person individually, but there wasn't much she could do about it now. Throwing a temper tantrum wouldn't help.

Watching silently as Fred made her appraisal, the dragoness also pointed out the food and water she had provided. Having known too many dragons who treated their servants and even hired help with contempt and abuse, she made it a point to treat hers well. That didn't mean she was overly pleasant or easy to work for, but if something didn't go her way people generally didn't end up unpaid for their work, or even dead.

"That sssounds good. I will inssspect your work at the end of the day but other than that I will jussst leave you to it." And with that, she turned and prowled across the grass to the fissure in the cliff face and disappeared into the darkness.

[Dulcie]

"Sure thing!" Fred said with a smile to the dragonness, "and thanks for the food and drink by the way! Looks better than some of the stuff I get.. last job didn't have much more than porridge to feed us." She'd say, chattering away as she made her way from the Dragon-lady to the building that she had agreed to help put into better repair. She was well supplied and eager to work and it wouldn't be long before Drache would hear the sounds of wood being sawed and hammers being pounded. Even as hard a worker as she was Fred seemed to be pleasant about things and had apparently no qualms with working by herself. Every now and then her little songs would pause and be replaced by grunts or groans from heavy lifting but soon as she had things where she wanted them she'd start back up again. The young woman's day would progress in that manner with Fred pausing a few times to take part in the food and the drink.

She had arrived later in the morning however and she had no intentions of leaving without a full day in on the job and so as daylight began to fade into twilight Fred would be working to finish up the stair that she was working on. As the warmth of the days glow began to fade however there was a stirring in the area, something dark and unsettling that nagged at one's very soul. Fred herself was beginning to feel it, that prickle of someone watching and the hairs on the back of her neck raising a little.

"Is someone there?" She'd call out to the empty room, her hand rubbing at the back of her neck as she strained to see in the dim light. There was nothing of course, but it didn't stop her from feeling ill at ease.

There was no knowing what might be lurking in the Dragon's cave however. Were there the skeletons of dead creatures that would be stirring ever so slightly or perhaps just that nagging feeling that something wasn't right. Whatever the case, the dead in this area were slowly beginning to feel that twitch of life.

[Drache]

The half-dragon had disappeared much earlier in the day, going off to hunt or prowl the underground or flirt pointlessly with the attractive Bard or wander through the marketplace making acquaintances with shoppers and shop-keeps alike, or whatever it was that impulsive fire-drakes got up to. She seemed satisfied with Fred for now, and that had ended their discussion.

Unfortunately for the industrious carpenter, the inside of the building was a wreck. Not only did she have to contend with the slowly mouldering damage from the last confrontation that had happened here, but there was also a considerable amount of detritus and debris from where the surrounding forest had crept in to reclaim the space. This mostly consisted of dirt and dead leaves that had blown in the open doors and windows, but there were also signs of animals. Rodent droppings and nesting sites in much of the obliterated furniture. Snake sheds and insect wings and in one corner, a larger nest that once housed a kindle of some sort of large cats. On the second story, it seemed that an owl had been making good use of the convenient roosting and had littered the floor with a season's worth of pellets.

During the day, as Fred commenced her hammering and banging and sawing, the horned raptor departed snootily through a window and left behind the meal it had captured at dawn. The partially disemboweled squirrel lay limply on the floor for many hours until the light faded from the sky once more. And then, the cloudy shriveling eyes blinked.

[Dulcie]

For the most part the remains of what had lived in the tower had been removed earlier on in the day and Fred had gotten started with the work that needed to be done on the stairs. It wasn't perfectly cleaned out however, but at least the first floor was passable and there weren't bits of animal life lurking in every corner.

She was almost done for the day and had put away most of her tools, that nagging creepy feeling still lingering on the back of her neck. She didn't want to stay much longer, but she really needed to know what the state of the second story was if she was going to get to work on it in the next couple of days. Testing the state of the current stairs she made her way up and spotted the body of the half eaten squirrel laying on the ground, her nose wrinkling up a little. That thing would have to be disposed of after all and there was no time like the present. Pinching her nose closed with one hand and reaching for the squirrel with the other she'd suddenly see the thing's deathly frozen eyes blink at her, not just once but twice, the carpenter gasping and stepping back a few feet in fright.

It was unfortunate for Fred that she hadn't remained where she was as those last few steps brought her back to the stairs and right on top of one of those rotten bits of steps that gave way beneath her feet. Fred found herself tumbling down the stairs in a whirl of wood and stone until she came to the bottom, her head hitting the floor with a sharp thud as her conciousness gave way to the darkness.

In the midst of the darkness that filled her unconcious mind Fred found herself in the midst of a dream, or was it a memory? A picture of her as a very little girl, perhaps five or six years old with her hair in pigtails, wearing a little pink dress as she ran about the yard. Madame Beatrix was there as was her Governess and the other orphan girls and boys that were enjoying their free time in the yard. In the distance she thought she could see a couple of people watching her, too far away for her to see when the little girl that she was became distracted by a sparrow on the ground, fallen after it had flewn against one of the windows of the orphanage. The little girl went to touch the bird in sympathy, sorry for it's loss of life when suddenly those dead eyes were blinking and Fred's dream faded away again to darkness.

[Drache]

The moonlight shafting into the tower darkened as a sinuous form entered the doorway. It moved stealthily, though the silence was broken by a faint sniffing and the sound of scales and leathery wings shifting. Wicked talons came to a stop near Fred's recumbent form. Drache bent down, hot clawed fingertips brushing the carpenter's sternum before darting up to caress her jugular. The dragoness manipulated the body gently, lifting Fred's head to check the back of her skull. And then she picked her up off the floor and carried her away.

When Fred awoke later on she would find herself looking up at the high ceiling of a natural stone cavern. It glittered strangely, firelight from a magical torches playing off a sea of gold that flowed out from where she had been lain. But it wasn't shifting, clinking coins directly beneath her, but a pallet of luxuriant animal furs, primarily the gray and white of wolf and the inky black of some kind of feline. They smelled like the animals they had once been, but they also held the faint scent of Drache herself: hot and slightly acrid.

In fact, the whole cavern was warm and dry. Fred had been delivered into Drache's inner sanctum, to her bed in the center of the treasure cavern next to a four-foot black plinth in the middle of the split-level floor. The dragoness herself didn't appear to be present. Fred's boots had been removed and sat nearby. Inside one was a flask with plain water, and inside the other was a golden bell with a blackwood handle.

[Dulcie]

The carpenter was breathing thankfully and aside from a good collection of bruises and scrapes she seemed to otherwise be unharmed, her pulse was strong and no blood came away on the Dragon's hands when she checked the back of her skull. Still, the young woman was asleep for some time and when she did come around she found herself completely disoriented.

Initially it didn't even occur to her that she could be in the dragon's cave, still reeling from the strange dream that felt so completely familiar and yet so very long ago that she wasn't really sure if it had ever truly been real. As she sat up from the pile of furs she'd groan, wincing slightly as her joints ached with the bruises and her head reeled from the throbbing headache that she suddenly realized that she had. She tried not to question her environment too much, her hands searching forward for her boots, finding the one with the flask of water first that she sniffed at and then eagerly drank down before finding the bell in the other.

The bell was giving much more attention than the flask had been and she looked at it curiously for a moment and then back over her environment, slowly letting it come back to her that she had been working in Drache's tower. Perhaps this was the other woman's cave after all and this bell had been left to get her attention. Frowning at it slightly and covering the ear that throbbed the most with her one hand she would ring it gently, wincing again as the mere sound of it made her head hurt more.

[Drache]

The clear ring of the little bell sang out over the ocean of treasure. But even when the light reverberations ceased, the sound carried on, washing over the tables of trinkets and chests of gems, the gilt armour and filigreed weapons and intricate tapestries and the silent black piano. It wasn't very loud at all, but it had an eerie quality to it that made it seem like the sound wasn't traveling just through the air. The torches along the walls doused somewhat at the sound, but quickly flickered back to life, and the sound slowly faded away.

And still it was many long minutes before the dragoness appeared, emerging from one of the dark fissures on one wall, her talons jingling pleasantly over her wealth. She carried something in one of her hands, something wrapped in a piece of leather deerhide and smoked more than the reptile's nostrils.

"Fred," she greeted with some relief, "are you well? Tell me what happened to you? Were you attacked?" Her expression was full of concern as she came closer and crouched down, her wings spreading almost to mantle the human as she reached out a claw to touch Fred's shoulder.