To The Island!

[OGRE MAGE]

"Not sure where they come from. Folks said them piles just started showing up here recently. Nobody knows who brung em. Were'a using em for a foundation fer a new shed, since the soil round here aint nuthin but soft sand. But I seen other folks using em fer all sorts a other things too."

[hedgeknight]

His curiosity thoroughly piqued, Fitz walks to where the man says the rocks are and takes a closer look at them.

[OGRE MAGE]

Following the mans pointing, Fitz walks northwest towards the loggers trail.

Moving up the trail a short distance, he follows another common man who he saw darting into the jungle on a well worn path off the western side of the trail, to what looks like the foundation of a huge future structure. There are a few piles of the same rough black rocks lying here and there. The man he followed grabs up two small hunks of the stuff and starts back towards town. "Well, hey there stranger. Dont suppose you got a wheelbarrow handy, eh friend?"

I am in the process of updating the Beachtown map right now and will post it as soon as Im done, but the structure is found on the left side of the trail on this old map, a very short distance up the trail.
viewtopic.php?f=446&t=6346#p293954

[Darklin2]

OOC- Don't forget Darklins big pavilian tent on the top row next to the Hi-Lo inline with the others.

[hedgeknight]

Fitz looks around when the man speaks to him. "Er, um, no I'm afraid not. Say, where are you taking those stones? What are you using them for? If you don't mind me asking..."

[OGRE MAGE]

The human looks down at Fitz before continuing on his way.

“Actually, I ain’t really sure yet. But since everyone is grabbin em up, I wanted ta snag a few fer myself afor they’s all gone.”

He looks around at the nearby foundations already under construction. “It ain’t stealing if nobody’s laid claim to em. An none a us has ever seen anyone round here.”

[hedgeknight]

Fitz shrugs and walks over to the stones.
Not really what to look for, he picks a stone he can carry, lifts it, and lugs it back toward the leaning tower.

[OGRE MAGE]

Fitz finds a manageable sized stone to lug back to the tower. Along his way he passes a human woman and her child who appear to be headed back for more of the stones themselves. As they pass, the woman says hello.

"Hey there, friend! What are you planning on using your rocks for?"

[hedgeknight]

Fitz chuckles and says, "I honestly have no clue, dear lady. I saw others grabbing rocks and decided I didn't want to be left out, so figured I would get in on the action. I've new to town, having been tasked by Captain Quark to see what I could do about the leaning tower. Say, you wouldn't happen to know someone of good rapport who is a mason, would you?"

[OGRE MAGE]

The woman stares dumbly for a moment at the reply but eventually shrugs and answers.

“Why, that’s a bit strange, don’t you think. Doing something just because everyone else is doing it. If everyone suddenly ran into the jungle to collect dry leaves to wipe with, would you blindly follow suit?” sorry, little attempt at some topical humor there

The woman thinks for a moment. “I don’t know any stone masons who live here, but I have heard that dwarves are excellent stonecrafters. You see that ship out there?” She points to the ugly sailing vessel anchored off shore. “Well just a few days ago, a whole buncha dwarves came ashore and headed straight into the jungle there. Right up this trail. I also hear that they have been coming around these parts at night when nobody’s around. Maybe one a them could help you with that awful tower?”

[hedgeknight]

"Awful tower? Pray tell me, good lady, how did the tower get such a reputation? I was just tasked by Captain Quark to see if I could keep it from falling into the sea."

[OGRE MAGE]

”Really? Well, that is good news. I wouldn’t mind seeing it go completely, but if you could at least fix it up, it might not be such an eyesore. That ugly thing has been here since day one. Built with slimy bilge stones, if what I heard was true. The weird accountant who lives in there never comes outside. It’s just weird is all.”

“Are you planning on using these black rocks to shore it up? That seems like a lotta work for one person. Even if you were a stoneworker.”

[hedgeknight]

Fitz shrugs.
"I really don't know what I'm doing. I had a companion on the ship over and he's up and disappeared. I'm gonna chuck this rock under the tower and head up to the treehouse tavern. I think he may be up there. We need to work some things out."
Fitz smiles and walks off, heading toward the tower. He whistles as he goes and nods his head to anyone who crosses his path. Once at the tower, he yells, "I'm back!" and then drops the black rock off at the door.
"I'm heading into town to find my friend. Shouldn't be gone too long."

[OGRE MAGE]

Fitz hears a “nice to meet you” as he leaves the area of the black rocks and heads back into town. There is no answer at the tower door where he deposits his first stone, so he heads in the direction of the tavern next.

As he approaches the ladder that leads up into what is appropriately called the Treehouse Tavern, he sees the arse end of Drakkar suddenly hop aboard the top of it and begin waddling his way down its rickety rungs.

[hedgeknight]

Fitz stands back out of the way and when Drakkar gets about three feet off the ground, Fitz says, in a rather loud voice, "FOUND YOU!"
He thinks is quite funny and haves a chuckle about it, grinning and snickering, trying to catch his breath.

When composed, he asks, "Friend Dwarf, where did you get off to? I thought we were headed to the old rickety tower."Fitz jerks his thumb in the direction of the leaning power.

[OGRE MAGE]

The burly dwarf almost falls from the ladder when Fitz catches him by surprise. "Dumathoin's drawres, Fitzenbell!!! Ye nearly burst me heart, friend."

Once Drakkar has a moment to settle his nerves, he answers the gnome.

"This place is a dump. This aint no town. Its barely more than a few hovels. Ta hells with that blasted tower! Way too much work fer the two of us. We'd be better off trying to find us a quick way back off this sandy rock, instead! Why I've half a mind ta go straight back to Quark and demand free passage back to civilization again. Theses folks here aint never gonna make a decent go of it here."

He looks up the laddr again. "At least they gots a tavern here. I gotta say, the rum aint bad." He burps up a noxious cloud scented heavily with alcohol.

[hedgeknight]

Frowning, Fitz waves the air in front of him and replies, "So, we ain't gonna help Quark with the tower? I thought we agreed to do that. Besides, I think if we did, a lot of folk here would appreciate it. I've go the vibe that the tower is an eyesore and they'd just as soon it fall into the bay. And...I heard the other dwarves here are bungholes who have given decent dwarves...like you...a bad name. Can't hurt to at least look at it."
Fitz turns back toward the tower, eyebrows raised, hoping Drakkar will follow.

[OGRE MAGE]

Drakkar sighs heavily. "Yer right of course. When a Deepcrag says he's gonna do something, he does it. Lets go have a look together an see what can be done."

Searching around the nearby structure, the local theory that this thing could fall over any time seems pretty accurate. Drakkar looks the thing over for a while and finally comments.

"It'll be a lot of work, but we could rebuild this thing from the top down. The stones up there aint much smaller than the ones around the base, so we could reconstruct while we destruct, follow? We would need to move it up off this loose sand a good distance, but the job could be done. I wonder where this hunk'a black ore here came from."

[hedgeknight]

"Oh, that rock there? I found it over in the woods. There was a line if folks entering the woods and exiting with these black rocks. Don't know what they are or where they came from, but, like my Grandmammy Roseblossom used to say, 'Better get in while the gettin's good!'
"So...I went and helped myself to a rock." Fitz shrugs as if it was just the common sense thing to do.

"If I'm hearing you right, we're gonna need some help. Which means we are gonna have to pay for some help. We ain't got any gold yet. Wonder if Quark would foot us a loan?"

[OGRE MAGE]

Drakkar looks sideways at Fitz, but doesn’t question his gnomish logic, knowing their race to be benevolently strange in the best of times.

“Aye! Let’s tell the good Cap’n we’ll do the job fer 1000 gold coins, an see what he’d say ta that. If we can get some o’ that paid up front, we shouldn’t have any trouble hiring a few o’ these folk round ere ta help us. What do ye think o’ that, friend.”

The heavily geared dwarf wipes the amassing sweat from his brow and looks around the area. “We’d need ta get it up away from shore a good distance, so this leaning don’t happen again. We’d likely need to dig a foundation fer it too. Maybe these black rocks ye found would work well fer base stones?”

“Have ye scoped out an area to set this project up yet, er should we do that now?”