Post by The Smith on Jun 30, 2009 17:23:11 GMT -5
The sun rose to the sound of hammers and falling stone. Men had been working dawn to dusk to bring down Riverrun one wall at a time. It had been decided, after much discussion and arguing, that the castle should be taken down to its foundation and completely rebuilt. The damage from the Other’s assault had been extensive, leaving all but a single tower in ruin and the heart tree intact.
Work had begun tearing down the ruin of the upper bailey. All of the wooden structure had been burned down or used for firewood long ago, leaving only the stone skeletons behind. Oswell walked among the workers in the upper bailey, watching as rock was piled up and carted away to be stored for later use. The construction would take over a year to complete, and he intended to get to work right away.
Masons were even now making progress on the west wall. Now that the drawbridge had been restored work was moving much smoother than it had while they still relied upon the barges back and forth from castle to riverbank. Oswell walked to the head mason, a large man in his early thirties who commanded an air of authority over those who worked under him.
“Master Renly, I see things seem to be coming along nicely,” Oswell says as he walks over.
The man turns at the sound of his name and grins. “Aye my lord. After we cleared all the rubble away from the wall and fixed the drawbridge, fixing the west wall became much easier.”
“I am glad to hear it. Do you mind if I work with you awhile? I have no other lordly tasks to be doing and it seems every helping hand could be used. I had some ideas as well. I do not mean for my keep to fall again. It will take longer, but I want the outer walls to be at least two layers thick, and murder holes in between each layer. I want them to think twice before storming our walls.”
Renly smiles, “Fine ideas my lord, I shall give the workers your plans right away. And I would be glad to have you. Now this is what we will do…”
Oswell spends the rest of his day working closely with the masons, exchanging, breaking stone off and laying mortar, hauling rock and putting up scaffolding.
On the other side of the moat Ser Cleos trains small groups of men with the sword and shield. Lord Tully had deemed it important to keep the fighting men ready should anyone choose to attack. He had them men training in pairs, practicing their thrusts and blocks.
Cleos walked among the men, critiquing their stances and forms where appropriate, never offering a word of praise. At midday they break for a meal and those on guard duty and those training switch places. Training continues till the sun goes down, switching between the sword, spear, and bow.
After the sun set Cleos send the men off to their tents to eat and rest. Cleos himself went off in search of Lord Tully.
“My lord, it seems you have spent the day hard at work. You are covered in dust and cuts. We have workers to build your castle for you, you know.”
Oswell laughs and shrugs, “Why should I sit idle while others build for me what will be my own to rule over? The Gods gave me strength for a reason; it does not always have to be used to take life away. And besides, a hard days work does the body good…and leaves you with a mighty appetite I should say. Come over and share in my meal. No doubt you have been working as hard as I.”
The two old friends share in a meal of deer and carrot stew.
Connor Rivers wiped the sweat from his brow, before going back to work. He had been working all morning with little more than a small water break. Under the careful eye of the masons Connor had been carting stone al morning from the fallen towers to be remolded and cut.
He grinned to himself when he saw Lord Tully working alongside the common men. There were none quite like him and Connor was glad to have a man like him commanding. After the midday meal Connor was assigned to the west wall around the main gate. Lord Tully had ordered a double wall with murder holes in between. As Connor laid the mortar and stone slabs down he goes over new ideas he has thought of.
During the course of the first week or so of work Connor and those he works with work hard to clear away the broken walls and towers, no small task. He cheers with the completion of the drawbridge, an achievement that allowed them to haul stone by wagon much easier than by boat. As he worked he gained experience in a multitude of tasks from laying and shaping stone to reinforcing the foundation of the castle.
Results:
Oswell Tully advances to Beginner Craftsman (Stonemasonry)
Oswell Tully advances to Master Leadership
Cleos Whent advances to Expert Leadership
*Connor Rivers advances to Beginner Stewardship
*Connor Rivers advances to Apprentice Craftsman (Stonemasonry)
Work had begun tearing down the ruin of the upper bailey. All of the wooden structure had been burned down or used for firewood long ago, leaving only the stone skeletons behind. Oswell walked among the workers in the upper bailey, watching as rock was piled up and carted away to be stored for later use. The construction would take over a year to complete, and he intended to get to work right away.
Masons were even now making progress on the west wall. Now that the drawbridge had been restored work was moving much smoother than it had while they still relied upon the barges back and forth from castle to riverbank. Oswell walked to the head mason, a large man in his early thirties who commanded an air of authority over those who worked under him.
“Master Renly, I see things seem to be coming along nicely,” Oswell says as he walks over.
The man turns at the sound of his name and grins. “Aye my lord. After we cleared all the rubble away from the wall and fixed the drawbridge, fixing the west wall became much easier.”
“I am glad to hear it. Do you mind if I work with you awhile? I have no other lordly tasks to be doing and it seems every helping hand could be used. I had some ideas as well. I do not mean for my keep to fall again. It will take longer, but I want the outer walls to be at least two layers thick, and murder holes in between each layer. I want them to think twice before storming our walls.”
Renly smiles, “Fine ideas my lord, I shall give the workers your plans right away. And I would be glad to have you. Now this is what we will do…”
Oswell spends the rest of his day working closely with the masons, exchanging, breaking stone off and laying mortar, hauling rock and putting up scaffolding.
On the other side of the moat Ser Cleos trains small groups of men with the sword and shield. Lord Tully had deemed it important to keep the fighting men ready should anyone choose to attack. He had them men training in pairs, practicing their thrusts and blocks.
Cleos walked among the men, critiquing their stances and forms where appropriate, never offering a word of praise. At midday they break for a meal and those on guard duty and those training switch places. Training continues till the sun goes down, switching between the sword, spear, and bow.
After the sun set Cleos send the men off to their tents to eat and rest. Cleos himself went off in search of Lord Tully.
“My lord, it seems you have spent the day hard at work. You are covered in dust and cuts. We have workers to build your castle for you, you know.”
Oswell laughs and shrugs, “Why should I sit idle while others build for me what will be my own to rule over? The Gods gave me strength for a reason; it does not always have to be used to take life away. And besides, a hard days work does the body good…and leaves you with a mighty appetite I should say. Come over and share in my meal. No doubt you have been working as hard as I.”
The two old friends share in a meal of deer and carrot stew.
Connor Rivers wiped the sweat from his brow, before going back to work. He had been working all morning with little more than a small water break. Under the careful eye of the masons Connor had been carting stone al morning from the fallen towers to be remolded and cut.
He grinned to himself when he saw Lord Tully working alongside the common men. There were none quite like him and Connor was glad to have a man like him commanding. After the midday meal Connor was assigned to the west wall around the main gate. Lord Tully had ordered a double wall with murder holes in between. As Connor laid the mortar and stone slabs down he goes over new ideas he has thought of.
During the course of the first week or so of work Connor and those he works with work hard to clear away the broken walls and towers, no small task. He cheers with the completion of the drawbridge, an achievement that allowed them to haul stone by wagon much easier than by boat. As he worked he gained experience in a multitude of tasks from laying and shaping stone to reinforcing the foundation of the castle.
Results:
Oswell Tully advances to Beginner Craftsman (Stonemasonry)
Oswell Tully advances to Master Leadership
Cleos Whent advances to Expert Leadership
*Connor Rivers advances to Beginner Stewardship
*Connor Rivers advances to Apprentice Craftsman (Stonemasonry)