Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » Where's the time?

(Who, Chessy? Yeah, me too xD)

(May I join too, or did this RP stop, judging by how long it's been since the last reply?)

(Eh, go ahead. Seems fine by me)

(Ok, grand!)

Ahab, a black furred, 4-feet tall ratfolk with a pouch covered leatherwest, skitters along the main road upright, using one claw to pick at something inbetween his teeth while glancing through tinted goggles at the shops he passes. Ignoring the few odd looks from other shoppers and townspeople, Ahab stops in his tracks when he sees a clock shop, and reaches around to dig around in his satchel, producing a worn down, leather bound book. Stopping his dental care to flip through the pages, the rat mutters to himself in a croaky voice. "Huh, doesn't say anything about gears..." Ahab then snaps the book shut, sticks it back in his satchel, and adjusts the many vials and flasks he has on his belts and vest before moving up to the front door. "Hello? I'm guessing you're open?" he asks as he cracks the door open, adressing the two people already inside. He darts his eyes around and twitches his ears at all the watches and their ticking, looking mildly amazed by all the clockwork.

(Unsure of whether or not to wait for voltaic to respond, will post anyway.)

He broke the surface, taking a deep gasp of air and placing the copper onto the ship causing it to sink slightly lower into the water. "God, deeper than I expected." He sat there in the water catching his breath before diving back down to the shack. Twice more he returned to the surface to place copper sheets onto the dinghy, each time the ship sank lower until it was almost below the surface. With half the copper now on the boat he began to push it back to the surface. "Why are these things under water anyway?"

(I'm so sorry that I haven't replied, I've been really sick and haven't gotten the time to! But I feel much better now so I'll be more active ^^)

Riven smiled as Chesire came with his request. "Ah yes, bring it over here" she said and walked over to the counter. She turned the lamp on and held her hand out to receive the pocket-watch. Quite a lot of people had been coming inn to get their watches fixed, and very few had clocks to keep at home now. It made Riven a bit sad, knowing that it might be the start of her business as a clocksmith to go down. She couldn't survive on just fixing pocket-watches for the rest of her life, well at least she didn't want to.
Before looking at Chesire's clock, she turned her head to the window and looked upon the lake to see if she spotted Revil. She could see movement in the water and wanted to go and check on him, but she had a feeling that he had everything under control. She then brought her eyes down at the pocket-watch and was about to examine it, but the doorbell jingled and a visitor appeared through the door. Riven looked up and spotted a rat-like man walking inn, asking if it was open.
"Yes it is open, sir!" Riven said with a big smile and stood up for him. She gave him a little nod as greeting and watched as he made his way through the shop. She couldn't quite figure out what kind of person he was, but the small bottles on his belt made him a interesting one in Riven's eyes.
"What can I do for you today, sir?" she asked, sitting back down on her chair.

(Hey, no worries! You gotta take care of yourself from time to time.)

Anab shakes his head as he gets an answer, snapping out of his minour amazement before moving closer to the counter. "Well, I was hoping you could tell me about, oh seriously?". Ahab started glaring at the edge of the counter during his small outburst, crossing his arms in defiance. Apparently being four feet means you're about eye level with shop tables. "Anyway, I need something I can time, down to the second. I can't trust fuses on my next job. On the other hand..." Ahab's two small, four fingered hands start rummaging through his satchel, pulling out a leather covered book and flipping to a blank page near the end. "... It might be better for me if I just learned making the thing myself. That way I can just keep making... Timers? Yeah, let's call them timers." Ahab produces a small, crudely made quill and scribbles something at the top of the page, before looking back up at the shop keeper, standing there for a moment. "Oh, I'm Ahab, by the by." The crude quill is placed between pages as Ahab slightly struggles to reach over the counter for a handshake. Phew, this guy sure knows how to talk an ear off.

He was headed back with the ship after unloading each plate one by one. With the pile now on the bank Revil proceeded to mimic the actions he had just taken previously. Slowly crawling back through the lake he takes a glanse over at the shop again. Now he had reached it once more and dived down, this time bringing them up one by one instead of two to save some breath on each trip down. One more to go, 11 others packed onto the ship or back on land, he stayed up above the water for a bit catching his breath. He took the plunge for what he thought would be the last time but, alas, it seemed to be quite the contrary apon inspection of this last plate. It was stuck. Stuck beneath a rock that had some how made its way into the shed. It seemed like there'd be no way to pull it out and he was running out of air fast.

(Hi, I'm terribly sorry if I haven't written in ages. I've been a bit sick too and we had guests)

He looked at her with a polite smile, and followed her to the counter. He then handed her the pocket-watch. He really hoped she could fix it, but why shouldn't she be able to? She was the best in town at things like this. A shame than not more people came to her shop, the simple art of the clocks was amazing. He was about to say something, when someone walked through the door. He raised his eyebrow in surprise. He then merely watched as the rat-like man talked with Riven about timers. It was a bit unsettling. "Hi there, uhm, Ahab, if you don't mind me asking... what's it for?" Chessy looked at him quite curiously. He had to admit it was a quite interesting person or creature, what's the right phrase? Chessy was used to seeing mysterious and strange creatures, like inanimate objects having the ability to talk.

(No problem at all!)

Ahab's ears twitch and turns the rat's attention to the other customer, taking a moment to register both him and the question. The well worn book in Ahab's hand is gently snapped shut with the quill peeking out between the pages as a bookmark, and Ahab's outreaching, clawed hand falls to his side as he properly turns to face the inquisitive man, even leaning in and sniffing lightly. Then Ahab snaps back upright with a wary glare at the cat scented man, taking a small step backwards before answering "Well, it's for this job I've picked up. A couple of people want some old river dammed up by the next day, and I gotta make sure the explosives go off reliably." Ahab's tone of voice seems somewhat defensive, even threatening if you don't paticularly feel like exploding. One of Ahab's hands reaches up to a vertical line of three pouches on his front, tapping his claws slowly against the buttons keeping the pouches shut, all while the rat's eyes stay narrowed. "Can't have everything blow up in my face, after all."

Chessy was merely curious, as running around with ingredients for explosives is both dangerous and suspicious. He raises his eyebrows, as the rat-like man named Ahab, leans in and starts sniffing slightly, then snaps back and narrows his eyes at him. Chessy starts tapping the counter with his fingers, but doesn't notice. Why is this man acting so strangely and slightly hostile towards him? "Oh, that's quite understandable," he replies, not taking his eyes off him. That man is really strange. Chessy then turns to face Riven, looking slightly apologizing. "Last time I was here I saw a very beautiful piece of clockwork. A tall one. It would fit nicely in my shop. Do you still have it?" He's really curious, but either way, he would like to get out of this uncomfortable situation. "I'll go take a look at it, and then you two can talk undisturbed." He points to both of them.

By this time almost all of his air reserve had been used up. One notch left and still very little movement on this rock. 'Nononono, not now! I'm so close!' Not even with a bit of leverage from an old rusty rake floating off to the side was enough to get this rock to move. He had enough. Revil swam back up to the surface with another deep gasp for air and looks at the ship. "It'll have to do for now. Craaaaap, what am I gonna tell Riven? I said it'd be done by midnight, I don't go back on my word. Maybe she's got something I can use..." With the boat slowly drifting back to shore, pushed by Revil himself, the possibilities of what coukd be done to reach this last plate ran through his mind. 'I honestly doubt a clocksmith would have anything that would help. Maybe I could make something.' He pushed the boat back apon the shore, unloaded its contents, and searched through his small sack he had thrown off to the side with his clothes looking for anything at all that might help him.

As the rat man and Cheshire started to have a little talk, Riven quietly stood up and took a few steps towards the window to look upon the lake. She could see movement but still didn't see Revil fully, and she really wanted to go and check on him. She returned to the counter and looked at Cheshire as he asked her his question about the clock. "One moment" she said with a smile and turned to Ahab.
"Yes, a timer. I have a few of those here" she stood up again and walked over to a big drawer covered in bird inspired clocks, some of them rang with a chirping sounds and others had feathers moving with the rhythm of the clock. She took a key from her belt and opened the first drawer, digging down for a moment. "Aha! Here" she said and brought out a small pocket-watch like clock in white silver and brought it with her back to the counter. It had carvings of crystal like shapes and tribal patterns, a button on the top and a small chain. She placed it on the counter and smiled. "This is a timer I made out of a old watch, I got it from a marketplace nearby and it's made of White Cave Silver and can take a few hits before it breaks. You just click the button when you wanna start and click it again when you wanna stop, and then you turn this small wheel at the back to bring it to 0 again" she said and placed her hands together as she looked at the Ahab pleasantly. He was quite a odd looking man, she had to admit, but he was interesting. "I hope this was something of the like you where looking for, as for you Cheshire" she stood up and grabbed a curtain behind him, pushing it to the side to reveal the large clock he talked about.
"You fellas take a look at your clocks, I need to go check something in the back but I'll be with you as soon as possible" she gave another kind smile and a nod before heading to the lake.

(Again, sorry! I keep getting sick and I'm living off of blueberry juice and pain killers at the moment, but I'm trying my best not to be inactive! So sorry! It's great that you keep going tho, this is starting to get quite interesting)

Ahab turns his attention back to riven and the clock, opening his book back up to the blank page before quickly scribbling down the material and making a fast sketch of it in a small area of the page, all while nodding to Riven's explanation of it. After adding the instructions in the corner of the page, Ahab snaps it back shut and stuffs it in his satchel, reaching out for the timer and giving it both a quick sniff and a small lick with the tip of his tongue. Smacking his lips a bit at the taste of the metal, Ahab pipes up with "Seems like what I need, but how expensive is white cave silver? I can't go blowing gold nuggets like it's, surface day?". Unfortunately, it seems Ahab missed Riven's last statement, looking around in confusion as he just sees an unoccupied counter, even going on tippy toes to try and see if she just hid behind the damn big thing. Needless to say, Ahab finds no success in that endeavour, and puts the timer in one of his many pouches before scrambling over the counter awkwardly, kicking and flailing slightly. Ahab eventually lands on his back on the other side, in a display of how not to vault a shop counter. The rat manages some grumbles as he gets back up, dusting himself off before striding out into the back and out to the lake with a furrowed brow.

He looks at her and waits patiently as she deals with Ahab's order of business first. His eyes then light up as he sees the clock. He walks over to it enthusiastically and studies every corner of it. "It's absolutely perfect!" He yells with excitement. "Take your time." He then replies politely, returning to face the clock, but notices the Ahab moving towards the back. Turns towards him and walks over to the counter. "Hey, she told us to stay put, didn't you hear her?" Chessy doesn't feel like he can just invade her privacy, but it's not like he hasn't been curious before. Besides, it's a rat and he's a cat. Ahab probably won't listen to Chessy no matter what he said.

(I'm sorry if my reply is a little short)

"AUGH there's nothing I can use. Not sure what I expected, though." He stood back up and tossed the bag to the side. "Looks like plan b is now in effect." He started pacing around, now, trying to think of something he could use. Maybe another large bamboo pole. No, he'd never get it underwater. Too buoyant. A large metal rod would work, but where would he find one of those? At least he still had someone to ask. Revil turned around again and started walking to the shop, unaware that Riven was just on the otherside of the door he was about to reach. "But what do I say? 'Hey, I couldn't get the last copper plate out, there's a big ass roc-'" He opened the door just in time to see Riven standing on the other side. "Oh, hey."

After dismissively waving back at the cat man and ignoring whatever he's saying, Ahab steps up behind Riven as she heads for the door out towards the lake he doesn't know about, bringing up one hand to grab and tug the tail of her coat lightly. Almost at the same time he does this, the door swings open to reveal some human ranger, which Ahab reacts at with a surprised and high pitched squeak. While the rat's brow rises as Ahab stares at the ranger, he mumbles "Did I... Walk into something here?" Ahab starts looking around and behind himself, ears turning independently to search for any other people, even sniffing the air. "Wait, why do you smell like lake?" Then Ahab glances behind the ranger, and frowns a little while letting out a quiet "oh" at the sight of the lake. The big ears on Ahab's head then finally register a hey, and out of habit, Ahab brings up his free hand to wave back and say "Hello.", without even looking at the ranger anymore, or getting that the hey was meant for Riven. Ahab seems to have taken an interest in the pile of plates by the edge of the lake, leaning a little to get a better look at them and unintentionally tugging a little more at Riven's coat.

Chessy being fairly annoyed and wanting to see what the fuzz was all avoid, suddenly appeared in the corner, a few meters from Ahab. He leaned up the wall slightly and looked at the scene in front of him, not quite understanding. He looked slightly confused at what he saw, and felt just a little bit guilty for doing this. He then spots the lake and the plates out of the corner of his eye and turns his face towards them. He then shivers and shakes his head to himself. He's not too fond of water. He looks at Revil, who is dripping on the floor and takes a step back. Who is this man talking to Riven and why is he dripping wet? He doesn't really want to interrupt them, so he doesn't say anything, but merely looks at them. He doesn't even mention how he just appeared out of thin air.

"Oh, I see you've got other customers. I could always bother you later. He looks down at Ahab curiously as he tugs at Riven's clothes and then over to Cheshire with a slight head nod. He looks back at Riven to speak. "It's just a small situation in the lake, nothing major.

(Just wanted to put out a small reply since Riven's been afk)

(Aaah this sickness is killing my social life! Send help please)

Riven looks surprised as Revil appears before her by the door, she takes a step back and sees that he's dripping wet. She hears that he has a small problem and nods, taking quick look at the lake and then at Revil as she thinks for the moment.
"Why don't you grab your stuff and your bag you set aside by the lake and come inside and I'll make some tea, you're soaked and I can't let you keep on for much longer since the weather is going to get worse. You can continue with your work tomorrow" she says with a smile and gives him a quick wink. She had noticed how he had almost finished and decided to give him the free gear no matter how much time he used. She heard Ahab speak and felt a tug in her coat, making her look down and see that he glanced at the lake and the copper plates he had been moving. She looks a bit confused to why he followed her but gives him a friendly smile as she turns around to face him.
"Was there anything you needed?" she asked, noticing that Cheshire had joined the little meet up as well. It was getting awfully crowded in such a small doorway as this one so Riven decided to move them.
"Before we continue this chatter, let's walk to the front room. I'll make some tea for everyone and we can sit down to talk, alright?" she says with a bigger smile and starts to make her way back into the shop. She loved working in a shop where the customer limit didn't reach past 4 at the most and it made it easy for her to please everyone and not keep anyone waiting. She knew maybe some of them didn't have all the time in the world to stick around, but she couldn't let her customers stand in the doorway of her backdoor and discuss business. So the front room was perfect.
The front room was a room beside the one where the entrance and the counter was and stored ever clocks. Four comfy chairs with a round table to share was placed in the middle on a big rug, a bouquet of flowers was placed on the table. It was just a simple opening separating the front room and the entrance room so the shop looked bigger.
Riven stopped by the opening and watches as her customers followed, holding up a open hand towards the chairs to show where they could settle down.
"Now where did I leave my blanket?..."