[Raynor's Keep] Laying Bricks

The often renovated, and not infrequently burnt, Prefectoral complex in the capital city of Shirekeep. Charged with the thankless task of civic administration in the most malodorous and ungovernable city ever conceived.

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Kaiser Aiomide
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[Raynor's Keep] Laying Bricks

Post by Kaiser Aiomide »

The Imperial Treasury, the Kaiser thought. The Imperial Treasury is housed within the Silver Gate.

New concrete was being mixed and poured in every corner of Raynor's Keep. Concrete and rebar the width of an arm. Wood carpenters. Glaziers. Brick layers. Some of these workers were unskilled laborers culled from the most able-bodied of the rehabilitated residents of Shirekeep. Apollonian Guardsmen worked in teams to clear rubble. Slowly, Raynor's Keep was slowly coming back together.

Musican Marines and Apollonian Guardsmen patrolled the burnt-out ruins of the innermost city wards, sending out teams to comb those parts of the city for bodies and survivors. From what Kaiser Aiomide was hearing, the task was tough and seldom rewarding. Soldiers had to be regularly rotated out and given mundane yet safe and productive jobs, such as clearing debris and assisting in the reconstruction effort within the safety of the Keep. The effort was not for nothing. Little by little, the survivor count went up. Little by little, the city that was supposed to be the Imperial Capital became a known entity once more.




There were many questions and few answers, far less than Aiomide expected before coming to Raynor's Keep. For one, those Guard Officers now rehabilitated had reported that a number of hostages were being held in the Inner Keep, members of the government who remained within the City of Shirekeep but viewed the actions of Alaiaon and the Guard as an unjust coup. They were supposed to have been found in the Steward's Tower, including the Steward himself, Shyriath Bukolos. None. That said, Raynor's Keep was proving to be an infinitely more complex structure, honeycombed with passages and compartments all throughout the rock that the Inner Keep sat upon, criss-crossing under the ground and throughout the Outer Keep. Perhaps they found a way out. Perhaps some were still lurking in the depths.

The Order of Sentinels continued to delve deeper in a vain hope of mapping the whole thing from the surface downward, but so far, they had not reached the bottom of it all. Maybe there was no bottom...




The sudden absence of one Laqi Hyrrion was another mystery in need of an answer. After a rough start with the man in the City of Musica, he had become a competent resource for coordinating between the Kaiser and Elwynnese forces in lieu of a permanent general staff. Aiomide was considering him for MoMA -- along with healthy supply of Sentinels to assist and watch over. Apparently the new Elwynnese government also intended to tap him for future service in Elwynn.

Nobody seemed to know where Laqi Hyrrion went, and he picked a hell of a time to vanish.




Aiomide glanced out across the City of Shirekeep from the rooftop of the Keep Proper, the old, stout stronghold at the heart of Raynor's Keep. In the distance, fires continued to rage within those outer parts of Shirekeep which the UDF command had seen fit to obliterate as part of their... relaxed reading of their orders regarding the restoration of order within the city walls. At least when Goldshirans destroyed the airport, they did it while the Kaiser was several-hundred kilometers away.

"Survivor count is up to 93,647 today." Anactoria Valeria reported. The UDF had not reported any recovered survivors since the beginning of their latest activities. Aiomide did not need to wonder why.

"Only 53 since yesterday." Aiomide noted. The rate of recovery was slowing down, and they were running out of city within which to find them. 8 million people once called Shirekeep home, during the reign of the lich kaiseresses.

Most of those survivors had been relocated to Raynor's Keep for treatment, and given temporary housing in what was left of the Treesian and Audente Quarters. Those who were either beyond medical assistance or found dead were taken to the Prefectoral Palace for identification and distribution to one of the mass graves outside the city walls. Aiomide didn't want to know the body count for those who were taken to the Prefectoral Palace.

A burnt out shell of a city, nearly empty. Perhaps some opportunity could be made of all this, like when a fire allows a forest to grow back stronger. Dead trees were easier to reflect on than dead people.

Deimos Jasonides
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Re: [Raynor's Keep] Laying Bricks

Post by Deimos Jasonides »

If I may just add to the Kaiser's own thoughts. It would seem that following the fall of Shirekeep, Elwynn controls all major Imperial posts except for Praetor and, perhaps, Arbiter (depending on which Benkern benkerns the Arbiter)
Deimos Jasonides| Деймоос Ясооннаи | Deimoos Jasoonnai
Grand Officer of the Holy Order of the Strait of Barbary
Former Prime Minister of the State of Talenore
Former Sovereign Prince of Elwynn

Just another Ric

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Kaiser Aiomide
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Re: [Raynor's Keep] Laying Bricks

Post by Kaiser Aiomide »

Now there's a scary thought. Something may need to be done.

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Tokaray al-Osman
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Re: [Raynor's Keep] Laying Bricks

Post by Tokaray al-Osman »

Deimos Jasonides wrote:If I may just add to the Kaiser's own thoughts. It would seem that following the fall of Shirekeep, Elwynn controls all major Imperial posts except for Praetor and, perhaps, Arbiter (depending on which Benkern benkerns the Arbiter)
You know some things are easier to organise without people helpfully pointing matters out. Report to Dravot for a cudgelling.
His Imperial Magnificence Aurangzeb II Steffki, Kaiser of the Imperial Republic of Shireroth, Thane of the Shirelands, Keeper of the Apollo Legacy, Wielder of the Sword of Vengeance, Grand Master of the Orders of the Dragon, Griffin, Phoenix, and Chimera, Sovereign of the Golden Mango Throne.
Dr Tokaray al-Osman KBH, Commissioner of the Chamber of the Crypteia, Emir of Jadid Khaz Modan, Annexer of Yardistan

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Krasniy Yastreb
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Re: [Raynor's Keep] Laying Bricks

Post by Krasniy Yastreb »

The MiniTrade isn't controlled by Elwynn! Unless it's that 'Ardy' kind of control where the subject is completely oblivious... wouldn't be the first time =p

Deimos Jasonides
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Re: [Raynor's Keep] Laying Bricks

Post by Deimos Jasonides »

No, Elwynn boycotts the whole idea of economy instead! :P
Deimos Jasonides| Деймоос Ясооннаи | Deimoos Jasoonnai
Grand Officer of the Holy Order of the Strait of Barbary
Former Prime Minister of the State of Talenore
Former Sovereign Prince of Elwynn

Just another Ric

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Tokaray al-Osman
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Re: [Raynor's Keep] Laying Bricks

Post by Tokaray al-Osman »

Our economy is one based on resource allocation determined by a formula which balances an individual's necessities with his inherent utility in order to provide him with an adequate entitlement that is representative of his contributions to both Gross Domestic Product and Gross National Happiness.

(And when I am really really bored I'll try and figure out how the hell that'd actually work in some sort of 'Giles Melang with a spreadsheet' kind of way)
His Imperial Magnificence Aurangzeb II Steffki, Kaiser of the Imperial Republic of Shireroth, Thane of the Shirelands, Keeper of the Apollo Legacy, Wielder of the Sword of Vengeance, Grand Master of the Orders of the Dragon, Griffin, Phoenix, and Chimera, Sovereign of the Golden Mango Throne.
Dr Tokaray al-Osman KBH, Commissioner of the Chamber of the Crypteia, Emir of Jadid Khaz Modan, Annexer of Yardistan

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Kaiser Aiomide
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[Raynor's Keep] Laying Bricks, Part 2

Post by Kaiser Aiomide »

"7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1..."

There was a quick, muffled pop and the deep pool of water began to glow an eerie blue. Ripples agitated the deionized water as the reactor submerged inside vibrated to life.

"Chamber seals are holding. No radiation leaks."

"Open flow to the turbines. Start at 20%."

There was a rumble, then a rush somewhere below their feet.

"334 kilowatts and rising!" Called out an excited voice from the far end of the control center. They had no interest in rushing the startup process, and the engineers there weren't entirely familiar with the design of this particular facility, but the dwindling fuel for the gas generators necessitated this. They had to know if this would be a viable option.

"Raise the control rods another 5 and open the flow to 50%."

Slowly, the needles began to climb on the main display. The reactor core continued to warm, now at a faster pace. The heat exchanger also began to warm with it, though that energy proceeded onward to the turbines fast enough to maintain an optimal temperature. More adjustments were made over the long hours, until the needles came to rest at ideal figures.

"Core temperature stable. Average output is 9.4 megawatts." The lead engineer turned to the Sentinel standing to his right. "Let the Kaiser know that the Demon Core can begin supplying power."

Shortly after the message was relayed, the emergency generators, which had been running since the seizure of Raynor's Keep had concluded, spun down to a stop. During the night, more sections of the Treesian and Audente Quarters were illuminated than there had in a good long time. Those city blocks were now being fed directly by the electrical output of Raynor's Keep itself, generated by the subterranean facility located deep beneath the Kelb, nestled in the northeastern corner of the Outer Bailey.

If only they had a few more.

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Shyriath
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Re: [Raynor's Keep] Laying Bricks

Post by Shyriath »

Meanwhile, somewhere in the darkness...
Drip. Drip. Drip.

Water, plinking into a pool. The sound, any sound, was heaven.

It was dirty, even foul. The taste, any taste, was ambrosia.

He sat huddled in the passage, lost in space, lost in time, wet and tattered blue robes wrapped around an emaciated body. He tried not to move much. Had to conserve strength for when it was needed. He'd have to go chasing after rats and mushrooms again soon. Dinner, such as it was. Or maybe breakfast.

He'd stopped wondering if he'd ever get out. There was no point in pursuing that kind of thought. If he found an exit, he'd take it. If not, he'd just have to keep surviving.

He did wonder, though, if any of the others had got out. Or if any of them knew the Keep's passages better than he did.

He wished someone could've lent him a map.

As he sat, he heard, somewhere far, far off, a faint noise, like a pop, and then a continuous, barely-audible hum. He thought about going to find the source of the noise, but as much of a maze as the tunnels were, it was even odds whether any given passage would go consistently toward it.

Maybe after dinner. Or breakfast.
Shyriath Farstrider (aka Shyriath Bukolos), KD MOU OLH XBH
Viscount Farstrider of Erysisceptrum, Count Bukolos of the Condo, Harbinger of Cheese

TOTUS MUNDUS TABULAM RASAM EST

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