Build ‘Em Up

Someone needs help building their home/base; they don’t really care how it’s done either. They’re already incredibly behind schedule; if they don’t get it done soon there could be consequences. Maybe a kind soul could come and help them, or maybe you could just force them to build it themselves. Regardless, it’ll need to get done soon.

PL gains +10%/Zeni Gains +10%

Chance to get a 50% off coupon for a small capsule house

(15 or above/D20)


It had been a few weeks since Anastasia had first visited Jingle Village. She had originally been treating the village as a rest stop on her way to Yunzabit Heights and her high altitude training. But the friendly people began to recognize her from her frequent visits and, in quite the opposite fashion of some small town xenophobia, entreated her to join them. Their aggressive friendliness pulled Anastasia in before she had even realized that she was caught in the undertow.

What was once just an overnight stay at the town's lone inn became breakfast. Breakfast became lunch. The inn's keep invited the grocer because he would have just the supplies Anastasia would need for her trip. The grocer called over Ms. Mika because Anastasia just had to try her herbal tea, it would be the perfect thing to keep her warm up at the ends of the earth. And so on so forth until everyone adopted Anastasia as an honorary member of the community. Anastasia wasn't sure how to respond to such small town hospitality. She was more accustomed to the aggression of combat. Everyone was your enemy in war, not your friend. Here Jingle Village showed the opposite. Ana had to admit that... it was kind of nice.

Anastasia began to join them in small town events beyond just the meals that they would host for her. It started out with her assisting with some mail delivery (she could fly to the different corners of town far faster than any car could make the trip), followed by her fixing the roof for Mr. Coil (it was a small matter for her to fly on top of the building. Far safer for her to do it, than for him to risk another fall), and before she knew it, Ana joined a small crew of odd-jobers. Handy men and women that go about assisting the town with things that needed doing.

One day, Anastasia saw a small collection of homes in the process of being built on the edge of town. Curious she raised a hand to a passing man carrying a wooden frame on his back laden with several white clay bricks. He paused and wiped the sweat from his brow, gathering in spite of the cold weather.

"What can I do ya for, miss?" he smiled at Anastasia warmly, not the least bit bothered by her interruption of his task.

"Do you need help with this?" she gestured at the entirety of the scene before her, meaning the construction in general and not just the bricks he was carrying.

"Well that's very nice of you!" the man grinned brightly, "You're that Ana girl that comes by all the time, right?"

Anastasia gave a wordless nod. The man chuckled and pointed towards a small shed-like building that seemed to have been hastily built, "That's where you can find Lehchu! They're the person who's kinda organizing all this. I'm sure they can find a good job for you to do!"

"Thank you," Anastasia nodded at the man.

"No, thank you! We appreciate you helping out, miss Ana!"

A short flight later and Anastasia found the man she was told of, Lehchu.

Lehchu was a large and stocky human , almost the tallest in Jingle Village. He was most definitely the bulkiest. He resembled something like one of the bears out in the snowy expanse found around the village. But he had round features giving him quite the baby-face. In spite of his physique, Lehchu wasn’t a fighter. On the contrary, he was one of the most gentle men Ana had ever met. No, Lehchu’s physique came from working hard at construction.

"Certainly Miss Ana! Come! I will show you how we make the homes here in Jingle Village!" he beamed, more eager to share his people's culture than to enlist her services. Yes, the extra help was appreciated, but what truly made Lehchu happy was the opportunity to share his people's knowledge and culture.

"We have been making Jingle Homes here the same way for generations!" Lehchu said proudly with a puff of his broad chest. He took Anastasia to a pile of huge logs that was higher than Anastasia was tall. Lehchu patted one large log affectionately, "I heard you were very strong, yes? You can fly and lift things that others can not."

Anastasia nodded and Lehchu grinned, "Excellent, We start with the frame!"Lehchu lifted up one of the huge logs, his strength obviously greater than the average human. He was able to lift a piece of lumber that the average person would need heavy duty construction equipment to lift.

"Grab the other end, please!" Lehchu huffed.

Anastasia quickly flew down to the other end of the long log and lifted it as well. Lehchu guided her in placing one end of the log into a pre-dug hole. She managed to slot on end of the log in the ground like a peg. The lumber jutted skyward much like it had once done when it had been a tree. There were 5 other logs placed in similar holes in the ground, but instead of  pointing straight up like the one Anastasia and Lechu placed, the other logs were bent and fastened together in the center.

"Alright, now we must bend the wood into the shape of the frame! Follow me," Lehchu flew up to the center of the frame, and directed Anastasia to the top of the log they had just placed. He guided her in bending her end of the log towards him. He planned for them to meet in the middle of the frame. “Come to me. Slowly now,” Lehchu instructed Ana.

He gently made careful motions with his hands to guide Ana towards him “Move too quickly and it will snap. We must be patient and careful,” Lehchu explained so that Ana would understand the theory behind the construction and not just the process.

Ana bent the wood a little more, pausing when she heard it creak and letting it settle. After a few more starts and stops she finally manage to bring the tip to reach the rods also bent in a similar position.

“Alright. It’s in place,” the human called down her soft voice just loud enough to make its way to Lehchu.“Wonderful,” he took a coil of rope and flew up towards Ana, a skill he had picked up in the past to help him navigate the snowy tundra, and floated beside her, “Now we tie it into place with its brethren. Here, let me show you the jalla knot. It’s a little complicated but its strong, which is important.”

Ana nodded in assent and then firmly held the wood in place while Lehchu tied the knot. He moved slowly to show her each step, every loop of the rope. He then untied it and showed her again. Both were very patient beings and didn’t mind the repetition. He even offered to show her a third time, but Ana declined. She had seen enough, she would get more out of practice. Ana would just attempt the knot herself on their next project.

Finally with the wood held firmly in place, Ana and Lehchu floated back to the earth and looked over their work. Ana beheld several long logs of wood that were bent into an upside down bowl shape. This would be the frame for another home for Jingle village. The iconic round white domes that almost seemed to blend with the snow.

“The wood is strong, but I heard that sometimes sap can freeze in artic temperatures ,” Ana said, “I’m surprised they are capable of bending like this. I was sure they would snap…”

“Ah, the trees here have adapted to the cold, you see,” Lehchu responded simply. He was gesturing with his hands as he spoke, as if shaping his words with them, “Yes, some trees do freeze and break. In fact the pressure of the ice build up inside the tree can be so explosive that the tree shatters. The sound is a lot like a gunshot. But that usually happens when a tree goes through seasonal changes, and the temperature drops more than usual. These Jingle Trees are made of a strong and pliable wood, accustomed to the artic cold. It makes excellent timber.”

Ana hummed in understanding, appreciating the sensible nature of the people of Jingle Village. They had adapted to the land, much as the trees had.

“Come,” Lehchu said while clapping his mammoth hand on her shoulder, “Now I’ll show you how we mix the mulché!”Ana cocked her head in a silent question.

Lehchu chuckled and instead of answering her unasked question he gestured for Ana to follow him. Anastasia obliged letting Lehchu guide her down the path to the nearby river bank where a group of villagers toiled in the different stages of creating white colored bricks. Ana glanced over her shoulder at the completed white circular buildings of the village in the distance.

“Ah,” Ana nodded when it clicked.

“Exactly,” Lehchu grinned, then led Ana towards a small group of Villagers by the river bank. A few of them were small children giggling in the waters ‘helping’ the adults in digging up a light colored clay. The water swirled around their knees and the children squealed in delight. The adults kept an eye on the children, but not too careful an eye. This was a safe place, surrounded by neighbors that may as well be family.

“Mulché is what we call the material we use to build our homes around the wood frames! We lay a foundation of bricks and build up and around the frame,” Lehchu placed his hands on his hips while smiling down at Ana, “Afterwards we lay another layer of mulché and smooth that over the bricks to make it water and air tight! The mulché is also very good for keeping the home warm.”

Ana’s eyes scanned across the villagers as they moved in an orderly and practiced motion. They had the process down perfectly, everyone moving as a perfect team. It was impressive, but what made it even more impressive was the way everyone smiled and laughed together. Everyone was happy to work as a community. No one seemed to be forced into it. No one acted as if this was some sort of chore. Not for the first time, nor would it be the last time, Ana couldn’t help but sincerely admire the people of Jingle Village.

But she did have one question..."Isn't it cold?" Ana looked around at the snow and ice that surrounded the village. Surely the water that everyone was laboring in would be frigid. True the people of Jingle Village had become accustomed to the cold weather here, but you could only get so accustomed to frost bite.

"Ah!" Lehchu laughed, clapping one fist in the palm of his other hand, "I'd forgotten to explain. It is such common knowledge that I hadn't thought to!"Lehchu gestured for Anastasia to follow him again, which she did so obediently. As they approached the river, Anastasia could see faint plumes of steam wafting up from the surface, and she could feel the air get noticeably warmer. Lehchu nodded up stream towards the short mountain range in the distance with a jerk of his round chin.

"To make it as simple as possible, there are super heated waters up in the mountains," Lehchu drew one broad arm along the river, delineating it's path, "but by the time it has reached here, it has cooled into a more pleasant temperature."

It occurred to Anastasia, not for the first time and certainly not for the last, how well the people of Jingle Village had adapted to their lives here. They had no need for modern technology. Their old ways were more than enough to meet their needs. Oh, that wasn't to say they eschewed modern technology. Everyone had access to the internet, and they had a modernly out fitted hospital. But neither did they abandon the old to chase after everything shiny and new. It would be easy enough to just have developers come in and build modern buildings of dull blocky shapes. Unoriginal cookie cutter squares... But that was not the Jingle way. They respected their traditions.

“Come, I’ll explain each step in making mulché bricks and then we can assist in laying the brick work. It's the hardest work, and we can always use an extra pair of hands,” Lehchu gestured Ana to follow him down to the bank. He snagged a bucket from a small collection off to the side where various other construction supplies was carefully organized. Lehchu knelt and slipped off his shoes, rolled up his pant legs, and then waded into the warm water. Ana copied him, leaving her considerably smaller shoes besides his on the soft grass. The water was pleasantly warm and moved at a placid pace. Like most everything around Jingle Village, it was peaceful. The current swirled around Ana’s calves, barely at pulling her. The smooth clay beneath her feet squished up between her toes. It was quite a… strange sensation. Anastasia looked down at her feet, their outline blurred by the running water. She squished at the clay with her toes momentarily caught up with the strangely nostalgic feel. It brought to mind long lost memories of... baking mud pies...

Lehchu bent forward and scooped up a large handful of the pale clay, “Here, come look.”

Ana was brought out of her nostalgia by his words and stepped forward at his request. Lehchu held out the clay, it dripped from between his fingers in thick globs and dollops, “We gather the clay in buckets, but we can’t simply just scoop it up and be on our way. Hold out your hands.”

Ana obliged and the large man dropped the dripping mass into her hands with a hefty plop. It squelched in her fingers much like it had in her toes. Ana looked at the mess in her hands, then back up at Lehchu, back to her hands, then Lehchu again. She arched a quizzical brow at him.

“What do you feel?”

Ana cocked her head at the simple question and squished the mass in her hands. It was soft and gooey, as mud typically was. But there was a grit to it. She felt, “Stones… pebbles.”

“Correct,” Lehchu nodded, “Small bits don’t matter too much, but the large ones can weaken the brick. So we have to pick those out. Here.”

He held the bucket out and then it was Ana’s turn to drop the clay with a hefty plop of her own. For the next forty-five minutes she and Lehchu gathered buckets of clay and sifted out larger stones. Then they passed the buckets to grateful workers who emptied the buckets into larger clay vases for later storage. It was hard work that required one to have their back bent for extended periods. Even a trained fighter like Anastasia, accustomed to working her body hard, had to stop often to stretch her back. Some of the elders of Jingle Village had permanently stooped backs, and now Anastasia had a better idea of why that was. Years of toiling in the clay eventually had shaped their very bodies. But those very elders no longer labored in the streams. Young did the work, and they rested at home, their service complete.

When they had completely filled a single vase to the top with clay, Lehchu then took Ana towards the next step in the process. This time they went to a different group of villagers who were sitting at a long table and seemed to be shredding-

“Leaves?” Ana asked.

Lehchu nodded, “We use the wood for timber and we use the leaves in mixing mulché. Nothing goes to waste.”

They both sat on a bench, the other Villagers shifted to make room at the table. Lehchu took a blade and showed Ana the proper technique in shredding the leaves. One had to lay the leaves flat and then cut them length wise with downward presses of the sharp blade. You didn't slice so much as press down.

“We have to shred it thinly for the same reason we pick out the pebbles from the clay,” Lehchu said, “Large chunks will weaken the bricks.”

The cutting of the Jingle Tree leaves was a fair more tedious process than sifting through the clay, but Ana found the action soothing. The act of cutting the plants into long thin strips with methodical purpose was almost meditative. The soothing action was also added with the clean scent of the cut leaves. They oozed slight drops of a pale juice when cut and they smelled much like a freshly cut lawn. It was a nostalgic scent.

Anastasia had filled a large bowl with shredded leaves before she even realized it. Her hands sticky with drying leaf sap. Lehchu scooped up her bowl of shredded leaves and sifted through it to check her work. He grinned and nodded to her with approval and then lead her towards an area where the shredded leaves were being laid out in the sun.

“We can’t use the fresh leaves, it’s too… sproingy” Lehchu said.

Ana cocked an eyebrow at him and he laughed. He traded the large bowl of fresh cut leaves to a smiling woman for a bowl of the dried shredded leaves and showed it to Ana.“The dried leaves keep their shape a little better,” he explained.

Ana examined the bowl with a curious tilt of her head. The dried leaves reminded her a bit of hay or straw. There was no sign of the sap left on the material, but it did not look brittle at all. Interestingly the shredded leaves had dried out into a pale white color, not unlike the clay, and not yellow.

Lehchu led Ana over to where another group of villagers where working at a long trough. They were mixing the dried Jingle Tree leaves into the clay from the riverbed. Lehchu gave the bowl to a man at the head of the trough where he was spreading the shredded leaves he already had.

“The shredded leaves make the bricks stronger. We don’t have a specific amount of clay to leaves. Most of the village have been making these bricks for so long we can just sort of… feel when it’s right. But once we DO feel that it is right... well, then it has now become mulché!” Lehchu said with a nod of his head. Once again they moved on to the next step of the process. It seemed there were so many steps but they were also very simple.

Next the mulché was placed into wooden forms. These shaped the mud mixture into the bricks that would be used to build the homes. Lehchu showed how to evenly level at the bricks. It was important that they all be uniform in size so they could fit flush together. Fitting tightly together would help keep the structure strong.

“And now comes the longest part of the process. Lets go over there. To the top of that hill,” Lehchu pointed off to the distance.

It was a quick walk to the top of hill where the sun shone down brightly on rows and rows of mulché bricks. There were easily hundreds.

“We have other hills with similar collections. We need to work in batches because the bricks need to dry for several weeks,” he knelt and lifted up one of the white clay blocks and gave it to Ana. It was surprisingly dense, and yet light, “The bricks are done drying and these are the ones we’ll be using for our building. See how the sun has shrunk them down to tighter but also lighter squares?”

Ana nodded moving the brick from one hand surprised that something so light would be used in constructing something as solid as a building. In it's time under the sun, all the moisture had evaporated from the brick, and with it all the water weight.

“Alright, time to load up!”

The rest of the day was spent loading carts with mulché bricks, piling them high in the back, and then pulling the carts by hand to the frame she and Lehchu had completed together earlier in the day. They laid the bricks around the base of the frame going in a counter clock-wise spiral, stacking the bricks a little closer and closer towards the center to follow the bowl shape of the frame. This took the rest of the day and even then they hadn't completed their entire building. But Lehchu assuaged Anastasia that they had made good progress.

"Normally it would have taken many days to get to this point!" he patted a large hand on her shoulder, "You and I did the work of a whole team of people and completed in one day what would have taken many!"

"Hm..." Ana cocked her head, still displeased to leave a job half finished. She wanted to see this building through to the end, but knew better to try and work into the night, "I would like to finish tomorrow..."

Lehchu grinned down at her, "Of course Miss Ana! I must show you how we must insulate and then seal the home as well! There is still more to be done beyond just the laying of the brink! If we have time, I will even show you the construction of the doors and windows! However, you would need to speak with Azuman if you would like to see how one does things like the electricity and plumbing of the more modern homes. What we are working on here, is a storage building! For supplies!"

Anastasia shook her head, "No thank you... I don't have an interest in technology. Nor do I think I would provide much assistance."

"Don't sell yourself short Miss Ana!" Lehchu said, "You were a vast help with my work here today."

"Helping you construct this building seems different from helping some one work with wires and pipes, " Anastasia pointed out carefully, "I don't think it would require as much heavy lifting..."

Lehchu chuckled, his massive shoulders bouncing, "Perhaps not. But I do not know! We can ask!"

Anastasia didn't have the heart to argue and tell Lehchu not to bother. He was just too excited to show Anastasia more things. Instead she allowed him to take her to a small building that seemed off to the side of the various of framed houses. These were more intricate, with wires worked into the frames and troughs dug into the dirt, presumably to run the pipe lines. There were also tall poles separate from the frames that she took to be the beginnings of light posts. The building was small, but clean. It was modern in design and appearance, made of straight lines rather than round curves.  It obviously wasn't made here in Jingle Village. A capsule house perhaps?

 Lehchu knocked on the door with a firm fist, but still managed to sound polite as he did so. He turned to Anastasia and gave her a cheerful thumbs up after a high voice called from inside, "Come in!"

Lehchu pushed the door inside and raised his hand cheerily, "Hello Azuman!"

Azuman was a tall alien, thin as a reed but bundled up to comical levels. They had pale white skin and two long tendrils extending from either side of their mouth like the ends of a fu manchu mustache. But the tendrils on Azuman's face were prehensile, twitching in movement. It was difficult to tell their gender, as they lacked the traditional humanoid sex characteristics. Azuman themselves was sitting down at a table with a series of plans and blue prints. They didn't even bother looking up as Lehchu and Anastasia entered, but it didn't seem rude or dismissive. It was just obvious to see that Azuman was passionate about their work and in the middle of something that they loathed to be pulled away from.

"Azuman! This is Anastasia! She is a regular visitor here in Jingle Village. She helped me with constructing the storage room to the south east," Lehchu said.

"Ah, good, did you finish the frame then?"

"The frame and several layers of the base. I think with her help I could finish the three storage buildings in half the time!" Lehchu proclaimed like a proud parent, presenting Ana like a child who earned a gold star.

This was interesting enough to draw Azuman up from their plans on the desk, "Really now? That would really put us ahead of schedule! Excellent!"Azuman stood up from the desk and then skittered over on six arms and legs across the ground to Lehchu and Anastasia like a humanoid centipede. Anastasia wasn't perturbed, having seen similar aliens in her travels, and neither was Lehchu, having been working with Azuman long enough to be used to their alien anatomy. Azuman stood up in front of Anastasia, and took one of her hands in 4 of their own.

"Well, we certainly appreciate your help!" the alien shook her hand happily.

"We were wondering, Azuman, do you have any work that Anastasia could assist you with?" Lehchu asked curiously, "Obviously she and I can continue on the storage buildings, but do you also need any extra hands?"

"Hm," Azuman seemed to consider this question, turning from Lehchu back to Anastasia, then squinting at Ana in appraisal, "Do you have any electrical or plumbing experience, Anastasia?"

Ana shook her head wordlessly.

"Then I apologize, but I think you'd be more a hinderance than a help. At this stage I would need to train you on the basics and that would just take extra time I do not have. Your assistance to Lehchu is more than enough!" Azuman said.

"That's fine," Anastasia's first words since entering the room. 

"Well than," Azuman let go of Anastasia's hand and then folded their various limbs behind their back, "Will that be all, Lehchu?"

"Yes, Mixter Azuman," Lehchu said. Anastasia made a mental note that Lehchu was using the gender neutral form of address.

"Good, now I hate to be rude, but I really must be returning to my work."

"Of course, Mixter Azuman. Thank you for your time," Lehchu nodded and then gestured Anastasia to follow him out. Azuman skittered back over to their desk and was pouring over the blue prints before the two humans were even out the door. Lehchu chuckled fondly, "Azuman is a good person. They are who we usually ask to come down to Jingle Village when we have any electrical issues. They work with us at cost."

"Why is that?" Ana asked curiously."Azuman claims it is because they are from a similar place. Jingle Village reminds them of home, and so they would like to provide services to us that they were unable to provide to their people," Lehchu explained.

"Why were they unable to provide to their people?" Ana had a suspicion that the answer was an unfortunate one.

"Their village, their planet, was taken over by the PTO. Azuman is a refugee."

And there it was. Tragic. It seemed that that whether on earth or in space, war and strife found people everywhere. Ana herself had her own home taken in such conflicts, however she was so young she no longer remembered the village that she had come from. Since there she had been apart of similar raids against other villages. Something that she would occasionally feel the strains of guilt for, but that she knew was against her power to control. She had been but a child at the time of her conscription. Even when she was an adult she was powerless to resist the orders of her superiors. So she had taken part in activities she would have rather not. But even then, she had refused to take pleasure in those duties or to commit more violence and suffering than she absolutely had to.

Some of her old comrades had taken joy in the conquest, for some it was in their nature, for others it was a way of exerting control that they did not have in their own lives. Anastasia had kept the few she could in check, but often she could do little more than show small mercies where she could. She killed only when ordered, or in self defense. And she did not torture or cause suffering to the prisoners of war.But sometimes, in the dark, in her bed, a voice still accused Anastasia of not doing enough...

"-my partner Paddo makes an amazing Kikawa Salad! He grows the vegetables himself in our garden!" Lehchu's voice pierced through Anastasia's thoughts. His cheerful tone and happiness strong enough to cut through the gloom. He was obviously proud of his partner and eager to share a meal with Anastasia.

She couldn't help but give the large bearish man a small little smile as they walked, letting him dominate the conversation. He obviously didn't mind Anastasia's quiet nature, able to fill the conversation on his own.

"I may build things, but Paddo grows things! He is extremely talented in getting plants to thrive here in the cold of Jingle Village! There is a small greenhouse that the village came together to fund it's construction. I personally assisted the architect in the construction!" Lehchu's chest puffed out in obvious pride.

Anastasia let Lehchu's stories wash away the darkness of her past. At least for a little while. She couldn't change the wars she fought, or the violence she had caused. But she could move forward and spread what goodness she could. She could help build and create instead of destroying. She looked forward to it. Something she hadn't done in a very long time.

Word Count: 5003
Human Zeni Gains + 20% zeni
Weighted Training Gear + 25% PL