Revelations at bath time.

[Faith Augustin]

14th Ymiden, 721

"How did they get to be nearly four?" Faith whispered as she closed the door to Noah and Madison's room.

Their twins, born in the most bizarre set of circumstances would be four in Zi'da. Rose - their older sister - was reading in her room and they had just finished the bath-then-bed routine for the twins. Faith looked at Padraig and she smiled at him. They needed to talk further, she knew. Just yesterday, two unexpected visitors had turned up at the house and it had upset her in a way which rather surprised her. So, they had made a rather intense and - in typical form for them - extreme decision.

So much so that they'd both agreed to sleep on it.

So, they made their way out on to the small balcony outside their bedroom and Faith curled up on 'her' chair there, pulling her knees up as she did. Looking at him, she smiled and then spoke. "You remember when I lost my memories, in Rharne?" It had been a difficult time, no doubting it. "I think it started then, for me. I'm tired, Padraig." Pressing her hands together, Faith pushed the pads of her fingers against each other until they turned white. "They came to our home. Just, casually and without invitation, came to our home." Shaking her head, silver eyes turned to the view - to the water and the island beyond it. "Even here, when there's a cable car and a million steps and this is the most inaccessible loaf of bread you've ever bought," she smiled as she recalled the circumstances of him popping out for some bread and coming back having bought this house. "People seem to think that I'm theirs, just there on demand and if they need help then they can come to me first before they do anything themselves." Her lips tightened. "I still think it's the right thing to do. It's something we've talked about before, more than once. Things always just got in the way, but I feel that it's time to commit."

Many times before they had talked about setting up a retreat of sorts, a place where scholars and researchers could go - a place for ethical, transparent, dedicated science. Not the snobbery of academia or the restrictions of working to a university agenda. Not fashionable science, not mundane science, but cutting edge science and research. Stargazing and medicine, innovation and imagination. After Woe and Natalia's visit yesterday, Faith had expressed her frustration and he'd raised it again.

And now seemed like the right time.

"That land, outside Volta, that would work I think? The place itself is intensely interesting and it's far enough away. There's a mountain for an observatory, there's space for growth. It's a fascinating place and I think it could be ideal. But," always thinking, always ticking over. Faith's mind inevitably went to covering all her bases. "This will attract three types of unconventional scientists," She sighed slightly as she said it, because she considered it to be an important, but rather sad point. "It will attract unconventional scientists who are ethically sound. Unconventional scientists who are not ethically sound and, finally," her slight hand movements were more telling than a shrug. "It will attract unconventional scientists who are beyond 'not ethically sound' and into 'downright nutter' or worse 'I'm an evil overlord'." They'd both met all the types, after all.

"So, I think we need to be clear about what the ethical and moral boundaries of this place are. I have no intention of creating another situation like we had in the Spire where people were excluded from knowledge because they were healers, not 'proper scientists', or because they were married to the handsome Professor Augustin," that woman in the Spire had really irritated Faith, but of course, she had been polite. "But we're going to have to set a very clear ethos and make sure that it's a community one."

With a slight twitch of her lips Faith considered some of the people they'd met. "I refuse to create - or encourage - another Alexander and his laboratory of people-experimentation. So, that leads to an important question," she said, reaching over and grabbing some parchment from the small box at her side. "Who are we inviting, and how are we making sure that this doesn't become Grim McDungeon's Grim Dungeon of Grim Doom?"

She grinned, suddenly. "We shouldn't call it that, either." It wasn't likely that the name of the place would make a difference, but it might.

[Padraig]

"They're doing it to spite us," Padraig quipped dryly when Faith spoke of the twins' penchant for growing faster that they ought to be able. Or so it seemed to him. They were doing it nonetheless.

The upside though, at least now that all had gone blissfully quiet, for as long as it lasted, was that the two of them had time to unwind and shed off the ordinary stresses of the trial. "How could I forget?" he asked, once they'd moved out onto the balcony and settled in. The irony thick in his response, did he remember when she'd lost her memory. But it was completely unintended. And also true. But was she tired?, he thought as he stretched his legs out in front of him and crossed his feet at the ankles. They both were.

But the pressures on her had been greater than the ones put upon him. It was her nature to make herself available, and so others were quick to capitalize on it. To ask more and more until it exhausted her. As for their unexpected visitors the trial before, it annoyed him a bit to be honest. He'd purchased a home in one of the most inaccessible locations he could imagine. And yet..."Nothing says just drop on in like a house as good as built in a crow's nest with a rickety cable car and hundreds of dubious stairs," he quipped dryly. Of course he loved that about the place. The only thing that would have pleased him more would have been in the balconies and deck floors had been crafted from glass. Very strong and unbreakable glass of course.

But yes, they'd talked about alternatives before. Living life just as they pleased, where and however they wanted. And surrounding themselves with those who had similar inclinations. Why not now then? They certainly had the funding and resources to do it. "Why not?" As for where exactly? "Volta is perfect," he said, and in fact he could hardly think of anyplace better. Room to grow up and out, and up,"[/b] he added, thinking of an observatory at the very top of a mountain just adjacent to Volta. And then there all the current lurking and humming around. It was a physicists dream so far as location, to be sure.

It was an ideal location for all sorts of scientists, he thought, including medicine, which was as much a science as any other. The only one that didn't rate as well, in his humble opinion, were the philosophers. They'd tend to disagree he was sure, since that was mostly what philosophers did. But yes, unconventional scientists. "Aren't we all, just a little?" Padraig teased her. But Faith had a good point. "The problem with ethics and morality," he mused, "is that people tend to see them as subjective things."

"If we simply say, do no harm," he offered up as an example, "there would be those who would argue that the means might justify the end, or go on about the greater good. If we're being honest, in truth," he admitted, "just about any scientific discovery intended to create good in the world, can be twisted by others into something much darker and destructive." A thin line, a very thin line in fact. "Obviously though, no mortal subject laboratories of that nature and so on. I think the best course would be simply to take care about who becomes welcome, along with their work, and who does not."

At any rate, a name? "Well," Padraig said after a long few trills of contemplation. "What does every good scientist exclaim when he, or she, has just made a remarkable discovery or finally found success? Eureka," he added, grinning a little.

[Faith Augustin]

14th Ymiden, 721

Doing it to spite them? Faith grinned at that as the pair of them settled down together looking out over the water. It had been a torrid time for the couple and things simply didn't let up. Her memory loss, his disappearance, then the after-effects of the barriers on him, her kidnapping - and attempted kidnapping - her death and then the attack by Ellasin had all preceeded her collapse in Rharne when she triggered a trap left for her specifically. So, she had to admit, they were both more likely to be ever so slightly twitchy.

But she looked at him and raised one eyebrow. "Rickety?" Faith was teasing him, of course, but they enjoyed the push and pull of it. "Are you telling me, Professor Augustin, that you - a globally renowned physicist has allowed your wife and three children, not to mention your grandfather and grandmother to travel in a cable car you describe as 'rickety'? Well." She shook her head, apparently despairingly. "Alas, my poor heart is broken." She clutched her chest over-dramatically for effect. "I thought you said you were going to fix it up? I assumed you had done." Ah well, no one had died.

He was pleased with the idea and very much more of the same at the location. "Maybe we could build some kind of system for going up and down the mountain?" A smile flickered over her face. "Nothing rickety, though." But then, the discussion on ethics and morality was an important and serious one and Faith's face showed her feelings. Nodding, she understood what he was saying, but equally, Faith had very much been burned by Maxine and Patrick's betrayal. Patrick, especially, had been someone she had considered to be a friend and his betrayal of her - of them - had soured her view in a way that nothing else ever really had.

She understood Padraig's point, but equally, there was a bottom line for her. "I agree. But we need to be clear that before someone joins and during their time with us, everyone there needs to be above board. We can be wrong about people, Padraig. I think we need to be explicit." She looked at him and her hands pressed closer together, finger twisting one over the other in a knot on her lap. "But I think that we can deal with that, be clear about the expectations and make sure that we are all transparent about what we're doing and what we're studying. No locked doors, no secrets." Untwisting her hands, she ran one through her hair and breathed out. "I'm sure it'll be fine. I'm just fretting," she said and thought about it.

"So, we need to think about who we want to invite, really? I'm thinking that there would be a lot of opportunity here for learning. Really learning, I mean, not just the sort of rote learning leading to writing papers or passing examinations, I mean understanding and developing. So, make a list." she said, handing him a piece of parchment. "And I'll do the same. Then, we can work on putting together an answer to the inevitable 'well what is it and what do you do there?' questions. Also," she said, thinking about it. "We need to think about what we build there." Questions like whether it would be communal living in one large building or a sprawling network or just what they'd be doing - did they want to build an observatory now, or be there a while and then build. Those sorts of questions. "We'll take all our equipment with us, of course. We could sell up the house here and the one in Rharne, if you want, and just put that money into it?"

For herself, she started making a list of names. People she'd met, students she'd had, people she'd worked with. Those who were not afraid to think outside of the box, to innovate and yet who had a clear focus on the greater good. "Gennadiya, for example," Faith said, "Is top of my list."

But as for the name? Faith smiled and nodded. It was a good name. That was what she did. What she said, though? "I was rather hoping for Grim McDungeon's Grim Dungeon of Grim Doom," she teased. "But, I suppose, you can have that one." The list of names would go on one piece of paper, then the description on another. Finally, she started the list of to do in order to get it sorted.

[Padraig]

When Faith began to question the state of the cable car, Padraig could only grin quietly to himself, until she was done. "Correction," he said, still smiling. "Rickety in form, but not in function. By design. I did make sure that it's as safe as possibly could be, and then took further measures still. Brilliant, really," he added, teasing her.

"Or so I'd thought. My thought was that a dilapidated appearance would discourage random droppers in and traveling salesmen peddling all sorts of unnecessary scrap metal objects. Clearly some of them are more intrepid than I gave them credit for." Evidenced by the unannounced guests that had dropped in the trial before. But yes, he was all for designing and building a trolley or cable car system to most easily navigate the slopes of whatever settlement they might choose to establish. "Trudging up hundreds, even thousands of steps to reach an observatory, shop or abode would be bound to get old after the first few times."

As for ethics and morality, and the conduct of any potential residents and or visiting researchers they might attract, of course Faith was worried. And based on experience, not without reason. "It's not for nothing that your fretting. We'll do the best we can, be as clear as possible, establish rules and consequences and the like." Ultimately there was only so much they could do. But they could do their damndest nonetheless.

As for making lists, Faith was much better at it than him. But he'd certainly do his best. He jotted a name down here, one there...Fellow students from way back who he'd thought might come to something, given enough time. Fellow researchers in the alchemy or physics lab who'd shown great promise and imagination, but whose approach might have left them at odds with the older, more set in their ways traditionalists. "We can invite both those who might stay, and those who might visit off and on," he suggested.

And also, those who would be open to teaching, and those looking to learn from the best minds they could find. "I say we sell the house," he added when she brought up how they'd fund the venture. "Really commit to it. And Rharne too. I have to be honest though and say that I can't get very excited about the idea of communal living," Padraig admitted then. "Temporarily while we're building, sure, and to accommodate visiting scholars until we can attract an inn or boarding house." Or something like it.

Apart from that, Padraig enjoyed the privacy of having their own home. In addition, while the sort of observatory he'd like to build would ultimately be a grand affair, in the meantime, he'd be content to put together a smaller, simpler one that would do in the meantime.

[Faith Augustin]

14th Ymiden, 721

Rickety in form but not function? Faith quirked an eyebrow, "I'm starting to know how it feels" she said with a smile.

It was rare that Padraig surprised her, and he didn't to-trial when he said to sell everything, fully commit to it. Thinking back to a time that seemed so long ago now, her expression was whimsical as she paraphrased their own words to each other from so long ago. "All of us, all in?" Faith remembered the times when they'd been so very poor at communicating with each other and had both of them struggled to manage to say what they felt. For quite different reasons, of course, but equally valid ones. "Then, yes, lets sell up. No to communal living?" It didn't surprise her that he wanted and needed his privacy - their privacy - and she considered it. "We could build a few houses, centered around a sort of community space?" Leaning forward she kissed him gently. "Ours could have a tower on it, if you want." She chuckled. He probably would like that, she thought. Although, there was another option. "Or, what if we build our home on the side of the mountain?" Faith considered it as she spoke. "Half way up, or half way down depending on the direction you're walking." Considering it, she obviously quite liked the idea and thought he would, too. "We could build it into the mountain, if we wanted. The views would be stunning and you could have a very long twisty-turny slide all the way down from the top, if you wanted. We could have a cold cellar, carved into the moutainside, I could use that for storing food and we could have a bedroom that's all window on one side. It could be lovely." She considered it, carefully. "Whatever we do, we need to make sure the children are happy, though." Rose would love this, Faith did not doubt, and Noah too. Madison might not be quite as keen, she considered, but she'd need a job or role and then she'd be fine.

They worked on their lists and Faith took much the same approach as him. She'd be very happy to invite people with less skill as long as she knew they were the right kind of fit for them. "So, what buildings do we want to start with, then?" Faith asked. "A house for us, a communal area with a library and labs and rooms. An observatory? Or should we build that as we go?" Considering it, she thought about it. "Housing for the people who live there, and a sort of Inn-style place with rooms for non-permanent folks?" Grinning, she added, "What about a communal eating area? It's been a long time since I've worked a restaurant. That would be nice. Brain food." She had very much enjoyed owning and working at Cally's.

"We could have a small smallholding, if we wanted, for vegetables and things. Or we could buy ingredients in. I think maybe lets see when we get there. Alright, that's the list of people, I'll get on inviting them. I'll also write to the three Universities we're associated with, and the Spire in Rharne and I'll pass it down to the Order." Information, after all, should be shared. Not hidden away, not kept secret. It wasn't Faith's way to do that.

"Alright then, Professor," she said softly. "What buildings? Oh, a school!" After all, there would be children there. And, come to that, she considered, they'd need guards.

[Padraig]

"Exactly," he said, and grinned when Faith proceeded to clarify. "All in." In truth, he sincerely believed it was the only sensible way forward if they were to make Eureka out to be a successful venture.

But, no. No communal living except in the shortest of terms possibly, and by necessity. With the two of them, their children, an older generation and more already, their home was sufficiently lived in already without needing to bump shoulders with others still, on their way to the privy in the middle of the night. "I like the idea of a central gathering place though," he admitted then. "And a tower? It's a must. I'd be lost without one."

Onto and into the mountain. He agreed, absolutely. "Constructed that way, not only would it be unique and have an incredible view of the surroundings, but being built into the mountain would go a long way towards maintaining a pleasant enough temperature inside all the arc through." He grinned though when Faith suggested a slide of sorts from top to bottom. "It could be a lot of fun, I'll give you that."

"Children are resilient by nature," he figured when she mentioned their brood. "It might take time to adjust. I think they'll do just fine." So, buildings, he thought as he turned back to his list. A place for them to live, a communal area just as Faith said with all of its many useful features that all alike might share. "I'd like to start with a small, personal and simple observatory to start with, and as we grow the place we can build something grander. Something that will attract sky watchers and astronomers from all over Idalos."

And yes, a boarding house for new arrivals and visitors was a must. A communal eating area was a very good idea, and he said so. 'Many of the greatest ideas have been brought up over the course of sharing a meal with like minds. Or even unlike minds. I think a communal garden would also be a good idea," he considered. "We might not be able to grow or raise all of what we'll ultimately need, particularly as the settlement grows larger. But it would cut down on what we'll need to bring in from elsewhere."

"A stable. We'll need a stable for visitors and new residents to keep and care for their horses," he said, and added it to the list. And yes, they'd need a school. "Which means we'll need to attract teachers for younger children." And security, that was a given. And, he added, a healing clinic and apothecary, healers and herbalists to go with them. "You can't fill a place with a bunch of possibly mad scientists and not expect that at some point, something can and will go wrong," he added with a grin. Hopefully no one would lose a limb in the process. But even he tended to deal, time to time, with some pretty volatile substances.

[Faith Augustin]

14th Ymiden, 721

So, it seemed, they were ready to begin.

Looking at the lists they'd both made, Faith crossed out names which were common to both. Then, she set about penning the letters to each one. A brief letter, telling them of what they were doing - what they were setting up - and inviting them to either visit or move more permanently. She put in dates and contact details, in order to ensure that they were able to keep in touch. There was no pressure from the two professor Augustins, instead there was just a clear statement about ethos and values and ideas.

Next, Faith wrote to the universities. She was clear there, too, making sure that she was setting out what they were doing. She was very specific and, again, very clear. They would be sharing all discoveries, not giving exclusive rights or any such thing. They believed that knowledge should be shared and she hoped that, in the spirit of Innovation and Academia, the institutions would do the same back. Faith didn't point out that she had set the institute of innovation up with that ethos in mind, she was not the dean of it any more and so it was up to the new one.

Then, she wrote to the Order of the Adunih heads in each of the local areas. She was the head of the Order overall, but she knew the importance of communication. There would be a designated medical research aspect to the new place and Faith wanted to be clear.

Finally, she wrote to the builders in Rharne. She knew of a number of builders since she had been a business owner there for some time. She chose the ones who worked with the Order of the Adunih in Rharne and who, therefore, she had connections with and she knew of. When that was all done, there was a stack of letters which needed to be sent. Twenty to potential colleagues, then to the institutions in question. Not wanting to waste time, she sent them out there and then.

[Pig Boy]

Player Name: Padraig

Points awarded: 15

Knowledge:

Logistics: Planning a settlement
Logistics: Considering the environment when moving
Logistics: Identifying basic needs for a group.
Logistics: Pulling resources from around Idalos.
Logistics: Planning for children to get education in a remote area
Logistics: Considering food in a settlement
Tactics: Surround yourself with like-minded people.
Tactics: Ensure that you have personal space - and personal security.

Renown: 5 it gets out that you and Faith are building a settlement for scientists!
Loot: Settlement Info below.
Injuries/Overstepping: none
Wealth Points: Costs of setting up the settlement are below.

Skill Review: All Skills used appropriately to PC's level

Player Name: Faith

Points awarded:15

Knowledge: none requested


Renown: 5 it gets out that you and Padraig are building a settlement for scientists!
Loot: Settlement Info below.
Injuries/Overstepping:
Wealth Points: Costs of setting up the settlement as they want it are below.

Skill Review: All Skills used appropriately to PC's level

Notes: Ack, I didn't realize when Woe would be visiting Faith that he'd be driving her to live on some lightning-cloaked mountain! Oh well, as long as they're happy there.

I found the banter here amusing, that aside. Faith and Padraig have a believable dynamic between them that is hard to deny. And they seem to have a good grip on their plans to make a settlement near Volta.

The letter at the end was actually quite helpful to determine what kind of demographic we might expect, but anyway... Onto the math! Do let me know if something is fishy about the way I set this up and we can finagle a way around it.

Buildings and facilities

Library: Tier 5 Building 22 WP
Guard House/Security: Tier 5 Building 22 WP
Inn: Tier 6 Building 30 WP
Stables: Tier 4 Building 14 WP
Apothecary/Healers Den: Tier 4 Building 14 WP
Community Garden: Tier 4 Property with added acreage (25 acres of prepared farmland and gardening area) 39 WP
Observatory: Tier 5 Property 22 WP
Communal Dormitories (top-notch) will be a tier 8 building, with more than enough room for the initial settlers. 54 WP

+ Dilapidated house that is found nearby the site for Eureka, that they can fix up and build to their exact specifications (will need threading, but the costs are covered by wealth tier).

217 WP In total costs. These funds will act as an accelerant to the building of the wanted facilities, to the point where they will be built and fully constructed within a season and a half. Of course, being on the outskirts of civilization, you'll want to get capable builders to see to it. That can be handled in Settlement threads.

Initial Settlers Demographics/skill sets

Initial Settlers who were informed of and will arrive at the site:

5 Academics: Research: 30 (Competent)
3 Educators: Teaching: 30 (Competent)
2 Order of the Adunih Blue Cloaks: Medicine: 30 (Competent)
5 Builders: Engineering: 30
5 Scientists: Science: 20, Mathematics: 10
5 Ordinary Settlers: Resistance: 30

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding this review, feel free to PM. Enjoy your rewards!