Togo is more interested in the wooden pole. He'll inspect it. After that he decides to try and speak with any of the more significant plants in the area if there were such a thing. Finally he'll inspect the causeway itself. And once that's one, he'll head back to see what Alba is up to.

Togo checks out the pole near the rebuilt section of causeway.

It has no attachments or anything that would indicate it was a part of something.  Just a free standing pole.  With nails.  And one date carved into it.  A decade ago.

Coincidentally, when construction stopped.

Alba heads back to the public room.  Alas, as she has already found, the town has no ledgers or records of its own.  Too small of a village.  They would have been in Namnates.  All she can find here are the architect's plans, and the writing instruments, and the lump of hard wax used as an eraser.

On a whim. Togo decides to try and remove the pole grabbing it where the nails are not located and rocking it forth and back using what body weight he has as leverage. If he is simply not strong enough he'll turn into bear form and have at it.

Togo can pull the pole out, in bear form.  It was set in the soil, in about about two feet.  But it's really just a pole.

(Clue:  This is my first post here in a while that does not contain an actual clue, other than this clue, which is only a clue because it's telling you where the other clues are.  The solution to the situation is stupidly, head smackingly simple, and it only makes sense seen from the ultra-simplistic point of view of a ghost.  It's the kind of thing an eight year old would notice, and then everyone would say, oh god, the kid's right!  And it is mentioned in each of my posts here since Nov. 5   Reread them, slowly, carefully, and if necessarily, aloud.  )

Togo asks Alba "Is the drawing on the scroll finished?"

Alba returns to Togo clearly not happy with her own thought processes. When Togo asks her about the sketches, she shrugs. "It's just a rough series of sketches. The curb stones need to be so in a certain way and the gaps filled with sand. Maybe that's all we need to do. Just find some stones that will roughly fit the bill and lay them out to reach the causeway. What do you think?"

"I'm thinking that maybe we don't even have to do that Alba. Maybe we just have to finish the sketches or drawings!" he says happy to have some sort of new idea. If Alba allows him he'll attempt to fill in some of the missing area copying the same design already in place. He's not an artist but he did receive a bit of training in the druid college. Granted it tended to be drawing various plants and animals but he did have a modicum of skill with drawing.

Togo goes back to the drawing board...

Literally.

He finds that the drawings are already finished, in a manner of speaking.

They show the various buildings in the town, and they do show a completed road, with paving, all the way out to the other side of the causeway.

Everything shown has been done- everything except the paving on the unpaved section of road, and there's nothing to use as paving, so doing that seems impossible.

But the drawings are finished.  Finished and re-finished, really.  He sees the areas on the drawings Alba saw before, where things were erased.  The original charcoal lines on the page can still be seen.  That causeway was originally intended to be a bridge, for example.  Some other details, here and there, were changed.

So what is "finished", really, when one has an eraser?

'everything except the paving on the unpaved section of road'

Togo completes the paving in the drawing. He'll use whatever lines were already present as a guide. And since we don't want the work being undone by leaving the means to do so, so easily he pockets the eraser.

The drawing was already showing the paving.  What I meant was that the physical paving was uncompleted.  All the physical actual work except the paving is done.

Ok, plan B. Togo changes the drawing to match the reality of what already exists.

Alba brightens when Togo starts working on the scroll. "Togo! That's brilliant!"

She lets him work in peace until he thinks he's done then she looks over the scroll. Only if she thinks that there's something out of place will she suggest a change. Silently she prays to Minerva that this will be sufficient to appease the spirits. Otherwise, they may have just made it impossible for the spirits to be laid to rest.

Togo finds that he really doesn't have to change much at all.  Only one thing wasn't done.  The paving of the road outside of town.

A little bit of erasing here and there, and a little change to a note so it now says "Paving stops here" instead of "Pave entire road", and...

After a decade, the unfinished work is now officially finished.  There's nothing left to be done.

They here that noise again, the noise that sounds like shuffling of piles of bricks.  It's coming closer.

Fijero, who had made himself scarce earlier when they discovered that something here does not like Fey, darts back into the room looking worried.

"Togo... Alba... there's a big... it's a... like... a huge... walking... IT'S HEADED THIS WAY!"


Very limited posts from me, if any, over the next few days.  Turkey Day traveling.

Alba hopes that the minor changes that Togo made to the drawings would be enough to placate the spirits. Now it's just sit back and wait.

They don't have to wait long. The clattering sound starts up again and seems to be approaching and then Fijero comes running in with word that the thing Vinto had seen earlier is back. This is it. We either fixed things or broke them irreparably.

She gives the faun a nod. "You should probably stay inside until I call you. You might have to apologize for something that your people did here."

Head held proudly high, she walks out to meet the spirit animated bunch of bricks. If this thing isn't satisfied with what they've done she's not sure what she'll do, but she'll meet it as a Pantera and a devotee of Minerva should.

Togo looks over at Alba and raises his eyebrows at the immense bravery Alba is displaying. In fact, he has to run a little to catch up to her. He was also hopeful that this would not result in combat but one could never be sure. Best be on guard for anything.

"Alba please be careful."He hopes that nothing bad happensto anybody, but to him it could still turn ugly.

They hear it coming long before it arrives.

It strides into the forum, making that terrible grinding, crushing sound, and those that go to meet it, (or a little later, those who boldly look out of the door of the Public Room)  see it:  Twelve feet tall, with the rough proportions of a very lumpy giant.  It's missing a few things here and there, like fingers, facial features, and a neck.  And it is made entirely of building materials.

It is a great walking, moving pile of bricks, pieces of lumber, leftover items of hardware, tiles, and other assorted things.  And it is headed straight for the Public Room of the Forum, where Togo has recently revised the Official Construction Plan for the Tilium Road.

Fijero the Faun looks out at it, and agrees “Hiding does sound sensible, Alba, but I will not leave my companions to face that thing alone.”

To his credit Togo manages not to soil his clothes but it would be a lie to say he isn't terrified. "Breath...keep breathing" he reminds himself in a whisper. He stands firmly next to Alba but is clearly uncomfortable being there.

Alba stands straight backed and watches as the animated pile of junk approaches them. She isn't sure what she expected to see, but this certainly wasn't it.  Hopefully Togo's clever solution will satisfy the spirit bound to this place! Fijero's willingness to stand with them could be problematical, but she certainly can't fault the faun's bravery or sense of companionship. Gravely she nods, not really trusting her voice just yet.

Togo's advice is sound, and she takes it. Breathing in and out.

The real power of the spirit is apparent as the construct approaches them. It's huge, and she feels dwarfed by its presence. She stands still. If she tried to move, her knees will probably buckle. With a slight quaver in her voice she addresses the spirit. "Your task is complete. You can rest in peace!"

The thing shows no sign of responding to Alba's statement.  But then, it shows no sign of hostility to them either.  It does not acknowledge them in any way.  It just walks up...and right past, headed for the public room.

Despite its great size, it has no problem with the doorway.  It seems to be able to adjust its shape at will, and for a few moments, instead of tall, it's long.  Then it passes inside, and again reorders itself, this time just a little over Human height but much broader, so as not to bump its head on the ceiling.

It stops at the easel with the drawing.  It has no face, no eyes, but it certainly seems to be reading.

After a moment, one huge hand made of clay floor tiles reaches up, and with a noise like chalk on a blackboard, scratches its head.

Alba stands a little puzzled as the construct walks past her and into the building. Fortunately it ignores everyone (including Fijero). Curious she goes to the door to watch it as it scratches its head. She glances back to the others and gives a slight shrug.

"Well, now what? I mean it looks like we have a means of controlling this thing but at the same time it's tied to this drawing. I suppose I could draw stuff for it to create and as long as it had the materials it looks like it would do it. Now, here's something to consider. Would it follow us if we took the drawing with us? I'm sure this magic could be immensely useful for rebuilding towns or building new ones. Somebody would definitely pay a lot of money for it or at the very least we could get jobs or rent it out. Or maybe I'm just over thinking the whole situation." Togo ends with a sort laugh.

The living, walking pile of construction materials studies the drawing on the table.  It scratches its head.  It bends over, as if to get a closer look at the roadway, where Togo recently erased the note that referred to the paving.

It stares.  And then… it shrugs.  It walks outside, goes behind the building, and calmly and quickly disassembles itself into neat piles.  Bricks, tiles, wood.

There is a sudden cold wind, and something like a whirling dust devil forms near Togo.  It reminds him of what they saw in the mill.

It speaks.

”Though they foiled us for long, our labors are at last complete, and we may go.  Thank you.”

And then it is gone.

The group has resolved the mystery of Tilium, and after a brief exploration of the town they return home.

They’ve found some treasures lost in the haunted town, and they bring back:

A wheelbarrow
4 woven area rugs, 12’ x 12’, with floral themes.  Good thing they found that wheelbarrow.
A mirror in a gold frame.
Assorted construction tools.
An easel, writing materials, and some large sheets of vellum.
360 gold pieces.

Upon their return, they see that the town has continued its long recovery, and the Fey crowd here has thinned out a little further, with more of the Fey returning to the wilderness.

But there have been a few boats arriving from Corbilo- at long last the town has contact with the civilized world.

One of those boats has their friends, Mia, Aramil, and Flitter, and they reunite in a new thread:

Namnates in December.

Alba gives Togo one of those looks. Quietly she responds. "That wouldn't be a good idea. I suggest we do what we can to put the spirits at rest. How would you like it if someone made your spirit jump through hoops like a trained dog? That sounds like something the hun would do. Do you really want to be compared to them?"

When he ends his comment with a laugh, she sighs. Sometimes jokes are in bad taste.

======

She's glad that they found the wheelbarrow. There's a lot of ungainly stuff to carry back. Quickly she rolls the 4 area rugs up in one roll and puts the tools at the bottom of wheelbarrow and puts the rolled up carpet on top. The easel and drawing supplies will go on top of that.

She helps move the load as she can, but it's probably going to be Fijero and Jerrick who do most of the work.

Once they get back to Namnates, she glances at Togo and Vinto. "I'd like to donate the tools to the city. They can probably use them more than we can. At least one of the rugs I'd like to give to the temple of Ceres. But if you guys have any say on that stuff, let me know."

She waves to Mia, Aramil and Flitter when she sees them.

That would be in the new thread, Namnates in December