Construct loved by Many Faces(PsionicCuttlefish & Micbunny)

[PsionicCuttlefish]

"...And if I ever see you even approach my commander again, hostile saboteur, you will suffer more than broken appendages, you will be disarmed. As in you will not have any arms anymore. Confirm?"

"C-confirm! Oh b-by the Host, conf-firm!"

The hapless pickpocket, held up by the collar of his shirt, was unceremoniously tossed to the ground where he tried to stumble back to his feet while holding his hands--with every finger broken--close to his chest. Once he got to his feet, he stumbled off into a run, blubbering the whole way, as other passerby in the street shrugged and went on with their own business.

The object of the pickpocket's misfortune turned to the woman at his side, needing to look down to see the shorter individual, and snapped off a crisp military salute. "Threat has been dispatched, Commander. We can continue to base."

So said Hardwall the warforged to his employer. As warforged went, Hardwall was a fairly archetypical one, a standard combat model, none of the specializations of the mithral, adamantine, or other unusual models. Composite plating made of stone and steel was overlaid on the fiber-cord bundles that made up his musculature, and he had no overt customizations or modifications that some other warforged incorporated into themselves as they aged. Small green lights shone in the pits that made his eyes, and his expression, like many other warforged, was frozen in a permanent intimidating grimace. A heavy sword, more for display than actual use given that there still was a rule of law in the city, hung unused on a belt at his hip. His only other adornment was a backpack filled with the supplies and materials his employer had purchased on this shopping trip in one of Sharn's many marketplaces.

Sharn, City of Towers, largest and most impressive city on the continent of Khorvaire, and where Hardwall had come to his current situation. Like many others of his kind (particularly the older ones) he hadn't quite taken the end of the Last War--and subsequent disbanding of all warforged armies--very well. After having fought fierce battles on the side of Breland for his entire existence, nigh-on ten years, he didn't know what to do with himself and was left purposless and displaced. Hearing that warforged could find purpose in Sharn, his small unit had migrated to the big city as one, where they parted ways and attempted to integrate into civillian life.

By chance, Hardwall had happened across the artificer in front of him. She had been looking to fill several positions in her shop, from general assistant to bodyguard, but seemed to have positive views of warforged. She had no problem giving him all the duties, and as a tireless construct, Hardwall had no problem taking all of them and then some, all in exchange for shelter and regular professional maintenance.

A year later, and Hardwall had well settled into his roles, but he still had a tendancy to be a tad 'enthusiastic' in his charge, especially where the safety of his employer was concerned.

 

[Micbunny]

The woman tried to keep from chuckling at the rather blunt threat her bodyguard had given. She was quite used to his fairly excessive shows of force, as well as his strange means of talking. "I thought I told you, when out shopping for supplies I'm Amy. Can you call me that for once? Just try it. Aaaaaaaamyyyyyy. Not too hard." The shorter human woman said, her voice a mixture of playful . She looked rather plain, although with a few striking features. Her hair was a stunning bright red, and her eyes were a beautiful emerald green. Other than that her features were rather ordinary, and the rest of her body was covered in a couple layers of leather and cloth, a typical outfit for an artificer who tended to work in a shop all day. Slung across her front was a bandolier with several bottles and flask hung from it, as well as several wands and some other odds and ends tucked into the pouches strapped to her belt. Over all she looked more like a wandering shop than a person at the moment.

The pair's walk continued on until they reached the modest home and workplace of the artificer. She opened the door and directed Hardwall where to put her new found supplies, already contemplating what to start with. "Let's see.. the pnuematics were still a bit off and... if I tighten that... Did you get that gnomish tincture distiller I mentioned? I completely forgot about it." She said as she moved about the entryway to her home. As she did her features shifted and changed. Her skin grew paler and paler, taking on a milky white hue, and her eye color faded as well, her irises turning to pure white. Her mussed up red hair simply faded as well, turning a dim silvery white, finally showing her true nature as a changeling. While out and about she finds her human face to be more useful, as people are less likely to trust and work with a changeling, but at home she feels comfortable enough to 'let herself go'

 

[PsionicCuttlefish]

The warforged's head tilted to the side slightly, mimicking the humanoid mannerism that he had picked up on long ago. "I have not forgotten that your name is Amy, Commander." He replied in deliberately typical warforged deadpan. When she continued to walk, he settled in behind her like he was her shadow, albiet a slightly clanking shadow a couple feet taller than her. In truth, it wasn't like he was incapable of calling her by her real--or cover--names, and he did so whenever it was actually important and calling her 'Commander' would blow her cover. He didn't live ten years in the war by being stupid. The word was just familiar and comfortable to him...plus, it was amusing to observe her reactions whenever he did that.

He never told her that, of course.

When they finally reached her shop, and his employer unlocked the door and enterd, Hardwall walked in briskly after her and turned immediately to the right, where he placed his three-digited hand over a specific place on the wall. A Kundarak-made alarm rune glowed into visibility, confirming that the shop and house had been undisturbed while they were gone. Satisfied, he unshouldered the backpack and moved over to the storage cabinets as directed, and quickly began emptying the bag, one item at the time, placing every item in a neat arrangement right where it belonged. Since Hardwall had taken over housekeeping and inventory duties as well, the place had been much tidier, handled with the neat efficiency only a career military man (or construct) could muster.

When Tam asked about the item she had forgotten, Hardwall was quick to answer. "Yes, I did procure the gnomish tincture distiller. I have already placed it with the rest of your distillation apparati. I also took the liberty of acquiring the rubber seals you mentioned you might need for the pneumatic system, they are in the storage cabinets. Also, I am obliged to remind you that the special commission for Mister Bullron's expeditionary party is due in two days." The warforged rattled off all the things that him employer required, and then some, as he had learned a number of the changeling's habits and when she was liable to forget things, and was always quick to volunteer information and take initiative to help support her.

Changelings...Hardwall hadn't known Tam was a changeling when he was originally hired. It didn't take long for it to come out, but he hadn't exactly been pleased when it did. Changelings had garnered a well-deserved reputation during the Last War as the most notoriously effective spies outside of the elven bearers of the Dragonmark of Shadow, and footsoldiers like himself hated spies; an enemy who didn't give you a proper fight. It also didn't help that few officers considered it a particularly high priority to inform their warforged soldiers properly of changelings, leading them to hear exagerrated rumors that attributed more powers to the doppleganger-descended than they had. But, after spending a year with Tam and learning her precise capabilities and that she was just more or less an ordinary citizen making her way in Sharn, he had gotten comfortable with her and felt no apprehension anymore.

When Tam had walked back into view, now in her true form, Hardwall spoke up again. "Shall I prepare you a meal before opening up the shop?"

 

[Micbunny]

Tam finished her preparations and moved over to her workbench, pulling out the magical apparatus she had been fiddling with the past week. "I told that old blowhard it would be hard to finish this in less than a month. But he is paying good gold for it." She griped for probably the hundreth time since taking on this project. It was supposed to be a modified scrying device that drew a map of the surrounding area automatically. So far she had gotten it to draw maps rather easily. However the enchantment on it was still a bit... off. It tended to get lost as to just how far it should be looking and kept drawing wider and wider maps on top of ones it had already made."And thank you for the reminders. I don't know what kind of mess this place would be in if I hadn't hired you last year." She replied, before turning back to her device and began fiddling with it again.

Melding mechanical and magical power was something that Tam had become quite skilled at, but it was always a difficult undertaking. And as usual she had not mentioned if Hardwall should fix her a meal, or open the shop, too lost in her work. Once she found a project, Tam focused in on it with as much determination as she could muster, sometimes with rather terrifying results. There was still a large scorch mark where one of her pet projects had blown up, a reminder to at least practice some care. But then that was before she had hired Hardwall, and her workshop was a complete mess. Now she actually knew where everything was without spending half an hour or more looking for it. She smiled slightly as she though about that first day when she had told him to clean up her shop. She had expected him to take days on it but after going to sleep that night she woke up to find it in perfect order. The first of many examples of how hard working, and dedicated to his tasks her employee was.

Finally, Tam looked up from the bronze and steel casing she had been working on. "I think this is done." She said cheerily, shifting back to her Amy face as she said it. "So let's open up shop for today. Still some daylight, and don't want to keep the customers waiting now do we?"

 

[PsionicCuttlefish]

Hardwall said nothing at Tam's thanking him for his reminders. He usually didn't, as he always just considered himself to be serving his new purpose. He acknowledged the praise internally, and returned to work. In this case, cooking up a lunch for Tam. She hadn't said either way, but Hardwall was well familiar with how fleshlings needed to eat, and also how Tam seemed to forget when caught up in her own work.

Hardwall headed over to the kitchen area in the rear of the property, and set about gathering ingredients for a midday meal. Despite not having any sense of taste or smell and a limited sense of touch, Hardwall was an adequate cook. Certainly no expert or gourmet chef, but he could follow a recipe easily enough and could incorporate feedback ("A little more of this, a little less of that next time") to the point where he knew Tam's specific tastes.

By the time Tam had finished with her own task, there was a plate of lightly seasoned fried meat, some chopped vegetables, and some fruit waiting behind her on another workdesk. Hardwall was by the doorway to the workshop, where he nodded at Tam's statements. "Affirmative. I will set out the usual displays."

Hardwall turned and headed to the front of the shop, where he unlocked the main door and opened it. He hung several signs on the outside windows, and tapped the last sign thrice, which then levitated on its own and projected several colored lights into the air to float around and attract attention. Hardwall then took several choice magical baubles and stood outside the door on the side of the street, and proceeded to demonstrate them as people walked by.

 

[Micbunny]

Amy/Tam for her part sat on a tall chair behind a small counter in the shop portion of her house. She made quick work of her meal, surprised even after all this time that a warforged could make something that could taste this good. Tam was a horrible cook and always succeeded in burning or undercooking whatever she made regardless of if she were following a recipe or not. For the umpteenth time she wondered just how Hardwall managed to cook with no sense of taste, smell, or any way of knowing if what he made was good or not.

Today was a rather slow day. Only a few customers came in, mostly people who wished to have rather mundane objects repaired. A few warforged that Amy recognized from the city guard came in, requesting repairs which she was more than happy to oblige. Ever since they first appeared during the war she had been fascinated by warforged "physiology" and just what made these mechanical people, for she did see them as people, worked. During the war Amy had made a bit of a name for herself repairing warforged and keeping them in top shape. She enjoyed working on them, and occasionally developed components to help improve them. Now that the war was over she had been working on several pet projects to try to make more every day add ons for warforged who wished for more civilian lives.

After the guard forged left, Amy stepped outside. "Rather slow today." She commented to Hardwall. "Seems no one needs anything fun to work on these past couple of days. Probably waiting to all come at once and force me to work hard." She quipped with a chuckle. "Seems to be how it works. Want to close early and go out and have some fun? Heard a new bar opened up nearby and I want to check it out, want to come along?"

 

[PsionicCuttlefish]

Despite Hardwall showing off several of the choice wares out in front of the shop, it didn't seem to attract any significant new customers today. Oh well though, not every day was a fast one. Tam's business still did well enough. After several hours and the departure of the warforged guards (whom Hardwall had greeted and said farewell to in the same way; by pressing both of his fingers to the side the ghulra-sigil on his forehead, a unique 'salute' among warforged as a gesture of solidarity, which the guards had returned.), Hardwall paused again in the magic-item demonstrations as Tam wearing her Amy face stepped outside and mentioned going to a bar.

Hardwall tilted his head slightly. "Indeed, it does seem there are few customers to be had this day. If you wish to go out into the city, then of course I shall accompany you as escort as per my duty, Commander." Hardwall then packed up all the baubles and items he had been showing off and moved them back inside. He went around the shop and doubled-checked that everything was secure and off, before stopping by the door. Tam usually liked to to change to an appropriate outfit for whatever face she liked to wear out in the town, and while she used a human face for business as an artificer, when going out for entertainment, Hardwall knew she usually liked to switch to an elf face. He waited at the door, ready to lock up the shop when Tam finished changing and was ready to head out.

 

[Micbunny]

Tam headed up stairs to her room, throwing off her artificer's outfit, and searching for something to wear. As she did, her body changed, her waist slimming, her facial features sharpening, and her hair elongating. Her ears grew out and pointed and her eyes changed to a more almond shape. Soon she was a tall, blond haired elf. Her deep hazel eyes finally picked out a simple green and while dress, the body of it a leaf green, the sleeves frilly and white. It hung down about halfway below the knees. Perfect for a night of drinking and enjoyment. She quickly dressed, noticing that her bust didn't quite fill the dress and shifting it slightly, smiling as she looked in the mirror. "Magaga, you are one... sexy elf." She giggled, using her name for her elven "face."

A few minutes later she stepped out the door, looking incredibly cheerful. "So, how do I look?" She asked Hardwall, knowing that he would probably give an odd response but not really caring. Tam always loved showing off and making herself look nice, even if it really wasn't 'her' who people admired. After all, as a changeling, any face she adopted was just as much her as her supposed 'real' form. It was part of what made her fascinated with artifice. Taking many things and changing them into one different one, the intricate details, it was like constructing a persona, only with more permanent applications.

 

[PsionicCuttlefish]

Hardwall glanced "Tam" over when she came back into view. "You look like you are Magaga tonight." He said simply, recognizing her most common elf persona. As she exited the shop, Hardwall followed behind her, pausing momentarily to again place his his hand over the spot on the wall where the Kundarak ward-rune was to 're-set' it, after which he closed the door and locked it behind him before continuing after Magaga-Tam, shadowing her as he always did, looking just like what he was; a well-to-do citizen's personal warforged bodyguard.

Tam led the way through the streets of Sharn, over a few bridges and through towers in the vertically-accomplished city, until they reached the new bar that had opened up like she said. One of the bouncers, a typically-burly half-orc, narrowed his eyes at Hardwall behind Tam as the two approached. Looking at elf-persona of Magaga in front of him, the Half-orc spoke up. "...Yer pet can come in, but e'll have to wait in the corner away fr'm everyone else. This be a proper establ'shm't, we don't like those who don't come here fer drinks, an' we don't want 'im botherin' others."

At the thought of being kept a distance away from Tam, Hardwall's head bowed forward just slightly as his fingers slowly wiggled. To the half-orc the likely meant nothing, but with Tam having been around Hardwall for a year, she could recognize the small but telltale signs that the warforged was very displeased. However, the living construct only turned his head towards Magaga-Tam, deferring to her.

 

[Micbunny]

The elf looking woman narrowed her almond shaped eyes and glared at the orc "First off, he is not my 'pet' he is my bodyguard and companion. Secondly, if he is to be forced into the corner, then I guess I shall have to either find a seat near the corner, or move a table. I am sure a proper establishment such as this would be willing to accommodate such a request no? Lastly, are you quite aware that while the warforged do not need sustenance, they are quite capable of consuming it, and may even take joy from sharing such a social venture if their proclivities are such? So he may, in fact, be here for drinks, and a place that allows the 'forged may actually gain clientele by becoming known as accepting of others, even if it loses some of the more closed minded. But then that is hardly your fault, after all you are just the bouncer." 'Tam' quickly rattled off at the orc, the subject of discrimination a rather touchy one for her. Being a changeling she did not tend to judge people based on appearances alone, and seeing such closed minded behavior tended to raise her ire.

Still, she did want to enter, and sighed a concession. "Still, if that is your policy I must abide. Come, we shall not let this ruin a perfectly good night." She said to Hardwall, gesturing for him to follow into the establishment. Inside, it did appear to be a quite new establishment. The tables were well polished wood, with no scratches or the signs of wear on them. The counter was a long... Magaga guessed either oak or some other old hard wood, well polished and etched with fanciful decorations and swirling patterns. There were several tables around the room but Magaga gravitated toward a booth near the far corner. "Here, if you have to be 'away from people' let's at least do so at a comfortable table." She said, leading Hardwall to it, and sitting down, waiting for someone to come see to her. After all. It would be beneath such a beautiful elf to sit at the bar anyway.

 

[PsionicCuttlefish]

About halfway through Magaga's tirade, the half-orc seemed to zone out. Hardwall merely watched on with his usual impassiveness. When Magaga finally said that she'd abide anyway, the half-orc seemed to snap out of it and stepped aside. "Yeah, sure whatever..." Hardwall followed behind Magaga, but turned his head towards the bouncer on his way in. Though Hardwall (like most warforged) was incapable of changing his expression, it was still effectively shooting a glare at the bouncer. The bouncer just glared back.

Once inside, Hardwall followed Magaga to the corner booth she had chosen, and sat in a seat opposite to her. He had to be careful to fit his bulk in between the seat and table without gouging something, but he managed. Shortly afterwards, a peppy halfling barmaid came up to Magaga to take her order, though Hardwall remained silent and did not order anything for himself, naturally. After the barmaid got Magaga's order, she skipped off to the bar to get it.

Hardwall, meanwhile, was casting his eyes all around the pub, scanning every patron and assessing possible and probable threats as easy as breathing. Well, if he could actually breathe, that is. Nearly every patron came up as "low threat", except for some scarred veterans on the opposite side of the pub, though they were keeping to themselves and weren't very rowdy at all.

However, another patron at the bar had taken note of Magaga and Hardwall, or at least Magaga; a male elf dressed in a suit of moderate finery, marking him as a small businessman himself. He had had a few drinks already, and the lone (mostly) Magaga caught his eye. He sauntered over to the table and with a suave confidence spoke to the changeling posing as an elf. "Why hello there milady, I couldn't help but notice you seem to be bereft of company on this fine night in this fine place. Might I sit with you, so that this tragedy may be rectified?" He spoke with a typical Khorvairian elf accent.

Hardwall, on the other hand, was staring straight at the elf. Tam could tell from the suble hitching of his shoulder-plates that he had tensed up his musculature and was prepared to act if it became necessary.

 

[Micbunny]

Magaga/Tam cheerily ordered a bottle of fruity red wine, and sat back in her seat, taking in the 'sights' of the bar. She could not help but notice the huge mix of people and pondered aloud "They seem to let anyone in except warforged. Heck there's a pair of shifters over there. I thought they would be considered more problematic than you. Heh, racism isn't just about race anymore. Saddening." She sighed. When her drink arrived she thanked the halfling and gave her a small tip, taking a short sip of her drink.

As the other elf came up, Magaga sat up a little more, noting Hardwall's subtle changes, and cocking her head a little toward him, a signal to stay calm for the moment. "Greetings. However I do have a little company if you see here." She said, gesturing to Hardwall. "But I would not say no to more. You seem quite well dressed. What is it that you do?" She asked him, trying to make some small talk. "I'm sure it must be something quiet interesting." Tam replied, attempting to adopt a little of a Khorvarian accent, but the strange mix of accents that was her normal voice somewhat leaking through. It made her sound like an elf who had spent a lot of time traveling though, so she was not that worried.

 

[PsionicCuttlefish]

"I wouldn't know." Hardwall replied to Tam's comment about 'race'. While he knew other warforged--particularly younger ones--were more invested and concerned about such issues than him, Hardwall was one of the many grizzled veterans who didn't really care as long as he had something to do. However, when the other male elf approached the table and Hardwall noticed the shifting on Tam's head towards him, he understood the signal and relaxed back in his seat. He hadn't let his guard down, though. There was something about this elf he didn't like.

The elf, meanwhile, had taken Magaga-Tam's inquiry with gusto. "Oh, I would say it's very interesting indeed!" He said bombastically, gesturing with a hand that held a half-full glass of wine. "I import textiles and other goods from the Valenar! Considered exotic goods around here, they fetch excellent prices! Plus, I'm one of the few who can negotiate with them at all, I share some ancestry with one of the clans! Oh, but communicating with them is still always interesting at the best of times--I surely don't have to tell you how seriously they take themselves! Good thing I'm handy with a blade myself, as I've had to defeat a few of the Valenar's younger warriors in single combat from time to time just to continue business!"

The elf then slid himself into a seat next to Magaga, probably a little less smoother than he had intended, as it was obvious he'd had at least several drinks from the overdone enthusiasm in his voice and the every so slight wobbling in his movements. It was also hard to tell how much of his bragging was truth and how much was hyperbole or fabrication, though defeating Valenar warriors, even young ones, wasn't particularly likely.

The male elf then leaned in, right up against Magaga's side, and looked into her eyes. "But enough about me, tell me about yourself, my fine flower! What is your name? What is it you do? What do you enjoy? For I'm sure it will be most enjoyable for us to get to know each other better..."

 

[Micbunny]

Tam wrinkled her sharp elven nose as the male elf leaned in close, his heavily wine scented breath blasting her face. It was tart and sour, and she knew immediately this man had quite too much to drink. "Oh, fighting Valenar warriors? That sounds.... exciting." She said, trying to scoot away from the elf a bit more. "I really don't do all that much. I am simply a secretary for some trading firm. I make enough to spend my evenings out but, I do not think that I'm quite interesting enough for you."

Tam looked rather uncomfortable at the sudden closeness. She quite enjoyed flirting and the verbal back and forth that was common place between two people out drinking, but she never did quite finish the game. Something always seemed to cut her off before anything beyond simple flirting and witty banter exchanging happened, but it was readily apparent to her that this elf was too far in his cup to take the hints. "I am afraid I might not be quite the.... 'flower' you are looking for. Besides, you seem to have had enough nectar for the evening." Tam replied, trying to convince the elf to give her a little space.

 

[PsionicCuttlefish]

The warforged on the other side of the table sat still and silent, focused on watching Magaga and the male elf. He could tell the other elf was making his Commander uncomfortable, with the way she kept trying to increase the distance between them. Hardwall didn't like that.

He didn't like that at all.

The elf, meanwhile, seemed oblivious to Magaga's hints, and carried on with his blustering, and kept leaning closer to her as she scooted away. "Oh, come now, don't be like that! You are certainly interesting enough for me...and besides, of course you want to get to know me better...I can show you just how well I handle my 'sword' in person..." The man then reached down with one of his hands to put it on Magaga's thigh, and moved to reach between her legs--

ffffp-CRACK!

"Aaaauuugh! M' nove! M' nove!"

Suddenly, the elf's glass was dropped on the table and he was clutching his face with both hands as a small trickle of blood leaked between his fingers. It took a moment to realize what had happened, since it had happened so fast. But after piecing it together, Magaga would realize that Hardwall had--in one single circular motion--leaned forward across the table, reached out with his arm, grabbed the elf behind his head, pulled back to slam the elf's face into the table, all before returning to the exact sitting position he had been at before. The warforged glanced straight at Magaga/Tam, and calmly said "Threat neutralized." in his typical warforged deadpan.

But the elf's cries of pain had attracted attention, and as he stumbled out of the booth and away from the table, a loud voice called out " 'EY! What's goin' on over 'ere?" The half-orc bouncer from before, along with a dwarf and several large humans, walked over to the table. The half-orc took one look at the elf trying to stand up, still clutching his face, and leveled a glare at Hardwall.

"Assaultin' another patron? Get out, now, both of ya." The half orc growled out as he pulled out an unusual spiked gauntlet from his belt and slid it onto his hand. "An' jus' try somethin' funny. Ya won't be the firs' weapon we've had to disarm." The half-orc bit out at Hardwall, before touching his other hand to a small Eberron dragonshard inset into the back of the spiked gauntlet. Sparks of electricity arced between the spikes after he did so. To Tam's experienced eye though, the gauntlet actually wasn't very impressive, relatively crude work, probably that of a magewright rather than a true artificer. Still, there was little doubt it could cause problems for Hardwall if it was used against him.

Hardwall, meanwhile, simply looked back at Magaga, waiting for her cue. He figured he could probably take the bouncers on, and in fact had already worked out a plan of action if he had to, but he had a hunch that his employer would rather he didn't take any further action without prompting.

 

[Micbunny]

Magaga/Tam closed her eyes and tensed up as the intruding elf reached toward her thigh when the whistling of air and the sudden loud crack startled her. She almost jumped up in her seat before realising what had happened. She opened her eyes to see the elf bent over the table crying out. "You shouldn't have done that..... thank you." She whispered softly to Hardwall before the bouncer arrived. "This man was making undo advances on me... My companion was simply protecting me." She began, before looking around the room, and coming to the conclusion that.... there was no way she could talk herself out of this. "There's no need for violence. We'll leave." She said, starting to stand. However, the mix of the slight amount of alcohol she had drank and the stress caused her to stumble slightly. As she did her natural shifting ability started to 'slip' from the stress, and her eyes faded to the white on white that was the hallmark of a changeling. Being the rather light weight she was, the confusion and worry of a potentially violent altercation occuring was causing her to become bleary minded and light headed. "We are leaving. This place is not... our kind of establishment anyway." She said, starting to head toward the door, hoping the crowd would move to let her pass. "Come on Hardwall, we should get out before they do something they'll regret in the morning."

'Let's see, that gauntlet is... probably some of Eric's work. And pretty shoddy at that. If we have to fight out of here.... that's still a priority... but those guys are big.... should I change? Try to look bigger? Oh god I don't want to get in a fight.' Tam's mind raced, trying to figure out what she would have to do if things got violent, but the slightly muddled thoughts made it hard to know what to do and her thoughts kept jumping here and there. If Hardwall was paying attention to the way she seemed to be shivering slightly, and the semi erratic movement of her eyes he would know, from past experience, that his employer was lost in thoughts and would probably not be able to help much if a fight broke out.

 

[PsionicCuttlefish]

Hardwall began to move out of his seat and stand up with Magaga as she tried to explain the situation, and Hardwall was prepared for all outcomes, including Magaga acquiescing to leave without further incident. Hardwall immediately prioritized carrying out exactly that to the best of his ability, which meant not provoking the bouncers further. But as Hardwall glanced towards Magaga to keep aware, he spotted that her eyes were no longer the hazel of Magaga, but the solid milky-white of Tam. The situation was getting to her, and her control was slipping.

It wouldn't exactly be a disaster if everyone discovered that she was a changeling, everyone in Sharn knew many changelings lived among them (of the three red-light districts in Sharn, one was famous for being almost entirely populated with changelings), some who even walked openly in their true forms. But Hardwall knew that Tam was one of the many changelings who preferred their "public" identities to remain disassociated with their true nature, to better slip between the facets of society when it suited her. To that end, Hardwall took the initiative to help preserve her nature, so that she wouldn't have to abandon this particular identity and spend time crafting a new one.

"We are retreating peacably, maintain ceasefire." Hardwall declared as he moved his immense bulk around to Magaga, where he leaned slightly towards her to shield her from everyone else with his body, as he also used one of his huge hands to conceal her head and face, while he rested the other on Magaga's shoulder to help steer her towards the exit. And though his hand was formed of stone, metal, and wood, his contact with her was firm but gentle in a way that one wouldn't expect from a construct without meeting them before. He listened to her trying to evaluate the situation, but she quickly descended into confused uncertainty. "Do not change. Maintain." Hardwall said in a faint, muted voice without moving his jaw, the warforged equivalent of a whisper. The bouncers and some of the other bar patrons watched the duo head towards the door, but no one blocked their way or pursued them.

Then they were back out on the bridge-streets, with the towers of Sharn rising all around them. Hardwall straightened up a bit, but his hand remained on Magaga's shoulder and he marched behind her, guiding her to stay on course towards home. After a time of walking, after which Hardwall was confident Magaga/Tam had gotten ahold of herself again, he removed his hand from her and marched at her side instead of behind her. Hardwall looked down and sideways at his employer while he walked. While he did what he considered his job, he knew it was his fault that they got kicked out of the bar that Tam wanted to visit.

"I must apologize, Commander." Hardwall said. "I perhaps could have carried out my duty to safeguard you with more subtlety, instead of instigating the skirmish that has led to you being evicted from the establishment you wished to enjoy a social evening in." Normally, the warforged spoke in either monotone or deadpan (unless intimidating someone or in battle), but there was actually some inflection in his voice this time, which was fairly rare. Since his sculpted face was incapable of forming any kind of expression, that hint in his voice was enough to reveal that he was feeling genuinely contrite and remorseful.

 

[Micbunny]

Tam followed Hardwall out, worried but working on calming down directly. His hand on her shoulder served to help anchor her to the moment instead of becoming lost in her muddled thoughts. On the streets she finally managed to clear her head slightly, shaking it several times and blinking slightly. "No, you did... you did good." She assured him softly. "I was not having that much fun really. Besides, that place doesn't seem like my kind of establishment." She said. For a while she simply walked in silence next to Hardwall, thinking for a moment. "That was uncharacteristic of you, to react so harshly without a warning or any kind of indication you were going to hit him." Tam said almost absentmindedly as she shifted her features from the sultry looking elf to her more normal human appearance. By the time they reached the shop, she was Amy again.

"Ugh, why are other people so... stupid and just... words not coming to me, I may have had a bit too much." Amy said as she went to unlock the door. "You know it'd be a lot easier if I didn't have to go out to.... Never mind. Warforged don't have biological urges, nor the anatomy to handle them even if they did. That'd be a sight." She says softly with a chuckle. "I wonder.... what would.... well some kind of pump.... internal..... but how would pressure......" She stepped through the door, looking down slightly, the fingers of her left hand wiggling and moving about in the air, as if working with an invisible abacus. "That'd be..... but then...."

Amy, instead of heading up to bed drifted toward her workshop, still doing her faint mumbling and mental calculations. It seemed something had caught her interest. Hardwall would have occasionally seen her do this, where she became so consumed with a task she ignored most everything around her. Although normally this was when she was presented with an interesting device or a difficult problem. Still, as Amy changed to her normal Changeling appearance and sat down at her workbench, she seemed consumed in her work. She reached her slender arms for a roll of paper and spread it out in front of her, beginning to sketch.... something. Pressure calculations and some strange mishmash of devices soon appeared on the paper, as well as a rough sketch of... it was hard to tell just quite what she was drawing, as calculations, notes, and various small mechanical parts covered up the sketch.

 

[PsionicCuttlefish]

Hardwall continued walking along with Tam at a steady pace as she excused his actions, only giving a nod while he walked. "If you say so, Commander." But when she called him out on his being quick to action without warning, Hardwall actually missed a beat in his stride and stumbled slightly with a metallic clatter before he caught himself and returned to a normal walking pace. It was very hard to surprise a warforged; clearly he hadn't been expecting a question like that. "I..." He began, but whatever he was trying to say wouldn't form right for him. It wasn't unheard-of for a warforged to stammer over their words in exceptional circumstances, but it was just that, it didn't happen commonly like with fully organic beings. "I saw...how the ruffian continually engaged in physical contact with you despite your clearly obvious displeasure and avoidance. That...angered me." Hardwall kept slowing down with his speech irregularly as he answered, as if he wasn't even entirely certain what he was saying--or rather, he didn't fully understand what he was saying, which wasn't surprising considering how difficult the topic of emotions was for warforged, yet what was surprising was that it was his anger he seemed unsure of. Anger and hatred were the emotions that almost every warforged was familiar with and understood well, as they were the only emotions useful to the people who trained them to be soldiers; it was useful to hate the person you were fighting.

Hardwall walked the rest of the way to the shop with Tam in silence, though there was something off about his gait, like he wasn't concentrating on walking, though it was unlikely the tipsy Tam noticed. When they reached the door and Tam--now in her human Amy persona--moved to unlock the shop door and started babbling through her alcohol buzz, Hardwall continued to remain silent. This wasn't the first time he had seen her drunk, so he dealt with it as he always had; by staying out of Tam's way and just letting her work her buzz out. All he had to do was silently trail behind her and clean up after her. After crossing the threshold after Tam, he smoothly went about stowing everything away about the shop that needed to be stowed for the night, and locking up everything behind him. He noticed she went to her workshop instead of her bedroom, still mumbling and muttering arcane calculations. Hardwall had seen this before too, and it was best to just let her work it out. She didn't do it often, so it wouldn't be too detrimental to her daily activities, and she'd probably pass out over her work soon anyway, after which he'd relocate her to her bed properly.

With the entire building locked up and everything properly put away, Hardwall went to his own personal cupboard that contained everything he officially owned for himself. They were all practical items, mostly a few weapons, a repair kit, the salary Tam paid him, and other assorted useful items, but there were two items he was interested in that were more or 'pleasure' than practicality, if it could be called that. Only the most ignorant people didn't know that warforged actually did get bored. Oh, they could spend more time on a singular task than most people could, but eventually they'd want to do something else for awhile, and even warforged don't like standing around doing nothing, they needed something to pass the time. Officially, Hardwall's after-hours job was to be a nightguard for the shop, but with the locks, security wards, and the fact there hadn't been a break-in in over a year, he could do other things while on the watch.

With the two items in question, a somewhat thick slip of parchment and a gameboard, Hardwall set up in the main shop where he could listen best to all parts of the building for an intruder (as well as Tam in her workshop, or rather, he would notice when he couldn't hear her working anymore). He placed the circular gameboard on the table and set up a series of gamepieces on one side. Though the game could involve two, three, or four players, all the other sides were left empty. He then laid out the sheet of parchment on the table next to the board, retrieved a quill and inkpot, and then wrote out on the parchment in neat warforged writing;

I have arrived and am ready to play. How many others are present tonight?

Hardwall stared at the parchment he had written on for a minute, and then, of it's own accord, the inkwritten words faded away, and new equally-neat words began writing themselves on the parchment before his very eyes.

There are seven of us tonight. Whipfist, Toadsticker, Brigade, and Heat are otherwise engaged. We have two newcomers. One has played the game before. Would you like to match him?

Hardwall waited for the writing that had been written onto the enchanted parchment that matched his to fade away, before he wrote in his response. Affirmative. Newcomers were unusual, two newcomers was impressive. Hardwall was always pleased to match wits with some he had not before.

Hardwall then looked back to the gameboard and pressed his metal thumb to the Eberron dragonshard inset in the center, which glowed softly. A few moments later, ghostly, illusory pieces began appearing on the opposite side of the board, representing the positions of the pieces on the second gameboard that, like the parchment, matched the one in Hardwall's possession. When Hardwall had taken time off for himself once (more like Tam insisted point-blank that he take a break and go explore the city some), he had met several other warforged employed throughout the city who had formed a nighttime club when they were not working, as warforged often liked to stick together. They all knew how to play a boardgame that was common around Khorvaire, and they all enjoyed it to match wits against each other and keep their minds sharp. Hardwall visited them in person when he could, but he also insisted himself that he remain in Tam's shop most of the time as her nightguard, as he considered it his duty. While Hardwall didn't often have use for the money Tam paid him, he had commissioned her to create something that would allow him to play with them while remaining here. The result were the two gameboards and two pieces of parchment, which incidentally became one of her shop's more popular items for the rich elite and netted her a tidy profit.

Hardwall then glanced back to the parchment. More writing was appearing on it, though it was brief. It merely said I am, and then showed a unique rune. It was the warforged on the other end drawing his ghulra for Hardwall. When the ink faded, Hardwall responded in kind, drawing the rune that was etched into his own forehead, before writing I look forward to seeing how you think.

The parchment responded with As do I. You have the first move.

Hardwall made his move.


(OOC: Wow that was quite a bit longer than I intended...and I don't even mean it to be a major point, I just wanted to come up with what Hardwall does to pass the time at night. Hope you don't mind I invented something that Tam invented. )

 

[Micbunny]

Tam continued her strange frenzied work, moving at a frantic if uncoordinated pace. Occasionally a part would confound her as she fumbled about with her tired and slightly drunken fingers. Soon a slightly cylindrical shape began to take form. It was crude looking, made of several rings of interlocking metal, some rather mismatched as Tam had not bothered to quite make sure the pieces fit together perfectly. Inside a series of tubes and pistons linked to the rings. "Damn it! Ow!" She cursed, pulling her hand back from a link she had been working on, sucking on her finger gently and blinking slightly. Due to her tired, befuddled state she was making several mistakes but she continued to press on. "No, that goes... but then... how much?" She muttered softly, her eyes slowly closing more and more before finally, with a loud *THUNK* she fell forward onto the table, passing out on her seat, scattering a few of the smaller cogs, pipes, metallic rings and some strange tubing she had laid out. After several minutes a soft, delicate snoring issued from the hunched over Tam, her arms resting on the table around her head, twitching occasionally reacting to something in her dreams, or just an unconscious muscle twitch one could not tell. As she snored softly she started slowly sliding off the side of her chair, barely supported by her position on her workbench, although her precarious perch would not last long.

 

[PsionicCuttlefish]

Some time into his game, Hardwall heard a quiet thunk from elsewhere in the building, almost quiet enough that he missed it. However, he did hear it, which meant investigating it. Quickly, he scribbled a note onto the parchment saying he needed to walk away for a moment and would return soon, then he got out of the chair he was sitting in and walked out of the shop area of the building into the rear living areas. As he walked closer to where he heard the thunk come from, he also heard a windy buzzing sound, one he knew all to well. Tam was asleep, and snoring.

The warforged quickly, but quietly made for Tam's workshop, turning the corner into the doorway in enough time to see her begin to slip sideways off her desk. With a brief burst of speed and yet with a lightness in his step that was quiet enough to not wake up Tam, Hardwall crossed the remaining distance in little more than a second. In just enough time, he reached the side of her workbench, crouched, and shoot his arms out to catch Tam as she began to fall, lowering his arms as she fell into them to gradually and softly stop her from hitting the floor, all to keep her from waking up.

Once the warforged was sure his employer was still sound asleep, Hardwall then gingerly scooped up Tam in his arms in a way most people wouldn't think warforged to be capable of. He freed up one of his hands just enough to try and pick up some of the unassembled pieces of...whatever Tam was working on...that had gotten scattered around from her unplanned slumbering. Hardwall caught a glimpse of some of the pieces of parchment with arcane formulae on them that Tam had scribbled down, and Hardwall recognized a few of them as enchantments designed to integrate with a warforged. So, she was making a new warforged component of some kind. Hardwall did not, however, recognize the vaugely cylindrical device that was taking shape in the center of the scattered parts. Figuring that Tam would tell him about it when she finished it, if she wanted to, Hardwall put it from his mind and carried Tam out of the workshop and up the stairs to her bedroom as slowly and quietly as he could manage. Once there, he laid out Tam on her bed, and pulled the covers over her, knowing that fleshlings needed to be insulated while in their resting state. With his task complete, Hardwall exited the room and returned to the shop, where he continued to play the boardgame with the other warforged throughout the night.

****

In the morning when Tam awoke, she would find herself not at her desk, where she last remembered being, but neatly tucked into her own bed. It didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened, this wasn't the first time Hardwall had taken care of Tam when she overworked herself. She could also then smell the scent of food wafting up from downstairs. Hardwall must have started cooking her breakfast already.

 

[Micbunny]

"Uuuugggnnn, where...." Tam groaned as she awoke to the warm smell of food wafting up from downstairs. After blinking blearily for a moment she shook her head and got out of bed. Although tumbled out of bed would be a more apt description. She yawned and stretched slightly, stretching her arms above her head and letting out a long, tired sounding yawn. "I should get more sleep...." she muttered to herself blearily. As Tam went down the stairs she heard the unmistakable sounds of Hardwall working in the kitchen. Even when he was trying to be quite the sound of metal on metal as he used the utensils was impossible to completely silence. "How long did I sleep?" She called to him as she reached the bottom of the stairs and headed into the kitchen. "I feel like a Lightning Rail ran into me...." She complained softly, stretching again and taking in a deep breath, enjoying the smell of eggs and sausage, one of her favorite breakfast meals.

As Hardwall finished cooking she sat down in a chair she commented a bit more cheerily. "And what is the occasion that you felt I deserved my favorite foods? I told you not to cook it too often or I might get fat." She said with a chuckle, knowing that while she could gain weight, the ability of a changeling to change their body shape meant that even if she did it would not be noticeable, or even matter. Still she liked to at least make an effort to 'watch her figure' like other people did. "And how was your game last night? Board still working well I hope?" She asked in a chipper conversational tone, having cheered up a lot after waking up a bit more and getting something to eat.

After a few moments Tam remembered where she had been last night and what she had been working on and blushed a little. "Oh umm.... thank you for getting me to bed last night but... did you see any odd notes or... machinery in my workshop last night? Anything.... out of the ordinary or.... strange?" She asked, trying to see if Hardwall had seen, or more importantly had figured out what Tam had been constructing last night.

 

[PsionicCuttlefish]

Hardwall looked over from the stove he was working on as Tam came down the stairs in a groggy stupor. It was always curious to Hardwall about how most fleshlings went through such a stage of poor functioning in the period of time immediately after awakening. He always wondered why they couldn't simply always operate in ideal capacity at all times, so long as they were properly maintained. At her comment on how she felt, Hardwall tilted his head at her as he flipped an egg in a pan offhand. "I highly doubt that. If you were to be stuck by a Lightning Rail moving at speed, I believe you would not survive the experience to know what it felt like."

After Tam sat down at a table and Hardwall presented her with the finished meal, she asked him why he had cooked a 'fattening' meal for her, in what Hardwall had come to recognize as a 'playful' voice. "Your natural changeling abilities are sufficient to counteract weight gain." Hardwall responded in a casual tone, for a warforged at least. "...And you were quite distressed last night, partially as a result of my actions, so I decided to prepare a meal that you would particularly enjoy." He continued, in a noticiably more measured tone. Internally, Hardwall was thinking to himself. He had come to notice how, over time, he seemed to be going to greater and greater extents to ensure that his employer was content and comfortable. He wasn't quite sure why that was, but by now he was beginning to be aware that he was forming some kind of attachment to Tam beyond simply employer and employee. He found himself working for her not because it was a job, but because he wanted to. He just didn't know why that was, or even what kind of attachment he was beginning to feel towards her. Warforged weren't exactly commonly taught about such things, mostly because many people had no idea warforged were even capable of more complex feelings than battlerage or simple loyalty.

As Hardwall went about cleaning up the utensils he'd used, he glanced back in Tam's direction as she inquired about what he knew about what Tam had been working on last night. While her tone wasn't one he heard very often, he could tell that Tam was speaking in a hesitant or 'embarrased' way, a tone usually reserved for when one fleshling didn't want another to know about something, though Hardwall couldn't fathom what Tam didn't want him to know about what she had been working on. "I recognized several equations and diagrams as the foundations for a warforged-compatible customization, though I could not discern its purpose, as it appears to be an entirely new one you are creating. When you finish it, you will inform me about it if you intend to, I suppose." Hardwall answered in full truth. "Also to inform you, I noticed some pieces of it had been scattered around, so I picked them up and organized them on the desk for when you return to it." He finished.

 

[Micbunny]

Tam nodded, a little relieved. Although why she had been worried she had no idea. Hardwall probably would not have recognized what she was building, or realised the implications even if she had somehow managed to finish it. "Well yes I.... I'm working on a warforged component just... an idea that popped into my head." She admitted. "And thank you for picking up the pieces. Some of those might have been a pain to replace. So how late was I up anyway?" She asked as she got up, taking her plate over to wash it clean. She washed her plate in silence for a moment then finally concluding something in her head. "I think today we should leave the shop closed. I doubt we'd get many customers today, and I want to finish this new project. When I get done um...." Tam took in a deep breath then let it out, steeling her nerves. "Would you be willing to help me test it? I will need a 'forged to try it out with."

As Tam was talking she fidgeted and rocked back and forth slightly on her feet, her body language conveying her nervousness and a little unease, but her voice spoke with more determination than she seemed to feel. A strange mix of emotions playing across her rather plain white face. Her eyes not quite looking at Hardwall directly but glancing at him out of the corner of her eye, or stealing glances when she thought he wouldn't see. This was quite different from her usual more confident or eclectic personality, but then as a Changeling she sometimes had strange moods or behavior swings as the feeling struck. Or over accenting emotions simply to display them better. Besides, she felt more free to show her emotions around Hardwall, after all, he certainly had little body language so she had to do more than enough for the both of them.

 

[PsionicCuttlefish]

Hardwall was not surprised, as Tam often had new and creative ideas come to her in flashes, he was familiar with her bursts of genius when working on projects. As Hardwall finished cleaning up the things he had used, he answered "You stayed up for three hours after you began your work, which was indeed three hours longer than you should have been up." With everything put away, he turned to face Tam and watched her as she continued talking, and slipped into what he recognized as a nervous mood. It wasn't one he saw often in the extroverted and energetic changeling, and he couldn't imagine why she would be nervous now, about a new warforged component.

Hardwall tilted his head at her. "Very well, if you wish to keep the shop closed today, I could assist you in getting your projects in order, and run errands if you need it. And of course, I would be willing to test out a new component you make, your ideas are always useful and clever...but why do you seem apprehensive about this? I have tested components for you before..." Hardwall asked, trying to figure out just why his employer was acting strange. He knew she might not actually tell him, she didn't always do so, but he figured it was harmless to inquire. And he was wondering just what the component was supposed to be, anyway.