• Hello, Guest. Welcome to Telath, a Play by Post fan forum made by and for the community of Aelyria!
    Stop by the General/Welcome forum and say hello. Returning player? Pick up where you left off or start afresh and get to posting! New player? Check out our new player guides to get started!

✅ Hit 'Em with the Melodicannon! (Lv3 Piano, Summer)

There are no significant content warnings for this thread.
Timestamp
Fall, Era XXVI PF
Location
Ieffreon
Valanthia wasted no time in scarpering. Neither did Umbrosus, who was desperately looking forward to getting the worm-slime out of his fur -- and doing something to wash the awful taste out of his mouth.

Both, however, continued to scan their surroundings as they followed Bell back up through the tunnels. It was important that they not be surprised here, that they take care on their way out. Val had absolutely no intention of doing this again if she could possibly help it, nor did she want to wind up with "EATEN BY WORMS" as her epitaph for this particular lifetime.

Of course, something something we all get eaten by worms eventually. But hopefully not while still alive.

There wasn't much else to say or do -- just try to make it to the exit intact!
 
Scarper!

Umbrosus would get to experience the rather unnerving sensation that was being able to hear all the scritching, the scratching, the tunneling of the multitude of worms in the tunnels around them. Unable to see them per se, but able to know that they were moving, that they were approaching, that they were chasing. It was a rather disconcerting thing, in a similar fashion one might imagine to being pursued by a pack of wolves.

Just, it did seem like with all the commotion going on, that the worms were somewhat hindered in capability - whatever method they might use to target their prey was perhaps being set awry by the circumstances. The fact that there were so many of them, perhaps the commotion that was the nature of the skuwat, whatever the case? Valanthia could definitely see a few of the worms sailing about far ahead of their group, harmlessly passing through the air. That, and maybe it was much more difficult to track a target actively fleeing as opposed to stuck defending a position.

"They won't pursue us too far, rock composition changes and they don't like the taste!" the dwarf would call back. All they needed to do was make it out of here! Bell could lead the way, he had a knack for directions down here after all, all the pair had to do was help watch his back!

Speaking of which? A quick warning from Umbrosus. One coming from above, and another to her left in quick succession. The worms were hardly precise, so whether Valanthia wanted to cut them down or simply dodge and keep fleeing? Entirely up to her!
 
This whole thing was...less than ideal, perhaps, but it wasn't as bad as all that. Possibly, the fact that fleeing from inside a mine while being attacked by carnivorous worms didn't rise to the level of "as bad as all that" meant that Valanthia needed some unexciting hobbies, but this wasn't the time to consider that fact.

Umbrosus hated all of this -- the sounds were extraordinarily disconcerting -- but he knew that all he had to do was make it back to the outside. He could have done that easily at this very moment by using his shadowstalking, but that would mean abandoning his bondmate, and he wasn't going to do that in a situation where she might be in danger.

Val noted the warnings Umbrosus gave her and chose to just pivot around and avoid the worms. There was no advantage to staying and fighting, and much more advantage to trying to reach the exit as quickly as possible. This wasn't a worm-killing expedition, so best not to let mission creep delay them any further. She tried to focus on Bell, to not lose sight of him so that she could follow him to the surface.
 
To be fair, most people would probably consider playing the piano to be an unexciting hobby. It seemed like Valanthia was cursed to live in exciting times.

Umbrosus? Being a very Good Boy. It was true that with the cacophony around them, with the vast multitude of worms headed their way, that his senses were also just a bit overwhelmed. But at the very least, just a bit of focus could help him hone in on what was specifically closest to them, allowing at least a scant few moments of warning before a worm might burst out of the tunnels around them nearby. Some of those could be ignored as being too far away to really be much of a threat, but every now and again?

Dodge this way, dodge that way. And tell Valanthia to do much the same - alert her that something was coming from above her, or from the sides, and so on. It really wasn't too difficult when you knew they were coming. It wasn't hard to see, though, how these creatures could easily ambush their prey.

And Bell was either very lucky, or just particularly skilled at this sort of thing. Perhaps being a smaller target also helped some. But hey, the man apparently made his living doing this sort of thing, so perhaps there was some sort of instinct that had honed itself over the years? Either way, he'd also manage just fine, and it was after some amount of running, and running, and dodging, and running...

...that all the noise eventually faded away. Valanthia could tell that they were likely out of the danger zone once Bell stopped running, taking a moment for everybody to catch their breath.

"Probably going to need to put a request in with the Adventurers' Guild at some point," the dwarf wheezed. "Digger worm populations feels a... a little high. But, good job, everyone... let's get back, I think I'll get working on this right away, get the ore refined..." Might as well do something with all that adrenaline energy, right? Pour it into the melodicannon design - because oh yes, that's right, that was what they'd set out for after all. "Right this way, then, let's get out of this mine."
 
Playing the piano? Not a particularly exciting hobby under most circumstances, where the dangers were limited to forgetting a note or maybe slamming your fingers in the lid. However, Valanthia seemed capable of making even the tamest things into life-threatening ordeals, and so in a sense, this was just like any other brightening.

At any rate, eventually, they seemed to finally leave the zone where the worms were a threat. The erstwhile princess nodded at Bell, who had made a good point. "I...think that might be a good idea, telling the...Adventurers' Guild. That all seemed...excessive. But nonetheless..." A small shrug, gray shoulders moving gracefully. "We got what...what we needed, and I trust your craftsmanship." That was the whole reason she was here, right? She didn't have the mechanical skills to do all of this herself, and Bell did.

She followed as he led the way out of the mine. Umbrosus trotted behind. He hadn't enjoyed any of this, and desperately wanted a bath, something to wash the horrible worm-guts taste out of his mouth, and the feeling of sunshine on his fur as he curled up and took a well-earned nap.

Val kind of wanted a nap too, in truth. But there was still work to do. There was always work to do.
 
They'd at least manage to make their way back out of the mine without any further issue, so there was that. More good news? Umbrosus found that the taste of the worms wouldn't overly linger in his mouth, rather easily washed out with just a bit of water. A bath, a nap, and all was right as rain.

Valanthia? Also free to nap if she wanted. From here, it was mostly Bell's show after all. He needed to get the ore refined, and then he could get to work on the melodicannon design proper. At most, she was free to go to the Adventurers' Guild if she wanted in order to give them that update in Bell's place, but otherwise? It was just going to be a matter of waiting for the dwarf to send her news.

According to Bell, he'd try to send her word once he got at least something functional, so that Valanthia could get some early input in on design - mostly in terms of design. It'd belong to her, best to make sure she liked how it looked and felt comfortable with handling it, after all. But the important thing now was for Bell to get something that actually worked, of course.
 
Once they were at the surface, Valanthia thanked Bell, and then parted ways. Umbrosus sped off towards Coral Shore, where he could get that bath and nap. Val would make a detour over to give the word to the Adventurers' Guild, and then do the same thing as her bondmate.

The erstwhile princess had already given Bell her contact information, so he shouldn't have any trouble finding Val when the time came that he needed her. Until then, she would return home, bathe, and then get that nap. Val had interacted with supernatural beings on many occasions, but the nap was the thing that sounded truly divine right now.

Luxurious sleep, and hopefully in not too long a time, she'd be able to see the fruits of her labors.
 
Luxurious, divine sleep! Which, well, hopefully Valanthia would never find herself having to deal with the supernatural side of things when it came to dreams... thankfully, it really was quite restful. Uneventfully so.

Thusly did things settle back into a far more regular pace, and it would indeed be the case that not too long afterwards that Bell got back in touch again. He wasn't done, of course, he made sure to stress that much in the message that made its way to Valanthia, but at the very least he had something functional and working. And so, as the person who'd wind up actually using this thing, it was important to get feedback early in the process! Shape and form what exactly it was that she'd be getting as an end product and all that.

So, at her leisure, would she mind stopping by his workshop again? They could figure out some of the details, now that the dwarf had gotten underway.
 
Valanthia did not mind. Honestly, there wasn't much in Ieffreon that required her attention, and this project was the one thing she had to finish before leaving for the mainland in her quest to liberate Candaceburg.

As such, she stopped by Bell's workshop very quickly after getting his message. "Serale," she said upon entering. "What...how is the project...progressing?"
 
"Hm!" The dwarf trotted over, looking very proud of himself, before unveiling what he had for Valanthia. It really was rather barebones, but the key structure of it was there, that much was obvious. The 'business end' of the 'cannon', so to speak, a compartment that housed whatever internal mechanisms Bell had built out of the ore that had been so perilously acquired, and what looked to be a miniature keyboard that was attached to it.

"There's a lot to work on, how you'd like it to be carried, I was thinking some sort of sling, the overall form can be improved a fair amount, but most importantly," the dwarf spoke quickly before catching himself, "like a piano, at the moment, it needs to be tuned. Tweaking the power, making sure you can play it comfortably, know how it should function. I can make adjustments as needed to tailor it, hopefully get it to where you want it."

No, perhaps most importantly? "Let's get outside and do a quick demo," the dwarf beamed. "Wife'll strangle me in my sleep if I do another test indoors."

Hold it, carefully now, like so! Make sure the 'business end' wasn't pointed towards anything in particular! And just... press a key, to demonstrate! Bell would help keep a hold of the thing at that. Do watch out now, it had a bit of a kick, so try not to drop it!
 
Valanthia looked over the machine that Bell had generated, nodding in approval. It wasn't fancy, but the workmanship was solid. She saw the keyboard and the theatron-inspired cannon end, and noted the mouthpiece where she could blow air and set the reeds vibrating.

"A sling is probably a good idea, or some kind of around-the-neck mount," Val said smoothly, with a slight nod of approval. "It makes sense that we'll need to adjust the reeds, that sort of thing." Another nod. "I can't imagine that this will be particularly quiet, so outside is good."

Once they were safely outside, Val aimed the Melodicannon more or less up into the sky, where there was absolutely nothing to hit. (She checked for birds, overhanging branches, and airships.) Then, she put the mouthpiece to her lips, blew into it, and pressed a middle C. Although the housing should make it so the sound coming back at her wasn't overwhelming -- assuming she'd read the diagrams of the theatron properly -- she still prepared herself for something very loud and tried to maintain a solid grip.
 
Bell nodded along as Valanthia provided her input, visualizing what something like that would look like... maybe an adjustable strap that Valanthia could change as she pleased based on what might be most comfortable given the situation? Flexibility was always a good option to go with.

But they'd find a nice open field without any obstacles in their general vicinity - or maybe more importantly, nothing that was likely to break should something go haywire. So no pottery, no windows, nothing of that sort. Although one supposed, of course, that there was always themselves to be concerned over. But Bell seemed at least confident in what he'd built to not be standing behind cover while Valanthia was wielding it, so that was probably a good sign, right? He'd mentioned doing some tests, so hopefully that was a good sign!

Aim, blow, press, fire!

And it... didn't blow up in her face! Nice!

Immediate point of feedback? Somewhat unexpectedly, there was a bit of buzzing through the melodicannon's housing that seemed to reverberate through Valanthia and... oooooh, tickled her ears. And yes, it was indeed quite loud. Not to the point where Valanthia felt like she had to immediately stop what she was doing, or felt like she was really suffering any sort of pain, but... it right about on that precipice of being uncomfortable. That being said, the production of the melodicannon itself didn't feel... particularly impressive? More a means to startle, perhaps briefly daze or stun, at this level. But Bell did have comments on that.

"Try playing a chord!" the dwarf yelled, having made sure to maintain a reasonable distance. Uh... just in case. "A single note on its own doesn't do too much, but I've found that stringing together a melody amplifies the effect quite nicely!"

It was the sort of thing where certain combinations seemed to create more powerful effects along the lines of musical theory, but Bell wasn't really a musician, after all. That was something Valanthia could experiment with and figure out on her own. The point, though? More notes ramped up to a more powerful attack from the melodicannon!
 
There was more sonic blowback than Val had expected, and less forward power. Nonetheless, this was a good enough demonstration to indicate that the principle of the thing was solid, and that constituted a win. She could make improvements, provided that the whole thing was actually capable of working -- and so it seemed to be.

First things first, she took a kerchief from her pocket and tied it around her head -- over her ears. It seemed like proper ear protection would be a good idea if she were to mess around with this too much, but this might help her at least get through this test.

Valanthia nodded to Bell, and then shifted her fingers on the keyboard. Now, she played a five-note chord, C-G-C-G-C. Octaves and fifths, which should strengthen the harmonics without introducing any dissonance. Hopefully, that would give the sound some extra kick.

And with that, she blew into the mouthpiece to try again!
 
A bit of finagling, and they'd give this thing a try.

Five notes in a chord, and as Valanthia played each note she'd find that the effect seemed to ramp up as expected. The ear protection did seem to help a decent amount, so it was really more of a tickle than something that actually hurt, even as Valanthia could tell that what was produced by the melodicannon was significantly stronger with the five-note chord as opposed to the test fire that they had done earlier.

Still, Valanthia would be able to hear it, feel it. Something about the five-note chord felt a bit off. It was still stronger than the singular note, but there was something there that could be improved upon. Something about the introduction of that fifth note seemed to throw things off...

Bell, who didn't know anything about music? Just figured that louder and stronger was better! Thumbs up from the dwarf!
 
Valanthia thought about the results she'd just obtained. She had some ideas, but first she wanted to see if she could improve on her last test. More seemed to be better -- right up until the point where it wasn't. There was some kind of sweet spot, at least for the Melodicannon's current build.

A deep breath, and then she blew into the mouthpiece again. This time, she stopped at the fourth note, C-G-C-G. Adding a note besides the root and fifth still seemed questionable, although it also occurred to her that she probably needed to do some extra research on resonance and harmonics if she were going to improve the design in the future.

This would work as a test though. Hopefully Bell's ears would hold up for the duration of the exercise.
 
The good news was that as long as Valanthia didn't, you know... point the melodicannon at poor Bell, that the dwarf would be just fine.

She wouldn't do that, right?

In any case, keeping it to four notes seemed to work a treat. It was stronger than when she'd gone with the five notes, by a fair margin - at least, with the pace that she seemed to have gone with. Given the steady pace at which she'd extracted the skuwat? It seemed likely that there was an innate 'time signature' to the melodicannon's operation as a result. Thus far what she'd seen suggested a relatively straightforward 4/4. It seemed like having the beats properly line up per measure resulted in a stronger effect, and Valanthia's experience had allowed her to default to something quite close to the expected timing of each quarter note.

No doubt, there was plenty of finagling to be done when it came to optimizing the output of the melodicannon.
 
No, Val wouldn't point the Melodicannon at Bell. She liked him, after all -- plus, it was bad practice to injure someone who might have to work some more on your oddball gadgeteering project later.

There were several things that occurred to Valanthia as she tested. Certain combinations of notes seemed to be more powerful. The use of skuwat seemed to give the thing a rhythm that it wanted to follow in order to be most effective. Plus, didn't various materials have different resonant frequencies? She thought this had come up in her research at some point, but it was absolutely something to follow up on.

Some of those weren't things she had the ability to test right now. Others, however...

Pointing the business end of the Melodicannon at the sky again, she tried playing the four-note chord in time with the rhythm of the skuwat. Maybe that would further increase the power?
 
That seemed to get Valanthia just that little bit closer, to extricating as much power as possible out of the melodicannon. Truth be told, her initial pace had perhaps instinctively been rather close already, but being a bit more conscious about the effort of following the rhythm of the skuwat? It felt like she'd managed to squeeze just that little bit more juice out of the thing, as it felt like this latest blast was the most powerful out of them all.

Hopefully, you know, there wasn't a bird up there somewhere who'd just popped out an egg in surprise.

Maybe the most important thing was that even after this series of test fires, that the whole thing hadn't blown up in Valanthia's face. And that was good! But presumably there was a limit that would overly stress the structure if there were too many fired too quickly in a row. Not to mention, even if minimized, there was still some feedback that Valanthia was absorbing. Even small issues could accumulate over time.

So far, though? So good! Melodicannon operational!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom