Defenses

Kade makes it to the edge of the clearing where the dojo is being built. He stops there for a moment as he looks to see if anyone is here, "Helloooo, anybody home?"

[Flash_Guardian ] Not much has progressed since last time, as Flash had not finished the blueprints required for further work. Now that those blueprints are finished, Flash is not working on them, ironically. Rather he seems to be seated at the center of the clearing in a cross-legged fashion, his hand resting on an odd sort of metallic object casually as he meditates. The object is circular and flat, like some sort of oversized brass dinner plate. Flash simply sits there, eyes closed, with a hand on the object. Curiously, a large supply of foodstuffs rests near him, as well as a canteen of water. If one looks close enough, they may see a subtle yellow glow where Flash's hand comes into contact with the object. The clearing is quiet.

Flash_Guardian peeks his eyes open just a little, returning his awareness to his surroundings once more, almost certain that he heard someone approach.

Kade returns, and frowns a little as he doesn't hear a reply. He then starts to take a look around the construction site, admiring the craftmenship thats already been put into the dojo. It only takes him a couple of minutes, before he finds Flash meditiating.

Flash_Guardian must be a little slow today ... or perhaps his meditation was a bit too deep to recognize Kade's calling voice until now. "Oh ... Kade, hello." A head is arched in the man's direction, though Flash's hand remains upon the large, circular, metallic object ... it's probably a dozen feet in diameter, just by looking at it.

Kade nods to Flash, "I'm not interupting, am I? I can come back later if you want."

Flash_Guardian casually shakes his head. "Don't worry about it, Kade. It's nothing major. I'm just imbuing this gong with some of my magic. The process could take a while, is all." Flash yawns lightly, wriggling a little and stretching his back out. He then rolls his shoulders and leans his head to one side, and as he does so a worthwhile popping noise is heard. "Ahhhh ..." Flash seems much better now. "Anyway, what's up?" Flash says, seemingly more energetic and alert now, giving Kade his full attention ... though Flash's hand remains upon the object where it is.

Kade shrugs a little, "Just wanted to see how things were progressing out here."

Flash_Guardian nods casually to Kade. "Not too bad ... considering nothing's gotten done in the past few days," Flash says with a chuckle. "We've managed to get some of the woodwork and basic structure up for the outer wings, but nothing for the center. Things kinda came to a halt there for a while, because the blueprints I'd drawn up weren't adequate to continue with ... but those are done now. I can show you, if you like," Flash says, beaming ... though his smile quickly turns to a frown. "That is, if I could get up." Flash now glares at the metallic object is slight annoyance.

Kade now moves closer to Flash, and looks down at the gong he had been medititaing over, "Need a hand up?"

Cannon , being difficult and melodramatic as he sometimes likes to be, bursts out of the sea some distance out from the shore. The splash (and resulting waves) are rather large, but the purpose is that he ends up fairly high up in the air. He hovers over to the island, over the treeline to arrive over the clearing, then descends to land at its edge. His skin momentarily flashes white, resulting in a loud hiss and a cloud of steam rising from him, and when he walks forward he is completely dry.

Flash_Guardian grumbles, shaking his head. "No, that's not it, but thanks anyway." Flash stares down at the metallic object and explains. "I've been investing a great deal of energy into the gong, but it's not complete yet. If my hand comes away from it now, the magic will be wasted and I'll have to start enchanting it all over again." By the look on Flash's face, it is clear he doesn't relish such a thought. "The new blueprints are over near my bag and stuff, at the edge of the clearing," Flash says, indicating the direction with a nod of his head.

Cannon walks over to find Flash with his hand on a gong, and that strange Kade fellow. He seems puzzled. "You need help with something, or are you still holding true that you don't want me to help any more?"

Kade glances over his shoulder as he hears Cannon approach, "Got a flair for the dramatic there, Weaver man?"

Kade has been at work, then asleep for the past 17 hours. Blarg.

Kade now looks back at Flash, "I understand. I've never been that knowledgeable about magic, but I do know it can be a pain in the ass on occasion." He then gets up and moves towards where Flash said the blueprints are, "They're over here you said?"

Flash_Guardian looks up to Cannon, smiling in a friendly manner. "Welcome back," Flash greets the odd man, nodding, though he does not rise or remove his hand from the gong. "And I'd love some help, so long as you're willing. And so long as you keep in mind what we talked about." Flash now seems curious. "Speaking of which, have you given any further thought to what we discussed earlier?"

Cannon tilts his head. His answer is abstract, but he seems set on getting the point across: "I have not terminated any living thing smaller than one micrometre since last we spoke. Is that what you refer to?"

Flash_Guardian gives Cannon a large and rather surprised smile. "Really? Wow. I'm impressed." Flash nods to Cannon happily. "By all means, if you can find my new blueprints, go ahead and get started. They should be over with the rest of my things, resting on a stack of lumber." Flash once again nods in the appropriate direction.

Cannon nods, and launches. That is to say he suddenly starts skimming backward in his typical ice-skater style over to the stack of lumber with the 'things' on. He passes Kade on the way, snatches up the blueprints and skims back while looking at them. "Check . . . check . . . check."

Kade seems rather amused as he watches Cannon, 'skate,' past him. "You're an odd one, Weaver man, and thats saying something for these parts."

Cannon glances up at the wooden structures of the four wings put in place, then at the corner-columns of the central area, the last things he put in before, if memory serves. Everything still fits the plan well enough, though some aspects of the tops seem to have been altered. One thing does puzzle Cannon though. "I cannot make out your precise plans for the circular walkway. What is their structure to be like exactly?"

Cannon glances at the large pile of bamboo he left nearby. It doesn't seem to be doing too badly in this climate thankfully.

Flash_Guardian ponders a moment, trying to find an adequate description. "Basically, it's a covered walkway," he begins. "An elevated wooden platform, probably not more than two feet or so off the ground, level with the floor of the four wings. Basically a wooden deck with a railing and a slanted roof to cover it all ... a way to get from one of the wings to another without having to go through the central area, yet still protected from the rain."

Cannon isn't entirely sure what Flash is presently trying to do with that gong, but if the gong has to be lifted with Flash ON it, thats possible too.

Kade shoves his hands in his pockets as he walks back towards where Flash and his gong sit, stepping around Cannon on his way over, "So Flash, what exactly are you doing to that gong that takes so long?"

Flash_Guardian nods, answering Kade's questioning words and Cannon's questioning look. "Well, I've been giving a lot of thought about how to protect the dojo from outside influences ... you know, in case there's ever a massive ocean storm, or the place comes under attack. Not sure if it will happen, but you never know. Anyway," he explains, pausing for a quick breath before continuing. "Once the spell is complete, if the gong is struck three times, a powerful barrier should be erected around the entire compound, secondary house and all. Basically, it uses the same force energy that my protective barriers use ... the one you saw me use in the pub the other day," Flash says, nodding to Kade and Cannon and hoping they would remember. "Only this one will be dome-shaped and on a much larger scale."

Cannon skims out of the way again and over to the centre of the structure, absolutely dead-centre on the island, and looks about him. There lie the four corner-pillars, but how are the walls of the central zone to be constructed? Had Flash already got them made and stored off somewhere, or was this something he was merely intending to do at a future point that could possibly be done for him?

Cannon should never EVER go near the gong then. Point made.

Kade nods as he hears Flash's explination. "Guess you can't just go pick something like that up at the corner store, can you? That'd explain why you don't want to start all over again on it."

Flash_Guardian chuckles at Kade, nodding his head in several overemphasized motions, eyes wide. "Which reminds me ... keep Cannon away from it, if you can." A wary glance is given to Cannon wherever he may be. Last time Flash conjured such a barrier, Cannon sucked it all up with his mere presence.

Kade nods, "Don't worry, I will. Forces of the Weaver and forces of magic mix about as well as oil and water."

Cannon doesn't draw static energy out of things generally speaking. Its merely energy in motion that tends to get drawn to him. Enchanted items are safe, but he shouldn't be near Flash while the gong is actually BEING enchanted.

Cannon calls back over to Flash, in his usual calm but clear manner: "What are your plans for the walls of this central arena, or should I simply get to work however I deem most appropriate?"

Flash_Guardian ponders for a time before calling his response back to Cannon, voice loud enough to make the distance. "Well, obviously they'll need to connect with the four wings where the walls meet ... that shouldn't be too hard to picture now that the wings' framework is up. They will need to be the appropriate height, of course ... 25 feet, if I remember the blueprints correctly. Beyond that, there are three requirements for the walls. They need to be: strong and sturdy, well insulated against noise and weather, and carry the same look as the rest of the dojo."

Cannon is literal-minded. Beware.

Kade looks over to where Cannon stans, before he crouches down and lowers his voice to speak to Flash again, "Hey, you seen Glyniss recently?"

Flash_Guardian shakes his head to Kade, frowning a little. "No, not since ... goodness, a few days ago. Kinda worries me ... though I guess this island is a bit out of her way, so I can understand." Flash shrugs, still seated cross-legged near the gong laying flat on the grass beside him, one hand firmly fixed upon it's surface.

Kade nods, and is trying his best not to look worried as well, "You're right, she knows how to take care of herself anyway......thanks."

Kalabar flies over head circling the center of the island, looking down. He spots Flash and starts to desend. As he comes closer to the ground he slows, and lands. Being only a few feet from everyone he lays down and watches, tailing twitching.

Cannon is feeling lazy today, and particularly literal-minded. Paying no attention in any means to the fact that people seem to wash up on this island with worrying frequency, he gets to work. This doesn't actually seem to involve much moving though, as unfortunately Cannon is learning to abuse a little trick his mother taught him. He drops to one knee and starts tracing patterns on the ground with one outstretched finger. Its something he does often enough, and it typically results in some part of the surroundings changing. On the occasion though, the changes that happen appear to be quite dramatic. Wooden planks from the piles start vanishing from where they were and appearing quite randomly about the area where the walls of the central arena should be, many of them floating in the air. Slowly but surely they start to come together to look like actual walls much like the ones that Flash built for the other four polar zones. What is different this time however is that there seem to be two layers of this wall. >~

Cannon ~~ The outer layer connects with the four 'wings' of the dojo, essentially making their walls a part of itself where they connect, while the inner wall spreads over the inside of this a fixed distance from the other, with gaps saved only for where the doorways (and windows where appropriate) would be. Eventually all the holes begin to be patched up as the last planks come into place, and the nails start appearing in place as well, though one couldn't tell what would be happening between the double-layered wall. It takes some while for all the nails to appear in place, though they're appearing at a faster rate than the planks were. Cannon of course is still inside and cannot be seen through the walls any more. Only the top is open, but then work on the roof will doubtless be much more complex.

Flash_Guardian watches as that same black dragon from before seems to circle and land nearby once more. He gives it a curious and inspecting glance, not rising from his seat or removing his hand from its place. He simply regards the dragon with his eyes a moment before addressing it. "You seem to have made it a habit of coming here, and yet I know nothing about you yet."

Kade blinks a little at the site of Cannon's 'work.' His hear craning this way and that to watch the events going on around him, "You don't see that every day...."

Kalabar tilted his head and moved closer, then again laid down. "And your point is?"

Flash_Guardian chuckles slightly, also turning to watch Cannon's work progress in a slightly faster method than before ... indeed it was quite an impressive sight now, to have framework for all of the walls in place. Still, there would be much to do ... insulation to cut and place, boards to lay, patterns to carve and borders to flush out ... but those would all come in due time. Flash would then return his attention to the dragon laying nearby. "I suppose my point," Flash says, "was merely to express my curiousity in hopes that you might provide me with some answers. Perhaps I should be a little more direct," Flash says, straightening himself properly as he sits. "Why do you keep coming around here?"

Flash_Guardian also hears the footsteps of others nearby ... my how this island seems to attract life to it! Flash keeps his ears attentive - should anyone new approach him, he would have to offer further greetings.

Cannon , still inside, continues to trace patterns on the ground for whatever further reason he continues to do this. Something happens, though it cannot be seen, though any supernaturally sensitive to such things would now notice that barely any sound is now getting through the walls of the central room, and nor for that matter would any heat be. Even without the roof in place to isolate the room, nor doors for that matter, Cannon has apparently found a means of insulating the room from both sound and temperature. Whether Flash ever realises the exact nature of the wall's ' double glazing ' is just one of those mysteries. It worked though, apparently, and any who went through the effort to walk through one of the wings to reach the central area now would find it suspiciously quiet.

Kade turns from watching Cannon's rapid building to see who Flash was talking to now. "What the hell...."

Kalabar looks at Flash curiously. "So, amI not allowed to be here?"

Kalabar "i don't see why i need to explain myself as long as i offer no danger."

Cannon leaps up, right over the top of the newly constructed walls, and lands some metres away from Flash. He starts to come closer, and its worth noting that his skin lightens several tones as he does, becoming particularly pale. The ambient temperature also rises a little (lighter shades being more thermally and optically reflective). The purpose of this is that he doesn't end up absorbing any of Flash's magic of course. He announces quite clearly: "The central room's walls have been constructed as the others have. They have also been insulated. I assume decoration of all walls will be left until the basic frame structure is complete, right?"

Flash_Guardian shakes his head, his face still bearing a neutral expression as he regards the large creature. "Any are allowed to be here, so long as they can conduct themselves in a respectful manner," Flash explains. "You haven't posed any threat to anyone since you've arrived, true. So are you just here to watch, or what?"

Kade shakes his head before looking over at Cannon as he approches, "You sure work fast. Ever thought of going into buisness for yourself?"

Kalabar started to look around and twitch his tail.

Flash_Guardian nods to Cannon. "Right. And I think I'd prefer to leave the decorations to someone else, if that's alright with you." He would then look up and over Cannon's work, whistling in appreciation. "Not bad ... not bad at all. So what did you use to insulate the walls with? I had some rolls of insulation sitting over with the rest of the supplies that I was planning on using."

Cannon guesses, since asked, he should give his secret away: "I vacuum-sealed them."

Cannon hasn't actually formed a vacuum between the wooden walls alone of course, but there are thin layers of a certain metalic substance with stronger supports inside to prevent the thin vacuum-tank that fits perfectly between the walls from caving in on itself due to being at null pressure.

Kade grins slightly and looks from Cannon to the fresh construction, "Does Ronco know you stole their schtick?"

[Kalabar ] ((sorry guys gtg))....Gets up and flies away.

Flash_Guardian blinks, looking over to the walls, then back to Cannon incredulously. "You what? " Flash seems to be thinking this strange method over ... not what he had in mind, but it would definitely work.

Cannon blinks at Kade. He looks to everyone else in turn, assuming that the obscure comment was probably directed at someone else since he doesn't understand it in the slightest. Eventually he looks back to Flash. "As I said, I vacuum-sealed the walls. They're strongly reinforced, with only a thin vacuum layer, but were you to get so much as one hole in it, the result could be disasterous. I'm hoping that will not happen."

Kade blinks at Cannon this time, "So, someone decides to hang up a picture, and the whole thing implodes?"

Flash_Guardian seems to be contemplating the physics of it all, working out some possible scenarios in his head. "Well, I can't guarantee that anything like that won't happen, Cannon ... I expect some pretty vicious fights to happen inside the dojo."

Cannon shakes his head. "The wood is several centimetres thick, enough to take most nails without them permeating through to the metal layer between. The metal itself is thick enough to be resistant to most modern bullet-fire. However, an anti-tank round, or some kind of katana wielded by one of this world's exceptionally strong katana wielders, could potentially cause the wall to implode."

Cannon sighs as he mentions as an afterthought: "And there are a lot of random idiots with katanas around, people who aren't supposed to have them."

Kade can't help but laugh as he hears Cannon, "Amen to that. Saftey shears would be dangerous to some of them, let along something three feet long, sharp, and made of metal."

Flash_Guardian nods, at last seeming to come to a decision. "Perhaps a bit less insulation and a bit more strength?" Flash looks up to Cannon suggestingly, then quicly adds. "And maybe you should tell me what you have in mind this time before acting on it. I mean, vacuum sealing is a great idea, but I think Kade's right. If that metal seal ruptures, things could get ugly."

Flash_Guardian shakes his head, remembering an earlier attempt by someone who was quite untrained in the use of a blade ... as they attempted to juggle their katana. It didn't go well. Flash rolls his eyes at such a memory.

Kade knew a guy who juggled chainsaws, they call him Lefty now.

Cannon nods. He gets on it straight away, and it takes less than a minute to do. A few patterns traced in the air, and he announces: "Internal supports increased by 100%. Total auditory and thermal insulation reduced by 30% each. Potential hazard probability reduced by 50%. Total wall strength increased by 150%."

Flash_Guardian tosses his head back and forth, pondering the possibilities. "I mean, I guess if some sound comes through from the central arena to be heard in the outer wings, that's no problem. That would just reinforce the central focus of the dojo, which is training, after all."

Cannon has essentially just put more horizontal supports inside the vacuum area, more of these parts holding the walls apart and preventing them from caving in due to the pressure. Of course, this has reduced the 'amount' of vacuum present and also presented the extra areas of support for sound to get through. Its still more sound-proof than most places though.

Flash_Guardian blinks as Cannon simply does instead of says as Flash specifically asked him not to. "Ummm ... Cannon? What did you do?" Flash asks, still wary of any potential hazard in the dojo's construction.

Cannon blinks. "I ... just said. Internal supports increased by 100%. I have doubled the number of support structures between the metal covering walls of the vacuum-sealed area. This greatly increases its strength, though marginally lowers its insulatory capabilities."

Kade stands and brushes some stray dirt from his pant legs. He then walks over to one of the newly created walls and starts to tap it, as if testing if it were real.

Flash_Guardian nods now. "Ahhh, okay. I didn't understand you clearly before. So you've basically compartmentalized the inside of the wall, making it several smaller vaccuums instead of one large one? Not a bad idea." Flash grins, nodding. "And that way if one section is ruptured, the results won't be so devastating ... probably won't bring down the whole wall, in any case."

Cannon takes a few steps back and just looks at the walls. That seems to be enough for now. Is Flash doing anything besides putting magic into the gong any more?

Kade glances over at Flash with a mischievous grin, "Want to test out how well this wall stands up to damage?"

Cannon turns a rather vicious look toward Kade. "Applying damage to the wall is inadvisable. The central vacuum-sealed unit might well be highly durable, but the wooden outer layer that provides the primary structure for the entire room and its appearance is not AS durable. Testing it is highly inadvisable, let me assure you."

Flash_Guardian just grins, looking back to Kade. "Well, it's probably going to take damage in the near future if not now," Flash reasons. "I'd say better to test it now rather than later." Flash nods to Kade, reaching behind his back with his free hand, beneath the red of his cape for a moment. Half a second later, his hand re-emerges holding a small, star-shaped metallic object. "Allow me," he says, nodding to the both of them, winding his hand back and preparing to throw. Those who are wondering how a simple chinese throwing star can penetrate a wall that's supposedly bulletproof would do well to remember that Flash fights with the aid of magic.

Cannon glances at the throwing star that Flash produced, rather sceptical really. Its unlikely to do any serious damage unless thrown with the force of nuke-shrapnel, but it would cause an imperfection in an otherwise new and flawless wooden outer wall.

Kade blinks as he watches Flash, and taking heed of Cannon's warning he quickly moves away from the wall. "Hey, watch it with that thing!"

Flash_Guardian halts in his throw, looking over to Cannon. "Well, the damage can be repaired, right? And as long as the entire vacuum seal doesn't go all at once, or a main support beam break ..." Flash simply shrugs, not seeing the harm. He could repair a bit of the damage himself, also.

Cannon explains with a thin smile this time. "It can be repaired, yes. But when wounds heal, they often leave a scar. Its not always a pleasant thing to see remember, and I had got the idea that a large part of the purpose of this building was its look, right?"

Cannon , incidentally, isn't referring to first-hand experience with the scar thing. He doesn't scar. Other people do. He knows that well enough by now.

Kade once again stands at Flash's side. When Cannon mentions scars, he unconsciously reaches up to rub at his right shoulder.

Kade grins a little as he hears Cannon's speach, "Yeah, but chics dig scars Weaver Man, don't forget that. "

Cannon looks very VERY confusedly at Kade. He gets a mental image of baby chickens (small, yellow and fluffy) burrowing their way into someone's scar, using just their clawed feet. . . . His blinking expression is quite comical.

Kade laughs and reaches out to set his hand on Cannon's shoulder in a friendly gesture, when he notices the others confusion. "Chicks, women, babes, females of the human species.....errr which ever species you prefer. They sometimes like guys with scars."

Flash_Guardian just shakes his head, not worried in the slightest ... whips his hand back, and throws the shuriken, aiming for a high and out of the way corner section of the wall nearby. Upon launch, it picks up speed considerably fast, hurtling towards the structure at bullet-speed, propelled by some sort of force ... also, the noise it makes is not the simple whirr that would have been expected, but rather accompanied by a high pitched buzz of some kind. Indeed, the magical augmentations upon Flash's shuriken are emitting highly disruptive sonic emanations that not only give the shuriken more damage potential, but also allow for a bit of armor penetration, even from the strongest steel.

Cannon seems to come to some level of understanding there. "Ah. You had me confused with your ... 'slang'. So you say human females like scars on males the same way peahens like flashy tails on peacocks?"

Cannon watches the shuriken being thrown. He also watches it splinter through the wooden outer wall and then ricochet from the metal inside with a mute thunk. Where it whirls off to after that is anyone's guess, but the wall seems to be standing. A portion of the wood around that area has been smashed now though, showing metal underneath and a slight dent.

Kade opens his mouth to reply to Cannon, but instead he emits a soft yelp of pain as he hears the high pitched noise produced by Flash's shuriken. His hands come up to cover his ears, "Bloody Hell!"

Cannon glances back to Flash. "Congratulations. You've now made a weak point in your structure. Lets hope if a gunfight breaks out here that no bullets get fired at that point. Shall I repair the wooden surface?

Kade shakes his head to clear it, before he turns and glares at Flash, "You could have warned us...."

Flash_Guardian simply holds out his hand after the shuriken rebounds off of the metal surface ... the shuriken actually changes trajectory in midair, guided in a slow and gradual curve now back to Flash's hand, who safely grasps the metallic object and quickly stows it back behind him ... somewhere. The noise emitted by the shuriken wasn't actually too hard on human ears, though any with sensitive enough hearing would have heard more potent sub-sonic vibrations. "Nah, don't worry about it, Cannon," Flash says, chuckling. "I dinged it, I'll repair it. But thank you just the same." A guilty glance is given to Kade. "Sorry."

Flash_Guardian sighs. "Well, with that, I suppose I should get back to charging this gong up ... still have a ways to go. Thank you once again, Cannon, for your help." No more than a nod is given before Flash returns to his seeming meditation, his hand upon the gong surrounded with a pale yellow glow where it contacts with the metal. ((I've gotta go to bed now. Cheers, everyone, and thanks.))