2021-11-03: Oasis of Land, Water, and Sky (Side B)
- Log: 2021-11-03: Oasis of Land, Water, and Sky (Side B)
- Cast: Ethius Hesiod (GM), Jacqueline Barber, Catenna, Mariel, Cyre H. Lorentz
- Where: Celesti Wastelands
- Date: November 03, 2021
- Summary: The Caravan Kinship, never one to pass up people in need of aid, make the arduous journey to see the truth of the impossible oasis in former Celesti territory. (Second of seven runs of the one-shot Alcidamas Village Dig.)
============================<* Celesti Wastelands *>============================ Decades ago, the nation of Celesti ripped itself apart in a vicious civil war. Outside of a handful of settlements, its former territories are lifeless. The remains of trenches, bunkers, and barbed wire lines serve as lingering reminders of the conflict--scars that have yet to heal. The earth is dry and barren, and much of the groundwater has been contaminated by biological or chemical weapons. Travel through the Wastelands is treacherous. The roads are pockmarked with shell craters, and Reapers have been known to haunt its blasted plains. A handful of functional rail lines cross the wastes, but these travel directly to their final destinations. The shattered remains of ghost towns dot the landscape. Some may yet hold things of value, but experienced travelers know better than to go treasure-hunting on a whim. The war-dead of Celesti do not rest. Ghosts aren't even the strangest things one can find here. As the war dragged on, both the Congressional Knights and Aquvy Union dug up ancient weapons to aid their efforts--including, it's rumored, ARMs from Zeboim. These rumors draw both the daring and desperate into the wastes, and more often than not, to their end. BGM: Shin Megami Tensei IV - Blasted Ichigaya
DG: A party led by Jacqueline Barber is now entering Alcidamas Village - Oasis of Land, Water, and Sky.
===========<* Alcidamas Village - Oasis of Land, Water, and Sky *>============
======================<* CHALLENGE - Coming and Going *>======================
|Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
Alcidamas Village, as it's called - it's more of a proper town by now - is
easy to approach by foot. Skilled warriors have come together to help patrol
the roads and keep it safe from ne'er-do-wells. All remarkably cheerful, if
cautious. They're happy to give you directions to the place. The grass gets
greener and the sky clearer the closer you approach.
You pass by a leaving caravan shortly before coming across someone shouting
for them! They're out of breath, and ask you for help in hailing down the
caravan. It seems they forgot something! You'll need to chase them down on
foot and hope they get your attention.
=Dungeon Conditions: Exhaust==================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
The rumor has been spoken enough times that the Caravan Kinship might as well go and check the veracity of the rumors. It could be a bandit trap at best, but if so, there sure are a lot of released victims singing the praises of this Alcidamas Village well out of earshot of the people who could've done them in. Maybe it's paranoia talking. The wastelands of former Celesti are not a place where hope or good things thrive, now. The journey to this location itself isn't great, but the Caravan Kinship has an easier time with it than usual.
Then they pass by another caravan! They seem to be in good health and good spirits, and confirm... yes, the village is down the way they came! There's a patrol and everything, who tense up a little at first at the appearance of the CaraKin but will quickly become friendly and understanding. Also, there's a lot of blades of grass.
...The lede has been buried here some, hasn't it? There's healthy amounts of happy, green grass. That's sort of the most noteworthy thing? The haze of dust storms and harsh sun seem to lighten the closer one gets. It's great that the patrols are friendly and that caravan is leaving with a smile on their face but... wow, the greenery.
"Waaaaaaaait!" Someone runs up, panting and running out of breath. "Did they leave? Did they... they forgot something..."
Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to help them flag down that leaving caravan to figure out what that something is they forgot, before getting a closer look at paradise(?) ahead.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
The rumors surrounding Alcidamas Village are almost... too good to be true. A veritable paradise blooming within the wastelands of Celesti, which had been thoroughly scathed by the war... Was it possible? Jacqueline had seen the damage in her time spent traveling. Recovery wasn't... completely impossible, perhaps, but to reach the point of being called an oasis?
...Well, naturally, it bears investigating - to verify the veracity of the rumors and, if they're true, figure out what's going on.
And that's why the Caravan Kinship makes the drive out to the location where Alcidamas Village is said to be. The first sign that there might be truth to the rumor is the green grass that starts to become visible along the road. There's another caravan who confirms the presence of the village, and patrols who are understandably tense but friendly...
"...I'm not entirely sure what's going on. But it doesn't seem like there's anything untoward going on so far." Jacqueline says consideringly with a frown. "We should-"
Before she can continue her train of thought, Jacqueline pauses as she hears a voice calling out to them. She leans out the window, listening intently.
"If you're referring to the other caravan, we passed them a little while ago." Jacqueline replies... and then frowns, as they explain that they forgot something. "...Ah. I see. Don't worry, we'll go return it to them."
With that said, she rummages through her bags and draws out a bottle.
"Here, you seem exhausted. How far did you run? This should help restore some energy." She replies, offering it to the messenger.
Once that's done she'll turn the vehicle around to follow after the caravan they passed.
"Excuse me! It seems you forgot something!" She calls out. That might not be enough on its own, though.
DG: Jacqueline Barber has used her Tool Rapid Remedy toward her party's challenge, Coming and Going.
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.
Things have felt quiet for Catenna lately. She's been content to keep out of major adventures and focus on her personal pursuits: Prayer, taking care of Saarda-Shanta, and practicing her dancing. The last of those three has, if nothing else, brought in quite her share of coin.
There aren't many audience out in the Celesti wastelands. But at least there are rumours to pursue.
"We must be close, mustn't we?" she muses at the sight of another caravan trundling along - and then past them, and then the village comes into view with a startling flash of verdant green. The Moon Shaman's eyebrows arch sharply, and she rests a hand at the curve of her hip.
From Catenna's shoulder, Saarda-Shanta hoots once in interest. <Odd. Wastelands do not usually respect urban boundaries.>
Catenna nods before glancing towards Jay. "You seem to be right," she muses, before someone calls out.
Someone's forgotten something, apparently. With a look in the direction the caravan went, Catenna exhales and fans herself for a moment with one of her fans. No matter how green the village ahead looks, the trip here was tiring, and the little bit of wind helps even as Jay cranks the Carakin around to follow.
DG: Catenna has used her Tool Feather Fans toward her party's challenge, Coming and Going.
<Pose Tracker> Mariel has posed.
It is perhaps no surprise that Mariel - who has been trying to keep Filgaia green and growing for generations longer than anyone else in the Carakin has even been alive - would be interested in a place like Alcidamas Village.
How could she not? If the rumours are true, they've done what she's been trying to do, both long-term with her secret gardens and more recently, with her scavenged bits from Capel Coffa and Jairon. Part of her - most of her, really - is happy for them. A little part is worried about how they are doing it, if they've traded long-term health for short-term gain, whether or not they realize it yet (and, to be fair, Mariel's idea of 'long-term' is a bit different than theirs probably is).
She hates that she has to think that.
But, of course she came, and was delighted to find that at least part of the rumours were true. "The grass," she says, and that's all she needs to. It's an easing of a pain that she's held so long she barely recognizes it anymore; the only place she doesn't feel it is Lunar, and Lunar is subtly different in a whole host of ways that matter to nobody but her. This is Filgaia. And though it's not perfect - she still feels the pain of the planet, a distant and constant acheunsteadinessdisturbance that's hard to put into words - it's muted by the presence of healthy greenery.
She still wants to visit the town - they're too far away for her to feel any unbalance at the center of it - but seems happy so far. Even if she doesn't respond much to the other caravan, preferring to stay out of sight.
That was then, though, and this is now. She has since come out, just in time to hear that the first caravan forgot something. "I'll never catch them," Mariel admits, looking after them. "But - "
Mariel half-closes her eyes for a moment, and then points. "Turn a little left," she says, helpfully, to Jay as she drives. Mariel can track them, even from up here. The grass 'remembers' the caravan passing over it, from a track of pressed grass and disturbed soil.
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.
There's something fishy going on. Cyre would know. He could smell fish from a mile or more out...!
But all he's smelling right now is the fresh, loamy soil surrounding them, familiar musky aroma of petrichor, and a clean, dustless breeze. "What's with this place...?" The shaman mutters without expecting at all to be heard or answered. "It's like the Celesti Wasteland just ends right where these grasslands begin. What did they do to pull this off...?"
Whatever they did, it seems... genuine? At least, Mariel seems to think it is. Maybe they just haven't seen enough yet? Maybe something sinister is going on, and they just... don't know enough.
Or maybe, just maybe, someone really has managed to figure out a way to turn Filgaia's slow decline around, even for just a small scrap of its surface.
But he can deal with that later. A caravan... has forgotten something!? Cyre's lips draw into a frown, but ultimately he shrugs and leaps off the Caravan's roof... and takes to the skies! "I can probably get a decent vantage from further up," he explains, but really he's also taking the opportunity to espy just how far these fields go.
...And maybe to run his fingers through some of the grass on a swooping pass, just for curiosity's sake.
DG: Cyre H. Lorentz has used his Tool Reverse Parachute toward his party's challenge, Coming and Going. DG: Mariel has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Coming and Going.
===========<* Alcidamas Village - Oasis of Land, Water, and Sky *>============
======================<* CHALLENGE - Coming and Going *>======================
|Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
Alcidamas Village, as it's called - it's more of a proper town by now - is
easy to approach by foot. Skilled warriors have come together to help patrol
the roads and keep it safe from ne'er-do-wells. All remarkably cheerful, if
cautious. They're happy to give you directions to the place. The grass gets
greener and the sky clearer the closer you approach.
You pass by a leaving caravan shortly before coming across someone shouting
for them! They're out of breath, and ask you for help in hailing down the
caravan. It seems they forgot something! You'll need to chase them down on
foot and hope they get your attention.
=Dungeon Conditions: Exhaust==================================================
======<* Alcidamas Village - Oasis of Land, Water, and Sky - Round 1 *>=======
===========<* Alcidamas Village - Oasis of Land, Water, and Sky *>============ ========================< Results - Coming and Going >======================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jacqueline Barber 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Rapid Remedy 1 Agility Effects: Cleanse ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Catenna 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Feather Fans 3 Agility Effects: Fanfare ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mariel 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Cyre H. Lorentz 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Reverse Parachute 1 Agility Effects: Rally and Quicken ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Jacqueline Barber 0 --(20)--> 20 Pass Conditions: Exhaust(1) Effects: Cleanse|Quicken(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Jacqueline Barber has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw. DG: Jacqueline Barber has drawn a new Challenge.
===========<* Alcidamas Village - Oasis of Land, Water, and Sky *>============
====================<* CHALLENGE - Our Stories Thus Far *>====================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
Your party's invited to come relax and enjoy a meal with the locals. There's
plenty of food to pick from! The excess of ingredients has sort of spoiled
the locals, so there isn't much in the way of technical cooking skill that
can only come from working with scarcity. They make up for it with variety
and heart.
They're happy to swap stories about how well things are going - such as how
their lives improved immeasurably after a beastfolk helped bring everything
together. (Their current mayor now, one adds.)
Enough about themselves! They want to hear how things are going out there.
=Dungeon Conditions: Save Point===============================================
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
The person trying to flag down the leaving caravan is truly out of breath... but they accept Jay's bottle and downs it. (They also proceed to join in the running after, even though it is inefficient for them to do so. It must be something they really don't want the caravan forgetting!)
Saarda-Shanta's wisdom may yet ring true, as the CaraKin is given that little push to turn around and catch up to the leaving caravan - which they do! It turns out they left behind a crate full of produce. Healthy, vibrant produce!
If Mariel asks to take a look (they'd grant it), she'd find it is genuine. Maybe even genuinely tasty! One would be hard pressed to imagine any Filgaian ever being so open about sharing something as precious as this. Good food is worth more than its weight in gold here, especially in Zoara!
Cyre can spy a great look at the village ahead - it's more apt to call it a town now - but he runs into a curious snag that prevents him from going too high, like... there's something going on with the wind here. Not in the sense that the wind is bad, or foul, or anything of the sort, but... different. It's moving, it's refreshing, it's comfortable and just right for making a healthy, livable climate...
But it's also not his to bend, any more. There seems to be something of a boundary of influence that stops him from going up high to get a better look, at present, which might be a flag of a specific color but there is no tangible disdain or rejection on the part of anyone or anything.
No! Quite the opposite, it turns out, as the caravan catch-up business concludes and everyone's able to get into Alcidamas. The locals welcome everyone with the usual greetings and gestures, and invite them to come sit down and enjoy lunch!
There's an abundance of food. More than they know what to do with. (Rather literally, none of the people cooking can hold a candle to what Catenna or Lunata can put together. Like the whole idea of having so many ingredients and tastes to choose from is novel, but a good problem to have.)
"I know what you're thinkin'!" Says an older guy, who looks physically worn by the wastes but has allowed the tensions of the past to melt away. "And it's true! You're in an oasis of land, water, and sky... Alcidamas! All thanks to the mayor...!"
"He's a beastfolk, large fellow, you can't miss him!" An older woman chimes in. In a cynical way, this should be weird and offputting given the cultural shortcomings of a lot of societies on Filgaia, but that hasn't seem to taken root here (or been uprooted?).
"C'mon, sit down for a spell, dig in! How're things goin' out there?"
So, enjoy a meal, chew the fat, and... wonder what's up with the wind, maybe.
<Pose Tracker> Mariel has posed.
"I don't know, yet," is Mariel's response to Cyre. Because she doesn't. The grass is healthy and the soil is healthy but she is not yet sure what made it that way. That's what she's here to find out.
Mariel doesn't need to spend much time looking in the crate to tell what's in it. She doesn't see any signs of rot or stunting, at least. It looks like something she'd grow (which is not a slight on it in the least).
Mariel knows a lot about cooking with actual vegetables. While her skills are not what she'd call as good as some, they're better than most, especially if meat is not involved; give her the produce and out comes dishes of various sorts. She also has some things that the locals won't no matter how productive their gardens are - spices that don't grow in this part of the world, for one - and is willing to share.
She does not eat meat, even if offered. Fish seems acceptable.
"Ah, well..." Mariel has been studying some things on Lunar recently, and her Filgaian information is slightly out of date - but not so out of date that an isolated village wouldn't be happy to hear it.
But she's perfectly happy to defer to others telling a story, because she's a little quiet around strangers. If it falls to her, she'll do a quick overview of current events - nothing terribly secret, no talks about Shevat or Solaris, just 'this is what Aquvy is like these days'. She has a book. She can even show newspaper clippings. (But only a couple, because she doesn't save most of those.)
"A beastfolk?" she does manage to ask, getting it in edgewise. Well, this party is half beastfolk (okay, not technically, but to a casual observer's eye it is). "Like me, or a different sort?" Mariel doesn't usually draw attention to her floppy ears, but they're there; similarly, she doesn't usually draw attention to her gloved hands, but she doesn't eat with them on so the blunt-clawed fingers and the tuft of fine fur at the back of her wrist are visible.
DG: Mariel has used her Tool Millennium Diary toward her party's challenge, Our Stories Thus Far.
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.
Catenna's wariness doesn't last long - not when there's a pleasant place of respite in front of them. "Answers may present themselves," she offers Cyre as the group begins to return; she touches his shoulder delicately and smiles. "We can be wary, but it would be unkind to be too standoffish."
The villagers, if nothing else, don't seem to be in a hurry to run them off. Theyre invited to eat, and Catenna's not in any mind to critique the meal. There's something comforting about simple home cooking, after all - and in this case, the ingredients stand on their own.
"Is that so?" she muses as she gathers a modest serving, almost entirely vegetable save for a bit of cheese. "Tell us more about your mayor, then. How is it that he's able to deliver such bountiful harvests in the midst of a wasteland like this?"
Saarda-Shanta isn't asking questions because she is currently in the midst of inspecting a very large watermelon. She hops around it a couple of times before fluttering up to perch on it.
The melon immediately begins to roll towards the edge of the table. Saarda-Shanta hoots in surprise and fumbles her footing, looking not unlike she's riding a circus ball.
DG: Catenna has used her Tool Saarda-Shanta toward her party's challenge, Our Stories Thus Far.
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.
Cyre finds himself soaring in the very heights of the heavens... But no higher. His eyes tighten meaningfully, as if straining to make an effort, but... But he can't go further. It's not that he couldn't, under normal circumstances, he absolutely would be able to go higher, but... can't, now.
What is happening here...? It's like... they're cut off from the outside world somehow...?
The shaman descends, finding his way toward Catenna and the others. "There's something... weird," he explains, brow knit contemplatively, "About the wind. I don't... know how exactly to put it."
Which may be concerning in and of itself, given Cyre's unique status and pedigree, but Catenna has a point. "...Right. For now, just take it easy I guess?" After all, it could be something as inocuous as a barrier of some kind. That would explain the lack of monster attacks, certainly.
But it wouldn't explain all this... this food. There's such an absolute diversity of it! So much that Saarda-Shanta nearly goes head over tailfeather directly off the table, at least before Cyre jumps to steady her perch. "Silly owl," Cyre smirks, ruffling her fluffy head-feathers. "Melons are for eating, not standing."
There sure are a lot of people here, though... "Your mayor, huh..." A beastman, is it? Even curiouser. "Sorry, have you all come here recently? This is quite a place, isn't it?"
DG: Cyre H. Lorentz has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Our Stories Thus Far.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
"It's strange, isn't it? It makes me wonder what's happening here." Jacqueline replies, as Saarda-Shanta voices her comment. It's then that Mariel helps point her in the right direction.
"Ah, thank you!" Jacqueline replies. And as for Cyre's idea... "Okay, but be careful out there. We're still not sure what to expect."
Following Mariel's advice pays off, because it leads them right to the other caravan! They're able to quickly return the forgotten item - a crate full of fresh produce, it turns out - and after a friendly chat turn back around and continue on toward Alcidamas... where they receive a surprisingly warm welcome! They're even invited to lunch.
Before that, though, Jacqueline frowns as Cyre gives his report.
"Something weird, hm..." Jacqueline replies. She can't feel it, herself - it might be something that only those with with a closer connection to the planet can sense. "If you notice anything else, keep us informed, okay?"
With that said, she moves to join the others at the lunch table.
"Your mayor... he did all this? I hope you don't mind my being a bit skeptical... but this is all a lot to take in." Jacqueline replies, settling in. "I never expected to see a place like this in Celesti, of all places."
She looks toward Mariel as she asks her question, and Catenna as she asks hers. Those are both very good questions. But they've asked a question of them as well, so Jacqueline decides she might as well address it.
"Hmm... Well, things have been fairly calm lately, at least, but there's no telling how long that'll last. Hearing rumors of your village have been the most exciting thing to happen in a while." Jacqueline replies. "About that, actually... I hope you haven't had anyone... untoward, come this way. I'm worried that a place like this might attract people who want to take it for themselves."
DG: Jacqueline Barber has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Our Stories Thus Far.
===========<* Alcidamas Village - Oasis of Land, Water, and Sky *>============
====================<* CHALLENGE - Our Stories Thus Far *>====================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
Your party's invited to come relax and enjoy a meal with the locals. There's
plenty of food to pick from! The excess of ingredients has sort of spoiled
the locals, so there isn't much in the way of technical cooking skill that
can only come from working with scarcity. They make up for it with variety
and heart.
They're happy to swap stories about how well things are going - such as how
their lives improved immeasurably after a beastfolk helped bring everything
together. (Their current mayor now, one adds.)
Enough about themselves! They want to hear how things are going out there.
=Dungeon Conditions: Save Point===============================================
======<* Alcidamas Village - Oasis of Land, Water, and Sky - Round 2 *>=======
===========<* Alcidamas Village - Oasis of Land, Water, and Sky *>============ ======================< Results - Our Stories Thus Far >====================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jacqueline Barber 5 --(5)--> 10 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Catenna 5 --(5)--> 10 Pass Saarda-Shanta 1 Wits Effects: Cleanse ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mariel 5 --(5)--> 10 Pass Millennium Diary 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Cyre H. Lorentz 5 --(5)--> 10 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Jacqueline Barber 20 --(20)--> 40 Pass Conditions: Save Point(1) Effects: Cleanse|Enlighten(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Jacqueline Barber has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw. DG: Jacqueline Barber has drawn a new Challenge.
===========<* Alcidamas Village - Oasis of Land, Water, and Sky *>============
===================<* CHALLENGE - A Good Problem to Have *>===================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 1 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
As it so happens, some of the village's fruit harvest is about to spoil.
They simply do not have enough mouths to feed, and consider it a waste to
just throw it all away! All the items here are ready-to-eat, like apples and
pears.
Why not grab a snack? Or two, or three. They're some of the best you will
ever have sunk your teeth into. You're on Filgaia, a land of not so plenty.
Why not dig in?
=Dungeon Conditions: Tire=====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
Mariel is able to get in an important question, in which she gets a prompt answer. "A different sort! Like... a pig, or a boar. He's a good fellow, though, you'd like him." This mystery beastfolk is not secretly an Elw, then.
The watermelon is round and - should the comedy of it falling off the table happen - be a juicy mess that one would wish wasn't dropped on the ground. One thing Saarda-Shanta might find off in her agile hopping about is that the force of gravity here seems just a touch lighter than it would - should - be. Just a little. Nonetheless, another lunch-goer continues.
"You're right! It was a wasteland up until about... two years or so ago." This one's an older fellow, dressed in a worn-out uniform of the Aquvy Union. Whether that's actually his, or something he scavenged, is not clear. "He was insistent there'd be a way to make things less bleak here, and... well, I hate to give ya the runaround, but I'm sure he'll be happy to show you." This seems like stalling for a later card, but he's got a smile. "Let's say... I was finally ready to believe in good news, for once," he's giving some of the newspaper clippings a look, pushing a few pieces with less great headlines away.
"Most of us have been here for at least a year by now," one explains to Cyre as they're done cutting open another watermelon. "We didn't really have much reason to go anywhere else. Good food, clean water... word's gotten out about the place, and y'know what? We got plenty to share! Not a problem whatsoever!"
This may even be true!
Jay, of all people, expresses the idea of being skeptical, met with a good-natured laugh. "Yeah, we get that. We do have the rare bandits show up here and there... heh! Some of us were, until we saw this for ourselves." He does look like a rough sort. In fact he's a perfect match for someone on a wanted poster in Port Rosalia! "What's the point in anyone taking it for themselves? Nothing's scarce, now. I feel... really silly, doing a lot of what I did until now." Beat. "Guilty, too, but... also silly, for thinking there'd never be a good thing in this world after all that happened."
"You want to take some with you all?" Asks another. "I saw your vehicle on the way in! Help yourselves! As much as you can carry."
'As much as you can carry,' they say. To put it mildly... there is a lot to carry. So much fruit! So much greens! So much everything! Even the worm wriggling out of that apple looks happy and healthy.
Maybe they can talk a little more while they consider how much of this they can carry and load into the CaraKin.
<Pose Tracker> Mariel has posed.
Personally, Mariel doubted he was an Elw. To her knowledge, there are no others on Filgaia. But she wanted to be sure. "Thank you," she says, before smiling at Saarda-Shanta's antics. She reaches out, suddenly, to block the watermelon from rolling off the table.
Hearing Cyre talk about the wind makes Mariel - well, she doesn't frown because she's trying to be friendly, but she *internally* frowns.
"I will be a moment," she says, and lets the others pull ahead from her. She doesn't try to go anywhere she's not supposed to, or do anything obvious that is likely to unsettle anyone; she seems taken with just taking in the environment and walks a little slowly to do it.
And, indeed, she is, but not quite in a way that most of the villagers are likely to recognize. Mariel does not fight, does not use sorcery in any way a human would, but she's attuned to the environment and the energy that makes it up like no other. If there's anything especially unusual, she wants to feel it out.
Mariel has her suspicions. She's especially looking for signs that this has been separated from the rest of Filgaia, somehow - some kind of self-contained energy flow. She doesn't (and in fact can't) do anything to change it, right now - she just wants to feel.
This does mean that she's not helping load the cart. Sorry! She'll help later, when she actually gets there.
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.
So not another Mariel. Catenna starts running through a few mental equations.
Two years ago, she muses internally as she nips down a piece of cheese. Pensive, she folds her hands on the tabletop and listens to the veteran explain things.
"So this is a newer village," she murmurs with a glance towards Cyre, then back towards the villagers, then finally to Jay. It's not like her to be the openly skeptical one of the bunch, she can't help but think - but it's not misplaced, in this case.
When they're invited to take a doggy bag, Catenna leans back shallowly and smooths her hands across her lap with a breath. "I would hate to take too much, but I would also hate to waste." She won't take a lot, though - and most of what she takes will be vegetables and fruits. Stocks for her fresh fruit pile.
And experiments. Part of her half-expects the fruits to wither and die the minute she leaves town. Her gaze tracks after Mariel a moment before she looks up towards the sky, then back down to Saarda-Shanta.
Nothing passes between the Shaman and the Great Owl. Nothing needs to.
"Cyre," she says quietly, "how does the breeze feel to you?"
DG: Catenna has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, A Good Problem to Have. DG: Mariel has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, A Good Problem to Have.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
It is a little strange of her to be skeptical. Jacqueline recognizes that, but at the same time... all of this seems too good to be true. She wants to believe in it, but she can't help but worry a little. She needs to find out more before she's able to relax.
She listens as the townsfolk answer their questions, taking mental notes to be recorded in her notebook later.
"That might be the case here... but not so much for other parts of Filgaia." Jacqueline replies with a shake of her head, of the lack of scarcity. "I'm glad that it helped change you, but other people may feel differently about that - want to take the source of it for themselves, to do with as they please."
She hesitates for a moment, trying to put her thoughts together.
"...I guess what I'm trying to say is, please be careful. This place seems wonderful so far and I don't want to hear about anything terrible happening to it later down the line." Jacqueline advises. And if she happens to recognize the face from posters in Port Rosalia, well... she supposes it would be fine if she conveniently forgot about that fact.
And then they're given an incredibly generous offer - to take some of the harvest for themselves. They have so much, after all, they can't use it all themselves. She nods to Mariel as she excuses herself, and then to Catenna.
"True. I'm sure we could see to it that it saw good use." Jacqueline says. She draws out a bottle of red liquid, and with a Mystic touch scatters it across the party in a glimmering, strength-boosting cloud that will be helpful in loading everything up.
DG: Jacqueline Barber has used her Tool Brewte Force toward her party's challenge, A Good Problem to Have.
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.
Only about a couple of years... "Well that's pretty cool. I wonder how he figured out how to make all of this happen in only a couple of years...?" Whatever that beastman did, it has these people thoroughly convinced that they really have happened upon a paradise. But is it really coming without cost? Filgaia... is Filgaia really a world that's kind enough for such a thing to exist?
As much as he loves his planet and its infinite wind, the fact is that Cyre knows that it has its dark side. Tooth and claw is often as valid of a rule as any gentle law that humanity can conjure from its imagination. In other words-- there's always a catch. Always.
...When did he become this cynical?
"The breeze...?" Cyre frowns, scrunching his nose a little. "...It's weird," he answers just as quietly as he was asked. "It's almost like... It's a nice breeze, but it's... skipping a step somewhere? Like someone's stepping in at some point and changing it somehow. I... Don't quite know how to describe it properly." It's a feeling. A very strange feeling that he hasn't ever really felt before. How do you explain a sensation that most other people have no parallel to? "How about you? Anything feel... off?"
He's all smiles when offered food to go, though. No, he doesn't tornado any of it, but he does help pack it all away. Not wasting good food is a rule that everyone can agree upon.
DG: Cyre H. Lorentz has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, A Good Problem to Have.
===========<* Alcidamas Village - Oasis of Land, Water, and Sky *>============
===================<* CHALLENGE - A Good Problem to Have *>===================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 1 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
As it so happens, some of the village's fruit harvest is about to spoil.
They simply do not have enough mouths to feed, and consider it a waste to
just throw it all away! All the items here are ready-to-eat, like apples and
pears.
Why not grab a snack? Or two, or three. They're some of the best you will
ever have sunk your teeth into. You're on Filgaia, a land of not so plenty.
Why not dig in?
=Dungeon Conditions: Tire=====================================================
======<* Alcidamas Village - Oasis of Land, Water, and Sky - Round 3 *>=======
===========<* Alcidamas Village - Oasis of Land, Water, and Sky *>============ =====================< Results - A Good Problem to Have >===================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jacqueline Barber 10 --(8)--> 18 Pass Brewte Force 1 Brute Effects: Fanfare and Strengthe ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Catenna 10 --(8)--> 18 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mariel 10 --(8)--> 18 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Cyre H. Lorentz 10 --(8)--> 18 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Jacqueline Barber 40 --(20)--> 60 Pass Conditions: Tire(2) Effects: Strengthen(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Jacqueline Barber has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw. DG: Jacqueline Barber has drawn a new Challenge.
===========<* Alcidamas Village - Oasis of Land, Water, and Sky *>============
=====================<* CHALLENGE - No Pause For Alarm *>=====================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
Everything is going fantastic in this village. Spirits are at an all-time
high, and odds are you have never seen a happier, more optimistic bunch of
people in all of Filgaia. They have been nothing but kind and accommodating
to everyone who has come to visit.
Some of the volunteer militia have experience dating back as far as the
Celesti Civil War. A handful of such individuals approach you and express
doubt in your good intentions, for this is the closest they've ever seen to
hope for this region. They want to believe you're not here to spoil it, but
they have been wounded too much to let their guards down before strangers.
(Worst case scenario, someone will come by to cool down hostilities before
it gets too heated.)
=Dungeon Conditions: Exhaust==================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
"It is!" The veteran echoes as Catenna says it's a newer village. "Don't you worry about anything going to waste! Heh! Can't even take 'too much'!" For Catenna's hypothesis, that caravan that left a short while ago hasn't run back yelling about how the produce has gone bad yet, so that might be a good sign to the legitimacy of the produce's quality. She herself may be clued into the slightly lighter gravity by how she can carry just a bit more than usual without feeling encumbered or fatigued in the process, if she starts feeling adventurous about securing foodstuffs.
Cyre struggles to explain what it is that's going on, but something has to be going on, because a paradise like this does not sprout out of nowhere overnight. Or even within two years. The damages done to the land would take so much more time to heal properly, but here it is - it's healthy, it's clean. What's going on? Nothing tornado-able yet, sure.
Mariel breaks away to go on a walk. By any measure, where she steps... this is a paradise. Maybe it's more apt to say the end result here is a paradise. But how did they get here? How did healthy soil return to a barren land? How did greenery spread so readily that these people didn't go hungry? In the distance she can see wildlife that others would confirm are native to the region. The plants here that grow are too - some of which were thought rendered extinct when the Celesti Civil War set the land ablaze. This is, in effect, still a part of Filgaia. And yet...
The energy and airflows of this place - such as they are - are not that of the way the Elw would handle it. There is a means at play completely alien and unfamiliar. Is it bad? Is it wrong? It does not seem to be at a cost to the surrounding environs. The wasteland surrounding the place didn't seem any more inhospitable than usual.
Between the shamans and the Elw, there can be a consensus: something here isn't, in the sense of what the word means, natural. They should locate the mayor and get him to talk about it - and speaking of that, there's some commotion from where the others are, that may or may not draw Mariel back.
"Come now, young lady, that sounds like a threat," says another older man - this is another beastfolk of a bear-like persuasion, as Jay lays out her concerns. "This ain't a place for cynicism!" This is the first time that anything resembling hostility or resistance has come up (beyond the initial glances of the sentries along the road here).
There isn't a unified front among those that take notice of this - so there's no hive mind at play here responding to a threat. There's a few 'hear, hear' and 'yeah, what he said' from some nearby.
This does attract at least one of the militia. "What's going on?"
"This here young woman," the bear-like beastfolk says, "seems fit to tell us to start worryin' for the idea of somethin' terrible happening! I say this ain't the place for that kinda thought!"
"Now hold on, here--"
There's arguing. Now's a good time to roll for diplomacy.
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.
"Like someone is modifying it somehow?" Catenna murmurs. She keeps her voice from carrying largely by sliding an arm around Cyre's waist and drawing into his side, her chest pushed gently against his arm as she rises up to give him a small kiss on the temple.
"I feel it too," she breathes near a feline ear, her voice rather more pensive than the affectionate gesture would imply. "I do not think I feel dark energy. But the energy here feels off."
But a lot of things feel off. Catenna eases back from Cyre and gathers up the rest of the vegetables. By that time, though, they've been spotted - and threatened. With a cant of her head, she watches the huge bear-Beastman for a few seconds.
She moves quietly in behind Mariel and lays a hand on the tinier woman's shoulder. There's nothing particularly dangerous in her expression - but her other hand does rest at her hip not far from the quiver of arrows slung off her belt.
"Nobody is here to rain on anyone's parade, so to speak," she assures with a slow shrug. "We are visiting, nothing more."
Whether or not the bid is persuasive may be moot, because it is at that moment that Saarda-Shanta flutters in and comes to a landing on a large pumpkin.
One that has been carved into a jack-o'-lantern. The top spills off and the owl falls into the gourd with a hoot. There's a tussle before a pair of big yellow owl eyes peek out through the big smiling face of the cheery orange pumpkin.
DG: Catenna has used her Tool Saarda-Shanta toward her party's challenge, No Pause For Alarm.
<Pose Tracker> Mariel has posed.
Mariel takes her time, because she's not causing problems and she needs to get the feel of it.
And she does. It's something - she doesn't know what was done, precisely, but she can tell something *has* been done. The energy flows are - shifted. What she really needs to do is sit down and meditate, or pray (a Baskar would recognize it as prayer; Mariel thinks of it otherwise), ideally for a couple hours, to feel it out.
She does not have time for that. She can hear an argument. She didn't cause it and she's technically not involved but she can tell who it must be aimed at, and therefore -
Mariel walks fast, to catch up. She has Catenna - she stays behind her by preference, just in case there's conflict, but she's not precisely *hiding*. Just being sensible. "It's something everyone has to think about," Mariel says, quietly. "You put away food for the winter, you keep supplies and replacements if something breaks; why not that too?"
She missed the first part of the conversation, but... that doesn't stop her from chipping in, a little bit. "We don't mean any harm. It's just - it's hard to imagine a place where you don't need to prepare at all. Even here, you must need to work, and plan..."
Mariel trails off. She says, more quietly to Catenna, "I would like to speak to the mayor. Do you feel the same way...?" Catenna and Cyre are both shamans, after all; they very well might through their own sensitivities, similar but not identical to Mariel's. She knows Cyre felt *something*.
DG: Mariel has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, No Pause For Alarm.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline pauses in her loading as one of the townsfolk addresses her, expressing concerns about what she has to say. She sets her current batch of fruit down and listens politely. She makes a point of not interrupting, not wanting to do anything that might rile the crowd even further.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend." Jacqueline replies with a shake of her head. She takes a moment to study them - the bear-like beastfolk, and those chiming in. "You've been hurt before, haven't you? You want this to be a place of peace and healing, free of fear of hurt and hatred. I understand that - and I hope for the same thing, too."
Jacqueline offers a small smile.
"Filgaia would be a much better place if everyone were like you all here in Alcidamas - kind, and optimistic, and accomodating... but it isn't there yet. Not quite yet. I'm not saying you need to be on guard all the time... I just want to make sure you're not ignoring the possibility of danger. It wasn't that long ago that a dragon made its home not far from these parts, after all." Jacqueline explains. Even if said dragon turned out to be a nice man in a bad situation in the end. She nods toward Mariel, then, in agreement.
"Yes, exactly." She agrees. She's about to say something further, when suddenly Saarda-Shanta drops in! There are few things more disarming than a cute scene with an owl.
DG: Jacqueline Barber has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, No Pause For Alarm.
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.
Catenna goes straight for Cyre's weakpoint and he turns briefly to jelly when she attacks his ear--
But the seriousness of the situation puts that particular response on hold for the moment. "I thought I was just going nuts, but if you can sense something too..."
But, hold on now! There's someone coming close who takes a measure of offense to this cynical band of travellers! What a load of jerks, coming in and raising the specter of depravation and suffering among these happy, hopeful people who have finally claimed a single grain of hope in this desert of absolute despair. Cyre's expression tightens at the sudden... aggression? Aggressive cheerfulness!? The demand that they BE HAPPY, dangit!!
"We didn't come here to rain on anyone's parade, but... It's just kind of hard to believe, you know? This sort of thing doesn't just pop up out of nowhere, right? Can you blame a drifter for trying to watch for the catch? You've been there before, right? Before you came here."
And how long did it take for them to lose that edge...? Hope... If they do discover something sinister about this place, what should they do? Should they crush that fragile hope...?
DG: Cyre H. Lorentz has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, No Pause For Alarm.
===========<* Alcidamas Village - Oasis of Land, Water, and Sky *>============
=====================<* CHALLENGE - No Pause For Alarm *>=====================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
Everything is going fantastic in this village. Spirits are at an all-time
high, and odds are you have never seen a happier, more optimistic bunch of
people in all of Filgaia. They have been nothing but kind and accommodating
to everyone who has come to visit.
Some of the volunteer militia have experience dating back as far as the
Celesti Civil War. A handful of such individuals approach you and express
doubt in your good intentions, for this is the closest they've ever seen to
hope for this region. They want to believe you're not here to spoil it, but
they have been wounded too much to let their guards down before strangers.
(Worst case scenario, someone will come by to cool down hostilities before
it gets too heated.)
=Dungeon Conditions: Exhaust==================================================
======<* Alcidamas Village - Oasis of Land, Water, and Sky - Round 4 *>=======
===========<* Alcidamas Village - Oasis of Land, Water, and Sky *>============ =======================< Results - No Pause For Alarm >======================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jacqueline Barber 18 --(5)--> 23 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Catenna 18 --(21)--> 39 Fail Saarda-Shanta 1 Wits Effects: Cleanse ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mariel 18 --(5)--> 23 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Cyre H. Lorentz 18 --(21)--> 39 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Jacqueline Barber 60 --(20)--> 80 Pass Conditions: Exhaust(1)|Tire(1) Effects: Cleanse ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Jacqueline Barber has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw. DG: Jacqueline Barber has drawn a new Challenge.
===========<* Alcidamas Village - Oasis of Land, Water, and Sky *>============
=====================<* CHALLENGE - Everything Is Fine *>=====================
|Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
"So you're the travelers I'm hearin' so much about!" The voice belongs to
large, aging (60's?) beastfolk of a vaguely pig-like form who still looks
strong enough to knock just about anyone flat. Not that there appears to be
any mean bone in his body, as he approaches your group. "Thanks for stoppin'
on by Alcidamas. I'm the mayor, Homer Mecone! You can just call me Homer. I
sure have been sayin' this a lot lately to people like yourselves! Gah ha ha
hah!"
After a brief chat, he makes a peculiar offer. "I bet you're wonderin' how
we've been doin' so well, and... hey, I figure the cat's outta the bag. I
warn you... you ain't never have seen anything like what you're about to."
That sounds ominous, but he waves it off. "Ahh, don't worry bout nothin'."
Homer takes you to see a large shrub-tree... thing, atop a hill. It seems
colored a hue that just bleeds outside of the visual color spectrum. It
seems to be on fire in an equally improbable color, surrounded by leaves and
fruits making fractal patterns that come shy of breaking three-dimensional
comprehension. Though utterly alien, there is nothing untoward about its
surroundings. Around it, the air is at its freshest. The ground at its most
fertile. It also happens to have a horizontal, glassy 'window' with a
smiling face that seems to lean forward to look at you in a way that doesn't
involve any part of it moving.
"Meet Demetrioi!" Homer introduces them. "Friendliest li'l... uh, maybe not
so li'l? Friendliest... Demetrioi you'll ever meet!" Homer seems to struggle
to describe it, but doesn't linger there. "Brought it with me here from
further out, some time back." He doesn't say where, and abruptly changes the
subject. "B-But as you can see... Demetrioi here gave em clean water, fresh
air... brought the soil back to health... and all it seems to want in turn
is to have friends." What a bargain, his grin says! "Go on! Say hello!"
:o hello and salutations i am demetrioi :) today is a wonderful day :D
Its voice is difficult to describe, but it is outwardly friendly and in good
cheer. Aside from its unsettling appearance, there is nothing untoward about
its actions or manner.
Go on, make a really freakin' weird friend today. (Unless you'd rather
disengage, politely or otherwise.)
BGM: Star Ocean Faithlessness and Integrity - Like a Lost Child
=Dungeon Conditions: Madness==================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
Arguments are made, and there's a lot of noise. A lot of commotion. Together, the shamans and Mariel are able to share with one another that there is something for sure going on. Important points are made - the need to prepare for the worst, how there's so much danger around and just how Filgaia may not be ready to adopt this same attitude - and also Saarda-Shanta looks cute within that pumpkin.
Mariel wants to see the manag-- mayor, and Cyre makes a point of trying to watch out for the catch.
"Gah ha ha hah!" That's a hearty guffaw from a grizzled voice. "Ahhh, ain't the first time, hey. I heard someone wantin' to meet the mayor, welp!" There is a large shadow cast of a big, heavy-set pig-like beastfolk who could probably knock anyone flat on their rear. But he doesn't have that manner. "So you're the travelers I'm hearin' so much about! Thanks for stoppin' on by Alcidamas. I'm the mayor, Homer Mecone! You can just call me Homer! I sure have been sayin' this a lot lately to people like yourselv--" He stops, and counts on his hand. "...This is just the second time. But I'm sure I'm gonna say it a bunch!"
"So, y'all wanna see how we're doin' so well. Ain't a problem! Follow me." He waves off the more irate and arguable villagers as he escorts people along towards a distant hill. A distant hill that Cyre wasn't able to get high enough to see for himself. "now, I warn you... you ain't never seen anything like what you're about to." He laughs and waves. "Don't worry 'bout it, that ain't a threat."
The closer they get... any deeply attuned nature spirits among the group like the feel in the air less and less, and not because it's 'bad' in the usual sense of things being wrong, tainted, foul, or evil.
The less attuned can probably hazard way because to mundane senses, what they see seems barely contained by the ideas of 'color' and 'three-dimensional space.' It can be agreed it's a large shrub-tree of some sort. It can be agreed that the world around it is... good! The air is the freshest ever, the ground is fertile and healthy, this is not up for debate. It's just... this exists.
"Meet Demetrioi!" Homer says. "Frindliest li'l, uh... maybe not so li'l? Friendliest... Demetrioi you'll ever meet! Brought it with me here from further out, some time back, ahh, b-but as you can see... Demetrioi here gave 'em clean water, fresh air... brought the soil back to health... and all it seems to want in turn is to have friends."
It's not projecting mind control rays, at least. There's a face within a flat glassy surface (a monitor) that leeeeeeeeeans closer. The face. The monitor itself doesn't move. Then it 'speaks.' It is a voice. It's... sound. Sound that can be understood.
o hello and salutations i am demetrioi :) today is a wonderful day :D
It's friendly and in good cheer, in manner. Maybe... it's time to make a very strange friend, today?
(Nature spirits and those deeply attuned to them may feel otherwise, on grounds that this is absolutely not a natural thing no matter how friendly it is.)
) it is nice to meet the five of you :) i am meeting so many lately :D
Distressingly(?), it appears entirely aware of Saarda-Shanta.
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.
"I would like to as well," Catenna concedes before Saarda-Shanta falls in a pumpkin. Catenna cannot help but smile a little.
The smile fades as she gives the grumbling villagers one last look, then Mariel. The smile she flashes her is less amused and more quietly reassuring.
By the time they get to the old mayor, Catenna's not so sure they aren't here to rain anymore - but she presents a polite enough profile. She does not gah-ha-ha along, just holding her arm out for a slightly pumpkin-spiced Saarda-Shanta to make a landing.
"Something unique, you say," she murmurs as she follows along behind Homer, letting the big white owl hop up onto her shoulder to ride along. As the air grows clearer and more crisp, she draws a breath even as her shoulders begin to grow tense. At the crest of the hill....
Catenna can't even fully describe what's at the crest of the hill. She blinks twice, then twice more, before squinting as she tries to make sense of what Demetrioi is actually supposed to be. "It doesn't even feel like it fits into nature," she murmurs more to herself than anything else as she leans forward. Her stoicism gives way to a look of what can best be described as bafflement. "Uhm. Hello, Demetrioi."
Saarda-Shanta immediately ducks her head down so far that only her eyes and tufts poke out of the fluffy feathers around her neck. <Oh, that is profoundly wrong.>
"I can feel it too," Catenna mouths with a glance to the unnerved owl. She's not lying. She can practically feel her skin crawling at how completely unnatural the strange entity is. Delicately rubbing Saarda-Shanta behind the tufts, she peers at Demetrioi a few seconds longer.
"What... exactly... are you?" she asks somewhat tactlessly.
DG: Catenna has used her Tool Saarda-Shanta toward her party's challenge, Everything Is Fine.
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.
Under less ideal circumstances, this little confrontation could very well have devolved into an all-out brawl. Fortunately, these townsfolk are both well-fed, well-rested and decidedly the opposite of on-guard, at least in the sense that they've not had to deal with outright hazardous outsiders getting this far into town unaccosted by the local guard in a while. Cyre quietly rubs at his forehead as the situation de-escalates, moments before... That guy shows up.
That... guy.
...There's nothing actually wrong with that guy. In fact, he seems completely earnest. "The name's Cyre," Cyre says, extending a hand in greeting, because beastfolk gotta stick together. "Nice to meet you, Homer. This is quite the place you've got here."
And, it seems, they get to meet the one responsible for all of it! They're just... at the top of that hill.
...
"What," Cyre asks. No, more like, Cyre 'says.' In this case, 'what' is an expression, more than a question. It communicates the fact that his mind is briefly completely and utterly blank. Whatever it was that he expected, it... definitely was not this. "I... Hello? Nice to meet you Demetiroi??"
Cyre is confused. Whatever this thing is, it's... not natural but he's met friendly things that aren't natural before, and... "Sorry, um. This might sound rude, but I'm something of a shaman. The air and land here feel... different. Is that your doing, Demetiroi?"
DG: Cyre H. Lorentz has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Everything Is Fine.
<Pose Tracker> Mariel has posed.
Mariel has the urge to pick up Saarda-Shanta, complete with pumpkin.
She refrains. It would be embarassing (for Saarda-Shanta, not for her). More than previously, anyway. Instead, she just makes sure the lid is open. ...But she really wants to.
"Thank you," she says, when she's told they'll be introduced to the mayor. But she - the most attuned to the nature of Filgaia - is on edge the earliest. Something feels... wrong? At the center of things. Not wrong in that it's twisted, but wrong in that she can't entirely feel it at all -
Well, that's not the right way to put it. She can; it's there. But the flows are shaped in a way that she finds as alien as anywhere else that isn't Filgaia. She knows she only didn't feel it before because she was too far away, and where this flow meets Filgaia's it's fine enough, but up here...
She doesn't speak to the mayor. To someone who doesn't know her, she probably just looks too shy. But honestly Mariel is unsettled; Catenna, who knows her best, can certainly tell; Cyre and Jay have a pretty good chance, too. It gets worse as they climb the hill; the distortions affect her the worst, and she stumbles at least twice, having just put her foot down wrong. Which is *especially* worrying, because Mariel is normally extremely sure-footed on hills and plains.
"..."
Mariel doesn't know how to respond to Demetrioi. She closes her eyes, squeezing them shut, then reopens them again. The distortions are even less hospitable to her than the others; to the Elw, sensitive enough to Filgaia that its current state pains them, something like this is particularly difficult to handle. She feels vertigo more than anything else; disoriented rather than pained, but it's still Weird with a capital W.
"Hello," she says, despite everything. How do you convince something like this to go away? And how do you convince the town that it's for the best? "I don't think I can stay here," she says more quietly, to the Carakin group.
DG: Mariel has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Everything Is Fine.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline does her best. Fortunately, things don't get violent. In the meantime, it looks like their discussion has drawn attention. A pig-like beastman matching the description of the mayor appears - because he is the mayor, it turns out - and introduces himself.
"That's right. I'm sorry for causing a commotion." Jacqueline replies, turning to face Homer. "I'm Jacqueline Barber, of the Caravan Kinship. We heard rumors about your village, so we thought we'd stop by and see it for ourselves. It's nice to meet you, Homer."
She chuckles, then, as he points out that he might have to introduce himself a lot more in the future. That does tend to happen. There are bound to be other Drifter groups coming down this way to investigate.
It's true, though, they do want to know what's going on - and thankfully Homer volunteers to show them the source! And the source is... Demetrioi. Jacqueline isn't sure how else to describe them. She isn't as attuned as the others are, but as a Crest Sorceress she does have some sense of things and can tell that things are... a little off. But perhaps the greatest tell is something she doesn't need any special senses to perceive - the fact that Mariel is clearly getting more and more uncomfortable the closer they get. Jacqueline sends her an apologetic look. She nods quietly, as Mariel says she doesn't think she can stay here.
And then Demetrioi... speaks? Well... if they can speak, then it would be rude to ignore them. Jacqueline approaches, offering the monitor that acts as a face a smile.
"It is quite wonderful, isn't it? It's nice to meet you, Demetrioi, I'm Jacqueline Barber." Jacqueline introduces herself. She looks toward Cyre as he speaks then nods, before looking toward Demetrioi. "Homer says you were able to restore the soil and provide clean water and fresh air. Is it alright if I ask how that's possible?"
DG: Jacqueline Barber has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Everything Is Fine.
=========================<* Mount Zulan - Snowed In *>==========================
=============================<* CHALLENGE - Roc *>==============================
|Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
You come up to a high place on the mountain, near where a mountain inn once
stood. When you get a glimpse at the inn, you can see that it is badly
damaged -- the roof is caved in, one wall has a gaping hole, and it seems a
fire may have erupted inside several months ago -- and will need repairs. It
offers a place to rest.
But a final obstacle remains.
There is a piercing, avian cry through the air. Then, you hear the beating
of wings, but they are terrifically loud. A black and violet bird descends,
almost the size of a Gear -- with huge wings and a great beak. A roc sweeps
down, and slashes with ferocious talons and claws! It seems it made its nest
nearby.
=Dungeon Conditions: Wound====================================================
===========<* Alcidamas Village - Oasis of Land, Water, and Sky *>============
=====================<* CHALLENGE - Everything Is Fine *>=====================
|Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
"So you're the travelers I'm hearin' so much about!" The voice belongs to
large, aging (60's?) beastfolk of a vaguely pig-like form who still looks
strong enough to knock just about anyone flat. Not that there appears to be
any mean bone in his body, as he approaches your group. "Thanks for stoppin'
on by Alcidamas. I'm the mayor, Homer Mecone! You can just call me Homer. I
sure have been sayin' this a lot lately to people like yourselves! Gah ha ha
hah!"
After a brief chat, he makes a peculiar offer. "I bet you're wonderin' how
we've been doin' so well, and... hey, I figure the cat's outta the bag. I
warn you... you ain't never have seen anything like what you're about to."
That sounds ominous, but he waves it off. "Ahh, don't worry bout nothin'."
Homer takes you to see a large shrub-tree... thing, atop a hill. It seems
colored a hue that just bleeds outside of the visual color spectrum. It
seems to be on fire in an equally improbable color, surrounded by leaves and
fruits making fractal patterns that come shy of breaking three-dimensional
comprehension. Though utterly alien, there is nothing untoward about its
surroundings. Around it, the air is at its freshest. The ground at its most
fertile. It also happens to have a horizontal, glassy 'window' with a
smiling face that seems to lean forward to look at you in a way that doesn't
involve any part of it moving.
"Meet Demetrioi!" Homer introduces them. "Friendliest li'l... uh, maybe not
so li'l? Friendliest... Demetrioi you'll ever meet!" Homer seems to struggle
to describe it, but doesn't linger there. "Brought it with me here from
further out, some time back." He doesn't say where, and abruptly changes the
subject. "B-But as you can see... Demetrioi here gave em clean water, fresh
air... brought the soil back to health... and all it seems to want in turn
is to have friends." What a bargain, his grin says! "Go on! Say hello!"
:o hello and salutations i am demetrioi :) today is a wonderful day :D
Its voice is difficult to describe, but it is outwardly friendly and in good
cheer. Aside from its unsettling appearance, there is nothing untoward about
its actions or manner.
Go on, make a really freakin' weird friend today. (Unless you'd rather
disengage, politely or otherwise.)
BGM: Star Ocean Faithlessness and Integrity - Like a Lost Child
=Dungeon Conditions: Madness==================================================
======<* Alcidamas Village - Oasis of Land, Water, and Sky - Round 5 *>=======
===========<* Alcidamas Village - Oasis of Land, Water, and Sky *>============ =======================< Results - Everything Is Fine >======================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jacqueline Barber 23 --(101)--> 124 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Catenna 39 --(101)--> 140 Pass Saarda-Shanta 1 Wits Effects: Cleanse ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mariel 23 --(101)--> 124 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Cyre H. Lorentz 39 --(101)--> 140 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Jacqueline Barber 80 --(15)--> 95 Fail Conditions: Madness Effects: Cleanse ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: Jacqueline Barber is too exhausted to continue! DG: Catenna is too exhausted to continue! DG: Mariel is too exhausted to continue! DG: Cyre H. Lorentz is too exhausted to continue! DG: The party led by Jacqueline Barber has been fully Exhausted by Alcidamas Village - Oasis of Land, Water, and Sky! DG: The party will now draw a conclusion.
===========<* Alcidamas Village - Oasis of Land, Water, and Sky *>============
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Mixed Signals *>========================
|Type: Landmark |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
Your conversation comes off as a bit one-sided. A bit awkward, although the
smile on Demetrioi doesn't seem to fade. Is it listening intently, or is it
just like you - confused at what it's seeing, or what it's talking to? There
is no perceptible change in the atmosphere beyond everyone appearing to be
at a loss in this novel situation.
Homer steps up and gives the whatever-the-hell-it-is a friendly pat, its
shrubby branches bristling with one may hope is happiness. His hand does not
seem to be burned at all by the strange flame that is dancing around it.
"I'm sure they're pleased to meet you all! Gah ha ha hah!"
:o there are a lot more here :o everyone is so different :o
They're not displeased, one guesses. Homer's not displeased, even if you
might have reacted less than positively. "Don't worry 'bout any of it. Sure,
a li'l strange to you, but ain't nothin' ever been wrong since the two of us
arrived in Alcidamas... and I sure don't see it goin' wrong from here. How's
'bout we call it a day together?" Homer gestures along back to the village.
"Get us all a nice supper."
It is, as he says, a nice supper. Not a whole lot is said that's memorable
along the small talk, but there is one question that stands out.
"Mayor, don't you think it'd help if everyone knew more about where
Demetrioi came from?" An older woman asks. "We all know they're a
sweetheart, but we can't expect everyone about Zoara would be
understanding."
"Ahhh," Homer throws a hand down, "it's fine, the past is... it's all just
sad and difficult stuff. Ain't nothin' left for either of us other than
memories. I'd say we're all done dwellin' on that, 'n I'm sure everyone
else'd feel the same. What with all our new friends comin' by, and their
friends... 'm ready to forget about everything before and enjoy life in
Alcidamas!"
The older woman gives a quizzical look, but doesn't dwell on it. It's true,
there's a whole lot of sadness they may be ready to, at long last, fully put
behind themselves thanks to Demetrioi. There isn't much of a chance to
interrupt before a toast is called.
It's a good evening, even with unanswered questions. The next day looks
exactly as good as the last.
BGM: Star Ocean Faithlessness and Integrity - Spending Time With You
=Dungeon Conditions: Save Point===============================================
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
) i am demetrioi :D i am here to facilitate a happy and healthy and harmonious world :D
Such is the answer it gives Catenna, and... people here are happy with being in an oasis of land, water, and sky, as Cyre asks if all this is its doing.
D that is correct it is nice to meet :) i did do this because everyone deserves to live happy :D
Jay keeps a straight face with all the might of one of the greatest merchants of her era, even knowing the discomfort of her closest friends (and then a step beyond that).
o that is an excellent inquiry jacqueline barber :) i make it so because that is what i do :D
It can't describe it by itself, it appears, beyond 'this is just what I do.' There isn't an equivalent to anything like this. Cyre, from his attempts at flying, knows he has the permission and grace to call upon the wind as freely as he does, but... it feels like Demetrioi here has went 'my turn.' In fairness, it seems a good turn, but...
Unescaped comma in final arg of ANSI by #720. This behavior is deprecated.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
Mariel excuses herself somewhere in this sequence. Homer gives a look as if to ask if she's all right.
o is that one all right :()] i will do my best for them too :()]
It's a moment of awkwardness, that... doesn't lead to anything worse? Homer steps up and, despite it being on some strange not-quite-color-of-a-fire, pats it. Demetrioi responds positively. "I'm sure they're pleased to meet you all! Gah ha ha hah, still..." Homer watches Mariel walk off as if unwell. "Don't worry 'bout any of it. Sure, a li'l strange to you, but ain't nothing ever been wrong since the two of us arrived in Alcidamas... and I sure don't see it goin' wrong from here. How's 'bout we call it a day together?" Homer gestures along back to the village. "Get us all a nice supper."
If they choose to stay - no reason not to, it's not like there isn't a dangerous wasteland between here and the next settlement, and the next settlement is not a place one would stay if htey had a choice, and the next settlement beyond that... you get the picture. Some choice gossip happens during supper.
"Mayor, don't you think it'd help if everyone knew more about where Demetrioi came from?" An older woman question asks, which is an excellent one. "We all know they're a sweetheart, but we can't expect everyone about Zoara would be understanding."
"Ahhh," Homer throws a hand down, "It's fine, the past is... it's all just sad and difficult stuff. Ain't nothin' left for either of us other than memories. I'd say we're all done dwellin' on that, 'n I'm sure everyone else'd feel the same. What with all our new friends comin' by, and their friends... 'm ready to forget about everything before and enjoy life in Alcidamas!"
There's not much of a place or chance to get another word in, but it is - outside of the looming strangeness - a good evening. As a self-contained event, anyway.
:o there are a lot more here :o everyone is so different :o
Demetrioi comments at some point. When CaraKin leaves, he sees them off with a... winning? Smile. (Maybe it's a disqualified smile, given everything.)