Yum, roasted corn!
Summon oven gloves and open the microwave. If it's still on fire, punch it out. If not, extract corn and eat!
You fail to summon oven gloves.
Well, who cares, you'll just eat it like this.
You grab the burning pop corn with your bare hands and start devouring it.
This would look great in a circus performance.
Mmmm... Toasty!
[Sorry, have been ailing bad lately x_x]
Resting on the windowsill is a small grey and brown bird.
((Oh hey, this looks like one of the many Philippine mayas hanging around here x3))
Reference
Theri acknowledged River's note and waved back to his buddy-friend. "Say, he has a...somewhat different name from yours. Who was he, back in the last 'mission'? Or where, actually? Also...why do we all need a bracelet to identify each other again?
"Oh! Who, also, was Boris' person?...his..you. His...me? You know. The thoughts? Oh, also did it send yet?"
Chat with River!
Oh, also commit to action /that action/ towards /that one person/. Let's see if this works!
((I see those small birds almost every day. They come to eat the breadcrumbs that are left after breakfast. I love watching them, especially the young chicks.))
He laughs a bit.
"Oh, you're full of questions." he says with a small smile.
"Anyway, he, or at least part of him, was sort of 'inside' the bracelets, but not really. He was there to help us exist in that world and make sure we didn't accidentally harm the minds of the people we were helping. I can provide a more in depth explanation, if you are interested, but it would take a while.""As for the one who helped Boris, the one who called himself Victor... He is no longer here."You walk through the streets of the town, between the small log houses, until you reach the central plaza. On its centre is a fountain made of light grey marble. It depicts a cloaked, slightly feminine figure, with only smooth curved stone for a face. In her left arm she cradles an oversized horn, through which water flows, while her right is extended, her hand open, as if she is demanding something. A curved knife hangs from her belt.
Her bare feet rest on a small circular basin, in which the water gathers before overflowing to another, larger one. The basin she stands on rests on three different beasts that are facing each other. A canine that most closely resembles a Northwestern wolf, a large feline creature that looks kinda like a puma and a large bird that is similar to nothing you've ever seen before, except perhaps for mythical creatures. All three look like they are ready to fight, showing their teeth or claws, their fur or feathers standing upright.
There are more detailed carvings surrounding a wavy line that goes around the base of the fountain.
On the base of the fountain rests a crow, idly playing with a ball made out of dim lightning, tossing it from wing to wing in long lazy arcs.
A small distance away from the fountain is a man wearing a gas mask that is talking to a tall, lanky man with short dark hair and grey eyes.
Laying on the ground besides them is a rather obese man that is eating burning pop corn out of a can with his bare hands.
"The one he has chosen to come here is John." he says and points to the man talking to the one wearing the gas mask.
"While we were off helping Amelia and her companions he was defending a world from the attack of a spirit that took of the form of a giant metal man. He and his allies did quite a good job at it."Two large buildings stand on opposite sides of the plaza. A large three storey building made of stone blocks and wood with a sign hanging outside and smoke coming out of its chimney. Some kind of tavern or inn probably. And a larger two storey building made almost exclusively out of stone blocks, which has no sign on it but looks imposing nonetheless. The only building to feature a balcony, as far as you can tell. Maybe a manor or a town hall?
"Come on, it's this way." he says and leads you towards the inn.
The inside of the inn is very dark compared to the sunny town outside. Before your eyes have much of a chance to adapt and take stock of your surroundings, he is already leading you away from the entrance and towards an upward stairway. He gently pushes you until you are hidden behind it.
"As requested. One ambush for you. Enjoy!" he whispers and quickly walks away, towards a counter.
((See Lenglon's for the rest.))
"Uhh... Thank you? I guess I'd better get going."
I wonder if that bird was brought here the same way the players were. How many people are being kidnapped for the games?
I hurry over to the door, open it, look for a way 'downstairs' and go, keeping an eye out for anyone else in the area.
"De nada!" the little bird squeaks its reply and flies away, emitting a couple of whistles as it does so.
You turn around and open the door out of your room. Beyond is a small hallway filled with 4 other equally spaced doors, each with an unlit torch in the wall besides it. One is a simple wooden door like yours while others are very clearly the portals of other players. A hotel room door, a door with intricate carvings, a heavy-looking door...
The hallway is lit by the diffuse light provided by sun rays escaping through gaps in the closed shutters of the windows lining the side of the hall opposite to you. You can see motes of dust floating in the rays, the ones closest to you swirling from the small wind currents opening the door has created. It smells of old wood. There are also faint smells of food and alcohol floating around in the air.
On your left the hallway makes a left turn and disappears, presumable leading to other rooms. On your right it ends on a wooden stair, leading downwards.
A short walk later, you descend the stairs and find yourself in a larger open area made of stone and wooden supports. One of the walls features a few of those gigantic wooden barrels that usually hold alcohol. It is lit by a large fireplace, complemented by a few torches hanging from the stone walls.
The room is filled with tables and chairs, although only one of them is occupied. The ones occupying the table are Ike and a muscular man with tattoos who you have never seen before. They are apparently in the process of consuming a giant dish of omelette along with a mug of beer and a bucket of milk. Guess this is where the smell of food is coming from.
Finally there's a counter, with a few smaller barrels, a small fire and some cooking implements behind it.
Behind the counter is a Viking with platinum blonde hair who is wearing very dirty and somewhat wet clothes. A large wooden mug rests on the counter in front of him. On the opposite side of the counter, talking to the Viking, is a creature that has most of the characteristics of a wolf. He has black fur and amber eyes, but his body is more humanoid, with hands instead of paws, his legs allowing him to stand upright and his snout a bit smaller than that of a normal wolf's.
When you descend the last few steps, the wolf-man and the Viking turn to face you. You start walking towards them, when suddenly you hear a sound behind you. Before you can turn around, something falls onto you from behind and ensnares you in a tight and vicious... hug?
You look down to see silver-furred arms wrapped around you.
"Surprise!""Well, there's certainly enough of it that it couldn't plausibly be anything else, you know? Bring on the milk!"
Have a bit of milk to wash down the grease! Hope that transitioning to another world will ease digestion.
You sort of lean forward, careful not to press your stomach too much and try to have a couple of sips of milk. The first gulp makes you feel like your stomach is going to explode if you drink anymore. Then again, this place is supposed to keep you alive no matter what, so that might be an interesting experience.
Hmm... give this, "Ma-ilk" a try. Hopefully better than "food"
"... What's a scuiel?"
After the big eared man has a sip, you try a bit of the milk yourself. It's OK... sort of. It's still a bit too "heavy" and fatty for your tastes, but it has a somewhat interesting flavour and you can drink it, albeit slowly. If nothing else, it helps wash the taste of the food away.
Both of you watch as a werewolf leads woman with silver fur, fox ears and a fox tail under the staircase and leaving her hidden there. The werewolf glances your way as he passes by you and then heads for the counter on the opposite side of the room. He sits on a stool with some effort (he is rather tall, so it's somewhat uncomfortable) and starts talking to Ike's entity, who is standing on the opposite side of the counter, drinking something.
A few seconds later, another woman with fox ears and fox tails comes down from the stairs. She starts walking towards the counter before she is surprise-hugged by the hiding woman.
Read the banners before opening the door
You attempt to click on the banners, but it turns out they are not that kind of banner. Too bad. And you wanted to read that surefire way to gain body-builder muscles.
Lame jokes aside, they're more like
this. Red banners with a dark symbol in the centre that looks like a sword stabbing a rhombus.
You shrug and go outside, into a small hallway with a wooden floor. To your left the hallway ends into an upwards stairway, while to your right it turns right. There are other doors in the hallway besides yours, all of them different from the other. The style of the hallway is also very different from the style of the room you woke up. In fact, now that you think about it, you're very certain that the room is too long to fit between the doors beside the one leading to it.
".... The waiting is killing me. When will it start?" Rune mutters to himself, but also somewhat hoping his entity notices it so that he gets an answer.
"One would think that you would welcome this reprieve. I guess you must really like the challenges."((Soon. Sorry. Been a bit busy planning the missions and studying for the university. And sick. It's like the whole world is plotting against me.
Anyway, you can now declare you want to go to the other mission for formality's sake. Check the end of the post.))
Tis' the Great Desert? The mortals have created a new magic, perchance? To force ME aroint from the battlefield!? Verily, I am disappointed.
It matters not. My duty is ner finished. Een the greatest desert shan't stop me. An I have to wend for years, then so be it.
But first...
Walk closer to the shiny object, try pulling it into my hand. If it doesn't budge, get near it and investigate it.
You walk closer to the object, your heavy footsteps sinking in the soft sand of the dunes.
When you're close enough, you use your powers to pull it. The object doesn't budge. But the sand around it does. It flies towards you, pelting your armour and getting in its joints.
When the sand clears, you can see that the shiny thing was actually the tip of a much larger glass obelisk rising out of the sand, its base not yet visible. It's made out of crystal clear glass and is completely smooth. The light from the harsh desert sun is reflected refracted from it, forming small rainbows and bright rectangles on the ground around it.
"Welcome." a female voice comes from the obelisk, the sand around the obelisk shifting slightly as it vibrates.
"Let us see. What shall be your first question?"
Ahem!
Random.org says
NAV
Harry Baldman
Lenglon
DarkArtemisFowl
Tiruin
Xantalos
are going to the Campaign mission.
Anyone besides them who wants to participate in the other mission, say so now.
I'm a bit weary of letting Xantalos go on this mission, considering what happened last time. Plus this mission will have a small chance of permadeath, so with his luck, he is probably going to get himself permakilled. Uh, but I'm really hoping everything is going to turn out fine. Or at least that one of his teammates is going to be able to keep him from getting himself killed. Or maybe his teammates are going to kill him at the start of the mission to save themselves. Whatever happens, it should be... interesting.
Anyway, missions are planned and ready. They'll be starting at the end of next week, probably. Maybe a bit later, depending on how my studying goes.