TURN TWENTY-ONE: JOURNEYS OF THE SOUL
Continue deciphering
Rune[5+0 (domain bonus unsuccessful) = 5, 75% completed]
IN̶ ̸THE͞ ̷S̵H̢ADOW̷ ̴O̧F̷ TH̶E ̴D̴AY
̛TH҉E ҉HY̴BR͝I̸D̷ ̀DR̷AGON̸FL͠Y҉
P̵R͡IN͢C̶E͡ OF͘ T͜HE̢ TW͏IĹIG͘H́T ͜A̷ŃD̢ THE͡ ͞C̵RY̸STĄL͞ ̧O̸F̕ ͘V̸O̶I̶D̷
S̛H͜AL̀L̶ ̨ĆO̶ME ̴FO͠RTH T͝O B͞ŔÈA҉TH́E NE̷W L̨IF҉E̷ ͜U̧NT̀O͠ TH͡È W͞O̵R̴LD̀
AND T͟HE G̵UA̢R͝D͝IA҉NS̶ ̢SH̶A҉LL͠ R̷ÌSE ̕ONC̕E ҉A̢G̷AI͏N̸
͢T̡O BR͜EÁK THE BAL̴ANCE͝ ͡B̢E̢TWE̵E̸Ņ S̛H͠AD́OW͠ ̛A̢ND ͜L͝I͟F͞E
M҉AY͜ ̕T̵̶HE ̀S̵̷U̡N ̴́S͠E͏T͢͝͏ ͞͏̡F̴͝O̴̧R̀ ̸̕͢T̨͢H̸̷̢Ę̶̕ ̢́S͘͘ĄC͡RI͏͢F̀͠IC̡I͞A̡Ļ͟ ̡͏LA̧͡͝MB̸͡
̷͏H͟E̕,̀ THE ̢P͟͠Ŕ̢͘IŞ̢M҉̨AT͘I̸͘͠C͜ ҉̵B̧̛͜R̶̀͟E̕A̵͞K̕͢E͘R
W҉̀HO ̵̶́D̢͡E̛̕S̛͠T̢R͘O҉Y͢҉̨Ȩ̨D̵͟͜ ̵͡H͝E̷͘͢A̡͠V̶E͠͠N͝ ̡͞͝A͠Ǹ͏̛D̛ ͞H̛E̡̛̛Ĺ̀L
̢̨I̧N̢͟ ̛S̶̛E͟͞A҉́R͢͞C͜͠͝H̀ ̢͜͏O̡F̨͠҉ Ţ̕H҉E҉̀͢ ͢P͢A͏T́H̕͡͡ ̴͢F̵̢Ǫ͝͞R͠ ̢̛Ţ̨HÉ͘͞ ̷̶DR̴A̡͠G͢͏O̧͞NF̷̢L҉Y̢̧͝
͢A̕҉N̨̡͟D̴ ̴͘͢W͏͏H̡͟O B̨͏O̸R͝E TH̨E S̡͟OÚĹ̛ ͟O͢F̀͘ ̶̛́A ̸͠͏G̷͞͠Ơ̶͠D̷̡̛
͘G͢͝I͟V̸I͘͏ǸG ̷͘THE͜ ̢P̀͠Ơ̡͞WE҉͝͠R̴͜ ̧O͝҉F̧͢͡ ̕͜IR͝I͝D͏̷̧ȨS̀C̴͠E͟N͢҉҉C͏҉͠E͞͠ ͜͠T͡Ơ̢ ̶̵͘T͏͞H҉E̡͟͢ ͏M̡E͡Ḑ͜I̶U̴͠Ḿ
ẂOE ͡T̸O͏ TH̨E̸E, ̀B̴L̷EEDI̸N̨G̸ W̴I҉TCH ̴O̕F M͝AG̡IJ̛A
̸FOR Y̶O͡Ư A͝RE͘ ́ŢH͘E͢ FO͜R͞S͢AKEN҉ ҉S҉A͘VIOR
A͜LA͡S͟,̨ TH̸E DAY W̷I̡LL̕ ̷A͜RR̡I͡VE,͏ ͟DEA̵R DA̴U̕G̕HT̢ER
ÀN̛D TH̵E ͟BURDE̴N̨ O҉F A̢TLA͞S ͞WILL̸ FALL U̕NT̀O͟ YOU
̢N̵Ò LO͢N̷GER ͜A̕ ͠WI͠T̕C͟Ḩ, ͏BUT̶ ̶THȨ ҉MOTH̨E͠R͝ ̢OF̡ ŢHE͝ R҉EB͢I͜R̶T̛H̡
҉B̧R͜I̸N͘G͏ER ͢O̧F̷ THE L̵A̵ST G̢ƯA͏RDIA͟NS TO̴ C̀O҉M̀E
You are almost done decoding it all. The images are coming into place. The words are making sense to you now. The only thing left is to interpret what the heck this even means.
Wait... there is still more. One last part... if only you could decode it faster.
((Once it's done "decoding," the message will be clear and not half-scrambled like this.))
"No, sir. Keep up the good work," Eh Ah says with maximum sincerity.
Take a walk on the island. Watch the surroundings. Get a feel for the mood of the place and the general state of settlement. Look out for larger clusters of refugees and Empire outposts.
You decide to take a walk out along the sidewalks of the now-ruined city of Aecrocia that you once remembered. On this sunny day, with the clouds acting like windows for small rays of light to shine through, it seems so surreal that this all could happen in the matter of a few days. Maybe it is real, or maybe reality itself is not as it seems. Either way, it is time to get a grip on what the people of Atis have been doing with the Imperial soldiers.
As you walk out along the shoreline, you begin to take note of your surroundings and look for signs of improvement on the island. From what you already know, the civilians in Aecrocia are probably sheltered in Summer Hall already. You decide to take your walk down south. Hey, maybe you'll get some information on the status of the Atisi and the Magis. As for the Aecrocians, you don't see many scavengers on your walk down the shore. Perhaps most of them are hiding themselves within buildings.
You get down back to the treeline of the forest, where it meets with Aecrocian territory. You can see now that large part of the forest on the side of the mountain has been burned down. The remaining part of it, which lies on the west side, is also severely charred. As for the demeanor of the troops, you see that they are mostly focused on trying to set up their own establishments on the island. For example, you have seen the troops walking in and out of the Government Complex freely, which means that they have already set up a provisional government on the island. You haven't been able to talk to some of the Atis citizens yet, however, so you still do not know how they are treating the people of Atis.
Overall, there is a general lull in the air right now, as if this is some kind of ceasefire in an invisible battle. A battle of politics, most likely. You have made a walk down to the southern forest, examining the life of the forest as different summer animals scurry along the floor of the forest, trying to make a new home for themselves. It is now midday, and you haven't seen any activity from the Magis or Atisi civilians.
"Great. I'm a lizard, alone on a strange island, which is cold, and I'm a lizard, which doesn't like cold. What's next? A--I probably shouldn't say that."
Head for the beach for now.
Warren DrakeYou snake your way along the riverbank, admiring the life of the wetlands around you. Despite the cold weather, you manage to find the forest around you to be light and verdant. It's almost like a collision of the two types of environments. On one hand, you have a taiga-feeling environment; on the other hand, you have a moist marshland that seems like it would belong somewhere warmer. It's a mixture that somehow works, despite the hard break in the weather pattern.
There is not much else to describe about your your surroundings. The forest around you seems to be pretty quiet now that you are approaching the shore. You put so much focus on the quiet and the calmness of it all that you miss a step and slip. More specifically, into the water. Cold, freezing water. You have no problem being able to swim in it, but the cold is not going to help your body. You climb out soon enough and make it to the shore. The ocean seems to be at high tide right now. You can see some ships out in the ocean, most likely fishing ships.
Your body temperature is low. (-2 SPD)
Diana curtsy as she was bought up to "Thank you for your help."
She then leave to get a layout of town
Diana CrownYou take this time to begin exploring the town. Maybe you'll find something familiar that will guide you to remember where you are exactly.
It takes you about an hour and a half, but you explore the entire town, talking to different people on your way around. Most of the locals seem very friendly, despite their apprehensive nature. The hospital was somewhere around the middle of this town, while the rest of the town seems to spread out in an outward nature asymmetrically. You do notice that the town seems to follow the height of the valley that it is in.
Surrounding this valley is a forest of pine trees, and you can see some kind of complex at the top of a hill that is somewhat distant from the village. Near the village center is a large tower that governs the entire town. Near that is a small market where many of the farmers are at, trying to sell some of their produce. Most of the rest of the village seems to be composed of small, wooden houses that provide shelter for the town's people.
You are near the center of the village now. It is about midday, and the air seems to be a bit chilly. You don't seem to recognize anyone from the village, nor do you recognize what they look like. It seems you were right to think that you are now in a completely foreign place.
...Where exactly am I? Cecil asks, And where's my Fia - Uhm, there was a woman and two other people with me. Are they here too? Could you take me to her if she's here?
Cecil G. PalmerThe old doctor blinks a few times before getting his thoughts sorted out.
"Oh, yes. The Perith search party did find three others, but they were admitted to the hospital down at Perith. This is our city of Makoi. Again, your friends are at Perith, but I may be able to have someone guide you down to Perith again."You notice something odd on the wall behind you. It is somewhat familiar, yet you didn't think you'd ever see this in a building before. You certainly didn't see much of this at Atis, anyways.
It is a flag that has a Delta Cross, which is a right triangle with a cross joined together, without the third side of the triangle. The Delta Cross is the color of amethyst, and it is within a purple circle that has vines of varying shades of purple spreading out from the center. The background is made up of different shades of black and grey, all crystallized as the background.
The symbol of the Jaunatne. Is that how far you've really gone?
Try to go back to where I was before
Alex RamanYou are already forming a plan to get back to where you were. You open your eyes and sit up. Yep, there goes your plan in the blink of an eye.
You are sitting atop a mountain peak several thousand meters high. The air is freezing cold around you. There is snow covering the entire mountain range around you. No civilization as far as the eye can see, only snow and mountains. High up in the air with no feasible way to get down.
Well, so much for that lady in blue's help.
You begin thinking of a way out when you feel something on the back of your hand. Just went you go to instinctively wave the bug off of your hand, you stop and stare for a minute. It is a firefly - to be more specific, the same type of firefly that you saw in the cave. The firefly buzzes around for a few seconds before flying high into the sky, disappearing into the daylight. So apparently you were supposed to land here. Now, how do you get out?
"Oh, that was some time ago. Well, Deon actually attempted to break into my house here in order to steal some food. He tells me that he did this under the control of two kids who bullied for quite some time. So yes, my daughter caught him in the act and our town's council decided to have him work for me for a month or so, as a disciplinary action."
Lirian looked at her companion if any wanderer off the shore had anything in mind with him. Judging by his expression--he had no idea either.
"The two kids? Did they have any semblance to the same two who were bullying and harassing Deon earlier? Joey and that one other guy? Why didn't the town punish them instead?"
'Liri' added her bit in.
"I don't know anything about a wanderer--but when did you get it and who retrieved it? Where did you see him?"
She was unsure why he assumed they would know.
"And working as internal security and as a botanist? Could we know more about that?"..."Any note on Deon's origins would help, too. He said he has an aunt in town, on that note."
Talk!
LirianDr. Kito sighs once again.
I-I don't know who they are, but that might have been them. I'm sorry, but those two kids are like ghosts. We can never find them whenever we seek them out, so we have no evidence to show the council. It's highly frustrating, and I fear for Deon, yet we cannot do anything about what we cannot show to the council.""I don't know anything about a wanderer--but when did you get it and who retrieved it? Where did you see him?"He thinks carefully before choosing his words, examining the container while speaking.
"Um, a few days ago. A lumberjack reported to the town that he had found some people unconscious near Hedemos Gateway, so we sent a search party to recover them. The council received the items that they had, and the council passed the plant to my facility, in accordance with the Jaunatne Security Network's requirements.""And working as internal security and as a botanist? Could we know more about that?"
Dr. Kito laughs nervously, pushing his eyeglass frame up his nose again.
"I'm sorry, that's some sensitive information. As much as I would like to let you know, that's not possible right now. But the main thing you should know is that I work with studying plants, and their possible effects on the future of Jaunatne. That's why I'm here.""Any note on Deon's origins would help, too. He said he has an aunt in town, on that note.""Oh, the aunt? Right... he told me about that a small while ago. Apparently he has made one friend in town - the owner of the market. She's a nice lady. Other than that, I've told you most of what I know about Deon's beginning. He was orphaned from a young age, and he doesn't know many people that he can be friends with. Nice boy, but he's just not really social at all. He also has a, erm, unique perspective on proper justice, but I'm making sure that he does not get into trouble."You both hear a chime above you. The clock on the wall, with a crystallized surface, moves its intricate bars into a place that indicates that it is close to sunset. The bars align to form a pyramid with a horizon.
"Oh, it's getting pretty late now. Can I do anything else for you, or are you set for the night?"
Author's Note This turn's going slower than the last, but exploration of new lands does that, mmm? Also, the prophecy is being uncovered, step by step.
Good luck everyone,
Artemis.
Author
Topic: Roll To Medium: Awakening [Chapter VI] (Read 145790 times)