TURN FIFTY-FOUR: EMOTIONAL AND EMOTIONLESS
And by tomorrow, I mean a few days.
I'm thinking of shortening the turns a bit to make the turns go by faster. Not that I don't enjoy writing extensively, but I feel that with the shorter list of active players, it only makes sense to deliver quicker. The work I have right now makes it hard for me to stay focused for long, so shortening the turns might also help me in that regard.
Essentially details and most of the fluff will not be subtracted, however. Just maybe a paragraph or two altogether. It won't be much.
And now, back to your regularly scheduled shenanigans.
"I think I have, and I am quite interested in your offer. It's more money than I'd hoped, but simply put, the blade is worth it. I don't have enough for the blade on hand, but if you'll allow me to make a deposit of 30 kita to hold the blade for me, I'll come back with the other 207 as soon as I'm able."
((assuming here that the 10% rule of thumb, 24 kita, would apply here.))
Assuming she agrees to hold the weapon for me, I make the 30 kita deposit and return to the Kito household, to check on Cromwell and Erin and the Doctor. and to see about a loan. because I suspect tonight will be another hard night and I want to be ready.
Lirian"Sounds like a deal," she says, extending her hand to you as the universal sign of agreement. You return her invitation, give her your deposit of thirty
kita for now, and set off back to the Kito Complex to grab the rest of the money. It doesn't take too long for you to get back to the Complex, now that you have a reasonable understanding of the layout of the town and the route back. When you get back, Kito and Erin have already finished their breakfast. Erin has retired to her bedroom while Kito greets you in the front room.
You tell Kito about your predicament and the necessity of being able to defend yourself against the Shadows, as he already knows. Not wanting to drag the conversation, you tell him that you would need about 100
kita to buy your equipment. He thinks over it for a few moments.
"That doesn't sound too unreasonable," he remarks.
"And if Dimikaelo has reason to trust you, then I do too. Here." He retrieves a coin bag from his pocket and counts out the necessary currency for your expenses.
"I just bought something from the town earlier today. This should be all you need to cover. If you need anything else, let me know." You thank him for his hospitality.
As for Cromwell, he is currently taking a nap in the guest room. You're not sure why he would need to nap if he already has his night's rest, but you don't think over it too much. He should be awake by the time you return, if not a little later. You exit the Complex and return to the shop about fifteen minutes later. At the shop, the salesclerk is cleaning the blade that you had put in a deposit for. Seeing you enter, she returns the blade to its sheath and sets it on the table in front of her.
"So, are you ready to pay?" She asks you. You nod and set the 207
kita on the table, which she collects and deposits in a register behind her.
"Wonderful," she exclaims.
"The sword's yours. Would you like anything else?" You politely decline.
"Right, then. Thank you for your purchase. Hope to see you again." You take the sword with you and exit the store. Doing the math, you have 50
kita left. Not a huge amount, but enough to buy you some extra equipment or supplies if you so wished. Just don't think of anything too fancy.
Warren Drake
"I've heard it helps you relax," says Warren. "And I could use a bit of that, honestly. I mean, somebody blew up my island, did I tell you about that? And then there was this lizard thing that was talking to me. And those fucking iguanas, man, what were they even doing there? And then I was a lizard, and goddamn, this is all too stupid to even try to retell. Doesn't help that the talking lizard was a complete idiot, even if you could trust whatever it told me."
"And that's not even getting into the random monsters and the green energies and other stuff. So I'm having a drink to help me take this mushroom trip made reality in stride. Maybe have an ominous nightmare-filled nap later to process all this stupidity, you know."
Have another swig, then close the bottle and relax. Can I perceive the Lifestream or whatever it is?
Warren DrakeYou recount the events of the past few days in between bites of your meal, injecting a little bit of alcohol-induced humor here or there. The girl listens intently, apparently very interested in your ramblings. She raises her eyebrows when you get to the middle of the story. Once you finish your story along with most of your meal, she remains silent for a few seconds. With a confused look on her face, she says,
"That's really strange. How was your island blown up, and why?" Whether or not you respond to that question, she adds,
"You said that you saw random monsters. Can you tell me what they looked like?" She looks down and says,
"Some very strange things have been happening in the forest. Animals have been acting... rabid. They are becoming aggressive. They weren't like this before."After you answer her (or not), you take yet another swig of your liquor and settle yourself back against a rock. It's not particularly comfortable, but it does the job in preventing you from falling over entirely. In a spur-of-the-moment thought, you decide to test your ability to detect the bolts of energy that you were using before. If those strange traces of almost magical energy were able to help you before, perhaps they will lead you on to find out what you're doing here. You look to your right - nothing there. To your left, only the forest surrounds you without anything to lead you. Casually, you look behind you. There, you also find nothing. Looks like the spirits of the world have decided to keep you in the dark for now.
Finding yourself disappointed, you sit back once again and let the buzz settle in. This time, you're feeling a little more than inebriated compared to where you were before.
Eh Ah
Eh Ah bows politely before the Empress.
"Your Majesty, I found this woman in Magis," he says, indicating the insensible woman as he looks her way. "She seems to be unresponsive to basic stimuli, and quite insensible as a result," he explains, waving a hand before the woman's eyes. "However, she is fully ambulatory and capable of supporting her own weight, and seemingly not unconscious, either. I found her standing in the middle of a street, completely alone and staring into the distance."
Eh Ah turns back toward the Empress.
"Her pupils are extremely dilated, leading one to suspect that she may have been drugged. However, in the hours it took to get back here it still does not appear to have worn off, and it would be unlikely that the administrator of said drug would have just left her standing in the street, or that she would have done so in the middle of the street in the first place. And equally doubtful is that this is mere acute stress from observing a horrific event, as there would likely be more variability in response. This leads me to believe that she has seen or been influenced by something supernatural, or at the very least something I have no prior experience with. As such, I deemed her the most interesting find of the day. If she is unusually drugged or traumatized, references to potential information sources in Magis may be extracted from her later. If she has seen something supernatural, she is a potential information source on her own."
"As for Magis itself, it appears that the occupation is going at a sedate pace, and I heard both imperial forces and survivors moving about, presumably keeping the peace and looking for supplies respectively. The city itself is in not too terrible a shape, though its defensive wall appears to have cracked. Not that I understand why exactly Magis has a defensive wall, given the general harmlessness of the Atisi and the overpowering artillery of the more civilized world, but I admit a certain lack of familiarity with their absurd cultural norms."
Report.
Eh AhEmpress Theyin continues to pace around the room while you talk, taking on her usual manner of cogitative action. The other man in the room, who you presume to be a relatively high-ranking officer, stands to the side of the door in an unassuming position. After you finish your report, the Empress continues to walk around the room with a slower pace. Finally, she places one hand on the central desk. Looking to you, she says,
I see. She seems to be a peculiar case. I'll have her put under the care of the medical corps. If she appears to be influenced by drugs or other substances, we'll take care of the situation from there. However, if, as you say, this is 'supernatural,' your further help would be appreciated."Already, you can tell that she has changed in mood from yesterday. She seems to be calmer and carefully chooses her words.
"It strikes me as odd," she continues,
"that you found her on a street. Was she with anyone else, or was anyone near the location? Was there any other activity in the area? Did you find anyone else with this particular ailment?" After asking her questions (and waiting for your possible answers), she stands up and properly greets you.
"Thank you for your work," she says.
"I didn't think I would find a local who would be willing to help solve the mystery. Hopefully, the predicament of this woman will leave more trails to follow." She turns to speak to the officer, halts, and turns back to you.
"I almost forgot. Is there anything I may do for you? It would be wrong for me to ask something of a citizen without repaying the favor." She tilts her head slightly, awaiting your response.
"Hmm.... that's very interesting.... .... .......... Well, regardless, errr, whatever your name is, I must say one thing. I don't hear this chime ringing, and I doubt any of your friends did. I think that you might be like me. Different from everyone else. Not the same as me, of course. I am unique. I think. However, it would appear that you might have some kind of extended senses. Now, I'd suggest you head back to your village. If you ever wish to speak to me again, for whatever reason, just come back to this entrance and yell... hmm... 'Potato!' That will allow me to know it is you. Now I must go look for a stray pair of wind chimes..."
Send Jan back to her village, then return to the weird room with the symbols. If nothing is happening there, then have my golems forge some metal wind chimes, just a dozen or so. Then, hang them in the weird room.
RuneIf she is indeed like you, she may be able to help you understand your own powers a bit better. She seems at least a little bit knowledgeable of things that would otherwise evade your understanding. Even if she is not as informed as she appears to be, her different "senses" may be of use to you, especially when considering the undetectable sound of a chime in the caverns.
You let her know that she is welcome to come back when she needs to, giving her an odd codeword for your future ventures.
"That's... an odd choice for a word, but I understand." With that out of the way, you send her back to her village and continue with what you intended to do. You descend into the tunnel, moving about a hundred meters down before coming upon the same cavern that you saw before. Apparently, this is where the girl might have been hearing the strange chime. It would make sense, considering the type of phenomenal occurrences beginning from this very enclosed area. You carefully step through a hole in the wall and examine the room. As far as you can see, it is pretty much unchanged. The same pedestal exists in the center of the cavern, with its arcane symbols spiraling out from the center. Along the wall, the messages and words that you deciphered are still there, and the ominous gate and clock engraved in the wall both remain dormant. If you didn't know better, you'd say that everything here was part of an ancient structure; but you know that not everything here existed before you discovered it.
You continue to look around, using your ears to detect any ominous sounds. Other than the slow
tip-tap of water dripping from the cavern's top, the only sound that reaches your ears is the whisper-soft groan of the wind and the tunnels joining together. Nothing that would even resemble a chime exists so far.
But wait, what is that sound? You are almost hopeful for a moment, thinking that you might be able to hear something out of the ordinary. Then, you notice that it sounds like footsteps. You can hear voices echo off of the walls of the cavern. This time, they don't sound youthful.
You might be in trouble.
Theri jolted upright as her thoughts glimpsed that gloomy hindsight in her vision--she chuckled at the idea as she readied her equipment for a quick search around, getting that long stick and her cutting instruments.
"Could've woken me up for this, Flynn...or left a whispering note..."
She pondered on awareness, thanks to that thought: Where would one man be who she had little idea about in a wounded condition?
Check the surroundings of the area and fully throughout the house--then check any vantage locations nearby, then check for any spring or watering area.
Eleri It definitely would have been wiser for Flynn to notify you if he indeed went out on his own. Then again, perhaps he didn't wish to let you know where he was going in the first place. You're not sure why an ailing boy would stray too far from protection. Regardless of his reasons, you pick up some equipment - including the knife and the stick for your own defense - and hop down the stairs at a hurried pace. Hopefully, you can locate Flynn quickly, before the precious moments of the rising dawn are wasted away.
You start off in the most obvious locations: the area surrounding the house, the sites that you checked out while moving ahead before the sun set, and the path that the two of you took going up the hill. You check the area inside of the fence and find nobody. The front "lawn" of the house also yields no results; similarly, the forest surrounding the house lends no trace of the boy. You extend your search to the locations you scouted out earlier. Still, you aren't able to find anything that would give away the trail of Flynn.
Finally, you backtrack down the hill. You scan to your right and find only the mesmerizing motion of the waves out on the ocean. To your left, the hill rises up and blocks the rest of the landscape from your view. You're about to make your way back to the house when you catch a glimpse of Flynn. There he is, up the hill behind you. He's at the edge of a small protrusion from the mountain, farther away from you than you had expected. Now that you've tracked him down, you begin to walk up the mountain's terrain. It is actually easier to navigate than you would have thought. Once you reach the outcrop where Flynn is resting, you slow down your approach.
Flynn seems to sense your presence, even before he could possibly hear you. He doesn't show it, but you can tell that he has something on his mind. Before you get within five meters of him, he begins to speak without turning to you.
"I didn't really tell you about my dad when you found me." His voice takes on a stronger projection than it had before, signaling to you that he is slowly recovering from his ordeal. However, his voice has a hoarse tone that seems to persist through his speech.
"I chose this spot because it was bright, and windy, and.. I felt uncomfortable until I got here. I needed to come here. I didn't know why, at first," he says softly.
Move to a hiding spot so I can take a nap.
Alex RamanIn your debilitated state, there's not much that you could do to defend yourself if you are attacked. Having said that, your best option right now would be to get the hell out of there and hide. It doesn't matter if that's the coward's way; at least you'll still be alive the next day to be able to call yourself a coward. Hopefully, by then you'll have recovered enough strength to plan out your next motion. After all, there's still plenty of souls to reap, and you're the perfect man for the job.
You start walking - well, stumbling, really - down the street, looking all around for an empty building or an alley to jump into and hunker down in for a while. All of the houses nearby look like they're occupied, being at least neat enough not to count as run-down or decrepit. You would jump into one of the alleys, but those alleys lead to other streets, where you could possibly be seen. To risk that would be to risk death. With that in mind, you continue to walk in the direction you presume to be west.
Before you are able to make it much farther, you hear a low growl to your right. Your first instinct would be to think that you've intruded upon a guard dog's territory. Your second thought is that you haven't really seen many pets out tonight and that the appearance of large, predatory monsters would suggest that this is something other than a canine. Your attention moves up to the roof of a building across the street, where an anthropomorphic, dark figure perches on top. Your unfocused, degraded vision doesn't allow you the opportunity to discern whether it is truly human or not.
It looks like you won't get the chance anyway. Before you can react, the figure leaps down from the building and begins to move toward you at an unnerving speed. You try to put some distance between you and that freak of nature, but your attempts are futile. The creature lets loose a triumphant roar before pouncing on top of you, allowing your face to greet the concrete in a very painful way. You barely have time to push away from the creature before it attempts to take a bite of the air where you were just at.
You're going to have to react quickly if you want to live this encounter.
Since there seems to be a much better selection of plants, look again for something with large leaves to use as bandaging, something like lamb's ear would be ideal, and tie it over my wounds with some long grass. Should be able to braid the grass for better strength.
Then gather and store some berries/fruit/nuts if I can find any, and then resume walking downstream, taking 5 minutes rests as needed.
Jonathan EridisThe rich environment will help speed up your healing process; at least, it
should. You first look around for some familiar plants that could help you bandage - perhaps a lamb's ear or palm leaves. As you look through the flowers, however, you find yourself more and more disappointed. Perhaps you were too enchanted by the thought of finding something like lamb's ear. However, the best you can find right now is a nondescript, leafy plant and its brethren. Its leaves are long and firm, but they are not particularly smooth on the skin and look like they might tear easily enough under pressure. For now, assuming that you don't try to pull any radical stunts, these leaves should suffice for now to keep your wounds covered and at least partially protected from the environment.
You take a group of about seven or eight leaves together and set most of them to your side. Taking a few in your hand, you set about carefully braiding three of them together. By doing this, you will be able to keep the leaves from tearing so soon; that's the plan, really. However, midway through, the tension on the leaves is too much. Two of the leaves begin tearing through the middle already. Looks like you're going to have to downsize. Instead, you take two new leaves and braid them together. This time, you attain a more favorable outcome. You continue this process for several more "bandages" before stopping. Now, you spend some time trying to awkwardly wrap the bandages around your wounds. Although the leaves feel uncomfortable on your skin, they do the job of protecting the wounds and fitting rather securely to your body. Just don't expect to have total freedom of movement, or else you risk irritating the skin or tearing the bandages altogether.
With that out of the way, you now pay attention to your food and water supplies. Water is easy enough to come by with the fresh water running down the river. However, food is a different issue. It doesn't appear as if you have any animals nearby to hunt down. Additionally, fruits seem to be scare around this part of the forest. Despite this, you're still able to find some berry bushes across the shallow part of the river. Making your way over, you cautiously examine the berries. They seem to run the tiny color range from velvet red to deep violet. You've never seen these berries before, though something tells you not to trust them based on your previous experiences with berries of similar colors in the forest. It would be disappointing for your trip to end to the consumption of a deadly berry in the middle of a godforsaken forest.
With that, you pass over those berries and return to the other side of the river, where you kept the rest of your gear. It looks like it's time for you to head out now. You've got yourself bandaged up and have a great water supply with you. Your food is going to run out sometime, but you've still got plenty to keep you going until you can harvest some other fruits or berries later on.
It'd be best to make use of the remaining sunlight to travel and have the moonlight be your protector in the night.
Author's Note: Wow, actually didn't expect the additionally responses in such a quick time. That is not to say that I don't welcome them. I do! I just didn't expect that.
Nothing much else to say, other than a reminder that some of you will have time dilation in effect soon. Other than that, things are pretty normal. Once again, post as soon as you can and I will reply as soon as I can also.
I hope all of you have a fantastic week,
Artemis.