Event: Abort! Part One

[voidtreckermods]

Until now there has been one mission in every month. The practice in Apple and since then one for each month. So for those that have been on the train for a while they will be extremely surprised when on the twenty fifth day of the month of Egret their SCA’s glow gold and a hologram appears. Another mission.

Strange or not preparations need to be made, the voidtreckers are needed, strange timing or not.

Preperations

As promised the dressing room is open once again and there is a collection of leggings, shirts and tunics. All are in bold, differing shades of team colours and are made of sturdy material. There are a couple of cloaks, like those they wore in the goblin world they look medieval in style but will keep rain off as well as a modern raincoat.

As usual they have about an hour of preparation time, to gather supplies, get changed and help those who need more help disguising themselves to do so.

Arrival

”We are now approaching world#27462947582. Warning: Exit from void in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four,” Hopefully even those who are new know to hold on or sit down by now. ”Three, two, one.” A jolt and a lurch and the void from outside the windows disappears to show green grass and a blue sky.

The Voidtrecker Express has landed in a small dip between two hills. Tall enough to mostly hide it and once everyone who wishes to disembarks it vanishes.

The voidtreckers, on climbing the hill, will find they are inside the city walls, just. Here it is mostly farmland still but as they move towards the centre there are more houses and things become more crowded and bustling. The city is big enough that an influx of strangers doesn’t turn many heads.

Their SCA has a map, red team’s has a marker for the northern gate, purple’s show the position of guard posts. Orange and Blue’s shows the main gates that lead out into the kingdom beyond.

Red Team

Getting to the northern gate doesn’t take all that much time and they are let out without much fuss, though fair warnings about the monsters out there. It is clear that though this city is nominally guarded and walled, it has been a long time since there has been war here and people can come and go as they wish.

The desert is, much as can be expected. It is more a scrub land rather than rolling dunes of sand but the land is cracked and dry. They have to move at least an hour away from the city before they come across any monsters at all.

When they do they are strange almost-boar looking creatures. They are vicious and will attack on sight, charging with huge tusks and teeth that are far too sharp to belong to a natural creature. They are clearly intelligent, even if they don’t seem to have language. But they never come across more than five at once and there doesn’t seem to be any movement of them towards the city.

Purple Team

The guard posts are only have a few guards there at any one time. Though questioning any of them the voidtreckers will learn that there are other guards in the city, ready to come to the defence of the walls if the alarm is ever sounded. Those on the walls are there to keep watch.

It might take a little bit of persuading but there isn’t a huge problem with purple team being allowed up onto the walls. As long as they don’t seem to be causing or bringing trouble.

The surrounding countryside is clear. To the north is the desert but to the east, west and south there are rolling hills of green. The kingdom that this city is part of.

For them it is a few hours of tedium and anticipation. Watching the landscape, waiting for a threat. The other soldiers are curious enough that they could be coaxed into conversation or a game of dice.

Blue Team and Orange Team

It is very difficult to convince a city full of people who have not known danger in a long time that they have to pack up and leave.

There are difficult shop keepers, confused farmers, worried parents.

Some are able to be ready quickly and so can follow the Blue team out of the southern gates. It might take more than one group, with a few blue team going with each one. The kingdom isn’t particularly dangerous but who knows when that may change. Keeping everyone together and moving will be the challenge here.

For Orange team there are plenty of logistical problems to get stuck into. Animals need moving, people need help packing or wrangling small children. Older people need help finding carts to ride.

Not to mention the very stubborn ones who will take a lot of persuading. Those who were on the goblin world have had practice in this already of course, and hopefully have tips to share.

(OOC: Information about this event is here)

Comments

[callmegladio]

Gladio sat up more and watched, amused, as Rapunzel went rolling down the hill. He shook his head and when she returned he was able to answer her. "I could have stayed on the train. But if I'd stayed, I wouldn't have been able to see this beautiful day. Or a pretty girl rolling down a hill side." He said with a laugh and a friendly smile. "You enjoyed that?"

[adropofsunlight]

"I guess so. I mean I guess most people wouldn't like to be stuck on the train for ages." In her case years, but she didn't have much of a choice at the time, or at least that was what she had thought at the time.

Now she tended to take any chance she can get to get off the train. "As for the rolling down the hill it was indeed fun."

[callmegladio]

"I really like this kind of landscape." Gladio explained to her, looking away to take it all in once again. "It reminds me of home. The open spaces, the blue skies..." Being stuck on the train for weeks at a time was painful when he knew that somewhere outside there were views like this.

He laughed then, an easy, deep laugh. "You should be having fun. Have as much fun as you want, Rapunzel."

[adropofsunlight]

"Does seeing views like this then make you homesick?" She figured to ask as she turned around looking at what was in front of her.

"I mean... for me the view I had was mostly grass and stone. The areas wasn't as huge as this, so for me this doesn't make me homesick... But for people who have reminders... I wonder if that is the case"

[callmegladio]

"Makes me very homesick..." Gladio admitted with a smile that held a touch of sadness to it.

"I know that being here is better than home." From what he'd been told anyway. What the others had said, his future looked grim. "But I miss it."

[adropofsunlight]

She frowned slightly. She didn't understand those who felt such things, but it was more because she only ever knew the tower and with knowing that it wasn't the best situation made it hard to get homesick.

But she could at least tell it made people sad either way. But she didn't quite understand what he meant by being here was better than home? "Better being here than home? Was something going on at home that was bad or something?"

[callmegladio]

"... You could say that." Gladio replied with a low, humourless chuckle. "My whole city was destroyed... My dad murdered. A whole army out to get us." He gave a small shake of his head and sighed. "And that's just my memories. My friends, they're from further into the future than me. Things get worse. So if I go back I've that to look forward to."

"I miss home. I miss my sister. But going back I lose everything here." And as much as he struggled on the train, there were so many things he didn't want to give up on. So many friends he'd found, people he never would have back home. And love. He had found love...

"But then I sit here and look up at this sky and nothing else seems to matter." Gladio continued, and was now able to smile. "Doesn't it make you feel good? The sunlight?"

[adropofsunlight]

Rapunzel at this point had moved to sit down, arms wrapped around her legs as she looked over to simply listen to what the other had to say. Though she found herself surprised as he explained what was going on where he was from and a little sad that stuff like that was evening happening.

That really sounded like an awful thing to go through. "That's awful. I'm sorry you have had to go through that." She was genuine in her words. That wasn't exactly something she would want anyone to go through.

She soon found herself nodding slightly, "Yeah, I guess if we do go we do lose what we have made here, but I guess at the same time there is still at least the one pull that everyone must-have."

She soon smiled slightly as she looked up at the sky. "it does. But isn't having sunlight a good thing anyway?"

[callmegladio]

The pull for him was his sister, and that despite everything wrong with it, Eos was his home. It was where he had been born and raised. It was where he had believed he would die and be buried. But focusing on those things was lessening his enjoyment of life on the train, and he knew that. In the bright light of the sun he could see clearly what he was doing wrong. How to stop it though?

Gladio chuckled and found himself nodding in reply. "Sunlight is a very good thing." He agreed easily. "Maybe if we had more of it on the train, it would be more bearable?"

[adropofsunlight]

"I'm not sure how one could get sunlight on a train. That's a problem." She figured one couldn't physically anyway.

"But I am sure we can maybe paint one somewhere or something. On the roof of one of the cars."

[callmegladio]

"No, that's the problem." All the train had was void. And that just made him want to vomit. They needed more natural light. Surely being exposed to so much void 'stuff' was unhealthy?

"Hey, Rapunzel?" Gladio spoke then, a warm smile upon his lips. "Can you look around and remember this place for me? If I got the paints for you... Think you'd be able to recreate this view?"

[adropofsunlight]

Rapunzel had stopped what she was doing to turn around for the moment, hands in front of her. "Yes?" She asked curious as to what he wanted to say next.

When he asked about remembering the place she nodded slightly. "That is always one thing I'm good at. Remembering. Some of my paintings I have done are based on things I remember, so it shouldn't be too hard."

[callmegladio]

"Then can you remember this sky? The colour of these hills... the grass and the clouds and the way the wind moves them?" And the light. The warm sunlight. Gladio's eyes were on the sky again, watching another of those odd birds flying across and vanishing into the clouds.

It was a beautiful world and while he didn't think he would soon forget such a view, he would be very happy if Rapunzel could paint something for him. Maybe along the wall of his bunk? Or maybe on an actual canvas if he could get her one, if the train was against such things as brightening up their living spaces.

[adropofsunlight]

"I can remember all that, yes." It should be easy enough and she was considering doing stuff like that on the actual train and see how that went. But she also knew that it would require a bit more paint which right now she was calculating in her head.

But in between thinking about what she needed she found herself looking around and seeing the view, taking it all in and putting it to memory.

"I don't know if I could pass off just how beautiful it is, but I will at least try."

[callmegladio]

"I think you'd do an amazing job." Gladio replied with a warm smile, tone full of confidence. While he might not have seen her landscape painting, he knew she was a very good artist. He had the utmost faith in her abilities. Though he wouldn't pressure or pester her for her work. He would wait patiently for his turn. And he would find out how to get her paints to repay her with.

[adropofsunlight]

"Thank you," she said a sweet smile as she looked up at the sky once again, her eyes looking at the various clouds, how fluffy they looked or the way the light hit certain objects. She was at least trying to take it all in.

But she also knew that she wanted to help out as well. Do the mission the best way she could. "I should really get to the mission. So I better roll on over to that."

[callmegladio]

Gladio laughed and glanced over at Rapunzel. "Literally?" he asked in amusement. It had been cute watching her rolling down the hill earlier, she'd looked like she had enjoyed it very much.