middleofsomewhere | A City Falls: Start

Preparation

Just after light on the seventh day of the month of Bassoon everyone’s SCA glows with the colour of the void before showing a message. A briefing for the mission to come.

Anyone who goes to investigate the dressing carriage will find all the cupboards and drawers open. They may need to battle through spider webs but soon will find an array of clothes. Trousers, skirts, dresses, shirts, robes, cloaks. Everything they will need and plenty of choice. All the clothes have accents of team colours in more muted hues than the normal bold hoodies they wear.

A few hours later there is an announcement over the speakers. "Arrival to Planet #25768 imminent. Prepare for exit from Void. Drop order: Purple, Orange, Red, Blue. All passengers are to wear their Safety Control Apparatus and are reminded that emergency evacuation protocol is three short taps."

The train shudders and jerks. It is time.

Purple

"Purple Team to doors. Drop in two minutes. Purple team to doors."

The train flies down through the air before coming to a stop between two rocky outcrops. The doors hiss open, it’s a bit of a jump down to the ground and anyone who looks back will find the train hard to see. Not invisible but definitely cloaked, shifting to blend in with the rock.

They can hear the sound of many footsteps and the high sound of young voices. It is easy to hear where they need to be.

As they move down the rocky slope they will see the main pass. A large group of children are walking. Spirits are high even if it is clear they are on their guard. Older teens are wearing weapons, swords, the odd axe, a few daggers. Nothing expertly crafted but they all wear them with ease. Slightly younger children carry the very young, toddlers and those too young to walk and keep pace.

There’s a sound from in front of the group. From around the corner a girl, about thirteen years old, runs towards them. Her braids bounce against her shoulders, her eyes are wide with fear and she waves her hands at the others. “Run! Run!”

A shadow looms behind her, a winged wolf, gaining speed towards her. Sat on the wolf is a spear wielding goblin.

From all around them a growling of many more wolves, in the hills, close and ready to pounce.

Orange

Once Purple Team are gone the train flies again. "Orange Team to doors. Drop in two minutes. Orange Team to doors."

The train seems to be still concealed as it hovers at the city walls. There’s a bit of a jump onto the walls but at least they are near one of the staircases down into the city.

Also luckily no one seems to have seen them appearing out of no where though that has more to do with the general chaos rather than anything else!

There is a lot of chaos! People evacuating, animals everywhere, people looking lost and bewildered. Get herding or helping and encourage people up that cliff path!

Red

The train flies onward. "Red team to doors. Drop in two minutes. Red team to doors."

The train makes a slightly bumpy landing on a rocky slope. Scrambling up the slope red team will see a group of fighters, perhaps eighty in total. There are some supplies to the side, not yet allotted. Some horses and weapons. All the fighters are currently focused on a tall woman who is on horseback, facing them from the front.

“… Say those that stand here, as few as we may be were the ones who end the goblin menace on our lands for good. For our children and our families. We fight!”

The end of what was clearly a rousing speech, the fighters cheer. They begin to move over the slope, towards the goblin camp below. If you are joining this battle the time is now!

Blue

The train flies low, skimming over the lake. "Blue Team to doors. Drop in one minute. Blue Team to doors."

Jumping down off the train they will land in the shallows of the lake. It’s not deep enough to go over their boots and now too far to wade to shore. The shore is rocky, loose rocks and pools of water to avoid. The tower stands before them. Three goblins, riding wolves perch on the walls high above them. The sky above crackles with lightning that is not at all natural.

The doorway to the tower is open, there are a lot of stairs to get up. The howls of the wolves fill the air as the wizards fight them off above. Time to climb!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Yes there do be being some over here." She reached down to grab a couple and pass them over. There's a lot of clothes here, more than they would ever need. But she was sure there was a reason for that.

She's dressed in a simple tunic, trousers, a cloak. She looks more like herself. Maybe this world would make more sense. Normal clothes, monsters to fight. Better than gravity magic and games that make the world look like something else entirely.

"Hey, all right!" Taking one, he judged it, then tossed it over his face and behind his neck to start tying it. Boy, did that feel better! "Finally! Thanks!"

"That do be looking cool." She smiled as she looked him over. "You do be being ready now or do you be needing something else?"

She hasn't really seen him since he arrived, but he's the only dark serving person she knows, so she is trying to be helpful to him.

"I need about seventy-five shuriken, but those don't seem to be an option here." Edge sighed, wondering just how he was supposed to do this mission so ill-equipped. Of course, he was a ninja and thus awesome, and would do it nonetheless, but still!

"No there do no be being any weapons here at all." She's not familiar with shuriken but she could do with more daggers. One dagger was not many, in a battle.

"It do be stupid, if we do be being supposed to be fighting."

"Extremely." Though he had another point of objection, one he didn't say openly: why are kids involved? That crossed the line from foolish to reprehensible, in his mind. He was going to have to work extra hard to make sure none of them were hurt. "Maybe we'll get some answers on this mission. It'd be nice."

"It would be being nice. Maybe we will be finding things out."

She smiled at him. "Well if you do no be needing anything I will be going to be finding supplies."

They had been on the mountain a long time after all so she expected they would be in this new place a while as well.

"Supplies? Like what?" He hadn't been there for the first one, after all.

"Food." She started listing on her fingers. "Maybe water if I can be finding a bottle and bandages. I did be getting scratched by claw monsters last time."

And lived off biscuits, but that had mostly been because she had ran away from the group to go up the mountain alone, not exactly her fault but still.

"Oh, stuff like that." Not weapons or anything like that, but he could see her point. "Good idea. Hopefully we won't have any injuries, but it's best to be prepared. Maybe we should take some of the stuff in here to use as bandages."

"There do be being some in boxes by the door. Bandages I do be meaning and also there might be being useful things in the medical carriage."

She hadn't really gone through all the things in there, but it might be useful!

"Then do we need more? Weight is a factor in long-term performance after all!"

"We do be needing some." She told him, "When we did be being at the mountain the train did be disappearing. So it might no be staying this time either."

"Disappearing?! It just -- but that makes no sense!" Not that any of this did, but this was even more egregious! "Why is our mission being constantly sabotaged?!"

"What do you be meaning?" She frowned and shrugged. "I do no be knowing where it did be going, but it did be being a practice so maybe it will be staying this time."

"Taking off with all our resources, our living area, everything. We start from scratch everywhere, if it does that!" Edge took this personally, thanks to his ego if nothing else.

"You do be being right..." She nodded with a nose wrinkle. "Maybe there do be being a reason. I do no be knowing what that do be being though."

She hadn't even thought about it until Edge had brought it up.

"Yeah, and whatever that reason it, is sure sounds like this train isn't on our side. Kick us out to fight with no weapons, take off, and then come back to see what's left?" Definitely suspicious.

"It did be kidnapping us. Did you ever be thinking it did be being on our side?" She tilted her head, a little mystified that he would even think such a thing.

Obviously not, but the kid was missing the point. "Kidnapping us to do missions. Which it then sabotages. So what's its real goal?"

"I do no be knowing." She shrugged, "Maybe it do be being a test. Or maybe it do be being a stupid train and it do no be knowing we do be needing weapons. I do no be being a train so I do no be knowing how they do be thinking."

"It can't be that stupid, it knew to add me to its arsenal!" Ego time was every time for a ninja king. "But it sure raises a lot of questions."

"Well hopefully we will be finding answers soon." She tilted her head as the train began to speak again. "I do be thinking it do nearly be being time to be going."

"You be careful," he said, waggling a finger at her to make sure the point hit home. "No getting hurt."

"I do always be being careful." She grinned at him, "You do be being too."

Being eaten by goblins would be a stupid way to die.

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onehandsomeslickninja - 2019-10-04 13:04 (UTC) - Expand