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

Reigen doesn't see himself as much of a fighter, so he's been focused on herding people closer to the path they need to escape the city through rather than arming himself. He sees a lot of people have some form of sharp object, however, and it's making him a little nervous. Is this the sort of situation he should be arming himself in?

"Ugh, but I really don't want to stab anybody..." He mutters to himself. Even the thought of trying to kill anyone made him feel sick. Reigen notices the elf-man he doesn't recognize collecting all the busted tools, and looks over curiously.

"Hey. Is there anything in there that can fend someone off but not...kill them?" Might as well have something to bluff with if he really needed it.

Fëanor looks up. Here's one of the new arrivals... what was his name? He could swear he saw him on the train but can't recall the name.

That is one peculiar question. Not saying he doesn't understand such reservations even if he himself doesn't harbour them. Not everyone has the courage, nor the ruthlessness. Not everyone has to. He surveys his pile and finds nothing that he could offer with a clear conscience.

"Hey. I am afraid not."

Even as bening thing as a scythe could do as much harm to the wielder as to the enemy in hands of someone not skilled in handling it.

"You'd be better using a torch. It should work for wolves, or a stray bear, too and there are plenty of those higher up in the moutains."

No, Reigen, he's not trying to scare you on purpose.

Reigen can't help but be relieved in a weird way that Feanor can't give him an actual weapon to work with. Blunt objects would have been nice, but given that there's mostly farming tools in that big pile, they're probably all sharp.

"Right, torch sounds good. No one's going to want to risk getting burnt...what was that about wolves?"

Purposeful or not, Feanor has managed to unnerve him. On Reigen's list of Ideal Ways to Die, being eaten by wolves is very near the bottom, right between being set on fire and being buried in the sand up to his neck and forgotten.

"Ok. That's cool. Wolves and bears when I have a herd of goats to worry about." He might as well wear a sign that says 'Free Dinner' on his neck.

Fëanor fails to register that he's not helping so he continues as if nothing happened.

"There are a few up there for sure. I've heard howls so they're not far." He shrugs. "If you keep close to the shepherds you'll be fine. They have dogs, they're used to dealing with predators but they'd be grateful for all the help with the herds."

Is he absolutely certain of this advice? Nope. Look, he's elvish royalty. He'd never had to deal with a single goat or cow in his life. They're filthy, smelly and try to chew at your clothing if you're not careful. He's not happy about this situation either.

"Alright, just stay by the dogs. Got it."

That does help a little. Maybe not enough to completely push off that concern about hungry wolves in the mountains, but Reigen likes dogs. He can just watch the good cute dogs do their jobs and help keep an eye on the farm animals, it's all gonna be fine as long as he avoids thinking about wolves. Now to just grab a torch and...

"Ok, last question, do you have a lighter or something I can borrow?"

Fëanor doesn't even sigh. Has this man ever been in the wild? Eh, no. He doesn't look the type.

"Ask the shepherds. They should have both the torches and at least one flint to spare," he says but immediately adds a follow-up question "Do you even know how to use one?"

Reigen is lucky that Fëanor has already acquired one for himself so he can show him the basics.

Feanor would be right. Reigen is a man of the urban twenty-first century, so his wilderness experience is relatively limited.

"Of course I do! I've been camping!" He laughs off the question, but quickly adds, "Do you? Just want to make sure you're protected from those killer wolves and...flying bears." Was it the bears that can fly or the wolves? Reigen forgets.

Fëanor gives him a look. He had doubts if Reigen can handle himself once on the road. Now he's sure he won't.

"If there were flying bears, we'd be in real trouble. Fortunately, there are only wolves." Oh, how fortunate indeed. "The regular ones."

You just found him over a pile of deadly agricultural implements, Reigen. There's a possibility that he'll be fine. Unless some of those flying bears appear... Then you're all doomed.

"Keep close to the shepherds and don't worry about me." Because that's absolutely certain he'd be checking on you.

Reigen keeps his most confident poker face on. Maybe if he stares into Feanor's eyes long enough, the elf man will mistake him for a man of the wild.

"Ok, flying wolves? Much easier to deal with than flying bears, Just wave the torches at them! I'll be fine!"

Eru have mercy.

It might be doubly ridiculous coming from him but Fëanor has already lost whatever patience he had for the man.

"Definitely easier," he says with a sigh "Just don't get yourself killed."

He'll hate to bring the news to Tony. They should have left this guy on the train.

A City Falls: Start

Honorary Orange Take One

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