middleofsomewhere | Event: Healing Waters

"Good morning passengers, it is day twenty three of the month of Grasshopper. All passengers of the Voidtrecker Express require rest. Next stop Jema’grethy Island. All passengers prepare to disembark."

It is a very strange morning message that rings through the train on the morning of day twenty three but as the passengers of the Voidtrecker Express wake their screens glow with the colour of the void and a holographic screen pops up for them to read.

World #2554098133741: A world once inhabited by an ancient civilisation and now preserved as a historical site, nature reserve and well-being retreat. It is famous for its relaxing hot springs, calming atmosphere and beautiful beaches.

It is a popular void-traveller destination, particularly among void missionaries as a place to rest and recuperate after difficult missions.

The Voidtrecker Express will spend three days here, arriving today and leaving on day twenty six of the month of Grasshopper. The dressing carriage is open for your convenience.

It is time for a holiday it seems!

Preparation

For those who go to explore the dressing carriage they will find a variety of beachwear and wetsuits. One cupboard has a pile of tents and groundsheets in all four team colours.

One cabinet is exclusively filled with beach towels, in a kaleidoscope of colours, designs and patterns. Another is filled with different shapes and sizes of plain towel dressing gowns. There is even a cabinet with buckets, spades and small rock-pooling nets.

It seems they are in for quite an adventure.

Arrival

"Shortly arriving on World #2554098133741. Exit from void in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one."

The train lurches and rattles as it leaves the void they will get a glimpse of silver-purple sky and a beautiful ocean below.

However some passengers might be a little more than distracted, one staring at that table for a second too long, another seeming lost in thought for a couple of seconds, a longer than normal pause in a sentence. They see a vision, a glimpse of a life that is not their own. Not all at once, but here and there as the train descends to the island.

But then it is gone and things are back to normal. Just in time, as they come to land.

Jema’grethy Island

The train has landed on a grassy ridge, overlooking a beautiful beach of white sand and the ocean beyond. It is warm, but not too hot, a cool ocean breeze cutting through the heat making it pleasant. Behind them is a grassy plain, changing to forest in the distance. There is the sound of birdsong in the purple sky. To the west the land is more craggy, the silhouette of a fortress in the distance. In a word, it is idylic. A sense of peace permeates the island.

A little more worrying is the volcano-like structure in the north. But even a quick glance will show it is not a typical volcano. There is no smoke and the liquid slowly running down it in rivulets is pink and blue.

Exploring the passengers will find beautiful beaches, ragged cliffs to walk and caves to explore. Where it is more craggy the beaches are made of pebbles- perfect for rock pooling.

The place has no people, but it is clearly maintained. The eastern beaches have racks of shallow boats, both canoes and one- or two-person sailing dinghies. There is also a small building in which scuba gear is stored, along with several waterproofed manuals and instructional literature.

Ruins of ancient houses are scattered across the island, but the main settlement is built into a rocky section in the north-west that has been secured with ropes and stairways cut into the cliffs, perfect for scrambles and hikes.

There are no living quarters, but there are sheltered sections with basic toilet facilities marked as camping grounds in five different sections of the island - by the hot springs, within the ruined fortress, beside the harbour, on the eastern beaches, and on the northern face of the mountain.

Hot Springs

To the west are the hot springs. They have both outdoor and indoor areas; the indoor areas being wooden loghouse saunas, changing rooms and storage sheds, whilst the outdoor areas are a tiered series of pools spilling down the side of the mountain and shaded by brightly flowering trees. The waters are hot, mineral-rich and soothing.

Perfect for overly stressed, world weary Void heroes...

(OOC: More setting information is here, please feel free to go wild with the setting and have a fun and relaxing time. You can use this post as a catch all for your holiday or make your own posts on

middleofsomewhere. More information about how the memory event is structured is here!)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Is that right?" He listens closely, arms crossed against his chest now as his attention is spurned on further. "What's your game plan on the island, if I may ask?"

And its a sincere question, not even skeptical or doubtful. The man seems ready to get to work, and that alone is enough to get Roland's interests piqued. He isn't completely trusting this whole affair to not have a catch, after all.

Senku just spent two weeks idle on a train with nowhere to go, nothing to do, he's never been so bereft in his entire life, long as that was, and certainly not while he was alive and capable.

"Exploration, the gathering of resources, the tools." He held up the knife. "Never know when you need a knife."

"Unfortunately we aren't going to be here very long, or I'd be looking to get better resources." He flexed his wrists. "Cloth is better than nothing, but leather would be ideal."

Roland cant help but admire the way this guy thinks. It allows for an easy smirk, before he nods in agreement.

"Good instincts," he answers shortly after. "Are you gathering resources for the whole train, or for your own projects after the holiday is over?"

"I don't have any projects, unfortunately." Senku wished he did, but most of the projects he'd enjoy were outside of his reach with the time limit on this world.

"Call it curiosity, maybe, I'm trying to learn how this whole void nonsense works. Gathering a few things from different stops may help with that." He said, musing.

"Is there something people need?"

"Ah, so you intend to study samples from each stop? Smart. I could help you with that, collect small things that look interesting for you to look into later on." The offer comes smoothly, as Roland's already on a roll himself, invested in the research that might come with assisting this particular passenger.

"And while space is limited on the train, I think raw materials are always good to have, for others to re-purpose should they find the need. I'm probably going to go scavenge for food that can keep on the train."

"That's right, but with the space in mind I'll have to be reasonable." Senku sighed a little bit. "If not gather however much data I can and then either reuse the samples for other projects or discard them, as much as I would hate to get rid of anything useful. I had a fairly small room when I was growing up, so a lot of my projects just ended up recycled into new projects."

He used the knife on the netting again to get himself a decent length of the rope, this time looping it through the belt loops of the cargo pants, useful that, and wound it around the handles of his axe and knife, so they'd sit at his hip and then tied it off. "Passable." He decided. It was no pocket, but beggars couldn't be choosers.

Roland tries to hide the cringe that follows when Senku begins to destroy the netting the train provides them, making use of it in the most unique way possible. He'll survive with little to nothing, at least. That's...good to know.

"...How about you just tell me what to look out for, then? I'll collect them during our time here on the planet, and before we take it onboard, you can comb through it and see what's useful for you." Regardless, he wasn't about to pass up an opportunity to get to know the void more, especially when someone was taking charge of that front.

That was a very astute assessment, Senku could be thrown out in the middle of the wilderness and not just survive but thrive.

At the question he looked like he was thinking it over, seriously considering the options.

"Honestly, it's hard to say. I've never been here. This isn't like running around Japan where I know what all the resources are, if I can find them. Probably the best thing to go looking for is rocks. Shells would be great too, calcium carbonate is amazingly versatile, but I'm hesitant to go looking for chemicals I can't contain."

Roland's pretty much convinced that this guy was more expert on the matter than he let on...He nods seriously, taking his considerations to note.

"Fair point. Rocks, shells. Maybe things organic to this planet that look unfamiliar. I'll do my best to assist, and if it ends up a useless pile, well. It'll be easy to leave it behind on the planet."

He realizes that all this time, he has yet to introduce himself, so Roland offers him a hand to shake before anything else. "Ah, where are my manners? I'm Roland."

"The only trouble with organic matter is that it tends to rot if you can't take measures to preserve it." Senku responded, but a collection of things to pick through? He wouldn't mind. He was going to be doing something similar after all and what were allies if they weren't people that worked together?

Senku glanced briefly at his hand and then took it, shaking it. He was at one point, a bit of a world traveler, so customs that would otherwise seem foreign to him were somewhat familiar.

"Ishigami Senku." He was getting used to proper, formal introductions again. "Senku's fine. Last names aren't that important."

Roland nods. "Senku it is." After their introduction, Roland moves aside to find an extra bag from the dressing carriage. The empty duffel is slung across his shoulder not before long.

"I'll do my best to bring back samples you can use. I guess we can meet by the train sometime on the last day? So it'll be easy to leave behind what you'd rather not bring onboard."

"Seems like the most logical plan, and you can see what I end up with too." He wasn't the type to hoard his resources anyway, if other people wanted to study them, he'd share.

"See you then." He parted with a little wave, going off to explore.

"As long as you promise to share whatever your research discovers, heh. Enjoy yourself, Senku. See you later."

Roland gives him a casual salute with one hand before walking out of the carriage.

Event: Healing Waters

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(We can thread this later on if you want, or handwave it, w/e you prefer!)

(I'm game if you are, new CR is great!)

Always! I'll hit you up on Discord for preferences!