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

He was, at some point in the afternoon, now wandering the beach looking for seashells. Not too many, there was going to be a limit to how much he could take on the train and he was curious to see if they were going to exhibit the same properties as the ones he was used to, so he was selecting a variety of different shapes, meaning they likely had different sources.

He spotted a sort of big one peeking out from the corner of Elena's towel near her feet and pointed.

"Can I have that?"

At least he hadn't just grabbed it, small favours that. If he'd known Elena, he probably would've.

"Mm?"

Elena lifts her head onto her arms and looks up at the kid. She's on her stomach, bikini top undone so she doesn't get a tanline on her back (joke's on her; she's never actually been able to tan). She sits up, using one arm to preserve her modesty, and hands the seashell to him.

"This?"

Other people who could be perceived as regular teenage boys might be more interested in Elena's body, but Senku only has eyes for the seashell, accepting it from her.

"That's it!" He took it from her hand and turned it over in his, examining it to see if he can glean anything from looking it over.

Then he paused, remembering his manners. "Thanks."

“Sure.” Elena settles back down to her tanning session.

“Are you collecting seashells for a reason, or is it just a cute souvenir?”

"I'm hoping to see what they're made of. Calcium carbonate, with any luck, because then I'd know what I could do with them." Senku said, sounding slightly excited about the whole thing.

Elena raises an eyebrow. "And what are you planning on doing with it if it is calcium carbonate?"

She vaguely remembers its chemical composition from her school chemistry classes but she hasn't thought about any chemistry besides what can be weaponized in years.

He considered that for a moment. "Well, one thing it can be used for is controlling the pH of the soil in the car where the plants are. If I get around to building a forge or something, it can be used to make mortar. We, fortunately, have soap so that's not a concern."

It could be used to make gunpowder, certainly, but he had a habit of keeping that close to his vest for the sole reason that he'd learned that lesson the hard way.

Elena beats him to it.

"Can it be made into an explosive?" She asks, interested despite herself. She fixes her bathing suit and sits up, eyeing the kid. "A friend of mine is a demolitions expert, but I'm not sure if he's played with calcium carbonate before."

"Yeah, ten billion points to you. Not alone, of course, but calcium carbonate can be used as a compound to cause the chemical reactions to create potassium nitrate, which is one of the three main ingredients in gunpowder."

He said with an amused smile. The truth was, despite the fact he wasn't going to point out things without being prompted - knowledge was meant to be shared. It was what people did with that knowledge that came afterwards.

"As it always seems to be, nitric acid is not just readily available, so I wasn't intending on making any."

Elena smiles at the mention of gunpowder. "Wouldn't mind getting my hand on a gun myself. It would make the missions easier."

Sure, she's also an extremely talented martial artist, but she'd feel more comfortable with her old gun back.

But then the kid dashes her hopes and she sighs.

"Too bad."

"I've made a gun, but it's probably not as modern as you're thinking, since I'm pretty limited by the resources I have at home." Senku mused thoughtfully. "But it stands to reason I could make one. And the ammunition..."

He'd done it before, that was all. "It's not all bad news, it's quite possible that we could find nitric acid, it does occur naturally in the wild of course. Or find the materials to make it, a good piece of platinum would do the job."

Event: Healing Waters

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