Event: Healing Waters

[voidtreckermods]

"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!)

Comments

volcano

[sos_pilot]

Della had been doing some exploration at the volcano too, but she stopped to stare at Istuki.

"... Y'know, I thought I was recklessness incarnate, but did you really just lick lava?"

[sunbloom]

-ah. Caught red-handed. Or, well, she probably should be, but...

"If it were actual lava, of course I wouldn't, and I can hear my science teacher screaming in my head. But it's not hot, and it smells sweet. Tastes sweet, too." She pauses a moment to evaluate, licking her lips absently. "Something else too, but I can't really put my finger on it. I feel a little lighter?"

[sos_pilot]

Della glances down at the not-lava, eyebrows raised. Now she kind of wants a taste.

"Don't tell me this is alcoholic lava."

[sunbloom]

"Not that kind of light... well, I've never drank, so I don't know, but it doesn't seem like that?" She's just a little flustered; perhaps it's the syrup? Normally she'd have argued a lot more. "I think it's more like... you know how certain oils are supposed to help with headaches, or keep you calm, that kind of thing?"

[sos_pilot]

"Well, yeah, but I always though those things were nonsense."

And this clearly wasn't. Oh well - why not join the club? She stuck a finger in the goo and took a lick.

"... Heyyy, that's not half bad!"

[sunbloom]

"Not necessarily!" Not that she knows much about it either, mind. But then Della comes up and tries the syrup. "Right? It doesn't make any sense, but hey, it's another world."

[sos_pilot]

"Man, they should bottle this up and sell it." Della muses. "They'd make a fortune."

[sunbloom]

"But then people won't come vacation, right? Because you can just buy a bottle of this stuff." It makes sense to her - sure, it's a great destination, but why travel clear out here? "Especially if you have to travel the void to get here."

[sos_pilot]

"Oh, that's true." Della conceded with a nod. "Uncle Scrooge must be rubbing off on me..."

[sunbloom]

"Well, no, it's a good idea," Itsuki assured her, "I just think they might prefer not to. It's more special if you have to come here for it and see the volcano and everything, anyway."

She's quiet a moment. Then: "Although maybe I'll see if I can take some home to my friends, whenever that day comes."

[sos_pilot]

"Now see, that's a much better idea - friendship should always win over profits." Note to self, really hammer that idea to Louie.

[sunbloom]

"That's the plan. Well, Erika-san needs some help with it sometimes, but she generally comes around on her own," she added after a second. Fairy Drop is definitely serious business, so she doesn't begrudge her friend that too much.

[sos_pilot]

Della chuckled lightly. "Sounds like your Erika and my kid Louie could get along in the worst ways."

[sunbloom]

"She's very creative once she gets going, and she works hard, but she can go a little crazy without entirely meaning to," Itsuki explained drily. "I'm not sure I need her to meet any more bad influences, even if they'd probably get up to plenty of chaos."

[sos_pilot]

"In that case, it'd be the other way around... Louie might encourage her to slow down. He's always looking for a get rich quick scheme without the work." A little bit of an eyeroll.

[sunbloom]

"Erika-san is the sort that acts before she thinks, though, and has no brakes. So if he came up with something..." A shiver. There'd be nothing left of Kibougahana. "Maybe we should just make sure they're never on the same continent. Just to be safe."

[sos_pilot]

"Well, I don't think the train will make any promises about that. We'll see."

[sunbloom]

"If they both show up on the train, we just point them at the enemy and tell Erika-san they need new outfits, and your Louie-san their last clothing store just closed." Extra dry delivery that time as Itsuki thought about it, flat look directed into the horizon. "It might even work."

[sos_pilot]

"He is attached to his hoodie." Della mused. "Desperate times call for desperate measures."

[sunbloom]

"We've got a lot of those," Itsuki said with a sigh. "Then again, we've got enough problems between ourselves, forget adding anyone else."