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

[blitzcheer]

"It looks like it's been dripping for a while, whatever it is," Tidus remarks with a quick cock of the head to where the rivulets of the liquid have caused an aged wear to the stone of the mountain.

"Maybe mountains do this in some worlds." And he wonders, thinks, and decides to share in comparison: "Back in Spira, there's this large river called the Moonflow. Purple flowers grow along the banks, and for some reason, things called 'pyreflies' gather there. No one knows why. They're kinda like...energy. Flowing through the world. Most of the time, it means memories or fiends are around."

A pause. "Actually, usually both," he corrects.

[wyvernmaster]

Gerome looked up when Tidus began to speak of his home, and listened... While he couldn't imagine what it was the other was describing, he couldn't deny that it sounded interesting.

Pushing himself back to his feet, he looked away and up the way the flow was coming. "It does not seem like this attracts much at all, despite it's sweet scent." A pause. "We have nothing like this back home. Our volcano's spew nothing but molten rock. Though I would be interested to find the source of this... whatever it is."

[blitzcheer]

"No way to find out but going up," Tidus declares with a thumb pointed the same way. "'least there's a path--we can see how far this way goes."

Probably some way, or they might find another route to take. The mountain--volcano, Gerome called it?--appeared well-travelled, though none of the ascending layers gave the impression of being intentionally man-made.

It'd be a climb regardless, but it'd be fulfilling after days of being trapped inside the steel tin can of a train. Tidus is already walking, minding where his feet go, but not forgetting that he has some company. Not quite hurrying back into conversation, but remembering what they were speaking about before.

"Me and Inigo talked about it last mission, how some of the worlds we've been to, or the last few--they were like this too. Other than the fiends that show up and cause the trouble we're there to deal with, they don't have any on the world. Fighting's rare. A lot of the people onboard have more or bigger problems around they have to deal with constantly."

Or so it seemed. There was tension on the last planet between the two people, but other than that, out on the planet and deeper in it, there were no fiends to worry about, nothing but the extraterrestrial force. Which was still a funny ending to that entire trip.

[wyvernmaster]

Gerome nodded and, when Tidus began to walk, he followed suit and fell into step beside him.

"I have only taken part in one of these missions..." Gerome spoke after a moment of two contemplating Tidus' words. "I am in no position to speak on past missions." A pause... a hesitation. "... However, it is strange for me, to be inactive for so long. It seems that my whole life has been one of fighting. That is normal for me. Fighting was the normal part of that mission, though being unarmed was... infuriating." It was the rest of it that bothered Gerome. Helping strangers. Rebuilding. Moving debris and saving those buried. It had all been very odd for him. But not as annoying as he had first believed it would be. Just... strange.

[blitzcheer]

"Right, you use--axes? It came up between me and Inigo," he explains, realising the question is probably bizarre to hear from a stranger. "I had a sword spare at the time, but he said the weight would be weird for you. You have to search and hope on weapons... it's the biggest thing everyone grumbles about considering the missions."

But if this guy was from the same world as Inigo... what else he said made sense, about Inigo. Were they the same? Inigo fought in wars, and Tidus knew that. But constantly fighting... is it easy for him to forget, he wonders? Or is it just that he hopes that the guy can learn to slow down once in a while? It makes Tidus think regardless, the kind of lifestyle the pair of them adapted to.

[wyvernmaster]

Gerome shot Tidus a quick glance, frowning, and made a mental note to have a word with Inigo about telling people his business... He really disliked how people knew more about him than they knew about him. He didn't know what they knew. It would never have occurred to him to tell people about the ins and outs of Inigo's business, after all...

He was quiet, doing his best to quash the rising feelings of irritation. Pushed it aside and carried on.

"I can see how that would be a concern." Keep the tone even, calm, focus on the parts that wasn't a point of annoyance. Or, in this case, focus on the lesser annoyance.

[blitzcheer]

"Are you good with a sword?" Unfortunately, it's a point Tidus wants to discuss. Would be good to know for the future. "I know someone on Purple who has some you can borrow. And if I don't need mine, you can borrow it. There's no point me carrying it if I'm using magic."

And hey, who knows? They might have another mission where a weapon isn't as useful as some kind of spell, and he could always give up the blade. Or they might end up somewhere with the things lying around for once.

[wyvernmaster]

"The sword is not a weapon I am overly familiar with, no..." But... "If it is the only weapon available, training to use one will not hurt me." In an ideal world an axe or a poleaxe would have been his weapons of choice. But as it seemed that the magic of the train did not extend to arming them before missions, he would make do with what was on offer.

[blitzcheer]

"I'll ask them then and introduce you--just so you know who to ask in the future," he explains. Especially since he wasn't a stick-around-your-team type. "If training's more your thing than the peace and quiet, I know someone else who wouldn't mind sparring on this break. She's a soldier too--really good. Not used to the whole taking a break thing either."

Or just doesn't know what to do with one. But maybe he's on the right track with that and Gerome too, speaking lightly, casually, an idle conversation with some purpose. If a person's idea of resting was sparring, he wasn't going to judge.

[wyvernmaster]

Training was something he would definitely need. He had held swords before, even swung a few in a fight. But they had all been weighted poorly for his liking. He was used to a heavier weapon. He had trained himself for that purpose. But he now had more time on his hands than he knew what to do with, surely he could train himself for a different purpose?

Gerome nodded. "Speak to them on my behalf." And after a beat. "And... thank you, Tidus."

[blitzcheer]

He looks back at the thanks, tipping his head.

"No problem." And then he continues, the fresh air nice--geez, has he missed it. It's good to not be walking on flat, safe surfaces, feel the uneven level beneath his feet. "You need anything, just let me know. If you can't go to Inigo," for whatever reason--because the guy doesn't know, because it's something about him, maybe, "I've been around a while too. And I'm used to the technology on the train. I told Inigo I'd help him learn more of it."

It's an indirect offer--that he'll show Gerome, too.

[wyvernmaster]

"I have been reading books." Gerome replied, not looking in Tidus' direction as they walked. Some of the books were... puzzling at best. The language was strange in some of the books, but the simpler ones were kind enough to details certain places, technologies and other schools of thought.

"... I am..." He stopped, frowning in thought, thinking his words through and swallowed some of his pride. "... I am appreciative of the offer." Whether he was saying he would agree to it or not, Gerome didn't expand on it.