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

This was getting to be something of a bad habit. He had tripped when leaving the train on that last mission. And now again. Heat warmed his cheeks, embarrassed to have been caught doing something so foolish. Though this time it was not his fault.

He pushed himself up and sat back on his heels, head turning to the voice and he gave a brief nod. "Uninjured." He assured. Though he was now frowning. "... Nothing said that this island would induce strange visions, did it?" He asked, just needing someone to clarify what he knew for himself.

Frowning, Zelda shakes her head.

“Nothing I’ve heard,” She confirms.

“But I suppose it shouldn’t come as a surprise that there’s a catch involved. Not when it comes to the train.”

"No, that would appear true, from what I have heard." Gerome pushed himself the rest of the way up, back to his feet, and dusted off the knees of his pants.

"I will assume it was unimportant until proven otherwise."

This could be her out.

Smile, agree, let this young man go on his way. Put aside thoughts of anything he might have seen, on the assumption that it will mean nothing to him and he will quickly forget.

And yet....

"I am not quite sure I agree," she says instead. "Unexpected or not, the train's choices in locations do not seem random. If we experience something like this, I think it meant us to do so."

"And what, pray tell, would be the reason for showing me a woman trapped in a cage and a strange looking male taunting her?" It had no bearing on himself, there was no reason for him to have been shown something so strange. Though he distantly wondered if the woman had ever managed to free herself of that cage.

Unconsciously, her lips thin at that news.

"None that I know, and possibly none that I would condone if asked," she says, and if she sounds a bit more snappish the gods themselves couldn't hold it against her, "but the train-"

Then she stops, her eyes staring blankly past him.

"The train...?" Gerome prompted, before looking at the woman and realising that she wasn't quite listening to him.

He was quiet as she was, not sure what she was going on. Was she alright? He opened his mouth to ask, but realised he had no idea what the woman's name was.

A few moments later, Zelda comes to herself with a sharp gasp.

There's a breath. Two, for luxury's sake, while she gathers her thoughts- tries to put together names and figures and a timeline that doesn't make sense.

But it's been- a minute? Maybe? She can piece it together, if she has time....

"...My apologies," she says at last, "I don't believe...."

Gerome actually manages to look concerned as the seconds tick by, to the point he even takes a step closer. Before he can say anything, the woman regains her focus, and Gerome is quick to take that step back.

"...Believe?"

She tilts her head back and sighs; out of thin air as this vision is, it's almost enough to make her miss prophetic dreams.

"... I don't believe the train makes important stops without some purpose. Even if it is one I don't understand."

Or appreciate. There's a guilty twist to her stomach, thinking of the ghost of a mother's embrace. She doesn't like the feeling; it makes her feel as though she's intruding.

(It also makes her miss- not her mother, really, Zelda doesn't remember her. Doesn't miss her, really, perhaps to her disgrace. But it brings to mind Impa, and Impa Zelda misses indeed.)

"I am being lead to believe that is correct..." Gerome nodded, understanding the words but not the context. What had happened to cause this woman to say such a thing?

He couldn't argue however. It seemed, from what he had been told by others, that this train seemed to have some kind of ulterior motive for all it did. It was not a huge leap to assume then, that their 'vacation' would also have a hidden motive behind it.

Event: Healing Waters

Re: Arrival

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