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

"Normally I'm surrounded by vassals, servitors, and the like to boss around. And on the train I've got all you dumbasses I can't get a break from. I'd kill to be lonely for like ten minutes, sheesh."

Demons could feel a bit claustrophobic, as it turned out, after being stuck on a void train long enough.

"D-- Dumbasses?!"

Out of all of the things to notice in that statement, that's apparently the thing Inigo's brain decides to latch onto.. And while he looks offended, for some reason it's more a shocked kind of offended than an angry kind.

"I.. I am not.. a dumbass!"

"You're trying to convince the mightiest demon lord that ever was or will be to make friends with you dumbasses. You're totally a dumbass."

Circular reasoning or insightful logic?

"I didn't even say I was going to be your friend!"

.. Did he? Now Inigo has to think about it for a moment. Maybe it's more just that it was implied with how insistent he was being about this whole deal..

"I just don't want you to completely ruin everyone's vacation here!"

"Oh yeah? If I conquered the planet, got my body back, and sent everyone home, is that really RUINING it? Or is it making it the best vacation ever because we're all done with the damn train?"

Somewhere along the line Zetta had forgotten he wasn't supposed to help other people out without any direct benefit to himself.

Inigo is wondering exactly where along the line that happened too. Because he felt like he was at least starting to get a semi-decent grasp on Zetta. The whole conquering thing, sure. The getting a body back thing, sure. He seems to want to be the overlord of some place, Inigo understands that all.

But did the guy just imply he'd help all of them?

"You were planning on sending everyone home?" This isn't as comical of a surprise as Inigo's usual surprise at Zetta's.. Zetta-ness, but it's surprise all the same.

"Yeah, that's part of the deal to keep you jerks from going all hero on me." He was pretty sure a whole bunch of people would cheerfully keep suffering themselves in order to make sure he stayed in suffering, as was the wont of heroes.

"That's.."

Inigo's voice trails off. He isn't sure what to even say here. How does one label that?

".. surprisingly nice of you?" That seems like a good start.

"IT IS NOT NICE!" Zeta's roar was enough to shake the ground -- he wasn't a weak demon, after all. "I TOLD you it's a bribe to keep you hero sorts off my damn back!"

Oh, geez.

It's not even that Inigo is necessarily startled, but he's at least cautious enough to take a step back when he can feel the ground starting to rumble under his feet like that. No thanks.

"Why do people here have such a problem with being told what they're doing is nice?!" Zetta isn't even the first! That's saying something! "Just take it as a compliment!"

"That's not a compliment! To a demon, it's an insult! I'm a representative of all that is dark and hellish in the cosmos, not some nice guy!" The Overlord was practically quivering with rage.

"Alright! Yes, sure! You are evil, and.. dark and hellish, and all of that!"

Whatever you want to hear, Zetta. Geez, you give a guy a compliment once, and this is the thanks you get in return?

Inigo waves a hand.

"I got it, so you don't have to yell like that!"

"Damn straight," Zetta muttered, completely unable to tell when he was being mollified. "And don't you forget it!"

Event: Healing Waters

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