Adventure On!

[voidtreckermods]

"Good Morning passengers. Today is day six of the month of Horseshoe." The voice echoes through the train as passengers wake up in their beds. Not long afterwards their SCA’s glow with the colour of the void and a holographic image will appear.

Preparation

The dressing room is indeed open as promised. The dressers and wardrobes are full of many different clothes. Shirts, tunics, skirts, dresses, robes, cloaks, leggings and even an array of fancy hats.

The cloaks are notable in that they look like standard fantasy cloaks but are completely waterproof, much like a modern jacket and they will keep them warm and dry. There are also a good selection of furs for those travelling into the tundra as well as some leather armour, both for protection against monsters and fire.

There are an array of tents- in more neutral colours, a lot simpler than the tents they have used before as well as some basic pots and pans for cooking. There are a range of bags and pouches for carrying any essentials!
They are a few hours before arrival and so there is plenty of time to prepare before the announcement. "Shortly arriving on world 5382110341. All passengers get ready to disembark. Next stop world 5382110341. Exit from void in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one."

Arrival: Royal Lake Hill

The train jolts and shudders as it leaves the void. It descends quickly and lands with a small bump. The doors open, it is a bit of a jump from the train to the ground but they land on soft grass. Anyone looking back at the train will find it almost not there… Unless they focus very hard it will seem just like a shimmer in the air, passengers jumping from nowhere.

They are a short walk from what seems like a small town, surrounded by walls. The gates are manned but the large group of people only get a quick glance before they are nodded in.

They get a few curious glances as they enter the town proper. It is not exceptionally busy, indeed everyone out and about are older or small children, who dart around unafraid of the strangers, staring openly at times.

A market place spans the square, predominately selling food, stalls are actually small huts, the front part open to the street for custom and a back room that is presumably used for sleeping. Some, like the blacksmiths are more solid with multiple rooms.

Each voidtrecker will have a dot on the map on their SCA showing them to the inn that their team should head towards. If they ask around they will learn that there is indeed a call to for adventurers at three of the town’s inns and they are to report there in early evening. As it is still early morning they have almost the whole day to explore, enjoy being in a town full of people and, for those who are keen, earn some spending money.

Whatever they end up doing with their day it is obvious when evening is approaching by the stalls beginning to be packed up, the streets quieting as people went home for their dinners. The inns are easy enough to find, even for those that didn’t find them earlier in the day.

Orange

Recruitment

Ducks in a Bucket is at the western gate. It is quiet, usually a tavern used by adventurers, the custom has dried up with all the adventurers protecting the kingdom. It is filled with large wooden tables and sturdy stools, not a fine dining establishment in any way but it has a friendly air to it.

Not long after they arrive a woman in a long cloak arrives. "I am here to hire adventurers. You will be aware, I am sure, of the blight storm that hit the kingdom. Many people across the land have been effected. Many areas are out of the crystals needed to restore those who have been blighted and there are rumours the army is in short supply as well. We require you to travel to the Singing Woodlands to harvest the crystals from the calla lilies that grow there. I have an image if it is needed."

Here she takes out a small scroll and passes it around, it is a painting of a simple, dark purple calla lilie.

"The huma have agreed to transport the collected crystals to the areas that need it. Unfortunately the land itself has been blighted and has become unstable, floating into the air. We can provide you each with two flight potions to help you travel up into the woodlands."

She holds out a bag to pass around, there are exactly enough potions for each person to take two despite the face she couldn’t possibly have known who was going to turn up to head the call.

"Please be warned that transportation magics have not been working in blighted areas and so you will be taken to the ground below. If you accept this quest please get ready to gate."

A moment later there is a flash of light and any who want to will vanish from the tavern.

Arrival

They will arrive on a grassy verge, in front of them is a canyon of dirt. If they look up they will see the land that should be filling it. In chunks the forest is floating on a series of islands stretching high up into the clouds.

Many of the islands feel too high to reach in ten minutes but there are a couple of lower ones that might be good places to aim for.

The potion works swiftly, making those who drink it feel lighter, all they need to do is jump and they are floating, moving in the air is easy, they can walk up as if on a ramp or swim through the air currents if they are feeling a bit more adventurous.

The islands themselves are teeming with life, plants of all kinds grow there and as they reach the lower islands they will see the huma birds and hopefully spot some of those calla lilies.

Purple

Recruitment

The Lion's Mane is the largest tavern in town. It has some customers, sitting in groups and drinking. There is a musician in the corner playing a lively tune and sat on a central table is an official looking man with a scroll case and a worried expression.

"Anyone." He cleared his throat, "Anyone who has come to be hired… As an adventurer please gather around. Now. Now. Can everybody hear me? Yes? Right. Well I am sure as you know the blight… Yes? Yes! Well there are some clusters of villages up near the dusty rivers, I can show you on this map..."

He unfurls a scroll, which shows a large expansive land mass. He points to an area in the far west. "They have a golem problem, their own golems that is. Turned on them." He shook his head, "Crystal magic, very susceptible to blight. They need some help, clear the area, purify the crystals. That sort of thing. You’ll probably be there a few days."

He rolled up the scroll. "I can’t gate you into the villages, earths all blighted. But I can get you close."

He did a quick head count. "If you don’t accept the mission please step back. Ready?"

He opens a gate, a few gates, and everyone who accepts vanishes from the tavern.

Arrival

They arrive in a small clearing in a wood. It is quiet, with not even the sound of birdsong. Trees are all around them though anyone checking their SCA will see that the village is indeed close.

A moment later there are footsteps, a young boy, no older than ten bursts into the clearing. He reels backwards at the figures, surprised to see them but then seems to realise that they are, for the most part, human.

"Quick! Come quick! The village!"

He turned on his heal and heading no call ran back the way he came. For those that follow the route leads them through thick overgrowth, there is clearly an easier way, to a small village.

A small village with a large golem and a large troll stomping through it. People are cowering in houses or behind walls as the troll swings its club back and forth, smashing things in its wake.

Red and Blue

Recruitment

The final tavern is The Thrice Struck Tree. It is small, dark and has a heavy air to it. There are a couple of customers, sat silently with mugs of ale in front of them. They give the voidtreckers suspicious glances.

They may wonder if they are in the wrong place but after a few moments a young woman in a smart looking uniform, dark blue tunic, shiny boots, enters. "Adventurers? I am captain Sienna of Irivar’s third guard. We have reports coming from the southern lands. The blight has depowered the crystals separating the frozen tundra from the fire lands. A disaster could occur if the are not recharged. They must be taken into the central fire mountains heart. It is a fair journey and the crystals must be carried. Please, for those that known the secrets of it do not attempt to place the crystals into the spaces between for easier transportation, it would be disastrous." She gave them a serious look before continuing.

"Furthermore the creatures of the area are reporting that the Glacial Sovereign has not been seen since the blight hit." She shook her head, looking worried. "You must find their guardians, the crystal wolves and attempt to regain contact with the sovereign." She paused again.

"Both the sprites of ice and fire have been corrupted by the blight and the area is very dangerous. I can gate you to the border and from there you must split, please decide amongst yourselves who is best to journey into fire and who is suited to the cold. I will give you a moment to be ready."

It is indeed only a moment before she opens the gate. Any who choose to travel will vanish from the tavern.

Arrival

They arrive in a strange place indeed. To the east there is black rock, lava streams and mountains billowing with smoke. To the west is white, icy bridges connecting land and glaciers. Far in the distance there is what seems to be a swirling mass of snow.

And right where they are is… a mess. Melted ice and frozen ash mixed together into a slippery sludge that sticks to their shoes and makes movement interesting.

But movement may be necessary as it seems their gate has taken them to a place surrounded by two packs of fire dogs and a few regular wolves. All look surprised at the sudden influx of people but it doesn’t take them long before the blighted creatures move in to attack.

Splitting

Once they are safe from wolves and dogs the teams can split. The crystals red need to collect are obvious, set out at even distances from each other. Red team are to head east, into the volcano range, Blue are to head west into the tundra.

Good luck void warriors!

Comments

Shopping

[10billionpercent]

He grinned a bit, offering a bit of a nod in greeting to Xue Yang.

"A job? Anything catch your eye?" Senku asked. "You should probably know, if it involves much physical fitness, I'm not the best partner for you."

[xue_yang]

"I saw something about repairing roofs back at a shop earlier. I didn't pay much attention at the time since I didn't expect to want anything. But now I do. Do you know how to repair things?"

Certainly Senku knows how to do that much. It doesn't take strength to repair a roof.

[10billionpercent]

"I know how to repair a lot of things." He grinned. "Including roofs. That I can do. What about you?" Senku asked.

"I'm kind of an engineer, among other things."

[xue_yang]

"Where I used to live, I had to repair that roof. The building hadn't been used in years and it was better for me to do it then my blind companion. So I learned a bit on the fly but it worked to keep out the weather."

Xue Yang will never say he is particularly skilled at it or that it was a perfect job but they didn't get wet so clearly he did something right.

[10billionpercent]

"If it worked to keep out the weather, then it worked fine." Senku grinned, because a lot of his projects involved a lot of trial and error. He got it.

"Well then, let's find out where we need to go."

[xue_yang]

He nods and walks back to where he saw the sign, he talked to the person in charge who pointed them towards where the damaged roofs seem to be situated.

"Alright, looks like we just have to fix those over there. All the supplies are there for us already."

So they had the means they just didn't feel like doing the actual labor. Xue Yang is fine with that. This job won't be that hard to do and get paid for.

[10billionpercent]

"Doesn't look too bad, actually." Senku responded as he looked at the supplies and the rooftops.

It was a good thing he wasn't afraid of heights.

[xue_yang]

Xue Yang collects some of the supplies and moves towards one of the houses. With the roofing material slung over his shoulder he climbs up the ladder that was supplied to them.

"Are you going to be able to bring up the rest of the supplies?"

[10billionpercent]

There were still quite a few supplies left, being that of course, one would think Xue Yang could carry a decent amount of weight like most people could.

"Yeah, sure." Senku answered. He probably couldn't do it all at once, nor could he do it without exerting extra effort, but that had never deterred him before.

He figured he could do it in two trips, and went over to grab half of what was left. He was at least, comfortable on the ladder so only needing one hand for that was helpful, but still when he reached the top he was breathing pretty hard. He set them down. "One sec, I'll get the rest."

[xue_yang]

While the supplies were being brought up, Xue Yang started to work on the roof with what he already had. It's a little different from the roof on the coffin house but the process was the same. Make sure all holes are covered and that the structure holding it up was strong. It's not an easy process and it will take some time but he worked steadily.

"Did they say what caused this damage?" Because he clearly hadn't been paying attention. His only concern had been what they were doing and how much it would get him.

[10billionpercent]

He was back up on the roof in moments, taking a moment just to catch his breath, but it didn't stop him from answering. "Not specifically." Senku responded.

"But I would wager it was the same wave of blight that we're dealing with." He straightened up and stretched before grabbing a hammer and heading over to help. He had good balance, he was pretty comfortable repairing rooftops, actually.

[xue_yang]

"We could be doing this for nothing then. If we can't stop whatever is causing it then these roofs are just going to end up damaged again."

Not that he doesn't think they will succeed. He has yet to see any mission that they couldn't complete. But it does make him wonder why they don't wait to do this until after they are finished fixing the other issues.

[10billionpercent]

"That's crossed my mind." Senku agreed with a bit of a nod. "From what I can gather is that they think it won't happen again, but I'm not so sure, since I don't know the cause."

He looked at least, like he knew what he was doing in making a patch on this roof.

[xue_yang]

"Well, it's not really our problem if they get broken again. We've only been tasked with fixing it once. So I guess we will see if it holds up."

Xue Yang finishes the hole he was working on and moves to the next one.

[10billionpercent]

"As long as we get paid for it, I guess, I don't really care." Senku hummed. "There's some things I'd like to have from wandering around the stalls because the train really doesn't have everything."

[xue_yang]

"Oh? And what do you have your eye on?" Xue Yang only cares about one thing and he will do however many roofs or other odd tasks he has to, to obtain it. And if he is lucky..maybe request a few custom modifications to it.

[10billionpercent]

"Spices." Senku responded with a bit of a hum. "Especially something with a little heat. Ginger, too, would be great. The stuff on the train isn't really to my tastes. It'd be nice to have more than soy sauce."

He was unapologetic about his tastes. "And then, some iron would be good, and leather...materials for building things."

[xue_yang]

"That is fair. The food on the train is questionable at times." And he is no cook. Not too long ago, his team had been in charge of cooking. It was not his best of activities.

"I'm sure you'll find a lot of good uses for those."

[10billionpercent]

"Yeah, and if I'm going to be in some more modern place than where I'm from and I can get them, I may as well spoil myself." He shrugged.

He moved to the next hole too, working as quick as he could.

[xue_yang]

Some of the holes were worse then others but between the two of them they seem to be completing things in a pretty timely manner. Xue Yang knows they will be able to get paid in no time.

"The next place we stop might not have anything so take advantage while you can. This is the first time we've been to world we could buy stuff." At least since he has been on the train.

[10billionpercent]

"That's very interesting." Senku observed. "Did you not have a town or something last time?" He asked.

"I intend to get what I consider to be the most essential of materials, if I can. I'm sure the Mentalist will help me, because there's things I almost always use when building things."

[xue_yang]

"There is sometimes a village but they don't often have shops like this one does. Perhaps this one is just more advanced."

He wonders how much of the essentials the other man is going to need. "Are you planning to build a lot when on the train?"

[10billionpercent]

"I have to do something." Senku huffed a bit with a little smile. "Even if it's just something for fun, I can't sit idle all the time, it's so boring."

[xue_yang]

"I can agree with that." He definitely finds the train to be boring. But he knows that soon enough a mission will come again and the boredom will be broken.

He finishes with that roof and starts to toss supplies to the next one.

[10billionpercent]

Senku finished what he was doing and watched Xue Yang for a moment. "That seems efficient."

He didn't think he could throw things very far, so he let him do it.

"I'm not used to sitting around doing nothing. I've never really done that."