middleofsomewhere | Adventure On!

"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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Thousands? No wonder Irivar is calling for aid." But that didn't make any sense to Roland. Even if some wild noble without anything to do desired power, to begin amassing such a force meant he was planning something more serious, right? He acknowledges the Elf with a nod, and continues the line of questioning amidst the blur of people and voices around them. He had asked a pickpocket earlier in the day the same thing, but it helps to corroborate information when he can.

"Hm. You don't seem too concerned about it. Is it because good 'ol King Varfrin's got everything under control?"

"King Varfrin," Here he makes a different gesture with his hand, "Has oversaw many skirmishes, with the people behind him there is not a battle he cannot win."

He smiled, "Or perhaps it is that border skirmishes are so common that they are barely worth mentioning. But it seems a little more serious this time, with the blight wave and all."

[Glorfindel was very glad that the locals were keeping faith in their king and in their army. He made a note of the gestures the human had used, though.]

Is the blight unique to this area, or was it more widespread?

Roland sees it again. A hand gesture, different but done twice now as the innkeeper talks. As Glorfindel takes his turn to ask the man a question, Roland darts around subtly, as if he was just changing positions leaning against the table. Or stretching his neck. Whatever he was doing, fixing his hair, moving his head around to release a knot or two, Roland was actively trying to see if anyone was watching these hand gestures - receiving them from afar. Whatever it is he'll find after this quick little scan, he will then turn back to the conversation behind had between the innkeeper and Glorfindel with a confirmatory question of his own:

"Say, are you doing some form of sign language by any chance? Can't recognize them, might be different from what we were taught in the guild." He says, smoothly, with enough interest to make it sound genuine and innocent.

Roland doesn't see anyone particularly shifty looking, there are a couple of people nearby looking over, but they more seem idly interested in the strangers, the glowing elf in particular, rather than anything nefarious.

The innkeeper looks a little surprised at the question, "Ah I should have guessed you weren't from Irivar, though you speak our language very well." He looks a bit confused, "Your teachers were remiss though, it is not sign language as those with no voice use, rather..." He looks confused for a moment, as if at a loss to explain.

"They are flavourings to speech, this," He repeats the gesture he had made when he had spoken of the king, "Means good health and prosperity on him."

He looked at Glorfindel, his smile fading. "The blight seems to have affected the whole land."

Roland mimics the motion with his right hand, to some degree of success. He tilts his head slightly to the side. "What about the gesture you made when you talked about Jura? The one you made earlier?" He resumes leaning forward, elbows back on the table. "I suppose when it comes to who's responsible for the blight, it can't be anyone else but them, right?"

Which was just a subtler way of trying to ask how they're so certain it's Jura and not an opposing race? Or kingdom? Weren't there dragons too, assigned to the Blue Team?

Roland will defer to Glorfindel when there are dips in the conversation, spaces where the other can fill as he continues to think about what exactly they're getting themselves into on Irivar...

Glorfindel made a hand motion himself, one he'd noticed someone earlier make when they first arrived. If he interpreted it correctly, it was a general wish for the well-being of the other person.

Gestures like that were common on Middle Earth. Not quite the same, but similar in meaning.

"Just this land?" he asked, curious about the blight itself. He extended his glow out a little and smiled pleasantly at the others in the room. "Is there a cure that we might help with?" he asked.

He would let Roland pursue the Jura side, and work the 'we're here to help' angle himself.

"Ah no, that first one, it was a greeting for your friend here, a polite way to greet his kind."

He nodded at Glorfindel and then focused back on Roland. "But you are correct, only the nobles of Jura know the dark secrets well enough to cause this blight. Unless there is another power..."

He shook his head, as if the thought of more enemies was too much to think about. "I believe the hiring leaving from Ducks in a Bucket is for the gathering of the cure. But that's only if my gossip network is correct." He smiled at them both.

He temporarily abandons the task of learning that hand gesture in favor of taking stock of what the innkeep mentions. "Another power...?" He mumbles, recognizing that paranoia for what it was but choosing to follow it regardless. What other power could he be referring to...?

He keeps silent for now, mulling that over until Glorfindel finishes his own round of questions if he had any left. Roland remembers that gossip network well, too.

"Then I do hope the king," and again, he applies the hand motion the barkeep had used earlier, "teaches those nobles a lesson to keep them from doing so again, and that this was those known foes and not something...new."

He tilted his head to the side. "Do you often get my kind this way?" Glorfindel asked.

"Gossip networks are phenomenal things," he added with a grin. "You cannot find a way to purposefully spread news officially as fast as gossip."

"Not so many here, but we do see the odd traveller." He smiled and then frowned.

"It is always a worry, always fools willing to mess with powers they don't understand, starts off as a curiosity and the next thing you know they have invaded half the land."

He shook his head, "But I've heard nothing, so it is likely those nobles from Jura. Again."

Adventure On!

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sorry guys this got lost!

np!!

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Re: np!!