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

[swansongs]

Swapping to the second hat again, he peered into the mirror. "Thanks," he said brightly. "I'm sure my hat will be a super important decision in the long run," he joked, "But, you know...I don't actually have a good excuse." He'd just wanted to pick a hat. "Maybe it'll come in handy."

[reluctantjinrou]

Natsuno actually looked mildly amused, which was a feat in itself.

"I couldn't guess, maybe the mission will require you to have the most exact hat, and if you don't it won't be successful." He joked back, only slightly, he still looked a bit serious to pull that off.

[swansongs]

Laughing, Dyme shook his head a little. "Maybe! You never know. Or maybe I can use it as a distraction if I get into trouble." He hoped he wasn't going to get into any kind of trouble, though.

[reluctantjinrou]

"I'm not really sure what we should be expecting here." Natsuno admitted. "So you could be right."

[swansongs]

"I'm never sure what to expect on missions." Even with the information they were given. "I just always hope I'll be able to do something useful." If only he had magic powers or could fight or music actually came in handy.

[reluctantjinrou]

"This is my first one, I've only just arrived." Natsuno explained with a bit of a frown.

"I'm not sure how much help I would be either."

[swansongs]

He nodded sagely. "First mission is always the most hectic." He'd say 'the worst' but that might give a bad impression of things. He still remembered his first mission and how useless he'd felt.

"The good news is, there's always something for everyone, even if it's just keeping an eye out for monsters."

[reluctantjinrou]

"I suppose that makes sense, I'm just unsure, really." Natsuno admitted. "Hopefully I'll figure it out on the fly."

[swansongs]

"I know the feeling. I'm still unsure most of the time and this is like, my...third? Fourth? Mission." They sometimes tended to blend all together. Maybe this was the fourth. "What're things you're good at?"

[reluctantjinrou]

"I'm...not sure. I'm strong. I can take damage and it'll...fix itself." Natsuno mused.

"I haven't really been in much combat. I can run, I used to be a runner."

[swansongs]

"Hmmmm." Dyme considered that for a moment, tapping his chin. "Maybe you could run supplies between people, oooor information. Or something." Or not, it was all up to Natsuno, after all. Dyme was just trying to be helpful.

[reluctantjinrou]

"Those sounds like good ideas, actually." Natsuno mused, smiling slightly.

[swansongs]

"Oh, they do? That's a relief." He laughed a little. "My specialty is music, which, you know, doesn't really have a place on missions. So I've been trying to learn how to fight and stuff."

[reluctantjinrou]

"Yeah, I should learn how to do that." Natsuno agreed. "I'm certainly strong enough to...I just don't really know how to, but for this mission maybe I can manage something that isn't so...hands on. I don't know."

[swansongs]

"On the bright side, maybe we won't have to fight anything. Maybe it'll be all smooth sailing." That would be nice, and to not have things go the way they had the last mission, with swarms of monsters. "But learning sometime anyway probably never hurt."

[reluctantjinrou]

"That would be ideal, but since I heard the red team is all about combat, I'm a bit skeptical." Natsuno admitted. "I never would've considered it before coming here."

[swansongs]

"Oh! Yeah, that uh... maybe there's not always fighting?" He hoped Orange had smooth sailing, at least. "There's a lot of stuff I never would've considered before ending up here," he said. Like learning how to fight, or cook, or bake, or falling for guys with metal arms.

[reluctantjinrou]

"I suppose it depends on where you come from. For the most part, I was just an ordinary high school student, living in a remote town." Natsuno commented, so that explained probably, how much experience he had with everything.

[swansongs]

He nodded. Somehow, that sounded like the beginning of a movie plot or something, but their whole lives were kind of a movie plot right now, all things considered.

"I'm a musician," he said. "I lived in a city. Most things I did were, well, related to music." When he wasn't getting himself into trouble, at least. "Nothing back home prepared me for anything here."

[reluctantjinrou]

"Can't say I know much about that. I did live in the city, up until last year. My parents thought the countryside would be romantic. Let's just say that blew up in their faces pretty handily." Natsuno huffed slightly.

[swansongs]

Dyme's face scrunched up a little. "What's supposed to be romantic about the countryside?" Not that he disliked the countryside, but he'd literally never been anywhere smaller than an average town.

[reluctantjinrou]

He snorted slightly. "Your guess is as good as mine. I thought my parents were nuts."

[swansongs]

He laughed. "I know that feeling." He pondered it for a moment though, seriously trying to think what was appealing about the countryside. "I guess the countryside is quieter than a city or whatever? But quiet could also be boring."

[reluctantjinrou]

"It was definitely boring, until it wasn't." He huffed slightly, alright, he might still be irrationally angry about that.

[swansongs]

"Did something happen?" Color him curious. But if it was prying, then he wouldn't press the subject.